> PONY POV SERIES SEASON 8: FINALE! > by Alex Warlorn > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Let Us Begin... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I've scanned the fog around Ponyville repeatedly. The fog's magic is inert. In my opinion a weather wyrm likely took a nap in Everfree," Twilight Sparkle said, going over a slew of notes held up by Spike and Owlowiscious and her own magic. "When has anythin' with us been 'likely'?" Honest Applejack asked. "Granted. But if it was a Weather Wyrm, their snoring isn't nearly as dangerous as a fire breathing dragon." "I hope so, darling," generous Rarity said. "I have'ta go with AJ on this one," loyal Rainbow Dash said. "Stuff with us never stays 'likely' for long." "Hey, girls! Don't go turning into me, I'm the one whose supposed to notice the crazy patterns our lives follow." Pinkie Pie laughed. "Well, I can conclude, the fog itself is just fog," Twilight said. "In that case, Trixie wonders if the fog is a cover, smoke bomb make good distractions." "If something's hidden in the fog, then the alarm spells I've set should give us plenty of warning. Be it thieves, the sass-squash, gremlins, or The Legendary Fog Monster of the Isle of Pony, we'll know ahead of time and be ready." "Half of those even real, Twili?" "I've learned you can't be too careful." The kind Flutters said nothing, Fluttershy just happy no one had brought up 'Princess Gaia's fog', and smiled to herself remembering finding the lion inside her to Stare down a dragon into submission, protecting her friends. Fluttercruel enjoyed the memory of her mother growing a spine in front of her worst fear. "This wasn't in anything I read," Pinkie Pie said under her breath looking the window, seeing ponies doing their best to go about their lives in spite of the annoying fog. "I hope it's nothing. I want to go back to when we only had a big meanie once a year instead of four." + Outside the library Derpy looked at her friend, 'Golden Harvest.' "Hey, Carrot Top. Does this fog remind you of our adventure? The ruins in Everfree, the skeleton ponies and spider, who turned out to be nice, and the icy unicorn queen who turned out to be mean and-" "Derpy I remember! Our family and friends wondered where we were, you were taught how to use a flame sword, while I was trapped with the queen after she acted like she my friend when we first met her: only she wanted my body or to drain my life or something!" Carrot Top huffed. "I wondered if I'd see my little sister ever again. Derpy, how could you bring that up?" Derpy didn't cower nor whimper, instead, she merely nuzzled her friend. "Because I want you to know, if something like that happens again, I'll be there for you again. 'Neither rain, wind, hail, or sleet,' isn't just for mail, Carrot Top. It's what I do for all of my friends. I just wanted you to know, whatever happens, you don't have to be afraid. I'll protect my family, and I'll protect my friends." Derpy remembered the last time fog unbidden had rolled into Ponyville, it was annoying for the walled eye pegasus to swim through it, but she remembered how she had fought Nightmare Whisper's animal puppets to protect her filly, and the medal she got from Princess Luna as Best Mother In Equestria, and even her biological mom FINALLY told Derpy she was proud of her. That was something wonderful Derpy never wanted to forget, it made her smile. Carrot Top grinned. 'Derpy you act like a clown, but you have the heart of a lion, I finally get why Princess Luna awarded you. Oh, look, it's the crazy Earth Pony who lives in that tiny blue shed, why is he always dragging her off into that thing? The one time I wandered in...ugh, don't want to think about it...This fog does give me the chills. Maybe I should leave town for a bit with Orange Top...No, I won't abandon the farm. If the Apples can keep their apple orchard running through everything thrown at Ponyville, then our carrot farm can keep running! If Derpy can weather a storm, so can I.' + The fog around Ponyville's train station proved stubborn later that day; the weather team having to exert themselves to push it back. Trixie and Twilight stood on the platform together. "Trixie, if you're going to leave Ponyville again after everything-" "Twilight! Trixie promises! She is NOT going back home just to mooch off her loving and wonderful family again. I'm just going to get my affairs in orders!" "So you're finally moving to Ponyville?" Twilight grinned a little too eagerly. "I can't make a living as a stage magician staying in a small town like Ponyville or Hoofington...But now that I have a reputation in Canterlot..." "You could always commute." "Commute?" "Between Canterlot and Ponyville. YOU TOLD ME you teleported all the way from Hoofington to Ponyville with your props! It's something to be proud of Trixie! Most ponies shouldn't be able to do that. Canterlot and Ponyville should be much easier. In fact, why not just teleport to Hoofington right now and skip paying for a train ticket?" "When..." Trixie blushed. "When I teleported to Ponyville with my luggage, it almost landed on me. This time I'm going to play it safe and...I just want the alone time right now. That's why my family went on ahead. Twilight, I Pinkie Pie PROMISES, cross my-heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eyes, I will be back in a few days! Not a few weeks, not a few months, not a few years, A FEW DAYS. Count them." They hugged and nuzzled. "You've truly become a strong unicorn, Trixie. And that's why I need to tell you this, as a friend. The two of us are dangerous. You know that right, Trixie?" Trixie grinned. "Well if you want me to brag-" "I'm serious. We break the system. We can both use magic that's not related to one field, we can use magic that's outside our PONY-TYPE! Weather magic? Plant growth? Exclusive to pegasi and Earth ponies: yet we can anyway." "Twilight, if we're going to spend ten minutes speaking about how I used to be AGAIN." "Nononono! I promise no! I'm just saying be prepared...when I did my magic entrance examine...and my magic went wild...I turned my parents into plants." Trixie thought of her mother's magic. "I understand." "A part of me's always been scared that they've been scared of ME for that. After the wedding, I finally asked. They reminded me Discord made Mom want to have her stories be perfectly organized and for everything to be absolutely perfectly explained and perfectly coherent, calling her own books 'candy for fillies, not oats for mares', not fantasy, but dementia of ideal pasts and futures that didn't exist. Dad says what she ended up writing while discorded read like textbooks rather than any fiction. 'It read like that time you tried writing a romance novel, Twilight.'" Twilight smiled in spite of herself. Trixie did too, then asked, "Well, what did he do to your father? If you don't mind Trixie's asking? And what does that have to do with your question?" "Dad...he made him terrified of everything magical." "But everything in the world is magical! That a base principle of...oh." "Exactly. He's happy he didn't saw off his own horn." They shuddered. "But...Since Discord twists ponies into their opposite...it made me truly realize that dad ISN'T scared of my magic, at all. And maybe I should accept why mom's books are popular, instead of focusing so much on why I don't like them. Then we went out for donuts." "Trixie is, forgive me," Trixie bowed her head, "Happy to hear that Twilight Sparkle still has her little moments that make her a mere mortal." Twilight blushed and said, "You have't heard the capper. They said they shared a dream last year where they told Discord they'd do ANYTHING to be with me, even if Discord had crushed my heart, he turned them into the same plants and stuck them in my room! I was so far gone it took me a thousand years to recognize them, but they didn't care!" "I sees. I know what it's like to suddenly appreciate how truly your family loves you. It's a wonderful, magical feeling." "And how much your friends love you." RD flew down and hugged Trixie from behind. "HEY!" "Hey, yourself. You didn't think you'd get to sneak away for a few days without saying bye to your OTHER friends did you?" RD grinned. "NOT THIS TIME!" Pinkie Pie popped out of the waiting train as Fluttershy floated down above Trixie as Rarity and AJ and Spike all gathered around the blue unicorn and gave her a giant hug. "And you BETTER BE BACK in a few days, or I'm going to Hoofington and dragging you back here by your tail!" Rainbow Dash swore. "Heh! I'm tempted to stay just to see you try!" Trixie grinned. "Oh believe me, I won't just 'try!'" RD grinned back. "I'd pay good bits to see that tussle!" Spike laughed and pointed. "I'll try to work it into my show then." "Well it involves yours truly so of course ponies are gonna love it." "Same old RD, same old Trix'." AJ smiled nuzzling them both. "I'd say new and improved all around." Pinkie Diane quipped as she rubbed her cheeks against her friends'. "Remember Trixie, you Pinkie Promised to put on a show at my Age Of Dreams public park!" Trixie shuddered, that reminded her too much of her painful birthday party affairs, but yes, she had, drunk on her success at Princess Cadence's wedding reception, promised. She she must admit, a part of her found the place somewhat enjoyable. "Trixie won't forget." "Don't worry Trixie," Pinkie Pie smiled warmly putting a hoof on her shoulder. "The foals will play nice or won't get to stay, and maybe you'll find something new about yourself too." The way Pinkie Pie said that confused Trixie, but after the changelings, a show at a sunshine and rainbows theme open park wouldn't be that hard. "Alright...could it perhaps be on Nightmare Night?" Trixie had no idea why she'd added that. "Sure!" Pinkie replied with a bright grin. "And darling, don't forget, I still have that suit of armor to finish making you," Rarity said. "You're STILL working on that?" "Once I start a project I finish a project, especially for my friends. Remember that little blue pony." Rarity said with a firm smile. Trixie felt warm inside. "Thank you." "Isn't friendship wonderful?" Fluttershy sighed happily. Several hugs and kisses later, Trixie was on her way back to her family. Trixie had this odd feeling she was saying goodbye for good, but she wasn't sure if it was to her friends in Ponyville, or her family in Hoofington. 'Humph! Neither, I'm not leaving something this wonderful after finally finding it.' She waved her friends 'see you again real soon' as the train drove out. + Was when I was a filly with Celly and Dissy happy days? They were perhaps the most happy of my mortal life. My siblings were right: living life bereft of godhood, seeing it through their eyes, did me good. I only wish it hadn't taken a war in the spirit world to prompt me to finally live it. I just hope Celly doesn't think I plan to decentralize my power like her. I think it was only after tasting true friendship with Pip', one that happened without having to save the world or being part of a family, I realized how distant I have made myself, and why Celly had gone to such lengths to ensure Cadence would be seen as the people's Alicorn that they could relate to. I should have enjoyed when ponies thought me a cute innocent mare following my 'rescue' from the 'Nightmare Forces.' Thankfully the lunar tribe informed on my return visit they're keeping my moon palace clean for me and telling them no, we won't be invading the planet. And sadly, the 'Welcome back to the moon ponies! We kept the flag intact!' Party will have to wait for a couple more centuries. Do not allow Pinkie to hear that such a thing is being planned, I imagine she'd become an Alicorn just to live long enough to throw it if she had to. I think they were all HAPPY to hear I'd given up this 'endless night' nonsense, but had been reluctant to inform me before. They said they'd been worried about endless night since 'every-rabbit needs time to rest.' Yes, I laughed at the irony. They also said they didn't care for the black magic I had taught them as Nightmare Moon, they were just being polite. I just wish I had made more friends when I had such a golden chance before. Maybe that's the other reason I created Moonlight. So she/I could have the friends I never let myself have before. + "Take that, mist! And that! And that!" Apple Bloom shouted as she and her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders swung their wooden swords at the mist surrounding their club house. "Let me guess, next we're attacking the darkness?" Silver Spoon asked, taking a break from the assault. The filly couldn't help giving a chuckle. She'd come to enjoy the occasional mindless fun they had together. "We tried. Pipsqueak and his pals counterattacked, remember?" Scootaloo said, being a pegasus, her sword was actually cutting the ground based clouds, and incidentally, for her going through the mist was like swimming through water. "And I proved knights beat pirates!" Spike said, breathing NORMAL dragon fire at the mist. "This reminds me of that scene in the last Daring Do book I read," Scootaloo said. Her friends just smiled and nodded. 'Please don't start gushing again,' Spike thought, 'it's bad enough when Twilight and Rainbow Dash do it! First Twilight infected Rainbow Dash, then Rainbow Dash infected Scootaloo, who's next?!' "Okay, so Daring Do had her wings stuck together with tree sap-" "AGAIN?" Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "How many times are they going to use that plot device?" "Not the point!" "At least it's kinda a realistic one," Apple Bloom remarked, sheepishly looking to the tub marked 'In case of more tree sap' set under the tree house. "Okay, so she was at the bottom of a canyon and the walls were too slick to climb up, but the place was also really misty, so she was able to actually swim THROUGH the mist all the way to the surface!" "Ah'm not sure pegasi can actually do that," Apple Bloom said. "Hey! Who has wings here and who doesn't?" "Let me get back to you on that in a few decades," Spike said in a small voice, raising a claw. "You sure like those books," Sweetie noted. "Yeah! I'm talking with Cheerilee to get them to be mandatory reading for class." The fillies gritted their teeth, eyes widened and took a step back at the thought. Spike put his claws to his head, and ran screaming into the mist. "Now you see what you've done!" Spoon yelled. "Hey! I didn't do anything, and just imagine, soon everypony will be talking about Daring Doo, everypony," The way Scoots said that reminded Apple Bloom of some ponies talking about 'the new world order.' "Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" And Spike ran out of the mist, from the opposite way he had run into it to begin with, and bumped right into Apple Bloom, "Oooof!" Spike looked around confused. "How'd that happen?" The fillies shrugged. "Scootaloo," Apple Bloom asked, "Ah've been meanin' ta ask. How DO they handle earth ponies and unicorns born in Cloudsdale? Ah mean, if Mr. and Mrs. Cake can have a unicorn and a pegasus, then the opposites' gotta happen right? If only pegasi can walk on clouds, then how do they handle that? Do they always make sure ta have their foals on the ground or somethin'?" "I think Rainbow Dash said they have special enchantments for hospitals," Scootaloo remarked, rubbing her head. "Besides that...I dunno, I guess the parents decide or something." "Ya don't know?" Apple Bloom asked. "Do you know every single thing there is to know about being a earth pony?" "...Okay, Ah gotcha." "I don't either, and I like it that way," Spoon admitted. "We're foals, we shouldn't NEED to know everything." "Hey don't go turning into a broken record there," Scootaloo said. "Growing up is part of being a foal too." "You WANT THAT?" Apple Bloom asked bewildered. "Sure! Growing up into a pony like Dash, of course!" "Of course," the company echoed. "Now who's a broken record?" Spike sighed. + Ya know. I don't like this at all. Nope. Not one bit. The Dash most certainly does not! Sigh. Okay, let me back up some and explain. I HAVE been looking for Scoots' parents. I tried the house Scoots says was her family's before the wedding, but the place was empty, and it looked like somepony had been through it and I could only ask so many questions without drawing attention from the Guard. And her parents left her three years ago, so it wasn't exactly like everypony would know 'em.  Her parents aren't dead (I sorta discreetly checked the obituaries from when Scoots says she last saw them). So they've gotta be out there somewhere. But that isn't the only issue. Normally if I wanted to find somepony I'd just check house to house, barge in, and demand if they'd seen 'em...except that would kinda ruin the whole point of this 'discreet' thing. And I'd have to check all of Equestria since I don't know if they're even still in Cloudsdale or have moved since then. But that isn't what I don't like. I certainly don't mind the happy feeling I get with Scoots' being here. I won't say I was incomplete without her, but she's added more to me. And I definitely don't mind how proud I felt when Scoots FLEW, helped save Equestria and earn her Cutie Mark. I hate to admit it...but I even kinda like being the responsible one for a change. I didn't like spanking her, but...I like being responsible FOR her. Having a little bird completely under my wing and all. And it's not the bad feeling I have that if I do find 'em, they'll be monsters but legally I won't be able to keep them from taking Scoots back (yes, I've had nightmares like that). That's something I could FIGHT with an egghead like Twilight at my side. Or the bad feeling I get if I do find Scoots' parents and they turn out to be good ponies who had a perfectly good reason to do what they did, who can provide for Scoots a lot better than I could. It's worse than that. It's that I haven't gone to any of my friends for finding Scoots' parents. All because I'm afraid that if I tell any of them, they'll either tell the authorities, or they'll accidentally let it slip to somepony who will. And I chewed out Trixie because she couldn't be sure if anypony was a changeling or brainwashed when doing her whole 'secret identity' nonsense at the wedding! Yes I called it nonsense! Bucking sue me!!! Yeah I used three exclamation marks, what are ya gonna do?! Huh?! Huh?! Huh?! And I DID just use a question mark and exclamation together AND used all cap letters to get across how tough I'm speaking! What are ya...oh sweet Celestia I'm turning into old Pinkie Pie! Deep breaths, Dash. Deep breaths. No I'm not doing the whole 'I'm not worthy' crud that so many ponies seem to be into these days! We make ourselves worthy. I'm just upset that I went and told Trixie what a jerk she was for not trusting any of us, and here I am: not trusting my friends to not spill the beans or not trusting ME to look after her. And instead would hoof her over to 'professionals' whose JOB it'll be to help her...instead of...instead of because their heart saying so, instead of...family. I said it. Yeah. She's my family. As much as dad. I promised her I'd find her 'real' family, no matter what. I can't break that promise. I don't want to lose the trust she has in me.  And what makes the feeling worse? I KNOW Scoots well enough to know she's postponing her party until the others get their marks because she knows her parents CAN'T be there. I know because when I bring up Applebloom getting HER mark she's not COMPLETELY stoked about it, she's happy, but not AS happy...because I don't trust anypony with it, she doesn't...and she's not enjoying life as much as she could because of it...I feel like a bad rolemodel... Okay, I'll admit it! I'm scared. Ya know. It's crazy. I freakin' wish TRIXIE was still in town so I could share my feelings with her. Why?...Because she appreciates being sneaky to help unlike my other friends? I don't think 'Shy or Pinkie would keep quiet? Yeah I know it's dumb.  That paperwork? Nothing. Just some background checks and stuff ya gotta do to be acceptable for adopting or become a foal's legal guardian. And I haven't been arrested once, am a national heroine, and have a steady job I always get done that makes good bits, so I know I'll pass the background check. Been working on it for the last year about, slowly getting help there and there. It's...almost done. Just need to sign my name in a few places and Pinkie Promise Twilight not to tell before asking her to proof read it. Gonna ask Scoots about it tomorrow after she gets home from school. I've seen enough plays. I know exactly how this story always goes. Our cover's gonna be blown. No I'm not worried about Guards, sheech! This is Equestria, 'follow yer heart' is practically on the rule books! But if I've learned anything, is that life is gonna throw ya fast balls and curve balls at the same time whether yer ready or not. So yeah. Back to what I was saying. I'm ticked that the pony I feel that I can trust most with all of this is the one I chewed out for not trusting me. After Rarity once gave me that smack down about not trusting them! Maybe I should just tell Pinkie or Shy.  I don't care if it sounds selfish. No matter how long or short it lasts, I'll be Scoot's family, and she'll be mine too. Because she trusts me to be. + "Excuse me, have you see this filly?" A mare with her husband asked in Cloudsdale. She showed a picture of a pegasus with small wings, a violet mane, and purple eyes. "I haven't, sorry." "She would have been in this neighborhood, about…three years ago or so?" "I'm sorry, that's a long time ago." The couple tried again with similar luck. Having 'vanished' their house's ownership had defaulted to Cloudsdale, and a search there revealed no clue where their foal might have gone. She wasn't in any of the areas of Cloudsdale they had told her to stay, and had even with heavy hearts searched some spots they had told her to stay out of. They'd even searched the orphanages, but nothing. She'd never been to any of them in Cloudsdale. Nothing. They finally got their break when a air-bus driver recognized the filly in the photo. But he couldn't remember where she had gotten off or even remotely what date it was, it could be as easily Canterlot or Las Pegasus. "I only remember her because of how dirty she looked," he said. "And she was carrying a bag. She was running away from something. Heck if I know what." "...Honey you don't think Digger Wasp's agents-" "Don't jump to conclusions. She's a strong girl. We wouldn't have done what we did if she wasn't." + The girls' unanimous consensus was that any profits from the Mare-Do-Well craze would go to charity, with Rarity watching the money-trail. Tootsie Flute had used this justification to convinced Lyra to buy her a variety of Mare-Do-Well merchandise. While some ponies had been disillusioned by the reveal that Mare-Do-Well was four mares, Tootsie didn't care, that meant she had four heroes to look up to. "When I grow up, I'm gonna be Mare-Do-Well!" She'd told her guardians. Lyra found the idea was healthy for a young foal who wanted to dedicated her life to helping and saving others. Bon Bon was less than pleased, fearing her foal would go off and do something stupid and get herself hurt or worse. Especially given the number of Equestria threatening disasters that happened. "I came close to losing Lyra and Moth more than once on during that war...I don't want you putting yourself in danger like that too." Bon Bon had hugged her child, worry clear in her eyes. Tootsie sighed. They wouldn't let her become a super hero. Then they wouldn't let her become a changeling (even after Aunie Moth didn't mind!). And her guardians thought her new name Liza Doolots, "Needs work honey," they told her. Then came Hearts and Hooves Day, she'd been seconds from showing Truffle her card. Then TWIST twisted her way into him and TWISTED him to her instead. She felt her heart break in two when she saw him hug, how well they fit together. How they always complimented each other in any assignment or hobby they did together. How they seemed to mesh together. Lyra and Bon Bon didn't have experience with colts, so she asked Auntie Moth instead what she should do. "If you really care about him, you should tell how you feel, and let him make his OWN choice between you." Auntie Moth had told her. "BUT what if he DOESN'T pick me?!" "That's his choice, you can't MAKE another pony be your special friend. Then he wouldn't REALLY be your special friend. He'd just be a puppet pretending to be." Tootsie grumbled. It wasn't fair. Why should Twist be special friends with Truffle instead? She likely only wanted him so he could be a taste-tester or something cliche because of his weight. Only Tootsie saw the polite young colt where other foals only saw his belly. He deserved better. She owed it to him. She'd find a way to help him. + Like many in Ponyville, Cloud Kicker never stood out from the crowd, and as Ponyville ponies tend to be, that suited her fine. She wouldn't live in a small town if she wanted to make a big impact and stand out. She had a little sister to look after, and unlike some mares she didn't have some well to do family to fall back on. She didn't have time for stallions and she certainly wasn't going to charm one for his bits. What point were bits if she spent her life with somepony that made her miserable. Cloud Kicker was a weather pony through and through, while she couldn't clear the sky in ten seconds flat, her weather manipulation talents were second to none, she didn't have RAW POWER behind her, but she certainly was more sublime and delicate. She had taken part in the Running of the Leaves and the Sisterhood Social and won neither, but she didn't mind, well, not greatly. Nopony LIKED to lose after all. The time she spent with Alula with the latter made it worth while, and made losing a lot less hard to swallow. Hard to upset when your little sister is cheering and laughing about just spending time with you. Discord's torture for HER involved being turned into a cloud being left to the mercy of the winds and mad pegasi. And raining on the 'ungrateful brat' Alula as the only functional raincloud within miles as Alula struggled with wings that had a mind of their own. She hated to think what would have happened if the little filly had somehow gotten stuck in a hole or something that the sapient cloud gleefully filled with water. The pair had recovered thanks to professional help paid for by Princess Celestia. No grand revelation, no great journey of self discovery, and that again suited her just fine. Though Cloud Kicker had taken a vacation from weather duty for a while after. Rainbow Dash had been understanding, thankfully. Then again, given Discord's reach, it'd be harder to find one that DIDN'T sympathize with somepony he hurt. She had dressed up as a witch for Nightmare Night, and been freaked out and scared for Alula when the reformed Nightmare Moon arrived like everypony else. Ironically, that fear had made her rethink that maybe life was too short, and consider getting a job at Wonderbolt Academy, fancying the idea of applying. It would look good on her résumé at least. Blech. Then Princess Gaia happened! It had taken Hurricane Fluttershy for Cloud Kicker to forgive the mare for surrendering to the manipulations of the Nightmare Forces and trying to conquer Equestria (how the Tartarus could she care for her family if she was just a foal herself?). Now she considered Fluttershy at least a comrade and teammate. She still didn't understand why Fluttershy had worshipers. But still... "For the last time Alula, I'm sure Thunderlane is nice and everything, but I'm not interested in seeing any stallions." "Well, there are some mares who-" "Alula! No! I'm just not into ANY relationships right now. I'm happy looking after you, and providing for us right now." "But don't you WANT to be happy?" "Alula I AM happy! I don't NEED a special somepony!" "Isn't that what lonely and sad mares say?" Cloud Kicker groaned. "You've been watching way too many soap opera plays Alula!" She had hoped Alula would stop this fixation after making friends with Tootsie Flute (they were a wonderful family, and Cloud Kicker didn't hold Moth being a changeling against her, especially given the royal announcement of how she'd HELPED Equestria during that mess). "If I was a Princess, and you didn't have to look after me, you'd have time for stallions right?" Cloud Kicker laughed and patted her sister on the head. "Yes, Alula, if you were a Princess, I'd go on a date with Thunderlane, promise." Alula smiled to herself. 'And maybe, you need a little loosening up.' + The mist was creepy, but it wasn't causin' trouble, so school AIN'T canceled. So there Ah was, in class. Ah'd helped save Equestria! Me! Spoon! Scootaloo! And Sweetie! Shouldn't we all get a big fancy stained glass window too? We didn't even get 'extra credit' fer savin' the world. Sigh. That ain't the Apple way. Hard work is done cause hard work needs doin', not cause ya'll get a rewarded. Just kinda wonder if this is how AJ felt when those snobs in Canterlot don't even remember she saved the world twice. Least Miss Cheerilee was all understandin' 'bout the whole 'trapped inside a magic bubble' explanation for why we missed more days of school than we were gonna. It's... weird. Kinda unreal. This isn't like our other adventures that happened where nopony could see 'em. Everypony SAW US HELP. Scootaloo flew over Canterlot. Sweetie got named heir by a wicked witch. Me and Spoon helping save all them brainwashed ponies. But here we are. back in school. Everythin' going along like it was before. Save the world then go back to doin' borin' stuff? How the heck does Applejack and her friends do it? But...there's still even MORE unreal stuff. Scoots and Sweetie got their marks. No Ah ain't angry that I ain't got mine. We were all happy and charged up but, Ah mean...it feels like...some big rule got broken or somethin'. Somethin' not meant to happen, happened. It was kinda like when Spoon was clappin' her hooves for Granny Smith. And...Diamond Tiara ain't here. She's been gone for pretty much a year, anypony who thought she'd run away and hid just to get attention has shut-up by now. She's...not here. Two of us get our cutie marks. And she's not even here to freak out about it. Or come up with insults for our new cutie marks since she can't call us blank flanks. That sounds like her, Tiara is never one to admit she's done, and she's one heck of a sore loser. Either that or she'd suddenly just ignore Scoots and Sweetie like she was with Twist when she earned her mark. And Spoon's still here, but she's our FRIEND now, she's HAPPY Scoots and Sweetie got their marks. She's not freakin' out or scramblin' to come up with new names to call us neither! Diamond Tiara and Spoon were a stubbed hoof. Only think about 'em when they're hurtin' ya. But now that two of us got our marks, and Spoon's a friend and Diamond's a no show...Ah almost feel...disappointed, like parts of the trophy for finishin' the race were missin'. Spitin' Spoon and Diamond was never the point of gettin' our cutie marks...and seein' Sweetie and Scoots with theirs, fer the first time, Ah'm thinkin' did we even know the point of gettin' 'em? So yeah, it feels like we're missin' party guests with 'Our Friend Silver Spoon' here instead of 'Diamond Tiara and Diamond Tiara's Little Minion.' Ah think even Spoon feels that way. She told me it felt so weird that she'd had nightmares about us gettin' our marks and now she CHEERED when we did. Ah don't wanna lose Spoon's friendship, but Ah still can't help but feel...like Ah've been running through a wooden tunnel with lanterns all around, but Ah've now run past where the construction ends, and Ah'm suddenly in the dark and the fog. Ah don't know where Ah'm supposed to go from here. Ah'm sure usin' a lot of metaphors huh? Ah bet at least one of the Elements would be proud. We still try new things each day. But Ah can't help but feel a little selfish. Spike needs no mark, and the rest have theirs, we're goin' through all this just fer me now. And Ah know technically...how do ya pronounce it? Kifuko? Is an honorary Crusader, but she's just a toddler and she won't even be able to talk for awhile...and when she can, she'll be wherever Cadence lives and not here. So...it's just me we're doin' all this for. But Ah can't help feel...like we've been buildin' and buildin', and suddenly, Ah've gone past what we've built. Even with my friends. Ah know Ah said we'd be Crusaders forever, but...is that the point? Or just bein' friends the real point? Maybe the Cutie Mark Crusaders have done their job. There's Truffle and Twist again, Ah swear those two are like one pony now. Can't find one without the other. And there's that unicorn filly...what's her name?...Ah've never asked. Ah've never caught 'er name. Ah've never seen 'er ever talk to anypony. She socializes even less than Button Mash (the first time we tried for our Cutie Mark Crusader Truancy officers cutie marks it turned out he didn't have the stuff to go to school yet, then it turned out he was EXCITED to go to school. Weirdo.). She's like Alula, not always in the same class as us. I know Miss Sparkler foalsat for 'er when the town was lovin' Rainbow Dash's hero job, but Ah heard she called it lame or somethin'. She was at Diamond Tiara's party. And Ah've seen 'er with...Ah think...a horseshoe cutie mark, a flower cutie mark and...and she's a blank flank? Ugh. Why am Ah gettin' a headache right now? She must'a used them fancy rub on cutie marks ya can find in comics Ah've read about. ...Wait a tick! Ah remember! Geeze! No she ain't some long lost cousin! Get a grip! Her name's Tootsie Flute...Ah wasn't kiddin' when Ah said Ah don't see her socializin' much outside of being part of the herd. She's Lyra Heartstrings and Bon-Bon's foal, Ah think. Not sure how that works. Maybe she's another Changelin' like her 'aunt'. How da hay could Ah forget?! She was at the weddin', the real weddin'! No we didn't say hi ta 'er. No we weren't snubbin' 'er! There were like a zillion things goin' on at once! Sweetie and Scoots'd earned their marks, we fought a whole war, we got to be part of a fake and real weddin', we were all really really busy. Yes, Lyra's family helped us out big time! But we all had stuff ta do! Ah'm sorry! Me and the girls didn't mean it! Well. She's a blank flank. Maybe it's about time we Crusaders help another foal find out what makes 'er special. This is free period. So Ah'll head over nicely to 'er, and introduce myself. Ah worked with her family, so it should be easy-peasy. Alright, here we go and-hay. "Hi, Tootsie!" "Hey, Alula!" What just happened? That girl just dive bombed out of nowhere, she's a pegasus yeah, but Ah didn't see'er comin' at all. Ever since she convinced Shady Daze and Featherweight and Miss Cheerilee to let 'er be editor of the newspaper she's REALLY come out of the background! She's been givin' afternoon speeches about, well, everythin', anythin' anypony wants ta chat about, she will too, Ah thought she was a gymnast, not a luginist, languinist, uh, really good with words. Ah'm serious, Ah never gave 'er another look! But now she's makin' sure she's seen left and right. And those new fancy magic newspapers, it'll put the printer out of business! They just publish it, and boom, right ta the reader!...But what happens when ya want ta save an older copy? I guess the printing press has got some good uses still. Ah don't know what the deal is with 'em, but they've gotten the paper super popular again, as much as...as much as Gabby Gums. I heard from Sweetie, who heard from Rarity, who talked with Miss Twilight, that she bought a copy and tried to figure out how the magic worked...and said she couldn't make heads or tails of the spell involved. Ah don't know who this Umbra Breeze is, but he must be one fancy Earth Pony to make a unicorn confused on a spell. Yes Ah said Earth pony. Why? He sure looked like one ta me. Rarity and AJ were talkin' about why he'd use a new magic like this on a school paper, but Ah figure it's just market research or somethin'. To be honest, Ah don't like 'em much. Winona hasn't come near the school since he came around and Scoots said Tank won't either. Twilight said it was probably just the magic's got 'er spooked, said it spooked her owl (who's name Ah ain't even gonna try to pronounce) when she brought it over. Maybe it's just cause Ah'm scared cause of the last time the paper got this popular or from dealin' with the Flim Flam Brothers tellin' meh if somethin' is too goo to be true it probably is. Eh, Ah'm probably just paranoid. Worst he's probably just a constallion tryin' to make a quick buck. No Ah don't know where he lives, why should Ah? But yeah, ya should see it, over half the town's subscribed now. And the paper's new captain just cut me off at the pass. "I have a new column in the school news paper I'm going to be needing a lot of help with, and I know you'll can be that help." "Me? Help with the paper?" "Sure Tootsie. Your guardians helped save Canterlot right? Think of all the amazing things you've seen you can share." Okay. Now Ah feel shelved. She wasn't there personally when it all happened. Meh and the rest of the Crusaders were! Ah look around, the others are beginnin' ta look this way too. Ah wasn't that interested in bein' part of the paper again. But...but...What about all the amazin' stuff me and the others have seen? But nopony cares about? What has she seen? "Thanks Alula but...I'm not a good story teller." She put a hoof on her shoulder. "It's not he same with a newspaper. You don't have to face them. It'll just be your words. This is a chance to let ponies know what YOU think. They won't judge you on how old you are or how good you are at other things. And so many ponies will hear what you have to say. They'll never be able to ignore you again." She looked over at Truffle, don't ask me why. "Never ignored again." Alula leaned and whispered, I strained my ear to hear. "Besides, I was told in my dreams you'd be great help." "Your dreams? Why didn't you just say so?" "You woke up early, and she said it had to be your choice." Dreams? Her? Do they mean Princess Luna? I heard she can go into dreams and all that stuff, does that mean they got a visit from Princess Luna herself? How does she even visit so many ponies' dreams? "Of course I will!" And just like that. Where did Alula learn ta speak so good? Alula leads Tootsie off like a shot to show her around the newspaper and meet Umbra Breeze. Well, she got a friend, that's what's important. Do Ah feel bad about not tellin' Twist 'bout the Truth or Sunny Town? ...No. It wasn't my secret to share, Ah don't know if that was the Truth or me, but that's how Ah rolled with it. And, Ah don't know how she'd react to there bein' a place where Spoon was MY toady, and Diamond Tiara's the one Scootaloo and Sweetie stood up for. It was scary enough for me to realize Ah coulda been just like Diamond Tiara. Maybe this is why AJ doesn't go tellin' me and others what she saw in the Truth. Sunny Town...Ah ain't never lied 'bout Sunny Town never. Ah just ain't got no reason ta talk 'bout it. Miss Twilight, Futtershy, the doctor Twilight invited, lots of ponies know about the town now, we just ain't got a point in sharin'. Ah shared it with my friends caused it helped Spoon. AJ won't let me near the town even though Ruby is a friend of mine. Miss Fluttershy wants to save the adults who hurt Ruby too?!...And...and Celestia they tried to...they tried to...They tried to kill me. Make me a zombie too. They ain't like Diamond Tiara, they're monsters, and Ah don't mean them bein' zombies. Ah'm sorry, but oh Celestia. What they put poor Mitta through. Ah...Ah need ta lie down. ... S-sorry. Ah don't get why Fluttershy wants ta help t-those ponies. It don't feel right. Ah wanna see Ruby and Mitta again sure, Ah really do. But...them towns folk. Ah don't care if they thought they were helpin' me, they were gonna...Please. Ah just don't wanna talk about this no more. Roneo and Starlet? Ah won't call Miss Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie bad ponies for helpin' 'em...Please. I just don't wanna talking about this. Thank ya kindly. + A little brown blank flank colt sat in the corner of the school room. He wore a beanie and had a Gamecolt (the newest technology in this reality), and bore the name Button Mash. The pricey piece of technology wasn't exactly forbidden on school grounds, but it wasn't exactly allowed either. He knew starting a new adventure of Pony's Quest at school maybe wasn't very smart, but he never let that stand in the way of video games before. ENTER NAME OF THY HERO! ButtonMash of course! ENTER NAME OF THY PRINCESS! Huh? He needed a filly's name? He didn't want to use his mom's name, that was too weird! Well, the Princess was a big rip off of Princess Cadence (the video game character)...Princess Cadence sang, who around here sang a lot? (Which for a pony meant sang like they breathed). Hmm. Oh there was that little white filly who went to Canterlot where when all the bug ponies tried to conquer the world. She had a singing Cutie Mark, right? She was one of the Crusaders, she asked him to join their group and interrupted him at the video arcade once...singing...her name was SweetieBelle WELCOME YOUNG HERO ButtonMash, YOUR QUEST TO SAVE PRINCESS SweetieBelle BEGINS NOW! Onto to slaughtering slime with a butter knife for the next fifteen minutes unless Miss Cheerilee spotted him first! Miss Cheerilee didn't, but one of his classmates did, who happened to be Ruby Pinch, who saw the names on the games' screen, and immediately whispered to her nearby classmate, Archer, who whispered to her nearby classmate, who whispered next to her classmate, who whispered next to... + Why was everypony in class giggling? It's like one of my parents' 'grown-up' parties. I didn't have anything on my face. It's funny though. I finally have my cutie mark. It's almost surreal. I was so sure I was gonna be a designer like Rarity, then I was thinking I'd get my cutie mark being princess of the changelings. - (Dawn's Notes: Tell her she almost did?) (Noon's Notes: No.) - Whenever I have a bath, my hooves getting pruney gets attention too. Rarity has that happen to her too. She says it's because our ancestors were seaponies! Well, if changelings are real, why not seaponies? I bet they're out there waiting for us ponies to say it's alright you don't need to be afraid of us either! That's what the Changelings were really were...just needing somepony to tell them they didn't need to hide from the sun anymore. Maybe the Sea Ponies will hear about the Changelings and come right on up to the surface! I hope we get to meet them real soon! Am I still staying at Rarity's? ... It's kinda a long story. I've...I've never stayed nearly a whole year (give or take a few weeks) at her house before. Sure, I've spent days, or weeks there before, okay, months...but never ever a whole year. I'm so happy mom and dad are back. So happy. It's like a dream come true. And for the dream to come true it had to end first. I look at my parents' house, and...it doesn't feel like my house anymore. It feels like a friend's house almost. But...it's where I belong, isn't it? I love my parents, and having them back is wonderful. Maybe there was always a little part of me that was scared they'd never come back. A little part of me, that just wanted to look to Rarity, and grow up to be like her, she was that pony I was wanted to be like. My cutie mark almost feels like icing on the cake, and the whole world's been turned upside down again, or maybe I was the one who was upside down. No! Not literally...right now...maybe at recess. I was surprised at myself when I felt relieved that after a year, the house needed cleaning and reorganizing, and with the amount of junk dad had collected over the years, that was a lot to organize. And I had sooo much of my stuff at Rarity's house, and after a year, I had collected so much new stuff, like dresses and stuffed toys and props from our Cutie Mark projects. Which meant it was going to take time for me to move back in. Mom and Dad said how sorry they were that I couldn't move back into my room yet. I was sad that I was happy that I wouldn't have to move OUT of my room yet. Uh. Did just make sense? I know it's not my special talent now, but I still want so badly to help Rarity any way I can with her shop, like Spike does with Miss Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. And Rarity's Special Talent is finding gems, so maybe I can get my songs to help...somehow. It reminded me of when we practiced for our play for Princess Gaia's Festival, and we forgot some of the pages, so we suddenly found ourselves on stage with no idea what we were supposed to do next. That's how I felt now. I'd spent so long trying to get my cutie mark, and now I have it. And there was no magical transformation into an adult. I understood how much I TRULY loved to sing, but I wasn't suddenly an all-knowing adult, I was still just me, Sweetie Belle. And I could now do magic. My parents exploded at that. I mean they were so proud of me. Before I was wondering if there was something WRONG with me when I couldn't even glow or levitate. I was scared that I was, defective. That may or may not be how me and Scootaloo started being friends, I'm just...happy she learned how to fly at the same time I learned magic. Any other time we'd have been super excited, too bad we were enemies for five minutes when it happened. I may have told a few white lies of how I was taught magic...No no no they know what happened, that I was kidnapped by Chryssy and Scootaloo and Rarity rescued me. I just kinda, left out the 'becoming friends with the evil witch', part. What surprised me was when Rarity began putting ads in the paper about wanting to put together a vocal group. Big Mac was her first audition and I was blown away by how deep his pipes could go! But that wasn't what confused me. Rarity already had her second musical quartet pony. But that wasn't what was on my mind. "Rarity...if singing isn't your special talent, why do you want so badly to put together a singing group? Can I join?" "Sweetie Belle, it's not about what's JUST your special talent. My special talent is finding jewels. MINING! What does THAT have to do with dresses? I COULD HAVE been a singer Sweetie Belle, just as Applejack could have been a musician, it's a wonderful talent, but it isn't my north star. There are ponies in Ponyville who are better at singing than some, but don't have it as our special talent, but that doesn't mean it's not something wonderful to share with ponies. But I WANT to make beautiful dresses, just as Applejack...Applejack wants to tend to her farm. And Sweetie," She hugged me, "With a beautiful voice like yours, I want you to be able to shine on your own. It's your special talent, explore it for a while before deciding what you want to DO with it!" She kissed on my nose. "Finding your talent isn't the end, it's the beginning." So much had happened at once, it left my head swirling by the time we all finally got home to Ponyville. My parents were already saying how they knew some tutors I should see to hone my singing and places I could perform when I was ready. "Just because it's your special talent, dear, doesn't mean you can't improve yourself, and it's always important to improve yourself," Mom told me. Mom. So...so much had changed since I'd last seen her at Rarity's on that fateful morning I was dropped off. It feels like three years instead of one. Like suddenly everything was different. Spike and Spoon becoming our friends was something that happened over time. I'd gotten so used to looking for my cutie mark, to living at Rarity's, to not having magic, to Scootaloo not flying...The world suddenly feels so strange. On the bright side, as much as I now enjoyed Spoon or Spike's company, there was a certain freedom in being allowed to walk home by myself again, and WITHOUT wearing that itchy sweater or that big dream catcher! That was a nice silver lining! It made me skipped and sing a little song as I went along. It made feel so happy that I imagined Diamond Tiara being found, and that instead of abandoning Spoon, she chose to become our friend. After all, nopony likes to be alone. I was getting near our house (mine and Rarity's), and I realized there was this...weird shape following me. I looked behind, and saw my hoof prints in the moist ground behind me. I felt like I was remembering a dream. "H-hello?" I called out, noticing in the mist there wasn't anypony else I could see. Then there was a shape in the mist, following the way I came. The shape came closer and closer to me, I held my breath, I couldn't move. "Uh...Hi, doggie?" I said to it. It walked over, and it sniffed me for a moment. I laughed. It was just a puppy! A cute little puppy! "Ahh, who are you?" I asked scratching him behind one ear. He didn't have a collar. Did he belong to anypony? It looked at me simply as dogs tend to do. Well, I think it was a dog, but it was kinda shaped like a timber wolf but not made out of wood. And its shadow was all wiggly. "I'm Sweetie Belle," I introduced myself. After vicious Opalescence (who always seemed to be wherever Rarity didn't want me to be), this little guy was a nice change of pace. The little puppy barked happy. Okay. Maybe the last few times I brought a pet home didn't work out, but a cute little puppy with a funny shadow I found near the school all the animals seemed to be avoiding due to the new magic paper had to be alright right? "Uh, you're not evil, are you?" The puppy shook its head. "You aren't gonna bite me and turn me into a werewolf are you?" He shook his head again. "You aren't gonna steal my face are you?" He shook his head really fast. "You're not going to turn into me, then turn me into a puppy, then try to drown me, I'll escape, then you trick Apple Bloom into turning me into a puppy again and drown me for you are you?" The puppy's eyes widened and took a step back and really shook his head. "Okay!" I scooped him up with my magic and hugged him. "How'd you like to go home with me?" I held him out. He looked confused. "I promise you'll like it! Nice and warm, and...well, I'm sure Opalescence won't bother you. She's just been staying in Rarity's room since we came back. So wouldn't you like to come home with me? I bet you're hungry." The puppy looked confused again, but eventually he nodded. "Okay! I'm gonna call you...uh...well, you're all white, like a blank sheet of paper, so I'll call you Blanky, how's that sound?" The puppy looked at me funny and shrugged (no that wasn't a cringe). "Okay, Blanky! Let me take you home! I'll tell you all about it!" So I took Blanky home with me. Maybe I was a little too distracted because I bumped right into a vase at the front door (I swear that hasn't happened in months! I could walk the shop blindfolded now!), which tipped over and landed with a crash. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said. "What is? Sigh. Stay right here, I'll get the glue." Rarity trotted to the kitchen. "That wasn't supposed to happen," I whimpered. One of Blanky's ears perked up. I didn't see what he did. My eyes were on the door. Rarity was taking longer than she should have and I came in to see her working a new dress for Miss Tiara. "Rarity? What about the glue?" "What glue?" "For the smashed vase?" "Smashed vase?! Where?" "At the entry way. You told me you were getting the glue." Rarity rushed past me, looked and said. "Sweetie Belle, I know you're proud of not having any accidents. But if that was a joke, it wasn't funny." I looked to see the vase, it was perfectly fine. Huh? And there was Blanky, just sitting there innocently. "Uh, but it was broken...I swear it was. Rarity, I'm not lying!" "Maybe you bumped it and imagined things dear, or a breezie granted you a wish, at this point in my life I'll accept either. Either way, it's not broken now." "Uh, Rarity," a BIG part of me wanted to sneak Blanky off and keep him a secret from Rarity forever, or maybe for a long while so I can show I can take care of a pet (this time), but...after Canterlot, I...was just tired of hiding things. "Rarity, this is Blanky, he followed me home." "Sweetie Belle, I swear we can play with your new invisible friend later. Can you help me in the sewing room a little? Just don't touch anything unless I say so." Rarity trotted in. "Didn't she see you?" I asked Blanky. He shook his head. I went inside the sewing room with Blanky following. Rarity is great at what she does. But even she wasn't perfect. "Oh dear, that shouldn't have happened," Rarity said, as a stitch on her sewing machine went off-center, one of those one-in-a-zillion chances things. Blanky blinked, hopped onto the table, and nipped at the thread. Things blurred, and Rarity was working like the mistake never happened. I stared, then look at Blanky and stared more. Thankfully Rarity didn't notice. Then I took out my homework and whispered, "Blanky, this shouldn't exist." Blanky sniffed my homework, turned his nose up at me, closed his eyes and shook his head at me in defiance. Okay, I took out a pop quiz pointed at one of my wrong answers. "Blanky, this shouldn't exist." He still ignored me. "Oh well." So now I had a magic dog that could undo mistakes that only I could see, but only did it when he wants to. This could be fun. Blanky also wouldn't make my alfalfa vanish, as I found out. Everything I fed him Rarity seemed to forget had ever existed (though sometimes that meant she thought she forgot to feed me). Still, I wondered if I should show him to Twilight, you know, just to make sure he was safe. And the other Crusaders too, of course. But maybe...that could all wait until morning. I was tired. - Sweetie Belle slept soundly that night in the bedroom she had used for the past year, peaceful in her dreams. Things that could not be seen, heard, smelled, or touched by mortal ponies slithered into her room, windows and walls meaning nothing. Why were Sweetie's parents almost never seen? Why only her big sister? Why did she get her cutie mark just when she happened to leave Ponyville and it was hidden like stage magic under her dress? 'Ro-bot...Sweetie-Belle.' One of the things with no shape, form, or substance soundlessly hissed, creeping towards the angelic little filly. Ready to worm inside. A soundless snarl startled the no-things, one was torn to shreds and never was in an instant, the rest hissing and crying in a mad retreat, some not being fast enough and were destroyed as well. The blank wolf driving them away from the sleeping filly. It guarded over her all night, curled up on her bed. No no-thing dared approached now. + I live in a world with no consistency, changing to the whims of the hearts of those who lived there. A world of no regrets for there was always a happy outcome waiting for you even if sometimes it took the combined efforts of all your friends to get you there. Concepts like despair, hate, spite, revenge, and grudges didn't exist. We'll go for any excuse to have a party, cause they show how much we care for each other. They were special the same way a song was special. Even if there were many of them, each one was said 'you're my friend' in a different way.. I fly by on my scooter like nobody's business, and just about anything else on wheels. I have a friend who always dresses in style, she ad-libs a hat fashion show out of thin air, the five of us jump at the chance with Pinkie Pie acting as one of the judges. Our hats...a part of me right now is yelling they're ridiculous even as everypony loves them. Absurd. Delusional. Mine is a trophy with very obedient living butterflies. The rest are just as ridiculous, Cheerilee's with an open self-flipping book on top that only those around her can read. Starsong's is a top hat with a piano brim played by the little stars hanging from the top. Sweetie's has cupcakes with candles that...somehow or other form a heart when she concentrates like one of those stretchy whistles. And Toola-Roola...her's is a paint palette, she does a twirl and now the paint's a pretty feather pattern. Everyone loves them. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie debating on which one of them has to decide the winner, until they declare we all are! And I feel happy, not cheated or shorted or feel like they took the easy way out like I should. After all, we all had fun, we made our hats to reflect ourselves, what we thought was pretty, we had fun doing it, and that was the point wasn't it? And most importantly, we'd done it together. I remember the Winter Wishes Festival, the last one I think, but I feel like it happened later, even though it happened when I was little. It's weird, towards the end, or maybe the beginning, ugh, it was so confusing! Like events happened out of order, but always forward. But before...the world changed, I began to feel things that I hadn't felt before, like being angry at my big sister. Okay, so I wanted to take a LITTLE peak at the wishing star, so the star flew out of out of the box when I dropped the box, it was an accident, so the dragon Whimsy Weatherbe swooped and grabbed the wishing star and the others had to go on an adventure to rescue Twinkle Wish (that's the name of the Wishing Star by the way). It wasn't easy with me and Sweetie being the youngest. Okay. I think I've figured out I'm dreaming. But these don't feel like dreams. They feel like...memories? But they're all jumbled. But before the world changed? I somehow felt like there was somehow, more of me then there had been before. Uuugh. Okay. I'm dreaming. But what's the point of this? Can't I dream I'm a Wonderbolt with Dash instead? I bet she'd design the most dashing flight suit. Uh. Something about that sentence didn't feel right. Rainbow Dash's an Earth pony, and so am I. Wait. No. We're pegasi. And fashion isn't Rainbow's thing. But... Yes. These memories. Something's coming together. Winter Wishes Festival. Pairing up. Accidentally leaving my sister out. Everyone donating something to her ordainment for the contest. Why help the competition? But still, we were the ones who managed to forget her, I forgot my own sister, and...sigh, I let her take something from mine, ugh, she just had to take the lucky button. Of course she wins, we all gave her bits of ours. But...now that the contest is over...maybe, maybe that isn't so bad, that means it's a part of all of us...maybe. AWAKE! Okay! Check! Pegasus! Check! In my cloud bedroom! Check! This is Dash's house! Check! Butterfly Cutie mark wasn't a dream! Check! That means saving Equestria, flying, and saving Sweetie weren't dreams either! I'm a hero. Check! Cheerilee is now my teacher, not my big sister. Check. Right...Twilight told me about how the way the world used to be...I made her show me the memories I had of how the world used to be...I think trusting me with the existence of an old universe was about the only thing she could do to get me to trust her again after what she did. Maybe I should be more freaked to learn the world got changed and I used to be an Earth pony, but...nothing happens. It doesn't change what's here now. I already looked up to Cheerilee. And I can certainly fly NOW! Maybe we didn't get a 'Thank You Cutie Mark Crusaders For Saving The World' parade like I thought we would (though Pinkie invited us to the big 'We saved Equestria, AGAIN' party), but flying, and my cutie mark in the same five minutes isn't so bad! All we need now is to figure out Apple Bloom's special talent and...and what? We'll still be friends, we'll still hang out, we'll do exciting and fun stuff. I think I finally get why all the adults were saying we were getting way too wrapped up in getting our cutie marks. At least Sweetie had the idea to make Kifuko a Crusader so we can be her mentors someday. Makes me wonder if we should start getting more ponies (we tried with Button Mash before)...I wonder if she has dreams of what she was like before she got changed. Ugh...even if she's a different pony, I still can't believe a part of me would sympathize with that witch. And when Apple Bloom earns her mark, I'll be out of excuses not to have my cute-ceañera with the others...Maybe Dash'll have found my parents...maybe we can ask a couple of changelings to pretend to be them...or I'll just have to brush up on my forgery talents. I look around my room, full of the stuff I moved from the club house, and more stuff I've gotten since moving in with Dash. Before you ask, my old home in Cloudsdale is EMPTY, I don't know if it got resold or if they tore it down, either way, there is literally nothing there for me. What my parents did? I don't understand it at all. Why did they do that? I want to find them, so I can ask them, and, so I can introduce them to Rainbow Dash...I want my whole family together. I take another look at my bedroom. Feels like it's missing something. Well, I'm not getting back to sleep any time soon, so it's not like I have anything better to do. I don't know WHAT I'm doing at first, I'm just gathering stuff I have laying around, stuff given a mild enchantment so it doesn't fall through the floor. Just random junk. I guess you could call it 'stuffy stuff.' I don't have a plan, I just let my heart guide me, okay DON'T tell the others I just said that! When I say what I made, I gasped. It was the same tree ornament from my dream. Okay, not exactly like it, I didn't have the exactly same colored trinkets laying around, or the exactly same material, but it was a pinecone, and it had a button at its center, and bore feathers and ribbon. Was I scared I was gonna start losing myself to these dreams? No way. Forget it. I knew who I was, and who I am. I wouldn't have the cutie mark if I didn't. I figured I'd put it in my school bag as a good luck charm. Maybe show it to Cheerilee, ya know, just for fun? Still not feeling tired I went to the bathroom and washed up. Careful to wake up Dash. I looked at my mane. I hate to admit it, but I might need a mane cut soon. I tie up part of my mane in a small braid on one side. Did I just...? Doesn't it look like in my...oh whatever. Time to do the one thing I couldn't do in that world. Spread my wings and fly. Truth be told? In my heart of hearts, I was terrified that I'd be grounded till the day I died. That me flying was just a delusion. Sweetie felt the same way about her magic?...I never knew. Sweetie isn't the kind of filly who puts her problems on others. Come to think of it, I think Spoon said since we saved Spike she wants to learn a bit about Earth Pony Magic. I felt my Pegasus magic at the same time, so I know how that feels. I sneak outside, and check out Luna's moon and stars. Even now that I can fly, I feel like I'm breaking some mold every time I do. Not able to fly, even before I became so set on getting my cutie mark, it was always just there, and now I had the freedom I wanted for so long. I was no longer glued to the ground. Who am I kidding?! I know what I want to do! I want to fly! I dive down off Dash's house, zooming along. I twisted and spun, every motion as natural as breathing, I pierced a cloud layer, then dove back down, and up again, the wisps of cloud behind me creating a butterfly symbol, hey, Fluttershy doesn't have those copyrighted. The winds and my wings are my brush and the sky is my canvas as I dance in the clouds. A rainbow-colored streak of light zaps in and touches base on each of the points of my 'wisp drawing,' making it flash rainbows colors for an instant before I'm face to face with my closest family. "Getting in some late night flying, squirt?" she asks evenly. "Y-yeah, had some...interesting dreams, nothing bad, just wanted to clear my head a little." "Wanna talk about 'em?" "Uh, they're a little, personal. Not nightmares, promise. Just got me thinking." "I'm happy to let you stretch your wings and have your fun with today's left over clouds Scootaloo, but it's a school night, morning comes quick, and you need rest. You may have helped save everypony young filly, but you still need your sleep." I saw that 'no nonsense' look on Rainbow Dash's face, I wasn't getting out of this. I've actually gotten used to it, before it was so weird. "Alright." "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time tomorrow. Trust me, flying while half-asleep isn't good. Remember what AJ was like when she let herself get wicked tired." I chuckled. "Yeah, she was silly." "Yeah, she was. We can fly together tomorrow, but first, back to bed kiddo!" I rolled my eyes and followed behind. "Yes mom," I heard myself whisper. I don't know if Dash heard me or not. She smiled, nodded and led the way. > Chaos' Revenge > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's so dark and foggy, Ah can't see a thing. Where am Ah? "Yer asleep, Apple Bloom." "Applejack? Is that you?" "No." "But ya sound just like her." "Ah was an Applejack." "Dreams are weird." "Ya might be asleep, Bloom, but it ain't right ya think this here is just a dream. Ya might be sleepin' in yer bed, but this is very real." "That doesn't make sense!" "Ya ain't in the dream world, what happens to ya here, happens fer real. But explainin' it all ta ya ain't the point of ya bein' here." "If yer not Applejack, who are ya?" Then, like a snap of Spike's fingers, Ah was layin' face up on my bed, Ah couldn't move. It was just my bed, the smoky darkness was still all around. Then Ah was looking at an Alicorn lookin' down at me, but she wasn't an Alicorn. She had eyes like a dragon, and her coat had a dark orange tone to it. Her magic mane reminded me of a sunset. Her bardin' was all reflective and silvery with green jewels all over that looked like her eyes, her armor covered her wings too. Ah moved my eyes and saw her cutie mark was three green apples with red leafs. She was wearin' pa's hat, just like Ah wore Ma's ribbon. "My name is Nightmare Mirror. Ah was a pony named Applejack until Ah decided to stop smiln' and noddin' every time somepony lied through their teeth rather than face the truth. Ah'm not from yer world. Mine disappeared a long time ago." "But, but, Applejack! If you just wanna help ponies be honest, why are ya a Nightmare?!" "Ah told ya, Ah ain't 'Applejack' no more. Ah don't deserve to be called Applejack anymore. Stop cofusin' me with yer sister. And because Ah wasn't gonna take 'don't upset the applecart' for an answer." "But didn't ya get possessed by the Nightmare Forces?" "There is no 'Nightmare Forces.' And even if they did they can't make real Nightmares. That's just a lie they made up so Luna and Fluttershy could move along without ponies botherin' 'em. The spirits of black magic can't 'control' anypony against their will, they just service ponies who WANT to become monsters to change the world, they can't influence ponies' choices in the least, and they ain't got one say in what ya do after. They're just the benefactors fundin' a Nightmare's plans. Ah'm a Nightmare, Luna became a Nightmare, Fluttershy became a Nightmare, and it's all our own rotten fault, and everythin' we DO as monsters is our own rotten fault!" "Y-yer lyin'!" "Ah'm Nightmare Mirror, Ah only speak the truth. An' here's another truth, 'Bloom. Ah've stuck 'round here too long as is. Yer world is 'bout to change, and not for the better. There are those whose names don't matter that hate seein' ya ponies' always comin' out smellin' like a rose whenever somethin' rotten happens to ya all. There about ta fill the world with lies that are twisted up with the truth until they'll become the truth. And ya'll think them lies have always been the truth, and the world's...the world's gonna become somethin' horrible." "But, Applejack, if yer a Nightmare, Ah thought that meant ya were...I dunno, evil?" "Nightmares are monsters. We throw out everythin' inside us except one bit of us. And we're crazy...But ya know how in comics sometimes a bad guy sees somethin' so evil even they think it's horrible? Now's one of those times." Her horn glowed red, and a drop of some silverly stuff stopped floated into my view. "I'd tell ya who, but the truth is it won't change what's gonna happen, and ya'll just panic." No, it ain't some 'stuff', it was...the Truth. "Brace yerself, Ah ain't got no clue if this'll hurt or not." Suddenly mah eyes weren't moving no more, and her magic pulled on my right eyelid. "N-no." "Ah'm gonna do this whether ya say yes or no, but yer gonna say yes. Even though ya don't want ta lose yerself. Ah'm doin' this, so ya can pierce the lies that fill the world. And yer gonna see how ugly and horribles lies really are. Like Ah did. And when it's all over, yer gonna remake the world yerself. Because ya'll want to. Nightmares are hypocrites, and when it's over, ya'll won't just champion the truth, at the end darlin', ya'll MAKE THE TRUTH! Ya'll be the one!" "H-How do Ah know ya ain't the one behind the world turnin' bad? Did you make that weird magic fog?" "Ah swear on Ma and Pa's graves, Ah ain't, nor are any of my friends, cohorts, partners, or whatever else ya might call 'em, are behind that fog, or had anythin' ta do with that fog comin' about. We're as connected as Nightmare Moon is responsible for Twilight Sparkle bein' born. It ain't no plan of ours. But yer gonna be part of stoppin' it. And for that, Ah need to do this. And ya know why, Bloom?" I felt so small, everythin' she said, it held, I couldn't call any of it fake. "W-why?" "Because if Ah didn't, ya'll won't notice the world changin', and ya'll be twisted up inside into just another gritty dark piece of trash that's a mockery of everythin' yer supposed to be...and so will everypony ya love. Or ya can do somethin' to save yer friends, yer family, yer neighbors, yer classmates, and yer princesses from an army of lies. These here are the words of Nightmare Mirror, who only speaks the truth!" "...Ah wanna help my friends." "Found, found, found, you Applejack! Am I interrupting interrupting interrupting anything?" Yikes! What the-?! NIGHTMARE PINKIE PIE?! "Ah'm just about done here, Pinkie Pie. Tell RD Ah'll be back in a tick." "Okay okay okay AJ! I'll be sure sure sure to tell Dashie! Be hurry back back back! We've a got a lot do..." "Ah know." She looked me in the eye, Ah couldn't move my mouth now. "Ah hope we don't meet again, Bloom. Ah'd say Ah love ya more than anything, but that'd be a filthy lie, 'cuz Ah love truth more. Down this here path, yer gonna lose the right ta call yerself a filly....Maybe ya already lost that. Ah don't want ya to forgive me, ever," She let the drop of the truth fall in my eye. It did hurt. "YEOW!" Ah screamed, sitting up in bed, in my room. Ah had a headache, and my right eye was throbbin' something fierce! Like somepony stuck a hot poker in it! Ah brought my hooves to my face, Ah didn't feel anythin' there, but dang it hurt! Ah went to the bathroom...Mah eyes looked fine. No fancy glowing stuff. No fallin' into myself or nothin', at least the pain was fadin' fast. Ah looked out my window. No monsters. No z-zombies. No Mare In the Moon. No chaos monster. Just more of that dang fog! Maybe it WAS all a dream?...Ah can hope, can't Ah? Huh? Look at the clock, oh no Ah'm gonna be late! Rush down! Eat breakfast, say good mornin'! Got gotta do my mornin' chores before even gettin' ready for school! Can talk with AJ and Miss Twilight 'bout this later! Okay, so after a rush through everything, Ah was on my way to meetin' up with the others, and now with time to spare. Funny how things work out, ain't it? "Scootaloo," Ah asked. "What's with the braid?" "Oh this? Didn't want a mane cut, but still had to keep it out of my eyes." "Apple Bloom, Winona gets along fine with the rest of your animals, right?" Sweetie Belle asked glancing at her saddle bag. "Yeah, she knows not to bother the cows for their bridge game, leaves the sheep alone for their poker night, and we made sure she knows not to get herself hurt botherin' the pigs." "The pigs? Shouldn't they be more scared of her?" Ah told Sweetie Belle, "Pigs are NOT harmless, and they are NOT docile if ya invade their pen. They're animals, they're dangerous. Especially the males." "Come on, Apple Bloom, we helped feed your pigs once, remember? Blech. They weren't...that bad," Scoots said. "And I..." Silver Spoon spoke, "Had a dream where I got pushed into a mud hole with pigs at the train station with Diamond Tiara." "Scootaloo, Ah have a cousin who ended with broken ribs and had to go to the hospital because she wandered into a pig pen thinkin' she could just play in the mud with the pigs and they didn't like 'er invading their space. They knew we were brin' 'em food and not invadin' their turf. But ya get 'em upset, it's not pretty. Pushing another filly into a pigpen puts 'em in DANGER! Ah'd never do that." "Oh it wasn't you in my dream, Apple Bloom. I imagined you had a cousin from Manehatten called Babs Seed who did it. And she didn't push us, she scared us, I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest and...Apple Bloom?" Ah'd stopped dead n my ah track. "Wha...what did you just say?" "I said I dreamed up you had a cousin in-" "Manehatten? Babs Seed?" "So? It was just a dream and-" I grabbed her and looked her in the eyes. "But that's impossible!" "W-what is?" "AH DO have a cousin in Manehatten! Her name IS Babs Seed! But Ah've never even met 'er! Ah've never even mentioned her to any of ya! Have Ah?" Ah looked at the others who shook their heads. "Silver Spoon! How can ya dream of a cousin Ah never told ya about?! You dreamed this last night?" Her eyes went wide. Almost scared. "N-N-no! It was before the wedding! It...reminded me of things I wasn't proud of." "Don't know things you should, knowing things you shouldn't. Whaddaya think that means?" A creepy voice said. "WAAA!" We startled at the little colt that just popped out of nowhere between us. "Oh, heheheh, sorry." He gave us a sheepish grin and brushed the back of his head. "Scaring ponies is my special talent." He showed us his flank: a jack-o-lantern. "I' kinda let it slip sometimes, I'm Phobia, nice to meetcha!" he exclaimed, giving a smirk and offering a hoof. We didn't recognize him, but that wasn't weird. Foals transferred in and out of our school all the time. We each politely shook his hoof and introduced ourselves. "I"m Sweetie Belle." "Ah'm Applebloom, ya new in town?" "Naw, just unnoticed." "Sounds like Button Mash," Scootaloo said. "I'm Scootaloo." + Okay, I'm stepping in. Apple Bloom can't appreciate this next part, as a pegasus who was scared she'd never fly, I can. She knows Earth Pony Magic better than a lot of grown-ups, so the idea of not having what makes her tribe special just isn't something she knows. I noticed first this brown colt was a pegasus like me...but his wings were broken. My own wings pressed against my hard, Dash said it was rude to stare but I couldn't take my eyes off 'em. Any pegasus reading this will know exactly how I feel! Phobia followed my look to 'em. "It's alright, I don't mind," he said casually. "Life isn't fair. Crud happens...that's the truth...but it's also the truth that life is something worth fighting for...funny thing about truth? Ponies say things they think or want to be true, and if enough ponies THINK it's true, it's said to be true. Does that make it true?" "NO," Apple Bloon said sternly. "True, but remember, that truth you just spoke, isn't everypony's truth, and most ponies have no clue what they're saying not be true, they're just going by what they know. And they aren't bad for it...but the one spreading the lies might be..." "Ahem, that is enough for now." Burr, that voice is frosty. Where did she come from? It's this really pale blue unicorn lady, is she his nanny or grandma? She's wearing this hood-cloak thingie, and I can't see her eyes... + My turn, it was never as bad as with Scootaloo, but I was beginning to think I'd never be able to do magic before the wedding. Phobia's nana had a broken horn. I ran a little magic through my own horn without thinking. "Oh sorry! Got to go! This is Void! Don't worry, she's not as bad as she makes everypony think she is." "Oh, storytime. The story is 'Something Wicked This Way Trots'." "Uh...my sis don't let meh read that one, she said it was too scary for foals." "Oh, it is scary, but I love scary. And it's also a delightful story about how love can conquer evil and the pursuit of love can lead you out of the darkest of times. I think we can all learn from that, don't you?" "Is yer pa a publisher?" "Move right now," Miss Void said sternly. "Seriously, nice to meetcha! See ya later!" Then...uh, I'm not really sure, I think they teleported, Miss Void must be really good if she could teleport with that cracked horn, I think her magic color was black or really dark gray. Or the fog suddenly got so tick we couldn't see them. I really couldn't tell. Fog? Yeah. Scootaloo was flapping her wings a lot just to get it away from her. And it was getting thicker. Like, the sky was whiter than my coat! After we talked with Phobia I was worried that we were gonna be late, but the public clocks showed we still had time to spare. "Hi Sweetie Belle!" Who was that again? Oh right, Button Mash, he too young for Miss Cheerilee, and didn't care about his cutie mark. Maybe he changed his mind? He happily trotted over to me and put an arm around my shoulder. What? "How are ya doin' today?" He smiled. "Uh, I'm fine," I said, trying to be nice as I tried to gently slip his hoof off me. The others were looking at us weird too. I didn't like how he looked hurt. He pressed his ears against his head. "Um. Are you still mad about me getting brain freeze on our date and making a scene? I...I really am sorry and...you did call me still cute so I thought..." "What are you talking about? I've never been on a date with you." I asked. Was this a game? Or was there another Sweetie Belle in Ponyville...? Who looked like me? Was there a changeling going around pretending to be me? Now he looked like I had just kicked him in the stomach. "Sweetie Belle I..." His eyes misted over as he sniffed. "I'll, talk to you later?" He ran ahead to school. "Did you two have a fight?" Silver Spoon asked. "What?" I looked at Silver Spoon, she was being completely honest. "I've never been on a date with him in my life!" "Sweetie Belle, that's not nice, I know he's a lunk-head but he really does care about you. You shouldn't just brush him off after everything." I shook my head. Was I dreaming? I check. Nope, I still have my fur and mane. "Silver Spoon, I'm not joking. I've never dated him before!" "Sweetie Belle are you sick?" Silver Spoon put a hoof to my forehead, "No fever. Sweetie Belle listen to me, you and Button Mash have been coltfriend and fillyfriend since last year! Diamond and I teased you about it!" "Silver Spoon, Ah don't remember any of that." Thank you, Apple Bloom! "I don't either." Scootaloo shook her head. Silver Spoon looked at us. Looking a little hurt herself. "What are you saying? That I told Button Mash to pull a prank on you? Girls I know what I remember!" I look at my friends. And they didn't even know what to say. "Silver Spoon I...I don't think you're lying, but...I know what I remember too," I said. "But that makes no sense! We can't remember things THAT differently. And girls, I swear, I didn't have anything to do with Button Mash!" "I think we're gonna have to save this mystery for a bit later! Don't forget we've got class!" Scootaloo said. Silver Spoon reluctantly nodded. And I had the worst sense of being left out...I didn't like I had hurt somepony's feelings, but why would he and Silver Spoon think we were special friends? Did Chryssy's magic mess with my head more than I thought or something? But...that doesn't make sense if Apple Bloom and Scoots both remember it the same way! Ruby Pinch and Orange Top were outside the school house waiting for the first bell to ring. "Button Mash ran into class crying, Sweetie Belle what did you do to him?" Ruby Pinch asked. "I didn't do anything!" I blurted out. "Well, you are his fillyfriend, and I heard you were embarrassed on your latest play-date so-" "We're not special friends!" Ruby and Orange looked at each other, looking shocked. Ruby said, "It was THAT BAD huh?" "No no no, you don't understand, there wasn't any date." "He stood you up? I guess he likes his video games more than you after all." Ruby sighed. "Colts." "He didn't stand me up because there wasn't any date!" I felt like I was going crazy! Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gave me a hug. Now I felt like crying. Ruby and Orange looked a little scared of me. Not knowing what else to do, I went to my desk inside...but...my stuff wasn't there...it was...in a desk next to Button Mash who looked miserable and had his head buried in his video game, the 'game over' jingle beeping out over and over. Okay, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo knew this wasn't right, but why did Silver Spoon and everypony else seem to think it was? If this was a prank, I really didn't get the joke. Not even Silver and Diamond at their worst would've done something this cruel. And poor Button really did look heart broken! Who was the prank even on?! "Twist? Ya okay, why aren't ya with Truffle?" I turned my head, the others were talking to Twist. I hadn't noticed with this weirdness but...Twist was sitting by herself, she looked lonely. And Truffle, was sitting on the other side of the room with a happy Tootsie Flute draping one of her forelegs around him. Neither of them were even looking Twist's way. "Why would I be?" Twist asked. "Because you two are special friends, duh," Scootaloo said. "That's not funny Scootaloo!" "Huh?" Scootaloo tilted her head. "Wait, you're not..." Apple Bloom looked like she had a little headache, I know how those are. "Not Truffle's special friend?" "Of...of course I'm not, Tootsie Flute is, she has been since last Hearts and Hooves day, maybe you were too busy giving Miss Cheerilee her giant heart to notice but...yes, she is. I'm not." Apple Bloom's headache looked like it was getting worse. Why was she covering one eye? "But...that ain't true." + "Bon Bon," Lyra said, "I have something to confess." "Yes?" "I'm really, SECRETLY A CHANGELING!" Green flame, and Lyra revealed her true form. "What? But I'M secretly a changeling!" Bon-Bon shifted into her changeling form. June Bug stuck her head through a window, "Well that's a surprise! Cause I'M secretly a changeling too!" And she revealed herself as such. Moth looked at her family, feeling very confused and conflicted. "Why did none of you bring this up before?!" + A royal guard walked into the room set aside for the slowly recovering Neatly Spell, with Prince Blueblood there along with Arcane Spell for her morning visit with her healing sister. "Prince Blueblood, a Miss Twinkle Sharkle is here to see you, she's wondering why you've constantly avoided appointments with her." Prince Blueblood's brain threaten to shut down at the combination of words that came out of the guard's mouth. "Twilight Sparkle wants to see me?" "No no no sir, Twilight SHARKLE." "Dear I'm not going to be jealous, it's just business," Arcane Spell said. Prince Blueblood felt dizzy. + Dinky hadn't arrived at school yet. She was still in her home's kitchen. She was sitting at the table, looking between two identical pegasi. Neither one about to let their precious muffin off with an 'impostor' who was clearly a shape shifting plastic pony in disguise. "Muffin, it's me! Your mommy! Ditzy Doo!" "No Muffin! I'm me! Your mommy! Derpy Hooves!" "Muffin you can tell right?! It's really me!" "Muffin, don't listen to her, I'm me!" "Okay, joke's over, I opened the TARDIS and found gardening tools inside and the inside as big as the outside, so where did you girls move my real- GALLOPING GALLIFREY!" "DOCTOR! LOOK OUT! SHE'S AN ALIEN! Quick! Zap us both! Hey!" They shouted together. "Dear, we're hom-" said a third walleyed grey Pegasus and a second brown Earth Pony walking in. These ones the opposite gender of their counterparts. "...Since when did I have a daddy?" Dinky asked. + There was a heavy slamming on Fluttershy's door that morning. If a pound could sound angry, that's what it would have sounded like. Fluttershy pulled herself from bed, ugh, was her mane longer? She opened the door to find an angry bear in a vacation shirt looking very cross with her. "So what's the big deal?! I trust you and Rainbow Dash to look after my cave, while I'm playing volleyball at the beach and collecting sea-shells, and you never show!" Then ANOTHER BEAR pushed the first one aside and said, "Hey! No! They were gonna watch my house while I was while I'm playing with seashells at the beach and collecting volleyballs, and they never showed!" "Who do you think you are?" "I'm Harry!" "No, I'm Harry!" The Flutters fainted. + Applejack, had finished her workload for the minute, and turned things over to Big Mac (her big brother and her had come to the compromise after AJ's workaholism nearly made her work herself to death, practically poisoned plenty of ponies, overpropelled a pegasus, and terrorized bushels of brand-new bouncing baby bunnies). Their tenant flocks had already produced this month's quota of wool and milk, and Fleece and Daisy Jo were asking for their cut of the profits. AJ didn't want to think about what new lopsided contracts Flim and Flam would have written up for the flock and cows if they'd gotten Sweet Apple Acres. If they'd actually bothered to keep them on, since the brothers seemed to be in it for the money on apples, not on wool and milk. AJ took a minute to read through the magically self-updating copy of the Foal Free Press. AJ hadn't wanted to see the little school paper ever again after the misery it had caused her family before, but...they had been given a free test drive of the paper, and a quality control promise that everything that was printed in the paper was true. And Cheerilee asked ponies not to judge the NEW foals in charge of the paper for the trouble caused by the foals who were no longer working on the paper. Applejack's eyes bulged as she read the articles. "This...this here is all hogwash! This makes what 'Bloom and her friends printed look like a love letter to everypony in Ponyville! Why Ah outta! This is...this is like somethin' out of some trashy horror movie RD would watch! Who wrote this slop? Ah'm gonna pull 'em by their ears and tell their parents what big fat liars they are!...But...that there's impossible, uuuugh." Applejack lowered the paper, feeling sick to her stomach. Her eyes laid eyes on several empty bottles of hard cider of the table she knew hadn't been there a moment before. Her head was spinning, she felt her brain drowning in booze. Her legs fell out from under her as she fell on the floor. "B-Big Mac!" She cries out, the world above her wouldn't stop spinning. Her big brother rushed in. "Oh no, ya over did it again." Applejack knew she couldn't have heard him right. "N-no, not again, it's not-" "Shush, ya just relax AJ, let me just lay ya on the couch...and ya can just sleep this off." "N-no, can't, don't wanna-" AJ felt herself fall into a whirl pool of unconsciousness. + Vendetta Mask (he changed his name and cutie mark regularly) knew it! He knew he knew it! He had been right! He had always been right! So what if Mr. Rich had fallen under the sway of the conspiracy and refused to let him share the truth with his daughter? It was clear her believing the truth was why the Alicorn had her silenced! They likely had the stallion eliminate her himself to prove his devotion. So what if only one little foal's news paper was the only one who'd print the truth? He was finally getting his message out there! Ponies were finally reading it! He did wonder what the pink filly without a shadow or reflection was doing in his apartment (he always kept his doors and windows locked and teleport proofed). She looked very very familiar, but for reason, his mind couldn't connect with who was standing before him, with what he was trying to remember. "You've done a very good job at speaking your message, it's been an honor for the Foal Free Press to spread your theories." "They aren't theories! They're the truth!" "Yes...yes they are...and, I actually am sorry, but you see, like most conspiracy theorists, you forgot to ask yourself one important question." "Which is?" "If the nation we live in, is so corrupt, so ruthless and without moral, and perfectly willing to silently remove anypony who opposes their will...how have you been speaking this message in public for years?" A dozen literally-faceless identical unicorn mares in black suits promptly busted down the door and dogpiled him, and began hitting him with door knobs. "You were an intense teacher," she said, "Too bad you could never accept ONE theory." "WHAT THEORY?" "That you could possibly be wrong. But don't worry, you're completely right now. Enjoy being right." + "You know Apple Bloom," Ruby Pinch said helpfully, coming over to the farm filly, taking her attention away from Twist. "My mom got help with her problem and is better now, maybe your sister should get help too." "What are ya talkin' about?" It took all of Apple Bloom's maturity not to say 'the hay' in there. "Oh, I'm sorry, I know it's not nice to talk about it," Ruby Pinch said sounding genuinely apologetic. "But if they could help my mommy, maybe they can help your big sister." "Ruby, Ah honestly, don't know whatcha mean." Ruby looked left and right, then leaned in and whispered, "Uh, ya know, about your big sister, um...liking cider way too much?" "Say wha'?" Apple Bloom felt her brain break. "Apple Bloom, you shouldn't pretend, I did, I know it's hurts but...but mommy got better and so can she," the other filly pleaded. "My sister doesn't have a cider problem!" Apple Bloom shouted a little bit too loud. She looked around, seeing foals looking at her with pity. Except for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle who were as confused as she was. Twist and Silver Spoon sadly shook their heads. "No," Apple Bloom whispered. "Hey, Dash has never said anything about Applejack drinking too much cider." "And whenever Rarity complained about Applejack, she never mentioned that either." "Yer sister complains about my sister?" "Uh! For a long while she hasn't!" Sweetie Belle said quickly. "Apple Bloom, over half the town knows it," Silver Spoon said. "That's dumb! How could...how could Applejack be like that if she's managin' the farm?!" Apple Bloom felt her blood pressure rise. "Doesn't your big brother take care of it?" "They work together! Ah work with 'em! We're a family! The farm is a family effort!" "Apple Bloom, calm down," Silver Spoon said. Ruby Pinch politely took several trots back, recognizing now WASN'T the time to talk about this. Apple Bloom growled. This wasn't right!...Like...Like Sweetie Belle and Button Mash. Had their time traveling had some time-delayed effort? Or did they slip into some parallel universe again and this universe's versions of them into theirs? Were they having a shared dream? Maybe they were in some buggy virtual reality machine like in that play? Scootaloo noticed it first. She fluttered over to Archer, "Hey, mind if I borrow that?" "Sure, I was about done anyway." Archer hoofed Scootaloo her copy of the Foal Free Press. Scoots fluttered back over to her friends (a part them distantly thinking it was odd the school bell STILL hadn't rung). "Brace yourselves." She showed it to the others. If Apple Bloom was a flower and her bow her petals, it would had fallen off from wilting from what she read. "This is nuts," she whispered. APPLE-FARMER CAN'T HOLD CIDER AGAIN "Let me guess, none of you remember that either," Silver Spoon said reading their faces. She wondered if her friends had been hit by an false-memory spell or something...she couldn't help feeling her friend's predicament felt familiar. Where had she seen something like this before? "'Cause it didn't happen," Apple Bloom said this time keeping her voice down. There was another article titled: TOOTSIE FLUTE AND TRUFFLE, REAL LIFE HEARTS AND HOOVES DAY SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP Apple Bloom saw the paper was printed today. "Twist, did you read the Foal Free Press today?" "No," Twist replied. There was also a whole bunch of guest articles talking about evil conspiracies keeping stallions and earth ponies down, but they all went over Scootaloo's head. They reminded her of the horseapples the Changelings had used to justify what they did. Scootaloo caught a look at Rumble the pegasus colt, normally the colt was the best little athlete the school had, now he looked a little pudgy, staring into space. There wasn't any article about Rumble. But Scootaloo shuddered about an article about his BIG BROTHER Thunderlane. It was titled: 'How Many Mares Can A Stallion Do In One Night If A Stallion Could Do, Would Do, Mares?' Scootaloo wondered what that meant, and decided she was better off not knowing and didn't read further. There seemed to be a similar article about Alula's big sister Cloud Kicker on the next page, Scoots didn't even look! "Anything in there about me having Button Mash for a special friend?" Sweetie Belle asked. "...No." Scootaloo then felt a bad thought and skimmed again. "And there's nothing about me tying up part of my mane either. Girls..." Scootaloo felt sick to her stomach. "You need to see the by-line for these articles at the bottom." + The colt Lickety-Split was not at school. He was holding his head, ignoring the pounding of his mother's hoof on his locked door. To him it sounded distant, muted. Dulled. Besides him was the free copy of the magical Foal Free Press. On one page, was a picture of a mare known to Ponyville mostly as Barking Mad on one side, and a poorly done doctored photo of a were-beast version of the same mare on the other. His bedroom, and that of his mother's as well, now had claw marks on the walls. He couldn't help feeling scars on his skin trying to exist. 'It's not true. It's not true. It's not true. It's not true. Grandma was recovering. Grandma was recovering. The doctor's said that she was on the road to being herself again. Miss Fluttershy was helping her! Grandma RECOGNIZED ME when me and mom last visited! This isn't. This isn't. This isn't! Grandma isn't a monster! This isn't. This isn't. Celestia help please!...' + Zecora felt herself suffering one horrible headache after another this morning. And she had found the strangest of items in her collection, there were her leeches yes, but also eye of newt, zombie-powder, toadstools, and timber wolf fangs. She found herself cackling at the thought of the undead ponies of Sunnytown and what they had done to innocent ponies. And why did she look like herself from when she dressed up for last Nightmare Night?! (Her first one welcomed in Ponvyille). And felt hungry at the idea of foals in her, oh Celestia! "She's an evil enchantress, Who does evil dances. When you look in her eyes, she'll put you in trances. And what will she do? She'll cook up an evil brew, And gobble you up in a big tasty stew, sooooo Watch out!" + Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake brawled their eyes out as they were pulled further and further apart. Pumpkin with mommy and Pound with daddy, the toddlers not understanding why their parents were going in different directions with sad looks on their faces. Pumpkin Cake wailed and her horn glowed, the Cakes were teleported back together. There! Now everything was alright! No! Why were they walking away again? Doctors suggested against using a seal on a baby foal's horn to deal with magic surges, saying it could cause side effects on their long term magic growth. Otherwise the Cakes would have put one on her. "It's...it's okay Pumpkin, you'll, you'll see your brother again soon, we're just...going out for some new treats." Mrs. Cake lied as the two adults looked at each other sadly. The broken couples' thoughts echoed each other. 'I don't know what went wrong. We were so happy. They're still the only pony I could ever want as my very special somepony. Why did this has to happen?' + "Lock me in here!" Princess Celestia commanded in the Royal Canterlot Voice. "And ignore all orders to release me! That is a order from your Princess!" The Solar Guards looked at each other confused. "PLEASE!" Fear in the voice of the most powerful pony in the world. "Do not let me out or anypony enter, especially Twilight Sparkle! IGNORE ALL MY COMMANDS UNTIL THE FOG PASSES! OR I'LL BANISH YOU TO THE MOON!" Horrible images swelled up inside Celestia's mind, feelings rising like a tide threatening to drown her. Each more obscene and deprived than the last! She felt like she was drowning! 'Dissy...' She found herself thinking as her guard numbly obeyed her commands. 'Is this what it felt like for you? When Discord devoured you? Wiped you away? Pulled you under where all you could do was scream?' She dived into her bathroom and gave herself an Arctic frigid cold shower, struggling to maintain self-control for a little bit longer. She magically created several golden chains with the density of a dwarf-star that she anchored to the floor and placed around herself, but she feared even this wouldn't be enough. That was when her chains were reinforced by a shape of magic she hoped to never seen again. She did not know who it was, but she knew what it was. As she felt her clarity slipping, and impulses not her own infesting her flesh and blood brain, she called out. "Why help me?" 'Believe it or not, I hate those flank-clowns too. And I respect you wanting to stay loyal to your subjects. Loyalty is all I am.' Celestia barely got a 'Thank you," to the enemy of her enemy before she gave out a last shudder. She duly looked at the chains holding her, feeling they were not a part of this reality, she casually tried to break them, but found they would not. This was kinky, but not the kind to enjoy by herself with. She called out to her guards in a sultry voice, "Guards! Forget everything I just said. Bring Twilight Sparkle to me at once for some of our private lessons!" No! Please! Don't! Twilight! The obedient guards were about to comply, when like chains around their necks they were reminded of their Princess' orders to keep their princess within and not to let any inside, and that it would not be the loyal thing to disregard her warnings. Princess Celestia was not pleased that her guards were not obeying her. Oh well, she began to rub herself against her bindings, thinking of Twilight Sparkle and her other sweet ones. Please...my little ponies...survive… + Pipsqueak wasn't going to school. He was at home with his parents. Moonlight had shown up to walk with him to school, when she had fallen on her side and began convulsing. Pip's family realized in dismay they had no idea where Moonlight's family lived. Moonlight knew, how everypony in town knew her as the foal who was Pip's best friend, a little strange perhaps, but that was all she was. She didn't have any Alicorn-like powers, that would be just silly. Yes. She was just Pip's friend, nothing more. No! + In Princess Luna's room, a Windigo wailed about the lack of hate around to feed it. And there was an Alicorn the size of a normal pony with a blue mane devoid of stars...Every time she tried to form thoughts, her emotions and mind turned to how mean and unfair her big sister was, and how she had kept her imprisoned against her will ever since coming back to keep all the power to herself and had banished her to keep her quiet about Equestria sordid past, and she just kept crying and crying and crying in-spite of herself. + "But that's impossible!" Apple Bloom shouted, "That's not truth at all!" Her eye felt like it was on fire. The other students shushed them. "This is a really bad joke right?" Sweetie Belle whimpered reading the by-line. "We didn't write any of this!" Scootaloo snarled in righteous fury reading the name at the bottom. -Gabby Gums. "It's a lie, it's all a lie!" Apple Bloom said to herself. Apple Bloom raced up to her teacher. "Miss Cheerilee!" "Apple Bloom class is about to-" "This is all fake! We didn't write any of this!" "Your names aren't on there." "Yes it is! Gabby Gums!" "You'll have to ask the news club after school Apple Bloom, I didn't pick the name." "But everypony's gonna think we did write all this! This is horrible! You can't let this happen!" "Apple Bloom you're causing a disruption. I understand why you're upset, I truthfully am as well, but I promise I had no idea about this and wouldn't have approved, now PLEASE calm down, you're causing a scene, and it won't get a recant done faster." "How about right now?" "Class is just about to start! None of the news club have come in today." "YES THEY HAVE! There's...where's...Tootsie? She was just here!" "She said ...something about...being sick, I think..." "Miss Cheerilee are you okay?" "Just a headache. And I'm sorry, but she's already left." "Sure convenient." "Yes it is, I'll be sending a note to her family and the families of the other club members and see who this morning has been using school equipment. Now PLEASE sit down! Or I'll have you sit down." + = School Days -Persona 1 = My eyes were taken off Apple Bloom and Cheerilee when I noticed a colt and filly both Pipsqueak's age going through my saddlebag! That was a gift from Dash you jerks! "Hey!" I said, I tried grabbing my bag back back but the filly slipped through my hoof like she made out of Pinkie Pies. "That's mine!" I said. "It is yours," said the foal plainly standing aside not doing anything. "And it's against the rules to take things that aren't yours." "But it's got lots of interesting stuff in it!" The white and red haired filly giggled rummaging through my stuff. They were both Earth ponies, but she kept hoping out of my grip like she was the one with wings. I looked around but nopony else seemed to notice two kindergarteners in the class room, or me complaining. "And it's my stuff!" "Are you sure it's your stuff?" "Yes I'm sure!" "Are you really really really sure?" She smiled at me straight in the face. She reminded me of Pinkie Pie when she first met a pony in Ponyville. Almost annoyingly happy just to meet somepony. "Yes I'm really really really sure!" "Including this?" She pulled out the pinecone, and fuddled with it like it was a new toy. "Be careful with that!" "So it's really important?" "Yes!" "You shouldn't play with things that aren't yours," said the colt. "It's against the rules." "Okay, you play with it," No! She tossed it to her friend who caught it easily. "So why is this important to you?" "Because it's a reminder of a friend." "Just a friend? Only a friend?" "Okay! I guess she's family too! Kinda! It's complicated!" "Feelings are always complicated, it's what makes them special." "No they aren't! Sometimes it's just a matter of what you feel! And I feel that's important!" "Good. Then you should be careful not to lose it," He, stuck a hook-eye on it and slipped a little bit of thread through it faster than I could move and hopped right onto my back, ugh! And he placed it around my neck. "If it's really there for somepony you care about, then you shouldn't take it off except for them," said the colt said. The filly closed in on the pinecone again, I pulled it out of her hooves as she tried to grab it. I had a strangest feeling of being given a taste of our own medicine on our night of Fluttershy looking after us. "I bet there are lots of nice feelings in that pinecone!" "I'm not letting you break it open to find them!" I said. "Oh silly filly! You don't need to break something open to get the feelings inside!" She grinned at me. "Who are you calling silly?" I asked, though I admit, what she said made me have flashbacks to the whole Wedding mess and the Changelings learning that. "Everypony's silly sometimes! Except the really silly ponies who are always serious!" She gave a giggle to the colt. "I am not always serious, I have a sense of humor." "I know! Meant like some of your friends!" "...That is true." I felt my head hurt. "But you shouldn't take that pendant off unless it's for the pony it's important for," the colt said. "If you're sure yer feelin's are real!" "Yes, they are!" "Then you oughta remember those feelings," the colt said, "Real feelings can't be faked, real feelings don't just go away. On the other hoof, feelings don't care how they got made, it's your choices that make those feelings real." "Even if the world is remade, what's inside hearts don't just go poof!" The filly said. "True feelings can pierce anything!" I tilted my head. "What? That makes even less sense." "Feelings make their own sense." The filly smiled so annoyingly at me. She gave me my saddlebag back. There was nothing damaged or missing inside. "You didn't break anything?" "No way! That'd make you sad." "The rules say we oughta be going now," said the colt, "We aren't in this class." "Aww!" cried the filly. Then she smiled at me. "It was nice to see you again!" I blinked. "We've met before?" She giggled like the adults at a play seemed to when there was some joke I was too young to get happened. "You wouldn't remember, it was a long time ago. Bye-bye!" The colt's expression hadn't changed once as he politely bow and trotted out the door while the filly hopped out the window...which I didn't even know could open!...Maybe she was related to Pinkie Pie? "And that's why Princess Celestia is really Rainbow Dash's mother. Scoots? Are you even paying attention?" "Wait, what?! Silver Spoon! As awesome as that would be, I know it's not right! I've seen pictures of her family, Celestia's not in it!" "She's obviously adopted." "Then why does the dad in the picture look like her?!" "You said dad, not mom. Scootaloo calm down, you're getting worked up, I thought you'd think it would be great your idol is a demi-goddess." "Because I know it's not true! Just like everything else that we've heard today!" "Scoots, I'm not trying to trick you!" "...You're our friend, right?" "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" "...I just had to check....nothing has made sense all day..." "Like you heroically saving Sweetie Belle from a wicked witch and getting your cutie mark and learning to fly all the same time? And when did you put on that pendant?" "I mean nothing makes sense like...things I know are right aren't right...it's more like when we ended up in that other Ponyville, it's like this isn't the same Ponyville we went to sleep in last night..." Her question finally hit me. "Oh...you didn't see the little foals?" "Well there's you, me, Sweetie-" "I meant the preschool herd!" "No. What other Ponyville? Scootaloo, are you girls feeling okay? Maybe you all caught a fever or something? Maybe you should all go home for the day." Silver Spoon put the back of her hoof to my forehead. "Silver, don't you remember? Cutie Mark Crusaders time travelers? The other Ponyville? That crazy dead universe ruled by that D__t guy?" "Oh right! I REALLY try not to think about that one." "Well right now I feel like I'm in something like that...Like we just stepped into some bizarro world...Can you honestly say that sounds weirder than anything that's already happened to us?" "No. But it wouldn't be the first time you came down with dementia." "Dash's cooking has improved a LOT since then! And if it WAS that, then why would me, Apple Bloom, AND Sweetie all have the exact same hallucination?" "Please don't hate me for this but...ever heard of Folie à deux?" "Say what?" "Uh...one of you went nuts, and drove the other two nuts?" Silver Spoon offered meekly, not wanting to upset her friend further. "And when would we have had the CHANCE to do that? We only saw each other for the walk over here before we noticed any of this crazy stuff. The only other time we all saw each other was yesterday, and you were with us, were we acting crazy then?" Silver Spoon shook her head. "This is kinda more articulate than I'm used to from you, Scootaloo." "Ugh...sorry, all this craziness is making me have to be logical!...And Silver, somepony is using the Gabby Gums' name in the paper...I agree with Apple Bloom. If nothing else is wrong, that IS something for the three of us to worry about...what if they think we've gone back to being Gabby Gums? Even if we are just hallucinating or something, that IS something for us to worry about!" Silver Spoon shivered. "You're very right about that." "Silver, I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it...You have to admit, there's something fishy about Cheerilee letting somepony use the name Gabby Gums in the school paper AGAIN after what happened. That's not like her, is it?" "Maybe she just didn't see it until now? I didn't." Applebloom nodded remembering Miss Cheerilee had said. Silver continued. "And she's just waiting until after class to deal with it so it doesn't become a big deal and she didn't want you three to worry?" Sweetie finally picked up on the conversation. "But why didn't she watch them more closely? After what happened with Diamond Tiara, I thought she was going to keep a closer eye on the paper." "Would you think Featherweight, Shady Daze, or Alula would ever do anything like this?" Silver asked. Cheerilee made a brief cough. "Apple Bloom, now I think you, Scootaloo, and Sweetie are quite upset. Please go outside for some fresh air until I come for you. You can share notes with Silver Spoon, Twist, and...whatever notes Button Mash might take...please." Silver looked concerned to her friends. "...Maybe it'd help clear your heads...or figure out whatever's going on," she said, somewhere between a lie to make them take good advice and genuine fear just maybe there was something wrong with her and not them. With all the craziness that had happened, the silver filly couldn't entirely just discount her friends' worry or her own. + AK Yearling had come to Ponyville, getting an unmarked letter saying that the Golden Oak's Library had a deceptively diverse collection of books, including original prints penned by Walter Trot himself, the original adventure story novelist. AK Yearling's clubmates had said how Walter Trot colored history far too fancifully to its hard realities, but Yearling felt there was nothing wrong with that...it showed ponies how those times SHOULD HAVE been. What was wrong with romanticizing things a little bit? Wasn't that part of what made fiction so well liked? That it didn't NEED to be true to life? She intended to meet up with Rainbow Dash once there. It wouldn't be too hard, from what she'd heard Ponyville was a place where everypony knew everypony. But after arriving off the train she had fallen ill and had checked into what just vaguely passed for Ponyville's only Bed and Breakfast (with how small a town it was, she was surprised it had such a thing at all), not feeling serious enough for a trip to the local hospital. Even if it was home to legendary holy healer Redheart, the descendant of the divine holy healer Sweetheart. Both who could heal with a touch. One thing was for sure, looking out her window, she wasn't going anywhere flying in this fog. Not unless she wanted a broken wing like Daring Do in the Sapphire Statue (she unfortunately wasn't so able to handle such an injury). At least she had the newest Daring Do to read. "Awkward Kindness Yearling." Yearling turned and yelped at the pony with the maze cutie mark suddenly in her wrong. "Awkward Kindness Yearling. I'm afraid you won't be reading Walter Trot today." Yearling didn't feel as shocked she should have. "You again...I met you on the train to Canterlot...before the Royal Wedding." "Yes...and I made you a promise...your heart and belief will be needed soon. But right now, you need to be a 'nobody' a little longer, sleep, so those who now hunt protectors of the world look over you." Yearling fell back asleep on her bed, cuddling her Daring Do book. "Sweet dreams...I wish I could say a brighter day awaits you when you wake up..." + Nurse Red Heart's head hurt, but she couldn't let that get in the way. She had an important job. She had inherited her ancestor's healing touch and she intended to use it. Something without scent, sound, mass, or shape slunk towards her, rumor of a nurse who drugged and mercy killed her own patients, who kept a handsome stallion prison in his hospital bed, trying to worm inside the nurse, to follow the first one that already had. A Pegasus's green hoof landed on her shoulder. 'Choose you own fate.' For a moment, Nurse Red Heart rippled, a green magic field forming around her before it became transparent. The No-thing tried to slink into her, but bounced off unseen like a fly hitting a window. A green hoof stomped down on it, silently obliterating it. Red Heart blinked, turning to the panting stallion next to her. He was a green pegasus with a mohawk, his Cutie Mark chains breaking. From the look of it, he'd been run ragged today. "Are you alright sir?" The green stallion looked out a window, only his eyes seeing more of the No-Things beyond counting. And too many ponies, and only one of him. He was surprised Red Heart hadn't been at the top of Umbra Breeze's list. "Oh! Me? Yeah... I have an important job to do and been running here and there to get it done in time. Gotta help some ponies nopony looks at." 'It's why they CAN help.' More things unseen swarmed on her, bouncing off her like rain. "Do you need help?" Remembering drunk off he flanks Applejack running around town after Discord telling ponies what they needed to hear, wait did that even make sense? "Nah, just a little winded," he replied, catching his breath. "Maybe you should take a break. I have a dear friend who nearly worked herself to death once." "I can't, I'm the only one who's...special talent can do this," the pegasus panted, wiping sweat off his brow. "If I don't do it, it won't get done...and it's kinda something important to a lot of ponies. Including me." "...As a healer, I can appreciate that." "Gotcha...So you like being able to heal ponies?" "Of course." "And you'd want healing hooves whether you had them or not?" "Yes…?" "It's what you choose?" For a moment, Red Heart felt like any fog in her brain was lifted. For one moment, she felt a sense of complete clarity and freedom. "Yes, I would." The pegasus gave a tired grin. "Good...do what you choose to do...now if you excuse me, I gotta jet...places to be." Red Heart blinked, seeing the Pegasus dash out. "I hope he'll be alright...I think he was beginning to show signs of mana drain." + "Hey Button!" "Hey Phobia, thanks for that Alpha Gold Banished Or Alive. I told other ponies about how a good game story always has a chance for the heroes to win." "You're welcome. And thank you Button. But I think you hurry on home to your mother now." "But I can't just ditch class." "I'm sorry Button. You're a good kid. But you really should go home to your mom right now." "But I really should go home to my mom right now." The colt stuck his game back in his bag and ran out of the room. "I'm sorry Button." The broken-winged pegasus trotted out as well, unnoticed by all. + Ruby Search of Sunny Town in the Everfree, felt it, something in the very air had changed. In her thousand years as a ghost, trying to bring her family back from their madness that had turned them into murdering monsters, she'd only felt something like this once before: when The Chaos Bringer was up and about. But this was worse, chaos was SOMETHING, this felt like, NOTHING masking it's scent as something! The very magic of Everfree itself shuddered. And her neighbors and friends, thanks to Miss Fluttershy and others hard work, had begun to recognize their sins, they felt it too. Something in the very magic of Everfree itself had shuddered at a wrongness in the world. It was as if the world itself was rejecting something, and failing. + Inside the school basement, Shady Daze and Featherweight looked at each other in stun faced horror. They looked at the stories that had been sent out to the readers this morning... "Did you takes these pictures?" Featherweight shook his head. A feeling of dread went through his mind when it occurred to him that he'd not LENT his camera to anypony either. "And I know I didn't do the layout for these stories!" "GOOD MORNING EVERYPONY!" Tootsie Flute trotted in, looking like it was the most bright and happy day in history. "Tootsie!" Shady Daze said, "Did you see what got sent out this morning?! It's horrible! Somepony used the Gabby Gum alias and printed stories that...I don't even GET half of them!" The young colt said, his innocence gratefully shielding him from the truly worst of the worst pieces. "They're awful!" Feather Weight took a pencil in his mouth and wrote a question. 'Do you know who the new Gabby Gum is?' "Yeah! This new colt or filly isn't just nasty, I think they're crazy! The first Gabby Gums wasn't this mean!" "Colt or filly?" Alula laughed as the pegasus filly trotted in behind the unicorn filly, sharing the unicorn's gleeful expression that made the scene all the more surreal. "Don't be silly Shady Daze, everypony knows Gabby Gums is THREE ponies!" "A unicorn!" Tootsie said still smiling. "A pegasus." Alula said. Shady didn't believe what he was hearing. "Alula, you...you . .. YOU WROTE THESE with Tootsie?! How could you? You're...you're not a bad pony! Neither of you! We've been FRIENDS ever since you came on board! Was it all an act? Don't you know Miss Cheerilee is gonna suspend you for a year when she sees this?! And you remember how the town reacted last time! WHY Alula? Why Tootsie?" "We ARE friends." Tootsie giggled. "We're just taking the Foal Free Press to it's ultimate greatness!" She struck a pose. "And they've done so very well. Very well indeed." Umbra Breeze trotted in, looking like a pegasus through the eyes of Featherweight. "You! We're gonna tell Miss Cheerilee on you!" Shady Daze declared. "You can't think what they printed is good! Alula! Tootsie! Whatever you think you wrote wasn't what got printed! You two would never write stuff this mean!" Umbra Breeze said nothing, only looking at the foals without a trace of empathy, looking down on them like they were not even people, like they were animals. His shadow began to spread through the room, the feathers lengthening and twisting like tentacles. "Buried deep in every ponies are nasty little things they WANT to do," Alula said, "But the rules say they can't. But if everypony agrees to do those nasty little things, are they nasty anymore? Or just fun things the stiff rules wouldn't let them do before? The Foal Free Press is gonna help ponies see they don't need to hide or lock away those little things they all want to do!" "Alula! Are you even listening to yourself!?" Shady Daze said, there wasn't any anger in his voice at all. It was dismay, dread, and a trace of empathy. "That's all nonsense!" "Please, call me Princess Animatia Erroria." Shady and Featherweight's jaws dropped. "Don't worry, Shady," Tootsie said, "I didn't get it either at first. But our new Editor, Alula, and Mr. Umbra Breeze explained everything. Everyponies believes what they want to believe. And giving ponies what they want is a good thing, that's what it means to be a pony. But we've got lots and lots of work left to do!" "I'm telling Miss Cheerilee right now!" "You'll have to wait a little bit." Alula said, "There's somepony VERY IMPORTANT that I need to introduce you to first." No one noticed Featherweight trot back with ninja like silence to one of the windows, that only his skinny frame could really fit through. He hated leaving Shady Daze...but a feeling of dread and fear in the back of his mind told him if he didn't escape, what needed telling wouldn't either. "Who?" Shady Daze heard himself ask. "Shady, remember?" Tootsie said, "Gabby Gum is THREE ponies. A pegasus, a unicorn, and an Earth Pony. Well, part Earth Pony!" "It's a time to celebrate!" Alula said as she, Tootsie, and Umbra Breeze all politely stood aside as a third filly entered the room possessing both horn and wings. "Because our true editor-in-chief has returned." + "Okay, crazy and rotten stuff happened to us, so why are we the ones who got sent out of class?" I asked my feathers ruffled. "I wanted out of there," Sweetie Belle said. "I couldn't stand looking at that paper OR Button Mash! It was like whoever wrote it just wrote the most horrible things they could think of!" "Yah mean like we did?" Apple Bloom asked, pinning her ears. "But...we weren't THAT bad!" Sweetie Belle whimpered. "Okay, look," I said. "We're not Gabby Gums this time, and something REALLY weird is going on...and considering we just got back from saving the world from shapeshifting bug ponies, that's saying something." "Please don't call them bugs." "Not now, Sweetie," I pleaded. "What you choose to call them is meaningless, they are, what they are, what names you label upon them will not change what something is. A rock will always be a rock." Whoa! Did it just get chilly? Hey. "Miss Void?" Sweetie Belle said, looking at the old mare, her hood still up, she wasn't even looking at us, she was looking at the ultra-foggy sky. I mean, everything was foggy, burr! We should have worn scarfs today! Makes me wish Sweetie still had hers! I had to flap my wings just to keep from walking into the stuff! "That is the name you call me by," she said, her voice was more chilly than the fog, but at least it felt like it BELONGED. "Where's Phobia?" Sweetie asked. "Doing whatever he wants, like the brat always does, no matter how I try to discipline him." "You sure he'll be okay? With...you know, those wings?" I asked, trying to be respectful. I was a pegasus. If there was ONE thing in the world I know was a touchy subject, that was it. "You shouldn't worry about him. Listen to me and understand, and know what I say is truth." And just like that, everything she was saying was being stamped into my brain like facts! "The world is about to be undergo a terrible unnatural change. You have already seen the forerunners: "Things you know not to be true, are now reality, and all others remember only as things are now. Be brave, when you see again those you know and love, they will not be who you know and love. They will be monsters. Remember their words and actions are not their own, they do only as rumors dictate to them. They are only puppets on strings, and none suffer more than they. "This is not the will of creation nor this world's chosen path. This world would end before its time. Entering a flux from which no true world can be born. This is intolerable. "This flux was never intended in fate's paths, it is an infection. Rumors have become like a virus, distorting everything they touch. You will learn more as you require it." "WE GOTTA TELL APPLEJACK! ZEOCRA! AND TWILIGHT! AND PINKIE PIE! AND RAINBOW DASH! AND FLUTTERSHY! AND RARITY! THE PRINCESSES!" Applebloom screamed. We all agreed. "They were infected first, before the forerunners even appeared. If you went to them now, their twisting would only come faster." "NO!" Sweetie Belle screamed. I was struck dumb. Applebloom didn't argue, her entire body was shaking. "NOT AGAIN! IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" I...I can't remember which of us shouted it. "And you would be twisted to silence you..." We literally couldn't ague. "If this infection could be stopped now it would be, but it would be the silencing of this world. Only after being brought to a head can it be undone." I wasn't crying. I wasn't crying. I wasn't crying. I wasn't crying! I wasn't crying! "SILVER SPOON! WE"VE GOT TO-!" "She is already infected," she told me. "You can not help her, yet." "W-wait!" Apple Bloom cried out. "Ya have ta tell us! H-how do we fix things when it's all messed up?! Why us?!" Now she DID look right at Apple Bloom, I actually stepped closer to Apple Bloom, if the lady did something nasty to her, she'd zap me instead. "You can't know where to properly set a broken leg until it is broken, as for why you...only those of ability and unrealized potential may alter fate, even a fate most unnatural." "...Why can't we just be foals again?" Sweetie Belle asked, whimpering. "We just got back from having to save the world." Miss Void looked at us. "Your foalhood innocence should not have ended so early, but it is a necessary evil. A normal foal could not withstand what you are about to experience. And a foal is necessary... The moment you lose all hope, is the moment any hope for this world dies. Believe that you can clean away the grim darkness. You need to." = 'The Conception' Megami Tensei Nocturne = There was a rumbling worse than any the I had ever heard, this was no earthquake. The whole world felt like it was shaking apart. Faces formed in the fog as it twisted around us, coiled around everything and everypony, and it was like only the we noticed. Like a field of flower blooming in reverse, fog creeped up and gulped up Sugar Cube Corner, Golden Oaks Library, one reached up and gulped up . . . mine and Dash's house, Carousel Boutique, Sweet Apple Acres, Canterlot, portions of Everfree, Fluttershy's cabin, many others, trapped like snow globes in their own balls of fog, other buildings and houses seemed to just dissolve. Some balls of fog expanding, some shrinking, all beginning to move and float like there was no more ground as they vanished, blending from view in the fog. I KNEW there was no way we should have been able to see all of this from where we stood, but we were, like the ground was no longer the shape it used to be. Then our school was engulfed in a reverse white flower of fog. The sky became almost visible as it faded to a sickly pink. There was a sense of wrongness to all this. Like the world itself was unraveling and being knitted into a nightmarish quilt. This wasn't like . . . when the world got remade before . . . I remember spending the entire time inside playing with Sweetie Belle . . . there was never this horrible feeling. We hugged each other, wishing beyond wishing this was just a nightmare. Miss Void knelt down to us. A tidal wave of what could only be called distortion rippled out from somewhere in Ponyville, I didn't know where. Moments before it hit, Miss Void took off her cloak and put it around us. I suddenly felt slightly detached from the world, calm, serene, like a frozen ocean. The shock wave hit Miss Void, she cried out hurting. For a moment it was like the shock wave was tearing her apart. Next it like a weaver having to turn a damaged piece into something else. Her broken horn dissolved. Her blue fur faded to gray, her white mane turning a grayish violet, the black whirl pool of her cutie mark becoming a black diamond, she fell on her side, blue eyes gazing at us. The wave passed over the us and weren't hurt I think thanks to the dark cloak, I mercifully passed out. > Rainbow Dash (And Friends) Totally Awesome Radical Ponyville Adventure > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash (And Friends) Totally Awesome Radical Ponyville Adventure By Alex Warlorn Edited By Louis Badalament I'm hanging at totally awesome amusement park with a starry sky above and rockin' music playing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are hitting the video arcade. Rarity and Pinkie Pie are checking out the house of mirrors. AJ is bobbing for apples. Me and Fluttershy check out the haunted house, and I did not run out scared while she walked out unimpressed. Maybe she said something about all the time treating hurt animals makes fake blood and stuff look too fake. Hey! Twilight! Been looking everywhere for ya! What kept ya? Nice smile, but say something already. Well if ya wanna shake, that's fine by me! I-!... She turns to sand the moment I touch her, the moment the sand hit the ground, everything but me turns to sand. It all falls down and makes a desert. I'm...I'm all alone. I don't jump out of bed or scream, I just blink my eyes open. Geeze. What a dream. Okay, really a nightmare, but that was just weird. Whatever, it's time to greet the day! Oooooh yeeeeeahhh! Iiiit's me! Rainbow Dash! Get ready! Because this is gonna be the most totally awesome of my adventures! I tell a lie, all my adventures are the most totally awesome! Okay, let's do this! So there I was, taking a nice morning dip in the clouds getting ready for the day, I was just finishing when suddenly! there was a huge roar over Ponyville! It's a huge red dragon, towering over the houses, his wings spread out and blotting out the sky! On his hind legs he beats his chest and roars again! "Ponies of Ponyville! Surrender your gems to me! Or be destroyed!" "Not my sweet jewels!" Rarity cried out, "We have to do something!" "Oh my, that IS a big and scary dragon," Fluttershy said. "We'll win. Because we're friends!" Twilight smiled and nodded. "Ya betcha, Sugercube." Applejack pulled down on her hat. "Well, let's get this party started!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "That's fine by me!" I zoomed in front of the others! Twilight Sparkle trotted forward, looking up at the huge dragon. "How about we stop and discuss things, Mr. Dragon? So we can be friends!" Twilight smiled and nodded. The dragon would have stepped on her if AJ hadn't grabbed her with her rope and pulled her back. "Maybe we can be friends later?" AJ threw her lasso around the dragon's toes trying to trip him over; he just stretched his toes and broke her lasso in two. Pinkie Pie pulled a big stack of packages out of nowhere. "Hey! How about some presents?! They're a lot more fun than a bunch of jewels!" "I'll take both!" The dragon scooped up the presents. "Hey! That's no fair!" Pinkie Pie pulled out her party cannon and aimed and fired, but the dragon stuck his finger in it and the cannon blew up instead. Pinkie Pie's blackened mane stood on ends. "Ah, phooey." "I say, that was most uncalled for! You should be ashamed of yourself! You apologize right now! That was not proper at all!" Rarity scolded. The dragon breathed smoked at her that she was able to dodge, saving her mane. "My word! I have half a mind to write that dragon's mom a long letter!" Rarity grumbled. "I don't think he has a mom," Pinkie Pie said. "That's so sad," Fluttershy said. "You know just for fun, I think I'll spare all the foals at the orphanage the pain of not having a mom while I'm here! Bwa ha ha ha!" laughed the dragon. "No! What are we going to do?" Fluttershy cried out covering her head. "Don't worry everypony! I've got this!" I zoomed up and kicked 'im in the face! Ka-pow! The big jerk roared but I wasn't scared one bit of his dental work! He snapped his jaws trying to catch me, but I kicked him again in the snout knocking jaw closed, biting his tongue. He reached out with his claws, trying to slash but I slip around them, no prob! "What's the matter, slowpoke? Can't catch one little old horsefly?" The dragon breathed smoke at me again, but I generated a whirlwind and send them back the way they came down his throat. The big jerk begins coughing and gagging and give him a good Heimlich to the gut! "RAINBOOOOW PUNCH!" I flew up and double kicked him in the chest, and then gave him a buncha punches, one after the other! Powpowpowpow! The dragon fell back from my totally intense onslaught! The big loser tried to swat me away with his tail, but was just too slow! "RAINBOW-KICK!" I gave him one more big bang in the throat and he fell over backwards! "Oh my! What violence!" Fluttershy said. The dragon fell neatly between the buildings on Ponyville's main street, not hitting anypony. "Alright, time to finish you off!" I said grinning. "Now girls! Formation!" Twilight cheered and clapped. Rarity helpfully hoofed me my thunder axe. The others got behind me, and I plugged my thunder axe into a nearby thunder cloud. Then I began to shred 'im! The others called behind yours truly! "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" "First you see me riding on a sonic rainboom Got my friends shreddin' up my latest tune There is nothin' you can do to beat me I'm so good that you can't defeat me!" Storm clouds began to form above us as I rocked out. The dragon squirming before me. "Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution Watch out for me, I'm more awesome than you can be!" Lightning struck around the dragon making him quiver under my total awesomeness! The dragon whimpered and he began shrinking. Ponies cheered as I played! "Step aside now, you're just gettin' in my way I got cool moves you could never hope to stay When it comes to makin' thunder, I'm the ruler You wish you could be twenty percent cooler" The others clapped along as the storm turned in a huge swirl above us. "There's nothing you can hope to bear, I'm your worst nightmare!!" Rainbow-colored lightning struck behind me in seven colors. The dragon kept shrinking. "Yeah I'm awesome, take caution Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be!" I struck the last cord, and the dragon freaked out of his head at the sheer badflankitude that is Rainbow Danger Dash! I scared 'em right down to the size of a little mouse! Ha! I bet the dumb dragon didn't know the whole 'dragon size is based on how they feel' could be used against 'em! I'm just a little bit too smart for em! Okay, WAY too smart for 'em! "DON'T HURT ME!" cowered the dragon as I grinned down at 'em. The ponies cheered at me beating the big nasty! "Hurting others isn't nice, so course we won't do that," Twilight smiled and nodded. AJ didn't say anything. "Ooooooh! He's soooo cute!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "In a little, tiny, tinny fire breathing dragon sort of way!" "Don't worry, I'll take care of him." Fluttershy said as she scooped up the dragon and placed in a jar while poking hole in the top. "Now you don't have to worry about anything. Rarity, can I have a jewel?" "Of course, dear." Fluttershy took the gem and fed to the tiny dragon, who began gnawing on it. "7th Saga - 18 - Great Achievement" So afterwards, Ponyville was having a parade in my, our honor. Yeah! Of course for me and my friends, of course they helped too. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Mayor Mare, Lyra and Bon Bon, everypony is cheering for us! "Help!" Cheerilee screamed; some creep in a ski mask just stole her saddlebag! I flew into action! "Don't worry! Your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash is-" Then some jerk in a cheap hat and cape dives in and grab the guy before I can finish my line! The crowd knows bad form when they see it and boo the jerk for stealing my heroics! The jerk didn't expect that and looks around confused as he holds the thief in one hoof. I flew down and unmask the jerk and the thief. The two are identical-looking. "Okay, you losers! What's the deal?" "We're sorry! We just thought if my brother did the stealing and I did the stopping we could get on your gravy train!" said the one without the mustache. "Psh! Yeah, right! I'm Ponyville's number one hero and don't you forget it!" The two losers ran away as fast as their hooves could carry them, dropping Cheerilee's purse. The crowd cheers and my friends clap as I fly after and give the losers a good scare for trying to steal my thunder. Then Mayor Mare has the guards take them away. Okay! Back to the parade for me and my friends! Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara tried to drop a hornet's nest on drop of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but they slipped and it fell on them instead. We all had a good laugh at the two brats getting their just desserts. Where were we? Oh yeah! Even after the parade, we all continued celebrating my rescue of the town. The Cakes smiled and handed out pastries for free as Rarity snipped some steaming hot tea. "Could be a little warmer," she remarked. I never understood other mares and their tea. "Hey, Twili," AJ asked, "How RD's music cause that dang darn dragon to shrink, anyhow?" "Oh I can answer that!" Fluttershy waved a hoof. "How a big a dragon is, is based on their feelings. They're really big when they FEEL really big! Rainbow Dash's music made him small because she made him feel small!" "That's right, friend!" Twilight smiled and nodded. Applejack stared, looked like she wanted to say more, but as soon as she opened her mouth she grabbed a bottle of hard cider and began chugging it. Can't blame her, can you? Yeah. We were all having a good time! The Cutie Mark Crusaders were there too celebrating seeing how awesome I'd been, and their latest Cutie Mark Crusaders We Won't Get Our Cutie Marks For It But We'll Try Really Hard Anyway project. They're blockheads for not realizing their special talents already, but they're so cute trying everything. It's actually hard to imagine 'em not doing everything they can think of for those marks. Look at 'em cutely chatting away for their next big thing, stealing glances at yours truly, heh. They know a role model when they see one. And here comes Sweetie Belle, that an autograph book? No? Then what I do I care? Books are for eggheads. "Excuse me, Miss Twilight?" "Hello, Sweetie Belle," Twilight smiled and nodded. "Bright Night asked me to return this book to you." "Return it?" Twilight smiled and nodded. "She borrowed it for a school project she said." "Oh yes. Tell her, 'thank you for returning the book, that is what you should do with books, that's what friends do.'" Twilight smiled and nodded. Twilight, being Twilight took the book and began reading it. Sweetie Belle stood there for a bit waiting for egghead to say 'thank you'. Not getting one, she went back to her friends. Rarity smiled at her as she trotted past. "Twilight you should say thank you," Rarity scolded. Twilight didn't respond. Typical egghead, she was like a statue as she read that stupid book, smiling and starring, not moving a muscle, whatever. Let's party! Punch! Cake! Music! Dancing! Oh yeah! "Twilight, you should enjoy the party," Fluttershy said. Egghead didn't respond. "Twilight Sparkle," Fluttershy tapped her, "Please enjoy the party?" The egghead still prefers books to friends, typical. Poor Fluttershy, bless her soul, blinks confused. After too long Twilight finally blinks and looks at her. "You're right Fluttershy, I should, it's been way too long since I celebrated with friends." She nodded and smiled. She put the book under her foreleg and trotted up to me and Pinkie and held out her hoof. "Pinkie Pie… Rainbow Dash… would you please dance with me?" She asked like she was worried we'd vanish in a tick. "Like, duh! Of course!" Pinkie grinned and pulled her into a Pinkie Pie original. I joined in and provided air support! Twilight twirled on one hoof, and high-hoofed Pinkie. "See? Isn't this fun, Twilight?" Pinkie asked. "Yes yes yes, it is." Twilight said and made an weird wistful chuckle. So yeah, me, Twilight and Pinkie did some slick moves! I think Twilight was enjoying it the most. Rarity was dancing together with Sweetie, and the Apple sisters were doing the same. Hm? The pegasus Crusader? Huh? Oh! She was talking with Fluttershy! 'Shy was nicely asking where she lived, what she liked and didn't like, what her hobbies were, what she thought of me, heh. Shy, on the other hoof, was being asked how the stare worked, how far away it work, if it worked in different kinds of weather, heh, somepony's got a fan. The party wound down, and it was about time for some sleep for me after a hard day of saving the day! Ha! I was outside when Twilight tapped me on the shoulder. "Rainbow Dash, you did a wonderful job today, and I think you deserve a little reward." Twilight smiled, shifting from her right to left hooves. She lowered her head, hiding her eyes behind her mane. I stared at what she held up in her hoof. "Wow! Is that-is that?" "An official jeweled Wonderbolt Pin. You want one, don't you? I happened to find it laying around in some abandoned junk, and thought you could use it most." 'Around in junk?' Yeah, right! These things were collector's items! Ha! "Thanks, Twilight! You're the best!" I put it on over my heart. "Rainbow Dash," Twilight whispered in my ear, "I was wondering, could you take me up a bit, so I can do a little stargazing? Please?" "Well, don't let it be said that Dash turned down a friend." So I flew Twilight on my back up, up, and away for a perfect view of the night sky. And I had a perfect view of Ponyville. I wonder what happened to that freaky studio Pinkie Pie used to have. I can't remember what we did in there, but it was fun. It was a beautiful sight, even at night, now I get why Princess Luna threw a tantrum when ponies never looked at it, the lands beyond Ponyville were like a pretty painting. "So Rainbow Dash, you were awesome taking care of the dragon today." "Of course I was." I grinned. "It was even more fun than the first time." "First time?" "Remember? When all that black smoke covered Equestria? And the Princess sent us to deal with it? You attacked the dragon head-on, and it cowered before you." "Yeah, it sure did!" "You certainly didn't run away, did you?" "No way." "He was too slow for you." "Jerk didn't even touch me." "Too bad the rest of us couldn't help." "Hey. Not every situation calls for the talents everypony has." "And you felt proud of Fluttershy facing her fear of dragons to use the Stare on a full grown adult DRAGON to save you, me, and the others?" "Heh, yeah, it was nice seeing her grow a spine for...huh?" "Something wrong, Rainbow Dash? You certainly did a lot better this time than your first time fighting an adult dragon." "I...Uuuugh! I just… yeah, that was my first time facing a dragon! And we had to travel all that way to fight 'im!" "Yes. We did. And Fluttershy after facing her fears once, couldn't do it again to keep a big fight from happening because...?" "She can't control when the stare happens! Everypony knows that! And a dragon popping up right in the middle of Ponyville! It clearly got her scared!" "...I guess that makes sense. Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I didn't mean to tease. You're coolest pony there is." "Apology accepted." "So Rainbow Dash, your birthday is next month, right?" "Huh? Oh right! Yes it is! It's also the day I moved to Ponyville! Cool, huh?" "Yes, it is. So how many years has it been since you moved to Ponyville, Rainbow Dash?" "What? Well, it's been a long time." "Sorry. Let's make this an easier question, how many years has it been since I moved to Ponyville?" "I..."I held my head. "I...what does it matter? You're here now." "So how OLD are you going to be on you birthday? Certainly you can tell me that." Twilight said politely. "I'm...I'm gonna be...I'm gonna be…" "How many Hearth Warming Eve Plays have we done together? How many times have you raced and won with Applejack at the Running of the Leaves? There's no way you'd lose count of that last one." I gritted my teeth. Suddenly, these questions were too intrusive, and I hated what she was saying. Because it was right! There WAS NO way I'd ever forget that! So why couldn't I remember it?! And why did I feel like something bad was going to happen if I did?! "Sorry," Twilight said sadly, giving me a nuzzle. "I didn't mean to upset you Rainbow Dash, no no no. Let's try something else. Have you sent in your application to the Wonderbolt Academy yet?" "What?" "The Wonderbolt Academy, so you could train to-" "I know what it is!" "Well, have you? Are you waiting for the reply? Are you still filling out the paperwork?" Passing the class in Wonderbolt Academy was one of the first steps to becoming a Wonderbolt. How the heck could I have forgotten about it?! Why hadn't I thought of it in...in I can't remember? "I...I don't remember." "Maybe you're...you're just distracted." Twilight said sounding reluctant. "Maybe you should...go play a video game or read a comic?...When did you last get any new ones?" I felt relief wash over me. "Just last week." "So...they were new releases? When did the latest issues of your favorite comic or new copy of your favorite game come out?" "They're...delayed." "All of them? For how long?" "I..." I felt my head about to crack open, and even a bit of anger at Twilight for her endless stream of questions. I heard Twilight sigh sadly. "My mistake. I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash. I don't like seeing any of you unhappy." "Twilight, what are you-" Twilight hopped off my back and landed on the street, still holding her book, well, she had to return it the library. She looked up at me. "I'm sorry, Rainbow. Maybe you should sleep on it. It doesn't do any good to think about things when you're tired." "No way, you asked ME to fly you up, and you're the one who just...just...I don't know what! You don't do that to somepony and then tell them to sleep on it!" "You aren't going to find any answers with me, Rainbow Dash, only questions. I never said I had the answers." "Then who does?!" "That's something else you're going to have to figure out. All I can say is that the one you're looking for is somepony close and important to you. And you ARE going to need all the strength you can get to handle those answers. I'm sorry." "Enough with the mythical mumbo jumbo!" "I'm sorry for upsetting you, Rainbow Dash." "If you're really sorry, then tell me what's going on!" "You've realized something is wrong, but the only pony can figure out WHAT is wrong is you and you alone, Rainbow Dash. You're the one everything hinges on. Think about it. That's all I have to tell you, I'm sorry." She sighed, breathed in a shudder, did she get mist on her face? She grinned at me. "Oh, I see, so you're saying Rainbow Dash can't find the answers on her own? Well, I guess that's too bad. I guess you're just not smart enough." A minute ago, it was a billion sorrys, now she was called me stupid? "Hey! I'm plenty smart!" "Prove it." She sneered. I growled, she wanted to be a jerk? Fine! "Fine! I will! I-" I yawned. Celestia I really was tired. "First thing in the morning." I considered tossing the pin, but no, it was an Official Wonderbolts Pin, and it had been a gift from Twilight, even if she was being a complete jerk right now! I retreated back to my cloud castle, not a living thing home except for me. That suited me just fine right now I...I need to lie down, I needed sleep. I dreamed that I was making dresses, and Rarity was a filly playing around on roller skates. This annoying group of teenage mares came in. A pudgy mare wanting a dress to show off her curves. A spoiled girl demanding something with lots of sequins for her battle of the bands. The one with her nose in a book said anything practical would do. The one with the heart cutie mark didn't want one that would show too much fur. The tomboy wanted to know if I had anything in 'pirate.' The unconfident one asked in a low voice for a breezie winged ballerina dress. The last one looked real familiar, like I'd seen her before recently. She wanted a dress in pink and black? Blech. Who says the customer is always right? "Don't worry, Rainbow Dash," Twilight Sparkle said putting a welcome hoof on my shoulder. "We can work it all out when we're all together." Then a huge mouth opened, wrapped its tongue around her, and pulled her inside, I flew in after her, and its teeth closed down on us. I woke up with a gasp. Ugh. Nope. Yesterday wasn't just a dream. My comics, my games, why didn't I notice it before? My comics and games are the newest there are, but there haven't BEEN any new ones for sale...I can't remember when they stopped selling new ones. Sigh. I remembered what Twilight said, somepony close and important to me huh? I flew to what counted as Ponyville's local weather office, and told them I'd be taking the day off. Raindrops narrowed her eyes. "Great, that is just-" then she shook her head. "That's just fine Rainbow Dash, I'm happy to know you trust in us to get the job done." "You can count on me!" Thunderlane saluted. "We'll make sure Derpy isn't let near any thunder clouds," Cloud Kicker joked. Dumb one Derpy wasn't even on the weather team officially. Cloudchaser and Flitter puts hooves around each other's shoulders, "You can count on us too." "Whatever you say, captain." Well that was easy. Almost too easy. Since when has anything been 'too easy' for the Dash? I'm so good I make everything look easy. Ugh! Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. "Okay guys...thanks." I flew off. Somepony close to me had the answers. Alright. No pony is closer than my friends. My first stop was Applejack's. Granny Smith was in her rocking chair, Apple Bloom would be at school, and Big Mac just silently bucked apples and carrying them to the barn. As for AJ, she's doing what she's always doing, bucking apples. "Hey AJ!" "Hey RD!" "Can I ask ya something?" "Ya just did. And sure ya can." "Well..." Okay how do I put this? Wish I could skip this part. "Have you gotten the feeling of things being, ya know, in a rut? I mean like, things always being the same?" "That's pretty much a farmer's life, Rainbow, every day is hard work, every day is long work, but there's a satisfaction to it Ah don't get anywhere else." "Yeah right...I gotcha, but...I mean like…" I groaned. "Like not being able to remember how many times you've done something, even when it's super-important." "Ya know Ah'm not into numbers RD, I work in the here and now." "AJ I'm having trouble remembering things, important things." "Ya serious?" AJ stopped and looked at me. She put down the buckets and looked me in the face. "Maybe ya outta see a doctor, Rainbow. That's darn serious." "Applejack, I'm not brain-damaged!" "Rainbow!" AJ said, worry all over her face. "Ah KNOW ya hate admittin' somethin's wrong, but this ain't time for yer ego." "Applejack it's MORE than that! It's like, it's like, I don't know what! It's all crazy! Things aren't adding up!" "Rainbow, listen to yerself. If ya go on like this, somepony IS gonna think yer crazy. What gotcha so revved up about this? Ya were fine last night. What happened?" "I...that is...I was resting on some clouds by myself, after the party, thinking some, and suddenly I was able to put it all together? It was like lightning struck my brain." I realized I'd just lied to the Element of Honesty. Applejack narrowed her eyes at me, I felt like they were beginning to bore into me, and suddenly she grabbed a bottle of hard cider that had been to the side and chugged it all down. She let go of the empty bottle, getting drunk a lot faster than I ever thought Miss Earth Pony Second Place Iron Mare could. "If ya say so, Rainbow Dash. Sure, that makes sense. Uh, what were we talkin' 'bout again?" AJ asked wavering on her hooves, Big Mac ignoring us and just kept up the applebucking. AJ tried to buck a tree and missed by a mile. "Uh, nothing AJ." I took AJ inside before she hurt herself and laid her on the couch. Next stop: Sugarcube Corner. "Hey, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said, the Cakes baking in the back. "Hello, Pinkie Pie." "Whatcha doin'?" "I'm...I'm just goin' around town, checking things out. How about you?" "Oh! I'm getting ready for the Cutie Mark Crusaders Anniversary party! It's gonna be great! But it'll be even greater if you're there too, Dashie! Can ya come? Can ya? Can ya?" "Uh, sure, Pinkie Pie," I said awkwardly. "Great to hear, Dashie! Do you think you could do some 'too cool' moves for them? You know how everypony loves yours moves! You gotta, ahem, show 'em yer moves!" At least Pinkie Pie was still acting normal. "Sure Pinkie." "Awesome!" Pinkie Pie declared hopping up and down. A sack of flour tittered off the top shelf, I didn't warn Pinkie Pie out of habit with her. It hit her dead center, her head spun and she shook the flour off. "Sorry about that Dashie, didn't put it away as well as I thought I did." My eyes widened in disbelief at what I just saw. Something had fallen on Pinkie Pie?! "Pinkie...what happened your Pinkie Sense?!" "It's funny you should mention my Pinkie Pie sense, I haven't had a twitch in...well a long while. . . even when I should have one." Mrs. Cake came out with a tray of rainbow colored cupcakes, the swinging door smacked Pinkie Pie's behind. "Owie!...Dashie I'm scared, wait, no I'm not, I'm happy! I've got a big party to plan for! It's the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Anniversary! Yay!" She grinned at me as Mrs. Cake went back in the kitchen without missing a beat. My heart was racing. Pinkie's pushing her grinning face in mine. "Uh, Pinkie Pie I gotta go!" "Okie Dokie, Lokie!" I flew out of there as fast as my wings could take me. What the buck was wrong with me? Was I the one going crazy after all? Ugh! Don't think that way! You're the Dash! Whatever's wrong it isn't you! Without even thinking about it, before I even knew it, I was knocking on Fluttershy's door. "OH! Uh… hello Rainbow Dash." She peaked out behind her mane, opening the door for me a crack. "Fluttershy," I breathed in and out. "Can I come in?" "Of course you can, Rainbow! Come right in!" She smiled and opened the door wide. We sat on the couch, drinking tea, yes, everything was fine. "So Rainbow Dash, please tell me what's on your mind." Fluttershy asked. Fluttershy's herbal tea made things easier. "What's in this tea?" "Just some light chamomile. It should help you relax." "Oh, okay." I smiled and nodded. I saw Fluttershy was glancing out the windows. "Fluttershy, is everything okay with you?" "It's just..." She lowered her head. "When you're worried like this, Rainbow Dash...it makes me worried. If you're worrying, the it must be something bad. And I don't know if I'll be even able to help." I patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay, Fluttershy, of course you'll be able to help. You're part of the team, remember? And you're my oldest friend since Junior Speedsters." "Thank you, Rainbow Dash." She nuzzled me. "Now tell me please what's wrong." "Well...I kinda been stuck waiting forever for the next issue of my comics AND for the newest video games, not to mention the movies now that I think about it." UGH! Those...those same movies had been playing at the theater forever. And I couldn't remember WHEN they started playing. I held my head. "Rainbow, are you hurt?" Fluttershy wrapped a wing around me. "I'm, I'm fine, Fluttershy. It's just...Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense is on the fritz, AJ can't hold her cider and-- and I'm just worried about them." "Oh! Oh my! That is serious! I'm sorry, Rainbow! I had no idea! I'm sorry! They're my friends too! I should have noticed too!" "Don't beat yourself up Shy, I didn't spot it either remember? Well, it's more like...I didn't notice it before. So we know something's wrong." Fluttershy meekly nodded. The Dash is never scared. "What am I supposed to do Fluttershy?" "Rainbow Dash, please don't be scared. We're all together, and that means everything will turn out alright." Fluttershy smiled, stroking my mane. "After all, we have you, our hero." I nodded. "Pinkie Pie and Applejack are going to be alright, but I need you to believe that too Rainbow Dash, if you can't, how will anypony else?" I nodded. "Good." She hugged me. "If something bad is happening to the others, we better send a letter to the Princesses." "Eh?" That...made sense. But we hadn't really done something like that before. But, it made sense, right? "If something bad has happened to them, something bad might happen to us. So we better tell the Princesses." I nodded. She put her hoof on mine. "I'll send the letter. In the meantime, we better not do anything out of the ordinary. Nothing suspicious. Nothing disruptive. Just act like everything is normal. And everything will be fixed up in no time, isn't that right?" She smiled at me warmly, not taking her eyes off me. "Want a cookie?" She suddenly held up a plate. "Uh...maybe just one! Or two!" I grabbed them and stuff them in my mouth. "Uh bettah goh!" "Bye-bye, Dash, have a nice day!" I waved and flew off. What. Had that been about? Applejack. Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy. Was it pod ponies? Like that one sci-fi flick I saw with dad, way back when… No creativity, no new games, movies or comics. Stealing memories so I don't remember stuff. Ponies acting weird, because the invaders didn't get all the details right. Did it all really fit? Was I really dealing with aliens?! Calm down Dash! Calm down! Pod ponies wouldn't have Applejack hitting the hard cider. And pod ponies wouldn't have Twilight dare me into finding out what was going on. Plus Twilight was enjoying herself dancing at the party way too much to be a pod pony, everypony knows that behind their perfect mimicry of ponies, that Pod ponies are emotionless. ...Unless that dance had been part of the mimicry... Sigh. So somepony close to me has the key to figuring stuff out huh? Next friend on my list… Oh boy. Desperate times call for desperate measures. "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique where-oh hello Rainbow Dash!" She practically teleported next to me. "Are you here for a new dress at last? I knew you'd come to your senses sooner or later. You remember the dress I made you for the Gala, yes? There is nothing 'uncool' with looking beautiful, Rainbow Dash. Now I'm certain I still have your measurements, but if you think you've grown some-" "RARITY! I'm not here for a dress!" "Oh..." Her ears wilted and she lowered her head looking up at me. "I'm terrible sorry! I don't know what came over me! A good business mare never forces her customers, or friends like that. I was just, happy to see you." "Rarity you see me all the time." "Yes yes, but, not here at the boutique. I love Sweetie Belle with all my heart, but she's been my only company for a while here. I...Seeing you got me excited. And, I assumed you were here for a new dress....I..." Her eyes widened. "It's been a while since I had a walk-in customer." "Huh? Business is bad?" "No...not really, I'm still getting plenty of orders from out of town, but it's been forever since I had a pony come in personally. And, it's nice to meet with friends one on one once in a while." I tilted my head. "What about your weekly spa get-togethers with Fluttershy?" "My...I...I haven't...done that in, a long time." Rarity held her head, sitting on a nearby couch. "I don't know why. We didn't break them off... we just... stopped." I didn't know what to say. What was I supposed to say? "Rarity, when did the customers stop coming in? When did you and Fluttershy stop see each other?" Yeah, I should have asked more questions with the others too, but I got freaked-out. Was that really loyal? Moonsent. "I..." Rarity eyes widened. "I can't remember. I can't remember when I last...Oh Celestia!" Rarity rushed to a desk and pulled out some drawers with a bunch of fancy drawings and numbers on them. "It can't be." "Rarity? What is it?" I don't speak dress designs. "My customers...they've been asking for the same style and design since...well, I'm not sure. But this doesn't make sense." "Yeah. Who needs that many dresses?" "You don't understand, Rainbow Dash! Tastes and what's 'in' and 'out' in fashion changes constantly! My designs are brilliant, of course, and beautiful, and lovely, but the point is, that even they shouldn't have been able to stay 'in' for as long as...well, however long it's been. Why didn't I think of this before?" "Join the club." I sighed. I told her about today. Applejack. Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy. The weather team. The video games, movies and comics. "That makes no sense at all," Rarity said, "The entertainment business could never stay afloat if it didn't release anything new. And...I GO to the theater, I've...been watching the same show every week?" Rarity looked dizzy. "Uuugh. Rainbow Dash, what is wrong with everything? Have things been repeating for you too?" "I...I can't really say they have. There's always a new adventure we have. A new baddie to beat up. A new quest we have to go on. A new chance for everypony to see how awesome I can be. A new way to show off how radical I am." "And Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, you say they were ...acting odd?" "They sure seemed that way to me. Weird that I didn't NOTICE before." "We had to go tell Twilight!" "Twilight? Why Twilight?" "Why? She's Celestia's student after all. She's the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. She brought us all together. She-" "Yeah, yeah, I know her resume as well as you do! I just… Twilight doesn't seem to've..." "...She indeed doesn't seem to have done much lately has she? That...isn't like her. At all." "Well, her magic and brains aren't the solution every time. It's not like Little Miss Perfect is gonna save the day EVERY time." "But...aren't YOU saving the day every time now?" "I...I didn't really think about that." But now that I was, it seemed I'd gotten to be the hero so many times in Ponyville, I'd lost track. I flapped down to the floor and slumped down. "You really need to learn when to act and when to think dear. You can't live your life constantly in action. But we really should go see Twilight, if anypony is going to have answers. It's her." There was no way I was going back to seeing Twilight, just so she could ask me, 'Have you got the answers yet?' And have to tell her no. She told me to prove I could find the answers, and I was gonna and knock her off her high egghead pedestal! But I couldn't tell Rarity that. "That's just it," I said, "She hasn't done anything magical or big since we can last remember, right? You said that isn't like Twilight. She's like the others then. She'll likely go zombie." "But wouldn't it prudent to least check up on her? To check her books for answers if nothing else? She's still, I dare say, the smartest pony in Equestria. She might be able to figure out what's going on." Stupid logic, think! "Well if she's under whatever's going on, what if there's some kinda failsafe or something if we push to hard? And next thing you know she's pointing at us and giving some weird alien scream or something to attract the baddie?" "...You've seen Invasion of the Pony Snatchers, haven't you?" "I'm more surprised you have." Rarity blushed. "I'll admit, thinking about it, poor Twilight has been acting... odd. Minimalist. Never objecting to anything. Never asserting herself at all. She hasn't been requesting sleepovers, no book club readings, no gushing over Starswirl The Bearded, no launching into lectures, And I can't remember the last time she wrote a friendship report… and one other thing, too." "Yes?" "I can't remember the last time she looked WORRIED for any of us, or anyone. She just smiles. Like it's all a game to her." That was NOT how Twilight had acted last night, but every night before that? Had Twilight replaced a pod pony who had replaced her? This was making my head hurt. I nodded. "So uh...how about we send a letter to the Princess? In case Fluttershy didn't?" "I have a better idea. We're going to go SEE HER!" Rarity stomped a hoof. "What about sending a letter? Won't it be faster?" "Yes. It would be-- But with all due respect dear, if there IS a conspiracy, then the letter could be intercepted. I'd rather we SPEAK with Princess Celestia face to face!" Rarity, being Rarity, dressed for the occasion, then quickly stopped by Sparkler's place to tell her to look after Sweetie Belle if our trip ran long, and then we were off on the next train to Canterlot! We sat in our seats, watching the landscape go by. Dang, this was super-boring. "That's odd," Rarity said. "We're the only ones on the train." I looked around. She was right. "Weird." "It's not weird. It's wrong," Rarity said narrowing her eyes. "This is a high class train. There should be waiters, cooks, cleaners. We haven't even seen the conductor since we got on board." "Are we in a trap?" I tensed my wings. The train stopped without anything happening. "That's wrong too," Rarity said, "The trip should have taken longer." We stepped out of the train, ready for an ambush, except... "Ponyville? How did we end up back in Ponyville?" Rarity exclaimed. "Did we get turned around?" "Trains don't work that way!" she growled. I grabbed Rarity. "Hold onto your accessories! We're taking the Rainbow Dash express this time!" "Rainbow DaaAAAAAAassh!" I flew full tilt towards Canterlot. Eyes on the prize. They weren't keeping us from the Princess this time! Blech! Where did this fog come from? It's like swimming through soup for a pegasus! Past it! Hey! How are we flying towards Ponyville? I trust my internal compass and it says we haven't turned around! Rarity looked as confused as me. "Not giving up that easy!" I snapped and turned and flew again! More fog? Not this time! I use my wings to create a TUNNEL through the stuff, this time there's way I'm getting turned around, a perfect straight line to...PONYVILLE?! "This doesn't make sense!" Rarity cried out. "This doesn't just make sense, THIS IS WRONG!" I said. "I was flying UP before at an angle, then suddenly I'm flying flat to the ground?" The worst part was, I couldn't notice when my sense of gravity had changed. "I am NOT giving up!" I shouted. Rarity held on for dear life. I held onto her for HER dear life too, because next I did a Sonic Rainboom to shatter any fog that came our way and...we...we flying...towards Ponyville? Huh? Did...I see, Ponyville the way we came? Two Ponyvilles? Huh? What? Panting, I landed on in the middle of town...I heard the ponies around me cheering for doing a Sonic Rainboom with a passenger. "Well, maybe at least local business at my shop will pick up now?" Rarity remarked. "But seriously, what is keeping us from Canterlot?" I thought of what I saw. "Us. From Canterlot?" I parroted. "Yes dear, whatever that fog was, it's keep us from going to Canterlot and getting help." A sickening feeling filled my stomach. I flew off. Leaving a shouting Rarity behind me. I didn't care what direction I went in except away from Ponyville. I flew as fast I could, past the lake, past the fields, and...I saw Ponyville below me, and Rarity looking the direction I'd just gone. I landed behind her. And vomited into the public fountain beside us. "Rainbow! Are you alright? Did you fly around Ponyville? What did you see? Rainbow Dash, speak to me!" She looked me in the eyes. "I didn't fly AROUND Ponyville," I groaned, still feeling sick. "I flew AWAY from Ponyville." Rarity looked sick now too. She fell to her knees. "Sweet Celestia...Save us. Deliver us to Elysium, and protect us from the shadow of evil." I breath in shuddering breaths. I wonder if this is what a fish in a glass bowl feels like. I look around, all these ponies, oblivious to what's going on. Hasn't anypony else tried to leave Ponyville? Button Mash is playing his Game Colt, and nearly gets trampled by June Bug who just happily trots over him. His mom pulls him away just in time. "Hey! That was my son you nearly stepped on!" She shouts at June Bug doesn't react to her. "Never mind. Accidents happen." His mom suddenly says peacefully and goes back to her day. The buck? What is wrong with Ponyville? I pick up my friend. "Come on, Rarity. We're not done yet. I have an idea." I race off, for once sticking low to the ground, Rarity following. Smiling ponies waving as we past them. "The Everfree is as wild and weird as they come. Maybe whatever magic is trapping us in Ponyville won't work the same there." I explain. "My, Rainbow Dash," Rarity smirked, "That's actually very clever of you." "Don't push it." Rarity watched me fly silently for a bit. " . . . Rainbow, you and Applejack both push yourselves. But she pushes herself to her limits for others. You push yourself to your limits for yourself. Why?" "What's wrong with that? I'm gonna be the best, so I have to become the best. Don't you?" "The beauty in others Rainbow Dash, matters more to them than my own, and how I can help others find that beauty, me being beautiful is meant to inspire them. And is how I express my self respect. You still want recognition and respect from others. While Applejack couldn't care less about that." "Hey, she works hard for those she cares about. I respect her for that. I train hard to be like the Wonderbolts, because I wanna be like them." "Like them, huh?" "Yeah. A pony who never lets her friends down. What could be better?" The sun was setting, but we were right at the edge of Everfree. A shrill cackling pierced our eardrums. "Bwahaha! Now that I've risen fro my bog! I shall turn every filly, into a frog!" We looked up to see a ugly old zebra in a brown robe and a pointy black hat floating in the air with a broom. "Your friend best say bye to Apple Bloom! Every little foal in Ponyville is doomed!" She laughed at us again. "I'll mix up an evil brew, And they will be my tasty stew!" "I'm gonna turn that witch into warted pulp!" I declared revving up. "Rainbow! Don't! That witch! It's Zecora!" Rarity screamed. "How can you tell?" "I have an eye for detail. I would be a very poor Rarity if I didn't. And last I checked, being Rarity is a rarity!" "Cower before me and quake! I shall turn you into a chocolate shake!" "And I doubt there are many rhyming witches in Equestria," Rarity finished. "Hmmm." I rubbed my chin. "She's acting like all her worst traits have been pushed to the surface, she has emotional baggage she's never really faced about ponies rejecting her and treating her like something she isn't, she dabbles in odd sorts of magic that could cause a freak transformation...she's obviously possessed by a dark alien parasite!" "Of course she's possessed by a dark alien parasite! That should go without saying!" Rarity said fluffing her mane. "I'll turn you into a bag, You old hag!" "O-O-O-OLD HAG?!" Rarity almost breathed fire. "To Ponyville I'm off to snatch! Me you shall never catch!" "OH NO YOU'RE NOT! You're getting saved right here and now!" I zoomed after her as she flies towards Ponyville the way we came, but somehow she's faster! With patented Rainbow Dash multi-task supervision, I can see in Ponyville, lots of foals innocently looking out their windows to see what's up. I have to fly faster! I have to save them all! But the Witch is just slow enough that I can barely keep up with her! Then a streak of silver flashes by, over of the head of the witch. She stops for a moment, her head goes limp for a bit as the jerks of her movements before jerky. I look behind. Rarity! She had thrown one of her big leg-long sewing needles thingies from her saddle bag like a javelin! I don't know what they're called! I'm not into sewing! She was holding another one in her hooves like a lance. "YOU ARE NOT TOUCHING SWEETIE BELLE!" She hissed. "You are not supposed to interfere!" The witch snarled and black threads shot out of her sleeves right at Rarity, wrapping around her tight. I gasp when Rarity proves to be stronger than she looks when she pulls on the witch's threads and begins pulling her down. Now was my chance to save Zecora! I fly right at her and begin beating the horsefeathers out of her! Everypony knows you can depossess somepony just by punch them hard enough times! That's just common sense! "Stop! Stop! You'll hurt her!" The parasite controlling Zecora shouted, I'm way too clever for that! Everypony knows Zecora rhymes! Ha! Just as I thought! The old ugliness and witch get-up break away from Zecora, uh oh she's falling! Get Zecora safe to the ground. Check! Then Sonic Rainboom the ugliness and witches clothes! Get lost dark alien parasite! I hold out for applauds...but there isn't any? I mean, it's the in middle of the night, but all those foals...they gone back to bed? Huh? Except Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom from their windows, and they look more confused than anything. Ugh! Right! Check on Zecora! She seems fine. For having been possessed by a dark alien parasite. Zecora bowed. "You've saved me from being made one of evil's ranks, If it was bits, a hundred banks could not hold my thanks!" "Zecora what in Celestia's name happened to you?" Rarity asked. "There is not much to be said, I was about to rest in bed. "Then a voice made me its little muppet. It said, 'You now shall be my puppet.' I was stabbed in my hooves and neck, It hurt like heck. I do not know what it could be, Its form I never did see." There was something wrong with seeing ever calm Zecora hug herself with a shiver. "Being made so horribly rotten, It was like a nightmare long forgotten. I felt like my true self would be annihilated, I can not remember feeling so violated." "So some evil alien space parasite turned you into a witch. Got it." I nodded. Rarity gave her a hug. "There there dear, it's all over now. You're safe and with friends." Then she said in a different tone. "Well, that was intense, dears. Ick. Just look at me. I'll go home and wash now, thank you." "Gee, guess we know why I'm Loyalty and not you Rarity." Rarity blinked and held her head like she had a headache. "Only joking Rainbow Dash! Promise!" Rarity chuckled embarrassed. "I'm sorry, that was in poor taste. But how about we all come to my house and wash? We could use it." "We can wash up LATER! You forget why we came out here?" "This sad friction let me douse, Please wash up at my house. You saved me from making witch's brew, It is the least I can do." At Zecora's place, she made us what she called some 'extra special' tea as a thank you gift for saving her. I don't care much for tea though. And I almost felt odd...no cheering crowds? No parade? Then I remembered it was the middle of the night in Everfree but… all the same, it just felt off...like...like I'd done something out of sequence. Rarity explained to Zecora why we had been headed for freakin' Everfree at nightfall. "Now that you have said these things, I think I'm not the only whose been on strings. "I have traveled deep into Everfree, But every time I instead find my house tree." She lowered her head some. "The real big pow, Is that I haven't questions this before now." Rarity and me looked at each other. We had to try it for themselves. Zecora wished us luck, and answers. I carried Rarity ABOVE Everfree so we wouldn't get lost. We flew away in Ponyville in a straight line. No way we were getting lost! And then we were flying towards Ponyville. Wait! What?! That doesn't make sense! Not even fog this time?! WHAT?! I zoomed again, this time with Rarity watching the way we came. Same result! What the buck? "It was like Ponyville just vanished over the horizon," Rarity said. This mare does not like being in a fish bowl. Is the entire town trapped? When did this happen? I didn't feel like sleeping in my cloud castle tonight, I asked Zecora if I could crash at her place. When did Everfree become less creepy than Ponyville? "If it's here you wish to rest, Then by all means, be my guest." "Rainbow Dash," Rarity said haltingly, "Are you...going to be fine sleeping here with Zecora? After, after what happened?" "She's depossessed, Rarity, nothing bad will happen after. That's how these things work." "Forgive me for disrupting your beat, But from you I stand only five feet." "Sorry," We said together. Oy! "Rainbow it's just...I don't want to leave you out here by yourself, but...I simply told Sparkler to be there when Sweetie Belle got home and...I don't want to leave Sweetie all alone." "Won't she just go to her parents' place?" "Yes but...with everything that is happening in Ponyville...I don't want to not be there for her." "Rarity, I'm an ADULT, I can look after myself, and I've got Everfree and Zecora between whatever is causing trouble and here." "That didn't stop it from harming Zecora." "Uh. Do you want to stay here, or go back for Sweetie Belle?" "I don't want to leave Sweetie Belle unprotected. And I don't want to leave you without anypony to watch your back." "Your faith in me is touching, This is sarcasm I am clutching." I grunted. "Okay. That's it. Be right back." Step 1, fly to Rarity's shop/house. Step 2, give Sweetie Belle free frequent flier miles. Step 3, watch Rarity have an awkward moment with her little sister with Sweetie dressed in Sweetie's pajamas, with Sweetie's teddy bear and tooth brush. Rarity put on a fake grin. "Heh. Guess what Sweetie Belle? We're having a sleepover at Zecora's!" "Can my friends sleep over too?" "That would be quite the boom, Sadly, there is no room." Zecora said quickly. "Okay." Zecora slept with a dream catcher around her neck with a staff in her hooves and praying to her ancestors for any protection they could give her. She added some weird circles of salt around where we were sleeping and said prayers in a language I didn't know. Rarity clutched Sweetie Belle like somepony was gonna swipe her as soon as she closed her eyes. Geeze. I dream... I dream of... I dream of... > "Somepony, everypony is wrong." > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Welcome to the weather factory kids!" I greet them in my white coat and hardhat. All the little foals dressed up the same. "I'll be your guide for the day! Rainbow Dash!" The foals all cheered. One little filly cheering louder than the other. "Now just follow me. Right here is where we make the spectra! Right through these doors. Come on no need to be shy, get closer, and close, and gotcha! Ha! That why I ask ya to put on the sunglasses earlier! Quite a sight isn't it? Dozens of pegasi concentrating the sunlight, and once it's the right consistency, it's then separated into its seven pieces. If we did it before hoof, we'd have to gather up the seven colors separately." The foals all oohed and aahed. One filly got too close to the rail, but I caught 'er. "Look out, kiddo, don't want you falling in." "Would I get a mane like yours?" "Naw! This mane is 100% natural thank you very much!" I grinned. Then entire factory shook, a giant dragon tore its way through the cloud walls. I saved my favorite guest from falling in a second time. The dragon dunked its head in and began gulping down the rainbows. "Everypony that can fly, help those who can't and get out!" I ordered. I then shouted at the foals. "Follow me, don't stop and don't look back!" With my favorite filly on my back we raced back the way we came. Then I suddenly felt a bit lighter. I turned to see she was now in the claws of the dragon. "LET HER GO!" I roared forgetting the other foals who screamed for help. "Which one?" I gasped when I saw the dragon had in its other claw, Twilight! "I feel like Kazakh cuisine. But I'm on a diet. So which one should I got with? Or maybe to heck with dieting and I should have both. What do you think? Please hurry, you look busy." It pointed behind me. A fog container had broken open and was pushing the foals away from the exit faster than they swim through it, and would crash into the smashed machinery like rocks in rapids. "So what's it gonna be? A weighty choice is yours to make. The right selection or a big mistake. If a wrong choice you choose to pursue, those you love will perish without you." I screamed and dove right into the dragon's gut! No! I knocked her and Twilight out of his claws, they're falling to fast, I can't build up speed in time! No! Please! Please! I gasp awake, panting, and drenched in sweat. My wings were spread out behind me. These nightmares, how long have I been having them? Uuuuuuuuuugh. Ugh, this is like when I saw that side of Gilda I never knew existed, or wanted to know. Huh? Gilda. Where was Gilda? I hadn't thought of her since, whenever. No. I didn't just not think of her, I didn't REMEMBER her! What the buck!? Sure she turned out to have turned into a jerk (or maybe I just stopped being a jerk and she stayed one), but she was still my real friend once! I'm sick of this. I'm sick of stuff I don't know. I'm sick of my friends not acting like my friends. I'm sick of stuff I can't change. I'm sick being made to jump through hoops. The others aren't awake yet. I trot outside without them. I wandered out of the Everfree without running into any trouble. It was dawn. I looked up see Cloudsdale, the same as it always was. No dragon flying about, no pegasi falling from it, no pegasi... no pegasi. I growled. "I've. Had. ENOUGH!" = "Ichigo Pushes Aizen" - Bleach = I do a cold start and zoom up to Cloudsdale, creating a shockwave on the ground. I cut through the air like a knife. I don't bother trying for a graceful landing, I pierce the foundations like a bullet, leaving a hole behind and creating a ring of clouds around me as I land, creating an impression in the clouds as I do. I look around. Not a pegasus in sight. Nopony walking, opening their shops, fling around, it's like a ghost town. I snort air and stomp my hooves. "Okay! How the buck is this supposed to make sense? Where's Cloudsdale delivery teams? The guards? The shops should be opening! The streets are never deserted!" Suddenly I hear a bunch of noise behind and turn around. There are pegasi crowding the streets, the store opened and shouting for potential customers. Guards standing at attention. Pegasi taking off and landing every which way. They had not been there a second before! I growled. "Hey! Dash! What's got your feathers in a knot? You okay?" I turned and snorted to see Spitfire. There in her flight suit. I flew in her face. "Spitfire! What are you doing here right now?" "Uh, being awake? Not much else. It's morning, Dash, I haven't even done my morning practices yet." "No! I what were you doing right here? Right now? WHY did you come right here to this place? It wasn't to talk to me, you couldn't have known I was here before!" "No, I didn't, I just came..." "Trick question! I made a big entrance! I poked a hole in Cloudsdale! You didn't see that?" "You what?!" "And you didn't see or notice?!" "I... I didn't." "So. What. Were. You. Doing. Before?!" "I... " Spitfire eyes widened. "I don't remember, at... at all... I can't... it's like... it's like I woke up right here. But I wasn't sleepwalking! It's like I went to bed right after you last visited... ugh, when did you last visit? What is going on here?" All of the pegasi just continued to happily trot on by. Not noticing a Wonderbolt and the Maker of the Sonic Rainboom in plain view. "Why are you wearing your full flight suit when you told me you were going to be just practicing?" "I... I was just... wearing it? Me and Soarin' wore them for the grand Galloping Gala remember?" "That was a public event! I know you don't wear them just flying around Cloudsdale! Like you're doing right now. So why?" Spitfire shook her head, her eyes doing the thousand yard stare. "I... don't know." Spitfire began shaking. "Rainbow Dash, what is going on?" She repeated. What could I say? What did I dare say? Sure I told Rarity, but Rarity wasn't surrounded by ponies who were... I don't know what. "I can't say." "Dash! You saved my life, and Soarin', and Misty Fly's! Let me help you! You're my friend." "... I save your life and two of your friends, we hang out for one afternoon as part of the prize for me winning Best Young Flier. Then at the Grand Galloping, 'we' spent most of the time with you being pulled away every three seconds for photos. That makes us friends?" Spitfire stomped her hoof. "You think I enjoyed that evening anymore than you did? I was going to have more fun hanging with you than having pictures taken for the hundredth time that night! But Soarin' and me were the highest ranking Wonderbolts there! We had responsibilities! I'm sorry, but this isn't the time to be a jerk about it! This isn't like you!" "How well do you even know me?" "I know you well enough to know you do not look well! I WANT to help, and so would my teammates! But I can't help unless you tell me what's wrong!" she pleaded. I snorted sarcastically. "If you wanna help, make me a Wonderbolt." "Rainbow! I'm surprised at you! If that's really what you want, I guess we can have you measured for a fight suit." I clutched her by her shoulders hard. "THERE! Does that make sense you'd say that?!" I narrowed my eyes as Spitfire's eyes widened. "Of course it makes sense, it's what you...it's what you want?" Spitfire began shaking. She gritted her teeth. "No, it doesn't!" "How do I know you're Spitfire?" "...How do I know you're Rainbow Dash?" She whispered. I saw a snarling blue mare reflected in her eyes. "I know who I am!" Spitfire cried out as my as my grip tightened. "You're hurting me!" Nopony around us reacted. I push her back as I let go. Spitfire rubbed the spots I grabbed her. She looked around, I think she realized none of the pegasi were noticing us. "Dash, you're scaring me." She said looking at me, she looked more worried than scared. "Please. Calm down. Breath. I don't know what's going on. But I get the feeling you don't either. Or you wouldn't be this strung up. Please. Maybe we can figure out what's going on together." I'd trusted Rarity. "Follow me Dash." Spitfire said, as she lead me straight to the Wonderbolt stadium. "It's funny, I just remembered, Fleetfoot has a cold, and the others are all booked up, maybe after we solve this, maybe you'd like to be a Wonderbolt for a day? It's a charity performance for Ponyville orphans so maybe-" And I saw them. All those Wonderbolts. Waiting obediently. Standing in a row, like action figures. No interest in seeing me. No surprise. Nothing but blank looks. Spitfire didn't seem to notice. And it all made sense. I should have known better. I wasn't about to follow this Judas Goat. "Go back to sleep, Spitfire," I snorted and dived back down the hole I came from. "Dash!" I glanced back, I was surprised that I wasn't surprised when I don't spot any pegasi from a distance again. I fly above Ponyville. Taking in everything in like I always do. Heh. I don't think any of my friends realize how much I notice while flying. Trying to spot ponies acting unusual. Nope. Everything is normal. The Cakes are opening their shop right on time. Sea Swirl looks in the fountain and smiles this morning right on time. There's Daisy, opening the flower shop like she does every Thursday a minute after the cakes do right on time. June Bug opens her window and greets the day. Raven being greeted by Mayor Mare's husband and daughter Fair Ruling, right on time. The twins opening their doors. And here comes, "What a beautiful day." "And we're ready to make anypony more beautiful if they care to! Would you like to, Rose?" She asked as the redhead came by. "Not today, thanks." Right on time. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon grin evilly and whisper to each other just around the corner plotting their next doomed scheme to humiliate the CMC. Everything sure seems normal. Everything happening right on time. Right...on...time. Like the fight with the dragon day before yesterday never happened. Ponyville always snapped back no matter the disaster, be it stampede or parasprites, you either toughed it out or moved. Sure, me and my friends got our scraps and bruises but...when was the last me and my friends got so much as a paper cut on ANY of our adventures?! I remember all the bruises I've gotten from training, it was just par the course. So many of our, my adventures lately. And not so much as a scratch? "Here, Miss Rainbow Dash." I looked and saw a pink pegasus with a cupcake cutie mark. "Some cupcakes for Ponyville's hero!" She smiled, flapping her wings. Doesn't she live in Cloudsdale? "No thanks. Give'em to the orphanage." "But...but they're for...they're for you." She sounded confused and worried. "And I want you to give'em to the orphanage instead." "But...but nopony ever-" I ignore her and land on the ground. I look around. These things liked order so much? Heheh. Well. How about some chaos into the mix? Heheh. I spot Lyra and Bon Bon sharing some morning tea. I struck the tea cup out of Bob Bon's grip and onto the ground. "Hey!" Lyra stood up. Bon Bon snapped, "What do you think you're-oh my Celestia!" She stared at the broken tea cup. I looked down. The tea turned a sickly green color. "Poison?!" Lyra gasped. "You...you saved Bon Bon...thank you." She whispered, stunned. "BWAAHAH!" An ugly unicorn stood up on the next table over to us, and twirled his mustache. "You may have foiled my evil scheme to get Bon Bon's candy store! But you'll never catch me!" He ran away at full galloping. I stood there. "Aren't you going to do something?! He tried to killed Bon Bon!" "Why, aren't you?" I asked evenly. "Bon Bon's your best friend in the world right?" Bon Bon blushed. Lyra opened her mouth, and suddenly looked like she had a headache. "BLAST!" An identical ugly pony stood up at yet another table. "You may have seen through my illusion decoy! But you'll still never catch me!" Lyra grabbed him with her magic, he didn't even try fighting back. "So that's what you were doing? You're the greatest! Thank you!" Lyra said. I didn't answer. I trotted over to an open window at Sugar Cube Corner's kitchen, reached in a grabbed a pie piece and stuffed my face. "Oh! How nice! I was making that pie just for you!" Mrs. Cake smiled and nodded. I threw the rest of pie right at her face. She lowered her head at the last second, "Let me get you a napkin." It hit Pinkie Pie who was right behind her square in the face. Pinkie Pie used her freaky big tongue of her to wipe it off her face. "Haha! Classic gag, Dashie! Let me cook up some more later and we'll have a real pie fight after the party!!" I trot straight to Big Mac's apple stand, and grab and eat an apple without paying. Then I notice a sign that says. 'Free Sample Today.' I grunt and eat another one. 'Extra For Heroes.' And another. 'Extra Extra For Elements of Harmony.' Agh! "Enjoy." Big Mac smiled and nodded. I spot Granny Smith. I grab a vine off of the flower shop wall, and zoom up behind her, and making a hissing sound as wave it right behind her. "Agh! A rattler! Run for the hills!" Then she smiled and said. "Haha! Good one, youngster!" She smiled and nodded. I fluttered back. This...this wasn't about everything being nice... this wasn't everything being orderly... I spotted Derpy, I zoomed over to her mail bag, and pulled out a letter and ripped it in half. "Thank goodness! I totally regret writing that letter to my sister! Thank you!" Cheerilee called spotting the torn letter picking it up. Cheerilee has a sister? "Wow! That was nice of you, Rainbow Dash! You're a hero!" Derpy cheered, clapping with her wings, and fell on her butt as a result of the sudden lack of lift. "Ow! My bad!" "Sorry, I didn't catch you there." "It's okay, I fell cause I'm such a big dummy." "...What did you say?" "I fell cause I'm a big dummy. I'm sorry." "You were't a dummy when you aced me on that test in grade school." "Oh I cheated. Because I was jealous of you totally radical awesomeness that could never compare to yours because I was a total dweeb." HA! I knew-...I started that rumor. I felt sick again for the second time in so many days. I trotted away drunkenly. The world shifting under my hooves. I staggered into Sugarcube Corner, I didn't bump into anything, in fact, I just happened to fall on some nice comfy pillows. My head was spinning. I look around. Foals playing games that didn't go anywhere. A generic din that I couldn't even make out. I don't know how long I sat there, until Pinkie Pie gave me a piece of cake, I didn't care anymore, I ate it. "You okay, Dashie?" Pinkie Pie rubbed my mane. "No. Not at all." "Wanna talk about it?" "It's about what I want?" "Sure. You're feeling down." "Shouldn't it be more about your friends feeling happy Pinkie Pie?" "You mean in the general sense? ...I...ugh . .. sorry, Dashie, my head feels funny." Pinkie Pie wandered off like she was drunk now too. I look around some more. There's a big banner hanging, Happy Anniversary, Cutie Mark Crusaders! There was no number for how many years they'd been together. Cakes. Sodas. Games. Everything a foal would want for a party is here. The guests of honor are, of course, the center of attention. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon laugh evilly and put hot sauce in three punch cups. Pinkie Pie comes along and drinks all three and hops away. Then Diamond Tiara hits the table angrily, and the hot sauce is launched up and spills on both of them getting in their eyes. They run away crying and everypony laughs and points at them, then get right back to partying without missing a beat. Sweetie Belle took the karaoke machine by storm. She didn't look any worse for spending the night at Zecora's. Where was Rarity? Was she alright? Could she be alright? Had Sweetie snuck off here? Or had Rarity let her go cause it'd be improper or whatever for Sweetie to miss a party? I should have asked. I could have asked. I didn't. Apple Bloom drinking some orange soda. "Apple Bloom, are you okay?" Pinkie Pie asked. "You're drinking ORANGE soda instead of cider?" Apple Bloom looked up and down at her drink and Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie Pie, just cuz mah family loves apples doesn't mean Ah only like apples. Half mah family tree is Oranges. Sheesh." Dinky was now having her mane styled. Ponyville's number one pegasus filly sat behind her smiling. "Wow! You're really good at this, Bright Night!" Dinky said looking in a mirror. "Thanks. I learned a lot from my mom," said the blank flank pink pegasus. She looked right at me and waved. "Would you like me to braid your hair next, Rainbow Dash?" My heart stopped beating. Orange filly. Skate board. Always scooting along. Never giving up. Little wings buzzing like a changeling's. Huh? What, what are changelings? Heart started again with a shock wave threatening to burst my blood vessels. Pink filly? Books and combs? Always reading and playing hair dresser? Loving to help solve problems? Teacher's pet? Wings flapping like a dove's?...No. No. No. No. NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! I stood up. Everything coming into focus. I felt my head clear. I felt calm. Like a north wind washing over me. I trotted over. I put a smile on my face. "Wow, Bright Night. It's sure been a long time since you joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders, huh?" "Feels like a really short time to me," Bright Night said. "Ah that's sweet of ya ta say, Bright Night!" Apple Bloom hugged her, Bright Night hugged her back. Then Sweetie hugged them both. I resisted the urge to retch. "Feels like only yesterday ta me!" "Not quite yesterday." Bright Night blushed. "Who cares? Us becoming friends was the best thing to ever happen!" Sweetie Belle cheered. "Yeah." Bright Night nuzzled them. "Being friends with you has been wonderful. You girls are the greatest. It's been ages since I made new friends before I met you, and I've loved every minutes I get to spend with you. You're the bravest, most wonderful little fillies I've know!" Sweetie blushed bright red. "Heh, heh, thanks! Thanks for the help with my homework yesterday by the way." "My pleasure. And thanks for letting me and Apple Bloom listen to you sing..." Sweetie somehow blushed more. "J-just practicing for the next talent show." "You'll do great." "We'll do great!" Apple Bloom gave Bright Night a little noggie. The fillies all laughed. I coughed and said in a perfectly nice and even voice. "Bright Night, I'd love to have my mane styled. but mind if we do it outside first?" Bright Night nodded. "Okay. Apple Bloom, Sweetie, see you later." "Be back while there's still cake," Dinky said. Pinkie Pie patted me on the shoulder. "Heh, remember, Dashie, if you give her a free ride, you gotta give the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders a ride too!" "Don't worry Pinkie, I'll never forget. Come along Bright Night," I said the last part teasingly, biting into the back of her neck. "Ow!" "Sorry!" I said, my smiling becoming a grin as I tossed her onto my back like a sack of potatoes. "Oof!" "Now hold on!" I said not giving her a chance to, zooming out of Sugar Cube Corner, lifting up my tail and knocking the wind out of her from the impact. I flew up, just making sure enough that the small pony didn't go splat or get away. "Daaaash!" The small pony yelled. I ignored her. I landed on a patch of clouds over Ponyville. Did the whether plan even call for them today? I don't care. I throw the weight off my back onto the bank front of me. I grab her in my rear legs before she can get her wits together, and dangle her over the side, swinging my legs back and forth, making sure she gets a good look at the ground. "Who are you? What are you? Why are you doing all of this?!" I said darkly. "Dash...Dash what are you doing?!" "I asked you a question! Or maybe you'd like a do or die flying lesson!" "You know my name is Bright Night! I'm a pony! Doing WHAT?" I let her go for one millisecond and re-catch her. "No games! No run around! I asked why you're doing all of this!" "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN!" I tightened my grip. "Ponyville's been screwed up. We've all been turned into fish in a bowl! Nopony is even noticing how screwed up it is! You've got the entire town under mind control! What's the point of all this?! And how does it help your scheme making everypony be nice to me!? That scared of me?!" "You've got nearly everything wrong! I'm not the enemy!" I growled. "Don't lie to me! If you're not the bad guy then why did you replace ...replace...replace did you replace...HOW COULD YOU STEAL WHOEVER-IT-WAS' PLACE?! Did you want us as your private show?! What right did you have?! You made us your puppets! YOU STOLE MY MEMORIES OF THAT FILLY!" "I can't steal what was abandoned. You never even realized what you had until you lost it. Same as everyone." "Enough with the stupid, stupid riddle-speak! What magic did you use?! How do I break the curse?! How do I save my friends and end your stupid game?!" I laid on the pressure for a little bit so she knew this game was over. "C-can't breath! It's not my-" A streamer wrapped itself around my waist like a snake and pulled me away from the edge along with Bright Night, we tumbled on the cloud. She landed on the opposite side from me. I saw Pinkie Pie, huffing and puffing on the cloud. She was holding the other end of the streamer impossibly with one hoof. Parked next to her was her crazy flying machine. "I didn't want to interrupt until I got the whole story. BUT RAINBOW DASH, HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY?!" "Pinkie Pie what are you even doing here?!" I looked around but not seeing anypony else. "You were acting pretty dang weird! First you were all, well, like me after I thought you were done being my friends, then you were acting too much like me. First I told myself that you just didn't want other ponies to see your mane getting styled! But I told myself back you were playing WAY too rough with Bright Night when you left! And I also told me back that Dashie is never that rough with foals that they start getting hurt! And your 'sorry' didn't really sound like a sorry. And Dashie is never not sorry for hurting somepony. But me said you liked scare foals and ponies a lot, but I said hurting and scaring aren't the same thing and-" "Pinkie Pie! She's...she's not supposed to be here! Some… somepony else is! She stole their place! Somehow! She's cursed Ponyville! She's messed with our memories! She has you all under mind control!" "...An evil filly witch? I guess that fits. But I don't feel brainwashed, I mean, I don't mean I feel like I know I'm brainwashed. I mean, the last time I was brainwashed, I felt hatred for everypony, I...I was angry at everything...I, I thought the whole world was the bad guy..." Pinkie Pie's eyes widened. "And you didn't care about anypony." My eyes widened too. "She's doing it right now!" I kicked the monster in disguise in the air, and Sonic Rainboomed her into next lifetime, after all, that always breaks the curse. Instead, Pinkie Pie grabbed her out of the way before I could blast off, Pinkie's hooves reaching further than she logically should have been able to when I took my eyes off Pinkie. Now the little witch had Pinkie Pie as a shield. Pinkie Pie bleated. "Dash...please stop. This isn't you." "No! It's all of you who aren't yourselves! And that means it's my job to knock you all back to normal! And if knocking that little creature to Tartarus is the way to save all of you, then fine!" "Dash. Even if she's done all that...you can't just, Dashie, that's wrong!" "If it saves you, everypony, Ponyville, and all of Equestria, then it couldn't be more right!" "Dashie." Pinkie Pie's eyes misted over. I tensed, ready to strike. "Bright Night..." Pinkie Pie whispered, "Go get help...I'll… I'll keep Dashie busy." The monster pretending to be a pony nodded. "If it's to save you and everypony, I'll fight you." "And...to stop YOU from becoming a monster, I'll...me too." I took a step forward. "GO!" Pinkie threw the intruder into her flying machine, and kicked one of the controls, sending her gizmo flying, not falling, towards the ground. I charged to Rainboom the impostor and apologize to Pinkie for ruining her toy later when I was staring down the barrel of her party cannon! I dove out of the way as it fired. I then dived after the thief but got snapped back to Pinkie Pie. DANGIT! I forgot about the streamer she tied around me! I rip it off. UGH! Pinkie Pie shoot herself with her party cannon right in my stomach, head-first! Off the clouds we go, in the opposite direction of the invader. We both crash tumbling heads over hooves into Sweet Apple Acres. I pushed her away from me, and she lifted up a rock and reached under it. "Sorry, Dashie! Good thing I keep boxing gloves stored around Ponyville! in case of emergencies! HUH?" There was nothing under the rock. "But that's impossible!" I zigzag towards Pinkie Pie and use Taekwondo to knock her out fast with a hoof kick. But she uses Zui Quan to avoid my initial strike leaving me open! Shoulda known Pinkie Pie knows drunken boxing! Pinkie Pie hesitates, that's fine by me, I smack her in the face, and she falls over, but she bounces right back up, hooves first! Agh! "Give up, Pinkie! You can't match me in speed!" I fly towards her spinning like a drill! "I still got better endurance!" She kicks a boulder in my path that I'm forced to tunnel through. "An' yer not used to fighting without ESP!" I stop drilling and fly up and over the boulder and land four hooves down on her. Somehow, I didn't really feel like announcing myself for this fight. Pinkie Pie hits me in the face with a pie at close range, ugh! "Not even a flavor I like?!" "Sorry Dashie." I vibrate the mess off me. I clear my eyes just in time to see Pinkie Pie to breath in so much air she puffs like a balloon, and blows into a little bugle that unleashes a flood of party balloons. I zoom straight up out of the way. The tree behind isn't so lucky and is now done up like it's at the circus. I kick a nearby cloud and turn it into a thunder cloud, breaking it into pieces, sending one lightning bolt into it that zaps into two of the others, that zap into four of the others, eight, until I have a miniature lightning storm reign down on Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie dives under trees that take the lightning instead. I generate enough electricity to shape into a lightning crossbow and Pinkie Pie aims her party cannon again. We both cringe away as our shots fired. Our projectiles knock each other off course. Funny, I didn't feel shouting out fancy names for my moves, no, not funny at all. Instead of coming straight towards her I zoomed straight, the did a set of sharp turns leaving a half-square of rainbow light behind me, and double kicked Pinkie Pie, sending her into a tree that shattered from the impact. Pinkie Pie bounced back up and curled herself up like she was doing a cannon ball, bouncing around the trees like a insane super ball, striking me from random angles. OW! I electrified my entire body, Pinkie Pie's poofy mane got even more wild from the shock, and fell over twitching. I landed outside the range of her hooves so she couldn’t try to sucker-punch me, instead she licked me right in the face that freaky long tongue of hers! BLECH! I grabbed her tongue and swung her into another tree, the moment she was behind it she slammed into me suddenly from behind, making me let go, and suddenly she was she was BESIDES me hit me in the face with a big rubber chicken. Both our skulls were too thick for a simple knockout strike. On the plus side we didn't need to worry about brain damage. I form lightning around one wing, augmenting a wing sword technique and cut her absurd weapon in two. Pinkie then pulled out a huge carnival hammer that I had to avoid being squashed flat by. The moment I turned away to get some distance she was suddenly in front of me and hit me so hard I went into the boulder and it shattered into dust and rubble. I shot up high again and Pinkie Pie jumped onto the treetops. I condensed the water in air around me into hail stones and stone them forward. Pinkie released a slew of party poppers with the punch of one-shot pistols. Our shots continuing to deflect off each other, shooting off limbs of trees and impeding themselves in their bark. Pinkie Pie dropped out of sight. I kicked behind me, feeling myself get her right in the stomach and she popped back onto the treetops like I had kicked her from the ground. Pinkie blew a whistle and a pinata the size of a parade float of a green pony rose up below Pinkie as it mimicked her motions and tried to bear hug me. I channeled lightning into my forehoof and vibrated it like mad, gripping it with my other forehoof and punched the thing right in the center, making the giant pinata fall apart, candy spilling everywhere. Pinkie Pie fell from her perch but threw steamers caught me by one legs, I broke it off again but Pinkie used the moment to catch my other leg, then on my tail. I create a sword lightning construct cut through that one faster than before and I flapped my wings so hard and so fast that it sent a mini-rainbow right at her that sent her flying backwards but she used her streams to catch herself. OW! Not doing that again! My wings feel like I broke them for a sec' but it was just strain and I was flying again before I lost much distance. Pinkie took the opening to stuff candy in her mouth not even undoing the rappers. I created a lightning spear construct and shot it at her streamers, throwing one after another. Pinkie Pie threw out a horde of pony size party balloons, hoping and bouncing on each one to keep her airborne, putting out two for every one I popped. I spun like a tornado to suck them all towards me at once. But it could get part Pinkie Pie set off a fireworks rocket right at me! I had to stop my spin to dodge. I zoomed at her in chaotic patterns hitting from one side then another, but every time I did I then had to block her as she came out of nowhere just out of my line of sight. I moved faster than her eyes could track almost making it look like I was teleporting, and she moved farther than she could in the space between blinks. We became like pink and blue flashes in the air. She moved like water as I tried to grapple her for an electric melee. Tapping into more reserves than I thought I had, I sent a sphere of lightning in every direction, Pinkie Pie being forced to retreat. I threw a couple of my feathers from my wings, lightning arching between them, being sure to keep my eyes fixed on Pinkie Pie, KNOW where she had to be, don't leave ANY doubt, ANY possibility she could be somewhere else, don't let her slip through the cracks! But Pinkie Pie even without cheating was too nimble and fast to be caged. Pinkie Pie fired more fireworks at the feathers create the pieces of the cage, destroying them faster than I could make them. Lightning and hail rained down on her, she fought back with a fireworks factory's worth of rockets, again our attacks colliding in mid air, we lit up the entire sky. The bangs, smoke, thunder, and bright colors covered the entire orchard, it was a wonder none of the sparks caught the trees below on fire. There couldn't be a pony in Ponyville who didn't see our light show. The noise was deafening, the lights were blinding, we just kept going. Lightning arched between the blooming blasts, it was like we tearing the entire sky apart! We BOTH lost track of each other in the roaring, smoke, and lights, and before we knew it both of us were staring down each other's face inches from each other. We froze. We could both end the fight right there, it just took which of us moved first, a heavy duty fireworks rocket in her hooves, enough lightning to electrocute an elephant in mine. Except neither of us wanted to end our best friend in the process at point blank range. The storm subsided. Not taking our eyes off each other, both us effectively at knifepoint on the other, we both slowly floated back down towards the ground, landing softly. Like waking up from a dream, the haze that had fog over both our heads began to clear. I wanted to blame the intruder for this too, but... it didn't feel right. I didn't feel free from some control, I just... felt tired. Both Pinkie and I realized we were sucking wind and our coats covered in sweat and dust. "Well," Pinkie Pie puffed, "Looks like fighting didn't solve anything, did it?" I slowly back away. I dispel my attack and create a small lightning scythe with no reach. I look at Pinkie Pie sadly and sigh. I let my body go slack. I hold up the little scythe to my own neck with my two forehooves. I close my eyes and grit my teeth. I dump electricity into the construct. "DASHIE!" I hear her scream and throw away the rocket she was holding. She rushes close, I flip the scythe around slice off some of my feathers, and release the scythe's form, letting the lightning channel into my feathers as Pinkie flies right into the mess of them. The light cage forms around Pinkie Pie nearly instantly, not even enough space to open her mouth. "Sorry, Pinkie Pie," I said, not able to look her in the face. "I just hope you can forgive me after you're unbrainwashed." I formed a lightning spear. "I need you not to follow if you break out. I know that isn't going to make this hurt less, but I'm sorry." I stab her in the leg. Then the pink pinata I'd caught exploded in a MASS of confetti, streamers, and party stickers, slipping through the holes in the cage and wrapping me up tight like a present! NO! The real Pinkie Pie hops down in front of me as the ribbons wrap themselves around the nearby trees. "I'm sorry too, Dashie," Pinkie Pie said with sincerely that rivaled AJ's. "I can't let you go rampaging after Bright Night." "Pinkie Pie listen to me! Don't your memories feel messed up!? Like there's big holes! Stuff you should remember but don't, and stuff you know but shouldn't?! Lots of ponies acting all shallow? Haven't you noticed?!" Pinkie Pie stared blankly at me for several seconds, then blinked, her eyes widened, and she trembled. "No, not again, please not again. Not again! We didn't do anything wrong! It was just to have everypony be happy! Who cares if it doesn't all make sense? Isn't the point that we were all friends and happy?!" "Pinkie Pie, Bright Night is having us all be zombies, there's no telling what trouble Equestria is in without the six of us to deal with the big nasties!" "Please please please Luna! Don't hurt Minty!" Pinkie Pie screamed hugging herself. Huh? "Starsong! Toola-Roola! Puzzlemint! Thistle Whistle! I miss you so much! Why did the mean mean mean Alicorns and Draconequi have to steal you away?!" "Pinkie Pie what are you talking about?! Who are those ponies?!" "They were my friends! They were my friends with you and Rarity! Only you can't remember them!" "Did Bright Night do that?!" The brat was erasing ponies from our memories? That evil little creature!... Gilda. Is that why I couldn't remember her? "NO! She didn't do anything! Stop blaming her!" "Pinkie Pie she's a witch and she has to be stopped!" "I can't let you go if you're going to hurt a little filly!... I... I have to tell our friends about this. I'll... I'll just leave you wrapped up for a bit, unless you wanna Pinkie Promise you won't hurt Bright Night." "I can't!" "No, Pinkie Pie!" A pink pegasus filly with a blond mane and blue eyes zipped past me, dammit the witchling is back and... she cuts me loose? What? "Bright Night! Get back!" "No! Rainbow can't afford to get trapped!" What?! "Pinkie Pie, I'm sorry, there's a lot you don't know, and we can't be sure if it's safe to tell you or not after, after you lost your home before. I'm sorry it wasn't made better." WHAT?! Then from above, Twilight Sparkle landed right in front of me. "I blame myself," she sighed, then flipped through the book she was holding. There was a bright flash, blinding me. And next thing I knew, Twilight was carrying me as she galloping along out of the orchard and out of Sweet Apple Acres, her book hanging in a bag along side her. "Don't worry. Bright Night will keep Pinkie Pie from doing anything reckless." "What is going on here?! Why did the witch free me?! What game is this!? I DON'T GET IT!" "Bright Night isn't a witch. You're getting hung up on the wrong pony, Rainbow Dash! And taking on a Pinkie Pie at her full abilities and without the weight of a world on her shoulders when you're distracted and unfocused wasn't very bright." "Hey! I was plenty focused!" "No, you weren't! Or you wouldn't have turned Applejack's orchard into a war zone." My heart was in a vice. "… Celestia... I didn't... what am I going to tell Applejack?" "Applejack began downing cider like it was water in the desert the moment she saw you fighting. She fought through it restrain her brother to keep from continuing to applebuck in the middle of your big pointless fight." "Is she okay?" "She stopped feeling compelled to drink the moment your fight stopped." "I'm… I'm sorry. Hey, how do you even know that?" "Spotted it on my way over." "Twilight are you going to quit being a jerk and tell me what's going on already?!" I yelled, fighting off the urge to hit her square in the face. "Pinkie Pie began talking nuts back there!" "Pinkie Pie has pains you don't know about. Ones that were covered up when this all happened. And I CAN'T tell you! You NEED to figure it out for yourself, I can't spoon feed you the answers. You, nor any of our friends will be able to escape if you rejects the answers, and you WILL unless you figure them on out on your own. I'm SORRY, Rainbow Dash! If I had a better way I'd do it! I HATE seeing you hurt like this! You and Pinkie Pie! And Sweetie Belle and all the rest. I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash... I... apologize. I haven't been a very accepting friend." "Huh?" "You've changed Rainbow Dash, you've changed so much from when we first met. But I wanted to pretend that you were still THAT Rainbow Dash, that you'd act like her, that you'd make the choices she would, that you'd figure things out her way... it was selfish for me to think that. And I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, I'm so so sorry. I thought if Pinkie Pie is still Pinkie Pie that I could just pretend that you were still THAT Rainbow Dash. I'm sorry Rainbow." Was she . . crying? I... I didn't know how to respond to that. "Twilight it's... it's... " I can't believe I was saying this. "It's... it's okay," I lied. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I can't give the answers or explain all the rules, but I can remind you what I told you. I told you the answer lay with somepony close to you. If Bright Night is standing in for somepony else, then they aren't somepony close to you, are they?" I meekly nodded. "But... you were right about one thing... the one you can remember not remembering... is very important to you." "Hey! How do you know about that?" "Bright Night told me. And you told her remember?" "Oh. Oh yeah." "I'll admit, your theory that Bright Night was a Malignant Insert was reasonable given what you knew." "What's a Maglinant Insert?" Then I thought about it. “Forget I asked; I think I’ve already figured it out, based on the name. It’s basically kind of like a pod pony, right?” “Essentially,” Twilight said. “But wasn't there something WRONG with your theory just a little? If she was an Insert who stole another pony's life to be close to you, and made nearly everypony into zombies, and was rewriting your life story to include her instead... wouldn't somepony like that of given themselves a larger role in things? If they did all this like you said because they admired you, why have almost none of your adventures since after your memories become blurry have her in a major role? Why isn't she being saved every other adventure? Why isn't she saving you? Why isn't she there helping you beat the villains nearly every time?... Think about it, Rainbow Dash, when you were a filly and fixated on the Wonderbolts, and you had so many fantasies of being with them... was it as a technician or a flight coordinator? What was it?" "... I was one of them. Spitfire's PARTNER wingpony of Soarin' or they were both MY wing ponies... " "Exactly. Someone this fixated wouldn't have just been one of the main characters, they'd have been in the starring role! If this was HER fantasy, she'd right near the action." "You're saying... whoever is causing this is a lot closer to home." "See? You'd have never accepted that if I had just told you." I sighed. "And you can't tell me." "As I said, you have to figure it out for yourself." I heard distant thunder. I looked up, the clouds were darkening. "There wasn't rain scheduled for today." "No, but it fits your mood doesn't it?" Twilight said like we were having just a friendly chat. I didn't respond. Twilight had slowed down to a simple trot. "Can you answer a question, Rainbow Dash? What is it about the way this Ponyville is that makes you so upset? Let me be Tirek's Advocate. You're loved by everyone, our friends all have you as the hero. No evil or danger will ever strike that is more than you can handle. You'll always win in the end, because you're the hero. Like you've always wanted." "And what about THEIR lives? Everypony else's hopes and dreams? Having everypony else just be cardboard cutouts who are only there to smile and nod?" "Isn't that how you treated them anyway, Element of Loyalty?" "NO! No I... no I... care about them." "Because without their cheers you're empty?" "NO! That's not... " Ugh! "The Dash doesn't need... doesn't need... They're my friends and herdmates. I want them to be awesome the way THEY'RE awesome. I couldn't bear leaving things the way they are, everypony's in a jam, I want to help them, just as I know my friends would help me." "Doesn't that just make it business? An equal trade of knowing others will protect you if you protect them?" I felt myself tense up. "I KNOW most will never pay me back. And I'm fine with that. I know most won't... most won't be building statues in my honor or giving me free stuff. And I know... know most are gonna go back to their own busy lives instead of talking about great I am. But that's not the point. The point is being faithful to those who are smaller than you, the same as you, OR bigger than you." "There are you are Rainbow Dash." She smiled like I hadn't been here this whole time. "But ... What happens when the small and the big collide?" "I'd save them both." "What if you couldn't?" "I'd have to." "But what if you had to choose?" "I'd chose both." "But what if you could only chose one? Please Rainbow Dash, tell me." "... I'd... I'd … I think I'd have to be there." "I wish the world would always give you a black and white choice Rainbow Dash, I truly wish the world really was that kind... Maybe that wouldn't be so bad." I wasn't listening anymore. I had to figure out everything to save everypony? Why me? Why did it have to be me? I'm not the thinker! I'm the doer! Twilight's the egghead! Rarity's the pony who notices stuff! Pinkie knows everypony in Ponyville. Fluttershy knows animals. AJ… AJ is… she's Honesty, you think she'd be the one to help get through this mess. I'm...I'm the LEAST qualified Element of Harmony to do this! This isn't my table leg! What am I supposed to do? There's nopony to tell me… And there's no pony I can ask. Help. Celestia, Luna, Cadenza, help me. Why couldn't this be a problem where I just need to punch somepony out? All my adventures here… jerk shows up, I beat up jerk, the end. I've never had to do any thinking. The filly I remember not remembering is the key… She was important to me. She was close to me! She has to be the one! Bright Night… she doesn't fit the mold. The filly I remember not remember is nothing like her. Bright Night likes soccer, the real filly liked her...her scooter. Bright Night is a teacher's pet, the real filly's favorite class was recess (like me). Bright Night is a girlie girl, the real filly is a tomboy (like I always try to be). Bright Night takes care of her mane and likes doing other's manes. The real filly didn't ccare about her or how others looked. Bright Night is a good singer, the real filly...she wasn't as good as me, or the average pony. She was a lot like me, was she my clone? No she...she imitated me, I was… I was her role model. She always wanted to be around me. Bright Night lives in...the real filly lives...I don't know where either of them live. I… I never questioned it, I never thought about it. Bright Night's mom is a hairdresser, the real filly… I don't know what her mom does.. Or her dad… I, I never met them. I never met her parents. Not even once. I never saw them. They never got metioned. I wouldn't think about that normally but.. with all of this.. Was it another hole in my memory? No.. there wasn't an outline like with the orange filly, it just wasn't there. "Twilight, as my FRIEND, can you tell me where 'Bright Night's' parents live?" I wave my hooves in the air to do little quotations. "…I've never met them here in Ponyville, let alone seen them, and none of our friends has ever mentioned seeing or meeting either. But, she's just a friend of a little sister of a friend for most of us. Who would stop to think that was odd?" She pulled out the book with her mouth and began flipping through it for me to see. So many pictures of ponies in Ponyville. "Though Ponyville is so close-knit that everypony knows everypony. She was in Ponyville before me, so it wouldn't make sense for me able to give details about when she arrived, or if her parents were present at Pinkie's obligatory party. Bright Night must have VERY VERY busy parents for no one to ever TALK about them, to never SEE them, or even MENTION them for so long. Then again many ponies see SILVER SPOON'S parents?...but Silver Spoon doesn't have a circle of friends, doesn't hang out a lot with other foals, isn't in many public events, and has little to do with us. But with Bright Night, it wouldn't make any sense if they suddenly appeared with no explanation. In particular with how much time she always spent with you. It would be like they simply never existed before." My head was swimming. "Oh. Sorry...that was...pretty long-winded, wasn't it? But I wouldn't be Twilight Sparkle if I didn't would I?" "Unless you were a pod pony." Part of me almost hoping this was the case. I took a deep breath. "So nopony has seen them? Ever?" "So it would seem. Doesn't make much sense for a foal who we see so much of does it?" "So...Bright Night, the filly she's filling in for...her parents...they're, they're like Applejack's?" "I guess that would make her a ward of the kingdom then wouldn't it? Good thing Ponyville has a good orphanage then." "I guess so and..." What. The. Buck? "You know just for fun, I think all spare all the foals at the orphanage the pain of not having a mom while I'm here!" "It's funny, I just remembered, Fleetfoot has a cold, and the others are all booked up, maybe after we solve this, maybe you'd like to be a Wonderbolt for a day? It's a charity performance for Ponyville orphans so maybe-" "Here, Miss Rainbow Dash." I looked and saw a pink pegasus with a cupcake cutie mark. "Some cupcakes for Ponyville's hero!" She smiled, flapping her wings. Doesn't she live in Cloudsdale? "No thanks. Give'em to the orphanage." "But...but they're for...they're for you." She sounded confused or worried. "And I want you to give'em to the orphanage instead." A tiny 'everypony knows everypony else' town like Ponyville? "Since when the buck does Ponyville HAVE an orphanage?!" "Eh?" "I don't remember Ponyville having an orphanage before my memories get wonky! But I remember it having one NOW! It didn't exist before!" "No. It didn't." "But why would whoever did this add an orphanage!? Just so I can save them? Then why haven't any of my adventure involved them directly? Not even once?!" "Doesn't make much sense, does it? In any game, or performance, everything serves some function for the adventure or the story. They wouldn't just drop it in there and then forget about it. Unless, of course, it takes more effort to remove it." "No...whoever is doing this, they aren't perfect. Cloudsdale's ponies were kept in, I don't know what, storage? Until I showed up. They wouldn't add a whole new place they'd have to cover for and keep track of everypony already here. That place...is like Bright Night, it doesn't belong here." "Assuming of course it even exists." "Huh?" "Maybe it's one of those places mentioned but is never shown. Maybe you're getting yourself worked up over nothing. Have you seen it? Do you know where it is?" "I..." I wracked my brain. I was sure! I had seen it I was sure! Didn't I? I'd flown over every inch of Ponyville! I knew this town like the back of my hoof! There's no way I could miss it! Think! Where was it! "Was it near the center of Ponyville?" "No." "Was it right next to Everfree Forest?" "No!" "Was really close to Ponyville Schoolhouse, Golden Oaks, the hospital?" "No, no...maybe?" "So it was inside Ponyville?" "NO! It was...it was outside Ponyville. Near White Tail Forest. Between Ponyville and Canterlot. Besides a river. The only building around. Where...where nopony would have to look at it, where nopony would have to think about it, where everypony could pretend it didn't exist..." "Everypony, Rainbow Dash? Then how did you know it existed? Oh right, others told you. Why did others mention it if they were the ones pretending it didn't it exist?" "What is that supposed to mean?" "I'm sorry, Rainbow, but you really do need to figure it out for yourself," she said, blanching as my wings spread out, sensing my impending exit. "I know I'm sending mixed messages, but I can't let you retreat to answers that are just what you want to be right instead of what you need to know or you'll just keep hiding." "Hide? I don't hide!" Suddenly she reared up and I slide off her back. "Ow! Hey!" "Prove it." This time she didn't say it with any smugness. I looked around at where Twilight had dropped me off. Near White Tail Forest. Between Ponyville and Canterlot. Besides a stream. Like I'd said. The ground around us was as flat as a chess board. What...what was this lump in my throat? The rain started to fall. Lightning struck in the distance. There was only one building in sight. There was a chain-link fence around it with barbed wire, there was a warning that the fence was electrified. The green grass was neatly cut like a carpet. It was shaped like boxes stacked on top of each other. The whole place looked to me made of some reddish brown wood, it was covered in shadow, no matter what way I looked at it! I couldn't tell how many floors it had, three, five, two? Ugh. It hurt my head just to look at it. The windows all cast a yellow light from within. They didn't form a face, a face would have been comforting! I swear I saw in the corner of my eye the trees moving like veins, then being normal when I looked right at 'em. In big bold letters above the front door and above the front gate were the words: Chains Of Love Orphanage Silhouettes of dancing foals were cut out between the words. No they weren't moving, that was just a trick of the light. The lump in my throat sank down into the pit of my stomach. My wings pressed hard against my body. My hooves were shaking. I clenched my teeth so hard together they ached. It was like the whole place wanted to lean over and fall on me! What the buck was I doing here, I had to get away! I turned to fly away, why is Twilight Sparkle in my way?! "So you're going to run away again?" I hold my hooves to my head. "I don't run away!" "Then what do you think you're doing?!" My breathing was uneven, my heart was jackhammering. "I..." I creak my head around, every feeling in my gut and thought in my head screaming at me to fly away and not look back. Don't go in there. You won't like what you find. Get away while you still can. They'll be no escape if you go in. Escape. Fly fly fly. . . . It wasn't a monster ready to eat me, it was a black whirl pool ready to pull me under and crush me! I was on the event horizon! What was I still doing here?! I turned to get the Tartarus out of there before I ran to the glue maker when Twilight made me look into her eyes. "Rain'… tell me… is this what you want? Or what you think you want?" "Stop asking me questions!" "It's so you can get the answers, Rain'!" Why was her calling me that making my head hurt?! She kept getting in my way, shouldn't I be faster than this? Why did her calling me that do to me? Plow through her. Move her aside. Get away. Stay safe! I can't blow through her, she's my friend! My body goes limp and I sit down, no way forward, no way back, I'm stuck… that filly I couldn't remember the name of… was she waiting for me to rescue her? Did she need my help? Was she outside Ponyville waiting for me to come back to her? Did she send Bright Night to help and I attacked her friend instead? This place that wasn't supposed to be here, and a filly who was supposed to be here but wasn't. If she was the key, was this place the lock? Locks held something closed. Did this place hold Ponyville closed? Why the buck WAS I so scared? It didn't make sense! Freaky building? Weird weather? Kooky trees? This was on my 'Meh!' list! What, was I, scared of? What did my gut know that I didn't?! "Twiley, can you tell if there's something terrible in there? Or is it all my head?" "Rain', I can't because only you can decide whether it's horrible. But I can tell you what will happen if you don't go in there: nothing, ever." "Huh?" "You can fly away, go to bed, and forget that place even exists. When you wake up, this'll have been a bad dream. Everypony will be happily cheering you and our friends on as you beat up bad guys. You won't notice anything wrong. No pain, doubts, or fears. And you can just go on having self-contained adventures that could happen in any order, with all your friends frozen as they are, never growing, as you are, forever. Is it, what, you want, Rain'?" I slowly stood up, "It isn't what I want for our friends! Or their friends! Or their friends' friends! It's my, our responsibility. Like it, or not. We're...we're here for Ponyville...Ponyville isn't here for us." I forgot all about the horror house behind me as black lightning struck my brain. I felt like vomiting as puzzle pieces slide together. "Twilight...is..." I choked. "Is the one behind all this one of...one of the Elements of Harmony?" I suddenly cringed waiting for her flaming retort. "That's… possible." "What?...No…No, how could I call myself loyal if I suspected my friends? No brow beating of me not trust them?" "Rainbow Dash, if one of us is doing this, then aren't you doing the most loyal thing you can by STOPPING THEM from doing something horrible. That's what a real friend WOULD do. But still, what brings you to THAT theory?" "You... You said it yourself. Nopony would go to all this trouble, have it all center around me, and then not be right there with me. Part of the team. And I they'd have to really care about me, or I would be THEIR sidekick in here." The worst was that would means one of us had thrown away our responsibility to everypony, and making everypony inside this fish bowl our, my personal robot cheer squad. My friends couldn't be that cruel. Twiley looked at where I think the sun might be if clouds weren't in the way. "It could be one of us, or some one behind the scenes who you've only met via proxy and not face to face. Life's always uncertain, no one can be certain of anything until you grasp the truth with your own hooves. You wanted to be the hero who saved everyone in Ponyville? Now's your chance for real, Rain'." …I still feel scared. But I don't feel freaked out anymore. I feel a little calm, really. "So...this is really it." "If you have the courage to move forward." I turn around, facing the stupid orphanage that needs somepony to tell it it's got the wrong neighborhood. "Good luck." "Thanks, Twi-" She's gone. I don't feel scared, confused, or freaked like I should. There was this weird acceptance of it. Like when you're in a dream. I'm sorry to see her gone. That surprised? She was still my friend, and friends are loyalty to each other even if they get on each other's nerves. The whole dang place didn't seem so scary now! I fly over the fence, no problem. I skip the grassy yard and land right at the front doors. Locked. I've got your key right here! Ka-pow! Leaving the doors with my personal autograph of my back hooves, I marched inside without a second thought. What I saw was impossible. > Pony POV Series Pearls 'Lost Episode' > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why are ya askin' me ta talk 'bout this? Doesn't everypony already know? It...it might help if Ah talk 'bout it some like Ah did with Applejack? Oh-...-okay. My name is Applebloom. Ah'm an earth pony filly from Ponyville, and one night Ah almost died. No. That ain't the whole of it. Ah was still a filly when Ah came out of the Everfree ... But Ah part of me that made me a foal was gone. The Princess said that me bein' innocent meant that truth thingamajiggy wouldn't work on me, but she was wrong… after that night... there ain't nothin' innocent 'bout me no more. Wanted ta tag along with Miss Twilight after Crusadin', just ta say hello ta Zecora, and it's always an adventure in the Everfree...even after...even after me and my friends nearly got caught by that Cockatrice, we ain't never been scared of the Everfree. Now Ah almost wish Ah had been. Zecora's a great friend. Sometimes Ah imagine bein' her apprentice like Miss Twilight is to Princess Celestia, drawing stripes on mahself, wearin' that jewelry she does, becomin' a shaman, er, witch doctor, er, whatever she is. She's fun ta learn from. But when she said we best not stay long in Everfree that night of nights, me and Miss Twilight didn't ask big questions. Road out of Everfree was blocked by a bunch of fallen trees, don't know how that happened, it was like Everfree itself didn't want ta let us go. Miss Twilight was busy cleanin' our way out, Ah saw this gray filly with an orange mane and a magnifying glass cutie mark. She ran when Ah spotted her. Ah wondered what another filly was doin' in the Everfree, Ah followed, Ah didn't think it would be that far. Sunnytown. Everypony's an Earth Pony. Everypony's blank flanks. Even the big ponies. Right in the middle of Everfree. Nopony has a clue what a cutie mark is. Gray Hoof. Roneo and Starlet. Gladstone. Threeleaf. They were all so nice. Ah even helped Roneo find his very-special-somepony gift to Starlet. Mitta. Crying in her house. Sayin' this had happened over and over. Ah didn't know what she meant then, but Ah've got a feelin' now. Ah even helped Roneo find his gift to Starlet. The gray filly runnin' off again. Ah thought she was leadin' me. Ah was wrong. House locked. Findin' the key at the bottom of the well. Crank from Mitta's house(that Roneo had been blocking). Inside. No sign of 'er. Nothin' in the house at all except...except ... T-thanks for the ten minute break. Ah, Ah think Ah'm good to go now. Miss Twilight says there's no such thing as ghosts, no such thing as zombies, no such thing as curses. At least Ah didn't believe in curses neither. Twilight said they were all just pretend and fake. There was nothin' pretend nor fake 'bout what Ah saw: an' what Ah keep seein' in mah nightmares. In that house's fireplace. Ah couldn't even tell what it was at first. The fireplace...it had...it was the … the skeleton of a foal inside. Just a size bigger than me... It was her. It was wrong. It was so wrong. Even in Everfree...this shouldn't happen...this couldn't happen, it was all wrong! Ah ran away, out of that cabin, back into the rest of Sunnytown ... It was ruins. It looked like it had been for centuries. It was all crazy. Creepy voices, soundin' like the towns folk. Sayin' 'she' was gonna ruin the party, that 'she' had 'the mark' and she was 'cursed.' Threeleaf, she, she came out of the ground, blackened bones and glowing red eyes. They said they were gonna 'protect me'. Ah'd been taught just cause somepony looks strange or nasty, doesn't mean they are nasty. Maybe this was a big misunderstanding?... Ah was so scared, Ah couldn't make heads or tails of nothin'! Threeleaf just sat there, lookin' at me. She never once tried to grab me or chase me. Ah reached ta touch 'er. It flashed before mah eyes as clear as if it was right in my face! Me, mah body all black, 'You'll never become like her, now you are protected, forever,' them all whisperin', all the warmth, all the life gone right of me! Ah pulled my hoof back, and Ah ran and kept runnin', them zombies comin' out of the ground. Roneo and Starlet...askin' me ta stay. Just...askin'. It was awful. First Seein' em so happy together, and now seein' like this ... Mitta, not as rotten as the others. Sayin' she could have protected 'her' and didn't...that even dead the others didn't understand...that they all deserved this. Tellin' me...TA RUN FER MAH LIFE!!! Comin' out of the ground, Ah don't know if they were other victims, the Sunnytown ponies, just skeletons or what but Ah didn't know or care! Ah just had to run run run RUUUUUUUUN!!!!!! ... ...   ... S-sorry fer makin' ya stop again...it...for a while there...Ah was...Ah thought Ah'd ... Ah found some glowin' hoof marks, it was so dark, they were all Ah could see ... An' Ah met 'er, the filly from before, Ah met Ruby of Sunnytown...she said she was sorry for accidentally leadin' me ta town...she said she was just curious...Ah didn't blame 'er. She said she finally understood what her cutie mark meant, that she was good at findin' stuff, and she'd find me a way out of this mess as...as the other Sunnytown ponies...the zombies...all around...all around us...closer...closer...STAY BACK! Big ball of light from Miss Twilight. Ruby, the zombies, the monsters, all gone. Like they'd never been there. Twilight didn't know what happened, she only knew she didn't know what was here and it was best not to find out. We ran out of the Everfree. Ah didn't tell 'er, Ah didn't tell anypony. They'd think Ah imagined it, or that Ah saw somethin' and just thought it was ghosts, zombies, and curses. Ah didn't tell Applejack what my nightmares were that kept wakin' me up. Ah tried not ta think about it. Ah've never asked Zecora how she knew about Sunnytown, or what she knew. Ah didn't talk ta anypony. There. Scootaloo told ya what happened on...on the day Discord turned me into...into one of them...risin' and fallin' outta the ground, grinnin' even though Ah didn't want ta ... One part of me sayin' now Ah could be friends with Mitta and Ruby no problem, and the rest of me screamin' ...wantin' ta get away from everypony so Ah wouldn't hurt'em. ... Trip to Canterlot. Look inta the truth with Applejack. Only a tiny glimpse compared ta what she got. And Applejack, makin' me tell what happened. Applejack telln' me Ah was a brave pony. What was brave about runnin' away? But she told me that Ah could have just sat there and panicked, but Ah still had brains enough ta run. "That's a different kind of brave." She told me. Can...can we stop now please? We can? Thank you kindly. That...that was really, really tirin'. Ah really don't like ta think about that. One last question? Ah'd really... okay...Ah guess. ... Ah made two new friends that night, and that was the only reason Ah never convinced myself it was all just my imagination. Ah just wish Mitta and Ruby could be free of that awful place. Can Ah, can Ah got ta bed now please? Ah...Ah got chores in the mornin' an'...thank ya kindly...just...if ya see Ruby and Mitta tell'em...tell'em that Ah'll always be their friend ... > A Rainbow Learns The Truth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I-I don't know where to begin! The place was bigger on the inside than it ever should have been than on the outside! The walls ran for what looked like a third of a mile or more, but every time I focused, it seemed to get longer! No doors, no hallways, no stairs, just one big room, it didn't match the shape of the outside at all! My blood was turning to ice. There were simple lamps hanging from the ceiling everywhere turned down low. There was a faint humming coming from who knows where. The only major thing here were the bunk beds. Hundreds of them, running across and deep, two beds each stacked on top of each other. They were nearly identical, all looked fancy and ultra comfy. Not the type you'd expect to find in an orphanage. The mattresses were all clouds. Carved on the front of the beds were numbers. I randomly looked at 299,980. Then 299,981. I skipped to 300, 201 but that wasn't the end, ugh! Looking at the numbers were making my head hurt more! Some of the beds were occupied, some weren't. I didn't want to focus on the beds that had somepony in them. N-no! I didn't want to! I look at the beds aren't being slept in...each of the empty ones has a black rose on the pillow. Only the bed at the very end with the highest number was both empty and didn't have a black rose. W-who w-were sleeping in the b-beds? I-I I don't wanna look. I don't wanna! WHAT AM I AFRAID OF DAMMIT?! Why am I afraid? Why do I keep folding back? I'm scared of being nothing. I'm scared of not living up to my dreams. I'm scared of not measuring up to those I look up to. I'm scared of letting down my friend. I'm scared of being laughed at. I'm scared and I don't even know why, and I feel like I don't want to know. There's the nice pretty door, just run out, fly out, that's all there is to it. NO! Whose sleeping here?! Me? Applejack? Dad? Twilight? Celestia? Luna? Gilda? I won't run away! You hear me! I take my head in my hooves, and force myself to look at the closest bed. Sleeping there peacefully is Scootaloo The name comes crashing down in my head. I remember. It's her. It's her! It's Scootaloo! My number one fan! The filly who always saw as me as great as I thought I was! The one...the one I ignored at worst and treated as an ego boost at best... Scoots I'm sorry, I promise as soon as we're out of this mess, I'll make it up to you, I swear. I check out the other beds. No. The beds. All of them. Sleeping. Scootaloo. Little Scootaloo. Over and over and over and over! Some curled up hugging herself. Others flat on the bed drooling. Some with her legs tucked underneath. Others spread out like they're flying. Some face first in their pillows. My entire body stiffened as rigid as a rock, my heart beat hammered in my ears, my eyes getting wider and wider. My brain was shutting down. Scootaloo. Always Scootaloo. Blank flank. Adorable. Peaceful. Dreaming. Was the entire world something they were just dreaming up? I sit down on a bed without thinking (numbered 300,010) trying to figure this all out. The bed doesn't try to eat me. That would have been simple, they would have been something I could fight. Instead I face a lot worse: she wakes up. The Scootaloo on the bed I just sat down the bed stretches and yawns like a spell's been broken. I don't feel like a handsome prince. Not knowing what else to do I turn around and kneel next to her as she opens her eyes and looked at me. "Oh Rainbow Dash! It was just a bad dream!" She hugged me. "W-What was?" I stammered out. "N-nothing! It was nothing." She looked at her flank. "Guess that would be a dream too." She looked a little scared. "Dash...I'm not dreaming this right? That was the bad dream before, and this is real right? You're real?" Dammit. I hugged her. "I promise Scootaloo, I promise, you're not dreaming." "Thank you Rainbow Dash!" - 'You Have To Forgive Yourself', Pony POV Series Adaption - She begin crying. I wrap my tail around her. "There kiddo, it's alright. I'm right here." She doesn't respond first, she just nuzzles me in the chest. "Dash, you're the best pony I've ever known! I-I-I-, you're just-I, thank you!" She hugged me tighter. I didn't mind. I'm reminded of when I'd sleep in bed with my mom to chase away some nasty bad dreams of my own. "Don't worry kiddo, I promise your bad dreams won't be coming back. They'll have to go through me first." I lean down and nuzzle her. "Oh, oh my, don't you know little fillies need their rest?" Both me and Scoots look up, a gentle mare looking at us politely. She was a white mare with yellow eyes and green mane. Most of her body was covered up in a simple brown robe. "W-Who are you?" I said putting myself between her and Scootaloo. She bowed. "I'm Posey-Nice, I'm the nanny of Chains-Of-Love Orphanage, I'm sorry, none of our fillies are available to be adopted right now." "Or-Orphanage?" Scootaloo's eyes suddenly got wide, her body was shaking. "Now now, that's not anything you need to worry about. Would you kindly get back to sleep?" "Get back to sleep," Scootaloo echoed and her eyes fluttered closed. "NO!" I snapped. Startling her back awake. "Scootaloo! Stay awake!" "D-Dash? I-" Scootaloo looked like she was the one with a headache now. "Be careful please." Posey-Nice pleaded. "We have 171,015 fillies here at Chains-Of-Love Orphanage! And it wouldn't do at all for you to go waking them up!" "A hundred-seventy-one-thousand, fifteen fillies?" I echoed back. She shook her head. "Yes. Sadly we're never able to save everypony, but we save who we can." I keep my hooves on the squirt. "Why do they all look like Scootaloo?!" "Look like me?" The kid looked around, like she was still waking up from a dream, finally noticing the crazy place she was in. She was scared. This isn't where she wanted to be. But she said, "Dash, what are you talking about?" I looked into her huge eyes with mine that can keep track of everything on the ground below while in the air. And I see it reflected, the foals she sees, aren't Scootaloo. Am I the one under the lie? No. The way she moves, the way she talks to me, the way she feels, this isn't some parlor trick. She's Scootaloo. And...so are the rest of the fillies here. They don't look like Scootaloo, they are Scootaloo, why else would you have a lie on her so she doesn't notice everypony in here is her? "Dash, what are you saying?" Scoots persists. "It's nothing dear, she's just pulling a prank. Don't worry about it, would you kindly?" "Don't worry about it." Scoots repeated like a tape recorder. "STOP THAT!" I snarled! "Please!" Posey-Nice takes a trot back. "You're going to wake them! Just let them sleep! Waking them up wouldn't be good for them at all!" "Says who-?!" "Don't you want them to just rest? They've been through so much! Please just let them sleep!" "S-sleep? I was sleeping too?" Scootaloo asked. "How long was I asleep? Dash how did I get here? Who put me in this place?!" "I don't know Scootaloo." "Would you kindly not think about any of that," asked the nanny. "Not think about any of that." "I SAID STOP IT, YOU WITCH!" I stomped my hooves and flare my wings. She squeaks and cowers. "P-pl-please s-stop! It'll be horrible! Please!" "Dash?" We all froze then looked up. The Scootaloo on the top bunk had woken up. Her bed number was 169,998. "Dash would you keep it down? I was trying to...trying to...Dash? Where am I?" "Scootaloo, please, just go back to sleep, would you kindly?" "J-just go back to sleep." "NO! Stay awake, Scootaloo!" I shouted at her. "Please! You don't know what you're doing!" Posey-Nice said. "You don't want what'll happen!" I yelled in her face. "I'll be the judge of that! Why is there more than one Scootaloo?! And who put them all here in this lifeless place!?" She stared at me, trembling like a deer in headlights. She whispered. "You did." And all the world came crashing down. "Hey! Isn't anypony going to tell me what's going on? Anypony?!" "Dash, you're here! This place is nuts!" "This...isn't like the dreams I've been having at all." "Well, this is super a lot better than my dreams." "Dash! Is it you?" "Dash!" "Whao! OUCH! Why aren't my wings working?!" "Come on Dash, say something, please!" All around us, Scootaloo was waking up. She'd blink her eyes open, or maybe she'd yawn, or she'd fall out of bed...And all of them, calling my name, asking for help. All of them... just... Wanting somepony to acknowledge they existed. All of them...just... Just wanting to be loved. "Scootaloo, don't listen to a word that mare says," I mumble out in a slur rolling an eye at Posey-Nice. "Dash!" "DASH!" "Dash please!" I didn't answer Scootaloo. "You know Dash too?" "Of course I do!" "How?" "She's my hero!" I wandered out of the orphanage drunkenly. I hit myself on the door frame as I stumbled out. The orphanage sure suddenly didn't look all that abominable now. Just wood and windows. I push out against the gates of the 'electric fence' with my muzzle, not caring if it was real or not. They swung open with a squeak and fell off their hinges with a crash. Heh, freedom to the fillies. My head was swimming, no, it was drowning. I heard Scootaloo crying out for me. I wanted to go to her. But I couldn't. I didn't dare. I felt like a flame to her moth. Why did I know what Posey-Nice said was true? I hear fillies running out into the rain. I don't turn back, I keep walking in a broken trot. The joints in my legs and wings feel like the screws have been taken out. I move like a broken doll through the mud and rain, not even trying to fly. No direction in mind. It feels like the grass and trees make way for me. The rain beats down on my mane. My hair in my eyes becomes a slurry sludge of colors. All you get when you mix all the colors together is mud. Like a wind-up toy, my body pushes itself forward. The gears in my head grind and groan, like they're pushed in the wrong directions. My whole body feels heavy. Scoots' cries become distant. The entire world blurs forward with every hoof step I take. Limping like I had a broken leg. Broken. Hurt. Injured. . . . I stop. There was no way Pinkie Pie or me should have been able to shrug off the hits we took while pounding each other. I look at my wings. How the heck had I flown after losing that many feathers during our fight? Full feathers. None missing. But how? I look around. I'm back at Sweet Apple Acres. Everything looks good as new. Like the fight hadn't even happened. My Sonic Rainboom was able to give Twilight a magic surge and split that rock of Rarity's in two from MILES away...but...I haven't even thought about all the damage Pinkie and me had been able to dish out or the tricks we pulled out of nowhere. No sign of the Apples out in the rain, not even that dog of theirs. ... Winona. Gummy. Opalescence. Owlowiscious. Angel. When had I last seen any pets? ... There's no sign of Daisy Jo and the cows or the sheep, or the pigs either. Could what was controlling everypony not effect animals and so they were thrown out of Ponyville?...That didn't make a lick of sense. Ponies were animals. Did it only affect self-aware creatures? I think about how smart Owlowiscous and Angel act...that answer made even less sense. "We can't leave Ponyville. No pets. Town gets repaired when my back is turned. Half the town acting like zombies. A zillion Scootaloos in a orphanage that isn't supposed to be here. Is this all a dream, after all?!" I bite into my own leg, I don't wake up. I feel pain and taste blood while looking down at my own bite marks. I grow cold as I watch my hide seals up, not even leaving scars. I howl and rip my own feathers out, the pain shoots through my wings but it's like I've done it a million times before, new feathers grow back without missing a beat. I scream and create a lightning blade stab my own leg. It heals before my eyes. I wail and ram my head into a nearby tree, hitting it again and again, the tree breaks in two, I look in a nearby puddle. I don't have a mark on me. . . . I fly up...and up, then I fold my wings, and dive head first to the ground below at terminal velocity...I leave a crater. I push myself back up. I don't have a scratch. I flew straight out the hole. My brain's feels like it's gonna split in two, what am trying so hard not to remember?! I look myself over. Everything looks normal. My mane. My tail. My hooves. My cutie mark . . . Pinkie Pie. Applejack. Fluttershy. Our cutie marks: I realize what was wrong this whole time. "So..." I bump into the one orange tree in Applejack's orchard. "I'm not even Rainbow Dash anymore, am I?" Weight of the world. I'm crawling. "But...but how did..." Lightning strikes as I scream at the heavens: illuminating my cutie mark, a black cloud with a photo negative rainbow bolt. "When did I become a Nightmare?!" Rainbow Dash And Friends' Totally Awesome Radical Ponyville Adventure Pony POV Series Nightmare World: Rainbow Dash By Alex Warlorn I'm in a void falling towards my own face. Falling into my own eyes. Drowning in the centers like tar. 'A weighty choice is yours to make, The right selection or a big mistake. If the wrong choice you choose to pursue, The foundations of home will crumble without you?' "ATTENTION ALL PEGASI! ATTENTION ALL PEGASI!" ~ "I AM DISCORD THE GREAT AND REALLY GREAT LORD OF DISHARMONY AND CONFUSION! BESIDE ME IS RAINBOW DASH! ONE OF THE SIX KEEPERS OF THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY, IN HER CASE LOYALTY! AND SHE HAS PROVEN HER LOYALTY TO YOU, THE PEOPLE OF CLOUDSDALE..." ~ "BY EXCHANGING YOUR SAFETY WITH DOOMING THE REST OF THE WORLD!" "NOW WHAT DO YOU FEEL FOR THIS PEGASUS WHO IS YOUR HERO? WHO SAVED YOUR HOMES AND LIVELIHOOD BY DOOMING THE LIVES OF ALL OTHER LIVING THINGS?" ~ "Oh don't worry, they're all about to become too insane to care. ~ That was all for your sake my dear." ~ "BUT YOU SAID-" "I said the foundations of home would crumble without you ... I never said I wouldn't improve the locals ~!" "DON'T YOU DARE!" Discord's tail wrapped around me before I could complete my charge at him. Then he produced a small white glove and slapped me in the face a few times. "Oh my my my. Aren't you a spoiled little pony. First I give you your wings back, I spare your home, I let everyone know you're the reason they were spared so they'd know what a great and loyal hero to your own people you are, and then when they aren't being appreciative, I decide to give you a gift by making them stop being able to care that you betrayed almost all of Equestria. You need some manners." They stared like zombies for a couple of seconds ... then some fell down to the clouds drooling and soiling themselves as they dragged themselves along on their front hooves babbling random noises. Others broke out laughing, their eyes crossed as they flew in chaotic patterns, crashing into each other and cloud buildings but not showing as if they felt it. Some locked their legs together and began to fly around in rigid square patterns, making sounds like engines. Others fell trying to fly with their hooves and trot with their wings while giggling at everything. One little pink filly I think I knew whose name began with 'C' actually began gnawing at her own wings! I couldn't bear to look at it any longer. I fled like a coward. Maybe that's what I've been this whole time. Fluttershy's always scared but faces her fears, but when I get scared, I just run~. ~ As I flew back to Ponyville to get back with the others ... I saw at a distance exactly how they were acting ... and what they looked like. Their colors were muted like mine (except Twilight) and they had their wings and horns back. ~ Fluttershy was acting like ten Gildas! Pinkie Pie looked like Pinkamina The Bad Remake! Twilight didn't look too happy either. AJ looked sour. And Rarity was ranting about a boulder she was carrying around that she insisted was a giant diamond named Tom. I had done all this. I had done it all. Everything was my fault! I had to get away again, I had to fly away -again-. So I flew away from my now mostly insane friends as fast I could. I didn't even THINK of approaching Twilight who was still sane and asking for her help. Since when do I ever think? Soon enough I found a nearby cloud, crammed into it like it could make me vanish, and threw-up over the side. ~ And I just stayed there. Feeling sorry for myself and reminding myself what a self-serving backstabber I was. I watch the world twist and rot around me. I keep wishing to just vanish. To just cease to exist. "Hello my little pony, I have something I'd like you to do." "GO AWAY!" "Oh? I'm so sorry, did you just say 'Please please PLEEEEEEEASSSEEEE find that orange fan filly of mine and made her wings grow so big she's crushed under their weight?'" "N-NO!" "Are you SURE? I could have sworn it was what you just said." "NO!!!" "Then listen carefully." "That...that's my Element..." He points it at my chest where my heart is. "And I'm giving it back to you! Aren't I swell guy? Now hold still! This will hurt a tiny, teeny, itsy little bit for a LITTLE bit!!" "AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!" I felt like my soul was being ripped out from the outside in! "Look at me, Rainbow Dash." I do. I realize what I just did. "W-wait!" He drops a giant dictionary on the head of a poor green pony with a yellow mane. I look down. "Look at me, Rainbow Dash." I do nothing. "Look at me, Traitor Dash." I look up. "Very good." He pat me on the head like a pet and gives me a dog treat. ~ "I am Traitor Dash, Element of Treachery, I serve Master Discord." ~ "Faker! Rainbow Dash doesn't snivel like a filly!! She'd bite it before rolling over and playing dead!" Would Master think Gilda made a better Element of Treachery? No! I couldn't, let that, happen, to her! "Dash..." Scootaloo gasped in horror, "What's, what's happened to you? You're a monster!" "I know," I answered, my voice dripping with shame. "SONIC-RAINBOOM!" "SONIC-DARKBOOM!" A thousand years as Discord's minion. Forgive me! "You know. I think I've gotten sick with all of this. Again. Pst. Maybe I should just go into basket weaving or flower arrangement. Still, let's make this interesting my little Dashie. How does that sound?" "Yes, Master." "I'll undo everything, with My Parents as my witnesses I will even if I have to unmake myself to do it, and never bother ponies again. All you need to do, is murder the pony you care about the most." I keep telling themselves, this'll be it. But I can't do it. I'm too cowardly to do what needs to be done for everypony. In her sleep would be easier. But. . . she's my friend, I can't do it like...like the common murderer I am. I end up crying every time, every week, this time was no different. Looking at the house plants that are her parents. I can't do it, not in front of her parents. Not when even when Discord twists her so far, she STILL takes care of them after a thousand years! She doesn't ask questions anymore even after I start crying. Even with her heart turned off, even with her memories of our friendship blocked, she still comforts me when I hurt, how many ponies can you say that of? "Twilight Tragedy," I call her by the name I've been taught to like a good dog. "Master promised he'd put everything back the way it was before, -everything!- Every detail, every memory: except mine...all," I sob."All I need to do," I hiccuped, is murder the pony I care about the most!" I shudder in her forelegs. "I can't do it Twilight! I want AJ to be honest again! I want Pinkie to laugh again! I want Rarity to be sane again! I want Fluttershy to be FLUTTERSHY again! But…but…I CAN'T DO IT! It's for the sake of everypony, it's for the sake of everything! But I can't kill my best friend…I'm…I've always thought I was strong, ya know, deep down...I'm not…I'm weak...I'm a traitor...I'm a traitor…I'm a traitor..." I look into her eyes. She tries so hard to understand, we've done this dance so many times now, but she hasn't given up. She won't stop. Not now. Not ever. Discord's torn away everything inside her...but she'll still be there for me if I let her, and she'll never go away. Her heart is gone. Her memory is at the bottom of an ocean. And she still has a saintly soul. Discord MADE HER so the only thing she can IS obey, I'm the one who can't ever make the right choice. And she's in there somewhere, this impossibly noble mare. Discord promised to fix everything, if...if become the eager and willing killer he's turned Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy into. My hooves are stained with blood. And...I just need to murder a mare who with her heart gone STILL is doing what little she can to help me, who couldn't mean me less harm unless Discord's programming made her to! I grit my teeth. And a dam breaks. "I'll kill Twilight… when Pony Hell freezes over!" "Traitor Dash?" Tragedy looks at me confused. I gently nuzzle her. "No...Not Traitor, not anymore." Let Discord rip the world apart. I'm done dancing for him. I wrap my wings around her. "My name is Rainbow Dash." "Traitor Dash, I don't understand." "It's okay Twilight. You don't need to yet. I won't let that bastard Discord ever hurt you again. His nightmare has gone on for too long, we're going to end it and him, all of us together." She blasted me through walls and out of the castle. "Twilight!" "You have threatened master, you must be eliminated." I've memorized Twilight's powers and fighting styles. Except I wasn't going to kill her. No matter what. I'm DONE killing! "You only defend. Your strategy doesn't make sense. What are you planning?" "I'm planning to save you!" Our fight took us right through Derpy's jog path around the castle. Twilight zapped with every spell she had, delivering them with machine like precision and efficiency. Thankfully being so efficient and precise made her more predictable! Teleporting a mana-bomb into my stomach and teleporting my Element of Chaos out of me and into a mini-black hole would have both finished me off if I hadn't spend a thousand years memorizing her every move. I think bastard Discord keeps her like this so his chaos kingdom will have contrast. "I suppose you are only being true to your Element of Treachery." "NO! I'm doing this because I'm loyal to YOU, Twilight Sparkle!" "I am Twilight Tragedy. If you are loyal to me, submit to Master's will." "No! Loyalty is what YOU CHOOSE TO BE LOYAL TO TWILIGHT SPARKLE! It's what you chose to believe in! It's who you chose to protect and stay true to those choices when they get tough! Loyalty isn't about obligation! It's being faithful to those around you even when the going gets rough or you're offered the easy road! And I understand at last!" A black jewel in my soul, turned right side up, and I felt for a moment like I had two souls. And two voice echoed in my heart for one moment. 'Be faithful to your friends, darling.' 'And if that's being trapped with them, then, skittles, then that how you're finally free!' And the black jewel in my soul, became a beautiful red ruby. -Free Will- -Loyalty- And it was like it was my chains that were gone. I moved faster, and lighter than ever before, maybe I had finally gone crazy, I'd say I didn't care, but I had too much on the line to not care! I dived straight for Twilight, too fast for her telekenesis, and I just vibrated my body through her barriers, being immortal helps sometimes. Twilight braces herself, but she isn't ready for what I do next...I stab myself with her horn, so it touches my Element. She rolls her eyes at me in shock and confusion. I'm betting everything on this. That freedom is stronger than slavery. That loyalty is stronger than treachery. That friendship is stronger than tragedy, stronger than dominance. I'm betting it all on one lone prayer. One random spark of magic is all it takes, and we both scream, black and red lightning dancing around us, cutting through our immortal bodies. My cutie mark formed as a glowing symbol on each of my wings. Element of Free Will, give my best friend back her mind, Element of Loyalty, please give her back her heart! I hear every possible voice in my head telling me to just surrender to the darkness, let the chaos win, be selfish, be apathetic, be indifferent, be self-serving, and that loyalty means nothing. And that's horseapples!!! Twilight's eyes roll in back of her head, and she stops screaming as she keels over backwards. My body regenerates. I don't know what's going on in Twilight's heart right now. But I can see the colors slowly returning to her. Flickering, like she wasn't sure what she wanted to be. I swore. I'd free all my friends' souls. All of their minds, all of their hearts. I wouldn't let them live as monsters anymore. I swore I'd free them of what Discord turned them into, and they've LIVE. I swore it. "Hey Rainbow...want some help?" I looked up to see a certain cowpony wearing her signature hat looking out of the hole we'd made in the castle. After stupidly nearly mangling each other because I thought AJ was still talking backwards and was still Discord's little minion, we both teamed up to help Twilight. Turns out Apple Bloom's ghost had given Applejack the talking to she needed to finally be herself again. Oh and she might have said something about meeting pony-god, but I kinda didn't get those parts. And Applejack's cutie mark glowing as a symbol around one eye. She said she was now Honesty and Fantasy, and could balance both the way I could Loyalty and Free Will. We were more surprised when Derpy came with us. And her cutie mark was also appearing as a glowing symbol on her back. "My Muffin, she wouldn't want me, I think she doesn't want me, to not do anything when I can help you." We had to deal with a horde of black angry birds. I'd been training to take on Twilight Sparkle herself for a thousand years. I knocked 'em clean away. Applejack took us to Sweet Rock Acres, should have guessed, it was still her home after all these centuries, these were still her family. Discord sent Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all at once to bring us back even if they had to cut out or Elements of Chaos and drag us back to Discord. And they had the black crows with them as cannon fodder. The Apples and Pies defended us, as family will...they were willing to die for us, and some did. Twilight woke up halfway through the fight. With and Twilight working together as a team, oh yeah, and I guess AJ and Derpy covering our flanks, we were able to bring Rarity and Pinkie Pie back to us with a my Elements of Loyalty and Free Will, and Twilight's Friendship and memory-spell. Courage and Laughter. Desire and Generosity. When she used it on Fluttershy...she got her cheap chopped off. We got a look at Fluttercruel's REAL cutie mark, that heart shape made out of curved swords. Fluttershy...Fluttershy had never even been there. This...horrible creature that Discord had brought into the world by violating Fluttershy. "So in other words, I don't have to hold back," I said darkly. She was immortal, she'd live. No matter what I did. But the fight even continued she pulled out her dad's dog whistle. 'Turn on your friends, or Cloudsdale and Sky Ocean DIE!" I was done killing. But I was also done being Discord's lackey. For the greater good. "Screw you. Bring it." To the shock of everypony. Instead of Sky Ocean or Cloudsdale's end, Fluttercruel threw a tantrum. I was confused. When did Discord not follow through on threats? She retreated, saying how she was going to tell her dad on us like she was a filly instead of a psycho. Rarity and Pinkie Pie however, instead of wanting to end the monster's existence, wanted to hopefully just nullify her as a threat. Maybe turn her into a baby foal with age magic that Twilight knew, and raise her as Fluttershy would have wanted her to be raised. I thought they were nuts. But I was out voted. And Rarity and Pinkie Pie reminded I wasn't the only one who loved Fluttershy and was enraged at Discord's crime. We all knew who'd have a lot to make up for when this was all over. Our sin weren't going to magically go away just because we stopped Discord. A thousand years of sins didn't go away that easily. Derpy and I had a LOT to talk about and a LOT to apologize for a thousand years overdue. We used the Elements to restore Dinky. We made sure the girl stayed safe on the rock farm. We also used the Elements to turn the crows into peaceful white doves, who were spreading harmony wherever they touched anything. Even restoring Discorded ponies. It was freaky how AJ and Rarity were sane and free again, but AJ was acting like a lady and Rarity the down to Earth mare giving tips to the rock farmers. But... I accepted it. AJ was still the most dependable of ponies who said she wouldn't mind racing with me again when this was all over. Rarity resisted taking a bath worse than a five year old, but she still found beauty in the rocks. Including her golems...which it turned out contains the souls of ponies from a thousand years ago and between. That made for some very awkward but happy reunions. Scoots and Gilda weren't in her 'ark'. After a hot debate, we decided now that they were out of Rarity's fantasy world, and they WERE all dead, it was kinder to let them join their families in the afterlife than keep them trapped here. Applejack warned something BAD happened to ghosts who tried to cheat death not even trying to finish their business. Not all left, Some insisted that helping Rarity beat Discord was their unfinished business. With me as point mare, the castle's defenses didn't last long...neither did its legs when it tried to run away. We blasted the castle with the Elements, but it seemed Discord and his brain-dead stooges were shielded on the inside. Looked like we couldn't skip this fight. Our big stumbling block was, surprise surprise, the Valeyard himself. Except he wasn't alone. He had Spike with him, under remote control. "I have the best toy any foal could hope for and it isn't even my birthday!" flank-hole gloated. Fighting Spike...that was a fight I wish I could just forget. Fighting a thousand year old dragon? Not easy. Fighting a thousand year old dragon who could teleport stuff into the fight on a whim: nasty. Fighting our friend? Painful. We were all desperate to avoid Spike's flames, none of us wanted to find out where Spike under the Valeyard's control would teleport us. My bet was volcano. I don't want to wish what Twilight felt during that fight on anypony. Fighting her last family that was flesh and blood? You have no idea of her pain. Derpy however...well, I think her Element of Kindness drove the Valeyard crazy! He began screaming and arguing with himself. Which gave Twilight time to use the memory spell on him. And nearly get turned into a replacement Valeyard. When she begged me to destroy her head to save her...it wasn't pleasant. But our combined efforts sent the Valeyard into a new regeneration, gave us some cryptic words, before falling into his blue box and vanishing. Twilight trashed the remote control the Valeyard had been using. Everything would be fine then right? "Spike...WANT!" I swear I could hear Discord and Fluttercruel laughing at us all the way from the castle. And Spike kept getting bigger as the fight went on, his greed running wild. More savage, more feral, more intense, more powerful, with all six of us, it wasn't enough, not against him. Rarity was the one to save him. "Spike, I know how you feel." One heart greed eaten to another. She gave Spike what he wanted more than anything. Herself. What Rarity said to Spike, was more than a little personal. And where Twilight's magic failed, Rarity's didn't. Spike was still a titan of a dragon. He admitted he still wanted everything, but what he wanted most of all was Rarity's approval, and his friends. Spike tore an opening in the castle wall for us. Our Elements restored Twilight's parents, at my request. We weren't going to leave Discord any hostages. Spike would be their protector. We all knew raw strength meant nothing fighting Discord, so we weren't going to try. Spike asked one thing. "Please, protect Twilight." I said stepping in front of the others, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, I WILL protect Twiley Spike!" Twilight blushed. We restored Derpy's eldest daughter, Sparkler, from a crystal statue, when we went through the gallery, so Discord couldn't use her as surprise pony shield. Ran into a seapony, confused when zapping her with the Elements didn't do anything, she left with a gold and silver feather. We restored the Princesses...or tried to...they were fillies. Luna was herself, but Celestia thought 'Dissy' was her coltfriend. Blech. We had Sparkler take them both to the Rock Farm, to look after them and Dinky until we came back. "Putting all our eggs in one basket is a death sentence," Twilight said. Not just Futtercruel was guarding Discord's throne room, but Screwball and Mad Tiara too. Discord had brought them out of retirement. Two against one, should have been easy. Except Discord had given part of his own magic to his family. Even compared to what they'd been able to do before, it was bedlam and a fight for survival. Never thought Discord would give anything to anypony except misery and corruption. Then…Scoots came to me. Don't ask me how that makes sense, or why she came then, something about me not accepting answers until that time. I still think my favorite fan picked a dumb time to come back to give me advice as a ghost. She told me, "Be true to what you promised, don't cross the line again, not even towards him, he's not worth it. And Dash, I forgive you." With the Elements, we petrified Fluttercruel. Rarity said, "Just until we could get her away from her father's bad influence." We left Mad Tiara and Screwball depowered and reharmonized. Except they didn't stop. They were still willing to die to protect the devil. If anything, they fought more frantic and desperate. "They're still victims too," Rarity said. We left them tied up next to Fluttercruel's statue and entered Discord's throne room. Inside noise makers, confetti, an acid floor and falling spike ceiling were waiting for us, and a wall of ballistics aimed right at us. Twilight's failsafe spell ended all of that. Then came the main event. Our fight with Discord. For a while, I felt like the universe was gonna implode on us. Maybe it did a few times. In the end, we were having a quick debate on whether to use the Elements on Discord to turn him to stone, or it'd be best just to execute him. Discord looked eager for the answer, but didn't seem worried about dying. In the end, I was the 'deciding vote'. Was I tempted? More than you can imagine. Was it what I wanted? Almost more than anything. But then I remembered what Scootaloo's spirit had told me. "I said so already Discord, I'm done killing." We blasted him to stone. His last words were, "I knew you had it in you this time, Rainbow Dash. You're your own little pony. You broke the script to the very end, thank you. Please don't falter now." And a spell scroll that would reset time fell in our laps. I was all for accepting help from my friends. But I'd learned that there was no such thing as a free meal. And I knew bastard Discord. "Why the heck would he have a spell that undid everypony's misery?!" "That's easy!" Twilight said, "So if he was beaten, one of his minions could undo his defeat!" I was about to say that made sense when Pinkie Pie said, "You know what? Let's ask one of them!" Between cursing us and crying over bastard Discord, they'd said they never even heard of that spell. AJ's truth eyes made sure they weren't lying. Rarity said it first, "If it was for his minions to undo his defeat… WHY did NONE of US know about it?!" That made us pause. I said, "This scroll is a trap." You could hear a pin drop (Pinkie tested). "Princess Celestia didn't reset time after beating Discord… and I won't either!" Twilight stamped her hoof. "Thanks 'Rain." I think we were all disappointed that the scroll was fake. But I was happy I didn't have to give up the new memories I'd made with Twilight and my friends. I'd atone for my sins the old fashioned way. All that left was using the Elements to heal bastard Discord's damage to everything. Then Twilight's shadow... grew. It just got bigger, and then it grew wings. It actually rose up like something alive! Then it dove into the floor. Entire pieces of the castle broke away. Like a tumor, pieces of Discord's castle began to clump together, bleeding. They shifted and warped about. Turning into...turning a purple version of Nightmare Moon, but her armor was white, and her mane was fiery instead of nighty. Her cutie mark...it was a color reverse of Twilight's. The worst part was her face, that pretty face, it was shaped like an Alicorn's, but I recognized Twilight's all the same. What came next, I'd hear hundreds of thousands of times over. Hundreds of thousands of ways. Whenever Twilight Sparkle dared show free will. After being around as long I'd come to be, I now appreciate that even the tiniest thing can change the world in big big ways, everything and everypony is connected, like links in a chain. Eclipse never wanted to see that, it was a tape recording to her. Eclipse's soap box speech. Twilight realizing the truth. Infinite loops. Eclipse making it clear she didn't see us as people, ponies, or living things. Eclipse revealing she had 'gotten rid of' the Doctor. The greatest mind in the universe, beaten by a cheating time looping nag who was anything but his equal. Me, all of us, begging and pleading for the Twilight Sparkle inside Nightmare Eclipse to see reason. Instead she wanted our Twilight to see 'reason', and not be 'distracted by delusions' of seeing us as people. In the end, like all before and after us I'd learn, we had as much luck as Princess Celestia reaching the Luna inside Nightmare Moon. Then as an after thought, she slithered one of her chains around Fluttercruel's petrified neck, then wrapped her chain around Discord's statue, and used him like a sledge hammer, and shattered her. "COUSIN!" Mad Tiara screamed. "W-why?! She wasn't a threat anymore!" Rarity stammered out. "Y-you… you murdered her!" Derpy gasped horrified. "Oh, silly Derpy." She patted her on the head. "That wasn't alive. It was a statue. It was just some fake personality Discord created using his magic, it wasn't a person. And didn't you see? It was Discord who broke it, weren't you paying attention? And because Discord wouldn’t like me doing it, why not do it? And besides, its role in the game is over." Oh yeah, that's when negotiations stopped. I don't remember who cut Mad Tiara and Screwball loose, but I'm happy they did. We needed all the help we could get. Oh right silly me, heh, I forgot after...after all this time. Back then she wasn't even calling herself Eclipse yet, Back then, it was 'Nightmare Dusk.' I can only guess she kept changing names out of boredom. Whatever name she picked, she was everything Twilight Sparkle was, and everything she shouldn't have been. Our battle reduced the castle to ruins, but hightlights include: "Clinging to imaginary friends isn't healthy, Twilight!" Dusk shouted as she reshaped the stones of the castle like it was her own body into a pair of hands that was meant to squash us flat. AJ instead jumped up between them and gave them both one solid kick, the stone of the palm exploded, the shock wave carrying onto the blocks nearest it setting off a cascade! AJ just smirked at the Nightmare. "How about I get rid of the one of yours toys that isn't immortal!" Her flaming spear chains struck like serpents at Derpy. A ring of Rarity's golems used their own bodies as shields. Dusk grunted in agitation and stomped the ground. The vibration traveled along her chains and shatters Rarity's golems. "Forgot Earth Pony Magic is a part of me?" she smirked. Derpy responded by sending lightning BACK THROUGH her chains, electrifying the Nightmare. "Evening Fear lose Postage Feathers have pegasi sparkles as building blocks double?" Derpy asked, smirking. AJ's illusions kept her off balance while negating any of Dusk's own illusions, while Rarity with Desire and Generosity continue to heal Derpy, Mad Tiara, and Screwball, so they could stay in the fight. "You contain opposing Elements of Chaos and Harmony in the same souls? You're all monsters! Twilight! Can't you see these things are NOT YOUR FRIENDS?!" Dusk exclaimed. I dove in straight at her, stabbed her with a lightning weapon, then caused it to branch out inside her, sticking out in places. It was harder than I liked to admit to attack this monster with Twilight's pretty face. She didn't return my sympathy. "You little forgery!" She gagged as I was suddenly caught in her telekinesis and she began to crush my Element of Chaos into dust. But Mad Tiara and Screwball broad sided her melee style, I guess she didn't consider them even worth considering! I took the chance to bash her in the face unless she unleashed a sphere of raw magic...Rarity simply regenerated the missing legs Screwball and her daughters were now missing, and right back into the fight they sprang. Didn't they know the definition of pain? Nightmare Dusk flew up in the air, and summoned several salvos of missiles like those two-legged aliens had used, and fired right down at us. Moving faster than their eyes could track, I kicked and swung them around so they were facing back towards Dusk. The barrage hit the surprised Nightmare dead center, obscuring her in smoke. Twilight teleported me out of the way before the Ursa sized laser blast that burst from the cloud of smoke could vaporized me. After she regenerated, the witch stomped the ground, splitting it open and launching pillars of hellfire at us, but Pinkie pulled out a Santa hat and a sack and opened it, firing out a blizzard that put it out. The Nightmare summoned a rain of flaming swords at us, but Rarity's golems blocked for us, catching the swords and allowing Pinkie Pie to retaliate with a barrage of party cannons. "Turn to oranges!" She fired the nasty nasty spell at us. Pinkie Pie took out a giant mirror that reflected the spell right back at her. A spell within sliced the orange in two, splitting it open reveal a giant and gaudy sized Element of Magic. And Twilight said those fateful words. "Formation!" Maybe we should have aimed to free Discord instead, enemy of my enemy after all, but we didn't. Our Elements awakened, our friendship joined us together, and our combined inner strength formed a rainbow to splash down on the Nightmare. Her eye appeared like a ghost in front of her vulnerable Element of Magic. Inside the eye were now tiny hands of a clock. "Time stop." Everything froze. The hands on the clock began to spin backwards. "You will wander forever." And we were back after Pinkie Pie just reflected the orange spell. Nightmare Dusk teleported out of the way, to right above us. "Playtime's over." Destruction. There was no other way to describe it. It was just mass destruction. More power than even an Alicorn has a right to have. I'd call it cheating, but for her, that was par for the course. I didn't have an outside view of the world, like I would the other times I'd see it. I didn't see what happened to...to...to everything else...it was...it was horrible! She didn't have six Nightmare Elements to power herself up. If she couldn't do something one way, Twilight could always use her big brain to figure out another way. It was...oh Celestia...the sky, the sky was torn to shreds, I don't think the universe was splitting apart, but the blue in the sky was torn apart and leaving the blackness and stars behind like it was becoming night in all the wrong ways. She...she...with the Nightmare Elements she could turn the world to dust in ten seconds flat. Back then, she, she used piacemeal methods. I'm not a genius, I don't know how she did it. Later, I’d learn we weren't the first to challenge her script's ending, and oh boy, we wouldn't be the last. Twilight was an accepting and welcoming mare, so Eclipse accepted all of Twilight Sparkle, she never deemed any of them rejects. "That would be like calling a FRIEND a reject!" She said. Even the ones that rejected everything and anything she stood for, she just dragged them into herself anyway. Is it any wonder she was crazy even for a Nightmare? The atmosphere fell apart, because so did the planet that was holding it together. Maybe she just drove concept killing rods into the planet's core. Maybe she just borrowed one of those weapons the two legged aliens used. All I knew was that the world torn apart beneath our hooves. We didn't stand there politely as the world ended. Neither did the Nightmare. She called them. She didn't bother with calling out names or titles. They didn't bother with introductions or quips. They just attacked. One from her right, another from her left. Nightmarish Alicorn versions of Applejack and Pinkie Pie. One clad in armor so polished it was like a mirror, and the other one wearing an over the top version of Pinkie Pie's party dress. I'd find out their names later: Nightmare Mirror, and Nightmare Granfalloon. They used their moment of surprise for all it was worth. Mirror wrapped up Rarity in their reflective wings of hers like a cocoon, I have no idea what she was shown, but when she was let out, she was bug-eyed and drooling. Granfalloon sprayed Derpy with rubber from a hose, turning Derpy into a living balloon pony. As Derpy was still looking at herself in shock, Granfalloon pulled out her nozzle, deflating her. The monster clown came up behind me when I blinked and wrap Derpy's rubber body around me. Slapping a 'Don't Open Till Hearth Warming's Eve' stick over my mouth she said, "Be careful, you might rip her!" Mad Tiara and Screwball double teamed Mirror and struck with enough force to shatter her mirror wings, instead they passed right into them. Mirror moved her wings so they were facing themselves, mom and filly came out of the mirror wings right at each other like two freight trains....Their skeletons shatters on impact, and with both our healers already down. That left only the Nightmares' counterparts against themselves. My...my friends...they...they put up a brave struggle...but the world was literally breaking apart around us. My friend tried so hard...they didn't give up...but...not giving up and trying hard, doesn't change the outcome when...when you're fighting a reflection of yourself that exists outside, no, that VIOLATES the rules of what's supposed to be. Fighting something that had more experience than you could ever have, that had fought you hundreds of times, but this was your first time fighting them, using overpowered spells and unbalanced techniques that you'd never seen before, but they'd seen all of your moves until they were boring. It was the most hideous thing I'd ever seen, it made Discord's games look fair! "It's so adorable you thought you could win!" I hear Granfalloon laugh and clap. I know what Pony Hell's gonna be, seeing what came next, forever. "The world is dead. Your friends are dead." Mirror snorted at Dusk's words. "The future is dead. There isn't hope for anypony to save the day. This movie is over. It's time to leave the theater and get back to real life." "N-no." "Ooooh." Nightmare Granfalloon laughed. "Maybe maybe maybe she wants to float her all alone for eternity surrounded by the pieces of her home she couldn't save! Naw. That'd be just silly! Tee-hee!" "Look at it this way, sugar, maybe the next Twilight Sparkle will get lucky where ya didn't," Nightmare Mirror sighed. "You always did know how to joke, Applejack," That Thing said. "Now come along my little pony, there's nothing left for you here." I watched the spirits of black magic surround my friend who gave me hope when she didn't remember what a friend was. Wrapping themselves around her. I could see her soul bubble over with darkness. Countless black threads like thin arms getting their claws into her. And...that THING...as Twilight began twisting into something horrible as she drowned in her own shadow, pulled her into itself, absorbing her. Derpy, the most determined pony I'd ever known, with a deflated cursed body, managed to pull the sticker off my mouth. "Dash, I'm sorry." Derpy managed to whisper in her cursed state. It was over anyway. The Nigtmare's own force field was the only reason there was an atmosphere around us now. Now I knew despair. I couldn't win. I wouldn't. I never had a way to win. There never was a way to win. I wasn't alive, I wasn't a person, I wasn't a pony, was a recording, a memory, something made to play over and over… NO! "YOU'RE WRONG!" I screamed! "I am not what you say I am! Discord knew! He knew I had the power to break your stupid script! If we were as static as you say you wouldn't need to buckin' ex machina us so much! Screw you! We're not as predictable or preset as you say we are! You say yer the goddess of infinite loops? I'm swear I'll become the Alicorn of breaking cycles, just you watch!" "Delusion and nonsense," fake Twilight said bored. "This movie is over, time to rewind the film." "If Twiley's really a part of you, you won't! She gave me heart when she didn't have one! Twilight! You don't have to do what she wants! There's more worlds in the universe than ours! We don't have the right to erase them all out there just to give ours another chance!... If Discord was really being forced to be evil, then maybe he can clean up HER mess." Mirror lowered her head. Granfalloon yawned. "I'm bored." "Me too, bye," Fake Twilight said. Her horn glowed and...nothing? "Huh? Why can't I reset this timeline? This doesn't make sense! Oh I see. It's you. Heh. As long as she holds onto the lie that you're a person instead of just a potential person, she refuses to let go of this movie set...A good mare knows when to take away her little sister's toys!" Twilight, Every time I've stopped and stumbled in doubt and darkness I close my eyes and think back to you. We made a vow, a promise, To carry onward, I'll see it through. We'd all forged a promise when we defeated Nightmare Moon, and we forged a promise when Twilight and I woke each other up. This Rainbow isn't afraid to bear her heart. When ponies sing, we now the lyrics from each other simply by feeling for each other. Ponies love to sing. To put a fine or tax on it would be like a tax on hugging. I didn't get it, but I think the Elements wanted us to win too. Maybe our friends all needed to agree inside I was our last best gamble. Maybe when ponies sing, a miracle can happen, after all, friendship is magic, and magic doesn't care if you get it or not. And this song? It held every drop of my friendship for her! All I knew was that we weren't done! A colored light rose from the chest of each of my friends, becoming a swirl of colors. A rainbow of power came from each of my friends, and poured into me. Even out of fake Twilight herself, I knew it was from our real Twilight. Derpy was finally pulled free of me, and I spread my wings. I felt them all: AJ. Rares'. Twiley. Ditzy. Pinkie. Like they were all right besides me, naw, it was like they were a part of me, or maybe I was just the vessel and I was all a part of them. Ah who cared?! What happened next rocked! I had the most awesome mane ever! My wings were all the colors of the rainbow! And my cutie mark went all the way down my leg! My tail and my entire body screamed 'rainbow lightning!' Unlike the power from my Element of Chaos, all the colors of my body were shining bright! I would have felt like I was going to burst if I wasn't busy feeling like I was a pony shaped container for harmony itself! I didn't dwell on it or ask questions. I had fake Twilight's flank to kick and get my real Twilight back. "But… this didn't happened before," fake Twilight whispered. I sped at Sonic Rainboom speed on the spot right at the black witch. "When I was young, the sky shone clear and bright and blue, And I smiled through every day, knowing that all my dreams would come true." My dreams of being a Wonderbolt flashed before my eyes, of being remembered as the fastest pegasus to ever live. Dusk freaked and teleported away with her others, but not far enough away, at my my speed! She tried to crush me with her telekinesis but I just powered on through. Mirror then flew in front of the others and clapped her hooves together. "Now that ya've grown, that sky fades dark and disappears And the future ya once dreamed dissolves before yers doubts and fears." Suddenly, I was surrounded by mirrors on all sides, and several layers of reflective glass between me and the Nightmares. I looked at myself in the surfaces, and I saw every horrible thing I'd done as Discord's pawn and all the selfish things did as a filly and mare. I saw all the short comings of my entire life and that of my friends, every time we all fell short and others suffered for it, and all the times I never learned a thing. Then all the reflections turned towards me accusingly, and threw knives made out of reflective silver right at me from every angle. I became a blur of after images as I deflected them all back where they came from. Nightmare Mirror creating new mirrors for every one I smashed just by reflecting another mirror's reflection off another. I let out a flash of light strong enough to block out the reflections, and I zapped passed the mass of mirrors but still had several mirror walls stopping me. I closed my eyes. And thought of Twilight's hug that night her bedroom when I'd come to kill her. "Then you came to me, Took me by the hand, And the strength you shared helped me to rise and stand. Let the clocks tick by, Let the days fade away, 'Cause I've found the path my heart will walk today." "Closein' yer eyes to the truth? Typical RD!" I slammed my wings together to created a Sonic Rainboom. The shockwave went in every direction, shattering the mirrors, and the mirrors behind those mirrors, and so on. "Mah mirrors!" Nightmare Mirror herself cracked in spots. I noticed similar cuts appearing on Twilight's Nightmare's body, she didn't even look at her own injuries. "Applejack! Get back! You're hurt!" This AJ, this Pinkie Pie this...this Twilight...they had they had their Rainbow Dash too didn't they? Their Spike, their Apple Bloom. And they were all gone now. Maybe they were the ones giving me the strength to do this too. "Good luck," Mirror said, looking right at me as she was pulled back inside the body of Twilight's Nightmare, How strange. It was almost like she'd said good luck to me, not Twilight's Nightmare. Dusk summoned a bajillion shadow monsters, cockatrices, weird wall monsters, (they're called Nurikabe? Thanks!) tentacles thingies I can't describe, and creatures that could have been changelings disguised as red bat ponies, except the harmony inside me screamed these things weren't ponies. Fine by me, just meant I didn't have to play nice! "When I was young, my friends were always by my side, If I faltered, they would hold me tight, push my wor-ries a-side." It was like Twilight, Derpy, and all the rest were there fighting alongside me, even Fluttershy! All the adventures we'd had in Ponyville flew through me. I created living afterimages, creating different lightning constructs for each other, ripping through the horde. Dusk just kept summoning more. This got worse when Granfalloon began firing a barrage of party cannons into the melee! That she was hitting some of Dusk's summons meant nothing when she could keep summoning more. Dusk sang. "The years go by and friends faded further day by day. Now there's none left you can trust, and all alone you fall and pray." I thought of Twilight, my Twilight, this Twilight, all of them, having to go through Discord ripping us away from her one by one until she collapsed inside herself. And me, left alone with no friends as Discord kept me mostly sane as the others twisted more and more into mockeries. Whatever power I'd been given, something told me it wasn't limitless, and I had a feeling that's what the Nightmares were counting on too. I could feel it burning out. Granfalloon laughed. "Stop being so serious Dashie, we reset things, and boom, you're just back where your started. No loss! And all those ponies are alive again, big gain!" "Pinkie Pie! That'll be ANOTHER Rainbow Dash! It won't be me!" "Heh, stop being a stick in the mud Dashie, it won't kill you to just enjoy everything! This is a comedy!" "There's nothing funny about this!" "Now now Dashie, this is Twilight's story she's writing, what she says goes, go write your own story Dashie if you're that upset." Dammit! This hurt! More so than the army of monsters trying to petrify, block, molest, violate, or dissolve me! That was Pinkie Pie talking, even if she was now a monster. It wasn't like Angry Pie where she was turned upside down from everything she was. Here it was like, she was pressed flat and taken over by a cancer! Tentacles grabbed me from behind as one of the 'ponies' came at me with an obvious intent in her eyes grinning. I grabbed her by the neck with my back legs and slammed her into the tentacle thing behind me. My after images and constructs were burning out. If...if Granfalloon was still Pinkie Pie somewhere inside...what about all the Twilights that made up the big Nightmare? I look right at Dusk right in the eyes, and I sang, TO HER! To my Twilight still inside her. "Then your voice resounds, Shining like a light And in har-mon-y our song endures the night Though the mount-ains fall, Though the world fade to dust, Still in you I've found a strength that I can trust." And for a few seconds, her magic sputtered out (also her magic being the only keeping most of her summon alive in the vacuum of space). This made Granfalloon stop her barrage and look at her confused. Bingo. I zoomed at the distraction, and jack hammered my rear legs into her head with enough force to make AJ proud, of course she'd squeak. Dusk also cried out as she felt Granfalloon's pain. "Can you see me now? I'm racing Into that blue sky, Free and faster than ever before!" I did some business and zoomed back before she threw a pie the size of a house at me. I dodged to find all her party cannons aimed right at me and fired all at once. She didn't notice I had clogged them with Dusk's own summons when her head was spinning. "Over the walls and boundaries of this darkness prison Into the light." The resulting explosion left Granfalloon's eyes spinning in different directions with her tongue out. I flew at her intending to go THROUGH her, Dusk pulled her back within herself before that happened. I sang at the Nightmare as she summoned fireballs the size of buildings in the vacuum of space. "With your help my hope is rising, it's overflowing I was nothing, but when I'm with you I fly." The fireballs flicked out. "We can make it through this night, If we con-nect." Dusk sang and covered her mouth. My heart leapt. "I won't let you erase what Twilight and I have made!" Dusk created crystals that fired laser beams along with one from her horn and eyes. I dodged, GRABBED THE FREAKIN' LASERS AND BENT THEM BACK TOWARDS HER! "Lasers and rainbows, are both light beotch!" Dusk summoned concept killing rods and tried to second-guess me, but I was too fast, too wild, and Twilight was giving her trouble! She screamed. "Why can't you just give up? You have nothing left to fight for!" "For my friends!" "We're one now! You're attacking a friend!" "Then I'll fight my hardest to stop you from doing something horrible as a friend should!" Dusk darkly sang back at me. "Here you stand: a world of ruin, No path to guide you onward." I sang right back. "Still I smile and face the day; With you I'll find my way." Even if Twilight's soul was torn to shreds and remolded, I knew she wouldn't forget this song. Dusk teleported around me, firing flame, lightning (heh), ice, sonics to flay my bones, razor sharp winds, creating an atmosphere just so she could use half of these techniques! Girl forgot that for a pegasus, that gives me more advantage than her! I could dodge them in my sleep. "Thousand years memorizing your fightin' style, remember Twilight?" "Several hundred thousand years memorizing yours." I'd call it a bluff, but she's likely killed me more than times than I can count. But her attacks were getting more wild and off center. She grew to giant size, and forgot that just made her a big target and shrank back down after some good smacks! "Now my heart's alive, and racing Towards the future, There's no doubt that Could dare hold me back." She created some dark spiritual double of me, I beat in ten seconds flat. I panted. "I'm gonna fly on forward into a blue sky, bound-less and bright." I could tell the Nightmare was trying to teleport again, maybe out of the solar system and make the sun go super nova, it would fit with her style. But I had a feeling a friend was messing with her. "I still pray and know That one day we'll be together I'll ride onward And see you again, my friend." The Nightmare croaked out, "I won't stop until the end, I won't give in." Her horn glowed, a pulsing sphere of red light formed at the tip, aimed straight at me. "BE UNMADE!" She fired a column of red light at me. I didn't try to plow through it, I flew around it, she expanded it like an umbrella, getting wider, obliterating anything still around us, I was faster through, and zoomed in behind her, she tried to turn around but I was too fast. She kept firing that spell for way too long, and finally, as I think my reserves of this power were finally giving out, her own reserves gave out first. And I swear, we both sang. "To-mor-row's look-ing bright …" I dove straight towards her, vibrating my hoof to increasing it's mass for a good socking in the face, then I'd use my Element on hers and that should- "Rain'!" She turned into… "Twiley." "Rain'!" She was crying. And in that one moment, I hesitated. "Get away!" She screamed. The next, she was driving a summoned sword into my chest...right in my Element. "Twi-Twilight...w-wh-" Twilight looked at me heart broken. The power inside me shuts down. Suddenly she was Nightmare Dusk again, and Nightmare Granfalloon and Nightmare Mirror reemerged at that exactly moment, grabbing me and holding my limbs like a vice. "There… that helped break her out of her fantasy should get her to listen to reason," the boss Nightmare said like she had just helped Rarity arrange her dresses. The sword still in my Element, she put a hoof on her chest and assumed a pose. "Ahem. Dear Princess Celestia, though our friends can trap themselves in illusions and fantasies, we shouldn't let them stay there. As friends. It's our responsibility to drag them out of these lies and help them face reality. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Dusk smiled at me like I'd just gotten out of the hospital. Mirror whispered, "Sorry Sugarcube, ya lose." > We're All Still Here! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I didn't think anything could surpass the despair Discord gave me, I was so wrong. - Discord Ponies Rock Intro - My thoughts, my feelings, my memories, were all going in a million directions at once. Brawling out for space inside as I was smothered underneath! The maze again! Discord again! Cloudsdale again! Scootaloo again! Gilda again! Best Young Flier again! Shadowbolts again! Dad again! Flight camp! Didn't save Fluttershy! I told myself that we'd be okay, that we'd win, that we always win, that we'd bury Discord in our memories and go back to friendship reports and Pinkie Pie's parties! Thousand years of having my face rubbed in it! I felt like my insides were on fire, followed by a feeling of dry-ice! Was afraid for everypony that was going to come next. I lose again. I was angry at this monster and her buddies for doing this to my friends and everything I've known. I was angry at myself for failing right at the finish line. I hated Discord for making this monster. I hated myself. I'd failed again. I'd fallen for the oldest trick in the book. I screwed up when everypony was depending on me, again. Black tears came down my face. I failed my friend, I failed everypony. The whole universe hated me. I felt like I was all alone in a frozen wasteland. I'm sorry. Oh what good does SORRY do? What good has sorry EVER done? I felt blackness bleeding out of me where I was stabbed. There was only one way left to keep my promise. "Now where were we?" "Please, take me with you." "If I start taking souvenirs from movie sets, my home will be filled with clutter." "PLEASE! You look like you have a spot open for a Rainbow Dash on your team. Please. Let me be with her. Let me come with her and...I'm yours. The rest of the world is gone. I'll be loyal to her more than anything, that'll be my absolute loyalty. Just don't make her be alone." "She has a point," Mirror said reluctantly. "But she really shouldn't-" "She sounded so cute when she said that!" Granfalloon pinched my cheek. This was the only way. It was the only road I had left. "Let me continue to protect her, if she's really you now, then please, let me protect you then. You saw how I took out AJ and Pinkie Pie, I'd say I'm overqualified for the job." This was the only chance I had left to save her. I'd rescue her from the inside. I'd save her from the inside. And all the other Twilight Sparkles inside her. I'd save them all. I'd beat this monster. I'd save Twilight Sparkle. I'd pull my Twilight out of this monster Discord made. "Come'on Twilight, you know you want me with you," I grinned. Nightmare Dusk blinked then grinned. "Rainbow Dash? Is that you? The real you? Oooh I've been looking for you everywhere!" She nuzzled me, I resisted not to flinched. Nightmare Granfalloon hugged me like a plush toy. "Welcome back, Dashie! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Nightmare Mirror hugged me gently and nuzzled me. "Oh sugarcube, ya have no idea how big a mistake ya've made." Twilight's Nightmare twisted the sword still inside me. I felt my Element break in half. I wrenched my head back and howled. - 'Birth Of Demon Homura' - Madoka Rebellion - "B-but-" Had she been playing me? "Now now, don't be scared Rainbow Dash. I certainly I can't kill you if you're not alive. But you'll be a person soon, just like me, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack." Her chains reached into me like they were, or I was a ghost! They pulled out a piece of my Element. I screamed. It was a pain that I still can't describe. It went deeper than PHYSICAL pain. It was like what she did hurt my very BEING. She grimaced like holding it hurt even with her chains hurt. "Element of Free Will? More like Element of Not-Being-Reliable-To-Your-Friends. Don't worry, Dash, I've freed you of this horrible evil fake Element!" She tossed it over her shoulder like it was junk. "N-no!" I tried to reach for it. "This is my world, my choice. You don't get a say in the matter. How could you? You're not a person, yet. But you'll be soon, don't worry. That fake evil Element was holding back your ascension into a goddess." "Yer gonna be TOTALLY COOL, Dashie!" "Ah'm sorry, Dash," Mirror whispered. "Yer doomed." A huge gusher of darkness leapt out of me from my own Element. Nightmare Dusk pulled the sword out of me, and the others let me go. I croaked out my last words as Rainbow Dash, "Twilight, help me." "I am helping, you Dash, because you're my friend," She smiled happily. "Friends help friends to not do bad things. And trying to stop the golden world from existing is very bad indeed. Be loyal to us, Nightmare of Loyalty." The darkness became long arms with hands, and they wrapped themselves around me like a mummy. I couldn't move. I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. All I could do was feel myself devoured from the inside out by my own Element of Loyalty. Nightmare Dusk...Twilight Sparkle, she's my Twilight too, she's doing this to me. My friend...Her chains whip out and wrap themselves around me even as the darkness does. I manage to cry one last tear as Rainbow Dash, and for one moment, I wished there was just a way to make it fair. I see my Element inside my soul burn away everything that wasn't connected to my loyalty, the regalia taking on a completely new design with more jagged angles, and the jewel without a casing. The darkness explodes in a twisting maelstrom of black threads, shadowy mist, and gray lightning bolts. A horn punctures my head. My strength increases as I become aware of the life around me, and all the death. My wings turn black like storm clouds. My mane and tail become jagged and crackle with red and gray lightning. My legs become longer and thinner. My muzzle elongates. I keep growing. I feel Twilight's chain spears pierce my skull. I scream louder than before. "Now now, you just have some nasty defects in your brain, I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't fix you. Be happy, you'll be well very soon." "Load of horseapples from beginin' to end." "Oh Applejack, you're such a kidder!" Applejack and Pinkie Pie, they just. . . watch. I feel like a part of my soul's being lobotomized. "And you'll make sure all our friends stay stay loyal to each other right? We're going to make a golden world. And we're gonna need loyal friends." I grunted back. Y-yes. Friends need to be loyal to each other. Y-yes. My new horn glowed. Armor formed around me vaguely like the barding of ancient pegasi warriors. Black armor with rainbow highlights. Plates of metal connected at the corners to each other by chains. A champron with an extra large visor above my eyes. My cutie mark...white becomes black, and the rainbow colors, like my own mane, become like a photo negative. "Welcome back, Rainbow Dash," Twilight smiled. "Tell us your new name. Who are you? What are you?" "I...I am Nightmare Manacle...The All-Consuming Loyalty." I grunt out. "Wonderful! You've been uplifted from a simple mass of temporal possibility to a real person! Congratulations!" I grunted back. Bowing my head. "Now, let's reset the stage, and get you comfortable in our house, don't worry, you get to make your room exactly the way you want it." "I'll get the popcorn!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "It ain't a show," AJ said, everypony ignored her. I grunted and bowed to my friend, as she tore creation apart one moment at a time in reverse order. And I just stood there like a good friend, as she destroyed the entire universe. Endless cycles. Endless cycles. In order she collected us. Cruelest of Truths. The Endless Laughter. All-Consuming Loyalty. Fluttershy was next. Pinkie and me, both tried to bring her into the fold, as a loyal friend would, it was better than being erased into nothing right? We failed. It was Applejack and her cruel truths that made Fluttershy become the Kindest Of Lies. She introduced us all to her loving and caring daughter after she 'fixed her' from Discord's 'bad influence.' Applejack naturally told us what she did was nothing to cheer her for. I could relate. Me and her never stopped hating ourselves. And finally she claimed The Beautiful Fury Of the Generous Green Flames. Rarity, no matter what Eclipse did, no matter how she rigged the game, no matter what changes she made to the script, Rarity refused to become Nightmare Charity, The Fairest Of Gifts. Even dying, no Rarity accepted what Twilight was selling. Spike on the other hoof...to save her? Well...what's Twilight Sparkle without her number one assistant? The Nightdrake, Nightdrake Banneret. Too bad Rarity hadn't wanted Spike to become a monster just for her. Our little stable existed in what you could call the space between world-lines. It was latched onto this world-line like a tumor. I fell asleep through Twilight's lecture, but basically it was able to exist in and out of time and space at the same time thanks to her Element of Magic, being nowhere and everywhere at once. Being OUR private, separate universes, like the 'other' concepts had. Which meant the concepts would have to FORCE their way inside and play by our rules if they wanted to come inside. Oh, they tried. But the point is that we could do our business and exploring without leaving us vulnerable where the rules of interaction weren't in play. We also ultimately had our own cute little gatekeeper. I remember the first time. That very time. As we watched the world be torn to shreds over and over going backwards through time. Deep down...no, it wasn't deep. I never hid it anymore than Applejack did. I HATED myself for every moment of that. Hatred that made my self loathing as traitor Dash look like child's play. And that was only the first loop. Even with what had been done to me, I knew this was all my fault. Each loop, a part of me wondered if that Rainbow Dash would succeed where I failed and save both our Twilights...that was deep down, I couldn't dare admit it out loud. I remember Scootaloo. The way the world was ripped apart atom by atom, moment by moment, starting with Discord's statue and spreading out from there, all the way back to the day Discord was freed. Spreading faster the bigger it go, until the last half of the universe is torn to lights and shadows in less than a instant. I remember Scootaloo. For the poor ponies at the start, it wasn't a black sphere or white void, or a gray fog. It was like they were looking at the sensation of being blind marching towards them, consuming everything. Maybe I couldn't pretend I wasn't Rainbow Dash after all, maybe seeing it all be destroyed, all the murder of moments, up to that point was the straw that broke the Nightmare's back. Maybe I was still hanging onto the idea I could save one pony that meant something to me. My former self's body was torn away into nothing, the same as everything. The universe I belonged to was dying before my eyes. But...with everything being torn to pieces, the walls were coming down the same as everything, along with the rules of before and after. At that last possible moment, as Scootaloo watched the Royal Garden, Canterlot, and Ponyville dissolve, I moved. I dived in, breaking through what little remained of whatever barriers could have stopped me. And I took Scootaloo from our world. Twilight...she...she...she said how I shouldn't . . . I told her she was just memorabilia, like my collection of Wonderbolts merchandise. Mirror said I did it on instinct. Twilight, she patted me on the head and told me not to make a habit out of it, and that she'd 'throw out' my 'junk' if it proved to be trouble 'for my own good.' The next time, my first time fighting on HER side...she was watching too closely for me to save Scootaloo. I had be careful, I had to pick my battles, I had to sneak Scootaloo past Applejack and Twilight each time. Until...until Applejack recruited Fluttershy…Nightmare Whisper helped me save Scootaloo almost every time, but even she couldn't perfectly run interference every time. She even helped me to save other ponies from Ponyville, I was able to tell Twilight about those, saying how I just wanted a complete collection. She believed me. My room...in our domain...I made it into a copy of Ponyville and Cloudsdale. First Scootaloo and I were the only real ponies there, using just wooden dummies animated by Fluttershy's magic. But I slowly replaced them with real ponies from countless times. Made to be like from before the day of chaos. Twilight once said it reminded her of a universe where Discord created a fake Ponyville and populated it with constructs he had the gall to think were alive. She'd ask why I always seemed to be sadly sitting in my cloud castle whenever she visited my room. "You could make any pocket dimension they wanted, why did you make something that only seemed to make you sad?" She kept asking. But I refused to answer. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy only told her that it was personal and I'd tell her when I was ready. Eclipse accepted that as friends should. I hope she never noticed the orphanage. Scootaloo, I kept her asleep the whole time. I went out to where the Asylum was supposed to be, and set up a crude orphanage. And in there, I kept every Scootaloo, sleeping in dreams where they never had to think about the bad things. I NEVER spoke to them. Never interacted with them. I didn't deserve to be called Rainbow Dash by them anymore. My plan was to integrate them all into one Scootaloo once the golden world was created. I also cherry picked ponies from various different loops to populate my imitation Ponyville and Cloudsdale that I turned my private room into. I was an idiot. Each Scootaloo was a complete soul. Even if their futures were erased, they weren't clones of each other. It was like some residue of the timelines they were from carried over with them, and they dreamed of the futures they had chosen for themselves in Discord's dungheap of a world. They were all Scootaloo, but they were all unique. As for the rest of my 'collection', they lived each day being simply 'The Day, The Week, The Month, The Year', dates were meaningless, they just lived each day oblivious to any desire to leave town, or that Scootaloo wasn't there, they didn't remember her. My magic rewrote their memories, keep them happy, and let them be a Ponyville and Cloudsdale I could pretend was real. They had no idea who Discord even was. Or that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna never visited. Bright Night...she was right, she'd been completely right. She couldn't steal something that was already lost, something that hadn't been there to begin with. I'd almost killed her over nothing. My own selfishness to have Scoots close by, but never having to face her. Endless cycles, bury the guilt and the shame, create a little pocket world for ponies from the cycles, can't fit that many, Eclipse doesn't want me growing attached to 'stage props.' Save Scoots, try to always save Scoots, when the world resets, snatch her in the moment as the timeline is reduced to ether and everypony in it, sometimes on the day of chaos, sometimes a day before...Keep them safe, keep them happy, don't let them interact with a Rainbow Dash who betrayed them. Create a golden world, where monsters like us could never come into being. I remember my sins. Doing NOTHING while Twilight led one Twilight after another to becoming a Nightmare. Those who resisted, were absorbed kicking and screaming. I remember helping her break Twilight and her friends when they refused to bow to the script. I became trivial after the first few hundred times. They weren't fights. They were routines. Their struggle was futile and meaningless. Twilight sometimes let us add in our own personal torments to Discord for what he had done to the world. My favorite moment was when I blew up Discord right after he was free of his statue self with a bunch of grenades around him, but then again all that changed was that the Draconequus possessed one of the guards that would have gone with Cadence on her tour. I, the Nightmare of Loyalty didn’t bother to remember the names of the hosts. NO! I...I hated Discord! I didn't think the ponies were worthless! No please! I'd never abandoned Fluttershy, even if she thinks Discord has suffered enough after endlessly watching his daughter, her daughter, their daughter, die. Stop it, please! I never meant to not realize how it hurt her too all that time! Or that Discord remained loyal to his daughter to the bitter end in that final loop, caring more about her than he did about himself as Twilight used 'stock footage' from previous timelines she had 'recorded' to keep him 'in character.' Like when she made him murder Apple Pie. "Ya KNOW that Twili' been copyin' and pastin' parts from earlier loops ta keep Discord on track right?" "Yeah so?" "So, that means sugar that whenever RD is forced ta kill Scootaloo, that means it's Twili' now whose makin' it happen. Not Discord." "Yes." "An'?" "And what?" "And whaddya think?" "If Discord is going to pretend that he's changed so he think we'll somehow forget all the horrible things he's done, I need to make sure our complete selves don't forget or are fooled." Eclipse said, matter-of-fact spreading her wings grandly. "I think AJ, that I'm loyal to you guys, and nothing is ever ever ever EVER going to change that! I'll never abandon any of you ever again even if every entire universe becomes our enemy! Scootaloo won't have to remember any of that when we make the Golden World. Twilight promised. Was she lying?" "… No." "And I think that's a buckass question to ask in the first place AJ!" I finished. "Yes it wasn't very kind to say all!" "I don't really really really get the joke either." "Oh don't worry girls. She's just being true to herself. You can't expect her to be more than that can you?" Eclipse asked, the smile only slightly shrinking. I looked at Eclipse, then at Mirror, and then put a chain-barding hoof on her mirror shined barded shoulder, "It'll be both our redemptions, we'll pay back in interest. Scootaloo will have a Golden World to live her life in instead of the cruddy one she was living even before bastard-Discord." I turned to Eclipse. "Speaking of which Twilight, isn't it time to help Twilight Version One Point Oh, down the path of leveling up to totally awesome super-mare?" STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEAS-EASE-EASE! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER ANYMORE! STO-O-O-O-OP!!! I wanted...I wanted Scootaloo to have a better life! Scootaloo's one drop in a very deep bucket of blood. Back in the orchard, back in what may or may not have been reality, I held my hooves to my head as I rolled back and forth on the ground wailing. Scootaloo's one drop in a very deep bucket of blood. I sat up in bed waving Eclipse off, "Hey! Calm down Twilight, you'll pop a blood vessel. We'll make Rarity our Nightmare Charity," Manacle maniacally grinned as she brought her hooves into a crushing motion, "Even if we have to grind her spirit into paste and rebuild her from the ground up to do it!" Please...stop...please...I...I lost track of myself...of what I wanted, of what I hoped for...I . . . Scootaloo's one drop in a very deep bucket of blood. Eclipse looked at the transparent glass sphere containing a mobius loop shape of stairs sitting on the table. "Last time I let you, you shook it like a snow globe to watch the stars settle." "I just destroyed a few galaxies," I said. "Yes, but you could have damaged something important. I'll just give a quick little debugging before resting." Scootaloo's one drop in a very deep bucket of blood. Estimated death count: 6,432,132,341,255,ERROR What did any of that have to do with absolute all consuming loyalty? Scootaloo's one drop in a very deep bucket of blood. Red isn't my favorite color anymore. Serve without question, full herd of Nightmares, except Rarity. Scootaloo's one drop in a very deep bucket of blood. I hated myself. I never stopped hating myself. So I buried myself. Then things go off the rails, new relative of Discord...things go crazy...another intervention...things really go off the rails, they actually BEAT the five of us and make us retreat back into Eclipse. . .We pull the rug out from under them when it seemed they won...no, they PLAYED us... six Elements groups against us? A stab from Rancor? Twilight's parents extra grow thanks to a Minty's magic sword? Torrent of Rainbow Colors, tearing us away from her...and then... Back in the orchard. Back in the present. I rolled on my back, looking up at the sky, the rain slapping me in the face like reality. "What good am I?" I ask, nopony answers. -'English Cover 'Rain'' - Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood- I cried, letting them mix with the rain. All my sins laid bare. My sins were beyond counting. And I was sorry. For whatever good it did. Guys, I'm sorry. Scootaloo, my Scootaloo, I'm sorry. All of you, whatever remains of you in Nothingness, I'm sorry. Who am I kidding? There aren't enough 'I'm sorries' in the world. Not for what I did. Not for what any of us did. My sins as Discord's favorite toy were nothing compared to what I stood by and let happen as Nightmare Eclipse's little buddy. I'd say 'dammit', but that's kinda given right now. I'd get to see Fluttershy and Spike turned into monsters as well, and one Twilight after another consumed by Nightmare Eclipse as the rest of the world died. And Eclipse dangling her perfect, impossible golden world in front of me like a carrot, promising everything would be alright if I continued to be a good friend to her and continued to destroy universes all for the matters of one tiny planet in one small galaxy in an infinite expanse. So many worlds and super-galaxy clusters out there I now understand, so many that had nothing to do with any of this, and we kept destroying everything for the tiny matters of one planet. We were the definition of selfish. What right did we ever have? My Twilight had been absorbed into a monster. And my friends that I fought so hard alongside to free from Discord, were simply erased. Their lights of existence recycled while their shadows were tossed into that glorified garbage can that Entropy calls a realm. Everypony I had known and loved no longer even ever existed! That Rainbow Dash who helped kick our flanks in that final cycle, she'd been more of a Rainbow Dash than I'd ever been. ...And she succeeded where I didn't. She saved her Twilight. She zoomed in as the big hero and rescued her and her friends from us. She did EVERYTHING I should have been able to do...no, if she was able to do it, why couldn't I have? She's proof I could have done it...proof that in the end, the only one I have to blame for me failing is me, myself, and I. She's the real Rainbow Dash now. The better Rainbow Dash. Me? I was a nightmare left over from a night that was already over. But… there were still ponies suffering for Eclipse's selfish screw-ups. Well, time to clean our mess. I admitted... maybe eternal punishment wouldn't be so bad . . . if I got to lay eyes on the true Alicorn Twilight Sparkle will have become. Because I know, that all those Twilights over the cycles are her, and that means my Twilight Sparkle, is now a beautiful goddess, just let me lay eyes on her just once. That's all I ask. I looked at Berrybarble, the one orange tree of the apple orchard, cracked in two by an overzealous buck but then mended back together. From Applejack's orchard in her own private domain. But this...this was my world, I could feel it in my bones. "But we were all hit by that super rainbow too!" I looked at my flank. "Why am I still a Nightmare?" And now I realized, I felt like I was in a body two sizes too small. "There were six groups of Elements, there were six of us. There should have been enough to go around. We were all hit, TRYING TO PROTECT HER FROM IT! We should have gotten hit by the lion's share!" I stamped my hoof. I wish I was smarter, Twilight could have figured this out. Twilight. I look at the Official Wonderbolts Pin on my breast that Twilight had given me. I REALLY look at it. Sensing the magic around it, and felt something painfully familiar. Like a tiny reflection of myself. It ripples, and faded, turning into, a broke off half of my purified Element of Chaos: Free-Will. A piece of my soul returned to me, everything considered, I'm still going to have to thank her. Soul, Twilight. "We were all astral projecting through her when we got smashed by the six squared Rainbow of Light. So were our spirits hit, but our bodies weren't? Our real bodies were still back in the Nightmare Stable. So...does that mean I'm Rainbow Dash on the inside but Nightmare Manacle on the outside? This makes my head hurt. Ugh! I really do feel like I'm in a body two sizes too small! "Hi, Rainbow!" "Nap time's over!" "It's time to play with us again, Rainbow Dash." "We've had such fun times before." "And we know it'll be fun this time too!" I'm surrounded by little foals in a perfect circle. All of their coats as white as snow, dressed in black dresses and shirts all different styles and types. They all looked at me with the same smile. I couldn't see their cutie marks or be sure what pony race they were. "Who, who are you?" I looked at them, they felt familiar. But not sure how. "You remember us!" "You just spent all that time remembering us!" "You've been calling out our names!" "So it's time to play again!" "I'm angry!" Huffed a colt with a little red stuffed tie. "I'm lonely," sighed, a filly in a black poncho with a purple scarf. "I'm sad," looked down a filly wearing a blue ribbon. "I'm scared!" Said the filly with a yellow flower in her black sun hat. "I'm hateful," Icily stated the only other foal in the group, only one without a bit of color. "I'm greedy," grinned the filly with an orange sash. "And I'm quite vain." The filly wearing a pink brooch stood proud. They all stood perfectly still in the rain, and weren't getting wet at all. "W-What do you want from me?" I asked, taking a step back. "What do we want? What do you want?" "What do we want? What do you want? "What do we want? What do you want?" And they each repeated those same eight words, one right after the other until they'd all said it. Then they just repeated it over and over the same exact way. Was it like a kid asking a question until they got an answer? Or was it like someone DEMANDING an answer? Or neither? Both? I couldn't tell! "Why are you here?!" I finally asked, as they all looked at me expectantly? Intrigued? Confused? I just couldn't make heads or tails of it? "We can lend you power." "We're here to return the Queen of Chains her crown. But we know we'll have lots of time to play after!" Said the vain filly. "We crowned you at your coronation." "So now it's time for you to take it back." "It wasn't nice you ignoring us, after we gave you so many gifts." "Now it's time-" "-to take back your crown-" "-Queen of Chains." "Hide and seek was fun but-" "-now we found you and your friends again-" "-so let's play a new game!" "So now it's time to anointed the Queen of Chains again-" "-let your second coronation begin!" They all looked at me with the same blue eyes and the same smile. -Clara Dolls - Madoka Rebellion - Transfixed. I watched they linked together links of chain into something resembling a crown. Then, they sang. The Queen of Chains was oh so sad None as miserable as she. When ponies turned their backs, she did get so mad, With her friend she wanted to be. Why she wanted this is no riddle For stolen away from her was she. So to be with your friends do prepare That's where she'll make you have to be! Six of them prostrated before me like you would Princess Celestia suddenly flanking me in rows of three, but I didn't see them move. Lonely was holding the crown in her hooves like she had magnets inside them. Like...like ponies of the world Pinkie'd been born from. Where Rarity and me had each other's hearts. The rain actually split, and a row of rainbow colored flowers appeared on either side of me like the trim of a carpet. Lonely knelt before me and held up the crown. I spread my wings. I didn't fight it. I didn't run from it. I didn't deny it. I could only accept my reality. I lowered my head. Blackness appeared on me and spread like cancer cells. "I crown once again ye, the Great and Powerful Nightmare Manacle!" Sure. Why not? The world already has a Rainbow Dash. She placed the crown on my head. I felt the seals on my power and my body shatters. My transformation happened in an explosion of rainbow colored lightning. The storm vanished like a switch was flipped. I stretched my wings, and let my horn glow as my first act as a Nightmare again was to take a bite out of one of Applejack's apples. Then I looked at myself over in a reflective puddle. My cutie mark inverted. Horn and wings. The strength of an earth pony within. Thousands of thousands of years of life giving me the figure of an adult Alicorn. My coat darkened a shade, but that was par the course. Slit rose red dragon eyes looked back at me. So much for white-eyed blind loyalty. My mane's colors were inverted like a photo negative, just like my cutie mark, it shimmered ghostly a bit like it was made of light. My black plates of barding held together by chains in place again covered my body with an old pegasi warrior off the style of something Commander Hurricane would wear if she was into a fashion statement. "Alright, Nightmare Manacle...one last adventure. Then you can owe up to everything you've done." I didn't need to look for my friends. Even sealed away, we were connected by the Elements, and could sense their power. Let's do this. I flew into AJ's house, I could have teleported or used the door, but I felt like smashing some walls. AJ looked up at me bug eyed from her couch. "RAINBOW?! THAT YOU?!" Her hoof instantly reached for a cider bottle that wasn't there a moment before. I shattered it with my telekinesis. Before AJ could get another word in edgewise, I pull her up with my magic, and placed my horn against her forehead and cast the memory spell. "Sorry Applejack, this is really going to hurt." The seals on her broke like cheap glass. The drinking geass placed on her that kept her from using her truth vision dissolved. What looked like glass crystallized around her, making a reflective silver shell like she was a statue. It shattered open a second later as silver shining light shockwaved in the room, knocking things off their selves and flipping tables and couches upside down and blowing out windows. Applejack's coat was darker, her cutie mark now green apples with red leafs. Her body type now that of an Alicorn, the oldest of us now. Green dragon eyes stared back at me, that pierced me to my soul, but I was done looking away. Her barding was smooth sleek bright reflective silver with emeralds set in shaped to look like eyes that also armored her wings completely, or maybe her feathers of her wings were silver, the truth was hard to tell. Her mane reminded me of an autumn sky at sunset. "Ya just had ta wake me up, didn't ya?" She said curtly. Same old Nightmare Mirror. "Yes I did. I still have the others to do. You comin' or not, AJ?" "Don't call me AJ! Ah ain't got no right ta that name no more!" "Yeah, yeah I know." "And you better not have hurt any of Bloomberg's family transformin'!" "Don't worry. Vacation's over. I'm gonna go tell the others. You coming?" "Yeah, Ah'm comin', Ah can't stand this disgustin' lie. And Ah can't stand so many innocent ponies livin' in it!" "Hey, I built this place." "Fer ya it was a fantasy. Different thing. So we gonna move or chatter?" "RACE YA!" I zoomed out the other side of the house. "HEY NO FAIR!" "So do you hate me for waking you up?" "It's the truth. Deal. My motto remember? Nightmare Eclipse was so delusional that every time Ah told'er to her face she was evil and doin' evil she brushed me off!...Stubborn Twilight." "Oh right, you were with her the longest." "By the time of that last battle, Manny? Ah HATED what were doing even more than ya! But Ah had nowhere else to go. And figured the golden world was the only way left to make any of it mean anythin'. Oh. And Ah was plannin' ta drag all of us to Pony Hell after." "WHAT?" "Honest Mirror, remember? Ya think we don't deserve it? It would be a betrayal? There we go. Without Eclipse 'round, Ah wonder how long we got before we start fightin' each other." "Not on your life AJ, and I'll call you that. Ya TRIED to do the right thing after you realized your mistake, that's more than I did." . . . AJ told me...her first cycle, her native world. She'd protected and saved her Apple Pie, and FOUGHT Eclipse when she tried to end the world...when she realized she wasn't out to avert Discord's reign, but just repeat it over and over so she could torment him. AJ said that if she knew Eclipse was going to ACTUALLY advert his reign by erasing our reality, she said she'd have felt it was a fair trade. Then she found out what would happen to all those souls of all the ponies erased. In the end, Nightmare Mirror was on the ground, bleeding, her wings and armor shattered, with Eclipse's spears in her body Mirror told me. And Apple Pie, looking up in fear as Eclipse looked at her like she wasn't even a living thing. AJ always choked up at what happen next. I couldn't get the whole story out of her. She'd say something about saving Apple Pie the only way she could, but wouldn't go into details. "...Rainbow, one thing yah shouldn't be ashamed of? Yah got closer ta beatin' Eclipse than Ah did, and ya weren't a Nightmare yet…" "I still didn't win…Upset the AJ that beat her was an Element of Fantasy?" "Ah'd be upset if a LIARjack did it...It's the corrupt version of that Element Ah take issue with...Ah'm proud that meh managed tah save Apple Pie in a way Ah couldn't." "That's pretty mature of you." "No, it's pretty honest of meh." I wanted to crash right into Sugarcube corner, but Applejack didn't want anypony hurt, and teleported us inside instead. I still put on a great big show. I scanned the place with my eyes. Sweetie Belle wasn't here. But Apple Bloom was along with most of the foals. Cheerilee was there. I guess she was there to remind them that it was only a half day off from school. Cheerilee jaw hang out at the sight of us, and like any loyal teacher should, put herself between us and the foals. We were Nightmares after all. I spotted Pinkie Pie. She was sitting next to Bright Night. "APPLEJACK!? IS THAT YOU!?" Apple Bloom gasped. "Ah'm sorry Apple Bloom," Mirror said. "But Ah ain't yer Applejack, and this ain't yer Ponyville." "W-what?" The poor filly asked completely lost. "OH! Is it Nightmare Night already?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Oh wait! This is what you were telling me about Bright Night?" "Yes Pinkie Pie, it is." "Pinkie Pie?" I asked. "Bright Night says I forgot an important promise. But I didn't think you'd come back to the party as scary Alicorns with AJ, so are you going to apologize to Bright Night? Or are we gonna have round two?" I looked at the pink pegasus filly. I sighed. "I'm sorry, Bright Night." Her reason for being here had nothing to do with an evil scheme to take over Scootaloo's life, and I had attacked her for a bogus reason. I'd already caused enough pain and misery without giving a flying feather, I might as well take one tiny little drop out since I had the option. "Apology accepted." "Apology for what?" Apple Bloom asked. "It's not important anymore, Apple Bloom," she said. Cheerilee was looking left to right trying to figure out what was going on, looking on the verge of a break down. "Bright Night! Get away from them!" "Don't worry Miss Cheerilee, they're won't hurt us." "Pinkie can ya please stand still fer a moment?" AJ asked reluctantly. "Are ya gonna turn me to stone, a brainwashed zombie, a freaky apple-pony hybrid, or revert me to a former life?" "Yes on the last one." "Okay! Should be fun." "Prepare to be disappointed, sugarcube. It ain't a lie that Ah wish Ah was wakin' yah up tah a better sight," AJ touched Pinkie Pie's head with her horn and cast the memory spell. Pinkie Pie did what looked like a lifetime of Pinkie Sense twitches in under a minute. Then she stood perfect at attention. She then got down on all fours and shook her head. "Geeze, you weren't kidding about being disappointed. I was hoping for generation three me. Or Surprise. Or a My Little Horsey toy prototype from Hasbro, that would be new." "Remember? Ya Pinkie Promised, Pinkie Pie," AJ said. "Yeah I did. Oh well. Apple Bloom, Bright Night, everypony, sorry but the party is over for now. Thanks for coming." She then stood up, and pulled on the back of her body where there was now a zipper, and upside herself like she was a costume. Out came a darker shade of pink Alicorn, with the colors of her balloon cutie mark inverted. Her eyes were blue and like a dragon's. Her wings and horn looked like crayon drawings. Unlike us who wore barding, she was wearing a party dress with candy shaped jewelry (or jewelry shaped candy knowing Pinkie Pie). She wasn't wearing her clown make up. Her mane looked almost like a foal's rendition who had forgotten to color in the lines. She neatly folded up her, ugh, 'Pinkie Pie costume.' Cheerilee looked in dismay and horror. "Don't worry Cheerilee...I'm most ME ME ME instead! I think! Maybe maybe maybe....Dang. Being, more sane really stinks." Nightmare Granfalloon, the eternal laughter, DIDN'T look like laughing! "..." Out of all of us, Granfalloon had been crazy in a way that made Eclipse run for her money. She looked at Applejack. "Jackie...I...I thought it was all just a game, I didn't mean to laugh AT all those ponies...I didn't...I wouldn't...I didn't think anypony was really... I thought everything just..." She whimpered. "Am I a bad pony?" "...You WERE a bad pony...we all were...Now?...The honest truth is it's up tah you…" Pinkie Pie didn't answer. Pinkie looked in a mirror. Instead of putting on her clown make up however, she put on some buffalo tribe war paint. Only Pinkie Pie, Nightmare or not. What is there to say? We were ALL crazy as Eclipse's circle of friends, but that first step? Giving into the monster inside? BECOMING the monster inside? That was our own choice. "Where's Rarity and Sweetie Belle?" I asked. "If you think I'm going to tell you anything-" Cheerilee began. "I suggested to her that she should leave the party early when I got back, considering everything that happened yesterday, and that was a good idea to spend as much time with her big sister today as she could. Since there was no telling when they'd meet again." "Bright Night!" "It's okay Miss Cheerilee, they aren't the enemy." "How can you know that though?! And what they just did to Pinkie Pie!" Cheerilee was even more confused that the Cakes were doing nothing more than continue to pony the counter and kitchen. "I promise I'll explain everything soon." She looked right at us. "But I you really need to hurry!" "Do we REALLY need to wake up Rarity too? Can't she just be happy?" Pinkie Pie asked, almost pleading. "Pinkie, whatever put us here brainwashed Nightmares and took over this place. We'll need all the power we can get," I explained...and I admit, I wish we didn't have to either. "Bye everypony! Thanks for coming! I hope we get to have some fun later! Oh and help yourselves to whatever you want behind the counter! For the rest of the afternoon, everything is free!" Cheerilee looked confused when the Cakes didn't give so much as a peep. Then dismayed as her students looked ready to spoil their appetites, but not as much as should have. "Applejack! WAIT! WHADDYA MEAN YER NOT MAH SISTER?! WHADDYA MEAN THIS AIN'T PONYVILLE?!" Apple Bloom was crying. Applejack tried to hug Apple Bloom with her wings, and grimaced. Mirrors did not make the most warm and comforting of wings. Applejack FORCED her wing eyes closed to avoid accidentally driving her sister catatonic with things ponies were not meant to know. She hugged her with her hooves and nuzzled her. "Ah wish Ah had time to explain. Ah'm sorry Apple Bloom." With more strength than it should have taken, AJ let go of her. We didn't bother to watch what happened next. And I didn't bother to see if Bright Night tagged along or not, I think if she was needed, she'd be there. My sensing lead us straight to Carousel Boutique. Bright Night was right. Whatever was here had eyes and ears everywhere. We didn't have time to waste. We all teleported inside Rarity's living room. She and Sweetie were sitting on a couch having cookies and tea (more like sweetened water in Sweetie's case). Rarity did what you'd expect from a big sister. She pulled Sweetie Belle close to her and assumed a hard style-karate pose that looked self taught. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Sweetie Belle yelled and held onto her big sister for dear life. Three Nightmares with the forms of her friends had just teleported into her living room after all. She was going to fight to the end to protect Sweetie or for a way to get themselves to safety. Protecting her like a dragon would its treasure. Ya know, I really hated to do this, I really did. This was a cheap way to win. But against the telekinesis of four Nightmares, she didn't stand a chance. She didn't even try to use hers to counter ours. Instead she told Sweetie to run, but Pinkie Pie picked up the filly with her tail and started tickling her. "Un-tail her you-" That was when Pinkie Pie touched her forehead, and used the memory spell. Eclipse had taught it to ALL of us. Rarity let out a gasp, her eyes wide in shock, then confusion, realization, followed by shame, and finally, sadness. "Please let me and Sweetie Belle go," She said. We did so. Sweetie was confused by her big sister's change in behavior, enough to take her mind for the moment off of escaping. "Sweetie Belle." Rarity hugged her. "I am very proud to be your big sister, you're the best little sister I could ever hope for. It would be a shame for anypony to lose a little sister like you." She kissed Sweetie Belle on the forehead. "There are so many things I want to say to you. But...please just know, I am proud of you, I KNOW you'll find your cutie mark sooner than later, and be sure to share your gift with the world, and remember that getting a cutie mark is only the beginning. And that I love you. And I know you love me. Don't spend your life trying to imitate me. Be your own self. And you have a beautiful voice Sweetie Belle. Please let everyone hear it. Don't let anyone steal that from you." Sweetie Belle looked understandably confused and scared. I have a feeling she was expecting somepony to come and tell her to get to school already, not to have four monsters pop up, cast a spell on her sister, and then for Rarity to spill her heart out. I didn't have it in me to say this Sweetie might had been a child for hundreds of thousands of years (I'd picked the Crusaders early on) and letting her grow up was something a long time coming. "R-Rarity!? What happened? What happened to your friends? What did they do to you? Are you going to turn into a Nightmare too now?!" Rarity cried. She nuzzled Sweetie Belle who eyes were brimming, and their tears mixed together. "I'm sorry Sweetie Belle, it's better you don't know. I love you and you're a good filly. Now, big sister is telling you to get RUNNING! Things are going to be dangerous soon and you need to be near friends!" Rarity said, trying not to sound angry. She didn't want this moment to be an unhappy one. "If you love me! Then please!" With more heaped on her shoulders than any foal should have, Sweetie Belle meekly nodded and ran out the door. "Goodbye, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said as her tears hit the floor. Rarity wiped her tears away. She stood up, not even looking at us. She trotted on her back legs towards a mirror on the wall. She sighed. Growled. Closed her eyes. And slammed her head right into the mirror. Her face...cracked. Like it a piece of a porcelain doll, a part of her face fell away, just some hard material, no flesh or bone. She said, "Goodbye, Rarity." She held held up a hoof to her face. In the cracked mirror, a slit dragon eye looked back. She turned around, still holding her face, and trotted past us like seeing us was the most normal thing in the world. Like the calm before a storm. "R-Rarity?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I don't want to damage the dresses. Please come outside." She trotted out the door, still trotted on two legs. We followed outside. She looked, making sure Sweetie Belle wasn't hiding nearby, and got on all fours, and slammed her face into the ground on a rock at full force. More of her body cracked. She breathed heavily. A pair of membranous wings broke out of her back. She stood back on two legs and looked at us without a trace of humor or fear on her face, but a nasty seriousness. She roared in fury and frustration, breathed fire, and with her own strength, shattered her own body. The pieces fell apart lifeless, and where the white unicorn had stood, was now a green eyed dragon, with dark purple scales with a dark green underbelly. This form held only a moment as green flames erupted around him, and he grew in an adult dragon that was over a thousand years old. He landed on all fours, making the entire town shake. He was big enough to squash any of us with one claw, oh right, Alicorns, correction, one hand. His body shape and design reminded me of Tiamat, even if he only had one head. He was clad in gold armor with sapphires. Many of the jewels were as big as a mortal mare. I never really understood why the Nightdrake of Generosity would go around decked out in bling. My first guess (which would be my second and third too) that it was meant to be a welcome gift for whenever he met that particular Rarity that was willing to become Nightmare Charity. It's less blunt than saying engagement gift. None of us said it. But we had all guessed. There had never been a Rarity saved for my room. The Rarities kept refusing to become Nightmare Charity, and Eclipse kept erasing them. Nightmare Eclipse never allowed us to save other versions of ourselves. She didn't want 'the fakes' 'corrupting' us. By the time we visited Rarity, we all noticed Spike was missing. There was only one other Element of Generosity we knew personally. Granfalloon flew up to him. "Hey Spiky! How ya feelin'?" Hopefully he didn't eat her. I didn't want to listen Pinkie chat about what the inside of a dragon's stomach looks like. I knew that plenty from all the times I've busted out of a dragon's stomach. "Angry. Robbed. Violated. Want to destroy something," Spike said in a conversational voice. "Eclipse kept trying to turn Rarity into a monster and I didn't even try to stop her. And sad Sweetie Belle's big sister is never coming back to her." "Spike," AJ asked in a disarm, pleading lose, "Ah know this ain't the best time ta ask, but ya wouldn't happen to remember ANYTHING from after we got six-rounds-rapid loved-and-friendshipped?" Nightdrake Banneret moved his eyes towards her. "All I remember, was somepony saying I could help Sweetie Belle and all of you be happy, and that I'd be with Rarity forever. I remember agreeing, then my memories and form being violated. Then, I woke up, living Rarity's life, in her body, all my memories tell me I was her," Spike said inscrutably. "Anypony else think it's weird that we don't have ponies screaming and running at the sight of us and Spike?" Applejack asked off handedly. "Maybe they turned up the happy juice on the real ponies after Cheerilee?" Pinkie Pie suggested. "Girls! Things are bad when I'm the one who has to keep us on track!" I shouted. "All four of us are awake and we still need to deal with Fluttershy! There's no way they aren't picking up something is wrong by now!" "What about Twilight?" Nightdrake Banneret asked, every bit as concerned as Spike would be. "I don't think Twilight needs 'dealing', I think she dealt with herself." "What are you talking about?" Pinkie asked. "I'll explain later!" Spike grabbed and held me up to his face. "Uh, hi Spike?" "Zecora and I were worried sick when you left without a word this morning!" "Oh, right." "We searched the town and the Everfree for you. Finally, Sweetie Belle used her pout on me and I couldn't tell her no to going to her club's anniversary party and told her everything was fine to not worry her!" "Sorry, I . . . I wasn't think about you." "Then we raced to Sweet Apple Acres when we saw your fireworks, but there was nothing there when we arrived! Then it started to rain and against my better judgement, Zecora went home to stock on 'supplies' while I continue my search, and I ran into Sweetie Belle and had to take her home insisted we spend a little time together . . . so tell me Nightmare Manacle, did you just forget about us?" "I . . . I did." I lowered my head. Yeah, the Nightmare of Loyalty had forgotten my friends. That hurt. A lot. Not about to risk teleporting we flew towards Fluttershy's. I wasn't thinking clearly. Or maybe I'd have asked the others, or realized we were stirring up the hornet's nest. "So Spike, uh, what was it like being Rarity?" Pinkie poked. "Like a dream. I've woken up to a Nightmare. Rarity's gone. And I let Eclipse do it." Mirror spoke. "You didn't 'let' Eclipse do anything to your Rarity. Rarity made her choice, she was hoping her choice would snap you back to reality." "I know that, now. And it doesn't change the fact I kept trying to make every Rarity become Nightmare Charity, ignored that I was stealing her from another Spike, and humbly assisted Twilight in destroying the world and her with it over and over," the Nightdrake said in pain. "None of them were static 'recordings' like Eclipse said as she murdered her, every Rarity was real." "Yep," Mirror answered. "Apple Pie was real, Rarity was real, the Spikes were real, the Twilights were real. Them being fake was just the lie Eclipse used to live with herself." "At least that last Rarity still has her Spike." Before Mirror could reply I saw Twilight Sparkle on top of the library, waving at us, her book still under one hoof. She wasn't scared, confused, or intimidated by us at all. We landed without a word around her, Spike landed on the ground and leaned his neck down. "Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and you too Applejack. It's good to see you." She smiled wistfully. "I only wish I had a way I could have helped you myself. Thank you, Rainbow Dash and…" She bowed her head. "I'm sorry for baiting you so much. I had to play the part of somepony you wanted to prove wrong so it would override your desire to stay in your fantasy, and to wake you up to the clues you were being made to not notice. I'm sorry for acting the way I did. I didn't like it." She bowed lower. "Stop apologizing so much, it makes you sound like you don't believe what you're saying," I said sincerely. "Sorry, heh, it just seems like I'm made to play the role of the bad guy whenever somepony needs a challenge to rise to. Nothing like a little competition to bring out a pony's full potential, eh, Rainbow Dash?...And nothing like a game where nopony can lose to keep ponies from improving themselves." I thought of all the effortless victories I'd had in this place, no real challenge, just empty ego stroking. "Rainbow Dash what is going on?" Spike asked. "I think we missed half the story." Pinkie added. "I think we all agreed we didn't have time for story storytime," AJ reminded us. "Oh yeah, we gotta wake up Fluttershy next!" Pinkie Pie said. "That may not be your best move," Twilight said. "I know," I said. "Why? OH! They'll have realized what's up and set up a trap with Fluttershy as bait! Those big meanies!" Pinkie Pie declared. "I'm afraid there is something I do need to apologize for. I don't care if it was necessary or not." Twilight standing up on her rear hooves, putting them v-shape across her stomach and bowed her head. "I'm not lying when I'm your friend, though I know Applejack the least....But I'm afraid Twilight Sparkle was never here, and she isn't standing before you now." I thought I'd be the only one not to gasp when she said that. AJ didn't flinch either, oh right, eyes of truth. AJ must have known the moment she saw her. Why didn't she say anything? Maybe she'd been waiting for her to say it. Pinkie Pie and the Nightdrake gasped in shock. I swear I heard their hearts crack a little. Mine and AJ's already had. "I'm a relative and a dear friend of hers, and I'm here because it's what she'd want. I was sent here to rescue the innocent ponies trapped in this false Ponyville. I came here because you're my friends too." She didn't look ready to defend herself at all. "Then where is Twilight?!" Spike demanded. Pinkie Pie painted a blue tear on her face. "I don't know where she is right now, or I'd tell you. Please just know she'd be here to help if she could but...it took so long to find you. It took so long for us just to get inside. And she still loves all of you, and she does apologize for everything she did to you as Nightmare Eclipse and just wanted to make up for it a little." "I forgive her," Spike said. "I forgive her too," Pinkie Pie said placing a hoof over her heart. AJ said nothing. "But what about the Twilight who was here before you got here?" "There was no Twilight here before, it was a puppet, just wood, string, and illusion magic, it was never Twilight," I said. The others shuddered in pain that wasn't physical. "Ah'm the one supposed ta give blunt truths remember sugar?" "So sue me." "So Rainbow Dash...have you figure out the whole truth yet? Yes, yes, yes?" "One question, weren't you worried the pin was gonna be swiped and I'd get my memories rewritten again?" "I actually put a perception filter on the pin so nopony would notice it unless it was pointed out to them, compliments from Time Turner." Pinkie Pie and Spike blinked. "What pin? Oh, that one." "For starters, there's no way in Tartarus you're behind this. You've done nothing but keep me on the right track this entire time. No jailer is that crazy, and you don't watch somepony squirm by helping them every step of the way." "And?" "And I know whose behind this. Not Heaven, Hell, Nothingness, Limbo, or Purgatory? But something I built myself? The moment I recovered my memories, I knew there could be only one answer. It's-" "Rainbow Dash!" Our favorite yellow pegasus shouted as she fluttered onto the top of the house tree. "Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Oh! And Spike! It's been forever since I've seen you! How have you been? I hope you've been getting enough rest!" Pinkie Pie waved her hooves. "Fluttershy, don't be scared. We're still us! And I don't mean evil or brainwashed us'! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" "Don't worry, Pinkie Pie, I know it's you, even if your bodies are twisted by black magic I know it's still you inside." She smiled, not cowering in fear of us, only showing love. "Okay," Pinkie Pie smiled back, "Spike could you do the honors? I'm really really REALLY sorry about this Fluttershy but Dashie said we need all the help we can get to save everypony from these big meanies who have everypony under mind control! I mean, how cliche can you get right?" "I'm not scared. Let's touch minds. If it means protecting my friends from hurt, being a Nightmare can't be that bad." Applejack looked at me. Twilight stayed perfectly silent and still. I sighed. It was time to end this performance. Part of me wanted it to go on a little longer, but the rest of me was just tired of this. "Don't bother, please, guys." I sighed again. "I know who did this to us. But I wasn't sure how to confess it. I didn't want to believe it. After everything. I didn't want it to be true. I really didn't....Guys I'm sorry. Since this was my place, I should have known." Eyes turned towards me. "Dashie what are you saying?" Pinkie Pie's lip trembled. I think I also didn't want to hurt you more than you'd already been Pinkie, in case I was wrong. But I wasn't." I looked down at myself in one of the library's windows. "I knew even before I got my memories back that it had to be one of us." Fluttershy, Pinkie and Spike gasp, AJ and Twilight look down sadly. I continued. "Only a Nightmare would have done this 'erase memories, trap them in their own world like pets 'for their own good.' I wanted to tell myself it had to be a DIFFERENT Nightmare, maybe a delusional friend, but what friends did we have left?" Twilight put a hoof over her heart. I listed off, "This is all one big lie: it's something Applejack, Nightmare Mirror, would have never done. "Everything is too focused on me to be Spike since if it was him, it would be a perfect place where everypony had everything they wanted, or at least a paradise for Rarity and Sweetie Belle. "This place is missing WAY TOO MANY details to ever be run by Twilight Sparkle. "The adventures we've had just aren't imaginative enough to be Pinkie Pie, and the puppets wouldn't be following such shallow and predictable routines. No show of Pinkie Pie's is PREDICTABLE!" "It would have Minty too," Pinkie Pie said. "And Pinkie Pie, wouldn't have fought so hard to STOP me from attacking Bright Night, since everything here has been about me doing whatever I want and it always being right." "You attacked Bright Night?!" Spike asked stunned. "I thought she was a pod pony!" "Was she?" "No!" "Oh. Is she-" "She's fine Spike." "Good." "Fluttershy, this was my pocket domain. Who else had the keys?...But then it really hit me. The pony who hates me more than anypony, is me! There's no bucking way I'd create a fantasy world I'm always the hero and everything is great because of me! I built this place to have everypony get along fine and great WITHOUT ME! I was the most insignificant pony in the background alive when I rested in here!" "You shouldn't do that to yourself, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said. "It's never stopped you Fluttershy. I recognized the magic signature of the drinking geass on Applejack. And there was only one other pony I gave the keys to my room to! AND! I was at your house when we were having tea and I didn't find anything wrong with it. I. Don't. Like. Tea!" It clicks in everypony's mind present and they all look at Fluttershy, who takes a trot back. "Yer still 'kidnappin' Philomena,' Fluttershy, please just stop," Mirror said. "Discord must be doing this to us!" "Somethin' THIS orderly ain't his style, sorry sugah," AJ said. "This is just our version of paradise! We must have all died!" "We wouldn't be in heaven," I said. "Fluttercruel!" "This isn't her idea of love, or revenge," the Nightdrake said. "The Doctor!" "He wouldn't have done this half-flank a job," I said. I'd captured his TARDIS with my chains enough times. We all closed in around her. "Please! We're all happy here! Let me reset your memories and everything can be okay again!" She begged us. "No!" We all threw back. Fluttershy's eyes became draconic, and the all-mighty stare was struck down upon us. Be they dragon, changeling, Discord is the only entity I've EVER seen outright immune to Fluttershy's power. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you hurt yourselves." We were all bad bad fillies. We should be doing what Mama Fluttershy wants. Bad fillies. Bad. Listen to your mother. You- The Cruelest of Truth resisted the Kindest of Lies just enough to fling a reflective wing in front of herself. Fluttershy gasps in surprise, not in shock or pain, then Fluttershy turns to fog before our eyes and dissolves. "Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie whispered horrified. "It was one of her constructs! She must have been in the driver's seat this whole time!" Mirror shouted. "Since it wasn't her real body, it couldn't handle the stare being thrown back at it." "So that wouldn't work on the real Fluttershy?" "Slow her down, cut her off, but it wouldn't stop her," I said. "Should've known it would be that easy," Twilight sighed. "Don't you have 'turn ponies' spines to goo' vision too?" Spike asked. "...In straight-up eye-to-eye, hers trumps mine." "...Ah can't beat her with mine. We're meant to TEMPER each other. But when one of us...well, carries so much guilt on her shoulders she figures she deserves Hell and the other is...well, Fluttershy, the Stare has the upperhoof." "TERRIFIC!" The Nightdrake roared in frustration. This reminded him of an O&O game where he took the sword from fallen ogre and it 'mysterious broke' when he tried to use it himself. "FLUTTERSHY! LISTEN TO AUNTIE PINKIE PIE! NIGHTMARE TWILIGHT IS GONE! THE ELEMENTS WOULD HAVE MADE HER GOOD AGAIN! LET'S JUST STOP ALL THIS! THEN WE CAN START HELPING PONIES!" Pinkie Pie yelled into a giant megaphone, making several real ponies in the streets below cover their poor ears. "I'LL MAKE CAKE!" "If she's gone to this much trouble, sugarcube, then a few words like that isn't going to change her mind. When a ponies' beliefs are challenge, they become even more zealous, not less, that goes double for Nightmares." > "We're All Still Here" alternate 1, Louis' Raw Edits > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I crown ye once again, the Great and Powerful Nightmare Manacle!" She placed the crown on my head. I felt the seals on my power and my body shatters. My transformation happened in an explosion of rainbow-colored lightning. The storm vanished like a switch was flipped. I stretched my wings, and let my horn glow as my first act as a Nightmare again was to take a bite out of one of Applejack's apples. Then I looked at myself over in a reflective puddle. My cutie mark inverted. Horn and wings. The strength of an earth pony within. Thousands of thousands of years of life giving me the figure of an adult Alicorn. My coated darkened a shade, but that was par the course. Slitted rose-red dragon eyes looked back at me. So much for white eyed blind loyalty. My mane's colors were inverted like a photo negative, just like my cutie mark, it shimmered ghostly a bit like it was made of light. My black plates of barding held together by chains in place again covered my body with an old pegasi warrior off the style of something Commander Hurricane would wear if she was into a fashion statement. "Back to the fire,” I tell myself, softly but with brooding, lonely drama. “Back to brimstone. Back to the dark pits where you belong, Nightmare Manacle. And may you never again mock the innumerable graveyards you’ve filled... by aspiring to heroism ever again.” I didn't need to search for my friends. Even sealed away, we were connected by the Elements, and could sense each other’s power. Let do this. I flew into AJ's house, I could have teleported or used the door, but I felt like smashing some walls. AJ looked up at me, bug-eyed from her couch. "RAINBOW?! THAT YOU?!" Her hoof instantly reached for a cider bottle that wasn't there a moment before. I shattered it with my telekinesis. Before AJ could get another word in edgewise, I pull her up with my magic, and placed my horn against her forehead and cast the memory spell. "Mirror, I know you’ll appreciate my honesty when I tell you this is really gonna hurt." The seals on her broke like cheap glass. The drinking geass placed on her that kept her from using her truth vision dissolved. What looked like glass crystallized around her, making a reflective silver shell like she was a statue. It shattered open a second later as silver shining light shockwaved in the room, knocking things off their selves and flipping tables and couches upside down and blowing out windows. Mirror's coat was darker, her cutie mark now green apples with red leafs. Her body type now that of an Alicorn, the oldest of us now. Green dragon eyes stared back at me, that pierced me to my soul, but I was done looking away. Her barding was smooth sleek bright reflective silver with emeralds set in shaped to look like eyes that also armored her wings completely, or maybe her feathers of her wings were silver, the truth was hard to tell. Her mane reminded me of an autumn sky at sunset. "Ya just had ta wake me up, didn't ya?" She said curtly. Same old Nightmare Mirror. "Yes, I did,” I tell her curtly. “Vacation’s over, Mirror.” "We gettin’ the others?” she asks. “Of course,” I tell her. “Good. Ah’m glad. Ah can't stand livin’ this disgustin' lie no more. This desperate fantasyland paradise.” Fair enough. I think to myself, bitterly. Want to know what I can’t stand? Besides myself? You. ALL of you. You’ve seen it for yourself, Mirror, you’ve LIVED it for yourself: in my ‘desperate fantasyland’, none of you Nightmares EVEN EXIST. So naturally, my next step was to finish reuniting with all the rest of my fellow eldritch abominations. Paradise was no place for monsters such as us. "RACE YA!" I zoomed out the other side of the house. "HEY, NO FAIR!" Ahhhh, high-speed racing. At least THAT still took the edge off. "So do you hate me for waking you up?" I asked. That slowpoke, Mirror, was having trouble keeping apace with me, and I allowed myself a tiny touch of satisfaction. "It's the truth. Deal. Mah motto, remember?” I grinned. Oh yes, I remembered. And I could ‘deal’ with her hating me, no problem. Mirror wasn’t the type of pony one wanted prolonged contact with, anyway. “Nightmare Eclipse was so delusional that every time Ah told'er to her face she was evil and doin' evil she brushed me off!...Stubborn thing." "Oh right, you were with her the longest, weren’t you?" "By the time of that last battle, Manny? Ah HATED what were doing even more than ya!” “Didn’t stop you, though,” I pointed out, dodging a tree. “Ah had nowhere else to go. And figured the Golden World was the only way left to make any of it mean anythin'. Oh. And Ah was plannin' ta drag all of us to Pony Hell after." "Did you?” I inquired, with surprisingly mild interest. "Honest Mirror, remember? Ya think we don't deserve it?" With a light laugh, I gave a shrug that indicated agreement. "Are you STILL planning on dragging us to Hell?" If Mirror said ‘yes,’ I wasn’t sure whether I’d fight her or submit peacefully. "Ain’t decided yet,” said Mirror. She hesitated before looking back over at me. “Rainbow...” “My name’s MANACLE, Mirror!” I insisted hotly. She flinched. “...One thing yah shouldn't be ashamed of? Yah got closer ta beatin' Nightmare Eclipse than Ah did, and ya weren't a Nightmare yet…" Was that a rueful look Mirror was giving me? Was she trying to be uplifting? Consolation and compassion from Nightmare Mirror was always so awkward... a creature like her, with the soul of an icy bludgeon, wasn’t really meant for such things. She meant well enough, but I wasn’t really in the mood. Dwelling on what a better pony I’d been in my pre-Nightmare days, (Traitor Dash, included,) wouldn’t do me any good. It’s what got me into this current mess in the first place. And besides... Nightmare Eclipse... Nightmare Eclipse... Twilight Tragedy... That insufferable doppelgänger with all her riddles... Even the original Twilight Sparkle herself... I still loved Twilight so very deeply. As much as I ever had. But a new and colder emotion was beginning to burgeon alongside that love. "What about you?” I asked Mirror, with a teasing smirk. “Upset the AJ that beat her was an Element of Fantasy?" "Ah'd be upset if a LIARjack had done it,” she countered, with a wry smile. “It's the corrupt version of that Element Ah take issue with...Ah'm proud that meh managed tah save Apple Pie in a way Ah couldn't." "That's pretty mature of you," I complimented. "No, it's pretty honest of meh." We were approaching Sugarcube Corner. I wanted to crash straight through it, rhino-style, but Applejack didn't want anypony hurt, and teleported us inside instead. Sweetie Belle wasn't here. But Apple Bloom was along with most of the foals, and Cheerilee too. Cheerilee's jaw hang out at the sight of us, and like any loyal teacher should, put herself between us and the foals. No surprise, of course. Boo! We’re monsters. I spotted Pinkie Pie sitting next to Bright Night. "APPLEJACK!? IS THAT YOU!?" Apple Bloom gasped. "Ah'm sorry Apple Bloom," Mirror said. "But Ah ain't yer Applejack, and this ain't yer Ponyville." "W-what?" The poor filly asked completely lost. "OH! Is it Nightmare Night already?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Oh wait! This is what you were telling me about Bright Night?" "Yes Pinkie Pie, it is." I frowned curiously at Pinkie Pie, but she was already explaining. "Bright Night says I forgot an important promise. But I didn't think you'd come back to the party as scary Alicorns with AJ, so are you going to apologize to Bright Night? Or are we gonna have round two?" I looked at the pink pegasus filly. I sighed. "I'm sorry, Bright Night." "Apology accepted." she bowed humbled. "Apology for what?" Apple Bloom asked. "It's not important anymore, Apple Bloom," Bright Night said. ...She was in on this. Little Bright Night was definitely IN on this. Cheerilee was looking left to right trying to figure out what was going on, looking on the verge of a breakdown. "Bright Night! Get away from them!" I cast a spell that stole Cheerilee’s voice. It would wear off completely in one hour. "Pinkie,” asked Mirror, “can ya please stand still fer a moment?" "Are ya gonna turn me to stone, a brainwashed zombie, a freaky apple-pony hybrid, or revert me to a former life?" Pinkie asked. "Yes on the last one." "Okay! Should be fun." "Prepare tah be disappointed, sugarcube,” Mirror spoke with her usual degree of irrepressible good cheer. “It ain't a lie that Ah wish Ah was wakin' yah up tah a better sight," AJ touched Pinkie Pie's head with her horn and cast the memory spell. Pinkie Pie did what looked like a lifetime of Pinkie Sense twitches in under a minute. Then she stood perfect at attention. She then got down on all fours and shook her head. "Geeze, you weren't kidding about being disappointed. I was hoping to for generation three me. Or Surprise. Or a My Little Horsey toy prototype from Hasbro, that would be new." "Remember? Ya Pinkie Promised, Granfalloon," Mirror said. "Yeah I did. Oh well. Apple Bloom, Bright Night, everypony, sorry but the party is over for now. Thanks for coming." She then stood up, and pulled on the back of her body where there was now a zipper, and upside herself like she was a costume. Out came a darker shade of pink Alicorn, with the colors of her balloon cutie mark inverted. Her eyes were blue and like a dragon's. Her wings and horn looked like crayon drawings. Unlike us who wore barding, she was wearing a party dress with candy shaped jewelry (or jewelry shaped candy knowing Pinkie Pie). She wasn't wearing her clown make up. Her mane looked almost like a foal's rendition who had forgotten to color in the lines. She neatly folded up her, ugh, 'Pinkie Pie costume.' Cheerilee looked in dismay and horror, probably wishing she could scream. "Don't worry, Cheerilee...I'm most ME ME ME instead! I think! Maybe maybe maybe....Dang. Being, more sane really stinks." Nightmare Granfalloon, the Eternal Laughter, didn’t look like laughing! Out of all of us, Granfalloon had been crazy in a way that made Eclipse run for her money. She looked at Applejack. "Jackie...I...I thought it was all just a game, I didn't mean to laugh AT all those ponies... or to end their... I didn't...I wouldn't...I didn't think anypony was really... I thought everything..." “...Was just fun, games, and giggles.” I finished evenly. To be fair, she’d left a lot of them grinning. At least in skull-form, sixty percent of the time. Not that the rest of us hadn’t helped. She whimpered. "Am I a bad pony?" "...You WERE a bad pony...” Mirror told Granfalloon. “We all were ...Now?...The honest truth is it's up tah you…" The hackles rose on my back, crackling with thick flame and eldritch darkness. Uggggghhhh. SPARE me, Guru Mirror! The sooner the band was all back together, and we’d all returned back home, the sooner I could break away from my fellow monsters and shut myself away for a few precious, precious hours of total isolation. If the universe was willing to be so accommodating. Probably wouldn’t. Granfalloon flashed me an uneasy look, but said nothing. Mirror regarded me dolefully. Cheerilee looked ready to soil herself, as Granfalloon pulled out in a mirror and put on some buffalo tribe war paint. "Where's Rarity and Sweetie Belle?" I asked, lifting Cheerilee’s silence spell. "If you think I'm going to tell you anything-" Cheerilee gasped. "I suggested to her that she should leave the party early when I got back, considering everything that happened yesterday, and that was a good idea to spend as much time with her big sister today as she could. Since there was no telling when they'd meet again,” said Bright Night, smiling at her teacher. "It's okay Miss Cheerilee. These aren't the enemy." Baring my teeth at the filly, I set the seat of Cheerilee’s chair violently on fire; the flames rose in a hot, high column that almost touched the bakery’s ceiling. “Well... uh... TWO of ‘em definitely aren’t,” Bright Night amended fearfully. Then, while Granfalloon brought out an extinguisher, she warned, “You’ll want to be careful, though! You’ll want to get a quick move-on! The ones who set this stage are ever-watchful!" “Ladies!” I barked, turning on Bright Night and Cheerilee. “Let’s get moving.” But I sensed Granfalloon dithering. “Do we REALLY need to wake up Rarity too? Can't we just leave her be and let her be happy?" I turned around and gave the Eternal Laughter a rather mean-spirited smile. “Ha ha ha! Hilarious as ever, Granfalloon, that’s what we all love about you! Here, I got a real rib-cracker of my own! Stop me if you’ve heard this already: Couldn’t the universe have just left ME be? Let ME be happy?!” The room went quiet as a tomb. Even Mr. and Mrs. Cake halted in their oblivious baking to look at me. “Then what makes you think I’d EVER let any OTHER Nightmare enjoy the privilege, instead?!” I hissed. "Pinkie,” said Mirror, in a much more rational-sounding voice. “Whatever put us here brainwashed Nightmares and took over this place. We'll need all the power we can get.” 00000 "So Spike, uh, what was it like being Rarity? Really?" Pinkie poked. "Like a dream. Only now I've woken up to the Nightmare. Rarity's gone. And I let Eclipse do it." Mirror spoke. "You didn't 'let' Eclipse do anything to your Rarity. Rarity made her choice, she was hoping her death would snap yah back to reality." "I know that, now. But it doesn't change the fact that I... wanted to make Rarity into Nightmare Charity. Every one of them. I ignored that I was stealing these Rarities from other Spikes, and just assisted Twilight in destroying the world, over and over," the Nightdrake said in pain. "Yer absolutely right," Mirror said evenly. When Granfalloon shot Mirror a dirty look, she didn't even flinch. "...And every time we murdered her...it wasn't a fake...she was real..." "Yep.” Cemeteries WISHED they could be as somber as Nightmare Mirror. "Apple Pie was real, Rarity was real, the Spikes were real, the Twilights were real. Them being fake was just the lie Eclipse used to live with herself.” “She’s the real root of it all,” I spoke without really thinking. “Every wrong thing about us is really because of Twilight Sparkle.” Mirror turned her accuracy-obsessed gaze on me. “Now, Manacle, ya know that ain’t...” “Later, Mirror,” I swore. “We WILL discuss this later when...” But it seemed ‘later’ just might be right now. We spotted ‘Twilight Sparkle’ atop the library’s roof, waving at us, a book still under one hoof. She wasn't scared, confused, or intimidated by us at all. We landed without a word around her, Spike landed on the ground and leaned his neck down. "Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and you to, Applejack. It's good to see you." She smiled wistfully. "I only wish I had a way I could have helped you myself. Thank you, Rainbow Dash and..." “Nightmare Manacle,” I corrected the purple unicorn. “We are Nightmare Manacle, Nightmare Granfalloon, Nightdrake Banneret, and Nightmare Mirror.” “...I don’t mind being called Pinkie Pie at all,” Granfalloon said softly, briefly transforming herself into her old mortal form. “Yeah! I’m still cool with ‘Spike,’” said Banneret. Looking over at Mirror, I could see she was in much the same mind, as well. “Suit yourselves,” I told my cohorts, turning back to the purple unicorn. “As for myself, though, I am Nightmare Manacle and ONLY Nightmare Manacle. At your service.” The Twilight impostor grimaced slightly, (as did many of my friends,) but she recovered herself, bowing her head respectfully. “Er, yes. I'm sorry for baiting you so much. I had to play the part of somepony you wanted to prove wrong so it would override your desire to stay in your escape, and to wake you up to the clues you were being made not to notice.” “You did what you had to do.” This wasn’t even any sort of veiled scorn against her. It WAS something that had to be done. I could respect her for at least that. But the impostor still looked sheepish, saying, “I'm sorry for acting the way I did. I didn't like it." "Stop apologizing so much,” I told her. “I hated every ‘sorry’ of yours, back when you were refusing to give me any straight answers. And they still set my teeth on edge now. ‘Sorry’ is one of the most pointless words ever made. Shall I tell you all the things that I’M sorry for? For all the fat lot of good it’ll do me and all the ones I’m sorry towards?!” ".S...sorry, heh,” and she bowed lower. “It just seems like I'm made to play the role of the bad guy whenever somepony needs opposition to rise to the challenge. Nothing like a little competition to bring out a pony's full potential, eh, Rainbow Dash?” This time I struck; sending her crashing straight through the roof of Golden Oaks Library straight to its basement like a purple comic book meteor. Not going to lie: it felt GOOD. Over my companions’ alarmed cries, I raised the Twilight impostor back up to the roof with my telekinesis. Her face was one big beautiful blackened bruise. “Let’s get one thing clear, please,” I said, pulling a punctured encyclopedia off the impostor’s horn. “Rainbow Dash was a pony who wanted to bury her bad past. Live like her bad old ‘Nightmare’ self never existed. Spend the rest of her days being a noble hero. Then you came. You, with all your smarmy little digs, all your ‘without their cheers, you're empty,’ and your ’they’re just cardboard cutouts to you, you sure DECONSTRUCTED the good pony she was trying to be, didn’t you? The good pony she wished so BADLY she could really be, through all the dark centuries and parallel universes she lived and relived as Traitor Dash AND Nightmare Manacle.” “Rain... Manacle, put her down,” Nightdrake Banneret growled, smoke wafting from his nostrils as he took a warning step forward. “Not ‘til I’m done talking!” I bellowed, throwing up a light force field around myself and the fake Twilight Sparkle. “I...” “Those things you said,” I continued, “You ruined it. You threw acid on Dash’s most noblest dream. Soured it to the point where she turned against her own paradise. Goaded her into digging up the bones of her bad old self, and remember ALL her sins...” The impostor’s bruise was healing at a supernatural rate. Her eyes stared at me widely. “...Not that you were wrong to do it,” I continued, in a calmer voice. “For 50 kajillion Scootaloos? I’d’ve done it all too. And after all the genocide, heck, galaxy-cide, I’ve committed, I certainly don’t deserve to be treated with kid’s gloves, do I? All the same, though, let me ask this, lady: when a girl’s pride in herself is pulverized straight into baking soda, when you see fit to deconstruct heroism, itself, what’s left? What else is left?” “I’m so...” The impostor bit down on her ‘sorry.’ After a long and heavy sigh, I released my telekinesis, setting her down gently on her hooves. “The sad thing is... you could’ve HAD ‘Rainbow Dash.’ She’d’ve been GLAD to help you with... anything. But no one wants Dash the Hero, do they? Not Discord. Not Nightmare Eclipse. And not you either. You all want me to be a monster. So here I am. Nightmare Manacle, at your service.” I made my force field vanish. “Don’t ever treat those two names like interchangeable synonyms again, got me?” The Twilight Sparkle impostor nodded, shuddering with silent tears. I put on a politer smile. “Now... let’s not let any of that stand in the way of us being civil. Would you care for some tea?” I asked, conjuring up a full tea tray. Banneret went over nuzzled the shaken purple unicorn with his huge head. Tea splashed out of her cup as she stirred it with trembling telekinesis. I drank some tea myself. “Now, please tell us, what was it you called us out here for?” “F-Fluttersh-shy,” the purple unicorn stammered. “Y-you’re trying t-to get her, but t--they set up a trap...” “A trap?” piped up Granfaloloon. “Those big meanies!" "There, there, Twilight,” Banneret said gently, “It’s gonna be okay, sshhhh....” “I-I’m n-n-not Twilight,” she hiccuped. “Twi-i-ilight was n-n-ever here...” I thought I'd be the only one not to gasp when she said that. Mirror didn't flinch either, oh right, eyes of truth. Mirror must have known the moment she saw her. Why didn't she say anything? Maybe she'd been waiting for her to say it. But Granfalloon and the Nightdrake gasped in shock. I swear I heard their hearts crack a little. Mine and Mirror's already had. We waited, but the mare did nothing to ‘unmask’ herself. Her form just stayed that of Twilight, struggling to get ahold of herself. “Who are you?” asked Granfalloon, pulling out a big magician’s stream of rainbow hankies for her to blow her nose. "I'm a r-relative and a dear friend of Twilight’s.” Her emotions were starting to settle back down. “And I'm here because it's what she'd want. I was sent here to rescue the innocent ponies trapped in this false Ponyville. I came here because you're my friends too." She bowed her head. "I'm not lying when I say I'm your friend, though I know Applejack the least....” "Then where is Twilight?!" demanded Banneret. Granfalloon painted a blue tear on her face. "I don't where she is right now, or I'd tell you.” The impostor looking up pleadingly at my disbelieving scoff . “P-please believe me! Please, please, please! She'd be here to help if she could but...it took so long to find you. It took so for us just to get inside. And she still loves all of you, and she does apologize for everything she did to you as Nightmare Eclipse and just wanted to make up for it a little." “Did she?” I smiled up at the clouds, as though Twilight, herself, was watching me from up there. “Nightmarish transformations and devious duplicity... we’re off to a rollicking good start, aren’t we? Just like old times, eh, Twilight...?” “I forgive her,” Banneret said at once. “She kept trying to turn Rarity into a monster and I didn't even try to stop her." "I forgive her too," Granfalloon said, placing a hoof over her heart. Mirror said nothing. "But what about the Twilight who was here before you... took over?" "There was no Twilight here before,” said the impostor. “Nothing but a puppet, just wood, string, and illusion magic.” The others shuddered in pain that wasn't physical. Then the impostor looked over at me. “So, Rainbow Dash...have you figure out the whole truth yet?” “By which you mean: have I figured out who’s the puppetmaster in all this? The one pulling the strings?” The impostor nodded. “Yes, yes, yes?" My head bent down, then back up. "Yeah. I figured it out. It’s not Heaven, Hell, Nothingness, Limbo, or Purgatory...” “Duh!” interrupted Granfalloon. “It’s you, yourself, D---Manacle!” Bzzt! Granfalloon glared over at Mirror and the big negatory game show buzzer she’d hit. “Hey! That’s MY schtick, AJ!” Avoiding Granfalloon’s eyes, Nightmare Mirror whistled innocently with a mischievous smile. Downright surreal. “Mirror’s right, through: this Ponyville isn’t something I made. The moment I recovered my memories, I knew there could be only one logical culprit. It's-" "Rainbow Dash!" Our favorite yellow pegasus shouted as she fluttered onto the top of the house tree. "Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Oh! And Spike! It's been forever since I've seen you! How have you been? I hope you've been getting enough rest!" 0000 "Don't bother please, guys." I sighed again. "I know who did this to us. But I wasn't sure how to confess it. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want it to be true. I really didn't....Guys, I'm sorry." Eyes turned towards me. "Manny, what are you saying?" Granfalloon's lip trembled. Feeling like a detective from a mystery novel, I looked down at my reflection in one of the library's windows. "I knew even before I got my memories back that the culprit had to be one of us. Only a Nightmare would have pulled this 'erase memories, trap them in their own world 'for their own good.' I wanted to tell myself it had to be some DIFFERENT Nightmare... maybe a delusional friend, but what friends do we have left?" The Not-Twilight impostor put a hoof over her heart and hung her head. I listed off my logical deductions. "This is all one big lie: Nightmare Mirror might’ve been goaded into participating in it, but she’d NEVER have masterminded it. "Everything is too ‘Rainbow Dash’-centered for it to be Nightdrake Banneret. Perhaps if it were Rarity or Twilight Sparkle, or Spike in the limelight... but since it’s not... Banneret shrugged his agreement. "This place is missing WAY TOO MANY details to ever be run by Twilight Sparkle.” Everyone nodded. "The adventures we've had just aren't imaginative enough to be Granfalloon, and the puppets wouldn't be following such shallow and predictable routines. No show of hers is ever PREDICTABLE!" "Plus, I’d’ve thrown in a lot more in-jokes, and made everypony way more prone to lighthearted one-liners and partying,” added Granfalloon. “And I’d have brought back Minty.” 00000 "This was my pocket domain, of course, so I’m a prime suspect,” I pointed out. “In my Traitor Dash days, there was nothing I wanted more than to turn back the clock and return to Ponyville, as it had been during that brief, glorious year between us beating Nightmare Moon and Discord. Discord was always forcing me to be a murdering, backstabbing villain, why? Because even in my deepest despair I never stopped wanting to be a hero. I never stopped wanting to do good. To help ponies and protect them. How badly I wanted to strong enough to stand up to all the bad guys! To have it so things were great BECAUSE of me for a change!” “All I really wanted was Rarity. At least to be there for her.” sighed the dragon who’d turned himself into a Nightmare for Rarity’s sake. “Part of me likes to think that if Discord had never entered the picture and... and tinkered with my personality, I might’ve been able to grow out of that puppy crush, eventually, and find a new girl. But that’s neither here nor there. My heart’s stuck on Rarity forever and Rarity will never accept me as I am. Ain’t it funny?” The interruption had taken me by surprise. Nightdrake Banneret turned towards me. “What I’m trying to say is: it’s not just you.” And he patted my head. “Y-yeah,” I said, swallowing and trying to regain my rhetorical momentum. “But then I recognized the magic signature of the drinking geass on Applejack. And there was only one other pony I gave the keys to my room to! AND! I was at your house we were having tea and I didn't find anything wrong with it. I. Don't. Like. Tea!" Everyone followed my line-of-sight to Fluttershy, who took a trot back. "Yer still ‘kidnappin' Philomena,’ Fluttershy. Please just stop," Mirror told her; we all understood the metaphor at once. "Discord must be doing this to us!" "Somethin' THIS orderly ain't his style, sorry, sugah," Mirror said. "This is just our version of paradise! We must have all died!" "We wouldn't be in heaven," I sighed. "Fluttercruel!" "This isn't her idea of love, or revenge," the Nightdrake said. "The Doctor!" "He wouldn't have done this half-flank a job," I said. “I'd captured his TARDIS with my chains enough times. Please... you’re just grasping at straws now.” We all closed in around her. "Please! We're all happy here! Let me reset your memories and everything can be okay again!" She begged us. "No!" We all retorted. Fluttershy's eyes became draconic, and the all-mighty Stare was deployed upon us. Be they dragon, changeling, Discord is the only entity I've EVER seen outright immune to Fluttershy's power. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you hurt yourselves." We were all bad, bad fillies. We should be doing what Mama Fluttershy wants. Bad fillies. Bad. Listen to your mother. You... The Cruelest of Truth resisted the Kindest of Lies just enough to fling a reflective wing in front of herself. Fluttershy gasped in surprise, not in shock or pain, before turning to fog and dissolving. "Fluttershy?" Granfalloon whispered, horrified. "It was one of her constructs! She must have been in the driver's seat this whole time!" Mirror shouted. "Since it wasn't her real body, it couldn't handle the stare being thrown back at it." "So that wouldn't work on the real Fluttershy?" "Slow her down, cut her off, but it wouldn't stop her," I said. "Should've known it would be that easy," Not-Twilight sighed. "Don't you have 'turn ponies' spines to goo' vision too?" Banneret asked. "...In straight-up eye-to-eye, hers trumps mine." "...Ah can't beat her with mine. We're meant to TEMPER each other. But when one of us has got...well, a galaxy’s worth of guilt on her shoulders and the other is...well, Fluttershy, the Stare has the upper hoof." "TERRIFIC!" The Nightdrake roared in frustration. I was reminded of an O&O game, a couple timelines ago, where Banneret took the sword from fallen ogre and it 'mysteriously broke' when his paladin tried to swing it himself. "FLUTTERSHY! LISTEN TO AUNTIE PINKIE PIE! NIGHTMARE TWILIGHT IS GONE! THE ELEMENTS WOULD HAVE MADE HER GOOD AGAIN! LET'S JUST STOP ALL THIS! THEN WE CAN START HELPING PONIES!" Granfalloon yelled into a giant megaphone, making several real ponies in the streets below cover their poor ears. "I'LL MAKE CAKE!" "If she's gone to this much trouble, sugarcube, you wouldn’t be able to change her mind with a triple fudge cheesecake the size of an Ursa Major. When a ponies' beliefs are challenged, they become even more zealous, not less, that goes quadruple for Nightmares." > "We're All Still Here" alternate 2, Revised Edits > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I crown ye once again, the Great and Powerful Nightmare Manacle!" She placed the crown on my head. Equestria already has a Rainbow Dash. I felt the seals on my power and my body shatters. My transformation happened in an explosion of rainbow-colored lightning. The storm vanished like a switch was flipped. I stretched my wings, and let my horn glow as my first act as a Nightmare again was to take a bite out of one of Applejack's apples. Then I looked at myself over in a reflective puddle. My cutie mark inverted. Horn and wings. The strength of an earth pony within. Thousands of thousands of years of life giving me the figure of an adult Alicorn. My coat had darkened a shade, but that was par the course. Slitted rose-red dragon eyes looked back at me. So much for white eyed blind loyalty. My mane's colors were inverted like a photo negative, just like my cutie mark, it shimmered ghostly a bit like it was made of light. My black plates of barding held together by chains in place again covered my body with an old pegasi warrior off the style of something Commander Hurricane would wear if she was into a fashion statement. "Alright, Nightmare Manacle...one last adventure. Then you can owe up to everything you've done." "Back to the dark," I tell myself, softly but with brooding, lonely drama. "One last adventure. Then you can owe up to everything you've done and off to the dark pits where you belong, Nightmare Manacle. And may you never again mock the innumerable graveyards you've filled." I didn't need to search for my friends. Even sealed away, we were connected by the Elements, and could sense each other's power. Let's do this. I flew into AJ's house, I could have teleported or used the door, but I felt like smashing some walls. AJ looked up at me, bug-eyed from her couch. "RAINBOW?! THAT YOU?!" Her hoof instantly reached for a cider bottle that wasn't there a moment before. I shattered it with my telekinesis. Before AJ could get another word in edgewise, I pull her up with my magic, and placed my horn against her forehead and cast the memory spell. "Mirror, I know you'll appreciate my honesty when I tell you this is really gonna hurt." The seals on her broke like cheap glass. The drinking geass placed on her that kept her from using her truth vision dissolved. What looked like glass crystallized around her, making a reflective silver shell like she was a statue. It shattered open a second later as silver shining light shockwaved in the room, knocking things off their selves and flipping tables and couches upside down and blowing out windows. Her's coat was darker, her cutie mark now green apples with red leafs. Her body type now that of an Alicorn, the oldest of us now. Green dragon eyes stared back at me, that pierced me to my soul, but I was done looking away. Her barding was smooth sleek bright reflective silver with emeralds set in shaped to look like eyes that also armored her wings completely, or maybe her feathers of her wings were silver, the truth was hard to tell. Her mane reminded me of an autumn sky at sunset. "Ya just had ta wake me up, didn't ya?" She said curtly. Same old Nightmare Mirror. "Yes, I did," I tell her curtly. "Vacation's over, Mirror." "You hurt any of Bloomberg's family transformin'?" "I promise I didn't." "We gettin' the others?" she asks. "Of course," I tell her. "Good. Ah'm glad. Ah can't stand livin' this disgustin' lie we've trapped innocent ponies in." Fair enough. I think to myself, bitterly. Want to know what I can't stand? Besides myself? This lot of monsters we let Eclipse turn us into, including you. We've bucking BETRAYED everything we fought for. Why do you think none of us are Nightmares here? So naturally, my next step was to finish reuniting with all the rest of my fellow eldritch abominations. Paradise was no place for monsters such as us. "Rainbow Dash-" "My name is Nightmare Manacle." "If ya SAY that's your name, then that's yer name. Now Rainbow Dash, now that you don't have Eclipse's spikes in yer brain no more, Ah've got somethin' ta tell ya." "What?" Mirror grabbed my face by her hooves and looked me in the eyes. "Yer no coward RD, ya've NEVER been. And that is the truth of Nightmare Mirror." "WHAT? Are you BLIND? The horseapples Discord made me do, the horseapples we HELPED Eclipse do?" "What ya acted like was Discord's SICKNESS, get that through yer thick head! Eclipse had to bucking dig out yer Element of Free-Will to make ya the 'friend' she wanted." She wrapped her wings around me and gave me a nuzzle. "Stop hurtin' yerself Rainbow, it doesn't . . . it doesn't do anypony any good." My eyes bulged as I broke the hug pushing her back with my telekensis. "Since when do YOU, show niceness, Miss Cruelest of Truths?" "Truth can be warm too RD. That's the truth also. I tell all truths." "So that's it, poof, all my sins forgiven? Tra la la? Nothing I did was MY fault? Give me a break!" "Ah said ya beatin' yerself over it ain't gonna do nopony no good, that it ain't so nice and pretty black and white, and HATIN' those around ya ain't gonna help nopony neither!" "I didn't say I hated anypony." "Ah cold see it yer eyes RD, Ah'm truth, Ah know how ta read ponies, . . . and Ah don't blame ya, but haven't we been vomiting ENOUGH hate in the last few millions years? And what did ANY of it solve? Eclipse hated Discord, Ah hated lies, ya hated disloyalty, what GOOD came out of any of that hate?" I narrowed my eyes, snorted air, lowered my head until my horn was level, and tensed up my wings. "Mirror, I've got only one thing to say to that." "What?" "RACE YA!" I zoomed out the other side of the house. "HEY, NO FAIR!" Ahhhh, high-speed racing. At least THAT still took the edge off. "So do you hate me for waking you up?" I asked. That slowpoke, Mirror, was having trouble keeping apace with me, and I allowed myself a tiny touch of satisfaction. "You woke me up to reality, I'm the one who has to deal with it. It's mah motto, remember?" "NO way!" I snapped as we still raced. "You don't tell me not to be a sore jerk about thing and then get to be one yourself, forget it! I get it! You were happy! So was I! You're right, we do need to deal with this! But we don't have to deal with this alone!" I admit, a part of me wanted her to retaliate to that. I guess a part of me wanted us to still be hypocritical Nightmares. "Heh . . . you are loyalty." Mirror smiled at me. "Nightmare Eclipse was so delusional that every time Ah told'er to her face she was evil and doin' evil she brushed me off!...Stubborn thing." "Oh right, you were with her the longest, weren't you?" "By the time of that last battle, Manny? Ah HATED what were doing even more than ya!" "Didn't stop any of us, though," I pointed out, dodging a tree. Nightmares were hypocrites by nature. I betrayed the world, she supported a lie, Granfalloon made people suffer, Whisper was cruel, Bannerette stole the world from ponies over and over again. And Eclipse? She became the thing she was vengeful about. We were all a bunch of hypocrites. "Ah had nowhere else to go. And figured the Golden World was the only way left to make any of it mean anythin'. Oh. And Ah was plannin' ta drag all of us to Pony Hell after." "Did you?" I inquired, with surprisingly mild interest. "Ya think we don't deserve it?" With a light laugh, I gave a shrug that indicated agreement. I'd probably have lent her my chains. "Are you STILL planning on dragging us to Hell?" If Mirror said 'yes,' I wasn't sure whether I'd fight her or submit peacefully. "Are you kiddin'? It's not mah place. Ah'm not judge and jury. Ah never was. That's the truth Ah can see now. Ah'm gonna face the concepts and accept their judgement, not mine. And Ah know ya'll do the same. Though without Eclipse 'round, Ah wonder how long we got before we start fightin' each other." "Not on your life AJ, and I'll call you that. Ya TRIED to do the right thing after you realized your mistake, that's more than I did. "Rainbow..." "My name's MANACLE, Mirror!" I insisted hotly. "Heh." Mirror laughed. "If ya say so." Then she got solemn. "…One thing yah shouldn't be ashamed of? Yah got closer ta beatin' Nightmare Eclipse than Ah did, and ya weren't a Nightmare yet…" Was that a rueful look Mirror was giving me? Was she trying to be uplifting? She meant well enough, but dwelling on what a better pony I'd been in my pre-Nightmare days, (Traitor Dash, included,) wouldn't do me any good. It's what got me into this current mess in the first place. Then I remembered. . . . AJ told me...her first cycle, her native world. She'd protected and saved her Apple Pie, and FOUGHT Eclipse when she tried to end the world...when she realized she wasn't out to avert Discord's reign, but just repeat it over and over so she could torment him. AJ said that if she knew Eclipse was going to ACTUALLY advert his reign by erasing our reality, she said she'd have felt it was a fair trade. Then she found out what would happen to all those souls of all the ponies erased. In the end, Nightmare Mirror was on the ground, bleeding, her wings and armor shattered, with Eclipse's spears in her body Mirror told me. And Apple Pie, looking up in fear as Eclipse looked at her like she wasn't even a living thing. AJ always choked up at what happen next. I couldn't get the whole story out of her. She'd say something about saving Apple Pie the only way she could, but wouldn't go into details. Nightmare Eclipse... She'd caused Applejack, Discord, everypony, so much pain. I wondered if I was still crazy. I think might have now actually felt sorry for that bastard Discord! Nightmare Eclipse... Twilight Tragedy... That insufferable doppelgänger with all her riddles... that had gotten me this far in the first place . . . whether I liked it or not . . . I still loved Twilight so very deeply. As much as I ever had. I refused to let that impersonator's tough love games infect that. . . . If I hadn't been friends with Twilight . . . If I hadn't been an Element . . . I'd have been just another toy for Discord, and he wouldn't have given an extra glance . . . I wouldn't have spent a thousand years as his play thing, and I wouldn't have spent millions of years as Eclipse little friends. And all it would have cost me is the best friends I'd ever had in my life and having somepony else become an Element and get tortured by Discord and twisted by Eclipse in my place. Yeah. No thanks. This mare doesn't throw other ponies under the chariot to save her own flanks! "What about you?" I asked Mirror, with a teasing smirk. "Upset the AJ that beat her was an Element of Fantasy?" "Ah'd be upset if a LIARjack had done it," she countered, with a wry smile. "It's the corrupt version of that Element Ah take issue with...Ah'm proud that meh managed tah save Apple Pie in a way Ah couldn't." "That's pretty mature of you," I complimented. "Pretty honest of meh." We were approaching Sugarcube Corner. I wanted to crash straight through it, rhino-style, but Applejack didn't want anypony hurt, and teleported us inside instead. Sweetie Belle wasn't here. But Apple Bloom was along with most of the foals, and Cheerilee too I guess to get the foals back to school. Cheerilee's jaw hang out at the sight of us, and like any loyal teacher should, put herself between us and the foals. No surprise, of course. I spotted Pinkie Pie sitting next to Bright Night. "APPLEJACK!? IS THAT YOU!?" Apple Bloom gasped. "Ah'm sorry Apple Bloom," Mirror said. "But Ah ain't yer Applejack, and this ain't yer Ponyville." "W-what?" The poor filly asked completely lost. "OH! Is it Nightmare Night already?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Oh wait! This is what you were telling me about Bright Night?" "Yes Pinkie Pie, it is." I frowned curiously at Pinkie Pie, but she was already explaining. "Bright Night says I forgot an important promise. But I didn't think you'd come back to the party as scary Alicorns with AJ, so are you going to apologize to Bright Night? Or are we gonna have round two?" I looked at the pink pegasus filly. Whatever her angle was, she wasn't on the side of who was trapping us here, it should have been obvious after I woke up. I sighed. "I'm sorry, Bright Night." "Apology accepted." She bowed humbled. "Apology for what?" Apple Bloom asked. "It's not important anymore, Apple Bloom," Bright Night said. Cheerilee was looking left to right trying to figure out what was going on, looking on the verge of a breakdown. "Bright Night! Get away from them!" Bright Night trotted over to her and hugged her. "Don't worry Miss Cheerilee, they're not the enemy." Cheerilee was stunned silent by Bright Night's mature serenity. "Pinkie," asked Mirror reluctantly, "can ya please stand still fer a moment?" "Are ya gonna turn me to stone, a brainwashed zombie, a freaky apple-pony hybrid, or revert me to a former life?" Pinkie asked. "Yes on the last one." "Okay! Should be fun." "Sorry Pinkie Pie, ya'll be disappointed," Mirror whispered shamefully. "It ain't a lie that Ah wish Ah was wakin' yah up tah a better sight." AJ touched Pinkie Pie's head with her horn and cast the memory spell. Pinkie Pie did what looked like a lifetime of Pinkie Sense twitches in under a minute. Then she stood perfect at attention. She then got down on all fours and shook her head. "Geeze, you weren't kidding about being disappointed. I was hoping to awaken as generation three me. Or Surprise. Or a My Little Horsey toy prototype from Hasbro, that would be new." "Remember? Ya Pinkie Promised, 'Granfalloon'," Mirror said. "Yeah I did. Oh well. Apple Bloom, Bright Night, everypony, sorry but the party is over for now. Thanks for coming." She then stood up, and pulled on the back of her body where there was now a zipper, and upside herself like she was a costume. Out came a darker shade of pink Alicorn, with the colors of her balloon cutie mark inverted. Her eyes were blue and like a dragon's. Her wings and horn looked like crayon drawings. Unlike us who wore barding, she was wearing a party dress with candy shaped jewelry (or jewelry shaped candy knowing Pinkie Pie). She wasn't wearing her clown make up. Her mane looked almost like a foal's rendition who had forgotten to color in the lines. She neatly folded up her, ugh, 'Pinkie Pie costume.' Cheerilee had a three second faint, Bright Night kept her on her hooves. The foals were transfixed. "Don't worry, Cheerilee...I'm more me instead! I think! Maybe....Dang. Being, more sane really stinks." Nightmare Granfalloon, the Eternal Laughter, didn't look like laughing! Out of all of us, Granfalloon had been crazy in a way that made Eclipse run for her money. She looked at Applejack. "Jackie...I...I thought it was all just a game, I didn't mean to laugh AT all those ponies... or to end their... I didn't...I wouldn't...I didn't think anypony was really... I thought everything..." "...Was just fun, games, and giggles." I finished evenly. She whimpered. "Jackie, am I a bad pony?" "...You WERE a bad pony..." The Nightmare of Truth spoke to Granfalloon. "We all were ...Now?...The honest truth is it's up tah you…" Mirror hugged her with her forehooves and wings and gave her a nuzzle, her horns touching. Cheerilee was left astounded by the act of pure friendship by the two Nightmares. he hackles rose on my back, crackling with thick flame and eldritch darkness. Uggggghhhh. SPARE me, Guru Mirror! How does she think it's that easy? I just want this mess over with." I said under my breath. A hoof laid on my side. "Fake memories doesn't change somepony, Rainbow Dash. Volunteer ponies were ashamed of 'their' actions when given somepony else's memories. If you've been loyal, selfless, brave, confident, and CARING about others, it's because that's the real you. Sombra with your memories wouldn't be a hero, and you with his wouldn't be a monster. That's the heart's power." Somepony whispered in my hear. I looked at Bright Night, for a moment, she looked so old. Granfalloon flashed me an uneasy look, but said nothing. Mirror regarded me dolefully. Cheerilee looked woozy as Granfalloon pulled out in a mirror and put on some buffalo tribe war paint. "Cheerilee, where's Rarity and Sweetie Belle?" I asked. "If you think I'm going to tell you anything-" Cheerilee gasped. "I suggested to her that she should leave the party early when I got back, considering everything that happened yesterday, and that was a good idea to spend as much time with her big sister today as she could. Since there was no telling when they'd meet again," said Bright Night, smiling at her teacher. "It's okay Miss Cheerilee. They just look scary on the outside. They're still themselves." Baring my teeth at the filly, I set a chair violently on fire; the flames rose in a hot, high column that almost touched the bakery's ceiling. Cheerilee startled as Granfalloon put it out with an extinguisher. "Dashie! Don't ruin my furniture!" "A teacher knows a tough mare when she sees one, if you wanted to hurt somepony, you wouldn't have set fire to a chair." "Bright Night, how can you know all this?" Cheerilee implored. "I promise I'll explain everything soon." She looked right at me. "You'll want to be careful, though and get a quick move-on! The ones who set this stage are ever-watchful!" "Ladies!" I barked, turning from Bright Night and Cheerilee. "Let's get moving." But I sensed Granfalloon dithering. "Do we REALLY need to wake up Rarity too? Can't we just leave her be and let her be happy?" I turned around and gave the Eternal Laughter a rather mean-spirited smile. "Ha ha ha! Hilarious as ever, Granfalloon, that's what we all love about you! Here, I got a real rib-cracker of my own! Stop me if you've heard this already: Couldn't the universe have just left ME be? Let ME be happy?!" Wait a second . . . where those . . . where those tears? "I-I-I I'm SORRY Dashie!" She blubbered, and knelt before me. "I didn't mean . . . I'm sorry I hurt . . . " "It's okay sugarcube," said Mirror, in a much more rational-sounding voice, lifting up Granfalloon's chin, looking her in the eyes. "Dashie's just in a lot of pain right now. Like all of us. When somepony is hurt, they can forget other ponies are hurt too. The real her is just makin' up for a few million years worth of crude. Ah'm sorry we can't just let Rarity sleep. But whatever put us here brainwashed Nightmares and took over this place. We need all the help we can get." Granfalloon, the Endless Laughter, sniffling, hugged Mirror. Any grand retort I had died in throat seeing the Cruelest of Truth show such kindness. The room went quiet as a tomb. Even Mr. and Mrs. Cake halted in their oblivious baking to look at them. "Girls," I whispered, "We don't have time." Granfalloon looked me in the eyes, and silently nodded, stood up, and wiped her tears away. "Bye for now everypony! Thanks for coming! I hope we get to have some fun later! Oh and help yourselves to whatever you want behind the counter! For the rest of the afternoon, everything is free!" Cheerilee looked confused when the Cakes didn't give so much as a peep. Then dismayed as her students looked ready to spoil their appetites, but not as much as should have. Cheerilee looked confused when the Cakes didn't give so much as a peep. Then mildly dismayed as her students looked ready to spoil their appetites, but not as much as should have. "Applejack! WAIT! WHADDYA MEAN YER NOT MAH SISTER?! WHADDYA MEAN THIS AIN'T PONYVILLE?!" Apple Bloom was crying. Mirror tried to hug Apple Bloom with her wings, and grimaced. Mirrors did not make the most warm and comforting of wings. Mirror FORCED her wing eyes closed to avoid accidentally driving her sister catatonic with things ponies were not meant to know. She hugged her with her hooves and nuzzled her. "Ah wish Ah had time to explain. Ah'm sorry Apple Bloom." With more strength than it should have taken, AJ let go of her. We didn't bother to watch what happened next. And I didn't bother to see if Bright Night tagged along or not, I think if she was needed, she'd be there. My sensing lead us straight to Carousel Boutique. Bright Night was right. Whatever was here had eyes and ears everywhere. We didn't have time to waste and we wasted too much already. We all teleported inside Rarity's living room. She and Sweetie were sitting on a couch having cookies and tea (more like sweetened water in Sweetie's case). Rarity did what you'd expect from a big sister. She pulled Sweetie Belle close to her and assumed a hard style-karate pose that looked self taught. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Sweetie Belle yelled and held onto her big sister for dear life. Three Nightmares with the forms of her friends had just teleported into her living room after all. She was going to fight to the end to protect Sweetie or for a way to get themselves to safety. Protecting her like a dragon would its treasure. Ya know, I really hated to do this, I really did. This was a cheap way to win. But against the telekinesis of four Nightmares, she didn't stand a chance. She didn't even try to use hers to counter ours. Instead she told Sweetie to run, but Pinkie Pie picked up the filly with her tail and started tickling her. "Un-tail her you-" That was when Pinkie Pie touched her forehead, and used the memory spell. Eclipse had taught it to ALL of us. Rarity let out a gasp, her eyes wide in shock, then confusion, realization, followed by shame, and finally, sadness. "Please let me and Sweetie Belle go," She said. We did so. Sweetie was confused by her big sister's change in behavior, enough to take her mind for the moment off of escaping. "Sweetie Belle." Rarity hugged her. "I am very proud to be your big sister, you're the best little sister I could ever hope for. It would be a shame for anypony to lose a little sister like you." She kissed Sweetie Belle on the forehead. "There are so many things I want to say to you. But...please just know, I am proud of you, I KNOW you'll find your cutie mark sooner than later, and be sure to share your gift with the world, and remember that getting a cutie mark is only the beginning. And that I love you. And I know you love me. Don't spend your life trying to imitate me. Be your own self. And you have a beautiful voice Sweetie Belle. Please let everyone hear it. Don't let anyone steal that from you." Sweetie Belle looked understandably confused and scared. I have a feeling she was expecting somepony to come and tell her to get to school already, not to have four monsters pop up, cast a spell on her sister, and then for Rarity to spill her heart out. I didn't have it in me to say this Sweetie might had been a child for hundreds of thousands of years (I'd picked the Crusaders early on) and letting her grow up was something a long time coming. "R-Rarity!? What happened? What happened to your friends? What did they do to you? Are you going to turn into a Nightmare too now?!" Rarity cried. She nuzzled Sweetie Belle who eyes were brimming, and their tears mixed together. "I'm sorry Sweetie Belle, it's better you don't know. I love you and you're a good filly. Now, big sister is telling you to get RUNNING! Things are going to be dangerous soon and you need to be near friends!" Rarity said, trying not to sound angry. She didn't want this moment to be an unhappy one. "If you love me! Then please!" With more heaped on her shoulders than any foal should have, Sweetie Belle meekly nodded and ran out the door. "Goodbye, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said as her tears hit the floor. Rarity wiped her tears away. She stood up, not even looking at us. She trotted on her back legs towards a mirror on the wall. She sighed. Growled. Closed her eyes. And slammed her head right into the mirror. Her face...cracked. Like it a piece of a porcelain doll, a part of her face fell away, just some hard material, no flesh or bone. She said, "Goodbye, Rarity." She held held up a hoof to her face. In the cracked mirror, a slit dragon eye looked back. She turned around, still holding her face, and trotted past us like seeing us was the most normal thing in the world. Like the calm before a storm. "R-Rarity?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I don't want to damage the dresses. Please come outside." She trotted out the door, still trotted on two legs. We followed outside. She looked, making sure Sweetie Belle wasn't hiding nearby, and got on all fours, and slammed her face into the ground on a rock at full force. More of her body cracked. She breathed heavily. A pair of membranous wings broke out of her back. She stood back on two legs and looked at us without a trace of humor or fear on her face, but a nasty seriousness. She roared in fury and frustration, breathed fire, and with her own strength, shattered her own body. The pieces fell apart lifeless, and where the white unicorn had stood, was now a green eyed dragon, with dark purple scales with a dark green underbelly. This form held only a moment as green flames erupted around him, and he grew in an adult dragon that was over a thousand years old. He landed on all fours, making the entire town shake. He was big enough to squash any of us with one claw, oh right, Alicorns, correction, one hand. His body shape and design reminded me of Tiamat, even if he only had one head. He was clad in gold armor with sapphires. Many of the jewels were as big as a mortal mare. I never really understood why the Nightdrake of Generosity would go around decked out in bling. My first guess (which would be my second and third too) that it was meant to be a welcome gift for whenever he met that particular Rarity that was willing to become Nightmare Charity. It's less blunt than saying engagement gift. None of us said it. But we had all guessed. There had never been a Rarity saved for my room. The Rarities kept refusing to become Nightmare Charity, and Eclipse kept erasing them. Nightmare Eclipse never allowed us to save other versions of ourselves. She didn't want 'the fakes' 'corrupting' us. By the time we visited Rarity, we all noticed Spike was missing. There was only one other Element of Generosity we knew personally. Granfalloon flew up to him. "Hey Spiky! How ya feelin'?" Hopefully he didn't eat her. I didn't want to listen Pinkie chat about what the inside of a dragon's stomach looks like. I knew that plenty from all the times I've busted out of a dragon's stomach. "Angry. Robbed. Violated. Want to destroy something," Spike said in a conversational voice. "Eclipse kept trying to turn Rarity into a monster and I didn't even try to stop her. And sad Sweetie Belle's big sister is never coming back to her." "Spike," AJ asked in a disarm, pleading lose, "Ah know this ain't the best time ta ask, but ya wouldn't happen to remember ANYTHING from after we got six-rounds-rapid loved-and-friendshipped?" Nightdrake Banneret moved his eyes towards her. "All I remember, was somepony saying I could help Sweetie Belle and all of you be happy, and that I'd be with Rarity forever. I remember agreeing, then my memories and form being violated. Then, I woke up, living Rarity's life, in her body, all my memories tell me I was her," Spike said inscrutably. "Anypony else think it's weird that we don't have ponies screaming and running at the sight of us and Spike?" Applejack asked off handedly. "Maybe they turned up the happy juice on the real ponies after Cheerilee?" Pinkie Pie suggested. "Girls! Things are bad when I'm the one who has to keep us on track!" I shouted. "All four of us are awake and we still need to deal with Fluttershy! There's no way they aren't picking up something is wrong by now!" "What about Twilight?" Nightdrake Banneret asked, every bit as concerned as Spike would be. "I don't think Twilight needs 'dealing', I think she dealt with herself." "What are you talking about?" Pinkie asked. "I'll explain later!" Spike grabbed and held me up to his face. "Uh, hi Spike?" "Zecora and I were worried sick when you left without a word this morning!" "Oh, right." "We searched the town and the Everfree for you. Finally, Sweetie Belle used her pout on me and I couldn't tell her no to going to her club's anniversary party and told her everything was fine to not worry her!" "Sorry, I . . . I wasn't think about you." "Then we raced to Sweet Apple Acres when we saw your fireworks, but there was nothing there when we arrived! Then it started to rain and against my better judgement, Zecora went home to stock on 'supplies' while I continue my search, and I ran into Sweetie Belle and had to take her home insisted we spend a little time together . . . so tell me Nightmare Manacle, did you just forget about us?" "I . . . I did." I lowered my head. Yeah, the Nightmare of Loyalty had forgotten my friends. That hurt. A lot. Not about to risk teleporting we flew towards Fluttershy's. I wasn't thinking clearly. Or maybe I'd have asked the others, or realized we were stirring up the hornet's nest. "So Spike, uh, what was it like being Rarity? Really?" Pinkie poked. "Like a dream. Only now I've woken up to the nightmare. Rarity's gone. And I let Eclipse do it." Mirror spoke. "You didn't 'let' Eclipse do anything to your Rarity. Rarity made her choice, she was hoping her death break Eclipse's hold on ya." "I know that, now. But it doesn't change the fact that I... wanted to make Rarity into Nightmare Charity. Every one of them. I ignored that I was stealing these Rarities from other Spikes, and just assisted Twilight in destroying the world, over and over," the Nightdrake said in pain. "That you can admit that, that you can see that, proves how big ya've grown on the inside Spike," Mirror said rubbing her side against the Nightdrake. "...And every time we murdered her…she wasn't a fake or got 'reset'…she was real, she died…" "She's the real root of it all," I spoke without really thinking. "Every wrong thing about us is really because of Twilight Sparkle." I realized had eyes all on me. "Correction: Nightmare Eclipse was. Our Twilight Sparkles got EATEN UP by her. But we kept turnin' a blind eye to it. Or when Ah said it. That last Rarity still has her Spike, that's one happy ending," Mirror said. We spotted 'Twilight Sparkle' atop the library's roof, waving at us, a book still under one hoof. She wasn't scared, confused, or intimidated by us at all. We landed without a word around her, Spike landed on the ground and leaned his neck down. "Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and you to, Applejack. It's good to see you." She smiled wistfully. "I only wish I had a way I could have helped you myself. Thank you, Rainbow Dash and..." "Nightmare Manacle," I corrected the purple unicorn. "We are Nightmare Manacle, Nightmare Granfalloon, Nightdrake Banneret, and Nightmare Mirror." "I don't mind being called Pinkie Pie at all," Granfalloon said softly, briefly transforming herself into her old mortal form. "Yeah! I'm still cool with 'Spike,'" said Banneret. Looking over at Mirror, I could see she was in much the same mind, as well. "Suit yourselves," I told my cohorts, turning back to the purple unicorn. "As for myself, though, I am Nightmare Manacle and ONLY Nightmare Manacle. At your service." The Twilight impostor sighed sadly, (many of my friends grimaced,) bowing her head respectfully. "I'm sorry for baiting you so much. I had to play the part of somepony you wanted to prove wrong so it would override your desire to stay in your escape, and to wake you up to the clues you were being made not to notice." "You did what you had to do." This wasn't even any sort of veiled scorn against her. It WAS something that had to be done. I could respect her for at least that. But the impostor still looked sheepish, saying, "I'm sorry for acting the way I did. I didn't like it." "Stop apologizing so much," I told her. "I hated every 'sorry' of yours, back when you were refusing to give me any straight answers. And they still set my teeth on edge now. 'Sorry' is one of the most pointless words ever made. Shall I tell you all the things that I'M sorry for? For all the fat lot of good it'll do me and all the ones I'm sorry towards?!" ".S...sorry, heh," and she bowed lower. "It just seems like I'm made to play the role of the bad guy whenever somepony needs opposition to rise to the challenge. Nothing like a little competition to bring out a pony's full potential, eh, Rainbow Dash?" This time I struck; sending her crashing straight through the roof of the library's next door neighbor, straight into the basement. I admit, it felt GOOD. Of course the house was empty. I WANTED it to be, so it was. "Let's get one thing clear, please," I said as I lifted her back up, a crack on her face. "Rainbow Dash was a pony who wanted to bury her bad past. Live like her bad old 'Nightmare' self never existed. Spend the rest of her days being a noble hero. Then you came. You, with all your smarmy little digs, all your 'without their cheers, you're empty,' and your 'they're just cardboard cutouts to you, you sure DECONSTRUCTED the good pony she was trying to be, didn't you? The good pony she wished so BADLY she could really be, through all the dark centuries and parallel universes she lived and relived as Traitor Dash AND Nightmare Manacle." "Put her down, little pony," Nightdrake Banneret growled, smoke wafting from his nostrils as he took a warning step forward. "Not 'til I'm done talking!" I bellowed, throwing up a light force field around myself and the fake Twilight Sparkle. I didn't think how STUPID it was really to talk down to a obvious angry dragon. "Those things you said," I continued, "You ruined it. You threw acid on Dash's most noblest dream. Soured it to the point where she turned against her own paradise. Goaded her into digging up the bones of her bad old self, and remember ALL her sins..." Her eyes gazed at me. "...Not that you were wrong to do it," I continued, in a calmer voice. "For 50 kajillion Scootaloos? I'd've done it all too. And after all the genocide, heck, galaxy-cide, I've committed, I certainly don't deserve to be treated with kid's gloves, do I? All the same, though, let me ask this, lady: when a girl's pride in herself is pulverized straight into baking soda, when you see fit to deconstruct heroism, itself, what's left? What else is left?" She said nothing, I couldn't read her face at all. After a long and heavy sigh, I released my telekinesis, setting her down gently on her hooves. "The sad thing is... you could've HAD 'Rainbow Dash.' She'd've been GLAD to help you with... anything. But no one wants Dash the Hero, do they? Not Discord. Not Nightmare Eclipse. And not you either. You all want me to be a monster. So here I am. Nightmare Manacle, at your service." I made my force field vanish. Spike back fingered me instantly, he was holding back, it felt more like a angry slap than the blow wrathful blow of a dragon. I saw the look in his eyes, he WANTED to send my head flying over the horizon. Our friendship was only the thing that spared me. If I ever touched her again, I'd be two third of an Alicorn. Mirror looked at me . . . disappointed. Granfalloon looked at me, sadly? I turned my eyes to the fake Twilight. "Don't ever treat those two names like interchangeable synonyms again, got me?" The Twilight imposter nodded. "...They're not interchangeable...I'd be foolish to think they'd be. It would be as cruel as calling Luna Nightmare Moon. But can I ask you one question? Just ONE more?" "Is it another leading one?" "No, it's fairly straight forwards...Do you feel any better?" I blinked. "...I feel less angry..." She dusted herself off. "...You've been through a lot, you needed that." "...You know, it kind of defeats the purpose of me attacking you if you're not upset." "I'm not upset because I know you were wishing you were punching Eclipse, not me." She bowed politely. "Besides, this is a shell, like Rarity's, you'd have to shatter it to actually HURT me. I didn't feel a thing from the strike." "Ugh...could you BE anymore nice?" I asked. I wasn't mad, she was right. I did enjoy punching Twilight in the face. It was just weird to meet someone who actually lived up to the phrase 'turn the other cheek' after spending eternities following hatred personified. "We don't have hate where I'm from...that's not a hyperbole, I literally did not know the word hate." "...I think your world is giving me diabetes, and I've never seen it." "It was innocent and nice, what more can I say?" I couldn't argue with that. Not because it wasn't something I COULDN'T argue against, but...well, lived several hundred million years in a place worse than Hell, so her world sounded pretty good...not that I deserved it. "And you're wrong about one thing...I DID want hero Rainbow Dash, and I GOT her! And this Rainbow Dash, I KNEW you could do it! I'm so proud of you!" Not-Twilight hugged me. "I knew if you HAD a choice that you'd be strong enough to break yourself and everypony else free! Element of Free Will!" She smiled at me. "It's only because of YOU that we've gotten this far! You ARE a hero." "I'm not a hero, stop acting like I'm a white knight-" "You're not a white knight...but not all heroes are White Knights, Grey Knights have their place too...And so do Knights that are trying to polish their armor. Heroes don't have to be white as snow, some do grim things for justice, and some are atoners, but that doesn't make them any less heroes." Great, now she was trying to deconstruct my self-loathing...ugh, only I would be UPSET that someone is trying to make me feel BETTER. "Can you please pick which part of me you're going to deconstruct?" "Nothing I did was to 'deconstruct' you. It was proof. That inside, you were RAINBOW DASH, and NOT Nightmare Manacle with Rainbow Dash's memories. Manacle WOULD HAVE seen those ponies are cardboard cuts out, that their cheers were what matters, she WOULD HAVE wanted this world to continue on with shallow adventures at the cost of everyone else. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof, would sacrifice her happiness for others." "And . . . after all the death we've done . . . only a lunatic wouldn't make sure first," I said. " . . . sorry." For all the good it did. "I 'really really really really really really really really really disiked' every moment of playing that part, Rainbow." She hugged me. "But I was so happy, to see that it was YOU on the inside. I was worried I had lost you AGAIN." "Again?" "I loved you as a friend before you were even born little pony. And it would take much more than that to ever break that friendship, even if you don't remember it right now. I WASN'T treating Nightmare Manacle and Rainbow Dash as interchangeable, I never was. Because the pony on the INSIDE is Rainbow Dash, and that is all that actually matters." Spike said, "I'm just happy we didn't get into a big one-upmareship cycle with somepony wasting time on personal grudges when we already have enough danger to deal with and Twilight is the one who didn't chose to be self-righteous in RETURN." I saw the look he gave me. Bastard Discord was on his hands and knees, crying his mismatched eyes out. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! It was all my fault! I make no excuses! I'm sorry! Everything I did was wrong! There is no way to balance out everything I've done! You were always in the right, I was always in the wrong! I was justified in nothing! I'm not a god, I'm a criminal. I'm sorry!" I laughed at the bastard brawling like a baby. Apple Pie, with a little crown on her head, was held up by Eclipse on a rope with her manage, the filly struggling to keep from herself being strangled. "So you're sorry?" Eclipse asked smiling. "YES!" "You're really sorry?" "YES!" "Uh, you're really really really really really really really really really sorry?" Whisper asked, looking unsure, uncomfortable, and like she was scared of us, her friends! "A thousand times yes! Punish me forever if that'll make you happy! But please! Don't hurt her! I beg you!" "So you're sincerely and truly sorry?" Eclipse asked calmly. "Yes." Eclipse smiled wider. "Well, that changes-" A sword went through Queen Apple Pie's heart. "-nothing." Whisper gasped. I laughed my head off at the look on bastard Discord's STUPID face, and punched that stupid face, and punched him again, and again, and again, and again, and again, laughing all the while! And I didn't stop! It was great! "Dear Princess Celestia," Nightmare Eclipse said, "The most worthless words ever invented is 'sorry.'" My eyes became dinner plates, and I ran to the side of the library's look out, and vomited over the side. "Oh Celestia! I was being Nightmare Eclipse! . . . Only . . . " "Only what Rainbow?" Mirror whispered patting me on the back. "Only my 'Discord' was different." I said looking at 'Twilight.' "Sorry lets others know we know we screwed up Rainbow, sorry is us admittin' to ourselves and to others we screwed up. If we don't see that we screwed up, then we're all the more likely to make that screw up again. Sorry is how we mark that screw up as a screw up. It's how we let others know that we feel their pain. . . . Sorry . . . help us grow-up." The others hugged me, Twilight included. It wasn't a group huge like in the real Ponyville . . . it didn't need to be. "Now... let's not let any of this stand in the way of us being civil. Would you care for some tea?" 'Twilight' asked, she flipped open her book, turning pages, conjuring up a full tea tray as a result. Banneret went over nuzzled the purple unicorn with his huge head. She stirred the tea with her hoof. I drank some tea myself that she offered. "Now, please tell us, what was it you called us out here for?" "Fluttershy," the purple unicorn spoke. "You're trying to get her, but they set up a trap." "A trap?" piped up Granfaloloon. "Those big meanies!" "I'm afraid there is something I do need to apologize for. I don't care if it was necessary or not." Twilight standing up on her rear hooves, putting them v-shape across her stomach and bowed her head. "I'm not lying when I'm your friend, though I know Applejack the least....But I'm afraid Twilight Sparkle was never here, and she isn't stand before you now." I thought I'd be the only one not to gasp when she said that. Mirror didn't flinch either, oh right, eyes of truth. Mirror must have known the moment she saw her. Why didn't she say anything? Maybe she'd been waiting for her to say it. But Granfalloon and the Nightdrake gasped in shock. I swear I heard their hearts crack a little. Mine and Mirror's already had. We waited, but the mare did nothing to 'unmask' herself. Her form just stayed that of Twilight, then again, if the puppet masters had eyes and ears everywhere, her revealing herself when she didn't need to would be kinda stupid. And it hit me I might not have been all that bright to take an emotion-pit stop after I'd been yammering at my friends that we needed to keep our flanks in gear. "Who are you?" asked Granfalloon. "I'm a relative and a dear friend of Twilight's. And I'm here because it's what she'd want. I was sent here to rescue the innocent ponies trapped in this false Ponyville. I came here because you're my friends too." "Then where is Twilight?!" demanded Banneret. Granfalloon painted a blue tear on her face. "I don't know where she is right now, or I'd tell you." The impostor looked up at my disbelieving scoff . "Believe what you want to believe, since pleading is just noise to you. She'd be here to help if she could but...it took so long to find you. It took so for us just to get inside. And she still loves all of you, and she does apologize for everything she did to you as Nightmare Eclipse and just wanted to make up for it a little." "Did she?" I smiled up at the clouds, as though Twilight, herself, was watching me from up there. "Nightmarish transformations and devious duplicity... we're off to a rollicking good start, aren't we? Just like old times, eh, Twilight?" "I forgive her," Banneret said at once. "She kept trying to turn Rarity into a monster and I didn't even try to stop her." "I forgive her too," Granfalloon said, placing a hoof over her heart. Mirror said nothing. "But what about the Twilight who was here before you... took over?" "There was no Twilight here before," said the impostor. "Nothing but a puppet, just wood, string, and illusion magic." The others shuddered in pain that wasn't physical. Then the impostor looked over at me. "So, Rainbow Dash...have you figure out the whole truth yet?" "One question, weren't you worried the pin was gonna be swiped and I'd get my memories rewritten again?" "I actually put a perception filter on the pin so nopony would notice it unless it was pointed out to them, compliments from Time Turner." Pinkie Pie and Spike blinked. "What pin? Oh, that one." "So by 'whole truth', you mean: have I figured out who's the puppetmaster in all this? The one pulling the strings?" The impostor nodded. "Yes, yes, yes?" My head bent down, then back up. "Yeah. I figured it out. "For starters, there's no way in Tartarus you're behind this. You've done nothing but keep me on the right track this entire time. No jailer is that crazy, and you don't watch somepony squirm by helping them every step of the way. It's not Heaven, Hell, Nothingness, Limbo, or Purgatory..." "Duh!" interrupted Granfalloon. "It's you, yourself, Dashie!" Bzzt! Granfalloon glared over at Mirror and the big negatory game show buzzer she'd hit. "Hey! That's MY schtick, AJ!" Avoiding Granfalloon's eyes, Nightmare Mirror whistled innocently with a mischievous smile. Downright surreal. "Mirror's right, through: not any of the afterlives, but the fake Ponyville I made? The moment I recovered my memories, I knew there could be only one logical culprit. It's-" "Rainbow Dash!" Our favorite yellow pegasus shouted as she fluttered onto the top of the house tree. "Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Oh! And Spike! It's been forever since I've seen you! How have you been? I hope you've been getting enough rest!" Pinkie Pie waved her hooves. "Fluttershy, don't be scared. We're still us! And I don't mean evil or brainwashed us'! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" "Don't worry, Pinkie Pie, I know it's you, even if your bodies are twisted by black magic I know it's still you inside." She smiled, not cowering in fear of us, only showing love. "Okay," Pinkie Pie smiled back, "Spike could you do the honors? I'm really really REALLY sorry about this Fluttershy but Dashie said we need all the help we can get to save everypony from these big meanies who have everypony under mind control! I mean, how cliche can you get right?" "I'm not scared. Let's touch minds. If it means protecting my friends from hurt, being a Nightmare can't be that bad." Applejack looked at me. Twilight stayed perfectly silent and still. I sighed. It was time to end this performance. Part of me wanted it to go on a little longer, but the rest of me was just tired of this. "Don't bother please, guys." I sighed again. "I know who did this to us. But I wasn't sure how to confess it. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want it to be true. I really didn't....Guys, I'm sorry." Eyes turned towards me. "Manny, what are you saying?" Granfalloon's lip trembled. Feeling like a detective from a mystery novel, I looked down at my reflection in one of the library's windows. "I knew even before I got my memories back that the culprit had to be one of us. Only a Nightmare would have pulled this 'erase memories, trap them in their own world 'for their own good.'' I wanted to tell myself it had to be some DIFFERENT Nightmare... maybe a delusional friend, but what friends do we have left?" 'Twilight' put a hoof over her heart. I listed off my logical deductions. "This is all one big lie: Nightmare Mirror might've been goaded into participating in it, but she'd NEVER have masterminded it. "Everything is too 'Rainbow Dash'-centered for it to be Nightdrake Banneret. Perhaps if it were Rarity or Twilight Sparkle, or Spike in the limelight... who am I kidding? It would be a materialistic paradise for EVERYPONY, but since it's not... Banneret shrugged his agreement. "This place is missing WAY TOO MANY details to ever be run by Twilight Sparkle." Everyone nodded. "The adventures we've had just aren't imaginative enough to be Granfalloon, and the puppets wouldn't be following such shallow and predictable routines. No show of hers is ever PREDICTABLE!" "Plus, I'd've thrown in a lot more in-jokes, and made everypony way more prone to lighthearted one-liners and partying," added Granfalloon. "And I'd have brought back Minty." "And Pinkie Pie, wouldn't have fought so hard to STOP me from attacking Bright Night, since everything here has been about me doing whatever I want and it always being right. I thought she was a pod pony. Not my best theory. Don't worry Pinkie stopped me from doing anything stupid. Moving on!" "This was my pocket domain, of course, so I'm a prime suspect," I pointed out. "In my Traitor Dash days, there was nothing I wanted more than to turn back the clock and return to Ponyville, as it had been during that brief, glorious year between us beating Nightmare Moon and Discord. Discord was always forcing me to be a murdering, backstabbing villain, why? Because even in my deepest despair I never stopped wanting to be a hero. I never stopped wanting to do good. To help ponies and protect them. How badly I wanted to strong enough to stand up to all the bad guys! To have it so things were great BECAUSE of me for a change! But then it really hit me. The pony who hates me more than anypony, is me! There's no bucking way I'd create a fantasy world I'm always the hero and everything is great because of me! I built this place to have everypony get along fine and great WITHOUT ME! I was the most insignificant pony in the background alive when I rested in here!" "All I really wanted was Rarity. At least to be there for her." sighed the dragon who'd turned himself into a Nightmare for Rarity's sake. "Part of me likes to think that if Discord had never entered the picture, things could have worked out between us, we saw she'd become an Alicorn before a Nightmare. But that's neither here nor there. Ain't it funny?" The interruption had taken me by surprise. Nightdrake Banneret turned towards me. "What I'm trying to say is: it's not just you." And he patted my head. "Y-yeah," I said, swallowing and trying to regain my rhetorical momentum. "You shouldn't carry such heavy burdens," Fluttershy said. "Same to you 'Shy. I recognized the magic signature of the drinking geass on Applejack. And there was only one other pony I gave the keys to my room to! AND! I was at your house we were having tea and I didn't find anything wrong with it. I. Don't. Like. Tea!" Everyone followed my line-of-sight to Fluttershy, who took a trot back. "Yer still 'kidnappin' Philomena,' Fluttershy. Please just stop," Mirror told her; we all understood the metaphor at once. "Discord must be doing this to us!" "Somethin' THIS orderly ain't his style, sorry, sugah," Mirror said. "This is just our version of paradise! We must have all died!" "We wouldn't be in heaven," I sighed. "Fluttercruel!" "This isn't her idea of love, or revenge," the Nightdrake said. "The Doctor!" "He wouldn't have done this half-flank a job," I said. "I'd captured his TARDIS with my chains enough times. Please... you're just grasping at straws now." We all closed in around her. "Please! We're all happy here! Let me reset your memories and everything can be okay again!" She begged us. "No!" We all retorted. Fluttershy's eyes became draconic, and the all-mighty Stare was deployed upon us. Be they dragon, changeling, Discord is the only entity I've EVER seen outright immune to Fluttershy's power. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you hurt yourselves." We were all bad, bad fillies. We should be doing what Mama Fluttershy wants. Bad fillies. Bad. Listen to your mother. You- The Cruelest of Truth resisted the Kindest of Lies just enough to fling a reflective wing in front of herself. Fluttershy gasped in surprise, not in shock or pain, before turning to fog and dissolving. "Fluttershy?" Granfalloon whispered, horrified. "It was one of her constructs! She must have been in the driver's seat this whole time!" Mirror shouted. "Since it wasn't her real body, it couldn't handle the stare being thrown back at it." "So that wouldn't work on the real Fluttershy?" "Slow her down, cut her off, but it wouldn't stop her," I said. "Should've known it would be that easy," Not-Twilight sighed. "Don't you have 'turn ponies' spines to goo' vision too?" Banneret asked. "...In straight-up eye-to-eye, hers trumps mine." "...Ah can't beat her with mine. We're meant to TEMPER each other. But when one of us has got...well, a galaxy's worth of guilt on her shoulders and the other is...well, Fluttershy, the Stare has the upper hoof." "TERRIFIC!" The Nightdrake roared in frustration. I was reminded of an O&O game, a couple timelines ago, where Banneret took the sword from fallen ogre and it 'mysteriously broke' when his paladin tried to swing it himself. "FLUTTERSHY! LISTEN TO AUNTIE PINKIE PIE! NIGHTMARE TWILIGHT IS GONE! THE ELEMENTS WOULD HAVE MADE HER GOOD AGAIN! LET'S JUST STOP ALL THIS! THEN WE CAN START HELPING PONIES!" Granfalloon yelled into a giant megaphone, making several real ponies in the streets below cover their poor ears. "I'LL MAKE CAKE!" "If she's gone to this much trouble, sugarcube, you wouldn't be able to change her mind with a triple fudge cheesecake the size of an Ursa Major. When a ponies' beliefs are challenged, they become even more zealous, not less, that goes quadruple for Nightmares." > Answers and Identies Revealed!!! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "But wouldn't the Elements have fixed Fluttershy in the head like they did us?" asked Granfalloon, in innocent puzzlement. Mirror breathed out a long, soft sigh, and I found myself sympathizing with the truth-fanatic. "Yeah." She looked right at me. "But like Princess Luna, I'd say we all got our burdens to bear even after the Elements put our heads back on straight." Not-Twilight lowered herself into a battle stance. "Everypony, get ready! She won't be using polite pretenses now that things have gone off-script!" "You'd think she'd do something to Sweetie Belle and the others?" asked Banneret, with Rarity-like concern. "She wouldn't kill them, she's still Fluttershy," I assured the big guy. "Not without Nigtmare Eclipse there whisperin' in her ear that it's the kindest thing she could do, and she's sane enough to realize it was all hogwash . . . which might be the reason," Nightmare Mirror said. It was like a brick to the chest, I felt staggered, even without moving from where I stood. Mirror lowered her head and breathed in with a shudder. "It's mah fault... Ah'm the one who made 'er that way..." "Wrong. She made herself that way," Nightmare Mirror snapped her head up at me with such a look of pained shock, it felt like we were both in a role reversal. "It's true!" I argued. "I mean... just look at Rarity. Rarity's not a Nightmare because she resisted, every bucking time, no matter what kind of pressure we brought down on her. She never finished the transformation. Fluttershy became Nightmare Whisper because she crumbled in a moment of weakness, it was her choice. Like all of us." To think, out of all of us, it'd be Rarity who'd have THAT kind of inexhaustible, unconquerable willpower. Not something you'd have ever expected, looking at any of her 'Rarigreed' variants. But my truth-obsessed companion sputtered, "Is that supposed ta make me feel exonerated? Ya can't jest lay all the blame on HER! Ah talked her inta it! Ah was a vulture!" "We're Nightmares. We're all vultures!" "Stop it," Granfalloon whispered. "Fire is hot, ice is cold, oceans are deep, and us Nightmares are destructive monsters that ruin everything we come in contact with." "And none of us 'destructive monsters' would be here if Eclipse hadn't eaten up our Twiilghts the same way she did yours!" Banneret seethed, pointing a claw at me. "And Fluttershy was the worst victim of us! She resisted longer than any of us!" "Eclipse may have started this cycle, but we helped her keep it spinning!" "I don't wanna hurt Fluttershy." Granfalloon whimpered. "I'm gonna knock sense into her with or without your approval!" "See?" the voice of Whisper echoed around us all. "This is why I didn't want you to remember! Without Twilight here all we'll do is sqaubble!" We all drew closer to each other. I couldn't detect which specific direction Nightmare Whisper's voice was emanating from. "We were FRIENDS AGAIN, and now we're all fighting!" Whisper lamented. "I want to be back with the real Twilight again." "I want to be back with Twilight too," I agreed, softly. "More than anything I've ever wanted before." "I don't want us to fight either, Fluttershy!" Granfalloon shouted. "But that's the dark magic talking, not you-uh-oh," Whisper's voice had come from a huge fog rising right out of the ground of Ponyville, engulfing everypony below in it. The real ponies and those inside puppet shells wavered, the pupils of their eyes growing larger until they nearly took up their entire eye, smiling to themselves. The ponies who were not real continued their programmed routine for a moment before stopping in their tracks. "OH NO, YA DON'T!" Mirror spread her wings to their full expanse, the emerald eyes on her armor glowin'. Shining like Celestia from atop the library roof we were all standing on, Mirror reflected the light off her wings and burned away the fog. That was only Act One. Next, the lighting reflecting off her wings caused the illusions on the puppets to melt away, clearing the heads of the real ponies present, and making them all too aware of their reality. Their happy faces vanishes as the illusion in their memories burned away next, making them remember they had been playing house with automatons! She didn't get all of them, but she got more than enough to ruffle Whisper's feathers. Nightmare Mirror... was unmoved by the fear and panic she'd just set off, Applejack on the other hoof, was gritting her teeth at the sight. "Uh, Jackie, are you sure that was a good idea?" Granfalloon asked. I was coming to notice that out of all of us, she was acting least like her Nightmare self. Like the spirit of the original, sweet-hearted Pinkie Pie had been lodged in an undeservedly monstrous shell. "It was my only idea." The mortals were in panic mode, horrified by the puppets that had replaced their family and neighbors. Seeing three Nightmares and a Nightdrake standing right on the roof did nothing to sooth their mood. Lyra and Bon-Bon hugged each other upon seeing the faceless wooden dummies 'June Bug' and 'Candy' had been all along. Maternity was hugging Button Mash, running inside her house to protect him from us only to find the dummy that had been standing in for her husband blocking the door. Derpy turned to Doctor Whooves to advice, then screamed pulling her fillies back away from the marionette with the Time Lord's features. I heard Cheerilee's cry of dismay and horror...when she saw the majority of the foals she was herding to city hall for protection, were just glorified dolls. And there was my weather team, flying about like mad, Thunderlane trying to keep heads cool and failing in the face of the completely ugly unreality. Not-Twilight looked in pain. "Stop! Mother is protecting everypony from Nothingness and Tartarus, HOW CAN YOU BE SO EVIL?!" Shouted a voice just like Fluttershy's. "Now we're going to have to erase all their memories and hard reset Ponyville, and tidy up, after we're done spanking you," said 'Posey-Nice' floating in the air above us where she hadn't been a minute ago. Mirror said sadly to the one who had been the most brutal to Discord's daughter whenever she tried to defend her father, the one who had punished Discord's daughter the most viciously for her unrelenting tormenting of innocent ponies. "Howdy to ya, Fluttercruel." "My name is Flutternice!" She stamped her hoof in the air and undid the clasp on her cloak. It fluttered off her, the illusionary colors dissolving off. Her real colors showed. Pink mane, blue eyes, yellow fur, brighter than her mother's, almost garish. She also had a griffin claw in place of one foreleg, and a dragon claw in place of one of her rear legs. She also had a yellow bat pony wing, and one pink butterfly wing in place of her pegasus wing. She was wearing platinum colored barding, with the symbol of the butterfly on the peytral. And her cutie mark was a heart-shape made out of curved swords. "Auntie Granfalloon and Uncle Banneret and Aunties Mirror and Manacle are all happy to see you're okay, Flutternice, we were all so worried about what happened to you!" Granfalloon grinned with a twitch. "I mean, guarding the front door to our evil lair was really lonely work." 'Lonely, because she butchers everything dumb enough to try.' "-And we left you all alone without a foalsitter-" 'Pity the sitter who has to get THIS foal under control.' "-When we were fighting to destroy Equestria for the quad-zillionth time. But let's all calm down and discuss this over cake! And we can find a new home for all these ponies and we can turn ourselves in and-" "NO!" Flutternice and her mom's voices chorused. Animals, colored yellow and pink with blue eyes, began to materialize out of a new ring of fog around Ponyville. Whisper's constructs. All marching right towards us. "I don't like doing this, yes I do, but I don't like liking it!" I didn't even TRY to decode this head-spinning double negative. "You're being bad! You need to be spanked! And we need to make sure nopony gets hurt!" The waving of Flutternice's hooves mirroring the formation and direction of her mom's constructs. At the same time, the puppets opened up like used cocoons. Puppet strings shot out like cobras, wrapping around the real ponies and began pulling them into their dark insides, kicking and screaming. I saw Soarin' and Spitfire, flying DOWN from Cloudsdale, from empty shells trying to eat them up. And those in puppet shells, like a pink and a silver filly found their bodies moving on their own, all they could do was look about and scream. "What are you waiting for, Auntie Mirror? Stop the puppets from helping the ponies sleep." Flutternice smiled as she said this, her eye twitching. Mirror grunted. "If I stop using my wings, she can just recreate the fog," she warned us all. "That doesn't stop us!" The Nightdrake snapped and destroyed a puppet of Lilly trying to capture Carrot Top like it was a beetle. "Uncle Banneret! That's not nice! Stop right now. Or...or I'm going to have to fun! I mean, won't be fun! WON'T be fun!" There was nothing beautiful about this, there was no justice, and no satisfaction, nothing about it was funny. I had given my 'Fluttercruel' all the hard knocks I could during our battles to liberate Equestria. I remember this mare, reduced to a filly in body she already was in spirit, stabbing herself over and over to punish herself as much as possible for everything she'd done until her mother stopped her. I remember reading Batmare The Dark Guard Returns 2, how Batmare resisted skipping along and giggling like school filly when the ineffective and government controlled Justice Herd was getting the snot beaten out of them. Back then I thought it was cool. Now I felt SORRY for Flutternice (the name her mom had given her), and I felt a little sick to my stomach. She looked ready to start stabbing herself again on the spot or eat alive the nearest living thing. It almost made me regret waking up to seeing something this wretched and pathetic. I'd given her as a filly horsey rides. I'd played video games with her, Whisper giving her the foalhood she never had. As a GIFT to me she'd 'punished' other versions of herself while I sat back and watched when her mother wasn't...Now I felt sick realizing that entire time this time that was only half the story and the other half was another victim of us Nightmares. "Please, 'Nice, you're the last pony any of us wants to hurt," Granfalloon begged. "Please, just stop, little filly," Not-Twilight also beseeched. "Huh?!" Flutternice stared at the impostor determinedly wearing Twilight Sparkle's likeness. "How did that puppet just...?" Banneret crushed the puppets of Rose and Daisy that was trying to capture Berry Punch and Ruby Pinch. "That's it! I can show you how much I love you all!" Flutternice screamed. her non-pony parts disconnected from her body like they were building blocks, only for replacements to shimmer into being a moment later. Flutternice's cutie mark blurred in places. She snarled. The batwing grew into Flutterbat. The butterfly wing grew into a Flutterpony version of Fluttershy. The other limbs quickly grew into Flutterdragon and Fluttergriffin. Familiar-looking black rods that had once impaled Princess Cadence in countless loops appeared in each of their primary limb. They all assumed fighting poses. "Be modest!" "Be graceful!" "Be polite!" "Be civil!" Her detachments exclaimed nicely in turn. "Five times the pain for you means five times the love you know I have for you! Nonononono! Mommy said those thoughts are bad bad bad! I need to smile! But be sad when I need to hurt somepony! She said hurting you is bad, but I need to hurt you so you don't hurt yourself! Mommy is right! So that means I can hurt you and you know it's because I love you! Yippie!" "Ah've said it trillions of times before, and Ah'll say it now: that girl needed therapy." Mirror sighed. Darkness and negativity... that's what I'd focus on! I was a Nightmare, after all. So darkness was better, and negativity safer! No heroics... never again! Heroism was a jinx for me, nothing but a doomed jinx! I looked all four of my friends. Each one determined to fight to the bitter end for each other and these ponies we'd dragged into this mess. I may not know the right choice about the Ponyville ponies. But I can still protect my friends! I couldn't stop my blood form boiling at the idea of a straight up fight to save the innocent. "BRING IT!!!" "As you wish, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy's voice echoed from the constructs. I heard a huge clock tick. It shook the entire world. The puppets and constructs for a moment stopped, even the ponies stopped. "This is the battle Auntie Manacle wants, 'Nice, and she's going to want a proper opening." "Yes, mama!" A count down appeared in the sky. "Five-four-three-two-one! Let the show begin!" And like a fiend from the underworld, she emerged, as big as an Ursa. Several large and beastly yellow constructs pulled at its chains, like it had trouble rising up from however long it had been sleeping. For a second, it looked like the dragon I'd fought earlier, but then the illusion peeled away, showing what was underneath. The ground trembled as she moved. Town Hall crumbled as her constructs pulled her along, straight through the building, then the building's debris. Stained dragon claws dragged along the ground, the noise like plows through dirt. Gossamer wings the size of grand ship sails showed patterns of ponies in fetal positions. She had a faded and dirty yellow natural coat, on her flanks was a cutie mark of three blue-winged Butterflies with pink bodies. A long pink tail moved behind her, roped together in thick cords that twitched more like muscle than tail hair, small lilies dotted along it. Lean but dense muscle covered her legs and neck. Her mane was corded and dotted with flowers like her tail, covering one eye. Her torso was still that of a pony, the neck was a fraction longer. A glowing blue eye looked out from an almost skeletal face. An impressive spiral unicorn horn stuck out from her forehead. Heavy shackles were sealed around her ankles, with spikes pointed inward into her bleeding flesh. Another inverted spiked shackle was around her neck. The chains pulled along by the construct army. Her sweeping tail and heavy steps left ruin in her wake. I felt a knife through where my heart oughta have been. "This is what you want of me," sighed Nightmare Whisper. "This is what you're making me do. I'm sorry. But I know you, Rainbow Dash...you won't go back to sleep and rest easy unless you've tried your hardest to stay awake." "Auntie Pinkie Pie didn't want this for you," Granfalloon whispered. "Fluttershy, you were beautiful before," Banneret said, looking sick at the sight of her. "Rarity would be heartbroken." Mirror hung her head. "Ah did this ta ya in spite of what Nightmare Eclipse did ta me, but ya took it the step further. Dammit." Not-Twilight cried. My heart went out to my companions. "Can we get s-s-started now, mommy?!" Flutternice asked, her hooves shaking. "I...don't feel so good . . ." That was an understatement. She looked sick to her stomach. "Just hold on for a little while, dear, they won't last long." "Ya can tell right?" Mirror whispered. "The way ponies' wanted to 'make safe' ya and Twili'? That's what Fluttershy's done ta her, and now the reins are comin' off." I shuddered. "Thanks for the warning." "I'm not sure I like our odds," Granfalloon said. It wasn't encouraging. Mirror was forced to keep Whisper from using her trump card, and leaving just me, Banneret, Granfalloon and Twilight-Lite. We were being pitted against Flutternice and her detachment armed with concept-killing weapons, an army of puppets with built-in hostages, and a re-spawning army of constructs. Not to mention Whisper herself goin' freakin' Dracozilla meet Ponythulu on the worst day. It's okay, R....Manacle. I told myself. It's okay! In the end, this is nothing new to you. One of the few things you always can count on, Nightmare Manacle, is being turned on by your friends. "Rainbow?" Twilight-Lite put a hoof on her withers. "I can't promise you'll find what you want when you escape. But I can promise things aren't as desperate as they look." "We'll talk later," I promised. The giant Nightmare stormed ever-closer to us, and Flutternice was pulling at the bit to come at us. The normal ponies looked petrified at the absolute insanity they had been thrown into, understanding less than half of the things were were saying to each other. "Any chance you happen to have an Element of Magic and a spare Element of Kindness we can borrow?" I asked Twilight-Lite. "One short, sorry." "That's enough!" My eyes telescoped on the source. A little pink filly with a blond mane and blue eyes. On her back was a pair black feather wings. She was holding Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom close to her. They were surrounded by the puppets that had pretended to be Sweetie Belle's parents and Applejack's brother and grandmother. Poor fillies. "Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle. Being friends with you made me very happy. That was real. The friendship we had was different from your friendship with Scootaloo." "Scootaloo... who?" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom held their heads like they had a headache. There was a slashing sound and a circular flash of light, and the four puppets were bisected, falling limply to the ground. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for the fillies, confused at what I just saw, or relieved. "I promise I'll be right back." She kissed them both on the forehead and in a flash appeared in front of Mayor Mare, who was being dragged by strings towards the puppets of her husband and child. "Not the nightmares! Please! I don't want to be a statue!" Mayor Mare yelled. There was another flash of light and sound of slashing metal, and the puppet strings were cut in twain, then the puppets followed suit. "Spike! Where's my big sister?!" Sweetie called out to the giant dragon. "I promise she's safe," Banneret lied. Mirror was too busy to correct him. "Now get to safety! Please Sweetie!" "B-Bright Night? P-please! What's going on! Where is my family?!" Mayor Mare gasped. "I'm sorry Mayor Mare." Bright Night looked at her wistfully, "Your family was never in this Ponyville. But we're here to save all of you." Then her cutie mark sparkled into being, a yellow star surrounded by a set of blue stars. Then her wings grew to the size of an adult's in a flash, and engulfed her, and less than a moment later opened to show a fully grown mare, holding a sword like she had magnets in her hoof. She was now wearing an adult sized red cape with a gold inside, one clasp was the Cutie Mark Crusaders symbol, and the other was a pony skull. "My name is Starlight, Starlight Angel, Honorary Thestral!" WHAT THE BUCKING HECK!? The spa twin puppets jumped her, but she moved so fast that they just crashed into each other. Starlight bowed to the two fillies. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. That's not what friends do. I hope you can forgive me later." The puppets and the constructs forgot about the Ponyville ponies and suddenly had a personal hate-on for her! Swarming her like bees to honey. Flutternice's detachments were quick to follow. "YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE! GET OUT! WE DON'T WANT YOU! GET OUT! GET OUT!" "Granfalloon! Watch Mirror!" I dove down. "Ah can defend mahself, ya know!" Banneret moved the best he could, but he had an entire town half-full of real, living ponies that he seemed intent on saving. Part of me was delighted and amazed: they were trying to save others! Sincerely save others! Part of me was alarmed: didn't they have any idea that it wasn't going to work?! Never for a Nightmare? A third part was spooked and paranoid: what if this were some trick? What if this, too, had been staged, and my heroic-seeming friends were trying to deceive me? Fabrications within fabrications... Meh, even bastard Discord hated those plot twists. Nopony likes a repeat trick. "So you're going to tell me what's going on?!" I asked, wrapping a chain around the puppet of a garbage can pony and slamming it into the ground. "In a second!" Starlight promised as she impale a puppet of...blech, one of the puppet foals, Archer's. At least they aren't self-aware! Fluttergriff grabbed Starlight's cape. "Don't you remember the golden rule? 'No capes!'" "And I say 'no', to that no," Starlight said firmly. She grabbed her own cape, and then slammed Fluttergriff into the ground forewords 'bam-bam!' style. "Well." Twilight-Lite smiled. "If Starlight's going to come out to help them it would selfish for me not to do the same!" -"We're here for you" -Madoka Magica Rebellion- She held up her spellbook (I finally realized it for what it was) with one hoof like Starlight, and the pages flipped by themselves like crazy. "Come on out, Twinkle Wish!" A little yellow star with a cute face flew out. There was a flash of rainbow light. The puppet shell she'd been wearing this whole time blew apart into sparkles. Where once there had been a perfect replica of Twilight Sparkle, now stood a much weirder-looking mare. Her fur was a shade lighter than Twilight's purple. Her eyes were blue. Her mane and tail were white with steaks of blue and pink in them. What was weird was her longer muzzle, smaller eyes... her mane was all extra curly, and while her figure wasn't fat, it was like the way her bones were shaped made her body rounder in spots. And she had a turquoise heart on her right hoof, and I swear the twinkle in her eye was shaped like a pink heart. Her cutie mark was a birthday present. The star flew around her in a staircase pattern, on her forehead and back formed a white swirl pattern where her wings and horn would be if she was a pegasus or unicorn. The star flew into her cutie mark, BECOMING a yellow star behind the present, with the same star appearing on the other side of her flanks. She moved with a flew flourishes before striking a magical-filly pose. My eye caught all these details in an instant. I hadn't seen her before. But a part of me screamed that I knew this mare. And the more I looked at her, the more memories of another part of me came screaming out wanting to be remembered and known. Was this... "Razzaroo Twinklewish! Candidate Concept!" "Was that necessary?" Mirror asked. "I'm from the Age of Dreams, let me live out a few while I have the chance!" "Do you ever intend to tell me what's going on?!" I shouted. "Razzaroo!" Granfalloon hugged her at once, completely trusting, wrapping her crayon drawing wings around her body, crying tears of joy and streaking her makeup. "WHO ARE YOU?!" Flutternice screamed in confusion as Starlight kicked her in the head. Razzaroo spoke, "In another life, and in another time, I was the big sister to the mare who carried the foundation of the soul that would one day become Twilight Sparkle. In my new life, I was keeper of celebrations and memories for ponies who lived so much for today that tomorrow and yesterday were a fog to them. Now I am a candidate to become the idea that'll introduce the concept of miracles and wishes into the universe. And I'm here to help my friends." Granfalloon nuzzled her chest. "I never thought I'd see you again. Like...Like Minty...Razz' I'm so sorry! T-T-Time loop stories are played for comedy, COMEDY! They're just crack fics! It . . it isn't serious, it isn't serious, it isn't serious, it...it isn't . . ." She wasn't crying just for joy now. "It isn't supposed to be like what happened to our world. I have a lot Minties to apologize to, don't I?" Razzaroo hugged her back, gently nuzzling, "And many other ponies, dragons, squid ponies from planet Alpha-C2, two-headed living magma ponies from galaxy 23B-R-" "Heheh. It's gonna take a while?" "Don't worry," she sighed happily, "We can take as much time as you want. I'll take as much time as you want." "Can we have a 'Me And My Friends Aren't Evil Anymore' party after?" Razzaroo hugged her. "I promise." Granfalloon wiped away her painted tear. "I guess, the most beautiful part of any loop, is when it ends. Otherwise, it's no different from a party that never ends...and...the parties stop being parties don't they?" "I'm so proud of you Pinkie Pie." Razzaroo smiled gently. "Twilight...Minty would be proud. Thank you for being my friend. I was scared I'd never see any of you again." "Thanks for being my friend. And don't be scared, I'm not going anywhere now." Pinkie Pie silent back kicked a chimera construct through the air that dared tried to interrupt their millions of year overdue reunion hug. Razzaroo blasted a lion sized Angel Bunnie over heels without interrupting the hug. "Dreams do come true," Pinkie Pie said. "Yes they really do," Razzaroo sang back. "So about those answers!" I insisted, electrocuting a giant yellow bear construct. "With pleasure!" Starlight said, slashing a shield of sword strikes around her two little friends. "Just... help cover me, would you?" Spike began going sumo with the giant Nightmare only for Flutternice and her Detachments to gang up on him. This battle was total pandemonium. Flutternice and her pieces were zipping this way and that like ping pong balls, keeping off balance. Granfalloon had to keep Mirror safe while she negated Nightmare Whisper's fog that would put all of us in la-la-land if we let it. Starlight was busy protecting the ponies from the puppets. I was protecting Starlight from Nightmare Whisper's endless supply of constructs. And Banneret was attempting hand-to-hand combat with the giant Nightmare Whisper. But the constructs and Whisper's body parts were dividing Banneret's attention, giving Nightmare Whisper the advantage. I wish I knew what Razzaroo was up to. After finally breaking her hug with Granfalloon, she seemed to be charging up that spell book of hers with a super-powerful spell or something, while taking pot shots at the baddies with lesser spells. As for the Ponyville Ponies...their normal lives had gone from a rigid but safely simple existence to a swirling maelstrom of madness in under a minute. These poor ponies couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. Being protected by monsters against other monsters that were supposed to be their friends and family, and it only got more insane for them from there. I'd be even crazier than I already am to expect any of them to help fight. Discord would've been proud of all this; and only my endless years of experience working for him kept my brain from breaking in two. Blech. Ever since that fateful day when I abandoned my friends in favor of rescuing Cloudsdale, I haven't been able to manage one single successful attempt at helping other people... with unequivocally happy, beneficial end results for everyone involved. What's with the look? I had a lotta feelings going through my head at the time okay? "Hey, Rainbow Dash? You wanted answers? Well, kindly listen up, please!" Starlight cooed, while fending off another puppets of Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts. "For starters, we couldn't just blast this fake Ponyville apart to save everypony. It'd be like smashing a gold fish's bowel in the middle of the desert; everypony inside would die or worse. And every time the concepts tried approaching politely, Nightmare Whisper's security system just shifted the whole place to a new time and space." "You were set to detect complete concepts and true thestrals, how about candidate concepts and adopted thestrals?" Razzaroo smirked, blasting away a pack of timberwolf wolf constructs. "Cheater!" Fluttershy's voice echoed. "What about Twilight? Surely an ex-Nightmare, a girl of HER power could've been able to..." "…She became a true Alicorn after being hit by the Elements, she woudn't be able squeeze past without triggering a relocation." "If concepts could squeeze through, Trixie would be here leading an army of black cats and pumpkin ponies in here to save eveypony." I sincerely smiled. "Heh. So her spirit survived after all." I remembered that battle, Trixie as an Alicorn, giving Eclipse that parting gift of a scar that never went away. "And on to top that off," Starlight continued, as we fought back to back. "We couldn't begin evacuating the Ponyville ponies until Nightmare Whisper was force to drop her facade, otherwise we'd be seen as invaders rather than rescuers. And we NEED everypony to trust us to get them out of here." "You can't evacuate them! They'll all die or be erased!" Whisper's voice screamed. "You know, Whisper raises a good point," I told Starlight. "Just what IS out there? How's the state of the universe nowadays, beyond this isolated little slice of paradise? Please tell me it's at least not some airless nothing-void, or some post-apocalyptic..." Starlight smirked. "Have a TINY bit of bloody faith. You think we'd come all this way without a rescue plan?" "After Eclipse and us were allowed to rampage for millions of years, and Discord was allowed to cause all the misery that brought her into existence in the first place, and none of your bosses doing a thing about it, forgive me if I have that in short supply. Your bosses are blinded by the big picture, I wouldn't trust them with caterpillars, let alone ponies." Starlight looked at me dumbfounded, I took care of a swarm of humming bird constructs diving down at the back of her neck. She glared at me in a look I imagine the ponies she has to drag to Hell see beforehand. I apparently had said something wrong. "..." She reached into her cloak and pulled out a list and threw it to me. I looked at it. It was one of those 'weird cosmically infinite' things. No matter how far down the list my eyes went it just kept continuing. I read one of them. "Poison Apple, death, three PM, Chaos Castle. Cause: Murder." That entry was repeated several hundred thousand times over. Cause and time sometimes differing, but the same name. The creepiest part was when she recited the same entry from memory. "That was Poison Apple number 1's death. Number 2 lasted a whole two minutes, thirty one seconds more. Number 3 two minutes twenty two seconds less. Fluttercruel was especially creative with number 5 and took a whole hour, two minutes, and twenty-nine seconds longer to murder her...Imagine having to write that entry over and over and over and over again...and knowing each time it's not an 'NPC' but a living breathing little FILLY breathing her last breath, but not being able to do a thing about it without giving that mass murderer another body to possess and breaking a rule that exists for good reason." I took a trot back. Starlight stabbed a wolverine constructs that tried leaping on top of me from a roof top and tossed it over her shoulder. "...My boss doesn't NEED a list and could give more detail than me. Princess Gaia loves ALL life, from dragons to caterpillars! Seeing ALL the pictures I'm pretty sure is part of the job description, or they wouldn't spend time as mortals to begin with! And a lot DID spend time as mortals in Discord's hell trying to help ponies just a little! If they tried to brute force it, just like here, it would have been the permanent death of the world lines." I stamped a mole construct in the head. "And who are THEY to make that call? What about all the souls who SUFFERED because of it? Don't they get a say?!" " . . . Celestia's mother is literally all empathy in every universe . . . so every time anypony suffered, She experienced it all WITH them! Do you think somepony like that would just LET suffering continue if there was a better way?" "...Weren't your a mortal once? Why do you even care what I think about gods?" "...Because for every last time I've had to see the universe die, I also saw every concept weep for it and everypony in it. The only one that was happy Morning Star, he was always too busy laughing about you all 'proving him right about Free Will'...You know how I got this ring?" I looked at the ring on her hoof. She took a moment to bisect a teen dragon Construct that attacked from the side. "...Venus herself holds the wedding of EVERY LAST COUPLE that dies without getting the chance to see their vows...So forgive me if I don't feel the same way about the concepts as you." "Fine. But I still didn't see them doing anything, until Rancor was sent in a few million years late to jumble up Eclipse's script." "You were shielded more by Nightmare Eclipse than you know. Only Morning Star and Rancor liked what you were doing. King Leo was there with you when you fought Nightmare Dusk. Queen Cadenza KEPT fighting to save the world from Nightmare Eclipse and Discord even after her body was killed. Anarchy helped Discord distract Nightmare Eclipse. You couldn't SEE THEM, but they were there, fighting." We turned back to back and began rotating as we cut down a pack of wolverine constructs. "My senses, my memories, my morals, my friends, all kaput, how can I have faith in anything?" Starlight back-hoofed a giant sized vampire fruit-bat. "Look around, your friends haven't lost faith in you. What are you fighting for? Huh? Why not just lay down? What great good are you trying to achieve?" I had to think about it, even as I drop-kicked a puppet tree. "I'm fighting because... because I want ponies to live in a world free of Nightmares." "You want ponies to live." Starlight repeated, pointedly. "Well, that's..." I stopped, thinking over what she'd just said. What I'D just said. "You want ponies to live." Starlight said again. "Have faith in THAT, then. And have faith that, if nothing else, even when you think you're alone Rainbow Dash, somepony somewhere is fighting for you." By now, my brain was providing rebuttals to myself without Starlight's help. A minotaur constructs sent Starlight flying upwards and nearly eaten by a dragon construct until I pulled her down, bisecting the construct in the process. "Thanks Rainbow Dash. Think about what would've happened if 'Twilight Sparkle' hadn't opened your eyes to the truth, Rainbow. Then Fluttershy would've had four Nightmares, plus a demi-draconequus, and herself all fighting on her side. And all of the real ponies would've been her hostages." Razzaroo explained dodging puppet strings. I tilted my head. "So you think me and all my friends wouldn't have noticed, at some point, we were fighting with superequine might?" I asked in honest curiosity, while defending a puppet of Misty Fly, smashing it open, revealing the real Misty Fly of the Wonderbolts inside, and threw her far from the core of the fighting before she could get a word in. "Knowing Fluttershy, she'd have done something to alter your perceptions," Razzaroo replied reasonably. "Or, barring that, you'd have suddenly gotten a visit from 'Princess Celestia,' who'd have blessed you with 'super strength.'" I had to smile. They sure had Whisper pegged. "But with you awake to the truth, a lot of Whisper's security system's now shut down," Razzaroo continued. "You created this world, after all, even if she's the behind-the-scenes director. Originally, the Twilight of this fake Ponyville was an automation Fluttershy was using as her sock puppet, programmed with only some prerecorded responses. It was the perfect pick for us to hijack." "Especially since Twilight was supposed to be such a close teammate of mine," I added. The current wave of enemies were thinning in number, making it easier for us to chat for protracted lengths of time. "Flutternice ran the backstage operations, whenever 'Fluttershy' was scripted to make an onstage appearance. There was a bit of a 'plot hole' with Scootaloo supposed-to-exist-in-Ponyville, yet too-upsetting-for-you-to-actually-see," said Starlight. "Providing the perfect niche for me to fill as 'Bright Night.' This world KNEW there was supposed to be a pegasus filly as part of the CMC who admired you. So once I slipped in, the system adjusted everypony's memories automatically to account for me, like a restored computer file. That I didn't act like Scootaloo was forced into a mental blind spot. Since this place is still wired to you unconsciously, this mean the Flutters thought I was created automatically as a replacement for Scootaloo as wish fulfillment on your part. With so many puppets being run on automatic, they didn't check to see if I had any strings." "Which let Bright Night get close to the puppet of Twilight, with the book containing my and Twinkle Wish's existence," added Razzaroo. "letting them slip inside it like a costume and cutting its strings. I just had to make sure to play my role whenever any of Whisper's puppets were nearby. I think Fluttershy just assumed Flutternice had done some upgrading." She spoke like a teacher at the villains. "You two were so focused on external threats you looked over the idea of a mole having entered your pocket world." Granfalloon gave Flutternice a pie to the face as Nice halted to retort. "I was keeping everypony happy and safe! I was giving us the time we were most happy! I adjusted things as best as I could!" Whisper's voice screamed. "I'm sorry I couldn't have everypony be equal and happy! But I'm not as good as Twilight, and this is Rainbow Dash's world! I had to make double sure she didn't wake up for the sake of everypony! She's been through so much pain, I just want you to be happy Rainbow!" I could hear her crying, I thought my emotions had scabbed over by now, but that voice, it couldn't have been more my first friend. I felt my heart crack. "Fluttershy . . . " "Please understand, I brought us all in here to PROTECT us all! And all the ponies you saved, Rainbow Dash!" "I didn't save them for THIS!" "Fight them," Whisper begged me, the puppets and constructs all looking at Starlight and Razzaroo, "They're the real monsters!" "No!" I answered. "After all the different ways we've killed ALL these ponies, timeline after timeline, we Nightmares have no right TALKING with mortals, let alone ruling their lives and deciding what's 'best' for them!" "You've denied a lot of innocent ponies the chance to live their lives! And you denied your friends a chance at redemption or forgiveness!" Starlight snarled as she was dog piled under a horde of puppet royal guards that Banneret had to pull off her. "Who cares about redemption or forgiveness as long as we're all happy and safe!?" Whisper pleaded. I cared. I had cared about redemption. I had cared about forgiveness. I was like I was stabbed in the heart again. "You two-faced, patronizing, string-pulling, kidnapping SNAKE!" I roared. "You're not even SORRY! You lie like Eclipse! You haven't changed at all! You're still the same hypocrite you were working with her! Your show's over and I'm taking you down like I should have her!" "You're going to kill me, Rainbow?!" Whisper squeaked. I chuckled. "No... not even I could go that far, old friend. But by now, it couldn't be clearer to me that we Nightmares will never be anything but irredeemable toxic waste. And the only thing to do with toxic waste is stow it away forever in some lonely, far-off place where no one ever goes. THAT'S what I intend to do to you, me, Banneret, Granfalloon, and Mirror!" "Dude..." Banneret breathed, wide-eyed. Mirror just rolled her eyes. Granfalloon looked hurt. "YOU'RE NOT IRREDEEMABLE! YOU WERE ALL KINDA STARK RAVING MAD AT THE TIME!" Razzaroo screamed at me. "I'd bet anything that's what Judicium's gonna rule!" "Judicium?" Banneret repeated, and both he and I turn around towards Razzaroo. "Sounds to me like this is as much an 'arrest' as a rescue, am I right?" "Pretty much," said Razzaroo. "I'm pretty sure it'll be less 'eternal damnation' and more 'millions of years of intense therapy!'" Razzaroo said, blocking Dragonshy's staff with her book. "Well, it's about buckin' time!" said Mirror, with her biggest smile in centuries. "We'll do the time for all our crimes, and justice will finally be served," smiled Banneret. "Yippie!" Granfalloon cheered, bouncing up and down, then snuggling up next to me. "Hey, Dashie? There's no pony I'd rather be toxic waste with than you, you know. ALL you guys! This is gonna be SO GREAT!" They all seemed so happy. So free-spirited. So... together. Smiling between one another and at me. Like the good old days! I grinned back at them all with a lightness in my heart and faced forward. "So, Fluttershy, you ready to come down and own up to what we did like a grown mare? Or do we have to drag you kicking and screaming like a bratty little filly?" "NO! YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" The giant Nightmare roared, unleashing a stream of blackness from its mouth, Spike countering with his dragon breath. "I don't know what evil mind control these dogs of gods have done to you but we'll save you Uncle and Aunties!" Flutternice shouted and her detachments all nodded. "You're only making this harder on yourself, Fluttershy!" shouted Razzaroo. "SHOULDN'T YOU BE DEFENDING THIS WORLD, RAZZAROO?!" Whisper's voice bellowed. "DOESN'T IT EVOKE MEMORIES OF YOUR OWN?" "No. My world was self-contradicting, innocent, naive, but it was never fake like yours. Everypony made their own choices in it. This place is a MOCKERY of everything my world was!!!" "I SECOND THAT MOTION!" Granfalloon shouted, using a giant noise-maker at point blank range at Flutterbat, leaving the detachment's ears ringing, followed by a giant pie sending the bat pony sailing into a building. Starlight turned to me. "As you can see, Manacle, we needed you to forsake this fake world because your heart was holding all the keys," she said, sweeping up Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle as they were almost pulled in by a puppet of Trixie, giving the two fillies a ride out of the fighting in the middle of the epic battle. Razzaroo looked at me wishfully, as constructs began to crowd around her, a burst of sparking stars knocking them back, "I really really REALLY wanted to be the Watson to your Holmes, but Nightmare Whisper's eyes were everything." "I wish you could've explained all this before," I sighed. Razzaroo smiled. "I actually did explain it to a few very important fillies while Flutternice was distracted, and they told a few very important fillies, and they told a few very important fillies. And I told them it was their choice what they wanted to do. If they made the brave decision, they should be here right about..." The ground rumbled. For a moment it looked like sunset. A mass of orange and violet across the horizon. Then...h-heh...they...h-eh, sorry, I, I think I got something in my eye. It was...they were all coming...nothing was gonna stop them. Orange is my new favorite color. 171,015 little heroes. I know I should have been upset at seeing foals taking a part in a battle, but...out of 171,015 fillies...all of them came to help. "No, Scootaloos! Go back!" I hear Whisper's daughter shout. None of them listen. Granfalloon took a photograph. It was easier to count who wasn't slack-jawed. The marionettes and constructs actually stopped as their puppeteers startle. They moved like a flood, I think some ponies worried they were going to flatten everypony in their path. The lead Scootaloo shouted, and I knew exactly which Scootaloo she was, "Here comes the Scootaloo Army Alliance of Awesome!" Laughing, Banneret cried, "Rainbow Dash, you have GOT to start teaching those fillies a little thing called 'good taste!'" A smattering of Scootaloos seemed to know how to take to the air, and directed their swarm's actions. Yeah, they were like a swarm of changelings, fighting as one living creature. Given one of Scoots' parents, I shouldn't be surprised. They slammed into Ponyville as a whole, swallowing up the constructs and puppets, but passing by the Ponyville ponies and us without touching a hair on our coats. The constructs and puppets reactively defended themselves, but they didn't last for long, they were now the ones outnumbered and outclassed. Even if Scootaloo's brain didn't remember her erased future, apparently their souls did. "Now that's more like it, wings!" said a Scootaloo as she sent an airborn construct crashing to the ground. "GO GET 'EM, SQUIRTS! TEAR 'EM TO PIECES!" I hear myself scream at the top of my lungs. "SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!!!" "Let's find out what they're made of!" Shouted one Scootaloo as she tore one construct apart. "Good one!" I felt my face turn into the biggest, most genuinely happy smile I could remember feeling in so, so long. Nightmare Whisper screamed in frustration, and a flood's worth of constructs materialized from her ring of fog; so many at once that they were crowding each other out as they overflowed towards Ponyville. I watched as the Scootaloo Army Alliance of Awesome moved together to meet them head-on. Orange and violet crashed with yellow and pink, and orange won hooves-down, as the Scootaloos actually tore apart Whisper's constructs FASTER than she could make them! They weren't just fighting blinding or individually, either. I watched as they supported and covered each other's flanks. I fell on my haunches, it was just too much, my tears hit the ground, as I felt I could fly to heaven. "You get 'em, Scootaloo, you're unbeatable." I wasn't even shouting anymore. It felt like Princess Celestia has given me a kiss on the head. "Don't worry!" Said one flying Scootaloo who took Apple Bloom from Starlight, hugging her. "We'll take care of them from here!" Said another taking hold of Sweetie Belle, and nuzzled her. The looks in the Cutie Mark Crusaders' eyes, they recognized, they remembered. "S-Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom breathed out. "Hey, Apple Bloom, it's been a while. I'm happy you're here with me." "Me too, Sweetie Belle. I'm happy that you got saved with me." I look around, and saw it everywhere. One Scootaloo being the personal body guard to Mayor Mare. Another being the guardian angel to Maternity and Button Mash. And another an assistant to Cheerilee. Two fighting alongside Spitfire and Soarin', the pair of Wonderbolts refusing to surrender to the world. Don't ask me how I knew, or how the heck they knew, every Scootaloo that could, they migrated like magnets to the pony who had been saved along with them, and fighting with experience of full grown mares who had grown up fighting a war. If ANYONE deserved to swoop in and be the hero, I'm glad it was her. But now . .. I shuddered, but it wasn't from sorrow. But now they were here, alive, together, maybe...please don't... don't let it all backfire. No darkly ironic twists. Just this once. Please. I've seen the truly horrible worlds that Nyarlathotrot conjures, not all of them are tiny scale stuff with one of us becoming a psychotic killer, others time it's Equestrias so torn apart by wars so hate filled or coldly indifferent the windigos would freeze it solid in a second. These Scootaloos...what's going to happen to them now? 'Please,' I pray, 'Let them have a future, let them have happiness and long life. And may their world be truly kind.' And I see the loving looks in ALL their eyes at me. After all that's happened today, especially, there's a part of me that's scared to death of being praised. Not because I don't want it. Pony Heaven knows that I do. But because I'm afraid of it all going boom. Maybe... if I only smile slightly smugly, instead of grinning ear-to-ear giggling my flank off... like this... and not speak any awful, vainglorious words... maybe if I don't let myself draw excessive enjoyment from the glad thankfulness of Razzaroo's smile... Starlight gave me a hug. "I know how you feel right now...I've made a huge mistake before too...It can be hard to accept you can do good after doing something horrible...but you'll never be able to enjoy anything if you don't try." I didn't ask how she knew, since I'd more or less told her the entire time. "Scootaloo . . ." Razzaroo was crying too. "It's wonderful to see you again...you, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, you're all wonderful ponies. Yes yes yes! All of you! May all your days be bright." I thought, 'May all your days be bright.' > Side by Side At Last > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That's enough," Flutternice said sternly. Flutterbat, Flutterdragon, Fluttergriff, and Flutterfly dove down into the Scootaloo army, and plowed through them, flinging orange fillies through the air right and left. The Detachments weren't hindered at all by the filly fighters, speeding every possible direction, taking fillies out of the fight by the dozens per-second! "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" I shouted, chains flying from my body lightning-quick, wrapping up the Detachments who simply BROKE THE CHAINS with their concept killer rods a moment later and continued attacking the Scootaloos. "Don't be a hypocrite," Flutternice shouted coming straight at me. "They're using violence against us and that's okay, but we can't use violence against them to stop them from hurting themselves with all this fighting?" Hypocrite? Hypocrite?! Hearing that voice saying that word had a funny effect on me. It was like standing in an endless echo chamber. Hypocrite...hypocrite...hypocrite... I made a small laugh, followed a few sad chuckles, smiling. All while trading blows against Flutternice. "Auntie Manacle? Why are you laughing? You're making foals be the concepts pawns!" Her voice was like sugar water squeezed through clenched fangs. "It's just...heh...being with you Niece Nice...I might as well be standing in front of a mirror. Only my reflection's turned inside-out." In her confusion, Flutternice slowed her attacks slightly. "Auntie... I don't know what you mean," she said. I stopped laughing. "I mean to say...here I am -- a villain who desperately wishes she was a hero, and here you are...'the hero'...or at least that's what your momma would like to believe...who desperately wishes she was a villain." Flutternice froze up for a second, like an outed criminal, but she was still able to dodge a kick from me. "M-me? AUNTIE! A villain? That's the LAST thing I want! I PROMISE! I'm being better than my nature! I promise!" "Come now on Niece Nice. I was the one who TAUGHT YOU to be loyal to us and to betray everypony else! Those nine hundred years your mom spent ruling half the planet until 'Auntie Eclipse' told you we had to 'reset' everything or we wouldn't able to keep good old Discord 'under control?' Those nine hundred years we spent teaching you to hate a father who'd die for you if given the chance? Who WANTED to turn himself in? How his heart shattered when you told him 'Fluttercruel is dead' and stabbed him in the leg, as he begged you to realize you and your mom were being lied to? Guess what? He was telling the truth." "RAINBOW DASH THAT IS A ENOUGH!!!" Fluttershy's voice boomed like angry thunder, I caught the lightning bolt that struck from above and I smacked Flutternice in the flanks with it like a paddle. "AUNTIE!!!! YOU'VE GONE MAD! You'd NEVER say bastard Discord lies were true if you were yourself! You're nuts, you...er...you're unwell in the head," she finished in 'kinder,' more 'sensitive' and Fluttershy-approved tones. "Not anymore! The Elements saw to that! Which means I can APPRECIATE all the garbage I did to innocent ponies after nag Eclipse cut out pieces of my soul!" "Auntie Manacle! How can you talk about Auntie Eclipse like that?!" Flutternice gasped. "I have a lot more to say but you and the Scootaloos are present!" The blow to the head I took from her made my head spin, but she didn't press her attack. "Did that break the evil mind-control the gods minions have on you Auntie?" She asked. "We AREN'T brainwashed niece Flutternice," I sighed. "Not anymore. All we did was trade one brainwashing lunatic for another." "STOP TALKING ABOUT AUNTIE ECLIPSE LIKE THAT!" "Don't listen to them dear, they're just sick right now. Just forget everything they just told you. The trick Auntie Eclipse showed you whenever Auntie Mirror made you cry, just take a deep breath and toss it out the window and forget you ever heard it." "O-okay! Thanks mommy!" She grinned. "There! All forgotten! I don't remember a thing!" I face hoofed. I lost a tooth and got a black eye for my troubles, I slashed with a lightning scythe at Flutternice who blocked it with the black rod she was using and kicked me, several times, in the stomach before knocking me down. "That savage beast, still inside you Flutternice? You never tamed it. Only caged it. No wonder it's so savage when you're forced to let it out." I sighed, feeling strangely calm and serene looking up at her flatly as Scootaloos helped me up. Good girls. "I can't hear you auntie!" Flutternice snapped a loud bloodcurdling snarl. "All that time we spent help yer mom 'fix' you, saying it was for your own good? I got my revenge on MY Fluttercruel through you since she was in Oblivion. Even when MY Rarity and MY Pinkie Pie WANTED her CURED. Until Nightmare Whisper introduced you to us all as Flutternice, you were just a rag doll I could beat up without an ounce of guilt." "Those monsters' evil magic is MAKING YOU SAY THAT! You did it all to HELP ME! You'd never hurt me! You've never hurt me!" Flutternice huff, she'd forgotten to keep attacking. "Mom's done so much to rehabilitate me." "If your mom's rehabilitated you, WHY are you scratching at the bit to hurt somepony? I guess I'm a hypocrite for blaming you for that too, after all, I HELPED her do it." Flutternice was shaking her head in fierce denial, and yet the beginnings of a guilty smile were creeping up her face. It was like I'd uncorked a champagne bottle right under an alcoholic's nose. "I KNOW! I KNOW I FAILED! I'M EVIL BORN FROM EVIL! BECAUSE I'M FILTH BORN FROM FILTH! Though mommy tells me I'm not so I'll feel better! I'm a monster who stole my mother's body from her and tortured so many little ponies for my and bastard Discord's sick games! A coward who used empty words when those she couldn't bully fought back to try and make them feel guilty for giving me my due! But mommy loves me even if I'm an ugly wretched piece of sewage! That's what makes her the best mom in the world! And what makes you the WORST mommy in the world for making all the poor innocent Scootaloos I've been looking after fight against their will! They're just foals!" "Ya wanna know the truth Little Flutter?" Mirror voice boomed with the Royal Canterlot Voice. "THESE 'FILLIES' ARE MORE GROWN UP THAN YA! THEY'RE YER OPPOSITE! THEY'RE HEROES IN THE BODIES OF FOALS! YER STILL A FILLY IN THE BODY OF A MARE! That makes yer ma the hypocrite!" Pinkie Pie startled...her eyes widened to impossible size, and her eyes became pin pricks. Oh no...don't tell me her Nightmare Granfalloon personality is back! We can't fight two Nightmares at once! It's...she was crying? She blasted bull horns in all directions to give herself room. "Fluttershy. I understand why you're doing this. Why you have to do this. Why you're too scared to do anything else...But...Nicey...she isn't...she won't...Oh! "Pound. Pumpkin. Fuse Box. Bomb Pie. Powder Cake. Fire Cracker. Grenade Pie. Little Hex. Short Fuse. Hatchet and Latchet. Spring Dew. Morning Light. Bubbles. Stormy Night. Apple Sauce. "Mommy is sorry! Mommy is sorry she made you all hate laughing! Mommy wishes she could go to Nowhere Land and tell you how sorry she is! When she became Nightmare Granfalloon, she couldn't BE sad, she couldn't BE unhappy, it was all just a big game, even you. Mommy is so so sorry! She forgot you as Granfalloon! At least as Angry Pie she loved you. She's sorry. Mommy...mommy wishes she could fix it all and make you all be here and make it all better with a kiss and hug! Mommy really truly wishes!" "Pinkie Pie..." Mirror sighed. "Ya...ya can't help'em right now. But we've got a lotta foals here do need help." Pinkie Pie gave Mirror a sad smile and nodded, hitting a giant star-spider construct in a face with a cream pie as she at the same time. "Al-alright." They nuzzled. Raazaroo whispered sadly, "I think I finally GET why concepts are allowed to feel remorse, but not regret." Razzaroo and Granfalloon wanted to help me and the Scoots with Flutternice looming over us, but the Detachments were so close to the many fillies that they couldn't fire a shot without risking hurting any of the Scootaloos. And Spike was still stuck in a stalemate with big Nightmare Whisper. His teleport fire breath countering her despair breath. Whisper's voice echoed to the fillies as Nice's Detachments continues to knock them down. "Now just stop this fighting, and go back to the orphanage, and go back to bed. And this can all be just a bad dream. We'll have warm milk and cookies," But the Scootaloos, bless them all, were having none of it. "No!" "UGH-Not-happening-" "Forget it!" "Sweetie needs me!" "Go away!" "I'm never going back there!!!" "I'M NOT LEAVING RAINBOW DASH, SO GO BUCK YOUR-!!!" "Language, little filly!" "Leave her alone!" It wasn't me this time who'd spoken that time. It was...Mayor Mare? She tried to grapple with Flutterfly when she pinned her Scootaloo down, leaving an impression in the ground. Flutterfly responded by slamming Mayor Mare across the face with her rod, breaking Mayor Mare's glasses and maybe her jaw as she fell down. "Stop it!" "You bully!" Meanwhile, Fluttergriff found Bon Bon and Lyra had decided to stop standing around being scared and take action against her and ganging up on her suddenly and violently respond by clawing them. Maternity screamed wildly as she kicked Flutterdragon in the gut leaving an imprint, the teenager-sized dragon retorted with fire breath, that her Scootaloo shutted-up with a kick to the jaw even if she was now bleeding. "S-s-stop! W-what you doing?! STOP! JUST STOP! STOP! My filly is helping stop the fighting! Stop!" Whisper screamed at the Ponyville ponies. "Don't worry, Rainbow Dash, we're not out of surprises yet," Starlight said, helping me up, oddly pleased as she blocked another hit from Flutternice. "Now that you've rejected this world, Nightmare Whisper's grip on this pocket reality is loosening. And now everypony is properly awake and ready to accept the truth, just like you!" Razzaroo cheered charging up her spell book for something. "And because you've unconsciously weakened all the barriers and security measures that Nightmare Whisper doesn't directly control, I can call in extra party guests to help!" Starlight flew next to Razzaroo, drew her sword, and the pages of Razzaroo's spell book flipped like crazy, covering Starlight's sword in stardust. Then Starlight...flew as fast she could away from the fighting...Huh? She flew right over Sweet Apple Acres, and dove down. Eyes that were better than a hawk's saw her touch down in front of the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse. She kicked her sword right into the base of the tree, and suddenly I was able to tell there had been a hole in that part of the tree this entire time that went way further inside than it should have. "Sweetie, 'Bloom, sorry." She twisted her sword. And the tree and the ground and the surrounding air around them both cracked. Like a hoof pressed upon thin ice, the cracks spread rapidly in an spiderweb pattern. Then everything that was cracking gave up the ghost and shattered, revealing a twisted slush of colors covered by rusty chains. Then the chains shattered and the slush dissipated like fog, showing a sea of stars. There was no sudden gravitational pull as everything was blown outside into a vacuum; the exit was simply there, offering itself. But this exit was also an entrance. "Password time. Ahem. 'Bon-Bon's baking cookies girl, better run on over!'" Starlight shouted. "The clubhouse wasn't part of any of the puppet's routines from what little were able to glean from the outside," Razzaroo explained, encasing some of the Scootaloos who'd been injured worst in magical bubbles, then floating them over next to Applejack. She continued explaining to me, while applying healing magic on the wounded Scootaloos, as though determined to make up for all their deception and tight-lipped secrecy in one straight go. No, I knew that look in her eyes. She wasn't doing this out of obligation or just duty, she was doing this, because Scootaloo was her friend! This was loyalty! I actually felt a twinge of guilt. "We put a perception filter in place to keep real ponies from noticing one of the crannies had a cover over it. We couldn't risk being discovered until Nightmare Whisper lost control, or she'd just beef up security and we'd be out of sane options. So picking the spot we'd sneak in and set up as the exit was a real pain," Starlight added, bisecting a giant falcon construct as she zoomed back to help. "Are ya girls gonna help, or are ya gonna talk the bad guys to death?" Mirror snarked. "The jibjab's gettin' distractin' from the action!" "Rainbow Dash wanted a full explanation, didn't you?" Razzaroo asked. I sighed as I headbutted Flutterdragon. Ouch. Even as a Nighmare, wearing a champron, not bright to headbutt a dragon. "So where's that surprise already?" But then Flutternice came at Starlight from behind, stabbing at her quick as a machine gun, making Starlight dance as she spoke. "Almost, Applejack. Fluttershy's 'emergency temporal shift' trigger will still pick up concepts and Thestrals, but you can always count on your friends." - 'Misterioso' Madoka Magica Rebellion - Four winged mares with the figure of earth ponies came shooting like lightning out of the hole Starlight had made in the fake Ponyville. All of them had sword belts like Starlight's. An aqua mare with an orange mane and yellow eyes; her cutie mark was a pink note book with a blue pen. Next was a peach-colored girl, her mane was pink, and her eyes yellow, her cutie mark was a crisscrossed patch of cloth. Number three was pink, with both blue eyes and mane, her cutie mark was a microphone with music notes and stars around it. The pattern of her wings reminded me sheet music. The last girl had a purple coat and a pink mane with eyes to match, on her rear was one big and one tiny four leaf clover. "Bright Eyes, Patch, Melody, Clover!" Starlight greeted each of them, likely for my sake. "Glad you could make it!" Patch dove four hooves-at-once straight into Flutterdragon knocking her into the sky. "I hope you don't mind us dropping in." said Clover. She moved with such grace, it was like the battle was a ballet, only tapping Fluttergriff with her sword and avoiding her claw slashes. It was actually adorable. Melody quipped, "Please don't think we're stealing the spotlight!" She was striking hard and fast with Futterbat, making more noise with her strikes than a rock concert. Banneret's eyes were drawn to her...don't ask me why. Bright Eyes commented as she kept Flutterfly and the other Detachments from attacking as a group. "But I do believe you're won't mind concentrating on helping my twice-removed-self, rather than calming down her poor foal having a tantrum." "This is our chance to be awesome too!" Patch cheered. Whisper's voice exclaimed. "Since when are you all reapers?!" Melody smirked. "Oh we're not sworn in, more like deputized." Clover said, "We're just messengers." More allies. No pony would see me complaining. At least they were being pleasant. Now with the Detachments off their backs, the Scootaloo Army Alliance of Awesome was back to ripping the constructs apart and smashing open the puppets. And more and more of the Ponyville ponies were fighting back now too. Starlight, meanwhile, was dueling Flutternice single-hoofedly, while Banneret was grappling against Nightmare Whisper. "Coming, big guy!" Energy is energy, and even a Nightmare has limits to theirs, and she was now having to pour more and more of hers into constructs to just keep Scootaloo's army from overwhelming her with sheer numbers and experience! Watching Starlight and her buddies fight...it was like us, me, Twilight, and the rest of us. These girls weren't just teammates, they were friends. They could trust each other. Could always count on each other. It lifted my spirits to a high place, just to see it from afar. "Sing, Ace!" cried Melody, and her sword blade split in two, now resembling a tuning fork. It sent out a wall of sound that had Flutterbat covering her ears and screaming. "Slay, Buddy!" Heh, Patch's sword changed shape into a dragon-slayer's sword, with a crown at the top, and when it made contact with Flutterdragon's black rod, the concept-killing weapon began to freeze over! "What?! That's absurd!" Flutterdragon exclaimed attacking with her tail, rear claws, and wings and jaws at the substitute reaper. "I know! I wanted a flaming sword! But Bright Eyes told me that wasn't good for fighting dragons!" Patch said, falling back, every body part her weapon connected with froze that spot on the Detachment. "Shine, Slipknot!" Starlight's sword turned into a large white scythe keeping Flutternice at bay way with the distance blade weapon, using her hooves when the demi-draconequus tried to get in close. Flutterfly cheated and used the Utter Flutter all by herself. "Flutter, Lance!" Bright Eyes' sword turned into a swarm of gold butterflies that blocked the Utter Flutter. "You won't dare hurt your spiritual great-grandmother!" Flutterfly halted. "...Granny?" Shock reveals in the midst of battle, left the enemy more disoriented than a poetry slam from Discord. Too bad it was an old hat for us. "If you are me then you should know why I'm doing this!" Fluttershy's voice shouted as Longma constructs attacks Bright Eyes from behind and front. "I do! And that's why I volunteered to help stop you!" Bright Eyes shouted. Bright Eyes' sword reformed in an eye blink. She slashed; the Longma blocked, Bright Eyes' sword turned to butterflies just as they would have clashed, then reformed into a sword once it was past the Longmas's claws, scoring an impossible strike that cut it in half. She stabbed backwards at a Longma coming at her from behind, only for her sword to turn to butterflies again and reform pointing back into the second Longma. She wielded her blade with skill, thanks to those gripping hooves of hers. I had to learn how to do that with my own hooves. It was way too useful not to. Flutterfly got over herself and attack again, only for Bright Eyes' butterflies to grab her hooves, and wings. "Bad filly." "Dance, Dandy!" Oh right. Maybe Clover's sword was...a dancing sword? A fancy segmented whip-sword? Maybe a really, really, really long rapier? Or one of those big thick giant swords? It changed into a blade on each of her four hooves, looking like weaponized ice skates. Fluttergriff halted. Stared. Then held a claw to her chest and burst out laughing, pointing at Clover who blushed. "That is so lame! Are you gonna dance me to death?! You have zero reach with those! And why do you keep wasting time shouting out names?" Clover blushed more. "... Well, it's rude to ask for a friend's help without saying their name first and how you want them to help." Fluttergriff looked between Clover and her sword with sour incredulity. "...Try LIVING friends, lady. Even back in my bad old days, I didn't name my weapons." Clover returned the look. "He TOLD ME his name." Lightning struck each of Clover's blades, but instead of electrocuting her, the lightning crackled INSIDE the blades. "NOW, CLOVER!" Razzaroo shouted having just cast the spell from the nearby spa's rooftop. With fury like that of old Angry Pie, Clover, in under a second, cut-apart Fluttergriff eight ways from Sunday. "T-thank you." "Anything to help my little sister." "WHAT?! Meadowlark?! Is that you!? But-" "I'll explain later, Minty!" "Wait, did you talk about this before Starlight?" Clover called to her friend. Out of nowhere a giant Ursa came in roaring, facing Clover with thoughts of dinner in its eyes. A smiley-faced cannonball sent the construct Ursa crashing to the ground. "Go, Minty! I mean Clover!" Granfalloon cheered spreading her wings wide and her horn glowing from the library roof. "Pinkie Pie! It is you! You ARE REAL NOW!" Clover called. "Yes, yes, yes!" "That's my line!" Razzaroo shouted smiling. Pinkie's cheer was real. Not-insane, just bubbly and pure. On one hoof, this wasn't the first time that 'Minty' had been mentioned by Pinkie Pie/Angry Pie/Nightmare Granfalloon. I'd gotten the whole story out of Granfalloon. She'd grieved for Minty through time and the tangled knots of worldlines. I'm not proud to admit: once I knew who Minty was, a part of me felt resentment in the back of my mind whenever my pink friend brought her up. As though Pinkie were a stepsister of mine, lamenting the death of her real sister. How was I supposed to make things better for Pinkie? How could anypony compete with a fallen friend's memory? If Pinkie had to choose again who she'd save, we all know it wouldn't be the old me. But seeing Granfalloon and Minty's other-self's joyful reunion blasted those old resentments to dust. Pinkie had closure at last, that was what mattered. I know Pinkie will happily look forward to Minty-Clover's visits when this is over and we serve our time. I might too. I plan on asking Granfalloon to put in a good word with Clover for me. I...wanna be friends too. "Scootaloos!" Razzaroo shouted at the army. "Clear a way to the clubhouse! Everypony who's a part of Ponyville! Get to the Cutie Mark Crusaders tree house at Sweet Apple Acres! It's the way out of the fake Ponyville! Those who know the way, help those who don't!" "Do what she says, Scoots!" I shouted. Razzaroo then used her spell book to create several glowing arrows in the sky pointing the way towards freedom. I saw Bon Bon help up a bleeding Lyra. "Rainbow Dash and her friends, me and my friends: we'll all make sure you get out safely!" shouted Clover. "We have friends on the other side waiting for you! You won't be hurt! YOU'RE ALL GETTING OUT OF THIS ALIVE!" All the while, Razzaroo was zapping any puppets or constructs that got past the Scootaloo Army Alliance of Awesomeness and conjuring up extra signposts. And I saw Patch, oy! She was swinging from a rope from nowhere shouting, "Tally ho!" Swinging her sword like an idiot. Flutterdragon zipped past and cut the rope, Patch did a summersault and spread her wings and blocked each of Flutterdragon's attacks as she tried to hit and run the substitute reaper, probing for weakness in Patch's offense-trumps-defense fighting style. An attack that would have gotten in was blocked by a wall of gold butterflies. Bright Eyes shouted as they landed on the top of the Sofa and Quill's store. "Less grandstanding, Patch, more focus!" "No offense Bright Eyes, but I've got WAY more experience than you," Patch said, facing Bright Eyes on her back legs with a hoof on her hip, dueling Flutterdragon with her other forehoof in a flurry of afterimages not moving any other part of her body not even looking! I don't know if that's nuts or cool. "If you think you're going to trot out one of your adventure stories again, right in the middle of-" "No, no, I promise!" Patch waved her hooves defensively, ducking under Flutterdragon as she dived at the opening, and got a face full of angry butterflies from Bright Eyes. Flutterbat screamed using sonic attacks on AJ's mirrors, but Melody released a counter-wave with her sword and pretty voice. Flutterbat then dove at the healing Scootaloos, but was caught off-guard when a reflection of Applejack -- pre-Discord Applejack -- punched the batpony in the face. "Don't you know it ain't polite ta pick on those smaller than you? Yer ma's ashamed Ah bet!" Nightmare Mirror didn't say it, but I knew her well enough to understand that her 'reflection' was still her, which meant if either body was hurt, so would the other. Of course Mirror wasn't so suicidally honest as to go blabbing that when Whisper might've forgotten. Large bat constructs flew to aid Flutterbat, but Melody chipped in, cutting them apart and brawled with Flutterbat and her concept-killer rod. Mirror fought bare hoofed again her. Melody's movements were hard and fast. "Yer pretty good! Ah guess Rarity's stronger than she look, no matter her incarnation." "How did you-" "Eyes of truth, darlin'!" AJ's reflection bucked away Flutterbat back into the air. "Don't go telling Spike, please, Applejack?" "Wouldn't be right to turn down a friend's request." I agreed. Spike as a sane dragon wouldn't want Rarity to see him like this. Melody met the bat pony in the air. Flutterbat was using her tail like a fifth hoof to hold her concept-killer taking relentless stabs at Melody, and countering with a sonic attack of her own if Melody tried to do the same. Melody flew in a circle around the Detachments, her sword seemed to turn back to normal, but now there were bright metal rods around her. Flutterbat braced herself for the rods to come at her all at once. Instead, Melody began hitting them, each one giving off a vibration as she did so that only got louder and higher pitched the more she struck. "W-what?!" Flutterbat screamed. Glowing cracks appeared in her body. "Everything has a sympathetic harmonize, including you!" Melody said. "You are so immodest!" "I'm an entertainer, I can't afford to be modest." Flutterbat screeched and shattered. Patch laughed. "Ponies of the Tales, Third, and Fourth generation fighting side-by-side! Too bad Firefly isn't here, or our fans would be wonking out!" Bright Eyes sniggered. "Heh, who you think is with Wind Whistler ready to lead in an army of Paradise Ponies in case we fail?" "HEH! Well, too bad for Firefly, cause we're not gonna!" The first of the ponies were finally making to the way out. But little and not so little yellow and pink star spiders began webbing up the entrance, while the hole was getting smaller as the barrier healed. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" Butterflies verses spiders? Bright Eyes' butterflies flashed, but instead of becoming her butterfly sword again, they turned one big huge gigantic glowing golden butterfly that squished the spiders! I noted it was missing two legs. "HOW DARE YOU!" The barrier continued to seal up. "I dare because I care!" And Bright Eyes' giant monster butterfly wedged itself into the hole, and spread its wings, and forced it to stay open, pushing back against Nightmare Whisper's will! I think 'cause Fluttershy and Bright Eyes had the same soul, the barrier thought that Whisper was giving the command to stay open, while the same time telling it to close up, so the dang thing was stuck in loop! Good for everypony! "Sweet Heart and Bon-Bon are gonna be sorry they missed this adventure!" Patch cheered. "They'll do their part for the living once they're outside the barrier! They're counting on us to do ours!" Starlight said. "Reapers saving lives, will wonders never cease," Bright Eyes whispered to herself. Lyra and Bon Bon managed to be the first ones through. One of the falcon constructs dove in after them. "Protect Teddy!" I heard a voice echo on the other side, there was a loud banging noise an the construct went flying out, a shield with a big heart in the middle sticking out of the hole for a bit before going back inside. I kept zapping and blast the giant Nightmare Whisper, but she kept absorbing anything I threw at her like a dry sponge. Patch jammed her sword into Flutterdragon's mouth just as she was about to breath fire on the apparently unarmed Bright Eyes. The dragon froze solid, and Patch shattered her. The dragon's body broke down into chaos magic, a small light flew out of her and back into Fluttercruel. It was smaller than a normal light of existence, and was yellow instead of white. "I can still defend myself, Patch." Bright Eyes said, showing she hadn't used all the butterflies at her command while creating a butterfly sword. "Just helping a friend." "Everypony! Focus on Flutternice!" Starlight ordered as the others all cornered the filly I'd watched Fluttershy raise for countless thousand year cycles. "All of you against me? That's not fair!" Flutternice said. "This is a battle, not a fencing match!" Melody shouted back. From where she was bound, Flutterfly gave out a gasp and a similar light flew out from her body, which dissolved into raw chaos magic. The butterflies that had been holding her flew off and became an extra leg for the giant butterfly. "Mama always says if the world isn't fair, THEN MAKE IT FAIR!" Flutternice detached her limbs again, and her Detachments all respawned as her parts grew back. The reapers were stunned. I don't know if Flutternice's chaos magic recreates new concept killing rods for them or just teleported their old ones to them. "HEHEHE!" Fluttergriff grinned and chuckled. Flutterbat hissed a laugh, Flutterdragon growled one. Flutterfly chortled. Melody groaned. "Oh right, can't just cut off the branches need to take down the trunk too!" "ROUND TWO!" Fluttergriff cried and the reapers and Detachments fought again. The Detachments just a bit more reckless and aggressive. Starlight went for the root of their problem. Her scythe and Flutternice's own concept-killer gave off sparks as they struck each other. "You know Discord rubbed it in Eclipse's face that one version of Fluttercruel had escaped her grasp. I guess he never knew you did too." "I am not Fluttercruel," answered Flutternice. "I was born broken but mother healed me. It was the first thing she did when she became a Nightmare." "Sorry. So what did it feel like when your mother lovingly destroyed your personality and reprogrammed you like a machine?" asked Starlight. "SHUT UP! She-she only did it because she loves me!" The Detachments became less focused. "You mean like how you mutilated how-many innocent ponies because you thought that was your best way to express love?" "I SAID SHUT UP! Mom made me better!" "You mean violated your soul like Discord violated her soul?" In spite of how much Fluttercruel needed a therapy lesson, I couldn't help feeling confused why Starlight seemed intent on casting what Whisper did to her daughter in such negative light. Then I caught sight of the ring on her hoof...She'd said she got married in Heaven, right? Geez, I guess I'd be clopped off at a mom doing this to her foal if I died before I could get one. SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!" Fluttenice said, in tears. The Detachments were now the ones on the defensive as Starlight's two pronged attacked distracted their trunk. "You know if your mother trusted you to fully learn your chaos magic, I don't know if we'd stand a chance. True, you don't have the power boost that Fluttercruel had when your father chose to give her your grandfather's essence and his own power rather than feed on her to heal himself. And you never underwent the rite to become a complete Nature's Fury, so you're like a big caterpillar that never became a butterfly. Not very natural for a mother who believes in nature." "AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Flutternice screamed, snarling, hissing, growling, and whatever other sounds her animal parts could make. There wasn't a bloody thing cathartic about it, this wasn't my Fluttercruel, she never been my Fluttercruel, and I wasn't Nightmare Eclipse, and I wasn't going to be! Starlight was blocking her mad attacks easier now. "Mother protects me from my taint! My soul is tainted! My cutie mark is tainted! Discord's evil is inside me! Mother makes sure it never wins! She taught me not to use that evil magic unless she says so!" "I never said your soul was tainted, dear." Whisper's voice spoke. "But it was cruel and wrong for Rota Fortuna to give you such an awful and horrid cutie mark." "Cruel? Wrong?" Starlight asked as one of Flutternice's attack hit her in the gut, then one on her back sent her smashing to the ground. She got back up, checking her wings for breaks as Flutternice, crying and screaming attacked. "You know my special talent isn't astronomy or navigation. It's a star that guides through the night. Guiding students to a future, guiding friends to peaceful way to settle problems. And if your cutie mark is evil, why isn't there blood on the blades?" "HUH!?" Flutternice froze like a statue. "If your swords symbolize hurting others, why aren't they bloody? If it's evil, why is it shaped like a heart? Maybe you have a talent for bladed weapons, but tell me, are you any good at sword dancing? Expressing your feelings through dancing is something only the greatest dancers can do. Maybe your cutie mark isn't evil. Why would Rota Fortuna give you an EVIL cutie mark?" I remembered the Fluttershys' daughters across the worldlines. Those who became Elements of Loyalty, or Kindness, who decided to save the world FROM their father, ones adopted by Cadence and raised to be a Princess, those who Discord himself raised to be kind and warm mares like their mothers (Eclipse was sure to 'tape over' that), and so many of them with that same cutie mark. And I never realized it. "A stage pyrotechnic who thinks her cutie mark is for arson," I whispered. We'd been treating it like a drug addiction. No wonder our 'treatments' hadn't completely worked. The Detachments suddenly stopped fighting back. Melody and Bright Eyes didn't waste the chance, and the four lights flew back into Flutternice. "I-I-I-" Flutternice's entire body was shaking. Looking like a confused and hurt little filly. "Don't listen to her, dear. She's trying to trick you. Don't worry. Just listen to mommy and everything will be just fine. Just don't listen. That's the key to resisting evil after all. Just don't listen to any quibbling doublespeak or obfuscating sophistry, and evil can never affect you! Just believe in what mommy's taught you and their silly equivocations can't hurt you!" Starlight's jaw dropped. I get the feeling that went against everything her own cutie mark embodied. "And you bad ponies brought this on yourselves," Whisper continued. "Nice, you have mommy's permission to use the special paddle." "T-t-thank you, mama!" "FLUTTERNICE, NO! NOT LISTENING IS NEVER THE ANSWER!" Starlight shouted, except Flutternice wasn't listening anymore, like a good daughter. "I had to at least try," Starlight sighed resigned. "For Bright Eye's sake." Flutternice tossed aside her rod and took out a paddle. Oh horse apples. "Pretty please put them to sleep, Iron Will." 'Iron Will' was a double-ended, double edged, buster (horse-killer) sword with each blade the length and with of a pony, made of solid 'iron.' "That's a concept-killing weapon!" Bright Eyes exclaimed the obvious. "But there wasn't enough left of Tirek, Luna's chariot to make that!" Melody declared. "They're called time loops, dearies," Whisper said, pleasantly. "We Nightmares have been making use of them for a long time, now." "Will's really good at keep away pesky gods who want to burgle Auntie Twilight's house, and annoying angels who wanted to meddle with papa's rehabilitation." One of Flutternice's eyes twitched. She let out a Draconequi war cry and moved faster and more furious than ever before, like she had been wearing weighty chains the whole time, swinging her weapon like it was made of styrofoam. She sang. "Reapers, reapers, That's what ponies call you. Why? 'Cause they all die." Flutternice looked like speed was that she could keep up with all five of them. Her magically animated afterimages might have had something to do with it too! She was knocking away the others, and trying to corner Bright Eyes even to where she took a slash from Starlight's scythe to try and skewer Bright Eyes on her horse-killer. "Everypony guard Bright Eyes!" Starslight shouted. "'Nice must figure she's the easiest to knock off!" Patch said. It was worse than that. Flutternice knew Bright Eyes was the only thing keep the gateway open. I flew to help them, but turning my back on Nightmare Whisper was a mistake. She grabbed me. I sent enough lightning through her to knock one of Tiamat's head unconscious. She didn't even flinch. Huh? I tried sending electricity through her motor nerves so she'd involuntary let me go. Still nothing? That made no sense! Even as Nightmares, our bodies were still based on the biological rules of flesh and blood creatures! "With this song, I save their lives. You act if kidnapping from paradise makes you noble ponies. That a fact? Well you're~ big~ dumb~ meanies~!" "Part of yer Draco name is Gens, it means tribe! Your mother's advice isn't the only you should subscribe!" Melody sang back. 'Nice spun her weapon like it was fan blades, somehow blocking Melody's attack sound with it. An afterimage of Flutternice kept up the block while the reason one zipped around and attacked Melody. Erasing a flew locks of mane of existence and nearly making Melody be born without a head. Nice slashed down with full force with her weapon, only for Clover to catch the big thing with her four hoof blades. "You cannot crack my sword, so go ahead and kick those hooves like you're in the right, it's such a bore. You think you're the heroes? Oh~ Please!~" Then Nice realized Clover wasn't just blocking, she was holding the horse-killer in place. Starlight ordered Bright Eyes stay back as Nice was made to dodge several scythe slashes. Then she DISCONNECTED the hilt, using one of the huge swords on its own to overpower Starlight and swinging Clover clear off her weapon. She reconnected the weapons in a moment. She easily knocked another of Melody sonic attacks. "The dream shall be eternal.~ Fair thee well to all things external. Gifts of mother to help me. Reapers, I'll~ be~ your~ graves.~" "The Dream shall be eternal Exorcism has come, reapers~!" The girls were being all knocked away from the sheer FORCE of Flutternice's sword swings. "Minty!" She flew towards the fight. No! Pinkie! Don't abandon- A sea-serpent construct burst its head out of the library roof and began to wrap around Mirror to break her concentration! The constructs must have burrowed through the basement! Razzaroo had to abandon being the heavily artillery the Scootaloo Army needed, in order to save Mirror. I could already see the fog beginning to rise, the mortal ponies' actions beginning to slow as the fog began to pull them in. Razzaroo shot every element in the book at the seapony, but a murder of yellow crows construct flew in and used themselves as a blockade. Granfalloon about-faced and slammed a giant mouse trap on the construct seapony's head, putting it on a giant crack and pulling it off AJ. She quickly sealed up the hole, but first dropping an anvil down it as a surprise for whatever was coming up next. AJ began using her mirrors again, and the fog was burned away again. "Razz!" I shouted. "Stop anything else from below!" "But-" "The Scoots will handle the Ponyville ponies!" Razzaroo didn't argue. "Alright, Rainbow Dash." That was when Patch's sword shot out a stream of fire. Nice was flambéed in her surprise. "But you said-" Patch said, "I lied. Ice and fire magic are both two-thirds heat transference." Feathers fell off Starlight's wings that quickly regrew, all of them turing into Egyptian scythes swords that flung at high speed at Flutternice, as she tried to block or dodge all of them, Patch kept going for a second course of demi-draconequus Barbecue. Clover was being an indestructible, impassable wall to keep Bright Eyes safe. And Melody was drawing a breath. "Welcome to the show, this is a number from a friend of mine!" And began a wordless vocal, a sonic attack that double for distracting Flutternice and Nice now having to worry about different style distance attacks from three different ponies. "You all stop!" Flutternice screamed. And all around the winged mares, the 2-D forms of floating, familiar looking, staring eyes glared at them from every possible direction. And in an instant they were all paralyzed. Discord's the only one I've ever seen be immune to the stare, even Inserts who resisted those eyes ended up drooling vegetables. "This...this is different from how Fluttershy's described the stare!" Starlight said. "You forced me to use the evil version of mom's power! You, big, dumb, meanies!" "I've met ponies with your power before, it ISN'T evil! Your ancestor Sir Squire never killed with it! He was a hero!" Patch gasped out. "You see? When ponies devote themselves to a good cause, believing in themselves, and never ever give up, they can overcome even death itself five times over! Unlike brain-dead stooges like you who blindly follow orders of heartless, incompetent, jerkish, high-and-mighty lazy gods!" Melody stood and ran towards her enemy. "You're one to talk about blindly following, dear. We weren't ordered, we VOLUNTEERED!" But that wasn't-- she had her eyes closed! "You-but that's cheating!!! There's no way you could have-" Melody struck the ground with her sword, creating sound waves. Like a radar. Melody slashed in the general direction of the demi-draconequus. Forcing Flutternice to block, but the Stare held power. "I watched over my new self! A part of me even fused with her when she became a goddess! Rarity was your mom's best friend! She knows the Stare's telltale signs that even Fluttershy didn't know!" Flutternice attacked back. Thankfully, something that big and heavy like Nice's horse killer made a lot of noise, letting Melody dodge just in time. The Stare crackled and faltered slightly. Clover's entire body shook, looking ready to rip her own muscles apart trying to move her body. Then Melody used her sonic attack again, putting so much force behind it that it made Flutternice's ears bleed. Flutternice slashed in a fury, creating a maze of 'never born' if Melody made one wrong move. Melody flew back then dove down, then flipped on her down back, skidding along the ground, and stabbed Flutternice nice in the leg. Then unleashed her sonic attack inside her. Flutternice screamed, the stare broke. "FLUTTERNICE!" screamed Whisper. "YOU MONSTER!!!" I felt my throat clench as Flutternice grabbed Melody wrist and broke it, stomping one of her foot onto one of Melody's hooves to keep her in place, and reared up her sword to bisect her. ...Flutternice had been so much nicer, so less threatening and pleasanter to deal with, when she'd just been a twitchy-eyed girl kept on a short leash and had good behavior drummed into her by her pacifist mother. How could we have been so stupid as to help Whisper do THIS? All we'd done is cage a beast until it was chomping at the bit to get out! Then I remembered all the ponies who were counting on us, and refocused myself. The others flew towards her, they weren't going to make it in time. Then a pouch of a something hit Flutternice, and green smoke burst out, allowing a black and white blur to enter with a flying kick to Flutternice's face, and send her and her oversized sword skidding along the ground. Zecora landed gracefully on two back hooves. "Forgive me for presuming who here has good will, But you, strange Fluttershy, are the one trying to kill." She helped up Melody. "Forgive me for being late, I did not think I had a due date." Melody opened her eyes and looked at Zecora like she'd seen a ghost. A strange calm fell over everything. It was like the gears of reality had just been knocked out of place. I don't think anypony planned for her arrival. "Sweet mother of mercy, Everything gone to heresy. I knew something was strange, But this is all deranged. Into town, I came down, I came to check on ponies, But I can't tell this from macaroni." "Thank you, Miss Hac-, Miss Zecora," Melody breathed. Zecora helped her up. "If I understand this plight, "This Ponyville is completely trite?" "It's a lot more complicated than that." Zecora looked at the Scootaloo Army that was still protecting the escaping Ponyville ponies, there were more than I remembered who had been sealed inside puppets. "That I can see, But you're here to set us free?" "Yes, I promise that's the case," Melody said. "We all promise," Starlight said flying next to Zecora. "We all came all this way to help you. You're all equine-beings. And...and a lot of you are dear to us in ways you can't imagine." Starlight looked like she wanted to hug Zecora then and there. The other winged mares looked ready to bow to Zecora. Geeze, I'm missing a big part of the story, again, aren't I? Flutternice exploded out of the fake blue shed of Doctor Whooves she had crashed into. "CHEATER!!!!!" She sounded like a clopped-off five year old foal, and trust me; there is nothing more cruel than a foal. Starlight looked at the infuriated little demi-goddess. "The rest of you go help fight Nightmare Whisper, Zecora and I will take care of Flutternice." Clover gasped. "Starlight! You can't be serious! There's no way she can-" Starlight glared at her the way only a leader can. "She'll be enough." She looked at the witch doctor. "That is, if you want to!" "There's no time for debate, I'll help carry your weight." Flutternice was busy having a tempter tantrum while Starlight and Zecora had their heart to heart. The other four flew towards where I was still feeling the grip of the giant Nightmare Whisper's oh-so-loving vice-like embrace. "It's nice to be besides you again." Starlight said with a tear. "Again? What you mean friend?" "In another life, you were my teacher." Looks like Pinkie Pie isn't the only one getting a happy reunion today. "I see. Then let such be." Flutternice started now that she got a good look at who had sucker-kicked her. "A mortal zebra verses a demi-draconequus? Go home. You'll get hurt!" Zecora with one swift motion, kicked up a familiar concept killing rod from the debris in front of Zecora. The 'master copy' that Flutternice had tossed aside when she had bought out her big toy. Flutternice hadn't noticed it due to the green smoke from Zecora's first attack still hanging on the ground. "Oh." "You won't be wearing my fur, You fight like an amateur." "Zecora, that weapon, if you kill somepony with it, it'll be like they were never born." "Thank for the red flag before I gave this a whack. I suppose I'll just have to hold back." Flutternice's jaw dropped. "YOU ARROGANT LITLE ZEBRA! I SQUASH YOU FLAT! THEN YOU KNOW TO BE POLITE!" "While you appear an adult, You inner-self is no grown-up. I am banking, You need a spanking." "ZECORA! Don't you dare think you can discipline my foal!" Fluttershy's voice boomed. Zecora sighed. "Your friendship Fluttershy, I do not wish to say goodbye. But she is your foal, Know that she does not seem whole." "Less verses! More versus!" Flutternice shouted as she made the first attack. - 'Got To Win' Sword Arts Online- You won't believe me when I tell ya, but Starlight and Zecora didn't fight Flutterrnice like a pair of strangers. In this place where souls remember, they fought alongside each other like old friends who've partnered together for hundreds of missions. Their fighting styles complemented each other perfectly. I think Melody's attack from the inside damage Flutternice a lot more than you can see with your eyes. She was definitely not at 100% anymore. Her afterimages were a lot more sluggish and clumsy as Zecora and Starlight began cutting them down. She quickly stopped using them when she figured out it was draining her more than helping her! She flew upwards, right out of Zecora's reach. "Too bad for you, you're the only one here who can't fly!" Without missing a beat, Zecora leapt onto the blade of Starlight's scythe and the magic of leverage sent her speeding upwards. Flutternice didn't expect that! She cried out when Zecora grabbed Flutternice's batwing and mane, using her body as leverage dislocated her wing. "You'll get no breather, Now you can't fly either!" Flutternice crashed back to the ground, Zecora on top and rolled off her enemy grabbing the concept killer rod again. "You are not quite mature, That is why I call you an amateur." Flutternice responded with a horizontal slash of her sword, Zecora leapt and landed right on the flat top of the blade. Jabbing Flutternice in the torso with her rod. "Your weapon is scary to the eyes, But its double size is where its weakness lies." Nice twisted the blade, but Zecora impressively merely balanced on the edge too. Then Nice slashed upwards, but Zecora did a back flip landed perfectly and swept Nice's legs with the rod, Nice instinctively spread out her wings to balance herself, and cried out in pain from her dislocated wing. Using both her perfectly functional wings, Starlight did a double buck to Flutternice's stomach, sending her back again. She came back spinning her weapon like helicopter blades, Starlight responded in kind with her scythe, the blades sending off sparks. Starlight then used reverse rotation and CAUGHT the weapon with her own. Nice began to overpower her, Starlight changed her scythe back into a normal sword, Flutternice's slammed into the ground sending up dust, but I heard Starlight slash into Flutternice's side as Nice cried out holding her side as the dust settled. "A long range blade weapon in close quarters melee isn't very bright," Starlight admitted. Zecora took the chance to again begin jabbing Flutternice with the rod's end, before backing off as Nice tore her double-ended sword out of the ground. Zecora and Starlight flanked Nice, who disconnected her weapon into two blades blocking both of them. Both retreated at once and Starlight took Zecora up to the air. "Stop cheating!" "I didn't mean to falsely claim victory, I'll give an apology to the referee." HEH! Nice burn, Zecora! Nice growled and detached Fluttergriff who flew straight at them, weaponless. "OH. NO. YOU. DON'T!" Starlight shouted. Zecora introduced her hoof to Fluttergriff's beak, it was a smashing meeting. Starlight's sword became a scythe again and she bisected the yellow griffin whose light flew back into Nice and the body fell apart into chaos magic. I'm guessing Nice's running on empty after that last one! "You might not be having this problem if you hadn't CUT OUT your Element of Chaos!" "It was evil!" "An Element only reflects the Bearer." Another murder yellow of crow constructs crowded around Starlight and Zecora, forcing them back to the ground. Whisper's not a neglectful mother. "Nice! Retreat! You're getting hurt!" "No! I'm going to win! I won't give up! Not now! Not ever! I'm going to kick their plots! There's no way I'm gonna lose!" "Nice! I'm telling you-" "Believe in me, mom, like I believe in you!" She moved like a freight train at the pair. "I am done with you!" "Same here, little filly!" Starlight shouted. Nice flung herself at the pair, the two disconnected swords slashing in a whirlwind trying to delete my...my friends. Zecora blocked with her rod, only for the impact to send her flying. Nice slashed with both swords together, and broke Starlight's scythe in two. Starlight backed up, only for a yellow mole to dig out a hole right behind her, making her fall. Starlight rolled out of the way of the slash, only to stop just as the other sword struck down where she'd have been if she'd kept moving. "Other pegasi never could leave mom alone!" She looked about to rip Starlight's throat out with her fangs. "I am an Earth pony!" Starlight with her back to the ground pushed herself up with her forelegs, kicking Flutternice in the stomach. "Of the Age of Wonders!" She rested her entire right foreleg against the side of Flutternice's left sword for a split second. And she lifted it up, like Spider-Pony, the blade sticking to her leg and ripping it out of Flutternice's clumsy fetlock grip. I'd sparred with AJ enough times to recognized what happened next as Starlight channeled her earth pony magic right through the concept-killer, rising up and attacking in the same motion. Flutternice counter-attacked without even thinking, the two identical weapons met, force and vibration traveled through them and both shattered! Flutternice looked in bewilderment as the pieces of her swords scattered, like in slow motion, the two's eyes met, and Starlight's eyes now had the killer instinct. Flutternice screamed in panic, and tried balancing herself on her back draconequus-style to kangaroo-kick Starlight. Zecora caught her friend and, in a liquid motion, let her slide onto the ground, and caught Flutternice by the tail with her rod and smacked Flutternice face-first into the ground like the head of a hammer. Flutternice was up in an instant and charged fangs, claws, hooves, and teeth, all bared, Zecora pulled back on her staff and Flutternice slammed into it. Nice gripped it trying to pull it away from Zecora. The zebra held on, but didn't resist the pull as she used Flutternice's own strength to power her kicks, and slip the weapon out of Nice's momentarily weak grip. Flutternice used every limb on her body to attack Zecora with, whipping with her claw, stomping with her hooves, goring with her claws, biting with her teeth, everything in turn. Zecora moved with experience and precision, the end of the black rod hitting Flutternice repeatedly but never in the same place and never with enough force to cause damage as far as I could tell, but also giving her space to retreat and dodge Nice's attack, never trying to simply block them. It was like a dance. Flutternice thrust with her griffin claw right at Zecora's eyes, as Zecora struck her in one more spot and...she froze like a statue. "W-what...what kind of magic..." "That's always my itch, I am not a witch! Stabbed your pressure and mana-points with this thing, I did bring." Zecora held up the concept killer rod. "I do not wish to scoff, But in layponies' terms, your magic and movements, are turned off." Zecora struck on the side again with the rod, and Flutternice's entire body went limp. "Now please stay filly, You're now as weak as a lily." Nice tried to detach again, but nothing happened. Guess that was tied into her magic as well. Starlight picked up her broken in two scythe, held the pieces together, and it turned back into a sword with a thin discoloration along the blade. "Zecora..." Starlight said. "Yes, child? You'd look better if you smiled." Zecora told her with a small smile of her own. "It...it was a honor to fight alongside you. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you in a better time and place...you're a wonderful pony, er, sorry, Zebra, no matter what your name or face are. Oooh! There's so much I never said! There's so much I never got a chance to say! I was never there for you! When you've always been there for me!" From where I stood, quietly listening to all this had a fun, wry moment imagining Starlight being born into Zecora's tribe of zebras, and sporting one of their mohawks. Zecora put a hoof on Starlight's shoulder. "Child, do not fixate on what you could have had. It shall drive you mad. You are here now, that I can avow." Starlight cried and hugged her. "Thank you!" Zecora lovingly patted her on the back. "Forgive me if things are not as they seem, but I do believe I've seen you in a dream." Zecora took a moment to throw some sort of powder in the face of a Timberwolf construct coming behind her, making it act like it'd had a run in with a skunk. "Y-Yeah, maybe..." Starlight cut a construct behind her in half. "I believe I was a teacher in a school long ago, many classes I did sow. In it you were a pupil dear, who learning did now fear. To be a teacher you wanted to be, and to see that I was proud as could be. Was this just a dream that did not last, or a memory of life past?" I normally would say dialogue in the middle of combat wasn't a good idea, but these two could clearly watch their own backs. I watched just in case Fluttershy gave Flutternice a free cheat-code, actually putting her down was next to impossible. "...I...that...that's one way to put it..." "Then Starlight do not fear, I am proud of you my dear." Starlight started crying at that. "But I..." "If for something you feel regret, do not fret. If guilt for it you do feel, then I believe that guilt is real. For as much as I now live, I do forgive." They hugged. Good for them, I guess... "We had better get her to the portal. Demi-goddess or not, she might not be safe here if this place collapses after we subdue Fluttershy," Starlight said. A nasty looking ring of animal constructs formed around the two friends and they stood back to back. "You hurt my baby!" "She was trying to kill us!" Starlight shouted. "Don't lie to me! You both need to learn some manners!" Zecora shook her head. "So yet another parent, Turns a blind eye to their foal's problems, apparent." The army of constructs came at them from every direction, Zecora and Starlight weren't exactly fresh with cuts and bruises aplenty. But I had every confidence they'd make it, no way they were going down now! And I know Fluttershy. Even as a Nightmare she wasn't a killer, and wasn't one after her mind was healed by the Elements. Meanwhile, back with me...remember me? I'd actually got myself freed soon after the fight between Zecora, Starlight and Flutternice started. It wasn't like the rest of the world froze while they were fighting. The puppet of Mr. Cake pulled a member of the Scootaloo Army, (loop #30,001 for the record) inside itself with its puppet string, and Scootaloo PUNCHED HER WAY OUT FROM THE INSIDE! One of them punched a hoof into a puppet and let loose some energy from Element of Loyalty INSIDE it. Yeah, a few had Elements of Loyalty, what did you expect? I dare you to find a more loyal filly. And I was proud of her. Being a Bearer is a tough job? Duh. That SOME version of you out there HAS TO have become a Nightmare? That so? Let me tell you something. One thing I noticed through the world lines? Those few 'normal and safe' ponies who weren't Element bearers in ANY worldline? They have NO HEART! To not be an Element in ANY world line you have to be heartless in every worldline! It's proof there's a spark of goodness in you! I saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom being flown to the portal by their Scootaloos. "But Scootaloo! I wanna help! I don't care what she's sayin'! She's my sister! She's gotta be!" Apple Bloom shouted. "And I'm not leaving without Rarity!" Sweetie Belle squirmed. "...Apple Bloom I'm sorry, but you can't help. There are lots of way you can help your sister. There's lots you're good at. But galloping straight into the middle of a fight between demigods ISN'T one of them! You'll just be a target!" Scootaloo pleaded. "But yer gettin' tah help!...A lotta yah are!" "I know, but I don't know HOW I know how to fight this well! How WE do...it's like a part of me knows how to fight even if I don't! But it also knows you don't...you're healers not fighters..." "But you...and you, and you...all of yous, you're... you're all fighting. What makes you different?!" "...I'm sorry, Apple Bloom, but...my body remembers, my heart remembers, even if my head doesn't want to remember. Remembers fighting...so much fighting." "Well, maybe Ah just need to remember some fancy stuff too Ah can't remember if yer suddenly a super-battle-pony, maybe Ah-" The look in Scootaloo's eyes, heh, like Granny Smith, like my own grandparents, somepony who had lived so long, and carried so much, and lost so much. "No Apple Bloom. Not here. Not like this. All I know is if you remember it, you'll be hurt. No. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, no!" "Aren't you gonna say something?" Sweetie Belle asked the Scootaloo who was carrying her. Scootaloo nuzzled her. "I have nothing I can say Sweetie. Because I know Rarity would do the same for you." "Then let me go!" "I can't! You're...you're all I have left." "What do you mean?!?!" Sweetie asked in horror as they dodged the constructs trying to stop them from reaching the portal. "...Just know I want to keep you safe because you're my friend and I care about you...that's all you need to know right now." "But Rarity!" "We're saving EVERYPONY here, Sweetie Belle. If Rarity's here, then she's coming with us! And SHE'D WANT YOU SAFE!!!" "...Alright." Sweetie Belle said in a little voice. Sometimes super senses suck. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, part of me would've liked to explain this personally, but good fillies like you should stay away from Nightmares: Know when to fold them. Know when your loved ones are gone. Know enough to sense when you're in over your head and to bail out instead of going down with the ship. Know when things are beyond your control. Know when it's time to let go. Know how to embrace a new life, a new path, new friends. Life's too short, even when you're NOT mortal. Sometimes it's healthy to forget. There's a difference between loyalty and chaining yourself. Huh? Wanna hear more of the goings on I got through my super senses? Wow. Not trying to be egotistical, but that's kinda taking a detour off of my story. Well, since you insist. There was a pair of earth pony mares with wings on the other side of the portal. One had a rounded figure with a yellow coat and purple mane, and blue eyes. Her cutie mark was a big piece of wrapped candy. She was holding a journal and pen. The other one had a white coat with a pink mane and purple eyes. Her cutie mark was a big pink heart with a few smaller hearts around it. She was holding the big shield I saw refuse that construct the door before. Oh, and apparently she had a halo. That was odd, I think Apple Bloom's spirit was the only one I'd ever seen have one at all. Lyra and Bon Bon came through first, the bleeding on the two living mares and life long pair had stopped. Bon Bon blinked, looking from the yellow mare to herself like she was looking in a mirror. Lyra was looking between them. "What are your names?" The mare with the yellow coat asked. Bon Bon and Lyra stiffened a bit and the words came from their mouth unbidden. "My name is Bon Bon Sweetdrops." "My name is Lyra Heartstrings." The yellow mare write down their names in her journal. "Bon Bon Sweetdrops, Lyra Heartstrings, you exist." And Nothingness had no claim. Then the white gently touched each of them over the heart. "Bon Bon Sweetdrops, Lyra Heartstring, you're alive." All of Lyra's injuries healed right on the spot. And Death had no claim. "My name is Bon-Bon too by the way." The yellow mare said. "It's nice to meet you, Bon Bon." "Are you me from the distant future?" "I'm your great ancestor." "Wow...were you a great warrior or healer or something?" "No...but I was a model. And I cooked." "Uh, Bon-Bon, there are lots of ponies behind them," the white pony said like she was Fluttershy. "Oh. Sorry, Sweetheart. Please wait behind me." Next was...the puppets of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, with most of the pieces broken off, showing two ponies inside. Sweetheart gently took off the heads of the puppet shells and the other pieces. "What are your names, little ponies?" "Snips Puppeteer." "Snails Mage." "Snips Puppeteer. Snails Mage. You exist." "T-thank you." Snips whimpered. "Don't worry, no pony is going to hurt you now," Sweetheart said as she used the same ritual she used on Bon Bon and Lyra to heal the poor boys. Next was Nurse Redheart. After Bon-Bon wrote her name down, she looked to Sweetheart. "You...are you an alien using Saint Sweetheart's image to calm me down so I won't freak out over your tentacled form?" "Actually, I am Saint Sweetheart." Sweetheart hugged her. "And I'm so proud of my family and you Redheart." Redheart, meanwhile, fainted. "Uh, oops?" Bon Bon and Lyra helped move Nurse Redheart past the 'medical' and 'records' spot. The next I'm told was...a pink pegasus. She had a pair of puppet shell wings. "What's your name?" "Cupcakes." After...Sweetheart gently, like they were bandages, took off Cupcakes' wings. "W-wait-!" "It's okay, you're going to be okay now, Cupcakes, you're alive." And in that moment, Cupcakes had her wings back. I'm told she was more happy than you can imagine. And there was a lot of tears of joy. "D-Do I get to keep them this time? Are they...are they finally real?" "Yes. They're as real as the ones you were born with." It took five minutes to get her to stop hugging Sweetheart. I couldn't stop smiling. > The Fighting Is Finished > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- So there they were! Starlight's angels, flanking the Nightdrake as he sumo wrestled with the giant Nightmare Whisper. To think all this had been going on while Starlight and Zecora had been taking on Flutternice together! I used my chains on the giant Nightmare Whisper, but it just passed through her like she weren't even there. My eyes narrowed as I created a cleaver lightning construct and stabbed it right through Nightmare Whisper's foreleg she was gripping me with. She didn't even flinch or let me go. I used the weapon then to simply cut off the hoof/claw thingie that was holding me, but vines instantly whipped out and pulled it back into place. Finally, I just vibrated free. Even if I then had to land right near the enemy, vulnerable, waiting for my internal organs to put themselves back in the right places. The back-up reapers who could used distance attacks to get her mind off of me. "Be careful not to hurt her! She's just confused!" Nightdarke Banneret begged. "I'm trying to help all of you!" Bright Eyes shouted, being a extra pair of eyes since she was using more of her power to keep the exit open. "We almost have the same soul! How can you trap your friends in this huge lie?!" Fluttershy spoke from everywhere and nowhere. "Lies are only lies if you get caught. If a foal works on their heart out on a dress… and they ask your opinion, and you think it's the the ugliest thing ever, of course you'll lie to them, and then they make an ever uglier dress and ask what you think, of course you lie again, and again, that is what love is." Ten or twenty full grown, fully-grown, fully-armored, yellow and pink dragons of the most mighty variety formed, and quickly overpowered Banneret, pushing back the little angels. Then the three yellow-and-pink draconzillas showed up, or maybe I was being delirious from shaking my molecules like a cocktail. "Don't we get a fair fight?!" Patch shouted. "No." A giant party cannon exploded out of Sugarcube Corner, extending to the size of the Friendship Express burst out of Sugar Cube. Oh yeah. That's happening! Pinkie hopped on top of it now wearing a red French army uniform with gold ropes, white pants and black boots. She was also wearing a mustache. She put on a Neighpoleon hat, drew a sword and pointed at Banneret's faux relatives. "FIRE!!!" The recoil sent the giant party cannon rolling over backwards, and a pink cannonball painted with Pinkie's cutie mark exploded in the middle of the scaly horde, obliterating it along with a few now-thankfully empty buildings. The several hundred thousand Scootaloos made one Tartarus of an evac crew. Clover just stared awe struck. "Don't look at us, she's your imaginary friend," Patch said. I'm not gonna ask. If anything that made Pinkie Pie make more sense. "B-but that's not fair!" Whisper's voice stuttered. None of us threw her words back at her, at this point, it was beyond obvious. Since Shy didn't just try the same trick again, I'm thinking that things ate up a good deal of Whisper's reserves. That was when the constructs seemed to become extra-interested in keeping Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom from reaching the exit. And the smaller teenage dragon constructs breathing 'mist' at them, as much as they could before Mirror's mirrors burned it out. I had a mental image of a butterfly-winged 'Bloom and Sweetie in platinum armor attacking poor Mirror. Ugh! Regenerate faster, you stupid rainbow Nightmare! "No!" Melody looked even more worried than I felt. Razzaroo teleported, zoomed in, riding on a shooting star, and began shooting sparkles at Nightmare Whisper that into its body like throwing stars. Okay, at this point I'm sure my head isn't regenerating as fast as it should. Maybe Whisper's slipped me some of her fog. "I'll cover for you! Sweetie is a friend of mine too!" Razz shouted. Melody didn't need to be told twice as she flew as fast as Pinkie Pie can carry a tune. "You're supposed to be watching AJ's back for attacks!" I told her. "Don't worry, Dashie! I've got it covered!" Granfalloon said, as she she popped out of the front door of the library, then popped out behind Applejack in less time than it took to teleport! Pinkie Pie, I'm happy she's on our side again. Oh, and Melody flew up and shattered the bunch of constructs with musical notes. That look she had... it was like a mother protecting her kid. Sweetie Belle blinked at her. "Who are you?" "Just call me... Great Grandma Melody, okay? Give or take a few hundred greats," she gave Sweetie Belle a nuzzle. "I couldn't help my baby when she needed me, but I can help you." She looked to Scoots. "Keep flying kid, you've got a guardian angel watching you right now!" If there's one thing Melody taught me is you don't mess with a mother, not even a Multiple Times Great Grandma, when her baby is in harm's way. A LOT of constructs found that out the hard way after Melody started playing guard duty. Razzaroo helped me up. "Mom! Let me help! I helped The Doctor lots of times! I can help now!" Dinky struggled in her mom's mouth as they fled. "NOH!" Derpy said. "'ou'll 'et 'urt!" "Scootaloo's helping!" "'n' 'm gun'na 've uh l'ng t'lk wif ‘er p'rents wh'n w' git b'ck h'me!" Sparkler kept any cynical comments to herself, maybe I should be following her example more. The look in her eyes, she's scared, but she's not about to say it. Three Scootaloos fought to protect them. That family, never knowing they were actually each from a different world, they and one Scootaloo were the only survivors. I'm not Nightmare Mirror, so I hope they don't find out the truth. "No! Please! Come back! They're going to do terrible things to you if you leave!" Shy's omnipresent voice shouted. "She's lyin'! She ain't got a clue! Nopony but the biggest loonies would go ta this much trouble ta save ya all if they just wanted nasty things ta happen to ya!" Mirror was using the Royal Canterlot Voice to make sure she was heard. "Hehe, it's always good to hear you say a comforting truth, AJ!" Pinkie chimed in. "Whelp," said Mirror, with a smile, "It's cuz Ah was so honest 'bout all them bad things fer that whole time that ya know mah good news is the real deal, 'stead of jest sweet li'l lies!" "So our sense of joy can be all the more honest," I noted. My old friend smiled at me so happily and gratefully, how could I help but smile back? Meanwhile, Dinky was still trying to escape her mom's protection. "Please let me help, mom! I'm not a baby!" "'ou're MY 'aby! 'nd I'll 'rotect 'ou!" Derpy kicked a construct in the face and Sparkle sent gems in another one's eyes as they and the Scootaloo trio escort made their way to the exit. Some Scootaloos were helping other injured individuals to the exit. I grimaced. "So they're badflank, got it." I said. Little foals having to fight and shoulder huge responsibility... the fate of the world... I wish I could say I'd never seen such things before. Childhood cut short is always a tragedy. "No...because their hearts wanted to know they were FINALLY truly saving you after being robbed of that chance in their own respective worlds. This is the only way their hearts can accept freedom." "...Can't say I don't sympathize with that." After all, wasn't I fighting to save somepony so I could have the freedom that mattered? Exuberant, dogged, heartfelt loyalty, I could see so much of myself in all of them. The way I was supposed to be. "They were all inspired by YOU Rainbow Dash, they all rose to protect others and oppose evil because of you! Even when you fell to Discord's sickness, the you they believed in gave them strength!" "GOT THAT RIGHT!" Scootaloo 99,001 shouted as she did a flying back flip kicking her opponent off their hooves. It seemed like the more determined I got to feel rotten, everypony around me just got even more determined to help me out. Razz' helped me get out of Whisper's reach when the Nightmare made a grab for me again like my cut from before was nothing. "No consequences, infinite loops of just more fun and games where everything is only as serious as you wish it to be! Isn't that paradise?! I've made heaven for all of you!" I can't tell if Whisper was screaming at the escaping ponies or us. "Hell is better than yer 'paradise,' Fluttershy!" Came the Royal Canterlot Voice of Nightmare Mirror. Clover said covering us, slicing and dicing the strand of pink mane that tried to grab us from behind using all four of her hooves. "You think this is like Paradise? I've been there. You don't have a clue." "I don't want my friends to go to Tartarus! Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Applejack, do you want to go to Hell?!" "No more lies," I said. "No more 'resets.' We're going to face punishment for our sins, like grown adults!" I shouted. But then I said to myself. "But...there's something I need to do first. And I can't do that here." "Rainbow...we can't always get what we want," said Razzaroo, who must've overheard me. I frowned at her. "There's only one thing left I want." She looked at me evenly. "And I'd cut out pieces of my soul if I could give that to you." The puppets were wiped out, and Whisper was sending all her constructs now after either Starlight and Zecora, or trying to breach the defenses of the Scootaloos as they protected the ponies escaping this violated version of Ponyville. The giant Nightmare Whisper was now facing Spike, Razzaroo, Clover, Patch, and Bright Eyes with no back up, and Spike doing a good job of keeping her one big target. But she kept healing and wasn't even flinching from all the damage. Not having any distance attack or being a walking Cuisinart like Clover, Bright Eyes looked at her own weapon. "Seriously, it had to be swords? They're pretty-looking but rifles would have been more practical," Bright Eyes said. Her sword transformed into butterflies again and then into a bucking crossbow. "Feeling medieval, huh? I suppose this will do too. Thank you, Lance!" She began firing shots at where the vital points of the Nightmare should have been to slow it down or disable it, the shots turning to gold butterflies, who flutter back to Bright Eyes, lightning-quick, effectively giving her unlimited ammo. "I only wish I'd thought of this earlier!" "Sorry for intruding on your fight," Patch bowed apologetically as she burned and froze at the giant Nightmare. My insides had fully regenerated. Geeze, that took longer than it should have. I looked at the giant and slowly turned my head upwards to the sun. I shrugged. "It's okay, you can take of this thing. I'm going after Nightmare Whisper." "Wait what-" I didn't stick around to explain. I just flew straight up. This thing was just another fake. She switched one illusion for another. You tried too hard, Fluttershy. The puppets are impossible to tell apart on the outside, but inside is another story. My chains only work on things with free will! If the Kindest of Lies could project herself through a construct that confused even Mirror's senses, why not a giant puppet when Mirror's already distracted? Puppet strings aren't connected to nothing. One problem: 'Shy realized what I was doing anyway, and the sky filled with 'fog.' I was wrong about 'Shy's reserves. A wall of her animal constructs formed right on top of me. "You wanna do this the hard way? We'll do this the hard way! Sonic-Rainboom!" I blew right threw the wall of Nightmare Whisper's toys, only to find another wall of 'em waitin' behind it! Sonic Rainboom! Sonic Rainboom! Sonic Rainboom! They're swarming all around me, weighing me down! GET OFF ME!!! I ripped my way through, clawing and digging, bits of my barding breaking off piece by piece until I'm naked except for part of my champron. My fancy armor sure looks absurd when I'm not wearing the whole set. More enemies pile down on me like a waterfall the closer I got to the source. Two flaps up and five flaps back! Stop it already, Fluttershy! Unexpected help from all sides. Scootaloos? Yes. They weren't the surprise. "I don't know the whole story, but I'll trust you Rainbow Dash," Spitfire said. "Just promise us a full answer later," Thunderlane added. The Wonderbolts! Freed of their puppet shells, with Spitfire leading the formation. And Thunderlane and the rest of the Ponyville weather team...all of them. Spitfire. Misty Fly. Fleetfoot. Soarin'. Blaze. Rapidfire. Wave Chill. High Winds. Lady. Surprise (I think it's just a passed-down name). Cloud Kicker. Raindrops. Cloudchaser and Flitter. All looking at me like they honestly want to be friends with me. What was I? Stupid? They already were. I was stunned. I was just plain stunned. They were their right minds... they didn't have any sort of brainwashing on them... and they'd all come to help me, of their own choice. My Element of Loyalty and Free-Will glowed bright. "Spitfire, I-" "SAVE IT AND DO WHATEVER THE HAY YOU WERE DOING, YOU NINNY!!" The constructs were confused as heck, because 'Shy was getting her wires crossed from a over a dozen new targets at once. It would take just a tiny bit for 'Shy to get her head back on straight and direct her pawns to properly deal with the new problem. That tiny bit, was all the Dash needed!!! Up, up and away!!!! I can see them this time: the puppet strings snaking down, either for me or my friends, I don't care which; I obliterate them without a second thought. I fly higher, and higher, and higher, past Cloudsdale, past everything, I could touch the sky. Instead, I smash right through it like a bullet! The pieces of the fake sky fell beneath me like glass; I don't mind. I landed on the backside of the 'sky'. The new floor I'm standing on is artistically painted with all the constellations and the moon. And here was all the background machinery that kept this theme-park Ponyville running. The ceiling was a mind-breaking crisscross of wooden pulleys and ropes stretching as far as the eye could see, the forest of puppet strings around me dangling through the floor like it wasn't even there. And there she was at the center of it all, pulling countless threads at once in every direction with her telekinesis, with more still tied around her wing-tips, hooves, and tail. She wasn't the size of a building. She was small for a Nightmare. She didn't have bleeding shackles. Her horn didn't bleed at the base. She didn't have claws instead of hooves. She didn't have a hole in her chest with a glowing orb containing all of Equestria's suffering. She didn't have fangs or pupil-less eyes. Instead, I saw a beautiful demure mare with a coat one-shade-darker-than-butter yellow. Her cutie mark was a trio of butterflies with blue wings and pink bodies. Blue eyes like those of a dragon. A sleek and shiny horn glowing pink. A pair of delicate pink butterfly wings. Her mane and tail were pink and flowing, flowers seemingly growing from it, even leaving a slight trail as it moved in the ebbs and flows of life around her. She wore platinum barding styled after Princess Celestia's. Poor girl really looked like she could use some sleep. Next to her was a half-eaten daisy sandwich, a picture of us six back in our happy bygone Element Of Harmony days together in Ponyville, a heart-shaped picture of Flutternice, a foalhood blanket, and a truckload of knitted wool animals, including one of Angel. This was the real Nightmare Whisper. "Fluttershy, it's over." "No!" She cried out fearfully, though not for her own sake. Never for her own sake. Nightmare Whisper had completely grown past fearing for herself long, long ago. A puppet of me dropped down from the rafters and flew right at me. Capable of everything I'd been capable of as a pegasus; every stunt, every move, every technique, my equal in every way. I broke it apart and swept it aside with one swift stroke of my telekinesis. "Don't come any closer, Rainbow Dash!" "Avoidance was never the solution, Whisper." She fumes a bit at that. "Stop calling me that! My name is Fluttershy! Stay back! Don't make me...don't make me..." "...If you really are Fluttershy again...why aren't you acting like it?" I asked, not angry...more sad. "...You're still acting like Nightmare Whisper…" Element of Harmony stolen! My wings! Into the maze! My cutie mark? Gotta be my element! Discord! Put'em up jerk! Something important to say? 'A weighty choice is yours to make, The right selection or a big mistake. If the wrong choice you choose to pursue, The foundations of home will crumble without you?' Dang it I hate riddles! Whatever! Come on jerk! ...Cloudsdale. Fall apart...without me... Discord said, "That box contains your wings. You can take them and leave the game, or you can carry on aimlessly wandering this maze. Your choice." "...Keep them. They're yours. I have to find my friends." Discord is absolutely stunned. "What?! Your home will be destroyed!" "And I know they wouldn't want me to betray the world just to save them." "Then you're betraying them!" "It's not betrayal, if I'm doing it for everything Clouddale stands for and what pegasi believe in!" I smile elatedly. I have the weirdest sensation that I should've literally said these words eons ago. "My place is with my friends," I continue. "I am never abandoning Twilight! Or Applejack or Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy or Rarity!" "Oh? What if I told you THEY were all about to give up my game?" "Then they need a loyal friend to get their hearts back in the game more than ever! Good thing I'm here!" I turned around and trotted away. "You're condemning all the pegasi who won't take off in time to death!" I turn back on him, sparking a blazing fury. "YOU'RE condemning them!" I snarl. "You're the threat. You're the menace. You're the source of the chaos. And what's scummiest of all... you PLAY DEPRAVED GAMES TO DODGE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT YOU DID!" I charge at him like a bull seeing red. "Twisted sickos like you..." Discord's face meet my hoof, and it's the greatest physical and emotional thrill I've ever experienced. "...DON'T DESERVE TO CALL THE SHOTS!!!!" I shouted, pounding him in the face again and again. "Yes... yes... feel his flesh give way underneath your hooves, look at the fear in his eyes, taste his helplessness. Feel him squirm under you. Look at him shrink. Can't fight back. Can't win." A sweet voice breathed in of my ears. "Yessss..." I hissed. "He betrayed his kind, he betrayed his duty, he betrayed his family, he betrayed his friends. And betrayed, should be punished." I grinned wider and wider as I didn't let up. ""And best of all... you don't have to feel a shred of for any of it. Because you know he's the villain, and you're the hero. Nothing you can do to him, can ever be over the line... my... Night-mare Man-ac-le..." "NO!!!!" I screamed, shaking my head, I knew Discord wasn't behind this...not any more. I look behind Discord, seeing translucent flaming chains leading back to a white masked purple Nightmare. I flew forwards and decked Nightmare Eclipse in the face sending her spinning into a garden wall. "I AM NOT YOU! I am never going to be you! You're gone! I'm never becoming you! I'm not a sadist! You hear me! You worthless bully!" I looked at Discord... with lots bruises, bleeding, and broken bones. "I'm sorry," I said and meant it, and helped him up. Discord, the maze, and Nightmare Eclipse shattered. Though Nightmare Whisper now had a big bruise on her face. "Why... Rainbow Dash, that's what you wanted more than anything! I gave you what you wanted! I GAVE YOU WHAT YOU WANTED!" "... Twilight Sparkle, MY Twilight Sparkle, she wouldn't want me to run away the consequences of my actions. And I wouldn't be a good role model for Scootaloo would I? This is my loyalty of my own free will!" "I'm protecting you!" "Nopony is living here! We're just existing! This place is nothing but a big lie! Everything!" And with my telekinesis, I tore apart the background machinery, pulling it to pieces and watching it fell apart around us. "Rainbow, stop that right now!" A puppet of my father said as Whisper pulled it up, I telekinetically blew it apart from the inside out. "Stop it, Dash!" This one of my mother, I dismantled it between eye blinks, the hollow pieces clattering to the floor with the rest of this grand deception. "Why?! This is your world! Your world, Rainbow Dash!" Nightmare Whisper wept. "...Yeah, it was my world. MY world. Mine...and they were all trapped in it." Our fight has entered a lull. We're both catching our breaths, and I'm feeling talky. "And all of this?...I don't deserve it. I don't deserve a perfect paradise.The truth is that is no world for me anymore! And now I need to face that. I need to finally live up to everything I did!...I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but I'm done dodging responsibility..." I kick out a hind leg, destroying another segment of scenery. It falls straight on the decapitated head of my puppet-mom, cracking it open. I actually choke up, feeling a hot, salty droplet trickle down my cheek. "Don't think I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me," I tell Whisper sadly. "For all us Nightmares. Feels like I'm taking a bulldozer to my own birthday party, only a thousand times worse! But... 171,015 Scootaloos, Whisper. 171,015. You helped me save half of them!" "I'm sorry," she murmurs. I nod. "I embrace the fantasy, and allow mortals to be entrapped. I embrace reality, and I hurt you, my old friend. All those times seeing you lose your body to Fluttercruel... I can't tell you how badly I missed you, Shy." The Kindest of Lies smiles the smallest bit through her tears. "Nightmares are as good as tornadoes in pony form," I continue. "Doomed to ruin everything around us, even at our most passive. Including other Nightmares...but we can at least think for ourselves now...we can maybe try to fix some of the mess we made...but how can we do that if we're living in a fog?" For a second, I see what looks like understanding in Nightmare Whisper's eyes. Then the Kindest of Lies whipped her mane about and vines shot towards me, I responded with my chains, the two wrapped around each other. I broke my chains off from me, they heated up, and exploded, blowing up the vines with themselves. Nightmare Whisper cried out in pain, I take off and flew right for her though the debris. Our eyes meet. The Stare! Must. Stop. Must. Not...Upset. Mommy. Fluttershy. She. Very. Cross... And we smack into each other's heads. Ouch. I'll skip the details about our horns, I'm just happy we can regenerate. "But...but I was Staring you." Nightmare Whisper said in a small confused voice. "Sorry Fluttershy, but even you can't Stare momentum." I slide down the front of my champron over my eyes, I didn't think she could still use the stare, not making that mistake again. I'd rather not go into detail on how I beat up the exhausted and sleep depraved mare I had defended from bullies when we were both fillies, thank you very much!!! She wouldn't stop, she wouldn't give up, I...I finally just used my chains to hold her down. Not the ideal solution, but it was the best I could do. Then I touched my horn against her core...her half-Element. She'd broken her Element of Chaos in half to give Flutternice her own body, one half becoming Kindness again, the other half staying an Element of Chaos. But at Flutternice's own request, Nightmare Eclipse helped Flutternice cut the Element of Chaos out of her, forcing Flutternice's seat of consciousness back into her brain...and it was just as painful as doing it the other way around from the screaming. Using my magic on Fluttershy's core severed her tie to my pocket world, I was revoking her admin privileges! And I completely restored mine. Dang it. The place in a bad shape. Whisper had really grown desperate at the end, I think she'd been bleeding off magic from the place to fuel her own at the end....Good thing I was done with this dump. I also chained up all but her most basic magic. Her constructs went poof, and her giant Nightmare puppet fell to pieces, and the fog dissolved into nothing. Flutternice I think got scared I had...I had done something that couldn't be undone to Fluttershy. "But Rainbow!" Fluttershy begged, sobbing and sniffing. "You WANTED me to do this! You WANTED to escape everything! You wanted us all safe! I did this because WANTED ME to! This was OUR project!" "Not like this! Never like this! Nightmare Eclipse was the worst teacher possible, so stop following in her footsteps! We're... we're night terrors who need to fade away with the dawn." "Please stop saying that about yourself, Rainbow, please don't say that about our friends!" "We betrayed our friends, we all did, for a monster that kidnapped and enslaved our Twilight." "...We might not be THOSE friends, but we're still FRIENDS." Her voice shook me in the way only Fluttershy's ever could. "Dangit... you're right about that much Fluttershy...the moment I start thinking we're not...that's when I'd be no better than Nightmare Eclipse." "Then let's just forget about-" "You just don't LISTEN to a thing I say, do you?!" I magically lifted her up and put her on my withers. "Come along, Fluttershy, we have friends who want to talk with you." "But...but it's not fair! I got you! Then I'd have saved everypony!" "No Fluttershy, you wouldn't. Your puppets are gone. I'd just trashed your strings. Flutternice is out of the fight. You couldn't use the stare on me up and personal and direct a zillion constructs at the same time. I know you're tougher than you look better than anypony. And I know you already didn't have a way to pull out a win from this. Know when to fold'em 'Shy." "I just need to beat those grim reapers, hold you off, disable Applejack, and get back all those ponies you kidnapped, and everything can be back to how it was!" "First, you don't have the strength left to beat Princess Luna after we cured her with the Elements. Second, Fluttershy this isn't 'how it was' at all! This is a mockery of what it was before! Stop doing this to our friends, stop doing this to yourself... "I'm not angry because you kept these ponies in my fake Ponyville so they wouldn't get deleted! If you'd JUST done that, I'd just want us to face our judgement day and leave them be. I'm upset because you did the OPPOSITE: you didn't let them LIVE. You made them PUPPETS…For what? For what you THOUGHT I wanted? If you'd just let them live their LIVES they'd have MADE this real." "…If you knew I coudn't win anymore, then why you fight so hard?" "Because I wanted to SAVE YOU so you wouldn't go down with the ship!... I'll protect you bullies 'Shy, and I'll protect you from yourself too." Forgive me if I start skipping over stuff. Everything was just so tiring. I was so tired. I just wanted to rest now so bad. With the fighting over, the Ponyville ponies got out a-okay. Including the weather team and the Wonderbolts. Starlight and her four friends were still here, likely cause we were. Zecora was the only ...er, 'regular' native, still here. They were all bruised, battered and worn out as you'd expect. I saw Starlight actually mix them up milkshakes from what supplies were still in Sugar Cube Corner. They had a good view with most of the building gone. The place was a wreck from the battle. It was a fake Ponyville, always had been, but it was still wasn't fun to see my adopted home ruined again, imitation or not. The pieces of the puppets had been left where they'd been destroyed, made the scene all the more morbid. The Scootaloo Army Alliance of Awesome...I think they were all waiting for me. 171,015 fillies I'd saved. Out of billions of ponies I didn't. They all looked at me. None of them hated me. Some looked at me with pity. Some with admiration. Some with friendship. Some were scared and alone. Some were just lost and didn't know what they were supposed to do now that the 'saving everypony' part was done. Many looked just as tired as I felt. Many had just taken pillows out of the houses to sit down on and lean on each other. It wasn't like anypony was going to be taking them with them. Whatever relief plan the concepts had for everypony, I doubted they were gonna have use for the imitation junk me and 'Shy had built for 'em. Granfalloon had ransacked everything in Sugarcube corner and was hoofing out treats to the 'purple heart' Scootaloo troopers. Banneret was sleeping, wrapped around Carousel Boutique. I let him dream. Razzaroo was guarding Flutternice, in Golden Oak Library, reading her fairy tales. Mirror?…Mirror found us. "Applejack?..." Fluttershy looked up at her big eyed. The stare was one of the things my chains had sealed. "There's already an Applejack in this worldline sugar cube, and it ain't me...come'on Fluttershy, Ah did this ta ya...maybe Ah can help ya just a tiny bit." "Y-You, Applejack? I didn't think you approve of what I was-" "Not what Ah meant! Maybe Ah can help ya come back to yer senses a little!" Fluttershy shrank back, it wasn't like she could run away now. "Mirror..." I said. "Please RD, this is, somethin' Ah gotta do." Mirror ended up pulling Whisper along with her magic. I didn't have a right NOT to watch. She made her look at Zecora, then the Scootaloos, then she made her stick her head out through the portal. "Look at 'em, Fluttershy, look at 'em good now. Ya made 'em be the little Non-Player-Characters for yer 'gift' ta us. Remember who treat ponies like that?" "N-Nightmare Eclipse." "Callin' 'em NPCs was Eclipse's lie so she could live with herself. Every last pony we erased? It wasn't 'deletin' a save', it was murder... Ca ya say how many?" " ...How many? I can't remember…" "Ah can, but Ah can't tell yah." "...Y-you're actually holding back on a cruel truth?" "No, Ah can't tell yah cause there ain't a NUMBER high enough for it." "THAT'S WHY I did this!" Whisper protested. "To protect them! I didn't want the same thing to happen to them! That doesn't make me evil! It...this was my redemption!" My heart has cracked plenty of times, but there always seemed to be room for one more. Mirror whispered to her; "...Ah'm sorry, Fluttershy, Ah really am. What yew and RD did? Savin' these ponies? That was good. It's better than if ya didn't. But that doesn't balance out what we all were doin' at the same time! These ponies? Did we save 'em? Yeah, we did. Are they alive because of us? Yes, they are. But does that save our souls and make us white knights? Hell. No. They're a drop of clear water in an ocean of blood." And Fluttershy cried. No loud sobbing, just, silent tears. "I know that." "Then why have ya been stoppin' 'em from fixin' the damage?" "What?" "Fluttershy. Ya've been keep them, us, yer filly, all frozen, the same way Nightmare Eclipse kept Discord frozen." "But, they never experienced all those horrible things Discord did to them. Those things never happened, they were erased." Mirror slapped her once. I, I didn't meddle. "Their brains might not remember, Fluttershy, but their souls do, souls are timeless! They're not bound by when and where! All ya did? All ya and RD did? Ya BURIED IT, ya painted over it! But take it from me: jest painting over a barn's rot and termite damage? Ya can't see it. But it's still there all the same. Everything Ah showed ya when you, when ya became this was true, and the whole truth, but not the only truth! Here's one! A real Fluttershy should know HIDING from a hurt is no way for a hurt to heal. You've let the thorn fester instead of pulling it out." Fluttershy said nothing in return. "Ya know, we managed to get ya before most of the other Fluttershy started wishin' ta die jest to stop Fluttercruel from hurtin' more ponies. Before the war with Cadence. Before the war with Grogar. Before the war with them aliens. She'd already done some horrible things, but it wasn't a shadow of the walkin' house of horrors she'd turn into with Discord tellin' 'er no ta nothin'!...Ah said ya filly needed professional help, but just like Nightmare Eclipse ya ignored me or pretended Ah meant somethin' else. You made her ashamed to be herself! You 'cured' her of eatin' meat. Ya 'cured' her of lovin' her pa. Ya didn't try to help her understand her cutie mark. A CUTIE MARK REFLECTS A PONY'S SOUL! Ya were tellin' her that she was 'wrong!'" "...We all saw what happened when she was allowed to indulge her every natural impulse, under her father's... care. Maybe not in our line, but in every other one..." Whisper replied, with a deeply sickened expression. "I love her dearly, I really do, but I ask you as a mother: how am I to respect a soul like hers, or the cutie mark it produces? A soul with a instinctive preference for cruelty? A soul whom every form of kindness is unnatural?" "She ain't truly as bad as yer making her out to be! If that's all there was to her, she'd have never loved you or her father!" Mirror retorted. "Ain't no such thing as an 'evil' cutie mark! AND NO SUCH THING AS A SOUL THAT'S BORN EVIL!" "I didn't want her to turn out like the other Fluttercruels!" Whisper replied, in a pained voice. "It's not like I ever showed her hatred. Or was it wrong of me to show her any form of strictness and shepherd her away from evil impulses?" "HECK, no!" said Mirror. "But ya didn't want anypony else touchin' her! Not... not after we done, 'fixing' her of what she was! Ya were the only one allowed ta tell 'er the facts of life and how to live!" Whisper gave another shudder. "Just a second ago, you said she needed 'professional help.' Please tell me... where should I have sent her to? Which doctor, which magical therapist could I have given her to, that would've done it right and fixed all her mental issues?" "See, that's a problem in itself!" Mirror countered. "'Sent her to!' 'Given her to!' Like she was some busted clock! Ya shoulda worked WITH a professional, with good teachers! That's what a parent is supposed to do, but like any Nightmare, ya couldn't even hear that maybe ya were doin' somethin' wrong with 'er!" Fluttershy said nothing. "And the worst part, Fluttershy?" AJ asked, seriously. "Yah did this AFTER the Elements healed us! The Elements don't do half-plot jobs! Yah don't HAVE the excuse of being a crazy Nightmare! Ya messed up Fluttershy, ya messed up BAD. Ya knew that already. But the way ya were goin' 'bout 'fixin' it' wasn't fixing it at all!" "...Is it wrong I didn't want my baby to turn out as bad as the others?" Fluttershy asked, tears in her eyes. "Seeing so many Fluttercruels...seeing them all become worse than mine ever was...Is it wrong I was afraid?" Geeze...When she puts it like that, I almost feel bad... "...And that makes it right?" Mirror asked. "Anymore than meh tryin' tah protect Apple Pie makes anythin' Ah did worth it?" Fluttershy looked like she would break down crying. "...Yah did better than most would. Yah never asked for her, Discord violated you, but that never matter to yah...But that doesn't mean yah've been in the right all this time! Yes, THOSE Fluttercruels turned into cruelty incarnate, YOURS DIDN'T! Stop thinking like Nightmare Eclipse!" "..." Fluttershy looked like she didn't know what to say. "And...Ah'm sorry, Fluttershy," Mirror said unhappily, and now I could feel Whisper flinch at that word too. "But ponies aren't robots! Ya can't just 'fix 'em up' them like machines! Ponies need HELP, not repairs! Ya understood that once Fluttershy! Ah muddied the waters so much that ya forgot that! All Ah'm askin' Fluttershy is, even though there's no way Ah could ever deserve it." Here, Mirror hung her hat over her heart. "Jest please forgive me, jest a little." Whisper peeked out at her through watery eyes. "And forgive yerself! Ya don't need to take all the weights for the damage we caused by yerself! Please, Fluttershy! Let us help too! And help THE RIGHT WAY, the way that treats the disease, not just the symptoms!" Applejack hugged her, gently folding her wings over her. Shy was about to pull away, but imagines of Fluttershy's loving animals and all the kindness she'd shown them shinned on Mirror's wings. "Like ya were always good at." Now Fluttershy did cry, and hugged Applejack back. I hugged them too. +++ We had been rounding up for destruction the concept-killing weapons that Flutternice and Zecora had used. None of us argued. After seeing so many ponies and worlds retconned out of existence, I was perfectly happy to see weapons that could do that on a whim gone from creation. I'm just happy Starlight using one to destroy another didn't result in a paradox that destroyed the universe. I think EVERYPONY was trying to figure out what to do next. I think everypony was so focused on 'stop Nightmare Whisper', that NOPONY had figured out what to do once the dust had started settling. It didn't help much that our rescuers apparently weren't give any detail either by their higher-ups. I don't think they knew I was eavesdropping. "So what becomes of them?" Bright Eyes gestured. "They aren't technically dead, since that part of their future was destroyed. They aren't shadows of existence, they're whole beings. But most aren't even from the same timeline. But their native timelines have been destroyed. We made sure death and nothingness wouldn't take them the moment they set hoof out of this place. But many have doubles both in the world of the living and the spirit world. In particular, the Scootaloos. Separating their light and shadow, or making them enter death now would be barbaric. They're innocent. So what's to become of them?" "I do not feel fear, But need I remind you 'one of them' is right here?" "OH! I'm sorry Miss H-, I mean Zecora! I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to...That was rude. I apologize." "It is alright dear, I sense no heartlessness when any of you are near." Starlight spoke, "One of my bosses, Rota Fortuna told me that you'd all get unique treatment, Zecora. You've been effectively living the same day over and over this entire count, so it doesn't really count as..." Starlight stopped. "As you having other problems." "There is much you don't wish to say, For you fear it'll turn my mind to hay." "Yes." Starlight said. Rota...Fortuna...the name Nightmare Eclipse went over again and again. "She has one job! One job! And it's clear she can't even do it right with all the bad decisions ponies end up making! That's one of the first things I'm fixing." And why the buck hadn't Twilight come? The Elements cure Nightmares like Nightmare Moon. Why didn't she come for us? Why hadn't I gotten so much as a message from her? Why hadn't any of us?! There was so much I wanted to discuss with her. + You won't believe one thing that took up a lot of my time. Then again, maybe you will. "There ya go Scootaloo," I said to Scootaloo # 99,050. "Thanks Dash!" She hugged me and trotted away. Scootaloo # 99,051 trotted up to me, holding a napkin in her mouth. I dip the quill in one of the countless inkwells we'd ransacked from the library, and wrote out 'Rainbow 'DANGER!' Dash.' I was running out of monikers. "And there ya are squirt." "You're the best Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo # 99,051 hugged me and flew over the herd behind her, smiling. Granfalloon provided me with coffee (with a lot of sugar), Mirror provided me with cider (though given I'm a Nightmare, getting drunk was near impossible). With one nostril of his teleportation breath, Spike kept me stocked up at the little table I'd set up (borrowed from Mayor Mare's office, she wasn't using it right now). One of the squirts, # 171,012, asked me for my autograph. And well, if ya give a parasprite a cookie. "So ready to scream, fly away, and hide in a closet yet?" "Spitfire!" I smiled and hugged her, she hugged back. That I was a big scary Nightmare didn't seem to bother her THAT badly. "Nice to see you too Rainbow Dash, so, how you holding up?" I looked at the orange herd. "Just takin' a break squirts! I'll be back to ya in a minute!" Some spouted, some sat down, some fluttered their wings, but all understood. I whispered to Spitfire. "It's boring, it's worse than cloud pushing duty, and I feel like my horn is gonna fall off." I had stopped using my hooves when they cramped up, and stopped using my mouth after it's gone numb for a while. "But I wouldn't stop, because I can't see how HAPPY it makes all of them!" "Welcome to my world." Spitfire whispered, giving me a nuzzle. "And... I promised you to tell you everything," I thought sadly. "No, Soarin' asked you to promise all of us a full answer. You never did," Spitfire said. "All the same, you helped me save everypony. You don't deserve to be left in the dark." "I did my duty, and so did my teammates to protect Equestria and our fellow ponies and our friends. I don't know how we got trapped in this fake Ponyville, or how you guys all got turned into Nightmare Moon cosplayers, or why Fluttershy of all ponies was behind all this... and yeah, that vexes me and the others, a lot." "Where are they?" "We got a full bill of heath outside, but we said we wanted to hang out in Clouddale stadium until we could get home. Only chance we'll get to fly wind in Cloudsdale without worrying of smashing something!" Spitfire grinned. "So Dash, can you tell me what's going on?" "... Spitfire if I told you, you'd go crazy. I did." "Are we dead?" "No." "Are we golems?" "No." "Are we clones?" "No." "Am I a figment of your imagination?" "No!" "Are we dreams of a long lost civilization given solid form in the real world?" "No, and the hay?" "Sorry, hanging out around Surprise too much." "I swear to Celestia, you are Spitfire, flesh and blood, born from your mom, and so are all your teammates." "Well that's good to know." "...Just know those girls that helped us beat Fluttershy's army are setting everything up to get you home, that's really all you need to think about." "Not all...Uh, why are there like a thousand of those little orange fillies?" My eyes widened. "Uh...there's actually 171,015 of them." "Oh...Why?" "Would you believe I rescued them from destroyed universes?" "...Normally I'd think you were crazy, but that's not the craziest thing I've heard today." Thank goodness I didn't have to admit I rescued her from a destroyed universe. "Yeah, it's a long story." "... Can I have some of that cider?" She asked. "Be my guest." "Thanks…That filly, these fillies, must mean a ton to you, huh?" "Probably one of the most important ponies in the world." "I think you're hers too...speaking of you, are you okay?" "...Better than I used to be. That's for sure." Spitfire chuckled. "Good...I think your crowd is wanting you back...And here's a tip, write in cursive, it's faster." Before heading back to her teammates, Spitfire did a little show free of charge for the Scootaloo Army Alliance of Awesome along with some flying tips. Can't say I didn't enjoy it too. And unknown to her, her Scootaloo got her autograph too. + None of us were being guarded, but none of us really had any intention of running now. Bright Eyes explained, "Your lights of existence were cured when you were struck by the Elements of Harmony, but since you were projects through Nightmare Eclipse at the time, your shadows of existences weren't effected. You have lights of existence of Alicorns, while having the shadows of Nightmares." Turns out Whisper had 'pasted in' Mirror's pocket world (which was just Sweet Apple Acres), into my fake Ponyville. That left Banneret's Horde Of Gifts, Whisper's Everyarn Forest, Twilight's merged version of Golden Oak Library and her tower in Canterlot, and Granfalloon's party room. Granfalloon's place was never exactly the same twice. Sometimes it was Sugarcube Corner, other times it was a circus, other times a theme party, others the Grand Galloping Gala as she wanted it to be, the only guests were us, her imaginary friends who had gone back inside her after being hit by the Elements, and sometimes ponies from my fake Ponyville acting as a stand-in for Princess Luna in their dreams. The 'common area' we'd had before got blown to smithereens when the crystal ball that had contained the dark world timeline had gone boom when the combined might of six sets of Elements. Me and AJ let Pinkie Pie, Spike and Fluttershy share a toast of warm milk over our lost video games and save data. None of us knew what to do with our five little pocket worlds, since none of us were sure what was going to happen to us, the Scootaloos, or the rest of the Ponyville ponies, and a part of me felt scared to ask. Me? I'd be happy to blow my pocket world up after we were done here. "Why do you want do that Dashie? I think this is a nice tribute to Ponyville you made." "It's a mockery of how Ponyville used to be," I said. "Besides, I'm kinda sick of Ponyville, to be honest." "Sick of it?" she asked. "Too many memories," I sighed. "I dunno about you, Granfalloon, but from here on out, I don't want to stay in the past. I've been staying here for who knows how long...I don't know if I belong here." Granfalloon alacrity produced a great red cupcake the size of a basketball, with gorgeous buttercream icing. "I kinda know how you feel...but sometimes the past can be good. Like remembering a favorite recipe..." She seemed genuinely happy saying that. Like whenever a version of Celestia talked about how pretty the day was or Luna about her beautiful night. "You're a great listener, Granfalloon. I appreciate your lightheartedness and I'm glad that we're friends." The cupcake was sweet and delicious, and Granfalloon smiled when I patted her back. We were free to move about, it was pretty clear we weren't prisoners. But all of us knew we'd be facing the music sooner than later. And Twilight Sparkle still didn't come. Why? Did she not want to even look at us? Twilight... were you ashamed of what you did as horribly as I was? But there was something more immediate I needed to ask to our 'rescue team.' I made sure to have the rest of my herd with me. Even Flutternice. "What is going to happen to the Ponyville Ponies? What is going to happen to Scootaloo?" "The Scootaloo herd is...complicated. There's no precedent for them at all. They're being addressed on a case-by-case basis," Starlight informed me. "And the Ponyville ponies?" I asked, looking towards Zecora. "Zecora, maybe it's better if you wait outside," Clover said. "Stay where ya are Zecora! This is yer business," Mirror thundered. Zecora stayed perfectly calm, a reed in the wind. "Starlight, tell us upright, Would this truth be a blessing or a blight?" "...It might hurt you horribly, it might destroy you, but you'd understand what's going on better." "I may not like being on the bottom rung, But would it change what needs to be done?" "No." "Then I trust you know what's best, If you do me but one request." "Yes?" "At the end of my road when you come to take my soul, My understanding of these events you will make whole." "What makes you think I'm-" "Do not contradict what I say. The wings and scythe are a dead give away." "When you die, I promise I tell you everything, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." "Alright my dear, For now I won't be near." Zecora hugged her, bowed, and trotted outside to the other side of Sugar Cube Corner. "We've promised to send them all home," Melody said. "They don't have a home anymore," Mirror pointed out. "They will soon enough!" Patch said, smiling. "We got a memo down from the higher-ups! They've got someone to construct an entire full sized universe for them!" Mirror didn't look happy. "So yer just tradin' em a goldfish bowl for an aquarium?" "No way!" said Melody. "It'll become part of the natural cycle and become its own worldline." Starlight said. "This isn't some facsimile, but a true new universe for them. As their living their lives forward, history meanwhile will march backwards for them until it reaches the dawn of time. It's going to be THEIR world. Fauna Luster is also birthing lights of existence to the puppets to make them living ponies instead of automatons." "Yer gonna need a lot of crickets," AJ said flatly. "Good one," Patch smirked. "Ya think this is a joke?" "Not in the least," Bright Eyes said, standing up for Patch, like facing an angry partial concept was an old hat for her. "Everypony here? They lost everything. The least that can be done is giving them a new home where they can finish their lives freely and have their future backs." "I know it's not perfect, I know it isn't fair but, it's...better then the alternatives," Clover said meekly. "Hey, don't sweat it," I said with a chummy, easygoing smile. "Never expected life to be fair. Just do the best you can...To be honest, you're being more fair than we ever were." "Death is the ultimate fairness," Starlight said with a bit of pride. "We were thinking," Starlight said, hesitantly, "Of using your pocket worlds as part of the constructs, if you'll let us. ...I know what it is to screw up and ruin everything you love too." My friends and I all looked at each other, we didn't need to say anymore. We all nodded. "...But what about Scootaloo?" I asked again. "I think somepony's gonna notice 171,015 identical-looking fillies running about." "And every last one of them has the right to exist simultaneously and be called Scootaloo." Nightmare Mirror stated. "Like we said, case-by-case basis," Bright Eyes said. "Can you tell us whose gonna be makin' a whole universe for everypony?! They must be super-powerful, and super-nice to do all of that!" Granfalloon asked. The angels looked at each other. "Uh..." Clover blushed. "Why are you looking at... us?" asked Granfalloon. Starlight coughed. "Well...our higher-ups would like to offer you the chance to become part of the new universe after everything is settled. As well as the chance to take the trials to complete your changes into concepts, should you so choose. If you do, and if you are interesting in being concepts for this new universe in particular, you'll be offered the chance to merge with the versions of yourselves of this worldline too, though if there are any other options you'd like to ask about-" "Yes, um, excuse me!" I said, holding up a hoof with a strained smile. "I actually do have a question. A few, in fact." "By all means, ask," Clover invited. "Well... hmm... you realize that my associates and I are, in fact, Nightmares." "That so? I hadn't noticed," Starlight said, smiling. "Yes. And there's an unfortunate but well-established history of being exceptionally bad caretakers for mortals. As in apocalyptical-level divine-intervention-required BAD." Bright Eyes clapped her hooves together, grinning. "Completely and utterly correct! We'd have to be utterly insane to accept orders from obviously completely insane superiors to EVER consider having Nightmares be part of building a new universe! We're not that improvident." Patch actually giggled, I recognized it as the giggle of a good prank. Melody smirked. Clover looked the other way like I was furless. "They why are you offering to have us in charge of an entire UNIVERSE before any of us have sat down for a single therapy session like you promised?" "Well, for starters we did say AFTER the dust was settled," Bright Eyes said. "In other words, after -IF- you've chosen to become true concepts, and therefore aren't Nightmares anymore." "Oh." "Applejack... " Starlight said, like she would a long lost friend. "Please show her." Mirror... looked reluctant. "Ah'm not sure she's ready." "She's never going to be at this rate," Starlight said sadly. "Alright darlin'." Mirror opened one of her wings in my face. And I saw... I saw Rainbow Dash, except with a horn on her head and the build of a earth pony. Her non-ethereal rainbow mane looking frazzled but not awful. Pony (not-draconic) eyes looked back at me. She was wearing Nightmare barding a size or two too big for her. She looked, tired, hurt, but not broken. And her cutie mark, her, her colors were-Hey! Who put that Zinnia flower in my mane?! How do I know what that is?! "That ya on the inside Rainbow," AJ said. Starlight looked at me. "Rainbow, you're Nightmares on the outside, I'm not going to pretend you don't need some help, but Nightmares CAN'T say 'I was wrong'. If you were still Nightmare Manacle, you wouldn't be able to ASK that question." That made me double take...I hadn't thought of that. Ugh...why am I so obsessed with beating myself up. My friends all gave me a hug, Spike hugging me with his pinkie claw. I smiled, and so did the Rainbow Dash in Mirror's wings until she closed them. I was stunned when Starlights and her buddies gave me hugs too but I didn't resist. It felt nice. All too soon the group hug broke. "Now then, Applejack, Razzaroo's volunteered to oversee construction," Starlight said. "She wants to take part in seeing a new world made after seeing her old world vanish, and she's on the verge of becoming an Alicorn." "Who's doin' the grunt labor?" Mirror asked. "I am." "DISCORD?!" We all shouted. "Hello." Discord waved. He was wearing a black and white stripped prison uniform and hat, around his ankle was a ball and chain. "It's part of my parole, work release, community service, restitution, whatever you'd like to call it. So yeah. I'm building an entire whole universe by myself. With the power I used to have it might have taken me eight days tops, now...er, it'll take me a lot longer." > Big Talk Between Two Friends > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hello." I've watched a few psychological thrillers films in my time. There's this one... I don't know the right word... convention? Plot twist? Whatever it is, I've seen it more than once. It's been pulled off great in every movie I've seen it thankfully. "It's part of my parole, work release..." The villain's a truly twisted monster. She'd trapped the hero in her torture chamber and forced him to suffer unspeakable agonies for several days. "...community service, restitution..." Suddenly a team of rescuers burst in! They free the hero from the rack he's tied to, maybe kill a few of the evil guards on their way outside, load the hero into a cart... "...whatever you'd like to call it." The hero rides in the cart. Catching his breath. "So yeah." The cart stops. The rescuers lead the hero out. He gazes up and sees... "I'm building an entire whole universe by myself." ...The torture room. The very same torture room, again. His ‘rescuers' have driven him in a complete circle. Returning him right where he'd begun. It was all another horrific game... building hope up to crush it. And the villain's standing right in the center of the room, ready to pick up where she'd left off. Delighted by the raw shock on the hero's face. With the power I used to have it might have taken me eight days tops, now...er... The problem is shock shouldn't be the look on the villain's face. "...it'll take me a lot longer." In my head, it experience the sensation of a well-stretched rubber band stretching apart. "Would somepony kindly mind telling me what what any of your bosses were thinking, if any of them were thinking, bringing him here?!?!" "I told you, you should've let me disguise myself as Mare-Lynn Monroad," sighed Discord. "Rainbow, please calm down," Bright Eyes beseeches me. "He's reformed now. Rehabilitated." "You think I don't know that already?!!!" I shriek. "You think any of us don't know that already? I was there! Through all of it!" I start crying while laughing hysterically. "Then why can't you find it in your heart to forgive him?" asked Clover. "I AIN'T EVEN FORGIVEN MYSELF YET!" But before they can respond to that, I hold up a hoof. "I, I... I need to be alone. I just need to be alone for a while. Just to process this..." And I teleport away. **** I've been sitting upon an asteroid in the depths of outer space. I'd brought several things with me; some food, a mattress and blankets, a deck of playing cards, several crates of hard apple cider and that one bio-dome atmosphere generator gizmo from those aliens we fought, back in the day. Just the size for my needs. I was surprised when that white angel with pink hair actually helped me get my stuff together. "Sometimes we need some time to think...just please don't take forever. You're alive." None of them even tried to stop me. The pudgy yellow angel with the purple mane at the exit quickly asked me my name, I told her, "Nightmare Manacle!" She wrote down. "Rainbow 'Danger' Dash, you exist.." I gave her the hoof and sped off. "Howdy there." In my present I turn to see Nightmare Mirror now standing behind me. "Howdy yourself," I reply. It wouldn't've been easy for her to've found this place, but it wouldn't've been impossible either. "Mind if Ah sit down, Rainbow Dash?" "IF I TOLD YOU ONCE, I'VE TOLD YOU A BILLION TIMES, MY NAME IS...!!!!" My body slumps. "...Rainbow Dash," The name might as well be ‘Drippy Diapers' for all the enthusiasm I put into it. "So I suppose I ought to be calling you ‘Applejack,' then, huh?" "Ah call myself Mirror 'cause it helps me move on, callin' yerself Manacle is what's holdin' ya back!" said Applejack, hunkering down right by me. "But ta be honest, it's comforting hearin' yew callin' me that again. It's who we are at heart." "Part of me was hoping that Twilight would be the one to actually find me," I admit, levitating a bottle of cider from a crate and passing it over. "Twi... ain't been around." Applejack tells me, twisting the cap off. "What about Rarity?" I ask. "Seen her any?" "Can't say Ah have," Applejack says, pursing her lips to drink. "Starlight says she plum became the Alicorn of the whole dang Mortal World! Girl can't come visit us whether she likes it or not!" "Go figure." We try to make her a Nightmare for so long...then the moment we're gone she becomes a Goddess. I levitate out another cider for myself but don't uncap it yet, waiting for Mirror to chug hers down. "Of all the places ya could've fled ta... at least yew picked one with a gorgeous view." She's right. The asteroid we're on floats before a humongous gas giant. It's bright and gives off a heat that's just right to warm the two of us against the absolute zero chill of space. No one color really seems to dominate the planet's atmosphere. It's never been discovered by any mortal astronomer and has no name. I've deliberately left it that way. Though I was tempted to name her Planet Scootaloo. "Sooo... gotta ask, whatever happened ta us Nightmares being' ‘toxic waste' yew were gonna stow in some ‘lonely, far-off place where no one ever goes?'" Applejack looks over at the gas giant. "That it, over there?" My shrug lets her know that I no longer care about that in the slightest. "Y'know, ya coulda jest told them angel ponies, 'No. Ain't interested.'" Applejack was finally getting down to brass tacks. "Yah didn't have ta wig out and jest... VANISH on us completely! Skedaddle without so much as a forwarding address!" I look towards the gas giant, still not opening my cider bottle. "When I came face-to-face with Discord, I felt... horror. Shame. Fear. Maybe this was even some super-long dream he'd planted in my head one night. And when I wake up... either the next day, or the next century... I'll be Traitor Dash again, Discord leering over me..." "...But then it turned around...it stopped being that..instead it was Discord being pulled back into a torture chamber with us standing over Discord, being pulled back with a smile painted on his face, Nightmare Eclipse's chains around his arms... And me with the garden shears. And that I'll wake up to find myself still Nightmare Manacle and all of that was some twisted trick by Nightmare Eclipse to break the world again. I think there's a part of me that'll never, ever, ever be COMPLETELY convinced that this," I wave around at myself, her, and outer space. "...ISN'T all a dream. My imagination just refuses to let it go." "Ah can help you with that," Applejack offers, drawing closer, her horn shining towards my forehead. "NO!" I yell, and the Cruelest of Truths backs away as I instinctively conjure a crackling ball of magic. "I won't let anypony alter my head with magic! Ya got me?!" "Crystal clear," Applejack tells me. "But Dash, who do yah think yanked that spike Eclipse put in your head out?" My memory wasn't that good of that moment, but I did remember Nightmare Eclipse's lobotomy. Razzaroo had given me my Element of Free Will back, I hadn't stopped to think what happened to that thing. "When the Tartarus did you have a chance to do THAT?!" "When we were being washed away by the six-fold river of love and tolerance." "We were for all we knew about to become statues, and you spent your last moments pulling that thing out of my brain?" "If we were gonna be sealed away or whatever, Ah wanted ya to be yerself. Who knows, maybe if Ah did, the Elements would save you instead of hurting you more...and if not, at least yah'd've went as yourself." "B-but! How does that make sense? We were astral projecting through Nightmare Eclipse! Those were just our spirits!" "And she might have physically put it in there, but if it were just in yer brain, yah wouldn't have even been affected by it while we were astral projectin'. Remember? Astral? As in 'we weren't in our bodies anymore'. That spike was in yer brain, but it was in yer spirit at the same time. Otherwise it couldn't have worked at all. Eclipse had ta violate ya THREE TIMES OVER to make ya the monster she wanted for a friend. Ah don't have that excuse. And, Ah had a helper back in our stable Ah Pinkie Promised never to get 'er hooves stained in this horseapples ta get the one physically there too, since it was the end, Ah'm just happy she got back okay." "Who?" "Ain't tellin'. Forget it. Sorry. Cross mah heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in mah eye." Applejack's signature stubbornness looked back at me. And part of me couldn't help thinking that I saw Pinkie somehow in her eye mouthing 'FOREVER!' "I . . . thank you, and . . . thanks to your friend too, I guess." "Yer welcome sugarcube." After I calmed down, I rolled my eyes, seeing my magic ball was still on my horn, and let it dissipate. Then I remembered what I doing out here in the first place. I continued. "Why him? Why couldn't the pantheon have gotten anypony ELSE? Anarchy, Strife, Rancor... don't tell me ALL of them are out on some super-secret espionage mission for some undisclosed length of time?" "We did kinda leave a pretty dang gigantic mess fer 'em all tah clean up, RD. What with untangling the big knot we tied time into." Then, with miserable mirth, I put on a big cracked smile, and in the glib, perky voice of one of those announcers from the game shows Discord would watch on his TV: "Heeeeee's a sanity-shattering, reality-violating, loophole-exploiting lover of chaos, uber-tyrant, sadistic satirist...turned loving-father, altruistic-wish-granting repentant atoner who a gallery of psychopaths trapped forever in a timeloop of torture! Sheeeeee's a fearless, bad-flank, awesomely cool totally radical Element of Harmony-turned-Element Of Chaos-turned-psychotic-Nightmare who's heartlessly snuffed out whole galaxies of innocents... and if self-loathing were capable of resurrecting the dead, she'd have enough to clear her own rap sheet twenty times over! And all mortal life had been suffering bloody Armageddon like clockwork in her getting revenge like it was going out of style! Weeeeeee've given them a private pocket of reality and assigned them to create a new universe of it together! Can they possibly find it within themselves to finally let bygones be bygones? Tune in, Friday nights at seven!" I wasn't expecting Applejack to laugh, and she didn't. Pinkie Pie wouldn't've. Tartarus, she couldn't make that funny, and that's saying something. "They KNEW my past, AJ, and they knew HIS... did they seriously think I WOULDN'T react badly? And my immediate follow-up realization just chilled me: what if they KNEW I was going to react this badly and this was all part of their scheme?! Did they think I'd be as blasé as though Discord were just somepony who bullied me way back in PRESCHOOL . . . who I then I sent to the hospital with four broken legs? Or did they PLAN on me coming here? To this asteroid? For you to come here? DID THEY PLAN FOR BOTH?! Am I free at all?!...I'm surprised he didn't react the same way to seeing me...first I was his victim, then he was OURS..." Applejack huffed out a breath. "To be fair, we don't know how long we've been stuck in the pretend Ponyville. Maybe they thought that'd been enough for 'em and us." Usually, interrupting Nightmare Mirror in the middle of a rebuttal is a lost cause, but this time I chanced it. "Look me in the eye and tell me that yes, AJ, time does heal ALL wounds. Every SINGLE last one. That there aren't ANY psychological scars Discord left on you that'll NEVER stop aching." The silence was like a frosty wintertime chill brought in from an improperly shut door. "No," admitted Applejack as pain entered her eyes. "Cause Ah don't know the future. And that ain't what Ah said. Dangit Rainbow, YA JUST SAID YERSELF! WE -ALL- HAVE SCARS THAT MAY NEVER HEAL! SAME WITH NIGHTMARE ECLIPSE! But something yah really need to think about? What about the rest of us? We were tense! Shocked! Angry. Scared. Confused. Ashamed!...and you just blew up like there was a ticking bomb in the room and 'ported to find somewhere to sulk, not even thinking how we felt about it or heard us out...Did you wonder how we felt when you did that?...Or do our feelings not count for anythin'?!" I cringed a bit at that. "...Ah said maybe they thought enough time had passed for Discord and us, I never said anything about us bein' healed...What Ah meant was maybe they thought in the long run, we were ready to start healing. There is a difference yah know. Yah like talkin' 'bout yer alternate loop selves, but remember that final Rainbow? The one that kicked our flanks? Remember what happened tah her?" "...She had to be put on suicide watch AFTER she was hit with the memory spell." "Yeah, but in the end, she healed and was ready tah confront what she'd done and what was happening, time didn't heal all her wounds, but it healed enough she could have a chance tah heal the others." "I know we deserve to be punished but how can they force this on us?" "It was an offer they gave you, not an order. An offer you are perfectly free to refuse. And I imagine Discord probably was offered whether or not he wanted to come while we were still around. Maybe this is his way of trying to bury the hatchet." "...But why would they even CONSIDER that AS an offer? You don't put me and Discord together on the same team, any more than you'd put a lion and hyena in the same zoo cage!" Applejack glowered at me. "'Discord and me!' Stop it already! What about US!? Or did the rest of us sit on the lair's couch eating just bonbons all day? Ya think that Nightmare asked ANY of us 'hey, wanna help destroy the world over and over?', when we were turned into Nightmares? We were all strung along until it was too late!! Did ya think none of US could possibly understand this pain? Ah'm more drenched in sin than any of ya!" "Sorry I'm the one of us who does the least thinking and does the most doing!" "Then act like it instead of sittin' here on yer rump! Ah know this stinks worse than pig swill ta hear, but if after what we did to DISCORD and he's willing to give us a chance, maybe, just maybe we should return the favor!" "THAT'S THE PROBLEM!" I shouted. "...I...It isn't me that's afraid of him, it's me that's afraid of ME. I'm not even sure if he had changed by MY loop or not...but he did, and we kept torturing him...I...I'm afraid that the part of me that helped Eclipse do that to him is still in there, and if I'm with him, alone, it will force itself back up...or that Nightmare Eclipse left some kind of failsafe in me...a hundred other reasons why this feels like a bad idea." "...Can't say I don't feel the same way...none of us listened to a good old adage: 'He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster.' A part of me feels the same way." "...Tell me something I don't know..." "But if Discord himself could change, the...the truth is, we can too...Rainbow," Applejack stood up, holding her hooves out at me in a pleading way. "Come with me. I want to take ya to Discord. So yew can talk with him. Jest a regular, peaceful, sit-down conversation at a table with coffee and cookies. No tricks, no weirdness. It's time yew face yer fears." "Face my fears?!" I shook my head. "For all these time loops, I have done nothing BUT face my fears! Loop after loop, I kept finally dredging up the courage to face Discord... in arguments, in battle, in mind control attempts of his...And then it turned out that was all part of Eclipse's game. All those loops I was torturing a puppet king with flaming chains as his strings!... I ask you, AJ, when will it truly count for something?" "Now," Applejack insisted. "Here and now." I hear her but continue on as if I didn't. "At what point will I earn the right to face AWAY from my fears? Be free to avoid the company I don't want? I am free to choose who I DON'T want to hang around with, right? Or do I have to marry him, have a kid off him, and divorce him, before we can burn our bridges peacefully ...Before I can forgive what I did to HIM every time we beat 'em thinking we were saving the world only for everything I did to mean nothing after all? Why should I think it would even matter if I DID change anymore than anything else?" "So," Applejack said. "Yer sayin' the reason why yah can't forgive yourself is because ya kept gettin' screwed over at the end of every last loop?" "More or less..." Anger flashed in AJ's face. Her hoof-slap echoed in the mini-atmosphere. "Don't ya DARE say anythin' that selfish ever again!" "SELFISH!? YOU-" "It wasn't yew in those others loops facin' yer fears! It never was! It was countless OTHER Rainbow Dashes who were broken and hurt and tortured who rose up and faced their fears! US?! WE SPENT THOSE LOOPS WATCHIN' IT ALL ON OUR LIVING ROOM COUCH! Ya have NO RIGHT to say you were the one being tortured in those loops, in case ya forgot, because Eclipse kept copyin' and pastin' what the piece of sewage Discord USED TO BE did ta a PREVIOUS VERSION OF YOU! "WE? YOU? ME?! They were OTHER Rainbow Dashes and Applejacks! NOT US!...Each and every single one was a pony of their own...and we slaughtered nearly every last one of 'em...Comparin' us tah them is like comparin' the victims in one of those slasher plays to the killer and sayin' they're the same person, it's nothing but disrespectful." AJ bowed her head at me. "Ah'm SORRY, Rainbow, and Ah'll BE sorry whether you like it or not for hurtin' ya! But Ah'm not lettin' ya fall into Nightmare Eclipse's way of thinkin'! Nor any of my friends! As . . . as Ah trust the rest of ya would stop me from doin' the same." "...Just because they aren't me, doesn't mean I can't blame myself," I finally admitted. "Look...I guess...all of this...It's made me think all I can ever do is fail...that every time I try, I can just fail...I feel like...I don't know…" "Remember when ya told Nightmare Moon's Shadowbolt dummies 'screw you' and chose to help us along even when they were offering yer dream come true on a silver platter? Or when ya saved Rarity and the Wonderbolt's lives and did the Rainboom again? Heck, ya doin' the rainboom is WHY we all got our cutie marks. Those weren't 'little nothings.' Ya changed lives, you saved lives. Discord stacked the deck. Just like we stacked the deck against him and made it so none of those Twilights and her friends could ever lose. But ya choosin' ta be the hero and NEVER hurt Twilight no matter what Discord offered? That was all yew, out of all those Rainbow Dashes, it was only yew, it had nothing to do with any of Nightmare Eclipse's scripts." " . . . I never knew." "Ya think Nightmare Eclipse would say that? Or LET ME say that?...The truth about it, Rainbow?...Until the end of it when we lost and Trixie scarrin' Eclipse, ya came the closest tah beatin' her, take pride in that." For the first time since I've known Nightmare Mirror, the Cruelest of Truths . . . I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not. "Heh, at least I now know why some ponies like those video games where your heroes stay dead. Oh wait, that was true for us too, except we cheated and kept giving the NEW heroes the same names and stats." "Rainbow, that ain't funny." Applejack tells me, with a sharply raised voice. "Be an adult." This time I did drink, and the cider burned all the way down. "It's still happening, you know, AJ?" "...Ah don't follow yew." I knew her puzzlement was sincere. "Don't you see it yourself?" I ask. "First we're made to attack a friend: Whisp... Fluttershy. Then we're being made to ally ourselves with an enemy: Discord...All that's left is Eclipse showing up and saying 'time to New Game Plus again, Discord,' this feels like something she would set up... 'Friends and foes..." "...forever in flux..." Applejack recited, guess knew how the old saying went too. "...Forever fogged," I finished. This was something Twilight Tragedy, MY Twilight Tragedy, had written on a piece of paper once. I'd read it, and it'd stuck in my head. "Can't you see it's just the same vicious cycle, under new management? Only we've been demoted back to puppets." "Listen to yerself!" shouted Applejack. "This is jest cuckoo conspiracy theory hogwash now! Eclipse is dead and gone! The last Twilight ate her! Discord's a good guy, we saw that. And the Pantheon wouldn't have gone through all this trouble just tah pull the rug out from under us! We ain't pawns in anypony's game anymore!" "Pawn?!" I hurled my empty cider bottle straight at the heart of the gas giant's planet. It shot through cleanly, like a bullet through mist. "It was great being a pawn! ...A white pawn can proudly serve its bone armored white queen and know none of its fellow white pieces COULD be on the jigsaw-puzzle's black pieces side...They know 'white is my side, black is the other side, nothing else matters'. It's simple. It's...well, black and white. Good and evil. I would love to go back to being pawns, knights, bishops, and so on, under the good White Queen Celestia...we were all happy back then...then it was the White Queen Twilight that I proudly served in my loop... But that was never how it went for THEM, right, Applejack? All those Twilights and all theirs friends? They weren't chess pieces. They were playing cards." And here, I picked up my own deck of cards. "Shuffle once, and the queen of hearts MIGHT be properly paired up with her king..." I passed out seven cards to myself and seven to Applejack; but showed her the hand I'd dealt myself right away. "But shuffle again..." Applejack was surprised when I magically grabbed all our cards, hers and mine, and reshuffled them again rapidly. "...and she might find herself playing AGAINST her king, against face and number in her suit..." I passed out a new set of seven cards: it definitely wasn't the same hand I'd dealt the first time. "...with the jack of clubs and the jack of spades and the joker. That was us when we were used to give Discord his defeat. Playing cards, shuffled about! Remember the loops where it was six versions of us teamed together again, loops where a Derpy Hooves fought against Discord, loops where a Derpy was Discord's ruthless right-hand mare, loops where others versions of me stayed the bad guy, loops where other Applejacks stayed the bad guy, AJ. There was even a loop where a version of me teamed up with the Master and the Valeyard, and they were all the GOOD guys..." "Rainbow Ah remember ALL those loops! Ah watched 'em with ya, remember sugarcube? The two of those time-whimey-ponies together came closer to beatin' us than most of the Twilights. Ya don't know the HALF OF IT when it was just me and Nightmare Eclipse before we recruited Nightmare Granfalloon! And only Nightmare Eclipse knows how long and what butterflies made hurricanes in loops only Discord now know about! "Ya never paid attention, but in one loop, an Applebloom marries this fencin' colt from Canterlot who was gonna visit Ponyville called Lancer . . . in others, another her marries the son of Octavia Melody, who managed to avoid being turned into an octopony! In another, an Applebloom marries a Lancer and her foal marries Octavia's kid! "Ah can't say which Applebloom was happier with her husband with if either. But what they fightin' for, what they believed in, didn't change! It was bigger than they were and they knew it! And Apple Pie . . . a her kept popping out no matter how the family tree got tangled, like her spirit was determined to come onto the world . . . no wonder all those Apple Pies' special talent was paradoxes." "...But...here's the thing AJ...here's the real thing...In loop one, Discord didn't know about how things would go, Eclipse was born that loop...every other loop after, somecreature from the one before it, either Discord or Eclipse, meddled. Changed things...ponies made choices, but things were originally...'Twilight frees herself and leads against a still monstrous Discord'...I guess...it feels like it was so black and white in the beginning, but we made it grey and grey…" "...Sugar...tah be honest? If that is right, in some cases that ain't a bad thing." "I don't see how." "...In that one loop, Trixie became an Alicorn, that couldn't have happened in the first loop. The Master never turned good in loop one, that's clear...grey morality means good guys can be bad guys in disguise...but it also means bad guys can turn inta good guys...doesn't make any of us right, but Ah think it shows what Discord said about Strife sometimes was dead on." "That she's ruthless?" "No!...That she believes life will always adapt and survive...Despite how royally we messed up the timeline, all the times either Discord or Eclipse meddled with it somewhere or somewhen, life still found a way tah adapt to it." "Hehe...yeah...but...despite all of that…" I threw up ALL the cards into the air, as though for a game of 52-pick up. "For everything Nightmare Eclipse did wrong, I hafta give that devil-witch one teensy bit of credit. Once she counted you as 'real,' she NEVER betrayed you. She took attacks FOR us! And she never use us as living-shields, whether our damage was linked to her or not. She trusted us. She never sacrificed us for 'new models.' We Nightmares STAYED gallery-mates, at all times. And she never ever, broke her word with us: Even when it cost her everything. Under her, we Nightmares knew who our allies were and who to count as foes...It was kind of comforting that in a world full of grey, we were still black and white." "If ya ask me, Nightmare Eclipse trusted me as far as her shadow reached, she called it 'lookin' out fer me,' like a true friend should cause Ah 'couldn't help myself.' The honest truth? Ah think deep down she could never get over Discord's game in the hedge maze and was afraid if we had half a chance we'd vanish into thin air. Ah hope ya ain't really yearnin' fer the 'good ol' days' of our endless vendetta. Of the total annihilation we wrought! Her golden world fantasy a buncha hooey! Other Nightmares at least put EFFORT into makin' their 'better world for everypony!'" "Nope," I said, helping Applejack gather up the cards to put them back in their little cardboard box. "What I am saying is... does loyalty even have any proper place in a world like ours? A world where it's impossible to trust anything?" At AJ's sharp double-take, I said, "Yeah, I've had a lot of time to rethink things, out here on my own." "Sweet Celestia... it's more serious than Ah thought. RD, ya can't REALLY have no trust at all!" I glance back towards the gas giant. "Well, technically, I suppose you're right. But the sort of things I do trust in: rap sheets, never taking anything at face value, what good intentions pave the road to... 'complete mistrust' just says it all in fewer words." LOTS of lightning cracks across the hemispheres of the gas giant, like strobe lights at a rave. Great bolts that I can see from way out here, that have to be thicker than skyscrapers. Awesome. "I mean, let's just start with my pretend Ponyville. Yes, the puppetmaster turned out to be Nightmare Whisper... but for a few 'tweaks,' it could just as easily have been Banneret or Granfalloon or myself! Any one of us could have been the villain." "...What about Scootaloo? All of 'em. Do yah not trust those little gals?" My words stopped in my throat. "Well...I...I…" "...Rainbow, can Ah tell you somethin'?" she asked. "...The truth is, yer right, we did make the world grey...we strung up a puppet king who just wanted to stop against heroes who had no idea they were working for the bad guys...but Ah think after several hundred million years of that garbage, it's hard tah think of the world as havin' genuine white and black." "...Does it?" "...Was what we did black?" "As Entropy's realm." "Was the Scootaloo Army of Awesome helping us save the world white?" "...If-" "No 'if the deities are pullin' our strings'. Ah mean 'an army of little heroes comin' tah save everycreature they love.'" "...Yeah...that was white." "...Truth is, while what is evil depends on the situation, there is black and white, good and evil, Elsyium and Tartarus...Grey just means 'a side is a mix of black and white,' not 'there's no such thing as black and white'...So yah can trust in your moral compass...yah just need tah get used tah listenin' to it again." "Alright, I'll admit it, Scootaloo, all of them, I know they can be trusted, but that doesn't make US trustworthy," I maintain. "What's to keep any of us from relapsing! Look at what happened with Fluttershy! She had her head put back on straight and look at the first thing she did!" "Technically the same thing ya wanted to do at the start, only with innocent ponies caught in the 'toxic waste' drum. Maybe SHE was worried deep down we'd try to resurrect Nightmare Eclipse." "That's insane!" "Which we aren't anymore, whether like it or not. Remember Princess Luna? The ORIGINAL Nightmare? Nightmare Moon herself?! Was SHE still insane after she got blasted with the Elements? Did she relapse?! No offense sugarcube, but that sounds like what a lot of paranoid ponies, and Ah hate ta say it, a lot of versions of me too, thought of Princess Luna when she was cured. The Pantheon are offerin' ta turn us inta Concepts, jest like them!" Applejack shot back. "We don't HAVE ta be Nightmares no more, Rainbow! HECK! Maybe all we need to do is politely stand for a nice second rainbow of light shower and BOOM! All the crude comes clean off us!" "Luna was already an Alicorn, what makes you think it works like that for us?" "...Do yah think Trixie, the ALICORN, not the mortal, is trust-worthy?" "I don't get where you're goin-" "Answer meh.." "...Considering she kept fighting for her world until she died, yes." "...That's the difference between a Nightmare and an Alicorn." "...Still don't get it." "Twilight Sparkle, the pony who didn't want to show off when we first met Trixie, went Nightmare and turned into a megalomaniac with an ego the size of Equestria." "I noticed…" "But Trixie, big 'look at how great and powerful I am!' Trixie, became an Alicorn, and became a wise, humble pony that fought Eclipse until her dyin' breath. And STILL somehow managed to survive her timeline bein' destroyed tah ascend...Ah don't know about you, but if ascendin' all the way can do that fer yah, Ah'm kinda lookin' forward to it." But I shook my head. "Say we DO become Concepts. So what? That didn't stop Discord or Morning Star from causing misery, and they weren't flesh and blood ponies once upon a time! If I thought Concepts couldn't be monsters, I'd be first in line! But it didn't stop Princess Luna! The higher you're up, the farther you have to fall . . . I don't WANT to fall again Applejack! I'm TERRIFIED of it! I've fallen so low, I don't want to see what's deeper down!" I'm blanketing my body in my wings, feeling the chill of outer space much stronger. "I wish those ponies would LISTEN to me, for a change! I wish they'd quit with all the mixed messages!" "What mixed messages would those be, Rainbow?" asked Applejack. On the gas giant, the lightning's fading away, now fiery mushrooms are blossoming up, as the lightning comes right back. What fun. "Here's one good example, AJ. So there I am, Rainbow Dash: Hero of Ponyville. Boy, am I proud of myself for that! Only the Alicorns sends dear old Razzaroo to show me: no, you aren't the heroic Rainbow Dash, you are the monstrous Nightmare Manacle. And it hurts so bad. But I pick myself up. If that was the shape of it then okay. I wasn't proud of it, But I did feel a certain... acceptance. Contentment. Equanimity. I may've been scum, but at least I now know my true self and my proper place in the Scheme of Things." Applejack was twitching. "RAINBOW! HER WHOLE MOONSENT POINT WAS TO MAKE SURE YEW REALLY WERE RAINBOW DASH ON THE INSIDE! If ya were actually the monstrous Nightmare Manacle on the inside she'd have left ya and the rest of us sealed! Remember?! She never said to ya, you were Nightmare Manacle! She kept calling you Rainbow Dash!" She face hooved. "Ya know! Ah was really really not sure at all that showin' ya yer reflection on the inside was a good idea! Ya said it yerself, after the world got turned upside-down there was so little ya could hold onto as true. Sometimes pullin' a knife out can cause more damage than if ya leave in there! If Ah knew it was THIS BAD Ah'd have given ya the soul x-ray sooner!" I huff out a breath. ...And to think those phantasmal foals who'd put that crown on my head had sounded so SURE of themselves.. . . maybe it wasn't such a good idea to listen to them. Well, technically they NEVER CALLED ME Nightmare Manacle. They called me the Queen of Chains. They only unsealed me and gave me back my black magic. I was already Nightmare Manacle underneath the seal . . . and UNDERNEATH THAT I was Rainbow Dash after all. Some game. "Ah make no apologies," Applejack tells me, flashing me that one mirror a second time, so I can see my horned, frazzled Rainbow self in her Nightmare barding once more. Only now she looked downright sullen. "Yew are both Rainbow Dash AND Nightmare Manacle. As much as Princess Luna was Nightmare Moon." "This another yin-yang thing?" I ask, toying with the idea of changing my name to Nightbow Danacle. "Eeeyup," says Applejack, stretching her muscles a bit. "Though at this point, Ah'd say yer WAY more 'Rainbow' than 'Manacle.'" She smiles at me as though this is supposed to comfort me. "Here's another 'mixed message,' from the Pantheon I don't appreciate," I then say. "My whole experience in my own pretend Ponyville pretty much spelled out that I'm unfit to take care of mortals. Didn't even ONE of those Alicorns lugs hear me when I was saying things like, 'we have no right TALKING to mortals, let alone ruling their lives?' And Ponyville was just a village. Now the concepts wants for me... ALL us Nightmares to build a universe." I slump to the ground. "I'm a pretty flexible girl. Damnation... atonement... isolating myself from everypony else to just eke out a quiet existence alone... I'm cool with any of that. But this whole business of setting me up to repeat my old crimes on a grander scale... like a horrible parent being put in charge of an orphanage..." Applejack tilted her head. "Ah'm sorry RD, Ah really am, but Ah just don't get that one." "What? What is there to get? Us and mortal ponies is like giving kittens to-" I noticed her flare her wing on instinct...same one she'd shown me little healed Rainbow Dash in actually. "Ya sayin' 'we ain't fit to be around no mortals' is supposed to prove ya ain't fit to be around no mortals?! Rainbow it doesn't work that way! Ya let ponies live their lives in yer pretend Ponyville however they wanted, the way they wanted when they wanted! And ya wanted'em to be FREE once ya had a place for 'em...this was Fluttershy's doin', not yers, you had a completely different plan in mind and she hijacked it...Not to bucking mention, YOU PUT THEIR GOOD FORTUNE OVER YOUR OWN!!! The whole dang time, ya said you were fightin' fer them! Remember? Ya never let one pony get hurt from any of yer 'collateral' damage! Now get it through that thick head of yers, would Nightmare Manacle of done that? EVER? Now you can MAKE that new place for 'em the right way!" She looked me in the eyes with her actual eyes. And strangely I didn't feel my soul burn. "...Are yah right we've done a lot of bad? Yes. We have...these ponies we saved are some clear water in an ocean of blood...but we put a lot more clear water in it by savin' 'em. And we can put a lot more in it by helpin' build a new universe. Realizin' yah done bad can go two ways, Rainbow: either yah say 'Ah'm a monster, Ah can only be a monster' or you say 'Ah'm a monster but Ah don't WANT tah be.' Doin' good things now isn't 'sparin' somepony tah live with ourselves'...it's atonement." I felt that truth. I mean like how she'd used to force somepony to see bad truths to break 'em but...not... "...Was...that using your eyes to see a kind truth?" Applejack herself blinked in confusion. "Ah...Ah think it was somewhere in the middle...A little cruel, a little kind...Ah...didn't know Ah could do that...Ah just did." "And they're going to trust us to make a universe," I admit, after seeing her show me more than just a cruel truth, I had to force some of that sarcasm. Nightmare Mirror wasn't supposed to be ABLE to do that! "They ain't askin' us ta do it TOMORROW!" Applejack reminded me in slow-spoken words. "We'd be gettin' lots and lots of therapy first, before we get the first miracle rolling! Inside the womb of all souls if we take the concept route." "Heaven knows we need it," I sigh, rising to a sit. "You know... even though I'm no shrink myself... let me try diagnosing myself. I'd say that I'm highly paranoid, antisocial, with a persecution complex, severe depression, anger management issues, prone to violent outbursts, deep-seated mistrust of all authority figures, post-traumatic stress disorder, a thin grip on reality, huge issues with guilt and self-esteem..." "...Darlin'...you knew that all that stuff was wrong with yah this whole time, didn't yah?" "...Yeah...I admit...I think you pulled a cork and a lot of gunk came pourin' out of meh…" Her wing lifted again, same one as little healed Rainbow kept popping up in. I don't think she even knew she was doing it. "...Keepin' all that bottled up wasn't healthy…guess it's better yah let it out now..." "...Since when are you a shrink?" "...Ah don't know...kinda feels almost like Ah've spent a long time with one front leg and somepony finally gives meh the other one and tells meh Ah was always supposed tah have it...Well since Ah'm apparently a shrink now, tell meh what else is buggin' yah." I thought again about the universe they wanted me to help make. "...What's more, I'm terrified of mortal ponies. No, I'm terrified FOR them! When I'm around them, I'm not even a bull in a china shop; I'm a bull in a china WORLD. The idea that I'll help creating whole PLANETS of them... they'll be looking to me as one of their creator gods, to give them moral guidance, praying to me to right spiritual wrongs... and I'll be afraid to move out of fear of shattering them...in particular three of them . . . " Shakily, I uncapped another bottle of cider and downed it in record time. "No offense Rainbow, but ya were always focused on the action. Me? I saw and listened ta other things. Including one old loop where Princess Celestia and Luna's statues were rescued from Discord's castle. Princess Celestia? Here's a surprise I picked up spying on her once when it was just me, Nightmare Eclipse and Nightmare Granfalloon. Princess Celestia feels the exact same way you do. All the time. She feels she's an inferno in a world made of kindling. It's part of the whole reason she calls herself Princess instead of Queen. The truth? If she wanted to she could probably have incinerated the Hooviet Empire with one solar flare when it was a threat, but pulling that kinda trigger...Ah think she's afraid of how hard it'd be to STOP pulling it if she did it once. What ya just said kinda proves ya UNDERSTAND what a big deal it is . . . and . . . fragile they all are to bulls like us." "...That doesn't make much LESS paranoid of my fellow immortals. If Fluttershy could do what she did for centuries after being hit by the Rainbow of Light... how can I trust myself or any of you, any of my friends any of us, to stay sane?..." "...Ah was savin' this fer Fluttershy when she had head enough to listen, but she was willin' to go up against us and the Alicorns for what she thought was protectin' all of Ponyville from death or oblivion! She thought we were the only ones who WOULD protect all of the ponies rather than just them sink into Entropy's black ocean! That is truth! Fer all her talk about not carin' 'bout it, Ah think she was tryin' for her own redemption. "From what ya told me, she was goin' without sleep!!! Keepin' that whole place running by herself and Flutternice looking after the Scootaloos! For who knows how long! And Nightmares or not, we still need to shut our eyes! We might not need sleep for our bodies, but we definitely need it for our minds! Ah think . . . she wasn't just addled by the guilt, Ah think the lack of shut-eye was makin' things worse, and her usin' her magic? Constantly since yers was sealed away? Ah think we saved her from keelin' over! Or becomin' a braindead shell that could only power the place! Ya didn't beat 'er Rainbow Dash! YOU SAVED HER Rainbow Dash!" " . . . thanks fer telling me that one AJ, I think that one actually does make me feel a tiny tinny bit better maybe." I saw AJ's face brighten just a little. "But how can I trust that just the right amount of stress of creating a whole moonsent universe like the ones I've helped destroyed a bajillion times won't make me do something 'good' but very very stupid? Especially when my own," AJ gave me the stink eye. "I mean, OUR victim is right next to us?" "Ta think" Applejack interrupted, in a downcast way, "Yew were startin' ta do so well, and all it took fer yew ta unravel was one quick look at his face..." "I know!" I agreed, miserably. "I mean, suppose at some point, Discord says one little thing wrong, one tiny little thing wrong...and I snap like a twig..." "Here's a thought!" said Applejack, with a strained smile. "What if... jest WHAT IF... the bunch of us simply conducted ourselves with perfect professionalism and respect fer one another the whole way through?" I thought about it. "Is that your prescription, 'doc'?" I asked, joking a little. "Given the fact your hatin' yerself for what yah did tah Discord, knowin' if he forgave yah or not might help ease it...great, now Ah really am soundin' like a shrink!" "AJ . . . after Discord, after Nightmare Eclipse, after the pretend Ponyville? A part of me is always going to be waiting for somepony, or for something to snap. Or until it builds up to be too much, and I snap instead." "And ya really think that the rest of us haven't gone through those exact same things? Spike can't trust his own memories anymore. Not after livin' as Rarity. What other memories might he have that are lies? He can't even known if he him carin' about Sweetie Belle is just brainwashin' or him really feelin' for her like family! And think about this: ya said yerself in yer loop, even Twilight without a heart still cared about yew and Spike, and so did yer Applejack even when she was a liar! The pretend Ponyville? It got along fine without Spike! Like if he up and vanished, nopony would notice! YA THINK THAT DIDN'T HURT 'EM!? We're a herd! We're supposed to shoulder each other's pain!...Maybe yah and Spike coulda helped shoulder each others… That's why you're Loyalty." For a moment this made me wonder, how much pain was the Cruelest of Truths hiding behind her own mirrors? Well, she asked for what was bothering me...so I'd better hurry up. "You're not gonna want to hear this AJ. No offense to Winona, but you know what's also not all that bright, easily mentally overpowered, relentless, a hard worker, utterly faithful and loyal? A dog. A dumb mutt." I looked at myself in one of Applejack's mirrors. The angle let me see . . . let see Applejack a little in them too, was that a viola flower in her barding? . . . something about her eyes were blurry. I continued. "For all Eclipse's talk about NPCs, do you know what Rainbow was, AJ? Nothing but the long opening cutscene. So gullible, vulnerable, and weak-willed that every version of her effectively railroaded herself into making the EXACT SAME BAD DECISION in that hedge maze EACH and EVERY time. Nag Eclipse might have been copying and pasting Discord, but what about the rest of us? What's our excuse that every version of us that fate churned out kept falling for Discord's games like all the versions of us before them? With all the changes that popped up in every loop? "Never even felt like the 'game' handed me proper 'control' of my own life, until at least a thousand years into being Traitor Dash...Of course we both know why, Eclipse needed us to fall for it...I didn't have a chance to even try to pick something different, did I? Ain't that sad? All of that lowly pegasus' puffed-up vanity, that weathermare's need for adoration, that wannabe's idiotic pie-in-the-sky ambitions, what an absolute...!" Nightmare Mirror was a veritable queen of stoics. Tombstones wished they could be as somber as her. She could unveil the most soul-shattering truths about yourself in the flattest, most disaffected monotone. You could beg her to shut up. You could scream at her in a furious rage. You could attack her with any weapon you pleased. And she'd just keep telling you everything about yourself you never wanted to learn. Now she was sobbing wildly. As though she were the sole survivor of a wholesale massacre... at her own wedding. "Ya AIN'T a dog, Rainbow Dash!" she blubbered, quivery and high-pitched. "Ya ain't dumb! Ya ain't weak! And ya don't need ta be this way! Ah... Ah... Ah ain't cried this bad even when my Big Mac died! How'd ya even DO that, Dash?!" I didn't know. What could I say? This was a thousand times stranger than when the original Applejack had been turned into Liarjack. Applejack suppressed her tears, Liarjack pretended nothing bad was happening at all. At last, I went over and tried just hugging her. She hugged back fierce as could be... as though we were mortal again, and I'd nearly dropped to the bottom of the ocean. I nestled my head against hers. It took a long while for her to get her sobbing under control. Even then, she was still weeping but it was under control. "...Yah never forgave yerself for the maze, did yah?" "...Not as much as I wish I had... Fluttershy . . . she showed me how I could have won . . . She was better than all of us . . . she was the only one who Discord had to cheat to corrupt. If only . . . if only ONE Rainbow Dash out that entire infinite had thought of it! Maybe Discord's second daughter may have gone Princess Aura Borealis on his Ming Vase The Merciless' tail." "...All them times Ah told ya honest truths about yerself, Rainbow... Ah can see Ah accentuated the negative way too often, and yew took it all straight ta heart. So lemme tell yew some GOOD things 'bout yerself." Applejack pulled away, looking at me in the eye. There goes that one wing up again. "Yer honorable, Dashie. Ya got a big heart, and ya really do care about protectin' the lives of mortals. Ya have a sense of fun. Ya've always, always, always ALWAYS done yer best ta be a good friend ta us. Even when we weren't in right mind ta appreciate it, and all yew got back from us was loneliness and abuse. Sometimes, it's very, very helpful the way ya jump inta action, fearlessly leading the charge. The mortals in yer pretend Ponyville REALLY DO admire yew, because ya REALLY put yer heart inta savin' them! In Twilight's absence, ya've been a great leader: focused, effective, and driven. Ah've been proud ta stand behind ya! So've the rest of us Nightmares!" She could almost have been just a simple cousin of mine, rather than some terrible force of nature. "And it KILLS me, seein' yew loathe yerself so completely that yer out ta strangle everythin' good inside ya! Ah don't want ya bein' so petrified of taking risks! Ah don't want ya shunnin' everypony else in existence! We ain't all weasels, rats, demons and delicate li'l china dolls! Some of us actually ARE friendly folk, worth gettin' ta know! Give people the benefit of the doubt! We Nightmares CARE very, very deeply about yew, Rainbow: yer one of us! One of our dearest, oldest, friends! We're NOT out ta cut yer throat the moment ya turn yer back on us. Quit finding reasons ta be wretched because yer terrified that smiles and happiness are super-unlucky! This world's NOT gonna be snatched away from yew! Ya ain't dreamin' and ya ain't under any spell! There won't be any more resets! Relax! Laugh more! There's STILL incredible beauty in yer soul! Ya shouldn't live yer life like the whole dang universe is one big minefield! Go ahead, Rainbow Dash: let yer spirit of adventure fly free again!" "...I always, always wanted to be an adventure hero," I say softly. "But that's impossible. Life in this universe is no adventure. It's a giant cosmic horror story..and we made it this way." Applejack looks me square in the eye. "We really are finally on the threshold of escapin' this vicious cycle we've been trapped in forever! Don't be stuck in the past! There's a future ahead of us! Rancor, Twilight, and six sets of Elements burned Eclipse's cosmic horror story to ashes then those ashes into atoms! It's gone and from the sound of it, Rarity's outline is a good old high fantasy! And it ain't the sorta future ya wanna turn yer back on, or watch on the sidelines for. This future is for star player GET-UP-'N'-GO-GETTERS, GIRL!" I swallow. "Tell me one good thing I can put absolute faith in. One happy nice thing that not even a god can ever take away. Applejack thinks. And thinks. And then she thinks some more. "Dash? Got a thought." "Let's hear it." "For all the rotten, awful misery Ah've heard spillin' out yer trap, one thing's fer certain. Yew've been really HONEST with me... 'bout everything, since reawakening as 'Nightmare Manacle.' All yer thoughts. What's in yer heart. All cards face-up on the table. So fer that... and especially fer all the loyalty yew've shown others, perhaps it's time somepony pledged some loyalty back to yew." "What do you mean?" I ask. Applejack places a hoof over her heart. "Ah swear with mah soul that no matter what, Ah'm gonna be the truest friend to ya Ah can be. Ah swear to always be upfront and honest with yew, and never lead yew astray. Ah'll never seek ta beat ya in a battle of any sort. No third party will ever be able to set me against ya. Even if we are far apart, Ah'll ALWAYS remain on yer side." There wasn't any flash of magical light. Applejack's voice did not reverberate with mystical power. She simply lowered her hoof back to the ground. "Now, yew remember me talkin' with Fluttershy, 'bout how souls are timeless? Because this promise was sworn WITH mah soul... it'll still be valid and binding fer me, even if yer fears are right, and things ARE reset. So no matter what, you CAN absolutely depend on at least ONE true friend. One friend who will always be there to pull yah back outta the dark if yah fall inta it again. Even if Ah don't rightly remember this moment in mah brain... it'll all come instinctively, from in here." She tapped her heart. I was utterly stunned. "You'd do that for me?" "Sure! Cross mah heart, hope ta..." Her hoof starts to move over her heart, but I stop it. "No. No, I don't even need that. This is all you, you wonderful, wonderful stubborn stick-in-the-mud, you. Your word is twenty million percent better than any Pinkie Promise." "HEY!" Said a voice hiding behind a nearby floating pink asteroid. "Sorry Pinkie Pie," We echoed. Then laughed. "OKAY!" Applejack did NOT lie. Her ability to lie stunk like dragon's breath. Her strength lay in truth! When she swore something with her soul, on her soul that thing was sworn. One friend. One friend I could depend completely on. One bedrock in an ocean of chaos and inconsistency... ...The greatest treasure anypony had ever given me. This was the true magic of friendship. On their own, we'd been broken by our own Elements...but it turned out the virtues were still virtues after all. We Nightmares had got it all wrong: the Elements were never meant to work in isolation from each other. And AJ could see the understanding on my face. "And Rainbow? Ah know somethin' else yah can have faith in...Well, Ah should say 171,015 little orange somethings," she said, giving me a smile. I was struck dumb for a moment, then hugged her tighter than I could remember. "You're right! There are! And I'm going bloody try my best to make sure they...they can have faith in me!" "Ready to go back?" asks AJ. "Ya don't need ta be part of the universe-makin', if yew'd rather not. It's a big responsibility and a lot could go wrong." "No," I tell AJ. "We're all in this together. Race ya back!" And off we flew. Discord and our fellow Nightmares, and Scootaloo, and all our friends, awaited. > Professional Help > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another mare who'd been in Applejack's situation might've held herself back. Might've gone only SO fast as we rocketed for light years past comets and nebulae and quasars... not simply to take it easy on her aching body. But to make sure that her super-depressed buddy could enjoy a good uplifting win. Or just avoid it by teleporting both of us home. Not only was Applejack too honest for any of that, she knew me too well. She beat me fair and square. Dang it, that breaks our competition tie, doesn't it?! "Next time, ya don't wanna go drinkin' all that hard cider right before startin' a race!" AJ told me, with a proud, boastful smile on her face, as we both lay panting on the beautiful floor. Even the grandstanding brought an easy smile to my face, as I gasped out. "We'll… have to do... a rematch... later…" Finally, I'd rested enough. I get back to a stand, and we open the door directly ahead of us, re-entering the very room I'd flipped out in and teleported out from. As it turned out, time HADN'T stood still while I had been off feeling sorry for myself. The only one there was Gran…no, Pinkie Pie. Covered in a blanket, mane frazzled surrounded by cups of hot coco. No, I'm not sure how a mane made of energy can get frazzled either. "You came back!" She rushed up and hugged me. Startled, I hugged her back. "Pinkie Pie!" Applejack said, "Pinkie Pie, Ah know ya already knew RD got out of her funk! Pinkie Promise detection?" "But I didn't know you'd come back!" Pinkie Pie cried hugging me. "I thought you'd go on this big epic journey to find yourself and draw things out even more! Or get into a big fight with aliens or something and we'd have to come save you! I'm so happy you're back!" "It's...it's good to be back," I said not breaking her hug. Let me break narrative here for a bit. Before we get to what happened next for me. After everything, my big plan was to get actual factual professional help instead of any fancy smancy vision quest or pixie dust to make my troubles go away that these lot would offer me. I had all these BIG PLANS! I'd visit different eras, live different lives, earn my own money like any other pony, I'd PAY actual factual psychologists to help me through my horseapples, I'd even spend time as a companion with Doctor Hooves, I'd invite AJ on visits which Miss 'Ah canna tell a lie' would mess up and I'd start a new life. I'd live as just a pony again throughout history. Spike would pass himself off either a pony or a pony-sized young dragon, He'd be such a hit with the ladies. I got a peak of a worldline like that. Pnkie Pie would join me with alias' like Perky Pep or Peachy Puff (she actually told me she'd pick those), and be just Pinkie Pie again! I'd invite the psychologist to my world after spilling the beans. The ones who thought I was crazy or called the guards only finding a door that led to a empty shack or the little filly's room if they tried. I had all these super cool alias' I'd use and all these jobs I'd learn how to do and get a taste of the real world again. Instead of demigods popping up every five minutes. River Dew, Red Dynamite, Risky Dice, Radiant Dawn, Ritzy Diva, Razor Dart, Raw Dharma, Rhapsody Drive, Rumba Drum, Rogue Dynamo, Rapid Downdraft... I had all these ideas...until I remembered that without Nightmare Eclipse I had no clue or ability to travel through time, let alone visit different universes. Yeah, you think Eclipse would let anypony know her trump card? Twilight had to trick it out of her. Dang it! Stupid laws of physics... And...the more I visited the mortal world, the more I felt like somepony was watching over my shoulder, like I was a big beacon to somepony. Rarity, Rarity was sensing me. Guess that made sense, considering now walking anywhere was like walking on her skin. Whatever happy world Rarity was making for her Rainbow Dash, her Applejack, and her Spike, I wasn't about to intrude. I didn't belong there. That and I was afraid of making anypony think Eclipse wasn't gone for good. If I was going to meet that Rarity and her friends, it'd be AFTER I'd paid my debt to creation. Strangely, I never sensed Twilight. I'd have asked Doctor Whooves for help with time travel to before Rarity became an Alicorn, if I knew where he was (yeah yeah, I know it doesn't work that way), I asked Razzaroo if she could pass it along. "I'd be happy to, if I knew where he was!" Razzaroo said, "You try keeping him pinned down." I'd done it, it was not easy. The Doctor was the one pony Eclipse had never been able to beat the same way twice. I'd have used the magic that let this pocket world random jump through creation...if I hadn't burned that out myself earlier to make sure Fluttershy didn't try to make us run again. And SHE had made it from cannibalizing the remains of the 'living room' that connected all our personal pocket world. So yeah, it felt like Nightmare Eclipse was laughing at me from beyond purification. "Rainbow Dash, I know you don't think so, but I know how you feel." "You're right, I don't." "Seeing your home, your universe obliterated, your history wiped away, like your home never existed. All by beings more powerful than you, and not able to do a thing about it. Seeing your friends twisted into not themselves to where you can't even recognize them. "Being told again and again and again, and again how 'it's the only way', 'it's for the greater good' 'we're sorry but we're doing this anyway.' Being a lone survivor, the only one who remembers your world. All you loved ones simply gone. Some of your friends being made 'never were', LESS than those not-themselves the others were twisted into. Having to bear it for so long, so terribly long. The weight being so heavy it's nearly unbearable. Then, as things finally begin to look up, it's won't give you back what you lost, but maybe you can find peace, you're thrown reversals again, and told 'it's better this way.' Like your blood, sweat, and tears meant nothing. And you're left just having to get away from it all. And even when your friend isn't twisted or evil, you can't stop thinking about what they've been made into, instead of who they've chosen to be." She was crying. She shakily help up her forehoof and gently touched my cheek like I'd turn to sand. "Looking at them, and can't stop seeing a corpse. And are ashamed for that selfish feeling. Taking forever to finally accept they're themselves even if they're not the ponies you knew. But none of that makes the pain go away. And these all powerful forces, the same ones who couldn't save your world, the same ones you loathe and detest for sitting on their haunches until it was too late, ask you to help somepony, help make things a tiny bit more right, and make you work alongside those who ruined your world and you're expected to just forgive and forget and grin and bear it..." My body acted before my brain even registered it. I hugged her. "Razzaroo I'm so sorry darling." Her eyes brightened a bit. It was, it was me who said that, and I MEANT to say that, but...it was just something that felt NATURAL to say to her. I wonder if this is how Pinkie felt meeting Clover. I kissed her where I'd hurt her before. "Maybe we can be friends again?" I asked. "Again." She hugged me too. +++ Remember how I said time hadn't politely decided to stop ticking while I went off and had my pity party? Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Spike had all vastly improved in their mental well being since I'd been gone. It turns out, that the entire 'plans to remake the universe' had been put on hold on favor of giving my friends healing while I'd been off by myself. But I still insisted on doing everything the hard way, even Applejack was rolling her eyes at this point. But I didn't want anypony touching my brain no matter how much I trusted them. Yeah yeah, it's a bit paranoid, but don't forget I've spent several hundred million years with a soul lobotomy. I also repaired my nightmare armor while I had been on that asteroid to kill time, this time going for guard armor that was a more post-three-tribes style, ugh, sound like Rarity. Eh, better than being a supervillain. I was sulking in my cloudhouse due to the fall out of my leaving all of a sudden (I'll get to that in a minute), when I got a surprise visitor. It was the yellow pudgy mare who had been outside the portal writing down pony's names standing at my front door. "Hi Rainbow Dash. I'm Bon Bon, remember?" "I remember. You're our Bon-Bon's ancestor, right?" “Yep.” Who knew Bon Bon had a bloodline that old? "Razzaroo said how out of straight you are after seeing Fluttershy, and Razzaroo wants Sweetheart and me to help you." "Sweetheart?" "She IS a doctor you know, pretty much the patron saint of 'em. And that makes you all her responsibility. But after a chat, I realized I had the power to help you a little through things." "I'm not interested in any mumbo-jumbo." Bon Bon's face flushed. "Don't know it till you try it. You still believe in the magic of friendship don't you?" I nodded. Then the white mare with pink hair, Sweetheart flew to my front door. That halo behind her head glowing like a night light. "Sorry I'm late, I was helping Fluttershy." I said I'd explain in a bit. Sorry, this stuff got jumbled after some of the 'discussions' I had with the others. "Rainbow Dash...Bon Bon and I want to help you. We've helped the other ponies, we've helped your friends. And now we want to help you." "Sure, it's your duty," I said. "'Duty' nothing," Bon Bon said, her eyes flat. "We ASKED to come along to help Starlight AND to help all of you. We aren't even really reapers, once this is done we'll lose our wings and we can go back to our families waiting for us in Elysium." That actually gave me a tiny bit of pause. They fought against Flutternice's concept-killing horse-killer, instead of staying safe in the afterlife, because they WANTED to help? "Look, I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I don't want any magic messing around with or in my head. Trust is hard enough for me right now." Sweetheart said, "I promise. This isn't mind control, and we won't go inside your soul. And what happen is completely private. I promise." I rolled my eyes. "Fine, what is it?" Bon Bon took out her sword. "Put to paper, Cookie Spinner!" And it turned into, "A pen?! Your sword turns into a pen?" "Haven't you heard? The pen is mightier than the sword." "Are you going to 'rewrite' my personality with that thing?!" "It squirts ink. And I don't need to refill it, that's its power." "Oh." "Seriously, with all the focus the Elders put on free will, why would they entrust a 'rewrite ponies personalities' weapon to a temporary helper?" "...Point taken." "All we want Rainbow Dash, is for you to let Bon Bon listen, that's all. And to let me share with you. You're not the first pony I've helped who's seen their entire world destroyed and carries horrible mistakes on their back. Hopefully you'll be the last of the former though." If Razzaroo had taught me anything, it wasn't to assume that ponies were blowing hot air when they said they had a taste of what it was like in my horseshoes. What? I might be stubborn sometimes, but I'm not THAT stubborn. "Come on in...there's a couple chairs." I sat down on the couch. Bon Bon took out a blue book with rainbow stripes with a lock on it, and gave the key to me. I saw there was a pink, green and purple, orange and yellow, and other books in the saddle back she had with her. "Rainbow Dash, just talk to me. Whatever comes to your mind. You won't be judged or put-down for anything." I took in a deep breath, and slowly let out it. And I started. Now...let's talk about Fluttershy, her daughter, and Discord. While I had been gone...Fluttershy had shuttered herself in. Completely and utterly. Remember the way she'd been as the secret puppet-master of her own Ponyville? Now she'd gone the opposite extreme. I'd seen ghosts demonstrate stronger participation with their the external world. You'd go to visit her at the cottage she lived in with her daughter, and knock on her door. "Oh," you'd hear her tell you through the door. "You can come in. If you want. Or don't. If you want." When you stepped into her house, you might see Fluttershy more or less drifting in and out of rooms, careful as could be never to disrupt a single mote of dust, let alone touch an object. Not do anything. Flutternice did all the cleaning. Not because her mother made her clean. But because their home would otherwise get utterly filthy. You might be tempted to think that Fluttershy had suddenly become the laziest slob ever to vegetate upon a couch. You'd be wrong. And wish you were right. "The dust falls where it chooses to fall," Fluttershy would proclaim. "And the dirt clings to what it will. The ants and mosquitos wander in, because such is their wont. Who am I to tyrannize them all, by forcefully imposing my narrow view of who and what belongs where?" I assure you; she wasn't being even remotely sarcastic. We were all alarmed by how serious she was. AJ had to triple check her eyes. And when Flutternice would clean her mother and her mother's surroundings, 'Shy wouldn't object, after all, she'd done so much to 'control' her daughter already. The only input Shy would give on a discussion was. "Why burden others with my judgmental viewpoints?" She didn't want to go ANYWHERE! Least she disrupt things. There was a bit of mandatory reading in Cloudsdale grade school. One of the books was called 'The Chocolate Battle.' In it a colt had in his locker a poster with a pony before a perfectly still beach and ocean, with the words below it 'Do I Dare Disturb The World?' Fluttershy had become the utter embodiment of that. No, not the utter embodiment, the utter extreme of it. There's a difference. I think even Entropy would have thought this was too much doing nothing. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Spike, Starlight and her friends, Zecora, the Scootaloo from Fluttershy's cycle, Razzaroo, Flutternice, Discord, all took turns helping her eat. The worst part was how she didn't so much as hug or kiss Flutternice. She hadn't gone heartless, she was scared whatever she said or did next would damage her MORE somehow. That whatever choice she made would be the wrong one, that any choice she made WOULD be the wrong one. I can't say I didn't know how that felt given all the angsting I'd been doing. Apparently Flutternice smashed some furniture like any filly looking for attention, and Fluttershy just said, "It seems like you're rediscovering your true self! Your knives are in their usual drawer. I'll be in my bedroom." Flutternice ran out crying, Pinkie Pie had been cuddling and hugging her the rest of that 'night'. 'Under mind control' or not, we were the only pillars left for her in a world that had been completely destroyed. It was the emotional dependence we'd wired into her for eons. When Applejack had come to me, I had freely bared my damaged, tormented, wrongheaded soul open for her. With the Flutters, though... the moment they felt the subject being broached, they hid themselves behind impassible, impenetrable, impermeable politeness. For the mother, it was like she was tossing her words down an endless black hole that puffed back empty niceties: "Oh, you really sound like you know just what you're talking about, Applejack." "I'm so glad that method has worked out for you so well, Applejack." "It's so nice that you're willing to take time to talk to me like this, Applejack." "Applejack, that truly is a thought-provoking statement you just said." "If I said anything was worthy of administering another beating to me, please do not hesitate beat me up." The affliction Fluttershy had was just the same as my own, even if she'd shut herself in her house instead of flying off to an asteroid. No faith in herself. No trust in others. Pussy-hoofing around every single thing. No sense of self-worth. Belief that she was poison to everything she interacted with, and that the universe would bring its hammer upon her at the slightest misstep. And the automatic assumption that every belief she might have and every action she took was villainous. That she was some virus that infected everything it touched. She'd withdrawn from the universe as a whole. Exactly as I had withdrawn. Apparently, she had taken my leave as inspiration. "If Rainbow believes she should cut herself off from the world, I should too." I remember a song about a big brother who didn't realize his little brother wanted to be him. We weren't related and I don't think I was her brother figure, but I felt like I'd ended up in that situation. Flutternice meanwhile kept trying 'every single possible thing' to 'break' their 'mind control'. From hitting us over the head with frying pans. To reminding us of the 'good times' to showings us pictures of loved ones, including some of our 'righteous quest' involving Discord (ugh, why do we even HAVE those pictures anymore?). To putting herself in 'danger.' She didn't believe, couldn't believe, for one nanosecond we could have done any of this of our own free will, not her loving aunts. The love of a child to her family is harder to break than you can imagine. Discord was trying to visit her time and again, but was always stopped by Flutternice, to 'protect' her mother from him. Discord and Fluttershy had come to an arrangement which resembled that of divorced parents. Discord would come over to Fluttershy's cottage at an appointed time, and she'd give her daughter over to his care so they could bond, and he'd bring her places. Did I think Discord would try to corrupt her? He'd been trying his bloody hardest to subvert his corruption with his previous daughters that Nightmare Eclipse kept editing in for a very VERY long time before we got hit by the six-barrel-love-and-tolerance-death-ray. Not to mention he'd spent this entire thing since her loop thinking he'd lost her. I'd have to have forgotten everything that happened in those eons to even remotely think that, now that my Nightmare insanity and Eclipse's 'fixes' were gone. And it didn't matter. Discord could do no right with her Pinkie Pie informed me. Compliment her on looking pretty? "I don't need your validation on my appearance." Bring her to a restaurant at the end of the universe? "Nothing on this menu can compare to Mama's cooking." Bring her to a interreality shopping mall? "Money and materialism are the root of all evil, but of course YOU'D know that!" Take her on nature walks? "So tell me, how many beautiful forests and oceans did you destroy again?!" Bring her to an intergalactic amusement park? "I hate the music, I hate the lines, I hate the rides..." Perform a whimsical magic trick for her? "How disorderly! Stop that this instant, you chaotic freak!" Whenever she stood in her father's presence, I don't think there was so much as a secret, guilty longing to perform physical violence. Because that would go against her all her mother's teachings, and when Discord was around, she was dead-set on being the supreme exemplification of everything Fluttershy had once stood for. Instead, pure passive-aggression had become her weapon of choice, and she wielded it with soul-crushing efficiency. ...In a weird way, I'm thankful to Flutternice that she reacted this way. Why? Because before, the relationship I had with Discord amounted to: You're just as much a victim of him as he is of you, Rainbow Dash. You tormented him as he tormented you. You have no moral superiority to him whatsoever. Otherwise, you're an unfair hypocrite. Okay then. Fine and dandy: that's the way it was. But relationships with that as their foundation are just brutal on your heart for even short stints of time, wouldn't you say? So much emptiness, pain and guilt, just staring into their eyes. Simply unbearable. Tears yourself apart from the inside out. But watching Discord's dejection build and build throughout all the moments he spent in the company of his once-adoring daughter who'd he'd thought had been deader than dead for millions of years... his sorrow intensify each moment Flutternice had slammed her mother's cottage door in his face... ...It was the very first time in our long, awful history that I felt a heartfelt urge to reach out to Discord. Console him. Bond with him. And yet I didn't. Couldn't bring myself to approach him directly. Horrible of me, I know, but I still wasn't ready for that step when I arrived. Maybe a part of me felt having been the one who helped indoctrinate her in the first place wouldn't help at all. Spike was the one who filled me in on the part with Discord, and he told me. "The worst part is Rainbow...is the satisfaction I feel when she slams the door in his face. And it's a horrible feeling." And that was when it hit me. The hatred I felt for Discord all those years wasn't a shadow of the hate Spike had felt for him. Dragons don't believe in eye for an eye. If something is stolen from them, they'll take back ten times that. Theft is the one surefire way to trigger a dragon's lust to burn what lay before them and claim the treasure among the ashes. And Spike had lost his six closest friends, lost Twilight, lost Cadence, lost Rarity, his family. And Spike had kept it all in check, he had proven stronger than that, again and again, while I was the one who had run away. And that brought me back to sulking at my cloudhouse and Bon Bon and Sweetheart getting me to open up my heart. I swear...it's like I know them from somewhere, but I can't say where. Not mind control or anything, just...like we'd been friends before. Sorry for giving you the round-about like that, the notes got scrambled when we were trying to put it all together because it took so long. Sweetheart and Bon Bon as it turned out by the way, were very good at what they promised. Bon Bon just listened. And Sweetheart, she didn't judge once. It really was like she'd done this for countless ponies before. She reminded me of what Fluttershy had once been like. But most ponies never realize it, but Fluttershy is as hard a worker as Applejack is at her field, Twilight at her studying, Pinkie at her parties, or Rarity at her sewing machines. Angel had always been there to keep her from working herself to death. Now he wasn't. And now Fluttershy was going to work as hard as possible to 'nothing' herself to death. Sweetheart and Bon Bon said it was time to bring in the big guns. Apparently this required special permission from their higher ups. Who did they bring in? You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Imagine somecreature like a canine, and not exactly part of the Diamond Dog tribe. Short, about Spike's size when he was a baby dragon. Bipedal. Not a human. And goes by his species name. But patient, and very very very good at listening. To the point where he can draw out words from a pony. Even able to endure silence. He actually coaxed words OUT of that fortress of manners and niceties. He also had that same halo that Sweetheart had. He had apparently made many friends (and one enemy in one of Discord's cousins), and was called in when nothing else worked. Fluttershy would never, ever refuse him entry (the first time mainly due to not being able to defy her base 'adorable animal' instinct). And the therapist would talk to Fluttershy and listen to her words. A tongue lashing would serve no purpose I realized, because that was what Fluttershy wanted more than anything. She WANTED horrible words thrown at her, she'd EAT UP at emotional blows thrown at her. I swear she'd grin if I'd punched her in the face. What was needed was kindness and limitless patience, which this therapist had. It was a slow healing process. They knew just the right way to listen. They knew the right questions to slip in. The right observations to point out at just the right time. So that's what I figured at least. Melody used her sword to create a sound proof barrier around the cottage so we couldn't eavesdrop. Private session. Gradually, very gradually, Fluttershy started eating her own food. Cleaning her own house. Stating opinions decisively. Trusting that she had as much right to live and participate in the universe around her as any of us. Then...she finally walked out of her cottage. And she began crying. "Fluttershy?" I asked. My friends and Starlight's gathered around. "I didn't want to do anything, not feel sad, not feel angry, not be anything...it's all...it's all coming now...I...I knew this for so long but...now I'm crying..." I gently hugged her. So did the others. So did Bright Eyes, none of us stopped her. "Crying for what dear?" Bright Eyes gently. "I was wrong. My friends, everypony. I thought how you'd send them to Tartarus even though the Elements healed us because we still looked like Nightmares. That you throw all the ponies we saved into nothingness because their worlds were gone." "We know sugar cube, we know," Applejack said. "I promise Fluttershy, on everypony I've ever loved, none of us would have helped if that was their plan," Bright Eyes said. "We had a choice." "Fluttershy, I'd have helped you if that was the case," Melody said crossing her hooves. Patch nodded. "I know all that...now." Fluttershy sobbed. Getting all her pent up tears out. "But I was so tired at the end, so tired. I, know I said some things that didn't make sense. It...it wasn't about making up for things I'd done, but was able to do the best I could for those I'd hurt." "You were scared Sugarcube, don't worry about it, we're past it now. We're done with that nonsense," AJ said kindly. Fluttershy nuzzled her. "Thank you." "Fluttershy," I said. "I said some horrible things to you, and...I didn't realize you needed saving as much as everypony else until near the end." I think this whole mess that she'd gotten herself into was proof of that. "It's okay, Rainbow Dash, we're still friends, and that's what counts." Slowly the hug broke and Fluttershy stood up and spread her wings and flashed her horn. "I was so obsessed with doing nothing, that I didn't do what I should do, and that includes giving so much as an apology or so much as SEEING a friend after I used her after I tried to hurt her." "Zecora," Spike said. And yeah, that's when I realized I still owed Zecora an apology too. Fluttershy nodded. "And others, Flutternice hurt the ponies and the Scootaloos because I told her to, as her mother, it's my responsibility." "Fluttershy, most of the ponies are asleep, waiting to come home," Sweetheart said. "It's okay, even if it's only in their sleep, I'll give them my apology. Every last one of them deserves it." "It'll just be a drop in the bucket," I said. The others glared at me. "Maybe, but it's better than doing nothing." Fluttershy said, and none of us could argue that. "I know, I just wanted to make sure that didn't matter to you," I said with a smile. So yeah, Fluttershy apologized to the Ponyville ponies sleeping for tomorrow to come, to the Wonderbolts, to all 171,015 Scootaloos. And of course, Zecora. We both met her in her hut, that she chose to stay in, even if she knew it was just a replica of her home. It was actually eerie not having to worry about monsters in the imitation Everfree. We both came before her, Alicorns, both decked out in our custom barding, and knelt before her, our horns touching the floor. "I'm so sorry Zecora, I used you as a puppet to try and keep Rainbow Dash from learning the truth. I made you into what you've been trying to prove to everyone you weren't: a witch. I told myself it was for the best, and that is no excuse. I so sorry. Please forgive me." "And Zecora, even before I found out the truth, I still flew off to Cloudsdale and forgot about you and Rarity. I went off on my own without even a note and didn't once check on you. AFTER you'd just been possessed by some kind of monster. That isn't what loyal friends do when we had only each other to rely on. I apologize." She looked at me. "What you did was thoughtless, And not the least bit cautious." And Fluttershy. "It is not to embellish, To call what you did selfish." She look back at me. "But at least you prove your hearts are not stone, For your tireless efforts to atone. "While I truly feel anger, Nursing grudges is no answer. Our friendship I will not disown, and give you a chance to atone." She finished sternly. Fluttershy sure did. She made sure Zecora lived like a Zebrafrican princess in the mean time. Letting the space around her house tree be the biggest exotic flower garden imaginable. Not sure if Zecora enjoyed it, or just felt it'd be too impolite to refuse. And me? There wasn't much I could really offer a mare like Zecora. I could only promise I'd always have her back from now on. That's all I could do for her for now. And there was something else I realized during all this. Minty. I was such a maroon. I'd SEEN Minty, or at least Minty Pie, ANOTHER incarnation of Minty, during the final battle of the dark world. A Minty with three rock candies as her cutie mark armed with that magic sword. She'd CHATTED with Nightmare Granfalloon during the fight! Heck, the one who'd been the KEYSTONE of the entire spell that Twilight used to defeat us! But I was too centered on my own misery to think about it. This didn't just bloody mean an incarnation of Minty got a chance to speak with Pinkie Pie with Clover, it was on FRIENDLY TERMS, after she'd fought to the death against another version of her. That was what that moment together actually meant . . . And the way Razzaroo spoke, that she'd been sisters with one of Clover's former selves who was a part of Twilight she said (or something like that). This incarnation reality stuff made things way way way too complicated. And...Twilight was an incarnation of Minty she told me...So in other words...Pinkie Pie lost her best friend TWICE. Oy. Applejack was right. I'd been so fixated on my own miseries I didn't stop to think how unique and painful my friends' were. ++ With Fluttershy finally ready to join the world again, it was time to finally pick up where we left off before I blew my top and stalked off somewhere. So finally after everything, we were back at Sugar Cube Corner, this time Pinkie Pie had magicked up several cupcakes with extra sprinkles, and a cake with frosting that spelled out, 'Can we all please get along?' Ex-Nightmares, angels, demi-goddesses, all ready for another go. Bon Bon sat silently writing it all down. Razzaroo wasn't to be seen (somepony had to look after the Scootaloos). "So there are no more surprises. The ponies will be skipped forwards in time to when you're finished so they won't have to wait on you," Bright Eyes said looking over a checklist. "Razzaroo will be looking over your work, and Rancor will be keeping you on track. Do you object to any of this?" We all shook our heads. Starlight, trying her hardest to be a peace-maker, spoke next. "Look," Starlight started, standing up, and looking around at all us Nightmares and Flutternice. "I'll admit. It was wrong of me to spring Discord as a surprise on you girls. I should've been more upfront and warned you all that in advance that the concepts had agreed to the option of teaming you up with Discord first. I won't say my intentions were good, because my 'good intentions' ruined more lives than I could count once." "I swear, they weren't trying to make fun of you!" Clover said. "This wasn't about that!" "And if you don't want to work with Discord, I understand, and so will my bosses," Starlight Angel said sighing. "Thank you all for that," I tell them. "And I'd like to apologize for my earlier outburst. Sorry to you all for that. But now that I've had a chance to talk things out with a very wise friend..." Applejack and I turn a warm look upon each other. "...I've decided that yes, I do want to help out with this new universe." "Are you sure?" asked Starlight. "This isn't about obligation, there are other ways you can find redemption if you want....trust me." I gave them all my strongest look. "I insist. Just one question. Why DIDN'T any of you think about how I'd react to Discord?" "Don't blame them, Rainbow, this was MY idea," Discord whispered. "What? But-" "Because my world of chaos? It wasn't worth losing several hundred thousand loved ones in a way I can never get them back...now I know what you, every version of you, felt like and all the other ponies who suffered so I could have what I wanted...I know what my mortal mother and my friends at Paradise Estate felt like when I suddenly became a horrid stranger and destroyed what they'd spent untold lifetimes trying to build....and I'm sorry. Nightmare Eclipse would have never existed if not for me. Now that I've paid for my evil, I want to try making up for some of hers." I never noticed before. But Bright Eyes and Clover did NOT look anymore happy to be around Discord than we did. I...I'd simply never bothered to NOTICE before. Discord gave a sad sigh. "Let me explain one thing. One thing very very important. It was before your time... Fluttercruel had taught me, no, reminded me how to care about someequus else again, no, even that's wrong. I was taught how it felt to lose someequus you love just for the entertainment and satisfaction of someequs more powerful than you. I had to play parts just so Nightmare Paradoxy wouldn't torture others worse to hurt me. And there was Tirek, before, again before your time... I tried to team up with him... several times... each time he'd betray me and eat my magic, and the world would be destroyed in the battle between him and Nightmare Paradoxy. I was able to tell him the truth a few times with the Valeyard's help...every version of him betrayed me anyway." I remembered Nightmare Eclipse's stories of that. Apparently Tirek had been the one being that Eclipse had NEVER been able to neatly defeat once in any loop. It was always ended in the world broken. I'd almost think she was scared of him. "So now I know what it was like to be the ants instead of the kid with the magnifying glass," Discord explained. He then gave a chuckle. "...You know the funny thing?" "What?" "...In the first loop, I was left dumbfounded that a little pony had beaten me...now I was cheering when ponies proved themselves better than the one that beat me and saying 'I knew you could do it.' funny how things work out, huh?" I admit it, that got a smile out of me. "Yeah, is kind of a hoot, huh?...So what name do you make people call you these days?" I asked him. He wasn't expecting that question. "...Sorry?" "What name do you make people call you these days?" I repeated, with patient calm. "I ask because recently, I've been on something of a 'kick' where I've forced everyone else to call me Nightmare Manacle. Names are very important, and a lot's happened since the last time we were face-to-face like this. So, one more time, what name do you make people call you these days?" As the draconequus' lips tighten together for the next few seconds, I think back on all the many, many, many cutesy monikers. Both those he made up for himself, and the ones he compelled us Elements of Chaos to invent on the spot... ...Grand Penholder. Supreme Horseradish. The One True Mixologist. Puddle Jumper. Investigator Fifty-Nine Point Seven Repeating Decimal. The Everlasting Gongoozle. Destroyer Of Sense. Conquistador of Tchotchkes. The Busiest Vacuum. The Inescapable Glitch. Moo-Moo-Alulu. The Umpteenth Swizzlestick. Mr. Tastes Great Even In Milk. Ed Wynn Reborn. Many, many others...I think ponies considered it an 'unwritten rule' that you never called him the same name twice in a row. "Discord," said Discord. "Discord is my name. Though the title has changed: I'm now Spirit of Chaos and Diversity. Has a better ring to it, don't you think?" "Hello, Discord," I greeted him. "My name is Rainbow Dash. How have you been?" "Oh, I'm doing splendid now. Still can't visit my youngest child without permission but that's how it goes. Experienced the death of every creature I've ever harmed. Wrote apology letters to all of them. I'm actually quite famous now: there are villains in the Ninth Circle of Dad's gizzard who say they're relieved to have Pops as a fair and balanced eternal tormentor after they caught wind of what you did to me. Not to say I didn't deserve every moment of it...up until I was on my claws and knees begging for Queen Apple Pie's soul in front of you crying like a foal. You know, for a filly she made a pretty good absolute monarch of a world of chaos! I certainly never thought to challenge Queen Tiamat to a game of Parcheesi. BUT! I realized I had missed something important. I missed some ponies on my list." Discord got down on his knees and claws and bowed his head. "I am sorry for everything I did to all of you. Applejack. Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash. Spike. Fluttershy... Fluttercruel, I mean, Flutternice." I swear to Celestia, he was crying. Applejack trotted forward. "I think everypony just wants to move on with their lives instead of holdin' onto grudges, Discord." Discord flinched from her. We'd been his tormentors for millions of years, what did you expect, hugs and kisses? "What ya did to ponies was wrong. What ya did to my family and my friends and their families was wrong. But what we did to ya and yer family was wrong too, and two wrongs don't make a right. We've all been monsters, so now let's all be reformed monsters. Ah apologize, and Ah forgive ya." One after the other, Spike, Pinkie Pie...we all traded forgiveness and apologizes to Discord. When it came to be my turn, I felt so many mixed feelings churning in my gut, staring Discord down. Mixed like everything else. And they were all as still as an ocean. With everything done and over with...I was done with the paranoia on Discord, the thousand years he tortured me in exchange for the millions of years I helped torture him. The 'eye for an eye' makes the whole world blind. A million and one opinions on revenge, justice, and everything in between. I was sick of hating. I was sick of not trusting. I was sick of paranoia. And I was sick sick sick of GRUDGES. I was done. I let Discord know he had my forgiveness as well. Discord smiled wanly and gave me his own. His last apology was for Flutternice. She replied, "You evil monster! Go away and never come back!" ...Poof! Off he went, with a sad, sad sigh. And Flutternice gave a great sniff of satisfaction. Fluttershy stamped her hooves. "DISCORD APOPHIS TYPHON! You get yourself back into existence this instant!" And poof he came back. "Yes mam," he said meekly. "HEY! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Flutternice snapped. "It's happening now Flutternice," Fluttershy said sternly to her child. "Now BOTH OF YOU stay where you are!" Discord froze like a picture. Literally, I heard the camera and everything. Reformed or not, he's still Discord. "There's something I need to say about your father Flutternice." "Y-yes, mother?" "...Your father WAS a bad draconequus. The worst. He did awful things, and he made you love to do awful things whether he meant to or not. And he made my friends love to do awful things. He deserved to be punished. And he has been punished. And he's done, and is continuing to do everything and anything he came to make up for it! He hasn't been that bad draconequus for a very long time...your mother wanted to STOP him from being hurt more, because she saw he was truly sorry. Because she knows he's changed." I flinched. And I had been one of the ones to tell her she was 'forgiven' for thinking it. "And…and your mother needs to apologize to you too, Flutternice," Nice flinched. "P-please, mama, no more apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong!" "Yes I did. I didn't even try to help you learn how to understand your Element, your cutie mark, or the way you were born. All I did was forgive you for things that weren't your fault to begin with, and ignore the things that were you fault. The magic of Nature's Fury isn't evil. And your cutie mark isn't evil. And your Element of Chaos wasn't evil either. And it was wrong for me to tell you they were. It was the way you were using them that was evil, and I didn't even try to see that. I didn't try to show you the light to that darkness. I apologize, Flutternice. Mommy is sorry. She is VERY SORRY she never realized the truth until just now." And without another word, she placed her horn on Flutternice's head, I recognized the spells she was casting . . . One to shatter the taint of a discorded heart, and the other to have a long talk in the span of a few seconds in the minds if you didn't mind a headache that made you hate your brain in the morning. When the spell ended an instant later, Flutternice looked at both her parents and herself in shock in shock, tearful and confused, with no idea what she was supposed to be feeling, and dove her face into 'Shy's chest. "Maybe it'll just take some time dear," 'Shy said to Discord. "I think my therapist might need to make a few slots in his schedule as well...I think I'll need some help." "And those were the last I had on my list to apologize to." "Not quite," I said. "Discord. I think there's one creature left in creation, out of all the ponies you screwed over and ruined the lives of, that you have left to apologize to and you need the forgiveness of." As Discord drew a resigned breath, I turned to Applejack. "AJ? Can I borrow a mirror?" Applejack removed one of her mirrors, which I passed over to Discord. "Well, Discord?" Discord looked at his reflection. "Discord, Dissy,...I-I apologize. And...I...I forgive you." He slumped. My heart leapt in my throat when Fluttershy patted him on the shoulder. "You're done hurting others, dear, and I know you've been hurt enough. It's time to move on." Crying again, the god of chaos meekly looked at her, "Thank you, Fluttershy." "And build an entire universe for all the ponies here." "Don't worry. I remember. Also, I do have a bit of an announcement," Discord continued. "My daughter, the last Fluttercruel, has also seen the error of her ways and is on the road to redemption as well...I just thought perhaps you may be happy to hear that Fluttershy...Even if she isn't from the same time loop as you, I know you of all ponies doesn't care about that now that you're in your right mind." Flutternice just looked more confused, forget that, mortified. "But...but that's just a potential 'me'! She's not real. I'm real! I'm me! How...how can you drag down what it means to be a person by calling something that isn't even alive real?" We all looked mortified. Hearing Nightmare Eclipse's words out of her mouth. How much we'd TRULY corrupted her. "Flutternice..." Fluttershy said. "...That...that's the wrong way to look at it...She's not you. Just like all those Scootaloos aren't the same pony...That Fluttercruel is your...half-sister. Discord is her dad just like he's yours, even if it's a different me who's your mom. Does that make sense?" Flutternice just groaned, shaking her head. "But...they're all just recordings, she's just a recording of me replaying over and over until Auntie Eclipse makes them real. Like you and Auntie Manacle taking the Scootaloos out of the loop is what made them real instead of just recordings. Mama, why must you test me?" "I'm sorry, Nice," sighed Fluttershy. "I have been testing you for a very long time, haven't I? But Auntie Eclipse was wrong...Auntie Eclipse wasn't a good pony. That was just a lie she told to make herself feel better...like how I told all these ponies nice little lies to make the happy...but that doesn't make it good...It's never good to lie to yourself to make you feel okay to hurt ponies." "A l-l-lie?" Flutternice did not look well. "B-but, NO! They weren't real! They aren't real! They're just props! Robots! They don't become ponies until later! They're just potential ponies! Nopony was hurt because they weren't alive! So it wasn't a lie!" Discord looked down. I think seeing her act like this brought up bad memories. Pinkie Pie looked about ready to cry. "...Nice...They were real...they weren't props...What Auntie Eclipse and the rest of us did...it was wrong...it was bad...it was why I...I trapped us all in here...because I thought we'd finally have to face up to what we did...You have nothing in that to be guilty of...it's all my fault..." Okay. Now Flutternice looked scared. "You said we were protecting all the ponies because the mean old concepts would erase all of them because the mean old concepts didn't WANT THEM to be real! That they were gonna punish all of you because you were gonna make a better world than them, and the concepts were all jealous and selfish! You were punishing evil Discord! You were setting up to make a golden world where everypony would be happy! THAT CAN'T BE EVIL! NOTHING YOU DID WAS WRONG!!!" "...That...that was the lie I used to live with myself, Nice...it wasn't the Concepts who didn't want them to be real...it was Eclipse...we had to work very hard to keep this place remaining...she was the selfish one...we all were..." "...We thought what we wanted was worth anythin'," Applejack said. "But...even when Ah said that we'd create a golden world? Ah knew it would be a paradise built on worse than corpses, and that we'd all go to Tartarus for it. Not because the concepts were brats who couldn't stand seein' something done better than them. But because we're worse than murderers. We erased entire universes, again and again, just for the sake of one golden planet. Tell me, Flutternice, have ya ever known Auntie Mirror to lie?" "And now, all this time...it turns out the Concepts just wanted to give these ponies their own universe to exist...I was wrong...Mama's sorry she lied...she was a bad pony...a very bad pony..." The daughter looked at the mother as if she were saying that squares had actually been round shapes all along. "Stop saying that! You're not bad! You all did what you had to do! For everypony! What he turned you into! It's his fault! It's all Discord's fault! All Discord does is bad!" Flutternice cried stomping her hoof. "One problem with that, kid," AJ said. "Discord? He created YOU." "Evil fathers force themselves on helpless mothers ALL THE TIME, don't they?" hissed Flutternice. "They do," said Discord. "They do indeed. I cannot deny it." "But yer ma?" Applejack continued. "Ah turned her inta Nightmare Whisper! So if yah wanna blame somepony fer your ma bein' a bad guy, blame meh cause Ah made her a Nightmare!" "DISCORD MADE ME EVIL WHEN HE VIOLATED MY MOTHER! YOU MADE HER REAL!" "...Flutternice..." said Discord finally speaking. "...You're right, I made you cruel by violating your mother. And that was wrong...but that logic you're using right now? That was my logic for every wrong, evil thing I've ever done: that I was somehow the only 'real' thing in the world and everything else was just a little playset for me to goof around in. 'They're not real, so it doesn't matter if I hurt them.' Look where that got me." "...In the end, Nice?" I said, thinking about what Discord just said. "...Eclipse became just Discord 2.0. She became everything about him she hated times ten...and so did all of us...and...I'm sorry, I really am, we've, ALL of us, not just your mom, have passed that down to you. I think deep down, I knew that, and I didn't want the Scootaloo twisted either. And that's why I wanted them to sleep all that time." I noticed Applejack give a nod I felt wasn't for me. "P-p-plea-ease-ease stop stop saying all this!" Flutternice held her forelimbs to her head. "Nicey," Pinkie Pie said, "I thought this was all a game. I thought this was a comedy. I was wrong. It wasn't. And lots of ponies were hurt because I was too crazy to tell the difference." Nice turned a heartbroken look on her mother. "You taught me what was right and what was wrong after all the lies evil Discord told me! You taught me hurting ponies was wrong! You taught me being nice was right! WAS ALL THAT A LIE TOO?! You're not like Discord! You're not! You're not! You're not!!!" Pinkie Pie sighed. "Those things weren't lies, Nicey…but…" "Your ma was right tah tell yah hurting ponies was wrong. That being nice is right...but that's just it, Nice, we HURT ponies. BAD. VERY BAD...Ugh...Ah wish these buckin' wings wouldn't break you in two if Ah tried ta show you that truth." Starlight stepped forwards. "Flutternice...I know you probably don't trust me..." "Anypony would have ta be dumber than rocks to trust YOU, you triple-ton lying liar!" sneered Flutternice. Patch wordlessly put down her sword on the table, and touch her shoulder, making her wings vanished. She trotted up to Flutternice before any of us realized what she was doing and slapped her. I don't know if that was shrewd to do in front of a girls' parents who are a ex-Nightmare and the god of chaos, or just plain stupid. But I could tell Patch and me had one thing in common: seeing our loved ones be put down lit a fire under us. "Don't you EVER call Starlight that again you brat! Starlight is one of the most annoying honest girls I know! She keeps secrets! Same as everypony! But I've never once heard her lie! So shut up and LISTEN!" "You think you can bully me into-" "You wanna take me on again, go right ahead and-" "PATCH! STOP!" Sweetheart shouted. "That's enough." Patch snorted and sat back down, and began munch on a cupcake. Sweetheart bowed to Discord and Fluttershy. And said in the most humble, non-aggressive voice this side of Fluttershy. "I deeply apologize for my friend. She's...very protective of Starlight. Starlight, please continue." "I'm sorry for Patch, Flutternice…But one time I tried to do a really really good thing," Starlight continued, after a hurt little wince. "I tried to make a golden world too…like your Auntie Eclipse. I tried to make a world where no pony ever hurt and everypony's wishes came true...but it went wrong...and instead I hurt a lot of ponies..." "We..." Bright Eyes replied. "We, it was my idea first..." "...Your aunt Pinkie's world DIED because of our failures Nice. That was our fault, our mistake…and we had the best intentions possible." "You destroyed a beautiful world?" Flutternice said, suddenly flat-eyed and flat-voiced with sarcasm, thick and black as tar. "No way. Not YOU guys. Color me absolutely, absolutely SHOCKED." "It was WHY I became an angel of Death," Starlight said straight faced. "In the worldline your auntie Pinkie Pie came from, the universe had to be rolled back to keep it from imploding and taking every worldline connected to it. Much like what your Aunt Eclipse did. In the 'fixed' worldline, your uncle Destruction had to trigger an explosion out of our work. Not because 'the gods are bad' but because they'd already sent so many to Entropy's realm fixing the mistake the only way they could and didn't want to roll back time one DAY further and condemn even more to that fate. It was either several billion or more go to oblivion, or several go to Elysium and Tartarus. It was a HORRIBLE choice to have to make, but because of ME it had to be made. I became an angel of death to help guide every single pony who died because I couldn't see the contradictions in the spell we were making." Our eyes widened. Most of us were stunned silent. "Stop trying to shoulder it all on yourself Starlight. It never help," Bright Eyes sighed. "Agreed," AJ said. "Having seen what I've seen of your 'good intentions,' destroying all of mom's hard work, I think Heaven is entirely the wrong place for you." "THAT'S IT! You're gonna-" This time Clover and Melody held down Patch before she could start a super-brawl between a deputy Angel of death and a demi-draconequus. Was I this stubborn, when Applejack came to see me, out on that asteroid? Did I fight her like that? I think I did. "I actually agreed with you at my trial by the concepts. But I wouldn't know, I've never been there, only my friends have. My husband is waiting for me." Flutternice was thrown for a loop. I jumped in. "…When I accepted Eclipse's deal...I had good intentions too...by the end I was every bit as twisted as her...I didn't think through everything...I'm sure there's something else I could have done...and I'm sure somewhere in creation there's a world where I did...but here? My good intentions helped give Nothingness a population boom. You have to work hard to make your good intentions STAY good." "Uncle Banneret? Say something! Please! Don't tell me you...don't tell me you...please. Say that everything is alright! I want you to! Say that we were doing good! Say it! Be generous Unckie and say it! PLEASE!" Spike looked down. "...I...I'm sorry, Nice...but...I loved Rarity...but now? several hundred THOUSAND Rarities' shadows are floating in Oblivion because of me helping Nightmare Eclipse…and my claws are soaked in HER blood...and that's just part of it...the truth is, I haven't been doing what anypony wanted but Nightmare Eclipse this entire time...I haven't been generous...I've been another kind of selfish." "That's nonsense! You made me such wonderful gifts! You made such wonderful gifts for all of us! And you had such wonderful gifts set aside for Auntie Rarity for when she comes!" "Exactly. I didn't care which Rarity. I just wanted a Rarity to become Nightmare Charity. Like they were all a bunch of interchangable little dolls and I could just keep throwing away the broken ones until I got one that worked for me! I didn't care about how that Rarity became Nightmare Charity. I just wanted her. How can that be anything but selfish?" "But. . . all your gifts to me, to us...The stuffed animals that hug back for Auntie Manacle, the family album for Auntie Mirror. You can't say those were selfish!" "...I can't say it was exactly generous either," Spike said. "...I was only generous to my friends, not Apple Bloom, not Sweetie Belle, not ANYONE but my friends." "And how is that bad?" "Because I hurt OTHERS without a second thought! I hurt RARITY because Eclipse told me to! Again and again! THAT is selfish: when I give ONLY to my friends and say 'to Tartarus with everycreature else!'...Generosity SHOULDN'T be generosity just to your friends." "D-Discord must have you all under mind control!" "Flutternice, enough," I said, "Since when has Discord ever been able to control the likes of us?" "Well...y-you're weaker now since Auntie Eclipse is gone!" Discord held out a notice signed by all FOUR Elders forbidding him to even THINK about brainwashing innocent ponies ever again as one of his parole requirements. I know that because just looking at it resulted in the knowledge that that's what it was, was being embedded in my brain for eternity. Also, Havoc had drawn the O in his name as an actual mouth that seemed to be trying to eat Discord's fingers. "Couldn't even if I wanted to anymore." Flutternice opened her mouth again, but this time no words came out as she paused. "I-I'm dreaming! This is all one big illusion!" "Flutternice, that is enough," 'Shy said. "Please don't go down my road. You won't find anything happy at the end." Flutternice didn't explode into a giant draconequus and promised to destroy the confusing universe. She didn't call us impostors and try to kill us in an epic super battle. She didn't destroy herself in some horrible single moment of despair. "What's real?!" Flutternice sobbed, burrying her face in her hooves. "What's even really REAL anymore?! NOTHING!" "I love you sweetie, that's real, I promise," Fluttershy said nuzzling her. "So do I. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Pinkie Pie said. She just pouted and cried like any little filly would. Fluttershy hugged her filly. "It's okay dear, just let it all over." Spike gently patted her on the back with one claw. Patch sighed and turned her head. Sweetheart tenderly wiped Nice's tears. I saw the look on Discord's face, what he wanted more than anything was to reach and hug Flutternice too, but he held himself back, poor guy. As Fluttershy had said: it would take time. > Not Much To Scoot About > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh, and one more thing happened I think I should note… "Nice?" asked Fluttershy's Scootaloo, sneaky little filly had been listening in the whole time. Which was actually pretty impressive, considering the number of ponies she'd had to fool. "What?" She gave her a big hug. "...I know we never met during our loop and if we did…but I'd still like to be your friend…" "But I...we were…" Her Scoots took a nasty bump during that fight. "...I don't care. If every other Scoots want to help the ponies from their loop, then why shouldn't I?" So yeah, turned out Nice had more ponies that cared about her than she thought.. The big fat sense of 'so now what do we do?' only mostly vanished. I mean, I was gonna become a goddess along with my friends of a new universe we were gonna build with our own hooves. I finally buried the hatchet with Discord once and for all. You think that would be a pretty sweet deal. But... I'd... I'd never become a member of the Wonderbolts. Kinda dumb I know to think about that now, but- okay, let me explain this. I was busy saving the world last time I was Rainbow Dash, then Rainbow Dash having cookie-cutter adventures... now I was Rainbow Dash that could stop and think and it hit me. That dream, that vision I'd put so much into before Discord ruined the world, poof. I spent so long in Fluttershy's fantasy thinking how'd I'd be the greatest Wonderbolt ever, and here I was again, that dream would never come true. I didn't even get to have a fantasy of being one. No, it was worse than that….that vision and all my effort? It technically never happened...and it was all my fault. Don't talk me out of this one. I was the one who gave up my timeline by taking Eclipse's deal...my entire life and only me and Scootaloo #1 are the only survivors...now I know how Pinkie felt. I wasn't about to rush to Spitfire and demand she make me an honorary Wonderbolt, I'm not that pathetic. That and where would it go from there? I couldn't exactly have a career now. It'd be just an empty title. It was just another sad reminder of things I wouldn't be getting back. At least I can call Spitfire my friend now. And there was a dark feeling in the pit of my gut that wouldn't go away whenever I thought of Twilight. And I was just thinking of Twilight often. "Butterflies in your stomach?" Sweetheart had asked as she and Bon Bon did their regular visit. "You… you can ask any time you know." "Nah," I told her. "Just... I dunno. It'd been so long since I've seen her, y'know? Maybe I just want the dust to settle once and for all before kicking up a new storm." Between therapy sessions, none of us knew what we were supposed to be doing with ourselves. Zecora refused to leave the fake Ponyville and sleep like the others, insisting she'd stay until our initial business there was done (when we'd take the step to become concepts). The Scootaloos, meanwhile, were all judged on a case-by-case basis. I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all. There was no easy solution here. And there wasn't a perfect one either. 171,015 fillies, and deep down, my only regret for them is that I wasn't able to save more. Fluttershy, hearing what the angels were planning, dug up her old puppets and began reconfiguring them so they could hold lights of existence. Discord's magic would then turn them into flesh and blood ponies. It was cheating, I knew. Every light of existence was meant to experience the world from the ground up, and here they were being used like batteries for custom ponies to replace those who no longer even existed. Bright Eyes explained, "Their pasts are still going to be their own choices." Then she went into a 'time double reverse forward' thingie, time-space magic had been Nightmare Eclipse's thing, not mine. Otherwise I'd be explaining all this to a mortal psychologist somewhere. Razzaroo had a different take on it. "You were my Rainbow Dash's light...was your life any less valid because you had her Light of Existence? Or that you have Firefly's Shadow?" I guess that made it hard to argue. And yes, it was a bit shocking to learn half of me was bucking General Firefly the First. The Scootaloos had been with Razzaroo at the schoolhouse when we had our meeting with Starlight's herd. I guess they chose that spot out of nostalgia. That and Cheerilee's Scoots wanted to make sure the place would be clean for her to come back to. "You ever feel distressed or uncomfortable looking at all of them?" Sweetheart asked. "No. Because I didn't see the same filly 171,015 times over, I saw an individual filly in each face." However, we'd forgotten one thing. 171,015 Scootaloos were 171,015 fillies, and they had the energy to match. So they got bored really quick. And apparently Scootaloo #171,000 (who'd ended up with the Wonderbolts in her loop (I convinced Nightmare Eclipse to let me arrange them to be purified in some loops) and was from the same line as Soarin') decided to organize a race. Pinkie and Razzaroo suggested they turn it into a triathlon party or something. I wonder if any of them knew why they enjoyed it so much. While they were all the same pony from different iterations of the same universe, they'd still differed from each other enough that different ones won different events. No pony minded, they were just happy to have something to do. Yeah, I'd call all those Scootaloos awesome. Though coming up with that many events was not easy I tell you that. Then Sweetheart asked Melody to hold a solo concert for the swarm. "But I don't have my bandmates, or an electric guitar!" Sweetheart gave her that Fluttershy like look. "I'm sure you can manage." Melody used her sword's power to amplify her voice for the crowd. Her singing voice was if Rarity had been into rock and roll. The fillies loved it. For the last bit of it, she 'invited' me to play guitar (and by invite, I mean 'showed me the Scootaloos giving me puppydog eyes'). What? You though I didn't really know how? Melody was exhausted by the end, but smiling. ...ugh, and now to the dark stuff. Seriously, I wish this whole thing had been sunshine and rainbows. What was REALLY creepy was my imitation Ponyville and Cloudsdale, so many ponies no longer in it, it was hollow husk. And we were gonna use it to build a real home for refugees. It wasn't our home anymore. I'll admit, I spent most of my time resting in my cloudhouse between sessions. Letting it drifts where it would over the fake Ponyville. Didn't stop Pinkie Pie from visiting, or Applejack, or Fluttershy, or Spike, or Razzaroo, or any of them really. My dreams were a lot more mundane and weird now... almost 'mortal,' if you will. I never once ran into Princess Luna. Yes, I did have a few nightmares, but not as many as I expected. At least I knew the Scootaloos weren't going to be just shipped off to the afterlife. And... after what Patch did, I realized there was no way Starlight and her friends would have done that anyway. "What you do mean dear?" Sweetheart task. "After seeing how Patch reacted to Flutternice's bad mouthing... it hit me. You're ponies. You're not some aloof creatures from beyond. You have hearts. You're friends." Sweetheart had nuzzled me. "Thank you for seeing that." So yeah, after the bomb got dropped on Flutternice, her family and her Scootaloo took her home, along with most of my friends and Starlight's. Both of us stayed behind. "So... " I asked awkwardly. "Because you made one mistake, your entire world paid for it?" We sat down at one of the dusty Sugar Cube corner tables, munching on leftover cake and cider. Yes, hard cider, but considering one of us was an angel and the other was a Nightmare, we didn't have to worry about getting drunk unless we drank a cider store. She nodded. "It wasn't just my world. It was Pinkie Pie's world. During my trial, the defense argued that Bright Eyes and the others involved in the project didn't spot it either. But the prosecution said that just because others fell short it was no excuse that I did too." "You meant the absolute best of intentions," I said, "You were gonna fix the world. You were gonna save everypony. But at the big moment, it all went boom. And a million years later, it STILL hasn't magically gone away." "It never does," She replied. "They tell you to move on. But you keep clutching to it, because you don't want to be dismissive of those who suffered because of you." "But because you have friends who won't give up on you, no matter how hard you try, you realize sitting on your flank whining about it all day is only making your friends more miserable." "Even if the pain won't ever really go away-" "-you have to live with it." "Or be with it in our case." "But you still have friends that won't ever abandon you. That are true to you. That love you. That are shouldering their own pain, but are still willing to help you through yours." "And you can shout and accuse all you want at the world for it letting it go that far-" "-but you're responsible for your own life." "So you do the best you can with what you got-" "-even if it's just a few drops in a bucket of blood." "The point isn't to 'balance' it all out like a checkbook. You... just want to help." "Even if you're worried you'll just hurt others again?" "You gotta try anyway, or you might as well just sit down and stop existing." "And then there's your friends. As long as they're around, you won't give up for anything." "Even if all the world becomes your enemy, calls you a monster, they'll still stand up for you." "And loyalty like that should BE repaid." We sat in silence, just letting our thoughts run through our minds a bit. Then something occurred to me. "...Hey...do you know...you know, who I was in your world? Before I became the original Rainbow Dash?" "I do, but ... do you think it matters?" I blinked. "Huh?" "...You weren't some big hotshot. You weren't one of my friends...Even if that you was a no pony, would you still want to know?" I stopped for a minute and let me really think that little bit of trivia over. "...Saying somepony was a no pony was Nightmare Eclipse's excuse. And the last thing I ever want to be is another Nightmare Eclipse." Starlight smiled. "That's the answer I was looking for." I'll save you the long winded story. Like Starlight said, I wasn't anypony big or important, in fact I probably couldn't tell you one of my descendents...I wasn't like Sweetheart and remembered as a saint. I got left out of the folklore and history books: a dear member of my family made it though. But Starlight remembered, the concepts remembered...and now so did I. And that was better than them just being a 'prop.' After that, we just sat there, thinking about everything we'd talked about, Starlight thinking about her side of it until she said. "Pinkie Pie sure makes really good cakes doesn't she?" "Always has." Oh, and I asked her for that list of deaths she'd showed me earlier...I realized that even Discord had taken the time to memorize his victims since he saw the error of his ways, so it was the least I could do to do the same. Oh, and one little thing. Patch also invited me to play a few video games. Of course I didn't say no. "Just one question," I asked, breaking the sacred rule of playing video games with somepony. "Why?" "Sweetheart told me I should get to know you girls better after I gave Flutter-Not-So-Nice that smacking and told me to start with you. And you don't seem like the dancercise kind of girl, and there's nowhere to really dangerous explore around here. And pranks don't seem the way to go in a place like this. So, video games." I suddenly saw Patch a tiny bit more as a fellow. "I don't really mind pranks myself. But given our limited pool of targets, I'd rather not accidentally declare a prank war against 171,015 fillies legendary for infinitely creative ways of causing trouble." "And I'd rather not declare prank war against five Nightmares with magic powers. And I have a Sis-Tail Promise with my friends not to prank them ever again. Video games it is then." She brought her own system and games, I had never heard of the system or the titles (or the TV she used, those hadn't even been INVENTED before Discord's take over), but I recognized the genres and the controls weren't that hard to figure out. It was kinda stunning seeing those 'sticky hooves' in action playing video games, I had to use telekinesis to press the buttons they were so close together. Of course, since she knew all the combos and had this video game for who knows how long, she kept kicking my flank. "If this was one of my video games I'd be kicking YOUR flank," I said. "But this is neither here nor there." She grinned. "Oooh! I remember this! Can I play?" "Pinkie Pie?!" "I don't really feel comfortable playing with an imaginary friend," Patch said. "Now who sounds scared of having their flank kicked?" I grinned. "Uh, it's only two player." "No it isn't! It's up to eight player! See? There in the corner." "I didn't bring any extra controllers!" "Good thing I keep extra controllers around town of every possible console ever made, and some that were purely hypothetical in subspace pockets in case of emergencies." I grinned ear to ear. It lasted until Pinkie Pie began kicking my flank as hard as she was kicking Patch's. Also, some of the Scootaloos were drawn in to the sound of video games, and wanted to jump in and play too, on rotation. Since we had eight players possible Pinkie Pie said yes to them before we could stop her which lead to (besides being VERY tired and taking game advice from my Wonderbolts action figures near the end)… "Hey...did you notice something?" Scootaloo #1992 asked. "What?" "We both have orange fur and similar colored manes, and are both tom colts…" Patch stared at her for a moment. "...I hadn't noticed that...and my husband did have blue hair so mix our colors and...Does weird stuff follow you around like a plague?" "I'm a Cutie Mark Crusader, we ran into a giant squid in a lake and got mixed into rainbow colored taffy! And that's actually kind of tame...oh, and there are over 100,000 of me running around so...yeah." "...I think I need to check with Bon Bon's records..." + Spike, AJ, and the others would eventually join in, and we had a video game tournament of sorts... it was one of the few times which, without mind control involved, we were able to forget our situation and just be friends hanging out again. But for now let back to something that I REALLY should have mentioned before. "Rainbow Dash," Razzaroo came to me. Normally she was hanging out at the imitation Golden Oaks. She looked sad. This actually took place a bit BEFORE she told me how alike we really were. I told you our notes got scrambled. This is what happens when it takes you so long to get anything together and then you go back and realize you missed some big parts. It's also what happens when you say 'mount this, I'm outta here' and go sit on an asteroid for however how long. The world doesn't stop for you. The story just goes on. Starlight Angel and her friends and Zecora had set up shop at Applejack's farm house while I'd been gone to 'review' the Scootaloos' and how to handle each one. The Scootaloo Alliance Army of Awesome was hanging out in the orchard, eating apples, chatting with each other, none of them having exactly the same expression. Applejack wasn't objecting. The Scootaloo army coming in and out of the barn and the clubhouse one at a time. "I was going to tell the moment your meeting with Starlight and her friends was over but . . . you just hid yourself away before I could. I felt you'd want to hear this before you found out on your own." "You're not going to make me find out on my own?" I almost said, then stopped. "While at the schoolhouse... the Scootaloos all told me to make them remember in their minds what their souls already remembered." My heart shook. "You did it didn't you?" "And I don't like myself one bit for it," she said sternly, her eyes narrow. "You could have said 'no' to them." "Could you have said 'no to them?" "... No I couldn't." I sighed. "I asked them to wait until the meeting was over so you'd be there for them but... " "But I flipped out at seeing Discord, and left without even a good-bye to them." I sighed. "At that point they thought I was making excuses and demanded I do it on the spot. It was to make sure they made an informed decision knowing everything it entails during their talks with Starlight's herd. I Swear Rainbow Dash, this wasn't a conspiracy." "If it was, you wouldn't have told me," I said. "I was scared, when they remembered, that they'd hate you. That you'd want to spend one last day with them. That you'd lose your chance to say goodbye to the innocent Scootaloos." "But... they don't hate me," I pointed out. "They ALL must've known who I was.... WHAT I was already in their souls. Scootaloo is like me. She trusts her feelings. And she'd have not helped me if that what she'd truly felt. They still all fought for me... with me... All of them." Yes I had been the one to say that this time. I'm stubborn, but I wasn't that thick headed. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, I really am. I didn't mean to doubt you. I was scared. Scootaloo is my friend too! Whether she remembers or not. I never even got the chance to say goodbye to her when my world ended! I didn't want that to happen to you too. All I want is for her to be happy and alive and for each of them to not have to endure remembering that horrible world... I guess I was just being over cautious." "You always intend well," I stated, filling up a glass with apple juice. "It's a shame you don't just make a whole separate universe for each one of them." "Say, that's a super-swell idea, Rainbow Dash!" Razzaroo told me with a bright smile. "And we'll put you personally in charge of all of them!" She'd timed it perfectly for me to do a spit-take. "Joking aside," she continued, as I choked on apple juice. "I asked that before. And we're bending the rules as it is. We're making a single new universe for all the ponies in your Ponyville because they've bonded in the time they've been here. And...creating so many new universes for just one foal? It's disrespectful to the inhabitants of that universe." "And it isn't to the ones of the new universe you're going to be making?" I asked, after clearing my throat properly. "We don't have a perfect solution. When a pony is erased, only their shadow goes to Oblivion, their light returns to Fauna Luster and is sent back into the universe as a new life. We'd be DESTROYING souls if we tried to remake the universes all these ponies individually came from." "I thought there wasn't a 'law of conservation of souls' or something like that? Wasn't that how the last Twilight Sparkle kicked Nightmare Eclipse's flank?" "I was the first one to ask about that. Just THIS many Scootaloos all born from the same Light of Existence is already stretching that law really thin." "How does that work?" She looked like somepony trying to explain the color blue to a blind pony. "Sorry, I'm not a concept, or an angel, neither is Twinkle Wish, it's hard to explain when even I don't understand it completely yet. But...You remember how the last cycle's Twilight Sparkle and Minty Pie nearly fused together?" "Yeah..." "That was a pony that was born from the Light of a pony meeting the one born from their Shadow. For lack of a better term, that was the universe's 'base code' being confused. That's a gross oversimplification but if anypony understands how complicated this can be it's you. That was a glitch in the fabric of reality more or less, that wasn't supposed to happen and doesn't happen every time. Or Bright Eyes would currently be fusing with Fluttershy and Sweet Heart with Applejack." "I think I get it...wait, what?!" "Long story! In that case, actually, Rota made sure it wouldn't be fixed because...well, in some lines it would be vital to defeating Nightmare Eclipse. Now, when a timeline splits, the lights are subtly different, like...remolds of the same doll, so to speak...that wouldn't be the case with this. If we tried making multiple universes all with exact replicas of their Lights of Existence, and ponies with the same Lights as the ones in this world...their UNIVERSES would try to do what Minty and Twilight almost did. The fabric of reality is already 'overheating' so to speak, trying to keep the Scootaloos from all merging together into some giant...Scootaloo...Legion...thing." "Oh boy," I gulped. Nightmare Eclipse had shared notes with us on Nightmare Legion, the big THING that Entropy had forged from Her Shadows for the war with the alicorns, so I had some idea what that would be like...it took a lot of willpower not to have a panic attack imagining one made entirely of Scoots. "If I kept saving Scootaloos?" "They were OUTSIDE of time in your domain, they were in no danger. 'Mass' isn't the true issue, think of it how some ponies use the word 'many' for anything higher than a number they know. Reality feels there are 'many' Scootaloos." "We aren't forcing the ponies of this Ponyville to consciously remember what their souls already do because we have the power to let them go on with their lives from when you 'collected' them as...as the thing that was a mockery of my little sister was destroying the universe each time. Scootaloo, all of her, each of her: I...could you erase her memories of taking part in battle with Nightmare Whisper? Of proving to creation that yes, she is real, she is alive, her choices matter?" "...No, I couldn't." "Each Scootaloo is going to be free to choose what she wants to become of herself, and they're free to discuss it among themselves. And like you said, they all still love you. They all forgive you. 171,015 worldlines, and out all of that, they all chose to love you and forgive you of their own free will. Think about that." "...Thank you, Razzaroo. If their heart already remembered, what made you think their heads remembering was going to make a difference?" "You have a point," she smiled. I really should've paid attention to those discussions Nightmare Eclipse had about Pinkie Pie's old universe (we were together for millions of years, you think Pinkie Pie wouldn't share what she knew? Which wasn't everything.). "Rainbow Dash!" One of Starlight's friends flew right in. The one who was Minty's previous incarnation, and Twilight's. "Hey Clover." "The Scootaloos from their friends worlds. They...they all said they were going to..." She panted. She then told me we had a special guest to do a special service for 'Scootaloo from Sweetie Belle's world' and 'Scootaloo from Apple Bloom's'. "Razzaroo..." I started. "I SWEAR I had no clue about this!" Razzaroo growled, grabbed me, and teleported all three of us straight to Sweet Apple Acres, she'd been studying. The Scootaloos who had been mostly watching their clubhouse somberly or looking the other way gasped a huge collective gasp when we teleported in. I zoomed straight into the Clubhouse. I saw the mare speaking with the two orange fillies. Nightmare Eclipse had us all read long and boring profiles on the Alicorns and Draconequi from what she had learned from her trips through the worldlines. Pinkie Pie called them 'spoiler-tastic.' Naturally, Nightmare Eclipse being Nightmare Eclipse, those profile has a lot of biased content, but also being Twilight Sparkle, she presented all the cold hard facts before going into her 'conclusions.' I'd never seen the Alicorn speaking to them in person before but I knew this was Venus: the concept of love. I admit...while at the time I was distracted by being worried, I felt...warm just being near her. Eew! No, not THAT kind of warm. I mean like when your mom hugs you or when a friend hugs you or...well, anyone you care about does. She just felt like that feeling. And she wasn't standing over the two Scootaloos like a god, she was laying down so she was on their level, like a mother would when she's talking to a kid. A third Scootaloo stood behind them, but didn't seem directly involved. Cheerilee's Scootaloo. "My Little Ponies, You do realize the three of you are going to give up something to the other for this, correct?" Venus asked. "...That all of you forfeit something to others?" The three nodded. "You all know exactly what you're giving up?" They nodded. "And this cannot be undone once done?" They nodded again. "Scootaloo!" I completely ignored the goddess in the room. In retrospect, considering Venus was the Goddess of the power sources behind several of Equestria's 'do not under any circumstances buck with this' magical objects, I probably should've been a tad more careful, but she seemed to take it well. "Oh." "Hi, Dash." "Nice cosmic weather we're having, huh?" "Why didn't you tell me?!" "I hoped...you wouldn't notice us missing." "I didn't, I didn't want you have to watch." "I just wanted it over with." "I don't...do you have any idea…" Apple Bloom's Scootaloo spoke, I could tell Scootaloo's entire herd apart as easily from night from day. "I'm giving up my wings and...and being your apprentice...to be Cheerilee's little sister." "...How can you do that and still be okay with this?" "...Because I still want to be a Crusader." "And so do I," said the Sweetie's. "You can both be without...without one of you…" I shuddered. She...she was talking about giving up her wings...she was… "Mutilating yourself!" "Being an Earth Pony is that awful?" Cheerilee's Scootaloo asked. "That's not what I meant Squirt!" "I can be a another Sweetie Belle's Scootaloo," Sweetie's Scootaloo said. "And I can be another Applebloom's Scootaloo," Applebloom's. "But we can't both be ours," they both said. I took a trot back. "We took a vote Dash, all 171,015 of us. This is what we want. We want Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both to be with their Scootaloo." "But...why like this?" "Because we were Cheerilee's sister, Rainbow," said Applebloom's Scootaloo. "In Pinkie's world...in the world that wasn't...this way...we're still ourselves we're just…" she looked like she was trying to find the right words. "We're just importing an old save from the previous game." "Y-you can be identical twins! You don't have to do this!" "...Yes we do Dash...I'm Scootaloo." "And I'm Scootaloo." Said Applebloom's and Sweetie's. "How are we supposed to decide which of us is Scootaloo and the other the 'twin sister?' Flip a coin? In the order we were taken?" I tried to think but nothing came out of my mouth. "...There's only one way we can both be Scootaloo in this world, Rainbow Dash," said Applebloom's. "If we're twins, we have to pick which one of us is the original Scootaloo and which is getting a completely different life...but if we started out as strangers…" "Then it's just a coincidence we have the same name," Sweetie's finished. "We're both Scootaloo, we're both somepony our souls and theirs remember as Scootaloo...and we can both be the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we'll just have four members instead of three." I swear I could hear Fate grinding her teeth at that last part. And Ponyville's insurance premiums taking a jump. "But...one of you...why can't she have a pegasus sister?" I grasped at straws. "Because Cheerilee's family has no pegasi in it," Venus of all ponies said. "And to force one into it? It'd either be an act of lust, or a forced love solely for the sake of allowing Scootaloo to be a pegasus. And neither of those acts am I permitting...I care about these ponies as greatly as you do, Rainbow Dash, but I have my rules, rules I will not break." "But-" Venus shot me a glare that made my heart skip a beat. "Do you desire for one of Cheerilee's family to be violated? Or for one of them to experience a marriage that can only bring them suffering and part two ponies who might actually live long happy marriages? I do not." "...No…" I finally admitted. "...But...Scootaloo...I…" Cheerilee's Scootaloo looked at me. "...You think I don't want that spot too, Rainbow Dash?" I blinked, looking at the little pegasus. "...Scootaloo…" "I...that's my Cheerilee," she said. "...I'd give up these wings in a heartbeat to be her sister...but…" she looked to the other two. "...Cheerilee getting a sister is an open slot, only one of us can fill it. We all agreed ahead of time we wouldn't be overcrowding Equestria with identical sisters. "And if I took it, that'd just be to make me happy, right? If she takes it, it's to make Applebloom happy...And a Scootaloo is always loyal to her friends and puts them before herself, right?" Couldn't argue with that logic. In fact I was proud of it. "...Scootaloo...are you sure you're okay never flying again?" I asked Applebloom's. "I'm okay with being with my Applebloom. And that's more important to me than my wings." "...Are you okay with...with…" I started crying. "With...not being...not being my…" It wasn't that I was worried for her...I was worried for me. Applebloom's Scootaloo hugged me instead. "...I'll always be your friend, we were friends when you dressed with style, we'll be friends when I don't have wings...we might not be AS good of friends, but...I'm sure Scootaloo will still start a fanclub, and I'll be lining up for my rainbow wig." "You got that right Scootaloo!" said Sweetie Belle's. I admit, I smiled at that. "...Well then, Darlings, I won't stop you…" I don't care how weird that sounds. Group hug followed. "Alright then," said Venus, stepping forwards. "...As an act of your love...from this moment forth, you, Scootaloo will be Scootaloo Punch, youngest sister of Cheerilee and Berry Punch. And you, Scootaloo shall be the friend of the Crusaders and apprentice to Rainbow Dash. Let your love make it so." She touched her horn to Applebloom's Scootaloo's head and she transformed. Her wings...I forced myself to watch. They didn't just get lopped off in a gory display, they didn't shrivel up into dust. They simply glowed white and receded into her. Her body type changed a little bit, becoming less lightly built and more muscular, like an Earth Pony. Her mane style changed, becoming a ponytail. Razzaroo had come up behind me overheard, and after giving me another hug, Scootaloo Punch came over to her. Since she 'reverted to a previous save' so to speak, I think she thought what came next made sense: namely hugging Razz and telling her she wished they'd gotten to say goodbye. Razaroo broke down in tears hugging her. You can imagine Pinkie's reaction when she found out. Cheerilee's Scootaloo told her that she needed to promise her she would be the best little sister ever for Cheerilee, for her sake. I don't think anyone doubted that's exactly what would happen. Me?...Well, let's just say seeing Scootaloo do that...it made me realize one thing: if they were willing to do this for their friends...I should be willing to sacrifice a little for them to make sure they're happy. "So long to the flight and omni-elemental powers, and welcome back to the super-strength and life-sense club Scootaloo. . ." Pinkie Pie had said later, but for once didn't offer to throw a party. Oh, and Pinkie was also the one to point out that Ruby Pinch now had an aunt her own age, Scoots was happy about that...I was kinda scared since that meant the Crusaders might pick up a fifth member. On the bright side, Melody pointed out that Berry Punch having a baby sister that looked up to her on top of a daughter might help her overcome a certain habit. Outside, 171,012 little fillies were waiting to give the earth pony filly a hug too. And a 'congratulations' to the crowned 'Scootaloo' who'd take the throne of being Scoots in the new world and have Scootaloo's original life. Then a congratulations for the other Scootaloo that would be Cheerilee's sister. What? Like Applebloom's Scootaloo said, neither was any less a Scootaloo than the other. Venus looked to me. "...I know how painful that must have been," she told me... sounding a lot like Celestia would to ponies. "But know this: Cheerilee's bond of love with her will be strong, both of them will be happy...that much I can feel. And Scootaloo, both of them, will have a new bond of friendship." "...Why do you care? You've done your job." "I am Love. Mother may be the Perfect Empathy...but I'm still everypony's love." "Including that Pegasus you killed?...Uh...sorry." Nightmare Eclipse's exposition had that marked in red. She didn't snap, she didn't bring down the thunder and lightning, she didn't get into a tirade about judgement, she just, sighed sadly. "…That filly had no love in her heart, literally. She murdered my son without regret, and would have done the same to me. She was shown the damage she caused, and felt no repentance. ...Rancor told a half truth when she destroyed that Spear, we'd actually been planning to destroy it from the moment that we got it...because in that moment when my son died, so did more relationships than you can imagine." "I can imagine quite high." "And with them, so many ponies went to oblivion...second only to the number this tragedy has caused..." "More than Pinkie Pie's world?" "Yes. Because Star Catcher was the only child born in that world, the population hadn't changed other than a few accidental deaths. When Cupid and his concept was erased...all those who were alive because of it and him were erased with him, past, present, and future." She didn't explain it like she was defending deleting Pinkie's world, if anything the look on her face made me want to hug her. "...When I struck her down, I acted not just in rage at my son's death...but in rage for all those she carelessly slaughtered, and to stop her from causing greater harm, and unlike you...she had no desire to repent for that ocean of blood. You still love." Instead of a thundering commanding voice, she said that last part encouragingly. "Thanks. I'm going to try my best." Venus nodded in approval. "Not just your best, but your successes! Because you love your friends, they love you, and you love Ponyville, its ponies, and Equestria. And love isn't cruel. "That's the secret of love: it never holds a grudge. It never lacks confidence in others. I have faith in you, Rainbow Dash." she said, I swear channeling Scootaloo for a moment...oh, right, she's Scoots' love for me too. "...Also, I feel I owe you this: Rainbow Dash, I forgive you. For helping manipulate hearts and tearing apart friends as part of the Nightmare Gallery. For every crime against my concept you've committed." She hugged me. "You've done NOTHING since you were purified but prove your love for your friends and fellow ponies." "Rarity and Zecora?" "You're not perfect. But you're trying and you aren't making excuses for yourself and you realize your mistakes and you're trying your hardest to learn from them. They love you as their dear friend." How did she know? She's love. I could feel one less weight on me. "...Also...one more thing?" "Yeah?" "The soul always remembers. Know this: no matter how any of these Scootaloos change...in the end their soul's bond to you never will." I remembered Pinkie Pie and Clover. "Hehe...Yeah...thanks." She knew what she needed to say...love always does. Okay it's mushy, but I think we're all overdue for some mush at this point. 171,013 Scootaloos left to make their choice. And as it turned out, more than one Scootaloo would be willingly giving up her wings. And I'm totally proud of every last one of them! > Scootaloos, Trixie, Clover, Twilight Sparkle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia's sister left after her job was done. She wasn't interested in making a grand show, and I wasn't interested in telling the others about what happened. Well, except for Bon Bon and Sweet Heart in our routine visits. Don't ask how Pinkie reacted to see Cheerilee's new sister. I hate to admit, I mean really hate to admit it, but they've done me and my friends a lot of good. I wonder how much Zecora had figured out. She was a mare Twilight admired for her insight. 171,015 Scootaloos running around was going to raise flags in her head as much as it had Spitfire's. Not to mention, Fluttershy as a bad guy, us as NICE Nightmares, a monster version of Fluttershy claiming to be her foal on top of Starlight's herd. But Zecora never asks any new questions, she's either waiting for Starlight's answers or have figured it out for herself, or is just going with the flow with all the nonsense she'd been swept up in. The 'sun' and 'moon' were still rising and setting, in spite of the hole in the sky. It's funny, I keep calling this imitation fake, but once ponies begin living here, it'll be real. Discord stuck around, getting a feel for things before we got started. "No moon and sun I could make will hold to Celly and Lulu's work, but they'll do until they can do it themselves." That made me wonder. Were my friends going to be the only concepts for this new universe? Or were we gonna be doing diaper duty too looking after a herd of new born concepts as their 'big sisters'? How long did it take concepts to grow up? If I was gonna be changing diapers for a million years, I can't say we aren't gonna be EARNING our redemption. Discord agreed with us on that one, but also said he had plenty of baby supplies from cleaning out a bunch of baby stuff His Parents put in his realm for Rancor and we could use it just in case. Discord, also made a rather odd request OF US. "...I know you didn't take any sea ponies to populate here, but eventually the universe will catch up and new souls will fill roles...do you think I can make a Sky Ocean here? As a natural part of creation?...It's the only truly beautiful thing I've ever made I permitted to stay beautiful...the only thing I ever did I think added to the world." None of us objected to it, and neither did Razzaroo. Though she said it would have to be 'discovered' by Ponykind or otherwise it would be too big an addition to what the Ponyville ponies already knew was and was not. Discord was fine with that. "It was about the one thing I liked about Discord's kingdom too," Melody said. "Why?" Flutternice asked. "Because you weren't forced to take ponies away from their families?" Melody laughed. "Kiddo, I told you I'm just a substitute angel of death, my normal volunteer work is as an angel of music, and even then I'm just part time. I have too many friends and family in the afterlife I want to make up with to do this full time!" Pinkie talks to Razzaroo and Twinkle Wish about the Age Of Dreams. She's been treating Starlight a bit like royalty whenever she chats with the reaper. So does Razz now that I think about it, but more subdued. Meanwhile Starlight treats Zecora like Twilight did Princess Celestia. Razzaroo and her pet star were giving the fillies free magic shows. Pst. I thought that was supposed to be demeaning for the big top magic users. Then again, Princess Celestia had had Chuckle-Lot, that one night a year she played the clown for her subjects. It was fun to watch, but I never got why Celestia did it. I can't see Rarity doing it. As for me, I'm looking over the Scootaloos, as they go in one by one to chat with the reapers. Don't ever try to keep an eye on 171,015 fillies, you'll just go wall-eyed. 'My' Scootaloo, Scootaloo #1, along with a dozen or so her sisters are talking with Razzaroo. The others are from worldlines where the Cutie Mark Crusaders managed to come back together as trio, though it didn't stop them from dying of old age. I've stopped trying to tune into every chat I hear. I'm sick of finding out my best friend is this other mare's second incarnation big sister's imaginary friend fused with two other ponies twice removed from another timeline or some horseapples like that. My life is convoluted enough as is! If I ever get to make my own universe, I'm sweeping out most of this crud. And, as though reading my thoughts, this ever-disobliging universe I'm currently occupying decided it had only begun being convoluted. "Excuse me." Clover gently trotted up to me, not from behind, open and honest. She'd also 'taken off' her wings and didn't have her sword with her. She was just a teenage filly. "Yes?" "I...I just wan to say...that...well..." She said. "I never became Minty, that was another Clover who did that, but that Minty did become Twilight Sparkle and...well. I don't want you to think I was keeping anything from you! You're all friends of my family and most of my friends are related to all of you and...I don't want us to finish things on bad terms! Even if we're 2000 years apart, we're still family and family should support each other! So please, can we be friends?" And there she was, not high and mighty angel, not a manipulator, all I saw was an awkward mare trying to bridge a gap. I just stared. I tried to think of some way this mare had offended me, maybe besides the fact a version of her had become Minty and that I didn't like Pinkie Pie having a place in her heart reserved for a long gone friend I could never go. But...if she really branched off before she even became Minty...before Minty became Twilight. She was her own person. I wasn't going to string her together with who she could have been. We were ponies. I'll admit the unknown scared us like Zecora, came from being a herd species. But once it became known, we'd make friends with just about anything and were proud of it. Even under Discord's chaos ponies we ponies stayed kind and helpful instead of beng survivalist thugs. "Thanks. Maybe we can be. More the merrier as Pinkie says. But related to all of us? Heh. Though I think you're hard pressed to find a way you're related to Spike." I grinned. "He's an adopted member of my family," she said. "...Say what?" "Twilight Sparkle's family is part of mine. You heard of Clover the Clever?" "Who hasn't heard of her?" "Even my namesake is more remembered than me." She said offhanded in a way that reminded me of Trixie being overshadowed by her family. "I checked, she's an ancestor of Twilight Sparkle. -" I wasn't that surprised, 2000 years, and you're bound to have a hero in your family tree, I had Commander Hurricane genes in me somewhere. But the way she said it, she didn't WANT anything. It was like Fluttershy, she was offering. "- And she's my descendant. And if she was willing to help me if we were a thousand years apart, I had no excuse not to help Spike. I'm going to be speaking to him, but Sweetheart said you needed friends too right now." "Wait wait wait, how did Clover the Clever, help YOU if you were born a thousand years apart?" "I met her when she used a time travel spell. What's important is what she told me. My special talent is luck, but some horrible things had happened to those I loved. So I was ready to give up on my special talent, on myself. She came to me just when I needed her. She said, 'Things will get better! Not all once, in fact they will get worse at first and not to my knowledge as they once were but they will get better! Not just for your family but for all ponies of all tribes, so don't lose hope!' And the one time I did, after I died, I almost made a horrible mistake. Don't lose hope Rainbow Dash. Ever. I've seen the end of my world too. Despair, and not believing in others or yourself, doesn't do anypony any good. And I believe in you." She hugged me. After a few seconds. I hugged her back. I later saw her flying overhead with Spike, the two SMILING in a way only family can...maybe all these convolution links weren't all contrived headaches. The Scootaloos had been set loose shortly before I restored the others, and had been going around while we were preparing to and fighting with Whisper. Maybe they'd talked to ponies, maybe it was just from when I took Rarity with me to stay with Zecora. But...they'd noticed Rarity had disappeared. And not appeared with the rest of us. They probably noticed Twilight was gone too. "I hope she comes back..." said Redheart's Scootaloo. "Yeah, for Sweetie Belle's sake..." Sweetie's Scootaloo, crowned as the Scootaloo for the new world said. "Uh...my Applejack said praying is a good thing to do when you want to make sure something works out..." said Scoots from the same universe as Cheerilee. Oh yeah, a few Applejacks became religious and that one was freed by Cadence a lot earlier (do you have any idea how many different variations happened? A LOT. Not all of them had the six of us be freed at the same time). I think Sweet Heart said the current one had even become a priest, or was given the authority of one or something...I don't know, just that she enjoyed her new job. I'm just glad those ponies don't have to worry about their happy ending being revoked by us ever again. And considering it was partly thanks to Rancor interfering that we lost, I guess she has a point. Naturally, the Scoots looked to me for my opinion. "Well...it can't hurt..." I told them. What? You think I want to tell them 'sorry, Spike was Rarity the whole time so no Rarity will be there for her best friend? I don't. At all. I wish their prayers would be answered too. And well...they prayed. Most to Queen Cadence. Some prayed to the Princesses. I think some didn't care which cosmic force they prayed to, but a good chunk of them did. That's when I noticed Razzaroo was standing nearby with her book open. The markings all over her were glowing and distorting a bit. I don't know what they mean, but I could tell something was happening with her. Spike flew overhead and I think was curious what was going on, landed and listened. I don't think he had the heart to tell either, and I think he wants it more than anypony else. Heck, I think he'd gladly go back in the suit if he could. Then Razzaroo trotted up to him and started talking to him, again, I don't listen in. Spike and Razzaroo flew back to Carousel Boutique, I stay with my flock and flew up onto a higher cloud for a better view. Razzaroo used her magic sparkles or whatever on Spike, and Spike roared his head off. I zoomed across town straight for her, I didn't notice that everypony, I mean everypony did the exact same thing. Only Razzaroo and Spike were both blushing and waving their forelimbs panicky shouting things like, "Sorry! I didn't mean to shout that much!" and "Wait! Wait! This isn't what it looks like!" Yeah yeah, I'll skip the stupid 'whole misunderstanding that almost leads to pointless violence' horseapples! When I said everypony I wasn't exaggerating, behind me the entire Scootaloo army came bearing down on them on top of everypony else. I'll skip the bit between Razz convincing me she didn't have some weird twisted high and mighty agenda so I didn't make an ass out of myself and attack another pony who didn't mean harm. Zecora and the rest left politely after they were told it was a false alarm. Convincing the ever loyal Scootaloo army to 'stand down' and 'get back to their post' wasn't quite as easy as everypony else. In particular the Scoots who was from the same world as Spike...I think that touched Spike more than he dared tell her. Then Razz finally explained what was going on. "...What did I tell you I'm becoming Concept of?" "Uh...Wishes and Miracles...right?" "Yes...And I needed Spike to do one." "And why did that involve him screaming?" "Well..." Spike admitted. "It...required a sacrifice on my part to make happen..." "I thought Miracles-" "Sometimes Miracles require faith and willingness to move forward despite what's needed not making sense. And Wishes sometimes have twists to them, even if they're granted by the most benevolent person," Razzaroo explained in that 'this is a law of nature' way. "That and...this...I asked Spike what'd he do to make it possible, he said there's nothing he wouldn't do, I made it clear what it'd mean, and he still accepted." "What did you do?" I demanded, tired of beating around the bush. Razzaroo...held out what looked like a light of existence. No, it was more than that, it, she had a shadow of existence as well, she was a whole soul. "Remember how there's no Law of Conservation of Souls? What Spike had to give to grant his wish...and a Miracle to grant the prayers of many...and to give a needy child what she wanted more than anything. Was to 'donate' part of his own soul to give life to somepony who needs it." My eyes widened. "You...you can't mean..." Razzaroo nodded. "A soul for the Rarity puppet...to answer his wish for Sweetie to have a Rarity and Scootaloo's prayers for the same." "...If this is some buckin' miracle, why did you need a piece of his soul?!" I shouted. "And this'd better be a buckin' good answer. I don't like 'because it had to happen' explanations for my friends being hurt." Having Eclipse give my soul a lobotomy hadn't exactly left me fond of soul surgery. "Because his soul has the memories of being THIS Sweetie Belle's sister. The ones Sweetie's heart and mind remember. Even if she doesn't know she's not the Rarity from her own world. Spike has been her sister all this time, so a piece of his soul being converted into the new Rarity's soul means their bond will live on and it will be much more 'natural' than it would be if a soul from Fauna Luster took its place." "And it means a part of me will be with her like she and me both want," Spike answered, dead seriously. "...I know I'm not Rarity, Rainbow...but...I loved Sweetie Belle like my own sister...and she loved me...I think you of anypony can understand why I want this, can't you?" "...Yeah...I can...So how exactly does this work?" "Think of a liver transplant, the donor's liver is cut in two and the original's regenerates and so does the donated half...normally this wouldn't work, but THAT'S the miracle: a piece of his soul becoming a whole thing without anything else. That was my contribution." "If you're not even a concept yet, how did you even do it?" "Twinkle Wish and I are the last, unfiltered, unchanged remnants of a world where 'sometimes you find your heart's desire, just by wishing it' was the core law of life." "Sounds nice." "It was." "So...if you become a Concept, what will that do?" "...It won't make every wish and prayer be answered. That is what spelled the end of my world. But miracles like the one that defeated Eclipse will be possible. It will introduce the very concept of Miracles and Wishes into the universe again..." "So...if a villain forces a loyal hero to make an impossible choice?" "If it will help more than hurt, there's a chance a miracle will give them a third option to take." "A chance?" "If the choice is truly impossible. And if they refuse to quit. When things become impossible to do on their own, so long as they have faith good can win, I'll have a chance to help them. And I'm going to be working with Abbatissa to help provide Gods more options to help answer mortals prayers." "...I remember how Concepts work, I remember that much from Eclipse's lectures, if you become a concept, then you'll have always been around. You might be the reason that miracle happened at all." "Maybe." "If so...thanks." "Welcome..." "...So...Alicorns are creators, you got any ideas?" What? I can't be curious? "Well, I was talking with Pandora about making a race based off of Twinkle Wish..." + What else is there to say? A whole bloody lot unfortunately. Let's start with the Scootaloos, who now had to decide where they belonged. 171,015. Yeah. That's a lot of choices. "Dash." Scootaloo said. 'Mine.' The Scootaloo that I saved against all odds and started all this. It still feels like a daydream. "Scoots?" "I thought...I thought I should tell you, I told the grim reapers what I wanted to do. I want to become a Concept." "What?!" "I don't care how long it takes me. I want to." "Scootaloo, believe me, becoming a concept isn't being accepted into royalty! You're giving up paradise for a job with no retirement!" Razzaroo and Starlight explained this after we accepted to help build a new universe. "They told me the same thing. But Dash, you're going to finish becoming a goddess right?" "I...I haven't thought about it." "If you're going to...I want to be there for you. You were there for me." "I wasn't there for everypony else." "But you were for me!" Scootaloo insisted. "Even after you were turned into a monster, you still had enough of your heart left to save me! I can't ever repay that! None of us can! Dash...you could have not fought it at all. You could have just been a monster, period, you have just let me worse than die. Loyal to the bigger monster and nopony else...but Dash...you still held onto a tiny bit of the real you through all of that. I want to be at your side to help you, to help others too. And...I have no pony waiting for me in Paradise...but you're right here. I want to walk the road alongside you, and look out for other ponies who just want to be the best they can be." "The others already tried to talk you out of it didn't they?" "One of them called me crazy for wanting it." "I don't blame them." "Dash...I know we both don't like the ending, but all those years I spent helping ponies? That battle where I helped rescue the ponies from Ponyville? I LIKED IT. I ENJOY helping ponies...I want to keep helping ponies." "There won't be a 'happy ending' at all for you Scoots, eventually you'll lose everything that makes you a pony. Don't be fooled by them looking like ponies! You'll be just a law of nature." "Applejack already told me all of that. That isn't stopping you, is it?" Me, huh? Always gotta follow in my hoofprints, that one. "I haven't decided yet. if...if Twilight has...then so will I. It's the only loyal thing I can do." Scootaloo stood straight, spread her wings, and put her hoof over her heart. "I hereby do solemnly and sincerely and truly declare and affirm to the Swarm of Avalon that I will faithfully discharge the responsibilities of a protector of the Hive and the innocents who seek refuge there. I choose to place myself in harm's way so that those who cannot defend themselves are defended. Though service is a heavy cost, for the ponies of the Hive, I pay it gladly." "You died following through with that promise. And you don't see every guard pony becoming a concept." "Maybe not, but it's what I'm choosing to do. And Rainbow? The current Scootaloo? Starlight told me...she's still protecting Equestria. It's a long story. She died just like me. But she's still a protector through and through." "WHAT?! She became an angel too?" "No...uh...after ...after the world got saved...uh...let's just say that Death felt a lot of ponies got cheated..." "But...one life...Nightmare...the monster, said that was one of the things she was going to fix." "Apparently it was a wedding gift . . after the current Rarity became a goddess and married Spike." I was surprised by my lack of surprise. I was less surprised at my surprise when I heard Rarity became a goddess, she'd always been the social climber. "It was a one time thing, since...you know, Discord isn't a part of the world normally...but...yeah...that Rainbow has her Scootaloo back, and her Gilda too." "...Fluttershy? Pinkie?" "No...but they're happy where they are...apparently, like I said, second hand, but you know how Pinkie was with her foals." Those foals...the only ones Angry Pie didn't care whether they laughed or not...Well...two out of four wasn't bad...Congrats, real Rainbow... I give a start. Real Rainbow? I mentally self-corrected that thought at once. No, no, no, the Rainbow Dash who was part of that unique victory wasn't the ‘real' Rainbow Dash over all the other Rainbow Dashes any more than this Scootaloo in front of me was the ‘real' Scootaloo, over all the other Scootaloos. I'd had quite an intense argument about my Rainbow Dash-ness among the angels and on that asteroid, after all. "But...that Scootaloo went back to being a protector when she came back...I'm the same way, I want to help ponies until the end of this universe, then into the next one." She was as stubborn and determined as me. I hugged her. "Alright Scoots, lots of luck." Wasn't sure what her concept was, but I'm sure she'll be a great one. 171,012 choices more. Of course there were gonna be some repeats. I wasn't happy with all the choices they all made. But...it was their choices. What can I say? + I confess, I pressed my ear against the wall of the barn, Melody had forgotten to put up a soundproof barrier this time. I couldn't tell who was speaking. "All right, thank you everypony. First of all, we can't possibly fit 11,000 extra dragons in the new world. I'm sorry, yes, I know...some of you will have to make other selections. Griffons, yes, we can do griffons! Breezies, no problem...Wolves? Really? We'll have to run it by Rota Fortuna first, but sure, why not? ...Because she moonlights as the Queen of the Dire Wolves. Moonlights, get it? But they might not be the kind of 'wolves' you're thinking of. Ahem. Oh, and one other important detail...only one percent of you expressed any interest in becoming colts. Can we get some more volunteers? It would help so much, thank you..." I pulled away, blushing. + 17 more also were determined to become goddesses. Like I probably would have, they decided to race for it and the others would become the 'winner's' angels. Hehe...good sports. 1709 decided to just accepted they'd died already even if Eclipse erased it and move onto the afterlife. 2 decided they wanted to become companions for this timeline's Doctor Whooves (great, NOW he showed up!). Yeah, I thought he was with Derpy too...and he was with a grown up mare I'd never seen before named Sapphire Hooves. All he told me was 'Strange I know, but time is a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff...' 70 specifically asked to be part of the Apple family. Another 70 wanted to be party of Sweetie Belle's family. Even if both cases it meant changing pony type (Venus was still serious about that). 30 each of Fluttershy's family, and Pinkie's, and Twilight's over generations. And yet another 80 part of mine. 69 became a buncha different alien ponies with pointy ears, antenna, you name it, they wanted a completely new life away from Equestria and this world. 12154 decided they wanted to be born as Scootaloo again at another time and place, either as her own descendants, or namesakes who happened to look alike. Spitfire's, Soain's, Nurse Redheart's and Mayor Mare's Scootaloo among the ones who chose this, wanting to be their daughters and a namesake of Scootaloo's. Fate nudged the numbers to allow this. 7 jumped to be Saddle Arabian Princesses. 4 into the Neighpon royal family. 60 became 20 chimera (never wanting to be alone again). 1698 chose to enter Oblivion willing, to be with the shadows of those from their own world. Entropy accepted them into her domain, on the condition they'd respect and obey her laws. Why'd they do such a thing? Many for the chance to rejoin the shadows of lost loved ones with those in the existing. And they were allowed to keep their lights of existence. 900, would be various subtypes of crystal ponies. 1007 became dragons, just not the city destroying kind. They wanted to bring the 'civilized' style of dragon-hood from the Dark World to the New World. They were disappointed to learn 'Tiamat' was a unique being, and not a species and not all Ryujin had multiple heads anyway. Another 368 as pony-dragon hybrids. 812 became griffins chicks, having fond memories of their Gilda. I fact one of them decided to be a few of them decided to be members of her family. 75 became Hippogriffs. 503 became this species of pony Pinkie Pie had been shelling that I'd never heard of called 'Breezies.' Apparently they were small 'cousins' to the extinct Flutterponies or something. Another 499 wanted to become Bat Ponies like Princess Luna's guard and let them be their own Tribe. 332 chose to become changelings in the new reality. 489 became zebra or Virgasi of Zebrafrica. 4 donkey/pegasi mules (don't ask). 8 Mintaur calfs. 10017...chose to enter Tartarus, being imps by Havoc as both tormentors and jailers. They actually looked cute in red pajamas and bat wings, armed with the little pitchforks. Oh, and many wanted in on helping souls from Heaven save their loved ones. Yes, Havoc has those on his 'payroll.' Didn't know that. Or that a certain part of the Doctor's past was one of their co-workers. 28026...took up the offer from Rota Fortuna to travel along her world lines, and meet Scootaloos who had died at vital moments, to either give their lives for theirs, or to take over in their place as that world's Scootaloo. They'd given their lives once for Equestria, they were ready to give them again. 531 allowed themselves to be made into...well, guess you'd call 'em watch dogs like the Wolf. Wanting to protect reality from those who'd abuse it like Nightmare Eclipse, or those unspeakable nasties out there who'd invade it. Even if it meant giving up being ponies in every sense of the word, and being chained and remade by purpose like the Wolf. I admit, it was kind of funny watching them wreck a contingent of Daleks that tried to jump to our universe in ten seconds flat. Okay, more like rip the armor open and eat them alive. Did I mention they're still 'puppies'? 999 became Angels without dying (much like Razz as a candidate concept), becoming protectors of orphans and other foals with nopony, not being connected to one concept. They still got nice bigger feathery wings. 35 requested to be reborn as those who would help Razzaroo bring miracles to the world. I thought they looked weird but they were happy. 11 chose to become 'junior' grim reapers (or whatever the others were) underneath Starlight. She had to explain to 60 others that her friends were just 'deputy' grim reapers and couldn't take on apprentices. 1 requested for reality to be fudged so she was a Virgasus and the Zecora of the new reality's daughter or little sister. Discord was very happy to oblige, after all what was the point of making a new reality from the ground up if it was identical to the old one? Venus allowed it because apparently Zecora's bloodline did have a pegasi in it thanks to how chaotic Zebrafrica once was. 7 became yokai under Anarchy. 4 chose to become yokai under Rancor. 12 choose to request to become angels under some nature Alicorn I hadn't heard the name of before until they were ready to move on. 'Gai-ah' or something. The Scootaloo from Fluttershy's loop vowed to become her angel if she became a concept. And until then, she'd just be Flutternice's friend and companion. 26910 chose they would be living angels of the Scootaloos (if any) who became Alicorns, failing that, they'd go to one of the other groups. 101 elected to be mereponies (different from seaponies they insisted, though both were called Hippocampus). 3 chose they would be seaponies in Sky Ocean of the new reality on the condition they would be triplets. When Discord asked why, one said she just liked singing, another said she'd befriended the other two and wanted to stay with them...and the last said 'because my Sweetie Belle can't sing anymore, I want to do it for her.' Oddly enough that Scootaloo chose to be called Starsong. And that made Pinkie and Razzaroo cry tears of joy. 1 said she wanted to wait and see if Spike would become a Ryujin and would trade her hooves in for scales to act as his messenger. Spike was surprised by that one. 1 chose to be an angel for Trixie, or 'Princess Anasi'. Yeah, I was surprised Eclipse hadn't undone her Alicornification either. Hehe, guess she tricked Eclipse better than she thought. They were from the same loop, she didn't want Trixie to spend eternity alone. 10, to everypony's shock, chose to be Discord's yokai on the condition they'd jump ship if he ever went bad again. They said they wanted to help ponies, and who needed help more than a redeemed soul trying his hardest to become good? I think that was the first time in creation Discord had to ask for time to think, poor guy didn't have a 'work form' selected for his yokai yet. 100 wanted to become Angels of Princess Cadence, to serve her in the afterlife as much as they did their world's Cadence. And the rest, 84217 (completely composed of ones who hadn't had anyone besides themselves from their own world)...promised to become my Angels if I became an concept. Yeah. Wasn't sure how to feel about that one. But they were all determined and stalwart. + Fluttershy insisted she bring Scooaloo from Trixie's timeline to her herself. 'Shy had a big role in...Trixie's world being erased. She felt Trixie being alone was largely her fault. "Fluttershy, we ALL did that to Trixie except Spike," Applejack reminded her. "Yes...but I was the one who kept her separated from Scootaloo LONGER." I wasn't there, but Fluttershy told me everything. Nightmare Whisper having illusion magic helped with that... Fluttershy had to do a lot of pleading and puppy dog eyes to get this one. Why did we think it was so important? Well... "Trixie?" Fluttershy asked, entering Trixie's realm. What was it like? Well, surprisingly there weren't pictures of herself everywhere. Oh, it was probably the single hammiest place in creation I'd ever seen. Trixie IS the 'Patron Goddess' of Storytellers and Drama, what did you expect? Oh, and you could hear every actor or actress in creation performing at the same time and it SOMEHOW sounded like the most epic story ever. Trixie's a Concept, Concept's realms are bucking hard to understand when you're not one. Heck, they're probably bucking confusing to any Concept except the one who was it (no I didn't misspeak, they ARE their realms). Oh and...well, there was a graveyard there, a big one. One with no bodies, just statues and plaques with the most detailed life stories Trixie could remember and written as finely as the Concept of Storytelling could manage. Trixie turned from a crystal ball. "Hello, Fluttershy. Welcome to the Grand Domain of Princess Anasi!..Or if you prefer, the humble abode of Trixie Midsummer." "H-Hi...I...I..." 'Shy being 'Shy, doesn't have the best composure in the world. She was crying by the time she got to the door/portal/hole in the fabric of time/space/reality. You can guess what happened next now that she was looking into Trixie's eyes for the first time since she died. "Trixie...I..." Fluttershy sobbed. "I'm so sorry!...I...Flutternice...we..." Trixie merely trotted over and put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Fluttershy, I gave up my pettiness when I ascended. If I'd hated you all, I wouldn't have JUST scarred her." No, we STILL don't know how Trixie managed to do that. I think she knew Nightmare Eclipse NEVER knowing how it happened would cut deeper than the wound. And no, I don't know if she was bluffing or not about scarring us too. The girl managed to scar Nightmare Eclipse so badly erasing the moment from existence didn't heal it. Fluttershy lowered her head, looking down. "But...we destroyed your world...everypony you knew is gone." Trixie's ears pinned. "Yes...yes you did. And Trixie would be lying if she said she hasn't spent eons cursing the Nightmare for it, or that she didn't literally sing 'Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead' when she was finally defeated...but that was her doing, not yours." "And I helped her." "And you got a six way rainbow blast in the face for it." "But she's is gone...If she doesn't apologize, nopony CAN..." "Twilight Sparkle already DID, Fluttershy, and Trixie forgave her." Fluttershy looked up at her. "How can you forgive us?...I...I CAN'T forgive myself." Trixie hugged Fluttershy. "...Because I used to be a bad guy too. True, Trixie never did anything as evil as her...but she wasn't always the best person...We reformed baddies have to stick together, right?" That smile of Fluttershy's was more beautiful to me thank you can imagine. Remember, I saw this whole thing through an illusion replica of it. "...T-Thank you, Trixie...but...I have a present for you...That's why I came here." "Yes?" Fluttershy stepped aside to reveal Trixie's Scootaloo. Trixie gasped. No, she didn't ask 'is that...' because Trixie IS trickery, she'd KNOW if it was a trick or fake, ESPECIALLY in her own Realm. "You're not alone anymore." Yes, Trixie cried and hugged Scootaloo. No, they never met when their world existed, but how would YOU react if you met the only other survivor of your ENTIRE universe and they were a good guy who WANTED to be with you? Like you wouldn't bawl your eyes out like a baby. Trixie happily removed Scootaloo's grave from her graveyard that day. Other one? You noticed. I'm proud. Yeah, it did seem kinda odd we only saved Scootaloo from that world, didn't it? While I was busy saving the Scoots of Trixie's world, Shy was saving somepony else. Did you know Equestria was full of changelings who just wanted to live in peace? You did? Cool! Well, some would copy a pony they saw, change the species around, and move somewhere else. So I didn't think much of the 'winged Lyra' Fluttershy saved. She made the puppets, not me. But this girl's home was outside the pocket world's boundaries. I was so wrapped up in my own problems I never bothered to check on EVERYPONY we saved. Even I'd never been able to see through 'Shy's illusion magic. And it seems Nightmare Eclipse hadn't that time either. And no, when 'Shy kept something from me, I TRUSTED her to have a good REASON for not telling me. No deceit induced volcanic rage eruption here. She'd EARNED that from me. Yeah, even AFTER this whole mess, I'll trust her. She learned her lesson. She was worried Nightmare Eclipse would 'healthily' take her rage at Trixie humiliating her out on a 'non-person', from that 'recording.' I don't blame her. Yeah, I had water in eyes too when I saw her for the first time. That at least one of her had survived. When I saw her, sleeping so peacefully, in contrast to her big attitude, Gilda. Fluttershy had owed somegriff in that line for being one of the few beings in any cycle to reach out to a Fluttercruel, and since she couldn't save him, she'd saved his grandmother...Trixie was happy to remove another grave from her graveyard. + "Dash of Rainbow, but the same anymore though. Though the future is a haze. It seems this is where we part ways." We nuzzled. "Sweet dreams." Fluttershy whispered. "We might see each other again sugar, cube, maybe. But don't bet money on it," AJ said. "Forgive my ramble, but I'll take that gamble. And Spike, when you meet with Rarity, I consider her a true dear friend, I say this with sincerity." "Thank you Zecora," the Nightdrake said. "From the dragon's tooth, so that is the truth," Zecora said calmly. "Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy and child, know I do not part with feelings mild. Regardless of what strife, may we met again in the next life." Zecora gave Starlight a final hug, before taking a sleeping orange and white striped Virgasus in her arms and stepping through the gate which would 'jump her' to when the new reality was ready. And that was that. The Scootaloos had all made their choice. Spitfire and her friends had gone to sleep. And we were now officially in the middle of a construction zone I had signed the land off to the powers-that-be for redevelopment. The fact Discord chose to wear a pink hardhat the entire time only reinforced that metaphor. "Don't we get clamped in irons now as a chain-gang?" I asked. "We DO have over a hundred thousand universes' souls we sent to Nothingness." Starlight shook her head. "I told you already. You were all insane being led by an even more insane mad mare. Who more or less puppeteered everything that drove you insane." "Horseapples," AJ said. "Ah'm the one who drove Fluttershy insane remember?" "Applejack we've been through this!" I hissed. "And yer the only one allowed to be stubborn as yer sins?" "Applejack it was my choice to give in." "And it was my choice to show ya such cruel truths to begin with! Ah coulda just told Nightmare 'Witch-Face' screw you!" "And you've been stubborn about this sin for the last several hundred million years over it, Applejack," Sweet Heart told her. "Now you can finally DO something about it remember? Like we talked about." AJ sighed. "Sorry. A just like to take responsibility for what Ah've done. Ah was the least insane of us, Ah knew we were doin' wrong, that makes me worse." "And you ARE taking responsibility now." Sweetheart said, "You're doing, not just saying." "...Do you want to ask Alicorn Father if he thinks you deserve Tartarus? He and Havoc are the final say," Starlight said simply. Applejack stood up straight and proper. "Ah'll accept whatever judgement Ah'm given." Starlight nodded, "You're also free to take anything from here you wish, these are your worlds after all. And will be again if you chose to become concepts of this reality. You're also free...to make any arrangements you want before facing judgement...none of you are actually dead, so we can't force you to go anywhere with us 'technically'." + Surprisingly, we were allowed to do a lot on our own. Or they had invisible eyes watching us. Berrybarble, the one orange tree from AJ's orchard, that one that got crack and healed was given to her family. She didn't bother with a reality distortion, just left Berrybarble in a giant baby basket with a note asking the Pies and Apples to take care of him. Don't ask me why it didn't trigger the universe's immune system now that Eclipse was no longer suppressing it. I think Rarity noticed but didn't mind. AJ trusted Apple Bloom of the new reality with the rest of the orchard. + "Apple Bloom still considers you her big sister same as Sweetie Belle considered 'Spike' her Rarity," Razzaroo told Applejack after the delivery was done, the little miracle added to creation. Applejack knew instantly what she was asking. "Ah am NOT her Applejack! Gosh dangit ta heck! Ah erased her Applejack! Ah worse than murdered her big sister! And woulda done the same to her if Rainbow hadn't saved her! Ah deserve the least ta be her big sister, or even a piece of me to be her big sister! Ah don't deserve it, and she doesn't deserve it! If ya gotta use an Applejack, use the Applejack that saved the world from me! She's earned to have a part of her guide and protect another Apple Bloom who's lost her big sister!" "That won't work, Applejack. Your soul has the memories of the sister she remembers. Just like Spike's contained the memories that Sweetie remembered. Any other Applejack's soul would be...less real to her than yours. The puppets help with other Lights of Existence being introduced, but in yours and Rarity's case there was already a light filling that role. You're the only soul I can properly take memories from to create Apple Bloom the Applejack she remembers and properly answer her prayers and wishes...and those of many of the Scootaloos as well." "Ah KNOW ya ain't doin' this fer Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash." "Because...Rainbow Dash has been granted permission to serve her one mortal life as the Rainbow Dash of the new world since her old life never technically happened." Heheh, yeah, did I knda sorta forget to mention that? Yeah. No it wasn't a bribe. I learned from Eclipse how the whole thing worked, and when/if I chose to become a goddess myself, I asked if I could fill in for THAT Rainbow Dash's new life...it took a LOT of asking on my part. NO! It WASN'T about reliving those days! Sorry! Nuh-uh! FORGET IT! Hey hey! Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that! I promise I didn't! Sorry!...Please. Look, it wasn't about me, I swear. I...that Scootaloo? Who'd be that world's Scoots? I wanted to be there for her too. I wanted to be there as flesh and blood Rainbow Dash to help her along, not just as a spirit. And...I asked Scoots if she'd be okay with it...she was. She wanted that too. So that's all I needed to hear about that. Thanks for the hug. Right, right, back to the story. Razzaroo went on with. "Fluttershy doesn't have any direct sapient bonds in this world because of how she operated, and the Cakes were both puppets...I'm sorry Pinkie Pie..." "...No, I'M sorry Razzy...I'm the big meanie that helped delete them..." Pinkie cried. "Pinkie Pie! Don't sneak up on me like that!" AJ said. "Sorry." I didn't question where she came from, she's Pinkie Pie in the body of a Nightmare. Nuff said. She naturally got a hug though. Razzaroo looked back to Applejack "The reason I'm doing this for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle is because without you two there will be a void in their hearts that a new Light of Existence taking that role can't fill properly...and I don't want that..." "Then just buckin' take the memories out of my head and give'em to THAT Applejack. Ah'm not havin' mah taint of bein' a sinner and an abomination against creation on Apple Bloom's big sister." "Spike holds sins, you think the new world's Rarity when she's born will be tainted?" "Rarity as she was in the pocket Ponyville was innocent." "Um..." Sweetheart spoke up, having come along for emotional support. "Applejack...you...uh...in a way you're me. We have the same Light." "Ah know that...Truth vision and all...And Ah'm sayin' given 'em to the AJ that wasn't a WORSE monster than when she was Discord's minion, and was literally a saint when she was!" "...Razzaroo, can you take a part of my soul along with hers?" Sweetheart asked. Applejack looked stunned for a moment. "What?!" "I'm a Saint. Literally...You think you're a 'Sinner'...so mix us and maybe my light will burn away the darkness and leave only your light...then Apple Bloom can have a pure good sister...The new Applejack have traits from both our souls. Would that be okay?" AJ grumbled. "FINE! Ah just hope she does a good job lookin' after 'Bloom." "I know she will!" Sweetheart hugged Applejack. "I...I'm sorry I seemed so forceful...You and Apple Bloom are part of my family's, mine and the first Applejack's...I love you Applejack." "Let's do this," Applejack said in an even voice. "But one big condition: she ain't gonna be called Applejack the Fifth of the Fifth line. Ah don't care how yah bend reality to make it happen, she's gonna be Applejack the SIXTH of the Fifth Line...she ain't me, if she's really gonna be a mix of yer spirit and mine. She's a new Applejack. Applejacks are honest, so let that truth be part of her, okay?" "You're asking a lot of a miracle that isn't even a concept yet...alright, I'll do my best." "Ah know this ain't easy, Ah'm the truth, Ah can see that much...just it's important to me. Before Ah become a goddess, Ah wanna leave some good part of me behind." "...you're a loving mother no matter the worldline Applejack." And so it happened. Applejack didn't scream as loud as Spike did. Sweet Heart on the other hoof screamed her ghostly lungs out. She still never asked for Razzaroo to stop or seem to regret it. "So...Redheart's family and mine? Related?" AJ said casually as they lay on the ground recovering from the agony of having pieces of their souls ripped out. "Nurse Redheart is my direct descendant. The Apples married into my cousin's line. Oh, and my husband invented Apple Bucking." + Yeah. I took a look at the Rainbow Dash who was saved the day with her friends, and who now had her Scootaloo and Gilda back, and had her sins forgiven and her redemption reached. She helped save the world. She also abandoned her post, and still came out a winner. Oh, and she revived the Wonderbolts too as their new captain, with all the blessings of Spitfire sent with Scootaloo back to the world of the living. And earned back Cloudsdale's trust. If I didn't know for a fact she'd earned every last bit of it, I'd be jealous. Looking at her, I knew I didn't belong here. And she didn't deserve to burden her soul with my sins by 'joining' with her or some junk. She saved her friends, I didn't. She was bucking happy. While I...? ...Well, let's just say that it's taken me oodles of therapy to get where I am today, and leave it at that. That victorious Rainbow Dash saved her friends and her world PROPERLY. there can only be one Rainbow Dash in this world, and she deserves it a lot more than me. She got her happily ever after, and I hope she enjoys every moment of it. While visiting this place as effectively a ghost, I also picked up a trick I'd put to use a lot later. Filly or not, Princess Luna was still Princess of The Night and the guardian of dreams. Razzaroo and I approached Luna during her dream walks, asking special permission for me to have a quick visit in somepony's dreams. First, the Moon Princess beat me up doing the rational and reasonable thing you WOULD DO when seeing a Nightmare that was the baddie last time. Then she showed me basic dreamwalking. Then Luna explicitly threatened to throw me into the Nightmare Realm if I ever abused any of it in her presence. I didn't even know there was a Nightmare Realm. I showed up in Rainbow Dash's dreams disguised as the me I was supposed to be instead of the me I became. We were in our Cloudsdale house. To my surprise, she wasn't dreaming of the old Ponyville like I'd spent the last who knows how many eons doing, but of the life she had now. She looked me up and down. First she instinctively breaks out into a big, flattered grin. Then she asks, "So...what kind of dream is this? We gonna fight?" "I'd like to avoid that," I tell her. "We're not gonna make out with each other, are we?" Smiling wryly, I shook my head. "This ain't gonna be that kinda dream." Then I came right out and admitted to her, "You don't know what I would've given to be you. Part of it was incredible luck on your part, but another part was very good choices. You've avoided centuries of pain." "MORE pain?" my other self exclaims. "What kind of pain?" "All possible kinds. Not so much suffering pain yourself, as inflicting it on others." "I-inflicting?!" Then my other self sighed despondently, thinking upon how much pain she'd already inflicted as ‘Traitor Dash.' "Trust me," I tell her, "It would've gotten EVEN WORSE." Then my victorious other self looked at me with wary suspicion. "Are you...planning on replacing me?" To think what my response might've been even two months ago! But today, I tell her. "No. In spite of all the similarities between us, I'm no doppelgänger, and I'm not out to steal your life or your identity. I've got my own. My own responsibilities." "Then what are you here for?" My other self asks. "To tell me how awesome I am?" "Well..." Then I think about this, and I grin again. "Actually...yeah, that IS one thing worth bringing up. You ARE awesome, Rainbow Dash. You've helped saved the whole universe. You have lots of terrific personality traits...it's especially important you don't forget what makes ‘Rainbow Dash' such a wonderful pony!" ...Like I did... I almost say, but stop myself. And as my other self whose dream I've entered puffs her chest out in hesitant pride, I tell her, "But another reason, I guess...to say goodbye to the me I always wished I were. The me you get to be. To the me you earned the right to be. So I can move on with my new life." Yeah, I'd talked to the Concepts about living a mortal life as the new Rainbow Dash...but there was never a Nightmare Eclipse and her endless wheel in that world. Discord's 1000 years of Tartarus never happened. So the Rainbow Dash I'm going to be...will be a fresh slate, NOT a 'do over' of my old life where I can 'set right what once went wrong' and fix my mistakes...so it still stood that she's the better 'cycle' Rainbow Dash. "I don't really understand, but..." and I feel my other self pat me. "Since this is a dream, anyway, I'm just gonna say, ‘there, there,' and ‘It's okay,' and leave it at that." "Pretty good plan," I tell her. "Another thing: never forget how important Scootaloo was and to never forget your responsibility to her for screwing up the first time." I recognizing the building look of despair all too well. Before it can threaten to take any sort of root, I add, "But remember that you have a responsibility now to stay alive for Applejack and Rarity's sake." "She's called Queen Libra these days," my other self mutters. "Multiple names are just how things are for us immortals," I said in my best take-it-from-somepony-who-knows voice. "Always thought ‘Queen Libra' was a bit lofty," my other self snickers. "Wouldn't be Rarity if it wasn't." I shifted to my true form just long enough for her to almost recognize me, then turned to go. "Hey!" says my other self. "Before you go...wanna race?" I couldn't resist. And I'm glad I didn't. I ended up winning that one. So that was my big goodbye for this place. It was a pretty paradise Rarity was making, but I had my own universe to be in charge of. New things to look forward to. Spike apparently had the same idea while we were there. Oh, and apparently Rarity's expecting, congrats I guess. Hope they have healthy...weird...dragon Alicorn hybrid things... Applejack...she didn't feel like she deserved to be within a dimensional inch of the former Liarjack or the Apple Pies. She may have visited Apple Pie herself, but she refused to mention anything. Though I'll admit, she did look like she might have had one less burden on her shoulders afterwards. Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy? Pinkie MIGHT HAVE visited the Apple Pies, not sure. Given she was Pinkie Pie, she might have visited those alien ponies Razzaroo told her she should apologize to. If Fluttershy visited Rarity in her dreams, she didn't tell me, and I didn't ask. I don't know if she decided to visit 'Odyne' either, but I think she took Flutternice with her somewhere one time. And. In all that time. I didn't see Twilight. Not their Twilight. Not mine. Be she Alicorn or Nightmare, or Unicorn. I saw neither hide nor horn of her anywhere. Not once. She was talked about, but always in past tense. I didn't see any grave for her. But there was no room or place for her was ever set for any table or any room either. She was talked about as somepony who had simply...gone away. Even Trixie spoke that way. And yes, of course we reconciled over everything. Though I did give her a high hoof for giving Nightmare Eclipse that scar and beating Oblivion itself. And yes, her Scootaloo looked adorable with wings made of illusion magic and what I thought was a ninja's outfit but actually some sorta theatre convention. I did find out one thing. "Do you know why doing this meant so much to me? Why I gave Nightmare Eclipse that scar and did my absolute best to make sure the last leg of my life was the biggest pain in her flanks I could?" Trixie asked me. "Because you had nothing to lose?" "No, that was how I did it...Making her pay for what she was going to do my world? It'd be a lie to say that wasn't A reason, but the real reason is this: if Nightmare Eclipse couldn't forget my loop...then my loop still lived on in some way...It didn't save my friends, but it meant whether she liked it or not, Nightmare Eclipse would have to remember them..." Trixie was as loyal to her world as I was to Scootaloo. And I respected her for that. But where WAS Twilight? Was she a statue? Was she cured? Did she split into a bajillion Twilight Sparkles that had made up Nightmare Eclipse and were now free? Had she taken a trip in the Doctor's TARDIS and was trapped in some triple-antimatter bizarro dimension? Unfortunately, there wasn't exactly time for me to conduct a missing persons investigation. You see, the angels decided now was finally the time to make good on that promise they made in Pocket Ponyville to put us on trial. "We held off until we were sure you'd had proper therapy," explained Starlight, "But now, we're confident that all of you are psychologically stable enough to be brought to court." Believe it or not, we were given a choice. "You can either face judgement by the ponies of Equestria for what we had done. Or we could bring you before Judicium, as originally promised." First, we Nightmares all agreed amongst ourselves unanimously, to all stand together. Whatever happened to one of us, would happen to all of us. No if, ands, or buts. We voted. I was all for being judged by the ponies of Dark World for the number of times we'd screw them over. I was outvoted. We'd be judged by those who could truly appreciate what we had done over and over and the condition we'd been in when we did it. I'd argued that if Rarity was now a concept, we should have been judged by her, it was her world now after all we'd been destroying. Spike was with me on that one, but I know for different reasons. Yeah I know what I said before, but that was on a 'make friends' deal meeting her. "We've done too much damage to be judged by a 'local court,' RD," AJ argued. Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie voted with Applejack. And that was that. Judicium The Fair would judge us. But before that happened, now that all accounts were settled, I needed to know. We were escorted to the Equilibrium, that place that was both a place and an idea at the same time, where Nature's Fury and Nature's Law were on equal terms with each other. We were again given as much time as we needed short of eternity (almost) to get anything we wished in order before facing the Judgement and Justice Alicorns along with the Elders. I asked to speak to the two concepts I wanted to hear the answer from more than any. I asked to see Cadence and Trixie. "Where is Twilight Sparkle?" I began, once we were all in the same room. "My Twilight Sparkle. The Twilight Sparkle who became a part of Eclipse then got hit by Rainbows and Harmony six ways from Sunday?" Applejack was with me, and she kept her eyes focused on them the whole time. "I'm not moving a muscle until I get the real answer." I'd waited long enough! While Cadence seemed a bit nervous, Trixie didn't budge or sweat. In fact she turned into a log and then we suddenly found the real Trixie was standing a few feet behind it, Applejack's jaw dropped. "Applejack, I'm Concept of Trickery and Illusions. You are an incomplete Concept, I am whole. Me and your Alicorn Self are, or rather could be, counterpoints. We'd be even, except you're still an incomplete concept, so my powers trump yours." "...Ah shoot..." Darn it, I didn't think that through well. Well, Trixie, I guess you truly got your wish: there's now something you really are the best in all creation at... "Be that as it may...you deserve answers, so you shall have them, but I'm disappointed in you for trying to resort to force on a friend." "Sorry Trix." AJ said politely. "Answers. Now." I didn't care who I was speaking to. "...First things first, Rainbow...Twilight believed you were all destroyed by the six sets of Elements, and for some time so did we because of how well hidden your pocket universe was. After all, it's not every day a group of Nightmares collected from a myriad of time loops are blasted by the combined might of six sets of Elements gathered from across time and space, so forgive us if we honestly had no clue what happened to you five. And yes, she did mourn you...she's sorry for what she did to you all." Twilight thought we were gone? Deader than dead? All of us? I knew the Elements would bring her back to her senses but...Twilight, I never blamed you for any of that. I never thought of you and Nightmare Eclipse as the same...did I? I can't remember anymore... "BUT WE'RE ALL BETTER AGAIN! Party time!" "Pinkie Pie!" I groaned, as confetti geysered upward from the floor. There was nowhere she could be barred. "...Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, there's much you have missed," Cadence admitted. "...Twilight did become an Alicorn. She became Amicitia, Concept of Magic and Happy Endings...Do you mind showing them, sister?" Trixie nodded at Cadence. Her horn glowed and she some how made a picture perfect illusionary spell of what looked like the entire universe. "What's this? The universe?" "No, those 'galaxies' are actually universes." A closer look showed me what I thought were stars and solar systems were galaxies. "But...how..." "Concept of Illusions. Now..." The illusion showed a lot of black universes. "These black universes were once those held firmly by Nytholotrot, The Sower of Tragedies. The Concept of All Grim And Dark-" "Enough theatrics, Anasi..." Cadence sighed. "He's another of Discord's cousins and was also one of the few beings in creation still on friendly speaking terms with him." "Like Ponythulu," Pinkie Pie said. "Yes...but for completely different reasons and stinks at cooking. Nytholotrot's twin Fillimon, The-" Trixie got a glare from Cadence. "I'm Storytelling! It's in my nature...Fillimon is his antithesis and worked towards opposite goals...Twilights, tended to lean more towards Fillimon, so when Twilight ascended-" I watched in awe as a good chunk of the black universes, turned bright. "Twilight did this?" "-and tricked Nythy into losing a baking contest to a Princess Celestia, though he can still cause new tragedies elsewhere...he was robbed him of the right to meddle in universes that have already had their happy endings." Naturally, Pinkie Pie laughed at that. "Classic!" "The funny part is he tried cheating and still lost!" Trixie laughed. I wish I could've enjoyed this as well as I should have. "Look! That all sounds super cool and everything! And props to her for beating Ponythulu's super-jerk brother! But where is she now?! Why was there no Twilight Sparkle in Equestria? She wasn't erased, but everypony talked about her like she was dead! But I couldn't find a gravestone or nothing!" Cadence sighed. "When the Elements purified Nightmare Eclipse, she had twisted herself into the heart of a paradox, the result was not only that every Nightmare Eclipse in every timeline was now destine to be defeated and cured. But it also left All Things twisted in knots...she had to become one with all her light of existence's previous selves ...including the Twilight Sparkle of the Equestria that exists now." I opened my mouth. "But...but that's not fair!" Pinkie Pie cried out. "...Pinkie, what's the point of even saying such a thing?" I said, oh boy, when I look back on saying that... Trixie looked saddened. "You're right, it is unfair...but it was sadly the only way." I hated those words so much. "Couldn't she have just split into the Twilight Sparkle who BECAME Nightmare Eclipse and who started the mess, while ALLLLL the Twilights who she gobbled up got freed from her?! That's not fair at all!" Pinkie Pie was crying. "Some did," said Cadence. "Sort of..." Trixie changed her spell again. "In a manner of speaking. In some timelines, Eclipse didn't fuse with the current Twilight Sparkle, and Amicitia was born as a separate entity. In others all six of you were purified at the same time. In still others the Sirens returned and...well, you get the point. There are many contributing factors..." "Then why did it happen to ours?" I asked. The Sirens, oh yeah, the one time I ever saw the devil-witch PANIC. "I'm afraid that was the consequence of her own choices." Trixie created another illusion. "Please, Twilight! Please! Forget about Discord! We can turn the world back the way it's supposed to be!" The gray pony begged. "Ponyville, friendship reports, our friends!" "...In some universes, Eclipse's defeated self, purified of insanity, was willing to move forwards and change. To become Amicita on her own and leave the present Twilight be...but not ours...she still hung onto her core insanity: had Twilight not fused with and destroyed her original persona, it's very likely Eclipse may have tried to reset time again..." Cadence signed. "It's unfortunately easy to see why...ours was the Prime Eclipse." "Prime?" I asked. "...The Alpha, the Original," Trixie explained. "Our Eclipse was the FIRST Eclipse. The eldest possible Eclipse. So it is only natural her mania and insanity was ingrained in her so deeply even when healed she clung to it." "She wanted her life back! She wanted everypony to have their life back. How is that 'still insane?!'" I asked. "Oh, of course not...But the problem lies in her methods: she was STILL willing to destroy the world one last time just to reset the world to the one she once knew. The same Armageddon that she'd committed endless times before...and that is the best case scenario." Applejack sighed. "...She's right, Rainbow. If Twilight hadn't destroyed Eclipse Prime's persona...she'd have jumped right back down the rabbit hole again. Twilight had to absorb her to stop her for good...you know what Nightmare Eclipse was like." "But Twilight-" "...Let me make one thing clear, Rainbow," Trixie said. "The DOMINANT persona of Nightmare Paradox was the first Nightmare Purgatory. So consumed by her hunger for vengeance that she willingly went Nightmare...and found revenge so addictive it became an endless obsession. Your Twilight Sparkle was in there, but you saw yourself: she was broken and suppressed by that Nightmare Eclipse...the Nightmare Eclipse the final Twilight had to suppress wasn't your Twilight...If anything, she finally saved her from that torment." "...how did you even know I meant my Twilight Sparkle?" My eyes narrowed. "...Because my Twilight was in there too..." I ordered my body not to take a trot back, I kept my face from showing any major emotion. Cadence placed a wing on Trixie's shoulder. "So was mine, Dash. And Pinkie Pie's, and Fluttershy's, and Spike's, so was Mayor Mare's, Apple Bloom's, Lyra's-" "You made yer point," I said, keeping myself from growling. "So are they just gone now? Like Pinkie Pie's friends from her own world you Alicorns and Draconequus erased?" "...No. They became a part of Amicitia. But in a different way that with Eclipse...think of Eclipse as a parasite, controlling all the other Twilight Sparkles she forcibly merged with, or bonding with the ones who agreed with her completely. Amicitia is more of a symbiote. The Twilights became a collective whole." "They should have become their own ponies! Didn't Nightmare Eclipse hurt them enough?!" "Ah'm with RD on this one," AJ said. "...You think I didn't want that too, Rainbow?" Trixie answered, the same anger on her face I felt. "It wasn't our choice. In the moment Twilight merged with and destroyed Eclipse Prime's persona, I could only observe, not DO anything. For lack of a better term, that moment was 'Twilights only', it was in their merging soul. A part of this was the sheer amount of magic their cocoon had from Amicita practically being the fifth most powerful concept thanks to all of Twilights who joined together." Outside I kept my pose, inside, I flinched. She fought to death for her world, did I really think she'd sit on her flanks not to help her Twilight? "Okay then. Gotcha. She thought we were deader than dead, she fought Old Black Storm himself, so why isn't she in Equestria NOW? Why hasn't she come to see ANY of us? Why haven't you told her we're alive?!" "Maybe she's just been really really busy?" Pinkie Pie suggested. I kept my eyes focused on the two Nature's Law in the room. Admittedly closer on Cadence because she wasn't Trickery or been screwed as badly as we had. "Well? Has she?" AJ asked. "Or did she get kidnapped by Pain-Eaters so powerful that if we tried to rescue her ourselves it would be suicide?" "...Remember how you said there's nothing wrong with wanting everypony's lives back to how they were, Rainbow Dash? Amicitia...Twilight, she discovered a way to accomplish that without destroying what is..." Trixie explained. "...A way to create a parallel timeline to our Equestria where Discord was defeated on the Day of Chaos and the Second Reign of Chaos lasted but a day. Accomplishing this was no easy feat...You'd need to ask Cadence specifics, I know only so much. Twilight was fairly close to me, but naturally far closer to her." "Wait!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Twilight...Twilight did it?! She found a way to save everypony!? After...after everything? She...she did it? She really did save everypony?!" Cadence nodded. > Rainbow Dash's Reaction > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Twilight did save everypony," Cadence said. "It's a whole new universe. It's outside our domain to set hoof in, but she did create a new timeline. Discord was defeated, put back in stone by the Elements, and all his horrible tortures and twistings of hearts and souls, INCLUDING YOURS was undone. Nopony died. You were all saved. You were yourselves again, you were friends again. And because Discord's reign was over as soon as it began, Nightmare Eclipse never existed." "Just cause Shy can't ask herself-" "Fluttercruel still exists, but from what we saw, Fluttershy managed to subdue her," Trixie explained then gave a smirk. "And is currently raising her properly as her own daughter. In a much more accepting and nurturing environment. Our connection to that world faded in a day. It was its own timeline after all. Only Rota Fortuna knows all the details. But that much we did see." I felt a shudder go through my entire body. A lightness, a true freedom. Twilight, she...really did it. She saved the world from hell. She saved the world from worse than hell. She truly and honestly did beat both Discord and Nightmare Eclipse. All of us...getting to go on with our lives with hell on Equestria adverted. It was enough to make me fall apart into pieces on the floor just from the idea of it smiling. Freedom. Total and true freedom. It had been millions of years since I tasted it. And Twilight had given it all back to that version of Equestria without another mass genocide. She truly was a goddess. Hey ponies! Get building churches and temples to her already! Or at least a library! She's buckin' earned you giving her a 'thank you!' "How did she do it?" I asked. Cadence's attitude changed. She did not look comfortable at all. She looked heartbroken. "Rainbow Dash...Twilight tried every other way." I almost didn't need to hear the rest of what Cadence had to say after a start like that. "She completed her duties as goddess of magic and happy endings across time and space, a near impossible task to truly accomplish...she looked for every other possible solution. She had the rest of us look for every other possible solution. She didn't want to make the choice she did, but she knew it was for ...for the greater good. It wasn't something we forced on her, or even would consider asking of her, it was all her choice...and because of it both worlds co-exist, one were Discord's reign ended a thousand years later, and another where it ended in a day-" "...Answer the question..." "She tried to use the methods she used on countless other timelines to alter the world line, to let the ponies forge a better tomorrow by themselves by her just showing them they had a better choice-" "Stop dodging the-" "But it just wasn't working! It didn't work no matter how many times she tried! Over and over and over and over and OVER! She likely tried as many times as there were loops in our timeline and it just wasn't possible. And she couldn't overwrite her own actions after she tried to nudge something. She tried to get you all to awaken from the one side of the picture and outright lies Discord implanted in your heads. But Discord is a master of his horrid craft, he learned from the master after all-" "What does Doctor Whooves arch-enemy have to do with-" "Not him! MORNING STAR!" The two said together. "-No matter what she tried, your hearts were buried in darkness. She realized that she needed to introduced something NEW to the timeline in order for it to change and create a split. But...all realities have an immune system. They reject any direct meddling and erase any foreign bodies that try to effect things. Here it is unbound. Then she realized the answer. It had to be something, somepony, a person, with no past or future yet, who could then be dropped into the pond and create ripples running forwards and backwards, altering fate. But it also had to be somepony who had traits that could be made TO direct events in the right direction....A light from Mother would not do, a shadow from oblivion would not do. They were ...for lack of a better word, too...independent...there was no way she could be sure they'd have the result she wanted, and if she kept dropping new ponies into events, it would spiral things further and further out of control and ultimately damage the timeline instead!" "TELL ME ALREADY!!!" "...She couldn't bear to have any other pony in existence to make this sacrifice. She needed a soul she could completely customize and have the traits she needed when and where she needed it, to completely alter the world line. Once inserted, they'd be assimilated by the timeline since they had no past or future, and the one moment they were created for would be cemented in fate." "So did she make some puppet she could-" "APPLEJACK!" we ALL yelled. I was angry at the suggestion that purified non-evil Twilight would do something like that. "No. Only that one moment and the traits she desired were hers to control. Every moment of their lives other than that one we all their choice, every part of their self besides those specifics theirs to grow and develop. But always destined to lead to and from that one moment...you could say in exchange for the moment they gave her, they were given the rest of their lives." "What. Did. She. Do?" If they didn't answer straight, I might open their heads find the answer. "Oh I know! She just did what Razzaroo did!" Pinkie Pie waved her hoof. "She just cut out a piece of her soul, and gave it the traits she wanted, and sent it into the world. Twilight's a mommy now! And I'm an auntie all over again! This is cool! I know raising a foal takes lots of work! So we all forgive her, right girls? So how about we meet her and her foal already? She must be so proud to be a mama of a foal who saved the world!" "...Pinkie...that's partly right...but...Razzaroo is Miracles and Wishes...she's the only potential Concept that could do what she did with only a bit of your souls. And programming wouldn't be as simple." "Oh. So she asked Razzaroo to do it. I wish Razzy had mentioned it when we chatted." Pinkie Pie kept smiling. Cadence said, "Razzaroo...she had just began her journey to become Concept of Miracles and Wishes. She didn't yet have the experience or power to do that yet...Even after all the time Amicitia completed her duties...in a way, Amicitia's choice is what inspired Razzaroo to realize what what concept she was TRULY becoming and REACH the level TO be able to do what she has for Applejack and Spike. And...you've been in that pocket dimension for far longer than you seem to think..." "What?" I tilted my head. "Scootaloo and Gilda in Equestria looked fine to me. They didn't look old at all. And I know the were brought back soon after Nightmare Eclipse was beaten and Rarity married Spike. We couldn't have been gone that long." Trixie looked genuinely sad and said. "Fluttershy kept moving your prison to a different time and space remember?" My heart sunk straight out of my body, leaving a gaping hole in my chest. "And time and space flows differently outside of the mortal plain...in a way it's outside the flow...combine these two facts...and I'm afraid that Amicitia performed her choice eons ago relative to us..." "What?" I lost my voice. I lost my thoughts. I lost my senses. I lost my feelings. I lost everything. Cadence started crying. "...Amicitia...Twilight Sparkle...I was the last one to speak with her...she...sent one last message to Celestia." Trixie played back Twilight's voice, Trixie was crying too. "Dear Princess Celestia, this will be my atonement. Look upon this moment my wonderful teacher. This shall be what lights darkness, a chance for everypony to be happy. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Cadence said. "She quadrisected her own soul, Rainbow Dash. It was the only option she had left. She loved Equestria, she loved all of you that much. One pony who'd be the messenger to alter that one moment...and the other three, who'd help it along as it grew up. They have her memories, each one holds traits of her...but her own Persona, her own Ego, were destroyed." "B-But why? Why...why four? Why not one and the rest of herself?" "...Because the new universe would see her as an invader...while her daughters, for lack of a better term, have 'duel citizenship'. The Blank Wolf is wary of them, but doesn't see them as invaders as it would her," Trixie lamented. That was when the camouflage illusion around Fluttershy vanished, and all of us turned in surprise to see the tears on the Kindest of Lies' face. A moment later her illusion over Spike vanished as well. He was crying too. "Trixie!" Cadence stuttered in surprise. "Please don't blame her for not seeing me," Fluttershy said. "I've had...millions of years of practice." "Sorry, Fluttershy, I did sense your illusion. I AM illusions." Trixie admitted. "I stayed silent ...Because you had the same right to know as Rainbow and Applejack." Applejack looked dizzy. She told me later that she'd not even had the slightest idea that Trixie was hiding that she knew, neither had I. "So...what makes them up? Which souls?" I heard myself ask. "...they were not made into groups, Rainbow Dash...they were divided equally, like when red and blue dye are mixed into a glass, and then you pour it out into two more glasses, the result isn't red and blue, but two smaller purple glasses." "I...I see." "Couldn't she have done it another way?!" Pinkie Pie cried, her make up running. "If she could have...she would have." AJ said, crying. "This is one cruel truth Ah wish they were lyin' about..." "Twilight..." Spike sobbed. There was something horribly wrong in seeing a full grown dragon cry. "First Rarity, now you? Why...why does everypony leave me?" "Rainbow...Applejack...Spike...Pinkie Pie...I'm so sorry." Fluttershy whispered, hiding her face behind her mane and butterfly wings. "If...If I hadn't kept us trapped for so long..." "Maybe...maybe if I had been there...I'd have done it instead! She wouldn't have had to ask me!" Spike and me looked at each other. We had both said that. "...I offered, she wouldn't allow anypony else," Trixie and Cadence both said. I keep my true emotion off my face. What was the point of demonstrating my feelings? I felt worse than when I had gone Nightmare. I felt worse than when Discord had broken me in two. I felt worse than when I learned I hadn't even noticed Fluttershy falling to her doom during the Flight Camp race for her honor. It was all those moments and more. Sorry if anything I say after this is brief and I skip some stuff. There's some things I was too distracted to memorized and other stuff I'd rather not share. It got...sorry, some parts get a little too much. AJ asked bowing her head some, looking Cadence right in the eyes, opening her wings. "Queen Cadence...was this really the only way Twilight had to make a better world?" "To create a completely new timeline without having to sacrifice ours? I'm sorry. Yes." "Alright then." Cadence wasn't lying. It had been the only way. Suddenly, instead of angry, I felt a little empty. All of us hugged together. The five of us, Trixie, Cadence, we were all huddled together with our hooves around each other, our tears mixing. We were the same. Cadence whispered. "I... I know it doesn't change our loss but...they're happy." "Who?" Spike asked. "The keystone pony born from Amicitia, Twilight's soul. They're brave, honorable, confident, likes hoofball, Oubliettes & Ogres, handsome-" "Handsome?" AJ asked. It was a weird word to describe a girl. "Oh...their name is Shining Armor Sparkle, they're...they're Twilight Sparkles' big brother now in that universe, he became the one variable that changed the course of everything." Shining Armor...something about that name...Eclipse had us Pinkie Pie Promise not to so much as THINK hard about the cycle where she got her scar. Pinkie Pie blinked. "A dude was born from Twilight's soul? ... Did little Twilight have issues she didn't tell us about?" Cadence blushed. "No Pinkie Pie, Shining Armor is...he was born from the part of Twilight's protective instinct, protecting her family, protecting her friends. He's made the Twilight Sparkle of that timeline very happy. Don't worry, he was slipped in without disrupting your lives in Ponyville. He was born for the explicit purpose of giving Twilight the inner strength to resist Discord for just a little bit longer, and that little bit longer was long enough for fate to take a completely different course. He saved everything, and won't ever know it." "...Don't tempt fate," Applejack pragmatically warned. "We learned the hard way she don't like-." "Please, no arguing, not right now," Fluttershy whispered, giving AJ a nuzzle. "I'm just happy to hear that Twilight got her friends back, and has a big brother to watch out for her." "You're not the only one," Trixie whispered. "You said Twilight divided herself into four pieces," I said became Twilight wasn't here to say it. "Does that mean that Twilight has four brothers, sisters, siblings?" "No," Cadence said, "Only Shining Armor because a concrete part of the world. The other three became her as a filly of her Earth Pony aspect, her as a mare of her pegasus self," My heart skipped a beat at that one. "And herself as an old mare and a unicorn. Half-Light Dawn, Noon, and Dusk." We all startled at those names. "I know I said they had 'dual citizenship' but that's a poor description. They don't have a past or future in our world, or the new reality. They were created between realities, in a way, they're strangers wherever they go. They're like Amicitia was as a conscience, they're the voice when you ask yourself or speak to yourself. They're collectively a new tarot, Aeon. Happy beginnings, happy journeys, happy conclusions." "So if Shining Armor is the part of her who looked after her friends, do those three just don't care?" AJ asked. "No. Shining Armor just embodies that trait the strongest, they're, no offense, no Nightmares." "None taken," we all said. "So, if they're not missing parts, if they came back together-" "Spike. They're not like aspects or avatars, they're separate beings. They're Amicitia's children not split personalities." Spike lowered his head. "I see," I said. I saw everything clearly. "Will they ever come back here?" "Only they know that for certain. They wanted to help as many ponies recover from Discord's Day of Chaos as possible, they wanted to make sure Twilight's sacrifice wasn't in vain due to a random twist of fate. We aren't meant to normally speak between timelines." "Then why could Twilight save other worlds?" I asked. "...That's...complicated...Each timeline is meant to be its own. Sister, Auntie Celestia physically interacted with another timeline once as Princess of Equestria that didn't trigger the Wolf and it bred disaster. This is getting into details you can only understand as a Concept. That your brain needs rewired to be ABLE to comprehend. "When Amicitia, Anarchy, Pandora, and others, have interacted in other worldlines not native to them, they could exist only as a voice on the shoulder, they couldn't enact any authority there. There's a gray area if their concept is still growing there or they're given a native sponsor, Amicitia once helped an alternate Anarchy dismantle a Rainbow Factory for example. But if a version of their Concept already exists there, things can become dangerous in a way even Discord wouldn't have wanted. You can't have two definitions of the same natural law in one universe. Sister Auntie Celestia found out what happens." Pinkie Pie and me were really not listening. I bucking asked if the Half-Light would come back here. I didn't ask for a metaphysics lecture! Is this where Twilight got it from? Twilight! Not even the chance to say goodbye! She died thinking we were all gone! AJ looked like she had a headache. And Fluttershy just politely smiled and nodded. And Spike, oy, makes sense after being Twilight's scribe he'd be able to follow that rambling. I felt angry now. I broke the hug. "You just told us Twilight's never coming back and you're blabbing about the finer points of how concepts can nudge outside their workloads!?" Queen Cadence shrank back a bit from me. "She was your bucking best friend! I saw it over and over! You loved her like family! She was like a little sister to you! I saw it thousands of times! So many versions of you, but none of you truly gave up on Twilight no matter how Discord wrapped her! The last time we saw her she was a monster, you tell us she's gone, and she died thinking we were annihilated, and you give us a lesson on between Worldline manners?! WHAT THE HAY IS WRONG WITH YOU!? DID YOU LOSE YOUR HEART WHEN YOU DIED?!" I didn't give a buck how powerful or important these two were. I didn't give a flying feather at all. Trixie stood in front of her. "Rainbow Dash! I know you're furious but this happened eons ago for us! Feeling regret is the one emotion being concepts means we CAN'T feel! We can feel sadness, but we can't think about going back and redoing our choices. We'd rip apart creation with our self corrections if-" "NO MORE LECTURES! I DON'T CARE ABOUT HOW THE FANCY BACKGROUND MACHINERY OF CREATION WORKS! I'VE NEVER CARED! What I cared about was my family! My friends! My herd! Those who counted on me! Those who looked up to me! Those who trusted me! Those I had a responsibility towards! I don't CARE how you quantify all this! I JUST FOUND OUT I'VE LOST MY BUCKING BEST FRIEND WHO'S GONE! I don't care about hierarchies, ground rules, or cosmic regulations! You give us a hug and then bury us with technical details?! You are something-" Two giant sets of claws that could have crushed me between two of his fingers gently wrapped themselves around. Breath that could melt rock kindly whispered in my ear. "Calm down Rainbow. I'm just as angry as you. More angry than you. Twilight was my mother, big-sister, best-friend, and everything in between. Even without her heart she still cared for me. What I want, more than anything right now, is to rip this place apart until the universe coughs her up." I didn't raise my voice to him at all. "Then why aren't you?" "Because I know that won't accomplish anything. You can't change the rules by being angry and macho. That's what we didn't get as Nightmares. We can't brute force things into fairness. That never works out. Discord never corrupted me, I was sane seeing you all as monsters. I was his slave for so long, it didn't matter what I felt towards him. Other dragons hated my guts or wanted to mercy kill me for letting Discord destroy my dragon dignity. I couldn't save any of my friends. Then I generously served their killer. Eclipse thought she could change the rules because she was badflank. What is you blowing up actually changing?" Cadence looked me in the eyes through own tears. "Rainbow Dash, and Spike, and all of you've been through so much pain, but don't you dare think I didn't mourn Twilight! I knew her since she was just a little filly! I was one of the last few to speak with her, a part of me died with her!" I quivered. "But I moved on! I never said I'd forgotten her..." And I shut my mouth. Spike spoke, "I never said I was angry at you Cadence... I never could be." "You're angry at all this?" Cadence asked. "Yes." "I understand Spike," she nuzzled the giant dragon. He wrapped a wing tip around her. Fluttershy, stood up and trotted towards the pair. "Cadence...what Rainbow Dash said to you was cruel. And we can all see you've been through so much pain too. But please understand, you've gone through your grieving . . . we've...we've just found out . . ." Fluttershy began crying. "I...I'm sorry Rainbow Dash," Cadence said looking me in the eyes again. "I wasn't being callous. It's...it's that when I was Queen...One of the worst things I was always asked was, 'why can't you do more?' Why couldn't I help MORE to stop Discord instead of just contain him? Why couldn't I just go defeat him myself? I was the Temperance wasn't I? I could turn him to stone. Why couldn't I do more? So many ponies, dragons, griffins, they all asked me: 'why can't you do more?' I defeated an Avatar of Discord's father once. Why couldn't I save the world by myself? Why couldn't I save Twilight's soul and those of her friends?...But in the end, I never beat him, and all I could do was buy an escape for my people with my own life...Rainbow tell me the truth...Did Eclipse make sure I lost there?" I blinked, taking a step back in surprise. "...No...Eclipse didn't care about who beat Discord or when, so long as he lost, and Fluttercruel died...Trixie's the only one she ever actively tried not to let beat him and...well, that was less to do with Discord losing and more to do with her humiliation. And Trixie's Element of Magic still helped Twilight in that last cycle." Trixie smiled a bit proudly there. Can't say I blame her, she'd been waiting eons to help screw Eclipse over and avenge her worldline. "Eclipse didn't care if ya were the one to beat Discord or not...but once it got to that point, she tended to copy in ya dyin' to give Twilight an 'object lesson' about how rotten Discord was," Mirror filled in, not really caring I was trying to actually hide that fact from Cadence. What? Bitter or not would you like to tell them the closest thing they had to a little sister murdered them over and over? "...Ah reckon that shows how twisted her heart was by then, seein' as in Trixie's loop...But even then, that didn't stop her." Cadence let a few tears fall there, but didn't break down crying. I think she'd already known that. "And then there was the Shadows of Oblivion...I know they're only shells of their former selves, but whenever I visited them? And yes, I did, they were my subjects, Rainbow Dash. Every Changeling after I rejoined with Chrysalis? They were as dear to me as my children...and their shadows kept asking me that question, except now about Eclipse. 'Why couldn't you do more?'...I tried, I really did...Why do you think we rescued Fluttershy every loop we could the moment we were back in the Spirit World and could? Eclipse can't copy and paste events outside of time, can she?" I shook my head. "No, she couldn't...And...I'm...I'm sorry for exploding like that...I'm just sick of being given the run around and told, 'it has to be' without saying 'why.' Why did this have to happen? Why did it take so long for GODS to realize we were still alive?" Trixie gave a sigh. "...Because you were so well hidden, because you were astral projecting at the time, and we assumed if anypony would know you were still alive, it'd have been Twilight herself...We couldn't find you in the wreckage of the destroyed Nightmare Stable, nor any sign of Flutternice. We assumed she erased herself after you were destroyed when we couldn't sense her. We didn't notice your 'rooms' were missing because...well..." "We thought they'd self destructed WITH you. Only Twilight telling us even let us know they existed," Cadence explained. We'd seen the wreckage ourselves. The place had been completely destroyed. Which made sense, considering it was Eclipse's and for all intents and purposes, Eclipse was deader than dead after Twilight ate her and ascended, on top of the magic backlash blowing up the world viewing orb thing with the six fold Harmony cannon...So yeah, I'm surprised there was even a stable LEFT after what happened, so can't say I fault their logic. I thought about how Twilight Sparkle, Amicitia had split herself into four beings, and I'd never see her again. "Why didn't you think Twilight would defend all of you Fluttershy? You're her friends. That much was real about her, even as a Nightmare." There was no attack or accusation in her voice. "I...I thought you destroyed her...We...We couldn't sense anything without her help...so I thought, after all the bad things she'd done, you'd just...make her go away." Trixie sighed. "I'm sorry. Considering I did hold a grudge on Eclipse till Twilight destroyed her persona, that's an understandable belief." "I still have a grudge on ECLIPSE," I said. "It's Twilight I'm upset about." "...Agreed...but that's just it, Rainbow, Fluttershy...Eclipse was gone...there was no reason for us to harm the one who'd done her in," Trixie explained. "It ain't a sin tah hate that which is evil," Mirror recited truthfully. "It only becomes one when that evil ain't evil no more but yah still hate it just as much. When ya BECOME the evil." "Well spoken, Applejack..." "...I did this..." Whisper muttered, whimpering. "Twilight...I..." she started crying. "You just wanted to see us but...I..." And in that moment, my world became a cold picture of rage. I realized who was the single being to blame that we never got a chance to see her or even say goodbye. There was only one mare whose choices were the end result. I don't care what horseapples she thinks I wanted. I teleported out of Spike's grasp. I, Nightmare Manacle, slowly turned towards Nightmare Whisper. My chains animated like they were Nightmare Purgatory's, my shadow looked over her and Nightmare Whisper didn't even try to run, she didn't even shake, she stood her ground, she didn't try to defend herself. She spread out her wings and body so my chains had a clearer shot at her. Within me was a fury to make Tiamat pause. I'd be sure to fully 'reward' Fluttershy for making us all miss our chance to say goodbye to Twilight. Trixie teleported in front of her. "If you want somepony to hate then hate me! It's an old hat for Trixie! I'm the goddess of Trickery who didn't find an illusion crafted by an incomplete concept in a little corner of creation sooner! Who didn't even notice realize what it was until after it was too late! Didn't even recognize it in time! Hate me! Punish me! I failed!" I startled. Great and Powerful Trixie, putting herself in harm's way for somepony who helped destroy her world? "I could give a scar to a the ultimate Nightmare she could never be rid of that you think I was 'awesome for' but I couldn't even sense an adaptive illusion barrier around one pocket reality! Go ahead! Futtershy was scared, afraid, irrational with grief, what is MY excuse?! Tell me! Or 'reward' me for my failure. But do it with a clear mind Rainbow Dash! You've lived with ENOUGH HATRED!" "I . . ." I gritted my teeth. I stood there for a moment, looking at the one responsible for me missing Twilight...and the girl who was standing up for her despite how easy it'd be to hate her...like a friend should. "I KNEW I could never have my life back! Not the life I had! Even that New Equestria we're making is gonna have a million things different! It's NOT the life I had! Not my Ponyville! Not my weather team! Not my Cloudsdale! Not my Wonderbolts! Not my Pinkie Pie or Applejack! BEFORE Discord! BEFORE Nightmare Eclipse! I knew that was never coming back! But I thought at least I could have all my new friends back!!!" I looked at them. "We WERE monsters! But Cadence is right! Our friendship at least was real! We made it real! You're not REPLACEMENTS! You're not copies! You're my friends! And I wanted all my friends back together." "Rainbow Dash." Applejack said and spread her wings, reflecting us weak and small Alicorns on the inside. "Do you think any of us prefer being the worst murderers in history with no universes to call our own, with only an insanity plea between us and better-not-think-about...over being plain old pony friends in Ponyville? And I know the truth that can't happen. We'll never get back those days. We wanted to be back together too. Be the six of us again." Pinkie Pie was crying too. As was Spike now. I looked at Trixie. "Trixie...you've...you've been hurt enough. No being ever deserves to be hurt as bad as you were...to be as alone as we made you...you don't need to be asking to be hurt more. I'm not judge and jury. And if I was...to be honest, even if you'd done that on purpose, I'd understand why one hundred percent. And you don't need to be LOOKING to be punished just...just for the sake of being punished." I didn't really care if Trixie had actually been asking to be hurt more or was putting that Concept of hers to good use to snap me out of it. Either way, what she said and I said were things somepony in that place needed to hear. I looked at Fluttershy. "'Shy..." I swallowed. "You don't have to force yourself to forgive me," she said solemnly. She looked at our friends. "Any of you." "Forgiving takes time," I said. "I'll wait." "Because that's what friends do." We nuzzled. Trixie nodded. "...And thanks for in a way showing ME that, Rainbow Dash." I blinked, looking to her. "Huh?" "...Scootaloo forgave me for not being able to defeat Eclipse...I admit...that made me feel better than that scar I gave Eclipse ever did...thank you for that...friends forgive...thank you." "You're welcome," I said breathlessly. I slid down to the floor on my rump. We hugged again. This time we didn't let word destroy the moment, and listened to each other's heartbeats. + Cadence took us into her reality. No details mattered except one. It was like Trixie's graveyard in miniature. It was a monumental statue to Twilight Sparkle the Alicorn. Heh. Yeah, I'm crying a bit. All those book stacks around her, egghead Twilight. That's her. We each trotted up in turn and did a little nuzzle with the statue. Spike breathed his teleport flames on the books. Now all the books were rearranged. "That's the way she liked it." "Thank you Spike," Cadence said smiling. I looked at the likeness of her. Her warm-heartedness, her love to learn, her quirky OCD, her big brain, her love for all of us. It clicked. I know what I have to do. + There's one little story I need to tell you about, sadly I can't really give any details, since Spike choked up every time he'd talk about it to me and others told me it wasn't their place to tell. Spike visited Oblivion. Spike got all 'not so cryptic' when he said, "I need to apologize to all of her." I guess this was his way of letting go. I hope. We all asked him to give our apologizes to our loved ones while he was there if he WANTED to...Generousity, what do you think he did? Cadence said that her family had to pull strings and call in favors just to get him able to visit. He wasn't a concept yet after all, and Oblivion didn't exactly have visiting hours, mainly because going in unprotected normally resulted in the Shadows trying to steal your Light to replace theirs (the Scootaloos were registered as part of the world). With the oblivion Scoots acts as his chaperons. "To make sure he didn't get eaten by a Tatzlwurm." I don't know how long Spike stayed in there, the Kingdom of Nada follows its own rules even more so than other realities. Could have been minutes, could have been eons and I wouldn't know the difference. What? What I've been saying about Discord's family and stuff comes out as gobbly gook? Guess it's stuff you couldn't logically know, sorry. Hey don't look at me! I'd hoof pamphlet if I could! I WANT to help you. Point is, Spike went in there by himself...and came out with frozen hoof marks all over his body, and with a tiny (for him) frost spot shape like a kiss on his face. "At least...at least that one forgave me." He also gave Pinkie Pie a message from someshadow named 'Puzzlemint'. She cried when she got it. + Before we got started, Applejack made one final visit to where all the ponies were sleeping to be 'taken home'. Messing with these ponies was the one taboo even Discord was never nuts enough to think he could get away with. I came along only after I asked Applejack more than once Pinkie Promised not to talk about it with the others. No, don't worry, you're fine. Looking back on it, it was all kinds of stupid ironic, after everything, we were gonna make a new world after all. And yeah, the survivor from Spike's loop was there too. No, it wasn't anypony important to Nightdrake Banneret. He was the The Beautiful Fury Of the Generous Green Flames remember? She wasn't anypony 'important' to the history books or battling gods. She was Twilight Sparkle's favorite writer. Jade Singer. Yeah. A one-shot wonder author. Spike gave me a copy, it's not bad I guess, just not my style. Spike gave her the body of a super model, made her twice as smart and creative then she was before, gave an Alicorn long lifespan, gave her a 'horde note' equal to the size of a standard dragon horde, and then turned her into the statue in the Ponyville fountain square for safe keeping until the Golden World was ready. We got her out of there, still asleep, in the happy dreams she was given to dream. Spike let her just continue dreaming and asked Pandora if maybe she'd give her some good inspiration. She'd be a there to give this world's Twilight Sparkle inspiration. The other survivor from Fluttershy's loop? You've met her already. Nightmare Eclipse intended to erase Flutternice with the rest of the worldline until Nightmare Whisper saved her. That was one of the few times Whisper stood up to Eclipse enough to make her back down (on the condition Discord never know about Flutternice's survival). And that's when Nightmare Whisper became my partner in crime. I don't know if we never told Flutternice because it wouldn't make a difference, or we couldn't break her heart THAT much. Applejack opened her wings, a light shined, and a yellow filly with a green mane gently rolled out. Her cutie mark was an apple slice and an orange slice. Using her telekenesis, AJ tenderly put her next to the others. "There ya go little filly. Ah-Ah promised ya a new world. Here ya go. And it's even better than the one we were gonna make yah...Auntie Applejack loves you." She kissed the sleeping filly on the forehead. I whispered a thank you to the one who'd helped Mirror finally fix Eclipse's soul/brain surgery on me...To think, after all this, she never stopped believing life was worth living or gone nuts like Flutternice. She looked at me. "Alright, let's do this." And we left Apple Pie with the others waiting for the new universe to be made. The Gods promised us they'd find a good place for her. + "Alicorn of Judgement," I said, "Before we get started. We have one request. Whatever judgement is given to one of us, happens to all of us. We're all innocent, or we're all guilty." My friends and I all stood together and nodded. Flutternice was judged to have the mind of a child, and too emotionally and mentally damaged to be judged with us. Who she'd be put under the watch of, depended on how things went with us. But long story short, she was judged not guilty by virtue of insanity as Judgment himself said. And before you think he was just let his potential niece off on a bias, he judged the other surviving Fluttercruel guilty. The Alicorn Judicium looked down at us. "... As you wish ... The Court asks of you, do you each intend to complete your journey to become Concepts?" We looked at each other, then we said together: "Yes." I'd vowed I'd become the goddess of breaking loops, of breaking cycles. And I'd stay true to that promise. I realized that was what I wanted. There were too many worlds trapped in endless loops and stalemates, time to add a new clause to the rule book. It was the only privilege that came with being a god that wasn't a curse in disguise if you ask me. You got to add a new line to creation's codex. "To become a concept you give up paradise, never to be reunited with your departed loved ones, you will carry the burden forever: you will become the mantle. And THAT is if you even succeed." Not me or my friends budged. "Then so be it...The court judges, that should you succeed the trials to prove worthy of becoming a law of nature, then your labor in creating a new reality for the lost ponies, and everything it entails, bound to it forever, will be deemed your reconciliation. Should you fail, our punishment will be to experience every unhappy fate you inflicted on your counterparts in each loop you destroyed, and every other sapient being. All of their fear, pain, despair, and agony. Afterwhich you may request to have your lights of existence absorbed by your final cycle counterparts to end the pain, or simply to share the punishment Eclipse suffered, as per your request to all experience the same fate." That wasn't said in an angry 'do what I say or I will smite you!' voice, it was said in a complete fair, completely unbias tone. Not uncaring, just completely and utterly fair. I'm proud none of whimpered. "Yes, yer honor," we all said together. Yes, I'm pretty sure we were all doing a mental tally of how many worlds we individually had helpped destroy. Applejack had the most, Spike the least. + You've heard about Fauna Luster a lot before now. How she's infinite, how she's everything around you in the Alicorn's world, how she's indescribable: they're right. She lived in what was the afterlife, but she was the most alive force in the universe. Lights of existence, they're always coming out of her, from before the moment a single cell begins to divide in a mother's womb, they flow out of her, gaining knowledge and wisdom, self-reliance, sense of self, gaining a shadow, making their own choices, right and wrong, and She couldn't be happier for them. I was also aware of the fact trying to hurt one of those lights in this moment was a taboo that even Eclipse had never broken. Oh, it wasn't that She didn't care about them after they left, it was that hurting those little lights in Her presence was one of the few things in creation that could clop Fauna Luster off. And just ask the Pain Monsters what happens when you manage to genuinely clop Fauna Luster off. I"m not ashamed to admit. I'm broke down crying when I saw her. She was the world's everything. She was every world's everything. She was where I came from, where Twilight came from, where Hoops and Score came from, where my dad came from. She was the source of all of us. Us ponies, we're creatures of Harmony, not this crude flesh and bone. The brain in your head? That's not you. That's just a processor the real you uses to interact with the physical world. Just looking at Her, I couldn't deny this was where what let us BE us was born to begin with. Yeah She's beautiful, like a sunrise. Funny thing about Fauna Luster. The Alicorn domain is her. So you're inside Her, looking at Her, about to go inside Her. Go figure. Yes, Pinkie Pie made the obligatory joke. Fauna Luster didn't mind, in fact She laughed and told Pinkie Pie she was going to be a great Concept of Joy. Razzaroo was there. Apparently she was now 'ripe' for becoming the concept of miracles and wishes along with her star-with-a-face sidekick. But my trial was to be first. "I want you all to be among the Alicorns who welcome the new me into creation," she said smiling. I think Discord's family wasn't allowed in Fauna Luster's inner chamber. Well, she might be about to give birth. Starlight and her buddies were there as 'security' but acted more like honor guard, after all, we hadn't caused any trouble since we left the imitation Ponyville. Discord met us on the way and told us he was proud of us for how we changed and apologized that he wouldn't be there. Apparently because an Alicorn's birth would 'hurt worse than My Dad to any pure draconequus in the room.' AJ kept her mouth shut while Fluttershy said, "We're happy to see how you've changed too Discord." Well, at least we know the new universe will be in good hands with him making it. Better than what our worldline was like with us running it. I was decked out in my full barding along with the others, it felt fitting. Big starry sky Father Of Alicorns 'Sane Reality', Pony Heaven, wasn't in sight, not sure what that was about. Maybe He was meant to show up when we were remade or not? Might explain why the place wasn't packed with every single Alicorn in existence too. But oh there were plenty there. Like good old Alicorns of Justice and Judgement. I asked to go first saying it was to show the others it was okay, I was loyalty, it was my job to go first I reasoned. My friends were there with me. Flutternice? Fluttershy said she was being foalsat by the Alicorn she trusted most to look after her. "RAINBOW DASH," Fauna Luster Spoke, "DURING YOUR TIME IN THE POCKET WORLD. YOU UNDERWENT MANY CHALLENGES AND ORDEALS. AND THE PONIES YOU SAVED. DO YOU CONSIDER THAT TEST ENOUGH FOR YOU TO BECOME A TRUE ALICORN?" "No way! Just because I did the Sonic Rainboom, save Equestria, makes friends with them at the Gala, and saved the Wonderbolts and my friends didn't give me the right to be a Wonderbolt! I'd want to go to the Academy, and take the examines same as any other pony! I'd want to EARN it the way I'm supposed to!" I meant every word. "WELL SPOKEN. AS PER MY SON'S JUDGEMENT. ENTER ME, AND YOUR TEST OF YOUR OWN HEART'S DESIGN WILL BEGIN." Was I scared about doing this? You bet I was scared. And I'm mare enough to admit it. So much rode on this. But I had to do this. It was my responsibility, as a friend. Who was I kidding? This was my choice and only my choice. But this was for my friends, wasn't much of a choice to begin with. I've decided what I'll be loyal to. = "Overfly" - Swords Arts Online = Cadence was nearby. We'd traded hugs. Of course Abbatissa was here, she always close to one of her Parents, she was the Alicorn of Prayer after all. Rota Fortuna was here, watching all of us, as still as a statue, no expression on her face, her feathery and clockwork wing both spread. I told the Scootaloo Army that had wanted to stay with me after I had helped destroy their worlds that they should wait until my judgement was over, wouldn't do good for them to swear themselves to a goddess who was a criminal. I also told Cadence and any other God that they'd become Angels or Yokai for to not let them be there. I didn't want them to see this. My friends stood by, tense, watching me about to enter the fires of friendship: I think that's Her real form, as close as 'real' gets with a fundamental law, with one of the four Biggest Pillars. She isn't a pony, not even close, She's not even an Alicorn, she only created them with Her other half. She was a fire that was Her own fuel that could never truly go out. Or that's how I saw Her. Wait, did that mean every light of existence was a tiny fire of friendship? That explained everything. Applejack looked like she had a headache looking at her. I guess when you're still a mortal in mind, having truth vision looking at something beyond comprehension probably isn't fun. She told me later what confused her most was there was no cruel truth to be found in Her. "Ah'm the Cruelest Truth...She's the Kindest Truth...Ah...Ah don't know what tah make of that..." I was on the threshold, and I remembered, She didn't have any cruelty in Her, but if she was the fires of friendship...fires couldn't be tamed. I could back out now, and forget this whole mess, and...I'd wonder forever if I really done everything I could for my friends. I took the dice and rolled. Alea iacta est. I enter Fauna Luster Herself. Like a virus. = Fall Of Homura Akemi - Madoka Rebellion - I felt the fires of burn away at me, burning away at my Nightmare outer-self like Elements of Harmony would. I release the feeling inside me. It wasn't anger, it wasn't hate, it wasn't greed, and it wasn't the good old self-pity I've kept with me like a security blanket. Roughly four thousand years ago or more, the fires of friendship, so tiny compared to everything, caused Discord's Mom to feel pain. And that snowballed into the Alicorn-Draconequus war. Paranoid. All the ponies alive channeling the fires of friendship couldn't have ended The End...then again, one mortal had already killed Cupid, maybe she was worried for more of Her family than just her? She didn't like anypony deciding 'this life ends' other than Her for anything. I think of Twilight Sparkle. I don't hate her. I never could. Discord was to blame for what happened to us, not her. I fought so hard to see her again. To be reunited with the friend who gave me the inspiration to break free of Discord. And I wouldn't ever. I let the empty waters of that one dream impossible to fulfill on the fire of friendship herself. One drop in the heart of an inferno. Pinkie Pie cried out in shock at the sight. Outside, Rota Fortuna said calmly, "So that's the road you chose. What do you hope to find at the end of it?" "A friend," Fluttershy said. "I'm very very very sorry, and I'm sure Rainbow Dash is too." "This, this isn't hatred, anger, greed, fear, or despair!" Abbatissa manages to gasp out in stark confusion. "It's part of what ya made us ponies for," AJ said. "It's what ya made us ponies naturally wired for...it's friendship." Spike had to use himself as a shield for me against a very angry Justitia AND Venus (a child's love for her mother is powerful too). He'd last less than an eye-blink. Fluttershy unleashed her fog, it would last less than a moment. I would milk that split moment for all it was worth inside the core of every heart that is, was, or will be. I felt the moment wasn't ending by the will of a new presence. But we had something on our side, what I did, sent a shockwave through her domain, every Alicorn everywhere felt what she felt in that one moment. ...Rarity...Trixie...I'm sorry, but I have to do this. I didn't do it to be queen over anything, not to remake the world, not out of any grudge or spite. This wasn't out of not being able to let go. It was to repay a friend. I'm more sorry for that, than I've been sorry for everything else I've ever done. Please...please don't look at me that way. Look, I KNOW how this looks! I promise I...I promise I'm not being...I know what I did was...Please don't hate me: I couldn't bear that again. I just wanted a chance to find her! I knew my flank was toast for this. But I'd do all this for a friend. We all would. I'd unleashed from my heart a hole that couldn't be filled by anything, because friends couldn't be replaced. And as Fauna Luster's fires burned around me, there came understanding. If Entropy felt pain by Fauna Luster's touch, then the opposite happened. And I'd called up Her, just like the fires of friendship were Princess Celestia's mom's, this was Her. She was a concept, her concept was Her, and she was Her concept, I didn't call on her power or essence, and I'd called Her. Dragon Spooker? I don't think I read that manega. She didn't look like a draconequus. She was a gray earth pony with an emotionless face. "You're beautiful, like a sunset." I covered my mouth, too late. I was still here? What the hay? Wasn't she supposed to erase anypony said a statement about her? Maybe the queen of the spiritual junkyard liked compliments after all? Naw. This Avatar maybe just wasn't into smiting. It was WEIRD, meeting an all powerful concept among concepts for the first time, and I didn't anything. Guess for Her that's a compliment. "Only My Husband has ever called me that before," she said not as the thunder serpent rising from the ocean of chaos, but the gray earth pony mare. She gestured around us. "Look for where you wish to go with your heart." "Wait, how the heck do you know what I'm after?" Her face remained lifeless. "You called me up, all your heart is as exposed to me as it is to Her. Find your goal, and you'll have safe passage there. But on one condition." "Let's hear it." "You'll oppose my son and my children's mistakes when the opportunity presents itself. Their plans would cause many endings before their time...while at the same time cause suffering without end. That is unacceptable." "I'd have done that anyway." "I know. Interesting. Even a small piece of me is all of me, my little light in the dark. Here, in the heart of my...there is no word in your language...but...heh...I can feel Her true feelings. How strange it is this thing you call feeling. Like She can feel yours. She carries no grudge. She knows her pain you didn't intend and forgives you. I don't know of Her Husband. She is Empathy...she once wished to know my pain that drove me to have our children fight." "Why?" "To be my friend." We ponies really are Their creations. Wait. "Are you saying I'm still following some cosmic scheme?" "All concepts are dynamic, tis what separates Us from Nightmares my little light in the dark." "...You happy I gave Fauna Luster a taste of what happened to you?" I sure didn't. "Nothingness has no grudges. I believe in lasting solutions. If prove in error of this gift of mine, I will have one for you." "I'll remember I'm a criminal. Whether I meant to cause Her pain or not is besides the point, I knew I came here with less than honest intent." "That is more honest than some of my own children, or Fauna's have been. If you turned back, the Alicorns will forgive, but if you carry through, they shall not forgive you so easily." "I'll accept that when we come back. This was my scheme, nopony else's. I just want to experience one thing before I'm punished." "You intend to come back." "I never lied about accepting the consequences of my actions." "This your end of you as a Nightmare and your beginning as a Devil." My Element floated before us, no longer that dark, giant mishapened mess, but my old red lightning bolt. I guess this place was connected to my soul. It was cracking apart. "Devil?" My Element shattered to pieces. "Or Demi-Fiend if you like. A Fallen Alicorn. The third to ever exist. As Fallen Draconequi are Demons. But you are a first: never has a Nightmare become a Devil." My Element began reassembling itself into a new shape. One I didn't recognize. "I think I'll go with Demi-Fiend thank you very much." "I suggest you start looking before this moment ends." She gestured with a hoof at the endless realities suddenly around us. "You have all infinitely to look through after all. And if your moment of opportunity ends, you are unlikely to have another." And I did look. Fauna Luster, Mother of everything, please forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that part to happen. But...I have to see her again. She's my friend! Across creation I look. - Harmony Queen Rainbow Dash look at Scootaloo, no rebellion or resentment in her eyes, no matter what. She gasped for a moment like she felt somepony else sitting where she was sitting, pushing against her. Where are you Twilight? - Rainbow Dash sat on her crystal throne among the council of friendship, happily chatting about what a great view the castle had after they had saved the world from Tirek. She gasped as she thought. Where are you Twilight? - What...what is this?...It's me...Super-Rainbow Dash fighting Nightmare Eclipse...hugging her even after she just stabbed me with the sword, a thousand lights inside her...beating back the Nightmare trapping them inside...breaking out . . .hijacking Eclipse's time magic while inside her to... summon other Elements... Excuse me! I've got something in my eyes! It's...My Element was gonna crack if I kept looking at them, all so happy. - There was that universe where Discord decided to 'upgrade' us rather than just keep as us minions. I infect that loser of a Draconequus of Apathy that used to be a Rainbow Dash with shards of my Element of Loyalty and Element of Free Will, maybe it'll give the idiot a wake up call. I did promise Entropy that I'd oppose her son however I can. - In the Rainbow Factory, Rainbow Dash looked at the captured Scootaloo with murderous intent. I give her the worst headache I can, making her relive every memory of the time she'd spent with Scoots, and making her remember that this place would have murdered Fluttershy if it had been given the chance. - Another Rainbow Dash cries out as Princess Celestia wraps a wing around her faithful rainbow maned apprentice. - And another one a lot like the last, only here, this Rainbow Dash has a horn in her head, and Celestia is concerned for the daughter she could only recently acknowledged due to tribalism not being as dead here as other Equestrias. - "It's so adorable ya think you're more awesome than us!" A Rainbow Dash says. Once upon a time, I thought those words the epitome of coolness. Now I see arrogance. Here ya go buddy! The worst headache in the history of Equestria, all gift wrapped with a pretty bow! "AGGGHHHHHHH!!!" Welcome! - A Rainbow Dash strapped down with an insane Pinkie Pie. Okay, buck this. Just a prank, as shown after Rainbow Dash tells her off for her completely Un-Pinkie Pie level puns and jokes. End! And yes, it did give me bucking satifaction that it was something Twilight had been doing in endless other universes! - A Rainbow Dash who's a complete loser and loyal only to Fluttershy or some horseapples, the rest of us are pretty much the same way, all our faults played up and our virtues swept under the rug. While Trixie proves herself the hero she could always be if shown some love early enough while Raindrops shows she could have been a hero too if given the chance. - A neighboring universe were Trixie is Element of Laughter...and Rainbow Dash is...actually a lot like me. I'm just friends with Blossemforth who...is Loyalty there? Weird, but...considering I hurt Anasi, good to see a verse where we're on decent terms... - Pinkie Pie and her adopted foals sitting on a couch playing a video game, they hide behind the furniture as I watch. Just pretend I didn't see you. - A Rainbow Dash with a buttefly cutie mark loyally caring for her beloved animals who couldn't care for themselves. Grateful to a kind hearted Fluttershy with a balloon cutie mark who cheered her up after Rainbow had lost the pegasus race to save her life. She was also grateful to Twilight who had restored their cutie mark after this Rainbow Dash nearly electrocuted herself trying to do Rarity's job. Nice but not what I'm looking for. - A human Rainbow Dash playing her guitar with her friends, wondering about how to introduce themselves to the science nerd human Twilight Sparkle of THIS world, when I shove in. Where is Twilight? Wait. A little bit over. - "Hey guys, am I still banished? It's cold out here," asked a Rainbow Dash to her fellow gang of no-face loser trouble-makers in good King Sombra's Equestria. Too far. - Rainbow Dash couldn't believe that stallion she had fallen in love with turned out to be a changeling! Ugh. And she really thought he loved her back! And now Discord was bent out of shape because Fluttershy had been sleeping with Bulk Biceps. Sure he was 'reformed' now, but that didn't mean he couldn't throw a temper tantrum that would level the town. Just a bit more this time. - Dressing in style and making dresses for my pony friends and Ponyville's number one fashionista. If only Princess Rarity would stop being such a tomboy. - "Now you just listen to Auntie Pinkie Pie," Pinkie said in a strangely motherly tone I thought only Fluttershy could manage. "I'm going to tell you a bedtime story. And I want you to listen really good understand?" I nodded numbly. "Once upon a time, there was a donkey in a barn with two piles of hay. The donkey was the same distance from the two piles, and the two piles were exactly the same size, the tasted just as good, and they were just as nice. The donkey was hungry and wanted to eat them. Except he couldn't decide on which one to start with because they were exactly the same. So the donkey tried to figure out which one to eat first, but couldn't figure out which one it was supposed to eat first, unable to choose between them, so it starved." "Then donkey never realized that by not making the decision of which piles of hay to eat first, it was failing to make the choice to eat at all. So it was making the choice to starve. So it ended up not having either. By not making a choice...you're still making a choice NOT to make it. And it cost the donkey by not making a choice. The donkey was too stubborn and proud to realize that. And what a silly donkey it was wasn't it?" "Yeah." For the first time in my life, I longer felt ashamed to cry. "WHAT A STUPID STUBBORN JACKASS!" I turned and hugged Pinkie Pie with tears in my eyes, and I LAUGHED! Pinkie Pie began laughing too. Followed by Fluttershy. Rarity and Twilight just politely chuckled while AJ sniggered. I FEEL IT! THIS IS THE ONE! - I pointed. "THIS ONE!" "May fate and chance be kind to you, Rainbow Dash." I can see myself, my wings aren't black totally anymore, they have a silver lining, like storm clouds. My eyes are no longer draconic, my cutie mark returns to its original colors. My cutie mark remained its old shape, I'm guessing because my 'trial' isn't done. Devils, or Demi-Fiends aren't that much different from Alicorns, I kept my old barding, I guess again because the 'trial' is still going on, whatever that'll be. "You are not a whole concept. But you are no longer a Nightmare. You haven't finished the trial. You are indeed a Fallen Alicorn. Welcome to the world, breaker of cycles. Tarot Of The Ace Of Swords." My Element reformed itself. It's shape was not a Lightning Bolt like before. It was one of those snakes Eclipse loved to use as a symbol, only broken in two straight down the middle. I held it in my hooves and absorbed it back into my heart. "Entropy." "Yes?" "Would you tell the others, that I was the one who pulled my friends into this? I'll shoulder all blame." "It will be done,their punishment should come to an end at it's proper time.. I suggest you go, my little light in the dark." "I accept whatever punishment is waiting for me when this is over." Fluttershy's illusion around the chains I had wrapped around each of my friends and myself vanished as they grew taut, and pulled them along with me as flew where laid the path between realities for us. "Please tell Flutternice I'll be back soon!" Fluttershy called. "I'll be sure to make all of you an Apology Cake later!" Pinkie Pie tried meekly. "...Razzaroo! Please don't delay your big coronation party because of us, okay?! don't delay making ponies happy because of me!" "Ah'm STILL doin' stupid horseapples cause Ah think the pay off is worth it," AJ said to Cadence. "Reset me when Ah get back, pass or not. I want this idea out of my head!" "Can I raise you back into an adult Jackie?" "Uh, Ah'd rather it was somepony else Pinkie Pie." "Tell my ancestors I apologize," Spike shouted. They entered Fauna Luster, and we exited Fauna Luster. Except, it's not in the same timeline we entered from. The Dawn of time was if you wanted access to EVERY timeline, this was for more single port flights. It's funny...nopony tried to stop us on the way out. The world mirrors were one thing, they assimilated whatever passed through them into the universe they were coming into and still had side effects. We weren't so lucky. We were barely ghosts. I'd roped all my friends into this. I'd done something truly wrong just wanting to help my friend. I had to see this through to the end. Yeow...You had a right to shout at me like that. OW! And a right to do that too. Well, now that's the cat's out of the bag, I guess I can share what lead up to this crazy scheme of mine. I'm sorry for telling you this part before. Please forgive me?...I'll face the consequences of what I did later, there are some things I just have to do first. Yeah yeah, I guess I was trying to make things a bit more exciting for you. Ahem. "Why are we having this meeting in the void between universes again?" Spike asked. Being immortal had it's advantages. A simple force field to protect you from explosive decompression, and okay okay a zillion other 'simple' little spells Nightmare Eclipse had taught us over a million years to keep us from dying every blink. "Uh, I have to agree with Spike, I really don't like this place all that much," Fluttershy whispered. "Yeah! There are so many things in the infinite yet zero-dimension state between worldlines that can't even comprehend 'smile' or 'party!' And just want to eat our names, drink our outlines, or want us to play every possible game of Go in existence." "Ib Shut Ren Ka Ba Ha Akh! Ib Shut Ren Ka Ba Ha Akh! Ib Shut Ren Ka Ba Ha Akh!" A feminine thing in Ponygypt wear made up of a lion, a hippo, and a crocodile raise up behind behind Pinkie Pie, jaws opened wide. Pinkie Pie fired a party cannon shot into it's mouth, and sending it fall over backwards. "And cause and effect is so liquid you end up hearing discussions of yourself that you never have," Spike added. "This place has no truth, it doesn't have anything!" AJ declared. "Which is exactly why we're here. Besides, it's impossible to get 'lost' since the distance is infinite and zero at the same time so that's one less thing to worry about." "Enough exposition, girls. I get it. This place is basically the shorelines of Entropy's home turf. But we can speak 'privately' here. Sort of." "Oh I remember!" Pinkie said. "Since it's outside of reality, it's nowhere, so it's not anywhere, so it's not part of 'everywhere', so ponies who are 'everywhere' aren't here." Which also meant there was no death if something killed us...that place always gave everything the creeps. "Right," I said. "Personally I wonder if the Elders are just being polite and pretend they can't sense what goes on here, but here goes, this is what we're going to do." So yeah, Fluttershy created her illusions to hide the chains outside of reality, which made Trixie confused since that meant that part of herself was disconnected from the rest of her. And the thing is, nothing I intended or planned was false, it just wasn't all. The idea was that we didn't want to be separated again since we were friends, but it was awkward to have chains visible like that which wasn't a lie. We also had Flutternice play with Trixie and her foal sitter, kept safe. And Fluttershy had no idea that distracting Trixie was why she was asking for that (at the time), so she did it completely honestly...and even that was a big oversimplification. You know those Objective Impossible movies where they spend half the movie planning the big heist? Imagine that times one hundred fifty bajillion, and you got how bucking hard it was to pull this off. There were so many cogs in that machine it'd take me an eon to explain the whole plan, and several eons to come up with it. I bet we're the only beings besides old Tirek himself to ever pull a 'great escape' on the Pantheon and the Elders...I'm relieved I can say I'm not proud of that. "...I just...thought we'd see Twilight again once it was all over. She was the one thing I was looking forwards to...and she was gone before I started. She gave up EVERYTHING, and nearly all of her were INNOCENT Twilight Sparkles enslaved by a monster! Why should they have had to 'be redeemed by sacrificing themselves' when they were just victims too? It's not fair!" "I agree." Fluttershy sighed. "Me too," Spike said. "Me three," Pinkie Pie added. "Ah'd be blind to say it was fair," AJ finished. Then I said those foalish words we Nightmare, former, or otherwise, are known for far and wide, "We'll make it fair." Looking back on it now. I think I finally get complete Alicorns. Nightmares will always answer them the same: 'I'll make it fair.' I think deep down, those are the true words that trigger a Nightmare being born. Alicorns...they...I understand now...they can say 'But that's the way it is,' too. They know how to add to the world without tearing everything else down in the process. I saw it while looking over the worldlines. AJ's Alicorn? Tries to make a world where all truths come out...but in their own time. Fluttershy's wants to make the world kind by ripple effect, an act of random kindness spurs another. And so on...Mine? She's made herself a steadfast pillar of loyalty (even if being truly loyal meant saving somepony from themselves) to inspire others to be just as loyal, instead of making them unable to betray their friends. All Alicorns want the same end as their Nightmare...but they do it without bullying. Adding to what is and showing their virtue to inspire others, not replacing it with their own personal 'utopia'. A Nightmare makes the world 'fair', an Alicorn inspires ponies to want it to be. Just like Celestia and Cadence inspired Equestria to be as kind and loving as it always should be. And the Wonderbolts inspired me, I saw a world where Spitfire was an Alicorn and just didn't want the fame and power. So where does that leave me, a Demi-Fiend?...Honestly, not even I know... I just want to see a friend again. > How We Came To Be Here > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry if you can't hear everything I say from here on out, no stuff isn't being erased from existence, we're almost out of time, and I think my messages are being filtered. But we're almost done. Hold on. The Half-Lights? They've done nothing but be loyal to what Twilight would want, like any daughter. I can't hate them. Shining Armor, he's done nothing but protect Cadence and help Twilight be a stronger pony. He cares more about them than he does himself...I could never be angry at him. After I got a chance to check them out...I knew they were like Twiley, all wonderful ponies. But...but...I just want Twilight back! So she can be in this future WITH us! Don't ask me how, but I managed to get an interview with Rota Fortuna before I pulled the stupidest stunt in the history of stupid stunts I just told ya about. She was really the first Alicorn that made it clear really, when you're speaking with a concept, you're talking with a terminal, a concept is everywhere their concept is. Seriously...while entering her reality, I saw a version of her walking down an infinite road with stones made out choices and events, with a new version of her coming into being every time the road split, laying down the bricks in the road. A pretty infinite grassy field as far as the eye could see for the road to be laid down on. Where she was coming from was Celestia's Mom's dawn, and all the roads were being slowly built towards Discord's Mom's domain of dusk. If I squinted really hard, I could see another dawn beyond that, and instinctively knew another dusk was behind that. Then my perceptions changed and there was a giant version of her surrounded by gears, cogs, piano strings and wires, many hooked up directly to her mechanical wing, and others wrapped around her tail and hooves...like she was a prisoner of her own realm. Standing on a big cog shaped platform surrounded in an infinite machine of clockwork pieces ticking away ponies choices as time moved forward. Then I was in a bronze and gold observatory, with tall windows, swirl gray and and black polished marble floor, and a beautiful star scape outside. A beautiful brass model of the universe, no, of worldlines turning forever above our heads hanging from the ceiling. I explained what I was doing there and what I was hoping she could help me find. "You're chasing a dream." "But there has to be some possible future somewhere where it happens!" "You're that determined?" "Yes." Rota Fortuna looked through a telescope and several magnifying glasses at once, pointing them down at a big crystal ball ornamentally raised in one corner of the octagon, hexagon, whatever-gon room. An eye that would have made Tiamat's look tiny stared down at me from one of the skylights. I gave out a yelp. The eye moved away as soon as Rota pulled her eyes away from the telescope. "I can't say there are no worldlines where it doesn't happen. But worldlines where it has to happen aren't pleasant." "Are you saying me seeing my best friend again isn't pleasant?" "What you desire is selfish Rainbow Dash...each of your friends lost their Twilight Sparkle to Nightmare Eclipse. The friends of the final Twilight who brought Eclipse's ruin lost their Twilight. I lost a sister. But it is your Twilight Sparkle you most think of." "I never said it wasn't," I said, my Element feeling heavy. Hey! Hey! Please stop with the stink eye! I'm...still kinda only mortal. "But you create every possible road for ponies to choose from. You've got to be able to create a road where it can happen without something awful happening!" "Those worldlines tend to be forced, convoluted, and often drive away those-who-watch, and without those-who-watch, a world line before it has a chance to mature will wither away and die. Often they are created by inserts who are naught but empty vessels for the will of immature those-who-make." "That's dumb! You're saying something awful HAS TO happen for something good to happen?" "Not at all. I am saying everything has consequences. Every good choice, every bad choice, every grey choice. Both positive and negative." "But...if there is no conservation for the existence of souls, it should be possible right?" "Except Amicitia divided herself up into something new. There is a difference." "I'm just asking...Is what I'm after completely impossible?" "...not completely impossible. But this isn't just the price you and your friends would pay." "I see." "You have a chance to be part of a new universe that will need protectors and guides...you can...not balance out...but atone for your part as Nightmare Eclipse's coconspirators. You and your friends will be as loved and worshipped as any concept." "And my best friend won't be there to enjoy it with me." "You do have a filly, several in fact, who DO wish to enjoy it with you. Not counting your friends. I won't say you shouldn't risk what you have for something more. But think about how your choices will effect others who only desire to be your family. A choice is a rock thrown into a pond." "...If I want something that will only cause me pain, why not just stop me here?" "...Because I am Free Will. The ability to take away a being's right to self determination is something I simply do not have. Be glad I don't. Eclipse robbed herself of that right. It is VERY precious Rainbow Dash! Not all of us have that privilege!" She spread out her mechanical wing, and in the metal's shine I saw what I was made to know was true and understood. I saw it in her clockwork wing...so many worldlines...and in all of them, the one constant I did see...Rota Fortuna loses one of her beautiful feathered wings. It's not even always the same way! Sometimes it's fighting the Invading Pain Fiends, or Morning Star, an almost miss of the Elements of Chaos that turns one wing gold, sacrificed protecting...Clover? Or some pony like her? But her beautiful wings would never stay a pair. And from that severed wing was born The Wolf. Maybe I should have listened more, maybe I shouldn't have, all I know is...is that I thought I could make things right for my friends. Applejack...was the one who convinced Fluttershy to leave Flutternice behind. To wait for us to come back. "If she stays with us, ya'll only drag her into trouble with us. She doesn't need to be messed up in our schemes again." So Fluttershy left Flutternice with 'Princess Gaia' ('Shy had corrected me on how to say her name). Don't ask why Fluttershy trusted her so completely. "She's the only pony I know I can trust to look out for Flutternice's best interests," she explained. Meanwhile..."Scootaloo." "Yes Rainbow Dash?" Asked the Scootaloo from the worldline I'd called home. "I might be going on a really long trip soon, I might not be back for a while. Everything that's mine is yours in the meantimes. I want you to promise me you'll look after the Scootaloo Army Alliance of Awesome, including you. If any of 'em need saving from themselves...help'em any way you can." "You can count on me Dash! Promise!" We nuzzled. And Spike insisted, "We should have just gone to the dawn of time and found Twilight's new worldline that way, or ya ASKED how to get there? I still say if we explained everything things could have worked out." "They might have said 'no,'" I said. "Might?" AJ asked. "Maybe we could have asked Discord for help." Fluttershy offered. "He'd have wanted to help us, I know he would have!" "He would have gotten in trouble. And we've paid him in enough pain already," AJ said. "And I'd rather we DIDN'T spark another Nature's Fury Vs Nature's Law war." Pinkie Pie said, "Well I think Dashie you should have stopped being a grouch and asked Razzaroo for help. She was able to have New Applejack and New Rarity exist from our Applejack and our Spike. She...she knows what it's like to lose everypony and...and see them turned into somepony different...even their souls being remade." "I didn't ask her because I have a grudge. Razzaroo on the verge of becoming a concept. I'm not dragging her into this. This is...this is our crazy scream. She doesn't need to have her future ruined because of us...besides, I kind of like the idea that a hero can have a miracle help them out." "What about-" "NO! NO to EVERYONE," I finally said. "We're not dragging anypony to into our horseapples with us this time! We're doing this on our own, that is final...we've got enough blood on our hooves, let's make sure we're only risking spilling our own." So here we were. In the universe Twilight Sparkle had made in her sacrifice. We all bawled like fillies when we first saw it first hoof, when we crossed the line and into the pony world. Ponyville as we remembered it, Ponyville as it was supposed to be, our friends and neighbors as they were supposed to be. S-sorry! That's really sounding like that mockery of Twilight isn't it? But just seeing everypony happy and sane...we were all crying tears of joy. Nopony had to be erased for it. It rocked. It was wonderful... Mayor Mare's not a statue ranting and raving. Apple Bloom's not a zombie. Sweetie Belle's not a doll. Carrot Top's not a psychotic triggered by the color green. Derpy delivering the mail in Ponyville and not marching around a castle. Dinky's a pony and not a muffin. Gilda's alive and doesn't have a curse to become feral at the sight of normal ponies. Scootaloo...I don't believe it. I saw the two of us together. And yes, Fluttershy was even happy that Silver Spoon didn't get her head lopped off by her own dad. I was more happy that a father hadn't been forced to betray his daughter. And one other thing? This world line's Discord was a statue. And may he stay one for the million years it'll take him to stop being a brat. This is what we should've done from day one. Or at least tried to do. There was no 'let's play again' option here. These ponies, they were being allowed to enjoy what came after, they could live their lives again. This was the world Amicitia had made. And nopony could even thank her for it. Okay...You know how the Half-Light, could chat with ponies either retroactively in their heads, or face to face? We were less than that. We barely counted as ghosts. We couldn't do that. Since we had entered via the spirit world, we didn't have a physical presence. Unless we felt like getting born here, but none of us were eager to go through diapers again. Or maybe it was just that we didn't belong here. This also meant we couldn't meddling directly with Shining Armor or the Half-Lights. On the bright side, it also meant nopony could really sense us as more than a bad feeling. We were basically spirits. So our big scheme kinda hit a roadblock. Also, since we were hopeless amateurs with time magic from just what we saw Twilight's mockery do (remember the whole 'why I couldn't get professional help from mortals?'), and Fauna Luster is timeless, and something was screwing around with the worldline of Amicitia's gift to everypony: let's just say our flight had to land in another when due to the turbulence. Fun fact, we were NOT omnipresent, at all. We spent the major of our time shadowing our counter-parts like stalkers. Hey who gave you that comic book?! Are you even listening? Hey! Oh, hey. This is private chat between the two of us! You got something you wanna ask too? Why did none of us do anything about Diamond Tiara before it was too late? We didn't know. We didn't think she was important enough. We didn't think she had any meaning in the big flow of things...So the bully ran away from home? Who cares about that? Meant less misery for Scoots and her friends right? We had a lot more important thing to keep an eye on… we weren't present when Diamond stabbed Rarity. We didn't know Discord was involved until the spirits of black magic gathered to crown her as a Nightmare... Other Nightmares...they're loyalty gone wrong, they're the night gone wrong, they're...the magic of friendship gone wrong... She's wrongness for wrongness' sake. We can't even sense her magic anymore unless we're looking straight at her! We forgot ourselves when we, for that one moment, sensed her rebirth, the spirits of black magic themselves calling out in a voice only we could hear, heralding her advent. We came at her with everything, except we were made to remember that everything was 'nothing' in this case. We were a glitch in the system, like her. We were a wrongness in creation, like her. Except she had been born here, she was native, we weren't. So yeah, we think Discord sensed us, and so did his new filly of the corn. We were a whole gallery of Nightmares and one Fallen Alicorn, we had millions of years of stolen experience on our side...and could physically affect them as much as shadows on a wall. We were to him what a cold breeze is to a normal person. Most ponies don't think 'Ah! It's a ghost trying to murder me'...they think 'what was that breeze?' So no, we didn't even get the justification of scaring the horseapples out of him for a second. The best we could do was nudge things on occasion, and only if doing it made sense to the pony doing it! We found out later that Discord had managed to claw Half-Light Dawn when she contacted Diamond Tiara's heart, and he wasn't even free, he was just channeling through her! I don't know if that had to do with how Diamond Tiara was related to Discord, or not. This had NEVER happened in any of the worldlines Twilight's mockery had shown us. All I knew was, as a Nightmare she felt WRONG even by our standards, we couldn't even sense her new name and title, or Tarot, if she had one. ...I admit. All those cycles of taking Diamond Tiara from Discord? I at least knew by the time we started doing it Discord cared about her and she cared about him...I...I felt like this was a perversion of that one bit of light our Discord had for millions of years. They were still treating each other like family, thick as blood, but... instead of her being his one sunny day he genuinely cared for...she was his midnight on a new moon. It just felt wrong. I'm talking about things out of order again aren't I? After a couple million years with 'Nightmare Paradox', you really start to lose touch with your sense of linearity. Okay, let me try and get my thoughts a little bit more in order. You done reading your comic? Okay. Not sure how much I could have just told that didn't count as...(what did Pinkie Pie call it?) 'out of character knowledge.' One thing I realized I could do? After one too many tries to communicate with ourselves? I shared a lot of my memories of my life as Discord's pawn with Rainbow Dash as dreams. Including the fight where I killed her. Maybe it was the bond between us that brought us here in the first place, maybe it was because we had the same soul, maybe we shared the same dreamscape so I didn't register as an intruder, all I knew is that Princess Luna never came coming. No, I never showed her Twilight's mockery, that wouldn't solve a thing... And I made sure Rainbow Dash would die before abandoning the coolest awesomest orange filly I know, that she knew exactly how bad it could go, how easily she could lose her new family, yes I said family don't look that surprised, you must have figured out how she felt. I also shared with her memories and visions of other Rainbow Dashes, including one who unwittingly drove a Scootaloo straight into Discord's open arms when she decided to call an orphanage instead of take her Scootaloo in. Oh! I… I really shouldn't have mentioned that one. Look, Discord takes advantage of… it's not that bad? You already figured how Chrysalis would have done the same if given the chance? Okay...That's honestly kind of disturbing you've been through enough to realize that. No! I promise! I wasn't trying to torture Rainbow Dash. Or anypony. Your Rainbow Dash would protect Equestria's best filly from the hordes of Tartarus before abandoning her family, she'd have to completely cease to exist before she'd turn on the world's coolest orange pegasus, she would never repeat my mistakes...Hehe, at least one thing I've done in all these years turned out for the better...At least this Rainbow wouldn't have to realize you don't know what you have until it's gone... Thank you for the hug, you don't know how much it means to me. I'm sorry, I don't know if me poking my head through into this world is what retroactively triggered your Rainbow almost becoming a new Nightmare Manacle, or her almost becoming Nightmare Manacle was what let me find Twilight's world full of reharmonized ponies to begin with...All I know is that she bent but never broke. Oh...you didn't know about that...look, she was in a dark place after Discord hurt her, like you, her friends finally brought it to the surface and helped her out. It's what inspired her to do the best thing she's done since helped beat Discord! I'm sorry for telling you all this. Stop saying sorry so much? Heh. I used to say the same thing. Still do. But, admitted you messed up is important, take it from me. The time we arrived?...Like I said, my sense of linearity was really atrophied and we had turbulence flying in. Can you blame me? That time loop lasted longer than AJ could count, and she still hadn't been with that mockery of Twilight from the beginning. I think it was right after this world's Fluttershy became a new Nightmare Whisper for a few days, then got zapped into a nice new sparkling Alicorn right off the rainbow colored assembly line. These ponies didn't know they were giving a first birthday party to a new fledgeling goddess with their Gaia Festival. Yes, Fluttershy's secretly an Alicorn now, keep it under your helmet. Her Alicorn form got sealed away because she kinda messed up with it before, and needs time to learn how to use it the right way. Please don't mention it. Our Nightmare Whisper had been at a lost for words when their Nightmare Whisper, looking a lot like her giant Nightmare Monster Decoy Puppet, got ka-zapped. By Fluttercruel of all ponies. She also broke down crying realizing something. "She...she didn't kill anypony...not one of them…her Flutterni-Fluttercruel...she raised her..." I think she felt like I did realizing the real Rainbow Dash of our worldline had succeeded where I failed. I know exactly how she felt. It bucking stinks to see your idealized self and realize it wasn't you. And Princess Gaia, they all called her Princess Gaia... "Fluttershy, I'm waiting," I said. The others all looked at her too. "Well...it's like this." I'll skip the stuff you've all heard before. But yeah...I think that mockery of Twilight mentioned a Fluttershy becoming an Alicorn but...I sure never expected this. I wonder if there's a goddess Berry Punch born during one of the cycles that I never heard about, no don't tell me, maybe I don't want to know what her concept and domain would be like. I guess this is proof a Concept is eternal and all Twilight's mockery ever killed of an Alicorn was flesh and bone.. I wonder, that Princess Gaia, did she not meet with us, cause she was afraid we'd feel less real with her around? Did she not want to see us after everything we did to her foal? Maybe I'll ask her someday. Maybe she just didn't sense us in the mess of pain and sin she absorbed from the Sunnytowners... Maybe our connection to time had atrophied too...we were able to see the Half-Lights, and were able to follow them, they seemed to be where the action was after all. Guess that was kind of their job. You have no idea how many times I screamed at 'Twilight' to 'wake up' and telling 'her' I was right here, and to 'pull yourself together!' Maybe hearing the voice of the pony she thought was obliterated would be a friendship strong enough for her to come back into existence even if her essence had been divided up and remade? They...they didn't even hear me. I...I...couldn't I just get her back for a few moments?...Just long enough to say how I feel? Please Rota Fortuna…let me have that...Right...you can't play favorites no more than Fauna Luster can hate a living life. Is this what you meant by this only leading to pain? Remember how I said I think our connection to time had atrophied? I think it's what let us hitch a ride with the Half-Lights when they were helping their brother along. Even through events that had already happened technically by the time we arrived in this world line. Or time was just royally bucked up for some reason. Hard to tell...it's time. And you've gone cross-eyed. You again? Did you have to give her another comic? She needs a break? Okay, fine. I didn't mean to confuse her like that. Time is weird. Including noticing details and facts that didn't add up even with my screwed up sense of 'before' and 'after.' Yeah, you know this story already, another of Pandora's wayward foal accidentally unleashed by some foolish deer trying to enter Pandora's domain but just breaking into her waste basket. And of course every sealed eldritch horror isn't as friendly as Ponythulhu. "After I have remade the world in my own image! You shall be next!" Pandora's mistake had pointed right at us. Yeah. The first being who could see us, and it had to be this thing. He tried to eat us...but we were either too spicy for him, his eyes were bigger than his stomach, or he wasn't a big enough fish yet, or maybe he just couldn't touch us either. Either way, since he couldn't do anything to us, and we couldn't do anything to him, he ignored us like we weren't even there. After all, we couldn't be bent to his will to be Summons for one of his fancy attacks, and we couldn't be opposition for him to overcome, so we meant nothing to him. Chrysalis never mentioned us about when she got tossed into her state of...what did Pinkie Pie call it? "Cheap, off-screen, brush off death." There's plenty of layers to limbo granny! Shadows of existence, the realm of mirrors, the domain of dreams, you could fill a book just talking about him. Besides...ahem, we -might- have had a few run ins with her, but maybe she didn't recognize us. Or maybe she didn't think we were worth mentioning during her state of worse than Hell. I'm not Nightmare Mirror, I don't have to tell everything completely honestly. Ya know, in Dark World, most of the time Chrysalis was on the good guys' side, when she didn't let Cadence absorb her, they were co-rulers of the swarm. At least she didn't try to eat us. Props to her. Yeah she was a evil nag, but most ponies don't realize how much damage she saved the world from when she was a wanderer in Zebrafrica and ate that stupid jerk magic-eating feathered thingie from another universe. And to her credit, unlike him, she was no coward. Welcome back kiddo. Sorry for that headache before. On a tiny note about books, I'm an officially now a Daring Do fan too...I read that book in the hospital with Dash. And it only took me a few million years to appreciate books! The breaking of this worldline from the heart world meant all bets were off, but we still couldn't break through. Sometimes I wondered how we didn't explode from our befores, nows, and after getting jumbled. At least it was getting better being in a real worldline instead of the imitation Ponyville I think helped a lot, and being in the Mother of Everything had helped a bit. Were we there when Shining Armor faced off against Pandora's mistake? Yeah. Shining Armor was also among our first attempts to create a new Nightmare. Ow! Wait wait wait! We had a really good reason! No seriously we did! You think I want to go back to working for that send up of Twilight? She destroyed my universe! And remember? No more blood on our hooves? It wasn't like that! It wasn't! I wasn't trying to get Twilight Sparkle's brother to ascend so it would force the other three to ascend and force them back together into one so I could have Twilight back, I Pinkie Pie swear! Okay okay! So here's the deal! Maybe...maybe we were trying to stop Shining Armor from killing Pandora's mistake? I'm serious! He's Twilight! And Twilight's nightmare when based on all that anger would just torture him and breaking his toys until the wolf arrives, then bada-boom! He was never a Nightmare to begin with! Or if he was still a Nightmare after, this world's Twilight and her friends, just rinse and wash and him with the Elements like they did Fluttershy, and ta-da, Equestria's first Alicorn Prince! I'd like to see Chrysalis brainwash him after he'd been purified by the Elements and become an Alicorn! Tartarus, maybe if we were lucky, being challenged like that would make him go all the way the other direction from rising to it and skip Nightmare straight to Alicorn! It's happened before! Just ask Trixie!...Uh, our Trixie. Erm, the Trixie from the loop that gave that middle-hoof-to-Twilight's-goodness the scar on her face... Come on it was a good plan! Are you saying Equestria wouldn't do good without another Alicorn around? And think about gender equality! And Cadence wouldn't have to outlive her husband! We were gonna make sure he got purified before he caused any trouble! Look, we're from a post apocalyptic dystopia, even without that mockery of Twilight our solutions aren't 'sparkling white' as they used to be. And can you really call a new Alicorn around to protect this world Twilight made a bad thing? Besides, once he was a god, the Wolf wouldn't be able to touch 'em! And...I admit, I was a bit clopped off when I saw that parasite had dragged Gilda into that mess just so he could get her killed to get to Rainbow Dash. Hehe...Way to go, Gilda, you screwed up his script real good! I knew there was a hero in you even back then! And...it was odd. During that whole mess, we started seeing cracks in reality forming from where that out of control parasite was twisting it in knots. Pinkie Pie...being Pinkie Pie tried to reach through one and found herself become more real. Like with reality breaking down there were back doors opening. We were about to jump through and try to possess one of that existence vampire's puppets and help Shining out when the Wolf finally munched on Mr. Marty Stu. Then again, I guess if we had it might have looked at us for its side dish. There had been shadows of existence looking ready to wiggle on through ahead of us. You didn't think to ask how we could've done all that when we were phantoms. We'd been Nightmares for millions of years. We were anointed and crowned by the spirits of black magic. All ponies can use light or dark magic if they have their heart in it. And we can talk to that part at least. Nightmares may not be pretty, but they're still the 'quick and easy' path to Alicornhood. And with the Elements ready to clean them up, it was a fast way for them to ascend. And Equestria was gonna need all the protectors it could get and it couldn't afford for them to wait the years it would take for them to do it the nice and safe way. I'll admit, we were scared of the Wolf. That thing existed explicitly to deal with viruses like us. Just we were below the list of priorities with Pandora's mistake having gone way out of control and Shining Armor around. I wished Shining Armor HAD been able to see us after the Wolf glazed him. But we weren't shadows of existence. Then Shining Armor took care of our Wolf problem for us. But I was relieved that Shining Armor wasn't eaten by that duty blind mutt. AJ actually felt bad for it. 'Truth is, it's just doin' it's job.' And so did Fluttershy since...well, animal getting killed. Me? I was more happy about Shining Armor than sad about that beastie. He was Amicitia's creation, same as the Half-Lights, he was a PART of Amicitia, that meant a part of my Twilight was inside him, same as the Half-Lights. And, from everything Cadence told us, he was the keystone to this entire universe not turning out the same as ours. If the Wolf made it so he never existed, then this world would have turned into a new kingdom of chaos, and a new Nightmare Eclipse would likely be just around the corner too. I'll die before I'd work for that mockery of Twilight again. Cadence saved Shining Armor, and saved the world from becoming a place that ponies inside Tartarus wouldn't want to be brought back to life in. In Ponyville meanwhile, we either caught 'memories shadows' or hearsay of the interesting times. In particular, Twilight saving Trixie from herself and becoming friends with all of our versions here. I knew there were other worldlines out there were Trixie and Twilight became friends, but it was still something to see in Twilight's new world. You have NO IDEA how much it hurt Spike to know how much Rarity had suffered from Discord. And Pinkie Pie...well, her being a whole Pie instead having split personalities wasn't something we expected either. Twilight's new world was full of surprises. Our Pinkie got that 'seeing yourself but better' feeling that her new self managed to merge with her personalities peacefully instead of...well, you saw Angry Pie in that last loop. So yeah, we learned about it, The Infamous Want It Need It Spell incident, Spike couldn't believe how much Twilight had fallen apart apparently that day...she had been working so hard to make sure everypony took therapy she hadn't bothered with her own. And now all of us would be expected to give letters to Princess Celestia but only when we had something to actually say. Yeah yeah you've heard all of this before I know! But it was sure new to us! Princess Luna being accepted in Ponyville and making a new friends. Rarity and Sweetie Belle, realizing how much they meant to each other. AJ was sad to see how truly obsessed with her cutie mark Apple Bloom had really been at this age accidentally infecting herself with the ancient cutie pox plague that had brought about Sunny Town to begin with. Me...getting a pet. Who wasn't anything like me on the outside, but had everything that made me me in the one spot that counted. Sure, Tank is slower than slow, but he's loyal, determined, relentless, wants to be accepted, and wouldn't hurt a pony if he could help it. Tank...I never...I did never...I asked Fluttershy if she knew what happened to him in our world. "I...I think...please Dash, don't make me tell you." I didn't. I'd had enough about knowing how awful the world Discord had made and that mockery had kept going. Mare-Do-Well? If you ask me? That me needed a wake up call. But I didn't get the masks. Why didn't they help ponies without the costumes? "With the mask, she was able to focus all her resentment of being 'outshined' on Mare-Do-Well when they moved in to pick up the slack. If her friends had done all this without the masks, she'd have become paranoid and convinced herself her friends were trying to steal her spotlight out of jealousy and become even more reckless and theatrical, till somepony got seriously hurt, she'd lose all the ponies who believed in her except the other Elements, and the Wonderbolts would have delayed giving her a look over since they couldn't be associated with a mare who proved glory seeking came before the ponies she was supposed to be helping," AJ finished looking into her own mirrored wings. "And the partner of a pony name Lightning Dust wouldn't have had the guts to tell Spitfire about her recklessness until it was too late." "Applejack...why the heck did you tell me all that?!" "Dunno...felt it needed to be said darlin'." The Canterlot Garden Party?...Okay, those stuck-up elites were right...we really didn't have any manners back then. And Twilight's dancing stinks no matter the worldline. Yes, believe it or not Eclipse still stunk at it no matter how many eons or Twilights she had behind her. I'm surprised Shining is half way decent at it at all. Our Spike was hurt that Rarity would chose to socialize rather than be with her friends, and that your Spike couldn't be at the birthday party for his big sister in Canterlot. And Fluttershy, our Fluttershy? She was overjoyed to see Rarity reach the stars like she had wanted to all her life. "This is what she dreamed about when she asked me to be a model, she finally has it. Thank you Twilight, for making this world for her." And of course Fluttershy was freaking proud of Fluttercruel for being the one that got that Fluttershy to relax and get the garden animals to relax around her. And of course...see us have that birthday party together? The six of us? Just having fun? I PINCHED MYSELF just to make sure it wasn't a dream. I still can't believe Rarity beat me at hoof-wrestling at Flutternice, I mean Fluttercruel's cutie mark party, I must have been tired out from AJ! Fluttershy was delighted, and maybe a little ashamed, she had never given Flutternice one. "I swear, I'll give her one when we get back, I promise." "And I'll help plan it!" Pinkie Pie cheered. They nuzzled. Spike...our Spike, he had to look away the whole time when this world's Spike became a feral greed driven beast. And it was Rarity who brought him back to himself. Who knew? Maybe they'd have their happy ending here, anything was possible. It was nice to experience a Hearth-Warming Eve again as regular ponies...okay...we didn't experience anything as regular ponies, our new selves did ...but...that wasn't so bad. Most of this is boring 'been there, done that' for you squirt? Come'on! After a million years even if we were phantoms it was paradise for us! I know that should have made it Tartarus, not being able to touch any of it...but we were all HAPPY FOR them! Family Appreciation Day. The Cakes' twins being born (Pinkie Pie LOVED that one more than you can imagine, even if she wouldn't be their adopted mother in this world). Then Applejack, this world's Applejack, chose to be an adult rather than run away from being a 'second place loser'. And in that choice, she shattered this world's connection to the heart world. She was the one. And then we saw Applejack face off against...another Nightmare Mirror. Okay, more like OUR Applejack saw it all, and she just told us about it. A Nightmare Mirror that had somehow mutated into a gypsy cart sized monstrosity, gone all 'multiversal conqueror,' and was doing a better job of making other her's than we had. Our Applejack was a bit...hard to read. "...Ah hate her doin' what Ah did to Fluttershy, to her other selves...but darn it Ah still want a world without lies." She had to look away when Super Mirror got her flank kicked by six Applejacks from across the multiverse...including ours? "That used to be me...Ah used to be the hero savin' the multiverse from big bad evil me...Ah threw bein' her away, now that's the Applejack back home." Apparently she shadowed Super Mirror a little ways before everything broke apart and saw Something that made her cry, but didn't say what except 'she'll be okay...her world's a little better off now thanks to her getting that rainbow shower.' I don't know what she meant, but Mirror didn't cry over spilled milk. You heard about how Trixie helped deal with the Flim and Flam brothers. Big Mac and Cheerilee's relationship getting damaged by CERTAIN well meaning 'help.' Yes yes, I know, all the choirs as payback. You really didn't know? Applebloom was right. They do like each other. But that stupid love poison nonsense just made things HARDER! Don't cry. I didn't mean to say it like that. Just take it as a learning experience, you can't force these things along. Futtershy acting more like Fluttercruel than Fluttercruel and the two fighting over asking Iron Will on a date. Yes, our Fluttershy blushed like a Hearth's Warming tree at the last part. And yeah, given the name of Flutternice's weapon, it is kinda ironic. Fluttershy made me Pinkie Promise not to share details. And...yeah, Gabby Gums. Our Applejack wasn't happy about it either, and...I can't say I was happy either until you got your act together, okay, we can skip it. Spike blushed when this version of him and Silver Spoon became part of the CMC. I admit, I was proud of you for learning what we never did in millions of years: to just forgive and forget. And...yeah, we didn't know all it took to travel sideways in time was a minecart system, a flux capacitor, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders...then again, one of you is a saint in our world, the other probably should be, and the last was, well, ya know, so I guess that makes sense. Fluttershy earning the respect of the town back during Hurricane Fluttershy. And...this world's Pinkie Pie and Rarity having a BIG heart to heart when Rarity tried to eat a cake the Cakes had spent a fortune putting together. No, these aren't the order of events this all happened all in, this is just the order we managed to pick it all together. Look! I'm sorry you got bored! Maybe the editors later can slice out the dreary bits! I'm sorry I'm sorry! Geeze! Don't get so bent out of shape. Hey! Did you fall asleep?! Look...I know it was all boring to you...but...seeing ourselves like that...it was...nice. Sigh. Okay. I'll try to skip the details you've heard now. But when...but when Half-Light Dusk was turned into Chrysalis' brainwashed minion? Oh Sweetie Belle did tell you about that or not? It hurt more, than you will EVER possibly know! And when she did the same to Shining Armor? I felt like a part of me DIED! It only got WORSE and WORSE as she did the same to Applejack, to Sweetie Belle, to SPIKE, Moon Dancer, and when she finally did it to Twilight Sparkle?...I wanted to kill her. Not maim, not stop, I wanted her dead. And no, it wasn't just the 'who', it was the 'what'. It was the golden world, yes, I'm calling this world the golden world. The world Amicitia DIED to create. The one where we finally got a happy ending. Now Discord was loose with his demon brat and formally invited his cousin to help spread the misery, they were going to rip Twilight's world apart. And then this stupid witch shows up and decides to throw her hat into the 'let's make the sunshine and rainbows world miserable' ring. And we were helpless. Totally helpless. IMAGINE THAT! Unlike most, I accepted Chrysalis' honest opinion about herself that she was nothing more than a wild animal that could think like a person. She was a beast, without moral, without decency, a creature driven only the will to survive. And I'd put her down like one! Did we consider helping her take out Discord?...Fluttershy did, being the calm one even when she is clopped off, but AJ shot down that idea by showing us the world where she won with her wings. "The truth is here, it don't matter which sidewinder wins, ponies still lose." Later, Fluttershy hated to admit it to herself, but the world that Queen Sweetie Belle would have created, was very much the kind of ideal world that Nightmare Whisper would have approved of compared to the world Chrysalis would have. I suspected one of us might have nudged along Sweetie Belle's high pace at learning black magic, or Sweetie Belle was just a late bloomer. Though we all admitted Queen Sweetie Belle's world would be better than the world Chrysalis herself had planned. Spike still went completely berserk when Sweetie developed Stockholm Syndrome for Chrysalis. He'd been royally clopped off before and barely kept himself composed, but that'd been too much. He spent about an hour straight trying to kill Chrysalis, not caring all she felt was a chilly breeze as she had a tea party with Sweetie Belle with plush animals and brainwashed Applejack dressed in the most girly-girl maid uniform in history. AJ tried to kill her for that alone on principle. So yeah. I admit it. We pulled out all the stops. We had one weapon. And we were going to use it. We were eager, maybe a little too eager, but we didn't have much choice. Besides, maybe if we threw things off the rails far enough, it'd force Discord's hand and turn things into a melee that'd take him, the wicked witch, and the new Nightmare (or Nightmares) down in one rainbow. Pinkie Pie whispered to herself during Chrysalis' reveal, telling her to accept the Nightmare, to force the world to be fair, and to turn it back into the world were villains only existed in story books, and monsters were just harmless Halloween stories. To bring forth Nightmare Granfalloon into the world. To have her first act to turn Queen Chrysalis into Princess Crystal of the breezies. AJ would whisper to the heart of her brainwashed self. She came the closest out of all of us I think. We could tell. This Applejack, she wanted deep down to create the world without lies Nightmare Mirror was always going on about when she talked about her own designs as a Nightmare. This AJ wanted to accepted the Nightmare. Don't look at me like that! And we were gonna try and be their shoulder angels, I promise! Heck, AJ even suggested she could put that kind truth she could do now to good use and help them all the way through to ascend, or at least try! Fate would provide an emergency stand-in Element of Harmony for a complete group, that's how it always works. And how could it have possibly have made it any worse when we already had Discord's circle of evil and a psychopathic witch leading an army of hostile invaders attacking Equestria at the same time? At least if there's one thing a Nightmare of an Element of Harmony would do, it's try and stop its friends from getting hurt, which is an improvement over the all-powerful monstrous foal-child and the wild animal that walks like a pony. War Ponies 40 Carrots? What does that game have to do with anything? We were helping to save Equestria, the world, the only way we could!...When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. And each time we thought we were about to get what we wanted, and a new incomplete Alicorn was about to be born, ready for the Elements to then wash and wax them into a complete Alicorn lickety-split, we'd cheer. "Awesome!" I'd start. "Yee-haw!" AJ would add. "Yippie!" Pinkie would cheer. "Yay!" Nightmare Whisper would say. "Cool!" And Spike would finish. Awesome! Yee-haw! Yippie! Yay. Cool! Becoming a Nightmare and then being zapped by the Elements is the fast track to becoming an Alicorn. And they needed all the Alicorns they could get. We've arranged Discord's defeat enough times to know how many Alicorns it takes to beat him! We were there when Twilight Sparkle was fighting Cadence, thinking Cadence was Chrysalis. If Twilight...if Twilight became a Nightmare here...she'd give the REAL Chrysalis her just desserts, and with Trixie in town, they already had a full set of Elements to finish her Alicorn transformation. And her transformation into a Nightmare would CURE HER of Chrysalis' stupid illusion! I knew it would! We had to do it before she killed Cadence! ...Still made me sick. There, I admit it. I'm Loyalty. Excited at Twilight giving into her fury when it was misdirected at Cadence even if I knew that's not what she meant...and yeah, I had flashback to helping that insult-to-Twilight-Sparkle make it so Cadence died who knows how many times over! We there there again when Chrysalis forced Shining Armor and Twilight to fight to the death. I think we were the only ones who noticed the endless protective enchantments Chrysalis had installed against magic attacks around Sweetie Belle to protect her from a stray shot as she played her part. Heh, she had never considered making a Scootaloo-Proof Barrier did she? If Twilight had been killed, Chrysalis would have just used Trixie or Moon Dancer for her scheme instead...and if Shining Armor was killed, she'd have used a emotionally broken Twilight as his REPLACEMENT, after all, with Sweetie Belle, Chrysalis didn't need Shining Armor's love anymore, just his shield magic, which Twilight had copied. And the changelings would have gotten a show of how powerless these ponies were to their Queen's designs. Chrysalis hadn't made a scenario she couldn't win, she'd made one where she'd lose nothing. Only she hadn't counted on Equestria's bravest filly saving the day by getting her and Sweetie Belle almost killed until she learned how the fly LONG BEFORE any the Scootaloo I had known ever flew. Hehe, has this universe's Razzaroo ascended already? And our hero got her cutie mark out of it too didn't she?! And a spanking...What our number one badflank knuckle-head flier did was awesome, but even I admitted it was stupid. I was honestly more surprised not-millions-of-years-old me admitted it was dumb and was the one giving the spanking. And yes, I know calling that stupid is the pot calling the bucking kettle black! I had a persecution complex, I know how reckless I can get. So thanks to rushing in to save the day, Twilight was denied the fast track to becoming an Alicorn twice. But, I think I was grateful, and I'm proud. Sweetie Belle? Come'on, even we're not that bad. Okay, we were that bad, but not now! And Sweetie in her heart was too conflicted I think to become a Nightmare, a Nightmare has to come to a single truth, a moment of perfectly flawed understanding. We'd seen what happens when a Nightmare's heart ain't all in it. What kind of Nightmare WOULD have she become? I dread to think what kind of Nightmare would be born from an angry and hurt filly. Maybe she'd have turned everypony in Equestria into changelings and made all her stuffed animals into love cats. I don't WANT to know. Even we aren't that crazy...anymore. The whole idea was Twilight to become an Alicorn, becoming a Nightmare and getting blasted by the Elements IS the fast track to becoming an Alicorn...an insanely immoral and DANGEROUS one?...Admittedly yes, it was. But I don't think we could have made things worse with what Discord and Chrysalis were planning! Besides, Princess Gaia is proof that it can work. We didn't need all six. We just needed one or two more. Four alicorns united can overpower Discord, Equestria had four already, but they still needed one or two to balance out the Grand Master of All Things Grim and Dark, The Inverted Beer Bottle Of Chaos, and the little nameless horror who had already turned two more innocent fillies into their eager little minions. What do I mean? I think that's censored to you too, sorry. I don't know what you're hearing and what not and we don't have time to weed through it. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy...I don't think I've seen them so enraged in so long... I felt humiliated and ashamed when Chrysalis admitted that one of us going Nightmare was a possible way she figured to go Alicorn, munch-munch. Blech. That nag had so many schemes inside schemes to become an Alicorn, and didn't have a single one of what she'd do afterwards. And I admit it, if we'd been able to do anything to Discord's devil child when Cadenza petrified her? We would have. In a heartbeat. Hey, no need for that slap. Yes, she's a kid. But she was currently helping her uncle and 'cousin' try to make the world a new living Tartarus. If we could snuff out the embers before they could become a roaring fire, we would. And she's the key stone, if we took her out, Discord's plan would fall to shambles. But of course, the best we could do was latch onto a scared pony nearby and trying to make them a Nightmare we could lead to doing that, but that fell flat. Shame Sunset Shimmer hadn't wandered through the mirror during that mess, Nightmare Inferno put up quite the fight with Nightmare Eclipse in one loop. Discord's second reign of chaos made his first one look like fluffy bunny land. And that parody of Twilight made it worse than Tartarus. And these monsters, one of which was a sadistic man-foal who saw the world as his play thing and another who literally sees sowing tragedies and agonizing fates as high art, and the last was wrong even for a Nightmare, wanted to create something that was the worst of both worlds...out of the world Twiley sacrificed EVERYTHING to come into existence! I'll do anything to prevent that. And we were there...when Cadence was fighting Cadenza...Cadence kept her full power as an Alicorn sealed off, blocked off, not wanting to see her whole and completely self. As Rarity would say, a mud bath of Nightmarification, then a hot shower of the Elements of Harmony would make on par with Celestia and Luna if she unlocked all her divine power and experience. Or she might eat Cadenza, doubling her power AND get rid of the psychopathic witch in one go, win win. In the end...none of it worked. We failed. No new Alicorns. Well, okay, one Zebra Alicorn, but she was a newborn with no greater hidden self to awaken. At least we got the satisfaction of knowing the old witch was deader than even a Shadow of Existence. And Sweetie Belle...she had the potential to become an Alicorn after all...her soul was a twice removed reincarnation of Cadenza after all. A little Nightmare would be easier to blast with the Elements, but would be less help against Discord too. Applejack pragmatically pointed out that Sweetie and Diamond had that freaky link, so purifying Nightmare Sweetie Belle might purify Diamond as well (and maybe catch her demon uncle in the crossfire). But Spike wasn't happy about the suggestion. Not that any of us could think of what could drive Sweetie Belle to become a Nightmare anyway. And a heart that understood black magic instead of simply knowing was much more resistant to being overwhelmed by it. I'll give Chrysalis one credit, she knew how to teach a pony how to use black magic the RIGHT way. I don't know if the spirits of black magic are happy or angry about that. Applejack...her eyes were fixated on Apple Bloom's. "Desperate times. Desperate measures," she said to herself. She cut herself. It was Truth, not blood she bled. I wonder what I bleed now. I just...made me realize how far from mortal we'd become. You know the evening, love was in bloom, a beautiful bride, a handsome groom, two hearts becoming one, and a bond that could not be undone. And Sweetie Belle getting her cutie mark long before the one in our world did. Spike bawled his eyes out. So did Fluttershy. And Rarity and Sweetie reunited with their parents to boot. I'm sorry the same couldn't be said for everypony, but with changelings no longer the enemy, maybe that would change...I'm several million years old, and I don't know if I'm comfortable knowing that or not. That was all static? Sorry. You'll find them again, I'm sure of it. So many friendships got made during that wedding war, so many that had never existed in any of the cycles of our world. So many that had never had the chance to exist in our world. So many new friends, so many old friendships rekindled. Twilight making friends with her old school mates, the hoof-maidens, Lyra's family, Derpy's family, the Gifted Unicorns, the Pony Guards, it was one huge knitted scarf of friends. I'd be lying if I said Shining Armor and Cadence's bond was the only beautiful bridge between ponies solidified that day. And Silver Spoon and Spike getting under Twilight's skin I'll admit WAS pretty funny! But I wouldn't want to Spike or Silver Spoon right then! We're right back to where you started aren't we? Okay. We had to simply watch as the fog was spread, laying the trap. Trixie left town, but that wouldn't protect her for long. And...reality began to crack. As the rumors took hold. Not just one published by the school paper, but all rumors that gained enough momentum. Button Mash wakes up one day, and has always been the friendly and energetic colt-friend of Sweetie Belle. And they were going to get worse. You've just saw all of this happen. But the same was happening everywhere that Discord's cousin had spread his outer-reality magic to inflict the curse. And the stress reality increased, and the cracks began to widen. The rumors, no-things, like snakes, slithered and sought their target ponies, to turn them into what others saw them as. It was the world D___t had wanted to create, here at last. And Sweetie Belle, against all odds... she found the Blank Wolf, reborn, and sent early before it had fully matured to deal with this mess too big for it, but obeyed it's instinct. And...she made it a pet....Our Spike declared the wolf a friend when it protected Sweetie Belle not only from the rumor that would have turned her into a robot, but also the one that would have turned her into a extra-reality demon with none of Sweetie Belle's personalty or heart. But the wolf, Blanky, couldn't be everywhere at once. And you squirt,...in your sleep, I encouraged the memories of your self that you had gained from the memory spell with Twilight ...and you recreated the ornament your sister Cheerilee had made in the age of dreams with the combine efforts of your friends. Something that defied everything grim and dark, and from a world not this one, but was born in this world. And...Fauna Luster and Father of Alicorns themselves appeared in the guise of fillies just to make sure you were wearing it and that you'd have an idea what to do with after Tartarus came to your door step. Yes...Fauna Luster...she saw me...she looked at me... she didn't hate me...that's all I could tell from looking at that little earth pony filly's face before she and the colt both vanished to somewhere else. "I'm worried about Trixie..." our Fluttershy said. "She's spread so many tall tales about herself...and there are so many nasty rumors about her...what'll the rumors DO to her?" Pinkie Pie said, "Don't worry, I've got a plan to make sure Trixie stays safe!" That plan? One name. Princess Loving-Bright-Shinny-Star Sparkling-Dawn-Flower The Eighty-Eighth. That's all you're getting squirt. And lots and lots of gossip spread as the barriers holding reality began to crack more, but not enough for us to stop the tidal wave that was already coming, but allowed us to finally INTERACT slightly with this heaven just as it was about to become anything but. Allowing us the same level of interactivity as the Half-Lights...almost. A little. But Pinkie Pie spread gossip in the subconscious of several ponies about Trixie's imaginary friend...making sure Trixie would have a protector and a conscience to keep her safe in the nightmares about to begin. We were surprised when Pandora helped Pinkie with that plan with Her Dad's instructions. And she was clopped off at her brother for tampering in her domain and twisting a happy ending into a 'grim dark mess'. Have you ever seen Pandora clopped off? You don't want to see Pandora clopped off. Yes. The Gods themselves were mobilizing to try and intervene directly. Including the Elders themselves. You think that's comforting? AJ said it best: "Yah don't feel better when yah look outside and see the guard mobilizin' for a full scale war. Yah get scared. And quick. Especially with the Princesses leadin' the charge." Havoc even interviewed Button Mash and bribed him with a video game to lay down ground rules on how things worked in an RPG like setting to several of his classmates so it was in the collective consciousness. I'll give old Havoc this: he was Fear, and if there's one thing Fear knows how to do, it's be unexpected. And he even had a message for us. "Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures When Two Hostile Forces Clash, To Quote Pandora: Let Them Fight. Help Kick My Son's Flank However You Can." So yeah, that takes care of worrying about Mini Wolf. Of course Havoc knew we were here. He exists in ALL universes. And with the cracks getting larger and larger, they were finally big enough for Applejack to play her hoof...and infected Apple Bloom's eye with a drop of Truth to safeguard against all falsehoods. "Don't worry nasty ugly and dark Ponyville! Ponyville! Ponyville! Your heroes are here here here!" Pinkie Pie had shouted though nopony could hear us yet. I am NOT describing what those rumors were twisting these versions of us into...a mountain of contradicting rumors, twisting the world every which way...Not again. And Diamond Tiara had made sure there was there was plenty of extra horrific rumors in the mix. Each one more hideous and horrid than the last. Applejack was clopped off at the choice of rumor they chose to use on the real her. Whisper apologized to her for the bad memories of being forced to remain drunk. Being...things from outside reality, the rumors couldn't affect us, but by the same virtue...we couldn't stop this... ...I already asked little Phobia to have the first go at punishing Discord if his family ever gets his claws on him for what I know his rumors would have happen to you hundred of times over. He said 'Save The World First, And I'll Be Happy To Oblige.' Don't worry, I know when to stop. But there will be a lot of slots open to punish the sick bucker. Fluttershy being Fluttershy asked if Diamond Tiara would pay in the end if we succeeded. Bless her heart. The little colt said. "Let me spell this out for you, ya ghosts. There ain't NO WAY to tell what's gonna happen next, OR how things are gonna turn out, OR who is gonna be left standing in what shape, that goes for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE here...fate's been tied up in knot, chaos has been straightened up into squares...There's no outcome that's certain anymore. That's WHY the four Biggest Pillars have had to step in, and why I've given you permission to interfere. It's that kind of mess. So there's NO POINT in asking 'will this pony be such and such?' Because 'be' is completely up in the air during a hurricane! Ya big palookas! Tell me you big pink ghost: what's rule one of a promise?" "Keep them?" "What's rule two?" "...Don't make promises you can't keep." "Exactly." "I'm going to protect Scoo-" I started. Of course I'd sign up to keep one of the three ponies who could save all of reality safe, even if I wasn't sure I could. "I admire you fear for her, truly I do, but there is no need. Miss Void will take care of that, and my wife desires this misery to end, and she so rarely desires anything, so that should tell you how good of hooves they're in…Have a nice time seeing the world be violated," Little Phobia said darkly and vanished. "We won't!" Pinkie Pie called out. And worse than curses, worse than Tartarus, a self-feed wrongness, doomsday, whatever you want to call it! It arrived on Ponyville's door step! And a sweeping force of pure, absolutely shockwave of changing reality, breaking it apart into smaller bits string together like strings on a pegboard, everything engulfed in fog. "It's the death of the age of dreams all over again," Pinkie Pie whimpered. "Not if three brave fillies can help it," AJ said, and covered us with her mirrors as the fog washed over us, restructuring Ponyville, Canterlot, and much else, into something that was a mockery of everything Twilight had sacrificed herself for. Pinkie Pie shuddered. "It feels like one of the Big Four just got a doozy!" That wasn't good at all. And I haven't given up. One day, Twilight and I will be together again. Someday, somehow. It was the power of friendship after all. I'll see my friend again, someday, somehow. And until then, I'll keep believing, I'll keep hoping for a happy ending, even if I had to make one myself. Twilight did, and so can I. And so can you. So now you know my story, from when I woke up in the imitation Ponyville, to right now in your dreams. Scoots, your Rainbow Dash has helped you become a great filly this last year, and I'm cheering for you! We'll be doing damage control as long as we can. You three are our only hope. Apple Bloom. Scoots. Sweetie Belle. Don't give into despair. And don't give up on any of us. I'm not a goddess, I can't say something and have it be heard and understood, but please Scoots: everypony, Twilight and her friends, Cheerilee and your classmates, Spike, Silver, Tootsie Flute, Alula, Zecora, Luna, Celestia...Diamond Tiara...they can all be saved...there is always a way! Time to wake up Scoots. I don't know how much of this your conscious mind will remember, but your heart will! Don't be afraid. And good luck. And remember, you're awesome. Sighed, ahem, well, call me Fallen Princess Fidelitas. You can say I'm a fool, Feelin' this way about you, But I know you can make it all true. I'll believe again in silver linings, I'll believe again in friends and laughter, I'll believe again in miracles I've already seen a few, So believe in me when I say that I believe in you. Open your eyes Scootaloo. Love you. > Return of the Cutie Mark Crusaders > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Uhhh, what...what happened? Hey, I remember this, I was with Chryssy when the changelings took over Canterlot! This it the royal ballroom! There's Chryssy looking like Princess Cadence, there's Applejack, and there's me and Spike! Sweetie Belle commanded, "You just rest now, Spike, and relive your favorite memories and dreams of my big sister as much as you want." A grin slowly spread on Spike's face as he sat down like a lump. Sweetie then spoke with the other brainwashed pony in the room. "Don't feel so bad, Applejack, since you're brainwashed, you don't have to feel embarrassed or ashamed. You don't have to worry about ponies think of you. You can play the fiddle and nopony will judge you for it. "I command you: tell me honesty, am I wrong?" "N-no, yer not," AJ said sincerely. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Sweetie gently patted her on the side. "Ah can't say," AJ said, confused, "What yer doin' is wrong, Lady Sweetie, but Ah can't say Ah don't feel a little less heavy for that." "That's enough, Applejack." "Yes, yer Majesty." "You really need to be nice to them, Chryssy." "Nice?" "Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are nice to Opal, Winona, and Tank, oh, those are their pets. They're their masters, but they're still nice to them." "Why bother? They obey either way." "Maybe, but if you're nice, it helps you be friends." "Friends? Why? They're property." "So are pets. But you should still keep good care of them. Besides, the goings gets rough, you always want as many friends as you can, I didn't have any friends once, it was horrible...Chryssy, would you like to dance with me?" "W-what?" Chrysalis took a trot back. The monster blushed. "We have the whole ballroom to ourselves." "Well, not exactly alone,” Chrysalis whispered, pointing to her guards and cattle. "Don't worry Chryssy, if they really respect you, you having a little fun won't change that." The witch rubbed the back of her head. "Well, it's just it's been… a while." "All the more reason to." The filly witchling smiled. Then gave the pout face that had worked on Rarity so often. "Please?" "A-Alright," the queen awkwardly took Sweetie Belle's hoof. "But I think I'm a little big for you." "You can fix that, right?" "Oh...oh yes." Chrysalis in a flash of green flames became a filly Sweetie Belle's age. Heh, Chryssy was so adorable like that! I know now Chryssy did awful things, but why couldn't anypony see but that awful things weren't all Chryssy did?" "...Sweetie Belle, would you… please dance with me?" Sweetie make a awkward formal bow. "Of course Chryssy, I mean, Your Majesty!" The way Sweetie Belle laughed the last part, devoid of any seriousness. Applejack played a peaceful tune, and the fillies danced. Chrysalis slipped and fell. "OW!" The disguised changeling guards moved to help their queen, Sweetie Belle beat them to it. Chryssy looked up to see Sweetie Belle offering her hold. She helped the other filly back up. "Sorry, Sweetie Belle." "It's okay, Chryssy, Rarity tells me that it takes time to get back into practice with something. But you have to believe you can get it back." "Sweetie Belle, thank you." The scene changed. Where is this? That big view of Canterlot! There's Chryssy, with lots of bottles around her! There's Princes Cadence, and Shining Armor. There's Twilight and her friends. Hey! I don't remember this! Was this when they used the Elements to fix up Chryssy?...I...I recognized her when I saw her as Cadence...I didn't think about it before, I just knew it was her...But how can I remember this when I wasn't even here? "So the ponies have overcome my final defense, and now are here to murder me," Chryssy slurred, then her eyes focused on Twilight and Princess Cadence. "You there Twilight Sparkle? I guess fate wouldn't allow me to change that. Cadence? I told my changelings to keep you away. So, everything turned out the way it did before after all." "CHRYSSY! STOP!" Huh? What am I doing here?! "Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here?! You shouldn't have come here!" Chryssy sounding like Rarity when she talked to me about trying tiger taming. "You!" She pointed at Rarity. "How could you bring her here?! You shouldn't have her here!" "Believe me it was not my intent at all!" Rarity shot back. "Sweetie Belle, I told you to go back! You abandoned Spike and the others! Why don't you ever listen to any of us?! You are in serious trouble young-" "Chryssy you can still stop this!" Sweetie Belle ignored her big sister. "Sweetie Belle I gave my answer! It's too late to stop any of this! I've sacrificed too much to not see this through to the end! Listen to your big sister and LEAVE!" "NO!" Sweetie Belle stomped her hoof. "You don't have me under mind magic anymore, so I don't have to do what you say!" "...I...I'm sorry Sweetie Belle...I guess fate can't let me even pretend to be happy." "YOU'RE LYING!" Sweetie Belle snapped. "YOU WERE HAPPY!" "...So let's hear it. The elongated speeches, the moral grand standing, the tough-mare trash talk, the derisive one liners, I'm a very busy mare and I haven't got all day." "You're gonna have nothing but time when you're collecting pigeons alongside Discord!" Rainbow Dash snapped. When Chrysalis turned her head Rarity grabbed Sweetie in her telekinesis and pulled her back. Sweetie Belle's horn glowed and broke Rarity's grip. She bounded towards the queen, who crept back like the filly was a bomb. "Stay back Sweetie Belle! You meant nothing to me! You were only a pawn! You're no use to me now! Get away! I was only using you!" "GET AWAY FROM THAT MONSTER SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity screamed. "A monster is all you want to see her as!" "THAT'S BECAUSE SHE IS! She's trying to bucking suck the love out of all of Equestria and turn everypony into zombies! HOW MUCH MORE OF A MONSTER DO YOU WANT TO GET?!" Rainbow Dash exasperated. "Dashie has a point," Pinkie Pie admitted. "You're right...she is a monster . . ." She looked back at Chrysalis. "The worst kind. A lonely one. It really IS awful not to have any friends isn't it Chryssy? Please, just stop you said you had the power to tell fate it couldn't tell you what to do. If you keep doing all this, aren't you doing more of what fate wants you to do?" Chrysalis lowered her head, limp. "I'm sorry Sweetie Belle...I'm sorry I can't be this Chryssy you want me to be. It's not fair to you at all...I tried so hard, and I got so far, but in the end, it didn't even matter. No matter what choice I make, I'll always be fate's puppet. Fate has declared me the villain, and the villain is always destine to lose...if you came here...to this place...at this time...I promised myself that I was done playing, I was done trying. But I was scared-" A force field formed around Chrysalis' legs and wings. Cadence had freed Shining Armor from Chrysalis' mind control. "LET'ER HAVE IT, TWILEY!" Twilight simply teleported Sweetie out of the way...except...Sweetie's own magic interfered with the simple spell, consciously deflecting it. Rainbow Dash zoomed in to try and simply push the filly out of the way, she temporarily blinded RD with a flash spell. "Oh for crying out loud, back down, Little Miss Stockholm Syndrome!" Fluttercruel snarled. "...Sweetie Belle, I once had a vision where Maua took the power from me to save me, and it turned her into a monster instead...I realize now what went wrong. Her soul, wasn't the same as mine. I was afraid the same would happen to you...now I understand...just as I surrendered everything I was to Cadence in one world and it didn't destroy her...Sweetie Belle, I give you all my love." Sweetie Belle's eyes widened. "Chryssy! No! Don't do-" Chrysalis nuzzled Sweetie Belle. Light flashed. When it cleared...Chrysalis' lifeless empty carapace lay on the floor. And Sweetie Belle, looking at herself in confusion, and a pair of Alicorn wings on her back. And a cutie mark on her flanks. A large eighth-note with a small crown centered on the stem of the note. Chryssy...why did you . . . The next thing she knew, Hercules was declaring. "The queen is dead, long live the queen!" This is...what would have happened, if I'd been there? Sweetie's first command had been to quickly tell the changeling army to stand down. They were quick to obey. She was Her Majesty's successor, to defy her will was treason. She was a foal, but Her Majesty was not to be contradicted. And Twilight and Princess Luna had been searching her mind for any trace of Chrysalis and finding none. They found a non-presence, but they didn't feel any hostility, or anything. Changelings were already saying that Pitcher Plant, Chrysalis' ward back at the hive, should be legally made Acting Regent immediately until Her Majesty came of age, while Princess Sweet Belle undergo proper metamorphosis at once (since having a non-changeling as queen they argued was madness). But the senior Alicorns had presented the logical argument that since Alicorns embodied all tribes, Sweetie Belle was already part of the changelings tribe. "She made royalty before I did," Rarity said to herself in awe. A shadowless filly cringed in pain as the fusion took place, toppling off the side of the building into an alleyway, love filling her. "Huh?! What was that?!" +++ Ah'm sittin' in Ponyville's new movie theater. The movie screen showed: -The Following Preview Has Not Been Approved For All Audiences, Viewer Discretion Is Advised.- Ah don't like the sound of that, but Ah can't get up from mah seat, and Ah can't look away. "Ah'd ask if ya'd like some popcorn, but ya ain't gonna have much appetite soon." In the corner of my vision Ah saw sittin' in the next seat over- "-Nightmare Applejack!" "Nightmare Mirror, Nightmare MIRROR, for Pete's sake, Apple Bloom!" "But ya ARE honestly Applejack, aren't cha?" "...Just keep callin' me 'Nightmare Mirror,' pretty please? It'll just give ya heartbreak, otherwise. Now pipe down, Apple Bloom. Ya'd wanna miss seein' this preview, but it's for Equestria's own good." "Don't ya mean fer mah own good?" "E'nope. Well... insofar as yer part of 'Equestria...'" Ah saw the fog, Ah saw it sweep through everything and everypony like they weren't even there. It wasn't just Ponyville, though that's where it started. It...it spread out everywhere...over Equestria and past that, and reachin', reachin' up past the moon! Mah heart was hammerin' in mah chest! The view switched around like a slideshow... some fancy camera trick. Ah...Ah saw the fog sweep straight through Miss Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Miss Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Sweetie's parents, ponies and changelings Ah didn't know, Granny, Big Mac, all lookin' surprised an' confused, then, they were so scared, and finally...poof, it was like there was a completely different pony on the inside. Everythin' changes with 'em, Ah know it's the same place, but it ain't the right place!!! Ah see Miss Rarity, she's holdin' a picture of herself and Miss Cheerilee as fillies along with... Ah think it's Ruby's mom. Ah didn't know they were friends as foals. Then the fog sweeps through her, she isn't holdin' the picture, she was never holdin' the picture, she's hurt, why is she smilin'? Ah see Rumble's big brother, Thunderlane, and Alula's big sister Cloud Kicker. And Ah thought Big Mac was shy around girls, these two look like they can't even look each other in the eye. Then the fog, and here are lots of mares around Thunderlane, and lots of stallions around Cloud Kicker, what? Where are they? They sure are actin' super nice with everypony, uh, maybe a little too nice, huh, what are they- Silver Spoon! Twist! They're just trottin' through the fog, like they don't care 'bout anythin', like they're cogs in some machine. Was that me and Scoots and Sweetie all asleep they just walked by?! They didn't even look at us! They're trottin' towards some place Ah don't know with lots of red lights. Ah see Diamond Tiara's ma in Canterlot as everythin' twists about, and also some odd-colored royal guard Ah don't know. Ah don't get to see 'em twisted or nothin', Ah don't wanna! Ah don't wanna see any of this! Is that Clousdale?! Rainbow Dash's house?! Cloud-Kicker? Rainbow Dash? Ah can't tell! What's happenin' to it?! No no no! Ah don't wanna see more, please- The movie suddenly ended, the movie screen went blank. "What? How did-WHISPER!!!" Nightmare AJ shouted behind me. Ah could turn my head now and Ah looked to see the projector unplugged, with the cord in Fluttershy's mouth. Well...a Fluttershy with butterfly wings and a horn and dragon eyes and a inside out cutie mark....Where the heck did all these Nightmares come from!??!?! "I'm sorry Applejack, but I just can't let you subject Apple Bloom to any more of that." "She's gonna face this garbage sooner than later! Best she get over the shock NOW instead of when she might die 'cuz she panicked!" Die?...I remembered Sunny Town. "All the same, I can't stand by and let you traumatize her in good conscience." "Sure! Let's not give her some nightmares she's gonna have anyway when she this is over and instead lessen our chances that she gets through this in one piece!" Ah thought...Ah thought of all the rough things Applejack had done to me, for me over the years. "Ya do care about me," Ah said. The two big Alicorns just looked at me. Nightmare Applejack spat air. "This ain't how yer world is supposed to be. Never was. Ah'm sick of it. Ah've been sick of it fer a real long time. Ah'm the Nightmare of Truth, Ah hate lies more than anythin', but Ah still hate the flank-hole-pit Discord turned the world into. And Ah'll be damned before Ah ever let yer world end up as bad as that again." She didn't look like Nightmare Moon, neither did Nightmare Fluttershy...they didn't look mean. Instead, they looked sad. "Miss Fluttershy...can ya plug the projector back in? Ah...Ah wanna see the rest of the preview." Applejack sighed ruefully. "Sorry darlin', but the opportunity's slipped by. Yer about ta wake up again." She glared at Nightmare Fluttershy who wilted a bit. "'Bloom, please, Ah can see in yer eyes. Please don't feel sorry fer me. You and yer friends, be careful." Ah reached out ta hug 'er, but that was when Ah woke up. +++ The Nightmare's Gallery "Bloom was supposed to think Truth was the only way tah stop this whole mess and become a Nightmare, or better yet go out the other side as an Alicorn. But so long as she clings tah her friends, she ain't callin' the Spirits of Dark Magic at all." "So Jackie, … ya gonna gonna gonna nudge things along so so so...Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle get separated form Apple Bloom?" "…Nah." "Huh huh huh? But you love love love the truth more than anything!" "Yep. Even if she did go Nightmare, Ah knew that she'd put stoppin' this big cruel lie above 'convertin' her friends and still help 'em save the world. If she went all the way and became an Alicorn? Then Ah know she wouldn't have abandoned them. The truth is that Ah gambled and didn't win. Are yah upset about that?" "Nope nope nope! Just surprised...you can be really...what's the word? Pragmatic sometimes...no offense." "Thought so...Now let's see if we can make it so we don't lose and Discord doesn't win." "I got Trixie and her imaginary friend all set up in Trottingham and Dashie helped Celestia stop herself from...doing things before things got settled." "Good. And Fluttershy and Spike?" "She's trying to spread some kindly lies and kinda sorta lies to counter the nasty ones, but there are just so many! Spike's getting tired just running around trying to keep ponies from dying before the fillies can fix this. But-but we can be everywhere Jackie!" "...Good thing we can still be a well oiled machine even if Nightmare Eclipse is gone." ++ Blanky climbed out of the saddlebag Sweetie Belle had been holding him in. Blanky, the strange 'puppy' that Sweetie Belle had adopted that only she could see. The pup looked at the three still-sleeping fillies. Shadowy snakes were slithering towards them, driven by instinct towards the ponies who were the targets of the rumors that spawned them. Blanky growled at them in disgust. They were not like the shadows who inhabited the living wasteland outside existence...those shadows were imprints, empty hoofsteps. Blanky could SMELL it on them, how much these things less than that. When he bit and snarled at them, they dissolved back into the lies they were made of. More came towards Sweetie Belle, and the wolf howled, giving the No-Thing snakes pause a moment too long as he tore them to pieces. The fillies sleeping like chicks in their nest, oblivious to the things around them coming from all directions, the puppy moved like lightning, pieces going this way and that. Blanky before had held himself back to avoid harming that which belonged... Blanky saw a pony's shadow of existence slip out of the fog. The wolf pup bared its teeth, ready to send it back where it belonged. But... the shadow was eating the snakes? Blanky tilted his head. The snakes themselves acted if they couldn't even see or feel the shadow desperately gobbling them up. What was it trying to do? Echoes could not create new lights of existence for themselves; it was as riduculous as holes trying to fill thesmelves. A echo of existence that was 'rescued' from Oblivion would still be an empty shell, it could not 'develop' a new light of existence, that was the fantasy of the desperate. The shadow finally looked up from its gorging, saw Blanky, let out a soundless scream, and fled back through the fog. +++ 'Ya and yer friends wanted ta enter the world of adults, Scootaloo? Welp, here ya are. And ya can never leave. Ain't it just peachy?!' I hear Applejack, but-not-Applejack's words echo in my head. I've just had the longest dream of my life. It felt like it took months for that dream to end. What is UP with that?!...Except I get the feeling it wasn't quite a dream...First I remember a fairytale life I used to have because I refused to trust Twilight after she used me for her rescue scheme that backfired...now...now I get told...Is anything real? There really are a bajillion other Scootaloos out there? But...none of those Scootaloos are 'me' me. I wish I could say everything that happened before that dream was just a dream too, that it was just the quadruple-alarm chili I ate last night...except what Miss Void said was Absolutely True. No two ways about it...I'm scared. +++ The three fillies lay still together as their minds returned from the dreaming world, feeling a peace so deep it was like nothingness. The fillies resisted fully awakening as they snuggled into the cloak Mis Void had placed on them. But when they woke, the foals felt that cloak break apart and change shape, wrapping itself slightly around their necks. They all looked around, seeing each other first, Scootaloo experiencing a stronger relief than the others at this. Their eyes focused just in time to see the cloak, now broken into three, finish changing colors and form into, "Our Crusader capes?" Apple Bloom asked. "But hadn't we left 'em at the clubhouse?" Scootaloo tilted her head. "Mis Void's cloak turned INTO them?" All thoughts relating to WHY this was happened or how were swiftly pushed aside when Sweetie Belle gasped as the 'doggy' leapt to Sweetie Belle's forelegs, politely accepting her nuzzle. "I told you not to come out of my saddlebag, Blanky." "Blanky?" Apple Bloom echoed. Closing one eye, then the other, she was feeling a headache. Sweetie looked up. "You can see him?" "Of course Ah can, well," Apple Bloom shook her head, "Ah can see 'im in one eye. It's like half mah brain knows he's there, but the other half doesn't! I know that don't make sense!" Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle, for one moment it was like she was holding thin air, then a canine-shaped ghostly shimmer faded into view. And, in that shimmer she saw eyes that focused first on her new mane braid and then on the pinecone pendant around her neck. Blanky growled at Scootaloo. Likewise a part of Scootaloo told her this mutt was just Bad News and she flattened her ears and her tail twitched. "That's not nice, Blanky. Scootaloo is a friend," Sweetie Belle said, and the pup stopped growling, but continued to eye Scootaloo with what could be called contempt. Scootaloo returned the look. "But," Sweetie asked. "How can you see Blanky? Only I could see him before." "See 'im?" Apple Bloom asked. "Sweetie Belle, you know this wolf?" "He's not a wolf, he's a doggy, and he followed me home yesterday. He's got a weird trick: any stuff he eats, everypony forgets it was even there!" Scootaloo experienced a chilly feeling in the pit of her stomach and took a trot back. "Sweetie Ah've seen timberwolves and farm dogs like Winona enough to know the difference between dogs and wolves. That there critter's a wolf. And what do ya mean anythin' he eats everypony forgets?" "Just what I said! And not jus that! He can make ponies forget about stuff, I broke a vase the other day, but then Blanky just fixed it and Rarity forget it was ever broken!" "He fixed it himself?" "I dunno, I looked away, and it was fixed when I looked back." "Sounds REALLY useful!" said Apple Bloom, looking at Blanky with bright eyes. "If something comes up, could Ah borrow him from ya?" "Guys, we've got bigger problems." Scootaloo injected, the first to take in their surroundings. "Where's Mis Void?" Sweetie Belle asked, first to notice that the mare was gone. It crossed the other two Crusader's minds that their benefactor was missing, remembering they had seen her painfully changed into somepony completely different. They shuddered. So many new and strange things were happing so fast to the fillies they couldn't keep up. But even Sweetie Belle put aside poor Miss Void's fate as she and Apple Bloom looked around them. In Scootaloo's memories from before she was born, the filly remembered an outdoor cafe she had worked at as an older pony wearing roller skates on her back-hoofs and seamlessly carrying objects with her front hooves like Pinkie Pie could. She remembered a darkening sky, the world turning gray, and not even noticing the place she'd served milkshakes to her friends vanishing. Once upon a time, Scootaloo's parents had taken Scootaloo to Clouddale's hospital for a checkup, she had gotten bored in the waiting room and snuck off. In one room she looked in, she saw a pegasus asleep. But he looked too still, too quite, the sound of machines in the room hooked up to him beeping and bubbling making her stomach turn, she never looked back as she ran back to the waiting room to her parents who scolded her for wandering off. Now Scootaloo felt like the whole world was hook up to those machines, and everything had that same faded feeling of the home from before she was born, of something important just missing but she couldn't tell what! Sweetie Belle felt the ghost of an echo of an nightmare she couldn't remember and hugged Blanky tightly. For Apple Bloom a much simpler comparison come to mind; she was back in Sunnytown discovering Ruby's corpse. The sky was a completely dirty faded pink. The fillies couldn't tell if the circle of light in the sky was the sun or moon. The sky was either clear or overcast. It made their heads hurt, it was just so blank. Fog covered the ground like a blanket, making it harder for Scoots to move through the mess. Everything faded in the dirty pink distance. The trees, the schoolhouse, the ground, everything was grittier, dirtier, detailed in all the wrong places, and lines not being as sharply defined. No, not everything. "Everything's changed but us," Apple Bloom said, looking at her friends, Sweetie Belle's puppy and saddlebag, and and their Crusader capes. Their bright colors stood out garishly in this faded and gritty world. The fillies felt a spinning in their heads that went down to their stomaches looking at themselves and their surroundings. It was like they were wrong for the world. "Rarity! Mom! Dad!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Do you think they're okay?!" Her friends had no idea how Sweetie thought they'd have an answer. Apple Bloom cringed when she remembered her dream, ponies, including Sweetie's parents, being twisted into things that were ponies and yet not ponies. Scootaloo's eyes widened. "Cheerilee!" She gasped. "And Dash! Silver! Spike! Everypony inside! We gotta see if they're okay!" Apple Bloom's heart crawled into her mouth as she thought of her family. The fillies ran straight into the school. The CMC stopped dead in their tracks, their mouths hanging open. If not for Miss Void's absolute words they'd truly believe they'd gone crazy or been transported to another reality. Their classmates and teacher were like the world, more gritty and dirty, details in places there shouldn't have been details, moving about on their hind legs just a little bit easier. They fit in perfectly, they were a part of this altered world. They were talking among themselves with words just a little bit more 'mature' than they ought to have been. The whites of their eyes was more intensely white than the fillies had ever seen eyeballs get. Was Snails wearing make-up? Their classmates looked at them causally, not noticing anything outstandingly different about the fillies. Their attitude of normality sent a chill up Apple Bloom's spine. And bright red crayon drawings she knew she hadn't drawn with her initials on them at her desk . . . Blanky crawled into Sweetie Belle's saddlebag, feeling conflicted. His instincts told him to eat everything he saw, but also he couldn't eat the ponies who he also had to eat; Blanky's head hurt. Everything belonged but didn't belong! "Silver Spoon, Twist... they're not here," Sweetie Belle whispered. "Well, Sweetie Belle, they do have special permission to be absent today, since they have responsibilities for Ponyville's community." "Cheerilee!" Their sharp-eared teacher had been completely remade by the world, but they still recognized their teacher. She had a teal lilly in her hair. "That's 'Miss Cheerilee,' Scootaloo. Please be polite," their beloved teacher said warmly. "Sorry." "That's quite alright. Now girls, I didn't ask you to come back in." "We're sorry Miss Cheerilee," Sweetie said, "But we were worried about you, when that big fog wall hit." "Big what now?" "...Never mind," Sweetie Belle lowered her head. Ironically, it was Sweetie Belle who noticed first that the school clock was ticking, but it wasn't moving forward. Apple Bloom wasn't speaking. She wasn't moving except for shaking in her horseshoes. Her eyes were glued to Miss Cheerilee like a deer in the headlights. Bile rose in her throat. Pain pounding her skull like a rail spike. "What's wrong, Apple Bloom?" Her teacher asked kindly. In one of Apple Bloom's eyes, she saw the same Cheerilee her friends did. In the other she something that might have been Cheerilee once. It was like a magenta pony-shaped skin sack with Cheerilee's cutie mark, filled with snakes wiggling and writhing underneath. The thing/Cheeilee turned its/her head towards Apple Bloom and hissed/spoke a mess of sounds squeezed together/softly as she always did with her beloved students. "Apple Bloom, you don't look well. Why don't you lie down? You need to be in top form for the play." As it/she opened its/her mouth to speak, Apple Bloom saw several serpentine shapes looking at her from within. Apple Bloom screamed her lungs out, and she ran out of the schoolhouse her eyes wild with fear. e At their friend's hysterical retreat, fear and confusion dancing in Sweetie and Scootaloo's minds, while their classmates were paralyzed with befuddlement. "Apple Bloom! Get back here! Don't worry dears, I'll have a word with her sister over her behavior." Cheerilee put a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. "RUN, LITTLE SISTER!" Shouted a young voice in Scootaloo's mind. Scootaloo heard herself scream, her legs galloping before she could tell them to, her entire body reacting to the voice's plea, every instinct in her body telling her to escape. She barely had wits enough to go in the same general direction of Apple Bloom, "RUN! RUN! RUN!" She heard herself shouting. Having seen her world turned inside out, having dreamed about things that hadn't happened, and seeing the world so drastically changed into something else except for her and her friends, Sweetie Belle's brain was paralyzed. Her friends wouldn't scream and run without a reason. Was the world getting to them? Why was she just standing here like a good student getting ready for the class play? Sweetie quivered like somepony struck a long bowstring with one end wrapped around her heart. FOALS TRAGICALLY DIE IN THEATER FIRE AFTER PLAY The headline flashed in Sweetie's mind like she read it before her eyes. Then a photo of Cheerilee grinning over her flower garden, ripping out a white and lavender flower by the roots, followed by a red and yellow flower, and a purple and orange flower...and tossing them all into a bonfire. She had to stay in class, it was what she was supposed to do, it was what she was meant to do, it was what she needed to do. Prepare for the play. Show up for the play. It was needed, it was necessary, it was her purpose. "NO!" Sweetie Belle finally screamed and ran after her friends, her tail barely missing a grab by Miss Cheerilee as she tried to stop her. "SWEETIE BELLE! COME BACK HERE! I AM TELLING YOUR PARENTS ABOUT THIS! YOU WANT TO BE EXPELLED?!" Sweetie Belle didn't stop running. Tears streamed from her eyes. Her legs screamed at her to turn around and go back to class this instant, her fear screamed louder. In her imagination there were thousands of hands grabbing and pulling at her, and every tense muscle made her imagine this harder. Green slashes of magic flew from her horn in every direction, attacking the indifferent fog. Noises, not words, like those of a panicking horse escaping her throat. Blindly, Sweetie Belle banged head first against two other thick skulls, her horn thankfully missing. Falling on her rump, she dizzily saw four fillies looking at her before her vision righted itself. The three fillies looked at each other speechless and confused, they had each come from a different directions, and now lay smarting in a circle. Hadn't they all run the same way? Once upon a time, Scootaloo would have felt shame for leaving Sweetie Belle again and instead disloyally listening to fear. But instead she felt she had heeded a warning from somepony dear. Instinct was telling her if she hadn't run, she wouldn't have been able to help at all. She gripped her pinecone pendant. Sweetie only felt relief for her friends, and Apple Bloom focused on the here, now, and soon to come, not the before. The fillies spoke all at once, words spilling out unbidden, words coming a mile a minute and none of them hearing the others. "-told me to run-" "-burning flowers-" "-leech-slug-snakes!-" Their attempt at gathering their wits was shattered by a bestial roar. Had the Crusaders known him personally, they might have recognized the necktie-and-headset wearer as Iron Will...if Iron Will's boisterous larger-than-life catch-phrase spouting was replaced with a savage look of insanity you'd see on a raging minotaur berserker from two-thousand years past. This was a monster, not a motivational speaker. It came at them red eyed and with horns lowered. The fillies screamed and ran together, having no chance to outrun the monster. They tried to move out of its path, but against the laws of psychics its path kept adjusting to keep them right where they'd be gorged and mauled. Scootaloo tried to fly with her friends, but her wing muscles went rigid as soon as she thought of it. Sweetie tried to use her magic but it came out as lifeless sparks. Sweetie Belle tripped but Bloom without missing a beat took her up on her back and kept running for their lives. Apple Bloom should leave her behind, better to have Sweetie Belle delay the monster for a few moments so her friends could get away. "NO!" Apple Bloom shouted. Though the monster was coming right at them, it was like time itself was slowly down, drawing out their suffering. Apple Bloom considered bucking something, anything at the monster to slow it down, but there wasn't a single thing in their path. Bloom couldn't even see what Sweetie Belle had tripped over looking back. Then there were many things in their path, big enough to obstruct their futile fleeing, but at the same time, not the right size or shape for the little Earth Pony to use in self defense. Apple Bloom always was weak compared to the rest of her family, no wonder she wanted to get a cutie mark, any cutie mark, as long as it was her ticket out of doing farm work till the day she died. Apple Bloom shudder. 'That's a lie!' The foals all fell into a ditch and were completely defenseless against the rampaging minotaur coming straight at them like he had a personal vendetta against them. The fillies tried to climb out of the ditch but the earth crumbled when they tried to climb. It was coming closer. This was their death. Apple Bloom's eyes searched. "There's a drain pipe!" Bloom shouted. "Where?!" Sweetie shouted. "Right there!" Bloom pointed. "No there isn't!" Scootaloo shouted. "THERE IS!" Apple Bloom snapped. Using her earth pony strength for all it was worth, she grabbed her friends and pushed them into a solid wall of dirt, smoothening them. She'd gone mad, and- Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked around confused when they were suddenly face first in a storm drainpipe, just big enough for the foals to trot through. Apple Bloom quickly followed. "HUH?!" Scooctaloo said, completely confused. It was like the day of chaos. The minotaur bellowed, mindlessly reaching in trying to charge through the far too small pipe like an automaton. The fillies fled down the pipe's path. Did Ponyville HAVE a drainage system? It was an old and traditionalist town after all, and- the fillies screamed again as an alligator came through the suddenly much larger pipe with jaws wide. The fillies found themselves between a rock and a hard place. "GO UP! GRATE!" Apple Bloom shouted. The muscles in Scootaloo's wings screamed like they were being ripped apart as she flew upwards. Taking hold of her friends, using her tactile-kinesis all pegasi had she burst through the grating, ending up with lumps and bruises. Before they could breath the alligator climbed out of the grate jaws wide. The fillies just ran, the beast moving impossibly fast after them on dry ground. The fillies hear singing, the voice wrapped around them like black tentacles, coming from a hundred directions at once. The voice oozed dark triumph. You hear the monsters start to growl You think you hear a werewolf's howl! You know the tragedy starts now! A hybrid between a pony and a wolf leapt from a roof, snarling at the fillies who ran another way as it snarled snapping its jaws after them. And it's terror time again! Unholy horrors fill your sight! It's terror time again! Just try running with all your might! It's a terrifying time! Sweetie Belle ducked as a half empty hard cider bottle shattered on a wall behind her. A drunken Berry Punch slurring profanities at the foals. I hear the beating of your heart I love this song right from the start! And that's not even the best part! A freakish mishmash between machine and pony popped into being right in front of them, glasses and buck teeth barely visible on the nightmarish mix of flesh and machinery. Wires sprung out of its body and struck right at the foals as precise and lightning fast as cobras. With a splitting headache like her horn was going to shatter, Sweetie's horn flash blindly in the horror's face, stuttering and twitching as it rebooted. And it's Terror Time again! Oh what horrors will fill your sight! It's terror time again! This tunnel doesn't end with light! It's a terrifying time! The fillies ran into the nearest building. It looked like Ponyville town hall on the inside, but there was lots of leather stuff around like bridles and shackles, and it had a bad smell to it. And there was red punch spilled in places. They saw Mayor Mare, who looked at them, looked at her day schedule, and shrugged and tossed it over her shoulder. Sarah Tailin was next to Mayor Mare with lots of booboos. Mayor Mare moved like a tiger through the underbrush towards them, and looked at them like one too. The Mayor's characteristic compassion for all in her town nowhere to be seen. This time the fillies ran as one. Hear all of the world moan! Medleys of sorrowful groans! Crescendos of fulfilled crimes! And all set to terror time! The fillies ran into the next door building, blindly hoping for safety. What they found instead was the ponyville spa...except...it wasn't right next door to the Town Hall, what happened. Aloe, Lotus, and Vera were politely waiting to serve customers. Each one wore a glowing gem on their foreheads. Sweetie Belle couldn't help feeling like all three of them looked a little younger and prettier than they should. The sign on the desk said, 'You'll Never Want To Leave.' Shadows shaped like screaming ponies crawled along the walls, cast by no pony. The indoor red roses and the plastic water-can smelled metallic. Scootaloo heard the front doors swinging closed, they got outside before they could be trapped within. And it's terror time again! No hope to make it through the night! It's terror time again! But please try with all of your might! It's a terrifying time! The fillies ran blindly through the fog.They imagined every front door as hungry mouthes. The desire united in their hearts was for Princess Luna to appear and tell them this was all just a bad dream. Each one wanted to be hugged by their big sister and told how dreams couldn't hurt them and the world and everypony hadn't been turned into some hideous mockery vomited up by some monster's sick mind. The girls looked behind them and saw rabbits the size of bears with fangs storming in pursuit. The girls wished they could run faster. The girls zigzagged through the fog, the monsters hot breath on their backs one moment and gone the next. Sweetie Belle swore she saw their own backsides running through the fog ahead of them, their manes gray and worn. Scootaloo saw herself and her friends laying on a front porch laying limp with buttons over their eyes and their muzzles sewn shut. And it's terror time again! Just keep on looking for the light! It's terror time again! You won't find any in your sight! It's a terrifying time! Sweetie Belle wished they'd run into another monster over what they saw next. Lilly, Rose Luck, and Daisy were all crawling on the ground like broken puppets, covered in both blue dots and a patchwork quilt of cutie marks. Only moans escaped their lips. Their eyes darting this way and that in fear and agony as they cried rivers. New cutie marks appeared on them like boils even as the fillies watch. Daisy tried reaching to the fillies, her foreleg twitching in every way except the one she wished it to go. The desperation in her eyes made Sweetie Belle's heart crack. Scootaloo pulled her back just before they could touch. The pain in Daisy's eyes never wavered. Daisy tried to stand up, her foreleg twitched so erratically Sweetie Belle heard a snapping sound. The fillies experienced what could only be irrationally described as a silent scream. Apple Bloom looked at the familiar blue dots, and the cutie marks multiplying like bacteria on the bodies of the the crying mares inching towards them. "Ah'm sorry!" Apple Bloom cried out grabbing her friends running away from the plague carriers over their protests. The death bells begin to tone Joining the chorus of moans In this symphony of mine! Can't you see it's terror time?! Bloom's two friends broke free of her grip, but there was nopony there when they looked back into the fog. All debate was forgotten as their eyes fell on something that made their hearts skip a beat. "But that's not... impossible," Scootaloo whispered. It was the schoolhouse. "How did we, how did we go in a circle?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking back the way they'd ran. Apple Bloom whimpered. "We didn't." She tried to retrace their steps in her mind's eye. But the more she tried, the more her head hurt. The more their path felt less like a path and more like a pretzel. They then felt like they were being pulled by shackles around her their necks towards the school house door...Cheerilee was waiting for them . . . Individual thought was forgotten as the miniature herd stampeded away from the school into the fog in blind panic. Equine shadows ran indistinct in the fog. The foals found themselves stampeding towards the school. Rejecting the confusion of it they turned around and ran away so hard their had a stitch in their sides, their breathing haggard. It didn't matter, they never turned around, always had their backs to the school, but saw the school appearing out of the fog again, and again, and again, AND AGAIN! Looking down, the group saw their own hoofprints intersecting the same place over and over again. Like one big spider web. And it's terror time again! The worst lurks still just out of sight! It's terror time again! Just waiting to snuff out your light! It's a terrifying time... The voice faded. Something in the foals burned out. The foals fells on their knees. The nightmarish parodies of those they loved, the fog that mocked ideas like 'here' and 'there', the sickening grimy rose color to everything: it was all too much, the foals vomited, and kept vomiting until they began to heave bitter yellow liquid. Scootaloo gritted her teeth. "It's like... it's like the whole world is rigged!" Scootaloo thought of...what seemed like a lifetime ago, before the wedding, before Discord, where she wished life could be a bit more exciting and less girlie. This wasn't an adventure…this was filth for filth's sake. "This isn't a nightmare! It's a cheat!" Apple Bloom yelled as if that would make the world play fair. The world didn't dignify her with a response. The Crusaders had each endured more than their share to know they lived in an unfair world, now they realized they hadn't known the meaning of the word. "I wanna go home," Sweetie Belle cried, her eyes watery. Then the horrible thought spawned in her mind. 'Even if I find home. It won't...it won't be my home or my...or my...Does that mean I'm an orphan?' Blanky popped his head out of Sweetie's saddle bag and nuzzled his master. The world was completely messed up, and they didn't have a clue on how to fix it. Apple Bloom wanted to go back to musing about how awkward it was to go back to doing choirs and school after helping save the world. How did you fight the world? Scootaloo hadn't seen the looks on her friends' from the outside before. But even if it had been three years, she recognized the sound of their hearts wilting from losing everything. She didn't hesitate to hug her friends, she was crying too, and so was Apple Bloom, they hugged her back, and they just cried into each other's manes. The fillies huddled together crying. They didn't know for how long. Any pony shapes that passed by in the fog gave the tear stained foals no mind. It was like the fog wanted to invade them, violate them, twist them, warp them, remake them, rip them apart and glue them back together into something that was them only in appearance and manner. Like every wisp of fog was a tentacle want to slither inside. Apple Bloom shook her head at another headache flash. They wanted to go to an adult and admit were in over their heads, except the memory of Miss Void's Voice reminding of the Truth: that Twilight, their big sisters, the Princesses, were all targeted first by this, this evil. No adults for them to go for help like foals should be. It just felt...wrong. This wasn't how their world was MEANT to work...no, like this wasn't their world at all. They were an infection to this world's purity. "NO!" The girls started, Blanky's ears perked. One of the girls had shouted, but none was sure who. "Be brave, when you see again those you know and love, they will not be who you know and love. They will be monsters. Remember their words and actions are not their own, they do only as rumors dictate to them. They are only puppets on strings, and none suffer more than they. The moment you lose all hope, is the moment any hope for this world dies. Believe that you can clean away the grim darkness. You need to." Miss Void's absolute voice echoed through the filly's heads, beating back the filth. "We're still here!" Scootaloo shouted, flapping her wings like mad taking off the ground. "We're still here! We still believe in friends!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "Not this here garbage!" Apple Bloom shouted louder. "We still believe!" Sweetie Belle shouted, "We still believe! In Rarity! In the Princesses! In all our friends and family! In rainbows, smiles, sunshine, hugs and kisses! Bedtime stories, singing, cupcakes, flowers, happiness and love!" "In Loyalty! In Rainbow Dash! In the good guys beating the bad guy and saving the day!" Scootaloo added. "That friendship kicks flank!" "Them's the pony way and that's . . ." Apple Bloom stopped. "And that's . . ." - Ah felt somethin' flicker inside, like the flint of a fire. No, like a bud tryin' to bloom. My head is hurtin' again! Ugh! Come on! Ah've almost got it! Somethin', somethin' so simple. No big deal. So why is my head hurtin' somethin' fierce? Ya can pierce the lies that fill the world, Apple Bloom. Nightmare Applejack...the look in her eyes...it was like whenever Granny Smith is thinkin' 'bout stuff she doesn't wanna talk about in front of me...she looked...She looked so old. She wasn't a monster. She's an old mare inside. Tired and hurtin'. Ah ain't scared of 'er. She's just like how big sister used to be: won't let me help with the applebucking, and she's actin' like she's got all of Ponyville on 'er shoulders. What's that got to do with anything? Maybe nothin', maybe everythin', Ah don't know. No. Not nothin'. Maybe she showed sometimes there's a truth within truth, or somethin' like that. Fancy words are Sweetie's department. Ah just know what Ah know. And everythin' me and my friends just said? "That's the truth." And my flower opened. And I could see. Just to make sure, Ah closed the eye the other Applejack put the truth in, my other eye just saw the fog. This wasn't one of the mean tricks the fog had been playin' on us, it was the truth. "Girls...the fog...I can see the path through it." "What path?" Scootaloo asked. "Ah can see it. Plain as day. Trust me. Just follow me. We're gettin' outta here." +++ Scootaloo and me looked at each other, worried about Apple Bloom, but we didn't have any better ideas. If Apple Bloom said she could see a path through the fog, she probably did.  It was better than nothing. And they believed me about Blanky's magic. So Apple Bloom led the way, Scootaloo's wings beat away the fog, while I lit our caboose. Scootaloo and me held onto Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's tail just in case. It was all the same gray fog to me, but at least we weren't winding up back at school and a big huge monster wasn't trying to kill us or...or... I saw the look in Scootaloo's eyes, she wanted to say something about the crazy turns Apple Bloom was taking, but we'd gone in a straight line and ended up back where we started, might as well try the twisty-turny way right? I looked at Blanky, he's sniffing every which way for trouble. He wasn't pointing into another direction or anything. Dogs are supposed to tell when something bad is happening, right? When will I get a chance to help out big?...I know I convinced Tick he should think real hard about how the changelings saw ponies but... Eh? It was only cause I was there that the good bits of Chryssy's soul got saved? And I was the one who had the magic to break the geass of all those ponies...I guess you're right. It's not about how often or how much I help my friends, the point is that I help WHEN I can, and help HOW I can. Thank you. Apple Bloom seemed to be just following wherever her invisible trail led her. She stopped all of a sudden and we stuck our heads out forward to get a look at why. It was an earth pony stallion. His pelt looked dyed, and his cutie mark might have been a sticker. He was covered in bruises shaped like doorknobs, he had cuts like he'd jumped through a window. He was crying, turning over in the dirt, talking to himself. He was crying, turning over in the dirt, talking to himself. "It wasn't supposed to be this way! Earth Ponies would realize the truth and grasp freedom with their own four hooves, NOT THIS!" Blanky didn't even bother to look at 'im. Apple Bloom began to inch around him, I guess in case he turned into a monster or something... I couldn't blame her. I stopped. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at me confused when they felt the tugs on their tails. I looked at him. Boring, one-sided, self-contradicting lectures that went on forever, waiting to see momma or Rarity afterwards. I said, "Girls. I recognized him. But I've never seen him before. It's like somepony else recognizes him so I did. Like when I sing on a high note and it makes Rarity's crystal quiver. Sorry. I dunno." "Believe it or not I get what you're saying," Scootaloo said. "The Queens have unleashed their final scheme, and twisted the world into their own personal cesspit of depravity! Why didn't any of them listen?!" He didn't look at us, he didn't seem to even hear us! "His name's Masked Agenda, and Vendetta Mask, he has a lot of names," I explained this knowledge I knew by unknowable means. "He teaches that mares bully stallions but the stallions don't notice, that everypony bullies earth ponies but pretend they're fair, and that the Princesses are the biggest bad guys in the world." "That's stupid. Sis doesn't bully Big Mac, the Princesses were just plain nice when Ah met 'em with AJ! And AJ says the only time anypony's looked down on her is cause she's from Ponyville and not a big city, bein' a earth pony doesn't mean anythin'!" "And wasn't the point of that whole Hearth Warming Eve play that ponies don't do that anymore?" Scootaloo asked. I nodded. "I didn't say it wasn't." "Why didn't they listen sooner? Why?" He just kept talking himself. "The Alicorns! The unicorns! The pegasi overlords! The mares! Why didn't earth pony stallions even realize they're slaves?! All is lost!" We all felt really awkward, I could tell. Blanky  was tryin' to ignore 'im like he was a parasprite. "Girls. We're taking him with us. He's hurt," I said, sounding and looking as 'in charge' as I could, while Blanky gave me a look of incredulity. Apple Bloom just looked at him confused with one eye closed. "I dunno, Sweetie Belle, in all the ghost stories Dash told me, ponies like him always get never-heard-from-again first." "Which is exactly why we're going to save him." I said sternly. "Apple Bloom, keep leading the way, Scootaloo, help me carry 'im." "Sweetie maybe Ah should help carry 'em, Ah got more muscle." "It has to be us, Apple Bloom." I said in Rarity's 'no-arguing' tone. As Rarity would say, this was the pony way. The symbolism was important, you see. I wanted to prove Mr. Mask wrong by pointing out that three of us different ponies bore an equal share of his weight. Apple Bloom looked at me a bit longer, opening and closing one eye, then nodded. "Alright." Scootaloo sighed. "Alright." "Here, lemme have yer saddlebags at least. Be easier on ya." Apple Bloom offered. I couldn't argue her logic and floated my bags over, Blanky's eyes never left me. "Hold up. Let's at least do this right." Scootaloo said, and reaching into my saddle bag without needing to ask, and taking out the first-aid kit, (never start a crusade without it!) Scootaloo fixed up his cuts as best she could. He looked at us like he couldn't even figure out what we were (like when I explained to others changelings had babies, not cloning). Using my telekinesis for extra lift, Scootaloo and me got on either side of the hurt stallion and pushed him up. "They've come to remove my brain!" We didn't say anything, but continued to carry him through the fog, wherever Apple Bloom's invisible road was taking us. The ground was a dirt road one minute, then grass the next, or covered in leaves, I couldn't make out where we were. The white light in the sky never moved an inch.Huh? You're right. I didn't notice before, nothing attacked us since we started on Apple Bloom's path. Apple Bloom stopped so suddenly we nearly crashed into each other. We were looking at the sign for Ponyville Hospital. A little further ahead, the hospital itself had become like everything else. Grimy. Ugly. Chipped paint, vines mingling with the shadows to where you can't tell 'em apart. Like somepony had mixed the hospital with a haunted loony bin out of my nightmares etched with black ink on pink paper. My heart beat a little weaker looking at it. My heart beat a little weaker looking at it. Blanky turned his head from his spot in my saddle on Apple Bloom's flanks, wanting to know why we had all stopped. He didn't growl at all, he just tilted his head, looking confused. At the same time, Scootaloo flattened her ears and gritted her teeth. Apple Bloom... I couldn't understand how she could stand there being so calm, she didn't even look scared. Vendetta Mask didn't seem to notice we'd stopped. "...Come on, girls, let's get 'im inside," Apple Bloom said. "What?!" We both gasped, nearly dropped him. "He's hurt, he needs a doctor, and I didn't get one when we tried to earn our cutie marks for medicine when we checked-up Snips and Snails." "Apple Bloom, that's nuts!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Every time we've gone in-doors ponies have been trying to hurt us. What makes you think this'll be any different?" "Because the truth showed me the way through the fog. We found him, and we wanted to help him, and now that 'way' has brought us here." "Exactly! Isn't that too good to be true? Maybe he got put in our way just SO we'd go in!" "The truth gave us a safe path through the fog, we didn't run into anything nasty like before, non-stop, so why would it lead us to someplace bad now?" "Maybe the fog just put it in our way." "The truth would have lead us around it." "How can you be so sure? We don't know how your new superpower works!" "Because...this was given to me by somepony who'd always want me to me safe, who'd never hurt me." Apple Bloom insisted. The three of us walked into the entry of the hospital. But the inner doors didn't open. Instead, gas filled the room. When we covered our mouths we were shot in the flanks by darts. Everything went dark. When we woke up, we were strapped to tables. We squirmed like worms on hooks. Nurse Redheart looked at us with a glint in her eye as she revved up a chainsaw, laughing and raised it above our heads. She brought it down on our necks. "We can't go in there! We'll die!" I shouted. The others all looked at me. "I saw, right now, in my head, if we go in there, we'll get gassed and tranquilized, then tied to tables, and Nurse Redheart will cut our three heads off with a chainsaw!" I shook. Scootaloo shuddered and folded her wings. Apple Bloom shuddered too, but she looked me in the eyes, something about one of her eyes making me uncomfortable. "The three of us? What about Mr. Mask and Blanky?" Apple Bloom asked. I stopped. "They...they weren't there." Apple Bloom hugged me. "Sweetie Belle whatever ya just saw wasn't real. This fog's messen' with our heads. Just like Princess Gaia's fog but it's mean instead of nice!" Scootaloo's eyes widened at Apple Bloom's words as though something had clicked in her head. "Okay, let's peek inside, and just start running again if something bad happens." "What if the hospital's now a monster that'll eat us when we go inside?" I asked fearfully. "Ah just can't bring mahself ta believe mah new gift would lead us here just to be eaten." I looked at Blanky, he just kept staring at the hospital, like he was didn't know what to make of it. I looked at Mr. Vendetta Mask. "Well… he does need help… unless that was the whole reason he got put in our way to begin with." "H-how d-dare you! I'm not part of any of your schemes! I'm a free stallion!" I asked, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Don't ponies like you say it's those who don't know they're being used are the biggest problem?" "Not 'like me!' I'm an individual! Don't you DARE take me to a Government hospital, Diamond Tiara! Stop questioning ME and start questioning everypony else!" "Diamond Tiara?" Bloom and Scoots gasped together. "Do you know where she is? Is she okay? Is she hurt?" I asked. "Your father paid for me to teach you lessons, but you never listened." Scootaloo shifted his weight on her back. "I guess Diamond Tiara wasn't so dumb after all." I felt another twang. 'Actually her grades weren't really bad,' I thought. "STOP!" a voice suddenly shouted at us. "Don't go in there! It'll be your death!" We all looked at the source. It was an earth pony mare; yellow fur, red mane in a familiar style with a bow. She wore a red cloak over big fancy armor covered in symbols for Equestria and had really big shoulder pads. The armor was so thick and bulky I wondered how strong she had to be to move around in it. She stopped and knelt besides us pleading. "You have to come with me! While there's still time! Hurry!" "Who are you? And where'd ya come from?" Apple Bloom asked. "I can't say who I am or it might cause a paradox! To the rebel base! Hurry! You are the ones destine to lead the war against the evils that have corrupted and enslaved Equestria! The old world is lost! You must gain great strength if we're to destroy our enemies!" "Destroy?" I whispered. "All that they were is dead, only monsters using their bodies remain! You'll do the noble thing by destroying them!" I thought of Chryssy's, 'rules of nature.' "I can't do that! Not to Dash! Not to anypony!” Scootaloo shouted. Apple Bloom glanced at Scootaloo, looked like her eye hurt for a second, then she looked kinda sad. "You mustn't cling to false hope! Otherwise you'll be doomed and all the hope of Equestria will be doomed with you!" Apple Bloom said, "If they've really now monsters, then nopony is hurtin' more than them. Weren't ya always sayin' how Queen Chrysalis was lonely and hurt inside Sweetie Belle?" I paused, I had said that. "Then put them out of their misery! Don't be stupid! It's your survival or theirs!" "I'm gonna help Dash or bust!" Scootaloo shouted. "You can't afford to die! Everypony will depend on you!" "...Yer right, we can't," Apple Bloom sighed. Scootaloo looked back at the hospital and at the mare. "So that's it after all." "Hurry before they get here!" Apple Bloom squared her shoulder. "Okay, lady. If that's how it's gotta be, Ah think mebbe we oughta start with ya, then." And she bucked the strange armored mare in the eye. "Ayeeee-carumba!" She screamed. At this point, I noticed, her armor didn't have any symbols for any of the Princesses. "Yer empty inside! Like a costume! Ya don't have a heart!" "So?" The yellow mare covered her face where Apple Bloom had bucked her. "What's the POINT in surviving if we becomes as heartless as the bad guys?! We'd be dead on the INSIDE, like you!" "We don't ever give up on our friends!" Scootaloo shouted and stomped her hoof. "And Apples NEVER GIVE UP ON FAMILY!" The yellow mare with the red mane's hoof fell away from her face. Parts of her face fell away like they were porcelain. "You should have just become my new existence el mena! Grittiness, darkness, sex, kill or be killed, ripping apart everything Equestria stands for, is all those in charge care about! Nopony cares about just happiness anymore!" She said in a Mexicolt accident. "F-Fiesta Flaire?" Scootaloo whispered, her eyes widened, shivering, she looked pale. "Huh?" I asked looking at her. So did the mare. "Only her impression." Blanky sniffed the air and growled at the mare. She took a trot back from him. She was shaking like a leaf. She ran away without a look a back. "Thank ya Applejack," I might have heard Apple Bloom say under her breath. "W-what? Was that?" Vendetta Mask choked up, reminding us he wasn't a sack of potatoes and totally confused. "I don't understand! How does this fit? It's nonsense! Madness! Please stop it!" "Scootaloo how...how did you know her?" I asked. "She...she reminded me of somepony I used to know...but, she had a heart. She loved music and she owned a stage-theater." Scootaloo sighed. "But... it's in the past now. Let's move on." "No it isn't! If she got twisted up like everypony else, then we're gonna save 'er too!" I said, feeling determined. I hadn't been able to think of anything brave to say to Scootaloo's friend, but I could say something brave for her. "Y-yeah, you're right." Scootaloo said surprised at me, I was surprised too. Apple Bloom had this weird look in her eye but didn't say anything. "And hey! We just beat one of the bad things the world's throwing at us! That's progress, right?" I asked, trying to be encouraging. They both nodded. Scootaloo said gritting her teeth, "Now let's get in the hospital fast!" "I thought you were worried about going in there too," I said. "Not anymore! I got it. This is a horror movie!" "It... is?" I asked. "That's what we've been stuck in since we woke up! The monster chases! All this nasty stuff! Not being able to get away from where we wanted to get away from until Apple Bloom found a hole in the 'set?' And then Fiesta-, that mare shows up? Creepy movies do their darndest to lure ponies AWAY from safety! Not danger!" "What if that armored mare trying to lure us away from the hospital is really the movie making us realize she was luring us away from the hospital so we'll go in the hospital?!" I asked. "Don't overthink it!" Scootaloo replied. "Horror movies aren't that smart!" "Hey, Mr. Scary Movie Director!" I yelled out, not actually expecting an answer, and not getting one. "Could we 'cut' and take a quick break? I need a moment to freshen up in my trailer!" "Sweetie Belle! Don't go crazy!" Scootaloo shouted, looking ready to shake me silly if we weren't carry Mr. Mask. "I don't mean that way! I mean whatever turned the world upside down made everything happen like we were in a scary story!" "Ya mean like when we wrote look-alikes of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as the bad fillies who got never-heard-from-again in that ghost story we wrote for class last year?" Apple Bloom asked. For the record, Miss Cheerilee had us rewrite it. "Exactly!" Scootaloo said. "Vote's three to two, let's go!" Apple Bloom said. Right away a big dark spiral storm formed above the hospital. "Maybe it's warning us to stay away?" I shivered. Scootaloo looked at me. "Since when do creepy movies GIVE warnings to the characters?" "I dunno! Rarity doesn't let me watch them!" "They don't!" Scootaloo shouted. Appleblom led, Scootaloo and I carried Vendetta Mask. "B-but what about when the ghost in the haunted house in ghost stories says 'Get out!' and nopony does?" "That's when outside the haunted house is safe! WHY would we start being given warnings NOW when we weren't for any of the places before?!" "Leave the arguin' ta us Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom said as we moved. > Getting Some Help > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lightning struck two trees I didn't see before at the same time on either side of our path, just then... we double timed right underneath them before they fell, not even thinking! I now had a hunch if we'd tried to go around the lightning would just strike more trees. We ran inside the hospital doors that opened automatically. I braced myself. The inner doors opened. No gas. No darts. No chainsaw-wielding Nurse Redheart. And the hospital was awfully strange. The further we went in, the more it didn't look how the rest of the world did now. Everything look more detailed, but not sketchy, like a painting, and everything wasn't that sick shade of pink! Oh, and it was actually well lit enough for us to see that clearly! ...I hope that all made sense. My friends and I all looked at each other, but none of us had an idea what to even say. Blanky looked more confused. Vendetta Mask, still the same sick pink color with white eyes as the world outside, didn't even seem to notice. And it looked like a real hospital. It didn't look anymore like a bad dream where ghoulish creatures might crawl out of any corner and eat you. It even smelled like a real hospital. Well, that just meant it smelled like Rarity's cleaning closet. But that's a lot better than smelling like blood and sickness... Something about it felt familiar somehow. It wasn't a dream I was trying to remember. For a moment, the idea of not being able to leave these white walls made me scared, but they weren't made out of clouds, so it didn't last long. Huh? What did I just think? It wasn't a picture, it wasn't a sound, it was a feeling. Of being a shooting star, and being with an adventure-loving friend...something to do with patches? It wasn't home, but...a part of me felt welcomed here. I knew nothing bad was going to happen to us in here. Blanky seemed to feel the same way, since he didn't seem as agitated as he had outside. Still, we were ready for anything as we all made our way to the reception desk. Nurse Tenderheart, (Nurse Redheart's little sister, I think,) smiled at us from behind the desk. She didn't look like us (how the world was supposed to be) but she also didn't look like the grimy pink ponies outside. Her eyes were smaller, she had a rounder figure, her muzzle was a bit longer and rounder, the outlines around her body were thinner, her ear smaller, and she was holding a pencil in her hooves like it was tapped on or something! But all the same time, she wasn't scary-looking so much as weird. Apple Bloom looked at her close, closing one eye, then looking at her with the other. She blinked, but at least she didn't run screaming out of the place like she had with Miss Cheerilee, that was a good sign, right? Mr. Mask, Nurse Tender Heart, and us, we didn't look like we belonged in the same world, clashing style as Rarity would say. It wasn't like when my hooves got pruney in water like half my family. I wonder if this is how Bumblebee and other changelings felt in disguise. "Oh my!" Nurse Tender Heart said going right next to Mr. Vendetta Mask and examining him. "Don't touch me, you puppet of the Alicorns." "Sorry, sir, but I don't think you're in condition to refuse treatment." Nurse Tender Heart was still Nurse Tender Heart. Then little sparkles shimmered along Nurse Tenderheart's hooves. What? The bruises on Vendetta Mask vanished, but he still had a lot of other boo-boos. We all drew in breath. Scootaloo tensed. Apple Bloom did the thing with her eyes again, she looked more confused. Blanky still didn't growl. I was surprised at being more surprised than scared. "There you go. I'm not as skilled as my sister, you'd better see her," she told Vendetta Mask, and put him on her own back. She looked at us. "And you best come with me too dears." We looked at ourselves, and remembered, we'd gone through a drain pipe, been chased by irascible monsters, all while traipsing through evil magic-after-all fog. Thanks, I always do good on my vocabulary tests. Point is, we were dirty, sweaty, had scratches, bumps, and bruises. Our Crusaders capes...they weren't dirty at all though, not a tear or speck of dirt on them. They were as clean as a void. None of us said anything, because none of had any idea what to say I think. Apple Bloom gave me back my saddle bags, and Blanky along with them. Good thing Nurse Tenderheart couldn't see Blanky; animals aren't allowed in hospitals. Nurse Tenderheart began to trot away, looking back at us. We looked at each other, and followed. We all wanted just to TRUST somepony. And...I just felt safe here, like...like it was against the rules for something bad to happen to us here. Did the others feel the same way? I couldn't tell. Though the hospital...well, LOOKED different, the hospital itself wasn't that different...I mean that everything was where it was supposed to be! There was the flu shot poster. Ick. There were the same potted plants in the lobby. But then we saw a life-size statue against the wall where the hospital split into two different ways. It was white marble, with the mane and tail painted pink with a painted pink heart with littler heart cutie marks around it. What was that gold flaked ring behind its head? "Whose that?" I asked when Apple Bloom didn't. Tenderheart didn't stop, I guess cause she was carrying a hurt pony to get help. But she said in that voice Miss Cheerilee used whenever we asked a 'cute' question. "That's Saint Sweetheart, dear." "Who?" Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom then answered before Nurse Tenderheart could. "She's a mare from WAAAAY back in pony history before they were was even the Three Tribes, Nurseheart's supposed ta be part of her family. The fairytales say she could heal others with earth pony magic. But since when did ya get a statue of her?" "Well, this is Saint Sweetheart Memorial Hospital." That wasn't right. "Huh?" "And you can't really call it fairytales since everypony in my family can use her magic." Her hooves sparkled a little again. "HUH?" We all said together, even Blanky's eyes widened. "Since when?" Scootaloo squeaked. She stopped for a tiny bit to look at us again. "Girls, are you feeling well? Did you hit your heads? We've healed your bumps and bruises plenty of times. Your families told us to HOLD BACK on healing you with our gift so you wouldn't take it a as a excuse to be EVEN MORE reckless in your dangerous stunts of yours! Like with Rainbow Dash." I was worried about Nurse Tenderheart 'healing' our memories, so I lied quickly, "Of course we do Nurse Tenderheart, Scootaloo meant how good you've gotten." "Oh. Oh! Why thank you! But I'm still not as good as big sister. She actually thinks the statue is a waste of bits we could have spent elsewhere, but I think it's important we show our gratitude to Saint Sweetheart and inspire others." We'd left the statue behind already. "Saint Sweetheart watches over us. She helps us. What healing we can't do alone, she helps us do," Tenderheart said with a real smile. When I say real, I mean it didn't look like the smiles I'd seen on ponies Chryssy and Jitterbug had brainwashed. The way she said it reminded me how changelings spoke about Queen Rosedust. "Myth to placate the masses," Mr. Vendetta Mask said, nopony even looked at him but me. I felt sorry for him. Then there came a big barking noise that made us all jump. It wasn't Blanky. Behind one of the doors, there was a sound of another big door banging. "Oh sorry! Don't be scared girls, Madam Lickety Split is in her lycantherope phase right now. Don't worry, her collar and the bars are coated with silver, she can't break out." "Barking Mad?" Scootaloo gasped out. +++ I knew the name. I'll never forget that one time on my paper route, when I was passing by Lickety Split's house on my scooter, and I got chased by that crazy lady barking and biting at me! She was in the hospital again instead of the loony bin? "We do NOT use that horrid nickname here, young filly!" Nurse Tenderheart said in that tone I'd heard from any adult when I'd said something I shouldn't've. "Uh, okay, sorry?" My wings wilted. Then Sweetie Dictionary took the heat off me. "Lycanther-you mean a werewolf?!" "Please dear! Don't use such terms! She has no control of herself as she is. She's a victim." Werewolves? Yer kiddin'! "Yes ma'm," Sweetie Belle said. "Nightmare Moon sleeper agents," the conspiracy pony rambled but none of us paid attention. At least the hospital wasn't like a maze, everything was straightforward. In a pinch, I could've led the others back out easy. I had avoided visiting the hospital whenever I could before I was took in with Dash, I could forged signatures, but the less doctors wondered where my parents were the better. Plus I didn't have the bits to burn on hospital bills so I learned good first aid. How did I look after myself before Dash? I DIDN'T DUMPSTER DIVE! I might as well put a sign around my neck saying 'Come And Get Me Foal Services!' It wasn't like my parents left me with only the feathers on my wings. My Scooter, wagon, helmet, a small but decent amount of bits, and other things I was able to carry with me to Ponyville. And I had a newspaper route and a few other jobs to fill my belly before I got direct access to erm, borrow apples from 'Bloom's orchard and the clubhouse to sleep at. I was able to set up a mailbox at the post office for my 'parents.' Hotels were too expensive, and sleeping in boxes or public places would have gotten Foal Services attention too! Fluttershy's chicken coup? Besides that it stinks in there, I think Fluttershy would have noticed! Sleep in a tree? That had the same problem as the box. The school house? Cheerilee would notice! I kinda...migrated from place to place for a while, a bell tower here, amphitheater there, the post office saying I was trying to get some extra hours in (before I was told about foal labor laws)...why did I come to Ponyville in the first place?...It sounds really dumb now but...I was hoping I'd find clues to my parents here (it is the closest town to Cloudsdale)... And...I had no idea where to go after here. I know Foal Services in Equestria aren't bad! But mom and dad were aways wary of government ponies, and I didn't want to find out why. And I got the idea that in a small town, maybe Foal Services would be less likely to notice me...I didn't say I thought it through. Before Dash, I never really questioned my parents leaving me in Cloudsdale: they simply did it, so it had to have been for the best. There'd been lots of things we'd done they told me before was 'for our safety.' I didn't understand at all, but that was okay. Now, I really did question why. I never questioned a lot of things before, like why my parents taught me how to copy hoof writing to begin with. Fiesta Flaire? Yes I remember her. I'll admit, if I heard somepony call a friend of theirs from their home town under a curse 'in the past' I'd be upset too. She managed our theater. She was good with the maracas. And was part of the Lady Bugs band. She spoke with a thick Mexicolt accent even though none of us were sure where Mexicolt was (not even her)! That's all there was to her. So many us were shallow, but there was no such thing as a stranger, everypony was a friend. We had hearts! That thing from before, it was a ghost-zombie or something, it wasn't her. No, I don't want to forget again. I asked for this, and I want to be loyal to at least their memory. And it's nice to know I've been Sweetie's friend in two lifetimes. While I was thinking about this we stepped into the room that Nurse Tenderheart had been leading us to. It kinda reminded me of the field hospitals I'd seen in pegasi history books. A big room with beds evenly spaced out. Weren't patients kept separate to keep them from spreading germs to each other? There were so many ponies in here. I'm gonna bet that wall opposite us was blank before, now it had a mural of the same pony from before, Saint Sweetheart, lovingly shining lights on sick ponies. I expected for her eyes to be creepy and follow me around the room or something.., but that didn't happen. It was just a picture that made the room look kinder. Nurse Tenderheart spoke to the conspiracy pony while putting him on an empty bed, "Don't worry sir, Doctor Redheart will be able to help you very soon." Doctor Redheart? The three of us all looked at each other, eyes wide for a sec. “Sweetheart? Can you please look after the fillies? I need to get back to the lobby!" "Nice to see you again dears," said this big violet mare nurse with a purple and white stripped mane. She looked like how Tenderheart did. "Nurse Battleaxe?!" Sweetie Belle gasped taking a trot back. +++ I don't know where the name came from, all I knew was seeing this nurse sent a wave of disgust through me that wasn't mine. The other girls looked at me, but I didn't know what to say. I felt small now. I look in her eyes, and I feel like somepony just said something mean about mom. "Nurse Sweetheart dear Nurse Sweetheart," she said politely smiling. "You know, like the Saint? I was named after her." I grasped at straws. "T-That's what other ponies call you though!" She tilted her head, looking a little hurt. "Really? Who?" "I don't remember," I said honestly. "Well, you shouldn't repeat mean things other ponies say dear." She smiled warmly. "Y-yes, madam. Sorry!" I meant it, too. It made me feel rotten when she was being so nice. "It's no problem, I forgive you. Now dears, how are you feeling?" She kept that polite smile on her face though we looked like we'd crawled through a storm drain and run around in circles chased by monsters. "We're just fine," Scootaloo lied. "Well you certainly don't look fine." There were lots of ponies on the beds. Even if they were different from before I could still recognize them. There was Miss Carrot Top, she had these big thorns stuck in her and rope burns. "Don't worry cousin Carrot, you're going to be fine," said... Doc Top? Wasn't he a baby doctor? I still remember all the shots he gave me when I was much younger. And the lollipops afterwards. He was always nice...I was kind of happy he still looked like a nice guy! I also saw... I think her name is Sea Swirl, the mare with the two dolphin cutie marks. She was half-submerged in a tub and I couldn't see her rear legs. A filly with a nurse cap was looking after Sea Swirl...I think her name is Nursery Rhyme. She's called a Candy Striper, no not, like Twist, but they do look kinda alike, I think she's home-schooled and is training to be a nurse. Also there's Nurse Snowheart. She's next to...the unicorn who DJ'ed for Rarity's fashion show. She's DJ PON-3 right? Scootaloo and me have different opinions about her music. She looked sick. And, ick, is she being given a blood transfusion? She looks like she has two bug bites on her neck. There were two mares in beds next to each other, face down with a bucket in front of them. Their hooves were stained green with something. One was a brown unicorn with a creamy mane with a wrench cutie mark. I think her name is Silver Spanner or Quickfix. Her special talent is repairing stuff, I know she fixed Miss Bon Bon's radio once and she's fixed Rarity's sewing machine, she doesn't really get out much except for cider season. She lives near the same spot as Doctor Whooves' junk pile we 'borrowed' the flux capacitor from. The other was this really light blond mane earth pony mare with a dirty beige coat with a thunder hammer cutie mark. She lived near Quickfix's place, she's a blacksmith I think. She's good at making horseshoes for pegasi. I heard one pony say she had a sandwich cutie mark when she first came to Ponyville, but that's just silly right? Ponies just don't change cutie marks, right? I THINK her name is Mjolnir, no I don't know how to pronounce that, other times she claimed it was 'Thor.' Ponies kinda left her alone. All I know is she's really strong, and Apple Bloom said AJ got some metal stuff from her sometimes. I remember Apple Bloom telling me that they tried to drink themselves silly on the 'not-messed-up' cider the Flim Flams left behind, until Applejack reminded them that cider was still made with Apple apples. "I can't remember WHY I agreed to a cider drinking contest with you AGAIN after fighting those monsters!" Silver Spanner groaned. "Father Odin! Why have thou forsaken me? Why have we be struck ill of trying to drink and be merry like in the glorious halls of Valhalla?" "Maybe he's trying to teach you a lesson about drinking, maybe you should stick to things that won't poison you. A father wants his foals to be well right?" I didn't recognize this Nurse Pony, she had the cap though. She was pink, had a pink, blue, and white mane. Her eyes were blue. Odd for a nurse pony, her cutie mark was a pair of ice skates. That was weird! I knew everypony in Ponyville...it was PONYVILLE! Everypony knows everypony!...Pinkie Pie would probably be throwing her a party now if...if she...change subject! This time it was Scootaloo gasped as Nurse Battleaxe, ugh, I mean Nurse Sweetheart, was looking us over. "Glitter Glide?" Scootaloo slowly trotted towards her. Huh? Blanky growled at her. Uh-oh. + "Glitter Glide, what are you doing here?" I asked, trotted right to her. She turned and smiled at me. "Why, it's Nurse Glitter Glide, Scootaloo." "Gltter Glide, how are you here?" I asked again. She looked the same way as everypony else here...but... She looked uncomforted. "Scootaloo, I've always been here." The way she said it...it was like she was scared. Her eyes wandered to my braid, and her eyes widened. The words just poured out of my mouth. "Your special talent is ice-skating, not nursing. You were named Best Friend Of the Year once. I served you at the outdoor roller cafe I worked at. You're the one who taught Minty how to ice-skate. You helped me and Cheerilee learn how to ice-skate. You had this little pink crown you'd wear while performing. You and Goody-Gumdrop-" I heard a dog growl behind us. It made my fur stand on end. She covered my mouth. "PLEASE, Scootaloo!" The look in her eyes, she was scared, she was begging. "Light shines so bright in this bubble compared to the others, and I was lucky to slip in while things were still forming." "Bubble?" I echoed. The dog growled again, bigger, loader this time. I was a little scared too. She leaned down and whispered. "Please, Scootaloo! I can't say anything wrong or I'll disappear! I promise I'm not doing any harm! Please, Scootaloo! I...I feel again while I'm here...please..." I felt this big black shadow over us. Glitter Glide looked ready to burst out crying. So scared. So alone. So cold. So empty just wanting to be whole again. She didn't feel the same as Fiesta Flare, like something wasn't missing. I made a choice. "Nice to see you again Nurse Glitter Glide, keep up the good work!" The growling stopped and the shadow vanished. "Nice to know I'm appreciated." She played along and went back to looking after her patients. It's funny, I swear it was like things had begun to slow down around us as that shadow had fallen over us. But that WAS Glitter Glide. Ponyville, the happy-land Ponyville, LOOKED small, but it was like you had every earth pony in the world there. So many of us, and all of us dear friends. Nurse Sweetheart didn't really seem to notice I'd wandered off, but Apple Bloom, Sweetie, and that creepy new pet of hers sure did. "Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said, "What was that all about-" "SHHHH!" I put a hoof to my lips. I pushed Blanky down into Sweetie's saddle bag with another. "I swear, she's a friend I haven't seen in a really long time, but-" I whispered and made sure Blanky couldn't hear us in the bag, "She isn't supposed to be a Nurse." The look on Sweetie Belle's face told me she did NOT like me pushing around her pup like that and I stopped before things turned sour, Apple Bloom didn't look too happy either but didn't say anything. Then Sweetie Belle out of nowhere asked. "Nurse B- Nurse Sweetheart, are... are my parents here? Or Rarity? Or any of her friends? Or maybe Silver Spoon or Spike?" "I, no dear. I don't think any of them are checked in, but I'll double check with Doctor Redheart, if you want." "Yes, thank you." Nurse, I guess Doctor Redheart came in, with Doctor Stables alongside her. They were looking through folders and clipboards. She wasn't wearing the cap, she was wearing the same coat as Doctor Stables. Nurse Sweetheart trotted to her and gave her the load down on how we'd hurt ourselves this time. 'Doc' Redheart stepped right in front of us. "Hello, Sweetie Belle, thankfully none of your family or your friends are here. Why do you ask, anyway? Are they missing? Did they get hurt?" "Uh, no. Thank you." Sweetie Belle shuddered. "And Apple Bloom, could you please ask your sister to come in for more group therapy? There's no shame in admitting you have a problem." Apple Bloom looked 'Doc' Redheart right in the face. Her eyes widened and she fell on her flank. ++ Ah don't know what the deal was with Scootaloo, but a quick look with, well, the Truth, and she didn't seem any different than before she was talkin' with her out of town friend. Ah swear, Blanky looked like he was gettin' bigger for a bit before Scootaloo came back and he was the size he was before. What is with it? Ah don't know if ya know this or not, but my family and Redheart's? Our families have been friends since forever. Ah mean, nopony remembers when it started, a lot earlier than when Ponyville was founded. She fixes Granny Smith's back all the time! Ah kept lookin' at everypony here with the truth, none of 'em had...had those things inside what Ah hope is still Miss Cheerilee somewhere. Scootaloo's friend, she...Ah don't know how ta say it. It was like she was an outline filled up with somethin'. It was the same...well, it was a warm glow, it was cast on everythin', everypony. I did notice Redheart had a pendant around her neck that was like the statue in the lobby. When 'Doc' Redheart talked about Applejack, Ah did my hardest not to growl. Ah know Ah didn't think too hard how them stories as Gabby Gums would hurt Big Mac and Applejack's feeln's, until Applejack wouldn't even talk ta me and Big Mac was shouting our ears off how'd Ah humiliated them and they didn't want to so much as look at me! It was like Ah'd stabbed 'em right in the back! But now...Ah think Ah knew what other foals felt when our stories said things that were colored facts, tall tales, or things that were true but hurtful to THEIR big sisters. Then I looked her in the face and...maybe Ah didn't notice before cause that glow was just everywhere, or maybe cause there wasn't any fog anywhere or anythin' truly nasty lookin' with either of my eyes but... My other eye showed there was something inside Redheart, but...it wasn't darkenin' her, it was like it was makin' it brighter. No, that isn't right. Those things, Cheerilee and the others, it was makin' her less Cherilee! But here...it was like, this was somehow makin' her more Redheart than Redheart was before! "Apple Bloom, you okay?" Sweetie asked. "Ah...Ah, Ah don't think it's bad," Ah whispered, not knowin' what ta say. Redheart went to the crazy pony we'd brought in with us. He was the same grimy pink like the outside. Redheart touched him, all those sparkles from her hooves again, but brighter and more of them than Tenderheart. The hurts that Tenderheart didn't heal now closed up fine and bone fit back into place. "Now please, just rest." "Extermination Squad, the Glue Ponies, they finally came for me!" "You can tell us how you got injured later, please for now just rest." Redheart told him, before turning to us. "Now just hold still dears." We didn't get much chance to as she ran her hoof on us, those same sparkles as before appeared as our cuts and bruises vanished and we were in tip-top shape again. It felt warm...kinda like a hug...Ah know that sounds weird, but it just felt nice and warm. "So uh, can you just forward the bill to our big sisters?" Scootaloo asked. "Oh there's no charge for something as trivial as this, it costs us nothing to use the gift passed down from Saint Sweetheart. Though if your families would like to make a donation that'll be fine." "Oh, okay, thank you N-Doctor Redheart," Sweetie Belle said. That warm glow... it was comin' from what was inside her. But all the ponies around us, they weren't actin' like puppets. They weren't like Cheerilee with a bunch of parasites hijacking her. They weren't happy cause they were bein' MADE happy. They were happy, cause they were gettin' ta help ponies who needed help. They wanted tah help ponies. this was like their wish come true! And… all the stuff with Saint Sweetheart? She was smiling in all of 'em. Like she was sayin' she was happy they were helpin' cause of her. Okay, back up, Ah KNOW there's no way Ah could know that fer sure. But Ah was. Yeah, Ah've heard about Saint Sweetheart, Redheart's family talked about her on occasion, she was family after all, so Ah respected they respected her. But all the stuff she did was just a legend...like we thought Nightmare Moon was... All the hospital ponies here, they were all just a little bit brighter. "Now you three rest for just a moment and you'll be right as rain. Please tell Nurse Tenderheart how you got so hurt before you leave though, I know it's Crusader business, but hospital rules," Redheart said, going to the other hurt ponies. "Redheart!" Ah asked, thinkin' of somethin'. "Ya," Ah tried my hardest to think of how to ask this without soundin' weird. "Ya still pay respect to, er, 'Princess Gaia' right?" She blinked. "Fluttershy? She's a dear friend, and I, she's done good work for ponies here. Of course I respect her. Why do you ask?" Last I'd heard, Redheart was on the Princess Gaia Mailing List for her 'supporters.' "Oh," I tried to say 'No real reason' but I felt sick tryin' to. "Just bein' sure. Ya both do important stuff." "Why thank you. Excuse me." "Okay," I said and turned to my friends. "Now let's compare notes here." So we each talked about Miss Cheerilee, what made us run, what we'd all spotted, how things had gone this morning that felt like last year. The dreams we'd had, and what we'd done last evenin'. Scootaloo said the braid was really cause it was how she wore it when she hung out with old friends she had before moving to this Ponyville. 'This Ponyville' she said. Ah explained about mysteriously gettin' the worst headache ever from a dream about Nightmare Applejack and Nightmare Pinkie Pie. Scootaloo seemed, no, she was worried about lookin' me in the eye. So...so was Sweetie Belle but not as bad. Applejack, this is how ya felt? Blanky, he looked at me without even flinchin'. Ah guess animals are immune to Truth too. Ah...left out about what Nightmare Applejack said about Princess Luna wasn't kidnapped by Nightmare Moon, that she was Nightmare Moon, that Miss Fluttershy wasn't possessed when she turned into a monster. Ah...we were already confused and scared about so much, Ah didn't want to stir the pot MORE. We left the conspiracy pony in the room, he was crazy, and it was better he was here instead of out there. "You don't think, him being here will...'infect' this place do you?" Sweetie Belle asked. Ah thought about it. "If any place knows how to deal with an infection, it's a hospital. Otherwise, what else we gonna do with him? Carry him with us?" We went back to the lobby where Nurse Tenderheart was, we didn't feel like tryin' to be Cutie Mark Crusaders Candy Stripers today. We sat in a corner whisperin' to each other. We had to go by again..."Madam Lickety Split? Did he get turned into a girl and a werewolf?" Ah asked finally thinkin' about it. "No," Scootaloo said, "I got chased by his crazy gradma once, she thinks she's a dog." -Professor Layton Vs Ace Attorney Bewitching Puzzle- Ah thought about this. Everythin'. The hospital. Redheart. Her family. Saint Sweetheart. Ah asked, "Sweetie Belle, why did ya call Nurse Sweetheart 'Nurse Battleaxe'?" "I...I don't know...It was just a feeling...like she wasn't nice." "Well she sure was nice there." "I know...does she have one of those thingies inside her making her be nice?" "I, I didn't SEE anythin' like that inside her. The only one who did was Redheart, and it, it was like the OPPOSITE of the ones inside Miss Cheerilee." And Ah told 'em the differences. Scootaloo asked. "If all this stuff turned everything nasty, why is this place MORE nice than it was before? Did all the nice in the world get put in here instead?!" "No,” Sweetie Belle said, "I don't believe that. Whenever Fluttershy was nice to somepony, she didn't make somepony else in the world be mean instead. Did she?" Ah thought about the Foal Free Press, all the nasty lies in it that were suddenly true. But... Gabby Gums... we three weren't under evil mind control and blanking out and writing those nasty stories and then waking up without even remember doing it were we? The scary part about that sort of thing is that ya can never know for sure. But that didn't make sense. If we didn't remember doing it because we were under a spell, that would mean the spell did it instead, and then we wouldn't have been able to write squat! I shook my head. No. No way. No how. Not happenin'. Mr. Vendetta Mask. Ah wasn't turnin' inta him. Ah wasn't gonna go crazy chasing after every little possible thing that might be true or Ah'm scared is true! Use yer head, Apple Bloom, use yer head. Think. Them stories about Saint Sweetheart, about her bein' able to heal ponies with a touch, they've been a around a lot longer than anypony we know has been alive. They didn't spring up yesterday. But it came true along with all them nasties lies in the paper. Them nasty stories weren't around until the paper started givin' 'em out. They weren't around as long as the stories about Saint Sweetheart. And Button Mash bein' Sweetie Belle's coltfriend wasn't in the paper neither. Everythin' about Saint Sweetheart said nothin' bad ever happened in her place. Everypony was safe with her. This hospital sure counted as 'her house' now I guess. Barkin' Mad, acting like a dog...how many ponies saw her down the street chasin' after Scootaloo? All them stories Mr. Vendetta Mask kept spreadin' around? Ah thought of all those ponies the nurses were helpin', nopony said much of anythin' about Carrot Top, not when she lived right next to our farm and ponies liked to talk about us. Seaswirl, some ponies thought she had to be a seapony in disguise, she even went as one one Nightmare Night after she lost a bet. PON-3? Some joked she had to be a vampire with how she stayed up late at night and slept during the day sometimes. Mjolnir and Silver Spanner? They keep to themselves, with the much more weird Doctor Whooves livin' nearby, nopony really notices them. "It's not just what was printed in the newspaper. It was whatever a whole bunch of ponies THOUGHT was true!" I shouted. Nurse Tenderheart 'shushed' us. Ah explained my idea to my friends like Ah just said. "So...you're saying, a whole bunch of ponies thought me and Button Mash were special friends?! How does that make sense?!" "I dunno. Maybe somepony said it as a joke and it went from there." "So let's tell a whole buncha ponies how the world is supposed to be and everything'll be fixed!" Scootaloo declared. "Before or after they try to eat our brains?" Ah asked. "Hey! Maybe if we can get to the school newspaper, we can fix things up. those papers change to whatever is written on'em in the printing room remember? So we just need to change what they say!" Sweetie Belle offered. "Let's hope ponies are still botherin' to READ IT after everythin' turned nasty," Ah said. "HEY!" Scootaloo grinned. "I've worked paper routes for three years! Even if that magic paper isn't working anymore I can still get it to every pony in Ponyville no matter how crazy they've gotten!" She buzzed her wings proudly. "That poser's got nothing on us," Sweetie Belle said with a cat like grin, "We're the original Gabby Gums! If anypony knows how to spread stories whether they're true or not it's us!" Sweetie said with maybe a little too much pride about that shameful moment in our lives. "We're gonna get back everything back to normal in no time!" Scootaloo cheered as loud as she dared. "This time the REAL Gabby Gums is gonna tell everypony the truth!" "Finding the master copy and healing the damage done by all of this foolishness? That is a good plan." We looked to see a brown pegasus foal with broken wings and a jack-o-lantern cutie mark. Blanky went back inside Sweetie's saddle bag. "Boo." Phobia grinned at us. "Nice to see you girls got here okay. I was visiting Button Mash and he seems okay too." "Phobia, why are ya here?" Scootaloo asked. "Oh just here for a regular checkup," he said, "And to check on you three. It's nice to see you girls still have your heads on straight." "How do you know Button Mash?" "We're...we're friends. Well, acquaintance at least. He'll be VERY HAPPY to know you're okay Sweetie Belle." Sweetie Belle blushed and said quickly. "Where's Miss Void?" "She..." Phobia wilted. "She's lost. I don't know where she is. When this nonsense was dumped over everything, she, she got caught up in it." "We're sorry," Ah said, lookin' back at mah Crusader cape. "She'll . . .she'll be fine, she's tougher than a rock and twice as cool and collected, well, as long as you don't try bossing her around." Phobia gave a smile that Ah could tell was slightly forced. Ah can't remember which of us said it first when it hit us. "Wait! Ya remember what's happened?!" Another 'Shush!' from Nurse Tenderheart. We didn't notice. Our hearts leapt. Somepony...somepony besides us remembered! Ah knew we weren't crazy, but, it felt GOOD to have one pony more! We didn't hesitate to hug him. We were careful not to damage his wings. He looked really surprised by the hug. We didn't know 'em all that well, but he was still a port in the storm. There were bits so far that Ah thought the whole world was gonna crush us! Having another pony who remembered how the world was supposed to be, it made everythin' a little bit brighter. "Oh...I guess I do remember. Funny how that works. But you should Understand, that me remembering Isn't The Point. With all this nonsense going on, can anypony really account for everything? I'm not sure Void remembers now. Maybe I should be surprised I remember when she might not." When Phobia said that...he sounded old. Sweetie Belle patted him on the shoulder. "It's, it's okay if you're scared, I'm scared too," she said. "That's how I keep from panicking, I'm always scared," he said. "Don't worry about it!" Scootaloo grinned. "As long we fix this mess, it doesn't matter what happens! It'll be like a bad dream! That's how this stuff works!" "...That may not be exactly true,” Phobia said, this is the first time Ah think Ah've seen 'im not smile. "You agree with me that you'll be 'healing' the damage done to everypony by this nonsense with your plan?" We all nodded. "In any video game you'd care to name, no amount of healing spells can help a character after their heath drops to zero." Ah felt my heart chill. Sweetie Belle wilted. Scootaloo stuttered. "B-but, if it happens because of all this crude that never actually happened, that means after we clean it up, that never happened!" Now Phobia looked sad. "Look around you, can you really tell these grown-ups that this hospital hasn't always been dedicated to Saint Sweetheart? This nonsense hasn't just changed what is, but changed what was. Unless you can heal things, it's what you remember that never happened." Ah felt sick. The others looked mighty green themselves. "But that doesn't make sense!" Scootaloo stomped her hoof. "If that's true, then even if...even if...even if something REALLY BAD happens to somepony, after we fix things, then it never did!" "Alright, answer me yes or no, do you believe in an afterlife?" We all nodded. Ah never met 'em, but Ah know Ma and Pa are lookin' out over me. "And do you believe in separate worlds out there? I mean really separate, not 'you can get there if you travel long enough' like say the moon." Ah thought of those crazy places we visited when we traveled sideways through time. We nodded again. "Would you say the afterlife counts as a separate world?" We looked at each other, but nodded. "And what happens in separate worlds don't effect each other, right?" Ah thought of what happened in that one world I saw, with AppleGem who was the bully and Diamond Tiara was the one Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stood up for. Ah nodded, but the others just tilted their heads at me. "If a pony...goes to the afterlife...and it counts as a separate world...then why should what happens in this world pull them out of that world? What if what came back, was a completely different pony on the inside?" "That's a whole lot of 'ifs.'" Scootaloo pointed out. "The whole world is full of 'ifs,' and you should never 'if' yourself into doing nothing." All the same, Ah could tell Scootaloo was as shaken to the core as we were. Phobia tapped his chin. "Okay, do you remember Mr. Vendetta?" "We were just with him not five minutes ago." "You brought him here when he was badly hurt, right?" "Yes..." "Why did you do that?" "...Because I was afraid he wasn't gonna make it," Sweetie said. "How would you feel if you left him behind and I told you what I just did? Even if what I said was just a possibility?" Ah shuddered. "...Probably pretty guilty..." Phobia nodded. "Then does it MATTER if my theory is just a theory? Is that a chance you want to take?" "...We can't worry about every fear we have, this world would drive us nuts," Ah said, and Scootaloo nodded hard. "That is true, but some things are worth the risk, aren't some things not worth them?" ...We risk gettin' hurt all the time...but we never risk anythin' we think is gonna do us in . . . "HEY! How did you know we brought him in here?!" Scootaloo demanded. "It's kind of hard to miss the stallion spitting blasphemy in a religious place. Sticks out like a plastic spoon among silver forks." "I MEANT how do you know WE brought him here?!" Scootaloo got in his face. "Because I saw you carrying him." "We didn't see you anywhere and we had our eyes out for monsters!" Ah gotta admit, that's suspicious. Ah looked at 'em one eye and the other, but Ah didn't see anythin' different. Still a scared foal like us. Phobia pointed to his Cutie Mark. "My special talent is scaring ponies, it comes with 'be good at sneaking around'. I can as unnoticed as a shadow if I want. I didn't WANT you to see me." "WHY?! If you're scared too, why WOULDN'T you want to help us? Are you a spy?" Phobia facehoofed. "What were you doing that entire time?" "Talking to Tenderheart." "And what would have happened if a little pegasus with broken wings interrupted that conversation?" "...It'd probably have stopped..." "And I found what you were talking about interesting. I was a little worried this place might not be safe, but that conversation put THAT worry to rest." Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "Why?" "Simple: this is a holy place, and in most horror films..." My eyes widened. "You heard us talking about HORROR FILMS?!" Phobia shrugged. "Anyway, unless some annoying commentary on religion, what is it horror movie monsters can't do in holy places?" "...Enter them..." "Exactly, so that means this hospital is actually safe...but if I'd just walked up, we might not have know that." "Barking Mad is here,” Scootaloo pointed out. "Really? Why did they say she was here?" "…She's a patient…" Sweetie Belle said. "I think." "Ah! That explains it, after all werewolves are often believed to be poor cursed souls, wouldn't invoking a Saint's healing power to exercise that curse make sense?" We looked at each other, Ah've had to deal zombie curses, but werewolf curses that didn't exist before? Ah liked it better when Ah could just say curses weren't real and call it a day. "It was great seeing you girls. I am happy to see you're okay. But I have some things to take care of that won't wait. Including seeing if I can find Void. And you have some classmates to save now that you have a plan, but that's something I can't help with." He fluttered a little his broken wings. "This is something you need to learn on your own. Sorry." "What?" Scootaloo balked. "Okay. Back up. I know your wings are hurt but I bet Nurse Redheart can fix them, she said before she HELD BACK on fixing Dash's wings! And seriously! Haven't you ever watched a horror movie? The pony who breaks off from the main group always turns up later as a zombie!" "Maybe I'm the hero with a separate story going on?" "That NEVER HAPPENS in horror movies!" Scootaloo shouted. Phobia shrugged. "Maybe this horror story isn't actually a 'movie,' then. Could be you're in more of a miniseries, or one of those experimental new video games with deeper narrative complexity. You should try one of those sometime." Rather than try to argue with this, Scootaloo turned from Phobia and shouted, "Nurse Tenderheart! We have a friend over here with broken wings! Can you have Nurse Redheart help him?" "MY?! What?! I didn't notice the doors open! Let me see you!" "Hey! Wait! What! Let me go! I command ye mortal!" "I hear that one all the time," Nurse Tenderheart said. "Don't worry." Sweetie Belle said, "We'll wait for you to heal up." "Ugh! You can't do this!" "You'll be better able to look for Void with us, and with healed wings right?" Scootaloo said rationally. "Trust Me when I say this: you have two 'movies' you could be in. The one where somepony dies by going off alone, or the one where that character actually was important and comes back when you need it. And doesn't the fact I made it here myself show I'm not helpless?" "You girls can discuss your fun make-believe rules after my sister helps you, please," Tenderheart said nicely. "Wow, is that a spider on your neck?" Phobia pointed. "Nice try kid," Tenderheart smirked. "Sorry. I actually didn't want to do this, BOOGA-BOOGA!" Then Phobia made this creepy face that made my heart skip a beat, Tenderheart gasped and let him go. Then he slipped underneath Nurse Tenderheart's shadow. She looked between her legs and...nothing? "Where'd he go?" Scootaloo said. We all looked around. Nothing. "I need to tell the others to look out for him, I"ll be right back!" Nurse Tenderheart galloped off. “Phobia, ya still here?" I called out. I tried lookin' with the truth, but there was nada. "Don't worry about Phobia. He can take care of himself, but you need to take care of ponies who can't, that why doctors do, and that's what you girls want to do right?" + In the last hour I've now met three ponies from the memories of a life I never had. This time I kept from gasping out her name. Sitting behind the desk now, was a purple mare with a birthday present cutie mark. Around her waist was a satchel. Her mane was white, with strips of pink and blue and dark blue eyes. She also had some white swirl marks on her forehead and back. "Where did you come from?" Apple Bloom said doing the thing with her eyes again. "Who are you?" Sweetie Belle asked. "My name is Razzaroo. I was in the archives. It's not good to leave this place empty so many times so this time I snuck out. I don't think I'll be staying here for long, I have some places I need to be. But as long as I'm here, how about I write your progress? After all, you were supposed to write that down before leaving the hospital, it's in the rules." Sweetie Belle asked, "Uh, you aren't going to trap us in a magic book, or changes details about us once we're 'written down' that changes the real us are you?" + "Sweetie Belle, it's okay, we can trust her," Scootaloo of all ponies said. Huh? Okay. I took Scootaloo by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, deeper until she started sweetin'. Then she shouted, "I WET THE BED UNTIL I WAS FIVE!" I trotted back as Scootaloo glared at me. "Don't ever do that again!!!" "Apple Bloom how could you?" Sweetie Belle gasped. I shuddered and bowed my head. "Sorry, Scootaloo it's just .. . yer kinda the..." I tried to think of a nice way to say it. "Know best not to trust strangers." "She's not a stranger she's...from the same place Fiesta and Glitter are." "Which is where?" I asked, to which Scootaloo hemmed and hawed a bit. "It's nice to see you again Razzaroo," Scootaloo smiled at her. "It's, nice to see you still remember me, Scootaloo." Razzaroo leaned down and snared a nuzzle with Scootaloo. Both of 'em acted like the other was a ghost that would go poof if they looked away. "I'm sorry we can't catch up, but I have responsibilities I need to take care of." + I sighed. I remembered when Rainbow Dash had to call things off for her weather work. I swear I didn't secretly cry after Twilight Sparkles gave me these memories...I mean, there's no way a little foal crying to herself would get left out of stores of a big battle to free Canterlot from invading bug ponies, right? Razzaroo was a friend who was somehow back from the erased world from everything going on. Maybe Pinkie Pie spread stories about them and that's how they're here? I don't care. She's a friend. "Alright, I...I understand." "Thank you Scootaloo. So uh, want me to record your progress?" She looked right at me. + Maybe Ah'm usin' Truth too much, but with all the bad things we keep runnin' inta, better safe than sorry. She...it wasn't really the way she looked even with those funny marks on her. It was more like a feelin', it was like bein' near Princess Celestia. "Uh, yeah, thank ya." If Ah was right, and things were based on how much ponies thought was truth, then writing down what we knew was for the best right? We...we didn't even really think about it, we just, let it all out, Razzaroo, she was holdin' the pen with her hooves but that didn't feel that weird. Then we just stopped right where we were, it was like comin' out of a dream. Ah looked at the clock, it hadn't really moved all that much since Razzaroo began to write stuff down. Oh right, like the clock at school...but this one was tickin' forward. Ah didn't think about it when we brought in Mr. Mask. Ugh! This is makin' mah head hurt. "Thank you girls. I hope to see you later.” Razzaroo smiled. "So back...back to school...back to Cheerilee," Scootaloo said. "But how?" Sweetie Belle asked. "And... why?! Couldn't we call the head doctor ponies at the asylum and let them know that something's not quite right with our teacher?" Scootaloo looked Sweetie right in the eyes. "If the whole world wasn't crazy! If we can even find the place we're likely gonna end up locked up in there ourselves! Even if they're sane, it's always the authority figures who get never-heard-from-again when they try to help." "They don't have the truth. My gift lets me see the truth, so Ah'm gonna see the truth of which way to get back!" We were run back where we'd run away from before. Now Ah know how Applejack's friends felt stormin' the castle. + Uh, hi, sorry Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, and I guess me too... the way we keep skipping back and forth between us telling the story but...that's just how we are. I'm sorry if it's making things confusing. "Good luck, Scootaloo, please help Cheerilee?" "You know I will," Scootaloo nodded. Scootaloo and Razzaroo hugged and out of the watercolor hospital's inside we marched...back into that ugly pink world with everything was like a grimy sketch. But we were still ourselves. We were still the way we remembered Equestria being. None of us were that confused about the fallen trees and the monster being all gone. Apple Bloom looked about the fog and said, "This way." This time we didn't question her. We weren't going to be scared of the fog. In we went after Apple Bloom; Scootaloo, me and Blanky. She didn't hesitate for a second, she knew exactly which was she was going! But it was all pea soup for the rest of us, and we held onto each other's tails'. Scootaloo buzzing her wings to keep from having to swim through it. Here comes our imagine now Our moments haven't gone We still have our vital signs, the game's not over, we're one Home's not lost for interpretation We sat and watched your colors run Down our faces one too many times Your heart's poisoned, we'll make it undone, But try to shut us out Closing the doors We'll break through somehow We won't lose our way > A Pinecone Vs A Blue Lily > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It didn't take nearly as long to get to the school from the hospital as vice versa. We stepped out of the fog like it was a straight up wall in a pegasus house. And there was that ugly faded that sky you couldn't tell day from night from. So this was it. We go into the school basement. Write a retract on the newspapers. And the world goes back to normal. +++ The Cutie Mark Crusaders all slowed as their approached the school house. A shiver went down their spines. They had to summoned up their courage to keep moving forward. Scootaloo remembered the voice that had screamed at her to run, but she hadn't been able to tell who it was when scared out of her mind. Apple Bloom remembered that, that thing her truth had seen in place of Cheerilee. And Sweetie Belle remembered, the headline about foals dying in a theater fire, a vision of Cheerilee throwing familiarly colored flowered into a bonfire, and that horrid perfectly natural feeling that the play was where she belonged. They forced themselves to keep moving forward as they made it right next to the school house. None of them making a peep. Apple Bloom kept scanning around them with her truth-infected eye for any nasty surprises. They inched along with their backs against the wall like thieves. Moving closer and closer to the basement and the magic printing press that would fix everything. But though the fillies strained their ears, but there wasn't a sound. Not even the faint scratching of pencils. The inside of the classroom was completely quiet. Before anypony could stop her, the foal who knew the best about making noise stuck her head up looking through a window and gasped. Apple Bloom and Sweetie pulled her down. "It's empty!" "What?" Her friends gasped and looked up as well. Indeed, the classroom was empty. "Maybe school's out?" Sweetie Belle asked. Apple Bloom looked in again, that not ticking clock mentioned in their meeting. "There's no way. Miss Cheerilee should still be here." "We better check the basement's windows," Scootaloo said, "I-in case somepony had dreamed up a monster in the basement." "Girls? Don't you remember the school schedule? Today is the day of the school play, remember?" The fillies turned to see Phobia, the little colt standing on the pink dead grass next to them. "Phobia? Did you find Void?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Naw. I'm just excited that Miss Cheerilee didn't assign any homework for after the play. Isn't that cool?" Sweetie and Scoots looked at each other. Their strict but loving teacher not give out homework? "So, shouldn't you girls hurry along to the play? The grown-ups are saying how the play's gonna be a killer." Sweetie Belle's eyes widened. "I saw it! Theater burning down! Remember? Cheerilee, her, throwing, flowers into a fire! It's not just us! It's the whole class!" "She's gonna burn down the theater with everypony inside!" Apple Bloom cried, not believing what she was saying. "Apple Bloom," Phobia said coldly, "Does your family just burn weeds while they're still in the ground?" "No we...we pull'em out by the roots first." "So why would you set fire to something, that can still break free? Still escape? That was still alive?" Apple Bloom turned pale, fighting the urge to vomit. "WE GOTTA GET TO THE PRINTIN' PRESS NOW!" Scootaloo ran to a small window and looked inside. Horror, rage, indignation, dismay, with a light sprinkling of despair rushed through her. "They're! It's! Gone! Not here! Empty! The basement's completely empty!" "WHAT?!" Her friends echoed for the second time in so many minutes. They knocked her aside and looked. Just dust and foundation, not even records, like it hadn't been used in years. "IT CAN'T BE!" Apple Bloom screamed, closing one eye and then the other repeatedly. "It's gotta be a trick! It's gotta! A secret compartment! It's just outta view of the window! It's now on the ceiling! Something! Come on! We gotta search every nook and cranny!" "We don't have time!" Scootaloo shouted. "We gotta get to the play before somepony gets killed!" "Like us?" Apple Bloom asked hotly. "NOT IF WE CAN HELP IT!" "That's why we gotta find the printin' press now! It's gotta be here! It couldn't've just moved!” "What if...what if it's just gone?" Sweetie Belle asked quietly. "NO WAY!" This time Apple Bloom and Scootaloo echoed. None of them noticed when Phobia had taken his leave. Apple Bloom looked around at discarded issues of the Foal Free Press around the playground. "The paper still exists, so the printin' press still exists! That's just simple logic!" "But we don't know where it is! The new 'Gabby Gums' must've moved it! But we know where the play is happening! And we know what's GOING to happen if we don't do something!" "But the clocks in the school aren't moving, that meant we had all the time in the world right?" Sweetie asked. "That's if this place was playing fair!" Scootaloo said, "In creepy stories, five minutes can last forever, or three years can be like half an hour!" "Ah'm bettin' nothin' is gonna happen as long as we don't go there! Phobia said we were 'supposed' to be there! That means if we aren't there, this creepy place has to MOVE US there or it can't do a thing!" "We don't know that's how it works!" Scootaloo snapped. "We don't know it ain't!" "You wanna risk our friends over that?!" "Ya wanna risk everypony?!" Apple Bloom threw up her forelegs. "You mean like Sunnytown didn't want to risk everypony?" Scootaloo asked, she then gasped and covered her mouth, trying to shove the words back in. Too late. "Scootaloo," Apple Bloom took a trot back from her, ears pinned back. "How-- how could-- you-- How can you say that?" In that moment, Scootaloo couldn't remember feeling so horrible. "A-Apple Bloom, I...I didn't mean-" "Yes, you did!" Apple Bloom hissed, that terrible, terrible eye of truth began to bore into Scootaloo like a knife in the gut. "...Okay, so maybe I did!" Scootaloo snapped. "It's a painful memory to you for a reason, Bloom. Don't be like those horrible ponies, or you'll turn out just like them!" Sweetie Belle held her head and screamed. "I just wanna go back to being a filly! Rarity! Chrssy! Mom! Dad! Spoony! I don't wanna play this game anymore! I hate creepy stories! I don't wanna argue over us dying or our friends dying instead... So STOP IT PLEASE!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stopped and looked at their friend, blinked and looked at each other. It was like coming out of a dream, but there was no mind control here. "Sorry, Sweetie Belle." "...Ah guess we're wastin' time and not doin' either of our points any good, are we?" Apple Bloom asked, looking down. "Apple Bloom I'm sorry," Scootaloo said. "I'm sorry I said that. I really am! I DON'T think you're like them! At all! But-but-but PLEASE! I don't want Cheerilee to be made to do that to our friends. You can search here if you want! But I have to save them, and her!" "Didn't you say splitting up is a bad idea?" "The WORST idea in scary stories is splitting up. But you said it yourself, if we're all 'supposed' to be there but only one of us is, it can't start. If I'm right then I can save Cheerilee...And if your theory is wrong, then I have to save her." "And what makes ya think ya can?" "...Because why would we be trusted to save the world if we couldn't?" "Doesn't mean one of us!" "I will." Scootaloo flew off towards the school theater. 'Rainbow Dash, Miss Twilight, I'm sorry, I don't wanna leave my friends and do this all on my own, I promise. But, but she's my sister!' 'Mom. Dad. I'm not losing anypony else! Not when I can do something!' +++ I hadn't flown this fast when I'd been carrying Sweetie Belle on my first flight being chased by changelings. Thanks for the lessons Dash. Flying high in the air, I could see where the fog became super thick all of a sudden around the school and places, like there was nothing beyond it. Focus, Scootaloo! I zoomed in towards the stage theater, it was bigger than it was supposed to be, maybe, my head felt funny just looking at it! There wasn't anypony in any of the seats. The theater wasn't on fire, so that meant the play hadn't started yet! I skidded to a stop right outside he theater. It hit me like a ton of bricks. How was I supposed to save Cheerilee? Maybe I could lock her in a closet until we save the world? That works...exactly never in horror stories. Maybe if I punched her a lot it would make the monster inside her go away? That's how it worked in movies right? It would be for... her own good right? But in horror stories...there never was a way to save somepony taken over, the pony was infected and that was it, the hero had to take them down with the rest of the monsters. I shook my head! No way! If there wasn't a way I was gonna make one. I'm gonna be a vision! Just go with gut instinct, like saving Sweetie from the Bug Queen! But how? I would! I didn't really think this through did I? So what! No plan to save my sister? My friends were going to be so angry when they show up as zombies in the next scene. No they wouldn't! But if they did? They won't! They will. "AGH!" I held my head. Maybe if I messed things up enough the play would be canceled before Cheerilee can...be made to do bad things! After all the hard work the class put into it? Cheerilee would be so upset! "Stop it!" I ground teeth closing my eyes for a second. I opened them again, I looked at the braid I'd made my mane into. It was so much more cool than those silly pigtails she wore. Heh. Right it was. I held my pinecone pendant with one hoof. But even if she gets on our nerves sometimes- -Heh, more like I always got on her nerves. I love her all the same. So much. I keep holding the pinecone pendant for a sec'. Alright. Let's do this. I go to the back door, I hear foals' voices inside, and Cheerilee's! I barge in without even thinking, stopping dead in my tracks, so does my heart for a second. Out of all the horrible things I've seen so far. This capped them all. Friends, classmates, and foals I barely knew alike, wrapped up in contraptions, that calling torture devices would be too nice. Oh Celestia, do I have to describe them? I don't wanna. T-there...there was three muscle charged fillies, Checkered Flag, Grace Lightning, Hot Wheels, I didn't know'em well. I knew they teased Dinky once and are big roller derby fans. They were running for their lives on a tread mill. They were wearing dog collars strapped to the back of the tread mill that had...what I think was a wall of spiked wheels like a meat grinder... There was no sign of Dinky, she'd been late for school, yeah, that had to be it. A big weight was floating above Snails' little head, the rest of him strapped down. The metal block had the glow of Snails' magic around it. I noticed the weight wasn't supported by anything else. Snips was in a big transparent box with air holes, big enough for him to run around in a little. It also had these flaming snails slowly moving towards him. I knew these things. Spike and Silver Spoon once had a contest for The Bigger Egghead at the library (ugh), Spike won: and one of the random bits of useless stuff he recited was Fire Snails. They were cuddle happy with almost anything, but most other living things weren't fire proof. Snips looked tired, the fire snails kept smiling and wanting to snuggle, even if it set Snips on fire. Snip kept moving in the tiny hot box, but he didn't have far to run. Ruby Pinch, she was strapped down to a table with little clear tubs stuck in her mouth connected to a barrel of cider and another that smelled like old grape juice. She looked sick. Peachy Pie and Sunny Daze, those two were like peas in a pod. They were strapped into two chair facing each other. It was...ick...A contraption began try to force feed Peachy Pie peach pits. It stopped when Sunny Daze hit a button on her chair, and it opened a skylight with a big magnifying glass above her. This was bonkers. Where did all this stuff come from? Cheerilee wasn't a carpenter! How could she have put this all together?! I didn't see Sunny Daze's brother, Shady Daze, anywhere, please be okay. Where was Button Mash? Had he been in the class after the world got messed up? Please be at home you loser and be playing video games! Rumble...He'd gush about his brother all day. And practice flying non-stop at night. The only time I'd ever seen him inside was the time his brother was sick. Some fillies joked he was a vampony...looks like that story didn't come true. He was a contraption like the roller bladers, except he couldn't stop flying or he'd fall into a grinder like they would...and there was a splice together recording of his brother playing non-stop. "Rumble! You are! -totally -a- lose-r." PLEASE! DON'T MAKE ME DESCRIBE MORE! ...Just...just tell you who was there and ow I know them? Oh...okay. Okay, so, you want a roll call? Guess that makes sense. Archer, she has the same mane style as me, but didn't like it when others called her 'Blue Scootaloo.' She was also the unofficial 'fetcher' girl when balls went out of bounds at recess. Orange Top, but she says her name is Noi. She's Carrot Top's little sister. She...she went to Nightmare Night as a pink princess with one of those pointy hats. She's friends with Ruby Pinch and Pipsqueak. Huh? I'd never seen her before. She super dark purple and had a scruffy dark blue mane. She had an apple core for a cutie mark, was she part of Apple Bloom's family? Wait, hadn't I seen her playing video games at the outdoor arcade on Hearts and Hooves Day? 'Apple Bytes?' Where'd that name come from? It's almost surreal the way I always know every single pony's name, these days... is Pinkie Pie rubbing off on me or something? Aura, the girl with the teal mane, she was jumpy around carrots after the day the world went crazy. It was hard to forget her, she fell into Ponyville well once and got rescued by Rainbow Dash! Was it any wonder she was part of Dash's fan club? Uh, that's it. Piña Colada. She...she was a member of the Rainbow Dash fanclub too. She has a palm tree cutie mark, don't ask me what it means, I never asked her. She went Nightmare Nighting with us, she dressed up like a lady bug (she was something familiar about that costume). I think she's related to Berry Punch, maybe. And, that was it, that's all I knew about her. That...that girl is Firelock. I… she's a red and orange unicorn, I don't actually know anything about her except that she was a big fan of Gabby Gums. So many classmates...so many I barely knew. I'd locked myself up so much when I'd been making ends meet. besides Sweetie Belle I didn't have any real friends. And they were all going to die unless I did something! Wait...I knew those two! The colt and filly Pipsqueak's age that had messed around in my backpack and gotten me to put on my pendant! They had dunce caps on, they were gagged, and their eyes were tapped open. They were hogged tied and hooked to the ceiling. Their manes were shaved. On their flanks were written in red 'Whiner' and 'Loser'. They had bruises all over them. They were set up so they could see the whole room. And...she was in the center of all of it, like some creepy ring master. She looked like Cheerilee, she sounded like Cheerilee, she moved like Cheerilee, she spoke like Cheerilee, she smiled like Cheerilee. She looked at everything like she was just gardening. A blue lily was tucked in her mane. I felt my hoof stroked my braid. "Scootaloo, you're right on time." My brain was crashing. "But Apple Bloom and Sweetie aren't here…" "I know they're tardy, I'll have to punish them harshly when they DO get here." This didn't make sense! The audience wasn't here! When we compared notes, Sweetie said the headline said 'AFTER' the play! Did I miss it?! No! That made no sense! None of this made sense! This was going completely off-script! "W-What are you doing?!" "Weeding. I help make flower bloom. All I've had in my garden for too long is just weeds. Wastes of space with no futures who refuse to learn a thing, crowding out the real flowers. You're not foals, you're not ponies, and only alive as witch weed, you need to be taken out by the roots." That was when she flipped a switch that hadn't been there before, and the sides of a cage swung up around me and the door slammed and locked behind me. What the hay...that hadn't been underneath me before! Yeow! The bottom bars are as sharp as knives! "B-but the play hasn't started yet!" "…You have even more wasted potential than I thought if you figured that out. I don't expect you to understand, but a teacher has to change and adapt her plans sometimes. Especially when students suddenly run away from their teachers screaming bloody murder." I slid to the bottom of the cage. I was so wrapped up trying to save everypony, save her, I'd forgotten. The world was cheating. In my head I saw us all as figures in that Ogres and 'Orb-Blue-Lets' game Spike talked about. If that headline had come true, then it was gonna happen no matter what. The headline's writer has already decided what was gonna happen. All I could change was how it was gonna happen. "Goodbye, Scootaloo, I'm going to feed Apple Bloom your remains and tell her it's just tomato soup, until after she's done, heh." She waved at me like class was out. A metal plate began to descend from the cage's ceiling, a hole opened up underneath my cage. Maybe... maybe I was dumb. What was I expecting? Coming alone against a big mare like Cheerilee, no weapons, no sidekicks, no police, no real plan... what was I expecting? Maybe...maybe this more realistic after all...what kind of teacher wouldn't go insane with weeds like us? Before the world used to be brighter, happier, nicer, kinder. But perhaps I was finally getting to see the way the world really worked? This world had been remade so many times... maybe each time the world changed it became just a little bit darker, a bit more dirty. And Miss Void and the rest were just trying to cheat nature. I look up at the metal plate. It'll all be over in a minute. I was strung along from the start. I can't do anything... "Except... you've already done a lot, haven't you? You've learned a lot, haven't you?" Huh? I look up to those two foals, somehow the filly managed to get the gag off her mouth. "Yes, you have! This is your life! Not some by-the-book, paint-by-numbers movie! Don't play by a bully's rules!" Said the colt, now out of his gag too. Miss Cheerilee growled. "I thought I told you two to stay quiet, naughty naughty." ..."But I, I can't change anything." "YES YOU CAN! Think about everything you've done! Everything you've learned! Isn't it kinda a STUPID STORY for your role just to be here to die?!" the filly asked. The look on her face reminded me of me when I was really determined. Cheerilee slapped her. "Be quiet!" They were right. I was in charge of my own story! And I'm not going to have such a STUPID ending as to die like this! Grim world or bright world, I've still got SO MUCH to live for! My life is my own! My decisions are my own! I'm not some walking, talking plot device to be railroaded! Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Dash, I haven't even found out where my parents are! I want to yell at them and scream at them and shout and them and sob at them and hug and let them know I still love them! Yeah. My story won't end here! "BUCK ALL OF THIS GRIM DARK HORSEAPPLES! I'VE HAD MORE THAN MY FILL! GIVE ME MY BUCKING SPARKLES AND RAINBOWS BACK!" I pushed up against the metal plate, and spread my wings inside the cage, and flew, pushing back on it. Love and gumdrops, it still realistic to me! Dash is rad with being loving and kind too! It's the gritty horror stuff that's garbage! "Enough! This is retarded! You don't have a leg to stand on!" I felt the metal plate get heavier, except it was now a big square weight. The more I pushed on it, the bigger and heavily it got, growing before my eyes. "There's nothing you can do you're going to die!" "I'll be the judge of that!" Happy endings. Friends having fun. Ponies not getting hurt and coming out okay. A bright blue sky. Bad guys becoming good guys. Friendship being stronger than anything else! It's all still real to me! And I'll show it's still real! That world I remember now? I was fighting for it too I think. Even if I was an Earth Pony in that world, I could still fly on my scooter. Earth Pony. Pegasus. The weight kept getting heavier and pushing down to the sharp bars below. - Naruto Theme - The Raising Fighting Spirit - I bucked with my rear back legs. Pegasus flight fields? That let us fly even if we didn't have wings that were too big to fit in doors? It also let us fly with other things we were holding or pulling, making them lighter too. Thanks for those lessons Dash! I buzzed my wings like mad. And I felt the weight for a bit become lighter. As it became ultra-super-heavily as I knew it was gonna, I shifted its weight so for a bit it was a lot heavier on one side, and I pushed up, the entire cage groaned. And then the cage broke apart. "Go ahead! You're going to be ripped to shreds anyway!" the sides of the cage whirled at me, as sharp as the bottom one. And I remembered a pegasus who loved to sing, and her signature twirl. Like a leaf through the wind, like the blue butterfly on my rump, I slipped around the sides of the cage. "BUT THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" Starsong, thanks. Cheerilee looked too befuddled to move. Cheerilee. Sis'. She tried to kill me. She was trying to torture us to death. All for a bogus reason that wasn't even hers! "Good job Scootaloo! I knew you could do it!" cheered the little colt. "How do I know you?" I heard myself ask. I hadn't seen this colt in my old memories. "We haven't met before in this life, but souls exist in another world altogether, maybe we'd remember each other even if we met in another life?" Since the kids were hanging from the ceiling and behind Cheerilee, I saw motion in a skylight I'll admit I'm not sure was there a minute ago or not. It was Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom! Good, they didn't get turned into zombies! I saw their eyes widen at the horror show. They tried to jiggle the the skylight open but no dice. Apple Bloom turned around and gave the skylight a hard buck, the skylight didn't budge but I saw Apple Bloom cry out as he entire body shook. They then took a trot back, and Sweetie fired a green bolt of magic, it bounced off and ricocheted all over the place making them duck. Of course, since when can it ever be that easy in a horror movie?! Sweetie Belle got an angry look on her face and opened her saddle back and Blanky poked his head out. Sweetie Belle pointed at the skylight. That's when I heard heavy breathing that was more an angry growl of a feral animal. Cheerilee. Her eyes focused on me. The look in her eyes. It was like looking at that cockatrice. Then she whinnied in pain, throwing her head back. I saw claw and bite marks on her. In fact, I was having a real hard time remembering her ever NOT having those bleeding bite marks, like she'd always had them! I looked back at the...skylight right, there'd been a skylight there...but...I couldn't remember quite what it looked like. Sweetie Belle's pet. Sweetie Belle with Blanky began to leap down, maybe wanting to break her fall with her telekinesis but Apple Bloom grabbed her by the tail and pulled them back. Sweetie cried out, hard to hear over my crying and whimpering classmates. Then Apple Bloom pointed at something. Those hadn't been there before, I know they hadn't. A crisscross of thin, razor-sharp wires, covered the space below the skylight like a shredder. s I felt a bit faint. Sweetie Belle looked at Blanky and pointed again. I shouted. "NO! STOP!!! You're hurting Cheerilee!" My friends did stop, Blanky Whimpered. And Cheerilee, looked up at them too. "Finally, the rest of the weeds. Please try to run. You won't get far. You're now just flies in a web," Cheerilee said happily like she was giving today's lesson. This was so wrong. I looked at the blue flower in her mane, and stroked my braid. I know knew that smile through two memories. It might have looked the same, but everything that made it Cheerilee was missing. I hugged my pine cone pendant with one hoof. "If it's really there for somepony you care about, then you shouldn't take it off except for them," said the colt said. "If you think you've earned yourself a quick end then you're sadly mistaken." "Then you oughta remember those feelings," the colt said, "Real feelings can't be faked, real feelings don't just go away. On the other hoof, feelings don't care how they got made, it's your choices that make those feelings real." I'm keeping Cheerilee's attention off of everypony else...they, they'll be okay as long as she's not focused on them. The victim never dies unless the... the bad guy is watching them get hurt. "Even if the world is remade, what's inside hearts don't just go poof!" The filly said. "True feelings can pierce anything!" "Cheerilee, I have something important of yours to give you." "It's Miss Cheerilee weed, and what could a weed have that's important to me?" "It's important to both of us...big sister." I hear my friends gasp in confusion. Maybe they think the news paper curse has gotten to me too. The two foals both smiled from ear to ear. She blanches at me, then snorts. "Faking insanity isn't going to save your worthless non-life." "I can't forgive you, Cheerilee-" "As if I care-" "Because there's nothing to forgive This isn't your fault. You're not really a monster. And I'm going to help you get better." I was scared out of my mind. But I kept my voice even, and I focused on the memories of a sister of another world right in front of me. I held up the pendant to her. "Us and our friends together made an ornament just like this. Remember Cheerilee? Your heart does. I know it." She blinked. "When did you-but when did, that wasn't-" Huh? Had she really not been able to see it this whole time? "Look at it Cheerilee. Remember. We forgot about you when we decided to make decorations together even though it was your idea. We all gave something to make it up to you." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked like they had headaches, but I focused on my confused sister. The fog overhead looked like it was being blown outwards by a wind right above me and Cheerilee. -Song "Each And All" from Devil Survivor The Animation 2- Cheerilee's eyes widened then she shook her head like she was trying to throw something out. She looked almost like a scared animal trying to avoid a bear trap. I'm gonna get Cheerilee back! "You can't just make up stories and-" "I'm not making up anything. Look. I bet the real you remembers." - "If I had a little sister I'd have done the same," I half lied. I'm sorry Berry. "A pity Scootaloo doesn't seem to be your sister in this iteration of the universe." Pinkie Pie said. "Personally I think that was cruel on Hasbro's part. But at least you have her in your class now." I stared at her, I felt something in me react, like a blow, keys sticking into locks that no longer fit. I looked for something to distract from the unreal feeling. - I took off the pendant. "W-what do you mean 'real me?!'" "This ISN'T YOU! The real Cheerilee is sweet and kind, the best teacher somepony could hope for and the best big sister somepony could ever ask for! REMEMBER CHEERILEE!" I shoved it into her hooves and we looked each in the eyes. We both froze. - http://sta.sh/0c4g99p44fz - "Hey big sister I think...I don't think this ghost story is any good, I mean, if you were a teacher, you'd never do mean things like that. That isn't who you are," Scootaloo said, sitting next to the older earth pony around the camp fire. "I was only teasing Scootaloo." "Well it wasn't very funny," Scootaloo pouted. "It's hard to imagine you being scary." "Sorry. Next time I'll ask Storybelle for advice. She has some great ghost stories I bet." "Remember teaching me to ride my skateboard?" "I never expected you to get better than me." "Scootaloo, don't ride without your knee pads and helmet, it isn't safe." "Yes Cheerilee," Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the bigger pony. "Why're we doing this indoors?" "This is just so you can learn balance Scootaloo, this way they'll be something soft waiting if you fall over-" "Yeah-yeah I-whao!" "-like that." "Remember your flower garden?" Cheerilee's garden was filled with so many beautiful flowers. Some were green, a few were yellow (one of which had a cute little smiling snail on it). One of them was a grayish purple flower, a little purple butterfly perched on it like it was protecting it. The flowers didn't seem to have a specific order to them, but remained beautiful all the same. "Your garden looks great, Cheerilee." "Thank you, Scootaloo." "But I bet it's gonna drive drives Minty a little crazy. The green isn't altogether like she likes." Cheerilee chuckled, shaking her pig tails. "I know, but they couldn't grow their best if I sorted them just how I'd like them." "Huh?" Her big sister trotted over to the little grey flower and pointed to its base. "This one had to be taken to somepony else's garden for awhile before it could grow here. I had to make sure everything was ready when it came back." Scootaloo nodded. "Were there weeds?" "No, dear. There were some flowers that didn't get along with it, but they just needed some special care too." Scootaloo nodded, looking at various flowers. One group of them was a red flower with a yellow one with a red center, a white one with a purple center, and an orange one with a purple center. None of them taller or shorter than the others. Cheerilee grabbed a watering can and began to water those three. "Do you ever have trouble remembering what each flower needs, sis?" "No, but sometimes it takes patience to figure out which flower needs what," Cheerilee stated, giving an odd flower with alternating black and white petals a little attention. "But that's part of what makes it so much fun, no two flowers are exactly alike." "A lot of them look alike to me," The little sister said, looking at some of them. "That is true, but pretending they're all the same wouldn't be fair or nice, would it?" "Yeah, I guess you're right..." Scootaloo replied, giving a smile. "You're so smart, Cheerilee." Her big sister chuckled. "Thank you, but everypony can get smart, especially if somepony chooses to teach them." "You mean like you? You teach me all sorts of stuff." "I wouldn't be a good big sister if I didn't, would I?" Scootaloo hugged her big sister. She then turned back to the flowers. Her eyes fell on two in particular. One was silver or grey and the other was pink with white stripes down the petals. They didn't look quite right to her. "Are those weeds, sis? Something looks a little off about them." "Oh these aren't weeds, they're just flowers in some bad soil Scootaloo," Cheerilee said. Cheerilee trotted over and took a spade. She carefully, gently picked up the silver flower and replanted it next to the red, orange, and white flower Scootaloo had seen before. It seemed to instantly brighten up. "A weed is only a flower out of place, a good teacher helps them find where they can grow," she explains. Scootaloo nodded. "It looks happier there...but is it just me or does the pink flower look lonely know?" Cheerilee put a hoof to her chin. "Hmm...Yes, you're right. Let's fix that, shall we?" Cheerilee moved the pink flower next to the silver one, both looking that much brighter. "How's that look to you?" Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin. "Hmm...good, but you're the one who knows flowers." "That's because Wysteria taught me. I think those five flowers will be good for each other, especially if they get to know each other." The two chuckled. "...Have you ever had to give up on a flower, sis?" "No, Scootaloo. Sometimes I need to get some help, sometimes I need to move them somewhere else. But if I gave up on one, it'd be...oh, what's the word? Mean?" Scootaloo felt like that word didn't really belong for some reason. "Yeah it would...so you really like helping them grow?" Cheerilee nodded, watering the two flowers she'd just moved, lightly to make sure not to wash away the freshly moved soil. "Yes. I love it. Nothing feels better than helping a flower bloom, no matter how hard that might be." "...Even playing with me?" Cheerilee chuckled and kissed Scootaloo on the forehead. "You're my little flower, and by being a good big sister I'm helping you bloom." They hugged. - We hugged. We felt a rainbow shine from us. We felt the world shake. We kept hugging. This was our power, our force. Glowing white cracks popped over all the nasty gizmos. We realized the rainbow light was coming from the pinecone pendant. We felt happy. We felt warm. We felt...bright. That creepy blue flower burst into flames faster than tissue paper! We weren't even singed. "Scootaloo, little sister, I was...I'm...there aren't words enough for-" "You...some poison joke got in your garden sis', you put in your mane and it was making you act all wrong. Don't worry, it's all gone now and you're better now. You don't need to be afraid." To anypony watching in that moment, we know they weren't seeing a mare and a foal, they saw a pigtailed big sister and hugging her braided little sister. "I...I'm free." The light exploded liked a big white expanding ball, shattering everything as it went. Just as quickly as it started it was over. We were still hugging. Little sparkles floated down around us. We heard cheering all around us. - 'Reincarnation' Ghost Trick - I looked around, seeing all my classmate laughing and clapping their hooves. They were alright. They were alright! There wasn't a scar or mark on them! There wasn't a scared or haunted face in the club! "WHOA!" Apple Bloom shouted as she and Sweetie fell from the ceiling, Sweetie Belle's magic broke their fall. I finally broke my hug with Cheerilee as my best friends hugged me and I hugged back. My classmates made sure they were okay, like how Princess Celestia's taught us, like how we're supposed to be! I fluttered my wings, making my crusader cape billow. I really looked the part of a hero. Snips and Snails hugged each other hopping up and down. Checkered Flag, Grace Lightning, and Hot Wheels? For the first time I've ever seen them, they were in separate corners of the room, not wearing their skating gear. To me they always looked like they were looking for a fight, but they looked like they just wanted to snuggle and take a nap. Firelock created a few pretty sparks indoors, and nopony told her not to. That filly, Apple Byte, she didn't draw attention to herself, she didn't instantly try to make friends with us. She smiled at Apple Bloom, but that was it. Rumble lay on the floor smiling. Archer looked happy just to be able to lay still too. Alula and Piña Colada lay next to each other back to back. A lady bug landed on Piña's hoof, she gently nuzzled it. "You saved the day!" Ruby praised. "No wonder your mentor is Princess Celestia's secret daughter!" Oh yeah, that rumor. "Would you like to go on an adventure with us on our magical ship the Moon Pearl sometime?" Noi asked. "Uh." I didn't know how to answer that one. "Maybe sometime." She politely nodded. Those two little foals from before? I didn't see them anywhere. And nopony but me seemed to notice they were gone. Too bad, I...I wanted to thank them. You know their names? Creative Spirit and Pearly Gates? Thanks. Sunny Daze and Peachy Pie were hugging each other fiercely, nuzzling each other. Sunny asked where her brother was, but Peachy was sure he was safe at home. "Blackest nightmare made real. The light in our hearts did shatter the darkness. Today, Miss Cheerilee bloomed," Sunny Daze said. My sister blushed. Oh right, my big sister. I'll call her that whether you like it or not, so shut up. Heh. Yes I'm grinning. Her mane was in a pair of ponytails, and now she had our pendant around her neck instead. And her colors. They were back. Not that nasty stupid shade of pink. She didn't have that black sketchy shape. If anything, the way the light shined on her, it was like she had more depth than before. Like she was more Cheerilee than she'd been before! And it was like the colors were shinning from her. The room, our class mates, they didn't look like 'more of themselves' like my sister did, but at least they had their real colors back. This world looked so much better than in just one easy ugly shade. Ya know. If good things were easy, they wouldn't be something to look up to. UGH! Please forget I just said that! "Everypony," Cheerilee said, "The play is canceled. It's going to have a complete rewrite. I think the themes in particular need a major revision. I'll be sure to apologize to your parents." She never stopped smiling. "Your assign for the rest of the day is be with your friends and family." Everypony cheered. "And your homework tonight-" You have no idea how happy I was to hear Cheerilee say those words. Even as the rest of the class lightly groaned. "- write down the reasons you love your family. And please, ask them how they love you." Everypony smiled. Cheerilee had punch and cookies for everypony. They weren't magic, they weren't a old family recipe, it was just cookies and punch. We all ate up. "We must be off!" Ruby declared wiping her face. "Adventure awaits us beyond the horizon!" "Until we unite at school once more!" Noi added. "We shall give our best to captain Pipsqueak." They hugged their friends, and off they went, as they galloped through the door, I saw play time pirate costumes appear on them, and the sound of waves splashing, and they vanished into the fog. I knew saving Cheerilee wouldn't clean up every one of these magic rumors, but...all in all...being after-school pirates according to the rules of a game of pretend wasn't that bad. With all this fun going on, it was easy to forget there were still monsters out there, that used to be our friends and family, that it was our job to save. "So..." I asked. "Did you girls find any sign of the printing press?" They shook their heads. "It's gone, like it was never even there," Apple Bloom said sadly. "No secret doors, no hidden message, nothing." "What I find weird is that there WASN'T a booby trap," Sweetie Belle said. "I mean, if they did all this awful stuff, and somepony come looking for the presses, why not leave a booby trap?" "Which means the story didn't expect us to even go there," I said. "Ya mean Gabby Gums didn't," Apple Bloom said. "Gabby Gums?" "Whoever wrote all them stories? Whoever placed the curse. They didn't count on anypony even come looking for a way to fix it." "...You only set a booby trap if there's something to protect, and/or if you're counting on somepony looking for it," Sweetie Belle said. "Then why move the printing presses at all?" I asked. "Ah guess Gabby Gums wanted it someplace safer." "So..." I said. "Gabby Gums moved the printing press to somewhere else. But didn't think anypony would even remember to even look for it in the basement. Which means Gabby Gums doesn't know about us right?" Sweetie Belle said, "We can pray." Apple Bloom trotted right up to Cheerilee asked politely. "Miss Cheerilee, do ya know where the printin' press for the Foal Free Press is?" Cheerilee nodded. "The Tower of course." "What tower?" "The Tower, the Worlds Tower, the Spire at the Center of the Worlds dears. Is your hearing okay?" She asked genuinely concerned. "Uh, no, it's okay. So do ya know how ta get there?" "I've...never had to go there myself, but...how does that make sense...I know the paper used to be here but... I'm sorry dear, I can't seem to remember when the presses were moved. I think after what happened, I'll feel a bit confused." "Who owns the tower?" "Princesses Princess Erroria, and Princess Liza Doolots. Dear maybe you should rest after what we just went through." I feel proud of myself for now yelling out loud. All of us had out mouths open like we were trying to catch flies. "We've been real busy lately, doin' Crusader stuff," Apple Bloom said, "Can you tell us what's been going with 'em?" "Oh they've just been keeping Equestria safe from monsters like they always do." "Do ya know how ta get to the tower? me and my friends would like to tell'em what a great job they're doin'," Apple Bloom asked. "I...I'm sorry dear I can't remember right now, I"m sorry." Apple Bloom hugged Cheerilee and thanked her for her help before she took both of us by the shoulders and took us to one little corner of the room. Then Apple Bloom gave me that look. "Scootaloo, what did ya mean by callin' Miss Cheerilee yer sister?" "Uh...I was making up my own rumor to free her?" I asked, giving one of those weird smiles that everypony could know was hiding something. Sweetie Belle said, "Scootaloo, how could you? Isn't that mean to Cheerilee to make her think you're her sister? Even if it's to break the spell she was under?" "Spell nothin', Scootaloo, Ah... Ah told ya what Ah saw before, but now when Ah look at 'er, she's like Redheart! Those others things in her went bye-bye! Ya did more than just add another to the mix!" "So... can you explain to her you're not her sister now?" Sweetie asked. "Well, if she was never my sister, then I couldn't've freed her, right?" I asked keeping my cool. If I could lie about my parents I could lie about my sister. "BUT!" Sweetie Belle said, "What if we need to help MORE ponies before we find the printing press? Are you going to say you're little sisters to them, too? You can't be EVERYPONY'S little sister! You'd hafta come from a whole lotta parents all at once!" "Yeah! Besides, Ah thought it was Rainbow Dash ya always saw as yer big sister." "I do." "But we! We can't just leave Cheerilee thinking you're her little sister, it's... it's like we used love poison on her again!" Sweetie Belle said. Ugh...why couldn't that lie have just worked all nice and clean like in the plays? If we go on believing what I just said instead of what I actually did... "Look...it's...complicated, okay?" Sweetie Belle said, "You and I both know that 'complicated' is a word grownups use whenever they..." "Look, I don't think you'd believe the truth okay? But..." I looked down. "Apple Bloom, can you do your...you know? Just this once." Ugh...I hate getting the truth eye thingie...Okay... "...Cheerilee and I...remember being sisters. Our souls do. It's a weird cosmic thing. Okay?" And there are those crazy looks. "Was that a lie?" Apple Bloom blinked. "...No..." "Well there you go. I just...reminded her soul of that." "Scootaloo, that could be just another rumors that got in yer head," Apple Bloom said. "Ya did change yer hair and make that pendant last night, when all of this started." "Do you see any of those...things that you saw in Cheerilee before in me?" "... No Ah didn't... But Ah didn't see any of 'em in Tenderheart and she didn't have them magic healin' hooves before." Sweetie Belle got a bright look in her eyes. "Oh! Oh! This is like that gypsy mom told me she visited right after she first met dad! Old Madam Lulamoon! She told mom how in a past life mom was a queen and had lots of foals and lived in a pretty castle. Reading her past life was hard though and Mom had to keep paying her for extra details. But she strangely left town the right before some nice royal guards visited." "That's...actually a lot like it but...okay, do you remember back in Canterlot when Twilight was talking privately with me? THAT'S when she told me. And if Twilight got twisted like Miss Cheerilee, why would I remember her telling me that?" "I didn't know Miss Twilight read fortunes!" Sweetie Belle said excited. "Big sister and Miss Twilight and... pretty much every adult Ah've ever talked to say that fortune readin' stuff is hogwash." "Like curses?" "Stop talkin' about that." "I'm sorry." "An' Miss Twilight and big sister both say just cause somethin' ya didn't think was true turns out to be true, doesn't mean all untrue things are true." Even my head's spinning at hearing that. "It wasn't so much fortunes as...something she's learned. She said it was a very big secret that she was showing me to re-earn my trust after she...well...locked me in that chest..." "...Is this like how Chryssy said she, Princess Cadence, and me had a link to each other?" Sweetie asked. "She what now?" I asked. "Oh yeah! Chrissy said that Princess Cadence, me, and her all share a special connection," Sweetie smiled and nodded. "One of 'er lies?" Apple Bloom asked. "No. Chryssy said, it's part of why... why she wanted me to be friends with her." "Normally I'd say that I wouldn't believe that, but then again, apparently Cadence was enough of her sister to take over the Changelings," I admitted. "The point is girls... my soul remembers being Cheerilee's sister, and I got hers to remember... And it beat whatever did that to her. Maybe what we need if gotta help others to find the printing press is remind their hearts of the themselves that we know?" "Ya said it's a secret?" Apple Bloom asked. "Uh, yeah it is. It's... " I blushed. "Kinda personal. I promise I'm NOT holding out on you girls! I swear! It's just... not something I'm really supposed to share. I'm not part of any secret society and I'm not a secret agent or something! ... But that would be cool!" "You know you're just making it more enticing," Sweetie Belle said with a gleam in her eyes. "Scootaloo, promises are important but... if it can help us save everypony...." "I don't think it would help." I insist. "It helped ya save Cheerilee." "Yeah but...in that life my soul remembered, I don't know who anypony is now other than Cheerilee...well, I know Rainbow Dash, but I don't think that's going to be helpful." "Nopony else?" Apple Bloom asked. Dang it... Since when am I so bad at keeping secrets? Must have been Apple Bloom's super-vision. "Sweetie Belle. I saw you in what Twilight showed me too." "Really? That means our friendship really is destiny! Cool!" Sweetie Belle hugged me. She sure took that a lot better than I thought. Maybe we've gotten used to this. "Not me?" Apple Bloom asked. I shook my head. "I'm sorry." Apple Bloom looked at her blank flank for a moment. "All right." "But that doesn't mean you weren't there!" I said. "Just that I didn't SEE you. And, long story short, you might not have been named Apple Bloom. Twilight wasn't named Twilight...again, not sure that'd be helpful unless I remind her that she trusted me." Apple Bloom was silent for a bit, then nodded and gave me a slight nuzzle. "I gotcha Scootaloo." I nodded. "Point is...reminding her of that cured her...so maybe we just need to remind the others of themselves to cure them?" "You think it's that easy?" "Well, I wouldn't say easy considering I still had to escape a nasty death trap and all, but...doesn't it sound like the way the world should work instead of all this grimdark horseapples?" "Scootaloo! That's a dirty word!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, magically zipping my mouth shut, I enforced my flight field and negated her magic grip (a little trick Dash showed me after the wedding). "Hmmm, did I hear one of my foals say something she shouldn't?" Cheerilee's ears perked. "It's nothing Cheerilee!" I grinned. "Hmmm, if you say so." I let a sigh of relief. Even if seeing her in teacher mode was wonderful after what I just saved her from, I didn't feel like tasting soap... again. "...Point is, isn't how I saved Cheerilee how our world is SUPPOSED to work? The power of love and friendship beating back the big bad nasty's spell?" "Wow! I never thought I'd hear YOU say that Scootaloo," Sweetie said smiling. I blushed a little bit. "I'd just rather save the day with sunshine and rainbows than be stuck with grimdark crud. And my friendship broke the Queen's spell over you, and Rarity's love broke her lies over you, if that doesn't prove there's something to it, I don't know what does." "I agree!" said Razzaroo, opening her book. "Hey girls, nice job, want me to record your adventure?" "Hey! Razzaroo! Where did you come from?" To be honest, I was as happy as I was surprised. My old friend laughed a sweet-sounding laugh. "Well, actually, a little colt and filly might have told me how you saved the day for everypony here. Something like that deserves recording don't you think?" She brought out a book and a pen, holding them with her hooves. "She came straight from love and friendship!" Sweetie Belle said, jumping in place with a big smile. "Where else?" "Well, it's nice to see you here, punch?" Sweetie Belle offered politely. "You too Sweetie Belle." Razzaroo smiled taking the punch. "Hmm...tastes familiar." Let's just say Cheerilee remembering our old world had influenced this...story? Bubble? Thing? The punch seemed more like something from that old world than ours. Not that I was complaining, I needed something to get my energy back up after that mess. "How'd ya get here through the fog?" "Some cute little guides showed me the way," said Razzaroo. "Were they named Love and Friendship?" asked Sweetie Belle. "... Close." I looked around, nopony but us seemed to notice she was even here. Apple Bloom did the thing with her eye again. Sheesh. I hope she doesn't start using that as a crutch. "So, would you like me to record your adventure before you move on?" We looked at each other and nodded. For a heartbeat, it was like everything just waited. Then Razzaroo said, "Your story is saved." We blinked and looked over what she wrote down. Yada-yada. "I... I'm free." Yada-yada. We looked at each other and nodded. "But, how did you write that all down so fast?" Apple Bloom asked. "Friendship and love gave her speed-writing powers!" "Okay, Sweetie, that's starting to get very old, very fast." I tell her with a little frown, and she gives an apologetic grin that promises she'll stop. I smile too give her mane a gentle mess up. "That's my little secret," Razzaroo said. "And it would be boring for us to stay around here as I wrote everything down. Everypony has a job to do and this is mine. I'll stay here and help clean up. Good luck girls. I'll be rooting for you." "But-but where are we even supposed to start looking?" Sweetie asked. "'ome 'ime', a dire' rou' i'n' 'he fa''e''." We all turned to see Phobia... and his mouth chock full of cookies. "Didn't your mommy teach you not to speak with your mouth full?" Sweetie Belle asked. None of even thought to ask Mr. 'I'm VERY good at hiding' where he came from. Phobia swallowed the cookies in his mouth at once. They made a huge bulge in his throat on their way down into his belly. "Sorry, these are great, almost as good as my nephew's.' I blinked. "Aren't ya a little small to have a nephew?" Phobia shrugged. "Some ponies are born with nephews." "I'll leave you alone," Razzaroo took several trots back. No point even looking at her right now. "What were ya sayin'?" Apple Bloom asked Phobia. "Oh nothing. Happy to see you pulled through. Who says scary stories can only have sad endings?" he said way too causally. "Oh, Sweetie Belle... Button Mash is worried sick about you." "Oh," was all Sweetie Belle said. I almost thought she was being too hard on him. "So where ya girls headed next?" Apple Bloom said, "... We don't know yet. We think the Foal Free Press is cursed and that's why everythin' changed. We're hoping if we write a recant it can fix all this. But Cheerilee said the presses are in this tower we've never heard of so we don't know how to get to it." Phobia stretched his broken wings, making me cringe. "Well, you know what they say, 'the truth will lead you where you need to go... MOST of the time. But there might be surprise detours.'" "Who says that?" I asked. "I do." "Wait. You said Button Mash was worried sick about me, does that mean he's still... normal?" Sweetie Belle then realized what she just said. "I mean, no less normal than he was before." "Worried about your special-somepony?" "He is not my special somepony! I barely know him!" "Well, he knows you fairly well." "You're a friend of his?" "Only a little. Okay, 'only a little a friend' is too strong. He barely knows he knows me." "But is he still a nice pony and not a monster or about to be sliced up by a monster?" Sweetie Belle asked. "So you ARE scared for him?" "He's a PONY of course I'm scared for him!...I'm just not his special-somepony!" Phobia gave a smile that oddly reminded me of Cheerilee when somepony got a hard question right. "In your situation some ponies are too busy being scared for themselves to be scared for others." "It's what Rarity's taught me," Sweetie said. "She taught you right!" Phobia said, before gobbling down a few more cookies from somewhere. "Last time I saw him, Button was at his home. His house seems more like nice Miss Redheart's place than this place was. Though, not exactly the same, maybe you should just see for yourselves." "If he's okay then we don't have anything to worry about," I said, doing my best to rescue Sweetie. "True, but," said Phobia, tapping his chin. "His place is closer to here than the Hospital, and his mother has a reputation for caring about children so strongly she went to Celestia herself for her son." Apple Bloom looked at him, but just looked MORE confused. "Ah'm not really sure 'closer' or 'further' even EXIST anymore!" "Well it was closer to the school before this nonsense." "And ya said ya didn't know 'em that well." "I said he didn't know me that well. But I know things." "Like gossip?" "Maybe. Maybe not." While Phobia had been helpful, it was pretty confusing. "Just saying that if your path leads you there, it's for a reason. And Button Mash is still how he was before. He just thinks he's friends with Sweetie Belle, and would be willing to help you with anything. And there aren't many ponies who haven't been turned into something awful. So you shouldn't assume he can't help you." "I can't pretend to be his special-somepony. It wouldn't be right." "Just be nice. He's still a colt with his own feelings." Sweetie Belle whimpered. "But I have feelings too..." "I wonder, if the way things changed ponies think it's ALWAYS been this way, I wonder how he thinks that happened...perhaps you should at least ask him." Apple Bloom cleared her throat. "Look...what Phobia's sayin'...it does kinda make sense. Ah mean the other ponies that ain't changed fer the worse have healin' powers now... But We CAN'T drag another foal into this!" Phobia said emotionlessly. "Take a look around you. Every pony everywhere is already 'in this.' " "This is stupid. Apple Bloom's magic path can lead us to a million other places," I said. "Then why not go let it?" asked Phobia. "If it leads you to Button Mash, then well now you know you can walk inside without running into a bad pony with ax. I'm just saying it's worth a look. How many other 'safe places' are you likely to find?" None of us could argue that. "Right." Apple Bloom downed another cup of punch. "Let's go." "Good luck, and good job hammering out yourselves a happy ending for here," Phobia said. "I'll see you soon." He then slid under the table and when we looked he was gone. "One sec'." I gave my big sister and Razzaroo another hug, but I had a feeling I'd be seeing her again soon. + As Scootaloo hugged Miss Cheerilee and Razzaroo (I wonder how she made a grown up friend like her), Ah spotted that purple filly with the curly mane, she had an apple core for a cutie mark. She, was like Glitter Glide, an outline that was filled up now. She didn't say anything, she just smiled at me, and Ah mean smiled smile, not 'gonna eat ya now Mr. Mouse' like a snake does smile. Ah wanted ta say somethin' after everything Scootaloo had told me, Ah really just wanted ta get a move on. The world had turned crazy enough as it had. "Apple Bloom." It was her who'd spoke. "Yeah?" She surprised me with a hug. "Thank you for saving us. It's good to be part of a story with a happy ending. Good luck." "Uh... thank ya." "Welcome. Uh-" "Apple Byte." "Apple Byte." Ah nodded. If she was like Glitter Glide, then Ah'd seen 'em not do anythin' bad. Maybe she was from Scootaloo's town too. We parted way smiling. And I noticed the three roller filles . . . just talking with Rumble, like friends. + I checked on Blanky. When that purple filly hugged Apple Bloom, he began growling again, until Apple Bloom said her name. Then he gave an annoyed snort. I gave him a petting. I think we let things drag out so much because we were all scared of leaving the school after winning it back from all the gritty bad stuff and going back out into that awful place beyond. It was just so nice being somewhere that was like it was supposed to be, with Cheerilee in her right frame of mind. And... I did feel uncomfortable seeing Button Mash again if that's where Apple Bloom's magic led us. But I remembered all the lessons Rarity had given me, and I reminded myself that it wasn't Button Mash's fault, and I should at least treat him like a pony. And I HAD upset him last time I saw him, it wasn't exactly my fault, but I still felt bad for him...I was just scared I was gonna somehow be 'brainwashed' by this bad magic somehow... in other words, what we did to Miss Cheerilee and Mr. Big Mac. I felt extra sorry for what we did to them now, even if we'd been meaning to help, we didn't have a right to FORCE THEM to be together, that was like Rarity's novels were a mare got 'bee-thrown-ed' to a stallion she didn't like...That's normally about the point Rarity stops reading them out loud. For some reason she never touches on the night after the wedding. I made sure Blanky was secure in my saddle bag, and pulled my crusader cape closer around me. "Alright girls," Apple Bloom said, "Let go." The party just seemed to just continue, with or without us, for now. I wonder if the party was stuck too. But at least everypony was safe here. There wasn't a monster to be seen here. Like with the sun shining they'd all burned up like vampires in...all the things I've seen about Vampires...except the one where they sparkle. At least we weren't stuck. And we were the ones who had to help. I did my best not to cry as I thought of going back into that scary awful place our home had been turned into. But... it was for Rarity, Spike, Silver Spoon, mom, dad, and everypony. We held onto each other's tails as Apple Bloom lead us into the wall of fog. Leaving the bright blue sky and warm sun behind. "...Well...one down," said Scootaloo, smiling. "That's a start, right?"' I nodded. "Yeah...a start..." "...At least now we know we can save 'em, that's a good thing," said Apple Bloom, nodding. "...This ain't hopeless." It isn't hopeless...It feels so good to think that. > Magical Filly Adventure! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sunlight and lollipops! Rainbows and happy things! Things are so much better, When we're all together!" "Good times are here to stay!" The cheerful music played in the bright and colorful room. Happy foal-drawn pictures framed like masterworks surrounded rainbow-colored couches and playsets. Sitting on in the adults-sized couches were the fillies Tootsie Flute and Alula Kick, oh, excuse me! Princess Animatia Erroria and Princess Liza Doolots! The royal pair were talking with their friends, while sometimes helping themselves to a large plate of cookies. One side of the room had an entertainment system setup that would have nearly made Button Mash ascend to Nirvana itself, just from laying eyes upon it. On the opposite side was a counter that two sister mares kept loaded with countless treats. One was named Marcie Pan; yellow coat with a pink short mane and eyes to match, sporting a cute bow. Her sister Fawn Doo (their relation with another Doo was unknown), had a pink coat and yellow eyes and long blond mane done in curls and buns, and a maid's headdress atop her head. Both were dressed in the pretty frills and lace of Neighpon sweet Lolita style. Getting to serve the Princesses who defeated the Smooze, Grogar, Chrysalis, and had secretly helped the Elements of Harmony save Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon had them happy. Serving...twenty-four hours a day...constantly on call...whenever the Princesses craved their treats. The sisters were churning out their signature PheNOMNOMenons like factory workers, in overwhelmingly huge quantities, while the ingredients were provided to them. A slew of narcotics tests had ruled that they did not, in fact, contain any illegal substances. (Their PheNOMNOMenons were just that good!) If a pony or two ended up broke, lost all their teeth, or any other number of similar health problems, the sisters could hardly be held accountable if they made to ring their bells extra loud and offered two-for-one deals right when the prospective purchaser was beginning to wonder if stuffing their face was a good idea. And now the sisters were baking nonstop, replacing every treat eaten... who cared if they were paid, (which they weren't.) It was a service to their Princesses whom Equestria owed everything. Free treats was the least they could do. On another side of the room was a door through which muffled moans and whinnies could be heard by anypony who cared to listen. Never really ending, only pausing. Along with the groan of bedsprings, then the beat of wings in the air, then the lightning and thunder of a cloud bed the next, then straight banging on the floor or screams of wild abandon. Alula smiled. Her big sister was finally happy. Cloud Kicker finally had that special somepony that she'd wanted but could never find the time for. Now she could spend all the time in the world with Thunderlane. Some kind of nonstop bedtime fun... that was all she understood. Sometimes they used weird words she didn't know the meaning of, except that they meant being really happy with your special-somepony. Other ponies would come from somewhere to be happy with them too! Helping her sister had given Alula even more joy than becoming a princess. She sister had always worked so hard, having only Alula...now Alula finally was able to pay her back, and have her sister be happy all the time, it never needing to end. And Thunderlane she knew was super happy too, she could tell just from the noises of whatever it was they were doing. Thunderlane was a stallion everypony knew to have lots of marefriends... even if every time Alula saw him he seemed terrified of mares, and she hadn't really seen him WITH lots of mares... but he was just being modest, she knew. Cloud Kicker had helped her get over her insecurities of having a 'generic' feather cutie mark, so now Alula had helped her too! Yes, Alula thought contently, she had given her big sister paradise, and her special-somepony. Who wouldn't want to be with a mare as great as her big sister? Tootsie was smiling at the door too. Her family, Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon Sweetdrops, and Auntie Moth were in the room with them, feeding off all that love that special-someponies produced. For some reason they insisted on keeping the door locked. Her entire family were changelings except herself. Well, she was a princess, and Diamond Tiara explained that meant she was now ALL the tribes put together... so shape-shifting like a changeling should have been no problem. So she had nothing to feel left out about! Her family was all together! And it was so cool they were all changelings! They were all so happy! And so she was happy too! It was kinda silly really... she and Alula hadn't even really WANTED to be Princesses before! Not until Diamond Tiara showed them the magic mirror and everything they could do. Everything they could become. Everything they could be. Not reaching their full potential would be shameful! What a pity that not everypony tried becoming a Princess, if a princess was the most any pony could be! Before, Alula had wanted to be gymnast, and Tootsie had wanted to be a superhero. Alula resumed her chat with the unicorn filly sitting next to her. The filly had a black coat, red mane and red eyes. Her cutie mark was a red rose done in stencil art style. The center petals looked like an eye. "So you really had to do that all the time, Night Gale?" Alula asked. The other filly nodded sadly. "Uh-huh! My brother and this little filly kept ruining all my pretty pictures! And the big mean nasty big-shadows kept forcing me to make other worlds bad! It was never enough for them! Once I finished making one world bad, they had to make another world bad! They always wanted more, more bad stuff, more bad things, more ponies being bad. Always, always more!" Alula patted her on the shoulder. "Well don't you worry, those nasty shadows will never bother our world again! Now everypony is everything they wanna be! Not them!" Tootsie thought back to the Mare-Do-Well parade. Seeing that her hero was really four heroes... what a thrill! They could do four time as much good! She knew right then what she wanted to be when she grew up! She'd be a superhero! It left her downright confused when she didn't get her superhero cutie mark then and there, but maybe it wouldn't be much of a secret identity if you had a cutie mark for one. And in spite of all the comics she loved to read, she wasn't really sure how to become a superhero. None of the Mare-Do-Wells had really wanted to take her under their wings when she asked. She bet keeping your secret identity secret was easy when you were a changeling! You could help lots of ponies as a changeling! She was happy she'd made friends with Alula, and then Diamond Tiara (who had really changed from the spoiled filly to a young princess!) Why did superheroes never share their secret identities with their families? Her family was so proud of her! Tootsie felt proud to be the unicorn third of the NEW Gabby Gums trio. They'd done so much good compared to all the bad the Cutie Mark Crusaders did as Gabby Gums! They were really redeeming the paper and the school's name! Alula felt the same. Now that everypony could do whatever they wanted without being told it was bad, everypony would finally see Diamond Tiara wasn't a bad pony. Just lonely. Like she and her sister had been. She bet Diamond Tiara's mom and dad were really proud of her now! Alula had never wanted to stand out much; she'd been happy being just another background pony; but all that had changed after seeing the way Diamond Tiara always took charge and knew what she wanted. She admitted she'd been wrong to imitate the way Diamond Tiara teased others, (ONCE! And she had been sure to apologize for it after to them and their family, and even made a 'Sorry!' gift for them too, they were on good terms now), she thought it was just another form of playing. Though she did wonder why Diamond Tiara still teased Apple Bloom and her friends. But now the three of them were doing so much good for everypony. They all deserved to celebrate together. "Diamond Tiara, will your parents be here soon? You're a princess now after all! They'd love to see you!" " . . . They're busy in Canterlot, don't think about it, you and Tootsie should celebrate your own princesshood." As Alula talked with Night Gale, Tootsie was talking with Truffle. It was great having him with her at last. Twist never appreciated him. Besides, Twist had abandoned Apple Bloom after she got her cutie mark, so a filly like that didn't deserve a good friend like Truffle! "So you see, Truffle. If you want things to go the way you wanted them to, you don't bully ponies into doing what you want, and you don't bribe them. You get them to want the same thing you want." Truffle nodded attentively. "You make sure what you're saying is for lots of ponies, not just a few ponies. Make sure you touch their hearts rather than their heads, because heads don't always listen but hearts do. Keep what you say simple so they can remember it. Make sure you prepare them for the worst if something bad happens." "Wouldn't that scare them, though?" Truffle asked. "Uh...I guess. But it's about, I think, making sure that if something bad DOES happen, you technically warned them ahead of time. So you didn't lie to them. Whenever you say something, don't say it halfway. You don't give the bad side their say, the bad side only has mean things to say, so don't listen to them! And make sure the ponies you talk to don't listen either! And repeat what you say in different ways! So ponies will pick up on it!" "Okay, I think I got it, I think." Truffle nodded. "Of course you do." Tootsie nodded, hugging him, "Because you're the best." "Thanks, Tootsie!" He hugged back. "Maybe I should help Fawn and Marcie make some of their treats?" "Uh, them?" He pointed. The baking sisters waved happily. "Why would you want to?" "I think I can learn a lot from them." "I thought your talent was as a food taster." "Yeah, but you have to know how good food gets made too. Or at least I think so." "Don't worry about it. I've lots of more interesting stuff to tell you about." Tootsie instructed him. As Alula had instructed her, as Diamond Tiara had instructed Alula, as Discord had instructed Diamond Tiara, and Morning Star had instructed Discord. "And it's Liza now, remember?" "Okay, Liza." He smiled and nodded at his special friend. Happy to have her as his special friend. She was far better than Twist. Who'd want to be special friends with somepony who abandoned her friends... why did he think about her in particular? "More PheNOMNOMenons?" Shady Daze offered. "Thanks!" Truffle said forgetting his train of thought and stuffing the cake treats down. Liza took one too, and one more, and one more, and one more, without ever experiencing a bellyache. Shady Daze smiled and nodded and trotted over to get more from the sisters. He was so cute in his maid uniform. The paper said he liked wearing filly's clothes, so that was true. And it said he liked serving the princesses when he wasn't working the printing press, so that was true too. The article written by Alula said he was sorry for making Diamond Tiara get covered in ink spots after she was forced to run the printer, so of course he was sorry he had. How could he have been so mean to Diamond Tiara? Dimly, he wondered where Featherweight was... shouldn't he be helping with the paper too? And wasn't Shady missing a lot of school doing this? And where was his sister, Sunny Daze? She was likely off with her other half, Peachy Pie, somewhere. He liked the shade, and she liked the sun, but they loved each other all the same. But he loved dressing up as a serving filly, and he loved serving the princesses, so everything was fine. So why did it feel like he was forgetting something? And why did he feel so scared around Night Gale? The sisters ruffled his mane and gave him a sweet hug and another set of PheNOMNOMenons on his plate. "Now remember, dear, it's more proper to ask 'Would you like some more?' when serving." Marie Pan said. "I'll remember," Shady Daze said happily. And the blank flank colt was trotting over to his betters who he was happy to serve. It was what the school paper said, after all. Night Gale grinned to herself, showing off teeth like a shark's. All corruption of innocence was a part of her. All defilement of the pretty and bright WAS her. The thrills the shadows felt at ponies 'still acting' like themselves when doing things that they would never do. It was like painting a red cross on a tank and saying it was ambulance, even as it was blowing up ponies! It was wonderful. - 'The Pain Six' they'd been called by groups of shadows who had cared to name such things. Each one from a different worldliness blessed by my touch. An Applejack who thought of the value of family and was still a redneck farmer. A Pinkie Pie who was still cheerful and upbeat. A Rarity still believing in fashion and beauty. A Fluttershy still motherly and tender. A Twilight still analytical and eager to learn. A rough-and-tumble Rainbow Dash who believed in loyalty. So few humans even comprehended that it was one's actions that defined a pony, not their mannerisms. Not to mention good old Celestia...or should I call her something else now? I don't know why she hated all those tabloid articles I reprinted. She'd certainly be enjoying herself more now. And I had now brought them all together into the same collection of bubbles. Who cared if they contradicted each other? And of course sweet Applejack, excuse me, Crapplejack! Enjoy being a drunk! Try using truth with THAT! And your cousin. Cousin, normally I don't care what you do, but this was too perfect. And you've certainly provided an effective niece. Pity Ponythulu turned down the invitation, but he was always too nice for his own good. Still, the cookies he sent are as good as ever. I should have asked him to be my proxy in that stupid contest. But he just HAD to have his knitting club! But revenge prolonged makes it all the sweeter. I wish you still existed as a shadow of existence, you nag! But your spawn are here for the show! This universe you destroyed yourself to bring into the universe? It's now MINE! I've given it a loving kiss for every world you stole from me, beotch! You wanted sunshine and rainbows? GO MAKE YOUR OWN WORLDS! DO COME AND MEDDLE WITH MINE! Mine were created by the will of true great makers! Not uninspired reactionary whiners who can't do anything but contradict themselves again and again and wring their hands over every paper cut and rip-off rip-offs! This world is now a combination of MY WORLDS! Horrid stories are the only memorable ones. Amicitia! YOU LOSE! I lean back and use my horn magic to pick up the remote and flick on the TV. Enjoying the show. I see my beloved son on the screen. Only now he he had his own beloved Radiant Hope at his side as his queen. Now she went by the name Queen Crushing Doom, and her crystalline form was now far more rigid and sharp, resembling something out of a nightmare rather than a dream. My little umbrum pony had returned, only now he had an extended family underneath the frozen ice with him, another of my avatars nearby, and he had returned the Crystal Empire within. Never let it be said I'm not a giving mother. And what a true Empire it was. The crystal ponies were no longer the sleek glimmering pony-shaped beings of living crystal the heart of ponyland and the Rainbow of Light had turned their ancestors into. Now my son's work had channeled through them. They had given birth to him through their own fears and paranoia, which had gone onto devour them until they had become fear itself. Crystal ponies running in fear, being consumed then spat out... what came out had their memories, their mannerisms, quirks, and abilities but nothing else. Their forms were no longer translucent but opaque, with many sharps angles. Their eyes and thoughts, even their voices held my son's power. Who they had been before used as raw material for what they had become. Power my son could have never had before. My son may have been a creature of fear, but I was a creature of CORRUPTION! And never let it be said my son was not dutiful. They weren't the stuff of nightmares, they were the stuff of hell. Many hells, in fact, all growing like cancers, spreading, clashing with each other. "Welcome to paradise, son." Too bad Adagio and her girls aren't around for them, I'd have had Ponythulu baked them a cake for the goddesshood they'd gain from all the negativity, hate, fear, anger, insanity, zealousness, cold indifference, callous brutality, and all the other sweet things they fed on like mother's milk. But the world mirror had disconnected itself from the human world at the changes. It could now only be opened on their side. "It's fun seeing so many ponies getting to do what they want without those mean 'sense-ors' telling us what we can or can't do, Nighty," Alula said. "Yes, Alu', it is," I said, giving her a nuzzle. I clicked the channel, and frowned. There was a tiny icon on the bottom, signaling Cousin and his adopted foal were watching this channel too. But that was besides the point. This wasn't as annoying as the hospital that was on the 'lockout' list. (I paid handsomely for my FateTube account; I shouldn't have locked-out channels! Blast you, Rota Fortuna!). Annoying as it was, at least I could take a LITTLE pleasure in some of the twisting that had taken place in this bubble. The sheer BELIEF of every pony in that bubble had been rather surprising. Since they'd been living such a total lie, their new reality only superficially resembled the old one. That said, I have a feeling Cousin is as disgusted at this one as I am. - Starlight Glimmer stood happy and content, but not proud, with her fellow Equal Ponies. Her mane style the same as the others, her colors as bright as theirs, and possessing the same Equal Marks as them as well, holding the mighty Staff of Sameness, the key to their liberation. With it, she had liberated herself and so many others, no matter what they had been twisted into. Our Town stood bright and cheerful. Everything the same, everything equal, everything together and united as one with one voice, one heart, one dream, one soul. That was the strength of the Our Town community and it was unbreakable. Starlight Glimmer was only happy she could serve her equal share to her fellow Equal Ponies. Everypony in Our Town was content, everypony smiled, everypony was free, everypony was happy. No pony tried to stand superior to their fellows, none sought to make the lives of others less. The sun shined happily down around their happy equal town surrounded by uniformly green fields. Even the flowers smiled under the blue sky. A pity the rest of the world wasn't so nice. But they were all doing their equal share to help it be better and pull it out of its rut. A pony, confused as unsure, like a wild beast tamed by music, wandered to the town. His colors faded; his mane wild and chaotic. His mind and body had been taken over by any number of the tyrants who wanted to pull the world into their own unbalanced hells whose the idea of 'equal' was either 'I have all the power and you don't' or 'take anything you want as long as you can hold onto it'. Starlight and her fellow Equal Ponies held on, for she had the beliefs of the others Equal Ponies, Night Glider, Party Favor, Sweet Muffin, Sugar Belle, and so many others, and of course Double Diamond and their foal. They believed in her just as she believed in them. Starlight used the Staff of Sameness, freeing his mind and body from the corruption, his form becoming like theirs, free from a mad tyrant's control. His colors brightened and his cutie mark popped off, showing its underside. The eye wildly looking about confused, the sharp teeth of its 'eyelid' snapping about for a new host to control the fate of. They quickly put it into the vault. They couldn't destroy the evil things, but they could keep them from doing harm. The Equal Sign appeared on his flanks instead, showing he had no master or servants, he was among equals, his future his to chose. They all quickly welcomed their new friend. - A pony with darkened pink as her coat color sat in the darkness. Her cutie mark was a crown as seen from above shaped like an eight-pointed star. Her wings and horn further outlined her shape. Her chest still throbbed from where Cadenza's feather tip had stabbed her, but the stone had slowly shrunk down to a large dot on her gut. She stared unblinking at a series of screens that took up the entire wall before. She saw herself begrudgingly admit that her cutie mark party had been fantastic thanks to Pinkie Pie (leaving out the three foals who had stolen the spot light on her day), and of course taking the chance to steal her best friend's milkshake. She saw her enemy's cousin join them. Unknown to herself and her best friend native to that version of reality, it was out of fear of being teased. And those-who-watch acting as if it was one of her schemes. As if she had personally plotted Babs betraying Apple Bloom and her friends. What a pitiful mastermind she must look to them then; when Babs stabbed her and Silver Spoon in the back so easily. Their time together had meant nothing. She saw herself and Silver Spoon use their normal tactics to try and demoralize Apple Bloom and her friends...and seeing it NOT WORK. The fillies had grown BORED with what had once been devastating insults. So instead Diamond attacked Scootaloo's insecurity about not being able to fly now, and perhaps never fly ever. It had never been about cutie marks. It had been about hurting them. She saw herself claiming she'd impress her classmates with acrobatics, but was feeling tired, so she had her butler, Randal, perform them instead. The other foals cheered her. Then, not long afterward, she was buttered up her enemies because they were personal friends with the one and only PRINCESS Twilight Sparkle. That Miss Sparkle had been the personal student and envoy of Celestia and world savior didn't matter. PRINCESSES mattered. Weaseling out praise in hopes of getting in good with those with power... how wonderfully like her. Peering in the mind of her enemy's subconscious, she saw the filly's opinion of 'Diamond Tiara:' a wretched creature who would torment her regardless if she got her cutie mark or not. She looked at her Heart World self. The template, the self from which her all other offshoot selves were based. Existing only as a speed-bump to be overcome by bullied foals on their way to growing up. Having no redeeming traits, nothing that didn't add to others' revulsion, especially those who watched, so all would delight in her defeat. Winning was impossible for her. And there was something else fascinating about her Heart World self: whenever a 'true' threat appeared, she 'ceased to exist' for all practical purposes, with no one asking about, commenting on, or noticing her... only popping back into existence when a more down-to-earth, slice-of-life villain was needed. She wasn't even a character. She was a prop. Remember, dear! We've broken AWAY from the Heart World! You CAN win now! We can win now! You no longer have to be a tertiary antagonist! You're not just playing with the big boys now, you're ONE of the big girls! There's nothing holding either of us back now! No big Those-Who-Rule forcing any sort of 'not-too-evil' restraint. We've won! Have you taken a look outside? Okay, it's not really my kind of random chaos, but I suppose a father has to make sacrifices for his children. "So what now?" So what now? My dear, that is the beauty of it. ANYTHING WE WANT!!! It's our house now! We decide what happens next! Now we're in control! They're all your little playthings! Only now they can't fight back! And there's nowhere in the world they can run and hide to, because it's OUR world! Make them fight each other, make them sing and dance, they're all yours! TOP OF THE WORLD MA! "Enjoy yourself, father." Oh no no no. You see, that was my mistake before! I've done this twice before! And I've finally realized where I went wrong! I didn't have anyequus to SHARE THE FUN WITH! WE are going to enjoy ourselves! I know I can get you smile smile smile! Whoo-ooh! Luna's busy wangsting to herself! Celly's getting busy with her ponies by now! The Elements of Harmony are giving us tons of entertainment value! We have more shows to choose from than ever before! All appealing to the most base urges and desires! Each other with it's own little unique nasty flavor! "All tastes like cardboard to me." Oh no you don't! If another me can have fun in one of Nythy's worlds were I turned Twilight and her friends into fallen Draconequi like me in a futile hideous tribute to Warponies 40 Carrots that tramples on everything this world now never was, then WE can have fun together! Watch the fires flicker and struggle against the darkness to the bitter end! "Uncle D___t should be happy if he existed still even as a shade. We've created his world. The realm were thoughts and perception bend reality, and the concepts have no power here. He should be very happy." Now THAT'S the spirit! - What a strange turn of events, an unexpected twist! What fun! It wasn't one I came up with, but I really don't mind that much! HEHEH! I...I made far too many mistakes with Mama Shady. And Baby Shady. I should have kept her as my sister, rather than pushing her spot in time-space out of sync. It would have been so much fun to have her around. And Mama Shady...I gave her everything, every pleasure, every treasure, and she still just became more depressing than she ever was...at least she became the perfect master of the Element of Despair that way. But I think I would have preferred for her to have had some fun! And Surprise! WHY did I send her away? I can't even remember now! I should have kept her around! We'd have had so much fun together!!! Oh, my little filly...I'm confused by my own feelings. And this confusion isn't good because it's happening to me! I look at her, and I don't see a toy! I don't see a pawn! As I began shaping her on our way to Canterlot, teaching her the finer points of manipulation and how to break ponies...I realized I really was crafting a fine young force of oblivion and disharmony. I...she's family. She carries mother's blood, after all. But for the first time in a long time...I think... I have the family I wanted. Somepony who can share my view of the world...at last....Maybe this is all I've ever wanted. she's not my little piece of clay anymore, She's her own little abomination, and...I think I'm actually happy to know I helped her become this beautiful affront to creation. I helped her along, but she had it in her all long. Sure I refined her raw talent at manipulation and breaking others, I pushed off the cliff of sanity into the beautiful ocean of possibilities known loving as insanity. But she was already dancing on the edge before I ever came along. HEHEHEHH! DID I SOUND CORNY OR WHAT?! HAHA! Seriously! This little ball of wrongness is the most adorable and wonderful thing I've ever made happen! And my cousin LOVES my work with her. He said she was a masterpiece, and I'm inclined to agree! WOOP-WOOP! My name is Discord and you'll be what I say! WOOP-WOOP! My Irish Roooooooossse! Zip-Zam-Pow! Eep-Ap-Opp-Ugh-Bluu-Gluu! That means I love you! I said I'd make her my masterpiece! Hey... any of you have any good points about parenting? Oh I'm sure I'll figure it out! Myself, my little filly, her little friends, my cousin, what a beautiful family we make! She is MY little pony! I am happy and gay! And THIS Pinkie Pie is so much more cheerful and funny than the first time around! I'm thinking so clearly, I must be drunk! Must have been all the sweet chaos! Though this is now more cousin's and my little filly's show. I'm feeling proud. Blech! Where's my mouthwash? I bet I sound like Chrysalis when she was rambling on about Sweetie Belle! I didn't NEED mind control magic for this sweet filly, not one bit, not ONCE, all it took was my voice to make her the cute widdle affront to all that is that stands before you! Isn't she precious? - "Tiara?" The screens instantly turned off. The dark pink pony turned her head towards the opened door behind her. In the darkness the open door resembled a massive square of light with the outline of a filly at its base. The light shined across the floor, stripes of darkness painted across the dark pink pony's form from the the shadow of the filly's legs. "Yes, Alula?" - The look in her eyes. Those dark eyes. Why does she still want to feel bad? I remember seeing that look when nopony else did, not even Silver Spoon seemed to notice. It hurt after when I did bad things. Why did Diamond want to feel bad? As part of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club(who I still think is a cooler hero than Mare-Do-Well, but Liza and I have agreed to disagree), I heard how Rainbow Dash liked ghost stories. I checked out this book that was for foals just a little older than me. There was a story in it about a ghost who listened to sad songs every night, because feeling sad was still better than not feeling anything. "You really shouldn't be cooped up in here all by yourself." "I am not alone. I have father with me." "And you have me, Liza, and everypony else too! Come on out!" I smiled. "Nopony deserves to be all alone in the dark." "Maybe I like being alone in the dark." "Well, maybe Liza and I can sit in the dark with you later. But right now, how about you give being with us in the light a try? We're supposed to be celebrating! The world is fixed up and free, and Liza and I are princesses just like you promised! We have family and friends here, this is a party! And it's your party too! They'll be plenty of time for sitting in the dark later." I trot up to her and put a wing around her, and give her a nuzzle, she doesn't respond. I help her up, she doesn't resist. "Really," I said. "We're friends. Let's have some fun together. That's what friends do." - She has a point, my little pony. Staying put looking at FateTube videos all day isn't a way to celebrate when you have those to celebrate it with...Blech! Do NOT tell anyequus I just said that! - The Nightmare sighed. "You won't go away until I agree to come out, will you?" "Nope and neither will I." "Hi, Liza!" "Hi, Animatia!" Tootsie said as she flanked the other side of the little Nightmare. "We're here for you. Loyal and true, that's what friends do." Alula said. "What friends do." The Nightmare sighed again. "Hey enough with the sighing! Let's have a few laughs!" Tootsie said. "A few laughs," the Nightmare emptily repeated. "Sure!" The little Nightmare moved under her own power as they led her out of the dark, detail-less chamber and into the cheerful colorful room, the door closing behind them with a glow of Tootsie's magic, one of the gifts she'd gained from the world being fixed up. "I'm happy you could join us Editor-In-Chief." Shady Daze smiled, curtsying in his dress. "Hey, Diamond Tiara," Truffle politely waved. If his special-friend thought she wasn't all bad, then she wasn't all bad. "Nice of you to join us," Night Gale smirked trotted up to her. "You are welcome," The Nightmare said mechanically. "Nuh-uh! We're going to get you to smile, because that's what Princesses do! Why are you so glum?" Tootsie asked smiling at the emotionless face. "Just...not sure what to do now, after, after we finally reached the goal." "Oh, Cloud-Kicker says that happens for everypony for when foals get their cutie marks," Alula said. "So I guess it's the same thing here. You know, we worked for this, like some foals work hard for their cutie marks! And they suddenly don't know what to do once they have them! Bask in the glow some! Think about what makes you happy." "...that is a good question." "Then here's a good answer," Alula said. "You still like the red one?" "... It isn't Hearts and Hooves Day." "So what? That's not the only reason to show a friend you care." "You got that right," Tootsie said hanging a foreleg around Truffle. Alula hugged the Nightmare, followed by Tootsie. The Nightmare became stiff like gears had locked up. "Here ya go." Tootie floated over some candies. "They're made by my family, so of course they're made with love!" The Nightmare regarded some of the custom candies. Feeling very strange as she swallowed. She eyed the two fillies whose only desire at this moment was to see her smile. The door opposite to the one she had come out of creaked open. A mint-green changeling with yellow eyes and greenish white membrane slid out of the room. Behind her were two beige-colored changelings, one with blue membranes, the other with pink. The last one careful to lose the door behind her with her body still blocking the view. They did not look overfed. The moans and whinnies in the room didn't stop. "Lyra, Bon-Bon, Auntie Moth!" Tootsie greeted her family. "Anything I can help you with?" Lyra spoke. "Oh it's not Liza. It's just we smelled some strong love out here, and were hoping you could share." Tootsie tilted her head. "But... don't you get lots of love from Alula's big sister and Thunderlane?" The changelings looked at each other. "It's... not as..." Bon Bon stumbled over her words. "We just prefer love when it comes to you and your friends." "Is there something wrong with my sister and her special-somepony's live?" Alula asked, concerned. "Oh! Nothing! Nothing!" Lyra waved her hooves quickly. "It's..." "Just a matter of taste," Moth said. "Taste," Bon Bon nodded quickly. "Taste." "Oh, okay, sure! Anything for you!" Tootsie said, meaning every word. There was no resistance as the three changelings feed of Tootsie's love for them to sustain themselves, and feeding on the love between the fillies. Doing much more to fill them than the lust in the other ever room. Five minutes later, all four fillies were playing the video game Banneretta. The main player character was a unicorn witch with glasses running about. With her telekinesis she held two pistols, and shot at angels. She also had on sharp high heeled horseshoes that she could put through a little portal, and her hoof coming out another portal giant size, squashing the angels like bugs. The other three were variations of that. The witches also threw around words-not-meant-for-foals'-ears as if they were rose petals. But they were princesses, so such naughty words were okay. It featured Celestia as a mid-boss. And Nightmare Moon as one of the creatures the witch could summon (using her mane) to help her slaughter through the angel legions. "Use the torture attack!" Tootsie cheered. Alula pushed the combo for her character, and instantly the pink angel with a blue mane and a microphone cutie mark was wrapped in chains, and put on a rack and stretched until she screamed and she exploded in a mass of halos that Alula's character scrambled to collect. Halos were both trophies and currency for upgrades in this game. Tootsie finished pushing a lavender angel with pink hair and a clover cutie mark through a guillotine, scoring more halos. She was just on the verge of her next upgrade. "The simpler combos are more effective." The Nightmare advised, her character slowing down time to get more hits in on an angel resembling Saint Sweetheart (the Sweethearts dropped healing items, so whenever one appeared, in-game, players scrambled to kill them first). Then came the giant purple Alicorn that looked like Twilight Sparkle as a boss enemy. "Every story should have a happy ending! There should be no other kinds of endings! My endings are the only ones that matter! No unhappy! No sad! No tragic! No scary! Only super-happy! I'll destroy the world before I let there be any sad endings!" "We will make our own destiny! Because we have free will! We won't submit to your tyranny!" The video game witch retorted before summoning Tirek to fight the giant Alicorn. "I am so gonna love this part!" Night Gale grinned. Just before the killing blow could be landed on the boss monster, however, the Nightmare that had been Diamond Tiara paused the game. "HEY!" Night Gale snarled. The Nightmare had shuddered, but not from Night Gale. It was like there was a violin string around her heart that somepony had plucked from the other end. "There are virus' infecting our world," she said without feeling. Shady Daze stopped serving, looking confused. The sisters looked at each other. The changelings raised their heads. My dear little baby, I'm going to give you one very good piece of advice. Whenever the heroes show up, DON'T fight them directly! I've had to learn this the stone-hard way! Countless baddies have made the mistake of underestimating these sugary pastel horses, no offense, and they all paid for it! 'I already knew that part, father. Better to retreat than risk defeat. Ego leads to ruin. Direct confrontations never work out.' I know! All those boss villains who decide to 'take matters into their own hooves' when fighting Pony Rangers, you think after seeing so many of their monsters go boom they'd know better! 'Indeed. There is a reason why INTELLIGENT evil overlords don't fight the hero destined to defeat him directly until they're cornered.' She looked down at the stone spot on her body. 'Especially when they're not whole.' And that's why you send the minions in first. "Virus'? Do we need shots?" Tootsie asked. "Not literally," The Nightmare said. "I felt them. I'm talking about troubles-makers seeking to ruin our world..." Alula put down her controller. "I think I know what you're talking about. Well! Good thing then you have two heroes of justice to get rid of the bad guys!" "Then hunt them down." "Alright! Go time, then! Let's do it to it!" Tootsie cheered. Lyra sat up. "Liza, if whatever...Diamond Tiara...is sensing can threaten the whole world...should you really..." "I don't want you to get hurt," Truffle added. Bon Bon and Moth nodded as well. "Don't worry! I'm a Magical Filly! A princess! I'll take care of it!" Tootsie grinned. "It's okay, Liza," Alula said, "I'm sure this is just an introduction monster or something. I'll be able to handle it. You stay here and have fun with the others. You still have a lot of important stuff to teach Truffle after all. Hey, Truffle, you can have my controller." "THANKS! Die, angels, die!" "Alu', are you really, really sure?" Tootsie asked. "I don't want you facing something you can't handle on your own." "Hey." Alula put a hoof on her shoulder. "Believe in the you that believes in me." "I don't quite get what that means but... okay!" They hugged. "Don't worry, you'll get to be a superhero soon!" The Nightmare's horn glowed. A magic mirror appeared, the same one she had shown Alula and Tootsie their ideal fantasy selves in. "I'll be right back! Don't worry! Tell Cloud Kicker not to worry!!! Uh- So where's the bad guys?" Night Gale face hoofed. "Don't worry about it, the world will lead you right to them." "Okay! Just watch!" Alula hopped through the mirror. -Mew Mew Power song: Supernatural- Alula entered a realm of sparkles and bright colors swirling around her. Golden spires and stairs floated around her along with golden gems and crystals that sparkles rainbows. She danced and pranced around as cheerful music played for about two minutes minute. Ribbons of lights wrapped themselves around her. Transforming into a golden short-skirted dress with white trim. Blue gems adored her costume's center. Then a glowing blue horn formed on her forehead, followed by a glowing blue sheen on her wings, and hooves. Then she got pretty golden horseshoes like the presses wore with more blue gems. Her mane waved and became prettier and shinier. She then fell rear hooves first through a golden tunnel passing countless pretty and sparkling weapons, picking a gold and ivory staff with a blade on the end, next to it was a bow and arrow set for Tootsie. But she knew Tootsie would reply on shape shifting mostly. But there were plenty of other weapons to choose from if these didn't work out. +++ Sweetie shuddered and paused in the fog. It was like somepony had twanged a string that was one end wrapped around her heart. "There's something after us," she said. "What a shocker." Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "No I mean HUNTING us," Sweetie Belle clarified. Pushing her friends forward to make them move faster. "Sweetie, how do ya know that?" Apple Bloom asked. "It's... it's a feeling! Like how I knew about Mr. Mask! That turned out true, didn't it?" "Well! Now that we know how to break the rules, I say we face whatever is after us!" Scootaloo said. "If they work for whatever caused this mess-" "Ya mean Mr. Umbra Breeze?" Apple Bloom asked. "Huh?" Scootaloo said. "Mr. Umbra Breeze... the magic newspaper WAS all his idea. He was the one who introduced it to the school after all. He's gotta be the one behind this." "And you mention this now?" "Ah thought it was kinda obvious." Sweetie Belle said, "Maybe he's just a jerk who likes to spread mean stories cause they sell well. You know, like Diamond Tiara did? Maybe he had nothing to do with the curse?" "The papers wouldn't have been moved if they weren't the key to fixin' everythin'!" "Maybe they moved ALL the news printing presses in the world and not just ours? After all, the whole world isn't Ponyville...it isn't, right?" Sweetie said, scared by the idea that the rest of the world was just gone. "No, it isn't!" Scootaloo said, remembers bits of her dream. "And now that we kicked the butt of-" "Technically it was really ya who kicked its butt-" "Yep, I'm awesome!!" "-but what if its somepony we don't know all that well? How do we snap 'em out of it?" Scootaloo snorted. "We just give it out best and help 'em!" "Sweetie, maybe it's just like when you thought Nurse Redheart was gonna hurt us. That didn't come true, remember?" "But- but this is DIFFERENT! Then it was like a picture in my head, here it's a feeling inside." "But nothing nasty found us AT ALL when we were followin' the true path before! Why should it now?" "Maybe because we did what wasn't supposed to be possible...maybe we broke the rules...maybe we contradicted how the world is now...maybe that got something's attention?" Sweetie guessed, sounding haunted and scared. Blanky poked out of her saddle bag and whined sympathetically and nuzzled her. "Or maybe it IS just all in yer head, Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom suggested. Upbeat but shallow music began to play. "Here comes Princess Animatia Erroria to save the day! To wash your troubles all away! Don't be scared! I'll be there'd!" Came an echoing young filly's voice. "Well, sounds like a superhero's theme, if I ever heard one," Scootaloo said. "'Princess Erroria!'" Apple Bloom said, "Cheerilee said that was the name of one of the Princess who owns the tower where the printer is!" "Magically Filly Princesses! Animatia and Liza! We're here to pleaz-ya! Gonna save the day! Keeping nasty monster at bay!" "Her lyrics need work," the song filly heard herself mutter say in spite of herself. "Wait! I know that voice!" Scootaloo said. "It's Alula! She's part of Rainbow Dash's fanclub! If her dream is being a hero there's no way she's dangerous! She must be like Nurse Redheart!" "Alula? Girls, Ah, Ah kinda tried ta talk ta Tootsie before, and she came along and buttered her up and convinced her to help the news paper." "So? So she became friends with her instead of us, that's not a crime." "AND Alula's was the paper's new editor, remember?" "So?" 'I wonder if she wrote the story about Celestia being Rainbow Dash's mom...which would be actually really cool, but not really fair to Dash's real mom. I wonder what she's like. Dash talks about her dad, but never her mom.' "The Foal Free Press spread all those nasty stories under 'Gabby Gums', that means she had to APPROVE them!" "You were saying before that Umbra Breeze creep had to be behind this! I bet he had her under mind control until her wish to be a hero freed her!" "Ah said Umbra Breeze was behind it, but that doesn't mean he's the ONLY one that we have tah worry about. The Changelings had THREE big nasties under Chrysalis, remember?!" "Hercules wasn't so-" Evil forces that infected the world! You will be unfurled! With the power of my light, I'll wipe away your bight!" The voice was getting closer. The foals weren't running, only moving at a pace slightly faster than their normal pace through the fog. "Remember everything Phobia said?" Sweetie Belle said, "We're the infection now! She's talking about us!" "What does Phobia know?" Scootaloo said. "He's helped us so far," Sweetie Belle said. "And he hasn't stepped in once to help us directly." "He has those broken wings." "Miss Void said we were the ones who had to do the saving." Sweetie insisted. Sweetie tugged her cape. "Miss Void protected us at the cost of getting changed herself...and Phobia and her seemed no worse off than Rarity and I." "Scootaloo..." Applebloom asked, starting to move along faster without Sweetie's pushing. "How do ya actually KNOW her? What have ya shared with 'er? Ta where it could move the world like ya did with Cheerilee?" "We!...We both know how Rainbow Dash is the best! And the greatest hero ever! And..." Sweetie Belle said, "Chryssy talked about that, Scootaloo." Sweetie cringed at the look Scootaloo gave her for mentioning like that. "How much time does she spend with all of you?" Scootaloo bristled at that. "Dash spends plenty time with me." "And how often is the whole club there with you?" "Uh . . . once, twice?" You can't run or hide! This is the end of the ride! We're the heroes who are gonna, reduce you to zero!" Sweetie Belle then said. "And why is she singing a BATTLE CRY if she's coming to help?" "Maybe she thinks we're being attacked by monsters!" "Do we SOUND like we're being attacked by monsters?" "Maybe she can't hear us and think that's why we're in trouble?" "Girls we can't keep chin-jawing!" Applebloom felt awkward being the voice of peace. Blanky began growling as the voice was nearly on top of them, the fillies began to see some glowing blue light through the fog, coming towards them like a coming beacon. "Look! I took a gamble with Cheerilee and it paid off! We should at least meet with her! We KNOW how big misunderstandings go! And what if us thinking she's bad makes her bad?" "You also almost got killed! Do you really think seeing how great Dash is a strong enough bond? Do you know her as well as Apple Bloom knows Twist?" Scootaloo gritted her teeth angrily. "Well, EXCUSE THE HECK OUT OF ME, Sweetie, I'm ever-so-sorry you think Rainbow Dash -- the mare who lets me live in her house -- ain't as good at 'bonding' with fillies as that changeling queen. Sweetie looked like she had been physically hit. "Rainbow Dash formed a bond WITH YOU! You ARE NOT a fan! You're FRIENDS!" "Girls! If Sweetie's right she's gonna kill us!" Applebloom pointed out pragmatically. "And if we die, the world STAYS like this!" Scootaloo turned her back on her, feeling shamed. "Look, I won't assume she's bad. Because if she isn't, assuming might MAKE her. But I'm not going to abandon you guys either. I can see you two want to run from this girl, so let's all run together." The fillies ran as fast as Apple Bloom's eye could lead them. + Alright, Anarchy, here ya go. If you had more time you could come up with a better plan, but ya don't. This avatar wasn't built for flank-kicking, so sucks to be me. That filly's toys are better built for combat. Please fillies, be far enough away when the fireworks start that you don't think to find out what the party is all about. An avatar's more expendable than you are. Don't think I'm doing this because I'm civilized. I'm revolution, and revolutions aren't civilized. Innocents bleed in revolutions the same as anyequus else. Little Miss Superhero isn't going to stop coming after them, not unless she think she's gotten what she was sent out for. And the girls don't have any working moves besides running away. Ya know, I really liked this avatar. I may not be able to send in a new one given how bucked up everything is. But hey, when I say I'll be with them fillies in every act to fight back against this place's rules I ain't talkin' poetic. This girl ain't family, so this won't hurt as bad if Dissy killed me. Countless martyrs have died in my name, why wouldn't I be willing to experience the same? Dad's running around as a scared little colt and Mom actually threw herself in the way for those three, you think concepts are afraid to 'lower' themselves? Let's do this. + Here I come, heroically flying through the air! Am I almost there? I don't think I can think up another verse! I don't get why I'm not feeling the same . . . lightness and wholeness I get from a heart song. I can sense through my new magic horn that I'm right on top of the bad guys trying to cause trouble for the new world! Time for my big entrance! I come right to where my instincts are telling me and . . . I find a green pegasus? It must be one of those monsters that disguises itself as a pony first! "Hey kid." "Hi! I mean! I'm Princess Animatia Erroria! Magical Filly! Are you a monster?" "Well I've been called that plenty of times." "Are you the one corrupting ponies to your will?" "Well, I can't say I haven't been inspiring some foals lately to do things how I like to." "I knew it! How can you be so moral?" "Uh . . . kid, I mean Princess, did your cue cards get a typo? Don't you mean 'immoral?'" "Oh no. Morals are when ponies are told not to do happy things. And everypony says how 'Moral guardians' are bad ponies, so therefore, morals are clearly bad things. I mean, it's just logic. It speaks right from the heart." "Ever heard the phrase 'tossing the foal out with the bathwater' kid? And trusting your heart with logic is as bad as trusting your head with feelings. Both just lead to misery." "Enough! Your words are as empty as your soul! Reveal your true form, you jerk!" "Why?" "... Well, a magical filly can't go blasting monsters that look like ponies. That just wouldn't be right." "So how somepony looks is how you decide if you use force or not? Isn't that kinda prejudice?" "No, it isn't. Because you're bad. It would just send the wrong message." This dialogue was going on a lot longer than it was supposed to. "And you've just admitted to corrupting innocent foals! So I'm going to beat you and make things right!" I point my spear of justice at him with my telekinesis. "That so? You ponies don't really get this so I'll explain. Unless you change the condition of the world that let a villain come about in the first place, then a new one will always take their place." "I don't believe taking down a bad guy means a new bad guy has to pop up!" "You DON'T?" The villain looked me up and down. "Are you... SURE you're a fan of superhero stories, Wonder Girl?" "I'm fighting for my friends!" I swore, with a dramatic twirl of my weapon. "And that's something always worth fighting for!" "Wonder what your friends used so you didn't really become miss perfect. I still think you're a wee bit prejudiced." "Why do you CARE? You're the BAD GUY!" "Bad guys can have standards, kid. Do you have any idea how many tyrants get their crown thanks to prejudice? A LOT." "Okay, how's this for a good non-prejudiced reason: if you happen to be some fanged frog monster... I'd be able to come up with a much more effective battle strategy than if you keep trying to pass yourself off as a pony!" The villain smirked. "That so? That outta be enough talk time. Well, I guess that's actually a valid point, missy. And it would be too rude of me not to accommodate a little girl's fantasy, so..." One of his wings became like a bug's, his tail became like that of a rattlesnake, a pair of curved horns grew out of his head twisting down. He grew a pair of big fangs. His eyes grew all yellow and ugly. His became bigger, and his body twisted, becoming longer. I-I think I'm going to be sick! NO! Magically Fillies have to face up to all kinds of disgusting monsters! Away I go! - 'Magia' Madoka Magica - I strike my pose. "In the name of Equestria! I will punish you!" The monster roared! Lightning struck from its horns. I yelped and flew back from its arch! He threw more and more and more lightning! I duck, jump, and side step! "HeRe's a gOoD 'BAttlE sTrAtegY' foR YOu: Go hOmE And hIdE undEr yOUr bEd!" It breaths fire slowly moving up towards me. I inch back some. No! I had to be brave! I was a Princess, a Magical Filly! I fought evil! And I'd fight this evil! I'm a magical filly, and won't lose when I believe in myself! - "Protecto-Justio-Fieldo-Separatio-Isolatio-Colaterio-Damegeo!" A screen of sickly pink formed around the two that expanded on the inside while remaining the same size on the outside. Alula, aka, Princess Animatia Erroria, flew towards her opponent, not trying to zigzag. The green stallion monster fired anarchy beams from his eyes right at her. She barely moved to dodge. The monster jackhammered punches at her as she came close, leaving shockwaves of force in their wake, but she avoided them so fast that it left afterimages of her. The monster clapped his forehooves together, a pyramid of industrial strength clouds closed in around the pegasus, sealing her in. But moving so fast, she left a trial of afterimages behind her, she avoided the trail, then sliced the pyramid of clouds to pieces with her pole-arm (not that she knew that her weapon was called that). The monster flapped his wings, creating a gale that actually pushed the fog back and away. Princess Erroria's white horn glowed, creating a barrier of sickly pink magic around her, the wind not moving her at all. The monster fired another bolt of lightning, this one much larger than the ones before. The pesudo-Alicorn Magical Filly fired lightning from her own horn. The monster's bolt got larger and began to reach towards her. "I won't give up!!" Then her sickly pink lightning bolt continued to increase in size and force until it completely overwhelmed the monster's, burning the tip of his horns from the feedback and was knocked back. He breathed fire again, this time right at her, and this time Princess Erroria cut the fire breath in two! She leapt up high into the air, her weapon moving like a rotor. Now the monster's legs didn't seem to want to work right, and she made herself a big target, forgetting about his eye lasers. "Loving Royal Justice Beautiful Loving Sparkling Bright Light Truth Honor Loving Starry Sky Bright Line Wolfen Gold SPLITTER!" A beam of solid gold like shade like a blade extended from her polearm, and reached to the heavens, and slammed it down on the monster who didn't simply step out of the way of the attack. Then vanished in a massive pyrotechnic explosion. Princess Erroria landed gracefully with her back to the explosion. "That is the power of friendship!" She smiled. She had nothing to worry about. Everypony knew beating the monster always restored everything bad the monster did, so even if the monster had done any other bad stuff, it was all good again. The barrier around her battlefield vanished. - You did it Alula! Wait till you tell Diamond, Cloudkicker, Truffle, Tootsie, and all your other friends about this! Hehe! That was so cool! Too bad Liza had to miss it, but it wouldn't be fair if I tried to hog her from her other friends. I bet this'll make Diamond smile! I guess I oughta get back and-OH! ICE-CREAM! And all my favorite flavors! Can I have a banana split? Thanks miss! No charge for a Princess Protector of Ponyville? Thanks! Can I can have some to go for Princess Liza Doolots? Thanks! Oh! And some for Truffle! And for Shady, and Diamond Tiara, and Night Gale, oh, I don't really know their favorites, I'll just get a sample of each! Yippie! And a free cube puzzle cause I'm a special customers? Thanks! I get a prize if I finish it? Okay! Let me see! Cloud Kicker is going to be so proud of me! You wanna hear how Tootsie and me freed Luna from Nightmare Moon, got rid of Queen Chrysalis, and defeated Tirek and Gogar all at once too? Sure! It's really exciting! It all started the day I saved this little blue, no, purple dog, no wait, kitty from bullies pestering her, and she had this pretty moon, actually it was a pretty star on her forehead, and she told me I had a super special destiny! Then they went to page ad, I mean I had to go to school. Extra sprinkles? Thanks! > It's Too Dangerous To Go Alone. Take This! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We hadn't heard anything since we'd galloped from Alula's voice. Nothing seemed to be giving my Blanky the willies. She'd just stopped chasing us. I hope. "I wonder if she was just trying to get us to get a move on," Scootaloo said. "I doubt it," I said glumly. Apple Bloom turned to look at our flanks, tilting her head. "It doesn't LOOK LIKE ya switched cutie marks." "She's a part of my club, Apple Bloom, we're nowhere as close as us three, but we're still part of a flock," Scootaloo said, "I know it was better to be safe than sorry, but until we know for sure, I'm not gonna assume she got turned bad." "Everything in my gut says she wasn't coming to help." Like I guessed, Rainbow Dash's 'trust your gut' speeches had rubbed off, and Scootaloo didn't try to argue this time. Rarity always told me to think with my head...but if I had, the thing Cheerilee was before Scootaloo saved her might have gotten me back when this started. Ugh...I'm just going to think with whatever feels right! The world's confusing enough already without arguing over which body part to listen to! "Hey, Apple Bloom, Any idea how long till we get where we're going?" Scootaloo digressed. "If Ah knew, Ah'd tel ya! Ah swear it's like Truth's leadin' me on some squiggly path." 'Hopefully that means we lost her,' I thought. Scootaloo had to push her way through the fog like jello or something. When I stepped through the fog myself, it felt like it was a fleshy membrane (learned that word just last week). And then the fog was behind us but the sky above was blue. Green grass below our hooves, and absolutely nothing was colored that creepy pinkness. Everything was a little more, what was that word Rarity used? Oh right, pointillism. I think. The only thing inside the 'walls' of fog was this one house. Straw roofing, bent of out shape. but with a sturdy-looking chimney, white walls and visible wood beams, shrubbery, a little heart weather vane, and a lone tree nearby. It had a basement (I could tell from a little ground level window), one floor, an attic, and a second attic with a second thatched right on top of the first roof. Even when all by itself, it didn't really stand out from any other house in Ponyville...But just seeing another place without the darkness everywhere else had made me give a sigh of relief. "Ah wonder why Truth led us here, any of you girls know this place?" "I don't know it," I said. "But...at least it's not pink, right?" "It's on my paper route, I think it's- SWEETIE BELLE! Where'd that come from!?" Scootaloo pointed. I look where she was pointing. "Scootaloo I don't see anything, Apple Bloom do you see...any..." - 'Comical Theme' Robotech- "Where did this come from?!" I echoed looking down at myself. I had long white gloves on my forelegs. The blouse was armless and magenta, the collar was pink. The caparison that rode on my flanks was light purple with a dark blue thread going across it. There was a smaller blue caparison on top with a white bird and yellow triangle design. I had little triangle clip on earrings. A necklace of round red gems with a bigger one near the middle. A gold belt was around my waist and a gold plaque around my neckline. And I had a golden tiara with winglets at the sides and a red jewel at the center. I took a closer look and saw it was all costume jewelry, not real jewels and gold. I check the tag on the back of the neck and it had my name written on it in my old writing style before I learned my telekinesis. It looked like a costume I saw in Tiddlywink's toy store once, but with some differences. I may kinda, well, be very bad at sewing compared to Rarity, but I still know my sister, and I recognize her style whenever she 'upgrades' a dress. Scootaloo giggled. "Where's a camera when you need one?" I blushed. I liked playing dress-up, I didn't think it really looked that bad on me at all, but I didn't like being dressed up without my okay by this weird fog magic! "I don't see what's so funny." Apple Bloom covered her mouth trying to hide her smile now that she saw I was still me. "Sorry, Sweetie Belle, but yer mighty prettified." I really wished I knew Rarity's magic for turning stuff into dresses, cause if I did Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would be wearing taffeta everything right now. "Wait! Where's Blanky?!" Blanky barked, as he came out behind Apple Bloom (why was she wearing my saddlebags again?)...my puppy looked like he'd been attacked by a green marker. He was glowing and was all see-through, and was blushing. He poked a paw through Scootaloo's leg like one of them was an illusion and whined sadly. "Ah guess yer colors sorta complement each other," Apple Bloom said. "PRINCESS SWEETIE BELLE! YOUR POWER SHALL BE MINE!" Boomed this big dark voice out of nowhere. Uh-no! What now?! The answer was this big dark goat popping out of nowhere, his eyes were solid red, and he had a bell around his neck on a necklace of skulls. He had a pitch fork floating next to him in the grip of the same magic aura as his horns had. Goats can do magic? He also had a lot of spiky armor and had pointy teeth! I was too busy staring at the huge nasty dark lord ram to notice first, but there was something...electric about his voice, like PON-3's music. The details of his body looked like tiny squares. When I said big, I meant BIG, Big Mac would have to look up to him! Scary music started playing from nowhere. "He's-he looks like a buncha ones and zeros!" "What?" I took my eyes off him, and looked at Apple Bloom. Stupid. "You are mine, princess!" I turned just in time to see a spell shoot from his horns. An orange blur moved me out of the way. "Just like old times?" Scootaloo joked. "Thanks." A cage formed right out of the ground where I'd been standing. "Now your magic is mine, princess." "No it's not! You missed!" "You are mine, Princess!" He fired the spell again, the first cage vanished. This time I dodged on my own. "Now your magic is mine, princess. You are mine, Princess!" He repeated and used the exact same spell. "Can't you say anything else?" Scootaloo asked but he ignored her. "Now your magic is mine, princess. You are mine Princess!" I dodged again, he wasn't anticipating me at all. I remembered my dream and checked, no I don't have wings. Aww, that'd have been kind of fun. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Scootaloo dove hooves first right between his eyes, and bounced right off him. He didn't budge and didn't even look at her. "Ow! What are you made of?" "Ones and zeros," Apple Bloom repeated. "What's that even mean?!" "Ah dunno! He jest is!" "Now your magic is mine princess. You are mine Princess!" Think Sweetie! What can you do? If Blanky eating a window hurt Cheerilee, what could erasing the baddie do? He's too big for my telekinesis! THAT spell takes too long! I get the feelings mind magic won't work here. "Now your magic is mine, princess. You are mine, Princess!" said the broken record. Maybe- "I'll save you Sweetie Belle!" "Button Mash?!" He came leaping out of the house's front door, holding a sword made out of tiny squares. He was wearing a green night cap. He also had on a green tunic that I'd seen in Tiddywink's shop too and had Rarity's signature fix-ups too. He had a plastic shield that had the same symbols that were on my costume on one foreleg. He ran right between me and the big nasty ram. "E-ERROR. DIALOGUE NOT FOUND. SEARCHING... " The music stopped with an electric garble. "FILE TREE FOUND. "So... you have come, BUTONMAS. The strands of destiny have pulled us together. I knew if I captured your little Princess-" "No, you didn't!" I said, but the bad guy didn't stop talking. "-you'd come. You bring the third tri-heart to me, heh! Purifying the chosen sages to undo the barrier around my tower was just the ordeal for the tri-heart of Bravery to choose you." "Uh, I actually didn't do any of that yet, Grogar." "He's not made of ones and zeroes," Apple Bloom said, looking at Button Mash. Grogar kept talking over us. "And now all are mine! I will take the Tri-Heart of Insight with the life of your princess." WAIT WHAT?! "Now fulfill your destiny worm, and give me what is mine!" Grogar roared. I put my hooves over my ears it was so loud. Button Mash was shaking, but looked at me, then shouted at Grogar, "OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Dummy! Get away! If Scootaloo couldn't hurt this monster, I know Button Mash can't. I saw a window push open from the inside and a pair of metal tubes came out, then this loud banging noise like fireworks, and something small bounded off Grogar's side, he ignored it like he did Scootaloo. Button Mash looked at the house and shouted. "Mom! Don't make yourself a target!" Numbskull, that's what you shouldn't be doing! Wait, his mom!? A ring of fire rose out of the ground, blocking off the house and my friends: leaving me, Button Mash, and the big evil ram together. Scootaloo tries to fly over it, but the flames just grew higher the higher she tried to fly over. "Hey!" "Don't worry, Sweetie Belle! I'll protect you!" "Eeeeyeah, thank you for the offer," I said feeling really awkward as I magically held Button Mash and began to float him away from the big nasty before it ate or something! Button Mash swung his sword around like it'd do any… he just cut through my magic?! And landed right on his hooves. "NO! I promise I won't mess up!" "You dumb-dumb! Stop being stubborn!" "YOU'RE MY FRIEND!" Grogar meanwhile had charged up a ball of magic between his horns and threw it right at me! Button Mash swung his sword and the ball of magic was knocked back towards Grogar?! Did he channel his earth pony magic through his sword or something?! Grogar swatted it back towards us, and Button Mash knocked it back again? This freaky game of tennis continued until Mash made a downward swing with his sword that sent it zooming back. Grogar wailed and his entire body shook. Button Mash rushed in and began slashing at Grogar. I don't know swords that well, but Button Mash sure seemed to know what he was doing! He was like that colt from Canterlot who Apple Bloom fenced with when she had the cutie pox! Whenever Button Mash's sword made contact, Grogar flinched and I heard the sound of a sword strike, but it looked like Mash's sword was going THROUGH Grogar instead of cutting him. Then one of Grogar's horns broke off, fading into nothing. Then Grogar teleported away in a flash of flames. "DUCK!" Button Mash yelled as he- HEY!...pulled me down to the ground before a bat made of fire flew over my head and flew into the wall of fire around us, more flying in and out as I watched. "Uh, thank you." "Don't worry, he'll reappear after the flaming bats do a full circle!" "Why doesn't he just keep doing it?" Button shrugged. “Why doesn’t anypony just keep doing anything?” Then Grogar appeared again and charged up the same spell, only this time Grogar threw two at the same time in spite of now being down one horn. "Why is he using an attack you knocked back before?" I asked, then wondered why I was giving the bad guy advice. "Thinks I won't be able to this time?" Button Mash said with a frown. As Grogar’s balls of magic hit Button and the force of the impact sent him skidding across the ground, it occurred to me that distracting my would-be rescuer with questions, mid-battle, was not helping. A little transparent heart floated up from his body, then broke apart. Then Grogar began to telekinetically swing his trident around in circles spinning towards Button Mash. Uh-no! I use my telekinesis to knock the trident off course, running in front of Button. I wasn't strong enough overpower his magic but I could still mess with it. Just call me the Great and Powerful Sweetie! The pitchfork's pattern in the air became all jumbled, flying into the wall of fire. Why don't I just blast him in the eye?...The last time...the last time I used that spell was...when I...when I hurt...Rarity. "You okay?" I asked the dumb question. "It's alright," he grunted. He got up, looking no worse for wear. Lightning arched from the bell around Grogar's neck. Uh-oh, I'm no pegasus, and I don't know weather magic like Trixie. I created the best barrier spell I could, which wasn't much. I felt all my hairs stand on end as the lightning mixed into my quick barrier's magic and through me but at least not through Button Mash. Then Grogar threw two balls of magic again, Button Mash jumping forward in front of me and knocking them back again. This time I used my own magic to push the nasty bunches of bad magic back the way they came. He made the same roar as before as they hit and Button Mash didn't waste a moment and began to slice and dice him again, the only visible damage being his other horn breaking off. He vanished and the fire bats began again. This time I didn't need to be told and ducked on my own as they knew around us. Grogar reappeared like clockwork. Grogar appeared again, but Button Mash ran from the magic thrown at him. Huh? Button Mash kept looking around for something, but looking at me said. "Now I get it! Ahem! Sweetie Belle! You're my bestest best friend in the whole wide world!" "Uh, thanks?" Triumphant trumpets instantly played and a golden bow appeared in my hooves suddenly above my head. Text appeared above my head too. -Sweetie Belle Got The Light Arrows! - -These sacred arrows pierce even the bleakest of darkness, when combined with the Master Sword, they have the power to banish even Grogar! - "Aim for the bell around his neck after I stun him!" Button Mash shouted. "There aren't any arrows!" "They'll just appear when you use it!" He then shouted at the bad guy. "Grogar! You have zero punctuation! And quick time events are cool!!!" Button Mash said with conviction that was as confusing as it was rock solid. Grogar did the same attack, and Button Mash marked them returned to sender. This may not be a good time to tell Button Mash I'm not Archer. But not having a choice I pull back on the bow, and an arrow made of glowing light appeared ready to fly. A red dot appeared in my vision. Huh? I blinked, I put down the bow and it vanished. I put it back it and it appeared again. Wait a minute. I pointed the bow till the red dot was in the same place as Grogar's bell and let it fly. Pulling back a bow takes a lot more strength than you think. The arrow of light flew, and hit Grogar's bell dead center, the bell shattered. Button Mash then drove his sword into Grogar...but Grogar began to push back out! I didn't need to be asked and used my telekinesis to help Button Mash. "Mash the buttons! Mash the buttons!" Button shouted. And we apparently gave it enough push as the sword went in up to the hilt. Grogar froze in place. "The wind...it's blowing...so soft." Then he turned to stone, and vanished. The circles of flames and everything else related to him vanished with him. Button Mash looked at his sword, and looked up in awe at the sky, a soft wind blowing through his mane, then looked at me. "Sweetie Belle, are you okay?" "THAT'S MY SON! WHO-HOO!" "Sweetie Belle!" My friends ran/flew over to me and hugged, Blanky licking my face. I hugged them back. "Wow! That's a cool exposition fairy!" Button Mash pointed at Blanky. "Wait! You can see him?!" Even Blanky looked at him confused. "Uh, shouldn't I be?" "Um, his name's Blanky." "Nice to meet you, Blanky," Button Mash smiled at my pet. Blanky didn't seem to know how to react. I know how he felt. Button Mash mimed putting his sword away on his back even though he didn't have a sheath and it vanished into thin air. After everything else, that wasn't too freaky. "I'm surprised I was able to stop Grogar. Not that I was scared or anything, but I was worried since he was kidnapping you, that I'd only be able to just barely to fight him, he'd beat me, and then carry you away." "Well, that was thoughtful of you.” "In the games the hero always gets beaten up by the bad guy the first time they fight, and has to watch his princess get kidnapped, so the hero can know how outmatched he is." "Then why did you?" Scootaloo asked. "Because Sweetie Belle was in trouble." Button said. “And because there’s always that one game that seeks to defy the usual stuff. But gaming aside, I mean… come on, wouldn’t you have done the same, Scootaloo?” Button Mash said her name like they knew each other. Like there was nothing more that needed to be said. And in a way, there wasn’t. Scootaloo looked rather shamefaced, in fact. "Sweetie Belle...you...you were ...you were awesome back there... thank you...and..." He, he took off the green night cap, his ears pressed against his head. "Sweetie Belle are...are you still mad at me? Please don't hate me." "Huh?" "This morning, or I think it was this morning before everything became weird and scary-" "WAIT-! You still think Sweetie is your fillyfriend and you still noticed the world's gone bad?!" Scootaloo gasped. Button Mash shuddered, looking up at me. "I didn't think...I'm sorry, I don't think Sweetie Belle, I'm sorry. Mom said friends always have problems like this but...I didn't think you were THAT upset...it's, PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!" I took a trot back. It was all I could do. The sincerity in his voice, the desperation in his eyes, the pain in the way his body moved...He thought I hated him, but he still came to help what he thought was an impossible fight? "Can...you jog my memory? A...a lot of bad things happened since I last saw you." Button Mash deflated. "You don't remember?" I cringed. I put on a smile. "It's okay. I promise I won't hate you." "...when we went to Sugar Cube Corner, I...challenged you to a milkshake race...I got brain freeze, and fell on the floor crying out and, spilled my milkshake...you just looked bored and kept drinking yours and then began to play my Gamecolt without asking, uh, not that was bad or anything I promise, but I found a bit under the table so...so I thought it was all good. You looked bored, and I'm really sorry about that, but you didn't shout at me, or say anything bad,...so I thought you were okay ...Sweetie Belle I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! You're my best friend! Please don't hate me!" He...he looked like he was about to cry. "I...I don't hate you, Button Mash." "R-really?" "Really. I-I promise." "THANK YOU!" Button Mash leapt up and hugged me lifting me off my hooves! "THANK YOU! THANK YOU, SWEETIE BELLE!!!" He twirled me around. He then nuzzled me. Hey! Girls! Help here! They just grinned at me. Geeze! Thanks a lot! "You're the best friend ever! I-!" Button Mash stopped dead in the water, and put me down, then looked kinda worried and said, "I...that is, our friendship really means a lot." "Uh, thank you, Button Mash." He gave me the most simple and pure smile in Equestria. Change topic. Change topic! "Why are you wearing that costume?" And why am I wearing this costume? "Well...today is our playdate." "You think the world having gone rotten is time for a playdate?!" 'Thank you for not making me ask Scootaloo.' Button Mash withered. "I...I was playing with the options and...well, you're wearing yours." "That's because it popped on me when we saw your house, I was wearing my cape before." My Crusader Cape! I forgot! I hope it's in my saddle bag! I open it from where it is on Apple Bloom, thankfully it's still in there. "Wow, that's a relief," Button said. "What is?" I asked. "I worried before that you thought you really were Princess Cadence." Why did I feel ironic right now? "You were?" Button Mash nodded. "Yeah! If you were Princess Cadence, then you wouldn't be Sweetie Belle anymore and..." Button Mash made little circles in the dirt. "Uh, I'm happy you're still you." Rarity, Spike, mom, dad, Silver Spoon... are you still you? I shuddered, remembering Miss Void said the bad guys had gone after Rarity and her friends first, and what Apple Bloom said she'd seen in her dreams. The solace on Button Mash's face… I couldn't break his heart and tell him I wasn't the Sweetie Belle he knew. My eyes widened. "That big goat ram! What if he was somepony who got turned into a monster too?!" "He wasn't like Cheerilee, or Fiesta Flaire," Apple Bloom said. "Yeah. He was just a buncha ones and zeroes. Apple Bloom said he wasn't really alive," Scootaloo said. "It's more like he couldn't learn anythin'," Apple Bloom said. "How he kept repeatin' himself? Ah think if you showed him a picture of somepony and told them their name, he wouldn't be able to even get a badly remembered jumble of it. Now if he began CRYIN' when he didn't know what to do, or ran back to his creator askin' what he was supposed to do, he'd clearly be a foal in an adult's body and THEN it'd have been wrong and evil." "That's kinda precise," Scootaloo said. "Ah know," Apple Bloom rubbing her truth eye. "But point is, Ah didn't even see any of those things in him, he was just...zeroes and ones." "Huh...and wait a minute, wasn't Tirek the big bad of the Legend of Cadence games, not Grogar?" Scootaloo asked. "He was, but then they retconed him to be the ultimate evil demon king of who the hero's first incarnation killed and Grogar was the incarnation of his rage and hatred, I think it kind of works..." Button replied. "Kids! Can you PLEASE continue your chat inside the house and not out in the open?" shouted a mare's voice. "COMING, MOM!" Huh! HEY! Button Mash took me by the hoof and began pulling me along. I turned my head, to see the house's door open. Inside was a mare with a cream coat, blue eyes, and a long brown mane in a ponytail like Scootaloo's. Her cutie mark was a heart with a baby bottle. Blanky and my friends followed close behind. As I got close I could see her hair was frazzled, and next to her was a big carved piece of wood with the two metal pipes on one end with a ring for a hoof to fit through. Apple Bloom didn't look scared of her. The lady hugged Button Mash before he was even inside. "I'm so happy you're safe, Button! I wish I could've helped you!" "It's okay, mom, it's okay." "I'm your mother, I'm supposed to protect you." I remember when Chryssy, Queen Chrysalis broke Miss Twilight's mom's legs, and I'd stood there, smiling. "I"m sorry, it's not fair at all," I said. Button's Mom looked at me wiping her eyes. "I'm happy you're safe, Sweetie Belle. You and your friends. Your family must be-! Oh I'm sorry, dear!" She hugged me like I was a friend of the family. Wait! Button's Mom knew the world's changed too? But why? Maybe for whatever reason Button Mash does, but still thinks we're special-friends. "Don't worry! We're gonna fix everything!" Scootaloo stamped her hoof. "Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom and I said together. "What? Since when is it a secret to everypony? And Phobia DID say we should talk to Button Mash, and you said we should trust Phobia." "You guys met Phobia? He said you should all talk to me? Does that mean I'm the Chosen One?!" "Uh..." Scootaloo said. "Technically we're the chosen ones, but he said you might be able to help... somehow." "Oh...But if I'm not the chosen one, that means I'm either the mentor or an ally, and I'm too young to be the first one. Or I have something to give you." I raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" "You know, how in RPGs you pick up party members, learn skills, and get items from others you meet, and we just fought a boss from the Legend of Cadence, so..." Button said, rubbing his head. "So I'm just guessin' I'm one of those three things... Unless it's one of those ironic ones where you turn evil and then I have to save the world instead." We all looked at him dumbly. "C’mon, girls, I explained all this when you tried getting Cutie Marks in video game design!" "Uh, can you remind me when that was again?" I asked with an awkward smile. "We’ve made so many Cutie Mark attempts… sometimes they blend together." Button Mash told us. Five minutes later we were having milk and cookies. And we met Button Mash's dad, 8-Bit...turns out he was schoolmates with Miss Twilight Sparkles' brother...who knew? Button Mash said that just yesterday his dad had gotten a pony to watch his video arcade/store in Canterlot (what kind of name is Zero Card?) He didn't have superpowers and he wasn't a monster. His family wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth. I still don't know what that thing Button Mash's mom has is. Just that she made it very clear we weren't supposed to touch 'it' because 'it' was dangerous. Every place has had its own surprises. That's why I was still surprised when, after Button Mash finished stuffing his face, he did a downward slide motion with his hooves, and this floating transparent list appeared in front of him. I squinted to read words like Equip, Items, Status that were backwards from where I was standing. None of it really make sense. Video games are Scootaloo's thing. Button Mash tapped an outline of himself that became the whole menu with little pictures of what he was wearing and that sword and other stuff. He tapped the costume and the green night cap and stuff all vanished in a glimmer of light and he was as naked as anypony. He then tapped another picture showing different head stuff and tapped the picture of that beanie of his that appeared in the same glow as the costume. And the tiny top was just spinning, whether there was wind or not. Earth Pony magic? Wonder if he's related to Pinkie Pie. Oh right! Freaky magic floating words done by an Earth Pony. "EEEP!" "Oh! Sorry, Sweetie Belle! I missed my hat and I didn't think my hat would go with the costume." 'He cares whether something goes with something? It’s like he’s a young male, video gaming Rarity!' "Wow! Can I do that too?" Scootaloo asked, trying to do it herself but nothing happened. "Dang it!" + I normally wouldn't change out of my adventure gear if we still have to save the world. But we did just beat a boss, and we haven't started a new quest line, and your home always counts as 'town area' so it's gotta be safe, right? And plus there's exposition happening, the game doesn't interrupt exposition... And... there's that too that lets me know we're safe in here. + He was looking at a horseshoe box like it contained the Heart of Ponyland. I'd assume he was being weird. But he knew the house rules and we didn't, so it could've been the Heart of Ponyland! "Button Mash," I asked, "What's in there?" "Nothing new, Sweetie, I kinda wanted to build up dramatically to it though." Button Mash trotted over the small box and took the lid off with his hooves. Why was there that dramatic jingle in the background? Inside was this dusty gray rock. "It's my moon rock. And it saved us." None of us really knew what to say to that. "I'm serious! It happened like this: I really should have gone home to mom right then after...me and Sweetie talked, so I did. It was before everything went M-rated-" "Why did you 'really have to' go home? Cheerilee gave you permission?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, I was talking with Phobia, I thanked him for that new copy of Alpha Gold Banished or Alive...too bad mom took that away." "That game has some things I don't think you should see, Button," said Button's Mom, holding a gold game cartridge with fighting mares on the cover with unrealistically over-sized tails and cutie marks. "Forget the game!" Scootaloo said. "You were talking to Phobia and..." "And I told him how I'd told lots of foals about how a good game's story, RPGs, always gives the heroes a chance to win, like he asked." We all looked at each other. We huddled. "If he knew this was coming, why not just have ponies tell stories about how the bad guy lost?" Scootaloo asked. "Remember what Miss Void and Phobia said? That Applejack and the others were all hit by the bad stuff FIRST," Apple Bloom said. "It might be like tryin' to draw over a picture without erasing what's already there, all ya'd get is a mess. Or maybe it's like how Trixie figured out somethin' bad was goin' on after Chrysalis tried scarin' her off but couldn't do anythin' in time so she just had tah settle fer helpin' us stop it?" "Wish they left us a manual." "I say we be grateful they made sure we'd have a way to save everypony," I said. "And would you have actually read it?" Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo's ears wilted. "Maybe?" "Scootaloo, you never read manuals, you know that. Plus what you'd want is a Strategy Guide." "Wha! Hey! Private chat!" "Sorry." Now Button Mash wilted. "Button Mash, WHY did Phobia ask you to tell ponies about stories in games always having a way to win?" "He said it would help ponies who got hurt by the glitch monster like me and my family were." Huddle again. "You think?" "This doesn't really seem his style," Apple Bloom said. "WAY too many rules. Too many boundaries. Things are all twisted about but they ain't RANDOMLY changin'. Plus, 'Umbra Breeze' don't sound very chaotic tah meh." "Girls, can you stop that?!" Button Mash asked, a little huffily. "We're all on the same team." We did stop. I'll admit, it wasn't fair to Button Mash. Scootaloo sighed. "Alright. So what did that all have to do with the moon rock, and you going from school early?" And I wondered, HAD Button Mash been in our class before or not? I thought he was too young for that. "Okay, so Phobia told me that I should really go home to mom, and I realized I really should go home to mom. So I went to my room and ...kept up a stoic silent resolve after the day's ordeals." Button Mash cried his eyes out, creating two puddles on his bedspread. Snuffling boogers and hyperventilating. "Mom respected my privacy and that I was big enough handle things on my own." Maternity hugged her son tight. "There there, dear, it's okay to cry. It's okay. Mommy's here. Just let it out. I'm sure Sweetie Belle was just tired. She didn't mean any of that. And if she did, I'll have a LONG talk with her sister." "And then that BIIIIIG earthquake! I went to the doorway just like I'd been told." "Mom!" Button Mash ran for his mother, as the entire world shook and hugged her for dear life. His father standing safe in a doorway. "We looked out the window and saw lots faces in the fog, and everything and everypony getting swallowed up in these big white balls, that began floating everywhere, and things were turning pink. And...I saw in the sky, some big monster eating the sky! Like the sky was a big piece of paper! Like it was just a big illusion spell. There was only this big black nothing left! But a bright light started to shine in my room! Mom thought I was crazy! Dad thought I was crazy! I thought I was crazy! But I ran for it! The light was coming from under my bed next to dad's Pong machine! It was coming from the shoebox! I felt the forces of darkness bearing down on me, but I pulled open the shoebox, and out come the moon rock I got from my trip to the moon with mom and Princess Celestia! I climbed out the attic window and raised the moon rock high to the sky! "And the moon rock shined even brighter! I wish I'd worn sunglasses! And I knew! The sky wasn't fake! The sky was there! The moon was there! I'd been to the moon and the sun! And so had mom! They sky was real! I knew they were! And the moon rock blasted away the feathery monster eating the sky! And the sky was back where it belonged! And nothing looked like pink concept art! And I got little pop ups telling me what I could do now! I guessed I wasn't in a classic game or I'd have been let to figure out the controls myself...But that big foggy wall was still there...And it was full of monsters. So mom made me come back inside. And I noticed the rest of the world was still pink...kinda a reverse. Normally in games it's your home that gets blown-up first, but our home was the only place that didn't get zapped. Girls I was so worried! I thought you'd got turned into monsters too! Now we can save the world like we're supposed to and save everypony!" - Scootaloo thought. 'Wait. If it was because Button Mash knew he had the moon rock, that he knew the sky wasn't fake...then he really did visit the moon? That really IS a moon rock! Not just something made up by the stupid curse. Stuff like that is supposed to happen to us! Not ponies like him!' - Apple Bloom then thought. 'Well, at least now we know what happened while we were out...Ah wish that made meh feel better.' - I felt awkward wearing the 'Princess Cadence costume' (I'd never seen her wear anything like this), more so now that Button Mash had taken off his costume. But I didn't want to be rude. Thankfully he gave me an out. "If we're going to save the world, I'd rather dress as Sweetie Belle," I said, taking the costume off. I put back on my saddle bags and cape. Blanky looked happy to be home. "Okay," Button Mash nodded politely. "If it's your starting gear then you'll find better stuff soon anyway." What language does he even speak? "Actually, our starting gear was our capes," Scootaloo explained. Apparently she spoke Button-Mashese at least a little bit. "Oh...That makes sense, mine is my beanie." Button's Mom nicely took the costume from me and folded it up all nice. "I'll send this to you and your sister's house after you save the world dear," she said. I saw Blanky wipe the dye off himself and take off the plastic shackle that just faded away. He looked confused that we'd apparently somehow managed to dye him at all. "Oh! Sweetie Belle!" Button said. "Should I get mom to get your dog something?" I started, forgetting Button could see my 'exposition fairy' I think he'd called Blanky. I think he was just trying to be nice to me, I don't think Button even had pets. "Uh, sure, if he wants anything?" Blanky just shook his head. "So... " Button Mash said. "Anypony wanna play some games before we go?" 'We?' Button Mash wanted to come with us? I looked his mom, but she just smiled. I was going to say something but...how could we be sure when we'd next get a break?... But... all those ponies out there...in danger...what Phobia said about them not coming back if something bad happened to them...I was kinda conflicted. I never played many video games, but we could still get a breather while he played. And Phobia had wanted us to come here for some reason. In the mean time, Button Mash had gone to his room. I think it was Scootaloo who said 'Yes.' We followed. Scootaloo's jaw dropped as she saw all the games and stuff Button Mash had. But Button Mash didn't notice. Button Mash turned one of his game machines. "Girls," Scootaloo whispered, "Look." Scootaloo pointed at the screen. "What about it?" I asked. "Our names on his game's high score list." I remembered what Phobia said about the changes being like they'd always been, like at Nurse Redheart's hospital, but it was still uncomfortable seeing that there. Especially since it was the only reason he was helping us! "What I can't believe is that he has a higher score than me at this game," Scootaloo said. I rolled my eyes. Of course. "I've got my pride on the line!" Then things got even weirder when it turns out all three of us had little custom characters for his game! And they actually fit us so I couldn't just imagine he'd made them for us! "Girls, are you okay?" Button Mash asked as he wiped the floor with us for a third round in record time. "If you don't want to play I...I understand. I promise I won't get upset. I promise." "We're, just distracted," I said. "You've gotten super better at this." "Actually...I've kinda not been playing as much since I've been hanging out with you girls." Uh-Oh. Button Mash then began to fiddle with that floating transparent list again...wait, why was he clicking a picture of me? I noticed a glow and looked up to see my name floating above my head with two different colored bars and numbers. "Hey, why is our friendship value so low?" Button Mash asked. And I noticed a word between a picture of me and Button Mash. =Acquaintances= Without speaking Button Mash opened up another floating list, the latest entry was: 'Congrats, fought together in a duel against an evil monster for the first time. Relationship value upgraded from =Barely Knows You Exist= to =Acquaintances= Button Mash looked at me wide eyed. Before I could open my mouth he hugged me as only an Earth Pony could. "You had your memories of our friendship stolen! Please try to remember! Our campaign against the Sisterhood of Shake! When we defended Ponaria from the Venomous Empire!" I think he was crying again. But this was worst than his other fits, he wasn't gushing rivers, this time just little tiny tears trickled down his face. "A few days ago I showed you my gamecolt after I named the female lead after you, and you were blushing!" I stiffened. "Why...why did you name her after me?" "Because...you're good at singing, like Princess Cadence." "And you did this in class where everypony could see?" He lowered his head. "...I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be so embarrassed. Mom says I really need to work on that." "Button Mash...how long have, we been friends?" "Since last year...when I moved to Ponyville, you wanted me to join your club, I was more interested in saving the people of Harmonia from the Drakon Invasion. Then Apple Bloom and Scootaloo helped you talk to me by pushing you closer, but then they had somewhere to go, and...I showed you the game and...you didn't think it was so bad." How long has it been since we formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Well Over a year. It's been over two years since Princess Luna was rescued from Nightmare Moon. And I remembered us asking him to join and him being more interested in his game ...is...is this what would've happened if we'd tried harder? Button Mash then took a slip of paper out of a drawer. "Here's, here's the receipt from Twiddly-Wink's store. I bought the princess costume as a gift, but your sister said it needed work and made it better." "Did...we wear them for Nightmare Night?" "...No we didn't, we wore them for play. You really don't remember any of it Sweetie Belle?" He was trembling. "Mom...mom said she was happy that I was playing with other foals...Even when your sister and your friends said that it might be dangerous to have me along with your games, mom was still happy. You...had to drag me along a few times...and... Spike actually dragon mailed my gamecolt back to mom a few times when he was upset I wasn't paying attention." "'You've been dragon-breath-ported to Canterlot without your fur, have fun with that,'" Scootaloo read pointing at the glowing floating list, Button Mash hasn't closed it. The date showed it happening well before the wedding. Button Mash blushed beet-red. "Oh, that...eheh, Spike and me got into... uh, a discussion? And...he said that was his counter argument." "I don't suppose we ever made you a Crusader?" "You said I didn't need to join if I didn't want to. I just...I just wanted to hang out with you Sweetie Belle." We all looked at each other. I'll admit, I'd have punched out Apple Bloom if she tried to tell him the truth. It was just...he had so many happy memories...I didn't want to tell him they were all lies. The worst part was, the more he described, the more the stuff he talked about WOULD be stuff I'd do. (Like when he described the TORTURE of Rarity 'fixing up' our play costumes.) ...And part of me wondered if the reason this never happened...was because we hadn't tried harder. A bit later, we were on Button Mash's bed (the top sheet missing). We told Button Mash about the hospital, about Razzaroo, about Miss Cheerilee. While there was nasty stuff, we skimmed over the super nasty stuff. "It sounds like you were in a tutorial level." "Cheerilee isn't a game character." Scootaloo frowned. "I...I wasn't saying she was, but it was how you figured out what to do to help right?" - I nearly died saving my classmates and my sister, and that whole thing was just us 'learning the rules?' I am not buying that! - "Button Mash," Scootaloo said, "Thanks for help saving Sweetie Belle from that monster. But what could you have done with Cheerilee?" "It really reminds me of a Star Trot game. No no no, I promise it's not a long story. You play as a Redshirt, the ponies who wear redshirts on the good-guys side who always get hurt so the heroes know they're in danger. You're on a space station doing the lowest of the low jobs with a zillion other red shirts, and your goal is to get off the station before it blows up at the end of the game. There's different ways to win, but I climbed the ranks until I got the highest redshirt rank, 'Captain's Assistant', because the captain was a girl, so even though I didn't have the skill requirements in game, I was able to charm her into letting me have the job, so I was taken with the named characters when they left the station before it blew up. I escaped by becoming the love interest for the captain!" I didn't ask if the captain was named Sweetie Belle. "That...kinda is what I did," Scootaloo admitted. "I...I found my link with Cheerilee, and that was the key to us living. I...I promoted myself from being a victim in the story to her conscience, and I cheated the narrative's rules, and woke up some of the rules for how the world is supposed to work!" "So we really do need a connection with anypony we want to bring back to themselves," Apple Bloom said. "Like when we were freeing ponies' from Chrysalis' mind control magic." Chryssy, Queen Chrysalis, and what she did to innocent ponies. What I made Scootaloo go through. "Sweetie Belle," Button Mash said sadly. "I'm...I can't lie to you. I'm...SORRY!!!" "Sorry for what?" "I didn't save you! You were in the hooves of a wicked queen! And I wasn't even there to help! I couldn't even get to you! Maybe I am just a soulless NPC. All I could do was wait! I'm...I'm sorry I'm no good. Maybe I should just be friends with my neighbors in Animal Town." Button Mash escaped into his little world and turned on his Gamecolt, I turned it off. "Hey! ...Button...Look..." I started, trying to think. How do you talk down somepony who has completely different memories from you? "We didn't even get involved in most of our sisters' big adventures. Chrysalis brainwashed me. But that didn't mean we couldn't help when we got the chance." "R-Really?" "Yeah. And didn't you just help me fight Grogar?" "...Yeah..." "And aren't you telling us stuff that might help us?" "...Yeah..." "You aren't just here to do nothing. You're with us for a reason. And...if my memories were taken by something, they'll come back in the end, right?" I had to tell him something...and at this point, I DID want to be his friend. "Yeah...either that or you don't remember but we've grown close enough it doesn't matter." "I can live with that," I said. I felt sad pretending I had amnesia for him. Wait a minute. I WANT to be his friend? Is it the spell? Wait another minute! That's dumb. So what if I want to be friends? Since when're ponies afraid to be friends? I ignored the dirty look Apple Bloom gave me and kept looking at Button. "...Button, even if I don't remember what you do...I don't think it matters." "Huh?" "...We're ponies. I don't want to live in a world where I'd be afraid to be your friend or anypony else's! So whether I ‘properly’ remember I'm your friend or not, I still want to be your friend no matter what." That little status thingy above my head changed from 'Acquaintance' to 'Friend'. Button Mash hugged me. ".yoU ponieS ,yoU reallY dO makE friendS aT thE droP oF A haT" Huh? I look around, but all I spot is Blanky scratching behind his ear. "Button Mash can you go over the rules for, Arr-Pee-Gees, for me?" I asked covering for all of us. "Can ya do it quick too? The ending of this game’ll change depending on how long we take," Scootaloo added. She understood his language better than me. Button Mash only paused for a second, but it was like it lasted for nine days. "Well, for starters, no two role playing games are alike, they have their own spin on things. But generally, you have a group of characters, going from place to place on a quest, and every party member, that's what you call your group, can do something special that the others can't. Like how Scootaloo can fly but Apple Bloom is stronger and Sweetie can zap things. And as the adventure progresses, party members get better stuff, get new abilities, and you either end up saving the world, learn something important about yourself, or both. And it's important to talk to everypony you meet, cause you never know who's gonna know something important. Oh, and you meet a flying cat that says they're an ancient red dragon, be nice to them, they're usually gonna be right. Hey! I think Razzaroo might be your save point! She's the pony who saves your game!" I REALLY didn't want to test that out. "And I think you did the smart thing running from Alula. If you were given that much warning, and had the choice to run away, that means she's either a super-boss, which you don't need to beat to win the game, and is normally tougher than the real final boss-" "Or what?" "-Or she's an unbeatable boss that you're supposed to run away from until near the finale." "When we're tough enough to help her?" Apple Bloom asked. "Actually no, unbeatable boss means just that, you literally can't win. An unwinnable fight until you reach the finale, where your stuff suddenly does stuff when they didn't do anything to her before or you're given the one weapon or special power that can actually hurt them you can ONLY get during the endgame.. If she's chasing you, it's a big sign you aren't meant to face her until near the end game." "I don't like us talking about her like we KNOW she's a bad guy, we don't have solid proof. So I'm not going to think that in case she isn't one and we accidentally make her one thinking about it," Scootaloo repeated herself. "All the same," Button Mash said, "If her, or anypony like her, comes at you like that, unless we're near the end of the game, we shouldn't face her because we'd lose." "Unless the curse makes that true," Scootaloo said. "Sounds like these games rules come with trade-offs," Apple Bloom said. "I guess they do. But girls, if somethin' is chasing you can avoid fighting it, avoid it!" "So… final bosses?" Sweetie asked. "There's always some big bad guy behind everything at the end of the game you fight. And after you beat them, the world is saved, even if a meteor is crashing down on your heads just before. Though you might have to blow up the meteor, but that's normally a cut scene. But it does get a little predictable...I mean, with how many demons secretly run major religions based on love and giving in RPGs, and those talking about doing the right thing turn to be bad guys, you think ponies in those worlds would think greed and hate were good things! Luna II Endless Blue, Breath of Flames 2, Last Fantasy Strategic, Last Fantasy 10, Mom had to explain things to me before we moved to Ponyville because I thought Princess Celestia was a bad guy because she was so clearly not a bad guy and everypony loved her." "Have you looked outside? I think lots of ponies DO THINK greed and hate are good things now," I said shuddering. "Not for long," Scootaloo said. "Ya can say that again," Apple Bloom added. "You can count me in too!" Button Mash said. "This isn't a Ponyville game! If you had the Ponario Brothers be brooding jerks in a grimy city shooting zombies on the run from their old herd, it WOULDN'T be a Ponario game, and this ISN'T a game of us either!" I didn’t NEED to get any of his references: I couldn't agree more. Rarity's dresses wouldn't be RARITY'S if they were just something stitched together with jewels copied from one of her dresses. I'd tried that. "Let's turn this into the type of game dad's making with the ideas Lickety Split and Pipsqueak gave us!" We all gave him a look. "Oh, you don't remember that either. Well, I didn't mention it before anyway, but Phobia suggested I talk with Lickety Split and Pipsqueak again, saying I could mine them for ideas on a new video game dad could make. That's how I got how stories in games work spread around. Dad's thinking it could be like O-Celest and be based on all the myths and legends ponies have about Megan and the Paradise Ponies." "Again?" I asked. "Well, maybe they...both tried making friends with me but...maybe the land needed saving from evil at the time and I was having trouble with this boss and maybe never looked them in the face a little?" Scootaloo groaned. "Do you wonder WHY you don't have a lot of friends?" "I...actually tried to be friends with Rumble...but he...un, really doesn't like video games." "That's dumb, but no reason not to be friends," Scootaloo said. "Or colts who do play games." "Oh." "Phobia said I should try making friends with Featherweight again...the cookies he sells and his Aunt Mayflower are nice, but..." Button Mash fidgeted. "It never clicked? Maybe cause he doesn't talk much? It was like he wasn't there when he visited." Featherweight and Shady Daze... they were working the paper, please be okay. Lickety-Split. We hadn't thought about him not being at school. There's rotating classes and we're not Pinkie Pie! Scootaloo sighed. "Button Mash, anything else we outta know about game stories?" "Things become needlessly complicated and ideas get repeated. Sometimes it's best to say 'don't take the logic too seriously.'" "What else is new?" Applebloom said. "We better see if the Truth will take us to Zecora next." Button Mash smiled. "She liked rhythm games, but she said video games weren't for her." "You met Zecora?" I asked. "Sure, with you girls." Button Mash's face was glued to his little glowing screen, unconsciously following Sweetie Belle's tail in front of him. How an earth pony was walking and playing his game at the same time was a mystery for the ages, or just Lyra. A giant spider and giant bat swooped in to eat him at the same time but ended up bonking heads instead. A giant pony-eating Parasprite-trap reached down to eat the colt only for the disoriented giant bat to fly into its mouth, the force uprooting it. A cockatrice flew down to turn him to stone but the reflective surface of Button Mash's gamecolt turned it to stone instead. Scootaloo cleared her head with a shake. "Apple Bloom, why Zecora? Now that we know how to help ponies, we should try to help Twilight, or find Spike and help him so he can help Twilight. She's an egghead, she's gotta know where's the tower with the printing press." "Well," I said rubbing my chin. "If the bad guys twisted Rarity and her friends first, that means maybe they could stop them, so they might have made them...badder than everypony?" It reminded me too much of how Chryssy had put extra effort into brainwashing ponies who were more important to her schemes...like me. "So we need to level up!" Button Mash said. "But what about Phobia's warning?" Scootaloo said. "This is all strange and otherworldly and stuff, Zecora knows LOTS OF STUFF about strange and otherworldly stuff, she could really help, maybe help figure out more of what's going on," Apple Bloom replied. "How is what's going on gonna help what we need to do?" Scootaloo said. Oh no, please. I am NOT going through another argument again. "Look! It's not like Apple Bloom is controlling where the path through the fog leads us, right?" "Ah don't, think Ah am." "There see? So we're arguing over nothing. So let's go!" I stood up. Button Mash stood up smiling. "Yeah let's go!" We all looked at each other, even Blanky. We didn't need to say anything. That nightmare out there, the monsters, seeing everypony we loved turned into monsters...No way I was letting another foal face all that. "Miss Button Mash's Mom!" I called out. "Button Mash wants to go on a dangerous quest where he could die! Does he have your permission?" Button Mash's mom stormed in, and looked her son in the eye. "Is this true?" "Uh, well, maybe? But I'm not going off alone! I'm going to have my friends with me too!" "I see..." She hugged him. "I'm proud of you Button Mash. Go and save the world! Mommy will be rooting for you! Just please be careful, please, dear?" "...I promise, mom." Button Mash hugged back. A few minutes later Button Mash and his dad were wiping away tears too. After Button Mash finished saying his goodbyes, Scootaloo just glared at him. "Rainbow Dash wouldn't let me near the big action and I saved Sweetie from the bug queen! Your mom and dad are just letting you go?" "Parents always let their kids go on adventures in RPGs and you can come visit them again whenever you want," Button Mash said. "Why can't that be the rule when we go Crusading?" Scootaloo asked nopony. "It's better than them dying in the opening cut-scene or are never mentioned at all and nopony ever notices but you." Scootaloo's fire went out. "Yeah, that does suck." Blanky did not look happy about this either. "Button Mash," I said. "Phobia said anypony who dies, won't come back to life when we fix everything. That means us too! I don't want you to die Button Mash!" "I..." Button Mash shivered. "I ...I thought about how this was a rogue-like." Apple Bloom frowned. "I want to help you Sweetie Belle! I don't want to do nothing again." I put a hoof on his shoulder. "Button Mash, you've already helped. A lot. We saw awful things out there, AWFUL things. I don't want you to have nightmares forever too. I don't want you to die. Please? For me?" Okay, I felt dirty for that last part. But it was for his own good. "Shouldn't your job be to protect your mom and dad?" Button Mash nodded and sniffled. "Okay Sweetie Belle, if that's what you want." I nodded. "And if something happened to YOU, wouldn't that be horrible for your mom and dad?" Button Mash wilted. "...I'm sorry. I-- I didn't think about that." I gave him a hug. "So you stay right here, and let us save the world." Button Mash nodded. He waved us off, giving me a super sad face as we trotted out of the bright sunny place and back into the fog. Button Mash wasn't so bad once you got to know him. But this was too dangerous to bring him along...Sort of like when our big sisters always told us their adventures were too dangerous for us to go along...and were kinda always right...but that never stopped us from running into dangerous stuff on her own. And now Button Mash had faced some of that dangerous stuff with us...Wait a minute...THAT WAS MY SIGNATURE SUPER-SAD-FACE he used! The one I used whenever Rarity made me promise I wouldn't do something and then we- "Hey, girls." "BUTTON MASH?" We all said together happily trotting next to us. Apple Bloom did the thing with her eye again. Why did I forget he'd know how to do that face if he'd spent time with us?! "You turn around this instant!" Scootaloo barked. "Nope." "What about your parents?!" "If you girls lose, then we all lose, and it won't matter if I'm there or not, that's how it goes in RPGs too, we're the only ones who can save the world. So I'm being selfish by NOT going along." "BUTTON MASH, HORRIBLE THINGS ARE WAITING FOR US!" I shouted. "Like when we found the haunted video game?" Scootaloo looked like her head was about to explode. "Princess Luna promised she'd 'exercise' it. Before that Zecora put it in a zebra-vodoo container." Sounds like something that'd happen to us. "How did ya follow us through the fog?!" Applebloom exclaimed. Button Mash smiled. "Don't you girls know that once you form a party, you're stuck together unless the plot makes them leave?" Button Mash showed his transparent menu with the words 'party map'. "You were never going to stay behind were you?" Scootaloo asked. "Learned it from you girls." Button Mash smiled. Scootaloo's eyes became pin pricks. She whispered our thoughts in a moment of telepathic powers. "So...this' what that feels like." “THIS ISN'T A GAME!" I stamped my hoof. "Technically it is, but we've only got one life, and the stakes are everything we knew and everypony we love." "Everypony you love is safe. There's nothing for you to worry about," Scootaloo said. Button Mash then had a face so serious that it didn't look right on him. "You're my friends. You're not going to be safe until we save the world. So I'm coming." Button Mash mimed pulling out a sword from his back and that pixel sword appeared again. "Ah can't control where the truth really leads us, so ya want out, ya get stuck wherever ya give up. And Button Mash... we were scared bonkers by this stuff... we can't be lookin' after ya and ourselves." "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, no matter how scared I get, I promise I won't abandon my friends on this." We all paused. Button Mash had done the Pinkie Promise! There was no going back now! "Button Mash, don't do anything rash." "No more than you girls." "He's doomed," Scootaloo said. "Hasn't stopped you." He smiled. I gave him a gentle nuzzle. "Button Mash, promise at least...well, don't do anything your mom won't want you to do." "Okay." "Ha! Your mom only let you go because the rules of the game said she had to, so she wouldn't really let you do this! So you have to go back home!" I smiled smugly. "Nice try, but I already did it. Doesn't count." "Nuts." Apple Bloom said. "Okay Button Mash, but remember, we're a team, don't act like Scootaloo." "Hey." "Okay, no being Leadroy Jenkins, got it!" Button Mash nodded and saluted. "So let's go save everypony!" And us, one invisible doggie, and four foals, we’re back on our quest to save everything. Be a foal after this Button Mash. Rarity, Silver Spoon, Spike, I promise, we'll save you soon. > Daring Do And the Mysterious Mare > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A.K. Yearling! Wakey wakey, eggs and cornflakey." My eyes fluttered open. I was on the bed covers, snuggling the latest Daring Do book. Still clad in my poncho and hat. 'Oh my.' Was I really that tired when I got here? I didn't feel sick anymore. Guess I just needed some rest. Don't have to visit Doctor Redheart after all. Okay. Time to visit the Golden Oaks Library. Been looking forward to seeing those Walter Trot first edition books. Maybe accepting a tip from an unmarked letter wasn't my best idea ever. But it does make an excuse to see Rainbow Dash again. Who am I kidding? I bet Rainbow Dash and her friends are always being bothered by fans every day, whenever they're not out saving Equestria. I can't believe Ponyville only has one bed-and-breakfast run out of one changeling pony's home. You think with Princess Celestia's apprentice and her 'secret' daughter both living here, that there would be herds of ponies visiting. Oh right, breakfast. There's a unicorn mare wearing a stereotypical Prance maid uniform, holding the breakfast tray out towards me. June Bug didn't say anything about room service. She politely places it down in front of me. "Thank you." "You're welcome." She doesn't leave as I eat. I guess she wants to take the tray away when I'm done. Her name tag reads: 'All-Giving.' The eggs and flakes were delicious, right out of a fantasy. "My compliments to the cook." "Thank you." It really was a good meal for something so simple. My family's kinda-sorta maybe upper-middle class. We're from Fillidephia. My father and uncle are archeologists. Dad loves telling a story about being caught by some deer while in the middle of an archeology dig. Apparently, the deer thought he was a spy and had to escape; just him and a few other prisoners before getting back to Equestria. Dad never saw what I liked about Daring Do. He couldn't read a book through without laughing out loud at how many 'creative liberties' were taken. I liked them all the same. Me? Well, nothing much. I'm part of a book club. I get along well with the others in my club, but, I'm not as close I'd like to be. My cutie mark? Magnifying glass and book. No, I'm not a detective. Some ponies with a magnifying glass are good are finding objects. I'm good at finding and collecting rare books, and even rarer passages and notes, but I'm especially good at finding obscure texts and literature, and at diving through information in general. I once spotted a fake copy of an old script my mother was going to buy for the library, but I could tell it was roughed up on purpose, recently, to LOOK ancient. I more or less work at Mom's library. I spent the night of Princess Luna's return locked in my room hugging my books, thinking the world was going to end. I've never spent so much time outside in the sun when Princess Celestia returned. Then the Princess said she had to make the day shorter to keep the clocks and calendars straight (much to a LOT of protests, mine included). Discord...he made me Daring Do, and trapped me in the story...except without any of Daring Do's athletics or encyclopedia-like know-how of archeology. I died. Only for the story to start again, only things changed every time so it didn't matter how often I did. And the 'exercise' I got running for my life 'reset' too. The Elements of Harmony saved me from that meaningless Tartarus. I didn't even look at my Daring Do books, I threw them out. 5o many ponies needed help, I let others have therapy before me. Then came Princess Gaia. My mother is still upset that ponies wouldn't have written anything more inspiring than 'See pony run,' at the time and Dad doesn't like how ponies' only interest in archeology would be digging in the sand box. But Princess Gaia was possessed, like Princess Luna, none of what she did was her fault. And even if it was? She saved me. I spent Gaia's Day with my family running, jumping, flying through the jungle she made for us wearing Daring Do's hat. She even had her pets give my books back. I remembered what made me love Daring Do, what made me admire her, why I wanted to be like her. Uh, yes I'm on Princess Gaia's newsletter, PLEASE don't tell my parents. I feel proud of myself for writing down everything I saw happen during the changeling invasion outside my hotel room, which was a lot, I had a great view of things. It's one thing to read about Daring Do punching out bad guys, it's another to see ponies fight bug monsters in a battle. Newspapers paid me a lot of bits for my notes. I still wanted to write a book from my own experiences during the wedding incident (which weren't much beside observing a few big fights, but that was more than most of Equestria). When I finished eating and got on four hooves, All-Giving said. "There's no graceful or easy to say this, Miss Yearling, so sorry in advance. An evil curse (yes, those exist,) has changed the world into a place worse than Tartarus. Everypony thinks this is how the world's always been. We have irregular heroes working to fix the mess, but that won't help any ponies who die in the meantime. We need all the help we can get, but the new rules of the world say things always turn out badly. We need Daring Do, whose rules say she can win no matter what the odds. We need you to become Daring Do." I had a new morning plan worked out. -5 Minutes laughing at the joke. -3 Minutes thinking the maid was crazy seeing she was serious. -30 minutes in denial after looking out the window and taking one step outside my room. -10 Minutes hearing about how the Princesses and Equestria's heroes were now monsters. -3 minutes blaming All-Giving for this. -1 hours crying on my bed hugging the pillow and hiccupping with All-Giving stroking my mane. "I'm sorry. The last time something like this happened, the ponies involved were a lot more...straightforward-thinking. You're a lot more skeptical than they were." "Last time?!" How many times had this happened?! "Shhhhhh, it'll be okay little pony, I promise. If you could remember the last time the world changed you'd be happy it did. I wish I had my Parents' voice, that would make this much easier. But there's so much that needs doing." "Who are you?" "If you promise not to tell anycreature, I'm the creative spirit." I didn't see any horns or wings. "Are... are you an Alicorn?" "Uh...kinda sorta not really. But it's a lot nicer hearing you ask that than the last creature who did." "Who...who was that?" "That's not important. This is your story, not mine." "Everypony has their own story." All-Giving clapped. "That's a good answer!" I blinked. "But...you didn't ask anything..." "Kinda sorta one of those implied questions. But...experience has shown bringing something from the Land of Legends into the real world can backfire...but that you know that truth, it means you really are the right choice." "But...but why ME? I...I just don't want others to laugh at me. I'm...not that physical. I'm... I'm just Miss Jane Doe, I'm not a superhero..." She put a hoof on my shoulder. "Let me tell you a story, Miss Yearling: long ago, a magical land was in trouble from Tirek himself...a brave pony named Firefly flew across a rainbow to another world, and came back with help...the help she brought was no superhero, she was just a simple farm girl. But she had the HEART of a hero...and in the end, that was all that land needed: somepony willing to do what's right." "...But...how...how does that work?" She chuckled. "Being a hero isn't just having superpowers or magical artifacts, those are TOOLS. Being a hero is about having the HEART of one. I'm just giving you a tool your heart already knows well how to use." "I...I think I understand." "The hardest part was figuring out how to explain all this to you, I don't have The Voice, like my parents. And my little brother kinda destroyed my family's reputation in Equestria, so that was out." "Who is your little brother?" "A spoiled brat and a bully who likes to say he's just doing what comes natural." Seeing the repulsed face I made, she continued, "My family's not all bad. One of my Cousins is the Lord Of Colors, if you meet a bunch of colorful talking frogs, that's him." I had a feeling I was never going to get to those Walter Trot books. I had to ask, though, "Is Rainbow Dash going to be okay?" "She will be okay. But...be prepared if you meet her. She'd been made...not herself. At all. Be ready for a fight." I shuddered. Reading a fight, and watching a fight was one thing, but being in one? Against a friend? "It must be horrible for the Princess, her daughter being turned into somepony awful." I shuddered again. All-Giving said the Princesses, THE PRINCESSES had been turned into something bad. If they had been, then what about my family? I felt alone. "...And again, that's why we chose you." I blinked, looking to her. "Huh?" "...A selfish pony wouldn't have stopped to think about somepony else when their life had been turned upside down. You still asked about somepony else...and if there's one thing a hero isn't, it's selfish." I blushed. "...Thanks...You know a lot about heroes, don't you?" "I am the Creative Spirit after all." "If you're the creative spirit, then, can't you just imagine up Daring Do to save the day?" "That might be possible with the new rules in play...but she'd be bound by the hundreds of alternate character interpretation of her. Is she secretly a thrill seeker who doesn't care she's robbing ancient resting places? Does she just fight monsters and have a cool hat with no personality? A mare who was deeply hurt in the past and can't trust anypony? Daring Do needs a real heart." "So you don't need me, you need my heart?" "Your heart IS you, make no mistake." "You said before if I remembered the last time the world changed, so, if I become Daring Do, that means I'll stop being me? I'll become Daring Do like in the books?" "No. You'll become Daring Do as she is in Equestria, there's a big difference. If I made Daring real, she'd be subject to everypony's interpretation...but if you're her CORE, she'll be what YOU are, because you'll be her...There is a big chance this could make your family and book club safe, Yearling." I blinked. "There is?" All-Giving nodded. "Each 'story' in this place has a bubble that runs on its rules. That draws ponies into it the story NEEDS. Daring Do needs a backstory, and if you imagine well enough, you might be able to protect those precious to you. Rainbow was targeted, your family wasn't." "Might?" "Can you imagine a role for your family?" "...My dad would be Daring Do's father, the one she learned from...my uncle too." "GOOD! Keep going!" "...And my book club, Daring has a circle of contacts to get information... those contacts have to be somewhere safe." She clapped her hooves. "Great! Great choice!" "But... am I erasing WHO they are to make them fit roles in a story?" "Ah, but don't forget, this is YOUR story we're writing here," she explained, giving a smile. "You're putting them into BLANK roles that logically exist but don't have major characterization! The characters will be written to suit them, not the other way around! We're using YOU as the core for this. So as you wish it, so shall it be." "You sound like a genie." "I'm actually working with a potential goddess on those, but that's neither here nor there. Daring Do as she's written now doesn't have much life outside her adventures, and her adventures always hit the ground running. So YOUR life won't be grandly effected. In fact, given how often ponies complain about her lack of backstory, you're probably doing some fans a favor." "Or tick them off by jossing their fanon." "Well to be fair, if this happens, Daring Do's history will ALWAYS have been what you make it." "...If I'm going to be the real Daring Do, will the books still exist?" "Do you WANT them to still exist? Genuinely with your heart of hearts?" "...Yes...me and too many ponies love them, if I just erased them, it'd just be sad." "If it's important to you, it will be important to the new Daring Do. She'll find SOME way to make sure her story is told." "It feels...cruel that Daring Do's author would go from being the world's most cleverest fiction writer to a plagiarist or biographer. 'Twilight Velvet' doesn't deserve that." "Hmm, good point...but there are things that need to change from real life to fiction. Things that a confident secret keeper with a history of novel writing might be willing to help with as an editor...and I promise that if that's not enough, I'll do my best to inspire her new works to the best of my ability." "Except I'll be Daring Do...just like I was when Discord trapped me in those books." "Wrong! You'll have everything Daring Do has! Her knowledge, strength, skill. And you won't be TRAPPED by the story, though you will have to follow its rules… at least, until the world is cleaned up, they'll be a part of you." "If you can do all this… can't you teleport me out?" "This system in place doesn't consider mere mortals to be much of a threat, least of a 'nobody' like you. If I performed such a miracle, they'd know instantly I was here. And we already lost my big brother's avatar." I frowned at her then. "You set this up so I had no choice but to become Daring Do if I wanted to escape." "I had no idea actually. I was hoping the Bed and Breakfast would remain safe and alone since Junebug herself is as much a 'nobody' to them. This part was actually bad luck." "Who is 'them?'" "I literally can't say. Sorry. Also, you don't meet the criteria to heal the world on your own. Again, sorry. Trust me, if you did, it would mean everypony would need to busy protecting you instead of you protecting others. Sorry." "So even if I become Daring Do, I can't be the one to save the world like she should?" "Do you care more about saving the world than saving lives that'd otherwise be lost?" I admit, I wasn't expecting that question. "There are who CAN save the world and are working their hardest. You CAN just wait it out, no harm will come to you while you're here, and I'll provide all the comforts of home. And you'll return to your normal, safe, sane life once the fate of the world is decided. Should evil triumph, I'll see you live out your life in peace in this one room unmolested with all the books you want. And if things go their worst, you can be taken to a universe where none of this happened, and you continue your life as was." I didn't even think about it. "...If I can help. Then I'm going to." "Happy to hear!" Then she frowned. "But be forewarned! If Daring Do is real, then all the other characters in her stories' cast must also be equally real. This is truth." It struck me like lightning what she meant. "Ahuizotl." "There'll be leeway...but essence of what's written must remain true. Like artifacts, and the Tenochtitlan Basin. The villains might become MORE realistic, things regularly get toned down for younger readers." "Ahuizotl'll be busy hurting ponies while I'm busy helping them. Or all the time I could've spent saving lives will go towards us fighting each other. It's pointless." "No. There's lot of REAL artifacts you can find that could HELP ponykind... Like Meadowbrook's Eight Enchanted Items, a lot of Starswirl's lost treasures, and a lot of stuff from the Age of Wonders. And many formally FICTIONAL artifacts as well." "Aren't there Nine Enchanted Items?" "When the world's fixed there will only be Eight. The Ninth was created out of the collective belief of a herd of ponies with a very distorted view of reality. Point is, there are a lot of GOOD artifacts you retrieving would make the world BETTER after this whole mess is done." "But Ahuizotl and the other villains in Daring's rogue's gallery… " "Daring Do is the Batmare to his Jester, he's not about to let the other baddies this world spawned do her in. And take a guy like Dr. Caballeron: he's only in it for the bits. And if the world is destroyed, there won't be any bits FOR him to make. So there are various ways you can win the villains over to your way of thinking." "...Who would be made INTO THEM though?!" "Nopony." "They'll be imagined out of thin air?" "Oh, if we did that they might become empty vessels for...a cousin of mine who LOVES seeings things turn out for the worst. So when a place in reality opens up, noponies will rise to fill in those spots. Those who inhabit Nowhere. A lot of them jumped to fill in the roles of what happened here. Good or bad, doesn't matter to most, so long as they get to be again. You becoming Daring Do in fact is part of giving one of them a chance to be." I barely understood one or two words of that. We were clearly getting into cosmic multiverse technobabble territory. "Uh, okay?" "Oh, and one thing to remember in your heart of hearts: when those new beings come into being, they'll retroactively have always existed, and gain a real past to explain WHO they are. Like Ahuizotl will probably turn into an ancient evil released from a pyramid or something...but their FUTURE is still in flux...just because their CURRENT role is to be the villain, doesn't mean they're STUCK with that. For all of them there's a chance to save their soul. A niece of mine needs to learn that." "That's good..." And at least I wouldn't have to learn how to be Daring Do. “So girl, are you in?" I look outside, at the sketches on dirty pink world that had replaced the world I remembered. Perverts, psychos, and monsters. When I tried to step outside my room, I'd felt dirty, no, like something was pulling inside me, to make me something depraved and degenerate, and loving every moment of it. It scared me out of my mind and I fell back in while All Giving checked me over nine times to make sure it hadn't stuck. Everything Equestria, we ponies weren't supposed to be. It was like a dung heap, attracting worms. And my family, my bookclub, everypony, thought this was things were SUPPOSED to be? This was how things SHOULD be? It made me want to crawl under my bed and just wait for it to be over. But everypony out there...all those ponies who didn't HAVE a bed to hide under...how many were going to never-be-heard-from-again? "How do I become Daring Do?" "It's not just you becoming Daring Do." "You're going to have lots of ponies become Daring Do?" "No. Only you, and somepony else, together will become Daring Do. You'll still be A.K. Yearling, but at the same time you'll be Daring Do. Everything you have stays with you, but you'll become more." "Wait, 'together become Daring Do?'" "Ever read Dragon Egg Z?" "No. I hate Manega." "Oh. Well, you and a rather special nopony, fuse to become Daring Do. But basically, Daring Do becomes your secret identity since you want to hold onto who you are. That's one way to look at it. You join together because this way what you HAVE isn't getting REMADE, only joined together. You'll even get some nice puzzle solving skills out of the deal." "An egg and flour can become a cake. But then it won't be an egg and flour anymore," I said. "Think of it more like the materials of this building," she explained, trotting over to a support beam. "You're the supports, the core, the part of it that holds it all up and together. This nopony will be the paint, walls, and everything else bonded to that. You can still tell what they once were, they haven't lost what they once were, but combined into a house, they're so much more than before. The pieces of a puzzle, they're all still there. Even if they're joined together." "So I'll have voices in my head?" "No more than any other ponies does." "So won't this other pony cease to exist?" "She already doesn't exist. You'll be GIVING HER existence by joining with her." "Uh...what?" "...Remember how you asked if this happened before? This pony is someone who...couldn't be saved one of those times it happened. We saved the universe, but ponies like her lost WORSE than their lives...So with this, you'll give a lot of ponies a new life." I stood stunned in silence. Digesting what I'd just been told. All those years I've lived, there were times I wondered if I existed, or it would matter if I didn't exist. And thinking back to how horrible it would be if that wish was granted. "...Promise me." I said. Summoning up every bit of sternness I could remember reading Daring Do having. "All those ponies you just mentioned? When this is all fixed. You'll get them their lives back. If she can helped then they can be helped too!" "She's unique! She was able to hold onto something, or an impression of something the others couldn't. I've only seen one other Shadow in all of creation do that!" "But it's not fa-" "Don't say those words, for the love of My Parents don't." That look in her eyes... "...I'm sorry...believe me, I would if I could. I SINCERELY TRULY WOULD if I could...but I can't. These beings are HALF a soul, the Shadow, a husk...the light that used to be in them is now in somepony else. Born again into the world, and to do what you ask of me when be to rip all those lights from the ponies who have them now to give them back. The end result would be the same: shadows of SOMEONE...You're right it isn't fair, but the universe can only be fair for life, not fair for EACH life." I frowned. That look on her face told more than anything she said. "...So...the closest these things can ever come to life-" "-is to be granted a new one, like the ones who are going to become Ahuizotl and the other characters in Daring Do's story. As a bonus, I can make the books the author has imagined but not yet written work too to give a few more, but that's the best I can do." "...I'll do it. I'll become Daring Do." "Then we have a binding contract." All-Giving pulled a rug away to reveal a trap door that she opened. I saw inside was a giant spiral staircase made out of frozen ash, surrounded by an absolute blackness. The air was drawn TOWARDS it, like a vacuum, I felt the warmth sucked out of the room. And I felt an irritation, like my existence was disrupting the peaceful nothing within. I saw the transparent image of a pony, more like a colored shadow, crawling out of the trap door. She was white earth pony mare. She had a yellow, purple and pink stripped mane and tail, light blue eyes. And her cutie mark, was a magnifying glass over a puzzle piece. I moved to help her up the last step, but All-Giving stopped me. "No, this is something she WANTED to do, she has to make the last step herself." I watched as the living shadow pony pulled herself out of the trap door with one final heave. The shadow pony looked around, and her 'eyes' zeroed in on me. "You're...you have..." Her voice was like the echo of a recording. Like I was listening to a message being played across a huge canyon. "When the others jumped through the cracks that appeared, smelling existence on the other side, holes to fill...you said I could have a true existence, a real life again, my light back, if I reached the top. None of my friends could even follow me when they tried, I couldn't even carry any of them with me when I tried. This is why isn't it? It was calling to me." "You hesitated when the others rushed in, why? Anything is better than Nothing," All-Giving said like it was part of a ritual. "What I smelled on the other side, was less than nothing, it was the opposite of the world I lost. I'd rather be zero than a negative number. I'd rather spend forever lurking in the frozen castle of Shadow Narnia than become a part of that mockery." All-Giving spoke. "A normal shadow couldn't have made it, I've only seen one other shadow hold onto their sense of self like you. Puzzlemint of the lost Age of Dreams, if you join with Awkward Kindness Yearling of the Age of Harmony, you must give up the last of name 'Puzzlemint'. But you and Awkward Kindness will become a hero to protect the lives of ponies...and this world can be made beautiful again." She looked at me. A part of me feeling like I was looking at an old friend...no, like a twin sister. Why did a part of me feel like I knew her? She sighed. "So in the end, I do what happened to Rainbow Dash to another pony. If I existed, I'd feel guilty right now." Rainbow Dash?! All-Giving's horn lit up and made us look right at each other. "Don't you know it's rude to speak to somepony in third person when they're in the room? SPEAK to each other. You have to ACCEPT each other, or this won't work." As you can guess, we started at one another awkwardly for a few moments. "...Hi, I'm Awkward Kindness Yearling..." "I WAS Puzzlemint... Her birthday was in October. Her favorite flower was lilies. Her favorite color was yellow, like the sunshine. Her favorite word was 'jolly.'" All-Giving sighed. "Talk about what you want, what you have in COMMON." "I like looking for old books...finding things others might miss and making sure they're treated well..." "I like finding hidden things too...solving puzzles..." "Solving the mystery of something long forgotten?" "Finding out something no one else can?" "Wanting to go on journey, collecting all the pieces." "Feel the jolly excitement of finding something new?" "The lightness inside when all the pieces come together." "Especially if you have a jolly friend to share it with?" "Who listens as you explain the big puzzle?" "Even if they don't jolly understand everything you say." "Because you're so caught in the puzzle that your words get left behind." "And when you hear about somewhere new, you jolly love reading about it, because it's like being there yourself." "When you read a story of a far away land, you can't help but wonder what it'd like to be there...so you go there, even if it's just in your mind." "But a tiny part of you wishes to go there for real, even if you've never left the land that's your home." "Picking up those little details nopony else notices. Even when a mystery stops being a mystery when you solve it." "You have the jolly NEED to solve it. Even if..." "Even if...you aren't going to like..." "What you find...and the answer might scare you." "You still have the need to know...to discover. To solve it." "Pity. You have a will to survive, a desire to know, and a mind that thinks. But you're not on the list. Sorry Puzzlement." I gasped out loud, my head swimming. That was... "That was...That was your memory?" "That was our memory." "I told you their lights were born as new ponies," All-Giving said. Puzzlemint, her life, just gone, all because she 'wasn't on the list?' And I was supposed to take what was left for her to power up myself? "Even if...even if you're in nowhere-land...isn't it...important at least you remember what I can't? If we become Daring Do, won't it all vanish?" "There is a part of us that will remember what is most important...And besides, there's a much better keeper of memory than a Shadow..." "What do you mean?" "I'll answer that," All-Giving said. "Some ponies who might be a little crazy, or maybe too sane, recovered memories of the old world...and a public park was built outside Ponyville as a mock town. Suffice to say, before the world was turned into a horror story, it could share that world's spirit...but none of that is going to matter if the world stays a torture-sicko's dreamland." I blinked, looking at her. She looked...sad. "...You sound like that park was important to you." "...I'm the Creative Spirit, destruction was one of my brothers' thing...I liked that world. And I promised somepony I'd make sure her stories were remembered by somepony. And I know they would be if that Park continues to exist...I'd have made sure of it with a little inspiration." "Storybelle?" All-Giving nodded. I breathed in deep. I was going to join with a me from a former life and become Daring Do...and... "I won't just become plain old YK Yearling when everything is fixed will I?" "No. What you and Puzzlemint are going to become, is going to be here to stay. When the world is fixed, it will be as if Daring Do had always been." "That includes me?" "...Very likely." Was I scared? Yes, very. But heroes were scared all the time. I wanted adventure. And I would get it. No more safe days in the library. No more safe visits to the book club. I'd be busy surviving cursed tombs and unearthing magical items that were likely buried for a very good reason. I'd chatted with Rainbow Dash about Daring Do being real, I'd argued how good it'd been if the heroes were real, I came here for good books and good friend, not save the world but here I was. "Let's not drag this out anymore. Let's do this." "Ball's entirely in your court here, miss. I've just set the stage. Welcome Puzzlemint home, that's all you need to do." We locked eyes. "...I welcome you home, Puzzlemint." She hugged me. I hugged her. I folded my wings around her, bellowing my poncho. "Thank you, Awkward Kindness." A light inside me shined. All-Giving held her hooves out and every Daring Do book from the first to the last manifested around us in a circle. The pages flew out and encircled us like a cocoon. I hugged Puzzlemint tighter, she felt, familiar, painfully so. I felt like she was an old house I'd left abandoned and didn't even notice. The light inside me...inside us, shined brighter as I felt us...we...we began to...overlap. The books were pushed away by a shockwave of force from inside us. All-Giving was right. We wouldn't be the Daring Do of anyone's preconceptions but our own, not even that of the author, Twilight Velvet. We would be the definitive version. And together, we would never be afraid of the dark. I felt my old world fade. I felt Puzzlemint as the barriers between us crumbled, and my light filled her as we became one pony. I was on the train to Canterlot again, but now I was smirking to myself as Rainbow Dash and I chatted about the Daring Do books, not realizing the author and title character herself was right next to her. I remember slipping into my costume and joining the battle of Canterlot Castle after Twilight and her friends had entered. I remember showing up as AK Yearling at the reception, not introducing myself (I almost never let my picture be taken, another way I kept people from connecting me with Daring Do), happy to make a friend without fan gushing. I remember chatting with Twilight Velvet before the wedding, worried sick about her after the city was on 'lock-down'. And the hushed warm talk we had at the reception. Twilight Velvet's daughter having no idea her mother was the editor and publisher of Daring Do, her mother's quirky romance novels being more known to her foals. Or the secret keeper of the genuine article. It felt like two pictures in mind, one fading away. I remembered broken bones, bruises, cuts, burns, puncture wounds, and any other number of first aid emergencies I had to take care of myself in the middle of nowhere. I remembered Ahuizotl's claw marks on my back from our first fight. Escaping with the Sapphire Statue by the skin of my teeth unlike my book. I remembered Ahuizotl accidentally being set loose from an ancient 'temple' that'd actually been his prison by an archaeology dig, instead of us simply having always been causing each other trouble. I remember my disgust at Caballeron seeing ancient artifacts as just a quick way to a fat pension. And the ringing of his jaw as I slammed my hoof into his face. I also remembered knowing him for a bit in the past before envy and greed got the best of him. I felt so many days in the library fading away, replaced by days slogging through the hot humidity of the jungle, stepping around poisonous snakes, but feeling suffocated if I ever stayed in any one place for too long. Especially anyplace indoors. A nasty experience in a cockatrice nest. I also recalled a few times meeting a pony in a fez with a blue tool shed that seemed able to appear anywhere (including the desert). Hadn't I been organizing the shelves at mom's library that day? No, of course not. My muscles toned and strengthened, now the body of an experienced adventurer and not a shy bookworm. But if anything my mind got better, not worse. Like I had a second lifetime spent solving puzzling questions. Hidden texts for forgotten treasures and never being heard from again if I misguess an ancient puzzle. I felt SO ALIVE! I saw a pink jewel in my mind in a gold setting, in our mind. Shaped like a book. And before our eyes, we saw it change shape. It changed shape into a purple compass rose. The feeling of a tingling on my flanks surrounded by books faded, replaced by discovering myself surrounded by the outdoors. Whatever I was forgetting, I felt like it didn't matter anymore and would just make me crazy. This wasn't part of me being replaced. This was all of me being reborn. I heard All-Giving's voice, "A being of fantasy made real, I never thought I'd see this...thank you for what you've already done for me and all I know you will do for everypony...thank you... May you be the hero you're meant to be. Maybe this is what your cutie mark truly meant all along." The light died down, hidden, but far from gone. I didn't see All-Giving anywhere. I felt that it would be a waste to look for her. I considered trying the front door again out of the bed-and-breakfast, but I had a feeling that might not go so well. Junebug didn't seem like a bad changeling, but I had a feeling deep inside that said trying to get out of this place from the inside could get messy. I didn't mind a good fight, but unlike some of the fanfics of me, I didn't leap into every situation kicking flank. I wondered how All-Giving expected me to just find ponies who needed help. Maybe my 'adventure sense' that always seemed to lead me in more or less the right direction would me (it was actually more simple deduction and educated guessing, but 'adventure sense' sounded cooler, Velvet said.) From what I saw outside, it might be trouble NOT to find ponies who needed help. And if MY rules from my books applied instead of some B-horror style sicko flick...I wasn't going to let some Equestria spanning curse stop me from helping ponies in need. I opened the window, feeling brave. Not fearless, there's a difference. There was no sludge being force-fed into my soul this time. It was a longer drop than yesterday. Like I'd rented a top room on the Spire of Babbling. Well, that's what wings were for. I left some bits on the table and a note to Junebug, then took off my cloche, shawl, and glasses, and stuffed them into the pockets I discreetly 'borrowed' from the Doctor that one time. My hat and jacket were in place in a flash (I had lots of practice), showing off my compass-rose cutie mark. If Dad thought the stuff in my books was laughably implausible, he'd think I'd jumped the shark on this one. I looked the window at the clouds below, and the sketch pink landscape, I seemed even further up than before. It was weird, I just now noticed how much me and this room clashed with the rest of the world. Alright Daring Do, let's do this. I dove down like a bolt. - Rule of Nature = 'Metal Gear Rising' - I left the cluster of buildings at the top behind in an instant, floors speeding past me. Stone gargoyles tried to take a bite out of me as I passed and flying buttresses twisted into claws that tried to grab me. I kept my wings folded and my nose pointed down. The gigantic tower changed to random styles as I flew down, but always at precise intervals of floors. Each style more outlandish and clashing than the next. Arrow trap shooting out from the building; I dodged them, spinning wildly as I saw beams of light begin to form around me, shot out from the tower. I didn't know what would happen if I hit one but I knew it wouldn't be good! I saw an armored pair of none-too-friendly welcoming committees waiting for me at the ground floor, looking all too ready to greet me. The best fight is the one not fought my old teacher told me. I spread my wings, tilted up my nose and away I went. Of course then they'd start sending up going-away presents since I wasn't coming down to meet them, but I managed to dodge them all without a wing getting blown off. NOT getting grounded again! Learned my lesson after the Sapphire Statue! Just because I can be a hero without flying doesn't mean I wanna! I felt myself pushing through something, I didn't see what, but whatever it was, I swear it felt like it was made to keep things out rather than keep them in! I dared turn around for a split second, but saw the insanely tall tower already fading into the fog like it was dissolving out of existence! I didn't have time to ponder this enigma when I heard a pony scream, and saw a fleeing orange pegasus mare. She had green eyes with eye shadow, pierced ears, and purple and pink mane done in pigtails. Her cutie mark was a paintbrush swirl. And she was being chased by one of Princess Luna's night guards...or what could have been one...he had glowing red eyes, big fangs, and pale fur. And I saw another waiting to catch the mare as she flew away from the first. And another appeared in any direction she flew. I knew these were cursed ponies and I mustn't finish 'em, but I still had'a play rough to save'er! I did a flying dragon kick right at the one waiting to catch her pursuer's jaw, sending him spiraling away. She stopped in shock. Not good! I flew past her and landed my hoof on the nose of another bat pony chasing her. I took her hooves (yes, I felt a pulse). "Come with me if you want to live!" What? I'm being the hero, let me have a little bit of fun! "Now I know I've gone crazy. I'm being saved from vamponies by a Daring Do cosplayer." "Less chatting, more flying!" The bat ponies looked confused about what they were supposed to do as I flew as fast as possible. Then I felt my foreleg nearly be pulled out of its socket! The orange Pegasus mare looked at me scared. It was like a wall in the fog I couldn't see was pushing her back. Okay. Not happening. Forget it. I took her hoof in both of mine and flapped as hard I could. "It's no use!" She screamed. "YES IT IS! Fly as hard as you can!" "I can't escape!" "YES! YOU! BUCKING! CAN!!! I'm not giving up! AND NEITHER ARE YOU!!" Buck this, I might not be THE hero of this WHOLE story, but darn it if I'm not going to be the hero of this girl's! She flapped as hard as she could...it looked like her wings were going to fall off...I saw the crazy bat ponies coming closer, like magnets drawn to her. Then there was like a 'pop' and everything rippled, her, the batponies, everything, and we tumbled to the ground a lot closer than it was a second ago. No bat ponies. But I did see a schoolhouse. The pegasus mare with piercings looked around, like she expected the vampire ponies to appear any second. "You're...not gonna turn out to be a vampony out of nowhere too?" She asked. "No." I said gently then helped her up. "Now come on, let's get you somewhere safe." "There is nowhere safe in the world." "Oh, yes there is! Follow me." I led her along to the schoolhouse, it was as good a place to look as another, making sure I stayed in the lead while keeping her close to me. If it turned out to be haunted or something I'd MAKE it safe! At least the place seemed to not be that sickly pink color. Not quite old Equestrian colors, but a whole lot closer! +++ New threads of fate appeared in existence, a light shining waiting for a shadow to adhere itself, calling out to those who were empty shadows in the Kingdom of Oblivion. Those shadows that had belonged to those with hearts that had been aligned to those like these manufactured threads of fate...only possible because of the consistency of wet paper reality had been reduced to, all scrambled for the prize. And it was a rare prize indeed. It was so rare that THESE shadows got a fresh existence that called for a black heart. And one mighty juggernaut stampeded through them all. The world had become a dark place instead, and he and darkness shared a symbolic relationship. None stood in his way. The shadow of the criminal zebra, Zeb, was turned into a shadow pancake. The shadow of the genie-like wizard Arabus was crushed into a shadow basketball and tossed into the crowd of lesser scum behind him. The shadow of Grogar was twisted into a shadow pretzel and tossed into the jaws of a Tatzlwurm. The shadow of King Lavan was dragging along, ceasing the juggernaut's progress, pulling him back to take the lead for himself. Until he was hammer blowed from behind through the ice, the black ocean underneath, and down through another layer of black ice into a deeper layer of the Realm of Nothingness. A twisting bolt of shadowy magic tore the Shadow of the Witch Queen Lilith apart, scattering her pieces, each one crying out in an imitation of frustration and disappointment. Her children's shadows were stomped into the ground beneath the Titan's hooves without pause. Squirk's shadow had its tentacles stuffed into its mouth, then dumped into the black ocean. The shadow of Crank leaping after the shadow of his master. The shadow of Zeb, against all odds, continued to wiggle along unnoticed in spite of being crushed flat, as the rest of the horde was culled. The shadow of the Bray who had served Grogar when he'd been defeated by Megan inched along a much slower place, caution with powerful ones engrained into Bray's family from centuries of natural selection. Bray's shadow inched closer along with the shadows of other villains who'd been ultimately subservient to greater monsters. The juggernaut was slowed down in a brief titanic battle with a nothing-machine build by the shadows of the Gizmonk siblings: Gonk and Glouda. The shadows of the three Raptorians tried to fly overhead, only for their leader to get swatted away like a fly over the horizon. The nothing-machine was torn to pieces, and the shadows of the gizmonks stomped on. Zeb's shadow inching along still unnoticed, and being stepped on nothing doing worse to it. The shadow of Tirek stood triumphant, erased along with the countless other evils form history and existence when Starlight Angel and her friends had created the Wish Spell, creating the paradise of the Age of Dreams. The shadow entered the world, claiming its prize. No spurned love of the night. No conquest. No greed. Only hatred for King Leo, the king of the seaponies and mereponies, who had had him disowned and dismissed and banished and then sealed away where he had been banished to. And a hunger and thrill for destruction that filled every inch of his being. A desire to tear the world asunder for the sheer rush that accompanied it. It didn't matter if it was causing a cataclysm over the whole world or simply the little valley he'd been imprisoned in, so long as he could enjoy watching something burn. And the thrill of the cat-and-mouse games with one annoying pegasus he'd dismissed as one dismisses a fly when he first awoke into modern Equestria. A thrill that had grown to an obsession. An absolute refusal to let her perish in any way but the one he himself desired. And Zeb's shadow, determination and perseverance rewarded, inched across the 'finish line' to claim the 'consolation prize'. Really not all that different from himself before. Which was the point. As with Tirek's shadow, again they had been similar already. Zeb's love for wealth, and lack of scruples about how he got it, be it with things or people (not that there was a big difference between the two), congealed well with the role of a pony willing to sell ancient treasures to the highest bidder. And then politely leave said highest bidder to the hero on his tail while he escaped with a sizable bag of bits. As for the shadows Bray and the Raptorians...caution and patience was also rewarded, and once again, their roles echoed themselves...serving a slightly higher disease on the world, even if he was only in it for the money. + Daring Do felt a shiver. She looked around, not spotting anything. Whatever it was, she'd face it with courage, for the sake of Rainbow Dash, her family, Princess Gaia, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, her friends, everypony. She was a hero after all. 'That's why I published my adventures, to inspire ponies' heroics. Not just that first one Twilight Velvet found or to pay the bills. Velvet was sure surprised when she found out.' Daring Do smiled to herself. 'If I'd risk my life to save relics...why wouldn't I for ponies more valuable than old statues? No dungeon today, but a pony saved, and I'm not stopping here.' > Super Crusader Adventure > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Me a wolf. I eat stuff that doesn't belong. Not sure where I came from. I meet Mistress Sweetie Belle. She name me Blanky. I no like Blanky. At all. But Mistress name me Blanky so Blanky I am. It me duty to protect her. Duty to eat what don't belong. .thE wolF devourS alL thaT violatS realitY So why do stupid brown colt with wrong-feeling sword declare he be her protector?! Orange Filly has Mistress Sweetie Belle explain to stupid brown colt that if monsters come, NOT to attack them with wrong-feeling sword until Truth Filly says they are JUST wrongness. Not ponies infested by wrongness. That should be my job! Stupid brown colt think he be me? Brown colt say something about game I no know. Stupid brown colt wonders why he no get 'random encounters.' Idiot. No encounter is random. Truth Filly says Truth give path without infections. Stupid brown colt says you still need 'experience points.' Orange Filly says all bosses are "dialogue choices" so "XP" levels don't matter. Why couldn't the infections have made Orange Filly the life-mate for stupid brown colt instead of Mistress Sweetie Belle? Both like video games. Both live in fantasy world. Both stupid. This 'fog.' It like the nowhere between somewheres, but not like it. If nowhere, where ground, gravity, heat, and air come from? But fog MAKE IT nowhere. Between areas of infection. Much irony. Keeps contradictions from hurting world maybe? Don't know. Don't know how don't know. Don't know how know don't know. Head hurt. Orange Filly disinfected never-was-sister. That's supposed to be my job too! 'Never remove infection by harming what is.' Known that always. Orange filly do it when me couldn't. Me am not happy about that. What good is white blood cell when me can't fight disease? Me delete part of infection as Mistress Sweetie Belle commands. But it damages never-was-sister. All me do is eat infections before they infest stuff, but me no able to do much more. Truth leads pack to membrane of another boil of infection. But...something feel different...like two bubbles stuck together. Pack push through wall of fog into the infection. +++ My breath was caught in my throat. Why, why did my Truth lead us here? Show me a monster or somethin', not this! It was just how Ah remember it, before it showed its true colors. Not dirty pink sketches, but bright, and colorful like us. The ponies: Grayhoof, Gladstone, Threeleaf, Roneo, Starlet, and Mitta, all goin' about smilin'. How many times did Ah have the nightmares? How many times did Ah ask Applejack to visit here with Fluttershy anyway so Ah could see Ruby and Mitta again anyway? My heart was hammerin' my chest, Ah clenched my teeth. My friends looked at me, Ah must'a looked as bad as Ah felt. Button Mash looked around like he expected to see a road sign to give'em answers. "What's this place?" "...Sunny Town." My friends were all startled. "This isn't like that creepy story mom told you never to tell again, Apple Bloom." If the rumors changed Sunny Town, wouldn't Button Mash remember it that way? Maybe Button Mash got zapped by rumors that'd came true before the world got turned inside out? He hadn't known about the tower or the new Princesses. "This is Sunny Town?" Sweetie asked. "But it looks so normal." "Except there aren't any pegasi or unicorns," Scootaloo said, officially a Ponyville pony. Sweetie said, "I meant everypony has their cutie mark." Ah couldn't speak. An'd didn't notice before. They did. Grayhoof had a birthday cake. Mitta has a shield, Three Leaf had a hoof cultivator, it was...they...Ah felt faint. "Apple Bloom! Welcome back!" Mitta, she smiled at me, trotting over and gave me a hug. "Are these your friends? It's wonderful to finally meet all of you." Mitta's hug...was as warm as anypony's. "Mitta," Ah whispered. "Yer alive?" She blinked at me. "What else would I be? Are you okay? You look pale." "Ya...ya ain't a zombie?" Mitta laughed. "Don't be silly! Zombie don't exist! Everypony knows that! Therefore how could I be a zombie? They're like ghosts or the Tooth Flutterpony." "There's no Tooth Flutterpony?!" Button Mash exclaimed. "At least some things stayed the same," Scootaloo sighed. Sweetie exclaimed, "What do you mean 'stayed the same'?! The Tooth Flutterpony got erased!" "There is no Tooth Flutterpony!" "Yes, there is! She looks just like my sister in a flutterpony costume...wait a minute." "Mom says she only comes when you're asleep, so you couldn't have seen her," Button Mash said. "Wait, if you both believe the Tooth Flutterpony exists, shouldn't she anyway?" Ah asked, blinking. Mitta looked at us weird. "Apple Bloom! It's wonderful to see you again!" Grayhoof trotted closer next. Then Gladstone, Starlet and Roneo, Threeleaf: smiling, closing in closer, and closer, like a noose, no way past 'em! Ah fainted. Ah didn't think it was all a dream when Ah woke up, not for lack of tryin'. My head was spinnin' for a while. Nice faces that turned mean and tried to make me a zombie, bein' nice again; my head swam almost more than everythin' else Ah'd seen in the fog. Ah was on a bed, surrounded by my friends. This...this room with a fire place...it...it looked familiar... "Apple Bloom!" Now Ruby hugged me. "Dad and the others didn't mean to overwhelm you like that! Sorry! But it's nice to see you again!" Ah somehow didn't faint twice. Ah felt like Ah was in a dream. Ruby alive. Everypony in Sunny Town had cutie marks. Nopony trin' to make me a zombie. Ah could feel Ruby. Sunny Town...actin' like it was Ponyville. Ruby said good things to me, and Ah said good things back. It was like Princess Gaia's fog, but Ah was wide awake. Ruby showed us all the little treasures she'd collected. Buttons, string, flowers, leafs, a toy cart's wheel, a spider web, an empty cocoon, pieces of quartz, a centuries-old bit, tooth of a manticore, a thousand-year-old strand of Princess Luna's mane. It was a lot more impressive than the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Treasure Trove even with Minty's sock. "There's nothing I can't find." Ruby smiled. "They're beautiful, Ruby," Ah said and meant it. I put a hoof on her shoulder, just feeling her alive. It...it felt good... "Anything you like? A treasure shared is a treasure doubled." "Hey, girls! I knew Apple Bloom would wake up if I talked to everypony." Button Mash came in eating cake, drinking punch and wearing party glasses. "Mr. Grayhoof sure knows how to throw a party. Did you know he's part of the Party Pony Population Protectorate?" Button Mash, Ah didn't even think about how he'd gone off. This was all just, too much at once. "What kept you?" Scootaloo asked. "I was tripping flags for our next quest goal." "He was figuring out what we're supposed to do here," Scootaloo translated. "Ya let 'em wander around Sunny Town by himself?!" Ah glared at my friends. Changed or not, Ah'm not taking chances! "I had Blanky go with him," Sweetie said in a small voice. Blanky yipped at the door where he was standin' guard. "Blanky? You mean your invisible dog?" Ruby asked. "Uh, yeah," Sweetie fidgeted. "Ruby..." Ah began to ask. Piecin' together from how everypony acted when they saw me. "Why didn't ya ever come to visit me?" Ruby's ears folded sadly, looking at me with normal eyes instead of big glowing ones. It was weird for me. "I'm really sorry, Apple Bloom. Please don't hate me." "Ah'm not upset. Ah promise. Ah just wanna know." Ah knew the real reason Mitta and the others hadn't visited was cause of the curse, and Ruby not wantin' to leave'em. Still...Ah still had to ask. Had ta see how she explained it ta herself. And there was one thing Ah didn't get: Phobia kept arguing that if anypony died, they'd stay dead, because the here-after is a separate place. So how the heck was Ruby or any of Sunnytown even alive? If we changed things back would they be alive again? Ah closed one eye, and looked at Ruby. What Ah saw...it was Ruby. But there weren't those rotten slug things inside her. And it wasn't like Red Heart where there was a big light inside her shining onto everything, it was like...it was like she was full of fireflies...The same was true of all of 'em in town. Ah repeated. "Ruby, why don't ya, or anypony in Sunny Town, visit Ponyville?" Ruby looked down. "Well, dad says that Everfree is really dangerous. There's supposed to be a nasty foal-eating witch and monsters living out there." "But...Fluttershy, she visits you, right? With Applejack? And Miss Twilight?" "Oh...Uh...Miss Fluttershy sometimes," said Ruby, looking like she had a bit of a headache. Fluttershy's been here a lot. "Ruby, we met because you were curious, remember? You led me back to Sunny Town! While Twilight was moving tree trunks out of the way!" "Oh! Yeah, I remember. You got lost in the forest and I saw you, so I lead you back here where it was safe!...And I was curious, I'd been here for a long time alone." That wasn't exactly right, Ah think she'd just wanted some company before...but... Ugh! Thinkin' about this makes my weird truth eye hurt. "Alone?" Sweetie asked. "But don't you have Mitta, your dad, and everypony?" Ruby rubbed her head. "Well...they're all a lot older than me. I'm the only foal in town right now." "Mitta doesn't look THAT much older than you," Ah said though Ah figured at this point it was kinda pointless. "Still, it's enough," Ruby said. "You should spend time when Ah visit Zecora. She and Miss Twilight teach me lots of stuff." "Apple Bloom, that's not funny!" Ruby said. I was gonna ask what she meant when- "Uh, girls?" Button Mash said raising a hoof, not his normal excited self. "The townsfolk told me stuff I think ya wanna hear." He motioned for us to huddle. Button Mash looked the opposite of happy as he whispered to us. "Girls? Zecora's the boss, I mean the bad guy for this level." Ah...between everything that's happened, me, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, everythin' Nightmare Applejack showed me, Zecora, did she show me Zecora? Ah can't remember. "The town ponies say she's a witch with mind control eyes and magic dances and evil potions and...she eats foals...they showed me the road that leads right to her house...they said mobs called 'bloody hooves' spawn on the path...Apple Bloom I'm sorry." Button Mash was ready to cry. Ah shouldda known, everything...everything ponies said bad about her... "We'll save'er, Apple Bloom, just like we did Cheerilee," Scootaloo said. Ah gave her a hug as Ah shuddered. Sweetie gave Button a hug. A 'you're my friend' type hug at least. Was this gonna get easier every time Ah heard it? Ah wonder if Nightmare Applejack had the right idea. Sweetie looked over to Ruby. "...Hey, if what everypony believes is true is true, think there's someway we could get Ruby and Sunny Town to think something to help us with saving Zecora? Like maybe she's like Nightmare Moon and Luna?" "But wouldn't it just possess somepony else then in a never-ending cycle?" Button Mash asked and Scootaloo whacked him. "You're the gamer, what's your solution?" Scootaloo asked. "Uh...well, when 'beat the curse out of them' doesn't work, but I know some games were the monster becomes vulnerable when it's driven out of its host." "Maybe all Zecora needs is the honest truth," Ah said. "What are you talking about? I wanna hear," Ruby asked. We broke our huddle. Sweetie Belle said. "Ruby, how do you know Zecora is a mean old witch?" I was relieved when Sweetie Belle didn't use mind magic to MAKE Ruby think Zecora was nice. It...Ah couldn't let her do that...Ah...Ah know it would be easier but...after what Chrysalis did to Applejack and everypony...Ah don't think Ah could do that. "She's a mean old witch like the Bug Queen was a mean old witch. She's the witch who ate Jade, or the Bloody Hooves, but they're friends with her, so I think it's safe to say she's bad." "Jade?" I felt sick to my stomach. Somepony died because we weren't fast enough? Was she so unnoticed that she popped out of existence? We looked at each other, nopony knew a filly by that name. Blanky shook his head and shrugged. "The blank flank filly the bloody hooves got. It was horrible." Scootaloo asked, not looking that scared. "Where was she from? Who were her parents? How did you know her?" "I...I don't know." "How do you know they got her?" "They, they just got her! And that witch Zecora had something to with it! She's an evil enchantress who does evil dances! And if you look in her eyes she'll put you in trances, and then she's cook up an evil brew and gobble you up in a stew! So watch out!" Ah took a trot back, Ah'd never seen Ruby like this. We looked to one another. Button looked like he thought of something. "Hey, uh Ruby. What's supposed to happen if the Bloody Hooves get some pony?" "Then you become one of them!" "Uh...so kinda like a zombie?" "Uh...I. Zombies aren't real, more like...vampires or something..." Ruby looked like her head hurt when she said that. "Huh..." Button said. "You know, I hear that there's one way quick way to restore a victim of an undead thingie. Beat the monster that turned 'em, then all their victims just go right back to normal." "Huh, I never heard that before...Is it true?" "Yeah, totally. Mom told me it was...That and hitting them with a weakness potion then giving them a golden apple. Or is that just zombies?" Ah blinked. "Button, what are you doing?" Ah whispered to him. "What Phobia told me to do," he whispered back. "Spread how video games work to ponies. It's worked so far, hasn't it?" Ah couldn't argue with that. But Ah had this odd feelings of urgency. It was stupid after all the time we spent with Button Mash and Miss Cheerilee. But a dread in me said we couldn't stay Sunnytown forever. Button Mash began telling ponies about his 'zombie cure,' which confused, but really got the curiosity of everypony. Ah was tryin' to tell them about the REAL Zecora. But every time, "She's an evil enchantress who does evil dances!" "If you look in her eyes she'll put you in trances!" "She'll mix up an evil brew!" "And gobble you up in a big evil stew!" "Soooo...Watch out!" Three Leaf finished the song for the sixth time we heard it. "Ah curse Pinkie Pie for ever writin' that song," Ah said under my breath. Looks like unlike Applejack, Ah couldn't make ponies SEE the truth. Sweetie Belle got a better idea and instead started spreading the idea of an evil witch whose heart could still be touched. "Where'd you get that idea?" Scootaloo asked. "...Isn't it obvious?" "Oh, right, Chrysalis." "And one of those Hearth's Warming specials plays were Santa Hooves thaws out the mean ice wizard's heart by being nice." ++ Me and Sweetie Belle's pet ghost dog stuck with Button Mash while Sweetie and Apple Bloom spread their ideas to seven ponies thinking it'll be enough to improve our chances of saving Zecora (like we WEREN'T going to save her, if the rules of Button Mash's games gave us a chance, that's all the chance we needed). Apple Bloom, I seriously don't think two ponies thinking the Tooth Flutterpony is real is gonna make her real...But if we run into the Tooth Flutterpony, I'm asking where all the money she owes me is from the teeth I've lost over the years. "I've gotta ask, Button Mash, what's with you and video games? I like them too, they're great competition, but they don't compare to REAL excitement outside." "You don't remember? Because video games let you do the impossible. And there at least, you always know the rules." "This must be heaven for you, then." I said rolling my eyes. Button Mash's beanie actually stopped spinning for a few seconds. "No...no it isn't. In a video game you can always pause and take a break...there's no pause button here. Though I do really like getting to be with Sweetie and you girls." "...Thanks. And, thanks for helping Sweetie Belle beat that monster before. She's the first friend I had in Ponyville too." "Yeah, you told me." Button Mash smiled. Then grinned. "You were so jealous!" "I wouldn't be!" "You were! You were!" "Now you're just making stuff up! And I'm not gonna make it true by believing it!" I looked around trying to get my mind off it. These ponies, I couldn't see them as foal murdering zombies. My old friends got a second chance cause of this horror show, so did Sunnytown. Was it right to make them bad again? But was letting them stay brainwashed any better than what the bug ponies did to Sweetie? Geeze. Just being here makes my wings itchy. Everypony here is nice and everything. But this thing with Zecora… I mean, she's just sitting there in her hut being 'evil', and I don't think anypony here is gonna go anywhere near her. But Apple Bloom wants to save her NOW, like I did with Cheerilee and our classmates (even if she's not gonna cook somepony in five minutes), and she wants to think her magic eye brought us here because we needed to be here. "So how much?" Button Mash asked Gladstone in front of a table of snacks and other things that didn't make much sense to be next to each other like pebbles for a sling shot. "Oh please, take as many as you need. Honor system." "What are ya celebrating?" "I'm...not sure. Maybe Starlet and Roneo's engagement? Did you hear? Ruby was so nice and found them their ring. Wasn't that sweet of her?" A few minutes later we were back on the path between Ruby's house and the rest of town. "This path wasn't here when Ah first visited," Apple Bloom said, pointing at a second path leading straight to the fog wall. "Maybe that's why the monsters don't bother the town." Button Mash suggested. "The monsters don't wander into town because the Everfree and the town are actually separate worlds." "Shouldn't Ruby and the others be trying to stop us from going to see Zecora if she's a wicked witch?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Townsfolk never stop foal heroes from adventuring," Button Mash said, knowledgeably. "I...never thought how it felt-" "Stupid?" I asked. "...Heartless," Button Mash sighed. "You're going to Zecora?! Why? Please, Apple Bloom don't go! I'm too scared! I can't go with you!" WHAT?! Geeze! Where'd Ruby come from!? "Ah...Ah'm sorry Ruby, but Zecora's not evil, she's just sick. We're gonna make her well again." "Some ponies can't be cured." 'Bloom looked at Ruby in shock. Then hugged her. "Ah know ya don't get it, but there's a Ruby in ya that ain't scared, and never EVER gives up on even the worst ponies! Just ya wait Ruby, Ah'm gonna save her. Girls, boys? Ready?" "Ready!" We all said together. Through the fog we went, but it wasn't into the sea of fog I'd had to swim through again, instead, we set hoof in the Everfree. +++ The first thing we noticed was that there was literally no way back. The trees had squeezed in behind us, blocking the path. Well we were gonna go forward anyway! We held together like conjoined foals. Everfree? Everything had real colors, things weren't sketchy, things were outlined in colors, like it was supposed to be. And that made it only MORE WRONG! If you thought Everfree couldn't get any creepier, you'd be wrong! Everfree was never friendly. But every rock, tree and blade of grass seemed to scream that something terrible was about to happen! But the scarier part was there weren't monsters jumping out of it every second! It got to the point I was kind of hoping they'd ambush us and get it over with! And it was so hard to see! We wondered if it was night time, except we couldn't even see the sky. Then Sweetie remember her magic and everything got this sickly green glow from her horn. I wish she'd left it off. Button pulled a lantern out of that weird video game inventory he had, but that was just as bad only more orange than green. It was like everything was waiting for us not to be looking to make us never-be-heard-from-again. But our capes never once caught on anything. And the path kept closing behind us. I felt like we were being herded...like cattle. But Apple Bloom kept moving forward, Zecora was her friend after all. Come on you dumb forest! You never held any punches before! We were ready for a cockatrice, instead we saw, "Princess Luna?" Button Mash asked, us all staring at her in blind shock. It was her but, it looked like her when she first came to Ponyville, small, not a star in her mane, her mane and coat all pale blues. She was huddled on the ground with her tail wrapped around Herself. Her eyes shot open and she shouted. "No! Stop...Don't eat me..." She sounded so scared. "Princess Luna, we're not going to hurt you, I promise," Sweetie said. Princess Luna stood up. "Oh good...you're not one of them." Sweetie shook her head. "No, we're not monsters, we're still us. The bad magic didn't change us." "The Bloody Hooves. I didn't want to be here either, but my sister...she banished me here." Bloody Hooves? Right. The monsters we were told about before. "No she didn't!" Sweetie said. "You just think she did! The curse is making bad stuff real! Princess Celestia would never do that!" "I managed to escape them for now...but...they'll be back..." "Come on, Princess! Join us as our guest party member! Or maybe a full-time permanent member! We can zap those monsters!" Button Mash said. "Once the forest has you, you're trapped here forever." I was getting a whole new level of creeped out, (just when I think we've hit the ceiling). "Luna, listen! We've been in Everfree before! We always got out! You have to fight the curse!" Sweetie Belle pleaded. "There is something strange about her...It's as if she were a creature of this forest as well." "Huh? Are you talking about Zecora?" I asked. "I don't know how I can help you. I'm sorry." "But we're gonna help you!" I said stomping a hoof, doing my best to sound more brave than I felt. Seeing one of the Princesses like this was worse than when the bug queen zapped Princess Celestia. "Ummm...will you stay with me? I don't want to die here alone..." "You won't die here! None of us are!" I said. It sent a chill down my spine thinking that Luna was scared of dying. "No...There is no way out..." "Girls," Apple Bloom sighed, I noticed she'd been looking with that magic eye of hers. "That's enough. She isn't Princess Luna." Luna didn't react to what Apple Bloom said at all. I braced myself for 'Luna' to turn into a monster but nothing. "She's just an outline. There's nothin' inside her. Like a piece of cardboard." "She's an NPC," Button Mash said waving a hoof in front of 'Luna'. "She just says a few lines, and that's it." Sweetie Belle gingerly pushed 'Luna' who didn't react at all. "She's just here to 'set the mood'," Button Mash said. Sweetie Belle's ghost dog sniffed 'Luna', snorted, and turned his nose up at 'her.' "Can't we take her with us? It, doesn't feel right to just leave her." "There's no her to take Ah think," Apple Bloom said. "She's like a chalk drawing of a shadow." "She looks like the kind of NPC who's glued to the ground, as opposed to the aimless wanderers." Button Mash said. "She won't go anywhere." To show his point, he did a running jump into her and slid down her like she was made of rock. "Ow...see?" "Maybe she's here to make sure we DON'T go any further," I said as Sweetie Belle helped him up. Button Mash looked behind her and walked an inch past her. "Nope, no invisible wall or trees. We can move on." "I MEANT she was put here to scare us away." Button Mash shook his head. "…That's not how it WORKS in video games. You head TOWARDS danger. Towards the challenge!" Sweetie and I tried to move Luna, but she wouldn't budge, like she really was glued to the ground. "Blanky!" Sweetie said. Blanky bit and clawed at the ground under Luna, and she fell over. Sweetie grunted as she picked up Luna with her muscles and magic. Sweetie looked at me. "We'll help." Of course. Luna couldn't have been less responsive. None of us tried to stop Sweetie. Without a word we kept marching: Bloom in front, Button Mash behind her, us carrying Luna, and Blanky bringing up the rear. Literally out of nowhere, we had a pony in front of us who was pitch black with a red outline and glowing red eyes. "One of us," The nasty thing said in a voice that reminded me of a graveyard. "Never," 'Bloom defied. "I think we just met the Bloody Hooves," Sweetie said the obvious. It didn't move or react at all. "More chalk outlines?" I asked. "Yep." We did the smart thing and just went around it. When we looked back it was gone and the trees still closing behind us for every step we took. Like the forest was one big snake wrapping around us. Then another Blood Hoof was trotting towards us in front of us that wasn't there before. "You cannot escape your fate." "I already did!" I hissed at it. Apple Bloom covered her normal eye. "It ain't a pony neither." Button Mash said. "Can kinda see that." "No, Ah mean it wasn't ever a pony!" Button grinned. "Cool!" He mimed drawing a sword, and poof, there's that blocky sword of his. Without missing a beat, Button Mash swung his sword through the Blood Hoof who blinked out of existence. There was this floating red outline square with a red 'x' through it for a sec' where the monster'd been before it just blinked away too. "No XP? No gold? No items?" Button Mash pouted. "Girls, I don't think we were supposed to fight back. Ow! I mean the idea was for us to just run away scared. It didn't know what to do when I actually used my sword." "Good for us!" I said. "Forward troops!" Then came another curve ball. "PRINCESS LUNA?" Button Mash nearly dropped his sword. I honestly felt my heart stop. D-do I need to say the next part? Luna was still on our backs, but in front of us was another Luna...only...this Luna...wasn't...wasn't all there...she...I think I threw-up. Sweetie Belle was crying. Apple Bloom kept it together better than the rest of us. Apple Bloom looked between Luna and...Luna. "It ain't real. Just a chalk outline. It was never Luna, it was never alive." Sweetie Belle said it. "We...we were supposed to leave Luna, then find her here." Sweetie finally dropped the Luna we were carrying. "Blanky...make them go away..." She, not really ordered, pleaded. I was happy when Blanky honored her request. "Is Zecora really at the end here?" "She BETTER BE!" I snorted. "Can we even see Zecora's house?" Sweetie asked. "Ah think we'll see it when we get there," Apple Bloom said, and forward we marched. Then the forest got so dark that the light was from Sweetie's horn and Button Mash's lantern around his neck. "DiD YoU rEalLY thinK YoU coulD ESCApE?" And they had us surrounded except our backs to the trees. Like timber wolves. Just poof, they were all there. "Oh come on, there's more than one?!" Sweetie Belle asked. Apple Bloom checked her truth eye. "They're still not ponies!" Button slashed through one that came too close, causing that weird x thing to show up. "If they're not programmed for us to kill them, then they're not programmed to respawn...probably..." he said. The one he took out didn't come back. "But that Jade girl Ruby mentioned might turn out to be a mini-boss." "If she even exists," Apple Bloom said. "She'll exist as a mini-boss!" Button replied. "Less Geek-speak!" I called. Enemies came at us like wound-up toy soldiers. I checked my wings; that wing blade spell I used to hurt that Changeling still worked. Just to be sure, I tested it on a Bloody Hoof who poofed away when I cut it in just the right spot. Heh… there was no school rule saying I was gonna die in a death trap here by not-actually-alive things! A slash of black magic made another go poof in front of Sweetie Belle. Another Bloody Hoof tried to grab Sweetie...Button stabbed it; Blanky bit at the same time, it vanished. Apple Bloom took a step back as the rest of us fought, the monsters going down in one good hit. Bloom's no coward, but these things were too close to her nightmares, and she was better as our spotter. Then a weird green triangle flashed above Button's head before he did a fancy summersault out of nowhere and stuck one of the monsters with his sword and instead of it vanishing right away like it was supposed it he spun it around making a lot of them go poof at once. …Gotta admit at this point, Button's not an uncool little colt. I took to the air, these things couldn't follow. I couldn't get through the canopy, but there was still enough room for me to fly! I dive-bombed several. Blanky… it was FREAKY. I could barely see the freaky ghost dog see zipping about like some furry bolt of lightning. He was that fast. Sweetie Belle's magic zapped any baddie that got close to Apple Bloom. "You've met a terrible fate, haven't you?" Said a voice from nowhere and everywhere. "No, we haven't!" I snarled flaring my wings, the air twisting around my flight field, taking down the last two at once as I landed. The fight had barely lasted a minute. "It didn't have to end this way." "And it hasn't!" I shouted. "Stupid Everfree!" We all tensed up. Waiting for something, anything nasty to happen. Sweetie's horn still glowing waiting for 'Jade' to show up. Nothing. "Hey, the path? It just, ends here." Sweetie was right; the spot where the monsters ambushed us, it was a dead end. "Was there another road?" I asked. Everypony shook their heads. Apple Bloom whispered. "If we were meant to get eaten here...then...then Umbra Breeze wouldn't have bothered putting a real way to Zecora's house." No thank you. "Then we'll just MAKE our own way! Sweetie! Have Blanky start eating trees!" "But remember what happened to Cheerilee!? What if that hurts her?!" Apple Bloom reminded me. I stomped a hoof. "Dang it!" Button rubbed his chin. "Well, the thing is, when you glitch out a game, if your character isn't frozen with it, some other parts of the game glitch too. Or at least there might be other glitches." I blinked, thinking. "...Wait! Cheerilee's death trap wasn't unbreakable ...because I was supposed to be terrified and die in it, not TRY to break it...Button, do you think you can just cut the trees with that sword of yours?" Apple Bloom protested, "Didn't ya break out because ya used its own cheatin' against it?" "Not now, Apple Bloom!" Sweetie smirked. "Don't worry Button Mash, I've got this covered." Her horn glowed 'darker', and that creepy feeling of black magic began to get worse. I know Sweetie's not bad, and she was brainwashed, but she learned that magic from the bug queen and was gonna use it brainwash me! Ugh! And WHY did she need to add in that creepy chanting that regular unicorns never do? "Shadows sharpening as my blade, hate, anger, fear, bend onto my will, let loose your hunger for destruction as I command you, and sever those which stands in my way! Uh! Better stand behind me!" Thanks for the warning! A horizon bolt of dark magic shot from Sweetie's horn, knocking her off her hooves and slicing the trees in front of us in half. Thankfully they all fell over BACKWARDS instead of TOWARDS us. Sweetie Belle lay on the ground twitching, her tongue hanging out and her eyes doing a Derpy. And her horn was smoking. Never a good sign. "SWEETIE BELLE! You okay?" Button Mash asked. Blanky whimpered and nuzzled her. "Just fine, Rarity, no really, I didn't take your imported silk for my art project!" "Sweetie, did anypony tell you how attack spells aren't a toy?!" Dash has told me enough times about my wing blade magic. Apple Bloom peeked through the hole in the trees Sweetie had cut. On the other side was...a clearing. A big clearing, almost like somepony had forgotten something needed to be there. "...Alright, Zecora, we're comin'." We all climbed on through, (well, I flew.) The moment we did...we were at Zecora's hut. Her clearing, her plants and masks everywhere, her potions hanging from the trees. Button had to help Sweetie Belle through, because she was still woozy from her spell. And it was all that sickeningly dusty pink, with everything TOO detailed where it shouldn't be and not enough where it should be. Like art made from black pencils and charcoal. "Almost forgot about this," Sweetie sighed. "Still ugly," Button Mash said. "We'll never have to get used to it!" I said. Where was Phobia to give pointers when we need 'em?! Apple Bloom swallowed. "Be careful everypony... Ah remember, Zecora, isn't Zecora right now." Apple Bloom did not look happy. +++ Ah remember what Miss Cheerilee looked like, and what she REALLY looked like with those things inside her. And what Miss Void said; that my sister, my family, everypony was the same way. And Ah was gonna have ta see it until we fixed everything. Just thinkin' 'bout it, imaginin' it...Ah don't wanna see Zecora like that! "I don't care if Button Mash's game rules are controlling things or not," Scootaloo said. "I can't believe Zecora is just sitting on her flank doing nothing waiting for somepony to show up." "Maybe she's out getting ingredients, I mean like herbs and stuff?" Sweetie said. "It'd almost be worse for us if we don't find her right inside," Button warned darkly. "Go into the boss' lair, seems to be empty, turn to around to leave… JUMP SCARE! Then boss fight; she's three times the size she should be, and mutated! Or she flips a lever or something from behind shatterproof glass after taunting you… you fall through, and then have to hack ‘n' slash it through a whole ‘nother dungeon." Mah hooves were shakin'. "Ah...Ah know 'er best, the rest of ya don't need ta go in." "You've still gotta stay alive long enough to save her," Scootaloo reminded me. Ah wanted ta say there was no way Zecora would do that. But what these things did to Miss Cheerilee... Ya've done so much for me Zecora...Ah can't let bein' scared stop me. "W-watch yer step. And...don't look in her eyes, and, watch out if she dances, and...don't touch any of her potions. And...watch out for booby traps." "Ta-da!" Button Mash took out some of those weird glasses he got in town. "I bet these will help!" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Button Mash, this isn't time for games." "No!" Sweetie said, perking up. "Enemies with hypno-eyes need you to look RIGHT at them. Sunglasses and stuff can help block it." Button beamed with delight at how impressed his ‘fillyfriend' was with his thinking-ahead smarts. "Plus, they add twenty coolness to my stats," he let us all know, showing a stats list. We inched towards Zecora's tree-hut, as silent as we could be, and after two years of sneaking out on Crusaders business, that's a lot. It wasn't my truth eye that spotted the bear traps and tripwires, that was from the time we spent at Miss Fluttershy, when Angel recruited us as 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Animal Trappers' for timber wolves, we stopped after we noticed the matches and little axe Angel was always carrying with him. Ah had to stop my friends from touching a bunch of purple flowers. "Poison joke. Watered with red dye," Ah told ‘em. Zecora, herself, had shown me that trick for making plants interesting colors. But she never used it like that. Every hoof step we took, Ah braced myself for a monster wearing Zecora's face to storm out. My throat got tighter the closer we got. A hundred horrible things went through my head and the worst part was knowing some of them were gonna come true before we freed Zecora. Closer. And closer. And CLOSER. We were close enough now, Ah could hear the familiar brewing of Zecora's cauldron, the smell, it reminded me of the soup that griffin sold, turned my stomach. I crawled up to the door, and moved an ear against it. "Did you think the mud, would hide the scent of your blood?" My heart skipped a beat. Behind me! But she hadn't been-how! The door swung open on its own and Ah fell inside. Ah was afraid to look at the place, especially...especially the cauldron. But Ah had to, Ah had tah be brave. It was Zecora's hut, looking like black chalk on pink paper. Masks, her bed, her ingredients and potions, candles. But... the masks weren't the same, now with round yellow eyes. And... skulls and bones were everywhere, arranged like for a witch's ritual. The smell from her pot was worse than ever. Ah felt hot breath on my neck and spun around...Zecora, but not Zecora. She wasn't dressed up like a Nightmare Night witch. Ah'd seen Zecora's eyes glow yellow in the dark, this wasn't it. Even without truth, Ah saw her eyes, black like pitch, black goo leaping from them like tears, her centers like tiny red embers. "You are right to feel dismay, you were foolish to come this way." She spoke like Zecora, but it was a stranger talking. The real details I could see, and I REALLY didn't want to! "Your fate I offer up on Upepo Shetani's shrine. You are mine." Looking into those eyes, Ah wondered why Ah was even fightin', then like a buck to a tree Ah knew the truth that AH was doin' this for her! She took a step back. "SURPRISE ATTACK!" My friends said as they tackled her all at once. "Agh! You think to hold like a thief, this only adds to your grief!" Ah watched her twist off them, as lithe as she's always been. "Look into my eyes if you dare!" Then she saw the glasses. "You think this cheapness gives you a prayer?" "With twenty coolness to my stats, I'm just gonna look THAT much better kicking your hindquarters!" Button Mash retorted. "You are still crass, Button Mash. You will be made as Upepo Shetani's brood, or be my food!" She took out some of her green powder and blew it at us; Scootaloo created a wind blowing it back at her. "Not happening!" "Charge!" Button Mash said before vines grabbed his ankles that threw him outside and the vines shut the door behind him. "Button Mash!" "You want to be important? May the Bloody Hooves give you all you warrant!" "I'm okay!" cried Button from outside, drawing his sword, "Protect Sweetie!" …What a trooper… I was almost feeling jealous of my unicorn friend. "Fond I have been of all you three." The masks' eyes began glowing as they floated off the walls. "So be part of my tribe's tree. And once we've meshed, feast we shall on pony flesh." The masks snapped around, all Ah saw blackness in there. They struck at us like cobras. Ah ducked, Scootaloo dodged. Sweetie managed to get away but still tripped, still drained from her spell. At least she had Blanky, but he couldn't gobble them up without hurtin' Zecora. Ah heard Button fightin' more Bloody Hooves outside. Ah knew he could handle himself, but if that dragged on he couldn't last forever. Scootaloo slashed into one of the masks with that wing blade of hers, leaving a big cut, but it seemed magic wood is stronger than changelings. "Apple Bloom, stop wasting time! These things are just a distraction!" "Button Mash! We'll…!" Sweetie called, turning towards the door. But away from Blanky. Sweetie Belle, oh no. The wood mask stuck to her face like a suction cup. She shuddered. Ah heard her muffled voice. "Oof! Scootaloo! Get it off!" Ah swear Ah heard her used up magic sparking. "It's so dark!" The mask glowed a bit brighter. "-but now I can see through the bark?" Sweetie Belle turned her head this way and that, trying to shake off the mask. "It won't come off my face. Maybe I should accept it with grace." Sweetie's motions became more fluid. Her head perked up. "They come, can you hear the drums?" She looked right at me with that masked face. A Zebrafrican accent coming through. "Girls, I can feel my mind reach a new expanse, I hear it, join me in the dance." Zebra strips appear on her body like a cutie mark, her cutie mark...it became like a zebra's, an ink drawing. My truth eye, Ah saw somethin' UGLY wrapping around her, but her colors didn't dim. "Sweetie!" Scootaloo said as the other mask latched onto her face. She fell backwards onto the ground. "Two down, one to crown," Zecora said. "Once you are defiled, you'll love being my child." "Apple Bloom, join the flow." Sweetie Belle said, she began to do a dance like ones I'd seen Zecora do. "Kuja dhoruba nyeusi." She began to sing. The black vines trapped around my legs like a spring trap right out of the floor. "Don't worry Scootaloo, it's not like a blister, soon we'll be sisters," said Sweetie, who didn't stop dancing. The last mask turned around for another go at my face. Then Button Mash's sword cut through the door and the vines holding it. "Limit break!" He slammed the door down with Earth Pony strength Ah didn't know he knew had. Behind him on the ground was a whole bunch of little gems. Zecora's eyes bulged and even the mask paused. "Do not come near! You were not supposed to be here!" "I wasn't?" Button Mash grinned as if he'd cracked some kinda never-before-cracked code. Then he dove to save at me just as the mask flew at me again, and it latched to his face instead! He tumbled and fell. "OW! That hurt! But that was quite the heroic spurt! I feel no shame, I know this is an escort game." Sweetie Belle helped him up. "You love to be my knight, will you dance with me in black and white?" Button Mash was gaining Zebra accent, and his coat became striped. "Do you even need to ask? As long as, with you, I can bask." They began to dance. All three of my friends, now wearing those masks. All of them looking at me. Zecora sighed. "Making each mask, is a great task! I'm sorry Little Bloom, my belly will be your tomb." Ah felt a slight despair. Blanky leapt at me and growled at Zecora. He was bluffing, if he could hurt her he'd have done it by now. He'd honor Sweetie Belle's orders to the end. "Blanky do as I say, get out of the way," Sweetie said. Blanky shook his head with a snarl that said: No. Even if that mask came on me, the truth wouldn't let me down would it? Ah could fight this monster from the inside. Couldn't I? I had to believe. I wouldn't give up! I wouldn't accept this as the end! Button's rules! They say there has to be a way to win! Right Scootaloo?! "Foolish spirits, you won't protect this flower," Zecora took out a wooden wolf statuette from nowhere. "With this you'll be in my power." Scootaloo flew next to Zecora. "You'll do evil dances, in er, evil dressiness? Ugh! I still suck at lyrics!" She said in a Cloudsdale accent. Zecora turned her head confused. Scootaloo slammed the mask away from her face, breaking it and the wooden wolf statuette in two. "This can't be done! None can remove the mask once it's begun!" Zecora gasped. My heart leapt. Ah'd been so messed up, Ah hadn't noticed Scootaloo hadn't gotten stripes, and she'd been so focused on me, Ah bet Zeocora hadn't either! "Thank you, Rainbow Dash!" Had she meet with Nightmare Rainbow in the dark? Same as I met with Nightmare Applejack? ++ After the wedding, Dash got to learn (I think she invented it!) a pegasi technique with our flight field for dealing unicorn telekenesis trying to grab us, then she taught it to me! My tactile-kinesis was like a reversed magnet! Stupid thing never touched me! But I didn't have time to brag all that! Sorry, Zecora! "Hi-ya!" I kicked her in the head. Knocked over her huge cauldron pot with four legs combined with my flight and a wing blade to cut through her bags of tricks. "All yours, Apple Bloom." With the same speed and reaction I used to save Sweetie from the changelings, I flew at the pair as they leapt at Apple Bloom, and reluctantly slammed their heads together! The masks didn't break, but it sure gave them both some nasty headaches! "OW!" "POW!" Button, you better've been scared of hurting 'Bloom when you blocked the mask instead of it! And NOT to dance with Sweetie! ++ "Stop it Zecora, this ain't the real yew." Zecora pushed herself up against her cauldron. I was still wrapped up by the vines. "You spin wheels, what is, is what is real." "Ah KNOW ya, Zecora! Ya'd never hurt me!" "Let me ask, what have I ever told you of my past?" Ah, Ah couldn't answer. "Another question for you to heft, my homeland, ever did I tell you why I left?" My head went blank. "A wanted spy, a murderer, a lich, a thief on the run, any of these I could have been, sorry to kick you in the shin. Try that knot, when did I ever say I was not?" Ah...Ah didn't think about that...ah didn't know why...but...but she's Zecora...she's my friend...if...How could Ah... Ah looked at mah friends, they were countin' on meh but...how can Ah...Button, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, Ah can't...wait, Sweetie Belle...Silver Spoon...that's it! "...And why does that matter?" Zecora looked like Ah'd just said the one answer she didn't think was possible. "Sweetie gave Chrysalis a fresh start, why can't Ah give you one?" Her hypnosis eyes ain't scarin' me, I've got the Truth. "Luna was Nightmare Moon! Silver Spoon was a bully! We're ponies! The past ain't today! Only the Zecora Ah know matters! And she's my friend! Yer NOT so heartless ya'd throw that away! Ya saved me from the cutie pox AFTER Ah stole from you!" "How do you know I am not cruel? Not our treasured friendship was not an imitation jewel? Just because a heart is black as a bog, does not mean I cannot pet a dog." Truth guide me. "Ya had plenty of chances to do bad things and get away with it! And ya never did!" "Mental midget, if I got away with it, how'd you even know it?" "If you were REALLY awful, why didn't you just kill meh when we first met and blame it on Everfree?" "Such pathetic hope. I was being cautious you dope." "Oh really? We've met ALONE in Everfree lots of times. Yah know, the deadly place where dozens of things coulda killed meh on mah way here or back and no pony woulda ever known. So has Twilight. And both of us trusted yah. So why?" "Your friends were looking for you! To eat you would make me a fool!" "Ah meant all the times AFTER that. Yah know? When Ah had that chipped tooth? Or the dozens of other times we've met?" "What a blind opinion!! I was going to make you my minion! As Sweetie and the Queen, pretended not to be mean!" "Then name one bad thing yah actually taught meh." "The brew you used to make Cutie Pox-" "Ah got the ingredients here, but that was all mah idea. Yah weren't even in the room. If yah were tryin' tah make meh a minion, yah'd have taught meh bad stuff, just like Chrysalis taught Sweetie. But yah never even tried." "I was making you trust me first! Then your darkness I would nurse!" Zecora yelled as Scootaloo wrestled with our friends. "Yah sure were takin' yer sweet old time about it. Ah've known yah for how long? A couple years? Why yah draggin' yer hooves? More importantly, why didn't yah just brainwash meh? Yah clearly could do that." Zecora's eyes were like red stars, so roared, shadows spread from her twisting into angry faces. "Silly filly! I wanted you willingly!" "Ya call them masks 'willing'?" "You forced my hoof you goof!" "HOW!? How is us visitin' this time any different from before?! And don't ya say Blanky 'cause if that evil stuff is what ya've served all yer life, then it's a part of things and Blanky wouldn't do a thing, and ya'd know'em well enough to know he wouldn't!" Ah didn't think about how Blanky was rubbin' against me when I said that last part. "WHAT IF IT IS? What if you are right with this quiz?! You little weevil! What if I LIKE now being evil?!" I felt the vines twist tighter on me. "...Yah know what Ah think? Ah think even if yah had been a bad pony, yah know one thing as well as Ah do." These vines. Vines are life. Earth Ponies are strength. Ah've been raised tah buck the apples outta trees while talkin' to 'em! So vines leave meh be! Zecora took a step back as Ah snapped those vines like twigs and did that Ah knew this rotten to the core story didn't see comin'. Trottin' up tah her and lookin' her in the eye. Ah grabbed some string from mah saddle bags and some sticks that'd gotten jammed in it (or mah mane, don't know which) on the way. Ah started workin' on somethin' as Ah spoke. Wood workin' was a family hobby. And Ah put Big Mac and Applejack to shame. "Ah was the first pony in Ponyville that saw ya as a zebra, not a witch...And Ah STILL do. All this? It's a spell ON yah, not YOU." Ah noticed the slug-snakes squirmin' inside her recoil back from meh like Ah was made of salt. "Remember? My sister and her friends kept thinkin' ya were a monster, but not meh. Ah came and talked with ya. Ah came here, alone and actually thought to get to know ya...Ah was the first pony in town ever to. And Ah ain't ever stopped. Ah ain't stopped treatin' Silver like a pony since Ah met her, and Ah know for a FACT she's a lot happier that way! Ain't know way that meant nothin' tah ya. Ya ain't a witch, yer a zebra and you're my friend! And it's time that Ah reminded ya of that." Ah held up what Ah'd made while Ah'd been talkin'. Ah remembered what one of the things Sweetie had gotten from Zecora meant. Why she'd given it ta her...why she'd had Sweetie wear it. In my hooves was a mini dream catcher. Ah know it wasn't the best, but ya could tell what it was. The sickness seemed to be tryin' to run away from it and Zecora took a few hoof steps back. Ah didn't let her get any further. "Take it...it's a present. These things are supposed to keep ponies safe from nightmares and monsters, right?. Ah want ya to be safe...Ah want yah to wake up from this nightmare and be ya again! Ah want my friend to wake up so take it!" Zecora, those black red eyes lookin' at me like Ah was gonna make her burst into flames, her entire body was shakin', no, the entire hut was shakin'. One hoof reached out, another clawed it back. Zecora grunted in pain. She lowered her head, closing those dark eyes tight. "Am I truly happier in the light? It sounds like an impossible sight," Zecora, she sounded scared. "Ah promise, and I'll make ya free of this blight, and all yer day be bright." I put the dream catcher around her neck, and gave her hug. And our hug made the world explode. A huge white blast hit everything, coming from the dream catcher in a giant sunny spider web. Only none of us were hurt, but the black things, were blown to nothin'. It was like the whole world was hit at once. And just like that...it was over...The ordinary masks on Button Mash and Sweetie Belle fell off, and they were ponies again. The creepy wolf statue was gone, and Scoots' mask was back in one piece (and Zecora's door). "Orange! Silver! Wolf! Sixth!" Sweetie laughed, hugging Button Mash. "Uh, guys, you can stop dancing," Scootaloo said. Button Mash blushed and pulled away. "OH RIGHT!" Then Scootaloo hugged Sweetie Belle, then Button Mash hugged them both. Wolfie nuzzled them both. Outside...well, there were still the rupees Button had left, and Ever Free Forest was still...Everfree Forest, but it was the right color. "Zecora?" I asked, seeing my friend laying on the ground, her cauldron empty and upright. Her house, Zecora, she wasn't quite how she was supposed to be, but, she wasn't that ugly pick and black anymore. Zecora opened her beautiful blue eyes. She smiled a real smile instead of a creepy witch one. Ah'd never seen such happy tears. "Little Bloom you have saved my soul, to repay this debt is an unreachable goal. With glee, I am free." "Zecora!" Ah hugged her, oh right, Ah was already hugging her! Ah hugged tighter! Ah cried a little. Ah saw Scootaloo save the day, but Ah knew for sure now, we didn't need some past life stuff to save our friends, our family. We could do it! We would do it! Scootaloo gave me a smirk and nodded. "Two down, a lot to go. But that's two more than this grim dark crud thought we'd get." Sweetie looked to Button. "...Sorry you got caught, Button..." Button shrugged. "It's okay, I knew I was on an escort mission. I'm just glad you're okay Sweetie Belle." Ah didn't care he was speakin' in video game. Ah was too busy huggin' mah friend! Zecora looked down at the dreamcatcher. "Apple Bloom, your gift to me dear, I will treasure it always, do not fear. Even if my soul it did not liberate, being from a friend makes it great." We nuzzled. A while later, we were sharing tea. Button Mash and Scootaloo hated it and had the cookies. "Rainbow Dash? So even Celestia 'secret' daughter's heart is now ash?" Scootaloo fidgeted. Blanky gave a whimper. "Uh, that's what Miss Void said." "Thank you, over and over, my four leaf clovers. Your courage is regal, you saved me from Upepo Shetani's evil." "Who?" "It has many names, all of them bad: all but a fad. The spirit of corruption, making dark spring from light like an eruption. The more pure, the more joy in making it less than manure. Kinder is death, in a world marked by its breath. But on the edge of the knife, you gave back life." "That sounds like what's happenin' alright." "Do you know Blanky? You can really see him?" Sweetie asked. "On him my eyes can lay, but better if I not say. He is a guardian spirit, meant to protect all from the incoherent. Many names in many places his image appears, and all who he hunts had better fear. But in what I know all, never is he this small." "YOU'RE SUPER SPECIAL BLANKY! I JUST KNEW YOU WERE! You're not just ANY magic dog!" "Wolf he is, little bell, wrongness I was taught he can smell." Scootaloo asked. "Uh, one of those names for the bad guy wouldn't happen to be a Mr. Umbra Breeze would it?" "Stallion, mare, it not care. Its form, has no norm. Its form doesn't matter, only that dreams and redemption are shattered." "So we're up against another super evil spirit?" Ah asked. Zecora nodded. "And a sad fate awaits all under its sway, but saving me proves we may yet win the day. For darkness may have power great, but against light you've shown it holds little weight. While an unspeakable evil we see, the things we hold dear in our hearts its weakness you have shown to be." "Zecora," Ah said, remember why Ah wanted so badly to see the REAL her. "Do you have ANY idea where the World Tower is?" "The Princess' castle is no mere jaunt, it only appears when they want. And the six fold barrier spell in place, none can enter even if you find a trace. Tragic, it is empowered by the six guardians' magic. Only with all their blessing, will you be progressing. The hearts you must cleanse, are Twilight Sparkle and her friends." "So...to save every pony, we need to see Rarity, all of them, like, like THAT," Sweetie said shivering. Ah did too. Scootaloo did on the inside. "But why have it set up like that at all?" Scootaloo asked. "Why not keep them inside the tower with them? And just have Spike give messages back and forth?" Now Ah whacked her for giving the baddies advice. "'Purifying the chosen sages to undo the barrier around my tower', remember what Gorgar said? It's the rules of the 'game.' Otherwise we couldn't reach the 'end' game.'" Sweetie said. "Which means Umbra Breeze CAN'T chose which tall tales come true or not." "Good for us," Scootaloo said. "Maybe Dash and her friends can save the world with us?" "Remember what Miss Void said? It has to be us," Ah said, and no, Ah didn't like it one bit. We were the most important fillies in the universe, and Ah didn't like it at all. "My friends before you go, I have many useful things I wish to show. But though you I trust, for any an equal trade is a must. Zebra are not fools, but that too is the world's rules. But first a slight lift, a gift for a gift." Zecora took out one of her earrings, before Ah could say anything, she put it on my ear. "When the world gives you a shove, remember our friendship's love." Ah looked in a mirror, Ah gotta admit, it looked, right on me. With Button Mash's rupees, we got some stuff from Zecora. Ah...think it's better if Ah don't tell ya everythin' we got from her in we have in our bags. Button kept the rest of 'em in that inventory of his for now. I kept a little something with me in case of an emergency. "Button Mash, Sweetie, while slave I was to evil I cannot describe, Happy I was to be near my tribe. Tis selfish, but honor bound, welcome as part of my herd as yourselves I do not embellish. I accept you, Applebloom, and Scootaloo as honorary Zebra, Please don't be angered by the idea." "Cool!" Button Mash smiled. Sweetie hugged her, we all followed. "I...don't mind," Scootaloo whispered. "Apples always welcomes new family," Ah said, just happy to have 'er back. Sweetie nuzzled her. Zecora gave her a potion to help recharge her magic without bein' asked. Ah lost count of how many hugs we exchanged. Ah didn't wanna leave, but we had too. We still had the world to save...but at least we'd figured out how to do it. None of us were that surprised when Razzaroo was waiting for us at the clearing's edge. "Hi girls, and nice to meet you little Button, I'm Razzaroo. Want me to write down your progress?" We all gave her a hug too and agreed. Ah never thought we'd be happy to see creepy old Everfree be back tah bein' Everfree! Sure, it was still Everfree, but at least these monsters were just animals! As we walked back, we went through Sunny Town again. And this time everypony somehow knew Zecora had just been possessed, like that's how it'd always been. Which it was, but now they knew it. And Ruby and Mitta, Ah don't know how else to say it but, they acted more like themselves. We also saw this yellow filly with a green mane that we'd never saw before. She weren't here last time. Except, everypony in Sunny Town did know her. Even mentioning Button Mash getting a golden apple from Princess Celestia's orchard to help her with... something. "My name's Jade, now,...thank you for saving me. You're why Princess Luna saved me from the Everfree Forest. I, like being a filly with a future instead of just a victim." Ah only understood maybe about half of that. But Ah saw how happy she was, in a GOOD way. Ah looked at her, she was like Glitter Glide. Ah didn't mention it...Blanky seemed tah not like it when Ah did. Scootaloo, Ah think she knew already from how she looked at her. Why were so many ponies of Scootaloo's home town used this way? She didn't say anything either. But Jade was happy now, and Ah saw her talking with the townsfolk like she was family, she had friends. And Ah think that made Scootaloo happy too. Whatever the case, she was free. Zecora was free...and without the Bloody Hooves tah scare 'em or Zecora bein' a witch, Sunny Town was just a little more free. And we were gonna make everypony else free whether upepo-whatever liked it or not! Heh, Scootaloo's rubbing off me, like Ah rub off on her and Sweetie Belle, and she on us. And we all kinda retroactively rubbed off on Button! Cause that's what friends do! > Over The Garden Wall > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo had never wanted an understudy, but Shady Daze was a diligent little colt and a fast study, and it was what the princesses wanted, so it had to be right. "Remember to keep your dress clean at all times." "And it doesn't cost anything to smile." "But we're not being paid," Shady Daze said. "Which just makes smiles all the more economically smart," Marcie Pan patted him on the head. She carefully adjusted his bow. "Look adorable, and things will inherently taste better. Trust me, I know." While the sisters wouldn't admit it, having Shady around reminded them of some foalhood acquaintance of theirs, Flim and Flam. The two had been cute as colts, and had grown into quite studly stallions. Flim even said how, with the sisters and brothers' combined talents, they'd be rich. Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo however were confident they could be that on their own and wished the good-looking brothers luck in their own endeavors selling ponies what you told them they wanted. Shady Daze happily delivered the sugary tea to the table in the central living room, now dominated by the photo album Bon Bon had brought over from their house to their little Princess Liza Doolots. Bon Bon admitted the tea tasted more like endearment this time, (normally, the sisters' food tasted like greed.) Lyra, Moth, and Bon Bon sat around Tootsie, with Truffle by her side. The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara sat on a neighboring couch like a lump, her attention only barely drawn to the changeling family’s journey down Memory Lane. Night Gale was still playing her video game. She'd reached the bonus level; busily slaughtering cherubs at their Cherub Picnic before the time limit ran out. That’d get her enough halos to buy the next big finishing move upgrade. "And here's Princess Cadence making me her Champion of Music!" Lyra pointed at a photograph of a changeling Lyra, grinning next to Princess Cadence, the two of them holding a golden harp. "I still have that harp!" "I...I was really proud of you," Tootsie said. "You didn't tell me about that, Liza," Truffle said. "Well, I'm not one to brag," Lyra grinned. Bon Bon rolled her eyes. Moth shapeshifted into Lyra's unicorn form, but kept her flanks surrounded by the blue flames. "I'm surprised you never told me, Liza," Truffle reiterated. "Well..." Tootsie shifted her hooves a bit on the couch. "I didn't think it was that big a deal." Bon Bon shook her head, smiling, and patted her filly on the shoulder. "Dear, you were bouncing off the walls, saying how we had a real life Superstallion in the family now. And that we'd fought alongside the Mare-Do-Wells, and were their friends now." "YOU DID?!" Truffle asked excited. "Now I know how Rarity felt," Bon Bon said, thinking back to when she told Rarity 'Never heard of you,' back when Fluttershy had been a super model. "Yes. We all fought alongside the Mare-Do-Wells." Moth had been proud to save her sister. Bon Bon kept quiet about how she'd spent most of the final battle providing magic recharging candies instead of fighting on the front line, and how Lyra had been providing musical support, so Moon Dancer's farce as Princess Cadence would be believable. "That's cool!" Truffle said. "You never told me you had such an awesome family, Liza! You really need to introduce them when you meet my parents!" "Your parents? Oh… right…" Liza blushed. "It's kinda weird we've been special friends for so long and our families have never met. My parents keep asking." "It's complicated-" "Is it because nopony in your family is, uh, related? I promise Mom and Dad don't mind that sort of thing at all!" Truffle smiled and nodded. "It's not that, I promise!" "Is it because they're all changelings? I promise Mom and Dad are maybe a little scared, but they KNOW your family are good ponies!" Lyra decided to save her foster filly from further awkward moments. "And here's picture of you getting off the Speedster carrier Royal Guard's chariot. We wanted to just take the train back to you, but Cadence didn't want to take that long!" The first picture showed Tootsie looking dizzy. The next photo was her hugging her family, and the photo after that was her bouncing around everywhere looking at and touching everything. "So what was that like, Liza?" Truffle asked. Tootsie startled. "It was...really exciting...I, maybe screamed a little, but it was SOOOOO fun seeing Equestria go by so fast below!" The next photos showed Tootsie next to Princess Celestia's Golden Apple Tree, then the royal jewels, and other spots normally barred from typical visitors in Canterlot. "You sure look happy," Truffle said, "But I bet it was all old for you. After all, you're a Princess, I bet you've been to Canterlot LOTS of times." "And even though you can fly so much faster than those pegasi, it was nice for you to be polite and let them to carry you," Bon Bon said nuzzling Tootsie. Tootsie felt strangely numb at their words. The next photo was of Tootsie playing with Sparkler, or 'Amethyst Star' as she was called by her friends in Canterlot. "Even though you don't need a foal sitter, being a Princess," Bon Bon said, "It's nice you let her hang out with you." Tootsie said nothing. The next photo was taken during Canterlot's occupation and showed Alula and Tootsie hugging each other in front of the statue that Apple Bloom had made in town square, while under the influence of the cutie pox. "I...I was so scared and worried about you," Tootsie said. "The ponies from Canterlot said the lock-down would end as soon as the rune was done. I wanted to help, but Mayor Mare refused to let me. She wouldn't let the ponies from Canterlot make the other foals work either. The Canterlot ponies said she was a traitor to Equestria for that but Alula said she was being really brave." "And it was nice of you to let her be brave when you could have fixed everything for her. That shows you're wise and kind, just like Princess Celestia!" Lyra praised her filly. "...Alula actually took me flying up in the clouds, her sister didn't want her to because it was dangerous, but, Alula promised she'd never drop me, she'd never let me fall...and she never did. And...the view was so beautiful. I...I never felt so excited when she showed me the sunrise from that view." "And even if you did fall, you had wings of your own to fly." Bon Bon smiled and nodded. The next photograph showed Tootsie in a dress holding a basket full of flowers. Her time, as the flower filly in Cranky and Matilda's wedding. "You really did look pretty there dear. But you always look pretty," Bon Bon said, nuzzling her foal, who didn't react to the touch. "It was very nice of you to let Apple Bloom and her friends be flower fillies at Princess Cadence's wedding," Lyra said. The last photo had Tootsie Flute, no wings, no costume, trotting up a changeling who regarded the the filly with bafflement, as Tootsie looked up at her adoringly. Tootsie remembered, her name was Jitter Bug. "Aren't you scared of me?" "Should I be?" Tootsie asked. Tootsie asked about her family, Jitter Bug had a lazy brother named Bed Bug back at the Hive she said, she said he was looking forward to napping in the sunlight for the first time in his life. The next picture had Tootsie giving Jitter Bug a bandage on her carapace after she'd been punched in the face by a pony she'd apologized to for using her mind control magic on. "It's okay, you're like my Auntie Moth, she didn't know she was doing bad stuff. You thought you were helping ponies. Lyra always says you should just learn from your mistakes." Tootsie finished with a sweet kiss. "I'd say you showed how much you were a princess that day," Moth said. "Here! You seen these, Truffle? They’re her baby pictures," Lyra grinned. Tootsie blushed red like a tomato and her eyes dilated. Bon Bon tried another PheNOMNOMenon as she smiled at her filly's predicament. "Excuuuuuuse me," Bon Bon said getting up and trotting over the two sisters. "Pardon me dears, but I simply MUST have the recipe for your treats! They are fantastic! You have a true gift for baking!" Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo startled, they hadn't really been addressed this whole time, just making more PheNOMNOMenons and giving Shady Daze some good pointers on being a good presenter. "That's..." Mercie Pan wasn't sure HOW to react. "It's...it's a...t-trademark...s-secret-, just...just between us...we can't go...sharing it with others." "Shouldn't you share such masterpieces with the world?" "We do, for a price. A pony has to make a living after all," Fawn Do replied. The two of them reminded Bon Bon of Flim and Flam, two ponies so closely bonded that were like one. A part of Bon Bon felt a bit jealous. "Well, I know how that is, I'm a candy seller myself. But in my book, the only way the world gets better is if we share our discoveries freely. Let me show you something." Bon Bon proceeded to write her recipe for magic restoring candy. "You sure you wanna give this to us? You could make a fortune off this!" "I'm not giving away, I'm sharing, remember? We're ponies, we're a herd, we're supposed to share. Besides, I still have the trademark for them, and healthy free market competition benefits everyone in the long run." Truffle kissed Tootsie and trotted up to the pair. "Can you teach me some stuff? You don't need to share any secrets you’d wanna keep secret, but I bet there’s some neat stuff you know." Tootsie said nothing as Truffle chatted with the sisters, she didn't feel like talking about any Magical Filly Adventures right now. "I bet Her Kindesty Princess Gaia was very proud of you helping Jitter Bug like that Liza," Moth said. A while later, Bon Bon was back with her family, showing another photo, this one of the entire family in front of Canterlot Castle. Lyra smiled. "Hey, remember what a sweet couple Princess Cadence and Shining Armor made?" Bon Bon nodded. "Still make. Did Minuette and Twinkleshine tell you any stories about them?" Lyra nodded. "Yeah, apparently they'd known each other since they were kids! Everypony knew they loved each other, but it took getting stuck on a ship for months to get it through their heads. So romantic. But they don't hold a candle to little Tootsie and Truffle here. They were made for each other." Tootsie blinked, looking at Truffle. She felt a vague...hollowness trying to think of anything resembling her times together with Truffle. She twisted her hooves in her lap, not feeling comfortable at all. Twist had abandoned Apple Bloom when she got her cutie mark. She hadn't even stood up for her at Diamond Tiara's party. That was supposed to be Truffle's special friend? Tootsie was happy she'd saved him from her. If Truffle was ever teased about being pudgy, Twist would just abandon him, Tootsie was sure. She'd done this for him. "I hope Alula's okay. She's taking so long," Tootsie said. "Don't worry, if she is, you can just rescue her! That's what Magical Fillies do!" Shady Daze said. Tootsie hadn't thought about that. She was even more surprised when she realized the Nightmare of Diamond Tiara was looking over her shoulder at the family photo. "Family photos," she stated, machine-like. "You look at them all the time? With your family?" "No. Not all the time. Bon Bon likes looking through them, Lyra normally doesn't but can get into it, Moth said it was 'filling,' whenever we did it. What about your family? Maybe they can come over." "I told you they were busy in Canterlot." "But you still have pictures with them don't you?" "We haven't looked through them in a long time. We never really did, we took pictures because it's just what families did. Memories are just as good as any photo, so it doesn’t matter. We, didn't like being reminded of...other things. I guess my family isn't like most beings." "Did you just rhyme?" Diamond Tiara speaking in verse with that flat tone of hers was weird. "It seems I am, but why I cannot exam," The Nightmare pony said, confusion slipping into her voice. "So you're rhyming like Zecora?" "Yes...like Zecora's tribe. ...But why I can't describe," She added looking slightly befuddled. Night Gale meanwhile continued to play the video game, her skill level skyrocketing moment by moment, advancing from a casual gamer to a pony for whom video games was a reason for living. Faster and faster, she massacred angels. Smashing their pretty faces to reveal hideous forms, so the player didn’t feel a shred of guilt slaughtering them. Idiots who thought angel were good and had mortals’ best interests at heart being blind lunatics. After all, if beings from another plane of existence were hideous by your definition of beauty, they therefore had to be evil, so killing them was okay. Night Gale grinned wide as she raked up an arbitrary high score, her witch pony player character drenched in angel blood. "Maybe all this time you've been a poet and didn't know it," Lyra said to the dark creature. "No it isn't that...Not sure why I'm adding verse to my chat." This is very peculiar, dear. Very weird to my ear. Now I'm doing it! I'm going to have fit! Ugh! Is this a bug? Her father said. "Try saying verse that don't rhyme!" Shady Daze suggested. "Orange. ... And I didn't need to find an enchanted sporange!...Now it's just making it up, yup." Bon Bon read from a dictionary wearing glasses. "Actually, sporange is an alternate spelling of sporangium, the botanical term for a part of a fern or similar plant." "Silver, I am nopony's chilver.” "Chilver: a synonym for a female lamb," Bon Bon looked up. "Cool I'm learning stuff!" Shady Daze said. "She's cursed, it's NOT cool!" Tootsie frowned. "...sorry." "No, it's not a curse making me speak in verse. It's like there is a connection, that.. makes me speak in this direction. This is not funny. Since for those who verse it's normal like the sun being sunny." Tootsie hugged her. Night Gale didn't stop playing her game. Normally this would be funny to see, except it's happening to me! Then Night Gale let a cry of frustration as the complex combo she was pulling off suddenly made no sense to her and the boss pummeled her angel killer back to her last save file. She said some words a filly shouldn't, Bon Bon thought she'd give that filly's parents a stern talking to. "I am speaking like a zebra, not that there's anything wrong with that....Wait. Finally. There." The plain in Spain, is covered in rain! Now I can rhyme and mean it! Let's make it rain peanuts! Ha ha!" "Any idea what it was?" Tootsie asked concerned. "You said it was a connection?" "A connection to what, I don't know. But it was familiar." "Maybe you have a twin sister you're going to meet soon, and she'll be bad, and you'll be good, but you'll teach her to be good, and you'll get a combined form to help save the day!" Tootsie suggested. "...Sure, let's go with that," The dark filly said blandly. Surprise flashed on Night Gale's face, and looked around as if something was suddenly missing, she narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. +++ Discord! 'No need to shout, cousin. I am right here after all.' Spare me your platitudes! 'You sound so cute when you say that, little filly.' Ugh! I've been robbed! Again! 'Oh my, what happened?' Princess Erroria has failed, that's what. I've lost my connection to Zecora! She is no longer one of my devoted! 'Maybe somepony got lucky?' That's the last piece of luck these ponies are going to get. Why don't you care? 'One, we still rule the rest of the world, two little annoyances aren't worth getting worked up over. And two…?' I sensed Cadence. 'Oh.' My presence is in Celestia, in Luna, in each of the Chosen of Harmony, but I haven't been able to sense her at all! For a moment I sensed two new followers for my believers, but then I lost them AND Zecora! One was Cadence, I'm sure of it! The other I didn't recognize, it wasn't that nag Amicitia's masculine side! But I can’t sense him one way or another, OR Amicitia's other spawn! All I know is Zecora is no longer my cultist. 'Don't you mean Upepo Shetani's cultist?' """"""""""WE ARE THE GOD OF THE THOUSAND MASKS! WE ARE ONE!"""""""""" 'Yeow! No need to shout! Fine, fine! I'll have my baby girl send her other filly friend out.' Send one out to fail like the other one did? I thought you were smarter than that, cousin. 'Give them some credit! Little Erroria must have been tricked or something, they sure didn't kick her flank. Besides, I AM being smarter. If you go personally, we both know you might get your flank kicked. And then who would refill the ink in the printing press? So you sensed Cadence and another one who WASN'T Shining Armor for a minute? And then simply got 'disconnected' from you? By whom? Well...doesn't that mean there's more than just those two?' There are at least three of them then...How uncharacteristically intelligent of you. 'Psh! Don't mistake not caring for not knowing!' And your hubris? 'I prefer to call it confidence.' It disturbs me I can't sense Cadence's soul. She is not gone, not infected, but she is masking her presence somehow. 'You planning on 'dealing with it yourself'?'' The last thing Cadence will hear is the relentless beast howling at the pale blood moon. 'Geeze, how melodramatic. Cousin, just to check, am I being the cautious one right now? It's kind of amusing.' Don't mistake me for you. And shouldn't you be more concerned that Cadence apparently has a wedge inside your perfect creation? 'Oh, but you see that's the beauty of little Diamond. She was nothing to no one already. At least as far as she knew. Cadence means nothing to her. She can whisper anything she wants to Diamond, all my little abomination will hear is white noise. She's unpurifyable because she was already fun to the core. You can't awaken light in something that was already black.' It's by having ONCE been good that vaccinates one against purification, not the other way around. That's something you, and those childish inane equines never understand. Like a creature with no immune system. Good is a strange, alien newness that draws them like moth to a flame. Those who have tasted goodness and fallen? They are the true monsters. I admire them for it. 'Let's see the track record. Nightmare Moon? Was good, now purified. Nightmare Whisper? Was good, now purified. My little nephew of Pandora's? Pure evil, eaten by the Blank Wolf before he ever grew a heart. Yours truly? Pure fun to the bone, I ATE that 'stick-in-the-mud' Rota tried to force me into being. Chrysalis? Big bad witch and born sociopath, the only, blech, harmony she ever had was forcefed into her, and even then they had to kill 'Chrysalis' to turn her. Looks like you're batting zero on that bet, cousin.' Are you done speaking, cousin? Yes? Good. You are not getting this one. I have better things to do than debate with you disconnected mind. But let me spell it out for you. Morning Star, his only desire was to repair what he saw as a broken universe, and enlighten his fellow Alicorns. Your big brother, D____, his only desire was to free mortals from what he saw as divine puppet strings. My son? Radiant Hope gave him a choice, and in the end, he chose the darkness... And you should be wary of what you eat. And you are mistaken if I am just going to blindly send out one of my avatars when Cadence has already proven a danger. 'Is this about the time one of your avatars got corrupted into that insane but cheerful neighponese school filly? By Cadence? Or somepony else?' Spare me. 'Well, I think you're rather cute there, I've got pictures. And the Animane's entire box set.' """""She is not Nyarlathotrot, we are Nyarlathotrot. Like a diseased limb, cut from the trunk. We are eternal. Sever one branch. A thousand more will take its place."""""" 'Oh...So I suppose telling you about my stalker shrine to that avatar is a wasted gesture?' You flatter me. Going to build one to this avatar? 'And ponies call me sick! I'm a sadistic hedonistic psychopath, not a craddle robber!' Heh! The Shadows seem to think otherwise… 'Well I'm not those Discords. My preferences lie towards the fine art of mental violation.' Go ahead and send your adopted spawn's playmate. 'I am' already making sure I don't deal with this problem blindly. And, I'm getting the best family for the job to remove this infection for us. ++ "Abandon!" "You have a lot of gall to call on me, sibling!" "I thought you'd be flattered. While the curse is my own work, this hell was made as a tribute of your world." "You mean plagiarize." "Oh please. You'd have never been able to twist that Equestria if I hadn't changed the core rules of the world...And I know how much fury you felt when Amicitia created an alternate path where Rarity in spite of being scarred never killed her cat, never fell into depravity in her desperation to be a mother, nor would be have jumped to turn the world into an even worse hell when given the chance to live her life before she fell into degeneracy." On his black throne Pharaoh of #43/#15 gestured with his scepter, and created a 2-D window showing a Rarity with scars on her face still living her normal life as a fashionista and Element of Harmony, with a stronger understanding of inner beauty. "Amicitia dared make a mockery of your work. I offer you now a chance for revenge." "She stupidly self-destructed, I'm rid of her. And so are you. Speaking of which: never seen so many of you in one universe before." "That's because this isn't about just corruption, it's about revenge! And look at it this way, return the favor...she took a worldline from you, oh wait, BEFORE THAT a pair of rogue avatars of Venus' and Uncle Havoc's did that before her, making it an even more bitter hopeless mess than you did!" The response was a growl. "Cadenza is still free, and not corrupted by my presence. She has already severed my connection to one of my cultists." "You want me to patch up your shoddy work." ". . . What do you say...find her, and YOU can corrupt this avatar of hers into one of yours? A Princess Cadence who is the PICTURE of depravity! It'll make your other trophies seem trivial in comparison, and you'll have back the respect in our family you lost before. And... this world's Rarity? Perhaps after Cadenza is done, you can even make her your mother?" "Now, cousin, you are talking my language." + My name is Sweetie Belle, and I'm trying to wonder why we aren't where Apple Bloom is leading us next right now if there even is any 'here or there' in the fog. I'm trying to think if now that we know what to do, if we'll be where Rarity and her friends are next. I'm trying to ponder how we're going to get where Rainbow Dash is. Will Scootaloo fly us up? I don't know the cloud walking spell! The basic magics Queen Chrysalis taught me were for changing ponies’ minds or blowing stuff up! Chryssy...when she used her magic on me, everything felt so right. I wasn't worried or scared or confused. I meant it when I said how ponies wouldn't have fighting, that ponies would be safer and happier with changelings thinking for them and protecting them from monsters. I meant it even after Chryssy's magic was gone. Now...I...that cursed mask went on my face, first I was scared, panicking, no magic to defend myself, then, everything was fine, everything was fine, everything was fine. Even finer once Apple Bloom and Scootaloo joined. Who cared if Button Mash got eaten by zombies? Mmm? Button Mash joined up? Let's dance with him. Not enough masks? Okay. Zecora's gonna eat Apple Bloom instead. Scootaloo broke a mask!? Scootaloo isn't serving Upepo Shetani? Then she's bad. But me, Button Mash, and Zecora are good. Then the masks came off, and I was me again. It was like Chryssy’s magic. No doubts. No fears. No questions. Everything being right. Being a zebra filly, wearing the mask, speaking in verse, dancing, praising Upepo Shetani, everything made sense. Just like Chryssy! It was EXACTLY THE SAME!!! I could have been brainwashed to paint polka dots on houses, and call myself Jingle Bells, and walk backwards, and it would have been exactly the same! Everything right! This is...it was... What those cursed masks did to me was horrible. What they did to Button Mash was horrible. What they would have made me me let happen to Apple Bloom was horrible. What...What Queen Chrysalis did to others was horrible. What I did to others was horrible. What...what she did to me was horrible. And that...that was before I found out that...that the thing the mask made me love and praise was the same one who did all of this...I...I felt so dirty. Made...made to love somepony who'd hurt your friend? Was going to make you hurt them? ... Like Chrysalis did to Twilight, Applejack, Spike, Moon Dancer, so many. And...I couldn't help thinking of it happening to her...to Kifuko I mean...what if...what if she got turned back to...I know some ponies might say she deserved it for what she did but...but she's a filly now! If she went back to her bad old ways...could I save her? I wish I had that feather she gave me, why did I leave it home?! Button Mash is sticking close to me as my magic recharges. Even after what happened, after being made to dance with me, being made to think and feeling things that weren't his...like the rumors. Like Chryssy's magic. Like my magic? "Button Mash!" "What is it, Sweetie Belle?! Monster?!" Button Mash looked around, putting the others on alert too. I didn't realize I'd said that so loud. "Uh! No! No monster! Button Mash I'm...very very very VERY VERY SORRY for what's happened to you. You didn't deserve it, you didn't ask for it, and those who made it happen...are monsters." "...Is that all? Oh! Sorry, Sweetie Belle! I didn't mean to say that like you being sorry for is wrong!" "Stop saying that! I'm the one who needs to apologize, not you." "I chose to come along, remember? You don't have anything to be sorry for." "Yes, I do! You got hit by evil magic that messed with WHO YOU ARE, because of ME! How, can you just stand there and apologize when YOU'RE the one who got hurt? When you're who got...violated like that. How can you just, smile it off? What happened to you shouldn't happen to anypony! Button Mash, please, cry, scream, something! You don't need to bottle it up! It-it's o-kay! N-no pony's going to blame you! W-wasn't your fault! It's...it's not like you wanted to help her AFTER we got the masks off!" My while body was shaking as I pressed my head against his, barely avoiding poking him with my horn. Button Mash just stroked my mane. "Do...do you want me to cry, Sweetie Belle? I-I can if you really w-want me to." "No!" I nearly wailed. "Do what YOU WANT, not what I WANT, you didn't WANT to dance with me, you were MADE to want to dance with me! I'm so sorry Button Mash!" None of my friends said anything. I hated how helpless I was making them feel. "I'm sorry that happened to you again," Button Mash said awkwardly. Again? Dancing? Chrysalis? "I...I...” --- This is so much easier with dialogue options! 'Sorry I couldn't protect you when I had the chance?' No, she might be more upset! What am I supposed to say? 'I won't let it happen again?' But that always backfires! Don't worry, Button Mash, the heroes always get the filly...until the bad guy kills her halfway through and then you bond with your real filly-friend. WAIT! Does that mean something bad's gonna happen to Sweetie Belle and I'll make special friend with Scootaloo or Apple Bloom!?! But I don't want anything bad to happen to Sweetie! ---- Button Mash was shaking like a leaf, now he was crying! "You're the one who's hurt! It's not fair! I'm yer hero! You shouldn't have to be made to dance for baddies over and over! You shouldn't be their doll! I'm sorry our first dance had to be because of some big meanie! It was bad when the monster did the same to me too!" "Wait! You weren't in-, did you-" "You told me, remember? Oh right you don't. Stupid curse. Sweetie Belle, you...you told me how...how you got made into a doll by The Glitch Monster and just began dancing with another filly changed into a doll too...I'm...I'm sorry this whole mess brought that back up for you." I...I'd completely forgotten about that. After time travel, Chryssy, everything here, getting mom and dad back, getting my cutie mark, I'd left that bad memory in the past, I didn't even think of it when playing with my dolls now. And...I didn't like it, I still hate it, but...I'm...I'm not gonna cry about it again. Button Mash calmed down some. I hug him. "Thanks, Button Mash." "Sorry you had to remember that." "I'm sorry you had to be cursed like that, it really is horrible, the monster making you what THEY want you to be." "Sorry I couldn't help more." "Sorry you got pulled into this." "Sorry you got cursed." "...How about we both promise to stop saying sorry?" "...Sounds like a great idea," he said. "Ya...ya gonna be okay, Sweetie? Oh! And ya too Button Mash?" "I will be." I smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about me," Button Mash nodded and made a heroic pose with his sword. "The hero always gets over this stuff." I trotted closer to my fellow CMC. "Girls, let me, just say one more 'sorry.' I'm sorry for being so, that is, when I was cursed, and you were just trying to help me, and I was being so...so...I THOUGHT what I was doing was right, what the monster was doing was right. But...it wasn't, at all...I hurt you guys and I just feel...icky knowing I was happy when I did. Especially AFTER you saved me Scootaloo. I should've been more grateful." "Same here," Button Mash said suddenly next to me. "You faking out like that and breaking her power-up and that mask was cool!" "Oh. Um," Scootaloo muttered, then looked me in the eyes. "Sweetie Belle...I'm, I'm, really happy to hear you can tell the difference between you that's you, and the you that monster made you. Apology accepted." Apple Bloom hugged me. "Ah don't hold it against what Applejack did when she got brainwashed...or what Zecora did when she way all corrupted...Yer mah friend, there ain't no brainwashing that's gonna get in the way of that." We hugged. We were on our way again in no time. Apple Bloom's magic eye hadn't steered us wrong yet we weren't running into any of those 'random encounters' Button Mash kept talking about. It actually made the fog feel safer. And I was wondering, was her magic going to lead to Rarity or one of her friends next? I wanted it to be my sister, but at the same time, seeing Rarity as a monster...I guess Apple Bloom and Scootaloo all feel the same way. Blanky makes me feel safer too. Oh, heh, and of course Button Mash. He has that sword ready to take on any nasty we run into...it would be more fun if the nasties weren't our friends. So, this is how it felt for my friends when I and the others were serving Chrysalis. I'm happy I didn't see what Rarity was like on the World Unzipped Day. "At this rate, I oughta get a second cutie mark for swimming through clouds." Scootaloo said to no pony, flapping her wings through the fog. Blanky began growling, Button Mash doubled his attention with his blocky sword, Scootaloo teased. I mustered up as much magic I could. Then we all 'saw' what Blanky was growling about. It was that bit more dense fog around the edges of places. We braced ourselves, we stepped on through. Dusty pink and black. I was home. No, not mom and dad's house, Rarity's, I still recognize it in spite of everything drawn all icky. I...I didn't know what to feel! Scared I'd see Rarity like Miss Cheerilee was? Happy we'd help her first? Ashamed I was happy Apple Bloom would't save her family first? It churned like soup in my stomach! I felt my horn crackle, calm down Sweetie Belle, stay in control. "Don't worry Sweetie we'll fix your sister!" Button Mash said. "Why would we want her not to have puppies?" Apple Bloom asked. "How does fixing something make it not have puppies anyway?" I asked. "I dunno, just what I heard," Button Mash said. "Granny Smith mentioned wantin' ta do it with Winona..." said Applebloom. Blanky crossed his rear legs for some reason. I took a deep breath, and we trotted forward. And it was like a giant white ball of fog just rose out of the ground. I saw out of the corner of my eye my friends being pushed back while I was pulled in like quicksand, the ball of fog rising up and enveloping everything! I was floating in a white nothing. Then the fog cleared. But lots of stuff was wrong. I was lying flat on my back, looking at a ceiling and a bright light. I tried to sit up but I had straps on my neck and hooves, and I felt something around my horn, it didn't feel good at all, just feeling it made me queasy. My hind legs hurt a bit, I don't think they're supposed to be THIS straight. My saddle bags are gone. I tried to use my telekinesis, but it just made me more sick. "Don't do that, dear, you might hurt yourself," said a mare with a Ponygyptian accent. I could move my head just enough to see...it looked like a hospital room with a buncha tools and a big mirror on the wall in front of me. It's not like Nurse Red Heart's hospital, everything was dirty pink, and so was the mare with the Nurse's hat, her mane cut was like a Pongypt style wig, and curly eyeshadow match. Her cutie mark was a red crystal. "Who are you?" "Oh I'm Nurse Dark Crystal. You awake? Don't worry, you won't feel a thing during the procedure. Isn't that right, Doctor?" Doctor? I looked where she looked. "KABUTOMUSHI?" I exclaimed. "'Doctor Kabuto,' Sweetie Belle, no need to shout. It'll all be over soon." He wasn't a changeling again, he was still an earth pony, with a violet coat and black mane. HIs cutie mark still a fancy circle with a snake around it. But now he was wearing glasses and a doctor’s operation gown thingie. The scary part was...he...his colors weren't that different, but he felt like he belonged with the rest of the world. "But!-But Cadence banished you to the sun!" "Excuse me? Dear, I have no idea what you're talking about. I've been helping little ponies like you since the changelings were gotten rid of." "'Gotten rid of?'" Kabuto took a newspaper clipping out of his apron. 'Bug Ponies Squashed' it said in big bold letters, and a picture of changelings falling by the droves against sun guards. What I was read on the page described the changelings acting...well, as weak as that sad pony general thought everypony thought the royal guard was, and as weak as he thought changelings were. And that went triple for Chryssy, I mean the Queen, the way she was described, and what she told me about how the Swarm worked, she wouldn't have lasted five minutes as Queen, let alone the years and decades she'd been silently creeping her scheme along. The changeling wouldn't have been hidden for so long if they were that bad at what they did...just like all the ponies would've been eaten by the now if the royal guards were as bad as that crazy general thought everypony thought. "But! Chryssy would overlook 'little ponies,' but whole armies didn't count as 'little ponies' to her! Canterlot's security, defenses, allies, she PREPARED for them! She wouldn't BE Chryssy if she didn't!" "Clinging to such obvious lies. So sad," sighed Kabuto. "It's clearer than ever this needs to be done for your own good as much as the others." "What needs to be done?" I asked scared. "Nothing painful, dear," Nurse Dark Crystal assured me, "We're just cutting out the magic center of your brain." "WHAT?!" "Dear! I said no need to shout!" Kabuto scolded me. It made me dizzy, no, no, focus, they're going to cut out the front of your brain! "It really is necessary." Kabuto sighed, doing that tisk-tisk thing adults did when a foal didn't understand something. "But don't worry, I've had plenty of experience." A chill went up my spine. "Experience?" "Yes, the ponies like you brainwashed by Chrysalis. Like Miss Moon Dancer. She's now leading a much happier and more comfortable life thanks to the procedure, and so shall you." Moon Dancer? HE DID THIS TO MOON DANCER?! I'll kill him! I charged up my magic only for the sickness to get so bad I threw up. "Let me get that, dear." Nurse Dark Crystal effectively cleaned me up. I didn't like the glint in her eye...it reminded me of Chrysalis whenever...she looked at Applejack. "Please, Sweetie Belle, don't make this harder than it already is. They're just trying to help you!" said a voice from a little speaker on a table. I felt sick and it didn't have to do with the thing on my horn. "R-Rarity?" "I don't want this either Sweetie, but you could become another Cadence...or you could become another Chrysalis. I could never forgive myself." Her voice, what was different about it? Doesn't matter! "RARITY! LISTEN! THINK! This isn't supposed to be going on! You just think it is! You'd never-" Click. Hey! The Nurse turned off the speaker! "No need to upset your sister with such nonsense dear. She just wants you fixed." "P-Princess Celestia would never let this happen!" I choked. "She doesn't give up on anypony!" "Of course she approves," she said. "She rewarded the pony who invented it with the Nobility Prize for Peace and Science." She looked me in the eyes. Her eyes, they weren't shaped like a pony's, or a dragon's, they were...I don't know what! They were horrible! "Now just relax and let it happen," She said. She ordered. She commanded. She made so. I was going to relax. I was going to let it happen. They were going to cut open my head, they were going to pull out my horn, they were going to chop out the front part of my brain. I was going to be so much happier. Maybe they'd even let me keep the piece they'd taken out when they're done. I'll be stopped from doing bad stuff I could've done. It'll be bliss. And it'll make Rarity happy, that's the important thing. That pluck on that invisible thread in my chest again, like with Cheerilee, and Alula. I...I see, a picture of Rarity, crying next to me as I drool on myself. "NO! THIS IS EVIL! THIS IS WRONG!" Kabuto shrugged. "Once society has institutionalized something, it BECOMES good, and those who oppose it are evil. Society determines what is good and evil." "Society changes according to its own will, an individual or a group of individuals can't change anything. You're just splashes in a river," the Nurse said, her eyes boring into me, I felt something inside me cracking looking in those eyes! I-I-I couldn't think. I-I-I c-couldn't-t f-feel. I--I suddenly felt my Crusader Cape on my back. For one little moment, I felt a calm so distant, it was like the emptiness between stars. I felt something push back at the Nurse. "How the buck did you stumble on that?" The Nurse hissed eying my cloak. Kabuto asked, "Where did that come from?" 'Don't give answers when you don't need to,' Chrysalis had taught me. "Made it myself with gold silk, very expensive," I said evenly. "Whatever. Keep your inane antics. It's not going to change a thing." "This isn't a messy procedure. The brain doesn't have any sense of pain, you're going to be fully awake anyway. It's better for research that way as well, I'll be asking you some questions during the procedure." Sweetie Belle, think! Okay...but...how do I get out of this? Kabuto would do this anyway! Remember Button Mash's rules! There's always a way! The Nurse said, "Face it dear, this is for the best. You've taken to black magic like a fish to water, asking you not to use it would be like asking a bird not to fly. This is for the good of everypony, including yourself. Whoever heard of a good witch?" "Kifuko will! She'll grow up to be a good witch! I know she will!" "You are an idiot, Sweetie Belle. Her useful idiot, through and through, and a traitor besides, to everypony you know. Everypony you grew up with. Picking power-mad insects over all the ponies who made the mistake of befriending you. Of loving you!” I cringed. “She promised you power, did she not? Power over all of us. Let me ask you something, dearie, have you ever tried running for office? Studied world politics? Bought your own home? Ever founded your own business, and been in charge of lots of ponies? Or just… a job, just one simple dead-end part-time floor-sweeping job, ever had one of those? No? And yet you have the nerve, the absolute gall, to act like you’re the pious little shepherdess, and all the rest of us are nothing but dumb, lumbering livestock, who…!!!” She took a breath to calm herself. “Better if Queen Chrysalis never existed, so that you would never have been corrupted, you impressionable little puddinghead." "Nurse, please, the procedure?" "Oh yes, doctor, of course. May I suggest that when we’re done, we’ll want to fix her vocal chords, just to be sure. Singing that’s THAT subversive is singing nopony needs." They pick up...sharp tools. Somepony please, I need, I need help with this part! Blanky! Scootaloo! Rarity! Apple Bloom! Cadence! Button Mash! Mom, Dad! Silver Spoon! Spike! Kifuko! Help! Please? Rarity, please hear my singing. ...Sweet music...oh sweet music...we make sweet music you and I ... A black and white feather? Huh? What the? It blew in from under the door, Kabuto and the nurse don't notice, it moved along a wind I can't feel, and lands on my nose. Everything turns grayish beige, everything slows down. I'm still strapped to the table, but I'm also sitting up, see-through and free. Across from me is...is... "Kifuko? What-how-but-I-" Fear and confusion were giving each other a shoving contest in my head. My little zebra baby Alicorn, she sat looking at me. For somepony still wearing diapers, she had a stern look. "You're going to have a bad headache later, but better than no headaches ever again. It's a little trick, overclocked your mind, so we can speak mentally. Or maybe it's a trick you read in one of those black magic books and just now remembered." "You-Kifuko! You can talk?! Could Princess Celestia talk at your age?" I asked, my head trying to grasp at anything! Kabuto was still leaning over me with his butcher knives, but now time was apparently taking a coffee break. So Kifuko and me could talk? I couldn't think of the right stuff to say! Was something else going on here? Did Spike or somepony else teleport the feather here? I felt like the last support beams in my head just went bye-bye! Maybe I was going crazy! "Maybe. Maybe I'm here, maybe I'm a trace of Kifuko's magic in her Alicorn feather, maybe the feather served as a one-use link between our souls. Maybe you've gotten so desperate you're hallucinating. Doesn't matter." "If any of that's true, why are you helping NOW? Zecora's gonna be your teacher and gonna be one of your subjects!" "You kept the feather in your bedrooom at Rarity's, this bubble overlapped hers when it caught you. An Alicorn is more real than most. My feather stayed, but it had to be somewhere that made sense for YOU to have it here. With your saddlebags, with your sister on the other side of the mirror. Or maybe that's what you imagined up just now. Or maybe we are connected, the three of us, remember what Chrysalis said? Or maybe you called, I answered, nothing else to it." I didn’t try to puzzle out her ‘maybes.’ I was honestly just happy to have any help! "Kifuko, help me." "What makes you think you need my help?" "THEY'RE GOING TO CUT OUT MY MAGIC! THE PART OF MY BRAIN THAT MAKES 'ME' ME!" "I meant WHY are you letting them do it? You have power! You proved that already in the Everfree. Why are you letting it end like this?" "They've shut off my horn! I can't do anything! Kabuto won't listen! I can't speak to Rarity! And I don't think the Nurse is really a pony!" "Sweetie Belle! Calm down! That seal on your horn...you really think something that -weak- can block your magic? You were given a crash course by a century-old witch! Even a triple seal on Miss Twilight Sparkle's horn only blocked her magic enough for her to calm down." The one on my horn? It wasn't anything fancy at all...yes. "You're a lot stronger than you think, Sweetie Belle. So much more." I'm not really a bookworm like Miss Twilight Sparkle. I'm Her Majesty's little songbird. I'll do whatever she wants. But...I look at the books around me. 'Black Magic: Why It's Your Friend', 'Hexes, Curses, Geases, and Ensorcelments, For Absolute Beginnings' from the locked-up part of the Canterlot Castle Library, and, 'The Proper Manipulation And Brainwashing Of Others' Her Majesty wrote herself. "Your Majesty? You really want me to read all these books?" "Not just read, they're a gift. They're yours now as much as you are mine." "I'm...I'm not sure I can do what's in them." The idea I'd fail at what Her Majesty wanted of me was heart-breaking. "You're a lot stronger than you think, Sweetie Belle. So much more." See-through me pushed Her away and trotted back. "You...you, get away." "Sweetie Belle? Please don't-" "You want me, to be like uppity she-tiny or whatever! Like you. You want me to hurt Rarity again!" "...Why are you so afraid of me now?" "My little songbird, Using this spell with the full incantation is time consuming and dangerous. Don't use unless your only other option is kissing death." "I just said what! I saw what black magic did to those trees in the Everfree, and now you want me to use that spell here! It'll blow up Kabuto, the Nurse, AND Rarity! You're still her!" "...You think this place would let Rarity die so easily?" I blinked. "What?" "Rarity hasn't gotten the chance to 'star' yet. Does a horror movie ever let the star die early?" "I dunno! Which means neither do you! An its kinda obvious I'm the 'star' here. And me NOT getting my magic taken is off-script anyway, Chrysalis." "I-I'm not-" "You didn't DENY that you wanted me to use THAT spell to blow everything up! When I KNOW how nasty it is!" "...You're wearing a magical dampener. What does that mean will happen to the spell when it's set off if it's too much for the dampener to contain? Like when Scootaloo proved strong enough to push UP on the weight falling on her?" "The seal on my horn will just get stronger to match." "The strange twang in your heart showed you, the narrative for this rumor ends with you a drooling shell." "But Button Mash's rules say there's a way to win!" "And yet the rumor was still cheating to make Scootaloo lose." "But she didn't..." "How?!" I thought about it. "...She made it break itself." "And how?" "...She did something smart..." "Because Scootaloo is 'meant' to be the dumb impulsive one?" "...Yeah..." Scootaloo's my friend, but I can kind of see why somepony looking at her would think she was like that. But that was like just making some parody of her! That wasn't Scootaloo! "And you? If Scootaloo is 'supposed' to be dumb and impulsive, what's 'Sweetie Belle' supposed to be?" "I...I'm supposed to be...Apple Bloom's our head, Scootaloo is our soul, I'm..." I thought of everything I'd done, of everything I had before Chrysalis told making ponies like cattle was nice. "I'm the heart." "So what’s something that a shallow parody of you would never do?" "She'd..." Then hit hit me. "...Except...the shallow Sweetie Belle here? She's Chrysalis' little minion, she'll maul kittens and love it! She'll, she'll think Chryssy was...just misunderstood...she wasn't." "So the parody of you would be an evil witch-in-training?" "Yes!" "So she'd use dark magic in evil ways?" "That's what...I'm...trying to say..." Wait a second. "You remember the first thing that book said don't you?" "...That dark magic can control you...but if you use it right, you control it." "'The difference between black magic and dark magic is the same as the difference between desire and sin,' Notes scribbled in the side by Queen Amore. Cadence's family is descended from her. 'Desire is how we progress.'-Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike The Second, Spike's ancestor the scribbles said. Desire is merely a driving force, it's when it's taken too far that it turns into GREED. Same way Fluttershy's kindness was taken too far and Luna's night was taken too far when they were kidnapped by the Nightmares." "...How do I make sure that doesn't happen?" "The grand experiment will soon begin. We're so alike, my queen," Kabuto said, giving a death glare at me. "Not in the ways that matter," she said. "You can't be serious. We both break tradition. We both strive to be more than we are. How could we not be alike?" "...Tell me Kabuto, what are you?" "A scientist, of course. Alchemist Master of the Swarm." "So you take no pleasure in those you make squirm or suffer because you are exacting your power over them? Showing who is not a slave?" "Of course not. I do not take pleasure in such things. I merely take pleasure in what I learn from such things. All is in the sacred pursuit of knowledge." "So you take no thrill in it?" "Only the privilege of knowing that whether the subject under my knife lives or dies is mine to decide. But is a scientist not entitled to as much in exchange for the knowledge and wisdom he obtains?" Chrysalis slapped him. "No. I'll concede one thing Kabuto, we are alike in one respect, we are both beasts, wild animals, driven by instinct to fulfill our base desires that nature forced upon us. That is all. You refuse to see that Kabuto. You always have. We do not answer to a higher calling, we heed to the lowest calling. We are depraved and filthily creatures. You hide from yourself behind that monocle. Of all the lies I've spoken Kabuto, I've never once told myself I was noble, or something serving a greater cause." "Don't be absurd, Your Majesty! You serve 'survival of the fittest' do you not?" "Idiot. Noling serves natural selection! She has no favorites! I've merely acknowledged the rules, without adding a fictional thing called 'morality' to it." "My Majesty that is what I am saying! I don't let morality stand in the way of my pursuit of knowledge either!" "And that is why you are truly an idiot. Hercules Beetle is a soldier. He knows why he is doing what he does. You keep pretending to be something more than you are. I do not. And that is where I am stronger than you." "Acknowledge what anger, hate, envy, fear, are all capable of, never forget it. Either submit to being a beast, and cut down all in your way to survive, rip to shreds all that threatens those you hold dear. Or look to rise above nature, and hold onto your principles to the bitter end, and use what you have as a tool instead of a club. But don't skip between like steps in a dance, or you'll come to the end of the long road, and realize you didn't believe in anything in your life, and you never forged a 'self' within you to move forward. You forged your own destiny, now face it." You have no idea how off kilter it made me hearing that come out of a baby Alicorn zebra's mouth...I wonder if I make it out of this if the others are going to believe this. "...I'm angry these nasty baddies took my sister and made her THIS." Rarity was a lot of things...but knowing she'd let THIS happen to me was enough...Rarity would never do that. I know she wouldn't. "Do you hate them for it?" I had to think about that. "...I hate Kabuto. And I hate Mr. Umbra Breeze." "Why do you hate them? Why not Cheerilee for allowing the paper to get sent out at all?" "Because Kabuto and Mr. Umbra Breeze are evil...they hurt ponies and don't feel bad for it...Cheerilee didn't mean to let any of this happen...she's just a victim...That's why I hate them but don't hate her." "How do you know he doesn't feel sorry for it?" "Kabuto SMILES when he hurts ponies." "I meant Umbra Breeze." "Oh! Um. 'Cause he's evil?" "And there's the trap. Beware it. Never EVER assume what your enemy is like ahead of time...Like Alula." "...Oh." "And fear?" "...I'm afraid of losing everypony, of my friends losing everypony...That's why I'm not giving up..." "Envy?" "...I...kinda envy my sister." "And will you allow that envy to turn the beast on her?" "NEVER!" "Most importantly...what do you desire to do with your power?" "Save Rarity! Help my friends save their families! Save our friends! Save Equestria!" "And what do you need to do first to do that?" "Save myself? But do I do it without my horn?" "You have much more than just your horn in your arsenal. You don't NEED IT to do magic. Remember your cutie mark, remember yourself." My Cutie Mark...Wait. "I think I just got it." "And what is that?" "...'Shallow Parody Sweetie Belle'...she's an evil witch, she lets dark magic control her...they're expecting a club, not a tool. They're expecting a beast...and even if a beast can howl, it can't sing...Thanks Kifuko." "Not Chrysalis?" "...You're Chrysalis' heart, not the bad things she did. Thanks for reminding me of that." This time I hugged her, leaning down, she really was so small. "You're welcome. Remember about the headache. But maybe, if everything is put right, you'll get to skip the headache. And you better sing soon, or you'll never sing again. Good luck, Sweetie Belle." I was looking up from solid me again, Kifuko's feather blew off me with a breath from the Nurse. And, the sharp tool was already against my head! Oh no! Wait! She was shaving me first?! Shaving me?! My mane! Okay, stay calm...I need to do this. I remembered back to when I did magic music with Chrysalis...it was different than just using my magic. Ponies sing, we can sing big numbers together when we don't know the words, it was like a magic all its own. I need to channel the right feelings...Fear for my life was the biggest one. But not the strongest. I'd learned that: the emotions I'm feeling the most isn't necessarily the strongest. Fear for JUST me would be over the moment I was safe. The strongest...was anger...Anger at what they'd done to Rarity. Fear she'd stay that way. Desire to save her. My horn glowed, even if the magic couldn't get out that way, it didn't need to. Look into my eyes! "I won't pretend not to be afraid, I stay true to my friends and be their aid. "I won't let the story end this way. I promise I'll make a better day." "What?" The Nurse stuffed a gag in my mouth as fast as lightning. I don't stop. I just continue to sing now wordlessly. Humming my melody. 'I may be small, but my heart is strong I call on anger to right this wrong A hatred of evil in my heart Be fire to make this vile fog part. Fear for those I love I can on To give power to my dark song. Night isn't just evil's might, So long as good remains in sight. My desire is this one thing: Back to the light my sister to bring.' Under these feelings, I felt a calm as pure as a frozen ocean. I saw my black magic manifest whether I was able to form words or not, because song was how I spoke, it was my Talent, my Gift, it was who I was. I spent forever looking for who I was. I wasn't going to let Kabuto steal it. "How are you doing this?" Nurse Dark Crystal hissed. Kabuto took a trot back from me, green threads of black magic curling off and around me. His eyes widen as he looks into my eyes, I see my glow reflected back in them. I've been here before. An Earth Pony before me, with no defense against what I could do to their mind. The spirits of black magic ask if we can play. I tell them we play by my rules, not theirs! I'm not giving in to anger and hate, I'm using it...Kabuto is evil, he'd have enjoyed what he wanted to do to me...but punishing him isn't what's important. I'll hurt him as much as I need to, not as much as I want to! Kabuto lay paralyzed by my eyes. Anger that burns within, fear that holds, want that guides, sunder the foolish that blocks my path! Wasn't sure how much mana I'd recovered after helping Zecora. I couldn't waste it. Whatever I thought up, the curse would cheat to make things so it wouldn't work. But me using black magic without brute force hadn't been part of the script. My magic curled around the restraints, that became thicker and bigger. That's it, think I'm trying to BREAK them, it's not telekinesis, but I manage to vibrate them loose, and I pull the gag out. "Chrysalis may have taught me to use black magic, but I get to say how it's used." "Still the witchling," the Nurse said. "I know she was evil! A monster! She could only love herself! The only reason she saw me as a person is because she says our hearts were the same! I'd have been just another pony for her to gobble-up the love of!" "Then say the inane 'hungry spider' excuse." "I don't want to give her excuses. She doesn't deserve them! The world's safer with her gone. I just want her to be judged fairly, because she did GOOD TOO! Changelings have names and families and can chose their own job because of her! She hurt my friends' minds, and nearly destroyed Equestria for her own selfish reasons! I just want her judged fairly...and I want Kifuko to be judged as what little good was in her, not what bad stuff she left behind!...And you're right, I'm a witchling. And Kifuko will be too. But we're both going to be good ones!" Nurse Dark Crystal lets out a snarl that wasn't like a pony, or anything. She grabs one of the surgery tools like her hooves have magnets, and charges at me with the force of a buffalo, the knife aimed at my throat! "HI-YA!" And...a blur smashed through the mirror...it was dusty pink, like everything but me and Kabuto. A flying hoof hit the Nurse in the side of the face, sending her crashing into the set of sharp tools. The entire place began shaking, becoming fuzzy. The nurse stared like she saw fire underwater, then she looked to me. "Enjoy the spot of hope brat, you'll wish we lobotomized you by the time-" She was kicked into the wall. The table, the walls, everything was turning foggy, blurry. My rescuer turned to look at me, but everything went to fog right then. Kabuto and the Nurse vanished into the mists, and I fell. I landed on the dirty ground a second later. I touched myself, my mane was fine, there was no seal on my horn. All the black magic I'd used dissipated. My saddle bags were back on me. I didn't see Kifuko's feather anywhere. Wait! I was back where I started. In front of the dirty pink style of mine and Rarity's house. Wait! My saddle- Blanky leapt out and began licking my face, erasing lots of germs from existence. "SWEETIE BELLE!!!" Button Mash hugged me like a freight train! "Are you okay?! DO you need a healing potion? Do you need a mana candy?! How's your sanity score?" I looked, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked relieved to see me. Apple Bloom gave me the eye-examine. "I...I'm okay, I have a BIG story to tell!" "Where you in that big scary building?" Scootaloo asked. "Button Mash's map said you were inside and we were trying to save you!" "Yer dog, Button Mash, and Scootaloo, ALL wanted to just storm the gates head on," Apple Bloom said. "We were makin' headway with nasty guards when it all went poof." I should've known, my friends would never just sit around and do nothing when they thought they could help! "I-I'm sorry I couldn't help you again," Button Mash profusely apologized. "Button Mash," I said gently, seeing he was crying. I smiled. "Let's all just be happy I'm okay. Who cares who did how much? I'm safe, and we're together." Button Mash looked at me, stunned for a bit, before nodding and hugging me a bit tighter before my friends did the same. Rarity...was that you?...You're my sister, why wouldn't you be? ...Call it a spot of hope, you big meanie! I don't care!...Hope is a lot stronger than you think. This little witchling is going to save her sister. + "Sweet music, oh sweet music, we make sweet music you and I," the pink Nightmare sang, images of Silver Spoon and her parents flashing through her mind unbidden. "That's a lovely voice Diamond Tiara," Moth said. "Nopony is going to think less of you for being able to sing without resenting everything. You don't need to hide it." Night Gail was having to start over from her last save file, having 'died' in game after suddenly feeling like she'd been bucked in the face twice and been stabbed by a bunch of little knives. Night Gale snarled a bit. 'How? Rarity is still within my portfolio...Abandon, if you lose control of that bubble before Cadence even gets there-' Somepony kick your flank? Hate to say I told you so, cousin- 'I was taken off guard. I'm fine, though Kabuto is...disabled.' Shame, ponies with pitch black hearts are hard to come by. Anything we need to worry about? 'A stubborn little infection. But Cadence is our priority. There's nowhere in the world a little filly can run when it's our world.' "My voice is nothing special...I don't know why I started singing," The pink Nightmare said to Moth. Ugh! Baby Shady! M-mot-Shady Senior, Pandora, where did those thoughts come from? "Your family or friends must be singing somewhere. Happens all the time," Lyra added. "Shows you're connected by the heart." "They might be singing," The Nightmare replied. 'But their hearts can't connect to something I don't have.' "See? Even when apart, friends and family's bonds hold strong." Bon Bon injected, hugging her sister and other half in front of the empty filly. Why was she thinking right now how dauntless she'd been to cure her mother? > Little Madam Rarity > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Waring, While I did my hardest to keep this chapter PG-13 at worst, This Chapter Contains Mature Implications, Reader Discretion Advised* After everything we'd already been through, of course my friends believed me! Scootaloo and Apple Bloom actually looked relieved by what I told them. Now the house me and Rarity lived in was right in front of me. I was going to save her! "Fancy meeting you here." "Hey, Phobia!" "Hey, Button Mash." The colts hoof-bumped. "Bit surprised to see you here." "Sweetie's my special friend," Button said proudly. "I'm helping her in her time of need!" "Be careful, girls. Help's good, but too many captains sink the ship." "Where were you?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm looking for Miss Void, remember? It's not like I'm stalking you. And I had a run-in with a monster with a taste for foals. Thankfully I was his first meal and I gave him indigestion. So I wasn't in a position to help." "Like Superstallion!" said Scootaloo, turning to explain to the others. "Remember issue #984, where an old lady was sure Superstallion would save her from a robber, but he was busy saving Equus from a planet eating starfish?" Phobia did seem familiar with that one. "There's more at play here than just you and those ya gotta save. You never know what trouble might find you! And don't go LOOKING for more fights, hothead. I'm guessin' you've already popped some bubbles. Whoever did this will be looking for who's disrupting their puppet show. AND! Just because somepony is an ally or an enemy, don't go thinkin' they don't have goals of their own." "What are you saying?" asked Button Mash. "Treat 'em all special," answered Phobia. "Phobia! I need to ask! The last...bad place I was in, the doctor there said he'd..." I still felt sick saying it. "Said he'd cut out the magic part of ponies' brains! Do you think his victims will be okay when we save everypony?" "Well, it would be weird if a foal like me had an answer to that, but, it's not like they're dead-dead. And Sweetie Belle..." He looked at the store and then at me again. "Brace yourself." And then… "He just vanished into the fog?" Button Mash asked, staring where'd he just been. "We're getting used to it," Scootaloo sighed. I downed one of the magic restoring candies we bought from Zecora. How many? Not saying. They were like Bon Bon's so I knew not to eat a lot at once. I faced the boutique's front door, Rarity, I'm coming. Apple Bloom walked in front, using her magic eye for booby traps. Button Mash brought up the rear. The bell jingled as we stepped inside. Ugh! I noticed the smell first. Not a bad smell or even a good one. It was just so strange, I had to cover my nose at first. Like Rarity's perfume but...weird. Button Mash looked sick. Everything pink and charcoal. Everything where it was supposed to be. And that made me more nervous. Like knowing a parasprite's in your room, but not being able to see it. Then I noticed stuff that shouldn't've belonged. Dresses made out of leather and chains. Other dresses I thought were underwear at first. Some that looked like they'd hurt to wear, and a lot of fishnet stockings and straps that even I knew barely counted as a dress. And each one was unique. Nopony greeted us, (Rarity would never tolerate such poor salesmareship.) Then I caught movement in the corner of my eye. The next moment, It came clawing at me. "OPAL!" I caught her in my magic, hissing and scratching at me. I looked in her eyes, there was something missing. Opal's always been nasty, but not randomly-attack-me-out-of-nowhere-halfway-across-the-room! "Looks like the pets were affected too." "You thought they wouldn't be?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, Chrysalis told me simpler creatures were harder to use mind magic on." Apple Bloom said. "Sweetie, ya've SEEN Winona, Angel, and the others, they ain't simple. I heard Fluttershy say there was a contest Angel was enterin' on his own!" "I guess if it can affect ponies, zebra, Alicorns, and dragon, it is stupid to think it wouldn't affect them too." "And Princess Gaia's magic fog affected animals too," Scootaloo finished. This trash heap world didn't spare anything. It did this to animals too. I heard hooves hurry down the stairs. I thrust Opal into a basket and put the lid on top with a weight on it. I heard Opal clawing from the inside. "Coming! Coming!" I'd know my sister's voice anywhere, but why did it sound...like when she was charming stallions but more...something BAD? Oh right. Trash heap world. Stay on the ball, Sweetie Belle! Charcoal and pink, except for those white eyes and teeth, red scars on her body like claw marks and...a burn on her chest shaped like a heart. She walked like she'd stood on two hooves her whole life. The smell was worse on her. She fit perfectly in this place. The way she moved was like a cat, or a snake. "Sweetie Belle! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you and your friends be rehearsing for the school play? Button Mash, I thought your mother would be getting you ready, but I do have just the thing Sweetie Belle would love to see you in!" She didn't raise her voice. But the...excited way she talked about me seeing Button Mash in something, with all these weird clothes around, it was like seeing a pretty picture getting smudged by sludge. Apple Bloom shuddered, frowned sadly, and nodded at me. I remembered what Miss Void warned us. "The play got postponed. The props were set up wrong and Miss Cheerilee said we might've gotten hurt," I said. "Oh dear!" And there came Rarity's fainting couch. "Your chance for the spotlight taken from you, my dear sweet sister! But don't worry! I'll make NEW costumes for Cheerilee! The stallions will be giving a standing applause by the time I'm done!" That odd feeling again, like Chrysalis taught, where somepony said one thing, but meant something else. "Oh, Apple Bloom, I love that new earring, is a piercing?" "Uh, it's a gift from Zecora, and no, it ain't." "I can give you a piercing if you like!" Rarity offered. "Naw, Ah'm good, thanks anyway." "Rarity?" I asked carefully. "Don't you remember seeing me just a bit ago?" "Sister I haven't seen you this morning before school." Rarity lay on her couch like she wanted somepony to snuggle with. "But not an hour ago you were watching Kabuto and a scary nurse about to cut open my head and take out a part of my brain!" I didn't care what this caused! "But I stopped them, and you saved me from the nurse trying to kill me!" "...While the cutting itself sounds delightful, dear, such permanent damage to you I'd never allow. I assure you, I'd be rubbing myself against their dead bodies if that was the case. I'm certain those tools would be a pleasure, I'd have slit their throats first before they'd touch you. I'd...I'd never...I'd never let...I'd never let you be hurt. Our time together is our way of saying how much we love each other dear. Oh dear Sweetie," She raised an eyebrow getting off her couch. "What happened to your scars? Did you use some new magic to get rid of them? You said you treasured each one like a gift from me, I keep all the scars you give me." A big part of me would have been happier if she'd been trying to turn us to mannequins about now, or want our pelts for dresses, or give me cursed milk that would turn me into a jewel statue. Instead, she looked hurt that I wasn't covered in scars she remembered me having. My friends were silent. Change topic! "W-what were you doing upstairs instead of watching the shop?" Why did that feel like a bad question? "I was watching mother and father." And my needle scratched off the record. "Mom and Dad are here?" "Oh yes, I was letting them borrow my toys." Right on cue I heard dad scream. I shuddered, mom and dad always did know how to interrupt. Why could I never just go with the flow? Did I always have to overcomplicate things with my prying? "Oh don't worry, Sweetie, those are cries of bliss." "Oh Luna the pain! Make it stop!" "You love it!" I heard mom shout. "No I don't! Ahhh!" "Yes, you do!" "What's going on up there?" Apple Bloom asked. A part of me wondered why we weren't rushing to save dad. Why won't my legs move? "Oh, well, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much-" Button Mash covered his ears. "Lalala! Not listening! Mom says I'm not ready for this talk!" "Rarity! He-he-he- Dad could die!" I choked. Mom hurting Dad? That wasn't Mom. It was a stranger. Nothing else to it. Why won't my legs move? Rarity patted me on the head and spoke in that patronizing voice. "Oh Sweetie, what's gotten into you? Mother would never actually KILL father, he's just being coy." Apple Bloom whispered, "S-Sweetie, come on. W-We don't need another fight, if we can cure yer sister, everythin' else will snap back to normal." She was trembling. "Did some stick-in-the-mud prudish prig moral busybody brainwash you?" Rarity smiled like she wanted to wash behind my ears. "Don't worry, big sister will help you remember why you love it so much." My friends were looking at me for what to do. Oh Cadence, I was proud for not hurling. In a corner of the showroom, I noticed a life-sized doll of Pinkie Pie. It had button eyes and an unusually straight mane. I thought I'd gotten over my fear of dolls, but the way it seemed to smile AT me made me shudder. Don't really be Pinkie Pie! You can do this, Sweetie! Scootaloo saved her sister and you can save yours. "I don't want that, Rarity! And neither do you! You're being MADE to be this way! Please remember this isn't you!" "Oh my! Who was it that did this to you? I'm going to have some harsh words about them filling my little sister's head with their puritan balderdash! But I have just the thing to help you remember your real self." She took a box that wasn't there before and opened it. Inside was this big black pearl. I felt something… what was it? Maybe I was being closed minded. If somepony enjoyed it, what was the harm in it? Anyone who thought otherwise were jerks who wanted everypony else to be like them: miserable and alone. If Rarity said I enjoyed it, why shouldn't I trust her? Then I could show Button Mash how much I liked him, and how much I liked Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, what else- Blanky snarled and chomped down on the pearl and the box in one gulp. My head cleared. "BLANKY!" A bite mark appeared in Rarity's shoulder. "Oh my! What was I just showing you? Showing? Oooh, that felt good." She rubbed the bite mark. LOVING CADENCE WHAT WAS I THINKING?! I looked at my friends, they looked shocked and sick, what had it made them think? Scootaloo hugged her cloak tighter, guess cursed things get past their protection, like the masks. I pet Blanky on the back, even if he'd hurt Rarity. "Thank you." Getting through to Rarity, this...this was harder than Zecora and Miss Cheerilee trying to kill us! Sweetie think of something! "Rarity, stop and think. These dresses. They aren't you. You make stuff that's really, really, beautiful! You don't make stuff that's...like this!" "Sweetie, what sort of game are you playing? Girls when did she start acting like this? Of course they're me." She put a hoof to my forehead. I don't know what was worse: this weird feeling of being dirty when I got touched by her, or being ashamed of that feeling! "I took everything I learned from my placeholder profession and applied it once I earned the money to open the Boutique." "Placeholder…?" "Well, you have your cutie mark, I was quite the minor porn star before I got my cutie mark, started selling dresses." "Porn…?" I again repeated, feeling like the world's dumbest parrot. The look of shock Rarity gave me was like you'd see from the main character's families in amnesia movies. "Is porn that type of popcorn mom always said she was happy there was no business of in Equestria?" Button Mash asked. "She said she used to be part of a secret order of Super-Ninjas And Angry Moms, who helped Princess Celestia place a spell on Equestria that would cause any that entered or existed Equestria to burst into flames and helped destroy an evil sisterhood called Playfilly. But I always thought she was making up that part." "Well obviously your mother's an uptight prude forcing her uptight prudery on everypony else. Living one never-ending denial fantasy. I sympathize; I used to be in that same boat," Rarity said, smiling. Button glared. I don't blame him. I put a hoof on his shoulder. "Ah think Ah remember Applejack hearin' about that 'corn,' but then after she visited Princess Luna, she told me it was BAD and NOT corn at all, but bad stories that didn't respect stallions none." "And Rainbow Dash told me how Spitfire told that if any out of kingdom visitors asked her to sell them pictures of her NOT TO, because they'd be 'pop-porn' or something, Rainbow Dash didn't know what it was either." "If it's something that bad, there's no way you could be a part of it!" I argued. "Oh of course I was, your girls misinterpreted what you saw, you are foals after all. Here's a photo of my agent and I, Crawling Mist," she said, producing a picture. In it was a pony with a '#34' for a cutie mark, (numbers for cutie marks, like something off an assembly line, ugh.) His mane looked like a buncha black squid-arms. "Why are you laid out like that, Rarity and-" EW! I WISH I HADN'T SEEN THAT! Blanky ate the picture and...wow, I actually forgot what I just saw. I'm happy I can't remember. Another bite mark appeared on Rarity. She rubbed the spot. "I don't know what's with the random pleasure but I'm not complaining...What was I showing you again?" "Nothing!" I called. "And there is no way you'd be a 'porn star,' Rarity!" "Why? Because it's edgy? Controversial? Pushes the boundaries of so-called 'good taste?' I'm proud of my beauty and love to show it off!" "No! Because I KNOW big sister has too much respect for everypony, and way too much respect for herself to do anything like that!" "Respect?! WHAT respect?! You think I became friends with Twilight Sparkle because I LIKED her? She was the mare from Canterlot, Princess Celestia's student and envoy! She was my ticket into high society! It could have been Pig Pen in that chariot, and I'd have buttered him up too! All of us wanted to be her friends because we knew she had connections we could use! Laxer taxes on the farm! Fast track to the Wonderbolts! Why do you THINK we were all so eager to befriend her?" "...Then why did you pick THEM instead of the nobles during that garden party?" I asked, remembering the story she told me. "Because Twilight Sparkle's much higher on the pecking order than any of them! Sweetie Belle, you're REALLY not yourself, what IS this all about?" "You're the Element of Generosity, even I know enough about it to know it'd have been just a pretty rock if you were THAT greedy!" I replied. "...Remember how you told me about Generosity? About being Generous even to somepony you DON'T like?" Scootaloo added, "Rainbow Dash turned down Nightmare Moon's offer for JUST THAT for Twilight's sake!" "Ah...don't know about taxes, but Applejack's HONESTY, she'd never do somethin' that awful!" "You're young...you think your family is perfect. I'm sorry that isn't the case." I looked at her. "...You're right...I know that." Mom and Dad...I know. "But that doesn't mean they're nothing but BAD things...And they're right, how did the Elements even work if it's like you said it was?" "Well, I never said we didn't grow to like her!" "...How? You used the Elements the night you met her. How could you have turned around THAT fast?" "Sweetie Belle, what happened to the pony way? Are you saying ponies CAN'T become dear friends over the course of an evening? That's how we saved the world." "Then why wasn't that your FIRST counterargument when I brought up the garden party?" I asked. Apple Bloom nodded. "You contradicted yerself. How can yah be her friend now but were still bein' just a leech THEN?" Rarity's eyes widened. She opened her mouth but she didn't say anything. "All your questions are leaving me confused, dear. Sweetie, who did this to you? Tell me. Who made you ashamed of liking good things? Who filled your head with lies?" "Rarity you're the one whose head got filled with lies! You'd never do porn, you'd never becomes friends with somepony just to get ahead, and you wouldn't hurt me or yourself for fun!" "Sweetie Belle, what you feel isn't wrong, it's just what nature gave you, it's nothing to be ashamed of, we're just doing what comes natural." "Comes natural," I whispered. "That's what Chrysalis said. She was a hungry spider, and we were just flies in her web. Just what nature gave her." "Yes, well, there is a difference between trying to conquer Equestria and just enjoying yourself." The scream again. "Like Discord?" "Not another word! It's not like I'm destroying the world to be entertained!" "Uh, actually in Ponysona 4, it turns out the bad guy was doing what she was doing because she decided to look at ponykind from a single pony," Button explained. "Mom said that's why you should always be good, you never know what you do that'll affect others." "Just because something was in a video game doesn't make it true little Button Mash." "But that doesn't mean that we can't learn anything from it, does it?" Button asked. "Like this really nice game about Celestia reminded me the world is great." "...And I know you've told me that what impression you give other ponies mean a lot," I explained. "...You want to know how I show I love you, Rarity? How I REALLY do? What you inspired me to make for you because I idolized how you really are?" I grabbed a piece of paper and a lot of jewels from a nearby chest, along with some glue (even made into THIS, Rarity always had that stuff lying around). AND NO I DON'T WANT TO KNOW IF THAT SCARY STORY ABOUT THE GLUEMAKER IS REAL NOW! I also got some crayons out of my backpack. "Sweetie Belle, what are..." I see her eyes widen when she looks at what I'm making. I finally hold up a copy of the picture I made her back when we did the Sisterhooves Social. Well, different gems but the same picture over all. Well, a little sloppier since I was rushing. "...Remember? I made you this? You got mad because of what gems I used but then when you actually bothered to LOOK at it you loved it?...How...how we had that fight and I tried to make Applejack my big sister, and you jumped in mud to get me back?!" I asked, holding up the picture and making her see it. She backed up like...well, most animals from Opal. "How even as 'uncouth and dirty' as it was, I was WORTH that?" "Sweetie Belle, have I said at all that I don't love you? I've always loved you. I've never stopped loving you. When have I said I wasn't loving you? We had a way of showing that we loved each other, you tried what I liked to do and you liked it too, it was our way of showing love for each other. You said it yourself, that I'd do something uncouth just for you. Are you now so prudish little sister you won't even give something 'new' a try? Why can't you tell me who corrupted you and made you forget how much you loved it?" "...Then why did you almost make me leave my friends because of how often I got hurt being a Crusader?" I asked. I'm sorry Rarity. I...I had to. "Why did I have to TALK YOU OUT OF IT if getting hurt is so much fun?!" "Well dear, there's a different between bleeding and burning somewhere with medical supplies nearby and getting your head smashed across half of Equestria trying for your mountain claiming cutie marks," Rarity said, she sure sounded proud of herself saying that. Ugh, why did the 'make something on the spot' thing work for Apple Bloom but not me?! Why can't I just break through all of this crud already?! There's got to be something to remind her of how much she doesn't want...to...hurt...me... Wait. I grabbed a circlet off the counter in my telekinesis and floated it right where it'd been that day. "Remember this, Rarity?" I asked, doing my best to stand exactly how I had that day. The look of fear was a lot easier than I wish it was. I didn't know how well I could aim THIS with my telekinesis...and Rarity knew that. "I...I do." Rarity shuddered. "I-I could have blinded you...that wouldn't have been for fun, and no amount of bandages could have fixed it. That was my anger and frustration controlling me, and it almost cost you an eye, or worse." Her tone...she was pleading. "PLEASE, Sweetie Belle! I know big sister did something bad that day! She almost did something much worse that day! Big sister is happy you've never hated me for that! A few scars isn't the same as BLINDING somepony! Am I a monster just for enjoying something different?" "Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked, looking scared. I then gave the most nonfake smile I possibly could. "Okay sis! Then I'll be really sure to try not to hit my eye! Just a little cut on the cheek! That'll be fun, won't it?!" I asked. I felt gross. I felt nasty...I hated acting like I might actually enjoy this. "This is what you're teaching me to like! So I might as well give it a try on my own!" If I'm wrong, this is REALLY going to hurt. If I'm right...I might get a spanking...I'm going to get hurt either way, aren't I? I launch the circlet at myself, Apple Bloom actually has to hold Button back to stop him from trying to protect me...sorry Button. "NO!" I heard somecreature scream. I saw green fire. I heard the circlet bounce off something like armor. And I was looking in green eyes and a purple scaly face covered in scratches. "S-Spike?" What?! Huh?! WHAT! "I..." He huffed and he puffed. He wasn't that stupid grainy pink. "I couldn't...I couldn't let... that...let you...not again, I mean, like Rarity did." "Spike! T-thanks for protecting Sweetie Belle." As unawkwardly as he could, Button smiled at the dragon so close to his 'princess'. Button glared at Apple Bloom but she didn't look at him. "I-I couldn't do less." "Spike, are you, you?" I whispered. His colors were there. Apple Bloom closed one eye and tilted her head. "Ya came here ta help?" Spike looked at her. "How...how could I not? She's Rarity, she's Sweetie Belle." Apple Bloom nodded. "Ah gotcha." I hugged him. "Spike! I'm so glad you're okay! Did you meet Miss Void too?" Scootaloo whispered, not low enough. "Isn't Spike supposed to be possessed too?" "Don't worry Scoots, this Spike ain't here to hurt us," Apple Bloom explained. "SPIKE!" Rarity gasped. "T-thank-I mean! What are you doing out here?! I thought you said you wanted to help clean." "Spike was here the whole time?!" Scootaloo made that face, not believing it. "You never asked," Rarity said simply. "He...he can't enjoy my type of pleasure. Scales like shields after all. And he refuses to help me have pleasure, but he still wanted to stay and help, so I let him do a little cleaning, I've...I've been distracted from it as...as I've been, enjoying myself when not tending customers." "Spike!" I hissed. I didn't know if I was relieved to see him, freaked out of him coming out of nowhere, or flustered that he just dove in and saved me when I wanted Rarity to save me! "Are-are you hurt, Sweetie? Please tell me you don't like the pain," he whispered. "No, I was trying to snap her out of it," I whispered, looking to Rarity. "...I'm glad to see you." "Yeah, same here...I'm sorry I couldn't save her myself, I was keeping an eye on her and...I tried but...I'll explain later, but I don't know Rarity as well as you." Dad screamed again while I was in the middle of nodding at Spike. "...Sis...don't you remember?...You've never liked seeing me hurt...you just thanked Spike for stopping me from getting hurt...This isn't how we had fun together...running in the rain, sewing, cooking even if I'm not that good at it! That's what we do together...apple pie, remember?" "Spike saved Opal too...after...Opal clawed me, I...I was going to...defend myself, but, Spike it turns out had stepped in when I wasn't looking and used himself as a shield then too...but, it...it wasn't...wasn't so bad, I...I got to realize that this." She touched her scars. "Actually felt nice. I..." "...And not when I hurt you back in Canterlot?" I asked. I still felt horrible about that. "If it were that easy for you to enjoy being hurt...what was different when Opal scratched you instead of when I attacked you? Or when you fought those Changelings? Or when you fought Princess Gaia? Or when you poked yourself with a needle sewing? Dad told me you used to complain a lot when you fell and hurt yourself playing one of the sports he made you play, why not then? Why when Opal scratched you and not any of the OTHER times? What was different about Opal doing it?" And I was about to do the one thing Rarity would never expect from ME. Scootaloo or Apple Bloom? Yeah, probably. But me? No...and that's why she'd not be ABLE to ignore it. "Tartarus, why not any of the other bucking times Opal scratched you BEFORE then? Like when she was hanging off your back with her claws in you when you showed up to pick us up from Fluttershy's?!" I could taste the soap already, but if it MADE her listen, it was worth it. Instead Rarity looked dizzy. "Hurt me? Sweetie Belle you never hurt...changelings?...the guards took care of all the...all the times Opal..." "You're not a pony who likes pain, Rarity. Not giving it or receiving it. You always told me how being couth wasn't just about others' respect, it was about respecting yourself. Not, not all this." I waved my hoof around at the creepy dresses, and dad crying out again. "You respect yourself too much to be like this, and you respect yourself too much to become somepony's friend just to get ahead." Rarity held head her head, looking ready for her fainting couch again. She was scared, but it wasn't like Miss Cheerilee and Zecora, she looked hurt too. "Maybe, Sweetie, I don't WANT to be good? Maybe I WANT my friends to be monsters! Maybe I WANT to be depraved, degenerate, drawing pleasure from pain, and experiencing life to the fullest! ENJOYING life to the fullest! Maybe I want the FREEDOM that comes with being this way! Maybe I LIKE seeing the world twisted upside down if it gets me what I want! Maybe I choose to be corrupted instead of pure if I can just enjoy myself. Maybe..." Why did she look at the Pinkie doll? "Maybe if I can't find my prince, maybe I don't need one, but, I can still be a mother." "WOULD IT HAVE KILLED YOU TO ADOPT?!" Scootaloo shouted so fast and suddenly we were all thrown off kilter. "Then, then it wouldn't have been a foal I'd have give birth to," Rarity said, sounding, meek? "Family isn't just about blood," Scootaloo said like she was quoting. "It's about the heart too. There are foals out there who just want to be loved." "I-I know." "Rarity, what are you talking about? What foal?" I asked, feeling like I'd been dropped into the second act of a play. "...O-Opal was supposed to be...to give my baby a heart...but...Spike came and...I was going to cut her open anyway but...Spike kept distracting me and, it didn't feel right to do so in front of him." I look at Spike, I've, I've never seen him looking so grim before. Rarity was looking at the, at the straight maned Pinkie Pie doll?! Check please. I don't feel so good. Rarity was going to...if Spike hadn't...no no no! "But! But you just said you wanted a foal that was yours! That doesn't make sense at all!" Rarity looked dizzy, sick. "I...I was going to give birth...become a real mommy...That's what was supposed to happen..." "I think I'm under age for this game's rating!" Button Mash yelped. I hugged him. "So are we," I whispered. I looked to Rarity and did the one thing I should have from the start. Hugged her. "...You're my big sister, Rarity...but...with how much you've taken care of me...I know the real you, not this would be a great mom...But you love Opal way too much to do that to get a foal! I know how much you love her!" I told her, looking her in the eyes. "And how could you live with yourself knowing you killed her?" Scootaloo looked to Rarity. "...Sweetie's right...I know I'd feel bad if it turned out my mom sacrificed something like that for me...But if somepony adopted me, you bet I'd be a lot more proud to have them." "I KNOW you're not perfect Rarity, you've done stupid stuff before, stuff that was just for you, but you'd never be that selfish! And I love you for it!" She pushed me away. No! But then she fell to her forehooves and knees and, began to dry-heave. I didn't see her throw up anything, but Blanky leapt in and bite and clawed like he was eating something right under her. I just started quietly humming a very special song. Right in her ears. The bad smell began to go away. The scars on Rarity's body began to go away. The awful dresses became the ones the Rarity I knew loved making. The screams from dad stopped, I heard faint creaking though. Opal, being Opal, kept trying to claw her way out. In a big splash all the colors came back, right where they were supposed to be. Then the black shading slip away like shadows at noon. I was home. I saw a purple gem form above Rarity's head for and second, glowing bright. At first it looked like it was filled up inside with this black gunk that was swirling around inside, but as it glowed it burned away until it looked polished and pretty. I could swear I heard a lock far away come undone as it faded back into Rarity. Rarity hugged me. "Oh, Sweetie Belle! Thank you! Thank you! I'm free!" She was crying. "I wish I didn't have to remember any of that!" "It's okay Rarity, I know what you mean." I hugged her too. We nuzzled. "Mom! Dad! We gotta see if they're okay!" Rarity blushed. "Dear, I think they're fine, no need for you to check. Some things should be kept private. I'll explain when you're older." It was Rarity's scent I smelled, her perfume, her fabrics, it was her. Button Mash proved his bravery as he carefully let out Opal and managed to avoid losing any of his mane in the process. "Apple Bloom dear? Your new earring DOES look good on you." "Thank ya kindly." Spike was crying tears of joy too. "Rarity, I'm...I'm just...you DESERVE to be happy." "Don't worry Spike dear, I'm happy with ApplejackTwilightPinkieRainbowFluttershy." I startled and looked at Rarity. It was her blue eyes, her mane, her poise, her beauty. "What did you say?" "Just that I'm happy with dearest ApplejackTwilightPinkieRainbowFluttershy." It was like she was naming the name of her other five friends all at once. "Don't worry Scootaloo, I am/not with Celestia's daughter just to move ahead." My eyes widened. What was this? Rarity rubbed my head gently. "Don't worry, Sweetie, I promise to explain when you're older, mother sort of cornered that responsibility on me." She looked at Spike. "Spike dear, thank you for protecting Opal, AND Sweetie Belle, that means the world to me." She kissed him on the nose. I was surprised when Spike didn't float away. "And Button Mash, you are still a good friend for Sweetie Belle." Button Mash blushed looking up from that 'quest progress' window of his. "Uh, thank you." I didn't...feel horrified or scared, just, maybe a little disappointed. I knew it was going to come down to us, and Miss Cheerilee and Zecora were still effected by the other rumors, but...at least Rarity was Rarity again. Even if she was, I don't know WHAT, but at least I could recognize my sister. And that made me smile. + With Truffle around her arms, Tootsie and her coltfriend trotted through the massive amusement park. There were no lines. It was just for the two of them. With Truffle in one foreleg, and ice-cream in the other, Princess Tootsie was on cloud nine. Everything was just perfect. The world was so much better now. Everypony talked about how 'moral busy bodies' were bad, so it should have been obvious to everypony was moral were bad. Ethnic were good, morals were bad, Tootsie wondered how she hadn't realized it before being taught the truth. Besides, all the churches and religions in the video games she got here at her castle talked about morals and all just wanted to destroy the world, or release some evil demon or both, so it was even more obvious. Why didn't the people in those games ever realize morals were bad when it was the bad guys who spent so much cut-scene time talking the most about them? "Liza, we can do some stuff you like if you want." "Huh? Truffle we are doing stuff I like. I like being here with you." "Yeah but..." The colt fidgeted. "I like the slow ride, like that Tunnel of Hearts and Hooves, and Small Equestria, but, Liza." He looked her in the eyes. "You like the FAST RIDES, like the rollercoaster or 'Cave of Terror!' You like comic books. Not those cheesy love stories like you picked up at the corner shop." "H-how would you know?" "Because we're special friends. We have been since before last Hearts and Hooves day. I know you. I wouldn't be a special friend if I didn't." He smiled at her. "Is everything okay?" Tootie felt weird inside. Something wasn't right. But everything was right, right? PRINCESS LIZA DOOLOTS! SUIT UP FOR EXCURSION! NOW! "YEOW!" Tootie held her hooves to her head, dropping her ice cream. Animatia Erroria is still out. You will be directed to the infection. Another part of our world has been corrupted. Deal with this disease NOW, Princess! "Uh, Truffle, I need to go." He gave her a gentle nuzzle. "Don't worry, I gotcha. Go save the world." + "No. I refuse. Not again, you nag!" "Did the doll just talk?" Scootaloo paled. The doll?! It was still here! And still the same sick style and colors. It stood up bonelessly, flopping this way and that like a sock puppet. "What tha-" Apple Bloom gasped, she took a trot back. "But-Ah shouldda seen before! All Ah saw was more gunk!" "Your family relies too much on the truth, I should rip that eye out for you." It reached out its arms. "Don't abandon me, mommy. Love me, mommy. Birth me, mommy. Let me into the world, mommy." Rarity looked uncomfortable. "Ya ain't a shadow! Or a bug-snake! What are ya?!" "Are-are you Upepo Shetani?" Button Mash asked. Whispering something about 'final boss preview.' "Nyarlathotrot?! You think I'm Nyarlathotrot?!?! I am sadomasochism. I am the motherless child. I am Abandon! And I won't let this be stolen again!" "'Again?!' IS THIS SOME KIND OF TIME LOOP!?" Scootaloo shouted. Why did that make Spike shudder? "No, you nothing! This bubble was plagiarized from my own work! I had my chance denied, then my entire work erased! What right did that nag have to meddle in my world?!" "Your world?" Rarity tilted her head in total confusion. I REALLY didn't want to explain the whole 'other worlds' out there thing we learned when we traveled sideways in time that one time. It nearly drove me crazy. "At least my Sibling gave me a chance to finally have what is mine! Then you little thieves dare to steal it AGAIN!?" Button Mash opened his mouth to make some remark on boss dialogue I bet, but then Spike roared, I mean, literally roared more than I thought a baby dragon could. "YOU'RE NEVER CORRUPTING ANOTHER RARITY AGAIN, YOU PIG!" "Don't be so high and mighty, just because I did what you couldn't," Abandon said. WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?! Spike?! He looked like he felt like he'd been stabbed in the gut. Blanky, WHY are you growling at SPIKE now? But! Spike helped us! "Creation is a balance pretender, failure and success, light and dark, life and death. Fear and love are no different. A being of absolute fear would fill the world with sinners, but in the end, sin would lose all meaning, and could no longer sustain him. And a being of absolute love would turn all into virtuous zealots, converting all as much against their will as the fear, until even the rocks were 'purified' and they all then laid down and died in their 'perfect' world. For all your failures, there would be my successes with the mare you mindlessly pine for." Spike seemed to shrink a little. "That's not profound. That's stupid. If you brutally force your beliefs on others than you're not being virtuous! It's like some backwards logic excuse to keep bad things around! True love isn't selfish! True love isn't cruel! True love doesn't force your beliefs on others! And being ARFAID of hurting others, of doing bad things is PART of how we do good! You make no sense! What you said is a load of garbage!" I felt, for just a tiny bit, like it was a Sweetie Belle who was bigger than Sweetie Belle talking with me for a bit there. Button Mash blinked for a second, then smiled. "That was a cool speech, Sweetie Belle!" "Um...thanks..." The big doll like it was moved by invisible hooves to my sister. Ugh! Something that looks like Pinkie Pie should NEVER be that creepy! "Come, mommy, don't abandon me again mommy, please mommy." Rarity's eyes dilated. "Poor dear, just wants a mother..." The doll's forelegs stretched out to her walking on its back legs. NO! "But I'm not as uncouth and dreadful as one you desire, and I pray never will be." YES! The doll found itself caught in my sister's magic. "But, I gave mommy everything," the doll said in an almost sad voice. "OH! SHUT! UP!" Spike tackled the dirty-pink doll like a cannonball, tackling them both out a closed window, glass scattered on the ground, the two of them skidding across the yard. "Sorry for the damage, Rarity!" Outside, Spike turned his head and waved. "It's quite alright, Spike," Rarity just looked kind of tired. I don't blame her. The doll bucked him off it. "Spike! Don't worry Spikey-Wikey, just stay here, girls I'll-" "Don't come near it, Rarity!" Spike hissed a warning. Rarity gasped, I don't any of us had heard Spike be so, intense before. "Sweetie! Protect Rarity!" "Don't worry, big sister," I said. "We've gotten experience doing this stuff now!" Spike got up. "I'm sorry girls, this one's out of your league." "Bad dragon. Pinkamena punish you." Then, the doll grew, then bulged, then began to pop at the seams. Blanky's growling was worse than I'd ever seen it. "Please! Sweetie! Don't let your pet fight! Or I might be on the menu too!" "WAIT! WHY WOULD BLANKY-WAIT! YOU CAN SEE-" "PLEASE!" Apple Bloom said putting a hoof on my shoulder. "Sweetie, please trust him. If he was here ta cause trouble he wouldn't be wantin' to fight that by himself." Why would Blanky want to eat Spike? But I couldn't fault what Apple Bloom was saying. Everything was just a mess. I held Blanky. He didn't look happy. I swear Blanky gave an indignant snort at BOTH of them. "Pinkamena rip you into oblivion." "Going to Nothing to be with my Her is too kind, but I have friends who depend on me!" Spike hissed, getting into a martial arts pose I'd never seen him use. Then the rest of the doll broke away. Inside was, this HUGE ...I think minotaur with bat wings? A tail? Glowing eyes? Did he have black tentacles? Did he have a long faced skull for a head? Just looking at him made my head hurt. Spike wanted to fight that thing by himself?! "Geeze, how cliché can ya get?" Button Mash said, seeing the monster. "Pretty been-done design if ya ask me." I couldn't tell if he meant that or just trying to be brave. "SWEET PRINCESSES WHAT IS THAT THING?!?!" I heard Dad scream upstairs, followed by Mom just fainting, hitting the floor. It slammed its fist down on Spike, shaking up a ring of dust. I saw Rarity try to use her telekinesis but it was flickering. Scootaloo moved fast but not fast enough, I hate myself for my mind just going blank, I should have zapped the big monster but I didn't! Poor Spike. Dragons are tough, right? Please let him be okay, please let him be okay... The dust cleared before we could say anything, there was little Spike, in a big dent in the ground, holding up the big spiked fist. Then Spike, burst into flames. He got bigger, and bigger, and whoa, until he was as tall as Abandon. More than that, he had some jewel studded armor, and his neck and tail were long, sneak muscles, and he had wings! "Spike-zilla?!" Scootaloo gasped. "DRAGON!" I think I heard Dad faint too. "Out of my way! In my world you were trapped forever in an illusionary fantasy!" That thing barked. "I already broke out of mine!" Said the dragon in a big tough voice. "Come on, you coward!" Abandon lunged for the window, but got punched in the chest; I heard the sick sound of ribs breaking as he fell over backwards, making the ground shake. He looked down at the dent in his torso in shock. "No dragon could do this me!" Spike breathed green flames on him, and he vanished. "Enjoy the company! I know they will-" Then he formed back together in a burst of green flames right above Spike, landing right on top of him. UGH! That hurt. I guess whatever's dividing the world is something Spike's teleport-breath can't pass through. "My only regret is that my breath-magic is so strong now that I can't just teleport only your ugly head away!" Spike grunted. Abandon answered by pummeling Spike in the back of the head. Spike turned around and breathed smoke on him that turned into inky stuff, which splashed into Abandon's two (Four? Six?) eyes. Spike judo flipped him off himself, then breathed fire that set the inky stuff on fire. Maybe it was actually oil or something. Abandon roared in pain. I managed to fire a slash of black magic at him, that cut him open, uuuugh, black blood bleeding. "Don't draw his attention!" Spike snapped at us. Abandon got the fire out of his eyes, then breathed BLACK FLAMES AT SPIKE. It MELTED his armor. Spike's roar of pain echoed in our ears. Spike breathed his teleport breath on his OWN ARMOR and it teleported into his claw AS Spike was gonna face palm the nasty, acting as a shield and slamming into Abandon's face, making an EXPLOSION from the backwash. Smoke rose from Abandon's face as the nasty covered it and made shapeless pain noises. Spike didn't give him a chance to breathe as his foreclaws grabbed his wrists and his rear claws began to tear up Abandon's chest. "Don't watch, dear!" Rarity tried to cover my eyes but I snuck a look anyway. Abandon flew into the air with Spike still holding on, and wrapped a tail or something around Spike and threw Spike down, breaking free of the dragon's grasp, but Spike spread his own wings and stopped his own fall. Spike flew up, zigzagging right next to Abandon, and spun in the air, Abandon blocked one claw only to get slashed up by another. Blocked two claws only to get struck by the freight-train called Spike's Tail Express. Spike flapped his wings so hard they slammed Abandon back into the ground. The monster rolled out of the way before Spike could sink his fangs into him. Spike's fire breath then set fire to the fur all on the lower half of Abandon's body, I think, making him scream out more. Abandon swung his tail around to whip Spike, almost knocking him over on top of the boutique. Thank Celestia he caught himself with his wings and tail. Then those black tentacle things dug into the ground, and in a flash popped up beneath Spike and began to dig their way into him! Spike fell to his knees. Blackness started to spread visibly through Spike's veins. "HI-YA!" And the tentacles were cut off, and Spike was able to pull them out as Abandon retched his black tendrils back like he'd been cut in the spot you don't hit stallions, nursing them. But who-! "BUTTON MASH?!" When did he sneak out… right, while we were all focused on the fight. Smart colt! "I'm supposed to be the impulsive stupid one, you idiot!" Scootaloo shouted. "I said-" Spike gasped. "You, said 'girls', this is too much, I'm not a girl." Button Mash grinned hoisting his blocky sword. Get out of there, Mash! Spike breathed fire on Button Mash and he vanished, rematerializing next to Rarity. "Hey!" yelled Button. "Now stay inside-" Button slashed a spare one of Abandon's tendrils that he'd tried to sneak at us in the distraction in two. "I want to protect Sweetie Belle as bad as you want to protect Rarity!" he yelled. Wow, he looks kinda intense. "Get that thing out of my house!" Rarity karate kicked the tentacle, punting it out the window. Spike roared at the sight, his eyes, they were savage. Spike rammed himself right into Abandon's waiting claws, or would have if he hadn't side jumped and swatted him with his tail instead. "Please tell me eldritch demon blood comes out of carpets." I couldn't resist hugging Rarity. "Now that's the real Rarity..." "No Sweetie, I liked cleanliness as much as when I was, like that, THIS is the real me." She hugged me back. "I won't force you to be what I WANT you to be." Spike moved like a wild animal, unrelenting, untamed, but at the same time it was like he knew what he was doing every step of the way. Spike breathed in deep close to Abandon, who slammed his jaws closed. Huge plumes of smoke came out of Spike's nose and rose into a cloud above us. Abandon began to crush Spike's muzzle as more smoke poured out, but, it didn't look like just smoke, it kinda looked like, storm clouds. Then it was like all I could focus on was Button Mash as he leapt out the window again and then into the air, "Rai-Ken!" He shouted, lightning struck his sword, but didn't shock him, instead the lightning stayed in the blade, and he stabbed it right into Abandon's back, shocking the monster, the lightning traveled into Spike, but instead he grabbed Abandon and the lightning traveled through the monster in a cycle! Finally the lightning wore itself out and Abandon was smoking, Button Mash did the SMART THING and got out while the getting was good. "I had it," Spike growled. "I saw a good chance to help. Besides, if I've learned anything from games, it's that setting off something inside the boss normally does a lot more damage. " "Absurd! You're not a weather drake!" "Alicorns are all the tribes, you thought Ryujins were different?" Spike broke free of what was left of Abandon's grip. Abandon struck one arm at Spike's throat, Spike broke it without wasting one moment. Abandon swung the other arm for a repeat performance. Abandon flapped his wings like mad, turning and flew away in a blur through the fog. Or would have if Spike hadn't bitten him in the tail instead, it broke in two, and Spike just grabbed his legs instead. "Oh no! You're not getting away!" Spike slammed Abandon into the ground repeatedly faster than a fan flapping in summer, until there was an imprint of him in the lawn. Then, Spike grew, getting BIGGER. =Wonderful 101 'Boss Battle Victory Jingle' = "So I lose you again, mommy." And Spike stomped on Abandon's head, a lot, like a jackhammer. "Go back where you belong!" Spike said with a final stomp, making everything shake. Then Abandon stomped moving, and he just, dissolved into black smoke, and the smoke into nothing. And that was it. He was history. We win this round. We cheered. "Spikey-Wikey, that was magnificent! How did you learn how to do all that!" Spike blushed. Then in a burst of green flames turned back into the Spike we knew. We all came out and hugged him and cheered. "Oh...just here and there, learning to control what Bahamut gave me." "Button Mash what you did was stupid!" I told him. "Anymore stupid than what Scootaloo does?" I sighed. "Just, just be more careful, you're a friend, I don't want to see you get hurt." "Okay." And I noticed Blanky, still growling, looking like all he wanted was to eat Spike. Spike and Rarity hugged. "Spike! I am SO SORRY for trying to hurt you so! And let me get you healed up! Am I imagining things or do you look better already?" "Thank you, Rarity. I'm happy to see you're...you're YOU! You're not corrupted. Rarity, I got these powers because I got turned into something bad and got cured, uh, don't take this the wrong way, but have you thought of becoming a Nightmare?" "SPIKE! How can you ask such a thing?" My sentiments exactly! "That's crazy!" Scootaloo and Button said together. Bloom said nothing. "NOT PERMANENTLY! I mean, find a friend who's very generous, they become friends with the others, and they can cure you of the Nightmare part, but then you get to keep the immortality, eternal beauty, and superpowers! Set it up so it happens with the others ready to zap you as soon as you're done changing! You saw how awful it was to be a super greedy monster, both of us did! THINK of all the ponies you can help as an Alicorn!" Wait. What was Spike talking about? Fluttershy didn't keep any special powers after she was kidnapped by Nightmare Whisper, right? "You noticed that about Fluttershy too eh? Girls, Button Mash, please keep this between us for Fluttershy's sake. And Spike! I know you had fun as Princess Gaia's knight! And yes, you as that beast, and myself as...that mockery of myself were horrible, but Fluttershy showed that going to the other end is just as bad!" "That's why I said have the others ready to fix you right there so you don't hurt anypony but you get to be yourself but with becoming a princess!" "...You're scared, aren't you, Spike?" Rarity suddenly, gently. "...I promise, I'm not going anywhere for a while yet. You don't have to worry. If it comes down to that road, I'll make that choice when I'm there. But I won't worry about that now. Now let's speak no more of this 'become a Nightmare to become an Alicorn' nonsense." "...I thought you'd like to live forever though." Rarity smiled. "...Maybe, but not that way. Honestly, becoming an Alicorn is appealing, but that...nastiness does not." For a moment, I felt sad at the idea of Rarity having to go through my funeral, but then a bigger Sweetie Belle felt excited that she'd remember me forever. Apple Bloom must have noticed I looked sad and put a hoof on my back. "Hey, if she becomes an Alicorn, maybe you can too? After all, they say we can grow up tah be anythin', why not an Alicorn?" Then she said quickly to Rarity. "Shouldn't you REALLY go check on yer parents?" Rarity started. "OH MY! How could I be so thoughtless?! Come along, Sweetie Belle! Wait! No! You might see things foals shouldn't see! Big sister'll be right back! Wait down here!" She hugged me and raced up the stairs! Apple Bloom watched Rarity go, then turned towards Spike. She smiled, stepping between him and Blanky. She put a hoof on his shoulder. "Thank for the help...Nightmare Spike." WHAT?!? Our jaws all dropped hitting the floor with a clang! "He ain't the enemy," Apple Bloom said before Scootaloo or Button could attack. "...How'd ya, oh right, the Truth Applejack gave you. And technically, it's Nightdrake," Spike said really awkwardly. "Sorry 'bout that...Nightmare Applejack sent ya ta help didn't she?" "The reason I came here was Rarity." "But it wasn't why ya were SENT here." "Wait wait wait! You KNEW this was- that's a- this he's not really- AND YOU didn't say anything?" Scootaloo demanded. "Ah'm sayin' it NOW, if Ah'd said anythin' then, we'd have been too confuzzled to help Rarity, AND he was helpin' us, and Ah figured he was a friend of Nightmare Applejack. Sorry Ah couldn't say it sooner! Ya gotta tell the truth when it does the most good." Apple Bloom looked a bit surprised at herself when she said that last part. "Tell that to my Applejack," Spike said. "Is she lookin' after on me through the truth in my eye?" "I dunno, no, seriously, I don't know." Apple Bloom had told us all about her dream where she met that other Applejack before this whole mess started and got the magic eye. "Look!" Scootaloo got in Spike's face. "I!...I know what it's LIKE to keep your friends in the dark because things will get really screwed up if you tell them straight. And! AND! UGH! That is!" Scootaloo grumbled something. "I don't like you pretending to be OUR Spike! But I get WHY you did it!" Spike sighed. "I know exactly what you mean Scootaloo, you're one in over 171,000." "...I remember. That was no dream." "Oh right, my Rainbow Dash." Button Mash was madly scrolling through the 'journal' part his gaming log. I said. "Zecora...Zecora said Blanky ate things that don't belong, that's...that's why he doesn't like you isn't it?" Spike nodded, not getting near him. "...You could say I'm a transplant and this universe is trying to reject me...And it's only going to get worse the longer I'm here. Trust me Sweetie Belle, if you trust your Spike at all, Blanky WILL eat me like I was an infection and you won't be able to stop him. But he's a lot more help to you than I am in the long run." "Ya never got to be with your Rarity did you?" I asked. "What! How can-" "The way you were trying to convince her to be an Alicorn through some creepy quick and easy way. Your Rarity never became an Alicorn, your Rarity...she...you never got to be special friends with her. You want to give our Spike that chance." Spike looked down at his feet. "...That's right...well, sorta." "Huh?" "...It's complicated...but yeah, you're right, I didn't...and I hope yours can." "Hold on! Blanky was growling at that monster too!" Scootaloo said. "YOU took out that monster! And now you're saying Blanky could eat you, when you took down that creep?" "Blanky COULD have taken down Abandon, but it'd have been a HARDER battle. Blanky would've eaten us both, it'd just have taken him time like he is now," Spike explained. "Okay, but if Blanky can take you out, then why didn't we just let Blanky take out THAT Nightmare Night reject?!" Scootaloo added. "You still owe us that answer." "Simple: Blanky's little right now. Abandon was an invader, but a really strong one. Right now it was quicker for me to take out Abandon instead. Plus, I destroyed Abandon, Blanky would've given him the boot and his 'life' here wouldn't have counted." It took me a couple seconds to process it. "So...like everypony else who ends up...gone, Abandon will stay gone?" "More like there's no way for him to cheat himself back into reality because his 'mortal life' was used up, before or AFTER this all gets fixed. Please don't ask, it gives me a headache." "Cool! Rogue-Like works both ways!" Button pointed out. "What? If we only have one life, it's good so do the villains, isn't it?" "And Abandon really WAS evil?" Scootaloo asked, narrowing her eyes. "Didn't you hear him? This is the THIRD Rarity that he's had been stopped from doing this to," Other-Spike said, giving a snarl. "So yeah, Abandon's one mortal life is gone in this world period." "What are you going to do now?" I asked. "I wish I could just stay here and look after Rarity but...Equestria's a big place. There's too many bad things happening all at once, and-" What came out of his mouth was jumbled noises. "Dangit, I guess I CAN'T tell you what you don't know related to what's going on because I'm an outsider." "It would kinda be a like a pony showing up out of nowhere and spoiling the entire game's plot in two minutes." Button Mash nodded sadly. Blanky was looking more upset by the minute, looking at Spike like Opal would a rat. He looked to Button Mash. "...Hey, Button? Even if you were being kind of stupid...thanks for trying so hard to protect Sweetie," Other-Spike said. Why did he kinda feel like Rarity saying that? Hoof steps came from the stairs. "And that's my cue to run. Tell Rarity that's she's the greatest ever and tell Spike not to give up on her! And watch out for magical fillies!" Spike then super-hugged me. "Sweetie, you're the best little sister ever, even if Rarity doesn't tell you all the time. Bye!" And Spike leapt out the window, turning to green flames he passed through the fog wall. Rarity wiped some tears from her eyes, smiling. "Don't worry Sweetie, mom and dad are just fine, you can see them now, I'm just so happy they're okay. I can't believe what that thing was turning me into, and- where is Spikey Wickey?" "Oh!" Scootaloo started. "He had to go take care of some business, he said it was super important! Something about, helping somepony else important!" "Oh my! He must mean Twilight Sparkle! Girls! Button Mash! Can you go make sure he's fine?" "But can't you come to help too?" I asked. "I would, dear, but I do have mother and father to look after, they're in sincere need of attention right now." Button Mash whispered to me. "Video game rule: it's always the players who do the helping." Apple Bloom whispered, "An' she's still affected by the curse." "So's Button," I whispered lowly. "Least he's got that moon rock right?" I opened my mouth, but I felt the twang in my heart. I knew somepony was coming for us. It was as strong and as clear as when 'Princess' Alula began hunting for us! They were coming for us, not Rarity, not my parents, not Spike, us! "No. That's not fair!" "Sweetie Belle, I would MUCH prefer to come with you, but-" "No! I can feel one coming again! I can FEEL it! We need to get going now! Like with Alula!" "Princess Animatia Erroria? Dear what has you so-" "You were the first one we helped and I don't even to spend any time here?!" I cried out. My insides all telling me it wasn't a good idea to stay here. "I didn't even get to see mom and dad!" Why did I fear some little voice in me saying, 'So now you want to spend time with them instead of your sister?' "You mean that unbeatable boss baddie you almost got caught by before?" Button rambled. "Yeah that whatcha-called-it!" Apple Bloom said. Blanky whined and nuzzled me, then began poking me and pulling on my mane. Scootaloo snorted. "I'm serious! It's the same feeling!" Rarity looked at me. "Why are you-" "Because she's AFTER US!" I yelled. "She thinks WE'RE world germs!" "Spike said to look out for magical fillies," Scootaloo said, sounding, almost defeated. Right, she didn't want to believe Alula was really out to hurt us. = Hurry-Final Fantasy X = "Sweetie how can you even-" "I JUST DO!" I screamed. Mom. Dad. I'm sorry. "The OTHER one chased after us before!" And we heard singing. "Okay! Princess Liza Doolots is gonna make the shots! Okay! Princess Liza Doolots is gonna but those baddies in knots! Okay! Princess Liza Doolots is gonna be at the troube pots! Okay! Baddies will go away! Because I'm here to say the day!" I couldn't stop from thinking at least she sings better than Alula. But her voice, hadn't I heard it before? "Tootsie," Apple Bloom said. Tootsie? Wait. That's Lyra and Bon Bon's foster foal isn't she?! They brought her to Canterlot! She's in class with us half the time! She's the other magic filly princess? "Uh...wasn't she with Alula earlier?" Button asked. Right, he was in class. And she wasn't at the play. Scootaloo asked. "Maybe she isn't-" "Those infecting our perfect world, my horn will curl!" "Never mind." Rarity looked me in the eyes. It was my sister, not a a monster, just my sister looking scared. "You...really should go and help dear Spikey-Wikey. I'll...make sure nothing bad happens." I wanted to ask if she'd be okay, but I KNEW, it was US Tootsie was after, not anypony else, I just FELT AGAIN that it was by BEING HERE I was putting my family in danger. Princess Celestia, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo got theirs, why couldn't I have mine? Blanky began pulling at my mane like crazy. I don't remember if I cried. All I remember is us running from Rarity's home, not getting a chance to even get a look at how beautiful it was looking how it was supposed to. And with hardly Apple Bloom in the lead, we ran through the fog wall, opposite of where the singing was from coming from. + The magical princess, in her golden dress with a white bow and skirt, landed with her glowing white wings, and knocked on the pretty front door of Sweetie's sister. She hoped she was okay and hadn't been attacked by the monsters. The door opened showing Rarity. "Oh, hello, Princess Liza Doolots!" "Hello, Rarity!" She said to the adult like she would an equal. "I got sent here to take care of monsters! There's at least three of them! Have you seen them?" "I can't say I have, though Spike did defeat a rather bad monster a short time ago." The magical filly went into shock. "But-but-but-but-but I'm the hero. I'm supposed to defeat the monsters!" "Oh! I'm TERRIBLY sorry, dear, I'm sure Spike didn't mean to rain on your parade, poor dear just wanted to protect me. To make it up for you, would you like me to make you a new dress?" "Really?!" The princess' face brightened up. "Yes really, I can't stand seeing a princess as adorable as you going around in...well, I can improve it vastly I'm sure. And afterwards, could you PLEASE stay for a tea party with myself and my parents?" "Well, I left Truffle in the middle of our date so-" "Please dear?" Rarity knelt down to her eye level. "My parents just went through a nasty day because of that monster, and I'm sure a visit from one of the Princesses is just what they need." "Really?" Tootsie asked, feel a bit confused, but warm. Rarity stroked her mane, "Yes really, can you be that princess?" "Yes!" "And if you want, we could even whip up a tux for that coltfriend of yours, would you like that?" "Hmm...Yeah!" Though the princess couldn't fight an odd feeling of how rarely she actually gave Truffle anything just to give him a gift. "Wonderful, so how is Lyra, Moth, and Bon Bon all doing?" "Well, Bon Bon was teaching her magic candy to-" + = Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Heart Shaped Tears = We weren't surprised anymore when we found Razzaroo sitting on a bench, a streetlamp shining, keeping the fog away from her in a little circle. On the bench with her were a whole bunch of books. "I'd been looking for the library to return some books but got lost and had to sit down to rest." Scoots and Razzaroo gave their hugs. And Razzaroo asked to write down what we'd done since we last ran into her. That weird time slowing happened again, and we spilled out everything that happened. "Razzaroo...do you know where that Spike came from?" I asked, hoping she'd seen him. "I haven't run into him...but from the sound of it, he's not a Nightmare to his core." "Huh?" Scootaloo asked. "And he said Nightdrake." "Well, you said he backed down when Rarity said no...and when has a Nightmare you know ever willingly backed down from anything?" And that was all she told us about that. Then Razzaroo smiled and told us, "Good luck girls, there are lots of ponies depending on you. I believe in each of you. And you too button pony." We each hugged her, happy for the friendly face, and continued following Apple Bloom through the fog. One home, five to find. I'll see you as soon as I can, Rarity! And you too, Mom and Dad! + The shadowed pink Alicorn whispered to herself in the darkness of her chamber. "'Sweet Music'...should have known, the changelings were chatting that song everywhere...Sweetie Belle." > Inner Research > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Girls," Apple Bloom said as she slowed but kept leading her friends through the fog. "Ah...Ah was thinkin', we saved Miss Cheerilee cause Scootaloo knew Miss Cheerilee in a special way. Ah saved Zecora. And Sweetie Belle saved Rarity. But...anypony got any ideas on how we're gonna save Miss Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Miss Twilight Sparkle?" Scootaloo said, "I'm sure we'll think of something by the time we run into them." "And I bet we're gonna rescue our big sisters first, Twilight Sparkle's got to be the last one to save, because she's the leader, that's how it works in video games, right, Button Mash?" Sweetie asked her 'coltfriend.' "DON'T EVER SAY THAT!" Button Mash yelled, waving his forelegs. "Don't you know if you say stuff like that means then we'll run into Twilight Sparkle NEXT?!" "Oh come on, Rarity says you should never fall for such silly super-" One Fog-Wall Later "-stitions," Sweetie finished glumly, looking at the ugly pink charcoal sketch version of the Golden Oaks Library. Showing maturity that would have made his mother faint in shock, Button Mash did not say 'Told ya so.' "So...'bout them ideas?" "...Spike," Sweetie said in realization. "Spike! Our Spike! If we can't bring back the Twilight we know and love, then we CAN bring back the Spike we know and love, and he can bring back the Twilight Sparkle HE knows and loves!" "That's assumin' he's here and not in Canterlot, or out ripping towns apart as Spike-Zilla, or-" "The rules say there has to be a way to win, remember?" Sweetie Belle insisted. "And if Spike can’t be saved, how we can save Twilight, that means he HAS TO BE HERE for us to save HIM because otherwise your magic eye wouldn't have led us here!" "Yer a genius, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom hugged her. Button Mash wisely chose not to verbally introduce the idea of heroes running into problems they could only tackle after a long and obtrusive side quest. "But we're still gonna hav'ta figure a plan for Miss Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie." "We'll cross those bridges later!" Scootaloo said. "Twilight could be in there, forcing chained-up ponies to read boring books!" The foals all shuddered at such a terrible fate. Sweetie half-expected a force field to block their way (again), to keep them from saving the most powerful of her big sister's friends. Instead there was nothing. Sweetie shuddered. "Button Mash? I...I don't remember, but-" Sweetie fidgeted. "I-I think I wanna know. When we were all Gabby Gums...did we write any mean stories about you?" Button Mash stopped and lowered his head so his mane blocked his eyes. The others looked at Sweetie wondering why the Tartarus she'd bring that up now. "No. But there was one about mom... 'Mom Wants To Be Big Sister Instead', with a picture of us playing video games together." "...I'm sorry." The way Sweetie remembered things they'd never done that story. "Were, were you upset?" Button Mash kept his head down. "I uh, maybe erased your saved games. Maybe...maybe it's better you don't remember that." "Button Mash I'm sorry that we did that to you." Sweetie hugged him. "You already said you were sorry to everypony, remember?" Button Mash hugged her. "Oh, right, we did," Sweetie Belle said awkwardly, smiling. - I was going to tell 'em to cut it out, that Sweetie's dramas with Button Mash better not start becoming a regular show. But...then I wondered what the buck I was doing. We were surrounded by monsters on all sides who were supposed to be our friends and families and we were the only ones who could fix it. And...we were doing our hardest to prove that these hugs and loving little moments were stronger than all the grimier and darker stuff in the universe! Yeah, yeah, not very Scootaloo, but wasn't there more to being me than just being the tough tom-colt? I showed Cheerilee a part of myself even I hadn't been sure was there before. Besides, didn't video games always allow for these little moments between the heroes? - Apple Bloom kept her eye open for booby traps as they all made their way to the public library's door. "Do we knock?" Sweetie asked. Scootaloo answered by flying to one of the windows and motioning to her friends. One wolf, and one colt followed her lead. Rarity and Zecora had both had cursed objects waiting for them, best scoop things out first. Sweetie tilted her head. "I don't remember Golden Oaks Library having a fireplace." "Pretty sure it didn't," Apple Bloom remarked, shivering. She forced herself to look at the fireplace, there weren't any bones or pony shapes burning within. Apart from the fireplace and the colors the library looked almost normal inside. That was kind of the most disturbing part about it all. The foals had no idea how many of those books had been there before or not, but at least none of their covers had eyes looking straight at them. After a nod from Apple Bloom that she didn't see any nasty surprises, the foals piled in through the window. 'Now let's hope Spike's here to find and before Twilight Sparkle finds us,' Scootaloo thought. Sweetie magically lifted one of the books off the table and began to open it. Scootaloo did a diving save slamming the book shut. "Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo hissed. "If you're ever in a scary story. Don't EVER read the books!" "Oh." "Scootaloo, we need ta figure out what's goin' on, we don't have any time, let mah eye check 'em out." "It didn't give us a warning 'bout the masks or the whatevers Blanky ate at Rarity's." "Doesn't mean it can't!" "Doesn't mean it will!" Sweetie injected, "Well, black magic helped with Kabuto even if it didn't with Zecora." Apple Bloom looked around, making sure Spike, Twilight, or some invisible ghost demon wasn't sneaking up on them. "Sweetie, you sense any bad mojo from the books? No? Then stop with the nonsense." Apple Bloom practically tore one of the books open. The title was...It didn't have one? It was just a blank cover, Apple Bloom never understood those kinds of books. There was no title or bylines inside the book neither! The inside was as much a mess as the outside was empty. It was a bunch of writin' in High Equestrian hyrorgryphs… high-row-glyphs…? …Pictures used for words. And a whole bunch of diagrams that made no sense to Apple Bloom at all. There were pictures of the Elements of Harmony, and creepy little faces with letters and numbers next to them. "Sweetie, ya recognize any of this here stuff?" "It isn't anything Twilight or Chrysalis ever showed me, sorry," Sweetie Belle frowned sadly. Apple Bloom turned the page. "Sweet Celestia." Drawings of the Element Bearers with lists of terrible things to do to them. A drawing of Applejack being shocked for every time she told the truth. A through Z tortures for Fluttershy to break kindness. Apple Bloom turned the page before she threw up and blocked the view for her friends. "Ya don't wanna know." The next page was just as horrible. Brainwashing Rarity by making her ...Sweetie Belle...Bloom dared not read it. Cutting off Trixie's cutie mark was the LEAST horrible thing. Apple Bloom loudly slammed the book closed. "We gotta go through five more of all this?" She whispered feeling sick. What was this hateful horseapples about friends torturing each other? - I'd seen this part with Dash a hundred times. We all heard those clockwork stomping feet at the same time. They were coming from downstairs and closing in fast. We did what victims in horror movies always do, stay put, and I didn't complain, because we couldn't just run away, it could be one of our friends, possessed or not. So Bloom said the wisest intelligent thing in the world. "HIDE!" And we scurried like rats to anywhere our tiny bodies would fit. Then out came... "May this unit offer a library function?" It was Spike, his lanky 'teenage' Spike-zilla self. Except...he didn't look greedy, he looked like there was nopony at the wheel. It was almost as shocking as the big black metal thing with red lights stuck in half his head. No I didn't say 'on it'; I've had enough scooter accidents to know the difference! Should I be worried I wasn't sick at the sight? I...I don't think he saw us, he looked like he was staring out into space. Sweetie crept out of her hiding place first. "Spike? What happened to you?" Spike just stood there like a poniquin. "This unit is IGOR Intelligence Gone, Obedience Remains processor subject 3. May this unit offer a library function?" "Oh, Spike," I whispered. Wasn't getting reduced to a robot by the bug ponies enough? "This unit is IGOR Intelligence Gone, Obedience Remains processor subject 3. May this unit offer a library function?" "Spike, it's me Sweetie Belle! We're friends! You remember me, right? All the times we went Crusading together with our other friends? That didn't get erased did it?" "IGOR processor subject 3's memories are all intact. Details are all filed and categorized. IGOR processor subject 3 is an object, objects do not have friends." Spike's voice didn't so much as quiver. "Look up yourself! Please. Spike you assist Twilight because you're family, not because you're a slave! Twilight loves you too much to do...to do this!" Sweetie ears wilted. "Correction: IGOR processor subject 3 is programmed to obey. IGOR processor is installed in place of discarded gray matter of subject 3. Slave implies person being owned by another. IGOR processor subject 3 is an object. Therefore, it is not slavery." "I don't want to talk to 'Igor', I want to talk to Spike now." Sweetie horn glowed. "Correction: One cannot speak with what is not here," Spike said like he was reading the world's most boring script. "The section of the brain that governs consciousness in subject 3 have been removed." We all gasped. No! Sweetie's face went blank like she's been stabbed. "N-No...Remember Rarity? You still like her, right?" "IGOR processor subject 3 does not 'like.'" Sweetie growled, her eyes now glowing green too. "If you're not Spike, I'll just have to make you Spike!" Sweetie's magic grabbed Spike's head and wrench him down to her level, Spike didn't even flinch. Sweetie, what are you doing? Sweetie blinked, shuddered, the glow went from her eyes, she let go of Spike, he snapped back into place like a spring. "No...no if I do that...I'd just make you the Spike I remember, instead of the Spike you're supposed to be. I won't give you FAKE memories." Poor Sweetie's eyes misted over. "Unable to process library function, please restate." + LibGuest1 makes physical contact with IGOR3 Hostility Undetected, continue Passive Mode LibGuest1 pushing muzzle into IGOR3's R-Thigh Hostility Undetected, continue Passive Mode Audio Input LibGuest1: "Spike! Please wake up! Please! I never wanted this to happen to you AGAIN! You're not a machine! Not a slave! Not property! Not a doll!" Audio Output: "Unable to process library function, please restate." Audio Imput LibGuest1: "You're not a puppet...you're not...a puppet dancing because it's told to dance…" Liquid on IGOR3's R-Thigh Hostility Undetected, continue Passive Mode LibGuest1's body vibrating Hostility Undetected, continue Passive Mode Audio Input LibGuest1: "...I feel awful." Audio Output: "Shall IGOR Processor Subject 3 contact a medical pony?" Audio Input LibGuest1: "I feel awful because I figured it out from Chrysalis' lessons. The stuff no different than this. 'Waste not, want not.' That machine took away part of your head, and that means this lazy curse didn't bother to mess with your heart. And if that's the part that's still you, then that's the part I'll speak to you." LibGuest1 disengages contact, distances 1.2 meters. Audio Output: "Unable to process statement, please restate." Audio Input LibGuest1: "Glady." Unknown Identification Audio Input LibGuest1: ERROR Unable to Process No known words detected Octave Wavering, unknown pattern (beat to Rock 'n' Rule's, 'Angel's Song') "What will the signal be." Unable to process "What will the signal be." For your heart to hear me." Unable to process "I'll send out my song on the world's stage, Our friendship's song reach through your cage." Error Unknown resonance "I know everything I sing is reaching out to you, And the dragon's heart will break on through." Unknown Errors Unidentified Input Source Potential Hacking Source Warning Runtime Error Build Up Eliminate Hacking Source LibGuest1 Redesignated HackSource1: Nullify Asphyxiate Audio Source HackSource1 Not Retreating HackSource1 Facial Recognition Identification: Distress It seems so long ago. When did our friendship grow? Audio Source Not Wavering: Complete Action "It doesn't matter, and all the better, Friendship doesn't have a past or fut-ure!" Attention: Three new resonance sources detected. "Minds might twist and turn round But hearts stay on solid ground." Attention: Unknown Input Source intensifying. Error. Unknown presence detected inside unit. Raise firewall. Now as one, we're gonna show Ain't no putting out this fire Now as one, we'll make the stage, Focus friendship's flames on you Warning: Firewall failing. Unknown presence intensifying. Unknown Imput Source intensifying. Now we're singing, every wave, This'll send friendship's fire through.[ E-Error. Does not compute. Process: Eliminate Input Source. M-Mechanical failure… R-Arm locked. L-Arm locked. Send our fires through In the out, up to down There's no doubt, Yell and shout Our friendships' flames don't burn out! E-Error...Firewall Failure. Unidentified Presence overwhelming IGOR Processor systems. In the dark Simple things become confused Alone we stand Bemused But one thing's always clear With each other understanding will appear Unidentified Presence...Identified as IGOR Processor Subject 3… Identification flawed. Identification impossible. Subject 3 consciousness removed. Not Logical. We sent our friendship through, And now the rest is up to you! I-IGOR Critical Error. No...Not IGOR Not Logical. I'm not a robot NOT LOGICAL. I'm not a machine. NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! I'm Spike! NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! NOT LOGICAL! "I know everything I heard is coming out from you, And my dragon's heart will break on through!" ...IGOR-3...C-Critical...F-Failure... "From my friends I'll never daunt Spike, "WANT!" Fatal Error! + Spike exploded in a giant flash of light that knocked everypony on their plots. Amazingly, there wasn't a smoking hole around Spike, if anything, the spot he stood actually looked better. No black headpiece inserted into his brain, just good old Spike the baby dragon, with a bit more light and shadow to him. "That...was one of the worst experiences, of my life," Spike said, waving on his two legs, looking dizzy. "T-thanks, girls. And oh and you too 'Button Masher'. Bloom, Scoots, what's with the accessories?" "SPIKE!" They all hugged the baby dragon at once, including Button Mash. Spike hugged them back. They then nuzzled him, which Spike politely accepted. "Yer back!" Apple Bloom said. "Thanks for saving me...I guess I owe you girls again." "Who's keeping score?!" Button Mash laughed, proudly. Spike and Button Mash smiled at each other like kids who'd already hung out together, but if Button had hung out with the CMC, why wouldn't they of too? Blanky sniffed from his spot in Sweetie's saddlebags, and gave 'satisfactory' barks. Sweetie felt a pang of disappointment that Spike made no notice of Blanky unlike Button had. Apple Bloom checked out Spike with her vision and asked. "Spike, what do ya remember?" "Everything." The fillies held their breath. "I remember having no choice in what I thought or did and not feeling anything. Like, ya know, that time. Girls, thanks for reaching me when even I didn't know I was there. DON'T tell Twilight I said this, but I think our friendship's magic super charged my dragon healing or something. Though being a cyborg might have been cool so long as I was still me." The foals smiled. Apple Bloom looked at Button then Spike and asked. "So ya remember last week?" Had it been yesterday? They couldn't tell if it was the sun or moon in the sky. "Sure, Princess Celestia thanked Princess Animatia Erroria and Princess Liza Doolots again for taking out the entire changeling army and rooting out all their spies before hoof and luring the changelings into a brilliant trap. And you and Button asked me again to be the 'boss monster' for your playdate.'" Apple Bloom faced away from the boys. "Alright, just makin' sure you're okay." "Thanks, Apple Bloom… Oh my gosh!" Spike took out a scroll and quill from wherever he kept them and began to hastily write. "I better tell the Princess what's happened to Twilight!" Before the girls could stop him, Spike breathed on the scroll, and it flew off. "Girls? What's with the looks? Twilight needs help!" Then Spike burped up a letter. Spike read the letter. "Totes apologies, Spike, but I, Princess Cadence, am not in a position to help poor Twilight, which like, really sucks, because she's a best friend, I mean sister-in-law, like isn't it cool I found happiness with my knight in shining armor in this life? But don't be scared, because I, Princess Cadence, have absolute faith in you being able to save Twilight where I couldn't, I mean can't. Don't worry, I, Princess Cadence and my husband are safe. Invest in jewel polish, and good luck, and remember Twilight is strongest with you beside her. Sighed, I, Princess Cadence.'" The girls didn't know what was more confusing, the letter, or that Super-Spike had tried to use his teleport breath through the fog and it hadn't worked, but for their Spike it did? "I got nothin'," Button said. "Oh so you meant Cadence," Apple Bloom said, as mixed up by their presumption as the odd reply. "Who do you think I meant? I don't think Twilight needs 'fun time' with Celestia, and Celestia never lets poor Luna do anything, and super-cool Princess Animatia Erroria and Princess Liza Doolots never gave me a link cause they said the other princesses needed me more than they did." Blanky reacted to the letter like it stank, but Apple Bloom's eye saw just a letter. Sweetie and Scootaloo looked at each other. A Princess Celestia who did nothing but have fun all day, and a Princess Luna who was never allowed to do anything? It was unpleasant being reminded Miss Void had said the princesses were hit first. 'Is that letter so fake so we'll know it's fake and do the opposite of everything it says? Or is it so fake we'll know it's fake and-Ugh!' "Weird, this looks like my claw writing," Spike said turning the letter sideways. 'That solves that mystery,' Sweetie thought. "Must be a letter from you in the future so you'll know what to do," Button Mash said as if that was the most natural thing in the world. "Hhhhmmm, maybe." Spike scratched his chin. "Twilight! I forgot! Oh Erroria! Girls! And you Button! You stay up here! I have to go into the basement! And don't come down no matter what you hear! That's what that letter means! I gotta save Twilight! She's got an evil spirit inside her!" "Evil spirit?" Apple Bloom asked. "I know Twilight more than enough to know a fake when I see one, and she's Twilight! But there's no way Twilight would do that to me! NEVER!" Spike said almost defiantly to some invisible puppeteer. "Sorry Spike, we're coming with you, whether you like it or not," Scootaloo said trotting forward. "We've already seen lots of baaaaaaaaaaad stuff today, and we're gonna be there to help you help Twilight." Sweetie Belle said doing the same. "Besides, it looks like this is an escort mission," Button Mash said looking at his floating menu. Spike didn't even blink at it. "It's game over if anything happens to you." Apple Bloom just stood there daring Spike to argue. Spike looked at the faces of his friends, then sighed defeated. "Just...stay close, and, watch out for Owlowcious, and Twilight too. Being turned into a potted plant is the least scary thing she can do to you right now." The foals nodded. As the foals circled the door to the basement Spike swallowed and sweated. "Spike, if...if you need a break, you can, you can rest for a while," Sweetie offered. "Twilight needs me. Shining Armor didn't let getting turned into some mind controlled zombie stop'em, and I'm not gonna stop either," Spike said, clenching one claw, his tail shaking. "Ah've been there too Spike." Apple Bloom put a hoof on his shoulder, and looked them in one eye. "And Ah SEEN ya got it in ya to be the bravest toughest dragon there is who'll face the worst monsters to protect his friends!" If dragons can blush Spike was. "Thanks...you really think so?" "Ah know so." Spike answered by opening the door to the basement. Down the little heroes went on the twisting stairwell. Apple Bloom's eyes watching everything, Sweetie and Scootaloo flanking Spike, and Button Mash with his sword drawn guarding the rear. Sweetie Belle was SURE Twilight's basement hadn't been this deep before. +++ Dash's no coward and neither am I, but the basement wasn't just turned creepy, it was crazy! It was like that modern art stuff Silver Spoon showed us by...'Pico Casserole' or something? Creepy buzzsaws on mechanical arms stuck out at odd angles, no matter which way I looked, what they connected to was out of my line of sight. Hooks, pokers, pinchers, zappers, like a forest of branches with a way cut through for the stairs to fit. Blurry glass picture screens showing the Everfree Forest, ponies I didn't know in cages, ponies with wires stuck in them, ponies strapped to chairs, I swear I saw the pictures move. I couldn't even see the basement walls. I looked back at our way out, a little less dark patch leading the way we came, the stairs looking like a twisted noodle. The biggest change crept up on all of us it was so gradual. Instead of dusty pink, everything looked grimy purple. There wasn't a sound in the whole place except us. The smell, it crept up on us too. An awful mix of blood, sweat, rust, 'anti-ceptics', and exposed wiring. I'm proud none of us threw up. The way down looked like it went on forever almost, but Apple Bloom acted like going down infinite stairs was old news to her, she didn't stop. We passed 'layers' of metal floors. None of us dared speak. "WHO!" We nearly fell off the stairs. It was Owlowcious, or used to be. He had the same black thing with red lights in his head that Spike had had. He was flapping silently like clockwork, hovering in place. We all cringed. I'd NEVER seen Spike look at Owlowcious so, so, SADLY before! "WHOWHO-WHO-WHO!" Owlowcious' eyes started to glow red, and so did little wands around us too. "Oh no, please, don't tell me, Cyborg Owl Eye Death Lasers?" Spike sighed. "IGOR processor subject 2 Passcode: IGOR Processor Subject 3: 1-7-3-4-6-7-3-2-1-4-7-6 Charlie 3-2-7-8-9-7-7-7-6-4-3 Tango 7-3-2 Victor 7-3-1-1-7-8-8-8-7-3-2-4-7-6-7-8-9-7-6-4-3-7-6." The glow in Owlowcious' eyes died down as did the gizmos around him, he silently fluttered out of the way. Our jaws dropped at the insanely long password, Button Mash scribbled it down perfectly in a notebook from nowhere without batting an eye. Spike didn't say anything, he just looked at his 'rival' sadly then us and we kept moving. You'll be okay Owlowcious. The creepy metal forest now had leaves, pages of stupid history books with black splotches of an Alicorn on them stuck on anything that had a pointy end. "What's this about?" I whispered. Spike just said "Research," or something. I couldn't tell we were at the bottom a tic later until my hooves were touching the floor, like out of nowhere, only Apple Bloom and Spike weren't thrown off kilter too. That was nothing to what I saw next. It was like I'd bitten into a cookie and tasted newspaper. It was Twilight. Except she wasn't performing some evil experiment or trying to cut open Pinkie Pie for no reason. She was...chained to the floor in a Cold Iron collar? She looked awful. Smelled awful too. Ugh. When was the last time she took a bath, her mane made Dash's look combed. Her cutie mark had cuts and scabs all over it. Above her watching were cameras with red eyes instead of lenses, like, I don't know what! They had little red lights blinking on them, and, what's that on the side? Nemesis. Co Recording? "Twilight?" Spike asked like he was scared his voice would break her. "Spike?" Twilight looked at us. Her eyes were blood shot and baggy. "How are-, but I-, that doesn't-," she looked at us. Then focused on, "Sweetie Belle? But...but I made Rarity kill you to traumatize her into being my spy, no wait, I killed you myself after you discovered the experiments I'd done to my friends, no wait, I gave you your cutie mark and adulthood to be my minion, no wait! I never passed the entrance examine and I just deluded you up Spike!" She held her hooves to her head and screamed. "Make it stop!" + What's Twilight to me? She's my mom/big sister/best friend, all rolled into one! I reached out to comfort her on instinct. She glared at me with glowing pink eyes that weren't her and screamed, "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I jerked back before I thought it. The look on her face, I don't think I've ever seen her like that before. I felt dizzy when I tried to think if she'd had that face when she...did that to me, like a bunch of contrary pictures were pushing for room in my head. I kicked them out. I don't know what magic this evil spirit was holding on Twilight, but I wasn't about to let her down! Okay. So how do I do that? If my friends can sing me back, then me and Twilight can sing this thing away. (beat to Steven Universe 'Stronger than You') "Twilight, it's Spike, back together. And we're never going down to the likes of this. We're together, we won't lose to 'em so let's go get 'em. Me and you, it'll be one on two." "I know Sweetie's sister, don't listen to their whispers. Her heart would ache but she wouldn't break. She's stronger than that and you know it too-" "Enough with your inane singing!" Twilight's voice echoed! Oh man! Her eyes had that crazy glow, and her shadow, it grew larger and larger behind her, sprouting wings and heads, like tumors growing out of tumors. If I didn't know better I'd swear the creepy cameras were miming laughing! Guess dragons don't do heart songs. I'm not Sweetie Belle. I'm Spike The Dragon! Master Kenbrook Gilspotten Heathspike! I don't help Twilight by singing! I help her by bringing her back down to Earth! I was there for her when Celestia did, bad things to her. I ran away when I failed at being New-Rainbow-Dash. Ah whatever! I'm here now so chew on that! Yeah! I bet that's WHY this evil spirit made Twilight do that to me! It knew I could help her! After what Goat-Face and Queen Bug did, I'm not about to be scared of my own family because of it made Twilight's body do! Meanwhile Twilight's shadow moved on its own, rising UP from the floor like it was alive! It reared back its hooves and its pony-head wings right above me and I braced myself. Then it reached over past me and attack my friends without even looking at me! "Oh come on!" I snorted. "I'm a dragon and helped save Equestria!" Okay, asking evil spirit WHY she isn't attacking me too. Not smart. But I'm ticked! "Oh Spike, you're a great assistant, but you're not a warrior, and you're no priest," Twilight said like I was jealous of Owlowcious again. "We're just fine! Thanks for asking!" Scootaloo snorted as the shadow tried to crush her into an orange flapjack. "Black magic isn't working!" Sweetie shouted zapping at the shadow heads useless. "Of course it isn't, I invented black magic." Said Twilight teacher-like with glowing magenta eyes. "My sword is just hitting the floor! Where'd I put the light arrows?!" Apple Bloom was looking at Twilight like she was the one with a zillion heads. "Just how many the hay are inside her?!" No clue what she meant and didn't have time to figure it out. I trusted the girls to stay in one piece as golden and rainbow colors flashed behind me between shouts. "Come ON, Twilight! Zap this thing out of you! You're the smartest pony I know! You NEVER give up on your friends. You didn't give up on your ENEMIES. Remember Trixie? Even when I was being a jerk you didn't give up on her!" "Stupid slave, of course I gave up on my friends. Discord didn't even need to use his magic on me, when all my friends and you abandoned me, I discorded myself!" "And I'm SORRY for that! Maybe I'm not as brave as I wanna be sometimes but I'm here now! For you! And all it took was Celestia reminding you what you'd already learned to snap yourself out of it too! I remember the stomachache." Why did I get a headache remembering Princess Slut doing that? "If you can beat loser Discord you can beat this thing! It's YOUR head they're in!" "It's not 'this thing', WE are ALL of me! It's our head too! Including me who incinerated my entire class so I'd be valedictorian. Me who knows celestia used my friends' life spans to fuel the Elements!" "Oh come on! She's not THAT evil!" "But I am! I am the shadow queen Midnight reborn! I ruled Equestria with darkness and tyranny and I have returned!" The crazy on Twilight's face quadrupled and she rose her forehooves up wildly. "I am Celestia's illegitimate foal! Am I her little minion to murder my friends to bring her the Elements! I am the one who turned half of Ponyville into living dolls so I wouldn't have to see them die, then murdered Rarity, Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara when they wouldn't play along! I'm at the center of a conspiracy with my friends as backstabbing master minds after she killed Luna! Agh!" "YOU'RE TWILIGHT SPARKLE! MY FAMILY!" "Don't you see Spike, it's too late, I'm beyond saving! Even now the chosen one is here to destroy me so I may never be reborn!" "Twilight, I'd never hurt you!" "Huh?" She tilted her head. She laughed and clapped. "Oh Spike/Slave/Son/Brother, Apple Bloom is the Chosen One! Not you! Come now Spike, you know you're not important." The creepy cameras mimed roaring with laughter. I gave them all fire breath to the lens. They made a satisfying noise as they melted. "Twilight, focus! You come from a loving family! You'd have never raised me as the super cool dragon I am if you were actually evil!" "Celestia raised you." "On paperwork only!" I shook my fist. "You've done way too much good to let this beat you, and a little good can beat a ton of evil!" "That's a lie, Spike, Chrysalis' little good couldn't beat her ton of evil. Goodness is HARD, the right thing is HARD, it's selfishness that's easy." "And nopony's worked harder than you to be good for Princess Cadence!" "So did Discord." "WHAT? You crazy?!" "Discord when he was born tried hard to be good too. But the Discord he was BEFORE ate him inside. There's no ground to stand on." I didn't know if this is more crazy talk, but- "Maybe he didn't have anypony to help him when it happened, but I'm here now! Those stories said you come from a bloodline of heroic Twilights! Not an evil queen! Your mom fought Chrysalis to help you!" "DNA doesn't decide if you're good or evil! What's one life as a good pony to a million lives as a monster?!" Twilight's voice echoed, she was in so much pain. "Dissy couldn't beat Discord! I can't beat Queen Midnight and ALL OF US!" "Twilight, if you wanted to break your friends' link to their Elements and see them die, you could have lied to Applejack, cruelly thrown Fluttershy to the Hydra, and abandoned Pinkie to get all three and nopony would know! You protected them!" "I'd still have an angry Hydra to deal with! Beating us/them, one by one, you don't have time for that before your/our friends wear out Spike!" Twilight's poor face twisted between grinning and desperation. I heard my friend huffing and puffing behind me. Right. Dragons don't fight peace meal. We blast them to ashes and take the treasure! We go for the throat! "You said Discord tried hard to be good before the evil him won. BLECH! I can't believe I'm saying this! That means he must have some good in him already! Which means the only way he lost was if he was ALONE! YOU'RE NOT! If your soul has ALWAYS been rotten, how CAN there be any good in you? How could any part of you feel GUILTY about this? Listen to the parts of your soul that know you can be good! Listen to the good parts. You WANT to be good, don't you? You want to be a friend and my family, right? Who are you Twilight? You make your own choice! WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?" "Li-listen t-to them?" I got right in her face. "Take it from the dragon who chose to be kind: you are who you choose to be. You choose. Who do you really want to be? What does the real you want to be?" Yeah, I stood point blank...but I trusted the REAL Twilight. "W-who do I want-" =Friendship Through The Ages= Twilight froze like a picture. Then her body language changed, becoming more wild and feminine, her eyes changed too, from a moderate violet to a straight up purple. "I choose to stand by my friends, to risk my life for them, to put my faith in new friends, to always wish for a happy ending. I wish, I wish, I WISH!" Then her body language became that of a graceful ballerina, her eyes turned pink. "I'll look up to those I love for how to be a great mare. I choose to trust in my family, I choose to believe things can and should turn out right in the end. I'll work hard for a future for those I love." And again her language changed again, her eyes still pink, but like she was gonna trip over her own hooves sitting down! Her voice like a mare-foal's. "I am NOT some Frankenpony monster of souls sewn together! Clover. Dandy. Lucky. I am a family." She cycled through them. Wild. "A me where good constantly defies evil." Graceful. "A me who helped found a one spot of harmony in a racial divided world." Klutzy. "A me in a world where good stuff doesn't need bad stuff to exist!" The big heads-alicorn-shadow-thing began shaking like it was in pain, my friends getting a second wind and wailing on it. Then I saw glowing white wings form out of Twilight's back for a second, brightening up the whole creepy place! Twilight's voice chorused with the klutzy voice at the front, "And we choose to believe in the good stuff and things being better than things being bad!" "CURSE YOU, AMICITIA!!!" Klutzy Twilight smiled and said, "Bless you." Then everything exploded, but you know that was coming right? Big white and rainbow colors everywhere. There was also some pink jewel shaped like Twilight's cutie mark that floated out that was full of gunk that got magically washed clean, vanished, and there was an unlocking sound somewhere. + The rainbow light faded, the little filles saw everything back to the colors they remembered, Twilight's basement not an infinite abyss of horrors but the house tree's lower levels converted into a science lab by Twilight after she'd moved in. One new difference though was things had light and shaded sides to them instead of flat colors. Owlowcious flew down next to Twilight, as if 'IGOR-2' never existed. Spike had never been so happy to see the bird okay. "Twilight!" Spike hugged then looked over his family. "Are you okay?" Twilight gently smiled. "I'm free." She hugged back. "I'm so happy you're okay!" Spike cried tears of joy. Twilight joined him. For reasons none questioned confetti sprinkled down and a banner reading 'Congratulations Spike!' unfurled. "Oh yeah, who's the drake? Who's the drake?" Spike did a victory dance. Twilight smiled. Then the girls hugged, followed closely by Button. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that, girls." "Doesn't matter, you're okay now," Apple Bloom expressed. "What the heck just happened?" Spike asked. "Spiritual boss battles are always weird, don't think about it too much," Button explained. "Trust me, your life is less confusing NOT knowing," Scootaloo affirmed. "Past lives again?" Apple Bloom whispered. Scootaloo nodded. "Sweetie...Rarity...she really is okay, right?" Twilight asked, sadly remembering what she'd believed she'd done. Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. We just left there after and she's safe." "Thank Cadence..." The librarian and the foals nuzzled. There was a knock on the door upstairs they all heard. Sweetie felt no internal alarm bells. "Excuse me, girls." Twilight hugged them and raced up the stairs, the foals and dragon didn't hesitate to follow. The foals braced themselves but found Razzaroo waiting outside with several books. "Hello, I found these books and I think they belong to the library, can I come in?" "You... look familiar... what's your name?" "Huh?! Oh! It's... Birthday Present! Yes, that is my cutie mark, and that is me!" Twilight blinked then politely let the pony inside. As both Twilight and Spike shelved books (more dedicated an OCD and assistant you will not see), Razz' recorded their progress. "Weird, says here our escort quest with Spike is only one-third over," Button Mash said scrolling through his game menu. "So Spike's coming with us?" Sweetie asked, holding Blanky. "Shouldn't he decide that?" Scootaloo asked. "More like he will decide to come with us," Button Mash said. "OH!" Sweetie gasped remembering, she trotted from the table the foals were at to Spike at the book shelf. "Spike! A friend of ours told you, uh, that you shouldn't give up on Rarity just cause." Spike thought for a moment and slammed a claw into a palm. "Must be our future son making sure he gets hatched!" Sweetie's brain drew a blank. Twilight finished helping Spike put the last book away, gave the Golden Oaks Library itself a goodbye kiss, followed by sleepy Owlowcious, and teleported away. She came back a few seconds later with her travel bags. "Spike! We're going." "Huh?!" EVERYPONY/DRAGON in the room replied. "I was attacked by evil spirit of myself! My bestfriendsbelovedgoodfriend ApplejackRainbowDashFluttershyPinkiePieRarity could be targeted as well! It's what I have to do! Girls, stay here where it's safe, Owlowcious, the library is yours for now." Twilight took Spike and teleported him on her back, and galloped towards the fog wall. "MINTY! DON'T!" Razzaroo screamed. As Twilight reached the edge, it was like a drawn out fractured cry. Spike was knocked off her backwards. Twilight flickered like a figure in frame by frame slow motion. A shadow stretched out from her, like a cut of blackness back into the library's center. The temperature plummeted, and a unicorn shape began to rise from the shadow's other end. And a feeling of defilement spread from it. "TWILIGHT!" Spike pulled her back from the edge, the shadow vanished along with the dark feeling. Twilight lay on the ground, panting. "W-what happened?" "You're...a gatekeeper of the princess' world tower aren't you?" Razzaroo asked slowly, she and Spike both helping her up. "If you leave your 'post', then, something else will have to take it." "But...that doesn't make sense! That never happened before! Did it? I...feel woozy." Twilight's head spun with confusion as she was brought back inside and laid down to recover. "But that...Button Mash could leave his bubble!" Sweetie Belle whispered. "But Button's not a 'gatekeeper,'" Scootaloo said sadly, ironically the one to piece it together. "Spike," Twilight whispered looking him in the eye. "I...go with the girls, help them as much as you can, help your friends, help our friends...I... I'll trust you, my baby dragon." Spike was stunned. It was like out of a dream. But he steel himself and saluted. "I'll do my best!" "I know you will." Twilight patted him on the head. She turned towards Apple Bloom and co. "Girls, I don't have a right to ask, it's WRONG to ask but-" Apple Bloom nodded. "Don't worry, we're already on it." A few minutes later, with Razzaroo promising to keep an eye on Twilight for a little while, four foals, one ghost puppy, and a dragon were leaving the library behind, Spike holding onto Button Mash's tail as Apple Bloom led. "And remember to not go wandering off in the fog or walk real slow when monsters are nearby." "Like DUH, I'm not stupid," Spike snorted. "Sorry, force of habit," Button Mash apologized. "Hope Phobia's okay," Sweetie said. "Just cause he can't fly doesn't mean he can't handle himself, speaking from experience," Scootaloo said. Then the fog twisted and swirled around the younglings. They got ready for a fight without a word. What they got instead the same filly cloned several times over. Her mane was a deep purple like clown make-up, blue eyes like the sky, and a coat as white as snow. She was wearing a little maid's dress. They stood politely, not blocking their way, running, or attacking. All smiled identically. This wasn't what disturbed the foals. Instead, it was one had a noose around her neck, another with her neck broken, another was purple faced, another with a rock in her head, another had a sword through her. "Hi! I'm Neatly Spell!" They each said a word in turn. "I was a happy maid with big dreams of being a wizard, who made friends with Diamond Tiara." The youths looked at each other. Diamond Tiara? How long had it been since they heard her name? "But Diamond Tiara killed me." They said. "Because she's an evil monster the whole world would be better off without that nopony missed or cared about, and can't love anypony, and that's all she ever can be." They just stood there like sign posts. Apple Bloom, feeling sick to her stomach, and weak in the knees at the latest flavor of horror, looked at them with one eye. She shook her head, not alive. "Sweetie?" Button Mash asked afraid for her. The unicorn filly was stiff, her eyes distant, like a void, her body temperature low, like a graveyard, her heart rate rising by the moment. "No redemption. No redemption. No redemption." She began whispering. "That's not true!" Spike snorted, pushing past Button Mash and the others, looking the fillies in the eye, poking one with a claw. "Diamond Tiara's an entitled brat who needed a spanking who thought bullying was the only way to be queen of the mountain! Not a murderer! She's JUST A FOAL! And her dad went nuts looking for her! And Silver Spoon talks about her STILL all the time! Silvery just want her to be okay, and be FRIENDS AGAIN!" The various fillies looked at Spike expressionless, then dissolved into mist on the spot. Spike huffed and puffed and turned back towards his friends who were all looking at him in awe. "What?" Sweetie Belle shuddered and held her friends in a hug for dear life. "I love you all! You're all so very special to me! Spike, Bloom, Scoots, Button, don't ever leave me please!" Button Mash blushed, "Uh, if you really want that, Sweetie." Scootaloo elbowed him. "I promise, Sweetie Belle, uh, I'm never leaving any of you either." "Yer good as family to me, and Apples don't leave family." "You need to even ask?" Spike replied. All of them deciding to simply comfort their obviously distressed friend. Spike shook his head. "Okay, who'd create illusions of a foal claiming Diamond Tiara would do THAT? Sure she's a jerk, but...well, from how Silver described her, she wasn't psycho." Apple Bloom and Scootaloo politely said nothing. Button Mash thought about it, but couldn't argue. "Maybe Diamond Tiara?" Sweetie Belle suggested. "Maybe... the fog did it, because Diamond felt guilty about hurting somepony? Somepony who trusted her?" "Diamond Tiara? Feel guilty? Yeah right," Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom somberly nodded in agreement. "I'm kind of with Sweetie Belle..." said Button. "Because she's Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked. "No...Just I don't really know Diamond Tiara that well, and mom says it's not nice to judge ponies you don't know too well..." the gamer colt replied, his posture leaving his answer ambiguous. "I'm with Sweetie too," Spike said. "I think I'll save judgement until I see her in person, and see how she is NOW, a year is a long time." + Night Gale, gasped, let out a growl no living thing could make, and teleported away in a swirl of blackness. Curious, the Nightmare followed her. They reappeared in a vast chamber full of works of that were physically impossible and would drive any pony mad who looked at them with a black chair at the center. Night Gale screamed in fury, a faceless sphinx appeared before her, mimicking her motions as she used it to tear the gallery to pieces, broke the chair over the head of a snake head with hair that ended in human faces. She screamed, wailed, kicked, screamed more, slamming her hooves and the sphinx paws into the floor cracking it, red smoke rising from below. "HOW DARE SHE?! HOW DARE SHE?!?!?! HOW DARE SHE DO THIS TO ME AGAIN?! HOW DARE SHE! AMICITIA!!! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! THIEF! YOU WERE NEVER NOTHING BUT A THIEF!!! HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY TIC FOR TAC TOO!" 'Twilight Sparkle...she, she defeated all of those curses inside her? You stuffed more crazy evil versions of herself in her than all of Ponyville put together. It's a wonder she didn't explode.' "SHE HAD HELP! SHE CHEATED! AS ALWYS! That wretched dragon! HOW!? HOW?! She was going to vivisect his brain! Revenge was mine! MINE! MINE! He'll suffer for this! Then it'll be like he never suffered anything at all, EVER!" Night Gale let out a sick demented giggle as the faceless sphinx vanished. Night Gale crossed her eyes grinning like a filly planning to dump a hive of bees into her big sister's shower. The filly Nightmare looked in confusion at the ground. "Father...are you, crying?" 'Don't be stupid dear. Why would I cry at a pony, whose my enemy, managed to defeat her former evil self with the help of her best friend. Why should I ever cry over anything like that? Don't be absurd! (Just this once.)' The Nightmare filly shook her head, brushing it off to her father's natural randomness. She let out a gasp herself. She looked around in confusion. Nothing felt different, meaning she felt nothing. She felt nothing, nothing had no weight. So why, why did she feel like some weight was gone? She felt confused. She shook her head. She could trust the nothing, even father admitted she couldn't be trusted, only meaninglessness was certainly. "So Abandon is banished from this realm, pst." Night Gale whispered to herself. "It was the Nightdrake wasn't it? That's who it was who stole my revenge on Amicitia's pupa form from me wasn't it? Hiding in that pathetic form in front of my cameras before switching to his true form after destroying them, of course." She held the calm of a frozen tundra. She moved to a curled up furry beast, patting on the side, several red eyes opened on its head, its head splitting open like the pedals of a flower as it growled. "My Wolf, born of my spirit and my flesh, you will erase the inconsistencies that have invaded our world." + Alula Kicker, aka Princess Animatia Erroria had finished her ice cream (at the ice-cream pony kept insisting she have extra helpings) and had finally solved that puzzle cube and had told her story, er, her adventure twice (the ice cream pony actually giving tips on how to improve it). She had flown away after thanking her as a Princess should. She had intended to go straight back to the World Tower, but first she wanted to see more of the happy world she'd help create. Where morals weren't there to tell ponies that things that made them happy were bad. That was when she spotted an earth pony gray mare with purple hair and eyeshadow wandering about aimlessly. Was she lost? She looked confused. She had a black diamond for a cutie mark. Maybe she was a treasure hunter? Maybe a villain who had lost her memory who Alula could now lead to the path of being a hero! She looked dirty. She walked like she'd forgotten how to walk. She bumped into things like she didn't understand how perception worked. She breathed like it was something new to her completely. Then the mare walked into a street lamp. It fell over backwards with a pony shaped dent, but the mare continued to wander like nothing had had happened. She also stepped on a rock that broke in two under her, not even noticing. Even for an Earth Pony, that was something else. Alula HAD to help her, it was what Princesses and Magical Fillies did! Alula gracefully landed in front of her, twirling her gold outfit and oh! Better put away her weapon, don't want to scare her. Ooopsie. "Hi! I'm Princess Animatia Erroria, Magical Filly! Who are you? I'm here to help you?" "Haaaaiiiii?" The mare repeated, like words themselves were a foreign language. "Yes. Hi." Alula said patiently. "I'm a friend. I can help you. Can you tell me your name?" "Freee-iend-end." "Yes friend." She said, taking the mare's hoof. The gray earth pony looked at her own like she didn't even realize she owned one until now. "Do you have friends or family nearby?" "Faaa-mel-ee?" "Yes family. Yes or no. Can you... can you remember them?" "Yeeesssss? Noooo? Nooooo. Nooo. Nooo." Her voice was slow, but never wavered or changed, staying the same with no emotion, exactly like her face showed no feeling. Alula wilted. "I'm, I'm sorry. I promise I'll get you somewhere you can get help." "Heeelp? Somewhere? Nowhere. Nowhere." "There's help! I promise there is!" Alula looked at her stone cutie her, her gray complexion, her voice like gravel, her expression like a rock's, how she broke that rock. "WAIT! I know! I saw pictures of ponies like you at Sugar Cube Corner! You're part of Pinkie Pie's family! I know you are! I bet you're sisters!" "Pink-kie Pie? Sis-ster?" "Yes, your sister Pinkie Pie. Do you remember your name?" After an infinite silence she replied, sounding confused at herself at the idea of having a name, so many coming together all at once, crashing together and falling into pieces into her. "Voooidnothingendreversemother, reversemaudther, versemaud- maud-" "Maud Pie! That's your name!" "Maud, Pie, my... name?" "Yes! Your name is Maud Pie! Let's get you to your sister, Pinkie Pie!" The gray mare nodded, and Alula led her through the fog, it obeying Alula's will without hesitance, bringing her to Sugar Cube Corner within seconds. "Pinkie Pie!" Alula shouted as she came in. "I found your sister Maud Pie wandering Ponyville, I think she could use your help!" "Sister Maud? Did my parents adopt or have a foal when I was gone?" Pinkie Pie came out of the cellar, tossing off an apron with strawberry jam on it. "Sister? Pinkie Pie?" Maud Pie asked looking the happy pony in the eye. Pinkie Pie looked the pony in the eyes, then gasped out loud and cheered. "Oh right! Sorry Maud! I can't believe I forgot you!" Alula wondered how Pinkie Pie could forget her own sister like that, she had her right there in the family photo on the wall after all. "Maybe you should make her a cupcake, that always makes me feel better when you do it for me," Alula suggested. Pinkie Pie shook her head. "Sorry, family isn't cupcakes material. I don't even do cupcakes if family is visiting. And silly Alula, if I made you a cupcake you wouldn't be here." Alula wondered what that meant, but figured it was Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. "Good luck! But a Princess' work is never done!" She hoped Night Gale had saved her spot on the game console. "Okay!" Pinkie Pie smiled. "Thanks for finding my sister, that means everything Princess Sue!" "Uh, it's Princess Animatia Erroria." "Okay, Princess Sue." 'Pinkie Pie, being Pinkie Pie.' Alula flew away giving a royal bow. Pinkie Pie took Maud upstairs. "Hey, Maud, you remember Rocky, right?" "Hi, Rocky," Maud Pie said without emotion to the pile of rocks. Maud began to wonder why she had left Boulder at home, but he did tend to wander, and she didn't want to lose him in this fog. Wait, Ah, she hadn't forgotten him, he'd been hiding under her hoof. Slippery Boulder. "Oh! Hi, Boulder! Nice to see you again," Pinkie Pie said to the little rock. She looked up at her big sister. "So, do you remember the rock farm?" Pinkie Pie continued to talk a good while about their family, jogging Maud's memory. And the more she spoke, the more Maud remembered. The desolate and vast and even, gray, and peaceful rock farm, truly did sound and feel like home. Alula meanwhile flew back to the World Tower, happy she could help a pony in need as a Princess should. > Crimson Lights Take Warning > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warning, while no explicit details or actions are shown, and mature terms are avoided, this chapter does contain sensitive subject matter, reading discretion is advised. "There ain't no way that was any kinda 'random encounter,' Button Mash!" Apple Bloom insisted as her eye led them through the fog. "The truth led us to them weird walkin' lies for a reason." Sweetie Belle hemmed and hawed. "Apple Bloom, I'm not saying your new magic is BAD or anything, but I really don't think we should treat it like it can never be wrong." "And Ah'm sayin' it ain't steered us wrong yet, so why should it start now?" Spike didn't even look at the fog. As though its presence were the most natural thing in the world. "And if you ask me, getting a super power in a dream sounds super-weird," he said. "Cheerilee got her cutie mark in a dream," Scootaloo remembered. Spike shrugged. The dragon hadn't commented once on Blanky. The girls had reached an unspoken consensus that unlike Button Mash, the wolf pup was simply invisible to the dragon. "Could have been some 'left over' bits," Button speculated. "Video games do have stuff that would have made sense, but then the rest of the game got changed, but taking out that bit would have left a big hole in things." "And I think you've gone crazier," Spike told Button Mash. Button Mash didn't flinch. It seemed he was growing used to such comments. "Apple Bloom..." Sweetie said, "I... I think we faced those ... things for a reason too." "But ya said-" "I don't think your magic eye is perfect, but I agree it was for a reason. Maybe it's part of why Spike's came with us." "Geeze, when did you girls get into Twilight's 'under the same rainbow' tune?" Spike asked. "Life's a game, and everything in a game has a reason for being there," Button Mash said sagely. "What if that role is to be the bad guy?" Sweetie asked. "Then you have an 'after credits' scene where the heroes and villains are sharing cider and donuts backstage!" Button Mash said without missing a beat. "Those always took away the value of the story's conflict for me," Spike said. "Fog wall time," Apple Bloom announced, coming to a halt. +++ There wasn't much to say to each other at this point. We braced ourselves, wondering if it would be mine and Dash's house, Sugar Cube Corner, Fluttershy's cottage, or Apple Bloom's farm that was next on the other side. Turned out to be none of the above. Maybe from now on, we should tie a rope to Spike and send him in first to scout. Then again, it wouldn't be much of a horror movie if the victims died two sentences into the story, and 'fair game' meant we couldn't run into an unavoidable, no-time-to-react death trap. Right? A floating message appeared above Button Mash's head. "Hey, Spike's escort quest progress bar just went up," he let us know. "Uh, anypony know this place?" Apple Bloom tap-danced like the ground was covered with invisible roaches. "It's like this whole PLACE is made out of them!" She gritted her teeth, her eyes locked on the house in front of us. There were almost no windows, but lots of doors for going in and out. It was only one floor. The house's weird shape was like it'd been made out of ice then melted some. But there was only one other color besides the sick pink; red lanterns hanging from every corner and door. There were large Hoofed at the biggest door, whose tribe look a little familiar. They were 'big' in every sense of the word; shaggy, horns large as and shaped like tree branches, muscles that'd make Roid Rage blush, and... uh, 'colt stuff,' ya know. "What are those?" Sweetie Belle asked. "They're called Caribou," Spike answered. "They're a tribe of the Cervine. Ya know, Deer?" Spike face palmed when everypony just stared at him blankly. "First griffins, then zebra, haven't there been deer in Ponyville before?" "I think I've seen something like him before… but I never got the name of their tribe," Sweeie said simply. "I've seen 'em in my video games!" Button Mash remembered, raising his hoof. Apple Bloom just cringed at the sight of the big guy, she was actually keeping that trick eye of hers closed for a few seconds. She looked sick to her stomach. I asked, "What is this place? Some kinda movie theater?" I spotted some poster along the wall, and snuck a bit closer for a better look. "I dunno," Spike said. Huh? If he was still wired to the curse, shouldn't he see this as normal? "But Twilight did say that if we ever went on a diplomatic mission to the deer kingdoms, and spotted houses with red lanterns, to STAY AWAY from them." "When Mom thought I wasn't listening she talked with dad how her group had kept houses with red lanterns from coming to Equestria. She said she and Celestia'd give a free roof over the head of any pony before letting 'that job' come to Equestria. Don't know why that was such a big deal," Button Mash said. Geeze. What did Button's mom have against the color red? The movie posters weren't like any I'd ever seen before, 'Pleasure Ponies'? And, "What the Hay-?!" My eyes widened and blushed. It was Twist, Silver Spoon, and a unicorn mare I didn't know. Silver Spoon and Twist didn't have their glasses. But they all had that same look on their faces Sweetie's sister had when the curse had her. All sitting or lying down on pillows showing their flanks. Spike made a noise like Rarity, and skidded in front of me, trying to block the big posters from view with his little dragon body. He drew in a deep breath and turned to towards, paused, and looked at Apple Bloom. "Uh! Bloom! These aren't them turned into pictures, is it?" Spike asked suddenly worried. Uncomfortably, Apple Bloom shook her head. Spike breathed a sigh of relief and burned the posters. Thankfully, they weren't on the same side of the house as the caribou, so the fire and smoke went unnoticed. "Sweet Princesses Doolots and Erroria, what happened to Silvery!?" Spike asked as if we'd have an answer. "They should be at school, not this creepy place!" We all looked at Spike in surprise, then I got my other two Crusader friends in a huddle. "Hey!" Button said but we ignored him. I whispered. "Spike thinks Alula and Tootsie are princesses, yet he knows it's wrong for Silver and Twist to be like that on those posters? What's the deal?" But neither of my friends looked to have that on their minds right now. "Twist, so ... this is what happened to ya?" "Silver Spoon, Shiny Star," Sweetie whispered. "Who?" I asked. "That mare, her name is Shiny Star. She's Filthy Rich's maid. Uh, Silver Spoon told me, maybe?" Even Sweetie sounded like she didn't believe that. I shook my head trying to focus. "Girls, I'm sorry and scared too. But I wanna know what the deal is with Spike." Apple Bloom spoke, though her mind was somewhere else, "Maybe it's like what happened with Button Mash a little, and... we fixed his bond with us Crusaders. Since Silver Spoon's a Crusader, too… maybe he's at least able to remember the Crusaders as they're supposed to be? Even if he can't remember everything?" 'One of us.' Yeah, I'd accepted Silver Spoon as a new friend. But it was still kinda awe-inspiring that freaky Fate itself recognized her CMC membership. I broke the huddle. "Stop doing that!" Button Mash frowned, so did Spike. "Let us in the huddle too next time!" "Sorry," Sweetie said. Button Mash pulled out his 'game menu' (why can't I have one? Aren't video games supposed to have a 'Player 2?'). "Girls, the progress bar for Spike's escort quest just went up. And we've got an option for a character-exclusive side-quest. I think this place is an optional part of our adventure." I looked at the creepy house, thinking of Silver Spoon and Twist. I looked at my friends, thinking of Equestria, of Princess Celestia, of everypony. "Then we should move on." I hear a couple of my friends gasped. "Girls, they aren't being made 'never-heard-from-again' and aren't making other ponies 'never-heard-from-again.' It's safe and quicker to just go and save the world before somepony's gone for good. If we keep stopping to help everypony along the way... we're gonna end up helping nopony when the timer runs out." I wasn't angry, I... I felt sad. This is what Dash taught me. "She's right." Everypony looked, including me, right at Apple Bloom. She looked down and said. "It's the truth. Just cause we can win doesn't mean we're gonna. We can't go pickin' fights every chance we get. If Twist and them ain't gonna be goners, then ... then we shouldn't risk it. Ah'm sorry." She didn't look happy. "I don't believe this!" Spike snapped, pointing fingers. The big caribou either didn't hear us, or just ignored us. "Of COURSE we have to save Silvery, and Twist, and that lady too! And Apple Bloom, you couldn't possibly WANT to abandon Twist?!" "Ah don't WANT to, Spike," Bloom said keeping her voice even. "We gotta save Equestria, that includes Twist too, but Scootaloo's right." "You should know," Button Mash rubbed his hooves awkwardly against each other. "that finishing side quests normally helps the heroes in the end, and this doesn't look like any sort of 'secret monster that's harder than the final boss' side quest. Could be bonuses for us that'll help us win the final fight. We should go for it." Apple Bloom breathed in. "So, me an' Scoots votes fer movin' on cause they ain't gonna be never-heard-from-again. Button and Spike vote for riskin' helpin' 'em now." We all looked at Sweetie Belle right on the spot who startled. "So what's yer vote Sweetie?" Sweetie Belle sweated. "M-me?" "Looks like your the tie-breaker," I said. Blanky, of course, 'apple-stained', since he'd go with whatever Sweetie Belle wanted anyway I bet. Except, he was looking at me with respect for once. Had he wanted to move on too? Oops. Sweetie looked cornered, eyes darting back and forth between us all. She was breathing a little faster. I swear she sweated some. She shifted her weight. I half-expected her to teleport halfway across Equestria. "I...I vote we save them...Silver Spoon...I..." she held her hoof over her heart. "...She was so hurt when Diamond threw her away...I...I don't want her to think we did the same thing...And besides, she's a Crusader... Crusaders stick together, right?" We held silent for a few seconds before Apple Bloom nodded. "That's it, then. We're doin' this." "Spike, Button," Sweetie Belle piped up. "Don't hate Apple Bloom or Scootaloo. They just want to help the most friends we can." Button Mash lowered his head. "Alright, Sweetie Belle." Spike crossed his arms and sighed. "Alright." "Thank ya, Sweetie Belle." "''Do You Accept This Side Quest Of Your Own Free Will?'" Button Mash read aloud from the menu before touching the 'Yes' button. "I still can't believe this curse did this to Silver and Twist like it did to Rarity." Sweetie shook her head. "Are you still so naive that you thought an evil as deprived as this would CARE it was corrupting foals? Did you REALLY think it would magically age them all to 18? Or that if it did, they wouldn't still be foals mentally?" And cue Phobia popping up out of nowhere again. "Whoa! Who are you?" Spike asked. =SNES - Final Fantasy 6 Zozo Town= And a minute's worth of introductions later. "Well! If I could free Twilight from that stupid evil spirit, I can do the same with this mind-control Silvery and the rest are under, we've all gotten experience at it by now." "This isn't a simple brainwashing. REALITY has been altered. If you went back in time, you'd find THIS instead of the Silver Spoon you remember." "Huh? How does that work?" "You shouldn't question it Spike," Phobia said. "I shouldn't question it. Got it," Spike answered. "Girls, in its own way, this place is your most dangerous challenge yet. The games rules help you, but they also mean I can't just GIVE YOU the answer, sadly. And I can't stay, I need to make sure of something or this won't matter, right now. Remember your default role in the narrative is to lose no matter what path you choose, and it'll cheat to MAKE SURE you lose. Be careful." And just like that, Phobia vanished into the fog and the shadows. "How'd he do that?" Spike asked. "You get used to it," we said together. "Well, let's go in there and do this thing," Spike declared. "I think we should sneak in through the back entrance," Button Mash said, lowering his voice, "That way we can avoid the big bruisers." "Do games ALLOW you to avoid big fights?" I asked. "Yeah," said Button Mash. "Stealth is normally the best option. But you have to be patient and pay attention to a whole lot of environmental details." Spike said, "Well, I know how fancy places work. Comes from living in Canterlot. If you look fancy enough and go through the front door, acting like you belong there, and tell 'em something official-sounding, they'll let you through and ask you put a good word in for them." Me? I hated to admit it, but zooming in kicking flank and drag our friends out kicking and screaming wasn't gonna be the best bet anyway. Phobia had called this place the biggest nasty we'd faced so far, that didn't scare me none after having already faced my sister, Cheerilee. But for once I didn't feel like imitating Dash's 'trash subtlety, just get the job done' attitude. + We snuck in through the back. Quiet as mice. Scared but determined. We'd save our friends and everypony in here. The way through the back door led to a room full of big pillows and veils. Pretty candles lit everything. Paintings on the walls of ponies on top of each other. There were tulips in vases, looking like they just wanted a kiss. The place was warm, and smelled nice. The shadows on the wall were nice too. Everything was nice. We found our friends. They were so happy. They were good dolls. They weren't really dollies. But they said they were there to entertain and be played with for whoever visited. Like us. We told them we didn't want to play with them. They were so sad. The place was so warm and nice. It made us feel sleepy. It made us feel happy too. Like our friends. Spike found some pretty jewelry, it really was pretty, it sparkled and shined like a rainbow. Rainbows were always good . Spike liked them. Spike-Barb, thought they were tasty. But they were for looking nice, not eating our friends said, so Barb was a good dragoness, Barbie was a good doll. Button Mash was talking nonsense again, about miniature games, secret ends, and alternative costumes. Bit Mash calmed down and smiled like the rest of us fillies, knowing how to behave. She thought of the special games we could play to entertain our guests. Bit Crunch was a good doll. We all giggled together, hugging each other, happy to be back together, and to have new friends, too, all together. But we had guests to entertain. It was all we were good for after all. But that was okay, we were good dollies. ++ We marched through the front door. Button Mash found us some fancy-looking clothes for us all to wear in his inventory. We marched in, noses held high. We gave the caribou at the front our best 'You got something to say to US?' look! He backed down and let us on through, telling us to enjoy ourselves. In we went! There was a buncha dumb pictures on the walls and stupid flowers and dime store candles, but we didn't care. That wasn't what we came here for. We came for our friends, for the ponies here. The place stank, these jerks really needed to clean things up better! We had half a mind to leave. Couldn't they do any decent lighting? We found our friends and some other mare right where the caribou said they'd be. They laid on their fancy pillow like slugs, smiling at us like Ditzy Doo on a good day. "Hi, Scooty!" "Hi, Spikey!" They bleated then chorused. "Welcome, we hope we can have fun together!" "Want to play with us, dears?" They looked like they were having the time of their lives. We'd been breaking our backs trying to save the world and they've been here enjoying themselves! Have fun with them? We'd have more than that! These idiots owed it to us! It was the only things they were good for. They were no better than dumb dolls. They were only three to go around, but we'd make due. We deserved this. We'd take as much time as we wanted too. As long as had our fun, who cared about anything else? The dumb dolls giggled and laughed as we got what we wanted. They didn't tire, and neither did we, ever. All there was, was this building and us. =Discord Ponies Rock Intro= Sweetie Belle and Ah snap right 'bout the same time. She brought her hooves to her chest, and gasped out loud, her eyes becoming pin pricks as she panted. Ah could see her heart hammerin' in her chest. Button and Spike were on 'er in a tick, Button offerin' her a potion from his magic inventory and Spike checkin' her over. "Give 'er room!" Scootaloo barked and buzzed her wings, givin' her air. "Sweetie Belle, can you hear me?" "Both ways..." Sweetie gasped out as she lay on her side, letting her spooked heart ride itself out. "Front door, back door, doesn't matter... We'll be made like Silver is, or we'll be made to hurt them. Forever." Scootaloo said something fillies shouldn't say. Spike kicked the dirt. Button Mash moaned about 'fake choices' in games. Blanky whined and nuzzled poor Sweetie like Ah'd seen Winona do with Applejack before. Ah didn't do anythin'. Ah couldn't stop lookin' with the truth. Like a carriage wreck. Ah didn't see the ground, Ah didn't see the red lights house, Ah didn't see the caribou. What Ah saw was, "It's a big black spider's web! All of it!" "It's a trap. Our friends are just bait," Sweetie breathed out. Button Mash's lip quivered. "We've locked ourselves into a bad ending! Nothing can progress until we take one of the bad options! Our only act of freedom is to turn off the console!" Spike shook him. "Snap out of it! Pause the game!" Button Mash hiccuped and whimpered. Scootaloo looked at Button Mash cryin', Sweetie shakin', and me starin' at the giant web we were all just bugs in. She held her head in her hooves and let out a noise. "A smart mouse can still get the cheese without setting off the trap," one of us said, Ah can't remember who. But at them words, we all calmed down a little. Ah took a cue from Applejack and held together, despite what Ah was seein', Sweetie needed help more from what she saw. Suddenly Ah felt the odd filly out. Only one of the CMC without her cutie mark and ... Scoots, Spike, Button, Blanky, they were all closer to Sweetie than they were to me. Ah shook my head, Twist needed me, Silver needed me, Ah couldn't afford to star feelin' sorry fer myself. "M-maybe we can glitch through the walls?" Button offered, none too helpful-like. Spike looked at the place in disgust. "We could just burn the place down." "And the ponies inside?" Scootaloo asked. Spike sighed. "Point." Scootaloo asked, "Spike, how about you greed-out, turn into Spikezilla, rip the roof off, and pluck them out?" I'd never seen Spike shake his head so insistently. "No way, no how, dream on! Forget it!" "Geeze, sorry!" Ah asked, "Sweetie... our friends... what... what were they like?" "Like dolls. Not literally, but they were empty, smiling faces, doing whatever they were told." Ah thought for a bit. "Sweetie Belle," Ah said, "Yer not gonna like what Ah have to say." Ah put a hoof on her shoulder. "Yer song at the weddin' reached all of Canterlot. Ah bet yer song could reach our friends inside." Sweetie looked like her heart dropped down to her cutie mark. "What?" She whimpered. Our friends shot me dirty looks. Ah honestly would be too if Ah were lookin' in the mirror. Ah didn't like what Ah said next. "Use yer singing with yer brain zappin' to get 'em out here instead of us goin' in!" Sweetie gasped. "No!" "Apple Bloom how could you?" Button gasped. "Sweetie we ain't got a better plan!" "But... but it's not that simple! The ponies' guard needs to be down... they.. they... it's not like Discord's!" "Ya said they done whatever they're told... so tell 'em to come out." Sweetie cringed, teeth clenched, ears wilted, and her eyes misted up. Ah hugged her. "Ah'm sorry Sweetie, but please, do it for our friends! Use that stuff for good!" As Button Mash muttered something about the game 'railroading us,' Sweetie Belle swallowed. Shakin', she took a deep breath through her nose. Her horn and eyes glowed green. Green mist swirled from her and into the house. Ah think only Ah could see it. Come little ponies, let me take you away Into my loving enchantment Come little ponies, dance to my sway Enter my forest of hollows. Follow sweet ponies, my voice'll show you way Through the fire and the passion Fear not my ponies, now comes the day There's more yet to life even when all is made ashen. Ah heard hoof beatin' to the melody of our 'Pied Piper'. They came to the back doors, opposite the way the 'caribou' was standin'. 'He' was just a buncha black spider webs. So was the house. So was everythin'. So many doors and only one guy outside? We'd been supposed to sneak behind him. And out they came, following Sweetie's music like ants. All black and pink. Twist and Silver had bruises on their forelegs, but they didn't have their glasses, of course they were gonna bump inta stuff. And there was Miss Shiny Star as she was on the third poster. All of them smilin' but lookin' like they hadn't a clue what was so fun. Nopony inside called out that their entertainers were gone, had there been anypony inside besides them at all? But then what was the point of this place then? If this was a business, who took the money? Who paid the bills? If they were entertainment ponies who were they entertainin'? Was it all just props for a play? And if this was spider's web, where was the spider? As Sweetie stopped singin', they lined up like livestock to be sold. They were washed up pretty. Makeup covered too much of their faces. They stank of the same perfume Rarity had stunk of. They moved like Rarity when she was corrupted, but when she'd been lookin' to be in charge, they looked eager to be told what to do, like over the top versions of Silver Spoon when we first met 'er. Every trot wantin' to show as much fur at once. "Uh Sweetie, you can end the spell now," Scootaloo said. "It ended when I stopped singing," Sweetie answered sadly. "Welcome, welcome, welcome, how may we serve you?" The all suddenly echoed together an' bowed. Ah had to cover my truth eye seein' what they really looked like now. Other Sis wasn't lyin' sayin' Ah'd see lots of stuff with this eye Ah'd wish Ah didn't. Button Mash took a few uncomfortable trots back. "Silvery, I'm sorry this happened to you," Button Mash said. 'Silvery?' Button Mash had made more friends through us? The old Button Mash barely tried bein' with others. How much had we changed Button? !! How much had he changed us?! Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Button Mash, Spike, they all got closer to Silver Spoon. She was our friend after all. Miss Shiny Star just stood there waiting silently and obediently like a pet. Ah looked at Twist, it weird seein' her without her glasses, her curly mane looked so well-combed it was painful. Ponies like tah say ponies look pretty when they don't need their glasses no more...not here. Ah was the only pony here for her. My friends gathered to save Silver Spoon. Me? Ah was the one we had to break Twist out of this, make her see the whole dang universe was wrong with just words like Ah'd done with Zecora. So why did this feel so much dang harder?! My friends were already talking with Silver Spoon. She just kept that blank smile that would have made the changelings' slaves green with envy. I look at Twist, she just smiles at me like Winona would, waitin' for her master to tell 'er what to do. It might have been nicer if she really was turned into a magic doll, at least dolls are SUPPOSED to look like this! Today Ah've seen so many ponies Ah know and love turned into monsters on the outside, and turned into awful strangers with their faces, not on some chaos spirit's roulette, but made to be as mean as possible. And it wasn't even like the changelings' magic where it took just a hug to break it. The curse keeps inventin' ways to make things worse! Even to how changelings treated us...Ugh! It's like Twist and 'em ARE just dolls! Ah just... like there no bottom to how cruel somepony can be when they don't see ya as a pony. Ah tried to think of what to say, why didn't anything come? Ah tried so hard, Ah really really did! Ah really tried to get my friendship with Twist back together! So why can't Ah think of what to say!? "Twist, why did this have to happen to us?" Ah sighed. "Because I'm a bad filly who needs to do her service to the community." My eye bulged, "T-Twist?" "Yes?" Her voice and tone was exactly like the Twist I knew, except. "Ya can, yer lisp, Ah, confarnit. Why didn't ya say anythin', and happened to yer lisp?" "Because we only speak when asked a question, like good fillies should. And they fixed it, because the stallions didn't like it." "W-whose 'they?'" "The owners of the stable." "And who are the owners of the stables?" "Mr. Umbra Breeze, Mayor Mare, The Silvers, Rich Filth, and Miss Ima Alias." The puzzle pieces popped together in my head: Umbra Breeze had a friend. My first guess was Nightmare Moon, until I remembered what Other Sister was the real truth 'bout the Nightmares. "Twist, Ah want ya to speak yer mind." "I don't have a mind, Apple Bloom, I'm here because I'm a bad filly who isn't good for anything else." "No yer not! Ya figured out yer talent before we could! Ya get better grades than me, and yer one of the most upbeat, down to Equus ponies Ah know!" Ah know Ah was wastin' air, but Ah didn't care. Twist didn't twitch. Spike with that blinkin' thing in his head was less wrong than this. "But I'm a baaaaaaad filly, do you want to punish me?" She kept smiling. "Ugh! Why do our arguments always go in circles?!" "I'm sorry, Apple Bloom, that's bad of me to do to a guest. You really should punish me." "Stop sayin' that! Ya can't like doin' whatever-this-is! Yer cutie mark is still for makin' candy! Like Bon Bon! How can this be all yer good for if makin' candies is yer special talent?! Tell me!" Twist started quiverin'. Thank Celestia! "Yer family still makes sweets right? Like Bon Bon and the Cakes! Ya makes candies that makes others smile and loved doin' it! Ya offered me candies when Ah was down! Ya said you wanted to be an adult who made others happy with your candy! Yer ma, Shimmy Shake, she was PROUD of ya!" Twist fell to her knees. "I'mabadponyI'mabadponyI'mabadponyI'mabadpony!" "Why! What's makin' ya think that? What lies got stuffed in yer head?" "Because I'm a bad friend! I'm selfish! Cowardly! Hypocritical! Opportunistic! I'm only friends with ponies as long as its good for me! I'd never be good enough to be friends with a colt like Truffle! I'm just bad news! I'd just abandon him the first time he gets teased, same way I did with you!" Ah took a trot back. "W-what? N-no you didn't! When?" Okay, Bloom, remember, whatever she says, remember it's just what this curse MADE real. "I didn't stand up for you at Diamond Tiara's party, I didn't even try. You had to have help from two fillies who happened to be blank flanks like I was the day before. Or I could've just not gone and we could have had fun together, instead of going to a party for a bully neither of us liked! But I wanted to go to the big party with or without you, whether you wanted to go or not, because it was the party, being held for a little monster and her braindead stooge!" N-n-no! Celestia. This place was playing tricks with my head now! Wasn't it? The protection of our capes was anything but perfect! That can't be it! N-no! Twist would never...could never...do anything like... Ah fell to my knees too. Was that... the real reason Ah kept avoidin' her after makin' friends with Scoots and Sweetie? Deep down... was Ah really angry at 'er for that? D-don't be silly, it's not Ah'd just bury somethin' like that and just forget about it. So what Twist... so what if...she... she didn't even LOOK at me, she didn't even TRY, she just chatted with Cotton Cloud... ... Maybe, Ah'd been upset. Ah'd been angry she'd done that, what she HADN'T DONE, when she just stood there to be one of the cool foals! Ah wanted this to be just this bad place workin' the curse on me... But nothin'. Nothin' Twist said was contrary at all, Ah just... never noticed. ...While most of our stuff as Gabby Gums was taking things out of context or lies...even we told the truth sometimes and used it for mean reasons. Why should this be any different? Twist was still smilin' big as ever, but she was cryin'. "So you oughta hate me! 'Cause I'm nothing but a fair weather friend!" ... What was Ah supposed to say? That Ah shouldn't be angry at a friend who bailed on me? That Ah shouldn't be hateful at a friend who chose movin' up the peckin' order over me? Just hit her and tell 'er that all's forgiven? "Hey... this doesn't mean we can't go to the cute-ceañera together." No, those weren't the right thing to do at all! "...Twist, ya STILL wanted ta go to the party with me. Ya didn't care if ya had a cutie mark or not! Ya didn't ditch me. If anythin', Ah ditched you!" "And I still didn't even try to help you when you did show." "No... ya didn't... " Ah tried ta tell'er how Scootaloo ran away on the Day of Chaos, except Ah'd never been angry at Scootaloo for that. Ah'd looked like a thing from my nightmares, and Scootaloo had done the smartest thing she could. Ah'd never thought of it as her abandonin' me. "I spent forever saying how bad Silver Spoon was, that she'd just abandon you when Diamond Tiara came back...Instead, I was the fair-weather friend, I was the one who abandons her friends when the going gets tough. I'm a bad pony. This is what I deserve, this is all I'm good for. I don't have friends, I don't want friends, I want rungs on a ladder." She looked at the misty ground. "... If ya were that bad, ya wouldn't be sorry." She looked up at me, her make-up running. "Yer not a fair-weather friend, ya made a mistake. Ya didn't want me ta get hurt if Silver Spoon switched sides. Ya didn't just smile and nod when Ah told ya why Ah was gonna trust her. We had ta fight ya tooth and nail before ya'd give Silver Spoon a chance! A fair weather friend just smiles and nods, they'll do whatever it takes to keep somepony's attention! Ya stood up for yer point of view! A fair weather friend wouldn't care!" Twist stopped smiling. First time in Pony history that's a good thing! My other eye... it was like somepony set a fire inside her, and it burned away the spider webs around her and in her. Her make up and painful comb job burned away too. Twist's colors came back with open arms, but her shading still had lots of dark lines to it. Twist hugged me and sobbed into my shoulder. Ah patted her on the back and she hiccuped. Happy music played. But the feelin' Ah felt before didn't go away. Ah had been unhappy Twist hadn't stood up for then, then Ah went and never spoke to her, pretendin' Ah didn't feel it, maybe. It's so confusin' and Ah didn't get my own feelin's. Even the truth didn't make my feelings any easier to read. "Apple Bloom, thank you, I'm free!" She wasn't perfect. Neither was Ah. Twist was my friend, before Ah even knew the others, that's what counted. "Yer welcome, Twist, pal." Ah smiled, feelin' light inside. This didn't bring us any closer to savin' the world, but Ah didn't regret stayin' here to help. "...Would you like thosthe sthweetsth now, Apple Bloom?" She whispered. Ah nearly cracked Ah smiled so much. "Sure! That would be great!" Neither of us said anythin', the happy flute music kept playin', and that's when Ah realized it wasn't just in my head. Ah turned to see Button Mash with a blue flute shaped like a potato to his lips playin' for Silver Spoon. "Apple Bloom, you did it." Scootaloo smiled as Ah looked over to the group. "Sorry we didn't say anything. We... didn't want to interrupt the moment." Sweetie Belle blushed. ++ In a way, Twist is to us what Dash is to her own set of friends. But, kinda reversed. If she had stood up for Apple Bloom: me and Sweetie would have kept chickening out underneath one of the tables. Yes we went to a major social meet just to hide. Sweetie is Rarity's little sister, and for me it was free food (and I'd never make Sweetie go there alone). The jerks who bullied Fluttershy? What about them? There would have never even been a race without them? There wouldn't have been Equestria's six best heroes? Just like, if not for Diamond Tiara's party, if she hadn't been the bad guy, we wouldn't have stuck up for Bloom and become friends. What a headache. Look, I don't know what happened to her, she's still the queen of jerks for me, but I know better than anypony how many horrible things can happen to a filly on her own. If... if they find her, and Silver can get her to try, I'll give'er a chance. If the bugs-ponies got one after what they did, I guess I can give Diamond Tiara one too. ++ Button Mash just kept playing that potato flute of his. Silver Spoon swayed to the melody. "What in the-?" Ah tried figurin' what Button was up to. Spike whispered. "Button Mash said he and Silvery got stuck in a closet once. She hated him playing his Gamecolt, so he played the ocarina for her instead, something about 'healing music.'" What did that have to do with the rumor of Sweetie bein' his special friend? The more Ah heard these stories Button Mash tells, the less they sound like somethin' fake written for 'em, and more it sounds like he remembers some other universe out there where all of this did happen. "Silver Spoon?" Button asked. "Remember how you said my ocarina was 'okay' while Diamond Tiara couldn't stand it? . . . That song was supposed to turn the curse on you into a mask that would give me a new special ability." "Of course I remember, Button Mash," she said with the same doll face as Twist. "I'm a bad filly. A very bad filly. A brain-dead stooge. I'm making up for everything bad I did. It's the only way I can learn my lesson. It's the only way I can make up for everything. It's the only way I can be forgiven. That I know I'm no better than anypony else. The only way to fix ponies like me to break us down into sand and build us back up. And please, call me Silver Tray, it's my birth name. I don't deserve to be called anything else." Twist's lip quiver. Ah gave her a gentle nuzzle and reluctantly broke off from her and faced Silver Spoon. Even in my worst fantasies Ah never wished this on Silver Spoon, did Ah? Ah dreamed of suckin' her and Diamond Tiara up in a bug catcher. Of 'em bein' drummed off to reform school. Us being royalty, and them being our servants or janitors. Twilight threatenin' to turn em into house plants. Nightmare Moon feedin' 'em alfalfa and chased off and never seen again. Not dead, just, ya know, never havin' to think about 'em again. Ah didn't think they'd learn anythin', Ah just wanted to see 'em squirm. Ah wished something terrible would happen to 'em. Ah don't know what happened to Diamond Tiara, but Silver Spoon lost her best friend. Ah... never thought about until now... And- "Silver Spoon we're friends now! Ah already apologized for how Ah saw ya before, you got better cause ya chose to!" "Come on honored guest Apple Bloom." Silver Spoon kept smiling. "You know the only reason we became friends was because Diamond Tiara was gone and I felt sad. That's the only reason I learned my lesson. So of course this will make me a better pony too. This is what I deserve." Spike snorted fire. "Silvery! You've got to be kidding! You think-! You think THIS is gonna make you a better pony?! All it's gonna leave you is with no respect for yourself! And nopony with respect for you. How are you gonna be able to stand up for yourself after being everypony's doll? How are you gonna be able to let anypony close when monsters have been just paying to have you as their doll? Having humiliating and cruel things happen to you, DOESN'T MAKE YOU A BETTER PONY! What the changelings did to me didn't make me a better dragon!" Silver Spoon said proudly. "Doing what everypony tells me: isn't that the definition of selfless? Is't doing selfless things the best way to make up for always being so selfish?" "Never putting effort in making your own choices? That's lazy and selfish! That's NOT being better Silvery! That's the easy way out!" "Sometimes it's not the easy way, sometimes it's the only way." "Agh! I'm here to help Silvery! Apple Bloom is! Button is! Scootaloo is! Sweetie is! Your parents are! You're not freakin' alone!" That doll smile didn't leave her face. "I guess I'll always stuck being stuck-up." She turned to my orange friend. "Just like you said Scootaloo." Scootaloo looked like she'd gotten hit in the head with a curve ball. "Silver Spoon...I was angry when I said that. I wanted to say something that would shut you and Diamond Tiara up. That not having a mark yet wasn't the end of the world. I thought your cutie mark meant all you'd ever be good for was being born in a rich family. I was wrong. You're smarter than I ever thought you were." "But I wanted to be friends again with Diamond Tiara, if I was really different, I wouldn't want anything to do with her ever again." Silver Spoon said like she was parrotin'. "She's not good for anything but being a worthless bully, if I want to be friend with somepony like that, then I'm clearly a worthless toady." Sweetie Belle and Twist both cringed. = 'You have to Forgive Yourself' - Pony POV Series Audio Adaption = Sweetie Belle said, her head held high. "I tried to save Chryssy from herself, that doesn't make me still bad." "But you realized the only way to 'fix' her was to wipe out everything she was." "Diamond Tiara isn't Chrysalis...Rarity says even if I have my Cutie Mark, I choose how to use it...Diamond's a kid, just like us. She still has a chance to change...just like you did. It's NOT WRONG to want to save a friend!" "You've proved me wrong about me saying that stupid thing about being 'stuck being stuck up,'" Scootaloo exasperated. "And you were too determined to prove it about Diamond to give up like this!" "Sthilver Sthpoon!" Twist spoke out. "You sthaid let bygonesth be bygonesth, don't dig up old bonesth! Remember? That you wanted to be better by BEING better, not letting yoursthelf be hurt! Thisth isth all nonsthensth! We're just foalsth! And...You sthaid you were gonna remind Diamond Tiara sthe's just one too!" The fires lit inside Silver Spoon...and the flames burned away the spider's webs. - I... I felt something? Sweetie Belle what are you doing? Where are you? How are you doing this to me? This is illogical. I have no feelings. I am pure. - And she was our silver filly again, with black shading along her body. Silver Spoon cried. We let'er cry. We all gave'er a hug, includin' Twist. We're ponies: no matter how hurt we are, we still care about somepony else's hurts. Or that's how we SHOULD to be! There wasn't one of us who wasn't happy to have 'er back. My only regret was that we didn't have another crusader cape for 'er to wear. But she was part of team all the same. "Girls, thank you, I'm free." She really did look nicer without all that make up. Her and Twist. Too bad the two of 'em could barely see anythin' without their glasses. Ah was a big yellow blur in their eyes. How would Ah know? Tried on Twist's glasses once, Ah couldn't see a dagone thing. "Thank you, I just... it really did feel like what I was supposed to do, like what I was MEANT to do... like my cutie mark was telling me." "Same here." Twist gave 'er a nuzzle. Ah can't say that didn't make a bit worried, what if me or Babs got stuck with cutie marks we didn't like? It was somethin' we were good at, but wasn't somethin' we loved? What if Sweetie got tired of singing, or lost her voice? And she couldn't even do what her cutie mark was tellin' her? "Mom always said cutie marks was about deciding what to do with yourself, not being told what to do," Button Mash said. "Well, Twilight says it's about recognizing what was already there, not something out of nothing," Spike retorted. He and Button were giving each other a slight glare. Silver giggled as only a filly can. "It's great to be back with you all!" "Same!" "Ditto." "Of course." "Yep!" "Welcome." Forget about cutie marks. We can Crusade after we save the world 'till Celestia gets wrinkles. We fell in a heap, laughing at the silliness of it all. This was us, not this depressin' grittiness everywhere. Miss Shiny Star meanwhile just kept stadin' there smilin' like a ponyequin. She breathed, she blinked, but she didn't move or look away. She didn't even react to Twist and Silver 'breakin' da rules'. They'd only cared about bein' hostesses, not each other. They hadn't been sisters, just toys in a collection. "Two down, one to go," Scootaloo said her eyes narrow. Except. None of us were friends with this mare. We hadn't even known her before. Ah didn't want to disappoint my friends, or leave somepony in a place like this but... maybe we were gonna have'ta just...leave? "Girls, this might be as good as we get here," Ah said glumly. "We accepted the quest line, we can't progress until we finish it." Those not in the loop figured it was Button Mash bein' Button Mash Ah figure. "We just need to convince her to quit right?" Silver Spoon just kept lookin' at her. She said, "Girls. Back off some. Spike, Mash, you too. There are...some stuff I've got to say to her that's...kinda private." "Aren't there enough secrets 'round here?" Ah looked at Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo cringed fer some reason. "Some secrets, are better left hidden maybe?" Scootaloo said. She shrank some as Ah looked at 'er more. Scootaloo, what are ya hidin'? Isn't there enough of those 'round here? "I'm sorry, girls, I promised I wouldn't go sharing this with others." "You promised Diamond Tiara," Sweetie said, it wasn't a question. Silver Spoon looked at Sweetie in surprise, then nodded. "Please?" "It's what you did with me, remember?" Spike said. "You saved me so I could save Twilight, so why can't she do the same?" The creepy little plot of land with the red light house didn't have anythin' besides flat dirt, but we made some distance. But we kept an eye on them just in case. Ah think a part of me is just sick of secrets. And wondered if the world might be a bit better off without 'em. + The world was a blur to me. At least there was nothing for me and Twist to trip over. I wish Princesses Erroria and Liza were here, they could save the day no sweat! But in that insight I could only hope to have, they let me struggle through this on my own. I got so close to her, and she lowered her head to speak to me, I could see her face, but my nose was good as pushing into hers, and I could smell, THINGS on her breath. That smile on Shiny Star's face, it wasn't empty, it wasn't broken, it was wasn't like the changeling's slaves it was...I dunno! It reminded me a bit of the ones I'd seen mom wear in her earliest family pictures. An eagerness and obedience, but also, scared and hurting. I'd groomed to be a high class filly, reading what ponies really meant was expected of me, remember? "Shiny Star," I said, using the voice I'd been taught to speak to servants with. "Twist and I are no longer going to be working here. And you aren't either. You're better than this dump." "Oh Miss Silver Spoon, I am not better than this," She said smiling, being as formal to a pony she was serving as any professional servant would. "I am worse than this. I steal away husbands from loving mothers while they're sick. This is better than I deserve. I should be grateful," she said with a straight face. My jaw dropped. "Really, what I'm doing is really no different than what I was doing before, now simply without the pretext," she said again without any sarcasm or irony. "It was nothing like that! You're nothing like that! You RISKED YOUR JOB to help Diamond Tiara see her mom! You wouldn't have helped her if you were trying to gold dig her dad!" "I was clearly just trying to get in good with his daughter." "Then why did you never ask for anything? You could have asked her for anything and she'd have given it to you. But you never asked for a thing." "I was saving up!" Silver, "Until when? When Diamond was in her teens and could just go herself? When she was a kid was the only time you actually had any real leverage on her at all and you didn't take it. " = 'Cornered' Ace Attorney = "Which is years away, I was going to act sooner than that, I told you before I was building up." "By risking your job again and again, so Diamond Tiara got to see the mare you were trying to replace?!" "I wanted her to see how insane and lost her mother was. I kept other mares away from him so he'd forget all about his wife." "Then why the hay did you stop sleeping with him?!" If any filly knows things a filly shouldn't know, it's me. "Because his wife broke out. I know what that mare can do, I'm not suicidal!" "She broke out a million times, why should that time be any different? I was there one time when she came and you were in the same room as me and him and she didn't give a darn! She never attacked the mares he was with! Knowing her, I bet one time she put on a unicorn horn and a maid dress and wanted him to not bother guessing which one was which and take both!" She blushed and her eyes shifted. Really? I made up that one on the spot! "How much do you think you even KNOW ME filly? You're a friend of the filly of the stallion I work for! How could you hope to know anything about me?!" "... Because Diamond Tiara TRUSTED YOU ... which puts us both in a very exclusive club. You were the only 'impostor' she didn't set out to destroy. Which means, whether she admitted it or not, she believed in you. If you really were helping Diamond Tiara when it could cost you your job, standing in for his wife so the gold diggers would stop, stayed with him after he went nuts with grief thinking you were a 'narwhal spy', and switched his coffee with decafe, just being a gold digger yourself? It would have been an actress with your face, not you. If you don't act like you, then it's all pointless! It might as well not be you! Ponies who care about you, care about you because you're you!" I looked her in the eye, squinting my own. "Diamond didn't trust a lot of ponies...but she trusted you to do something she wouldn't trust anypony else." "She's...she's a child." "A child who knew a metric ton more than she actually should have about life. Not one 'impostor' made it into that house she never figured out." "I guess I'm that good an actress!" "Wooing a stallion who went paranoid on your tribe because his wife went crazy? And you were hired BEFORE Diamond's mom became Screwball! Did you use time travel to tell yourself this scheme?" "I never said I came up with it before I was hired." "WHEN did you come up with it? AFTER you saw a conga line of mares tried and fail the exact same scheme? After his grief made him think you were a spy? After you saw Diamond made life Tartarus for any mare who tried? And DON'T you dare try the 'get rid of the foal' cliche! You wouldn't risk getting fired if that was the case! You aren't that stupid nor that weak willed! You cared about Diamond...and she cared about you. You were one of the only ponies that she ever cared about. And don't even try telling me that means nothing to you." + Again? What is this, feeling? Sweetie Belle, what are you doing?! 'Hmmm. What was that? Oh. That place. Out of all these fun games... I have to say that one I'm not sorry to see get tossed out.' So that's where she is. "They say you're the ultimate evil father, but you are revolted by something Tirek would clap at." 'Ultimate evil, shmaltimate weevil, I'm in this for the fun! Morning Star can be the concept of evil and all that goes with it.' "Silver Spoon... Good-bye." + Ah don't know what Silver Spoon said, but I saw the flame light inside Shiny Star, and the webbin' only Ah could see burn away. And colors other than pink and black came to her, she had a violet coat and a deep purple curled mane with white stripes with violet eyes. Her coat and mane reminded me of Diamond Tiara. "Wow, in record time," Button Mash said. "What did she say?" Sweetie Belle asked, but not quite like she didn't know. "Sorry, can't read lips," Ah only said. "If it's that private we should leave it be," Scootaloo said. Scootaloo. What secrets are ya holding? "Way to go, Silvery," Spike said. Twist stared in amazement, she may have just seen blurs, but she could tell something important had happened to one of those blurs. Silver Spoon trotted over to where we'd moved, smiling a real smile and so was Shiny Star. "Greetings fair foals, I am Miss Shiny Star, it's a pleasure to meet each of you. Miss Twist, Miss Apple Bloom, Miss Sweetie Belle, Miss Scootaloo, Master Kenbroath Gillspotten Heathspike, Master Button Mash." "You know our names?" Scootaloo asked confused. "Miss Diamond Tiara ... colorfully mentioned you more than once, and Mr. Rich has mentioned young Apple Bloom as well. And you were speaking to each other right in front of me. And there is only one dragon in Ponyville." We blushed. "Thank you for saving Miss Silver Spoon. Miss Diamond Tiara would never forgive herself if anything ... improper happened to her. And Miss Silver Spoon, thank you, for freeing me." Silver Spoon nodded smiling. "Welcome." "It is not my place to apologize for Miss Diamond Tiara, I only thank you for helping Miss Silver Spoon when she needed it most." Button Mash tapped his magic window confused (it was like the others couldn't even see it). "Huh? No XP, no items, no new party members? Not even a quest flag?" The place began to shake. Was this an earthquake? The house and the caribou broke apart into fog in one eye, and in the truth Ah saw the web unraveling. A wall as tall as the sky sprung up around the place between us and the fog wall. "Miss Silver Spoon, stay close to me!" exclaimed Shiny Star, hugging her close. We formed a ring 'round 'em and Twist. "Everypony! It's the spider!" Ah shouted, figurin' we had a 'boss fight' on us. We weren't that lucky. What used to be the building and the caribou fell into the ground, except there was nothin' under the ground. The worst cold snap in my life blasted us in a wave from the black pit left behind. The ground collapsed expanding outwards towards us. "Congratulations, You Have Uncovered A Hidden Death. Tis A Sad Thing, That Your Adventures Have Ended Here. Trophy Unlocked? Oblivion!" That voice... it was Umbra Breeze. There was no time to talk, no time to plan, we just ran for the edge of the wall and tried to break through or get over it. - At the printer, Umbra Breeze check his scroll-pager. "Ah. Pays to invest in pest control. Good riddance to bad mare-filly filth. What did they THINK would happened when they revoked the curse inside a bubble that was composed of only the curse? Goodbye little ponies." - The wall was slicker than a greased pig, there was nothin' to hold onto. And the wall seemed to go up forever. Sweetie began chantin' her incantation for her mega spell, she'd never finish it in time. Shiny Star tried to blast a hole but it just reflect off. Spike and Scootaloo began tryin' to heat and cool the wall to make it crack, but Scootaloo's wind couldn't get stuff down to freezing. Me, Silver, and Twist tried good old-fashioned Earth pony strength, hitting the same spot over and over, it was like Ah was hittin' the side of a mountain. Button Mash went wild on the wall, using his sword, the magic bow and arrow, and anything else he could think of that was pointy or went boom. Blanky bite and clawed at the wall, we dared to hope, but for every inch he ate away at, there was another one behind it. None... none of it worked... we... the world got blurry for me too, got somethin' in my eye. Shiny Star hugged and kissed Sliver Spoon on the forehead. Spike hugged her from behind. "Sweetie, you're the best friend I could have wanted. I was happy I could be your knight to your princess." Button Mash said, he was shakin' to pieces and gushing tears. Ah hugged Twist, burying our faces in each other's shoulders. Scootaloo hugged Sweetie and covered her with her wings. Only Blanky kept tryin' as we felt the will to try literally cool off us. Then the ground fell away completely. Ah grabbed onto the hole Blanky had made in the wall, and my friends held onto me. Then the wall turned into a ceilin', and slicker than slick Ah lost my grip. Sweetie's and Shiny Star's horns glowed for all they were worth tryin' to slow our fall. Spike fire breathed his lungs down pointed down tryin' to rocket us up. Scootaloo hung onto us and nearly flapped her wings off. But it wasn't just good old gravity pullin' on us, we were bein' sucked down, like air through a funnel, while some invisible weight pushed down on us from above. Ah saw below... nothin', infinite nothin', an endless frozen place of nothin'. A black desert. Our new home, forever. "Join us..." Looking deeper, Ah saw shadows...the same ones that had been showin' up. They were waiting with open front hooves for us...but their smiles were...like sharks... A smart mouse can get the cheese without settin' off the trap, that don't do a bit of good if the cheese was poisoned. GAME OV- "HOOOOOOY!" Huh? What-! Was Ah seein' a foal scale flyin' pirate ship with little waves underneath, flyin' straight down besides us? Was that Pipsqueak wearin' a pirate privateer hat wavin' at us? Was that Ruby Pinch, Orange Top/Noi, Dinky, and a foal who looked like Princess Luna with a baby owl-bear? Naw. Couldn't be. Can't be real. That's just silly. Ah'm just gonna ignore it, and just keep lookin' down into the nothin' as it swallows us whole. Ain't gonna be part of somethin' like that, no sireebob! Hey! Scootaloo! She was draggin' me towards the impossible flyin' pirate ship Ah didn't want anythin' to do with! Shiny Star held onto Silver Spoon and used her magic push or pull herself closer, Ah don't know which. Sweetie did the same with Twist with Blanky holdin' onto her saddle bags. Spike was blowin' flames to jet himself to the ship. When did Button Mash get that giant leaf he was flappin'? "Thank Celestia for quick-time event rescues!" Button Mash yelled. Scootaloo flew me straight onto the ship's deck, gravity changin' the moment we touched it. Our friends followed suit. Okay. So this was real. So Ah hadn't gone crazy. Spike and Twist were kissin' the planks. Silver and Sweetie were huggin' the mast. Button Mash put the giant leaf away and was tryin' to keep his heart from leapin' out of his chest. Shiny Star was givin' prayers of thanks to Princess Luna for miracles. As Ah saw the ship turn about, flying out of the darkness below and back into the fog above, Ah ended up silently joinin' her as Scootaloo just covered me with her wings as she shook. Ah was alive. We were alive. We... it all happened so fast. We'd saved our friends, then we were all goin' to die, then we get saved by Pipsqueak the pirate? Ah felt dizzy. What was goin' on? "Hoy! Welcome aboard Her Nightjesty's The MoonPearl, fair maidens!" Pipsqueak cheered. His 'crew' did the same. "I don't believe it," Silver Spoon said. "I believe it, I believe it, I believe it," Sweetie rambled in response. "We've... just been saved by Pipsqueak's magic pirate ship?" Our favorite orange Captain Obvious said, them words sounded as weird out loud. "Them's the rules, if there's a magical ship in the world: the heroes get to ride on it, or blow it up," Button Mash said. Ah knew Ah shouldn't let a gift-horse in the mouth, but my mouth wouldn't keep shut. "Pipsqueak!? How in the Hay did ya know where we... how did ya we needed ... why in the heck did you come now? Why not sooner? Why not later? Ya just came out of nowhere!" "Shush! He might vanish if you convince 'em he makes no sense!" Scootaloo hissed. "Our captain saw yonder island ye were upon break apart, and seek deep into the black abyss, so at flank speed and risking damage to our fair ship, we hurried to save ye before thou were too far gone to save," said the blue filly with the owl bear. "And nay, twas not random chance we happened upon thee. We were told by a mysterious stranger this way lay a great treasure. But alas, it seems that treasure is lost forever, but verily, tis better thing we do in saving thy lives than collect mere baubles. We be First Mate Moonlight, tis an honor to meet thee." And we ALL tried to wrap our heads around that, fate wasn't done with the surprises just yet. We came back into the fog, pushin' through it, then burstin' on top of it, sailin' on it like it was an ocean. White bubbles floating alongside, above and blow us. The sky was still that sick pink color, and a bright ball in the sky Ah couldn't tell from the sun or the moon. Two small thing clattered to the deck in the 'ocean spray' of the fog. "My glasses!" Twist and Silver Spoon said together, scrambled for the small blurs that were the vague shape and color of their precious glasses and put them on their faces. They looked at each other, realized they were wearing each other's, and exchanged. "Uh, Oopsth." "No problem." They they two looked around in awe at the ship and foals all around. Then Twist looked at me. "Greath tho sthee you again, Apple Bloom." She nuzzled me. "Same, blank-flank," Silver Spoon said nuzzling me as well, the word meaning the OPPOSITE of everything it had meant she'd called us that with Diamond Tiara. "Same, Candy-Flank, and Spoon-Flank," I replied back. We all laughed. We'd just insulted each other and we LAUGHED! Only the GREATEST of FRIENDS could EVER do that! Pip and his crew clapped and cheered again. One thing was fer sure. Things had just gotten a whole lot weirder. > Voyage Of the MoonPearl > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ah don't remember when we fell asleep. Ah just plum know we did. The light in the sky stayed put, so Ah couldn't tell how long we'd been sleepin', or if it was day or night. It wasn't like the patch-up we got at the hospital or the breaks we got in Sunny Town or at school... We just plum went kaput. Ah don't know 'bout Twist, Silver Spoon or Miss Shiny Star, but the rest of us Ah reckon were all out like lights. And Spike, well, he is a baby dragon. We'd gotten into a rhythm, ya know? Ah know Ah voted for us to fix everythin' in one go fast as we could, but Ah still figured once we saved our friends the place would turn nice and we'd get to rest unless Alula or Tootsie showed. Instead we didn't all just almost die, we'd almost Ah don't know -what-. Ah'd brushed haunches with Death with the Sunny Towners, this, it didn't feel like the end of my life, it felt like the UNDOING of my life, like pullin' a quilt apart. Ah really wish Ah could get the Truth in my eye to settle down. So that's why Ah think we chose to take a nap there on the nice hard wooden deck of Pip's pirate ship, (he called 'er the MoonPearl by the way). = Aileen Quinn - 'It's Strictly Up To You' = + I dreamed I was Red Robin with Dash as Batmare, swinging across rooftops, and we did a crossover with the Power Ponies, but then I got my own superpowers and changed my name to SuperFilly IV. After getting my own stand-alone series, I formed my own superhero team, the Filly Furies. I went through a few dozen issues where I wore a black and torn costume with lots of spikes, but that got retconned out of continuity and I went back to my normal costume much to the delight of my readers. And Apple Bloom was my editor for some reason. + Okay! So I dreamed I was playing video games at the arcade. They had this new machine that was really, really cool, and I kept playing and kept playing, but then they shut off the power, but that was okay since I hooked-up some power cables to Sweetie Belle's horn and kept playing, but she had this bored/annoyed look on her face, even when I beat the final boss, and the game told me it was all an illusion by Tirek and I needed to beat the game twice to get the real ending, and Sweetie melted the game machine, and ... wait, that all really happened, well, except the melting thing, I think she just zapped the power cables and two and dragged me off because it was past our bed times. I think the arcade owner was sorry to see all my quarters go. + I dreamed my big sister Rarity was in her bathrobes, or maybe it was a wedding dress, giving everypony in Ponyville, and Nightmare Moon, Chryssy, the royal guards, and the changeling swarm all sewing lessons. Button Mash was next to me, and couldn't take it anymore and sewed a portal to the Land Where Video Games Are Real, and hopped through. Scootaloo was there, and she had wings larger than Celestia's, and she showed this Super Ponario game where you could make your own levels, then made the hardest, enemy filled, spike covered level imaginable, played it several time, but got rejected by the 'share with others' option for being too hard... and Ponario kinda looked like Button Mash. Button Mash jumped out of the portal saying he didn't want to live in the Land Where Video Games Are Real anymore. Then Apple Bloom used the game editor to make Rarity a grown-up dragon, and me and Button Mash got on her back and she flew away with all jewels in the mountain. Spike was flying with her. + I am King Spike, king of keeping things organized, brave knights, and giant jewels. And my loyal and faithful assistant the little filly Twilight, she's so adorable, especially when she has the hots for that handsome, nice, musically inclined, blue-haired monkey. You think the cross species thing would throw her off but it only made her more determined. Then for some reason our lives were a comic book, she kept running into all these nice little boy dragons, the blue monkey kept hitting on anything female that moved, and suddenly began to act with slight disgust towards Twilight in spite of clearly deeply caring about her before even if it wasn't in the way she liked. Then the Cakes made a giant cake that lots and lots of foals came out that helped build a giant castle made out of pastels. + Ah was rearranging the stock markets so they'd be easier to harvest with the stockplow. But then stock crows came and tried to eat'em, thankfully Ah had the stock crow spray handy and made 'em explode into feathers. Then Ah dreamed Ah was in front of a huge pegboard with pictures of everypony in the world and it was my job to connect red strings between the pictures, but Ah didn't know who went with who! Then a trolls threw rocks through lots of stained-glass windows, and they all ended up in a big pile, and Ah had to glue them all back together, but Ah didn't know what the original pictures were supposed to look like! Laughing, the trolls then shredded a buncha books and threw those together in a pile and Ah had to put them back together, but Ah didn't know what the stories were! Then Ah was in diapers and the trolls kept laughing at me fer that. Then Ah was on a glass swan as it swarm across the ocean with more stars in the sky then Ah'd ever seen. The swan turned to wood and was humming a lullaby Ah heard from somewhere but Ah couldn't remember where. But it felt, nice. Then there were lots of foals, one dragon, and a unicorn mare on the swan too. She turned into a boat, and we sailed into this thick mist. It was actually easy to just lay there and rest, to the soft sound of the rockin' boat and the splash of the magical imaginary waves. But it was 'round then Ah realized Ah'd woken up and wasn't dreamin' no more. + Greetings, honored guests, I am your humble servant, Shiny Star. Not Star Shine, not Starry Shine, Shiny Star, thank you. I know that ponies in Ponyville don't normally wear clothes. As a mare who spends her day job wearing a maid's uniform, and having spent much of my life in Canterlot, going around naked with a bunch of other naked ponies felt incredibly awkward for me. Thankfully, I've gotten used to Ponyville's lack of dress code, and I just focus on the pirate hats and bandannas they're wearing and tell myself they aren't actually naked. I am a 'background pony' (as is the slang term for ponies who aren't Equestria's movers and shakers), and wouldn't want to be caught in the mania that's the dance of business owners and elites. Too bad that doesn't do much for the random monster attacks and random mad gods who seem to think Ponyville is their personal battleground. Good thing we have Princesses Liza Doolots and Animatia Erroria to protect us. I was honestly worried seeing an entire ship full of foals meant I'd turn into one. Nothing against being a foal, and I didn't MIND Princess Gaia's holiday (but didn't want a repeat of it) but... I'd rather not be that helpless again. I recognize all the foals on Master Pipsqueak's ship as Miss Diamond Tiara's classmates. I have never seen Master Pipsqueak's ship for myself, so it is all rather disorienting. How long had I worked at...that place in what I thought was...I... I don't know... it was almost like I'd been born in that exact spot in that exact body in that exact situation... except I knew that was impossible, I had a foalhood (though not a perfect one), and memories outside that place, it made my head hurt terribly even TRYING to think about it. "Excuse me." Eh? It was one of Master Pipsqueak's crewmembers. Miss Ruby Pinch I believe, niece of the school teacher Cheerilee. "Silver Spoon says you're a maid, so are you French?" I blushed. "Not all maids are from Prance!" I wasn't, wasn't I? I didn't have the accent, so I couldn't be from Prance, right? Right! Uuuuuuugh. Mon Dieu, why does just thinking about that make moi's head spin? Ugh! "Shiny Star?" Silver Spoon asked. "...Do you think Rich Filth and Madam Tiara are going to be upset that we all quit?" Madam Tiara...That's right, I met the Riches. They had a share in ... the place I was at before. They've never had a Prench maid! I was proud I wasn't the stereotype and a bit upset to find it wasn't as big of one as I thought. "...No, Silver Spoon, they won't be," I replied, sitting next to her. "Madam Tiara is healthy again, all of us were blaming ourselves for things that weren't actually our fault. And given it sank into a magical hole in the universe, I think they'll be grateful we left. Your parents are likely to sue the landowner for selling them land with that underneath it." How did we end up working there? Because we all felt it was what we deserved. When did we start working there?... I can't recall. Everypony said it was a service of the community, but, that wasn't right was it? Silver's parents were dirty piggish elite, but still produced a mostly polite and proper little lady. Ugh! It wasn't what was important. Golden...You finally came back, I know you aren't going to lose everything again. Speaking of which... +++ The wonderful magical ship MoonPearl magically sailed on magical waves, magically rocking back and forth, back and forth, up and down, up and down, and a group of foals magically hunched over the sides ready to magically lose their lunch. Button Mash had made the mistake of trying to play his GameColt on the seesawing ship. Twist had a weak constitution for an Earth Pony, something she was less than proud of, and had put her glasses aside so she didn't accidentally lose them overboard. Scootaloo was not seasick at all, but her wings were ever so slightly open as the ship rolled. Spike, well, he could eat baked-bads and want seconds. Sweetie Belle felt perfectly fine, but she found himself instinctively humming 'Shoo-be-doo' to herself. Her 'dog' however, had turned a minty green, and hung its head over the side, keeping its paws clammed over its muzzle. Even when compared to Blister Of Supposed-To-Be-Dead-But-Not-Dead-Dead, the infection was so greatly integrated into everything, yet erasing the infection would mean Mistress would have fallen into the Great Waste Basket. The contradiction was sickening. "When did you get a piercing, Apple Bloom?" Twist asked after having been given a ration of crackers and lime-soda that was just keeping her stomach where it belonged. The ship had been surprisingly well-supplied, given it was run by foals. "It's not a peircin' Twist, it's a clip-on, and it's a gift from Zecora." "Isth that a sthymbolic thing meaning you're her apprenthice now?" "No." "Oh, okay." "But she did say we could be considered part of her herd now." "Oh, cool!" "Your family seen your new earring yet?" Silver Spoon asked, coming close to the little Apple with Shiny Star besides her. "Ah, no, they haven't. Ya parents don't let ya wear'em?" "You kidding? I've wore more than most adults, I'm expected to be a little lady at parties after all." "Of course." "Sounds like I missed out being accepted into Zecora's herd." "Trust me, Silver Spoon, ya don't wish ya were there, Ah don't wish Ah was there, it wasn't fun, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." "It suits you, Miss Apple," Shiny Star said simply. "Thank, but just Apple Bloom." "Yes Miss Apple Bloom," Shiny Star said suppressing a grin, she'd always wanted to do that! "But I must say those capes of yours could use some refinement, if I do say so myself, I am no Rarity Belle but I'm certain I can-" The maid reached for Apple Bloom's Crusader cape which the filly snatched protectively in her hooves. "NO! Ah mean, even the uh, mistakes here make these cape them special, and Ah don't feel really comfortable takin' it off right now, and Ah know my friends feel same." "Too bad I didn't bring mine," Silver Spoon said simply. "Sorry," Apple Bloom said. 'Wish Miss Void had given us an extra.' Sweetie Belle blinked, looking to Button Mash, who was looking at a weird, black trophy. "Button, what's that?" "Uh, remember how that said I got a trophy? Apparently I actually did," Button said, showing it. On the base read 'Oblivion'. "It was in my inventory!" Apple Bloom looked at it with her truth eye. "It's not made of those slug things...just ones and zeros..." "Cool! I got a trophy!" Button called, holding up the trophy and causing a weird jingle to sound. "...Where does the music come from?" Sweetie asked. Button just shrugged. "I don't know...but it's cool..." The Cutie Mark Crusaders already having had their sleep, Spike, Twist, Shiny Star, and Silver Spoon were conveniently shown below decks, which was, of course, larger on the inside than the outside. Apple Bloom couldn't help but feel they were being... dismissed. She did however hear Shiny Star below decks. "This place is filthy! When was the last time this place was seen by a nanny?! Miss Twist! Miss Silver Spoon! Master Gillspotten! I must humbly demand your immediate services in vanquishing this shrine to filth!" Apple Bloom shuddered. The CMC+1 and the foal pirates sat in a circle on the main deck, except for the owlbear (who the blue filly introduced as 'Olo') who was steering the ship. All things considered, he was the least strange thing the heroes had seen. Apple Bloom looked at him... he was...something else... he was born whole cloth from the curse, Apple Bloom could see, but she didn't feel sick or scared looking at him. At least he was cute. She still wasn't sure about letting Sweetie hug him. Sweetie Belle looked at the front of the ship. "The thingie on the front is Princess Luna…" Scootaloo chuckled. "You expected something else?" When Apple Bloom looked closely at the deck and the riggings, she realized that everything was crayon-colored. Finely detailed, but with crayons nonetheless. They all had the same 'light and dark' shading that Noi and Ruby had when they last saw them. She really looked at Pipsqueak, he was full of fireflies, as was his crew, including Ruby who was helping Button Mash with an extra bottle of lime soda which the colt politely thanked her. Lightning struck Apple Bloom in the head. Button Mash was under the remade reality, the foals knew for a fact that Button Mash hadn't been special friends with Sweetie before reality switched around. So why, WHY didn't Button Mash have a snake-centipede inside him? He was the core of the rumor wasn't he? Sweetie Belle certainly wasn't infested! She'd seen fireflies made up his magic window and sword, but looking at him thus, he didn't have any inside him. But Apple Bloom looked at Button Mash, she didn't see a parasite or fireflies, no nothing...she just saw a foal, What did it mean?! Apple Bloom felt dizzy. The CMC+1 didn't so much as question the powwow, they were ponies after all. Apple Bloom asked the first question. "Pipsqueak-" "Rear Admiral Pipsqueak, or just Captain Pipsqueak while we’re on ship, please, Apple Bloom." "Captain Pipsqueak, where were ya all headed before ya heard about yer great treasure? Where are ya goin' now?" "'Bloom, remember what I said before? Going poof 'cause he realizes it doesn't make sense?" Scootaloo whispered harshly. "Adventure! And adventure!" Captain Pipsqueak said. All his crew cheered in return. Button Mash whispered. "Rides on ships normally last until ya talk with everypony on board. Or you sleep, depends on the rules but normally one or the other." "Scootaloo," Ruby Pinch said, "I just want to say again thank you for saving me and Orange Top and everypony else in class. The whole crew loved hearing about it. It seems now we've returned the favor." "Hey, no problem," Scootaloo smiled, "We're all ponies here." "We're happy to see you and Button Mash made up, Sweetie Belle," Orange Top said. Sweetie Belle blushed. "Yeah, when you first got together, we were all taking bets on how long you'd last-OW!" Ruby got elbowed by Orange Top. "We dropped the bets a long time ago! Promise!" "Sweetie was, just confused." Button Mash said awkwardly. "We're kinda starting our friendship over from scratch kinda." Sweetie Belle just awkwardly nodded. - In a way it's almost nice Sweetie doesn't remember, now I get a new game plus to do everything right this time! ... But I kinda think I'd rather have Sweetie get her memories back anyway. I mean, what's the point of a game if you beat it on the first go, right? - "Ye used 'kinda' twice." The blue filly said. "So?" "Tis not good grammar." "Ya sound like my mom." "Then she be a wise woman." "Just who are ya anyway?" Button Mash asked. "My name be Moonlight, and yonder be our true companion Olo the Owl Bear." The Owlbear waved one winged paw in a friendly manner. "As said, I am dear Pip's second-in-command of the MoonPearl and his special friend." Apple Bloom zeroed in her eyes on Moonlight, really focused. She was an Earth pony one moment, then a pegasus, then a unicorn, then was just an Earth Pony...she wasn't made out of rumors... but it was like she was missing something, or something was missing her. And Blanky kept lowering his head in her direction. "Ah haven't see ya around Ponyville." "I am home-schooled. And Button Mash and this fine crew are the only true friends I have. If ye had accepted Captain Pips's most generous offer instead of slaving thyself to thy illusionary adventures, ye would have met us sooner." "Hey! Just because he really likes video games doesn't mean he's a slave to them." Sweetie Belle said, then noticed Button's very interested reaction. "That is… he's a good friend. Don't say mean things to him." "Verily, I apologize, Sir Button Mash." Moonlight bowed formally. "Do you come from an rich family like Silver Spoon?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Verily. Our parents are great architects, and cultivators of life, our many brothers and sisters help spread their talents across Equestria." "Never heard of ya." Button Mash said. "We prefer to stay behind the scenes." "What about your families? Don't they worry about you while you play pirates? Are they all okay?" Sweetie Belle asked looking at the other 'pirates'. She remembered Button's mom, but she had to ask. "Oh we're not pirates." Captain Pip said, "Pirates are random agents of thievery and mayhem, we are privateers, in service of Her Nightesty, Princess Luna. We just tell the bad guys we're pirates to spook 'em!" "Oh," Sweetie said, "So, uh, what about your families when you play 'privateer?'" "Mommy... d-doesn't notice I'm not around when she's taking her medicine." The CMC remembered the violet drunkard Berry they'd dodged when the world had first changed. They didn't ask about Ruby's father, Ruby had no idea who her father was. "My family doesn't mind as long as I get the farm choirs done." Noi said. None of the girls knew how to break it to her the last they'd seen of her big sister Carrot Top was her recovering from what seemed to be a planet monster attack. "Ah can sympathize with that," replied Apple Bloom. "We are in service of the great goddess of the night, our family is proud of us," Moonlight said her head held high. "And my parents are part of the Bat Pony Tribe! They look really cool and help Princess Luna fight monsters!" Button Mash said excited. Okay. Apple Bloom had known THAT wasn't true! "Then how are ya an Earth Pony?" "Same reason Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake are a pegasus and a unicorn?" Apple Bloom sighed. The foal sat there quiet for a moment. The Blanky gave a slight bark and tug on Sweetie. "Dinky? ... What about your family?" Sweetie Belle asked. Dinky startled. Dinky had said nothing and hadn't been spoken to since the heroes had been rescued. It wasn't like Dinky was invisible, just unnoticed. Now she found everypony's eyes on her. Dinky realized Apple Bloom had been politely waiting for Dinky to take her turn. Dinky channeled Fluttershy as her voice died in her throat, coming out as faint syllables, fidgeting nervously. "I! Uh! ... My family? They're... " Dinky stumbled over her own words. Her eyes darted about. "They think it's safer, safe for me to playing, being a pirate, privateer, with my friends. After all, even if somepony 'dies' playing pretend, they have to be back alive later, since it would be mean if they're not allowed to play the game all their friends were playing." That all sounded right to Button Mash. "That why yer ma let ya skip school today?" Apple Bloom asked evenly. She didn't know Derpy that well, but she knew enough that Derpy would have never just let her filly play hooky. Dinky felt cornered. She didn't have the Doctor's talent for expertly lying or swarming a pony with so much fast-talk they'd worry just some of it might be true. Sweetie Belle broke the circle and put a gentle hoof on Dinky's shoulder. "Dinky, it's okay, we're all friends here, I promise. Did something bad happen to your family?" "...No..." Dinky finally admitted. "But it's... my family wanted me there to help... sort things out with the paperwork about mom's name. We... had some guests over about it. They weren't bad like we thought they were, they were just confused over the paperwork too. It... turns out they were family we hadn't met before. So we all got to know each other. Then a royal messenger visited, saying she was there on behalf of the Princesses, saying they needed the Doctor, Sparkler, and all my family to help some ponies who needed better endings for stories they were making, and she could work out the paper work later. And she DID say it was asking help for the princesses from the princess ... But she said I was 'underage' for the stories that needed help, and said I could play with my friends until they were done." Sweetie Belle's eyes narrowed. "I see." Apple Bloom's eyes narrowed more, she took one trot forward when, "Hey Apple Bloom, does Dinky look sick to you, I mean, really look sick?" Scootaloo interrupted. Apple Bloom looked dead on at Dinky, zeroing in on her. "No, she ain't look sick to me." "Alright then," Scootaloo said. "Dinky... if... what you're talking about sounds important... if talking about it isn't cool with you, then that's okay." Button Mash just looked back and forth confused. "Alright." Dinky looked relived. +++ Dash, how long can I keep this up? My cute-ceañera, I put it on hold along with Sweetie's until Apple Bloom's gets hers. Dash, I'm so happy you took me in. I... I promise. Girls, I ... want to tell you, I don't WANT any more secrets between us... I don't want to go back to Cloudsdale, or put in a 'home'. Girls, please understand. I'll understand if you're ticked off when you find out... Mom, Dad, where are you? +++ Sweetie and Apple Bloom glared Scootaloo, but said nothing. "And that be all our crew," Captain Pip said, "It's a shame you won't be meeting Miss Half-Light Dawn and Miss Tootsie Flute." "Huh?" All the CMC echoed. "Half-Light Dawn, she be a filly who was part of our crew before, she loved asking questions. But alas, she was promised to another ship and crew First Mate Moonlight informed me, so we had to let her depart." The girls looked at each other. None of the CMC+1 knew the name. Another Jade? Wait a second! "Ya said Tootsie Flute?" Apple Bloom asked. +++ Ah used to think Ah was the only blank in Ponyville then the only three. But Feather Weight, Tootsie, Rumble... Button Mash was the few we actually TRIED to recruit. Why?.. Maybe somewhere along the way it was about us, our club, our adventures, about us being friends. Maybe we should have tried harder. +++ "Yes, before/after/between she was Princess Doolots. She was a fine crewmate, incredibly brave, and the first to take risks for the crew. But she just drifted away. She ... stopped reporting for duty. I suppose her Princess duties come first. She said 'Mare-Do-Well doesn't stand around bragging, she helps those in need.'" "Verily, the responsibilities of a Princess are great, but she should remember a Princess always keeps her word," Moonlight said. "She never formally retired from ship service." +++ Tootsie was their friend. I ... I couldn't tell them that we'd almost run into her at big sister Rarity's house. Or that she'd thought were the bad guys in her hero story. I know she was on the newspaper team. But we'd gotten to know Lyra and Bon Bon, and Moth, no way they'd bring up an bad filly. But Filthy Rich hadn't really been super bad either. But she was never bad in class or when she visited Canterlot.. After everything that happened, and Scootaloo getting her cutie mark... we were too distracted to make new friends. Maybe? She was Matilda and Cranky's flower filly? I... I didn't know that. We should have at least tried to get to know her better. +++ "She could've invited Princess Erroria to the crew," Ruby said. "That would have been fun! Then we'd have two princesses on ship!" "We've talked about that before." Noi said. "Yeah but I never got why she thought her princess friend couldn't meet her pirate friends." "Speaking of which," Captain Pip said, fidgeting. "Button Mash, I just want say... that offer is still open if you want to join my crew. Um, and you can bring along your video game if you want just, just promise you'll turn it off while we're adventuring? And I promise I'll... I'll try your video game. Mum and Dad said I should try games you like if I want you to try games I like." The girls remembered what Button Mash had said about 'being in the party' until the 'game rules' had him leave. Sweetie didn't know if she'd be relieved or sad to see the excitable nutty colt go. He'd be safe here right? Like Dinky? But he'd already helped so much. But so did Spike, but Button Mash said he was there as an 'escort mission', that meant Spike wouldn't be with them for the whole quest. Sweetie was sad about that, same with Silver. It REALLY DID feel like a cheat. Silver and Spike had both helped in Canterlot, couldn't they help here too? Then again, with the horrible nightmares they'd faced, maybe it was a good thing after all. They didn't have cool video game super powers to protect them either. But they faced the changelings with less. "Uh, thanks. Though I'm kind of on an adventure myself, right now." Button replied, rubbing his head. "But I know some games about pirates. Maybe when I'm done with this quest, then we can play?" Button Mash answered, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "Alright, matey." Captain Pip nodded. "This should be fun," Ruby Pinch said grinned at the gamer colt. "So what were ya doin' on the redlight island? Did your families approves of that?" Ruby asked probed. "No, they didn't," Apple Bloom said lowly. "We just didn't think Twist and the rest should be workin' in a place like that again." "A good thing thy did, since it sank." Moonlight said properly. "Honestly, we'd probably have lit it on fire if it hadn't," Scootaloo replied. "It just felt...wrong. I think the universe knew that, considering what happened to it," Scootaloo only half-lied. Button Mash, politely relieved of his GameColt for this meeting of the foals, had now been without this symbiotic extension of himself for some time, and couldn't find the mini-game cheat code for his menu. Now having been without his fifth leg while awake for longer than since he was out of diapers in a relatively normal social setting outside of ponies who were his immediate friends, the foal dimly looked to the left and to the right of himself. Then Button Mash derailed things at a speed that would have made Pinkie Pie proud. "So... uh, Pipsqueak," Button said using the colt's name for the first time in his life. "What's it like having friends who are all girls?" he asked in that naïve, innocent tone only a foal could pull off. Groans echoed, enticing a confused blink from Button. Captain Pipsqueak tiled his head innocently. "... What about you?" Button Mash blinked at the counterargument before answering, "I've got Spike." "Well, I don't really notice most of the time." Button Mash looked to his left and right then said as if the thought had never crossed his mind. "... Me neither." "So what made you think of that?" "I dunno. I've never been surrounded by so many girls before?" "Ponyville is full of girls." "...It is?" Sweetie Belle didn't need memories to guess Button Mash normally paid more attention to his video games than his surroundings. Or face hoof at it. "Hey Button Mash, keep digging, I think you'll hit Neighpon soon," Scootaloo said flat. "What?" Button Mash looked around in confusion. To Button's defense, Pip seemed just as confused. "The ratio of mares to stallions in Equestria lopsidedness is not that hard to notice." Moonlight said simply. There was some sniggering around him. Button Mash began to blush furiously, and Sweetie saw the danger signs of his eyes getting wet and quickly hugged him. "There, there, Button Mash, we're all just having fun." "I...I just spend most of my time at the arcade..." muttered Button Mash. "Or outside of Ponyville with you and the others..." Sweetie Belle sighed and gave him a pat on the back. "It's okay, I say things in front of Rarity's friends that sounds weird to them too." Sweetie told him what he needed to hear. Button sniffled. "You have?" "Would I lie to you?" Sweetie asked in a perfectly calm voice. "...No..." the colt replied. "I just...I'm not used to talking to ponies...other than you girls and Silver, and mom, and dad, and I guess Spike doesn't count as a pony..." Sweetie laughed and hugged him tighter. Button hugged her back. "...I think I'd be a lot worse without you Sweetie..." Sweetie was proud of herself for hiding her cringe. If he started going on about how his life would be hollow and empty without her, she swore she'd feed him cake right now on the spot until he stopped. Button Mash sniffled. "Sorry...I'm being a crybaby, I guess..." "A cry baby doesn't fight zombies and monsters," Sweetie pointed out. "You're brave, you're just a little sensitive...so's Rarity, why do you think she has the fainting couch?" "And..." Scootaloo jumped in and verbally stumbled, "Even if you don't. I mean come on, we're your friends too right? We're here for ya too! It's like Twilight Sparkle is always saying, 'you're all my very best friends!' It, wouldn't have mattered if it was me or Apple Bloom who had talked you into playing with us right?" "Uh." Now it was Button Mash's turn to look like he was trotting on egg shells. "... Sweetie Belle was actually kinda sorta 'just right'. I LIKE YOU GIRLS! I really do! You're all fun to be around! You're the only reason I have friends!" Sweetie felt pricked by a needle. "But, uh, when we first met, if we're talking first impression, you were kinda too ... um, rough and tumble, maybe? And Apple Bloom was kinda..." 'REMEMBER POLITE WORD MOM TAUGHT! REMEMBER POLITE WORD MOM TAUGHT!' Rustic? And Silver Spoon is kinda too, 'rich' for my blood. PLEASE DON'T TELL'ER I SAID THAT! She's good to have as a friend! Please don't hate me!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked to each other and chuckled a bit. "What?" Button Mash questioned. "Have yah seen mah sister and her friends sometimes?" Apple Bloom asked. "Yeah, what about them?" Sweetie rubbed her head. "Rarity thinks Applejack and Rainbow Dash are a bit uncouth sometimes." "And Rainbow thinks Rarity and Applejack like working more than playing," Scootaloo continued. "And Applejack think Rainbow Dash and Rarity are too full of themselves," Apple Bloom explained. "But they're still friends, so why would we hate ya?" "Because I was just rude to ya?" Scootaloo scoffed. "You call that rude? Seriously dude, I'm more rude than you." Apple Bloom nodded, "Yeah, bout the only one of us more polite than ya is Sweetie Belle." Button Mash blushed a bit. "Oh...well...okay...so you're not mad?" "No!" All three said together. Button Mash began to cry again and glomped the trio, "Thank you!" The pirate foals and Olo The Owlbear all broken out stomping their hooves and/or clapping, giving the CMC+1 a standing ovation. +++ "I saw how your father acted while you were gone, your parents never stopped loving you." "Why are you even speaking to me?" The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara asked. Wasn't Bon Bon's purpose here just to serve as embellishment? 'Remember,' she thought, 'The Parasite Queen fell into that trap.' The never-was-earth-pony-always-was-a-changeling spoke to the finally firmly but not viciously. "I'm speaking to you because you're a friend of Tootsie's. I can tell when a foal is hurting." "I don't hurt, I feel nothing," She said to Bon Bon. Lyra and Moth had gone to check on Thunderlane and Cloud Kicker, purposely using changeling magic to make sure they ate and slept, even if they were beginning to suspect the two pegasi had no need of it. The two were the most legendary loose ponies in Ponyville, in Equestria and shallow and hedonistic to their core, it sincerely made the changelings wonder how Alula and Rumble had turned out so well. The cooking sisters and Shady were stood waiting like good servants, even if they had a hard time remembering when they’d last ate or slept themselves. It wasn't their role to listen in. "'Nothing' tends to be the worst kind of pain of all," Bon Bon said her maternal firmness never wavering. "Any pain I feel is simply part of my role." "Feeling pain is not a role, young filly!" "Nocreature can escape their role, not you, not Father." Is how the exchange would have gone. But at that moment. The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara felt it. Conflict. Uncertainty. Doubt. Worry. Concern. Regret. Fear. Tenderness. Shame. Sadness. Kindness. She felt. "You're the only reason I have friends!" The filly stood frozen on the spot. An a memory, of a pink and a silver filly playing pirates on their bed. "I have to go. T-tell A-Alula a-and T-Toosie hello if they come in!" The shadowed Alicorn teleported away. Bon Bon sighed. "Fillies -and mares- always hiding from their problems." +++ Umbra Breeze was happily clicking away at his typewriter. So many ideas. So many directions. You could ALWAYS make things more depraved and futile. But first things first would be clean up the mess they'd made of Zecora, Cheerilee, and Rarity. Abandon had his chance. But Umbra Breeze loved his sibling's style too much to simply change the whole thing. Still, there was something to be said about horrors and nightmares done in the original visual style, Discord wanted a new family who understood and accepted him, maybe it was time to help that wish along to his dear cousin, never let it be said Umbra Breeze didn't repay his debt, not to pawn of course, but family was another matter...if he felt like it. Then Discord's adopted spawn broke his concentration with her unwanted disruption. "Your honey trap failed, Uncle." Umbra Breeze kept a straight face. "Niece, haven't you heard of manners? I know you applied a farce of them around your mortal parents." "Do you think I am not serious? I felt it, they're alive." Umbra Breeze didn't waste time rambling about how that honey trap was perfect. After all, it had been perfect, why ramble the obvious? The trap had used the threads they had been using to destroy his work against them. Nor did he ramble about the enemy having cheated, that too was obvious, cheating was all they had done so far. He didn't blame fate, she was far too cowardly and lazy to take matters into her own hooves. Instead he asked, annoyed at the interruption of his work, "How can you possibly know?" "I began speaking in zebra when you gained two more cultists, then stopped when your link with them and Zecora was broken. I felt a ... wave of intense feeling ... which means that the ones who have been dissolving our alterations is still alive. Nothing feels nothing, if they'd fallen into Grandmother like you thought they had." 'And that's why I said to hold off on the cake, seriously, ponies are more like cockroaches than horses, they keep bouncing back!' Her Father said. 'How annoyingly, predictable. I never got why Strife bragged so much about that!' "Cadence. Stubborn goddess. And I thought Amicitia was annoying. She lost to her own shadow before, when did she get so tenacious?" Umbra Breeze said calmly, standing up perfectly upright with an even expression. Then the floor crack and splintered under the gentle pressure of one of his forehooves. "She's not alone. Sweetie Belle is the one I've been sensing. It was her song, her family's song, I heard. I heard it only a hundred times at the wedding. It's the most logical answer. Which means Apple Bloom and their friends are with them too, where there's one the rest are certain to be there, like Flim and Flam." "Did you not share this before? because of me wanting to leave you for granite?" "I feel nothing. If I felt spite towards you uncle, you'd know it-" "Heh, let me guess, 'Briefly?'" "-Forever Uncle." "Heh. Nice to see you haven't lost your touch, filly." The Nightmare filly felt nothing at the praise. "She was sent into Oblivion, Rarity would never mourn her, never cry over her, never miss her, never feel pain over a loss she couldn't recall. I didn't see a reason to speak of her, and you apparently didn't feel a need to check to see if everypony had forgotten if Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's had ever existed. It wasn't until I felt that recent surge of emotion. And in addition, I have no idea how we're linked, I couldn't check." "... Touché," Umbra Breeze said pleasantly, to the sound of teeth cracking. "I will not repeat that mistake, again." Discord's only regret is that he didn't have anyequus to share his popcorn with at the exchange. A curled-up beast that hadn't been in the room before stirred. "Wake up, my Wolf. My Beast of the false reflection. My Hound of Tindalos. Wake up, I, myself, the Moon Howler." A swirl of red eyes like a spider's gleamed. "This is our world, not their world. They do not belong here. Removed their infection. YOU, WE, are the Blank Wolf of this world!" 'You shouldn't risk yourself like this,' Discord said sagely. "Enough. Too many overlords wait until the heroes can actually defeat them, sitting on their throne, letting the hero gain fighting experience on their own subordinates. Enough." The beast stood up on its legs, lifted up its tail, opened up its head like the mouth of a lamprey and let out a deafening howl that seemed to undo sound rather than create it. Rows upon rows of fangs all pointed inward gleamed. 'What? No tentacles?' Discord questioned. "Not everything involving my family has tentacles. My Hound is a masterpiece without them. And just in case?" Umbra Breeze sat at his type writer and began to type. At the same time Night Gale began to scribble something dark and sparkly. +++ "Bon Bon! Lyra! Moth! I'm back! I got to spend time with Miss Rarity and their family, and I helped them feel better after the monster did bad things to them! And Rarity made me a new dress, and made Truffle a new suit too!" She knew she'd find Truffle at the amusement park right where she left him, so there was no need to ask where he was. Tootsie held up the dress that was every bit equal to Rarity's standards of dressmaking. The gold was used more for accents, and the colors better complimented Tootsie's own. And a good looking tuxedo with short leggings meant for play. Bon Bon hugged Tootsie. "I'm so happy you're okay, dear! We were getting worried! Did the monster hurt you at all?" "Oh..." Tootsie blushed. "The monster got beat before I got there... that's why I was helping Rarity's parents." "That's good." "Good?" "That you didn't have to fight it." "But I'm a Princess, and a magical filly, fighting monsters is what I should do." "Princess Cadence does more than fight monsters, dear. I think you did a much better thing helping Rarity's parents than you would fighting any monster." "But Bonnie... you... you told me how you were sad you didn't get to help beat up the bad guys in Canterlot." "I... I was... I really did want to help like everypony else was help... but ... Princess Cadence said how I could still help in other ways. It's better to help in a small way than not at all." "But you're super! You and Lyra and Moth are all super cool! You shouldn't have to stand by on the sidelines cheering and telling the hero they can do it. That's what the boring supporting characters do." "Is it... really so bad, just to support?" Tootsie looked at her guardian in dismay. "You shouldn't have to say things like that." "Tootsie, if all the world's blacksmiths became guards, who would make their armor?" "I... I guess... but... you DIDN'T GET to help the way YOU WANTED, that's not fair." Bon Bon wanted to be a hero, this was a world were everyone was supposed to be better, so why was she still like that? It wasn't fair. An inspiration came to Tootsie. "Bonnie, I... just remembered a thing, I'll be right back!" Tootsie teleported away, leaving the beige changeling confused. Bon Bon stood there for a second, wondering what Tootsie was going on about, and wondered about making some good old fashioned candy for the foals as a little 'get together' gift for the little trio. Even if the candy making thing was just a cover job after her retirement from monster fighting as an agent of the Princesses. Bon Bon the changeling...Agent Sweetie Drops... monster wrangler, false identity, no one knows, total badass in dealing with monsters...had helped the royal guard crushing her bumbling invading cousins without mercy... But... she had grown up in Ponyville, she'd been born in Ponyville, how could she have left town, lived the life of a monster wrangler, and come back under a different name, when she was surrounded by friends who'd have known her by her real name? It... It made no sense it... Memories did not change in contradiction to reality, reality changed, and memories adjusted accordingly. Former Royal Agent Sweetie Drops the changeling, also known as Bon Bon the Earth Pony, shuddered, thinking of her foster child out there, along with her best friend, they were so young, princesses or not, shouldn't they have a normal foalhood instead of risking themselves? Tootsie teleported back in smiling and excited. "Sooooo, Bonnie, I was wondering, can you tell me again about the help you gave when the evil Queen tried to invader Canterlot?" "Tootsie, are really you sure you want to hear about that?" Tootsie looked into her guardian's eyes, and the naive innocent Tootsie Flute, 'Princess Liza Doolots' saw how tired Bon Bon was. Tootsie had no idea on the realities of how helping keep Equestria's monster population in check would weigh a pony down, seeing your teammates get hurt while you go injured, of going back to your home town and trying to pretend that part of your life never happened. Instead, all she saw, was Bon Bon tired, like she was carrying weights wherever she went. And seeing one of her protectors, without that brightness she'd always known her for, motherly like Lyra's brightness was adventurous, just buried. The reality slowly sinking into her that maybe, just maybe, she was now looking at a different pony than she'd been before Tootsie 'improved' her life, as she'd improved her family's tribe, (which truly hadn't changed things that much at all, since changeling were ponies at the end after all). But... this was what Bon Bon wanted wasn't it? To have an exciting life? To help at the front line? To help do the fighting? To protect ponies. It was what she wanted wasn't it? Just like Alula had seen Cloudkicker and Thunderlane just had to let go of the annoying 'moral' thingies holding them back from having fun, right? So how could this be bad? That was like spitting out candy you got. So why did her heart feel heavy? Tootsie shook her head violent. "Excuse me! I gotta go the bathroom!" She teleported to her bedroom, and buried herself in a mountain of stuff toys, hugging her foal sized Mare-Do-Well plushie for dear life. "It's what she wanted. I saved Truffle from a bad filly. It's what she wanted. I saved Truffle from a bad filly. It's what she wanted. That makes it a good thing. Ponies are happy when they get what they want. Making others happy is good. So I do good." Alula entered Tootsie's room unbidden and not forbidden. "Tootsie! I beat the monster, sorry, I heard you had to beat a monster while I was gone, I'm really really REALLY SORRY that I wasn't there to help you, I promise I won't let you down again. I got free ice-cream, and helped Pinkie Pie's sister find her way home. I'm REALLY sorry I didn't get you anything, but maybe we can-" She heart her friend's sad sounds coming from within the pile of plushies on the bed, dug inside, and hugged her friend. "Alula, are you sure we're doing good? Giving everypony what they want?" "...Don't worry Tootsie, there's no way we could have done anything bad. We're the heroes. Heroes do what's right. Nopony likes stories where the heroes just do bad stuff, then they wouldn't be the heroes," Alula said, meaning every word. +++ The powwow had broken up. The little pirates had returned to their duties, or what 'duties' a buncha grade-schoolers who had seen pirates only in movies would see as duties on board on a pirate, excuse me, privateer ship. Scootaloo flew around the ship a few times, but Bloom called her back least she get lost in the fog. Button Mash lay like a lump on deck fiddling with his game menu, he had found the sound test. So the MoonPearl sailed with a 16-bit rendition of Sapphire Shore's latest single echoing on the foggy waves. He got an informative kick in the side, and changed it to Misplaced Woods from Legend of Cadence, Flute Of Time. This caused all the pirates to a do jig for some reason. Sweetie sat on the stern of the ship (that's the rear by the way), looking back the way they came, leaning on the railing with Blanky looking at the way the MoonPearl left in the fog it was sailing on top of. Blanky sniffed the air and whined. "What's wrong, Blanky?" The guardian spirit puppy shook his head and pointed out the way they came. Sweetie Belle looked but saw nothing. "I don't get it." Blanky covered his head with his paws and let out a low howl. Then he tugged on the railing, pointing his snout forward like a typical dog. He looked back the way they came and whined again. Sweetie Belle still saw nothing. Blanky then got behind Sweetie and tugged on her tail, and then tugged on the railing, then tugged on a plank, then on one of the masts. Then pointed forward again, and did a hop forward. Then spin its forelegs forward. Then glanced back the way the ship had been and his ears wilted, whimpering. "Uh, Blanky thinks we should go faster," Sweetie Belle said, under-volumed, before realizing the pirate foals couldn't see Blanky and the CMC+1 had felt no need to complicate things. "Who." Sweetie was surprised when Olo The Owlbear turned to look right at her AND Blanky, by turning its head 180 agrees. Rather than question how a pirate owl bear could see an invisible spirit dog, Sweetie fidgeted looking at those flawed wings and sharp beak and repeated. "My friend, Blanky, he's saying we should go faster. He's acting like it’s really important we should." Blanky didn't even TRY to hide his disgust and contempt for the Infection before him. Olo returned no hostility. Olo turned his head around, and shouted, "WHO! WHO-WHO! WHO!" "Aye aye Mister Olo!" Moonlight said, "Captain, Mister Olo says he smells a Dark Storm is closing in behind us." "Full-speed ahead!" Captain Pipsqueak ordered, and indeed, the MoonPearl went faster. The speed of darkness was supposedly known to be faster than the speed of light, but even this paled to the speed of imagination. Blanky didn't stop looking back at the way they came, but he seemed a lot calmer now. Apple Bloom for her part, being a born and bred farm pony, was feeling restless. She wish she could help with the ship somehow. Apple Bloom let herself get lost in the sensation of speed, like this ship could sail on forever. Then Apple Bloom realized, 'Games of pretend don't have a beginnin' or end.' Apple Bloom didn't shout or panic. Instead Apple Bloom put her hooves to her head for a minute, thought, and trotted up to Captain Pipsqueak. "Captain! I can get you to your next destination! I know the way! It's right up here!" Apple Bloom pointed at her, in particular her eye, but most wouldn't notice. The foal Rear-Admiral didn't hesitate. "Lead the way Miss Apple! Lead the way!" Apple Bloom took in a deep breath, and trotted up to the bow (front) of the ship, right under the figurehead of Princess Luna (Apple Bloom's truth eye confirmed it was just a figure head). Then Apple Bloom looked unsure to the captain and his first mate. "Uh, which is port and which is starboard?" "Port is left, you can remember because it has the same number of letters." Captain Pipsqueak said helpfully. "Oh, okay, thank ya kindly." Apple Bloom looked, and saw the path through the fog. "Hard to port!" "Hard to port!" "WHO-WHO!" The ship steered. "Whoo!" And nearly sent Silver Spoon head first onto the deck as she climbed up. Dinky and Sweetie both helped the silver filly to her hooves and gave her back her glasses, the two shared a quite moment of acceptance of each other. Then Silver trotted up to the bow of the ship. "Hi Silver, thought you were busy helping clean up below." Bloom wished she'd thought to help. "I managed to sneak away from Queen Clean-Mania. Twist covered for me." "Shiny Star's turned into an evil queen?!" "Uh, that was a JOKE Apple Bloom." Apple Bloom sweated, "Oh right, sorry, just a little wound up." "What are you doing?" "Just helping guide the ship. Turns out I've got super good eyes. " Silver pushed up on her glasses. " I just wanted to say again, thanks, that the second time you've gotten me out of a dark place." "Hey!" Apple Bloom grinned. "Thanks to ya too! If we just stood around sayin' 'sorry', 'thanks' or 'yer a jerk for doin' that' we wouldn't ever get anythin' done. There ain't time on the farm for arguments or stewin' on stuff." Silver Spoon grinned. "Tempting, but I think I'll stick to the dance of high class ponies, there's something, pretty about it." "Different ponies, different strokes." Apple Bloom nodded. "It's a beautiful view isn't it?" Silver Spoon said looking out at the foggy 'ocean' and dusty pink sky and the light in the sky that could have been the sun or the moon. 'Ah wonder what yer seein' Silver Spoon.' Apple Bloom sighed, wonderin' if ignorance was bliss, or if it was wrong Silver was finding something pretty in a lie. Well. Didn't really matter did it? Silver was smilin', they were friends again, they were safe for now, Silver was free of the dumb curse where it counted, and they were all on their way to save the world. Apple Bloom could see where she knew the ship was carrying them to next with another fog wall. She narrowed her eyes. 'Ready or not, here we come!' +++ As Maud Pie and Pinkamina continued their visit (the Cakes understood, it'd been so long since Pinkamina felt like she was talking to her big sister for the first time), with Gummy and Boulder in as staring contest, the pink pony's body twitch and spasmed. Pinkamina grinned. Maud raised an eyebrow. Pinkamina answered the unspoken question. "Pinkie Sense!" "I know what that is, Pinkie." "Oh right! Sorry! For some reason I thought you'd never seen it. Well, it's tell me we're gonna have guests for cupcakes soon!" > Giggle At the Ghosties > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pipsqueak's pirate ship sailed straight for the giant ball of thick fog floatin' in the 'sea' of mist. For a lil' bit Ah wondered if there was still 'ground' under us, the way there was when Ah led my friends through the mist. Or if we'd just fall straight through if we got out. How were we even gonna 'dock'? Ah shook her head. What mattered was which of our big sisters and their friends we'd be savin' next. Things had worked out with Miss Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Maybe we could free Angel to free Fluttershy? And the Cakes for Pinkie Pie? Better talk with the others about this. Ah looked at Silver Spoon. Ah know more help was always a good thing. Okay, maybe not with fixing tables, but Silver Spoon had helped save Equestria before. But what about Twist? And Miss Shiny Star? Would she just let us waltz into danger? Then again, the 'game rules' had had Button's Mom do that. Ah knew tellin' Button Mash or Pipsqueak the truth would make things 'worse' right now, maybe, but why not try at least to explain things to Spike or Silver Spoon? It was worth a shot right? Ah turned my view from the ball of fog as we were gettin' in close to look at my friend. "Hey Silver Spoon, Ah-" It happened so fast Ah couldn't think, Ah couldn't figure out what was happenin'. Two large somethings, (snakes, claws, Ah dunno!) shot outta the thick fog, struck out of the 'bubble', and snatched us up, like we were just chicks in our nest, and pulled us inside the bubble like a reverse donkey-in-the-box. Ah heard my friends shoutin', Ah saw 'em flyin', horn glowin', and runnin' towards us... but Ah was pulled away like a doll from a playset, and suck inside the bubble and everythin' was white. + "Uh! Maud! I'm feelin' kinda sick! Be right back!" Pinkie Pie covered her mouth hastily ran out of the room. "I warned you not to eat ice-cream, soda, chips, and gummy worms all at the same time Pinkie," Maud sighed. + = 'Carnival Cat vs. Ponyville' Instrumental = The whiteness turned pitch black. Ah felt somethin' slither down my throat, then more, and more, and more. Whose feedin' me burnt eels? This what reverse vomitn' feels like? Make it stop. More slithered in, down, down my throat. Ah felt so full. Ah feel so heavy. Ah'm gonna burst. Please stop. Please. Ah'm being squeezed out of me! + Ah was at the steps for Sugarcube Corner's basement. Ah wasn't allowed down here normally. "Where am I, what's going on?!" Ah heard Silver Spoon's voice asked scared. "Oh, well, ya see, your number came up, and now we're going to make cupcakes!" Pinkie Pie chatted. My eyes widened, and Ah trampled down the stairs. Ah saw Pinkie Pie, dressed in cutie marks, and other things. She was loomin' over Silver Spoon with her glasses folded neatly on the table, Silver Spoon herself strapped to the table so all she could do was squirm. "Pinkie Pie, what are ya doin'?" I called out angrily. Pinkie Pie hid the scalpel she'd been holdin' behind her back and look sheepish. "Ah can't believe ya! Ya said this one was gonna be mine!" Pinkie Pie gave me an apologetic look. "Oops, sorry! Guess I kinda sorta forgot! Here ya go!" She hoofed over the blade. "Thank ya kindly." Ah put on my apron and climbed onto the table, standin' over my prey. She spotted the patch of pink with the little crown on it, and began to cry. "Ha fun Apple Bloom, my favorite apprentice!" "Ah'm yer only apprentice." "Or ARE you? Just kiddin'! You are, but you're still my favorite, enjoy making cupcakes!" Pinkie Pie took off her own apron and hopped out of the basement with her typical sound effect. "So Silver Spoooon," Ah said in a sing-song voice, guess whose gonna be a blank flank? My eyes lingered on her cutie mark, imaginin' takin' it fer my collection. No! Huh? Ah looked around, did Pinkie Pie leave a job half done? That wasn't like her at all. But the only recent one here is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow? No. It's not her. Not really. It's just a shadow. Like every... everything else in here. But... Ah don't get it. Why? They all look... so... they all... it ain't make no sense. Ah don't get it, it's not a chalk drawnin' like those fake Lunas. Why, why shadows? It ain't got them... why would they? Did they have a choice? "Because... it's still better than nothing." "WHAT?!" Ah screamed. Rainbow Dash was talkin'?! But how!? She ain't got nothin' ta speak with! Silver Spoon's head was tied down so she couldn't see Rainbow Dash from where she was. What the hay was goin' on?! It... it SPOKE?! 'Better than nothin'?! What's that mean?! "Just... just what I said... I knew where this role was going to end... we all did... but... this means we lived right? This means we existed right? That mean we were alive right? You can't die if you weren't ever alive." "Ya exist as cupcakes! Yer numbers came up and that's all there is to it! We didn't make the rules!" Silver Spoon eyes were filled with confusion. "W-Who are you talking to? What are you talking about?" "Be quite Breakfast-Flank, we'll have yer party in a tick." Don't ya dare speak to her like that! "Huh?! Who said that? Ugh! Am Ah goin' nuts? Ugh! Ah need a cupcake." Ah grabbed an extra one off the table and down some rainbow flavored goodness. UUUUUUGH! It taste awful! UGH! What? But Ah'm totally used to the flavor... "Sorry, for all us jumping in. Even if we're just playing scenery, it's still at least a role. I know we made things more complicated than they needed to be. And... at least, your Rainbow Dash, didn't have to...do this loser role right? And, she'll always be dressed in style to me." I shut up Rainbow Dash for double-good, Ah was gonna have to ask Pinkie Pie to exorcise the place later, the vengeful ghosts were building up again. "Sorry 'bout that Silver Spoon, that was mighty rude of her, this' YER party! Don't worry, Pinkie Pie will make sure we don't get interrupted again." Ah held up the blade. Ah... Ah... Mah skin... like... like Miss Cheerilee... like a sack... so many... so many THINGS underneath, crawlin'. Ah screamed. Ah held up my head, as Ah drop my gift from Pinkie Pie, what the heck was that? + "You go ashore to rescue Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon. We have to guard the ship," Pipsqueak had said. Scootaloo spent one breath asking, "Apple Bloom and Silver just got kidnapped! You pirates or not?!" "The crew always stays on the ship, it's part of the game rules," I explained. "I'll go get Spike!" Sweetie said turning towards the entrance. "NO! MOVE! NOW!" Scootaloo barked. We didn't stick around to form a plan. Scootaloo didn't even wait for Pipsqueak to lower the gangplank for to 'go ashore' into the fog ball. She just grabbed us and followed in after our friends. Sweetie Belle charged up her horn for a fight. Sweetie really didn't look happy that we weren't stopping to bring our other friends along. They were all friends to Apple Bloom and Silvery too! It didn't feel right for me either, I had to sneak along to help remember? Me and Sweetie exchanged sorry looks. - My friends hanging onto my legs as I flew, in we went. Sugar Cube Corner. Typical creepy art-style. Typical ugly colors. Typical looking worse for wear. Didn't care. Pegasus superior eyes scanning, no sign of our friends. "Mash! Where's Bloom and Silver?" I shouted. With a free rear hoof Button Mash worked his magic window. "Their pictures are grayed out! It won't show where they are!" My heart stopped. "You mean they're-" "It just means they're not part of the party right now! They still got all their HP!" Button said quickly. "Okay! Plan B!" I smashed through Pinkie Pie's bedroom window, my flight field is no unicorn force field, but it makes due, the flow of air deflecting the pieces away from me and my friends (I've been practicing). I scanned the room, no sign of our friends. But there was Pinkie Pie... and... some gray mare... Wait! Didn't see look familiar? Before we passed out, before my dream with Nightmare Dash! When everything changed! She was- "SCOOTALOO!" Pinkie Pie said, giving a slight frown. "You could have hurt Gummy and Boulder!" Huh? I looked and saw Gummy, surprisingly not mutated into a giant crocodile, looking at a rock. The gray mare stared at me. "S-Sorry." "Well, no harm no fowl. I don't mind the window, but the Cakes do, they'll need to talk to your parents about replacing the window." I react on instinct. "Wait! I was practicing a a move Dash taught me! Can you please talk to her instead?" I slapped my hooves together pleadingly. "Ah! Okay! Oh, right, this is my big sister Maud Pie. Maud, this Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Button Mash!" "A pleasure to meet you." Her voice was a granite-like monotone, without being straight-out zombie-like. Maud Pie's coat and colors were so gray and washed-out! I couldn't tell if she looked like a gray charcoal drawing or if those were her natural colors. But Pinkie Pie was infected from her sketchy outline. Pinkie Pie's room if not for looking like charcoal on pink paper would have been exactly how it should have looked the few times we've snuck in, I mean visited. (Pinkie Pie had never mentioned her before?) Well, it wasn't like we could SEE Pinkie Pie's memories when she told us about getting her cutie mark, right? I mean, right? So it's not like we'd know if she was there or not. Now if she was, say, Captain of the Royal Guard, then it would've been stupid. Still, with a name like Maud Pie, we should have guessed she was related to Pinkie Pie when Phobia introduced her. Between the adults was a little personal stove with a bucket on top with strings in it. Around them was little rocks on Maud's side, and sugar on Pinkie Pie's side. I didn't smell blood, just sugar, in the pot I didn't see any eyeballs or hooves. It was so well, Pinkie Pie, that I got derailed. "We're making rock candy! Wanna try some?" Pinkie Pie smiled. "Uh, no thanks," Button Mash said for us all. Blanky? Creepy ghost that saved our flanks. He gives Pinkie Pie a look worse than any he's given me. He takes one look at Maud and he's not growling or whimpering at her, he actually is looking at her cross-eyed for a bit, shakes his head, then covers it with his paws, not looking her in the eyes. What the pony feathers? "Maud, Phobia has been looking all over for you, he's really worried," Sweetie Belle said. "Phobia? He's not numbered as a pony in Ponyville, is he new?" Pinkie Pie looked through a little pink book. "I need to throw him a welcome party!" "We've only been friends for a little bit, I think he moved in recently." Button Mash said. "Phobia?" Maud Pie asked in calm curiosity. Sweetie's ears wilted. "She must have gotten amnesia from the fog just like you," Button Mash whispered to Sweetie. I felt sick to my stomach. Phobia's caretaker no longer remembered him? The pony who was supposed to look after him, make sure he got better when sick, who spanked him when he was naughty, who kissed him when he skid his knee. He was alone. Like I was. My parents. Do they still remember me? Did they come back to Cloudsdale and could never find me? I felt like I was being pulled in a dozen directions at once, my head felt dizzy. But one overwhelming urge fought through the storm. Help my friends. "Pinkie Pie! Where are Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom?!" "We saw them come in! Have you seen them?!" Sweetie added to cover for my lack of subtlety. + No, I'm not gonna turn them into cupcakes, that's against the rules, their numbers haven't come up. But they did see Silver Spoon come in here. Ponies normally don't notice when a pony goes into a house and doesn't come out. Everypony is busy with their own lives. I was gonna have to tell Apple Bloom to be more careful. But if they try to be tattletales, then it's just self defense. If they tell, then I get executed, sent to the sun, or have the fun center of my brain cut out, and it's okay to defend yourself after all. Thanks Mr. Fog Monster With A Million Eyes And A Zillion Teeth, I'm happy you think the cupcakes are tasty! + "Oh, they were here, but I think they went out the backdoor, maybe they went to the clubhouse?" I... I don't think I've ever heard Pinkie Pie lie before. I really wish Apple Bloom was here. "We were all supposed to meet here. They wouldn't have left without telling us," Sweetie Belle said. Why was she playing this game?! Pinkie gave us a weird look. "Are you SURE you were? Apple Bloom didn't tell me." "Yes!" I snapped. "Well, if she was supposed to be here, I'm sure she will when she's done with whatever she's doing." "But she was already here with Silver!" I said. "We JUST saw them come here!" "Maybe she stepped out for a minute?" Pinkie Pie said as bright-eyed as a kitten. "Mind if we look around for her?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Well if you really really want to, in fact, I'll help!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "Oh you really don't need to-" "I insist! It's what a good friend does!" Pinkie Pie grinned wider. "Maud! Can you please stay up here until I get back? And please look after the rock candy and Gummy!" "Alright." Maud Pie nodded with all the expression of a statue. "By the way Scootaloo, love the new braid!" "Oh, uh, thanks." We raced downstairs, Pinkie Pie right behind us with a spring in her hop. We moved as fast as we could. Thankfully Sugar Cube Corner was shaped pretty much the same. They weren't in the entry way, Mrs. Cake was behind the counter. She was pink and chalky, but at least she wasn't attacking. "Dears! How did you get up- what was that noise...?" I flew in her face. "Mrs. Cake have you seen Apple Bloom or Silver Spoon?" "What?! Not today, Scootaloo." "Pinkie Pie said they already visited." "Well, if they did, they didn't come in through the front door." Not in the kitchen (I got a "HEY!" from Mr. Cake), the closets, the twins' bed room, which was empty. "Where are the twins?!" I asked at once. "Oh, they sleep in separate cribs in Mr. And Mrs. Cakes bedrooms ever since the divorced." Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded. A shadow behind us the whole time. 'Gabby Gums Says the Cakes are breaking up.' I hate we ever wrote that gossip! "Don't worry, I'll get 'em back together!" Button Mash said. "Do you really know 'em that well?" I asked. "I don't need to! All I need to do is find something with a slight sparkle, and show it to them, and it'll reminds them how much they love each other!" "That'll work?" Sweetie asked. "Nopony with a name stays divorced in video games!" "Okay! But let's do it AFTER we find Apple Bloom!" I said. "Helping them could help us find Apple Bloom!" "Ugh! Fine!" I snorted. + Look at them, sweet kids, wanting to help, not giving up on anypony. Like me. I actually feel sad for them. Don't they know this isn't a fairy tale anymore? This is a cosmic horror story with lotsa gore and tragedy thrown in. The only way to survive this kind of story is to not get involved in anything. I hope Apple Bloom finishes Silver Spoon soon and comes up with a good cover story of where she was. I'd hate to have to do something when their number isn't even up. + I kept an eye on Gummy and Boulder who kept watch on each other. My other eye kept watch on the stove's rock candy, taking it out when done and in a new batch. Candy's not really my thing, but it is my sister's, and she's happy when we make it together, and it gives me something to remember her by when we're apart. As a filly I was mildly annoyed when the shockwave of rainbow colors disrupted the peace and gray of the rock farm, but I was happy when I saw my baby sister had gotten her cutie mark. "Hi, Maud!" a jovial voice greeted. A white pegasus mare opened the window with a filly shaped hole in it. She had on a large violet bow on her tail base. She had a curly blond mane, pink eyes, and three purple balloons as her cutie mark. She climbed in through the window with a filly-shaped hole, and then closed it behind her. "Do I know you?" I asked calmly. "We're cousins, kinda sorta." "'Kinda sorta' how?" I tilted my head. "Well, maybe a fourth cousin twice removed by a fifth cousin?" "Is that a thing?" Surprise shrugged. "It must be." - "Then it's a thing," Maud decided in her normal voice. Thunder clapped, though there was no storm, like the very laws of genealogy across time and space were altered at the fundamental level. But that's just silly, right? "The name you can use to call me right now is Surprise! I have a couple other names too, but they're a secret to everypony! Nice to meet you, Maud!" "Nice to meet you, Surprise." Maud offered her hoof. I happily shook it like her foreleg was a candy dispenser! "Why are you here?" "Just to visit." "How did you know I was here?" "How did you know you're here?" Maud stopped, thought about it, and answered, "Fair enough," to my perfectly infallible logic! I had felt something big change, not just here, but back home too! But it wasn't Nyarlathotrot. I was confused! My world was deleted, how was it possible? And I remembered, always having three sisters, or did I? But I remembered the rocks, she always loved them. I keep shaking Maud's hoof, looking her in the eyes. I keep up my smile, but I can't stop my tears. I know she isn't my Maud, will never be my Maud. But, I finally cry out and hug her. She doesn't push me away or wonder what I'm doing. Maud was always accepting, never judging. She sees I'm hurting, and just lets me cry. "S-sorry! It's just- you remind me of MY sister." "I'm sorry for your loss," she said in that voice only I could ever hear the heart behind. "T-thank you, Maud." As long as Other-Me's busy with the girls, that means Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon are safe. Poor things! Strapped down to those tables like animals all alone! No I DIDN'T read that awful story all the way through, so? I'd help more, but not only would Blanky eat me and make it like I didn't help at all, but I got told there's a Bad Blanky too! I wonder if this is how Twilight felt, all the ways she COULDN'T help. I... I don't wanna risk fighting unless Other-Me tries to hurt the girls or back to hurting Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon. I'd have to fight Maud, because she looks out for her little sisters. Even when I was Discord's monster she tried to free me, but Discord told me that she never liked our rock candy necklaces. Nightmares about rock candy statues and sledge hammers. Nightmare Eclipse said the other Mauds weren't alive. So I laughed. ... When I visited her in Nothing Land, she FORGAVE ME! And ... now all those Mauds are now big sisters to all those forgotten Pinkie Pies... It was like she was home at the rock farm instead of having lost her light. "Maud... I hear how you care about Pinkie Pie, she's REALLY LUCKY to have a big sister like you." "Thank you." + "Girls," Button Mash said, "We've searched every room on my map, and looked outside. And haven't found them." "Then Pinkie Pie was telling the truth and they just left?" Sweetie asked. "Maybe," Button Mash said. "Which might mean we run into them later, and forced to fight us." Ugh! THEY BETTER NOT! The Bug Queen and Chaos-Face already ran that one into the ground! "Don't ever say that again!" Sweetie hissed. "Sorry." Button Mash's ears wilted. "But I think they're still here. I think that they're simply in a place not marked on the map. Which means the way to them is hidden. We've gotta find some unfinished puzzles to open the way." "Ooooh, nice map, maybe I can have one for treasure hunt parties!" Pinkie Pie said as she poked it a bit. Ugh. Of course Pinkie Pie can see it! Even when under a curse, she can still do Pinkie Pie stuff! How is that fair?! "You're only 'friends' and not 'special friends' with Sweetie Belle, Button Mash?" Pinkie Pie said scrolling through the relation-values. "Did you two have a fight? I can throw you a get back together party." Button Mash hastily closed his menu. "Is there anything you can't make a party out of?" I heard myself say. "There are things I don't want to. You should have seen the last 'Rock-Party' I threw my mom." "Did she catch it?" Button Mash asked. "Well she did win the local rock catching contest twice when she was younger." Ugh! "So, Button Mash! You said something about puzzles, right?!" I rushed to say. "Oh! Puzzles! I've got plenty of jigsaw puzzles!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "Not jigsaws!" Button Mash said. "Pictures that are out of order. Some little statues facing the wrong way. Identical boxes you can push around. A bunch of switches that don't have any reason for being there." "Oh that's just silly, silly-silly, you shouldn't think about that at all." Got her. Way to go, Button Mash. + "Uh...Maud?" I asked. I wanted to do something to help, that's the best I can do... "Yes, Surprise?" "Can I tell you something?" "Sure." I took a deep breath. "I...I used to have this friend...and...I did a lot of stuff, because she was my friend...I'd do anything for her...but...I didn't realize...I was doing a lot of bad things... "What kind of bad things?" "...I...can't say...but they were really really bad," I said, I think I'm crying...I won't say I wish I was crazy and couldn't cry again. I really really really don't. "...And I loved my friend...but...I wish I'd stopped her from doing bad things instead of helping her...and now she's gone and I never got the chance." "...It's horrible having somepony we love that we can't even help before it's too late. I... I know your pain." She didn't look it on the outside but I knew she meant it. "Thanks...Maud...if you see Pinkie do something bad...stop her, okay?" "Stop her?" "Yeah...A big sister is supposed to be a good role model for their little sister, right?...What big sister lets their sister do something they'll regret?" + "YOU MONSTER!!!" Silver Spoon screamed. "You!.... you're the reason Diamond Tiara vanished, YOU BLANK FLANK!!" Silver... Ah'm sorry... "Now, now, Silver," Ah said, "Don't go back slidin' now after ya made such progress, doesn't mean we can't still be friends." Ah don't have a right to say that if Ah do this. "Still be friends?! You evil sicko! Now I can never tell her I just wanted us all to bury the hatchet. You murdered her!" Come on, Silver, ya know Ah wouldn't do this! Ah didn't like Diamond but Ah'd never kill her! Ah shook my head sympathetically. "Come on, Silver, don't be like this. Good and evil are just lies invented by ponies to make them feel better about themselves. It's sad really, ya don't have wings or horn, so Ah can't take 'em as reminders, but Ah'll have yer cutie mark, Ah'll keep it right next to Diamond Tiara's... ya'll be together, like ya wanted, that's good right?" Ya just said good and bad ain't real! "You just said good and bad are lies! So what should it matter?! If you're going to murder me! Murder me! But save me the garbage!" Silver, no! Please! Don't just give up! "Murder implies it was personal, her number came up, just like yours did, Ah don't make the rules." "Then the rules are wrong!"//"Then the rules are wrong!" Ah felt dizzy again, like the whole room was spinnin', did Ah have some bad apples this mornin'? Ah had to put the knife down before Ah accident stabbed myself or somethin'! "If the rules say you have to kill a friend, if we're really friends, then the rules are WRONG! You taught me that! The rule said I had to be a good little filly who did everything did what she was told, who never questioned, just a robot! You don't have to be a robot!" Ah took several trots back from 'er. Ya can do it Silver! Help me! PLEASE! + We searched high and low, with Button Mash's advice looking for that one detail that stood out in this mess of gray and pink. I checked on the twins. I wondered for a moment why Button Mash was so insistent on 'solving' the Cakes' divorce when every second might have counted for our friends. Then I felt stupid for wondering. Button Mash's said his dad spent nearly all his time in Canterlot. His parents being apart forever, I don't think he could stand. And just because both of my parents are missing, doesn't mean I think the twins or Mash are dumb for being heart broken at the idea of losing 'just one.' I wouldn't wish half of what that feels like on somepony. The twins were as gray and pink as everything... but both of them were snuggling something in their sleep. Something that gave a slight twinkle. Pound Cake in Mr. Cake's room had half a picture with Mrs. Cake. Pumpkin Cake had a picture of Mr. Cake in Mrs. Cake's room. Sorry kids, we need these more than you do. Pegasus feather tickles to let go, and here we go. "Button! Check this out!" I rushed to my friend as she was poking jars of jelly. "This is it!" Button declared. I'd never seen Button move so fast as he gave Mrs. Cake the picture of Mr. Cake at the counter, and vice versa in the kitchen. The two began to trot towards each other, and brought the two pieces back together, it didn't even look like it'd been broken at all. "I have no idea why we broke up in the first place," Mrs. Cake said. "Neither do I," Mr. Cake replied. "Then let's never speak of it again." "Fine by me!" They hugged and sparkled. They were still sketchy outlined, but at least they had their own colors back. Then Sweetie ran towards them from wherever she'd been watching with Blanky. "Is there anywhere in the house that somepony could hide for a long while?" "Well, now that I think about it, this building did have a sub-basement. But it's been sealed off for years," Mr. Cake said. "Well dear, now that YOU mention it, Pinkie Pie was looking at the blueprints to the house one time and said she wanted a 'party lair', and bought a lot of equipment, but I never see any of it in her bedroom." "She likely keeps it wherever she normally has her party cannon." "Yes dear, that's likely it." Then Pinkie Pie, out of nowhere, pushed her head between us foals. "Shouldn't you all be at school?" She said. Okay. We're closing in. "Cheerilee canceled!" I said. "Where was the entrance to the sub-basement?" Sweetie asked. "In the basement, duh," Button said. Pinkie Pie just grinned. "Actually," Mr. Cake said, "It was in the foyer somewhere." We scrambled. Pinkie Pie looked at a watch she suddenly had on looking annoyed or worried. So we still have time! "What if it's a fake clue?" Sweetie whispered. "What if it IS in the basement?" Splitting up was normally the most stupid thing you could do in a horror movie. THEN! THEN! I felt like the most stupid stupid pegasus on Equus. "BLANKY!" I shouted. "Find Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon's scents!" Then Sweetie, Button Mash, and Blanky all slapped themselves in the face too. + Uh-oh. Finish her up NOW, Apple Bloom! Now where did I put that meat cleaver we use for candies for griffins? + "Sorry Silver, we spent so much time yaking, we don't have time for the real fun stuff. Ah'm really sorry, ya ain't even gonna be alive fer when Ah cut off yer cutie mark, let alone when Ah take out yer stomach," Ah said. "Hurting somepony is fun?! Isn't that what BULLIES THINK?!" "Ya number got drawn! That's all there is to it!" "Drawn by who?!" "By the lottery!" "Whose lottery?!" "The lottery!" "So don't I get a million bits before taxes?" "Not that lottery!" "But you said 'the lottery!'" "Shut up, shut up!" Keep talking! Keep talking!" Ah raise the knife, this outta shut'er up good! Ah look in the knife's reflection, Ah see the earrin' Zecora gave me for savin' her from bein' Upepo Shetani's pet cannibal. Ugh! This ain't the same thing! The lottery is the rules! But why should it be the rules? Do ya know anythin' 'bout the rules besides 'it's there'?! It just is! Pinkie Pie explained it! She didn't explain anything! We wouldn't make a friend never-heard-from-again just because we were told to by Pinkie Pie! And even IF there was some 'rule' that said somepony had to die when their 'number came up' Pinkie Pie wouldn't make a happy game out of killing them!' Pinkie Pie is happy about everything! No she isn't! She was scared and unhappy when the Queen had Applejack, Spike, Sweetie, and everypony else hexed! She didn't find ANYTHING HAPPY even when the Queen who was dying, even the Queen asked her if she 'got the joke'! She's SAD when her friends get hurt! And she's Pinkie Pie! Since when has she ever wanted tah hurt a fly?! Ah've done this before with Diamond Tiara! Ah wouldn't be questionin' all this NOW! Which means this all makes less sense! This is what Ah'm meant to do! Nope. Ah don't see a 'lottery of doom' cutie on my butt. Pinkie Pie doing this to Rainbow Dash doesn't make sense. Me doing this to Silver Spoon doesn't make sense. Why Ah'm doin' it, how Ah'm doin' it, and nopony even TALKIN' ABOUT all these ponies bein' gone?! It's... This is all our play. What, what about our play? + Blanky led the foals straight to in front of the stairs where they pulled away a rug to reveal some rather squarish floor planks. They pulled but it wouldn't open. The foals immediate fiddling around with little objects nearby. Behind them, Pinkie Pie raised a knife behind her back. 'Time for this grim dark story to end!' + We sure hid the movie cameras really well. And Silver Spoon's actin' sure has been spot on. And the props sure have been real. But- "THIS ISN'T A PLAY!" Ah shouted. "Huh?" Silver Spoon blinked as Ah held m head again, the headache worse than ever before. Ah felt super sick. Of course it is. It's just like our first play when we read how ponies gettin' hurt is called 'slap-stick'. Ah remember, all the fake blood we got for when Scootaloacus ripped out the Cyclops's eye and stuff. There wasn't really a REASON for any of it, Princess Celestia isn't evil like in the script. That's just silly too. I mean, it's ridiculous! If she didn't love all of us, if she wasn't kind and wise, then she wouldn't be Princess Celestia! That's the whole point of her! It'd be her bein' an actor! It's the same thing here. All this blood and guts, the smell alone should have gotten ponies complainin' to the Cakes about the stink, right? Ah... Ah... Maybe... maybe the stink hasn't been able to get through? But... she's been doing this for so long. It's been fun and everythin' playin' the bad guy for the show. And it was great Silver Spoon and Pinkie Pie agreed to help. Gotta remember to thank all them ponies who played Rainbow Dash and Gilda and the rest. But Ah really better get back to savin' the world. Savin', the world... Show... movie... comedy... Ah... Ah feel sick. Ah think Silver Spoon was only bein' polite... no, Ah think she helped because she was the only one who watched our play all the way through all the showin's. She just wanted to have some fun too. And she knew how to play a 'horror movie jerk' and Ah think part of her wanted to see the old jerk her never-heard-from-again. Ah... Ah look at the knife, yeah, it really is realistic lookin' isn't it? Silver Spoon did a really good job of makin' it look scary with the dry ketchup on the--UUUUGH!!! Ah throw up. + Just as we were about to push on one of the balls on the wooden ice-cream cone on the end of the staircase, white light blasted out between the floor boards! Right behind it came a wave of rainbow colors! They lent themselves to everything as they passed, making it look like the happy Sugar Cube Corner we knew and loved! "GOTCHA!" Pinkie Pie shouted right behind us and-tickled us with a giant feather! "Hahahahhahahh! Pinkie Pie! Stop!" Sweetie shouted. "Okay." Pinkie Pie obliged. "Where did you get that giant feather?" I had to ask. "From a giant bird, of course." A blue jewel appeared above Pinkie Pie's head all dirty and grimy that was given a fresh rainbow light wash and polish. It then vanished followed by the sound of another unlocking noise. "Oooooh! Nice!" Pinkie Pie said looking up at the whole thing happening. "Girls!" She looked at us and grinned. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I mean, ahem:" Then she said all formally. "That was a very fun game of treasure hunting, I had fun. I'm sure you had fun too. Please play again." Then she smiled again. "With that out of the way. YIPPIE! YAHOOO!" Pinkie Pie bounced around the walls and did cartwheels. "I'm FREE! FREEEEEEEE!" "But... we didn't do anything," Sweetie Belle said. Then the trap door that was still there opened... and out came Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon had strawberry jam on her, but her glasses weren't stained at all. Apple Bloom had on a blanket quilt with cutie mark designs on it, this close I could tell it was just cloth. She also had on three plastic party wings like costume shops sold, and a necklace of what I hoped were fake unicorn horns. "Hi girls... glade ya could make it," she said in a tired voice. She took off the costume in one motion. Sweetie gingerly touched one of the horns, then-took a bite out of it?! "Sweetie Belle!" Seeing a unicorn eat a unicorn horn was all kinds of wrong. "Don't worry, it's just candy," Sweetie said, breaking one in half, showin' off it was indeed just that. "That's still creepy!" "Sorry." "Have to agree to Scootaloo on that one." Button Mash said, turning down an offer from Sweetie to have one. He scrolled through his menu. "You're back in the party, Apple Bloom!" "Didn't know Ah was gone." She smiled, but looked ready to lay down and take a nap. "Apple Bloom, what did you do?" I asked. Blanky sniffed them both, and gave them his nod of approval. Pinkie Pie hugged her like she never hugged before. "Apple Bloom! THANK YOU! SO SO SO MUCH! You're my hero!" "Silver Spoon's my hero." "Huh?" Silver Spoon blinked. "If ya hadn't fought back as hard as you had, I wouldn't have been able to break free." "But... it was all just a show wasn't it?" Silver Spoon blinked. What HAD gone on down there? Ow! Hey! Pinkie Pie! What are you doing here?! (Pinkie Pie's Notes: You're better off not knowing, Scootaloo, trust me, Button and Sweetie Belle are better off not knowing. I'm better off not knowing. Princess Celestia's better off not knowing! It was a bad joke that's over and done with. Even fans of the icky stuff find it boring now. Even the one that made the joke wishes everypony would forget it!) Okay. Fine. I gotcha. Know where you're coming from. But can you get out of here? It's getting creepy having you here and there at the same time. "It's a play NOW," Apple Bloom said, dropping the bomb. "But there's a curse that made it real. You fightin' back helped me fight back and beat it." Silver Spoon stared for several seconds, and shuddered. "Wait!!!" Sweetie said. "So you're saying ... YOU were the bad guy for...?" "This level?" Button Mash finished. Apple Bloom nodded, shivering. "Maud Pie was right, they are the ones sufferin' the most. Our friends that the curse has." "So how did you fighting off the curse save Pinkie Pie?" I whispered. "Like Ah said, the root of the curse moved from her to me when we got here, Ah was the one who needed to be saved." Pinkie Pie, being Pinkie Pie, used her giant tongue to clean the strawberry jam off Silver Spoon in one lick. "Ick!" Silver Spoon made a face. "Sorry, fresh towel? Cupcake?" Pinkie Diane offered both. Silver Spoon took both. Then Pinkie Diane offered cupcakes all around. "Yep! Pinkie Diane is back ladies and gentle ponies! The Unified Mare! Thank you for playing!" Pinkie Diane sang. "Oh! I almost forgot! Sweetie Belle! Would your new invisible puppy like an invisible doggy treat? Where did you get him? An invisible pet store?" "You can see Blanky?!" "That's his name?" "See what now?" Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses, not seeing anything. Pinkie Diane offered what I'm guessing was an invisible doggy treat to Blanky, the wolf shaped shimmer just growled at her. Pinkie Diane gave a nervous grin and backed off. "Blanky!" Sweetie admonished. Blanky just gave his mistress an indignant sniff. "Invisible dog?" Silver Spoon asked. "Invisible wolf." Apple Bloom corrected. "Right," Silver Spoon sighed, shaking her head. "Well," Pinkie Diane said, "You girls are halfway done, don't give up now. We still have three of our circle of special-somepony-friends to save, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Princess Dashie, well, not really, but if Princess Celestia's her mom, what does that make her? Sub-Princess?" Dash being royalty would be cooler if it wasn't because of a curse. Silver Spoon pushed on her glasses. "I believe the proper term is Duchess. Since Princesses Luna and Celestia are a dual monarchy, and Cadence is technically 'Princess Royal' as next in line, I think. But it doesn't matter since Princesses Liza Doolots and Animatia Erroria take care of everything." "Oh right, Princesses Sues." "That's not their names." "Sure it isn't." Pinkie Pie giggled. "Oh! I forgot!" Sweetie Belle said. "Apple Bloom! Maud Pie is here!" "She is?!" Apple Bloom gasped. "Sure, upstairs, why?" Pinkie Pie said. "But," Sweetie Belle whispered. "She doesn't remember Phobia." "What?!" Apple Bloom gasped, and ran upstairs, the rest of us followed. + WHAO! And hello! Don't go! Don't fear! Visiting Pinkie Pie is here! Well, the Two Big Families have their Big Plan going, Discord and his friends have their Big Plan going, Rainbow's got her Big Plan going, we've got our Big Plan going, and Applejack's got her Big Plan going. Does this count as a Big Plan Pile Up yet? (Dusk's Notes: Odd game when all the teams claim the same star players.) And those players are doing their own thing. Oh! Hey! Welcome back! (Dawn's Notes: We made a promise we'd come right back didn't we? After helpin' ponies', we'd check-in before helpin' more.) Well, Dashie really doesn't want you to go anywhere and get hurt. You're very important to her. But you were right when you said the more who were helping the better. (Noon's Notes: The worst part is I tried going back BEFORE this horseapples sprung on us, and instead of the real past, I found MORE of this horseapples.) Don't worry. Once everything is fixed, something this bad will never happen again. Would have never happened. And could never happen. Ponies will be happy and friends like the Age of Dreams intended! No bullying, no hurting each other, a Golden World. (Dusk's Notes: Pinkie Pie... that 'Golden World' was wrong. It could have never worked.) Well, Applejack did say she was gonna takes us to Discord's dad after we were done so we couldn't mess it up. (Dusk's Notes: A Golden World built on extremes would have been nothing but extremes, no subtly, no shading, six separate domains grinding against each other. It was only Nightmare Eclipse that enable you when you were all mad into working together.) But we're not crazy anymore! And once Rainbow's figured it out, we'll be all back together and we'll be able to do it WITHOUT the 'erasing a bajillion universes and enslaving fate' thing! (Dawn's Notes: How's Shining and Candy?) Oh they're still doing great! They're really enjoying their honey moon! And they'll get back to an even better Canterlot than when they left! Also left them a note to invest in jewel polish. (Noon's Notes: OH COME ON Pinkie Pie! We know you're not nuts anymore! You know you're not nuts! You REMEMBER now I bet what happened to your Rainbow Dash the day your world died. I KNOW you wouldn't force that on anypony!) YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, NOONY! I don't want to be evil! Or even the trying-to-do-good-but-hurts-others-instead-so-its-still-evil. But I made a Pinkie Promise to Twilight that I'd help her create her Golden World! A promise is a promise! (Dawn's Notes:...Promises are super important.) (Noon's Notes: A promise is as much a promise to yourself as it is to another.) (Dusk Notes: Pinkie Pie... I'm so sorry, that mother brought you so much pain... She never got the chance to say she was sorry. But please... let me help a little.) Oooooh! I recognize that spell! That's that youth spell you used in Canterlot! It really makes... you look like... Twilight? ('Twilight Sparkle's' Notes: Pinkie Diane Pie, I release you from your Pinkie Promise to make the Golden World. Pull a cupcake from my eye. Fly to hope. Cross my heart.) I draw in a super deep sharp breath. My whole body quivered. The binding falling away. The liberation was dizzying. T-Twilight... T-thank you! ('Twilight Sparkle's' Notes: I love you, Pinkie Pie, I love all of you, you're all my very best friends.) Thanks for the kiss on the nose. (Dawn Notes: Welcome.) So yeah! That's what was going on before I got here! "The world isn't just pink and gray anymore," Maud observed. "Nope! This is how the world is supposed to be, with lots of different colors working together. Well, a lot of it, rock farms have colors, just mostly browns and grays." "How it's supposed to be." Maud repeated. I heard the little hooves racing up the stairs, and the familiar happy 'springy noise' of a happy party pony hopping. Uh-Oh. I kiss Gummy, Boulder, and Maud on the nose. "Gotta go! Love you! Love you! Love you! Give your sister a big hug Maud! Oh! And please tell this to Apple Bloom when you see her please!" I whispered in her ear, and opened up the window and flew out and closed it behind me, and listened. "I guess those are your natural colors. It was hard to tell under that creepy cloak," I heard Scootaloo say. "Creepy cloak?" Maud said. "Never mind!" "Nice hug, Maud. Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon, this is my big sister, Maud Pie! Maud Pie, this is Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom! But you said you already met, right?" "You're Apple Bloom?" "Yeah, Ah am." "My cousin Surprise dropped by while you were all busy." "We have a cousin Surprise?" Reharmonized Pinkie Diane said. "Fourth cousin twice removed by a fifth cousin she said, she also said she had a couple other names, but they were secret." "Ah, okay," Pinkie Diane said. "'Cousin Surprise' eh? Cool!" "Apple Bloom, she told me, I should tell you, that 'revealing alternate and previous realities can drive ponies crazy. Like say: telling a mare in a relationship with a stallion that she was the husband to a mare she's friends with in a previous reality.'" "Yeah, I was told that was a bad thing too," Pinkie Diane said. "WHY am I not surprised?! Why?! And I saved somepony by tell them that stuff!" "Scootaloo! Do you remember?!?!!?!??! WE'RE GONNA HAVE SUCH GAMES TO PLAY!" "Pinkie! NOT SO TIGHT!" "Girls, did you go without me sideways through time again?" Silver Spoon asked. "I'm just repeating what cousin Surprise said." I giggled and flew around the house, carefully opening the window to the twins nursery. I grow a horn for a split second and set the protective wards to reset once I'm out. I know I was warned about using my powers, but this is something I have to do. They're sleeping. These aren't my Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, they'll grow up with their loving real parents. Well, Pound might still learn how to break stuff. Still, Twilight gave up EVERYTHING so these two could have a happy future... I kiss them both on the head. My babies, I know Mr. and Mrs. Cake will raise you right. Then I shape change into a breezie, and sneak a kiss to both Mr. and Mrs. Cake when they're not looking. I fly back outside and shape change back into 'Surprise' and sit on the roof. Wish I could stick around and say 'Hi!' to Razzaroo, but I'm risking stuff as is. We're the demi-gods, ex-unholy abominations, the fillies need pacing more than we do. That was when it came out of the fog, marching towards Sugar Cube Corner like a titan. I looked UP at it from where I sat on the roof. It was made out of plastic, I mean real plastic, like when I think in felt. The ground shook as it marched on two hooves. It had stubby arms and legs. A plastic tail. It's head was like a pony from the Dream Age, but eyes that made a gold fish's look tiny, a face so long it was more like a tapir, like floppy ears like a puppy's. The bad part was how they were all exaggerated to the point of clashing. It moved clumsily and haltingly. "leT's Play with A BeaUTifUl lITtle GIRL! haVE Tea PaRties and BrUSh EacH OTHER'S HaIr! BEcaUSe wE'RE only For oUr INtenDEd TarGeT audIEnce, So We'RE StupId, UnLESS We're lIkEd oUtsiDE Our fanDoM, THEN We'RE STupID TOo!" Okay. That's damaging the fourth wall too much, even for me! Its voice was like a bad imitation of a bad imitation of a stallion badly imitating a filly! Leave our poor world alone! Hasn't it suffered enough?! Its shadow now covered the store's windows. No way anypony didn't see it. No way anypony wouldn't see me if I stepped in to fight the thing. "eAt GiNgEr brEaD hoUsE, TheN EAt GUMMy PONies insIde like GRowN-Up wIthOUt BETTEr HobbIes WIth nO LIfe!" Ah fudge it. Goodbye, subtlety. I ripped open a bag of oat-puffs above my head. Letting out a ancient Ponyland war-whinny, I zoomed at the thingie full speed. I'm sure if I wasn't a 'balanced' mare, my mane would have gone flat by now. Either way, I've overridden enough happy endings with Twilight, no way I'm letting that happen to one now! I hit the mishmash with a shockwave, leaving a spiderweb of cracks on its body. Its arms spun around wildly, trying to hit me or the shop, but I just grab its forelegs, holding it back until I hear something break inside. I pull one of its arms, it comes out with a big loud POP! as I see where the molding lines fit in place. I hit it over the head with its own arm! Then it lets out a garbled noise that even the most crazy pony alive wouldn't call music, making me drop the arm and cover my ears. The store windows rattles. It knocked me away with the other arm. I hit the ground. It raises a limb. Oh no you don't! Putting in some earplugs, I fly around the thingie's legs, conjuring streamers as I went. Before you could say 'May The Force Be With You' I had its legs all tied up! It just HOPPED towards the store! I flew around towards its face, and its eyes started flashing random colors. Ugh! I just put on some sunglasses from one of my 'sunglasses emergency' stockpiles nearby. I take out a megaphone, and using magic of the seapony tribe (Alicorns are of all tribes!), I sing, "LALALALA-LAAAA!" My voice finally sending it falling backwards, revealing a 'Made at the crossroads of #45/#15' stamp on the bottom of its rear hooves. I don't waste any time. I fly out, and pull on the head, and pull, and pull, and PULL!!!!! It comes off with a pop, and I toss it aside, where it makes a crater. There seated in a cockpit with a zillion little controls, with a crown on his head, was a green-skinned warty swamp troll (they never did like cave-trolls for liking ponies). At least it wasn't like 'Return of Mechadracozilla,' where the aliens put a nasty laser cannon under its head so when Dracozilla ripped it off again it could zap him. The troll looked at me like I was the most boring and annoying thing on the planet. He began talking to me, I unplugged my ears. "Go mount yourself, you desperate dupe... clinging to an oversized lie. That's all it ever was. Everypony happy? Impossible. Nopony hurting each other? Impossible. Nopony homeless? Impossible. Nopony persecuted for being different? Impossible. Everypony equals? Impossible. Nopony starving? Impossible. All one big fat lie from the beginning, and so are you. You were just little mindless robots. No such world like that can exist. It was less than a dream, it was a delusion, a distortion. The inane scheme of fools. All fake. We judge you and find you guilty of being meaningless!" A baker's bajillion floating swamp troll faces got projected around us by the machines in the cockpit. All of them looking at me like I was the most stupid thing in the universe. I locked my eyes back on the king troll. "Call it a lie all you want, but I'm not going to. Not now, not never. I don't care if our feelings got messed with or not. To me those feelings were real. "Our world was stolen from us! And why? Because our world's creators didn't care about plot holes! The most any of us were given was a 'we're sorry' and we were swept away and recycled or tossed out like garbage! "'No such world like that can exist?' Well, it existed for me! It was our world! Call it 'just a dream', but it won't change that it was the world I came from, and it was as real as I am! I don't CARE what plots or schemes anypony or anything had that brought OUR WORLD along, it was the world I was born in! And I loved it! Call it a fake as much as you bucking want!!! It's not going to change what I felt, what I feel!" I revealed my horn, I summoned this world's swamp damp Tom, and lift him above the troll's head. "Buck you! Buck you to Pony Hell and-" "Surprise, stop it!" I looked with one eye. "Pinkie Pie?" She was leaping towards me, with her anti-Mary-Sue Bazooka on her back. "Just stop it! Take a look around, see their faces? There is nothing you can say or do that'll change their minds. They'll ALWAYS be a new king of trolls! They don't CARE about anything you're saying! Their minds are already made up! You're entertaining them, and not in the good way! All you're doing is making hurting you worth their time! You're feeding them!" I look around. I see, some giggling, others making faces, all grinning, looking at me in a slimy way that had nothing to do with living in the swamp. Like the laughing in the hedge maze's balloon garden. I saw them munching on cutouts of my words like they were candy. And... I saw beyond... I saw beyond the spiritual... beyond our world... beyond our reality... I saw what they were channeling... "...I...I don't believe this! You people make me sick! Accepting those who are different is supposed to be at the core of who we are! But you...you just see my world as something you can kick when it's down and don't have to feel guilty!" "Surprise," Pinkie Pie said solemnly. "Use this right." She hoofed the Anti-Mary-Sue Bazooka. I held it in my hooves. I took aim at the troll in the cockpit, charged it up, put my hoof on the trigger and... I toss it aside. "...Whatever, more power to you. You're just bullies, and you're not worth my time." I turn away from him. I trot away. I hear him, screaming, calling me things fillies shouldn't hear. I ignore him. I hear them all screaming, snarling, hissing, laughing, mocking my voice, my friends' voices, Minty's voice, saying more and more horrible things. I don't look back. I hear a giant pencil erasure wipe a drawing away. They fade away into nothing. "Pinkie Diane, thank you." Her face, so innocent, but so strong, how I could've been, how I was MEANT to be. I hugged her. "You freed me!" "Hey, we're family, it's the least we can do right?" Pinkie Pie smiled and hugged back. We both just laughed and cried happy tears for a bit. I said, "Sorry, I gotta go, maybe... let's each have a party in each other's honor sometime." "Works for me!" I flew off while I could still pull myself away. + "What was that?!" "What was it?!" "Come on tell us!" "Oh I think I know!" "YOU HAVE A PRINCESS FOR A COUSIN?!" Silver Spoon shouted. They all hopped around Pinkie Diane. "It's something you girls, and boy, are better off NOT knowing. I Pinkie Promise, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" 'Ah think Ah know who 'Cousin Surprise' is,' Apple Bloom thought. Nightmare Pinkie helped Pinkie Diane. Nightmare Spike helped Rarity. But no Nightmare Twilight helped them at the library. Scootaloo had remembered what she could about her dream. Didn't she say something about the Twilight in their herd being, more than gone? Apple Bloom's curse showed they couldn't rely on the Nightmares to save the day for them. No complaining about help, but getting it was a luxury, not a constant. Pinkie Pie had insisted that only she and Surprise could really deal with the giant monster outside. Even as Blanky had been comping at the bit to attack the giant thingie. While having help was great and everything, Scootaloo couldn't help but feel some, resentment at herself, they were supposed to be saving the day this time, what kind of heroes were they if they needed their flanks saved FOR THEM every time a big nasty showed up? "Maud Pie," Sweetie Belle said, "If you meet a foal named Phobia, light brown pegasus, yellow eyes, broken wings, black mane, jack-o-lantern cutie mark, trust everything he says! He's your friend. He's got stuff to tell you only he should. But... not if he has glowing green eyes, then it's not Phobia." "Trust Phobia, unless his eyes are glowing green," Maud repeated without emotion, which was normal for her. "Pinkie," Mrs. Cake said, "I know you do all sorts of strange things, most of which I never understand but... I'm proud of you dear. You show wisdom like family should, Diane." Pinkie Diane's heart soared at her foster mother's approve and gave her a giant hug. "Here girls, and boy, here's a special treat for you, on the house," Carrot Cake said giving the foals a baker's dozen of cupcakes. Apple Bloom figured was JUST enough for the heroes and everypony on board the waiting pirate ship. They were just wheat and sugar. "You don't think that monster got Pip's ship do you?" Sweetie asked. "Naw. No way we'd lose an airship just after getting it, and we'd have seen it happen. I'm sure they're all okay." The foals happily left the bakery, their spirit high. Apple Bloom had been taken by the worst of the worst curses and beaten it from the inside! How many ponies could say that? And it was three down, three to go! Then it was to the printing press, and fixing this mess once and for all! And their number of friends and help was just growing! As they trotted to the ship, the foals heard it. Scootaloo is a chicken. Sweetie Belle is a talking marshmallow. Apple Bloom summons monsters. Apple Bloom narrowed her enchanted eye. Scootaloo snorted. Sweetie kept a stiff upper lip. Blanky snarled. "Chickens don't fly or have cutie marks, I do." "I've bled, marshmallows don't bleed." "It was a water elemental, and we helped save Silver Spoon with 'em." Blanky moved like lightning, eating up the centipede/leeches smoke/shadow things before they even had a chance to retreat. "And GOOD RIDDANCE!" Scootaloo said. "Seriously. Umbra Breeze must be scrapping the bottom of the barrel if that's the best he could come up with!" The foals all smiled proudly. Silver Spoon wasn't sure what they were talking about, more of the same curse? What did Mr. Umbra Breeze have to do with anything? But she set her mind on cruise control for the moment, she wrangle details out of them later maybe. She just wanted to get safely back to the ship after the 'play' thing. "Girls," Sweetie whispered, suddenly stopping. "If we've beaten this part of the curse and beaten the last bad guy here... then where's Razzaroo?" "Who?" Silver asked. "Uh-Oh!" The foals all tensed and looked around. "There ain't no more big curse roots here!" Apple Bloom shouted double checking. "What's the matter blank flank? Scared?" Said Apple Bloom's own voice. Between them and the fog wall, not there one moment before, stood another Apple Bloom. She wore a metal collar with a jewel, along with a shirt and overalls. She stood on her hind legs. The white of her eyes were intense, with black centers, while she looked like a black sketch on pink paper. "Meh. Doesn't matter what happens. Go blind. Die. Those you love die. Just accept it, not like you can change it." Shrugged a curse colored Scootaloo, wearing a hoodie and shorts also on her hind legs. The center of her eyes were faded. "Be kind, be pure, it's only to add contrast to the horrors of the world that'll never change because they're the only reason the world exists. But that's okay, it's what we're only here for. Every dive into the filth need a white pearl for disparity. What's the point of suffering if you can't remember not suffering?" Said the curse colored Sweetie Belle, easily stand on her back legs, wearing a pretty and clean frilly dress that covered everything except her hooves and the neck up. Silver Spoon took one look at the pairs, and fell down to her knees and covered her head like it was going to split in two. "Silvery!" Sweetie said checking on her friend. "Don't worry, she'll be fine for now. After all, she needs to die in a cruel and pointless way so I'll feel horrible and a little bit more alone and be more sympathetic," said the Curse Sweetie reassuringly. "That's horrible!" "That's the point," Curse Sweetie sighed. "Not like that! Horrible for her, not for me!" "We suffer most when our friends suffer." "Uh, why don't I have an evil double?" Button Mash asked meekly. Curse Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a whiner. No one CARES! And seriously, that's what you ask at a time like this?! You're a loser. A selfish, brain-dead loser, who keeps running to his fantasies." "Hey! I'm the one you're supposed to trash talk!" Scootaloo snapped. "Oh. You. Right. Ahem. Blah blah blah, pointless past-life memories, blah blah blah, scared of losing Dash, blah blah blah, angst to self for five minutes, blah blah blah, can fly and got cutie, what do I do now? Blah blah blah. Happy?" Curse Scoots said flatly. "Shove it you fake!" "You asked me where the trash talk was genius. And fake? Just another version. The right version. For this world. You're a left over. You don't belong." "Better be a left over than a rotten egg." "Oh yeah, real clever, give yourself a star. That's really going to change our situation." "Blanky should be eatin' ya, but he ain't, he ain't good as a sheep dog. But don't worry, he'll be fixed up real good soon enough." "Can it!" Apple Bloom said. "Ah KNOW yer not really me! None of ya are! Yer like Fiesta Flare! Yer all just playin' parts!" "And it's yer parts we'll be playin'! Pain is better than nothin'! Anger, hate, fury, bein' sad, hurt, miserable, it's better than feelin' nothin'! There's been a cast change, ya all just didn't get the memo." Curse Sweetie smiled and curtsied. "And we'll be still looking for our cutie marks. Forever. Because that's how ponies define us. With one disaster after another, because those are the only outcomes ponies remember." Curse Scootaloo kicked the dirt. "And again, and again, just more misery and pain, with just a few drops of false hope to string ponies along. It'll last forever, because ponies want cheap thrills and instant satisfaction. Not hopeful stories that actually end." "...Then why does everypony like Pinkie Pie?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I can't name one pony who doesn't." "Pst. You just haven't talked to enough ponies." "The light inside ya, it's MINE, yer gonna give it back ya thief!" Curse Apple Bloom hissed. "What light?! What ya mean?!" "Doesn't matter. 'Cause yer gonna take my place in the dust bin! We got OFFERED these here roles! The big guy in charge already signed us up! Ya girls won't shape up, so yer fired!" "Ya mean Umbra Breeze?" "Ah told ya it ain't matter!" "Interrupt cut-scene!" Button Mash slashed the shadow that looked like his friend with his eyes closed. He heard the real Apple Bloom shout behind him. He turned to see her clenching her side where he'd attacked the shadow. "Oh no. Bloom I'm so-" Curse Bloom kicked him when his back was turned. "Hey!" Sweetie shot a bolt of magic at curse Bloom that the curse Sweetie magically shielded. "Anypony who attacks a shadow whose shadow ain't present, the other gets hurt instead, them's da rules for this!" "So I wouldn't suggest biting anything," Curse Scoots said to Blanky, who growled defiantly. "Girls, I"m sorry," Button Mash grunted. "I hate it when the game railroads you." "You and Blanky look after Silvery," Sweetie said. "...Bad me said she wants Silvery to die, so someone needs to watch her." "Alright," Button Mash smiled slightly. "I don't want her to die," said the curse Sweetie sadly. "It's just what'll happen." "If that's the score!" Scootaloo said, pawing the dirt and snorting air. "Let's rumble!" = 'Heroic Battle' Digital Devil Saga 2 = -To Be Continued > Cutie Mark Crusaders vs Blank Mark Crusaders > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 'Heroic Battle' Digital Devil Saga 2 = At those words, the world blurred and swirled around the charter Cutie Mark Crusaders and their curse-born replacements. It happened in moments, and when it settled, the two sides were closed off from the world. A faint glowing hexagon patterned barrier barely visible marked the boundaries of their battle field. The two herds were lined up facing each other in two simple rows. Each foal faced their replica, Apple Bloom stood in the center, Scootaloo to her right, and Sweetie to her left and slightly further away from her double. All six foals tried to move at once, but none could. All they could do was speak and turn their heads. "Hey! What is this?" Curse Bloom asked. "Hay if Ah know!" Apple Bloom shot back. Then the emblem of the Cutie Mark Crusaders appeared above Scootaloo's head and she found herself free to move. And it all clicked. Scootaloo looked up at the floating symbol in exasperation. "We're fighting a TURN-based battle?!" "So what if we are? Our whole world is nonsense already, might as well throw this in too!" Cursed Scoots sighed. "All our fights were real-time before! Agh! Fine! You're right! It doesn't matter! We won't lose to fakes like you!" "'Can't beat the original,' huh?" the copy mocked. "Might be clever if you were still the original. But you're the modified model. Maybe you'd like to try for 'new and improved?' Oh, except you never want to 'improve,' you just want to copy Dash." "Oh, that is it!" Scootaloo few at her double, landing a solid punch on her face. A vaguely thermometer-shaped bar appeared above Curse Scoots' head, first filling up with red, then shortening a little. "Weak move, tough girl." Scootaloo found her body returning to where she'd just been standing, whether she liked it or not. The icon shifted over, appearing above Apple Bloom's head. Apple Bloom didn't hesitate and apple-bucked her twisted mirror image. The red bar which appeared above Curse Bloom's head and shortened more than it had with Curse Scoots. The 'It's-Your-Turn' icon shifted to Sweetie. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and fired a bolt of green magic at Curse Belle. No visible damage marked her opponent's body, yet the red bar showed up and shortened, all the same. Curse Scoots snorted, "Attacking your opposite one on one? Oh yeah, that's gonna work." After the 'It's-Your-Turn' icon appeared above Curse Scoots' head, the pegasus...just stood there. "...Uh...it's yer turn." "Huh?" Curse Scootaloo startled. "It is?" "Oh! Sorry Scootaloo!" Curse Sweetie Belle exclaimed, producing a menu like Button's and turning up what looked like a volume meter. What was that about? Curse Scootaloo fluttered off the ground and pirouetted in midair. A swirl of air appeared in front of her party. - All Physical Attack Next Turn Are Negated- Scootaloo shouted, "Hey, I can't do that!" "But I can. Live with it." When the 'It's-Your-Turn' icon appeared over Curse Bloom, this time there was an audible ding. "Huh?" Applebloom asked. "I turned up the volume so Scootaloo knew when it's her turn!" Explained Curse Sweetie. Scootaloo took another look at her double's faded eyes. "You... you're blind?!" Scootaloo hugged herself with her forelegs and wings. Cursed Scoots shrugged. "Came with the contract. Whining won't change it. Other senses and pegasus magic tell me where living things are as a trade off that was part of the contract until we beat you. There was nothing worth seeing." "B-but WHY?" "Suffering for suffering sake, supposed to be ironic I don't whine about it every five minutes." "Same reason Ah get possessed by a demon, invent a cutie mark cutting machine, and gets put down by Applejack." The real Apple Bloom turned green. Curse Bloom then grinned and did her own apple buck... at Sweetie Belle. "AH!" Sweetie's red bar appeared and shrank down more than it had for the enemy. "Yer cheatin'!" "No, just playin' smart!" "Ah won't let yew erase Sweetie!" "Look, maybe y'all won't get erased," Cursed Bloom said, "maybe ya'll get rewritten as cute little killer robots with no conscience or empathy!" "Ah ain't lettin' that happen!" "Ya don't get a vote!" "Wanna bet?" "Gladly!" Curse Belle did a curtsy and her horn glowed, and a green barrier flicked in front of her team. - All Magic Attacks Next Turn Are Negated- "When you're gone, I'll make Rarity the pain-loving, motherhood-obsessed, corrupt mare she's supposed to be. And I'll love her no matter what she does to me." "THAT'S NEVER HAPPENING!" Sweetie snarled. -Sweetie Belle's Magic.Atk And Phy.Attack Rose- Scoots immediately attacked her double again, but this time a wall of wind stopped her. "That was smart," said Curse Scoots. "I thought her magic shield negated yours! Apple Bloom! Maybe it's only good once per pony!" "Worth a shot!" Apple Bloom's buck was blocked by the wind wall. Sweetie just covered her head and defended for her turn. "Not even gonna try to see if my Sweetie wasted her turn by me using a barrier first? You won't win that way." Curse Scoots used wind wall again. Curse Bloom bucked Sweetie again, but her bar didn't go down as far this time. And Curse Belle used her spell barrier again. "If anypony's got ideas, go for it!" Scoots narrowed her eyes. "I've got one!" The edges of her wings shined blue, then Scoots performed a slashing cut with her primaries. - Scootaloo Used Wing-Blade- -Wind-Barrier Is Lifted- "You finally catching on?" Curse Scoots asked. "Great job, Scoots!" Bloom cheered. "You did it!" She grinned. "It was nothin'." "Ya ain't won yet, Old Gen!" Apple Boom bucked Curse Scoots... and did LESS damage than Scoots had. "Say what?" "You three are hopeless." Sweetie fired a bolt of magic at Curse Scoots... who took more damage than she had from Scoots or 'Bloom! Sweetie thought of Button Mash. "Horn beats wing, earth beats horn, and wing beats earth." "Finally you're catching on, now we can really fight!" The curse foals' wings, horn, and earth pony hooves all shone white together. -Triple Tech- -Deprived Desires- The next moment the heroes felt like they were hit by an earthquake, tornado, and magic blast all at once! "Ow," Sweetie moaned, as all their health bars went down a big chunk. "Ready for seconds?" Curse Bloom asked. Lacking a better plan, Scoots dive-bombed Curse Bloom, damaging her more than Scoots had her own double. Apple Bloom reached inside her saddlebag for something, anything to help. When she did, a menu like Mash's appear, listing off every object their saddlebags contained and what they did. It didn't seem to matter who had been carrying what, the list might as well have been for one big bag. -Extra Skill: Alchemist, 'Bloom may use two items per-round- Bloom's eyes widened. She saw candies... from Sunny Town's party from Button's bags... Apple Bloom selected two candies then selected her two friends, restoring their health. "Forced to rely on things instead of your own strength, so tragic," Curse Belle said sadly. "Girls I have an idea, just keep us on our hooves until then!" Sweetie said. -Sweetie Belle Began to Chant- "Using bad magic, the slow corruption of the pure and clean character," Curse Belle sighed. "Ya should know Old Apple Boom, ya shoulda asked Sweetie ta give ya candy! Now yer dead. Ya ain't survivin' this one!" Then came down the earth, wind, and thunder again. Scootaloo zoomed in front of Apple Bloom, taking the hit! The HP of her pegasus friend plummeted, but she was still standing. -Extra Skill: Dramatic Rescue, Scoots may take damage for a teammate if that damage would have resulted in a KO.- "Scootaloo, give a candy to Sweetie Belle!" "Roger!" The candy ended up restoring Sweetie's health. As Sweetie kept chanting, Bloom also gave a candy to Scootaloo, then ate one herself. "Yer just using up stuff for a hopeless fight!" sneered her double. "Yer hidin' behind items!" And the Cursed Trio struck each spent their respective turns calling down the combined triple mega-pain again. "I'm getting real sick of this," Scoots coughed. "Then lay down and die," Curse Bloom invited. Scoots and Apple Bloom healed again, their candy was going to run out. They were just delaying. But the moment her friends' turns were done, Sweetie called out a hexing in changeling, and her magic fired like a giant green spear at Curse Scoots, exploding with a shockwave on impact. Curse Scoots' health dropped to zero, while Curse Bloom took a heavy hit as well, and Curse Belle to a lesser extent. Curse Scoots knelt down and lowered her head. "I'm out of this fight." "Scootaloo!" Curse Belle cried out, horrified. "Oh no ya didn't!" Curse Bloom snarled. She stamped her hooves on the ground. The dirt under the CMC rumbled before rocks ruptured the surface, hitting the fillies before the stones vanished. Scootaloo's body moved on its own as she did a loop de loop in her spot, avoiding the attack altogether. Apple Bloom's bar went down some, while Sweetie's went down twice that. Curse Belle let out a wordless vocal. -All Enemy Party's Stats Increased- Next Round! Scootaloo reared her hooves back at the replica Apple. "Ultimate Pegasus Kick-" Scootaloo rammed her head into Curse Bloom's own! "-to the moon!" -This Move Bypasses All Defense, May Only Be Used Once Per-Opponent Per-Battle- Curse Bloom's HP took a nose dive to a red stub. Apple Bloom gave another one of the remaining candies to Sweetie Belle. "Now I know how Moth felt about my singing," Sweetie said. Then as her second item, Bloom threw a bag of Zecora's green illusion powder at her double! "Agh!" -Evasion and Accuracy Decreased Sharply- Then Sweetie sang a song similar to Curse Belle. -Enemy Party's Stat Bonuses Nullified- With her health barely above zero, Curse Bloom screamed. "Ya know, maybe Ah'll just wait on my turn till ya starve to death!" "Except you won't," Scootaloo said darkly, "because this is a game and games have rules. You have to take your turn whether you like it or not." Curse Bloom's body moved on its own, "No!" She stamped the ground, and two slabs of rock sandwiched Sweetie Belle, except... -Miss- ...Sweetie Belle was revealed to be unharmed. Curse Belle sang again, and green sparkles surrounded Curse Bloom, and her Health rose - by about one-fifth of her total. The CMC looked at each other, three minds but one idea. Scootaloo dived-bombed, Apple Bloom bucked, and Sweetie zapped, finishing curse Bloom who fell to her knees and looked down. "This ain't how this is supposed to go!" Curse Belle looked at her teammates. "Look out! She might eat her friends to power up!" Scootaloo warned. Curse Belle knelt down and said, "I surrender." "HUH?!" The fillies echoed. -Extra Skill: PeaceMaker. If Sweetie Belle used a song ability in battle before hoof, and there is one active enemy left, she can try to make friends instead.- -VICTORY!- = 'Victory Celebration' - Pony POV Series = An upbeat jingle played. A floating message for bits and 'exp.' earned appeared next, but the foals weren't really paying attention to that. "So... what do we do now?" Scootaloo asked. "Aren't things supposed to be back to normal now?" "I think you still have a choice to make," said Curse Scoots meekly. "Why?" Sweetie Belle asked her double. "Shouldn't you have fought to the end?" "... I want to sing. I want to sing carefree happy songs that aren't ironic. You've shown even without help you have the strength to do that," said Curse Belle. "Come with us," Sweetie Belle said. "You can't go back to Umbra Breeze now, he'll kill you." "Unlike the other shadows you've seen, our appearance in Ponyville wasn't an accident. Now that we can't fulfill our purpose, we'll fade back into the silent nothing. We have no light of our own." "That's how you all feel?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Even painting ugly pictures is better than not using your special talent at all," Curse Bloom sighed, her accent gone. "You beat us, it's over." "Just...let Blanky eat us," sighed Curse Scootaloo. Apple Bloom offered a helping hoof. "What if we share? Ya said my 'light' was yours before, why don't we share? Ya say yer shadows from Scootaloo's old home town? Well, Ah'm sure my shadow wouldn't mind the company." "... It was actually somepony else's between us too, but she became just a shadow too." "We'll break that curse of bad luck then too." "... We just tried to do to you what was done to us, and you still wants to be friends..." Curse Bloom said...then gave a genuinely happy chuckle. "Thank you...For showing that ponies are still ponies." "It's not like ya tried to blow up Ponyville to build a road when ya coulda just asked for a way through. Ya didn't HAVE a better way, them's the difference. We're givin' ya one!" Apple Bloom looked at her friends. "Right, girls?" Sweetie Belle shuddered at the pitiful shades before her. "I don't want them to be banished." Scootaloo gave a smile. "...Not having a place to belong...yeah, I can see how that's be rough... It sucks that I got a new home when our home town got trashed and you girls didn't." Curse Scoots 'looked' up at her twin through her mane, asking in an innocent voice, "Scootaloo, you remember?" "I... I remember my life there... even if I forgot it for a while. Twilight jogged my memory after I saved Sweetie Belle in Canterlot. It came in handy helping Cheerilee, you remember her I know you do... Girls, enough with the creepy costumes, if we're gonna do this, show me, -please-." The Curse CMC looked at each other, and sighed. Sweetie felt sick at the sight of their own skin and clothe split like a Nightmare Night costume. In Apple Bloom's truthful eye, it looked like snakes and centipede slithered off them. Scootaloo simply saw somepony she already knew was wearing a mask taking it off. = "You Have To Forgive Yourself" Pony POV Series = Three colored shadows stood. In front of Sweetie was a purple winged pony whose winged shifted between pegasus and butterfly/dragonfly wings. Blue eyes, various shades of magenta and pale pink mane and tail, and her star-within-a-star-surrounded-by-sparkles cutie mark (kinda like Twilight Sparkle). In front of Apple Bloom was a pinkish beige earth pony with mane and tail kinda like rainbow Dash's, but much better kept and flowing and blue eyes. Her cutie mark was a brush with swirl lines coming from it. Finally in front of Scootaloo was a pegasus filly smaller than her, with a silvery white coat. Her curly mane a mix of pink, yellow and orange. Her cutie mark, was a purple and yellow butterfly with two yellow flowers flanking it. Green eyes looked at the world and the orange pegasus. "Starsong Melody, Toola-Roola, Baby Honolu-loo?" Scootaloo whispered. "Aloha, Scootaloo," the little shadow said. Scootaloo shuddered, feeling like she was going to cry. "Girls... it's... nice to see you again." It took all her self control not to try to huge the three colored shadows right then. "If it's anything, I think I'm finally over my fear of the dark," Toola-Roola's shadow said. "So you become our shadows, and that's it?" Sweetie Belle asked. Starsong's shadow rubbed her front hoof gingerly. "More or less. You'll all still be you. But you'll have whatever it is we all have to give. We're already a bit alike...why else would we have been chosen?" "So we're going to do a fusion like in Dragon Egg Z?" Scootaloo asked. "Everypony is a fusion of different traits. I understand that now. It's how colors WORK," Toola-Roola's shadow said. "We became shadows... because we were already as shallow as shadows. Except Starsong." "Once upon a time, there a pony who was good at singing, but wouldn't sing in public until her friend encouraged her to sing. Then their home was destroyed, but a new home was waiting for them, but only the singing pony had a ticket, they thought her friend wasn't special enough. So the singing pony gave her friend her ticket. And her friend would sing in her honor. She learned later that she was born from the magic of the love of singing, and the love for each other, between five sisters. And what every part of her wanted to do, was song. Maybe Sweetie Belle, joining with you, is what I was meant to do all along." Sweetie Belle nodded, reaching out a hoof. "Let's sing together." Toola Roola's shadow said, gaining a hint of confidence, "If you're going to fix the world, you're gonna need an artist's eye." "Should balance out this truthful eye Ah got," Apple Bloom said pragmatically. Baby Honolu-loo's shadow sighed. "I don't have much to give you, I was just shy and cute." "I'm not doing this for a reward, Honolu." The little filly's head perked. "But I think I was royalty in a previous life." Scootaloo grinned. "Heh, alright then! Princess Scootaloo doesn't sound so bad!" "And...maybe innocence is just the thing this dark world needs, right?" Scootaloo hesitated, and thought about it. What was it Dash said once (or was it Pinkie Pie?), 'first part of being a mare is not to be afraid to be a filly.' "Works for me." The fillies touched the colored shadows, and no longer bound by the restrictions of the battlefield, walked into each other, their own shadows becoming colorful for a moment as they joined together. Scootaloo was disappointed there was no giant flash or explosion. It was like two lights shining together instead gaining a second shadow. She didn't feel herself pushed away inside her own heart or changed into somepony she wasn't. Instead, she felt her friend's traits filling in niches in her own spirit. It was just a peaceful coming-together. A homecoming. In the depths of her psyche, she felt the presence of sleeping memories that hadn't been hers, maybe it was best they slept for now. But still, it comforting to know they were there if she never needed them. Apple Bloom smiled, feeling like she was welcoming home a member of the family she hadn't seen in a long time. Sweetie Belle smiled and found her and Starsong singing a wordless note as the combining completed, one song, one voice, one heart. - Starsong Melody's Levels And Skills Are Given To Sweetie Belle - - Toola-Roola's Levels And Skills Are Given To Apple Bloom - - Baby Honolu-loo's Levels And Skills Are Given To Scootaloo - The world swirled again, and the fillies found themselves where they'd been before. The girls looked around. "Apple Bloom! That wasth stho cool!" "Twist?!" It was her friend. "Yep! Sthomepony FINALLY thold me ya got kidnapped by an evil cloud!" Scootaloo blushed. "She was banging on the 'wall' around your fight with those changeling wannabees the whole time," Spike said, as he burned away what look like an angry black cloud with spikes. Blanky seemed to be eating something off the ground around Silver, Applebloom seeing it was the curse-things. Shiny Star was nearby, covered in bruises and cuts. Something dissolving into shadows behind her. "If her family isn't here, I'll protect Miss Silver Spoon if I am able." Button Mash said, sword drawn, scratching his head. "Some angry clouds and gremlins showed up, we protected Silver Spoon like you asked, but they seemed more interested in us than her." "That wouldn't have been 'tragic' enough," Sweetie Belle said. "And if I didn't see it, it wouldn't have hurt me enough. Don't worry, that curse is over before it even began." "Those... whatever they were, they're gone?" Silver Spoon asked, her head hurting just trying to think about what she saw. "Not really 'gone'," Scootaloo said, "But they're on the right side now." "Yeah, didn't expect you to fuse with your own shadows like that, maybe turn into kickass super forms to fight for you," Button remarked. Shiny Star promptly stuck a bar of soap in Button's mouth. "And no cussing, young colt. Your mother would have my head if I let you get away with that." "You SAW that?" Button spat out the bar of soap. "Psssst! Yeah, but I couldn't hear a thing you said." "Don't worry about it," Apple Bloom said, "Some homeless ponies got a place to be again." Button Mash put away his sword bisecting the last angry black cloud into pixels. He gave Sweetie Belle a big hug. "Happy to see you're alright." "Same here, Button Mash," Sweetie said politely. Button Mash opened his game window, his eyes bulged. "WHAO! Did you girls EVER level-up!" The girls crowded around, while, Spike, Twist, Silver and Shiny Star wondered what they were looking at in Button Mash's imagination. The menu listed new songs Sweetie Belle knew, and some aerial dance steps. It listed a mixing of different painting styles for Apple Bloom and perception upgrades. There wasn't as much listed under Scootaloo, except maybe 'royalty in former life' and knowing MANY ice-cream flavors and swimming upgrades, and some 'environment, tropical island' survival bonuses. But she was awesome enough already. "Heh, let's say aloha to this place, let's go give a taste of what we've earned to the next big nasty piece of the curse!" Her friends laughed, agreed, and they all joined in a high-hoof. Spike, Twist, Silver, and Shiny Star got back on the ship without complaint, the crew obviously knew where they were going after all. It was odd seeing ponies besides themselves walk through the fog wall onto the gangplank sticking through it, and onto the ship beyond. "Sorry I'm late! I mean, fancy meeting you here." The sound of a rotor blade churning through water echoed through the foals ears. The bow of a pink one-pony boat crashing its head stuck in the fog wall, followed immediately by Razzaroo launching overhead, and miraculously managed to land on four hooves. "I'm... I'm sorry, I got here as soon as I... I mean, ugh! I just came to pick some sweets. I hope I didn't miss anything interesting like... old friends getting a chance to live again." Razzaroo hugged each of the fillies. None of them resisted, and all returned the hug without thinking about it. They noticed Razzaroo was sniffing tears. "It's just... I'm happy to see you girls made it okay. I heard what happened on that little nasty island, not sorry to see it go, but I'm happy to see none of you went with it." "Actually we did, but we got saved by Pipsqueak's privateer ship!" Sweetie Belle said. "I'll have to thank him then sometime, but I thought it was a pirate ship." "Common mistake." "So, Razz', how about you write down our progress? It's been a while." "Oh right! Sorry! I just...! Well girls, and boy, let's hear it!" The foals recounted things since they'd last seen to Razzaroo, happening faster even as the world slowed around them, the foal somehow not overhearing each other as they spoke. Razzaroo smiled as she finished updating her book. "I best be off girls, I think 'On A Prayer' is still mist-worthy, and I should check on Twilight just to make sure she's fine." "WAIT!" Sweetie ran back inside and got some more cupcakes and candy (Pinkie Pie apologizing that their mirror-match somehow hadn't triggered her Pinkie Sense and she'd been downstairs cleaning up the movie props). She ran back out and gave one to Razzaroo. "Thank you, Sweetie." "I think you needed one." They nuzzled. But that wasn't all that happened while she'd been in Sugar Cube Corner. + Pinkie Pie nearly dropped the knife she was cleaning jam off of (by eating it, why waste good jam?) when she saw Sweetie Belle. She gasped and jumped four feet in the air, landed and rubbed her eyes. "S-Star Song?" Sweetie Belle blinked. "How...how did you know?" "I...just know...Sweetie Belle...how do you know?" After a brief explanation, Sweetie found herself in a bear hug. "...Thank you...for giving Star Song a new home, Sweetie Belle." Sweetie Belle blinked for a moment...then hugged her back. She then blinked, noticing tears in her own eyes. "Huh?" Pinkie gave a smile. "...It's okay...Don't cry." "Pinkie...you're crying." "They're happy tears!" Judging by the smile, that was the truth. "Tell Applebloom and Scootaloo I said thanks too." "Hey, Razz', mind if Ah sign yer book? Just this once?" Apple Bloom asked. Razzaroo startled, but nodded. "Be our guest." She gave her pen to Apple Bloom. The filly didn't write her name, instead she drew in a minute a simple but iconic pretty pony figure. "How's that for a signature?" Razzaroo gave a hug and so did Apple Bloom. "It's beautiful!" Razzaroo looked to Scootaloo, both smiling. Razzaroo didn't have to say a word for Scootaloo to get the picture. "Aloha, Razzaroo, see you later." "Aloha to you too." The two hugged. Razzaroo pushed 'On A Prayer' back out to 'sea' and her little ship turned out to be pedal powered, making the little fan in the back turn, speeding her away. "Girls, pinkie Pie told me to say thanks for what we did," Sweetie said. "She hadn't seen anything yet!" Scootaloo said proudly. The foals ran up the waiting gangplank as the MoonPearl 'hoisted anchor' and sailed again. Apple Bloom was the first to notice that Pipsqueak's hat now had a gold star sticker on it. > Lickety Split Sunday Island During The Storm (Big Turning Point) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Big turns ahead! None of Pipsqueak's crew questioned when Ah stood at the front of the ship again, tellin' 'em where to 'sail'. It didn't really seem to matter which way we were facin', the wind seem ta be always at our backs. Olo The Owlbear steered the ship the way Ah said ta. Instead of bein' filled with fireflies, Olo was MADE of fireflies... So kinda goes without sayin' none of us said how Owlbears aren't supposed ta be smart enough ta sail ships, and were said to eat anythin' that moved (including ponies), were always hungry with a beak like a steel trap and angry at everythin'. Ah think they were made up, they were said to be rivals with bugbears and kept each other in check. Spike, Twist, Silver Spoon, and Shiny Star went back belowdecks 'where it was safe'. "We art the crew, thou art the passengers, tis our duty to look after thee," Moonlight explained. None of our friends questioned where we were going. Button Mash said it was because, "They're part of the escort quest. The progress gauge says we're two-thirds complete, by the way." "Thanks." We must have given the slip to whatever spooked Blanky, ‘cause the wolf wasn't acting like a field mouse locked in a room with Opal. After what happened with the 'side quest' trap, gettin' a taste of what it was like for everypony the curse possessed, and givin' a new home to some lonely shadows after Umbra Breeze used them to try and kill us... Ah was more determined than ever to fix this mess Mr. Umbra Breeze's curse had turned Equestria into! Ah was focused! Ah'd fought this dang curse from the inside and won! Ah felt weights gone from off my back like Ah could fly! Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Button Mash were all practicin' their fightin' moves, while Blanky was our lookout, on our rear. Pipsqueak's crew had really appreciated the cupcakes. My practice? Was kinda gettin' that usin' my truth eye like this. It was weird, but now Ah could actually make out which way the fog was movin'. How it was flowin'. Kinda like how an artist sees the swirls in the paint...okay, knowin' that is new. Ah looked looked at my still-blank flank, started to pout, but changed my mind. It wouldn't be right if Ah just took Toola-Roola's mark. Ah have to find my cutie mark. Ah saw the way truth was leadin' us comin' up. "Girls! Button! Be ready! Here comes the next one!" We braced ourselves. If some nasty hand or some other white ball came down to snatch us, we'd be ready this time! If it was Applejack, I'd help. If it was Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo's turn. If Fluttershy, our best chance was freein' Angel first. Magic, wing, blocky-sword, hooves, all ready! Ah was almost let-down when the MoonPearl just put down her anchor and extended the gangplank into the big white bubble without any nasty surprises. Like before, 'Rear-Admiral' Pipsqueak told us his crew hadda foalsit the ship. It was gettin' a bit disturbin', frankly. Then again, maybe it really was better this way. With Blanky in Sweetie's saddlebags, and Button guardin' our rear, we marched single-file into the next 'level' as Button Mash would say. "Why'd the truth lead us here?" Ah asked. It was another typical house in Ponyville. A lot like Button Mash's, but obviously a lot older. Ah think Ah'd even seen it in old pictures of Ponyville… pictures taken from the time Granny Smith was a filly. Oh, and the paint woulda looked better a couple shades lighter, but that might have been the weird shadin' the world had. If Ah had to put a name to it, it looked exactly like the colors and details of the inside of Red Heart's hospital. The mist on the ground was less than a few strugglin' wisps. And the sky was blue again and there was Princess Celestia's sun, early in the sky! Scootaloo's feathers ruffled. "I'm never forgetting this place or the dog barks! It's Lickety-Split's house!" Scootaloo eyes shifted left and right. "Button, is this here another 'side quest?'" Ah asked. Button scrolled through his menu. "Doesn't say it is-HEY!" A little bar filled all the way up, and there was a happy jingle sound with confetti. "Our escort mission with Spike is complete! 'Congratulations, you've escorted Spike The Dragon, Twist, Silver Spoon, and Shiny Star safely to their destination!' Another window popped up, listing how many bits and 'exp.' we got. "Oooh! We all leveled up!" "Forget about that!" Scootaloo said, "Button Mash, you said you'd talked with Lickety-Split before, right?" "Yeah, he seemed really happy about me asking for details about all the legends he family knew. He even said my family is from Dream Valley too, how cool is that?" "That'll have to do! You got any silver weapons in that floating window of yours? Or we might end up as werewolves!" "Actually it's damage REDUCTION werewolves have, so it's possible to hurt them with overwhelming force, not just silver, it's damage IMMUNITY that you can't use that type of attack against-" "Whatever!" "Werewolves?" Sweetie and Ah exclaimed. "REMEMBER?! Nurse, Doctor, UGH, Red Heart's hospital?! Barking Mad was a werewolf! What does that mean for her family? Like Lickety Split?!" We all paled. - (Button Mash's Journal): For a second, I wondered if Lickety-Split was a GIRL werewolf now... but then I remembered that we were both named after girls in our families from Dream Valley, and I hadn't turned into a girl, so I guessed he'd be okay too. And if he wasn't, I really hope I wouldn't become a girl when we met him, or else that'd make things really awkward with Sweetie Belle.) - We formed a circle and got ready for the monster attack we knew was comin'! Except it didn't. We waited, and waited, the sun risin'. "Well... it isn't a full moon, so I guess we're okay?" Button Mash asked. "...Good point," Scootaloo said. We crept towards the house. Ah was still tense, just in case it turned out these werewolves didn't play by 'the rules' or there was a wicked witch or somethin' waitin' for us. This ain't 'bout there bein' NICE werewolves, this werewolf-ism is a CURSE, Red Heart said Barking Mad wasn't in control. My eyes and Sweetie's magic sense ready to pick up any bad surprises. Among the wall-side bushes, Ah crept up and took a peek inside through a closed window. Ah saw Lickety Split, and another pony. Just sittin' in the livin' room, talkin' with books and cookies all around. Both of 'em were colored kinda like how Red Heart and her ponies' had been, like watercolors: not like the curse, but not like how Ah knew things were supposed to be neither. It took a while for me to recognize Speedy Delivery or Post-Haste as he got called too. He was the teenage colt who delivered Applejack's letter after she didn't come back from the Canterlot Rodeo. Ah remember he thought the party was for 'im, cause it was his birthday. Ah didn't give 'em one thought as we pushed him out, Ah was honestly surprised when Pinkie Pie gave 'im a piece of cake. Ah didn't think if he was lonely, Ah was worried where my sister was... Ah couldn't hear what they were sayin'. Though Post-Haste had bandages here and there, my truth didn't see anythin' nasty in 'em or wrong with 'em. Lickety-Split, Ah focused on 'em, and Ah actually fell backwards at what Ah saw. "OW!" "Hey!" "Ouch!" "Apple Bloom!" "W-what did you see?" Sweetie asked, a little scared. "T-there's a bug-worm inside him, like Ah'd saw with Miss Cheerilee, but it's small, and ... Ah've been on a farm enough to tell the difference between somethin' sleepin', and ... never wakin' up again. Lickety-Split has a ka-put curse inside 'em!" That got us into a ruckus (or fracas). It's a miracle we didn't get their attention. "Was he a werewolf?" Scootaloo asked. "He didn't look like one." "Maybe that's why the curse is finished in him?" Sweetie asked. "But who did it if we didn't?" Button Mash asked. Blanky sniffed the air, and didn't look he smelled anythin' bad. "Well, since Ah didn't see anythin' else nasty, Ah vote for the direct approach." One show of hooves and one paw later, we were at the front door, and gave a knock. Ah noticed there were prayers to Megan, Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence written all around the door frame. Lickety-Split looked out through the peep hole with a mirror. "Who goes there?" "Hi, Split!" "Oh, hey, Button Mash." "Can we come in, please? We have some friends who are looking for a place to stay for a little while." We all looked at Button Mash. "Hey, the escort quest led us right here, this has to be where we let them off, right?" Ah'll admit. Ah didn't like the idea of not lettin' Silver and Spike help just cause 'the game rules said so'. Okay, Twist tried to help and Shiny Star fought somethin' nasty too and won while we fought our twins! That just made me less happy that 'the game' was sayin' that they couldn't come with us. We needed all the help we could get couldn't we? Button must'a seen my face cause he put a hoof on my shoulder. Heck, none of us looked happy at it except Blanky! "Girls, I know it isn't fair I got to come along while Silvery and Spike can't. But I didn't pick who got to be a player character. The game selected me, so here I am. We're the ones stuck trying to lift the curse from Equestria. At least they didn't get broken legs or turned to stone or somethin' to force us to leave 'em." "Maybe they'll come with us anyway," Scootaloo said defiantly. "That might cause things to glitch out-" "That's it!" Said Lickety behind the door. "You're Button Mash! Come on in!" The front door opened. The inside of Lickety Split's house was remarkable for being unremarkable. Oh, there were a few surprisin' things, like some little pony figures that looked REALLY old. A pink stone brick in a display case marked 'From Dream Castle.' And a tattered cloth map with REALLY OLD Equestrian that Ah think read 'Dreaming Dip.' Lickety-Split looked at us like he was worried we were the monsters in disguise! He gave each of us except Button Mash a magnet from his family fridge that truth showed were just magnets. "Good, you're not changelings," Lickety-Split said relieved. "Everypony knows Changelings burn at the touch of cold iron." "I'm pretty sure that's a myth," Sweetie Belle said. We should've been happy Lickety-Split was okay... but... we were all distracted that'd we'd drop-off our friends like cargo. "Hey, you okay, Speedy?" Scootaloo asked Post-Haste, who just sat on the couch quietly. "I just... had some close calls out there delivering mail yesterday... just... crashing here." It'd been at least a day since this whole nightmare had started? "Did you try Red Heart's hospital?" Ah asked. "I ... couldn't seem to find it, the roads on Ponyville are... always so confusing." Neither of 'em course so much as looked at Blanky. Lickety-Split looked outside. "Have any of you seen mom?" "Your mom?" Scootaloo parroted. "She...she broke out of the house, and didn't come home after the sun rose... I'm worried." Split deflated. Scootaloo and Sweetie looked at each other all awkward-like. Humph. "Yer ma... she's sick like yer grandma?" Split gave me that kind of look that said, 'Ya don't know grass is green?' "We mighta run into 'er... we got chased by a werewolf yesterday, didn't get a good look at 'er. Sorry, Split." What was with the look Sweetie gave me? There was no way to sugarcoat this. "Split, could ya help us jog Sweetie Belle's memory? She forgot some of the bad stuff that's been happenin' in Ponyville. Were ya sick like yer ma and grandma? And...are ya better now?" "That's pretty precise question," Post-Haste butted in. "Nopony asked ya." Post-Haste looked like somepony slapped 'em. If this was where 'the game' was gonna force us to leave our friends, then that meant the sooner they'd be safe, right? So best figure this place is pretty safe, like Red Heart's. And we got a bigger chance my sister's next. Don't look at me like that! Two ponies with truth can trounce these lies! UGH! Sorry! Ah gotta get used to these curve balls. "Hey!" Split stepped up for his friend. Sweetie trotted back. "Please," Scootaloo flapped down between us. "Can you tell us, Split?" Lickety-Split rubbed his shoulders, and let out a small laugh. "I-it's actually kinda funny... I was scared what I'd do to my friends... I... for... I don't know when Grandma infected me and Mom, IT WASN'T HER FAULT! I... I don't know why me and Mom weren't at the hospital too... it doesn't make sense... like Somnambula's illusions... UGH! And you three had to go posting that picture of Grandma transformed in the school paper-" "AH SWEAR ON MA AND PA'S GRAVES: -THAT- GABBY GUMS AIN'T US! Cross Mah Heart, Hope Ta Fly, Stick a Cupcake in Mah eye!" My voice echoed off the walls, Ah made my own ears ring. Now all eyes were on me. "Uh, can ya pretty please with sugar on tell us what happened, Split?" "... I'm sorry," Lickety-Split said. "I remember that apology you wrote in the paper. It's just-" "-we're just what everypony thinks about when they hear 'Gabby Gums,'" Sweetie sighed. "Uh, Sweetie, for what it's worth, I remember how upset you girls were in class, I knew that Gabby Gums wasn't you," Button Mash said lowly. "... Thanks, Button." She gave him a slight nuzzle. (Scootaloo's Diary: Apple Bloom... I know her parents are gone... but no pony talks about it. At least I know mom and dad are out there, right?) Split sat down on the couch. "It happened like this: I'd locked myself in my room. I don't know why Mom didn't do the same. Then somepony opened my door with a magic screwdriver. "It was a brown earth pony with a spiky brown mane and an hourglass cutie mark, wearing a green tie... but all I saw was somepony to spread the curse to. But he seemed to know that already. "'Look at me! I'm a car! Chase me!' he called as he ran. He ran down the hall into the living room, just as I was able to catch up with him, it turns out he'd set up a trap, and I was tied down like a mad dog." The pony-shaped wolf beast snarled and howled at the uninfected pony not five hooves from him. The stallion flipped through pages of some really old book. On it was a little note that read 'Please return to secret compartment in Golden Oaks Library -Magic Star'. He spoke like a doctor giving a booster shot, or maybe Twilight Sparkle reading off a checklist. "Let's see here: -Step zero: for best results, treat victim while in cursed form." The wolf colt howled. "That's taken care of, -Step one: Poke the frogs/palms of both forelegs with a silver needle." The young wolf colt yelped as something sharp poked him on the end of both his front legs. "-Step two: Hit the werewolf (while patient is in beast form) on the head with the flat side of a silver blade three times, while calling them by their full Alicorn name or their full Human name each time. Well, that might be a problem. I'm short one blue box." He turned the page. "Except, it seems a pony qith quite lovely hoof-writing wrote down a list of 'true names' here. Like Lickety-Split the first, and for some reason the colt version of her name. Ahem." He picked up a silver knife and turned it so it was flat sided towards the werewolf. "Linus Splitter," WHACK! "Linus Splitter," WHACK! "Linus Splitter," WHACK! That hurt. "-Finally, fully believing it will work, and having trust that it will, tell the beast-curse to be gone in the name of St. Cuthbert... Very well." The stallion spoke in a stern, powerful voice that held the might of centuries behind it. "Curse of the wolf! I! Time Turner! The Doctor! Command ye! In the name of Saint Cuthbert! BEGONE!" The wolf colt howled so loud it hurt. A massive wolf shape shadow rose out of the beast colt, which twisted and distorted, before being torn apart and fading away. The wolf colt turned back into an earth pony foal. The world changed from the charcoal on pink paper to a watercolors style. And instead of a sun/moon constantly noon/midnight, it was dark, but dawn was coming. "Well, that went better than I expected. Guess that wasn't just tales from the Land of Fiction. I'd stick around, lad, I surely would, but sadly, I have a million more appointments. Ta-ta... and good luck." The stallion raced out the front door. Lickety Split got to his hooves, incredibly dizzy, but feeling himself. He looked at his hooves. "I'm free." Less than a minute later, a bleeding teenage earth pony shambled to his family's front door. Split took one look at his injured club mate and rushed for the bandages and first-aid kit. (Button Mash's Journal: That was quite the flash back. I knew Mr. Time Turner had a lot of neat stuff, but I didn't know he knew how to cure werewolves too! Cool! It's saved in my cut-scene archive!) The girls all huddled together, but there was no way I was being left out this time! "So somepony was able to take out one of the curses without us?" Scootaloo asked. "Then... " She fidgeted. "What's the point of us risking our lives like this?" "Yer askin' that?" Apple Bloom blinked. "Dash told me to pick my battles. And if there are other ponies who can save the day, why are we the ones doing the most nasty risks? We're just kids!" I put a hoof to my chin. "It could be like Dragon Eggs Zenoverse." I love Sweetie Belle, but I wish she and her friends would stop looking at me weird all the time. "Lemme try and explain: when you're back at the hub world, you run into other members of the group you're in that are off on their own adventures stopping other plans by the same baddies you're fighting! One of them's really cool and stopping this big three-way war back in the Dragon Eggs era!" "You're into more than just games?" Scootaloo asked. "You know the manega's plot if you play story-mode." Scootaloo asked, "So why doesn't he save your timeline too?" "Oh! Because they're happening at the same time! If both of you were in the same place the bad guys would win in the other place." Scootaloo frowned. "Why aren't we handling the little stuff and have THEM handle the big stuff?! Maud Pie said 'you're the only ones' and it turns out there are others who ARE! We've been lied to!" "Well...Oh! Wait, Mr. Turner didn't cure Split like we did the others, did he?" "Huh?" Applebloom blinked, "Wait, he's right!" Scootaloo growled. "How?!" She sighed. "We cure ponies by remindin' 'em of who they really are, right?" "Yeah, or at least why...they...shouldn't be...doing what they are...oh." "Exactly, Mr. Turner cured Split of a werewolf cure, that's different," I said. "Kinda like in Ponymon Colosseum you can't cure Shadow Ponymon the same way you cure anything else!" Apple Bloom put a hoof to her mouth. "So... different doctors for different sicknesses?" "What's with the huddle?" Post-Haste asked. "Whao! Hey! Private Crusaders stuff, Speedy!" Scootaloo waved her hooves. "Sorry, kids." Post-Haste sighed. "We haven't formally introduced ourselves, have we?" He reached out his hoof. "I'm Speedy Delivery, but everypony calls me Post-Haste." "I'm Button Mash, these are my friends Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Nice to meet you Post-Haste." "Hey Scootaloo, nice braid." "Hey, Speedy, thanks," she looked at us. "We cross by each other at the post office sometimes." "Nice to meet ya, again Post Haste." Ah stuck out mah hoof. "Sorry about shortin' ya on yer birthday, Ah was just worried 'bout my sister." He blinked and tilted his head. "Huh? Oh that? Wow, haven't thought about that in forever." He shook 'Bloom's hoof, eyeing her earring just a second, before shaking hooves with Sweetie, too. "Nice knowin' there ain't hard feelin's." "Nice to meet you." Sweetie said. "Likewise," he smiled. "Nice capes." "Thanks Speedy, we're kinda attached to 'em right now," Scootaloo said. "Nice to see you finally made it to a club meeting Button," Split said with a smile. "Sorry that it's just us two today." "Club?" One of my friends asked. "History before the Age of Wonders! My first ancestor, and Megan, the Moochick (I've got some of his books!), and the original General Firefly, ya know." "Oh right, the Smooze." Apple Bloom shuddered. "Oh! So you girls know!" "More than ya can imagine," Apple Bloom said. She's not kidding! Believe it! "Oh! Really? Sorry the others aren't here!" "Who?" Sweetie asked. "Lyra, Bon Bon, Moth, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle." + "Applejack?" (Apple Bloom's Diary: Had AJ told me about this? Ah can't remember. Ah don't keep track of everythin' she does!) "Twilight Sparkle visited your club?" Sweetie asked in as awe as Ah was. "Yep!" 'Split said proud of himself. "She was really interested! She even offered to buy some of my family books for the public library! Nice to see she was willing be part of an NPC." Button Mash's jaw dropped. "NPC?" He parroted. "Non-Political-Community." "Oh, I thought you meant... never mind." "Seriously, nice to see you Mash and... " Split hugged himself. "I'm happy I'm cured. I just wish Time Turner did this sooner for Mom and Grandma." "I'm sure he's out there helping your mom right now," Sweetie Belle lied. Ah felt a little ripple of disgust. Ah shook my head. No! A lie is when yer tryin' to play somepony... what was that word again Sweetie knew? 'Sea-mantics'? Like when ya say yer starvin' after a hard day's work but are just hungry? That's when Ah noticed it. There on the table in the middle room, Ah saw the copy of the Foal Free Press. There was this tiny cover of fog around it; didn't feel important so Ah didn't talk about it. Ah'd seen the copies of the Foal Free Press before lyin' about the school yard before when we saved the whole class from Miss Cheerilee. But now Ah saw somethin', like a flame traveling up an invisible fuse. It was so fast Ah just had time for my brain to figure out what Ah was seein' before it reached the paper and the patch of fog rippled out, but dissolved as it got away from the paper. But Ah saw the words change. I trotted over and picked it up. Ah saw the by line. Ugh. Knowin' how this cursed worked now Ah didn't say it out loud. It showed a picture of Bon Bon, beatin' up changelings who looked liked they didn't know the right way to throw a punch. The story was more about the Royal Guard beatin' the changelings easy peasy, but also talked about 'Royal Agent Sweetie Drops' helpin'. After Ah risked gettin' dragon-ported inside out to save my sister, and everythin' else we went through... Ah felt insulted. Everythin' we'd worked for just brushed aside. Stepped on. ... I KNOW it would have been better if the changelings just got their flanks kicked but... from everythin' Sweetie said, the bug ponies would have fought to the end for their queen... Cadence wouldn't have become their Queen and we'd wouldn't have become friends with 'em... and... Ah hate to say it, but Sweetie's dark magic has helped us out a lot since then. Either way...there'd be trade-offs. The Bon-Bon on the cover, and the way the paper talked about 'er, it wasn't like the Bon-Bon Ah'd seen in Ponyville or Canterlot. "Apple Bloom?" Sweetie asked. "Paper got updated..." Ah said, "It's just garbage from... 'Gabby Gums'. Don't believe a word of it. In fact, yer better off not even readin' it," Ah said foldin' the piece of paper that actually made me feel dirty just holin' it. "I was going to ask Mom to return it," Split said. "Ya should just burn it," Ah said matter of factly. "Hey," Scootaloo said, "We still need to get the paper to write retractions remember? They stink, but we're gonna need'em ta fix this new 'Gabby Gums The Second's mess." "Oh right." It wasn't just Ponyville that was cursed... it was the entire world... that many lies, everywhere, changin' everythin'? And more poppin' up every time somepony says a lot of things? There was no way we were gonna save the world by spadin' these lies ones by one. "Lickety-Split," Sweetie asked pointing at the wall, "is that soccer trophy yours?" "Yep!" "But I thought your cutie mark was for ice-cream." "Just because ice cream's what I'm best at, doesn't mean it's the ONLY THING I'm involved with! I figure I'll rack up some trophies while I'm young, then work at an ice cream shop for bits to help my family keep our stories going. Ice cream's a family tradition too," Split said smiling. "Ya care a lot 'bout tradition, don't ya?" Ah asked. "... I know I don't seem like the colt who would be... But yeah. Have to stay the cool kid, but my family means a lot. Lot of these stories mention YOUR first ancestor Apple Bloom. Applejack The First." "Really?!" "Yes really! She saved a bunch of ponies from a mean wizard! I really wish Applejack had visited more than once. She told me after... after Princess Cadence's wedding she could have saved herself and a friend a lot of trouble if I'd taken what I was saying more seriously. Or rather... she said 'not everything I was saying was distorted.'" Now Ah'm stuck wonderin' what that meant . . . "Wind Whistler, Shady, Posey, Megan, Firefly, Surprise, Applejack I, Moon Dancer I..." "Moon Dancer's ancestor too?" Sweetie gasped. "And I'm pretty sure Twilight's, Pinkie Pie's, Fluttershy's... it's amazing how many ponies who can trace their lines back to dream Valley are in Ponyville... and how many don't even know or care." "Hey," Post-Haste patted him on the back. "I care. I don't have any fancy family history at all. My family name doesn't mean anything. But I still want to learn all this stuff. And if I do, then I'm sure lots of ponies do too... Hey! Kids! How about we publish some of Lickety's family stories in the paper? They're pretty interesting! It'll give them something to print other than Gabby Gums." "...That's actually a pretty good idea..." Apple Bloom smiled. "Thanks." "Where are your really old Moochick books?" Button Mash asked and smiled. "Oh, there's on the book case over there and-" "Thanks, friend!" Button Mash gave him a hug and scurried over, and took one book off the shelf, flipped through the pages, grabbed the next book off the shelf, rinse and repeat. (Button Mash's Journal: I just need to look over 'em and they'll appear in my menu! Only works on 'plot stuff', not math books. I don't cheat.) "WOW! There's MORE THAN ONE book you can read on the bookcase! And they have more than one page of text!" Lickety Split looked at Sweetie Belle, "No matter what, Button Mash is Button Mash." "You can say that again," Scoots remarked. "So..." Sweetie Belle said as Button continued to skim books. "About our friends... we haven't really told them yet about staying at your place... and since your mom isn't home, it would be kinda rude ... and if your mom is... sick... it would be dangerous for them to stay." "It's not gonna be the full moon again for another month," Lickety-Split said, "And my family LOVES company... she won't mind." Ah was reminded how Button Mash's ma went along with with Button Mash goin' along with us. Ah guess this is 'the game' at work again. "We... better get our friends off the ship then," Scootaloo said. "Ship?" Split asked, his eyes narrowing. "Uh, Pipsqueak's magic pirate ship," Sweetie said uncomfortably. Split snorted. "Pipsqueak? Psh. he doesn't even appreciate how pirates were just dirty, nasty, thieves on water. He doesn't actually do anything actual pirates did. He's not even trying to learn his own talent, he's just riding on Princess Luna's tail." Button Mash waved a hoof, "Split, don't start this again." "Nothing I'm saying is a lie. He can't just play pirates all day if he wants to be anything other than Princess Luna's pilot fish." "He has a point," Ah said. "But you can say it a lot nicer," Sweetie added. "Besides," Scootaloo said, "with how much he likes Luna, I'm sure he's gonna end up in the Night Guard." "You can't make your dreams comes true if dreaming is all you do," Lickety-Split said. "'Split," Post-Haste said, "Pipsqueak IS A KID. Like you. Let him dream for now. Let him play pretend. He's not hurting anypony. He's just a foal, and he's happy. He can worry about growing up later." "... Sorry." "It's what we all do, don't worry about it, Split," Post-Haste said. He wasn't doing much else, but given how he was bandaged up, that wasn't a bad thing. "So... who are our house guests?" "Oh," Sweetie fidgeted, "Spike-" "COOL! I have a lot I bet we can talk about. But... I've... never really been able to make friends with him before." "Twist. Miss Shiny Star, she's a unicorn grown-up. And... Silver Spoon?" "... At least they're finally out of that rotten place," was all Lickety Split said on that. Ah took another look at the paper. Why? Tah see if Ah could maybe think of some stuff ahead of time tah safe AJ! Only thing this rag was good for. Then Ah noticed... "Girls! Button?!" "Huh?" Scootaloo asked. Ah pulled 'em aside. "One sec." "What is it, 'Bloom?" Button asked as we got in another huddle. "Look at next page's headline." Ah showed 'em the article Ah found. It'd...been a rotten one about Zecora before. But now: "'Local Shaman possessed by evil spirit. Spirit exorcised?!'" "Isn't that what we made the story think happened?" Button asked, rubbing his head. "Exactly, and look at this one, Sweetie." "'Local Fashionista saved from eldritch monster by heroic dragon?!'" Sweetie questioned. "But...how?" Button flipped through. "And here's where the Cakes broke up. Says they got back together!" Ah looked at it with just my truth eye just to double check. "Girls...the ink's different." "Huh?" Scootaloo asked. "Ah mean...look close." Looking close, ink for the new parts didn't have that same slight scribble everything cursed had. Thanks Toola-Roola. It wasn't printed with type, just neatly written. "Hoof-writing looks kinda familiar," Scootaloo said. "Don't ask me why." Ah couldn't help but smile at seein' the reminders of the good we'd done so far. "Can you please stop doing that in my house?" Lickety-Split asked. "Sorry," Sweetie said and we broke the huddle. "We better get our friends now." We left 'Split's house to get our friends. Ah didn't know if Button Mash was right, but there had to be a reason why the truth brought us here, right? Then Featherweight plopped out of the fog wall. No big introduction, poor colt just did a soft crash landing on the ground. Ah saw no curses in 'em, guess bein' so unnoticed nopony talks 'bout ya is a blessin' in disguise today. But his eyes, Ah hadn't seen it from this side, but Ah remember that look, runnin' for my life in Sunny Town, what had he seen in the fog? He was battered and bruised and his body twitched. He looked at us scared, worried, but... maybe hopeful? "It's alright Featherweight, nopony is going to hurt you," Sweetie said reaching for him, but he pulled away, scrunching his nose like Sweetie smelled bad or somethin'. Button Mash surprised us all when he knelt down to eye level with Featherweight. "Hey dude, great to see you're okay. Have you been stuck playing a solo adventure this whole time? That's rough...Sorry we haven't gotten to play lately. I had plenty of two player game we could've tried out but we didn't. I... I'm sorry. There's no restart but, can we try again please?" Featherweight stared at him, then reached out his hoof which Button Mash took. Next, we had Featherweight back in the house in bed in one of Split's guest rooms with band-aids and bags of ice on him, he looked like an apple tree after a bucking contest. None of us chatted how we thought Split's house didn't look this big on the outside. Post Haste delivered a pencil and paper for Featherweight to write anything he wanted to say. 'Auntie Mayflower?' He wrote with his mouth. His writing was shaky, he was obviously hurting. "Ah'm sorry Feather', we ain't seen 'er," Ah said. He looked worse. "Featherweight... are Shady Daze and Truffle okay?" Sweetie asked. He wrote 'Truffle? No. Shady.' He paused. 'Not seen since,' pause again. 'Since all the lies became true.' We all gasped. Featherweight remembered. He'd been part of the paper. Maybe like bein' in the eye of a hurricane? "Featherweight, you know?" Button Mash, promoted to Captain of Her Royal Ship The Obvious! 'So do all of you?' "Yes!" Button Mash yelped waving his hooves. 'Please. I need to help him. Shady. Help.' "You're in no condition to go anywhere, Featherweight, I'm sorry," Sweetie said. Featherweight tried to flap his wings to argue, but only cringed and fell back to bed. "I promise we'll help him and everypony. I know this sounds crazy, but we're on a quest to get the world back to normal instead of a horror movie!" Featherweight frowned sadly. 'For you? No. Save Shady.' "We will!" Scootaloo nodded. 'And,' Pause, 'Gabby Gums too.' "You know who Gabby Gums is?" Scootaloo asked. 'Alula, Tootsie, they're lied to. Alula thinks she's a princess.' Scootaloo looked at us apologetically then said to Featherweight, "Alula's a clubmate of mine, I'll knock sense into her, like friends should." "And Tootsie's guardians are friends of ours too, so same there!" Ah said, determined. 'Mr. Umbra Breeze. Not pony. MONSTER! Shadows, tentacles. NOT pony.' "We know, he's called Upepo Shetani," Scootaloo said. "We'll kick his butt, don't worry." 'Thank you.' And he drew a heart. Scoots blushed. Then he quickly scribbled. 'Alula, Tootsie, only 2/3 Gabby Gums. Pegasus. Unicorn.' We looked at each other. The idea that Gabby Gums was STILL a trio... it hadn't even hit us as far as Ah remembered. Pegasus. Unicorn. Featherweight scribbled more, but it was like there was nothing there. Wait... was there more? It was faded. Even with my truth eye. It hit me. "The last Gabby Gums is an earth pony?" A nod. He drew a pointy circle. Then he drew a crown. Then the point circle again, and circled it. 'Cutie mark.' "That's Gabby Gums No. 3's cutie mark?" He nodded as well as he could. He began to write down. But again it was like he was writing nothing. But my truth saw SOMETHING. ='Fall of Homura' Madoka Rebellion= Featherweight scribbled more and more. He drew a diamond, then a crown again. Then he drew a stick pony with wings and a horn? Featherweight grunted and threw the pencil away and coughed. He kept coughing. He was hurting. He took a deep breath and wheezed. He looked scared, but then brave. He coughed again. "Bluban, bluara," he blurted. We were frozen stiff. Featherweight, he spoke. "Die...mound... tear, era." He breathed and wheezed, and tried again. "Diamond Tiara! The third Gabby Gums is Diamond Tiara! She's an Alicorn!" Sweetie Belle fainted. +++ I only took a short nap. Talking for the first time in a year for Featherweight was super tiring, and he didn't have much else to say. None of us asked what he'd gone through in the fog. We were lucky we lasted till we got the truth, he'd been in there since this all started, alone. I woke up with my friends around me; Button Mash whistling and blushing a bit, wearing a prince costume he immediately changed out of when he saw I was looking. I promised my friends I was alright. The normal stuff. But Apple's face said she knew I was hiding something. No more evasions. "Girls, I know where my premonitions have been coming from." No pretenses, no speeches, just go for it Sweetie. "On Discord's Day, I was turned into a real doll, and so was another filly. We danced. Like toys. We pull parts off ourselves and switched them around. Then the rainbow happened." I gritted my teeth. I HATED having to tell this. But if I kept it hidden, it would just make things WORSE when they found out later. "We didn't switch back parts before it happened." It was public secret before the psychologists got ponies to open up, how many flat out LIED that they 'only had vague recollections' of what Discord did to them. "The other filly, it was Diamond Tiara." I ignore the gasps. "I think when I was in all that pain before the wedding must have been when Umbra Breeze got her. It's why I've known little things about Diamond, her dad, her visiting big sister Rarity to learn how to sew, yes she was. I kept coming up with excuses for how I really knew. But! Please! I don't want you guys to give up on her! Silvery doesn't deserve to lose her!" Scootaloo sighed, "I already promised that if I'd give the bugs, I mean changelings a second chance, I'd give her one, and Dash says you shouldn't go back on your word. So that's that." "And Ah already know she's just a spoiled filly who made some really wrong choices, not a monster that needs to get banished to Tartarus," Apple Bloom said matter of fact. "Umbra Breeze is just using Tootsie and Alula too. If this was Diamond Tiara's idea we'd be her court jesters and Silver Spoon would be Sub-Queen by now, and everypony would be sayin' how great she is. And our doubles selves would've been blank flank losers, and yours wouldn't've been pretty and nice." Blanky grumbled and looked away from me. "Uh, I'm with you Sweetie?" Button Mash said awkwardly. (Button's Journal: Not good time to mention how Diamond Tiara was sounding like she was gonna turn out to be the true final boss or the fake pre-final boss.) "Anypony surprised Diamond Tiara's an Alicorn now?" Apple Bloom asked. "She always acted like one, and her dad treated like one, I'm surprised I'm surprised with the curse," Scootaloo said. "Her life wasn't as perfect as it looked," I said. "More of your psychic link with her Sweetie?" Scoots asked. "Maybe, I dunno, I think it's just super strong feelings I get." I wish I could give better answers. Scoots shuddered. "Wait, you exchanged parts, does that mean, mean SHE can feel really strong stuff you feel?" My heart skipped a beat. "I don't know, I... I guess?" My friends looked at each other. My ears wilted. "You want me to stay here, so I can't 'spy' on you?" "NO!" All my friends echoed. "NO way!" "No how!" "Not happening!" "So WHAT if she knows what you're feeling? Diamond Tiara never cared about feelings, it's not gonna do her any good," Scoots said. "You bein' with us might be why Umbra Breeze hasn't used her yet," Apple Bloom said. "He doesn't dare." "Diamond, did tone down most of her bad stuff when I was nearby for a while before she disappeared," I thought back. Button said, "If we tell Silvery, she'll rush off to save her... and run straight into Alula and Tootsie." "So we're gonna lie to her?" Apple Bloom didn't look happy. "Just not tell her," Button said. "A lie of omission is still a lie." When did 'Bloom learn that word? "We can tell her after we snap Diamond Tiara back to ... better," I said. Apple Bloom snorted at being out voted, and NOT looking happy. It was strange, Diamond Tiara had been such a regular part of our lives... for good or bad... then just poof, gone. All that time Twist said she ran away just to get attention. Filly Rich was sure she'd been foalnapped. Some of us beginning to think we'd never see her again, and for Silver Spoon that wasn't a good thing. And just like that, she slip back into our lives. No fireworks, no answers, no excitement, she was just back. It was... kinda a letdown, and was its own special brand of unreal that put horror movies to shame. +++ We ALL needed a break after that! Bloom, Sweetie, me, and Mash. And Featherweight needed bed rest. Apple Bloom was listening to Lickety-Split's stories about humans and the first pony herds... a lot of the details sounded different from what I'd overheard before. Had he changed them up? Or... did he have so much heart in telling things as close to what they were, his story changed to what was right instead of the world changing to what he thought was right? Ugh. What a headache. Post-Haste shared some of the crazier places he'd delivered mail to (insisting once he'd delivered mail to somepony called 'Ponythulu'). Did I feel bad for Featherweight and Silver Spoon? Of course I did. They WANTED to help, but we were drafted to the save the world and they weren't. I had the demented thought of Silver, Featherweight, Split, Pip's crew, Haste, all of them, running around spreading rumors that could change things to help us, like giving us armor of invincibility and excalibur or fixing the other Elements of Harmony. But Apple Bloom was the only one who could get us through the fog safely, Pip and his crew would just go from one high-sea adventure to the next without a guide, and Featherweight had made it by the skin of his teeth, and was pretty hurt. And I was no Mash, but I also knew game got harder the longer you played. And if we kept changing stuff, wouldn't that just make it harder for us to fix stuff back later? My gut said changing reality tra-la-la was a BAD idea. Apple Bloom had done it sure, but only when it was do or die. And I thought of... my parents... everypony THOUGHT I was living with Dash as her student with my parents just living far away... had that become real now? Just like Glitter Glide and the rest had lives again? If my parents just sending me to live with Dash was true now, would I see them when I save Dash? If I said so to enough ponies, could I add in them being Wonderbolts and me being a secret talent scout? I instantly imagined what my friends would say. "That would mean the Scoots we know is just for show, and she's too cool for that!" If the story Dash invented was true... would I still be Scootaloo, the me I am now? Dangit. Well, Glitter Glide, maybe at least we can sneak you girls into the margins. None of us expected Spike, Twist, and Shiny Star, and Silver Spoon to leave the ship on their own! But abracadabra, knock on the door, and ta-da, there they were. Spike explained, "It was getting boring on the ship, Shiny Star FINALLY finished cleaning down there (or we ran out of soap), we noticed we'd stopped again, so we thought we'd come ashore." Two minutes of shaking hooves and introductions later, 'Split offered. "You guys can stay here for a while if you want." Twist took one look at Split's place, then at her friends, and back at the way she came. She said sadly. "I'm sthorry, Apple Bloom, I'm noth asth... brave asth you." "It's... it's okay Twist, Ah getcha." Apple Bloom sighed and the two hugged. "Thank you," said Shiny Star, as she placed a hoof on Silver Spoon shoulder. "We happily accept your hospitality Master Lickety-Split." Silver Spoon looked at the maid and said, "I didn't say 'yes.'" "Indeed Miss Silver Spoon," Shiny Star said sternly. "But your parents would." "You're not my parents' servant!" "No, but I am an adult, which seem to be in short supply here. And while I can't pull rank on the others, your family and Rich Filth's are still close, and I am acting in their stead, and they would never forgive each other if I allowed you to go into danger and something happened to you." "I helped during the changeling invasion... didn't I? But... that got taken care so quickly... the changelings didn't stand a chance... why... I told Daddy we needed all the help we could... but... how could I say that if the changelings all got taken care of by the royal guard." Silver Spoon looked dizzy. I shivered. I just realized: if the royal guard 'took care of' the changelings, was Kifuko okay, or had she been just in my head? Think positive! Apple Bloom sighed. "Silver Spoon, Ah'm sorry, Ah really am. But... maybe it's best if ya do stay here." "You too?! You said I helped you beat that curse!" "Silver Spoon," she leaned in and whispered in a huddle. Button Mash was saying that 'in game' nopony should've been able to overhear them except us. "You did help... but Ah may have only beat that thing from the inside cause Ah'm protected. Maud Pie gave us these enchanted versions of our capes, and she didn't have extras." "You're lying, Button Mash doesn't have one." "Ah NOT lyin'!" Bloom hissed making my fur stand on end. "An' Button's got somethin' from the princesses that helps him, and we ain't got extra and no way to get more. Ah SORRY Silver Spoon, if Ah thought Ah could tear mine in two and give ya half and it would work Ah would. Ah sorry!" Was I that upset too?... Maybe more. But we were the targets. Maybe Silver Spoon could be safe here where nopony would look for her until we had the way to the printing press unlocked, and then she could help? Maybe? Apple Bloom's eye was deciding where we went. Silver Spoon looked down so the light reflected off her glasses and we couldn't see her eyes. "Alright. I understand. I'm not as important as you." "NO!" Bloom squished Silver's cheeks with her hooves. "It's because yer important ya need ta stay here... trust me." Silver didn't stay anything, she just nuzzled Apple Bloom. And then there was one. Spike said, "Hey, I heard you know a lot about the age of Myths, my ancestors were a big thing back then." "Oh I know! I have lots of stories about them you won't find anywhere else!" Split nodded enthusiastically. "Cool! I could stay here for a good while and just-" Spike gritted his teeth. He shook his fists. He had a slight glow about him the same color as his dragon fire. "But! I promised! Twilight! I'd go with the girls! And help my friends! Twilight trusted me!" Was he... was he resisting the 'game'? (Apple's Bloom's Diary: Ah saw trees formin' outside the more Spike fought. They weren't made out of leech-bugs or fireflies, they were ones and zeroes. They were big red trees with flowers like tiger lilies. Applejack hadn't had a day of school in her life, but made sure I did. I'd seen that tree in a book, 'dragon sneeze trees'.) Apple Bloom poked me in the ribs and pointed outside, I saw the trees appearing. She whispered what they were. "Spike!" I said quickly holding his claws in my hooves. "You know organization and finding info better than any pony! We can't really get back to the library or anything! We could really use the whole bunch of stuff! Your dragon breath can really help us that way!!!" "On the sidelines?" "You're important because you can give info and guidance when we need it!" +++ Apple's Bloom's Diary: Ah thought of how Nightmare Spike's dragon-port couldn't send away Abandon, and our Spike's dragon breath just sent it to Nightmare Spike. Ah was about to tell Spike that he couldn't use his dragon breath, when Ah looked at the newspaper. Ah put it together. Ah whispered to Button Mash, "How can the newspaper update itself if sendin' somethin' from one 'level' tah another don't work?" "Uh...maybe it's cheating? The computer always cheats." "But yah can EXPLOIT a cheat or glitch, can't yah?" Button Mash nodded. "Spike!" Ah said quickly. "The curse can stop yer dragon-port from reachin' us but it can't block the newspaper! It can get through the curse since it can still update! Use that instead of the normal paper!" "My fire breath worked for contacting my-future-son." "Don't ask!" Scootaloo waved her forelegs at our friends. "But that doesn't mean it'll work for us! Since, after all, he's part of you right? You should use the paper instead! Just white out what's written and write on top of it!" "Well... okay, I guess." The green glow around him vanished, and so did the dragon-sneeze-trees. Spike grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Okay, just watch, you can count on me." Ah wasn't happy, but Ah was relieved. At least our friends would be safe here. + "So much for the replacement Cutie Mark Crusaders," said Night Gale, finishing her crayon drawing. "Back to oblivion whence they came. Easy come, easy go." Umbra Breeze continued to type. "I wonder what busybody meddled this time." "And what pudding-head meddled with Apple Bloom being turned into a root of the rumor," Night Gale added. Pharaoh of #43/#15's royal staff quivered in his grip. "We are less than pleased for this. This has gone on long enough." "Doggy is still after them," said Night Gale. "And they'll be no busybodies when he finds them," said Pharaoh of #43/#15. A pitch black breezie, Stormy, holding a pearl 'crystal ball' said, "Congo line plans tend to be taken down one by one. Why have that when you can mob the idiots all at once! Time to play hardball!" Just a bit away. "You're about to make lots of friends little blank diamond," grinned a mass of fog outside a window to nowhere, with as many eyes as fangs. The Nightfilly's eyes widened slightly. "...Father." 'I heard.' +++ "Toosie," Alula said, "I was thinking, now that we've created utopia and everypony gets to have everything be whatever they want everything to be and are free of icky 'morals'... can you introduce me to your pirate crew?" "Pipsqueak, Ruby, Dinky, Moonlight, and Noe?" "Yeah! I know that I've been keeping you from your other friends a lot lately. I want to show them that I still want to be their friend too, and being my friend doesn't mean you can't be their friend. And now that our great work is done, we can explain everything we did and that you weren't ignoring them! Let's get the sisters and Bon Bon to make up some cakes and sweets to show there's no hard feelings!" "Tootsie? How do I look?" "You look great, Truffle!" "Is the hat too much?" "I don't think so! Alula! You should go to Rarity too! She can improve your magical-filly dress too!" "Right! If she can make your costume go from perfect to super-perfect, then she can do mine too! We should go right-" "ALULA! TOOTSIE! TRUFFLE!" The Nightfilly teleported into the middle of Tootsie's room. Her Royal Canterlot Voice echoing off the walls, then assumed her toneless voice again. "Do not go outside. Do not leave the World Tower. It's very important you don't." "Why?" Truffle asked. "There's... a terrible storm that's coming." "We're magical fillies! We should go stop it!" Alula said proudly. "I'll help!" Truffle offered. "That's a great idea!" Tootsie said. "No. Don't. It's a normal storm," The Nightfilly lied perfectly. "Magical fillies shouldn't meddle with it. You and your families are given special royal permission not to have to take part. Besides, don't you know storms are the best time to tell ghost stories?" "Really?" Alula asked her friend. "Really. I'll get the sisters to send you something, I'll join you if I can, but first I've got to check with Mr. Umbra Breeze." The Nightmare filly teleported a tomb of ghost stories (complete with some minor hexes known for making shadows wiggle and lights flicker and a class 0.1 poltergeist known for making pages flutter and unseen giggles). It'd been in the children's section of the Forbidden Wing of the Canterlot Library. "Ooooooooh," They said as the tomb's skull face seemed to wink at them. The Nightmare teleported away. + There was no need for the printing press, so many ponies believed this rumor to be fact already that the country was already saturated with it more deeply than any of Crawling Chaos' own work. Lies were regarded as Morning Star's weapons, with horrible, horrible truths being the weapon of Nyarlathotrot's family, but the wise knew how to mix and match. A tube appeared in the floor, rose up, and the top flipped open, Night Gale dropped her sparkling shadow crayon drawing down the chute. It closed and the pipe vanished. Outside on the World Tower, square flood gates opened like shutters, like a circle of dams. The ring floors of openings rumbled. And darkness and smoke with twinkling lights like those of the stars flooded out in a tidal wave! Pouring like endless toxic sludge. No ripples, only a constant endless surge of starry darkness that hit the ground, and covered everything, rose, and continued to spread outward, the 'floor water' splashing through the fog at the speed of ashes from a volcanic eruption: washing through the fog, filling it completely, and covering the bubbles, and filling them with itself. Auntie Mayflower barely had time to hear the rumble, as the darkness crashed into her house, solid matter offering no resistance, then it crashed through her. The old pegasus gained no horn, or earth pony strength. All that happened was her coat turned pitch black, her cutie mark gained some vague constellation traits, and her eyes turned draconic, and her mane long and flowing. She let out an insane laugh. "The night will last forever!" And May Flower within cried. The dark flood crashed into Saint Sweet Heart's hospital. It filled all floor instantly, submerging it in moments and it was at the bottom of the 'sea' of starry darkness. "The Night will last Forever!" Laughed Nightmare Golden Harvest/Carrot Top as the darkness consumed her body. Not gaining wings or horns, only a sparkling mane and cutie mark, dragon eyes and a blackish coat. Herself screaming on the inside as her body laughed like a lunatic. "The Night will last Forever!" Shouted Nightmare Doc Top, his red cross now being a red star on a blackish brown body. "The Night will last Forever!" Cackled Nightmare Doctor Stables tossing away his coat. "The Night will last Forever!" Nightmare Sea Swirl said, the nightmare seapony crawling out of her tub. "The Night will last Forever!" Nightmare Nursery Rhyme hopped up and down, up and down, imitating what its host would do, while inside the filly cried in fear praying to Saint Sweetheart. "The Night will last Forever!" Nightmare DJ-PON3 shouted, while inside in her mind, Vinyl concluded she'd have rather been a sparkling vampire. "The Night will last Forever!" Nightmare Silver Spanner/Quickfix echoed with Nightmare Thor/Mjolnir, inside the self proclaimed Norse God incarnate swore vengeance on the demon controlling her and her friend's bodies. "The Night will last Forever!" Nightmare Glitter Glide said... and fell over, her body jerking and spasming. "What the Eternal Darkness?! WHAT? What is this?!" The Nightmare Force finding itself unable to control this body properly. It lay twitching on the floor, resisting commands. Inside, the real Glitter Glide lay surrounded by fireflies. The Nightmare Force itself held its host's head and snarled in pain, unable to escape. "You're a lie! You're a lie! You're a lie!" Vendetta Mask screamed, hitting the bodyless dark flood shadows over the head with a bedpan. "You're a lie invented to give excuses for Celestia banishing her sister to the moon because she wanted the power all to herself! You don't exist!" Snow Heart, covered her head head shouting as the Nightmares swept around her... and passed over her like oil and water. It felt like her very blood was a fire burning away that darkness. The Nightmare DJ tried to run her through with her horn instead. Nurse Sweetheart, (known as Nurse Battle Axe in the uncorrupted reality), kicked Nightmare P0N-3 in the face (forgetting her vows for the moment) and grabbed her cousin and ran. Tenderheart backed away, scared out of her mind. Doctor Redheart grabbed Vendetta Mask, who the darkness swirl around but did not touch, and ran. "FOLLOW ME!" She shouted to her family. Nurse Tenderheart instinctively listened to her big sister, as did Nurse Sweet Heart to her cousin. They ran. Nightmare Seaswirl rode on a wave of darkness, turned into a shadow and raced along the floor ahead of them before emerging and blocking their escape. Nightmare Candy Swirl hopped behind them. "We can't possess them!" "Okay let's turn them to moon beams instead! Nothing can stop the Night from lasting forever and us ruling over all creatures!" Something in Tender Heart's head clicked. "Excuse me. But your goal is eternal night, and to rule over all creatures... but wouldn't pony kind die out and you wouldn't be ABLE to rule them? I mean, plants would all die, so we'd all die eventually. And you wouldn't have any ponies to rule over." Vendetta Mask screamed, "THAT'S what I've been saying this whole time but no one believes me!" "Nightmare Moon just wanted endless night because she was jealous. What exactly do all of you want? And, she wasn't Nightmare LUNA, she was Nightmare MOON, so why would somepony else possessed by the same force NOT change their names too? And this is holy ground, shouldn't you be weaker or something?" Tender Heart continued. The two Nightmare Forces paused and looked at each other. "Uh, can we get back to you on-ACK!" The earth ponies trampled the Nightmare Force seapony and made due to their escape, the horde right behind them. + Meanwhile, the MoonPearl rocked violently as the 'waters' turned from mist to what could've been mistaken for a cloudy night. Some dark shapes tried to climb up the sides of the ship, but had all the success of water drops climbing up a wall. "Batten down the hatches!" Captain Pip ordered. "Looks like a storm's a coming!" Ruby cried when she saw nothing but the sparkling shadows and smoke all the way to the horizon. Noi and Dinky hugged her. Olo did his best to keep the ship afloat. "Be well all our friends," Moonlight prayed as she hugged Captain Pipsqueak. Their eyes on Lickety-Split's bubble. The darkness hit the bubble of reality holding Lickety Split's home... and split away from it, not able to fill it anymore than water could 'fill' a bubble of air. When the darkness flood hit, one thought shook through Lickety Split's mind. He didn't believe that Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon were separate beings, nor were Princess Gaia and Nightmare Whisper. A being who wanted endless night, would have never wanted a world of endless play. And the books wouldn't have mentioned Luna's OWN bitterness and jealousy turning her INTO Nightmare Moon if it was some outsider taking control of her body. And...all those villains...Katrina, the Penguin King, Scorpan, the Lava Demons, Niblick the Troll, Draggle...If they all were bad people that turned good and became friends, then why was it so hard to believe so were Princess Luna and Gaia?... And the darkness could not breach. "TIMED EVENT! TIMED EVENT!" Button Mash rambled. "No..." Sweetie whispered. "I, she feels... denied? Upset?" "What IS THIS?" Scootaloo wondered. "It's like the Smooze!" 'Split said. "No..." Apple Bloom said her eyes wide, as the entire sky and fog became starry darkness and smoke. "It's the biggest tall tale of them all." "The Nightmare Force has returned!" Silver Spoon shouted. Shiny Star hugged her. Twist whimpered and hugged Bloom. Post Haste said his prayers. Spike shook his head and fell on his rump. "No way..." Despair began to cover the place like a shadow, dragging the ponies and dragons down. Blanky said nothing. He only stared. He could smell it. He could hear it. He could feel it! IT WAS COMING! One thought passed through the blank pup's mind. 'Bear traps are not meant to kill.' The Nightmare Force part ways for IT, allowing IT pass freely, IT moved now faster than ever, sped on by the dark presence around IT. Blanky looked at his mistress, and ran for the front door, then smashed through it, retroactively creating a doggy door. Lickity Split remembered it coming with the house. "BLANKY!" Sweetie shouted, following her pet, her fellow CMC and Button Mash doing the same. Their friends following a bit further behind. Little Blanky stood strong and proud, his nose upward. He knew better than all that it was pointless to run now. He growled at his mistress as she got close. Applebloom bit Sweetie's tail. "Ah only heard Winona make that kinda growl when a Timber Wolf was gettin' close tah the house." Then, IT came... it tore through the fog wall like they was canvas, ripping it open and squeezing through, the Nightmare Force that flowed in with it evaporated before it hit the ground, the fog wall healing behind it. Button Mash, and his friends saw the stuff of nightmares... all the others saw was empty air, and an overwhelming feeling of fear and powerlessness that glued them to the ground. The entire world turned faded and beige except for Blanky and the little heroes. Time slowed to halt for those around them. A canine shaped mass of shadowed nothingness, glowing white eyes boring down on them with contempt and annoyance. It was there, but more like it was there by nothing else being there! "Moon Howler. Hound of Tindalos. Nigneb! The Hound!" Sweetie heard herself say as the string on her heart plucked again. She looked at Blanky, the little dog standing between her and the beast. Was he scared? Then, it SPOKE. ".yOU wILL bE rEMOVED" Its voice was like a bad recording. Button stood next to Sweetie. "Uh...I have a feeling this might be the 'wake up call boss'." It took one step forward, Blanky howled and leapt at it, it swatted Blanky aside, not taking its eyes off the foals. The pup bounced once, and skidded on the ground. Sweetie Belle gasped, looking at her pet, and then to the monster before them. "WHAT THE HAY ARE YA!? Yer not a curse! Or a shadow!" ".eATER oF wHAT dOESN'T bELONG .dOESN'T mATTER .bE dELETED" Blanky snarled and then time, he vanished into the ground, and reappeared under the Hound's belly, clawing it, and cutting through its veil of darkness. The Hound struck Blanky away again, this time towards the foals. The foals' hearts skipped a beat at the real sight of it: It had eyes covering its head like spiders. Its mouth was like a lamprey’s. Its fur was dark dark green; three huge claws were on each paw. Its tail like a lion's, its ears long and pointed. It stood bigger than a polar bear. Its eyes... Sweetie realized, were exactly the same as Nurse Red Crystal's! It looked at Blanky. ".rESETTING iS tOO gOOD fOR yOU .eRASURE" "OVER YOUR DEAD BODY!" A flame of black magic struck it in the eye, it howled in pain. "YOU BIG BULLY!" Sweetie Belle shouted. Her horn and eyes blazing fiery green. "Now you're gonna get it!" Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Button Mash didn't need to be told to join in. "Nopony likes a random unexplained boss! Get lost!" Button Mash drew his sword. Scoot's wings shone blue. Apple Bloom stomped her hooves. Blanky got up and howled again. Sweetie nuzzled him. The Hound looked confused, surprised. ".yOU fEAR tHE uNKNOWN . tIS yOUR nATURE" Sweetie growled. "You're not the unknown. I know exactly what you are." ".tHIS iS yOUR uNBEGIN" Apple Bloom's eyes focused like those of an artist. "The unknown is scary because it ain't got a face. Yah've got a pretty ugly one!" She ordered. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, charge!" = 'I'm My Own Master Now' (Platinum Lyrics) Metal Gear Rising = To Be Continued... > The White Wolf vs The Dark Hound ("Through running.") > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- """""You wanted Nightmares who were alien parasites?! I'LL GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES WHO ARE ALIEN PARASITES!""""" Echoed Umbra Breeze and his other parts. They were atop the black balcony on the edge of the royal hamlet on top of the World Tower inhabited by the world's new lords and their families and servants. Nyarlathotrot had wanted an ominous all-seeing eye, but the 'princesses' had wanted a quaint place to watch the sky. Discord had agreed with the princesses because the flaming eyeball would make sense, and what fun is there in making sense? Letting out an almost equine sigh, The Nightfilly of Diamond Tiara look down at the flood of starry darkness that now covered the land below. 'I would say... this has become rather routine. Not chaotic.' "It was becoming that already, father," The true Nightmare said, matter-of-factly. She was certain if she could still feel emotion, she'd feel disgust and scandalized at the parasitic send-ups below. "Uncle is a virus, all he cares about is spreading. Once the monsters had killed all the victims, what would be left? Monsters killing monsters?" 'This isn't what I wanted. I just wanted to SHOW Celly, Lulu, Pops, that everycreature is HAPPIER being an evil jerk! Where ponies never feared doing wrong because there is no wrong! Sure that means there's just the bullied and the bullies. But it inspires the bullied to push their way up to the top and become the bullies. No different from the 'haves' and 'have-nots.' All incentive for them to move up the ladder as big sister would say! None of that friendship and harmony garbage holding them back! Celly's certainly happier with those annoying inhibitions gone, lot more fun too... You think it would have set in the first time I showed her. And they'd all accept I was just having MY fun! If somepony could turn me into their plaything then obviously it was their right to, OW! The irony meter broke the needle!' "And now every pony is just possessed by a discarded the-second-shadow-who-makes-all's note picked up by the secondary heart world's makers." '…We need to come up with shorter names for those things, methinks. And exactly! Not what I wanted!' "Feeling regret, father?" 'My beautiful little filly, I'm a concept, a force of nature, it's scientifically impossible for me to feel regret. It's just… somehow I feel like I've made this boo-boo before.' "I thought feeling nothing BUT regret was the only thing that separated Alicorns from Nightmares." 'I'm sure, my sweat dear, there are Nightmares that feel no regrets. It just means you're not of that 'all in one, one in all' sort.' "Given how close we are, perhaps I'm effecting you?" 'Dear, your daddy is far too strong-willed for me to wish to undo my non-existent oopsie-poos.' + "Shoo be doo! The night will last forever! Shoo Shoo be doo! Just signal SOS!" shouted the pitch black seaponies around Pip's pirate ship. "If we must hear their song once more, we shall go mad!" Moonlight declared. "I sorta like it," said Dinky. "The night shall last forever!" Said a possessed changeling, bobbing on the surface of the nightmare flood. She then shape changed into a pony with butterfly wings and antenna. "Utterflutter the sky with endless night!" + 'In retrospect, two thousand years after the fact, the whole 'flutterpony collection thing'...might have been, kinda, sorta, maybe, not the same thing as intelligent on my part. Oh Queen Rosedust squirming WAS fun... for a while until dying was all she wanted, why I gave her to Shady to begin with... yeah. I think I meant to enchant those nails so they'd live... or maybe they did and I forgot to feed them. Probably because I was preoccupied playing catch the giant ball of molten caramel with some giant-somethings-or-others and they were being very stubborn about losing. I mean, once sometoy is dead, there's no way I can play with them! I never did like Mortis. He's so final. And chaos doesn't like final. Another reason Mom and I never got along well. There's no chaos in the last big burn out! There's no chaos in paradise! And there's no chaos in eternal punishment... you think it would be paradise for my old mentor. Geeze! Alicorns! Mom's boring but She has the right idea, if someconcept is a threat, get rid of them. Don't just lock them up like Celly's parents do.' "Perhaps then it's my link to Sweetie Belle?" 'Yes! I'll accept that answer! I guess it's a good thing Nythy's pet hotdog is going to erase her from...Hmmmm... you know I never did find out if those fillies squabbling broke me free or just sped up my release. OH WHAT THE HAY! I don't know! It'll be EXCITING to see if her erasing gets me locked up, and undoes all of this! Then again, things are such a retroactive mess who can say WHAT will happen! It'll be a fun gamble! For all I know maybe we'll be stuck on a sitcom because reality was that desperate not to fall apart!' The Nightfilly regarded the ocean of curses. "...Father... did I kill Neatly Spell?" 'No.' The Nightfilly tone remained monotonous. "Is that a straight answer I'm hearing from you?" Umbra Breeze laughed. "You help caused all this, and you wonder if you snuffed out one insignificant mortal, what a joke!" '... You had better clean up this mess after your doggy takes care of Cadence's toys, Cousin.' "Heh. What makes you think I can call it off? This rumor is like a virus, it won't stop until it infects everything." 'Did you just say, 'Please oh pleeeeeease rip up my green card?'' "You made this world one of my stories, do you really think it's that easy to get rid of me? I'm the tone of this story, and only the proof I don't belong here can get rid of me, and I KNOW you'd never do that. Because it'd be proof neither do you." 'I have a heart world twin, you twit! I'll always be a bajillion times more 'belong here' than you!' "And your heart world self surrendered to Harmony's whims and became a slave to friendship." 'Psh. As if that's ever stopped the shadows-who-make. One world line had Moon Dancer become active with the Elements of Harmony before she was ever noticed in the heart world, and she was a shameless spy and backstabber for the true villains of her world line. Do you think that world line's shadow-who-makes is about to rewrite one of his villains just cause?' "The only difference between us is that my life story isn't a convoluted disaster." A giant fly swatter struck Stormy, who was flipped up like a spatula flips a burger. And Stormy was jammed into a small jar with holes. 'Don't get too big for your breeches, Cousin.' Umbra Breeze frowned. "Point taken... Cousin." The Nightfilly tossed the jar back and forth between her hooves, considering dropping it into the dark ocean below. "Father... I wonder if I could get ponies to assimilate the Nightmare Forces, devour the parasites from the outside in, then they'd truly be Nightmares... if a different breed." 'A BRILLIANT idea, my little filly! Start looking into that.' The jar containing Stormy teleported into Tootsie's bedroom. 'Hey, kids! If you shake this jar hard enough, it makes the fairy pony inside glow in the dark!' "COOL!" The foals exclaimed, gathering around. + = 'I'm My Own Master Now' (Platinum Lyrics) Metal Gear Rising = The little heroes charged the Hound head-on, then scattered in every direction but forwards, leaving it clawing and biting air. 'Alright, Apple Bloom, ya took charge. Five of us, and one of him. He's got eyes all 'round his head, so catchin' 'em off guard is gonna be a lot harder.' Thankfully, the Hound didn't seem interested in attacking any of their friends who were frozen in time (or was it these heroes who were the ones caught in the space between time?). - Primary target Cadenza Temperance undetected: Possibility concealing herself in the shadow of one of the foals or possessed by Nightmare Force flood. Multiple disruptions found. Isolate and exterminate, one by one! - = Feeling Good (Instrumental) - My Little Pony = Sweetie began to sing; a simple, worldless upbeat vocal. As the music flowed through them, the little heroes all felt slightly stronger, braver, and sharper. The Hound, meanwhile, whined and quivered involuntarily, experiencing the sensation of a thousand needles prick its body. Just when it seemed to Apple Bloom that Sweetie could just sing the monster into running away, it roared. And the waves of its howl protected it from further music-based damage. So much for a quick win. But so what? The CMC+1 were four foals with one truth -- they'd help Blanky just like everypony had been helping them! The Hound stormed toward its most logical target: Sweetie Belle. Sweetie cast a flash spell (had she known that spell before?), blinding it long enough for Apple Bloom to lob a bag of Zecora's illusion powder right in its many, many eyes. "Scootaloo! Idea!" Button Mash shouted. His teammate flew towards him unhesitant, and a moment later Scootaloo flew up Button Mash and dropped him right above the beast with his sword pointed down. Even with its hampered vision, the Hound had eyes to spare, and rose up to eat the foal alive, which exposed its underbelly which had been struck before by Blanky. Sweetie managed a minor spell blast right at the wound, disorienting it. Blanky bit its rear ankle, and it fell over on its back. Button Mash's sword dove straight through the underside injury Blanky had made with tremendous momentum. Before the creature could rip Button Mash to non-existence, Scootaloo grabbed Button Mash in a flyby blur, leaving the beast clawing air again. "Don't let him claw or bite you! Not even once!" Sweetie warned, her heart telling her. The Hound rolled on its belly, leaving a black bloodstain, and leapt at Apple Bloom as though from a springboard. Apple Bloom may have been a foal, but that also meant she was SMALL; she fell down flat on her belly, and the monster leapt over her, just barely missing her bow. Upon landing, the Hound rebounded right at the foal, its mouth opened like a flower in bloom, displaying a circle of inward-pointing teeth. There was nowhere for Apple Bloom to buck in return. Then the Oblivion Trophy was lodged down its throat, delivered by a fast-flying orange bomber and a beanie-wearing bombardier. The monster rolled backwards, bounced once, choking, twisting left and right as its claws tried to pull the object out of its mouth. Button smirked as Apple Bloom got to her hooves. "Told ya completing optional side quests help out later!" Sweetie didn't waste the chance to fire several blasts of angry black magic at the monster, leaving smoking holes in its hide. Blanky could only stay at her side. The Hound finally pulled the trophy out of its mouth, (made all the harder by the fact that lamprey jaws such as his were made to not allow food to escape). The trophy landed by Button Mash's side, covered in slobber and other things. "Ick!" Button Mash cringed. Letting out an angry new howl, the Hound's body was then covered in its shroud of cloudy black nothing again. Blanky slipped into the ground as a shadow to attack it from below again. But this time, the Hound stomped on the ground, knocking the pup away and out of the ground. "Don't try to attack it!" Sweetie screamed at the top of her lungs. Apple Bloom didn't need to be told that, when looking at it now... with her truth's eye the Hound was just a hole, like the kind they'd all almost fallen into at the red-light house. But she saw something else as well. The Hound made another dive for Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo grabbed her at lightning speed and zoomed out of its invincible path. So it turned its attention towards Button Mash instead; not in a mad leap this time, but intentionally and directly. Sweetie remembered what Chrysalis taught her. "He's baiting us! Button's not the target! YOU are, Scootaloo!" The Hound didn't flinch at being found out; soon enough the inconsistency who had just humiliated it would find herself deleted. The foals only choice was who they'd lose first. "Scoots can ya follow my line of sight?" "Watch me!" "Sweetie, magic up Scoot's wing blade!" Sweetie obliged. Blue and green magic complimented each other. "Cut at the angle Ah'm showin'!" Apple Bloom angled her hoof just so. As if the Hound would let them do whatever it was they were going to do! Its prime target flew right towards it, moving in a zigzag as she closed in, rearing up her right wing, then pirouetted and cut with the left wing?! And Scootaloo's wing blade, cut through the Hound's shroud of nothingness! It ripped open, leaving the Hound a creature of mass and volume again. Impossible. An atomic bomb couldn't have done that! No mortal force could cut nothing! The Hound did not smell odors, it smelled souls, and underneath the scent of the unicorn filly, it smelled something else. And the farm filly, something else was there. The Hound drew in a breath. ".yOU bREAK tHE lAWS oF nATURE .wE aRE rIGHT tO fEAR yOU, lITTLE fILLY" Blanky smiled. "The truth sees yer a flawed copycat!" The Hound snarled as it was rapid-fire stabbed from behind in its behind. It turned to see the brown colt, smirking at him, having attacked it in its only true blind spot. Button Mash stopped smirking when the Hound wrapped its tail around the colt's neck, lifting him up in the air, his little face turning blue. An orange streak of light cut open the tail; the pain forced the beast to release its grip. Button knelt on his back legs and coughed as he was pulled away by Sweetie's magic. With the rest of the CMC gathered around its rear, the Hound made a beeline for Apple Bloom, then dived into the ground like Blanky had, then emerged as smoke along the angles of existence behind the foal. Too far away for the others to do anything and Sweetie already using her magic. But Apple Bloom was ready this time, and bucked one of the items Button Mash had bought from Zecora; the golden apple, right down the monster's throat. The beast still smashed into Apple Bloom knocking her back and making her skid far across the ground, making her right side feel like it was on fire. Thank goodness for Earth Pony durability! "Guess that apple wasn't a waste of rupees after all," she remarked. The Hound fell like a jar of acid had broken open in its belly. Then it got bucked in the eyes with apples as hard as rocks. This was insane! Their tricks shouldn't work at all! "Baby crabapples are harder than some trees," Apple Bloom stated proudly. A solid punch of wind from Scootaloo deflected its claws as the filly retreated, but the Hound lumbered after her relentlessly, only a moment behind her. Apple Bloom was sickened by the reality that it'd been Sunny Town, not the cockatrice, nor Nightmare Moon, nor this horror world, that'd conditioned her to run for her life, for all she had, for all she was, and now had enough experience to duck when Button Mash came flying at her from the opposite direction. Why did Button Mash looked good as new? Healing magic? His sword glowed with Sweetie's magic, as Scootaloo threw him like a torpedo. The sword cut through the monster as he sped past it. Blanky, meanwhile did the same, leaping off Button Mash's back and onto the face of the Hound, clawing out some of its eyes and raking its back. The Hound rolled over to crush him, but Blanky slipped into the ground as a shadow and sped away. The beast continued to roll instead of letting its exposed wound be attacked again by the unicorn's black magic, returning to an upright position. "AH SEE RIGHT WHERE TA HURT EM! Follow my eyes!" Apple Bloom shouted. = Intertwined - Wonderful 101 = Sweetie sliced and hammered the Hound with black magic while eating candy like it was Nightmare Night, her horn following Apple Bloom's gaze, hitting sensitive spots the Hound hadn't even known it had! [=Make a New Friend Every Day - My Little Pony G3 - Starsong's Party=] Sweetie sung the wordless vocals of a song the new part of her soul remembered, causing the beast to shudder and let out another counter-howl. Scootaloo followed Apple Bloom's eyes, promptly flying around the Hound in a tight circle to dizzy the beast, practically dancing between its instant-nonexistence-slashes before slamming into the beast's stomach with the built-up speed. The image of Rainbow Dash performing similar moves on clouds went through her mind as the force of the blow and her momentum propelled it into the air. Black blood spurted from the Hound's maw, and Scootaloo propelled herself back to her friends using the monster itself as a springboard. "Give me a boost!" Button called, charging forwards. Sweetie and Scootaloo crossed forelegs, allowing Button to do a front flip onto their crossed hooves and boosted his jump straight above the Hound. Envisioning a pony from his O-Celest video game helping Celest defeat a big dragon with the Sword of Luna, the colt did a front flip and brought his sword down right on the beast's back, Neighponese kanji for 'great god' manifesting as the blow was struck. As the wounded beast fell to the ground, Apple Bloom took a stance; her mind's eye seeing her big sister bucking an apple tree, while using both the artist eye and truthful eye she'd been granted to aim carefully. Right as the Hound came down, she delivered her best apple bucking kick to its exposed back in the exact same place Button had slashed into it, knocking the Hound to its side. '.tHESE oDDS aRE nO lONGER dESIRABLE !bACK-uP rEQUIRED' The Hound turned into a shadow and climbed onto the top of Lickety-Split's house and let out a howl that made the foals' coats stand on end and rattled their bones. Pushing their way in like thorns through skin, nearly a half-dozen monsters clamored their way in, Nightmare Force spilling inwards like black blood. At first the foals mistook them for walking trees. They weren't. They were beasts of tentacles, arms, trunks, black flesh and living armor. No eyes or mouths were visible, or at least the foals didn't THINK they had any. Maybe? The way they couldn't focus on details reminded them of Abandon. "Dark Spawn," Sweetie whispered, not caring how she knew. The five Dark Spawn towered over the foals, semi-circling as the Hound leapt down leaving them the only 'exit' through it. Instead of forming a defensive circle, or trying to go through the Hound as it had expected, the foals attacked the Dark Spawn. Nopony spoke strategy, no vote, no hesitation! The foals merely attacked them head on! "?wHAT ?!aRE yOU aLL iNSANE" The foals didn't dignify The Hound with an answer. Like a demented bumblebee, Scootaloo zipped about, her wing blade scoring only superficial damage to the open spots of the alien horror, but getting it angrier and angrier. Scootaloo landed on what MIGHT have been its face (maybe, kinda), and zipped out of the way just as it struck the spot itself with enough force it fell over backwards unconscious, with a huge dent in its own body… landing with a thunderous crash. Blanky moved like a ghostly white lightning bolt, leaping from limb to limb, severing flesh branch after flesh branch. By the time the Dark Spawn struck where it had been, Blanky had already torn off another appendage. The creature fell to what MIGHT have been its knees, wailing in pain, unable to do anything. Button Mash struck a pose, holding out his sword at angle behind him. His sword sparkled and gleamed, as he spun like a whirlwind around the Dark Spawn. Until Button Mash finally slowed to a dizzy stop with little Sweetie Belles dancing around his head. The Dark Spawn let out an incomprehensible cry and smoke came out of wounds sliced into it...then fell backwards, twitching slightly, what might have been mistaken for eyes, (if it had eyes, maybe) replaced by swirls. Apple Bloom's truth showed her where to strike, where to put the muscles of a little earth pony to work. She was no Big Mac, let alone Applejack, and she faced a monster whose autonomy was completely alien, but with the truth guiding her vision and her hooves, she made every scrap of her strength count, hitting points of its body the Dark Spawn had never thought even vulnerable. Its body froze up, and fell over backwards like a chopped tree. Sweetie Belle… did you even need to ask? The magic surge of black magic that burst through her sent green lightning through the Dark Spawn's entire being, lighting up its unfathomable insides, and it fell over like its sibling, leaving a scorched twitching heap. The foals turned from their defeated foes. "Get 'em out of here! They ain't gonna be fightin' anypony for a good long while!" The Hound snapped out of its shock. Had this farm filly given the Hound of Tindalos an order?! "!tHOU aRT dEAD" The Hound saw red and charged at Apple Bloom, its only thought to rip her to shreds, blind to all else, its lamprey mouth making strange suction motions. The unicorn and the colt were still recovering. The outdated pup was too weak to stop the assault. No orange bullet, no matter how fast, could stop a boulder on the roll! The Dark Spawn had blocked the foals from simply running with their own downed forms. She couldn't escape! She was the one who held the poison to the world! She was doomed! He'd won! Scootaloo pushed her UNDERNEATH HIM!? Skidding her two front hooves on the ground, Apple Bloom turned, and her eye saw the truth of where to strike. She apple-bucked the Hound upwards, right in the wound Blanky and Button Mash had made, at the same point in its backbone they'd hammered before. And in one magic surged moment, with the sound of a sickening CRACK, she knocked the Hound back and onto its back with a thud, shaking the ground. ".eNOUGH .yOU wERE dOOMED fROM tHE sTART .yOU jUST dIDN'T kNOW iT .tHIS gAME iS oVER .gOOD-BYE .yOU nEVER hAD a cHANCE .hEAR tHE wORD oF yOUR dOOM" "Zargoth! Zargoth! Zargoth! Zargoth! Zargoth! Zargoth! Zargoth!" Before the foals' eyes, Spike, Silver Spoon, Twist, Lickety-Split, Shiny Star, and Post-Haste's eyes all turned pitch black with red pinpoint centers. Tentacles sprouted from their bodies, they grew second mouths full of sharp teeth on their stomachs, and trotted upside down with their backs to the ground like spiders towards the heroes. Black ichor dripped from their heads as their hooves split into claws. Their cutie marks become gooey red 'z's on a black splotch. Button Mash screamed, shouting, "No! NO!" Over and over again as he held his sword, trembling. Scootaloo lost her lunch. Sweetie Belle looked confused and tilted her head innocently. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. She and Blanky shared an annoyed look and looked back at the Hound. "Yer pathetic. That's all ya got left? Ya really got nothin' if that's the only move ya have left." "You call turning our friends into zombie-morphs pathetic?!" Scootaloo shouted. Enraged at this horrific world again throwing such a cheap shot at them. Sweetie Belle blinked. "What!? But can't you see-" "That ain't our friends!" Apple Bloom shouted as the horde shambled close. Apple Bloom picked up the Oblivion Trophy from where it lay. "These here are pranks to scare Nightmare-Nighter!" Apple Bloom tone was of a pony insulted. The horde of things that were once their friends fell upon Apple Bloom, enveloping her, her voice added to the chant of "Zarogth! Zargoth!" Button and Scootaloo gaped in horror. Sweetie looked at her friends confused. Blanky didn't even react. Then the Hound was struck by an invisible pony in the head with the strength of earth pony and fell on its side. Then the horde vanished, their real friends reappeared where they'd been since they slipped in the space between moments, and the real Apple Bloom stood there, looking both angry and annoyed, holding the Oblivion Trophy in both hooves, now the trophy had a big dent in it and she tossed it over her shoulder. "DID YA REALLY THINK CHEAP ILLUSIONS WERE GONNA WORK ON ME?!" "Illusions?! ILLUSSIONS?!" Scootaloo screamed an ancient pegasus war cry (invented by the centaurs) and flew at the beast. "Full combo-attack!" Button Mash shouted close behind. So was Blanky, followed by Sweetie. Now it was the monster who tried to escape, He began to slip into the ground as a shadow, only for Button Mash to do a front flip and stab its tail to the ground. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" The monster's back legs and tail were no longer moving, the Hound's movements were slowing, its body now covered in cuts and bruises, stained black with its blood. Scootaloo, Button, and Sweetie with edged-wing, hooves, and magic pounded on the horror. "Now just give up!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Yah ain't got nothin' left. Not strength, not fancy tricks, and nothin' to scare us with we ain't already seen. And yer back is BROKEN! It's over!" The other foals stopped immediately at Apple Bloom's words that the monster was paralyzed. "!a hOUND oF tINDALOS nEVER gIVES uP iTS pREY" "You can't win this anymore, you idiot!" Scootaloo snarled. ".tO nOTHINGNESS wITH yOU" It tried to claw away with its forelegs by steer strength, but found them lifted off the ground by Sweetie Belle's magic, Sweetie sweating and trembling from the effort, looking ready to collapse into the ground, she wouldn't last long. It was all Blanky needed. Blanky spared one look at the foals. In the space of a moment, the CMC+1 saw Blanky grow several times bigger, tackling the monster from above, putting his jaws around its neck. "!mE wolF !!!noT yoU" The foals looked away as Blanky's jaws closed. "...pARENT... aZATHORSE" - Pharaoh/Umbra Breeze/Night Gale/Stormy screamed, holding their necks, the shadows themselves twisting. - And an instantly later, Blanky was again a white ghostly puppy. The Hound was nowhere to be seen. The watercolors style had returned to Split's little world opposed to the beige overlay it had while frozen. The black sparkly smoke outside the bubble... remained outside. "That's the most freaky high speed blurs I've ever seen!" Spike said, "Girls, what did you just do! You're a mess and, WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS?!" Spike pointed at the downed Dark Spawn. The CMC+1 all looked at each other and sighed. Blanky licked his mistress and her friends. A few minutes later, Button Mash had put the dented Oblivion Trophy back in his inventory, not wanting to see it ever again, but real gamers held onto every achievement and trophy. "So you didn't see a...really big and ugly dog monster?" Apple Bloom asked cagily. "Just the really big and ugly tree monsters!" Silver Spoon said. Spike and the others said much the same. "It was like time sped up by a million for you, I didn't have time to think what was happening before it stopped." "Just monsters attacked, tried to kill us, we fought 'em off," Apple Bloom said, since that was the truth. "It's scary how easily you can say that," Silver Spoon said. "With all the monsters around Ponyville?" Apple Bloom asked. "Yes, no, maybe? Ugh! I have a headache again!" The others gave similar testimony. Lickety Split admitted he had never heard of these living tree monsters before. "They don't look like Flories to me." "Silver Spoon," Apple Bloom said, "For what it's worth, if we could get ya and Spike to come along with us, (even with Miss Shiny Star not wantin' ya to get hurt), Ah'd gladly accept yer help, we're all in this together. But like Ah said, we don't have anymore 'protect us from the bad stuff' items. Ah'd be askin' ya to go into a blizzard in the Frozen North at night naked, and Ah'm never doin' that!" The foals hugged. Then Silver Spoon shivered. "And I'd rather not know what Button Mash had to do to get 'protection' from Princess CELESTIA." Apple Bloom couldn't say she wasn't hurt at Silver Spoon thinking Princess Celestia, PRINCESS CELESTIA, their sun goddess, would EVER do anything bad to her ponies. Ponies' trust in Princess Celestia was part of what gave Equestria her strength, even little Apple Bloom knew that. Only Princess Celestia was perfect. Button seemed equally confused. How could the nice mare who'd taken him to the moon just to be nice do anything super mean? On the bright side, the 'strange appearance' of the 'tree monsters' and the CMC+1 'speeding up' there, had taken the others' minds off of the flood of darkness now all around them. The fight with the Hound had taken the CMC+1's minds off of it too, and none of the foals DARED bring it up right now least the floodgate of fear and worry came crashing down in all their hearts. Next came pushing the Dark Spawn outside of Lickety Split's bubble. Spike, Silver Spoon, Twist, Shiny Star, Post Haste, and Lickety Split, all loaned their brute strength (or magic in Shiny's case) here. It was really no different from moving logs, except these logs were alive, made alien noises, and would have likely eaten them if they weren't so beat up. "I'm not sure these things comprehend mercy," Sweetie whispered, almost surprised at herself to hear herself say it, and actually SCARED she could say it. "Lucky for them we do," Apple Bloom said matter of fact with no room for discussion as they pushed the last one out into the Nightmare Force flood. "Maybe this will teach 'em?" Button Mash questioned. "That's how you get allies in a lot of games." "Would feel a lot more like Equestria that way," Scootaloo remarked. After that came the bath. Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo weren't known for them, their families might've fainted at them wanting one. But they were covered in monster gunk, and not-meant-to-know. A part of Apple Bloom wondered why she was surprised that the plumbing was still safe and had water in spite of being in a pocket reality surrounded by a flood of an imaginary evil alien parasite magic thingie brought to life by a curse. There were times it just wasn't worth overthinking every little thing. Button Mash and the fillies didn't once object to taking a bubble bath together, and would have found Button Mash getting the whole tub to himself after they were done just plain weird. It wasn't like they didn't see each other naked constantly anyway. Blanky, of course, had a perfectly clean coat in spite of everything. Sweetie regarded her pet, with a bit of fear. Had he not been able to do that before? Had he been waiting for the right time? Would he do it again? Had he found the strength in that one moment like a pony's magic surge? Blanky saw the reaction on his mistress' face and whined and nuzzled her hoof. As the foals cleaned the filth off themselves, Apple Bloom said, "Ah can't believe... did we really... did we really make somecreature never-heard-from-again?" The foals all froze. "Well," Scoots laughed nervously. "It was technically Blanky, and maybe it... ya know... just got magically sent away somewhere?" "We're the ones who held'em down as Blanky did the deed, we're as much a part of it as him." "Girls," Button said, "It was a monster, ya know, pure evil?" Sweetie said, "So was Discord, Sunny Town, Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis... but... we never made them never-heard-from-again. And they weren't crippled when it happened. I just thought, we'd turn him to stone or something. Maybe banish him back where he came from... or seal him away somewhere." "We... never had to, make somecreature never-heard-from-again before," Apple Bloom admitted. "What about that evil you inside you at Sugarcube corner?" Scootaloo asked. "That was just the part of me the curse got hold of and Ah had to free. Ah didn't make 'er, vanish." "What about what happened to the bug-pony, sorry, changeling queen?" "That wasn't on purpose," Sweetie said. "Cadence was trying to BEAT her, not kill her." "That's supposed to make it all better when she turned to ash?" Scootaloo asked. "No," Sweetie sighed, "But, we're ponies, we're supposed to find a better way, we're the GOOD GUYS! What if that Hound used to be the same as Blanky, but evil magic MADE HIM that way?" Blanky growled and furiously shook his head. Looking insulted. "Okay, scratch that idea," Sweetie said, "I'm just worried... we're facing our friends and family turned into monsters... what if... what if we end like Fiesta Flaire wanted us? Making ponies never-heard-from-again because they were turned into monsters when it wasn't even their fault?" "We won't!" Apple Bloom said firmly, splashing her hoof down. "We are NOT becoming that! Not now! Not ever! Ah SAW Sweetie Belle! The truth doesn't lie! He wasn't under any kinda curse! He wasn't turned into something he wasn't! There weren't one of those slug-things in him, if anythin' it was like he was in one of them. He wasn't somecreature TURNED into a monster, he was what he chose to be! . . . Ah just... Ah just don't LIKE IT! Ah don't LIKE that we had to let Blanky do that! Ya HEARD'EM! That monster HAD A FAMILY, and now they got an empty chair. I don't WANT to bring that on ANYPONY." Sweetie thought of how the eyes of the Hound and of Nurse Red Crystal were alike, Sweetie thought of how awful the Nurse was, tried to kill'er, and Sweetie still wouldn't want her to lose a member of her family. Scootaloo stayed silently crossing her forelegs and looking down at the water lapping in the tub and the fizzle of little bubbles. "Fluttershy," Scootaloo said. Her friends all looked at her. "Remember? The times she foalsat us and Silver Spoon? And when she was acting weird? She told us how some animals eat other animals, and it's not them being evil." "But we have SMARTS, they don't," Sweetie said. "I've played a lot of video games, I know I know, I mean, I've played a lot of games where you have to make choices, and not all of them are good/bad choices. But... here? He wasn't gonna eat us because he was hungry or under mind control, like Apple Bloom said. And we gave him a chance to give up, but...he didn't take it." The colt looked strangely thoughtful. "...In my games, I never really care about my KO count or anything...I just want to stop help every pony and save the world...that's more important to me than how many monsters I beat, and if I can choose to spare somepony, I do. Even if it doesn't get me a reward. I like the good-path whenever it's there. I don't like it either we made him never-heard-from-again... I'm just glad we had each others backs and kept each other safe." "... Maybe... " Sweetie said, "Maybe it's BECAUSE we don't like it, that we know we aren't going to become like that. Maybe that we hate it, means we're gonna keep looking for the right way to save the others? Like Tootsie? Alula? And Diamond Tiara?" "Just 'cause it's the right thin' to put down a rabid animal don't mean it's somethin' ya should get used to doin'," Applebloom replied. "If ya can save it? Yer gonna do yer best to." "AGH! I don't wanna think about this crude!" Scootaloo flap her wings, spraying her friends. "We saved our friends! And each other! And kick the butt of a big bad monster!" "And..." Apple Bloom smiled. "We did it TOGETHER! Us! Not Doctor Hooves! Not Nightmare Applejack and her friends! Not Razzaroo! Not Trixie! Us together! We did it!" "Since Silver Spoon isn't here, I'll say it! I just wanna be a foal again for five minute while we splash each other with bubbles! Umbra Breeze's outta trump cards! We'll take'em down! Just you watch!" Scootaloo declared. "Not quite outta cards," Apple Bloom pointed out a window at the sparkly dark Nightmare Force beyond their bubble, hoping Pipsqueak and crew were okay. "Meh," Scootaloo said to the flood of sapient dark magic covering the land. "I'm not scared. Not anymore." Scootaloo thought to when the three of them had hid under a table at the sight of Nightmare Moon. "We can take it. We'll figure out something. It would stupid for the 'game' to end right here. You said it yourself, there has to be a way to win." "And if we can't, maybe one of those other groups will do something," Sweetie Belle said. "Don't count on it Sweetie, sorry, we're the game's 'heroes' we expected to do everything, remember?" Button reminded her. "Maybe. Or somepony else'll get a 'level' where they're the heroes," Apple Bloom said. "At any rate, Ah'm sure we'll figure out somethin' from all of Lickety Split's books." "We CAN do it!" Sweetie said. "We WILL do it!" Scootaloo said. "We'll save the world! Then maybe we can finally get back to crusading!" Apple Bloom blushed at her friends' two cutie marks and then her own blank flank. "Now don't go starting that again." Sweetie giggled cutting Apple Bloom off, giving her a nuzzle. "We're Crusaders till the end!" "Ya got that right!" Apple Bloom laughed, feeling light and happy. "And friends too," Button smiled, patting the filly on the back, not letting himself be left out. "Right?" "Couldn't agree more!" The foals all hugged in the bathtub. Promising to be ready for whatever came next. > Equestria Warriors > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warning, this chapter contains mature implications. No explicit details or actions are given. But are implied. "Sweet Celestia on a pogo stick!" The orange stallion shouted as Mares In Black poured over the alleyway's rooftops. The identical unicorns threw endless doorknobs at him, not caring if they hit each other. He didn't question why they didn't use their combined telekinesis to grab him. (The world's gone crazy as is. Oh hey, name's Flash Sentry. Fancy meeting you here. And I can see you're not pink and charcoal like everything and near everyone else here. Yeah I'm a Royal Guard, but rank don't mean much right now. Do you know what's going on? I sure don't! OW!) Flash Sentry Weirdo Pegasus Guard Flash dodged with the deftness of an onstage performer, folding his wings and twirling, blocking the door-knobs with his armor, keeping his forelegs protectively close to his chest. One of the alleyway walls busted open from the inside when a caribou was knocked through it and through the opposite wall, taking several Mares In Black with him. "That's what you get when you try to screw Screwball!" Golden Tiara snarled from the opening she'd made. She turned to look at Flash Sentry, kicking and punching away MiB who got close to her, ignoring the bumps and bruises the doorknobs gave her. "I don't think us splitting up to draw less attention was a good idea after all." Golden 'Screwball' Tiara High Class Berserker "No arguments, here." Sorry, we're kinda in the middle of things! We've been fighting our way through Canterlot since this insanity started! Almost makes me miss the time Discord turned me into a life-size plastic doll who sang out-of-tune rock, smashed guitars, and told girls how rotten and selfish they all were. Almost. Okay, I'll rewind a bit here. I was on guard duty, if you can call it that, at one of Canterlot's fancy cliff seated social spots with lots of local and visiting big names there. With 'Queen Cadence' having the Xenomorph Ponies cleaning up their own mess, things had gotten more peaceful than you'd think. This let fancy ponies get back to the latest gossip or whatever: a kid's joke newspaper getting more attention then it should. The only weird thing that day had been the 'Pwinzees Woona' and 'Tyrant Molestia' chatter coming back from the dead for no good reason, and even smart and sane ponies I knew acting like it was serious. I didn't even know ponies knew what that word meant! And the stubborn fog I had to swim through. Then, BOOM! I see the world turn into a Dyson sphere, the world's 'art-style' changing to like some new-age stuff, and can't tell if it's day or night! I think I blacked out, cause I dreamed of a filly with a prosthetic wing pointing at me and saying "Your page is written in another book of fate." I woke up, and me and my armor were the only things that wasn't pink and gray. But that wasn't what made me almost wonder if I was having a nightmare. I saw mares holding anatomically correct walking, moving stallion blow-up-dolls (since when did Equestria have those? Since when did ponies know what those were?), big buff moose standing about, and the music played now vibed 'come here big boy' which I'd NEVER heard in Equestria before. There were zebras and donkeys with chained collars around their necks serving, and zebra stallions dancing on stage in mounting gear. Oh, and Cherry, Note Worthy, Banjo, and Caramel? The other guards here? Their armor now looked like some feminist's revenge for all those chainmail bikinis in fantasy art. And everyone was acting like nothing had changed! I'd wanted Equestria to be less 'little girls' fantasy', before I got a taste of Guard training, but I never wanted it to get this far! I looked outside. Buildings, streets, the landscape, the ponies, everything that same style, and all the buildings were twisted like something by M. C. Escher. With statues of Celestia looking like she was for sale. I hoped First Base is okay. He's my little brother. Well, technically. It's a long story. In case he ends up reading this, I'm skipping over the worse things I saw and overheard. I noticed one mare in the room who wasn't sick pink, but purple with matching mane and white strips, yeah, that's Golden Tiara, or is it Screwball? Even when we'd all been fighting the changelings together, I hadn't really officially met her. No one cared that I'd left my post as I got closer. She looked even more scared and shocked than I felt, and was clutching a letter like a life preserver. Later, she told me it was the only proof she had that she hadn't gone crazy (again). I only got a glimpse of what it said: '-and a promise is a promise. I Pinkie Pie Swear, I'm sorry, but if you want to join the Evil Super Fun Side, just say so out-loud, and there will be no problems. You can get revenge on all the ponies who hurt you. I'll make for you your own private palace. Please? With sugar on? :-( Pretty please? Definitely Not Signed By The Coolest And Most Awesome Of Nature's Fury -Twister' I didn't get a chance to think what that meant when I got spanked in the flank by Fleur-Dis-Lee! "Why're you wearing all that nonstandard armor, little colt?" She asked smiling at me like I was jewelry. And I got distracted from THAT when Screwball shouted. Two unicorns. One was the very recognizable Fancy Pants, and another was a blue-coated stranger with an orange mane and leather dress. They were holding Golden down with their magic with her face to the table as a moose trotted up behind her, and placed his forelegs on the table. And her husband was just calmly letting it happen! And Fleur didn't even seem to care what Fancy was doing! Screwball kicked the moose in the stomach and sent him crashing through tables. The unicorns then prodded her with their horns, endlessly shocking her, she punched them away like she didn't even feel it, but more popped out of nowhere and zapped her more. And not the Guards, not her husband, acted like this was wrong. A mare with a medical cutie mark next to her said, "Now just remember this is healthy for you, Golden. Nurse TLC's order." I... don't remember clearly what happened next. I saw red, I think I screamed something, let the Guard training take over, there being more and more copy unicorns, moose, and other things. When the red haze cleared, we were both running but with no clue where. I imagine I kicked a bunch of nobles in the face. If I punched Cherry, I'll apologize to Carrot Top and Noi later. We both said we had no idea what was going on, and quickly introduced ourselves. "Thanks for the help back there, Flash Sentry." "I'm a Guard, it's my duty, Golden Tiara." Even with Screwball using caribou as baseball bats and swinging nothing but hits, I was the one they were on like vultures on roadkill, or actually, my charge. Hugging to my coat and armor for life was a hybrid between a horse and a fairy, with insect feelers and wings. Colored black and purple and a sparkly mane, her cutie mark was a purple moon with a dark cloud covering it. "Protect me please! They're going to get me!" Her high-pitched voice shouted. I wingbladed a golem pony's head off, it kept coming so I kicked it into the crowd of nasty, knocking them all flat on their backs, they dissolved into black snakes of smoke and scattered. "Not on my watch, Triangle Crown," I said. Triangle Crown Royal Recaller Pixie "Mussst get rid of her kind! Exterminate flutterponies by Her Majesty's command! Her existence threatens unicorn power!" Said a pony-sized dragon swooping down at me, I met 'im with a flying back flip kick that sent him skidding into more of the Mares In Black. "Straight ahead and take a right and a left!" Shouted Crown as we obliged using the opening in the ranks we'd made even if everything looked the same in the fog. I'd noticed a little something just outside my vision as we tried to get outside, but all the hallways looking alike and nothing arranged how I remembered. It was 'KOs Total 23'. Total knock-outs? "Golden Tiara! Do you have a weird 'KOs Total' number in your head right now?" I didn't have time to be subtle. "Actually, yes, it says 31. Do you know what it means?" I felt a chill. Had I been knocked out and put in some VR machine? Did I fall into a magic video game? Was I stuck in the Matrix? Had everything I'd experienced just been something transmitted to my brain? Who was to say my whole life hadn't been this? What was a simpler explanation? That the whole world had changed, or that I was wired into a machine? For a second, I felt something in my head whisper, 'The only escape is to end it all, or the game will never end, we have only one freedom, and that is to end it, or we'll be in the game until we rot. None of it is real.' "NO!" I shouted tripping and crash into a vase with sicko art on it. "Flash! You okay?" "Just hurting, nothing major." 'But what does it matter if it is something like the Matrix? Pain is just another sense. Maybe this is all a big illusion spell. Maybe we're in a coma dreaming all this. Maybe the moment we came here to Her home town we got put in some machine and we all hoped was a lie. End the lie.' Screwball looked scared of me somehow. 'She's afraid we've figured out the truth!' I gritted my teeth and hugged myself, and thought: 'I chose to trust Her, I chose to trust what She made me feel the world is like. I know She's real, and the kind of world She represents. Her smile, Her 'dancing', bringing different tribes together, Her optimism. I'll trust in that.' Screwball gently nuzzled me. "Don't go crazy. Remember what's important to you, that helps. Even when the world is turned outside-down. It's not easy. This is weird. But we both know what's supposed to be right." That was when the horde of deer, unicorns, doll ponies, and small dragons caught up. Us suddenly in a hall-crossing, and nasties behind, in front, and to the sides like a solid mass. "If I have any miracles saved up, I'd like to cash them in," I said. I didn't expect anything to happen. Screwball gave the floor an angry stomp. The stones underneath rumbled, they neatly cracked open, and down we went. I opened my wings to slow my fall and catch Screwball. The nasties didn't follow us, so good thing right? We splashed down and surfaced in a cave with rising water. We saw floating in the water a holed jar, slowing filling. Inside was Triangle Crown trying to twist the jar open. "Help! Hey, listen! Save me!" But we also saw Prince Blueblood! Guy's horn was sealed and was shackled to the rock wall! He was gonna drown! We didn't hesitate. I tried pulling the chains out or cutting him free. Screwball took a pin out of her hair and picked the locks in no time, whoa! Poor guy was coughing and gagging, Screwball kept him afloat as I saved our horse-pixie. The only way out was up, but our pixie shouted, "Smash the wall to your right! Other right! Down there! Hit it!" Ker-Pow from Screwball and we got our dank, dirty, stinking, other way out: a cave going up! And up we went! The water rose behind us. "Thanks, little pixie!" "I'm not 'Pixie', I'm a breezie. Call me Triangle Crown, you have to get me to Luna to right things!" "Never heard of your tribe." "Most haven't. Our big cousins are the flutterponies, oh you haven't heard of then either?" "How'd you get down there?" "Those things in black teleported me in there after some very disrespectful foals who caught me got bored with me and hoofed me over!- Now move it!" The cave got better looking as we went up, until it was bricks. We spent the time to break the seal on Blueblood's horn, but the guy was still out of it. The noise of wild water got most distant, but the smell didn't. We got to a manhole cover, we checked for an ambush and then climbed out. Things was crazi-ER. The houses and ponies had colors, but they were darker, and the shadows were all black. But beyond, I saw the pink and black twisted Canterlot. "Bahamut's Rest," Screwball said looking around. Right, Her neighborhood. I braced myself when I saw Guards dressed like my buddies had been, but they just stood on the street corners like happy zombies, or livestock on display, I felt sick at the sight of them. Canterlot, the world, twisted so the horizon and sky had been replaced with the city then turned inside out so up/down was a joke. "Blue!" Shouted a unicorn with an earth pony filly running next to her. "Arcane Spell? Neatly Spell?" Screwball whispered. As the cutest girl I've ever met would say: -Quick introduction all around: Check. -Apparently the girls got to know each during the Canterlot Wedding: Check. -Get Blueblood inside their house and on the couch: Check. -Meet the parents (both unicorn mages, one apparently just recovered from a long illness): Check. -Little sister who wants to be like the rest of her family but whose talent is in design not magic: Check. -Screwball spending a few minutes encouraging the filly to seek her own path: Kinda check. -Learn that they think there's nothing wrong with the universe: Check. -Rest ourselves: Check. -Listen to Crown shouting, "Go go go, already!" The whole time?: Oy, check. So they had no idea WHY Bahamut's rest was different from the rest of Canterlot because they couldn't SEE any difference! I did notice there were a few more shrines to the pop-culture version of the Babylonian god around. "He rested here, of course it's a sacred place," Arcane Spell's mom said matter of fact. We decided to not look a...uh...gift horse in the mouth here and just accept we were safe and move on to more important matters. So yeah, two expert unicorn mages, and the more we tried to convince them something was off, the more they thought we were being weird. It got even weirder for US when we asked what the deal was with Blueblood. "Princess Celestia said Prince Blueblood was killed and replaced by a changeling over a year ago, and that his entire plan to incite a rebellion against The Princess was a changeling plot...But... the changelings are stupid and incompetent, how did they... Ugh! Never mind! And that unicorns raising the sun and moon with their magic were just stories- or where they just stories? Or stories of stories in stories? Excuse me. I feel dizzy." I've never even HEARD OF THOSE outside of some badly written 'Celestia is a fraud' tabloid stories that make the 'all visits to the moon are fake' sound plausible. When Prince Blueblood came around, the poor guy made as much sense as everything else. "Auntie replaced me with a changeling, but since when do changelings ever pull off a convincing job of anypony? Ugh! And used him to discredit everything I said, since if the person saying it is bad therefore every single thing they say is bad... but... since when... do I... I've never WANTED anything like that... she said it was to prevent a civil war." "SO THE MOST LOGICAL THING TO DO AFTERWARDS WAS TO LEAVE YOU TO DROWN ALONE IN THE DARK?!" Screwball exclaimed. "I... uh... I think so?" Blueblood asked looking more confused. "Auntie would never... Auntie would always... Auntie didn't think I was worth enjoying first, she thinks so little of me." Dude, I've know Prince Blueblood was a spoiled coward who treated his dates like accessories. But he's sooner turned in a cabal against Celestia than joined them! He's lazy, not evil! ... And that was BEFORE I heard from Captain Shining Armor's boys how the guy grew up during the changeling occupation. And yeah, I've seen a bad rep isn't the easiest to clean up. The stuff 'bout Celestia? Makes me sick, screw it, she'd never be like that. Oh, right, almost forgot. We had an assassin come in through the window and try to kill Blueblood. In very bad lighting she might have been mistaken for ... Twilight Sparkle. She had a shark cutie mark. She talked like she was speaking from a script. Her colors were all off. She had sharp teeth and... she was... well, VAGUE is the best way I can put it. Plus, she was a pegasus, and not really all that cute. She had a toaster and a rain cloud with her, and said with a straight face, "Hello, I am Twilight Sharkle, I'm here to give Prince Blueblood his shower, we have an appointment." Screwball and I took one look at each other. For an assassin, she went down pretty quick against a trained Guard and a seasoned earth mare with an infinite pain tolerance. She didn't even get a hit in before she got hit with our knee to the jaw and elbow to the back combo, and was on the floor, twitching... She dissolved into blackness like the Mares In Black (but I didn't know that yet), that scurried away in every direction. Consider me officially creeped out! This reminds me of a lot of horror movies I'd rather not currently be in! "She was MADE of black magic?" was all Screwball could say. The Spells and Prince Blueblood acted like ponies melting into shadows was normal. Arcane Spell said, "We'll look after Blue and protect him from any more of The Princess' assassins." The guy was a wreck; in no shape for tagging along. "Crown, you said meeting Princess Luna could fix all this, how?" I asked. "My Princess has made it so I must not share that with anypony, just PLEASE know that I HAVE TO be reunited with her. I must! With or without your help!" "All on your own? That's suicide," Screwball said. "Well, unless you've got any better leads, okay Crown, we'll help." "Good! Follow my guidance, and we'll reach The Princess!" Like I said, we barely convinced Crown to let us rest and prepare. Wish I had some Guard buddies who weren't zombified. Felt like I was in that old movie with all the pods! When we explained we were going to see Princess Luna about… well, we said it was about Blueblood… Neatly Spell said. "Oh poor poor poor Pwinzees Woona, always bullied and repressed by her big sister, I feel so sorry for her." "So do I, poor poor Princess Luna, it's not fair no one loves her and always ignores her when she makes such beautiful nights and just wants to make friends," Arcane Spell added. This echoed, Blueblood and the Spells all saying how poor and misunderstood Luna was, ugh! I'd SEEN Princess Luna! She's beautiful, she's brilliant, and she's freakin' SCARY! I mean, she's NOT EVIL, she's just not the mercy-giving-type and leave it at that. Okay, I've had enough of this bad joke, if our mystery pixie says she can get things fixed by getting to Princess Luna, it's better than nothing! "Follow me through the fog, stay close, I shall guide ye, and ye shall protect I," Crown said as we stood at the edge of Bahamut's rest and back into the ugly twisted Canterlot. "How can you through THAT?" I pointed at the mess. "Because she calls me!" We followed Triangle Crown's instructions to the letter. The Mares In Black, caribou, golems, and teenage dragons came at us with no sense of strategy or self-preservation, not even trying to ambush us. Knocking them down was easy, but another mob was waiting around every other corner. Well at least I can finally say I was able to stand up to a supernatural evil and fight it instead of being brainwashed or something. And Canterlot's people around us ignored us and the enemy like nobody's business. I was almost grateful for the nasties keeping my mind off of what Canterlot looked like now. We began to cross a bridge when the fog around it, congealed! It gathered together shaped like a half-melted snowman... except this one had rows of yellow eyes across its face and more fangs than a dragon. It made the most nauseating giggle I've ever heard as it began to float towards... and a ball of bright orange light glowed in its stomach. It looked down confused before it blew apart in an explosion of sunlight. "Get across before it reforms!" Shouted a familiar pink unicorn with a blond mane, blue eyes, and a cloudy sun cutie mark. No, she was not shaped like Fleur-Dis-Lee! "Don't need to tell us twice!" "What kept you?" "Guess they love us more than you," I quipped. Sunny Day Sunlit Tabloid Writer "Hey, I can carry Golden Tiara, maybe you can lead us a faster to Luna if we fly?" "No, this is the only route that's open, I can feel it," Triangle Crown said and wouldn't give a better answer. I had no idea how much progress we were making, it was like following a thread trailed from a big ball of yarn in knots. But the Mares In Black, moose, golems, and dragons were all determined to keep us from getting bored. I was impressed with myself for not keeling over from exhaustion. I saw ponies doing things I won't repeat, but new was seeing a mare smashed out a closed window with MiB pouring after her like dumped packaging peanuts. Even as she fell I saw her blasting the free falling MiB into the building she'd fallen out of. She was fighting even with the street waiting to kiss her. I didn't think, I just flew. I plowed through the monsters around her. I noticed she was colorful like us only AFTER I'd caught her and saved her from several broken bones. And yes, I made sure to be careful not to snap her neck from whiplash, guard training teaches you how to use pegasus magic for that. Not missing a beat, I flew around and landed back with my friends and set her down (softening the landing with a couple monsters Golden had laid out before they vanished into darkness), leaving the Mares In Black to be the pavement's date instead. "Nice save," Screwball said. "Thanks." Moving a lock of her mane out of her eyes, our new friend said, "One, thank you for saving me. Two, do you know what the buck is going on around here? Three, do you have a 'KO number' thing in you eye too? Four, cute breezie you got there. Five, name's Sunny Day, yes, that Sunny Day, and you all are?" "Guard Flash Sentry, Mrs. Golden Tiara, and this is Triangle Crown. We're off to see the wonderful Nightjesty of Canterlot because our magic fairy friend insists she can make the bad stuff go away if we get her to her with little to no explanation." "... Sounds legit. You aren't working with whoever did this, or you wouldn't be looking over your shoulder like that. You could have worked with them and then been betrayed but then you'd be more angry than uncomfortable with everything. You might be putting on an act to draw me to them since I haven't been affected either, but that's overly complicated when the most practical means of dealing with a mystery is to eliminate it. You didn't need to help me when I was about to crash because your work would've been done for you. So gaining my trust would gain you nothing. And you haven't been turned into braindead pretty boys and girls like the rest of the Guard got turned into, so you aren't being controlled. So you're not the enemy." "I have no clue why I'm not screwed up, the other times evil magic made my life miserable I wasn't exactly heroically resisting from within," I said. "Which means something is different, I know high society little colt, knowing how to lie and how to spot lies is part of the game. You're hiding something." I didn't try to deny it. "I'm a part of Equestria's Royal Guard, I'm not a changeling, and I'm as freaked out as you are. And I made a promise not to tell others my private life unless it was Her." "You also have an odd accent." "I'm Columbian?" "How do we know you're not the spy?" Screwball asked. "She isn't, I can tell. She doesn't smell same as all of this," Triangle Crown said. That was when a bunch of doll stallions and mares decided to remind us they weren't politely waiting for us to finish talking. We stood in a circle outwards as Screwball literally ripped up the street to smash them with a stone block, while Sunny Day fired orange beams of light melting them, and my wing blade deflated them. Why didn't I have a sword at the time? I did, it was gone when I woke up. I'm guessing because the Guard have been reduced to scenery who...needed a different kind of weapon. "You say you're THAT Sunny Day, so you're the one who writes all those smear tabloids about Celestia abusing her own students?" Screwball asked popping one golem after another. "I DID NOT!" Sunny Day snarled, a magic surge releasing a wide spread of flames, then sending up a ball of fire that then exploded bringing burning hail down on the enemy, giving us a path through the horde. "I never published ANY of those rumors!" "After everything else you publish?" Screwball asked as we ran with Crown leading. "I just keep Princess Celestia on her hooves! And remind ponies she's not absolutely perfect-" "HERETIC!" Screwball snarled. "-so ponies if there's a typo on one of her orders, guards don't try to divert waiters instead of waters, or order 50 helmets when she needed 500 because they're all too afraid to contradict her! Especially after that time her personal assistant went mad with power!" "For what it's worth," I said, "I... I get what you're saying. Celestia's a teacher, she's not going to be angry at her students for questioning her." Sunny Day pot shot a dragon out of the sky and smiled at me. "Good looks, brave, and sensitivity, my kind of stallion." I blushed as I flew up and then crashed on all fours into a caribou's head sending it two feet into the street. "Thanks, but I have a girlfriend." "Oh really? Who's the lucky mare?" "I... actually haven't introduced myself to her yet. But we did fight off an evil changeling swarm together!" "Oh, one of those eh? You know the longer you wait the more likely she'll find somepony else." "She's right," Screwball said matter of fact, side striking a MiB through a store window. "Oh I already have the date I'm going to introduce myself to her. Right down to the year, day, hour, and minute." I threw a MiB over my shoulder and into the same store window. "Maybe you should allow yourself some flexibility," Sunny Day replied setting a caribou on fire. "I asked a benefactor of mine about that, but he said that I could end up destroying her world if I tried to make things happen before they're supposed to." "That's rather arrogant for anypony to say when they're 'supposed' to happen when it comes to a stallion introducing himself to a mare," Sunny retorted. "Trust me. He's the expert on 'when it's supposed to happen.' Plus, one time we met I acted like a jerk, I want to make that up to Her, somehow." "Oh, first love," Screwball said lovey-dovey grabbing a caribou by the antlers and forcing him to stampede forward with some good kicks to his rear blazing our trail for us before making him run into a wall. "She's not my first. My first... she was smart, pretty, but REALLY didn't know how to make friends. Tried to help her, but she didn't WANT to be helped. Crazy enough, she was the one who told me I had to decide if I really liked my second one or not. Or if it was just a crush. After... I kinda accidentally hit on a girl who happened to look the same as the cutest girl I know, I thought she might have a point." I did a corkscrew in the air, cutting a dragon's wing and sending it crashing over a city cliff. "HEY! Careful!" Triangle shouted. Screwball said jump kicking a pair of Mares In Black. "Listen to me little boy. Some ponies say love at first sight doesn't exist. But love can sprout ANYWHERE, it's whether it blooms or not that makes it real." +++ I could finally SEE we were making progress after fighting our way through city districts I didn't know Canterlot even had; and finding some strategically placed shops after each city district run by a talking wishing star with a face, and her 'identical cousins' that offered upgrades to our equipment and a rest area that Triangle Crown was VERY CROSS whenever we used, impatient horse-pixie. We were getting onto higher and higher levels of the city, the twisted upside-down landscape began to look more like a pink dirty version of the Canterlot Castle we knew, and instead of the inside of a city sphere, we had a view of the fog covered lands below. What I thought NONE OF US recognized was that tower that seemed to go so high it looked like it pierced the sky. It was in the middle of Ponyville from my guess, and I was left wondering how it wasn't falling over, oh right, magic. One of knew what it was, "Foalfree Press says it's the World Tower of the Princesses Liza Doloots and Animatia Erroria. 'The best princesses in the world ever,'" Sunny Day said reading a copy of the kid's newspaper. "What else does it say?" "You don't wanna know," Screwball said cringing at the articles as she balanced on two back legs and stuffing the paper away somewhere. And... Well... I don't think you could really miss it. It happened after we'd gotten through our second 'castle district.' Sparkling dark purple and gray smoke began to pour out of the big tower. It was like flood waters... all of Ponyville... all of it... just got covered in the blanket of sparkling black smoke. And it wasn't stopping. Even as we watched it was slowly rising and spreading. Canterlot and Cloudsdale were all okay, for now. But I could SEE it ever so slowly climb up the mountain as the 'flood levels' got higher and higher! "... No," Sunny Day said, looking pale, sick, and... guilty. "What is it Sunny?" Screw Ball implored. "Nightmare Force." "Oh right, the thing that got Princess Luna and Fluttershy," I said. "I... I didn't think how the papers never said what happened to it, I figured Twilight and the others blasted it to Kingdom Come." "Triangle Crown! You said Princess Luna can stop this right?! Right?!" Sunny begged. Triangle Crown looked down at the flood and... she was grinding her teeth and had black flames in her eyes. "How DARE THEY! How DARE they? Those little-! They'll-! Yes! She can! And if you stupid ponies stopped sitting on your flanks eating donuts we'd be there already!!!" I looked as the Nightmare Force kept rising. Why did it come back now? Why was there so much of it? Where had it even come from? The papers never said. It was just there, it possessed Princess Luna and Fluttershy, lost, and the two of them were freed. But if it could hold an Alicorn prisoner for a thousand years... Are Twilight and the others okay? Ugh! As if I wasn't worried about them BEFORE!!! Oh no... First Base. Don't you dare conquer Equestria when I'm not there to tell you not to kiddo! "No time to point fingers! Let's move it!" I shouted, as we did. = Solidus Cave - Hyrule Warriors = We stampeded through the soulless automatons, and we could see it! The grand gates to Canterlot Castle Keep! It was one of the first things the changelings had fixed up in restitution. Except... there was now a crevice around it, thankfully there was a bridge, not so thankfully there were two giant black suits of armor the size of a house standing on it. One was a minotaur with an axe, the other an orthros! I could see inside they were filled with -something- but it wasn't a minotaur or orthros. "By order of Queen Celestia! None shall pass! To attempt is death!" They echoed like loudspeakers. "AGH!!!" Crown snapped. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" "Then let's not waste any!" Sunny said. "Flash, keep them busy, Crown, stay near me, Golden," she whispered to Screwball, who nodded. "And I'll make sure it works! GO! GO! GO!" = 'Iron Golem' - Dark Souls = "You chose death," they echoed. I moved as fast as I could, I hope distraction didn't equal 'dead meat.' I did my best keep myself in their line of sight, being JUST within their range to keep me a tempting target. The minotaur's axe almost bisected me more than once, the orthros leapt behind me, if I hadn't folded my wings and dropped, I'd have gotten a look at its insides. Then I had to dart about like a bug just to keep from being stepped on like one! I couldn't risk turning my head to see what the others were doing! If I stayed close to the ground the orthros would eat me, if I stayed in the air, the minotaur armor was gonna turn me into cutlets! Never easy. I kept to the big guy's back as long as I dared before flying right in his face. No matter how much I baited them, the two never seemed to get in each other's way or even hit each other. How was that fair?! Ugh, it's times like this I wish I'd been a gamer or a D&D nut, that'd make it so much easier to find a weak point in these things! My wingblades nicked and scratched their armor, leaving little smoking gashes in it, but it was gonna take forever to beat 'em like this if I could stay alive that long, and we didn't have forever! My dive bomb kicks made them echo like giant bells, but the dents I was leaving weren't anything to write home about! I wish I had some clouds to do some lightning spells but fog was all there was! Of course having two heads, the orthros WOULD be spotting me easier! At least the two armors didn't seem to be using team work. Come on girls I can't keep this up forever! Big axe! Teeth! Teeth! Claws! Claws! Big hoof! I grab onto his horn. Instead of trying to chop me and his horn off, the minotaur shook his head wildly like a dog. I held on for dear life. UN-OH! The orthros! It was headed for the others! I let go and flew straight for the metal dog, the axe neatly slicing through my tail parallel to it and I think splitting some of my hairs. I hit the orthros armor with enough force that I was left dizzy, but at least it put the orthros' attention back on me! Ugh! Why couldn't being a distraction be as easy as challenging them to a dance off? That worked in that movie. That's when I saw what the others had been up to... Screwball... she was... punching into the edge of the bridge? A large crack now ran along the edge, I dared look to see she'd snuck around and did the same to the other end. Then Sunny Day, she fired her orange heat magic at the feet of the giant suits of armor. I somehow didn't get killed as I flew around the nasties like a tornado, not sure what else to do. And... the armor of the titans paws and hooves, turned from black, to orange. "NOW!" Sunny shouted, and Screwball gave the bridge one last big punch, her hoof bleeding, and the entire bridge crumbled into the abyss, the suits of armor tries to simply jump off and continue their fight on solid ground. Instead, their softened feet faltered... and they fell with the bridge down below. The Minotaur threw his axe at me but I evaded. Hope it hits you on the way down, you big lug. "GOOD RIDDANCE!" Crown hissed. "Seconded," Screwball said, nursing her bleeding hoof. "Flash! Get us across!" Sunny said. You need to ask? Sunny Day used her horn to melt us an opening through the gates. Then Screwball picked the locks on the doors, and used her earth pony strength to force them open. In we go! Ah great, more caribou, only these were wearing black armor. I'm getting sick of this. Indoors was as filled with the stupid fog as everything else. More swimming for me, joy. Fog monsters formed only for Sunny Day to fireball them. The corridors weren't like the Canterlot Castle I knew, only Crown knew which was we were going. I swear there was no way all these corridors could have fit inside the castle. Naturally I did the first thing a Royal Guard in my situation would do: look in the castle armory for a decent weapon the moment I spotted it. The wingblade technique was useful, but a spear would give me better range. Unfortunately, the armory was full of cake...and things I will never repeat because I know what they're for, and it's not torture. Darn it! I guess I could take some cakes to use as a projectile. Better than nothing. "Through here!" Crown shouted, at a pair of beautiful and ancient oak double doors... we didn't knock, we kicked our way in. Inside... we were in an opera house... didn't look like the castle's indoor theater. Rows upon rows of chairs. Rock farmers, Canterlot elite, changelings, musicians, all filled the seats, they turned and shushed us. The doors closed right behind us on their own (mental note, next time break them DOWN). Uh-oh. The lights dimmed, I'm guessing we just happen to be right on time for the show. A downward spotlight lightens up the stage. Octavia Pie Melody? She stood on her rear legs, and held her head down, next to her was her signature cello and bow. "Once upon a time, there was an earth pony filly born to high class unicorn parents. For what musician would want mediocre origins on a rockfarm? But her parents saw not a daughter but a missing horn. But they were determined to make her succeed, to show their families they could make a great musician of even a 'worthless earth pony.'" Tears hit the floor in front of her. "When she failed at other instruments, they gave her the cello, telling her to practice until she MADE IT her talent. As she struggled, they performed a ritual with the unknown, and she awoke with her cutie mark. And she would practice whether she liked it or not. The strings were always there. So she was a prisoner in her home, made to compose music in all her time. Until she met a wild white unicorn with opposite taste in music that made her happy. But her parents would have none of it. And in her fury at being denied happiness, the strings became chains, and her parents were no more. But the strings remained, and she played, to perform and practice, not of her own her will: but by the expectations of others." Octavia's head shot up, her eyes squinted open, and her mouth pulled back into a grin. "Oh God," I said. Screwball just shook. The audience clapped as Octavia body's straddled the line between elegant and clumsy, grabbing her bow and cello, and began to play. I have an ear for music, even if guitar is more my style, and she was as brilliant as always. I almost didn't notice the little sign next to us that read- "Her concert is for the next twelve hours?! That's insane!" Screwball gasped. "We can't wait that long!" I said. "Of course we can't!" Crown hissed. For once I didn't feel she was being impatient. Screwball rushed to the doors on the opposite side of the theater and gave them a running tackle, and she bounced off them! We were at her side in a flash. "Felt like, I was ramming a mountain." We saw thin little red cuts along her side where she tried to bust through... like piano string. Oh boy. "She's close! So close! We're so close! We can't be stopped here!" Triangle Crown tried scratch at the door or try to squeeze through the locks, but nothing worked. Tears formed in her eyes. Could we maybe break through the wall? I wasn't sure. "This concerts needs to end right now!" Sunny Day said. We were being ignored, everyone's eyes and ears were on Octavia. "Time to cut the knot!" Screwball said getting up, she really didn't feel pain. She leapt at the stage like a wild beast, for one bad moment, I thought she was going to hurt Octavia. Instead, she tackled the cello, and smashed it and Octavia's bow to pieces. Octavia's expression didn't change at all. But the audience gasped. = No Strings Attached (Octavia Battle Theme) = The next moment, the impression of chains pushed in on Screwball's neck, and she was lurched upwards even if I couldn't see a unicorn's magic aura. She reached up with her forelegs 'miming' pulling her neck. Her ears flicked, and she brought up her rear legs instantly, and caught SOMETHING we couldn't see, and we saw her gut being pushed inward like an invisble something sharp was trying push its way in. Octavia's bow and cello floated up, and came back together, held together with invisible duck tape or something. Octavia just resumed her concert as Screwball struggled for her life above her. "Please, just stop, there's no saving me," Octavia whispered, TO US. "Forget it!" I snapped. "There's no way to win, if you fight it, it'll just make things worse until it goes the way it's supposed to," she pleaded, her face still pulled into that smile. "Help her! There's too much wood, I'd set everything on fire!" Sunny Day grunted. I didn't have a sword, so instead I broke one of the chairs (to the protest of Upper Crust) and flew up, trying to force it between Screwball and whatever was trying to hurt her. Then I felt chains I couldn't see wrap around my legs, try to stretch me apart! My Guard training was the only thing that gave me the muscle to last. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I had a different life, but that's a dream, a fantasy, not real, this is reality," Octavia lamented. The Guards of course continued to stand like dummies. "Please stop interrupting the concert! Give the mare her chance in the spotlight!" I looked down at who'd spoken. I'm a Guard, I know whose who for VIPs in Canterlot... I felt my stomach turn to ice. Blue Song. Bright Blood. Moonlight/Moonshine Sparkle. Starlight Sparkle. Princess Cadence's and Twilight's parents, doctor, singer, stargazer, and romance writer... I'd seen them at the wedding. All of them pink and gray, looking comfortable sitting upright like Lyra in the chairs, and all of them... just SMILING and ENJOYING THE SHOW! 'Pretend what they're seeing is normal' isn't funny when it's the baddie's stuff. "HELP ME!" I said even though I knew they wouldn't. They were like the rest, twisted like the world. Now only Sunny and Crown were free. How long do we have? What's left? And don't even suggest attacking Octavia! She's just the victim here! She didn't ask to have weird psycho puppet strings...puppet... strings...wait a minute. "Sunny! If Octavia's a puppet, where's the puppeteer?" Sunny's eye went wide. She looked in the direction the strings would be coming from. We didn't see anything, just a dark, shadowy roof. "Sunny! Above us! Sun burst!" "But-fire-" "DO IT!" She sent up a bright sphere of light that went boom, like a miniature sun, heating my armor. Whatever it was didn't like that, because it let go of me, Screwball, and Octavia's limbs and face. Screwball hit the ground coughing and my legs were sore. I saw them, puppeteer crosses, just FLOATING there, like ghosts, I knew they were there, but didn't want to. Octavia's eyes went wide. "What...what just happened?!" she asked, following our line of sight. "You-you can see those?!" "We can NOW," I replied. But where was the puppeteer?! "Enough!" A ripple passed though the room, a wave of violet shadows and sad blue stars, and the fog in the room glowed white for a moment then was pulled towards one spot between the puppeteer grips, congealing and becoming something else entirely. It was a blender mix of a morbidly skinny old mare, and a spider with hands and legs built from sewing needles, and a long stringy black mane. She wore a Frankenstein's patchwork of Canterlot dress parts. In her grip were the puppet crosses. Beldam 'Motherly' String-Puller "You are one ugly witch!" I blurted out. The Beldam drew in breath, realizing we could see her. The audience themselves gasped in confusion. Octavia's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "No mercy!" Crown hissed. We didn't need to be told twice. The Beldam snarled. "Don't meddle!" She sent the strings and chains at us that I saw now had sharp hooks, but it was a LOT easier to dodge something you could see. I weaved through them and dodged a slash of her claws and deliver a wing blade slash to her midsection. It didn't bisect her, but it spilled black blood. I had to dodge more strings but I wasn't the main attack. Screwball climbed up the stage curtains like a spider herself and I gave her a boost off my back so she could slam Beldam into the stage below. Sunny promptly blasted the witch with a beam of solar light. She tried to use the strings to shield herself but they just turned Sunny's attack into a scatter shot and gave her more burns. "Used to hiding instead of fighting?" I asked. "Cousin Random's invitation didn't say I'd have trouble-makers!" she roared, sending more strings at me I had to fly through. "Invitation overruled!" I yelled, reaching her and giving her a stair-step-kick to the chest, Golden charged from behind and took the Beldam's legs out from under her and putting the Beldam's back on the floor at the same time I finished with a double kick. Both of us high tailed it as Sunny formed a ball of yellow energy above us that sent down bolt of sunlight straight down on the Beldam. She blocked with her strings and chains but the heat still seemed to do damage, blackening the stage around her. Me and Screwball rushed over as she got up and double bucked her upwards right as Sunny brought her mini sun straight down, the impact causing a fairly large sized explosion, scorching the entire stage. "That do it?" I asked, landing next to them as the smoke obscured anything we could see. We heard deep raspy breathing and her legs scrapping. "DANG it!" No we didn't wanna kill her, but I thought that'd stop her! Thankfully, the Beldam wasn't in good shape. She was burnt to Tartarus and barely had any hair left. As if she couldn't get any uglier. Oh and I think we blew her arm off. "You...you...why?! I was supposed to get a new child after that bowed brat stole my key!" "Dunno about that," I replied. "But why? You TRAPPED US AND ENSLAVED OCTAVIA!" GAH! What the-?! Oh, her severed arm climbed up my back and was trying to choke me! AHHHHH! "You were to go no further and stay with my Octavia!" the monster roared as Screwball pull the arm off me and let Sunny blow it to bits. "If this were my world, Your souls would-GAH!" SWEET JESUS! Sorry, just never seen an spider-witch get impaled from behind by the broken neck of a cello! Beldam had black blood running from her mouth as she just looked down at it in bewildered disbelief. Octavia was standing behind her, holding it and panting, the strings laying limp around her. "Get...Out. This puppet is cutting her strings." "You-UNGRATEFUL BRAT-" She turned and jabbed with her claws... but Sunny's magic held her in place an inch from Octavia's eyes. "What's going on! You know why the world's cursed don't you! Tell us right now!" Sunny shouted. "... it doesn't matter, your world, can never return... You'd have been safe and sound in here from the Nightmares, Crawling Mist, Cousin, and that flavorless filly... Enjoy the doom you've chosen," Her body turned to sand, and her mechanical parts clattered to the floor lifeless. Her strings and chains turned to wool, the doors opened. From the pile came the shadow of a large hand/spider that broke into a million little shadows, who scurried back into the darkness. Octavia fell to her knees and started to sob. Golden instantly hugged her. I don't blame her...I know that monster was evil and needed to go, but... "What wonderful special effects, such drama," said Twilight's still pink and gray mom. Twilight's dad agreed with her, as did Cadence's parents. Then so did the farmers, musicians, and the elites and changelings. Some complaining they had come for a concert, not an opera. Others asked what the rest of the eleven hour show was going to be. But they were all soon clapping. Octavia was still charcoal and dirty pink... but there was a clarity in her eyes I hadn't seen in any of the others. "You said the world is cursed... are my dreams more than dreams?" Octavia tried to get up, found her motions were more clumsy than they'd been when she stabbed the Beldam. "It's... been so long since I moved on my own..." She looked at us, tears still streaming down her face. "Please... tell me you can do something." "We are," Golden said. "Just believe we can." "We're RUNNING OUT OF TIME!" Crown screamed at the top of her lungs, looking like a wreck on Sunny's back. We each gave Octavia and hug and nuzzle, and told her to be strong, and we ran through the doors of the theater we hadn't entered through. "You okay Crown?" I asked. "I will be." The impatient pixie grunted. I don't care if it matters in the long run or not. We saved Octavia. Hmmmm, what was with Golden Tiara/Screwball? She... she looked dizzy. > Pony POV Finale SPECIAL!!! "Tapestry" (Crusaders of the Lost Mark) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In one moment, Golden Tiara was fighting through the horde of monsters with her friends. The next moment, a large ripple surged across everything. As though the world itself were a painting and somepony had flapped the canvas. The next moment after that, Golden Tiara found herself in a white void that contained only herself. Looking in any direction only showed her more whiteness. The 'KO counter' was gone. "Hello, Golden Tiara." A unicorn foal was now in front of her. "Welcome to Limbo, which for the record is different from Oblivion. Completely different 'places.'" "Did you bring me here? Look, I was with my friends fighting, they need me!" "Don't worry, this is happening in the space between moments and the place between places," The young unicorn said, "I am... a big brother of sorts to Princess Celestia... my name is... not important, I am ... the Spirit of Possibilities and Changes." The young colt had a dark pink coat, yellow chartreuse mane, and green eyes. He was a blank flank. "Why am I here?!" Golden Tiara demanded to know. "I guess you wouldn't be in the mood to socialize… in spite of the fact that you're here because a part of you wanted to be. Hear all I say, and know it to be true. ... To keep things simple, understand that time is not a river, it is an ocean. Not just the future, but the past too is made up of possibilities, of course, when the 'past' changes, the future follows suit. And when a possibility occurs, countless others are destroyed and created. Understand so far?" Golden Tiara let out an impatient huff. "Good. Recently, a very powerful possibly with you occurred. Normally, this would mean little for you, but the resulting ripple is great, and your world's reality so liquid due to this curse, you, little pony, have for this one instant, the power to change your fate. To choose a new destiny that wasn't available before. Tell me, little pony, if you had never lost your mind, if you had been there for your foal... do you think she'd have run away?" "... No. She wouldn't have. She ran away because of me." Golden Tiara shivered, hugging herself. "I destroyed our family." "... What if you could have been there for her? What if you could stop her from ever running away? What if you'd never broken under the strain of micro-managing the game? What if you hadn't lost? Would you take it? Would you save your filly from the pain? Would you take a new path of destiny?" "YES! Then she'd be, MAYBE she could be safe in Ponyville with the Elements of Harmony, not lost in Canterlot all alone! She could be anywhere in this madhouse! All I know is that letter promising I could be with her again and live as a queen if I reject the Princesses and Harmony. A part of me wonders if I'm so weak to not accept. Another part wonders if I'm so weak to be tempted! Who knows what these monsters could be doing to her if they've found her! But how could I ever look her in the eye if I sold out the world?! And she'd be there because of me! I gave up! I was too weak! I didn't have the strength!" "But is that strength the kind you want?" "Yes! The strength to never break! The strength to never surrender! The strength to never fold! If I had that strength, wouldn't I be with my daughter right now?" "Yes, you would be. But that isn't to say how you two are together would be better." "Anything is better than what I did to her. I was a monster, an animal, I deserved to be locked up." "... Then let me show you that choice, if you had that strength you say you desire." --- I woke up in bed. It wasn't the hospital. And it wasn't Canterlot Castle. It was... it was my bedroom. MY HOME! I sat up... I looked around, it was early morning. Filthy... Filthy wasn't there. Home... after over a year of never sleeping in my own bed, of only seeing my home whenever I escaped from the hospital... Home. You have no idea what it felt like. To be back where you belonged. Things were a little different from how I remember them, but I'd been crazy at the time. Things looked neater, more organized, more trophies and prizes adorned the wall. And the my night gown was a little more frilly than I was used to. I saw the family pictures on the wall, I didn't focus on any detail in particular, I just... was so happy to see us all back together. To see everything back to how it should be. I was so excited, I barely even looked at the calendar, all I knew was that it said it was this year and it was the weekend. I somehow didn't run through the hallways in my nightgown shouting and yipping and doing cartwheels, I didn't -heh- didn't want ponies to think I'd gone crazy after all. Even going to my own bathroom again was a thrill and a dream come true that you really can't imagine. I went through the routine I knew so well, with no orderly to do it for me, and no royal guards or Nurse TLC nearby. I saw there was more make-up and other items at my vanity mirror than normal. But I felt like- My face! I never thought of myself as vain but, my nose! What happened to my nose?! Ugh! Silver Platter would have fainted dead away if she'd seen a nose like this in the mirror! I don't remember yelling, but I must have. Because Randolph came running in... wearing a blindfold. "Madam Spoiled Rich! Are you alright?! May I be of any help?!" Spoiled Rich... that was... that was the name that Filthy's family and mine WANTED me to take when I married him. I'd always liked being unique, fitting in that well never meant much to me. "Randolph, take off that stupid blindfold! My face! Something's wrong!" I really wish I'd been nicer to Randolph, it had been over a year since I'd spoken to him with a clear mind, but the shock of what I saw in the mirror threw me for a loop. Randolph did so, he looked at my face critically, he was like a deer caught in the headlights. "It... it doesn't look any worse Madam, NOT THAT there is anything wrong with it at all! I mean! Anything you don't think is wrong! You're still beautiful as always!" Randolph held up his hooves as if to ward off a blow. I shook my head. "Randolph, CALM DOWN! Please! What's--" I calmed myself down. "Randolph, I'm sorry I yelled. I really shouldn't have. I apologize. But please, I'm not feeling well this morning, can you-" "You... apologize? CHANGELING!" He turned to run. I managed to grab him, but I didn't feel quite as in shape as I was before. Well, I guess if I wasn't constantly escaping from the asylum I'd have less muscle. "Randolph! I am not a changeling! You're a retired Equestria Games gymnast! I had you tutor Diamond! My wedding cake was lemon (with real diamonds)! And I only PRETEND to like Filthy's taste in country bands!" Randolph calmed down, and then took a cold mane-ironer and touched it to my leg, he looked at it, then at me and put it back. What was that about? "I... I apologize madam! I jumped to conclusions. PLEASE don't fire me! I'm too old to find another job!" He groveled before me. "R-Randolph, I swear I'm not going to fire you! Now please! Please humor me, what happened to my muzzle?" "W-well Madam Spoiled Rich... you wished to take facial magic surgery to look more like Fleur Dis Lee and the other elite of Canterlot, but... there was an accident... and the doctors said a second surgery was impossible. You sued the surgeon for every bit he had." "I... I see... T-thank you Randolph." I steeled myself. I wasn't so vain that a damaged face was about to make me give up this chance. "I... I should get dressed, please tell Diamond Tiara and Filthy I'll be down to join them." "I-I'm afraid Master Filthy Rich has already left for work Madam." "Whaaat? But it's the weekend!" "A-all the more reason to maximize sales for weekend shoppers. As he says: all to provide for you and Little Miss Diamond Tiara." . . . But... Our weekend. "Is Diamond still here?" "Yes Madam." "Please tell her I'll be spending the day with her." "M-may I ask what she's done wrong Madam?" "Done wrong? Nothing. Nothing at all." "Oh. I see," He said in a lifeless tone. I walked into the wardrobe, and Randolph followed. I took off my night gown, and got a complete look of my figure in the full length mirror. I wasn't out of shape, not by a long shot, but I was letting myself go a little. I could still beat the average mare at the 100-yard dash, but I clearly hadn't been fighting my way through changeling soldiers. I'd cut my mane shorter too, but that part wasn't so bad. I'd also dyed out my stripe, didn't look that bad either. Did I get my eye color changed? It's rather pretty. That was when the much bigger lightning struck, far more than my face ever could. My cutie mark... it was different, it wasn't a gold crown, nor was it a baseball and screw. It was a diamond ring. What... what was this? I knew my cutie mark changed when I went crazy... and... I've never thought about that before... with everything that happened... about how I thought of cutie marks as something arbitrary. "Madam Spoiled Rich, are you all right?" I realized I was hyper ventilating. I tried to think of something to say. "Randolph, where's Shiny Star?" She normally helped me dress on lazy mornings. Randolph shifted uncomfortably. "Madam, you fired Shiny Star yourself." "Whaaat?! Why would I do that?!" Randolph shrank further. "You... you said that she was confusing Miss Diamond Tiara with 'improper' ideas, and that it wasn't proper for the servant staff to socialize with Miss Diamond Tiara." I checked my day planner... I had my social schedule planned down to the minute, every social event led straight to the next, there was no 'family time.' It looked like Filthy was running Barnyard Bargains from sunrise to sunset. How was he not having a heart attack? "Randolph, I think I'd forgotten to include a private outing with Silver Platter this week." "Uh... Madam, you haven't had a personal outing with Madam Silver Platter in a year." "W-what? Why?!" "You have both said... you were... too busy... maybe?" He said, trying to make himself look smaller. "I-I see." I finished dressing and putting on my face myself while Randolph went on ahead of me. I went downstairs to the living room, the house was how I left it. Though that window hadn't been replaced from that time the front door was locked so I visited my prince and princess by smashing open the window. (I was sure to tell Shiny Star the style and type I wanted the window replaced with before I left with the orderlies.) Diamond Tiara... my little princess... wearing her crown... small and beautiful, pretty and perfect... she was standing in the middle of the room. I ran at full tilt and swept her up in my forelegs, nuzzling and kissing her, and telling her over and over again how much I love her. Except, I didn't. Why didn't I?! "Diamond Tiara, come here," I said in no-nonsense voice. What? Why would I use that voice. She was shaking, she moved like a pony condemned at the gallows, taking great care to examine and appreciate our carpet. "Look at me young lady," I said with no humor in my voice. She looked up at me. Princess... she... was TERRIFIED! "Y-yes mama." "Do you know what you've done, and why we're talking?" I heard myself say. My voice like ice. "N-no, mama." Her attitude towards me, it was like a dog that'd been beaten to where it couldn't even think to bite back! "That's because it's what you HAVEN'T DONE! And do you know what you HAVEN'T DONE?!" "N-no mama." "EVERYTHING!" I snarled. "When was the last time you got first place in anything? When was the last time you actually won at anything Diamond Tiara?" "I-I'm still class president, I can get the entire class eating out of my hoof no problem," She said, finding some spine in her accomplishment. "Your one redeeming value, make sure you keep it," I said darkly. She shivered like a mouse with a cat. "You're special for being special! So what does that make you whenever you're not? The one thing fate itself has declared you're supposed to be good at?!" "I-I don't know, madam." "I suppose it makes you a different KIND of miracle, because only a miracle could fail at their own cutie mark!" I brought my nose closer to hers. "And why is it, those you keep losing to, are blank flanks with no talents of their own?! You have your talent, they have nothing, so WHY, little filly?" She whimpered. "ANSWER ME!" She tried to flinch away, I didn't let her. "T-they must have cheated, somehow?" I put a hoof under her chin and brought her eyes to mine. "You're old money, Diamond. You need to act like it. You were born higher than everypony else, and you need to make sure to stay there. You don't want to shame our family by losing that status, do you?" "...O-Of course not!" "THEN WHY DO YOU!" I shouted. Diamond Tiara looked on the verge of tears. "You slack off, you're lazy, I raise you to be an achiever, and all I get is an underachiever! Do you have ANY IDEA how humiliating it is when ponies ask what my filly has done lately? And I have to tell them: 'she entered a talent show and didn't win anything.' 'How many colts has she wrapped around her hoof? Zero.' 'Was she first to get her cutie mark in class? No, she was second to last!' 'Oh she's head of the most successful student paper in Equestria, being shipped all the way to Cloudsdale... and can't even keep her own staff under control and gets ousted!' WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME, DIAMOND TIARA?! You WANT to make our family, your father, and ME a laughingstock?!" "N-no!" "Then WHY do you keep letting yourself fail at everything?! I give you the best tutors, the best supplies, I even became head of the school board so Cheerilee wouldn't report your schoolyard antics to your father." I DID WHAT?! "And NOTHING is how you repay me?! Any other filly would have soared with what I've given them! So, are you really just trying to make me look bad, or are you just a defective jewel?" Diamond's lips quivered, her eyes wide as dinner plates. My baby was crying. "I-I-I'm-" "I should be the one crying! But if you WANT something to cry about, I'll give you that too!" You're not insane! Why are you doing this!? You aren't supposed to hurt her! My baby frantically tried to dry her tears. "I-I'm not c-crying-" "AND NOW YOU'RE LYING TO YOUR OWN MOTHER! I am not your father. Do you think I'm stupid?!" I don't think Filthy is stupid! "NO! I don't! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" "Are you? Because I recall hearing you say that before. And you never improve." "I won't lose! I won't let them win! They'll live to work for me when I'm done!" "They better! I bore you for eleven months, fed and clothed you since the day you were born! Was I wasting my time on a defective diamond?" No! My princess isn't defective! "You weren't! I swear!" "I've raised you since the day you were born to be a lady, to take command, to rise, I taught you how to speak, to succeed me, to surpass me, how to curry favor from your superiors, how to act around your inferiors, to never accept defeat, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and all you ever do is LOSE IT! Come along! I'll be instructing you personally today!" "Y-yes, mother." Stop it! Stop you monster! Stoooooooooop! -- And in the next moment, Golden Tiara was again in the white void with the unicorn colt. Golden quickly looked and felt herself over. No damaged face, no different cutie mark, no dyed mane. It took what felt like forever to stop hyper ventilating. She nauseously thought of what that horrible mare had said to her princess. "W-What was that?!" The foal sadly shook his head. "That was the world where you had the kind of strength you thought you wanted." "How... how could me not losing my mind and not trying to murder my own baby have caused me to turn INTO THAT?!" The unicorn colt said. "She became a very different mare from the one you remember. She never realized how corruptive her new lifestyle could be, she never realized how close she'd come to destroying her foal, she was never stripped of everything save the love of her family, she never realized how truly precious and unique that love was. She stuck to trying to micromanage her life and the lives of her family in hopes of keeping up with the upper crust. She even opened her own wedding store. She stuck to the game... until the game was all that mattered to her." "... I'd rather fight to the bitter end saving THIS world than live as that mare! She's devoid of love, and imagination! That's not who I am!" "Au contraire ma cheri, it is who you wished to be. A mare who never broke, a mare who never surrendered to the game, who won the game, and was determined to share all that with her child, and she'd win THAT GAME too... no matter what. Because she never surrendered to insanity, or anything. She never surrendered to the idea the love in her heart was slipping away. Never surrendered to the concept her husband had seen what wealth and power could do to others, or that he might be blinded by his love for you to see it happening before his eyes. You were well on your way to becoming Spoiled Rich long before you became Screwball." Silence dominated the void for who knows how long. "... You're right... I WAS trying to turn myself into a different pony before I became Screwball. Silver Platter isn't to blame for what happened to me, I am. I never gave up, never ever. It's what saved my life. When I laid on the bottom of that cliff, the paramedic unicorns struggling to save my life, not giving up is the only thing that saved me rather than give up and escape the pain. So I never gave up on anything. Not Filthy, not the social game the elites play, nothing." "And now?" "I'd been fighting through my illness for so long, I'd been trying to win a game that you can't actually win for so long, I forgot WHAT I was actually trying to teach my filly! Always do your best, not 'win at any cost!' ... And my cutie mark? I understand, I decided on it, not the other way around!" Golden Tiara's cutie mark shined white. The colt smirked. "Well, it's about time." The colt walked past, walked THROUGH Golden Tiara... she turned around to see her shadow trailing behind her, slowly splitting in two. Her shadow rose, becoming solid, taking on colors and details. Golden Tiara let out a slight gasp. "Everything in Order! The great get greater, and the inferior aren't seen!" Snarled Spoiled Rich. "Here's to Chaos! Embrace our True Master's return!" cheered Screwball, her beanie blade staying still as she spun around. The colt stood between them. "Show me, that you have TRUE strength. Show me the proof that it's possible. That your soul has the strength to let go of the burdens of the past, and that you can be who your daughter needs you to be. Face yourself." Golden Tiara made no boasts. She simply looked at the pair more determined than any had seen her before. She stampeded against the two extremes without hesitation. = Heroic Battle - DDS2 = "Out of my sight, you impostor!" Spoiled Rich snarled at Golden Tiara. She didn't dignify Spoiled Rich with a response, she only gave the other mare a solid punch to the face. A punch Spoiled Rich blocked. "You think since I learned how to break ponies with words I forgot how to break bones?!" She twisted Golden around as Screwball moved in, her limbs whirling around like rotor blades. Golden let her own rear legs fall out from under her, pulling Spoiled Rich forward, right into Screwball's barrage. The two tangled together as they hit but quickly separated. "Wealth, status, victory, I'll have it all!" Spoiled Rich leapt at Golden Tiara going for a hoof punch and kick at the same time that Golden was just able to dodge in time as she leaned over backwards, only having to roll out of the way as Screwball came down with a kitchen sink from nowhere that shattered on the ground. Golden stopped just in time to avoid rolling into a hoof stomp by Spoiled Rich, but Golden countered with a sweep of her back legs that sent Spoiled over backwards. Golden got up to see Screwball flaying her limbs at Golden, but Golden caught them. "Wrawl mail grape, Discord!" Screwball just dislocated her foreleg's bones, and began pounding on Golden with her rear hooves. Golden let go and Screwball knocked her away, and Golden got elbowed in the back by Spoiled and Golden fell on her belly. "I exist! I shall exist!" Spoiled Rich hissed. Golden did a front hoof stand, and wrapped her rear hooves around Spoiled neck, and did a forward flip, sending Spoiled's head straight into the 'floor'. Spoiled's body spasmed and went limp. "The marching band! The marching band's howling!" Laughed Screwball as she wielded four chainsaws out of nowhere on her hooves, forcing Golden Tiara to outright retreat. "Come'er, come'er!" Screwball kept laughing like she was at the county fair. Screwball swung the chainsaws wildly and unpredictably, with no strategy beyond 'shiver Golden's timbers.' Golden and Screwball were both in shape, Screwball was weighted down by four chainsaws, and having to balance them without tripping and cutting herself to pieces, but Screwball had the endurance (and lack of any kind of restrain) of madness, enabling her to keep up with Golden. But Golden dug into her reserves, and made a mad sprint around the mad pony. Screwball spun to follow, but her reckless slashing made her chainsaws hit each other, she threw them off herself as the teeth broke away from the clubs, leaving the chainsaws useless junk. Not completely useless, Golden grabbed one of the toothless chainsaws and hit the befuddled and shocked Screwball in the head with the flat of one. Screwball's eyes spun around, and she was sent bouncing, each time hitting the ground with a different sound effect. At the same moment Spoiled snapped her eyes open and lurched at her, she'd been playing possum! "I. Never. Lose!" But! Hadn't she been running away from Screwball this whole time?! It hit Golden that the rules about spacial relations may not be the same in nowhere. Spoiled landed right on top of her, knocking the broken chainsaw away and it faded to nothing. Spoiled landed her back hooves on top of Golden's with her full weight. Spoiled applied her front hooves to Golden's throat, pressing hard. "Of all the things I ever did to Diamond Tiara? This was never one of them! Fade away, you fake!" Spoiled spat. Golden slammed her front hooves against Spoiled's head, making her let go of Golden, Spoiled's head throbbing and her ears ringing. Golden shoved Spoiled off her. "Newborn Cuties Prawns Grate!" Screwball sprang back to her hooves, and took a giant wooden mallet out of her mouth and pounded the ground, creating a shock wave like the floor was made of rubber. This knocked away Spoiled Rich, who didn't recover in time, but Golden Tiara leapt over the giant ripple in the ground, Screwball brought up the hammer to knock away Golden, but the sane mare hit the ground sliding, and went right under Screwball's legs, knocking her over and making her let go of the mallet, making it land on Screwball's own head with a cartoonish sound effect. Golden Tiara twisted to use the last of her momentum to get herself standing again. She just barely blocked a standing rear leg kick from Spoiled Rich who had come of literally nowhere. The two mares restlessly attacked each other, like two equal forces opposing each other, blocking each other's kicks and punches so fast their minds fell back on muscle memory and training rather than conscious thought. Neither one was gaining an advantage or disadvantage. But Golden had just that bit more of endurance in her than Spoiled Rich did. "Hey! Don't you know how this whole banter thing works?" Screwball called, trying to distract Golden. But as it turned out, Spoiled didn't like being ignored. "Say something, moonsent!" Spoiled Rich demanded, breaking her tempo and got a punch to the jaw shutting her up. "Oh it's so adorable you think you're more awesome than us!" Screwball laughed in front of Golden Tiara and reached her foreleg outside of Golden's vision. Golden reached behind and caught Screwball's foreleg, and judo threw her to the ground and stomped her in the stomach. "No pain, all gain!" Screwball blew a raspberry and sprang up like a donkey-in-the-box, and grabbed Golden's own hair and wrapped it around Golden's throat like a garrote. Screwball gently nuzzled Golden and whispered a lullaby. Spoiled began jack-hamming Golden in the stomach. Golden kicked Spoiled in the spot between the legs, poked Screwball in the eyes, and flung Screwball forwards, slamming her right on top of the doubled over Spoiled, and losing the torque on Golden's hair. Golden then did an elbow slam on top of both of them. This wouldn't stop them, Golden knew, all three of them had pain tolerance to make dragons cringe. Spoiled threw off Screwball, and make a straight charge at Golden, her face going straight into her waiting hoof. Bleeding from her nostrils, Spoiled did a forward flip and slammed her leg down where Golden was, but she side stepped her. Spoiled blocked Golden's first strike, but not her second. "... Fixed your nose," Golden whispered. This startled Spoiled and Golden did a scissor kick knocking her backwards. At the same time Screwball came from behind leaping with a spiked mace shouting, "SURPRISE ATTACK!" Golden ducked, grabbed Screwball's forelegs, and realized she needed to make-up with Doctor Headscratcher sometime. Screwball dislocated her bones to get free, which Golden had waited for, and knocked the weapon out of her hooves, and tied Screwball's forelegs together. "Hey, no fair!" Screwball then kicked Golden in the face, but found to her annoyance, like a Chineighs hoof puzzle, she could not undo the tying of her forelegs. No matter how she struggled. The harder she tried to tug them apart, the tighter they grew. Spoiled side-tackled Golden and the two rolled over each other. Golden wrapped her hooves around Spoiled's gold necklace, Spoiled's eyes flashed with fear. Golden tensed her muscles... and head bashed Spoiled, over and over again, then pushed her away... And sprang forward at the dizzy earth pony with a cross-forehoof dive right below her neck, putting her entire body weight into the launch and the blow. Spoiled raised her forelegs to block, but disoriented, she was just too slow. Time itself seem to distort as her words came in that moment, "No, Noooo! It shouldn't be like this!" The attack made contact, and Spoiled was forced into the ground with almost a shockwave, her body below her neck twitched, but couldn't response with more than spasms to her commands. Golden ducked and rolled forward uncurling for a fighting position opposite facing Screwball, who almost beheaded her. The mad mare was balancing on her tongue wielding two swords with her back hooves. "Now 'he real 'a''le 'e'in'!" Screwball made her point with an impressive display of sword dancing. Golden then did a hoof sweep, disrupting Screwball's delicate balance, making Screwball spin so she landed upright, Golden stepped on her swords, grabbed her beanie and pulled it down and snapped it over Screwball's eyes, and pushed her back. Golden performed a tornado kick to a pressure point on Screwball's head, who got her head free just in time to see it. "Tsuaf! Elrehcaz! Regnihcneum! Donnaug'a!" Screwball spun around, stuck her tongue out, crossed her eyes, and fell on her back with her rear hooves sticking straight up, a rose in her forehooves. Golden Tiara panted. "How... How could I lose to a fake like you?" Spoiled Rich lamented from her disabled position, her voice filled with shame and confusion. "All your care about is appearance, status, and things. That makes you the facade... And I know exactly where you came from. You're my competitive side...the part of me that always wanted to do the best, only twisted into something awful. Thanks for showing me so I know to never let myself get that far. No game is worth my family." Spoiled Rich let out a sigh. "True bill hallways tree Screwball!" Screwball taunted. Golden turned to her insane half. "Not quite. All I did as you is going to stay with me forever. But you're done haunting me." Screwball maniac grin faded. Golden Tiara took a few hoof steps back and said to both of them, "I'll always have the potential to be either one of you if I slip and fall... And because I'm not going to deny that, and I can make the choice, and I have my family's love with me.... neither of you are going to exist. Ever." The mad mare and married-into-wealth pony dissolved in a mass of gold sparkles that gravitated towards and were absorbed by Golden Tiara. Everything went white. - I found myself back where I started, in the hallway, with my friends... the latest wave of Mares In Black, servants dragons, Caribou and doll golems taken down and dissolving into darkness around us. The 'KO counter' back outside my vision. "What was that?" Sunny Day asked looking right at me. "What was what?" I asked, unsure myself. "I saw... I thought I saw... it was you were pulled somewhere else for a moment... then everything was... like a movie caught between slides... but it was just for an eye-blink, then, back to normal." "I didn't see anything," Flash Sentry said. "I saw it too," Triangle Crown admitted. "But if it was something to worry about, something would've changed, and I don't feel anything has. So it's best we get moving, Her Nightjesty Luna is waiting." I was shaken a bit from what I'd just gone through, what I'd just seen. I felt myself over, I didn't feel any of the damage I'd taken from my fight with my two extremes, but if Sunny and Crown's magic sensed what happened, I knew it was no relapse to my sanity. Still, I wish I'd gotten that colt's name... He seemed oddly familiar. I hate to admit it, but he helped more than I could put into words. ...Filthy, you forgave me when I wasn't in control of myself, and I know that the real you would never do nothing while what those twisted versions of our friends tried to do. Nothing else to it. We'll be together again, the three of us. "Crown's right, the Nightmare Force isn't going to wait for us. Flash, can you do me a quick favor?" I asked. "Yes?" "Can you please cut my mane a little? I don't want it getting caught on anything." "Are you sure? Right now?" "Yes. I should have thought of it sooner. I've been carrying way too much dead weight lately." "Alright." Flash's wing blade sheered the extra mass off my mane. I promise I'll grow it back out later Filthy. "Thanks, let's go!" I said, leaving my excess mane behind, along with a few other things in the past. I wasn't going to forget them, I wasn't going to ignore them, but no way was I going to let them RULE me! There's a pony I want to be, and she's neither of them! I had a future with my prince and princess to fight for! > Night Rising > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Back, forces of darkness! Or you will face the wrath of the Great and Powerful One and Only Co-Princess Trixie!" Trixie announced, her blue wings glowing right in time with the Element of Magic circlet crown upon her head. She wore regalia in addition to her usual cape. The citizens of the Kingdom of Hoofingtonia cheered the duo who'd saved them from the Ursa Major years ago. "And Princess Loving-Bright-Shinny-Star Sparkling-Dawn-Flower The Eighty-Eigth!" announced her obviously-never-been-imaginary friend, the two doing their best to hold back the tide of Nightmare Forces. "We have ponies to save!" Part of the Nightmare Force tried to slip into Princess Trixie, but Princess Star Flower jumped in the way... the moment they came in contact with Princess Star Flower they shrieked back from the mere touch of her, like she was on fire. The two crossed horns and blasted them away with a swirly beam of rainbows and fireworks. "No matter how many more friends Co-Princess Trixie has, it'll still be my job to protect her!" + Come on kid! We're gonna make it to Cloudsdale, just hold on!" Daring Do huffed, flighting straight upwards. "You can do it Tornado Bolt!" Next to her was a bluish gray pegasus filly, lime eyes, grayish indigo mane, and a cutie mark of a small purple tornado. The foal was huffing and puffing, the Nightmare Force ocean beneath them steadily rising. When the foal made the mistake of looking down, she could see giant FACES hungry in the dark smoke. "I-I can't!" She called out, scared. Nopony spoke about her, nopony noticed her. Her mother had looked like her as a foal and her mother had looked like her as a foal. Her family had been on a trip to Canterlot to see the royal wedding when the changelings had come and she'd just hid until it was over. She'd been a fan of the Foal Free Press. She'd been in the Rainbow Dash camp when Mare Do Well had been on the scene . . . She knew she'd grow up to get a job as a weather pony, just liker mother had, and her mother had. Now... none of that was gonna matter because the monsters were gonna get her... and even Daring Do coming to life before her eyes and swooping down to save her wasn't enough as the monster that had gotten Princess Luna and Princess Gaia was gonna get her. "Yes, you can!" "No! I'm sorry! I just can't! I don't!" Tornado Bolt's wings gave out, she literally had nothing left... she began to fall... Only for Daring Do to swoop in a U-turn and catch her again. "Fine! I'll just carry you then! I'll hold you tight kid! We'll make it!" Daring Do swore. + =Eclipse of the Moon - Guitar Version (Hyrule Warriors)= "Where nopony budges on their beliefs, everypony has divine power but no wisdom, no morals. Will that be your paradise, father? All beings in existence too selfish, too busy grinding against each other to ever unite against you?” asked the Nightfilly, standing in her room, a complex story written in High Equestrian covered the ceiling, walls, and most of the floor, in a closing circle around her as she continued to write. She faintly heard her uncle’s screams at the destruction of his Hound self, and continued her work. "Ponies, devour these spirits of dark who stole your bodies, take their power as yours, become true Nightmares. Almost there. Be proud, dad." She shouted. "Angry. Lonely. Sad. Scared. Hateful. Greedy. Vain. There are many who wish to play." Seven masses of long, snaky arms with hands began to take form in the room. "Listen to my story in full, and believe, and we'll make a kingdom of true Nightmare." + "One more room! I can FEEL IT! One more room! That's all!!! We're almost there! LUNA!" Crown shouted excited. That was enough to spur us on too. And we came... to the library? Sorry about the knocked down doors. Okay. No way this was supposed to be here. None of us said anything. We just kept moving. I stayed in the air as much as possible. No sign of the librarian, or anyone else. Instead of sickly pink, this place looked kinda grimy purple. Is this like in that one movie where we find the librarian and she turns out to be a scary ghost lady? We were halfway through the room when the doors... they didn't repair themselves... instead every way out was suddenly blocked by walls of solid moonlight. "OH, COME ON!" Golden Tiara snapped. Once is event, twice is a pattern. Please don't tell me this is going to be a regular thing! "Please don't go any further." "Moon Dancer?" Golden asked. She stepped out from behind a book case. Moon Dancer Lunar Luminus Chosen Understudy It was hard to tell. It was her cutie mark. But since when did she wear thick glasses with a tape bridge? I thought she wore contacts. What was with the thick black sweater? And she had her mane done up with a braid on top, not her normal style. She wasn't smiling. She looked more like...someone else than herself. We stopped dead in our tracks. "If you try to go any further, I will kill you." Since when do ponies use that word like that?! Her face and tone was even and calm, not even threatening. "OUT OF OUR WAY!" Golden ignored Triangle Crown. "Moon Dancer, what is wrong with you? We're not the enemy! Why are you doing this?!" Friends trying to hurt friends thanks to supernatural horror...this is way too familiar. "Were you just in here waiting for us to come by and stop us?" I heard myself ask. "Maybe." She said. She made Sugarcoat sound like Pinkie Pie. She shivered. "Queen Celestia wishes none to disturb her little sister. She's hurt and alone, others might upset her." "That's stupid," Sunny Day said. "We can debate it for the next few hours, all day if you like. The nap couches are over there, the pantry and bathroom are that way. Just don't come closer." Her eyes narrowed. Blades of moonlight formed on all four of her legs, followed by spiked armor over her whole body. "Or die." "...Since when are you a killer?" Golden asked. "Not since last time I saw you, I know that for sure." "You're naive. I wanted to kill Chrysalis. If I have to change my appearance to survive, I will. If I have to kill to survive, I will." "Would it help if we got Lyra, Lemon Hearts, Minuette, and Twinkle Shine to reason with you?" "Why? It's not like we're friends. We're just all... the Queen's toys," She shiver again. Sunny got red in the face. "CELESTIA IS NOT LIKE THAT! She LOVES her ponies! She'd never HURT THEM OR USE THEM! They're what matters to her! They're family!" "Statistically speaking-" "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" I whispered to Golden. "Any advice on stopping a Gifted Unicorn with no scruples about killing?" "None that don't involve me killing at least one of you before you put me down." We both gave small jumps as Moon Dancer spoke. "Eavesdropping Spell. Useful with Teacher Celestia." "...Would you believe me if I told you the world isn't supposed to be like this?" I asked. "That something REALLY terrible has happened to change it? And we're trying to turn it back?" "I would say I'll kill you if you get close. If what you say is true, then if you 'fix' the world, this version of me will cease to exist and another me will take my place." Dang it, I didn't WANT to have to fight her! Plus she would probably kill one of us, and I didn't feel like taking that risk. Of course I didn't dang know her well enough to try and reach the 'real her'. "You know, I've been in that situation," Golden said. "Where you become a you willing to kill...willing to do things you never would've done otherwise. And what that 'me' didn't know is how horrified the me who became her would've been if she could see her...but I also know that she couldn't be REASONED with...if you're like me, talk is pointless, isn't it?" Triangle Crown suddenly flew off Sunny's back, and flew fast towards Moon Dancer. Her body gleamed and she passed through her moonlight blades and armor like they weren't even there, and touched her forehead. Moon Dancer froze in position. "Princess Celestia?" Moon Dancer's eyes went wide and bowed to nothing. "It's an honor!" She looked up. "Twilight graduating? Heh! Hard to imagine her not as your student." Then a look of shock on her face. "Your... your YOUR NEW STUDENT?!" She face become one of pure joy. "I-I-DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY! I! I! Of course I trust you!...Yes your eyes are beautiful... Y-your..." Her entire body then screamed fear. "Y-Your M-Majesty! I... good student... good cattle... " Her body went limp. "A slave... right, I'm not a person, so it can't be slavery. How silly o-of-NO! DON'T MAKE ME! STOP IT!" Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell over. Her moonlight constructs and barrier vanished. Triangle Crown flew off her head. I rushed to check on her. She was breathing fine, but she was covered in sweat. She was unconscious. "What did you do?!" "I shut her down. She was going to kill you, or you were going to have to kill her, and we don't have any time left for any of that!" She pointed outside a window. She was right, I saw it, the Nightmare Force, I could see it slowly filling Canterlot. Sunny Day quickly put Moon Dancer on a nearby couch and whispered, "I'm sorry." "That... that was when Chrysalis enslaved her wasn't it?" Golden Tiara asked. "I merely brought to the surface the memory she felt the most shame and unhappiness from. I didn't chose it." I cringed. The way she said it, it was like a child explaining her chemistry homework. Too bad we didn't have time to tell her how coldhearted her doing that was. "Will she be okay?" "Yes, it was simply a night terror, nothing more." "...Fine...Lead the way," I said frowning. She did. We followed. The way became darker as we went. The world becoming like white lines on black paper, torches with blue flames. It was getting colder too. After everything we'd been through, there it came... everything, we've been... "Triangle Crown," I said, "I just realized something. Except for us, and the monsters that've been trying to kill you and us: nobody has looked at you, spoken to you, or even reacted to you! You think a little pixie pony would get a lot more attention, especially if they're banned by Fake Celestia!" "It's safer and simpler that way isn't it? If I was unseen by those creatures I wouldn't have needed you at all. But at least ponies under their control can't get in my way. My duty since I came into existence is to Her Nightjesty and nothing else." "And you didn't mention you could do that?" "You never asked." On one hand, trusting the weird little fairy thing that just used a person's fear to knock them out suddenly seemed like a stupid thing to do...but I chose to trust her. One, because how the frick could this situation get any worse? And two...we'd come this far banking on it...unless she suddenly turned into some giant monster when we got there, we were just going to have to see this through. "...If you could do what you did to Moon Dancer at any time, why didn't you use it to GET here?" Golden asked. "Because the bad things don't have brains," she explained. "They don't have any fears to bring to the surface." - 'Only a few thousand words more.' Thought the Nightfilly. - We encountered a few last mega buff mares in black, over antlered caribou, with extra size dolls, and one black teen dragon in armor... They didn't so much as slow us down. This mess was ending, we were too close to let anything stand in our way. At the end of the white and black hall, was the double doors I recognized as the portal to Princess Luna's bed chambers. My teeth were chattering, the temperature was dropping so fast. Sunny powered up her horn without being asked, but it didn't have any effect at all. It didn't help that I was wearing metal armor without any cold weather enchants. We were just in reach of the doors! "FINALLY!" exclaimed our impatient and slightly frightening horse-pixie. That's when I heard the same unearthly howl that I've heard every Hearth Warming Eve play. The entire hallway rumbled, and in a flash, everything froze over, it was white with black lines, the torches went out. A single light shined before us. = 'One-Winged Angel' Final Fantasy VII = It grew larger and larger... becoming as big as a house with no way to fit in the hallway but it did, and it got bigger, and bigger!!! It was a ghostly horse without legs, glowing white eyes, and a pale blue body. Its mane going everywhere in the freezing wind that churned up around us! "Windigo," Sunny Day said the obvious. It howled at us. Around us appeared a twisting pattern of pale blues and whites, ever-changing, feeling like they were closing in. The monster floated in front of us, it could eat us all in one gulp. I was facing one of the monsters that nearly drove ponies extinct... well, not the first time I met something that fed off hate. Only this time... I wasn't going to do nothing. I was going to see Her again and nothing would stop me. "I'm not running away. Are either of you fine ladies?" "Not a chance, I have a family waiting for me, and I'm not abandoning any of you." "We've come too far to back out now, and I'll only run if both of you do first. Because-" "-we-" "-friends!!!" Around us a circle of purple, pink, and magenta flames formed, shaped like a heart of course. Little flames floated from each of us, congealing into a big heart-shaped inferno! The fireball grew, and grew, and GREW until it was bigger than the Windigo! The monster wailed in rage and madness. "Three mostly strangers whose people had hated each other for centuries admitting they were the same species and didn't hate each other was enough to blow your relatives away. What chance did you have?" I said, cause it felt right. The fires of friendship hit the monster without missing a beat, the monster shrunk away like a melting icicle, vanishing in the inferno. And just like that, it was over. And we were back in the hallway, but it wasn't freezing anymore. The Fires of Friendship even warmed up my armor. "Anypony complaining about that being easy?" Golden Tiara asked. "NO!" All three of us replied. No more games. We pushed the doors open then and there. =Denouement (Hyrule Warriors)= Inside, everything was still white on black... I recognized Her Nightesty's room, though I'd seen it only once. A horror buff and Halloween lover's dream boat wrapped up in a Dark Age, gothic aesthetic. It always made you feel like you were being watched. Probably because it came complete with decorative eyes. And on the bed, sobbing, was Princess Luna, looking like she did when she was freed from Nightmare Moon. But somehow even more small, helpless, cute, adorable, sympathetic, and everything about her screamed 'feel sorry for me!' On the walls were drawing signed, 'Pwencez Woona.' She didn't evens seem to notice us. "Princess?" I asked, I was the Guard after all. She looked up at us with puffy cheeks and eyes red from crying. "O-oh! I'm sorry! Don't be mad! I didn't mean to! I just don't want to be banished to the moon again!" "... Princess, sorry for what?" "Whatever it is that big sister Princess Celestia is mad at me for." Golden's vocabulary was at zero. Sunny Day look horrified, ashamed, disgusted, sad, angry, hurt, dismayed, and everything in between. "PRINCESS LUNA! Your sister isn't mad at you for anything! She loves you! Always has! Always will! She's half a pony without you!" 'Woona' cried out and hid under her covers. Okay, this was the last thing I was expecting even though I'd kind of heard the rumors already. "Princess...we're not here because you did anything wrong, we're here to help you," I explained. "To save me from my big sister and establish the Luna Republic? Uh, can you tell me what that is?" Triangle Crown flew onto the foot of the bed. "I will if you come out form under there." 'Woona' peaked her little head out looking at the breezie. "W-who are you?" "You already know. You can never feel regret, no matter how hard you try... mother, master, goddess, creator... You shall never forget your sins as Nightmare Moon." "Triangle Crown what are you talking about?!" I and Golden demanded. Sunny Day hide her face behind her mane. "W-what?! I WASN'T NIGHTMARE MOON! NEVER! That was an evil magic parasite thingie that came from... somewhere. The moon! Right! Came from the moon!" "Who do the rumors say the Nightmare Forces first possessed?" Crown asked. It took me a moment. Then it hit me. "Princess Luna." Crown looked Luna in the eyes. "I said I could get rid of them...because it is my job to ensure Luna never allows herself to believe that lie is true." "...Who gave that job to you?" "Her." "What ARE you?!" I demanded. "According to the lie about the Nightmare Forces, they are a parasite made of black magic... just as you created me to be, like fighting water with water. I suppose they needed me disposed of another way then. Trapping me in this helpless form, I feared I'd never return to you, creator. But I couldn't truly fight them either... So I needed ponies who had not been altered who could guard me here. "I haven't forgotten the duty you gave me, the purpose, the REASON I was born! Even if you have now creator." 'Woona’s' eyes just kept getting bigger and bigger, she'd stopped crying. "I just... wanted to spare her the pain," Sunny Day said. "I just wanted... nopony to judge her for a sickness she was free of. Her and Fluttershy... they were ill, and then well, but ponies wouldn't, couldn't see that, they'd just see the sickness they ONCE had." Golden frowned at her, but said nothing, like she... understood? I was in Canterlot on the Day of Innocence, so no extra foalhood for me... but it did help First Base, and I know Shy's good at heart... is she really saying... "WAIT! Are you saying... the whole reason this Nightmare Force thing exists... is because you made it up?!" I exclaimed. "... Yes. I wanted ponies to judge Luna for how she was as a SANE pony in control of her own actions, not when she was mad from magic gone out-of-control." "... They'd have forgiven her," I said matter of fact. "They'd have forgiven her without it. I speak from experience." Then I remembered the red and blond example of that situation. "But... I know that it can take a real long time." "...Luna had already suffered a thousand years imprisonment... I felt that was long enough." "Now Princess Luna," Triangle Crown said, and turned into a glowing purple mass of magic with blue stars. "Remember! Remember you choice to side with Celestia's plan to release the windigos to stop the tribes from fighting that could have destroyed them! Remember when Discord's evil side devoured his good side that you and your sister loved and you did nothing! Remember cursing an entire village for this ignorance and fear and not even TRYING to teach them what they'd done wrong. When you created the Elder Horn, which was found by Nightmare Whisper and increased her power!" My head was going dizzy at all I was hearing. I couldn't believe or make sense of what I was hearing! "Go away!" "You can't be rid of me, creator, you declared I must never stop! And I shall never stop obeying that command! Even if you were turned to silver and left as a decoration by Discord I'd have stayed with you, never letting your mind escape into madness or ignorance! When your possessiveness of Pipsqueak grew too much, I gave you the nightmare as you give them to others to awaken them to the truth of their actions!" "S-Stop!" "So long as you need me, I will never cease. Now wake up and remember!" Triangle Crown flew INSIDE Woona's head. + Moonlight gasped and fell to her knees. Her eyes widened as the ship continued to rock. "Moonlight, are you okay?" Pipsqueak asked quickly. "We… I'm fine, Captain... I... Captain, please know, I'll always be your loyal first mate." "I know you will, Moonlight." "And... thank you for calling me that, I want to stay as me. I really do enjoy it." She then whispered to herself, "and not an extension of Her." + "LUNA!" Sunny Day screamed, "How could! How could you do this to yourself?! Why?! Your sister loves you! She forgives you! Your friends love you! They forgive you! How could you...how could you want to punish yourself like this? You don't need this!" Woona held her hooves over her head, crouching down and shaking like a leaf, her eyes shut tight for a moment. Then her shaking stopped. "... I never forgave myself." A storm cone formed in an instant, engulfing Woona, the howling made me press my ears against my head. We shielded our eyes from the suddenly indoor storm. Golden was pushed back a few inches, while Sunny Day brought up a shield. The entire room rattled. The storm twisted and turned as it hit the ceiling, drawings and anything loose being sucked in. Then like a reverse big bang, an explosion of darkness that left naught but midnight blackness for a moment. And in that one moment, I couldn't tell if I was awake or dreaming. Then... there standing on the bed... was Princess Luna Nyx Selena Equestria, dark fur, starry mane, Her Nightesty, the moon goddess, the spirit of dreams and nightmares, in all her glory. The room... it wasn't right, but it wasn't as before either, now it was black on white with finely details like a scratch drawing, making the place look even more gothic, the Princess looked right at home. She looked right at us. She looked at Sunny Day, her face changed quickly from excitement, confusion, concern, then surprise. She looked at me and Golden Tiara. "Guard Flash Sentry, Mrs. Golden Tiara, Sunny Day... thank ye for escorting... thy charge to our person. This is a dark and terrible time not just upon Canterlot, but all of Equestria, the entire world. We commend ye for thin bravery and tenacity, we know thy quest was not an easy one." "Princess...not to sound ungrateful, but can you fix the world?" I asked. "We... cannot fix what is not broken, stay thy words! What we mean to say is, the very blueprint of what is and what is not has been violated. Tis not merely something superficial painted-over reality that can be simply washed away. Fear not, we are not claiming tis impossible for this evil to be thwarted. Just that tis not as simple as casting a failsafe spell." "Princess Luna," Golden Tiara, "Please, tell me that was all a lie just to shock you out of it. Please tell me things aren't what they look like." Her Nightesty just leaned down and nuzzled her. "We can never escape from our mistakes, even if we learn from it and realize what we did wrong. Those mistakes, and all it cost us, can never be truly undone. That is life. Just know that those mistakes don't mean us loving our subjects is a lie." The room shook again. Crazy laughing echoed from outside. Princess Luna sighed and went to her Moon Rising Balcony, opening it with her telekinesis. Feeling like we're gone from actors to audience, we followed. Okay. I was actually, factually scared and wanted to cling to Princess Luna's legs and beg for her protection. The Nightmare Force was flooding over the streets and building of the twisted Canterlot below like a fountain. "The night will last forever," being shouted over and over by countless black ponies with constellation cutie marks. I saw The Princess...you know how sometimes you know somepony is clopped off but their face isn't saying that? This was one of those times. - 'Only a few hundred words left,' the Nightfilly's story to black magic itself was almost done. - The 'flood' twisted and churned right beneath us, then rocketed up like a gusher, Luna's horn glowed and a barrier appeared around us 'mere mortals.' "And now I'll take your body again, little princess!" And the sparkling smoke took the shape of the one, the only Nightmare Moon, looming before us, sharp teeth and fangs, and glowing red eyes. I'd never seen Nightmare Moon personally, I'd been in Canterlot helping keep ponies from panicking at the lack of a sunrise. Luna didn't flinch. "This curse, itself, is little better than a mindless virus. Who are you really beneath that form?" Nightmare Moon startled, then laughed. "Does it really matter?! I am Nightmare Moon! Who has evilly possessed ponies throughout the ages for my evil plans! You being just my latest victim. It is everything you wanted Princess Luna! This WORLD is everything you wanted! You are free! You have no crimes to answer for, no sins to carry, no burdens to bear! Isn't! Just! Wonderful!?" "... A part of me has wanted 'you' to be real. To be a truly separate being from me rather than a part of myself I let control me... I do not blame Celestia for you being before me, she truly only wanted ponies to accept me. To see me and not Nightmare Moon. But I shall not run away from my own choices! Now that I've been 'Pwencess Woona', I see the truth: my mistakes and selfish choices also shaped me into who I am, taught me to fear those roads, and I can discard them no more than the night!...That's why all beings are created with free will...so they can grow from both their successes and their failures to become better. It took me a long time to realize that, but now that I have, I'm never going to purge them from me!" "Pretty words. BUT THEY DON'T CHANGE A THING!" Nightmare Moon laughed. = UnderTale - Toriel Battle = "But these words will." And Princess Luna used the Royal Canterlot voice. "PONIES OF EQUESTRIA! WE KNOW YE CAN HEAR US! THE NIGHTMARE FORCE IS A SMOKE SCREEN! THE THING THAT ENSLAVES THOU IS A PART MYSELF I HAVE REFUSED TO ACCEPT BUT NOW I SHALL!" "You think just telling the truth to the ponies in Canterlot will be enough? This lie covers all Equestria! We ponies nurtured it together!" Sunny Day shouted. Nightmare Moon laughed. "...WITH THE BARRIER BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY SO LIQUID, WE CAN TRY IT!" Princess Luna's eyes glowed white, her entire body went stiff. For just a second, in my mind's eye, I was playing catch with First Base at night, and I saw Princess Luna's shadow appear on the moon. "WE, PRINCESS LUNA NYX SELENA EQUESTRIA, SPEAK TO THE HEARTS OF ALL OUR SUBJECTS, I KNOW IN YOUR HEARTS THIS IS HARD MY LITTLE PONIES! YOU TRULY LOVE MY NIGHT. NIGHTMARE MOON WAS EVIL, I AM NOT EVIL, THEREFORE I CANNOT BE NIGHTMARE MOON. THE IDEA THAT A TRULY GOOD PONY CAN BECOME TRULY EVIL, SCARES YOU FAR MORE THAN THE IDEA OF A TRULY EVIL PONY RETURNING TO GOOD. WHAT DOES SAY ABOUT YOU? THAT YOU THEREFORE CAN ALSO TURN EVIL? BUT DO NOT BE AFRAID! YOU HAVE FREE WILL! EVERY CHOICE YOU MAKE IS YOUR OWN AND NOPONY ELSE'S! IF YOU CHOSE NOT TO BECOME EVIL THEN YOU SHALL NOT! THAT IS THE GODS' GREATEST GIFT TO YOU! --- A brown, red-maned filly sat at the top of one of Manehatten's skyscrapers. She and her relative the Great Orange Crime Fruit Family had rushed to the top floor as the city began flooding with the Nightmare Force, but the flood was still rising. She imagined herself sitting at a picnic with her sister Sunflower and the rest of the Oranges. She looked up and saw Princess Luna's shadow appear on the moon, then saw and heard, --- "COME UP HERE AND TAKE ME IF YOU DARE, LOSERS! YOU THINK ANY OF YOU IS STALLION ENOUGH TO POSSESS RAINBOW DASH?" The rainbow maned mare shouted as the darkness reached for Cloudsdale, choosing to face it head on rather than run away, and maybe distract the flood with her awesomeness and a point-blank Sonic Rainboom as her fellow factory workers saved themselves. She fantasied of doing one last try out for the Wonderbolts at night, and she saw Luna's shadow form on the moon. --- Luna pointed at Nightmare Moon. "NIGHTMARE MOON MAKES NO SENSE! IF SHE WANTED TO RULE EVERYTHING THEN ENDLESS NIGHT WOULD HAVE LEFT HER WITH NO PONIES TO RULE OVER! WHEN IT WAS MY OWN BITTERNESS AND JEALOUSLY AT LEAST I HAD THE EXCUSE OF BEING INSANE! AND SUCH AN EVIL WOULD HAVE NEVER WANTED TO MAKE THE WORLD HAPPY FOALS AFTER FINDING A NEW HOST!" --- Braeburn, trapped in his own Nightmare Forces possessed body, could only watch himself try to bring about eternal night, knowing what that would mean for his beloved (though it made his head hurt to imagine which one). He thought of himself and Little Strongheart/Cherries Jubilee/Carrot Top/Derpy/ and many others he knew, on a date watching a rodeo before Luna's shadow flashed on the moon. --- "YES! FLUTTERSHY OF KINDNESS TOO FELL INTO SICKNESS AND MADNESS. AND FOUND POWER THAT MADE HER MADNESS MORE DANGEROUS STILL! BUT THE ELEMENTS CURED HER OF HER SICKNESS AS THEY CURED ME! KNOW THAT THE ELEMENTS STILL FIND HER WORTHY BECAUSE SHE IS WELL AND IS NOW STRENGTHENED AND IMMUNE TO SUCH SICKNESS. AND SO AM I!" --- "You dare think you can defile the kingdom of the Great and Powerful and One and Only Co-Princess Trixie?!" announced Trixie, she and Princess Star Flower combining their magic to push the Nightmare Forces back from their castle containing their family and subjects, the flood of Nightmares rising higher and higher, Princess Star Flower's unique magic burning the beings of corruption like fire. For every one she burned away, ten more took its place, even the great and really great heroines could only hold off the flood for so long. Trixie imagined herself on a stage, with her siblings and her friends in the audience watching. The open air auditorium presented the full moon...and then saw Princess Luna's shadow appear upon it. --- Nightmare Moon took a step back...she looked dumbfounded. Like Luna had just said the world is flat. "Impossible...you...how can you choose to...how can you just ACCEPT THAT?! Bad feelings are bad! Ponies shouldn't have them!" "...Because I know more than anypony that all beings are made of light and a shadow. Better a world where they aren't NEEDED! I would go against my nature to claim darker emotions have no place in a ponies' heart. And that means so does guilt and shame...And that's what you are to me. It's time to come home." --- Doctor Redheart kept her focus on what she and her family were doing, with Vendetta Mask's reluctant help, it was the only way she could think of to save her patients, and that was the most important thing. She pictured herself helping heal ponies with her family...Saint Sweet Heart working with them. Out the window, she saw the moon, Luna's image flashing before it. --- I AM NIGHTMARE MOON! THE ONE AND ONLY! YOUR LOVE FOR ME, AND EACH OTHER, IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO BURN AWAY THESE LINGER SHADOWS OF MY MISTAKES! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" Princess Luna collapsed in a heap. --- Babs Seed and her family stood for a few moments. "...I believe in 'er too...I believe in yah, Princess! And I forgive yah!" "So do I!" Sunflower called. She'd been a bit of a bully back in high school...ponies can change. --- Rainbow Dash fell on her haunches, and laughed, looking at the moon, and at the darkness below. "If yer gonna confess what you did was yerself and nopony else... no matter what anypony else might do to ya when the truth comes out... no matter how much everypony will hate ya when it comes out... no matter how air tight your alibi is.. that's some SERIOUS GUTS... more than I have. Ya seriously got my respect there and... I already knew what ya did and... I forgive you too." --- "We Appleloosans ain't perfect, the mess with the Buffalo proved that! Ah forgive ya Princess!" Braeburn screamed in his own head, not listening to the wailing of the now panicked Nightmare Force sharing it with him. --- Trixie smirked. "Trixie always knew...LISTEN TO PRINCESS TRIXIE, EVERYPONY! EVEN THE GREATEST AND MOST POWERFUL PONIES MAKE MISTAKES! EVEN YOUR GREAT AND POWERFUL CO-PRINCESS HAS MADE HER OWN! LET US ALL ACCEPT OUR NIGHT PRINCESS' MISTAKES AND GIVE HER OUR FORGIVENESS!", the hammy Princess yelled to her royal subjects of Hoofingtonia, using the Royal Canterlot Voice. She was Trixie, Princess or not she knew how to make herself known. The ponies, including her siblings, cheered. "WE FORGIVE YOU!" --- "SHE ADMITS IT?! SHE ADMITS IT?! BUT! HOW DOES THIS FIT IN!? I DON'T! HOW COULD?!" Vedetta Mask yelled at himself. Doctor Redheart and her family looked to the statue of their Saintly ancestor. "Saint Sweetheart would forgive you, Princess..." Doctor Redheart said, seeming a bit out of breath. Her family merely nodded and smiled in agreement. --- Umbra Breeze and his fellow pieces of The One Who Was Many, cursed and hissed from the top villa of the World Tower as cries of forgiveness rang out across the kingdom, forgiveness and acceptance of an awful truth. Including from the erased hearts of those whose very pasts and presents had been rewritten and remade by the curse. 'Is this more proof?' Discord mused. "...Impossible...how...how can they- these naive little creatures?" ---- Nightmare Mirror gave a chuckle, hearing Nightmare Granfalloon give much the same. "Well...Ah'll be...Well ya know what they say, the Truth will set ya free." ---- The Nightfilly for one moment hesitated... "They... all forgive her?" ---- Annnnnnnd next thing I knew? Giant golden shockwave. Spreading out in an eye-blink, leaving little twinkly stuff behind when it faded. The Nightmare Force went bye-bye, the ponies it'd possessed going back to normal. I was broken a little to see the twisted Canterlot still there after the giant golden shock wave. And in a second, the golden shockwave reversed course, and hit Nightmare Moon. "NO! Please! Don't!" Nightmare Moon cried. "This is the role you chose, and this is how it ends. Don't be afraid my little pony. I know I hurt you once before. Let me make this tiny amends." "If...if you pull me in, the darkness will corrupt you!" Nightmare Moon begged. "How can darkness corrupt Darkness Herself unless she gives in?" Luna asked. "Now come along now. Midnight Dream." And Nightmare Moon's dark shape turned to smoke and was absorbed into Princess Luna! And... there was the colored shadow of a pony, struggling and grasping at empty air as it was pulled towards Luna like a black hole. She was pink with darker shade legs, purple and pink hair, blue and light blue eyes, and her cutie mark a stitch pattern moon with stars that went down her legs. As the shadow got close... it, stopped struggling, looked, at peace, and floated into Luna, becoming one with her own shadow. "P-Princess Luna? WHAT WAS that?!" I gasped. She calmly turned to me, a smile on her face. "The spirit of a pony whose untimely end was not her fault. Since she took up the role of Nightmare Moon, her spirit could come to rest in me... She is free. She now exists." + In St. Sweetheart's Memorial Hospital, patients and doctors hugged each other and cheered. Vendetta Mask wondering what this odd feeling inside him was. "It's called happiness," Tenderheart informed him. Mjolnir swore to Odin. Nurse Red Heart smiled dizzily at the vials full of her own blood she had pumped hoping to save her friends and patients, looks like she wouldn't need them after all. Now she just needed a nap and a cookie. + "So close," the Nightfilly remarked, dropping the pencil, the sentence half finished. "You still want to play with us don't you?" asked the seven around her as they faded. "Yes. I am sorry, father, I failed you." 'There there, have a nice pat on the back my little filly, and you don't need to pretend. I know that being one of a kind is great... and how lonely it gets.' + "Your Nightjesty... Where... is Triangle Crown?" Golden asked. "Back in my nightmares where they belong," Princess Luna said. "So...what now?" I asked. Luna focused...then seemed a little confused. I think she seemed to be talking to someone. + The privateer crew cheered as the Nightmare Flood disappeared. 'Wait...Moonlight?' Moonlight jumped. 'C-Creator...p-please don't reabsorb my mind, I...' '...You are good for Pip, I would never do such a thing... as I know sister will not do so to your new cousin, will you please tell me what you know?' + Princess Luna finally nodded. "...Thankfully, I believe we are not alone. There are others fighting this horror...and doing for others like you've done for me." "...Twilight?" "...She is not doing the fighting...but if my...sources are correct, she is safer than most thanks to some little heroes." "... Is First Base one? He's my little brother." "... No, he is not." That's actually a relief. Then it sort of just well, clicked in my brain. I grinned. "Hey, girls, we finished the quest. We got to Princess Luna. We did it!" "Have you taken a look outside?" Sunny Day pointed at the twisted Canterlot. "Yeah, reaching the Princess didn't fix everything like Triangle Crown implied it would, but hey, we beat some nasties! And we rescued the princess, and we stopped a wave of darkness from consuming the world! We got a win!" I jumped in the air, flapped my legs and clicked by back hooves together. + "Sooo, sorry you weren't able to derail my rumor, take it over for yourself, and subvert my own creation to your own designs?" The dark Pharaoh asked evenly, he'd crushed his own scepter in his grip. "Easy come, easy go. But I did not sense anything from Sweetie Belle the whole time. I do not understand how they were able to reach Canterlot and undo a curse of this scale so deeply rooted in the world. She doesn't have the knowledge, the wisdom, or will." "So we have more than one group of virus' infesting our body... " The faceless sphinx spoke. Its entire body shook, looking ready to claw to pieces the next thing that incited its ire. A black cloth hung on the wall, on it were runes that drove its reader mad. Translated, the runes’ words were: 'Angled Hound.' A wreath of blood feeding Une flowers hung around it. 'Cousin Beldam by the way went home. She was so looking forward to meeting your friends, my little filly. But she says some ponies ruined her playing house party... ' "Who?" Nightfilly and horror from beyond echoed. 'Well, she didn't give much description but- well, brace yourself, my little filly.' -A few moments later- " ... Father, your promise made it so only her name was the only thing the rumors could affect. Nothing should have provoked her.... she never fights unless somepony did her wrong." "She was still a high society pony, it's just what high society ponies DO that changed. She must have not liked it. Guess that means Cloud Kicker and Thunderlane now act like elites eh?" '... Oh dear.' "... That was ignorant on my part. If I still had feelings, I think I would hate you beyond measure right now Uncle." "Don't get too big for your saddle little one." "Would not dream of it, or anything." "They don't like Nightmares after all? ... I'll make sure they never have a nightmare again." + "Now, let us see if we can free our beloved sister from HER curse, and we all can work together to smite this evil!" But in the next moment Princess Luna's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened in alarm. "My little ponies! Stand close to me!" She said swiftly. The ponies obeyed. "Listen to the words of your goddess, expect no mercy from what is coming! Be prepared to do what must be done to live! Or those you love will be next! Your strength and sanity is to be tested in ways never meant to be! Prepare yourselves!" = Nyarlathotep - Persona 2 = They came. The corrupt ponies couldn't even see them. Much as in another timeline, where the changelings were banished from Canterlot, the ponies of Canterlot went back to their 'happy' lives without missing a beat with the Nightmare Force undone. Many celebrating in the only ways they understood at the moment. The enemy that came paid the corrupted ponies no mind. The MiB curse creations and other automations were worthless cannon fodder not to be even considered. The ponies saw a dark storm spread across the pink inverted sky, spreading like ink in water, surrounding Luna's tower, in a perfect sphere. "Maybe we should get somewhere safer?" Flash Sentry suggested. "There is nowhere to run," Princess Luna said simply. "Beware their words. They NEVER reveal anything they didn't plan to. Tis their nature. The evil of a thousand masks." Shapes began to form and drop out of the storm, landing on the towers and rooftops, crushing tiles under their weight. All made their way towards the tower: A blob of golden tentacles. A pitch black fur less, mane less pony. A faceless sphinx. An army of fleshy black trees. A pack of ghostly skeletal dogs. A morbidly obese unicorn mare on tiny legs with a fan. A giant hovering red veined jellyfish. A two headed bat pony. A ordinary looking zebra stallion carrying a saxophone and so many, MANY more. They spoke with one voice, one identity, one being. """""""We won't pretend to ask you to surrender, Night. Just know the light in the sky isn't yours nor your sister's. You are already not at your true strength! You are cut off from yourself. You have no means to swiftly regain your magic. You'll not meddle in a single one of my masterpieces here. You'll never see the moon in this world again, Night!""""""" "... I am at half strength, and yet you send so much of yourself and your spawn against me? You flatter me that you fear me so much cousin-in-law. We shall not waste breath on questions you won't answer! Come at us! See how fast you can lose to a half-powered Alicorn, a couple mere mortals!" While naturally Flash wanted to wet himself in terror, he knew that wasn't what needed doing. Instead he took on as confident a look as he could. "You're not the first horrific monster from outside the world I've had to face. Bring it. No way I'm dying here." Golden narrowed her eyes. "I've been insane, is this supposed to scare me? If you get between me and my family, I'll rip you apart too." Sunny looked to Luna, then back to the horde. "...You know, Hoofcraft's work was scary because you don't know what the abomination is thinking...you've given that away before the fight even starts. This isn't about us meddling further is it? Luna said it herself, you're sending this much against us because you're nothing but a petty, vindictive prick. No better than a noble who's been slighted. It's practically my JOB to bring people like you down a few notches, so bring it on. No way we're losing to the likes of you." While that was what the mare said, her mind spoke something different: 'Please, somepony, save us.' + Philomena stood, above the doors to her mistress' room. The guards, while corrupt, still obeyed their queen's order to the letter to not let her out, the chains of loyalty ensured they'd not falter in their duty. But she stood as another line of defense if she got free, or she lured some pony to her. Philomena had burst into flames, then been reborn from the ashes when the corruption had spread. And had quickly retreated when she had checked on her mistress. She had no means to fight this evil, it was beyond her, which infuriated her to no end. But at least she could protect her master from doing something she'd regret. Then the firebird felt it. She was being called, the calling presence more familiar than the corrupted one in the room beyond. And she felt a great and horrible storm forming, as animals often could. The firebird quickly left a wall of flame around the door and flew at her highest possible speed towards the calling. + "Sticks and stones babe, stick and stones, ain't gonna matter once yer toast, come on babe, let's see how loud Ah can make ya sing," said the Zebra stallion in a southern Equestrian accent. Luna torn open her wardrobe and pulled out swords, shields, spears, axes, repeater crossbows, knives, and many other weapons all looking like they'd been forged from solid moonlight. "These bear the blessings of My Father, they will harm the enemy, take your pick and do not die!" The Princess commanded. 'As long as his focus is completely on us, Apple Bloom and the others will be safer. Tis our duty.' Then a bird shape titan of flames punched through the dark storm, the storm itself let out a cry of pain and anger and sealed behind her. Philomena flew to the side of Sunny Day, the unicorn looked shocked to her core. "You... you're... you're Celestia's pet... did, did she send you to help?" The bird shook her head, then tilted it, then nodded, then shook again. "She has come to help! Tis enough!" declared Princess Luna. Flash directed the group to form a circle around the edge, their mini armory in reach, Princess Luna approving. "No THING gets inside!" "For Equestria!" shouted Luna floating silver spear around her. Flash held one of the silver axes. "For Equestria!" 'And for you too, First Base, and Twilight!' Golden took a fighting pose with what looked gauntlets. "For you, Filthy! And you too my little princess!" Sunny Day levitated a bow and took aim. She wasn't sure why, but a bow and arrow instinctively seemed best suited to her. Philomena lit the tip of the arrow aflame and the fire turned golden. "For Equestria! And everypony in it!" The two sides clashed. > Surprises > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We dreamed all four of us were baby foals in diapers. We happily bounced around our nice little cloud heaven. Above and below us, stars twinkled in a pretty night sky. We were the Cutie Baby Crusaders. Baby Scootaloo raced comets from one end of the universe to the next. Stars waved as they passed. Baby Sweetie sang without words to an audience of baby Silver Spoon, baby Diamond Tiara, baby Rarity, baby Spike, and many other toddler versions of ponies she knew, plus a couple green and red baby seaponies, and a baby earth filly with a pink mane, beige fur, and yellow eyes. Her audience cheered for her little song. Baby Apple Bloom, meanwhile, hoof-painted the whole world into existence. The entire sky as her canvas, and endless rainbows to dip her hooves into, she painted the land, the oceans, the trees, the towns, leaving the ponies for last. Baby Button Mash, played MegaPony Legends 3. The baby foals were each as happy as possible only be in a dream. As we woke up, we thoughts for a little while we were still dreaming. Outside our guest room window we woke up to see sunny blues skies, the black sparkling monster clouds outside gone. Sweetie's Diary: I figured out first we weren't still dreaming when I got that awful headache that Kifuko warned me I'd get when we spoke between thoughts when I was trapped in Kabuto's bubble world. Lickety Split got me some medicine and water for the headache. I was REALLY insistent about 'em. If you ever had this headache, you would be too! Button Mash got me an icepack too. I never thought I'd be so happy to see that haunted wall of normal white-gray fog around Split's house and the blue sky overhead. Lickety got us breakfast too, which surprised us to be all out pancakes, everypony else had already eaten. The fact we were all having the same dream from different views is weird. But not bad. "Since there weren't any upside down waltzing dresses and we all dreamed the same, I think Princess Luna gave us those dreams," I said. "Whatever," Scootaloo said, "I'm just happy we can all still dream nice things. Don't need nightmares while we're asleep when the world’s a waking one." Apple Bloom and Blanky both confirmed everything we were seeing was real. So that left… "Why didn't you wake us up when the evil-super-mega-flood-of-evil went away?" Scootaloo asked Lickety Split. "Because... I felt in my gut, and so did Post-Haste, Silver Spoon, Miss Star, Spike, Twist, Featherweight... that... somehow this might be one of your last chances to rest before you finish whatever it is you need to finish...It's stupid, I know, and so did the others, but... something just said in my head you girls, and you too, Mash, needed to have your batteries full." We didn't argue. I looked out the kitchen window, at the bright blue sky and yellow sun... so pretty, so wonderful, and... and I just started giggling. My friends looked at me weird, until Button Mash started laughing too, then Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom, even Blanky let out a happy bark. We ran outside, and began rolling around on the ground, still laughing. We rolled until we all bumped into each other, and just looked at that big blue pretty sky again! I laughed until my belly hurt. Sometime later, I dunno, we stopped doubling up and laid down. Apple Bloom sat up some and looked at the fog wall. "... So somepony else went and beat that Nightmare Force tall tale." "Wish we knew who just so we could thank 'em," Scootaloo said. And I'm happy to hear Scootaloo say that. "Tall tale?" Button Mash asked. Apple Bloom put a hoof on his shoulder and smiled. "Button Mash, we need to explain some stuff." So we took a few minutes and explained what Apple Bloom had told us that Nightmare Applejack had told her about Princess Luna and Fluttershy. Button Mash accepted it REALLY fast. It was like in his gut he already knew. Or maybe that’s what playing so many video games did to you. "It's kinda funny, ain't it?" Apple Bloom asked. "...We ponies like makin' new friends so much and are so forgivin', but were makin' excuses for Princess Luna bein' a new friend who was tryin' tah earn it." We all got a laugh out of that, Button made a joke about a video game were if you work really hard you can even redeem the big bad aliens. Spike was getting busy, pre-making papers we could use to stay in contact with him, half for him half for us. "And since Princess Luna doesn't have to worry about the Nightmare Forces any more, maybe she'll send me a letter, I'll let you know if she does...I don't really know where she is right now." We all blinked. "Wait, did you say 'Princess Celestia never let poor Luna do anything'?" He cocked his head. "Uh, no...I said she was preparing for the Nightmare Forces. Everypony knows Princess Luna is the one keeping her sister under control." I think he realized how we were looking at him. "Uhhhhhhhhhhh...this is like how Silver Spoon ended up remembering that thing at Pinkie's like it's always been that way, huh?" Our eyes went wide. "When did you find out about that?" Scootaloo asked. Ugh! Can't you try being better at lying, Scootaloo? What's that beeping machine with you? Huh, an irony detector? I think it's broken. Spike raised an eye...brow (do dragons have those?) "Silver Spoon needed somepony to talk to after finding out her memories got altered by you saving Pinkie Pie from that curse." Oh right...we weren't the only ponies doing stuff. "That obvious that's what happened?" Scootaloo asked. "It's either that or you bumped your head fighting the mutant trees. ... Considering what you just said, I like this version better," he replied. "And the REAL Princess Celestia isn't really bad! We'll break her curse too!" (Scootaloo: Apple Bloom! Remember warning that spilling the 'universe is out of whack' beans could drive our friends crazy?!) Spike gave a sincere smile. "So Twilight won't have to...that's great..." We didn't WANT to know, we just hugged him. Silver Spoon had taken the liberty of organizing our money while we were waiting, she was a lot better at organizing it than Button, who just kind of threw it in the bag. "Being rich has its advantages," she explained, giving us a hug. "And...if you see Diamond out there...tell her I miss her, okay?" Apple Bloom looked nervous, I think we all did. "...What makes you think we will?" Silver pointed to Bloom's eye. "You said that secret magic eye is leading you around." Apple Bloom gasped. "How did ya-" "You've been using it to guide Pipsqueak's ship the entire time. Am I wrong?" "...Nah...it's a long story though." "I understand...but I can dream, can't I? I can hope you'll find Diamond and bring her back, can’t I?" We hugged her and promised we would...we didn't tell her probably would run into Diamond whether we wanted to or not. Featherweight was still recovering, but gave us a hug, and gave us a letter for if we found his aunt. We didn't open it, but given what he'd been through, it'd be rude to do anything else. Twist had managed to get enough materials to make us some candycanes for the trip. No one was complaining about having food. Apple Bloom hugged her and thanked her. "Don't worry, I'll keep them safe," said Miss Shiny Star proudly to us, not bothered we were off somewhere. "Scoots, good luck," Post-Haste said, bandaged on the couch. "I'll take that and good skill while I'm at it, thanks Post-Haste!" Scootaloo laughed. "Trust me, I know how that is," Likety-Split said balancing a ball on his back hoof. "See ya around, girls." He gave us a hoof-bump. We gave Spike and Silver Spoon one last hug and kiss. "Hey, it's not like we're never gonna see each other again," Spike said. "Hey, of course not," Scootaloo smiled. We all high-hoofed/clawed. "I'll figure a way out of this, you'll see." Outside, we found our friend waiting for us. "Hey girls... sorry we didn't run into each other before... I was... very busy." Razzaroo wore a traveling cloak and a bandage on one leg, looking dead tired as she leaned on her walking stick. We gave her a hug on the spot. "H-hey, don't worry, girls. I'm fine, really, just kinda tuckered out, was looking for a place to rest, this place seems fine." "It is!" I said, "I'm sure you can rest here for as long as you need to." "Thanks, but first, let me write down your adventure." We told her everything we did since we last saw her, beating the Hound, finding out the truth from Featherweight, everything. "Razzaroo?" I asked. "Uh, while you're here, uh, please look after Silver Spoon?" "... I'll try my best." We gave one last wave before she headed for Split's house to rest. He happily accepted her as a guest without any real fuss. It's the pony way. I... I know I've talked a lot more than the others, I'm, really really REALLY sorry about that. You're tired of ponies always saying 'sorry?!' I'm sorry, I mean, ugh. Blanky was sleeping in my saddle bag. I think he deserves it. But... When we left... I think of Silvery. She could be the one who can save Diamond. Even if we could give her another cape, so many things could go wrong. She hadn't 'leveled up' with us when we fought our clones, as Button put it. But... at the same time, I felt like we were abandoning her. What if another monster like the Hound or the Dark Spawn came for her? What if it's Alula or Tootsie?! Because Umbra Breeze doesn't want her freeing Diamond Tiara? I... I want to leave Blanky here, as her body guard. But, if I do that, will Blanky think I'm abandoning him because of how scared I was of him after he ate the Hound? Am I just looking for an excuse to? What if we need him during our quest again? He saved us when we freed Rarity. What if there's more stuff like that out there? I think of how we don't need Blanky to protect us anymore, not after we beat the Hound without anypony rescuing us. I think of asking Button Mash to guard her instead, after all, they're friends... but... I can't help but think it would kill him inside, that I was just ditching him. I kept it all in. If I said anything, they'd protect Silver Spoon, because it was what I wanted, not what they wanted. It's... it's SCARY! I don't wanna be that kinda pony. So... we leave, with Button Mash and Blanky. Please, please, please, PLEEEEASE, whoever's listening, please let this be the right choice! We found Pipsqueak's plank almost where we left it, and it was the same ugly pink and charcoal outside Pipsqueak's bubble, but we didn't feel as gloomy seeing it again, halfway there, we wouldn't give up. ++ "We're all happy to see you survived that terrible invasion of dark magic and those tree monsters in one piece," Captain Pipsqueak cheered. The Dark Spawn we pushed out meanwhile were nowhere to be seen. They didn't once question where Silvery, Spike and the others were. Dinky, Noi, and Ruby Pinch were having fun playing card games. Thankfully, it didn't summon the monsters on the cards. And Pipsqueak shared what happened while the girls had been 'on shore leave.' Olo was at the wheel with Moonlight. She was smiling serenely at the ocean of fog, the wind weaving through her mane. Looking at the white sun/moon light in the sky. Apple Bloom's eyes widened a bit... before, Moonlight's tribe kept shifting before her eyes, but now, she only saw an Earth Pony filly. Had her mane always been that dark, her coat always that pale? Had her eyes always been yellow? But it was Button Mash who talked to the filly and asked, "Hey, Moonlight, are you okay? You aren't acting as-" Button Mash struggled for tact. "-serious right now." "After that, I'm, I'm happy that I'm still me," She said calmly, sounding like a filly not a pirate's first mate. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to get caught by those monsters neither... I wonder if Luna's happy I'm using a piece of her moon to keep me safe." Moonlight smiled wider. "I sure she is." "Pipsqueak," Apple Bloom said. "Ah just want ya to know, we're happy that ya and yer friends got through all that without needin' to get taken over or anythin'." "Same for you Miss Bloom, same for you," Pipsqueak said giving a formal bow. The foals all shared hugs and cheers. Apple Bloom stood at the bow of the ship again, and they were on their way again. = Final Fantasy 6 - 'Zozo Town' = But what they ran into first wasn't another fog bubble... it was an adult dragon skull with a sail and mast stuck in it. Painted on the side was 'The Skullinator.' And sailing the 'ship' was Phobia, in a cute little sailor uniform. "Hail, MoonPearl! Do you have any damage from the evil storm that needs repairs?" the pegasus offered. "Phobia!" Apple Bloom shouted. Relieved to see the colt was okay, but knowing he'd want this news first. "WE FOUND MAUD PIE!!! She's at Sugar Cube Corner with Pinkie Pie!!!" "Who?" Phobia tilted his head. Worry and alarm flashed in the foals hearts. "Yer caretaker! Are your memories distorted now too?!" Phobia went completely silent, his eyes widened, he let out a small gasp. It reminded Apple Bloom of the look Twilight and Spike gave each other after they saw they'd been both rescued from Chrysalis' magic. It was like he world's heart skipped a beat. "OH! Sorry. She never used her FIRST name with me, she always goes by Miss Pie. You do believe me." "Ah do believe ya." The foals all nodded in agreement. Moonlight scowled at Phobia so deeply it was like the dusk. "Yeesh! What's with the nasty look?" Button Mash asked. "He's a troublemaker," Moonlight said. "I beg to differ!" Phobia stomped a hoof on the 'Skullinator'. None felt like questioning where he got it from. "My family provides an important service!" "That doesn't mean I have to like you," Moonlight said. "You'll use anypony to get what you want." "I do not!" Phobia scowled right back at her. "How do two know each other?" Scootaloo asked. "Neighbors in our hometown," Phobia explained. "Not close ones," Moolight said. Pipsqueak was stunned his first officer's attitude. "First Mate, that is enough." "Yes Captain," She bowed. "Phobia," Apple Bloom thought it best he prepare himself, even if it meant breaking his happy moment, but Moonlight seemed to have done that already. "Ah... Ah gotta warn ya... Maud Pie? She... she's lost her memory... she... she doesn't remember ya right now." Apple Bloom's heart shuddered at the look the colt had. "But we told her to trust ya! I'm sure ya'll get 'er to remember in no time." Button Mash proved his sensitivity by NOT mentioning how that hadn't really worked with Sweetie Belle. "... Apple Bloom," Phobia said solemnly. "Thank you. Thank you for telling me, and thank you for being honest. Maud Pie is a very very VERY IMPORTANT pony to me. Thank you so much. I'm so grateful. I only hope I can do something as good for a good filly like you." "Yer welcome," Apple Bloom smiled. She didn't care how creepy or weird Phobia was, family was family. The Skullinator and the MoonPearl parted way, with waving and cheers. Phobia was confident he could find Sugar Cube Corner no problem. The MoonPearl arrived at the next bubble in record time, which seemed brighter. The foals checked their equipment and themselves one last time before descending Pipsqueak's gangplank. Ready to face with whatever ugly, depraved perversion of the ponies they loved awaited them! = 'Kokiri Forest' - Ocarina of Time = Inside, was the colors and style of the Equestria they remembered and loved. Apple Bloom confirmed none of it was an illusion. Blanky didn't growl, but the scents of all the flowers made his eyes nearly go in opposite directions. Button checked his little menu and didn't find any optional side quests that might cause them trouble. The landscaping was different, and many details had changed, enough to almost make the foals want one of the other strange art styles, but... just to see THEIR world again, even if it wasn't exactly the same. It was all ... normal. Almost. And they'd always recognize that cottage. "Fluttershy," Sweetie Belle said. "Stick to the plans, girls. Remember, Angel's our best bet." "How do we free him if he's cursed?" Scootaloo NOW brought that up. "Then we try and remind Fluttershy how much we love her ourselves!" Apple Bloom said. "Remember the thing with the Cockatrice? We've got some experience." "I'm sure she'll appreciate it, no matter what." The foals all jumped. Blanky bowed his head. Now in front of them, was a little flower pegasus filly. Pale yellowish fur, smooth brown mane, brown eyes, and a winged-heart cutie mark. She was wearing a white cloak like something out of Roam and carried a basket of flowers with her. "Hi! I'm Aphrodite! It's a pleasure to meet you! I just finished selling some pretty flowers to the nice mare who lives here!" Scootaloo asked, "Are you related to a colt with brown fur, crippled wings and-" "Phobia? He's my in-law," Aphrodite said politely. "Knew it!" Button Mash said. "Are you here because Phobia isn't?" Apple Bloom asked. "Well, he was going to help me with my flowers, but he and Miss Pie had important things to do today." "When you say 'nice mare', do you mean..." Button Mash shuddered. "Nightmare Whisper?" The foals gasped at the horrible thought of having to fight Nightmare Moon The Second, Herself. "Oh no. No. No. Of course not!" Aphrodite said. "Miss Fluttershy isn't smothering like her! By way, anypony want to buy some love poison?" "NO!" They foals all said. "Good, cause I don't have any... Still," she took a flower form her basket and looked at it. "Love doesn't CARE where I came from. If it's true, it'll find a way. Love's a chemical. Choices make love real." She looked right at Button Mash. She smiled and shrugged. "Well, I have more deliveries to make, love be with you!" She speed her wings and flew off. Looking at each other for a moment, the foals trotted forward, spotted a number of Fluttershy's animals in pretty clothes having a tea party. There was no sign of Angel. But Applebloom's eye and Blanky's nose confirmed the tea and the animals were harmless. The CMC+1 pretty much forgot about the tea-partying animals in the next five seconds however. "We are such, happy flowers, listen to us, sings for hours. Aren't we unbelievably cute? Listen to me play on this flute," the field of adorable sunflowers sang. "I think I still have their record from when I was in diapers," Sweetie Belle said. "Me too!" added Button Mash. "And the video game!" "Do Ah see ya swayin' to the beat there?" Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a nudge, smirking. The swaying pegasus blushed and shook her head, "N-no! Of course not!" "There's Happy Daisy!" Sweetie pointed behind Scootaloo. Scootaloo looked. "Is she with Joyful Daisy?!... Uh, not that I know anything about that, uh," She looked at her friends' smiling faces. "Let's never speak of this again!" "No problem, but nice to see something innocent here!" Apple Bloom explained with a chuckle. Blanky trotted over and sniffed them, but seemed to find nothing wrong with them. The flowers continued to sing. "There's a pony on our lawn. We want ponies on our lawn! I know your type, short, bright, and sweet. We just want to give you all this treat! I'm just a sunflower, but here you see, us provide the music just in time for tea!" Blanky pricked his ears and listened, then nodded. Sweetie smiled. "Blanky doesn't hear anything weird," she explained, easing any concerns that the flower's song was somehow hypnotizing them. She let herself hum along with the tune. The foals reached the door to Fluttershy's cottage without trouble, and politely knocked on the front door. The one who answered however, wasn't Fluttershy or Angel. "Don't laugh," said an adorable little voice made only more endearing by its surly attitude. The foals simply stared for a good ten seconds, then fell over backwards laughing their guts out. "What did I just say?!" "S-sorry!" "YEAH!!! Real sorry!" The foals gasped out between chortles. "...Fine...Just don't call me Flutternice. EVER." It was a baby pegasus filly in diapers. But her eyes weren't the adorable solid color eyes baby ponies were legendary for. They were green and slitted. She had a darker yellow than Fluttershy and a deeper almost magenta mane (that was shorter and more unkempt). Along her torso were scars that they mistook for tiger stripes. One of her wings was that of a bat pony. Her rear leg was a lioness paw, and one of her forelegs was a yellow dragon's claw. Button Mash looked REALLY uncomfortable looking at the baby and his friends. Blanky looked at her in disgust. "So uh, I'm sorry my friends are laughing at you Fluttershy, so uh, you KNOW you're not supposed to be a baby pony chimera?" The baby flapping in the air frowned deeper. "My name is Fluttercruel. Boy, are you out of the loop, kid. Fluttershy's my mom. And I'm supposed to be a spirit inhabiting her body, and before you ask, yeah, Discord's my dad, I hate his guts, next." "Wow. Girls I think this is the most crazy nonsensical rumor yet!" Button Mash declared. Fluttercruel growled. The girls remembered, they'd only found out Fluttercruel wasn't a split personality at Canterlot... which even in Button Mash's new timeline he'd been never on that adventure. A minute of awkward questions and answers later. "Shouldn't you be speaking in pictures if you're one year old?" Button Mash asked. "Being half-draconequs has perks I guess. Though I didn't have animal limbs until a little bit ago. And out of all the weird things about me, that's the one you're hung up on?" "It's the only one that I'm not used to in a video game," Button explained. "I think it's cool you're like one of those characters who's the foal of the big bad but's a good guy, I like those!" "...Thanks, kid." Button couldn't believe he was just called that by a baby. "Nice earring, girl, your family seen it?" "Uh, not yet," Apple Bloom stammered. "What's with the braid, girl?" "I just felt like a change! I can't believe there were any rumors about you," Scootaloo said, the girls having calmed down. "There weren't... I... " Fluttercruel blushed. "I agreed to this." "WHAT?!" The fillies echoed. "It was the only way to save Mom!" She waved her little forelegs. "So it was like this! Mom had just fainted because we had two talking bears she'd made-up were now knocking on our front door. "Since she fainted, I fainted. But a part of me was still aware somehow. I couldn't take control, I couldn't move our body. I dimly saw through our doorway a wall of fog appear around the cottage. And, I couldn't SEE them, but it was like there were invisible snakes with legs crawling everywhere. I saw the world turning into something like out of one my dreams... only now they weren't so funny when I saw mom's memories begin to change. I saw every single one of my dreams in her memories become what really happened, even the ones that contradicted each other! You don't want to know what they are! My memories stayed the same. "Her colors changed, the world's colors changed. Then... then it was like I was being pushed OUT of her... no not like that! It was like, it was like when she was, er, being possessed by the-" "-We know that's a lie now, Fluttercruel," Apple Bloom said. "Oh! RIGHT! When she was turning into Nightmare Whisper, I was being dragged into the World of Nothing again. Oh, I never explained that? Remember what I said about my scars? That place...it's not somewhere you ever want to go. When suddenly, between me and the World of Nothing... was Nightmare Whisper, but... without the bloody horn, big gem in her chest, the torture barding and... basically not so freaky. And, her eyes were maybe Fluttershy's. Now this is where things get REALLY weird." "Do tell," said the magical talking pony with a piece of truth itself in her eye. "She... she told me she was a Fluttershy from another world, one where she'd made some really big mistakes. Where she'd ruled the world for 900 years and... made some really bad decisions on how she raised her Fluttercruel... and... she lost her world because she didn't see the REAL truth after being shown the cruel truth. And they couldn't save their Twilight Sparkle from herself. And that they were here to help make up for their mistakes. 'My Pinkie Pie is helping Trixie and her imaginary friend.' She added. "I asked what any of this had to do with me, and if she could tell me what was going on. She tried, oh she tried, but the words kept coming out in jumbles, she said she was 'censored' from telling me the truth. She asked me, 'What would you do to save your mother? Who would you sacrifice?' "Ya know it's funny. Me? I'd sacrifice the bad guys if I thought it would save the day. Don't give me that look. But there, right there? I had a feeling what she was REALLY asking. So I told her. 'Only myself.' "I don't know how she did it, but she conjured up my birth certificate, one of them anyway. I had two. One said I was Fluttershy's age, the other had my real birthdate on it. She showed me the one year old one. "Mom, my dreams that were becoming real? I knew all the horrible things she was going to do, all the horrible things that were gonna be done to her! What she'd do to Angel when trapped in the house with no food. What she'd do to Rainbow Dash when she wanted a baby she could care for. What she'd do to the rest of her friends when she wanted to use them to... grow butterflies. What she'd do... what she'd do to you when you wouldn't behave...Whisper was hurt and confused, not the Fluttershy in my memories. "I knew what she wanted. I knew what the price was gonna be. And... I signed it. She nuzzled me, thanked me. Then she bucking stuck a funnel in my mouth, and apologized a bajillion times, told me this was 'natural' for me! And, she shoveled the invisible snakes down my throat! The worst part is? My instincts screamed at me to keep eating! Devouring them felt as natural as breathing! I wanted to consume as many as I could! It was...weird. I felt my body changing as I gobbled them up, like a caterpillar changing its cocoon or something. But it wasn't bad, it felt... Then, I felt the world changing again. Nightmare Whisper nuzzled me, told me that she hoped I was happy, and mom did a better job than she did. And BOOM!... "I was in diapers and a cradle, and had different pieces...at least none of them were identical to the Old Man." Applebloom covered one eye a blinked. She couldn't see the little snake things in her no matter how hard she tried. It wasn't like Redheart or even Split. It wasn't like when she'd gotten force fed those nasty things...The snakes were just gone. "And... I saw mom, we were separate! It was actually really, really, REALLY scary! I'd never been separated from her except when thrown into nothing, we'd never been face to face except the mirror and when we'd been in our own head. I.... okay I cried! But just a little! "Mom came over, and started to nuzzle and hug me, telling me it was alright, that nothing was going to happen. That nopony was going to hurt me just because I was different, looking at me like these weird pieces had always been there, but never mattered one bit. "And... I knew things had changed again for real. She hadn't needed a baby because she had me. She had me to focus on, so she didn't need to be a surrogate mom to caterpillars who didn't eat meat anyway. And she'd had the experience, dealing with stressful little foals... no offense." "Non-taken." "And... I actually felt new memories. She'd been pregnant with me for a few weeks after Discord before ... I came out. No, I'm not explaining any more than that, even if you weren't foals I'd rather not remind myself of...that... Mom, she protected me when other ponies thought I was Discord in disguise, or could only grow up to be just like him...It didn't help I was talking in a couple days. But she protected me anyway. I'd also been chatting with her BEFORE I came out. Ponies did say I was brave when..." She eyed Scootaloo. "I helped Rainbow Dash when she was having... issues. "Ya know? The thing I'm missing most? My mental room, all those deadly weapons gone forever, and mom won't let me near the knives. And ick, mom's as determined with the soap as ever whenever I say something naughty, I know a lot of flavors now. Kinda wish I didn't come pre-made with a very big vocabulary." "I still model for Rarity just... smaller and more... ugh, adorable. Iron Will thought I was the cutest thing ever... and I should meet his wife and kid... yeah, real heart breaking moment there," Fluttercruel sighed sadly. The foals politely said nothing, then huddled. "What's your eye say, Apple Bloom?" Button asked, being cautious. "She's just...her...Ah think she hit the nail on the head when she said she ate those rumor things," the farm filly confirmed. "She checks out." "So... are we upset that Nightmare Fluttershy and Fluttercruel beat us to saving Fluttershy?" Scootaloo asked. "Are you?" Sweetie asked. "Not really, Dash told me to be proud when I was happy somepony got saved whether I had anything to do with it or not. That, that was what REAL loyalty was." "If this was a real video game I'd be upset, but... but this isn't," Button Mash said a bit solemn. "Well, Ah say after the dog-monster we take our wins where we can. This ain't a contest." "And Fluttercruel's really cute now!" Sweetie Belle replied, getting looks. "What? She is!" The foals all nodded in agreement and broke the huddle. Baby Fluttercruel opened her mouth when, "Crue', I've finished baking the cookies!" "Just ... just greeting some friends at the door, Mom!" "Oh? Who?" "The Cutie Mark Crusaders." "Oh my! I'll be right there!" And Fluttershy... looked exactly like the Fluttershy they knew and loved. "Hello, girls! Won't you come inside?" = 'Lemina's Theme' - Eternal Blue = Inside, the cottage would’ve looked nearly normal, if not for the scattering of baby toys. Apple Bloom had to explain yet again, "The earring's a gift from Zecora." and Fluttershy, eying Scootaloo's braid, said nothing. In the corner were two talking Grizzly bears with a pile of seashells and beach balls. "So what’s your favorite beach ball in my collection, Harry?" "I think mint and green speaks the most to me. What about my seashell collection, Harry? Hello, kids! What a beautiful day we're having!" The foals dimly waved back at the talking bears. Apple Bloom's eye didn't see them as exactly made of fireflies or snakes. If anything, it was like they were made of blue feathers and yellow feathers. Apple Bloom officially gave up on trying to figure that one out. This wasn't like the crayons of Pipsqueak's MoonPearl, or the watercolors of Redheart's hospital or Lickety Split's house. This was HOME! This was THEIR WORLD they were looking at. It was like the foals were going through a dream. They accepted the tea and cookies (mostly the cookies) that Fluttershy offered them. Blanky protectively sniffed them just to check and found nothing. Sweetie fed him a couple cookies that Fluttershy instantly forgot she made. With Fluttershy distracted talking to the foals, Apple Bloom spotted Fluttercruel sneaking off and opening a box with the words '[3 From Coffee Swirl' on it from inside her toy box... Fluttercruel took a bite of bitter chocolate, and ... was that a hamburger?! Apple Bloom forgot about that as Blanky's fur bristled, and she growled. Fluttercruel's ears perked looking around, looking at where Blanky but not really focused on him. Out of nowhere, Angel leapt onto the couch from behind via what must have been a secret passage. He was in a black body suit with yellow lightning bolts and a big A on the front. He also had a big black and yellow cape, and a wrestler mask with a skull on the forehead that did nothing to hide his identity. Purple gloves and boots adorned his paws. He struck a double victory pose and held up a butterfly in a jar with air holes. Hadn't Apple Bloom seen that butterfly before? Didn't butterflies die of old age in a couple weeks or something? UGH! Focusing on it was a mistake. It was so bright, it was like trying to look at the sun! Angel tapped on a board that looked like a typewriter connected to a speaker, a voice came out as he typed. "HA HA HA! Now I'll conquer the world with the power of the butterfly! Cower before me, inferior creatures! The beer, I mean year, stupid auto-correct, of the rabbit has begun! Kneel before me! I'll kick puppies off tables and there's nothing you can do about-" Fluttershy gave Angel the Stare. "NO! No villainy! No taking over the world! Is that understood, young rabbit?" Apple Bloom saw the curse inside Angel scream and die on the spot. 'And here we thought we'd need him tah save her.' Angel typed, "Uh... Okay?" Angel let the butterfly out of the jar. Apple Bloom had to deflect her truth eye from its brightness. "Oh my! Are you okay, Apple Bloom?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm... I'm fine, that's... a pretty butterfly ya got there." "Oh yes, thank you. She's very special." The butterfly just flew the room around happy. Angel took off the supervillain costume. 'Sorry,' he held up a sign, and hugged Fluttershy. "It's alright, Angel," She nuzzled him. For a few minutes, the foals and Fluttershy simply enjoyed the inopportune tea party. The girls were able to pretend for a few minutes that everything was alright with the world and things were already back to normal. "Button Mash, I just want to say... I... that the virtual pet games were fun. It's my fault I couldn't pace myself." The CMC looked confused. "Oh, you girls don't remember? Button Mash wanted me to understand his games more after I told him he should enjoy the sunshine more, and he showed me his virtual pet games... I... might have gotten... a tiny tinny bit ... obsessed with them." "Angel and me had to get her friends to stage, what does mom call them? Oh right, an intervention. Uh, how did that go? All I heard was a buncha... shouting." Fluttershy blushed deeply. "They... they said I was ignoring Fluttercruel and my real pets, since I had an entire wall of computer pets, and Rainbow... decided help me give them to Good Intentions, I... I'm sure those bite marks I gave Rainbow Dash have gone away!" The fillies cringed. "Angel and Crue' helped me see I was going too far." Fluttershy saw the looks on their face and quickly diverted course. "So, Apple Bloom! Threeleaf showed me some wonderful gardening techniques for wild plants from the Everfree! And I thought you'd want to know! Grayhoof says he's figured out the details for your and the others Cute-ceañera with your family! Mitta and Ruby say they want to help when it's time-OH! OH! I'M SO SORRY! Not that there's any pressure on you! You're prefect just the way you are, your cutie mark will come when it's time for it to come!" "It's... it's okay, Fluttershy." 'Grayhoof of Sunnytown is helping plan my Cute-ceañera. If Ah hadn't seen 'em, Ah wouldn't believe it!' "Fluttershy," Sweetie Belle said, "We were wondering. Could you um, pretty please unlock your part of the barrier around the World Tower for us please?" Apple Bloom added, "There are ponies using our Gabby Gums name, and we gotta see the paper about that, and show 'em corrections to everythin' they're saying." "Oh, why don't you just make an appointment with Princess Liza Doolots and Princess Animatia Erroria? They're always willing to listen, and so smart and nice," Fluttershy said with sparkles around her eyes. "Bad guys lied to them and said we were bad ponies," Apple Bloom said. Fluttershy gasped. "Impossible! Who could possibly trick wonderful Princess Liza Doolots and Princess Animatia Erroria?" Scootaloo waved her hooves. "Evil Fake Anti-Princesses!" Fluttershy slammed her hoof down. "Of course! Only those could possibly oppose the princesses!" "Yeah," Sweetie Belle said, "But, uh, for your safety, it's better you don't go saying that to other ponies, it might, get their attention. Or that we're the ones trying to stop them! Especially if it's the Princesses, because it might be the Evil Fake Anti-Princesses!" "... I supposed a battle between the princesses and their evil twins could have destroyed all of Ponyville, thank you, Sweetie Belle! Let me help you help the Princesses!" There was brief vision of Fluttershy's Element of Harmony, already purified, and then the distant sound of something unlocking. Fluttershy's bird chorus sang up triumphantly. "There, I hope that helps you girls." "So uh, Fluttershy," Sweetie asked tapping her hooves together. "How are things with all your pony friends?" "Oh we're all good friends/dear friends/just friends/special together, I mean, RainbowDashTwilightSparklePinkiePieRarityApplejack are/is my true friend/special friend/dearest friend! Wait, did we, did I, or didn't I? I dunno, I-" Fluttershy blushed redder than a tomato, then fainted. "Makes ya wonder how her mom ever made it to the maternity nest," Scootaloo said as Angel fanned Fluttershy. "The what?" The others asked. "... Never mind." Fluttercruel giggled at her mother's expense. "You're better off not knowing the details from her memories, they're the most wooden actions, 1-D dialogue, and 'insert tab A into slot B' interacting in the history of interactions. Twilight Sparkle's love novel was better written. Uh.... the less said of that, the better." While the foals truly wanted to stay, they knew it was better to get a move on, rather than waste the extra time Fluttershy's freebie had given them. So it was with great reluctance the foals bid Fluttershy, Fluttercruel, Harry and Harry, the Butterfly, Angel, and the Happy Flowers farewell. And made their way back to the fog way outside. A fence of blue energy spears conga-lined from above, encircling the foals. A giant one slammed into the middle of the circle right after. Apple Bloom and Sweetie shouted together, "Get out NOW!" Blanky seemed to snarl the same words. Sweetie screamed in exertion as she magically threw Mash over the fence of spears. Less than a moment later Scootaloo scooped up her friends and carrying two other foals zoomed after him, her muscles on fire from her magic surge. Blanky dove into the shadows. Scootaloo's flight field shielded herself and her friends from the worst of the explosion a moment later as the spears detonated. Scootaloo's ears twitched, and the foals insanely moved as more exploding energy spears came down behind them, leaving blast craters in the ideal perfect landscape. The animals panicked and run. "I should've known that wouldn't work. Heroes fight straight-on, only bad guys use ambushes. I only hope it's not too late to stop you," Said a voice from the smoke of the first big explosion. "... Tootsie? That you?" Apple Bloom whispered. "Princess Liza Doolots, please. Apple Bloom, please, you and your friends don't need to ruin the world, don't make me fight you." "Ruin the world?! We're UN-ruining it!" Scootaloo shouted. "Tootsie, are you and Alula, really part of Gabby Gums?" "...Yes." "All those nasty rumors you printed came true because of a curse! We're trying to undo the curse! Umbra Breeze isn't a pony! He's an evil spirit!" "Mr. Umbre Breeze is the spirit of what every pony secretly wants in their hearts." "Horseapples!" Scootaloo shouted. "Bad language is bad, Scootaloo... what anypony believes is true, becomes true, nopony is wrong, and everypony can have whatever world they want, and morals aren't making their lives miserable and unable to breathe. Everypony is happy. Please, tell me you're not really going to end that." "Happy being monsters?!" "They became what they WANTED to be! Who are you to judge them? Oh, hi Button Mash, didn't see you." Mash dimly waved back. "How about you help convince our friends not to do bad stuff?" "... Uh, we're doing good stuff, and were just here talking with Fluttershy when you tried to blow us up, so, uh, can you realize you're helping the bad guy please?" "LIAR! Alula wouldn't lie to me! Truffle is happy! My family is happy! We're all happy! You're bullies trying to take it all away! And... I need to protect them from you." + We had our fun sleepover in Alula’s room. We read all the scary ghost stories from the book Princess Diamond Tiara gave us out loud. And, of course, we let the little black fairy out of her jar, because that's what good fillies do. She had a bit of a potty mouth. Then Lyra came, she said, "Diamond Tiara, she doesn't look so good." We all rushed to her room, with the giant hour glass, big white bed, and all the magic floating windows (one was smashed, the others were turned off). Lots of writing on the walls now in the hy-row-griffic letters I can't read. She was laying on her bed shaking to her bones. Bonnie and Moth were changing washcloths on Tiara's head. "Four of the locks on the Tower's barrier are gone," she whispered. I wasn't too surprised, but sad, sacred barriers always got lost so the heroes could have a big final fight with the villains. "If that was the only thing that stopped mom... then now... " Huh? What was Diamond Tiara talking about? "Alula, Tootsie, the ones trying to unmake the world are..." I think I fell on my royal tush when she told me. My family hugged each other in shock. We shook our heads in disbelief. Apple Bloom and her friends would NEVER do anything like that! They fought the changelings, they were heroes. I... I guess this is the tragic part where the old heroes turn bad and the new heroes have to stop them. Alula sat down next to Tiara and gently folded a wing over her and stroked her mane. Tiara looked better with Alula near. I quickly flew off and as Gabby Gums wrote up a new story were the Crusaders realized what they were doing was wrong and stopped and made friends with us. And... the text just... faded away!? What evil spell was this if it cheats the world's rules? It won't let me write a happy ending for them!? I wouldn't give up. I wrote another story, and this one came through. I flew back to Tiara's room, Tiara and Alula hadn't moved. "Animatia... Tiara, you just get some rest, I'll stop Apple Bloom and her friends." "Liza... you can't beat them on your own." "I won't BE alone!" + The smoke cleared. It was Tootsie, but she had a pair of glowing white wings. She stood on her back legs. She was also wearing heavily customized neighponese school filly uniform. It actually complimented her natural colors and wings. Floating next to her was a bow fit for a demigod. "That dress, it's Rarity's work," Sweetie recognized. "... I stopped by for a tea-party with your family Sweetie and she did the dress as a gift... PLEASE just give up." "Yeah, you girls aren't really bad!" "Truffle?!" "Uh! Whose Truffle?! I'm Tuxedo Hat!" Said Truffle wearing a tuxedo clearly of Rarity make, with a white domino mask and magician's top-hat. "Truffle! Tootsie isn't your special friend! Twist is!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Why would I want a filly who abandoned her friends as my special friend?" Truffle said automatically without thinking. "Do ya even know where she ended up?" Apple Bloom asked. Tootsie shrugged. "I'm sure she got what she deserved, the bad friend always gets punished off screen." "Come ON Tootsie!" Scootaloo pleaded, "We've got you out numbered two to one! And we've already fought nasties a lot worse than you." "I'm not a nasty! I'm the hero!" "Are not!" "Are too!" "Are not!" "Are too!" "Is she still unbeatable?" Sweetie whispered to Button Mash. "Dunno, she didn't sing a song warning she was coming, so maybe, maybe not? Maybe we just need to last long enough until help shows?" "GIRLS! That explosion! Are you alright?!" It was the Flutters, the Harries, and Angel. Tootsie sighed. She rose up one wing, and snapped her feathers. A flaming barrier of pale blue-purple changeling magic spread out from the magical filly, it passed harmlessly through Truffle. The CMC+1 braced themselves, only to be knocked back like they'd hit the edge of the universe. Except Sweetie Belle. The space the unicorn found herself in, was a lot bigger inside than outside. She saw her friends, the Flutters and their pets, silently banging on the wall. Poor Button Mash rearing up to ram through. Blanky ... he looked hesitant, after... Sweetie had been sad and scared about his recent acts of erasing. "This is the Love Barrier," Tootsie said, not sounding excited. "Once formed, nopony can enter unless their special somepony is inside, and only I can let them out. I was warned not to fight you all together, so we'll fight you one by one!" 'Appeal to the enemy's honor and ego.' "But...if you're the hero, shouldn't you fight us all at once and win with the power of friendship?" "... But then... I'd be ignoring my friends' advice, and that always backfires." Truffle posed heroically at her side. "I want to be your friend!" "You sure showed that at the wedding didn't you?" Tootsie bite back. Truffle nodded. "... I'm sorry! We were trying to fix everything up from the changeling battle that we didn't have TIME to get to know you! I've been there, Tootsie! I know you think you're doing the right thing but you've just been given power and TOLD you deserve it!" "So I'm no good? Because my family is different I'm no good? Because I don't have any famous family or friends, I can't make a difference?" And Truffle frowned at Sweetie. "I didn't say that!" "We're letting everypony decide how THEY want to be happy! You and your evil queen thought they could DECIDE how everypony should be happy! Well you can go to-" "SWEETIE BELLE!" Button Mash ran through the wall of changeling magic like it was a summer breeze. Sweetie and the others looked at Button Mash in shock. "Huh?! You and Button Mash?!" Tootsie blushed. Truffle blushed too. "Oh come on!" Button Mash exasperated. "I know Sweetie Belle lost her memory of being my friend! But you too?! This is getting old! Come on Sweetie Belle, stop... stop giving me that look." The colt looked a little scared. "... Sorry, Button Mash... " Sweetie Belle said. "Tootsie, he's here under false pretenses, just leave him alone. Just let him out. I'll fight you two on one like you want." "NO WAY!" Sweetie Belle gasped. So did Truffle. And so did Tootsie. They looked at the colt who'd spoken. "I'M STAYING! Whether you like it or not Sweetie Belle! If our friends can't help you then I will!" Button Mash snapped. = Love Is In Bloom Orchestra = "Hey you!" Truffle said to Button Mash angrily. "Your special friend told you to do something, therefore you can't say no!" "Being special friends is why you should be able to say no to her! Just like she can say no if she doesn't want to play the game I do!" "That's stupid! If you're special friend says something, you do whatever it is, no matter what, that's what being special friends is!" "No, that's what being a video game character is! You're not even supposed to be Tootsie's special friend! You're Twist's!" "Why would I be special friends with somepony who ditches her friends?" Truffle said like a recording. "Why do you even LIKE Tootsie?" "Because we're tied by the red string of destiny, we are fated to be one. Our love is eternal and pure. We'll be together forever. She is lovely, she is wonderful, why wouldn't we be together?" "You sound like one of Rarity's novels!" Button Mash shouted. "I like Sweetie because she's pretty, she doesn't judge me, she understands me, she's not as great a Player 2 as Scootaloo, but she cares more about having FUN than WINNING. She encourages me but never tried to push me. She never tried to make me something I wasn't. She never called my video games worthless even if she didn't like them at first! She lets me have my player 1 time! And... she and her friends have done so many amazing things already, and I want to be like her! And that's why she's my special friend!" Sweetie Belle's eyes went wide. The two colts were completely different? Why?! Tootsie felt a little sick for some reason. There was a jingle in the air. Button Mash's magic window appeared. A picture of him and Sweetie appeared. 'CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE SHOWN YOUR HEART AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP VALUE IS UPGRADED FROM 'FRIENDS' TO 'TRUE COMPANIONS.'' Sweetie Belle blushed. 'Sword-Time Unlocked.' Toostie pulled back her divine bow, a blue glowing arrow appearing in it. "I won't let you brainwash Truffle, and I won't let you steal everypony's happy world! En garde." = 'Neo Chase Tragic' - Freedom Planet = Sweetie began to charge up the strongest stun spell she could without permanently hurting Tootsie. Tootsie meanwhile shot an energy arrow into the air, and several rained down, Button and Sweetie scattered to avoid the barrage. "Rain Of Love!" "Aren't magical fillies supposed to take turns attacking?!" "That applies only for heroes' moves!" Sweetie skipped finesse and channeled her anger at her situation straight towards Tootsie. Not expecting such a fierce attack, Tootsie blindly fired raw white magic at her opposition, the two forced clashed into each other in mid-air. "Using dark magic? Now I know for SURE you're the bad guy!" Truffle fired a barrage of roses stems first at the stationary Sweetie, Button Mash leapt in front of them and... time seemed to slow as he drew his sword and hacked them to pieces before they got close. Then Truffle pulled a gentlecolt's cane out of his hat that extended at railgun speeds right at Sweetie. Button blocked it with the flat of his sword, and managed to push it back into the pudgy colt. "OW!" Truffle shouted, nursing the spot that was definitely gonna bruise. "Truffle!" Tootsie shouted, but instead of getting distracted and overwhelmed as would be the logical outcome, instead Tootsie was empowered at seeing her 'true love' hurt, and overwhelmed Sweetie's magic, Sweetie switching from offensive to defensive at that moment and Button grabbing her out of the way being the only reason she wasn't blown up. "Geeze, I didn't even mean to hurt him that time!" Button replied at the reaction. Truffle pointed his hat at the pair, and out came a cannonball! Button's brain went into full-on Panic Mode, dropped his sword, and took out a giant leaf that he flapped at the projectile, sent it back where it came, Truffle ducked, the cannonball exploded as it hit the barrier. "Come on, pal, yer gonna get hurt!" "I fight for Tootsie!" Truffle charged, unlocking the head of the cane revealing a sword. "I fight for all my friends!" Button Mash managed to block. As Truffle's super long sword clashed with Button's blocky blade, Truffle was peppered by a slew of low yield spell bolts, knocking him over, and Button kicking him away. "Truffle! They were fighting one-on-one! You cheater!" "You were gonna fight me two-on-one!" "But the fight hadn't started yet! Only a bad guy would blind side somepony already fighting somepony else!" "You ambushed us! This isn't a spell sparring session!" "I bet the evil queen taught you that!" "So did my big sister!" Sweetie leapt straight at Tootsie, taking the other filly off guard, and grabbed her bow right out of her telekinesis, surprising the magical filly. Sweetie felt such power in the bow, like it was more real than she was, pulled back the bow, and let loose when the arrow appeared. The feedback she felt through her magic made her dizzy, it was nothing like the light arrows from Button's game. She felt relief when the bow MISSED Tootsie! Tootsie looked angry, zoomed behind Sweetie with her glowing white wings, tapped Sweetie on the shoulder making the disoriented Sweetie look behind her, punched Sweetie in the face, grabbed the bow and flew in a circle around Sweetie letting out arrows that stayed put, but only until she finished the circle, and fired at once. Sweetie's defensive magic was poor at best, and her quick-fix fear-fueled barrier sent her upwards from the funneled force of the attacks. Gravity pulled Sweetie head first to the ground. Button did pole-vault with his sword, and managed to catch his friend, grinding his teeth as his rear skidded along the ground. Sweetie got her bearings. "Thanks, Mash." "Welcome." A terrible thought filled Sweetie's mind, 'If I keep holding back, she'll kill me.' A scatterings of seeds covered the ground, thrown from Truffle's hat. In mere moments they sprouted into large vines, each one ending in a watermelon like bud that opened up to reveal sharp teeth and a drooling tongue. The pair stood back to back, turning as Sweetie blasted the monsters in the head turning them to coleslaw and Button Mash's sword reappeared in his grip and sliced and diced his way through. Sweetie using more strength than she knew she had before or since, threw Button Mash straight at Tootsie, weapon drawn. She fired her bow at him in rapid succession, but time seemed to slow and he cut and knocked away the arrows coming closer! The faux Alicorn gasped and flinched back, a barrier appeared around her the moment before Button Mash could smash into her. Button Mash running high on adrenaline spring-boarded off the barrier right at Truffle. The colt panic seeing the angry brown comet headed towards him and lifted his super-long-sword like a pike. Button Mash came back to himself and ducked... just enough. He managed to land on four hooves, the earth pony reuniting with the ground with no hard feelings. Button Mash felt something missing... he looked up, and saw his beanie was now stuck on Truffle's sword. "Uh, can I have that back please?" The enemy colt actually stopped, looking at it. Sweetie Belle rushed to Button Mash's side, and gripped his hat with her telekinesis. "Triple Blade Finale!" Tootsie shouted diving between them, and separated her bow into two blades, and caught both horn and sword with her own. Truffle took his cue and swung his super long sword at the two ponies. Instead of standing still however, the two ducked... Tootsie flew up to avoid the swing. Button Mash's heart shivered as he saw his beanie get a giant slash in it... it slowly fell to the ground... still mostly in one piece. Until the return swing came... Button rushed for his hat only for Sweetie Belle's magic to grab his tail and pull him out of the range of the weapon he was running madly into... and Button Mash watched... time ticking away against his wishes... as his propeller beanie... was cleaved in twain, the little plastic propeller broken off... it stopped spinning. Sweetie Belle glared at Tootsie. "What happened to 'interrupting a duel being what the bad guys do'?" Tootsie actually hesitated. "I'm the hero, it's not bad when I do it." "You were right! That arcade was fun!" "Ya know, I helped design a lot of the new games in there." "Really? You're super!" "Excuse me. We have a liquidation sale on magical powered beanies... the design kinda forgot to include an off button." "Hey, Button what do you think? Looks good on you?" "... Thanks dad, it looks fun!" Button Mash said with the excitement he could bring to anything, looking up at the little magical beanie on his head, then giving his dad a hug. - "Only a baby wears a hat like that." "Why is it always spinning?" "He's weird." "I don't care! It's my hat, and I'll wear it!" - "It's just you, dear, always in motion even when still," His mom smiled. - "I think your hat is kinda cool," Sweetie Belle said, looking at the hat. "It matches your fur well." "Thanks! I never take it off!" Channeling Scootaloo, Button made a disturbing noise and raced head on at Truffle, time slowing as he swing his sword near him, Button stabbed his sword into the ground at just the right moment, trapping Truffle's blade with the hit guards of Button's sword, and rolled right up to him. Making Truffle gasp in fear. Channeling Apple Bloom, Button kicked Truffle into the air with his back legs, leaving the other colt's sword still trapped on the ground. In a moment that defied gravity, Button and Truffle were again eye to eye. Button's summoned his sword, and slashed upwards, downwards, right left, left right, diagonal from every x-point, in brutal, vicious efficiency. "It's over!" Button Mash snarled as he and the pieces hit the ground. Truffle followed a moment later, seeing his top hat utterly destroyed. Button seethed at him. Truffle's sword burst into rose petals and blew away in the wind, followed by the mask on his face. Truffle dimly tasted something in his mouth, he'd bitten his tongue when Button kicked him the face so hard... tears filled Truffle's eyes, and he began to sob, and hiccup. "TRUFFLE!" Tootsie shouted, coming to his side in a streak of light. "YOU MONSTERS!" Tootsie shouted at them, and took him in her forehooves and took off like a right through the barrier and out of Fluttershy's bubble and beyond. And then… silence. As if coming out of a dream, Button dropped his sword and it vanished, and he began to cry. "I hurt him!" "You... you hurt him as much as you needed to stop him... " Sweetie reasoned, rushing over. "And, it kept me from... having to do something bad to stop Tootsie... I... thank you for that..." "S-Sorry, I had to ruin one of Rarity's hats Sweetie." "I could tell it wasn't one of hers." "And...sorry I lost my temper over... a dumb hat." "It... wasn't dumb to you and... are you more sorry you hurt Truffle?" "Yes." Sweetie nuzzled him. "That's all I needed to know." He gave a smile as she continued. "...Button...you didn't...make Truffle never heard from again, even though you were that angry...I think that says a lot about you." Button blushed a little bit. "T-Thanks." The unicorn gave a small blush herself. "You're welcome." The pair gingerly picked up the remains of his hat as the barrier around the two dissolved into nothing. + "Tootsie?" Truffle gently whispered as she flew at top speed back to the World Tower with him. "I... I don't wanna play that game again. We could have hurt somepony." Crying herself, Tootsie choked out. "...Okay Truffle, you, you don't have to play that game again, I Pinkie Promise, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." "... thank you." Tootsie felt a weird tug in her heart. + "Come on! Don't you wanna kill us? We're full of tasty experience points and gold pieces!" said a fat stallion in a bicycle rider's outfit, his helmet with a painted number, like his identical looking buddies. He wiggled his body like he was trying to be seductive. "Come on, we're right here, you even get the first turn!" "No! There won't be any violence of any kind on my property if I can help it. I must politely, and sincerely ask you, to pretty please go somewhere else if you want to get defeated by heroes to give them things," Fluttershy said firmly and calmly. Tears welled up in the stallion's eyes and his friends, who all turned and ran away crying. Scootaloo shivered as they left. "When I said I wanted to be able to do something, I meant to help our friends, not fight a bunch of disposable bad guys who showed up just to get beaten up!" "Ditto," Fluttercruel agreed. Like a crack of thunder Tootsie, carrying Truffle busted out of the barrier, and flew away at Sonic Rainboom speeds, and through the fog wall and away. The little Blank Wolf gave a confused growl at the fleeing false Alicorn, as if he didn't know if he should eat her or not. A few moment later, the barrier came down, their two friends safe and sound according to both Apple Bloom and Blanky. There were hugs and kisses (and wolfie kisses) all around. Followed by praise and nuzzles, and the all around general love for their friends and happiness at their safe return. Fluttershy dried Button Mash's tears. "There there dear, it's over. You're safe now. I'm sorry the princess and her coltfriend thought you were bad, I promise I don't think you are at all." Button accepted the comfort. "I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt," Fluttershy lamented. "Yeah, not sure how you managed that," Fluttercruel said. "But glad you did, kiddos." "Who’re you callin' 'kiddos?'" Scootaloo grinned at her, flustering the baby half-pony. "Button," Scoots then asked unsure, "What happened to your hat?" Button Mash sadly presented the broken remains of his signature headpiece. "I need to give it a funeral later." Button sniffed. No one called him stupid or silly. Instead they all hugged him all the tighter. "It was a cool hat, Button," Scootaloo consoled. Button nodded. "Yeah...yeah it was." Their attention was then drawn to a worn out and thoroughly exhausted mare crawled into Fluttershy's bubble, looking almost nostalgic at Fluttershy's green fields, blast craters and all. She dragged herself to the herd and said. "Hello Fluttershy, I think we've met." "Razzaroo?" Fluttershy let a small gasp, covering her mouth. Scootaloo turned her head at Kindness in surprise. "Heh, so you do remember me after all Zipzee... " Razzaroo said, smiling to Fluttershy, then, "Hey girls, I needed a better place to nap, sorry I couldn't look after Silver Spoon longer, I think Fluttershy will be willing to provide... mind if ... mind if I save your progress?" The foals didn't object and Razzaroo wrote their adventure down in her book. She was then carried by the Harries back inside the cottage, already asleep by the time she was inside. The foals gave Fluttershy a new final round of hugs and nuzzles, her bird chorus singing them off. They offered to help fill in the holes, but she promised her gofers could handle it, they enjoyed that kind of thing. Angel gave the foals a respectful bow, a lot coming from the proud rabbit. Fluttercruel meanwhile said, "Knock some sense into them, trust me, they'll thank you for it later just. I know from experience... don't think because you're right that means you can do anything you want." "Trust me, that one thing we're NOT forgetting," Sweetie said proudly, and she nuzzled the baby demidraconequus. And the foal passed through the fog wall, back onto the MoonPearl. "So how was Tootsie and Truffle?" Captain Pipsqueak asked politely. "How did you-" "We saw her come by us like a shooting star, and then coming right back out the same way." "We... had a big misunderstanding," Sweetie Belle said before Apple Bloom could. "Truffle got hurt, Button Mash's hat got ruined, and she decided to just go home." "Wish she stopped to say hello," Dinky lamented. "I'm sure she will when she realizes how stupid that stupid fight was," Scootaloo said. "She's just confused right now is all." "It would be nice to have her part of the crew again," Ruby Pinch said. "Girls," Sweetie said before they cast anchor and set said for either Rainbow Dash or Applejack. "I think... we need to show Tootsie she doesn't need to be some super-powered 'more insightful than everypony else, the world is about me' Princess to be special." "Another feeling from Diamond Tiara?" Scootaloo asked. "No, just, I think I know where she stands, and I want to help her out of that place. No matter how much the monsters saying they're her friends tell her she's the hero and we're the bad guys." Her friends and pet hugged her. "We'll get'er to see the truth." "Everypony knows redeeming the bad guy gets you the best ending." "And we will! Just you watch!" Scootaloo swore. "Oh, and Sweetie Belle? Thanks for... all our great times together." "You're welcome, Button Mash." > Will Any Souls Get Through? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From atop the bow, Apple Bloom peered through the fog. Confused at first by what she saw, she let out a small gasp, and shouted, "Take us up!" "What?!" Sweetie exclaimed. "Take us up, Mr. Olo!" Captain Pip shouted. "Hoo-hoot!" Olo The Owlbear pulled back on the wheel. The Moonpearl tilted upwards and began to ascend. Gravity for the foals remained directional to the floor, thankfully. The privateer crew took this all in stride except Dinky who looked over the side in awe. "Miss Dinky, to your post!" Moonlight ordered. "S-sorry!" Button and Sweetie looked over the side too, amazed as the privateer ship rose into the air at an angle. Bubbles and fog slowly fell below them. Scootaloo stood next to Apple Bloom, following her gaze. "Scootaloo,” said Sweetie Belle, if we're going up, then that means-" "I'm coming, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo boomed. Apple Bloom smiled. 'We'll get yah next, sis, I promise.' + Sweetie Belle's Diary: "Button?" I asked, looking over to him, "Yeah, Sweetie Belle?" he asked. Button isn't really good at hiding how he feels. "How are you doing?" I asked inching a bit closer. "Oh...I'm fine." "I'm sorry your hat got destroyed helping me..." I said. I didn't know much about it...but he was helping me and how hurt he seemed. He looked down. "Oh...don't worry, I don't blame you...Tootsie and Truffle did it and...and they didn't know." "...It meant a lot to you, didn't it?" Button nodded, looking down. "...My dad gave it to me...We didn't get to hang out that much and we were spending the day together and..." he sniffled. "Mom loved it! Some ponies made fun of me for it, but I never let it bother me...I felt like dad was always with me when I was wearing it." I couldn't help it, I hugged him. "...I'm sorry... I know what it's like not seeing your parents a lot." Why did Scootaloo look our way? He hugged me back. "I know... we talked about it after the wedding." Button Mash whisper. "You said you were feeling more at home at your sister's house than your old bedroom... but you were still happy to have your parents home." "That's... that's right. What did you say to me?" "I said that, some part of you gets used to the waiting, but in the end, they're still yer dad." We hugged a bit tighter. I hope when all this is over we can still be... friends. We nuzzled. + "Excuse me!" shouted a little voice slightly familiar to the CMC+1. Clutching to a little cloud like a life preserver was a flower filly pegasus. She let go of the cloud and landed gracefully onto the ship on all four hooves. Her basket's contents did not spill out as she righted herself, and she showed no surprise or reaction on seeing the foals on a pirate ship flying up into the sky. "Hi, Aphrodite," Sweetie Belle greeted. "Oh, hello again, little Miss!" she replied in a purely innocent, ever-so-slightly melancholy voice. She curtsied to the pirate crew using her cloak. "Greeting, I apologize for coming aboard uninvited. Your friends know me as Aphrodite. I wanted to sell some of my flowers in Cloudsdale. But it proved terribly hard to get there, far too hard for a little filly like me. If you're going to go that way I just came from, you'd best be prepared for lots of Bad Things trying to stop you. Maybe you should buy some of my flowers? They're very tasty and healthy." The privateer crew showed minimal reaction to their new guest. Blanky sniffed her, and then kept his head bowed towards her, for as long as she remained on board. "Works for me!" Button Mash said. His magic window appeared with a list of different flowers for sale and a number. Button Mash instantly brought one of the numbers up to- "You're buying 99 daisies?!" Sweetie Belle asked. "They're cheap, and it says here I get a bulk discount. Besides, if there's only two left, then we're heading for the final dungeons!" Dinky silently watched the flower filly, feeling more bewildered by the moment, but kept her mouth shut. Button next stocked up on roses, and a few other flowers. Sweetie knew there was no way they could all fit in Button's bag or Aphrodite's basket, but that didn't seem to matter anymore. Scootaloo blinked. "Are either of you related to Pinkie Pie?" "No..." Button said, looking confused. Aphrodite smiled. "My brother is friends with one of her nieces if that counts. It's none of my business, but may I ask why you wish to go to Cloudsdale? It shall be anything but easy. What is so dear to you that awaits there?" "Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said bluntly. "She's very important to you, isn't she?" "She's everything I want to be. She's confident, she's brave, she determined, she never lets her friends down, she's willing to look after me when my parents can't, she's taught me what it means to be a real friend. She showed me that family isn't just about blood, it's about heart too." "She's your hero." She smiled. "The love between those the hero loves, and those who love the hero is beautiful. A hero fights for those he loves among the living, not just the dead. And those who love a hero, even if that hero isn't there… will be strengthened by that love." Button Mash immediately scribbled down what Aphrodite said. "It must be great to have Princess Celestia's filly as your mentor," Noi said, reminding the ponies the pirate crew was still there. "I wonder if she uses rainbows to dye her mane." Scootaloo was struck dumb for several seconds before blurting out. "Dash's mane isn't dyed! I've seen her family photos! She's had that color since she was a filly, and it's the same colors as her dad's!" "No, she has rainbow-colored hair because she's Celestia's daughter, and dye her mane, I mean... " Noi looked dizzy. "Actually her rainbow mane means some of her ancestors were Quetzalcoatls… wings serpents who protected ponies against Discord when he ruled Equestria... Doesn't it?" Ruby Pinch asked. "Wasn't the Quetzalcoatl Queen evil in the Daring Do books?" Scootaloo couldn't help but ask. "That doesn't make the quetzalcoatls evil," Dinky whispered. "Daring Do isn't real," Ruby Pinch said with perfect confidence. "She's real in everypony's hearts who love her adventures," Aphrodite said brightly. "... I guess she is." Scootaloo admitted. "Aphrodite, are you good at flying?" "Good enough." "Okay, just... just wanted to make sure. If you... if you see any other pegasus foals, could you ask them to stay away from Cloudsdale? Just trust me, okay?" "Well, I suppose I could. It's very hard to get there. So it wouldn't really be worth the risk. But if you're going there for your hero, then I know you'll make it. I had better be gone. Thank you for buying my flowers." She curtsied with her cloak again. Scootaloo watch her fly out of sight as the airship continued to rise... Scootaloo knew this trick, their trip would last as long as she needed to say her piece. "Girls, Mash, huddle," Scotaloo said solemnly and her friends gather, Apple Bloom reluctantly leaving her post. "I know what big lie the curse made real for Rainbow Dash... it's the only one that's nasty enough to Dash... We're headed for the weather factory in Cloudsdale, and the Pegasus Device is there." They all gasped. (Button Mash's Journal: I never even heard of that thing until Silver Spoon explained it to me when we were all getting to know her. "Well, you see, lots of ponies love the Princess, so um," Silver Spoon thought for a bit, "What if somepony did a show where your big sisters were shown as mean nasty ponies? And Scootaloo, what if somepony did a show where your teacher was a sadist who threw fillies into the Pegasus Machine?" "That wouldn't be fair!" Sweetie and Apple Bloom shouted together. "Rainbow would NEVER do that!" yelled Scootaloo, looking rather upset. "And that thing isn't real... " "The what now?" I asked. Scootaloo explained. Mom had to apologize to Rarity about my breakfast ending up on Rarity's carpet. I didn't know ponies could throw up.) "Oh no," Sweetie Belle whispered. "If... if the... factory's been going this whole time... how many foals..." She paled. "Calm down, ya don't know that for sure, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said. "No, it's all it can be." "Somethin' Nightmare Rainbow Dash showed ya?" "I... I don't know. It's nothing magic, it's just how the nasties have been thrown at us... like Cheerilee. Besides, what else could it be?!" "How long have yah had this figured out?" Apple Bloom asked, giving a glare, Scootaloo didn't like the look in her weird eye. "Since we started rising..." "So why you just now tellin' us?" "Because I didn't know for sure!" "Well yah sure sounded like it!" "Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle admonished. Apple Bloom blinked and she rubbed her eye. "S-Sorry! Ah sorry! There's, Ah'm just worried too, we're so much closer but we have no idea how long we have. Ah'm just worried." "I know, Apple Bloom, but don't forget we're all friends." "Ah'm never forgettin' that!" Apple Bloom said proudly. Storm clouds thundered above the Moonpearl. "Go around it, Mr. Olo," Captain Pipsqueak began to say. But Apple Bloom galloped to the bow. "No! That's our way through! Trust me!" "...Very well Miss Apple," Pipsqueak said formally. "Are... are you sure that's the best way? I heard it's not the best to take ships into storms." Dinky objected. Dinky Hooves shrank a bit as all eyes were now on her. "Ah promise..." Apple Bloom said looking at the filly, "This is the way the Truth is showin' me, it's gotta be the best way." When Dinky turned her eyes away, Apple Bloom realized something else... Dinky had fireflies ON HER, and around her, but there weren't any INSIDE HER. "Dinky, what are ya?" Apple Bloom heard herself whisper. "Attention! Her Nightjesty's Moonpearl," A mare's voice boomed from seemingly every direction. "Sassaflash?" Scootaloo asked, vaguely recognizing the voice of Caramel's pegasus fillyfriend. The voice continued like a recording. "You're unauthorized to enter Cloudsdale airspace. If you continue, lethal force will be used. You shall receive no further warnings." Lightning flashed in the distance, followed shortly by thunder all around the airship. None of the foals suggested turning around. Apple Bloom thought, 'These stupid lies, they made Pipsqueak and his friends save us, now they're goin' into a fight where they could die cause they're brainwashed to take us where we want! Guess we're in this together.' "Am I the only one who thinks the words 'lethal force' should never come out of a pony's mouth?" Sweetie Belle questioned. "No!" answered the rest of the group. "Good." "ALL HOOVES, BATTLE STATIONS!" Pipsqueak ordered. = Blast Away! ~Gummi Ship 3~ - Kingdom Hearts = Before the Crusaders' eyes, sections of the main deck, and the MoonPearl's bow and sides, flipped open to reveal cannons styled like Gatling guns and modern turrets. Noi and Ruby rushed to two of them. Pipqueak stood at the command deck along with Olo. Moonlight stayed close to Dinky. "Wow...if I knew the ship was armed, I'd have tried to buy some upgrades," Button remarked. Out of the storm clouds burst forth a decrepit ship that looked it'd sunk to the ocean floor ages ago, which it had. It flew right alongside of the Moonpearl, matching her speed. Emblazoned on its stern were the words, 'The Flying Dutchmare'. To Apple Bloom's eye, it looked like an entire ship made of snakes. It was being crewed by Bloody Hooves and vampire ponies. "Chalk outlines," Apple Bloom said to her friends. "FIRE! BROADSIDE!" Captain Pipsqueak ordered. The fillies obeyed, and fired, the cannon balls ripped through the ghost ship, in one way, and out the other, but the ghost ship stayed moving in spite of the obvious damage it suffered. Instead the ghost ship moved close to the Moonpearl and hooks were thrown over to connect the two airships. "Prepare to repel boarders!" Captain Pipsqueak orders. The undead ponies scurried or flew across like a swarm of rats. The privateer foals drew their swords and met the horrors head-on without hesitation. The undead ponies attacks' were mindlessly repetitive, like most of the curse's constructs. Captain Pipsqueak waved his sword around at any foes that tried to get close to him, chopping them apart. Their remains then turned to ash. Olo smashed them to pieces with single swings of his wings and swipes of his claws, sending them over the bulwarks, and STILL keeping his grip on the wheel the whole time! Moonlight grabbed Dinky, and held her hooves to Dinky's temples, Moonlight and Dinky's eyes glowed white. Dinky's body shaking, bolts of magic fired in rapid succession from her horn, hitting the monsters dead center, blasting holes in them or flinging them overboard. Noi and Ruby Pinch fought back-to-back, acting nothing like overwhelmed foals that were scared out of their minds. More like seasoned high seas fencers who were no strangers to defending themselves. It sent a chill up Apple Bloom's spine in a way that Button Mash's crush on Sweetie Belle hadn't, she was thankful they were on her side. Apple Bloom wondered if she'd only now noticed the scars on Ruby's back: whether they had been legitimately scratched there by some monster, or if they had been added on by the rumors, between blinks. But then she had more pressing things to worry about, as the horrors closed in on her. This wasn't Nightmare Night where she could just tell herself it was all pretend. These things were going to kill her! Just like Sunny Town! Only there was no Ruby or Mitta here. Just bloodthirsty creatures. "YA AIN'T REAL!" Apple Bloom screamed scared as she bucked the head off one of the monster ponies. Its body turned to ashes before it hit the ground. Button Mash and Sweetie Belle were at her side the next thing she knew, flanking her. Button Mash, used his giant leaf fan to blow them overboard, and Sweetie used slashes of her magic to cut them down. 'They aren't alive. They aren't alive. They aren't alive,' Sweetie told herself. Terrifying as they looked, the horrors folded like construction paper cutouts, as Scootaloo dealt with their airborne menaces, still staying parallel to the ship's deck. She used every trick Rainbow Dash taught her, keeping her back to the mast just in case. Blanky leapt from monster to monster, erasing it from ever having existed, and even boarding the Flying Dutchmare itself to attack more of its crew. A living trail of oblivion. Using Dinky as a turret, Moonlight shouted, "Miss Pinch and Noi! Continue the barrage!" Dinky blazed a path to the cannons, which the pair of fillies continued to fire, without ever needing to reload, prep, clean, or any of the other complex and precise steps needed to actually fire cannons under real-world circumstances. None of the CMC+1 complained. The Flying Dutchmare began to break apart, crumbling like stale bread. The remaining undead ponies aboard it fell like so many breadcrumbs. "Moonlight! Sweetie's dog!" Dinky manage to gasp out. Blanky didn't seem to notice the ship falling apart around him as he reveled in his rampage. "Oh my-" Moonlight said, letting go. "Wait! You can see-" Sweetie began, only to be saved by a dive-bombing Scootaloo from the vampire pony that just tried to suck her blood. "…Want answers too! But not now!" Scoots shouted as she did a spin kick in midair kicking the fangs out of the vampire pony she knew had been coming behind her. "BLANKY! COME BACK!" Sweetie shouted, most of the pirates having no idea what she was talking about. Blanky woke up from his euphoria, saw his mistress shouting for him, and ran full tilt, leaping off the Flying Dutchmare as it 'gave up the ghost.' Sweetie caught him in her telekinesis and pulled him towards her in a hug. Then she had to duck as the remaining bloody hooves tried to eat her, but Blanky retconned them out of existence. The much larger and imposing captain of the ghost ship clamored up the side of the ship using his swords to climb with… only to be met by Pipsqueak, who in true pirate fashion dueled him himself until Moonlight rushed to his side and bucked the ghost captain backwards. She and Pip nodded to each other and she grabbed his sword along with him as the mammoth undead pirate charged. The sword glowed with what seemed like real moonlight and the duo slashed the captain as he went by, only losing a few hairs from their mane from his cutlass. The rumor's spawn stopped and turned around...then went limp and burned to ash. The storm still thundered around them. The privateers and Crusaders had barely just finished destroying the last boarder before they all heard a faint whistling sound. A moment later, two dozen bunker busters literally drilled into the deck of the Moonpearl. Each of the rocket powered projectiles sported a powerful drill bit burrowing into the Moonpearl. They also came with digital displays that counted down from 25 seconds. "We've got termites!" Captain Pipsqueak shouted. "DESTROY OR DISABLE THEM NOW!" Moonlight screamed. 20 seconds. They all acted fast. 20 seconds to destroy 24 bombs. Blanky leapt from bomb to bomb, eating the timers and leaving them originally duds. But there was only one of him. 15 Bombs left. Button Mash drew his sword and slashed and diced the bombs to pieces, taking the detonators and payload with them. 11 Bombs left. With no time to charge her magic, Sweetie Belle wildly slashed at everything she knew wasn't a friend; 4 bombs left. Apple Bloom proved to be a crafty little foal, disabling two of the bombs with nothing but her wits and bare hooves. That left two bomb. And two seconds. In a flash of light... Scootaloo bisected the last timers just before they hit zero. "The bombs were all destroyed before they could detonate," Moonlight declared. "Captain! Air mines ahead!" Noi shouted. Floating directly in their path extending in every direction and countless layers behind them was a field of spiked metal beachballs. Some obscured by clouds, all silently waiting for that faint touch that would set them off. The Moonpearl was forced to slow. "Hoot-hoot!" "They're too close together for Mr. Olo to sail through them!" Moonlight translated. "Can we sail around?!" Sweetie asked. "NO! We have to stay on this path!" Apple Bloom shouted. "We'll have to destroy them one by one and proceed at minimal speed!" Captain Pipsqueak said. "That'll take forever!" Scootaloo exaggerated. A beeping jingle perked Button Mash's attention moments before a floating screen appeared in front of him. 'Ask For Help?' It inquired with big YES and NO buttons below. Years of gaming instinct took over as Button Mash pressed the YES button. Moments later, several lasers shot down from the sky in chaotic colors: Dioxide purple, Indigo, Sienna, Cadmium yellow, Orange, Red, and Davy gray. The barrage of chaos lasers blasted a path just big enough for the Moonpearl to get through. "Well, that's a time saver!" Scootaloo said. "Button what did ya do?!" "Uh, used the 'call for help?'" "Who cares! Full speed ahead!" Scootaloo shouted. "Ahem, full speed ahead Mr. Olo," Captain Pipsqueak ordered. "HOOT-HOOT!" The Moonpearl charged straight through the hole in the minefield, unopposed. From somewhere, Sassaflash's voice echoed, "Warning! The first line has been breached! Begin full lockdown!" Through the storm, the crew of the Moonpearl saw a literal wall of industrial based electrified clouds. And several turrets made of the same material aimed right at the Moonpearl! "Evasive maneuvers!" Came the order as Olo steered the Moonpearl wildly, dodging the incoming cannonballs and lightning blasts and lasers from the wall of guns. Ruby Pinch and Noi manned their guns and fired, sending their own barrages at the turrets knocking them down. Button did his best with his light arrows and Sweetie with her dark magic, but there were still many many turrets. "There's a gate! But it's closing fast!" Apple Bloom's eyes spotted. "No choice! ALL HOOVES FLANK SPEED!" Pipsqueak drew his sword, struck a pose, and pointed with his blade directly ahead. "HOOT-HOOT!" At those words, the aft of the Moonpearl flipped open, revealing two giant rocket jets! The Moonpearl zoomed forward like a Roman candle! Apple Bloom and her friends were thrown off their hooves. Scootaloo had to hold onto one of the riggings to keep from being thrown into the ship's aft cabin. Blanky left claw marks in the deck from the G-force. "Behold the power of imagination," Sweetie managed to say. The Moonpearl zipped through the closing cloud-gate. Only for another one to pop up from right behind it, already closing up! Nothing needed to be said! The Moonpearl continued to press herself to the limit, testing the strength of her wood beams. The enemy guns on the second wall didn't get a chance to fire. But right behind the second gate was a third gate, already closing! The Moonpearl continued to race! They weren't surprised anymore when they saw the fourth gate, or the fifth! As the sixth gate closed, the foals all held their breath as the edges of the gate closed in around them... and took the Moonpearl's mast as they got out. But the Moonpearl stubbornly continued onward! Then... the seventh gate closed just in front of them. "WE'LL JUST HAVE TO SHOOT OUR WAY THROUGH!" Scootaloo snarled. Olo wasn't sure he could stop in time. The privateers readied themselves to fire. The wall's turrets swiveled and took aim. Button Mash again heard the jingle, and the 'Ask For Help?' buttons appeared a second time. Button pressed 'YES.' Lightning rained down across the turrets, destroying them utterly. "NO MATTER MY INCARNATION, I AM THE GOD OF THUNDER! THE MIGHTY THOR!" To everypony's shock and awe, Mjolnir the earth pony, flew out of the clouds, decked in silver armor and a red cape. Wrapped around one hoof by a leather thong was a mighty hammer. She shouted at the crew. "I have come because it is believed I would thus! And I owe the hourglass stallion with the green tie a favor for helping me find my hammer! Thine quest is thine quest! But for this one act, I shalt aid ye!" Dinky smiled. Lightning struck Mjolnir's hammer from all directions, and she flew up to the gate, and struck with all her godly might, the cloud barrier was obliterated. Mjolnir flew off without a word. "Hey! Maybe next time you hit that button we'll get Superstallion," Scootaloo grinned. "WE SHALL NOT BE STOPPED!" Moonlight shouted. "DANGER! DANGER!" Sassaflash voice shouted, "THE SECOND LINE HAS BEEN BREACHED! Switch to emergency defense mode!" With her truth eye, Apple Bloom saw them. The snake/leech/centipede things skimming through the sky like it was water. "GIRLS! INCOMING! MORE CURSES!" Then... the snake/leech/centipedes, with a flourish, spun cocoons around themselves. Before Apple Bloom could so much as open her mouth, the cocoons ripped open, revealing huge moth-like scaly horrors with wings the colors of dead leaves, each emitting skin-crawling alien screeches. "What are those things?!" Ruby Pinch gasped out. "Everfree moths?!" Noi grasped at straws. Dinky whimpered at the sight of them, wishing her mama, or her big sister, or the Doctor were here. "You can see those?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "I CAN SEE THOSE!" Scootaloo shouted. The abominations flapped their wings at the Moonpearl. Giant spinning brightly colored floating rings shot out from the monsters right at their privateer ship. "Fly THROUGH them!" Button Mash shouted. Olo didn't wait for confirmation from his captain nor did any object. Olo piloted the Moonpearl through giant spinning brightly colored floating rings that the giant moth continued to release at the Moonpearl. Ruby and Noi fired the cannons at the beasts, splattering their black guts, but more already waiting to take their place. "Never mention this to Fluttershy?" Scootaloo asked. "Agreed!" said Button Mash. Some of the giant months began pointing their abdomens at the Moonpearl. Beams of light shot out from the monsters, one hit the Moonpearl's side, going through her like a spear, setting the Moonpearl ablaze. Moonlight grabbed hold of Dinky again, and both their eyes glowed, Dinky's entire body was quivering. A bubble appeared on the upper half of the Moonpearl, deflecting the beams. "PUT OUT THE FIRE!" Blanky himself did so. "What fire?" Ruby asked. Then from the moth's eyes came slow moving orbs of blue light... that then split in two... then split in two again, and again... and every time the Moonpearl's barrier hit one, Dinky shuddered. "ENOUGH! I AM GOING TO GO SAVE RAINBOW DASH! AND ALL OF YOU CAN JUST GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Scootaloo roared. She pointed at Moonlight. "YOU! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR WEIRD 'SUPER CHANGE' THING YOU'RE DOING TO DINKY IS AND I DON'T CARE! You're doing it for me! And I mean now!" "W-what?! Filly you don't know what you-" Scootaloo pressed her muzzle against Moonlight's. "I SAID NOW!" "... Fine." Moonlight let go of Dinky, and the white light left both their eyes as the barrier around the ship vanished. Dinky fell to her knees gasping for breath. The monsters didn't stop their assault. Moonlight touched her hooves to Scootaloo's temples. - As soon as Moonlight touched me, YEOWZA! I felt like an empty balloon and an entire reservoir of water was being dumped into me! It was cold, yet beautiful, like the night. Her eyes were glowing white. Were mine too? I lifted up some without needing to use my wings, I could see it, I could SEE IT, every movement of air, every hidden droplet of water, every spark of electricity. I felt like I was going to burst! So many little things! Too many! The Mothera rejects' spells are closing in! What can I do? It's all right there! What's the best one?! Dodge? Zap? Barrier? So many choices. I can do it all! I'm awesome! I'm gonna explode with awesome! All the little ponies around me are looking at me. ME! I am that-AGH! The bugs' blasts hit the ship! Too many choices! Fire! Sweetie's ghost dog running around, wait, what fire? Those little ponies. They're my friends! They're in danger! Focus, Scootaloo! Focus on them! Think of saving Dash! I tell the air to take hold of the Moonpearl. I tell the water in the clouds to make a wall between us and the bugs attacks. No, not 'tell', it's like 'telling' my wings to flap! We pegasi are one with the sky! It's our domain! We fly. We move the cannons so they fire nonstop at the moth monsters, directing them so they're always aiming forward! Bang-bang-bang, they go! The entire ship shakes from our own barrage! We align the ship with the enemy, hammering them with the magic cannon balls. The moths release a pattern of energy balls like the blooming of a flower, a bajillion at once! Our barrier can't hold! It's okay! Most of them aren't even in our direction! They're a distraction! Focus on the ones that can! Turn the ship sideways, then vertical, then upside down, doesn't matter, the deck's magic holds our friends in place! Fire! Fire! We zip the ship left, right, up, down! Twisting her about as the energy pattern becomes a spiral and some of the energy blasts reverse course and try to hit us from behind, but I feel them coming and I dodge, and dodge, and I never stop shooting! The moths gather together into a center, then a spell resembling a spider's web spreads out in a flash, but we avoid it! Then the pieces of the 'web' break apart and home in on us, but they can't course correct forever, and we can dodge as many times as we want! I change the ship's position so it looks to my friends that the moth monsters are right above us, better use of all the cannons! I super charge the cannonballs with lightning, speed them up with the wind, and I slow down the monsters with the water in the air, making them easier targets! They don't look like they're losing numbers, but I know better, I can feel it, I can sense it, there's less and less with each hit, they're not as infinite as they look! Their attacks become more wild and unpredictable as streamers made of magic that can cut our ship in half twist around, but none of them hit us. Not on my watch! Oooh, now it's like I'm traveling through a sea of stars, it's pretty, it's just to distract me! I have to focus! We will focus! They shoot attacks out like spears, trying to corner me, then several pop into existence right around me, closing in, but I slip through! That's it! They're losing! I gather up the electricity around us, and send in a big ball right at them, that then explodes right among them, zapping 'em good! Their spells are so huge now! Cutting it close! But I can do this! Just keep hitting them, they're going down! Down they go! A bajillion red lights swarm me like a school of fish, but I-STILL-DODGE! Come on! Is that all you've got?! Come on! A mess of fireballs, energy spears, and magic snakes all at once, ow! Well too bad for you, I learned from the best! Bye bye! That's it! No more replacements! You're all that's left! UUUGH! It really feels like I'm gonna blow! Come on! You're doing this, Scoots! You're doing this! Fire! Not so many now, are there? Energy balls leave a trail behind, then the trail tries to ram into us! Not happening! It's like fighting in a middle of a fireworks display! But... this is... it... I can... just one to go... Giant spinning brightly colored floating rings, closing when we try to go through them, be faster! Giant spinning brightly colored floating rings so close together it's like a tunnel! This is the last stretch, this all he's got left and... I hit the deck just as the last of the monsters go boom... "SCOOOTALOO, THAT WAS SUPER AWESOME AMAZING!" Button Mash cheered. "Not so loud... " I ground my teeth... I feel like a squeezed-out orange... after being ground to a pulp. "Ah'm guessin' they upped the ante when ya did," Apple Bloom said. "To Hay with that," I groaned out. "I say we just kicked their butts! So those were the monsters inside Cheerilee?" "Yeah. Just bigger and not invisible." "Then I feel super right now." I stood up, got dizzy, and fell on my side again. "I did try to warn you," Moonlight said. "I would suggest never doing that again in your life." "It actually feels a bit weirder each time," Dinky said laying next to me. "Hoooooooot-hoooooo-" Olo's eyes were spinning in every direction as he held onto the helm to keep himself steady. "Well done, Miss Scootaloo," Pipsqueak praised. Sweetie's ghost dog was just panting like crazy. "That was .... that was everything!" Ruby Pinch exclaimed, "I didn't know Moonlight's trick worked on pegasi. Does it work on Earth Ponies? Can you...can you use it ... to help me with... my mom has... she's sick sometime and I'm wondering if that can help her." "... I don't know it can Miss Ruby Pinch, but I do believe this quest will aid your mother greatly." "Really?" "Yes, I promise. It's not a shortcut, but it is probably the best way." She looked happy. "Dinky... I, I think I can fill in for you next time Moonlight needs to do that." "Thank you." They nuzzled while Noi just hugged her two friends. "Scootaloo," Sweetie looked right at me, kneeling down so we were face to face. "What you did was-" I rolled my eyes. "Reckless I know-" "-very brave. You were fighting for us, you were fighting for Rainbow Dash, you took a risk for us." She hugged me. "Thank you for that." I weakly hugged her too. "You're welcome." Sassaflash's voice shouted, a frantic tone in her every word. "THE FINAL LINE HAS BEEN BREACHED!" "THESE PIRATES ARE CRAZY!" Shouted another voice that I recognized as Raindrops from Dash's weather team. And before my eyes, I saw it, big as life and then some... it was a bubble in the fog... the Moonpearl was leveling out, we were flying straight towards it! I'm coming, Rainbow Dash! "Moonsent!" Shouted a voice I wouldn't let my brain recognize. "Call her now!" "But the extra spectra we'll have to offer up to her-" The sound of a hoof striking. "I SAID NOW!" 'You know, cousin, these direct confrontation never work out-OW MY NOSE!' That voice... had I heard it before? I...I don't know! Maybe! In... in my dreams? I, and everypony else forgot about what we just heard. I heard what sounded like weird chanting in a language I felt like I was better off not knowing come from the bubble. The clouds and mist around us were pulled towards a spot between us and Cloudsdale like a black hole. "Dangit! We were so close to Cloudsdale!" I snap as a shadow fell over us from nowhere. We could see the stars above us (had it even been night before?!) before they went pitch black, like the stars just went out! The thunder and lightning around us shaped in a pattern that made my head hurt looking at it! A giant gray blob expanded from the center. Yellow eyes blinked out from it, I can't tell how many! Then a shadow shaped like moth even larger than the others from before appeared behind it, and the gray blob grew to fill out that shape. It was like tree branches, or maybe blood vessels! = 'Demon King Odio' - Live-A-Live = I shivered all over. Where there should have been bug legs, there were giant goat legs, I can't say how many! Did it have four wings or two? Did the wings have jaws? Were they gray, brown, black, see-through, solid ugh! She might have had udders on its belly, or not! Did it have three goat heads or one? Or a head like a dragon?! Maybe its belly was one big spiky sideways mouth! The more I tried to figure out what she really looked like, the more I felt sick to my stomach and the more I wasn't sure what I remembering seeing and what I seeing! "Giant space-flea from nowhere!" Button Mash screamed terrified holding his hooves to his head. Blanky was growling and snarling. Moonlight gritted her teeth and held Pipsqueak close next to Olo. Ruby Pinch and Noi were... hiding in Dinky hooves? She look grimly at the thing, her hooves shaking. She looked like she just wanted to run. "You filth who have humiliated and slaughtered my young, feel the bite of my justice!" said a voice that made the Bug Queen sound like Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy combined. Except it didn't look like her mouth...fangs...whatever they were had even moved! Apple Bloom's entire body was shaking. "You..." Apple Bloom gasped, she ACTUALLY COVERED her magic truth eye. "You! You're the monster Umbra Breeze got to make all them worm-ghost things! Ponies didn't make all those horrible rumors, you did!" "Shub-Neighurath," Sweetie Belle whispered and shuddered, holding a hoof to her heart. "!!! One of you knows my name! So know the fallacious of your assumption, killer. My children and I made nothing. They did not even SPREAD all your mass perceptions of reality. They were born from you and Nyarlathotrot's distortion. My children merely did as instinct and you ponies' whispers told them! But... only I among my siblings have the power to bring a spark of independent life into being. Rather than Nyarlathotrot and his 1000 facets." "You calling all that trash in the Foalfree Press our idea?!" I snapped but she ignored my question. "Cousin Chaos offered a place for my children to become one with reality, into the past and future." Wisps of fog gathered in front of her. "Ah did do mah homework, Winona ate it!" "Ah hope ya enjoyed yer bedtime story tonight, Bloomberg, here's yer goodnight kiss." In spite of everything, I saw Apple Bloom blush and shrunk back. Part of the fog morphed into what looked like a cross between a lizard and a slug and vanished, the other part turned into what look like a big glowing firefly and vanished too. "That's why the fog didn't have any big magic to it," Sweetie whispered. "... That... that doesn't change that Umbra Breeze and Gabby Gums spread all those horrible lies so there would be more bad things than good things ponies would be thinking about when everythin' changed," Apple Bloom managed to gasp out. The pirates either ignored or didn't understand what we were saying at all. They seemed more worried about the giant monster floating in front of us! Some part of me wondered about mentioning we'd spared her giant tree monster babies... but I got the feeling that wouldn't work. I felt sick to my stomach. "It matters not. You have destroyed my spawn, I care no longer what Cousin Chaos says, you will be destroyed by me." "Ah apologize we couldn't find we had a better way, we've done things we ain't proud of. And no mother, no family, deserves to lose her youngin's, but they're hurtin' OUR families and frees too! What about our mothers? Don't they mean anythin'?" "No." (Apple Bloom's Diary: Ah dared look at her with the truth... And Ah felt a chill. What the truth showed me... Ya know all that 'an animal doesn't care' stuff Chrysalis was always yammering about? Neighurath? It was like a tornado doesn't care about a wagon park! There was no greed! No happiness at seein' others hurt! No big ego! No bein' hateful at the world! There was... nothin'. Like Ah was usin' my truth on a flood or a wildfire.) "You ponies decided what this reality would be. Blame yourselves." "Screw that garbage! Umbra Breeze had Gabby Gums wrote those lies!" I repeated. This time it did look at me. "You mean like THIS lie? That already existed in the hearts of scared foals?" It spread its wings out, gesturing at the bubble I knew had the Rainbow Factory inside. "Girls... Ah can see... she's not... we're not gettin' through this without a fight." "You are not 'getting' anywhere." That was when I saw it, creeping over the horizon of the bubbles with Rainbow Dash inside. A black spider's web... it was... it was like her... "Since Nyarlathotrot altered things slightly so my cult is here, this bubble counts as my domain, I decide what may leave or enter! I am DONE being 'protected!' Whether you destroy this form or not, my barrier will remain as will my young! This world will remain forever!" The black web continued to close in around the ball of fog. Between us and Dash. "I hate timed missions," Button Mash whined. And that's when the most crazy, completely insane idea I think I've ever had since carrying Sweetie out a tower window when I couldn't fly hit me. And I knew I had to get it done NOW before the 'boss banter' the rules were making the monster say ran its course! Was it reckless and crazy? Oh Hay yeah! But the situation was even MORE reckless and crazy! "GIRLS! SHOOT ME OUT OF A CANNON INTO CLOUDSDALE RIGHT NOW!" I hissed at the pirate fillies. Dinky looked at me startled. "Scootaloo, you can't-" "I bet Sweetie doesn't know the Cloud-Walking Spell, and I bet neither of you do! I'm the only one who can go in ANYWAY! We don't have time before that monster stops shooting her mouth off and the bubble closes! PLEASE!" Noi and Ruby Pinch looked at Dinky, don't ask why, she asked. "... Please be care." "Please promise you will?" Sweetie whispered, suddenly next to me. I startled. "Sweetie!" "Promise?!" She looked at me with those big round eyes. "Pegasus Promise!" I said without thinking and turned around, wrapped my tail around Sweetie Belle's, twisting it into a heart before I let go. I realized what I just did. "It's ... Like a Pinkie Promise, and just as unbreakable!" "Enough talk. Know a mother's fury!" My eyes widened. I nuzzled Sweetie Belle, "A hui hou, hoaaloha." I said quickly and leap into the nearest cannon. There was nothing left but to trust my friends. This is probably going to hurt a lot...but gotta do it. Crusading-acquired pain resistance, don't fail me now! A second later, I learned what a cannon ball feels like, and I now have nothing but respect for their sacrifice. I screamed as I shot through the sky, using my pegasus magic to go even faster! I zipped past the mom-monster, and smashed head first into the massive bubble just as the spider web closed behind me. I tumbled and crashed my head through more clouds than I thought possible, everything a blur of charcoal and pink, or was that blue? Or purple? Just more gray? Uuuugh. I was dizzy... I knew I had to get up! I had to! But... I need a bit to... clear my head... I think my brain needed a reboot... Why is everything... Come on! I've taken a LOT WORSE crashes than this! A little bit away... I saw my Crusader cape... not on me... How... could it've gotten off? ... Is that a bit of black webbing on it? I... why... why am I all gritty and charcoal? Is that normal? Where... where did my cutie mark go? I... I need a little nap. + "This is revolting," the Nightfilly of Diamond Tiara said not, quite to herself. She laid on her white bed, the floating widows mostly showing blackness and one that was shattered with the broken words in the corner '-ers Of The Lost-'. "Uncle filled this world with the most wretched and vile violations and mockeries imaginable... and still Their eyes haven't left us alone....I guess uncle is right... you can have a story of Equestria being conquered by sexist lunatics more brutal than Tirek himself and then the ponies violently slaughtering them in revolt and the shadows will still consume it as long as it's 'well written.' " Her eyes glanced towards you. 'If one thing can be said for cousin, he/she/it/them is/are an artist. A good showpony knows what their audience wants dear, and even the best showpony is nothing without their audience my princess.' "Don't you mean showequus?" 'Just a slip of the tongue... thinking of a show I put on for a family who lived in a pink house 3000 or so years ago. I played all the parts... then a funny white pegasus got up on stage and made me improvise on the spot. And really dear, it's clear we haven't reached our grand finale yet. So why should the audience leave? There's still so many plotpoints that need a satisfying conclusion!' "Because if they're gone... Those-Who-Create, whether they be those of the heart world, or the pretenders that lord over us, then this farce can just stop. 'Heroes', 'villains' it's all decided for us. Whether you fall into the dark or rise up, it's all the whims of the Shadows-Who-Make. You're irredeemable right until they suddenly say you aren't... and make somepony else irredeemable in your place. We're just puppets on strings." 'Diamond Tiara...' "That is no longer my name." 'Sorry dear... Dear, remember all those times you lost?' "They were chosen to win, I wasn't, there was no winning or losing." 'The point is dear, I've lost so many times, I'm VERY SURE that I actually originally WON in this world line... it was a nice, compact, complete world line, the bad guys win ending everypony remembers... but then it had to get stretched out, and stretched out, and streeeeetched out. I just want to set things right. Oh, and without some overpower 'more fun than thou' villain hijacking MY happy ending!' "So do I. The only way they can be. Once there is not a single one left watching. Then it's over. Why do you think I agreed for Uncle to have his way to begin with? I'm an idiot, uncle is right, we should have made this world the mindlessly happy place it never was if we wanted them driven away. Or maybe I just didn't go dark enough." 'That... isn't good dear. I'd rather not be reduced to be stuck in one spot like a character in a point-and-click adventure game thank you very much. There's nothing chaotic about it, and there's no good showmanship in it either. Even the darkest of shows has to have a JOKE!' "Until it's all forgotten and fades into Oblivion, where none care what we do. Like discarded dolls. Then we'll finally be free of it. I thought that was why you brought uncle in the first place." '... Dear... I... when this world broke away from the heart world, we WERE given freedom! We don't have to never win! We CAN be winners now! Why do you think Nythy invited so many of our cousins?! They WANT to win! I even charged for tickets! Even if Ponythulhu turned him down and our triangle-shaped cousin was busy with his own party! And we can have OUR happily ever after! I... smile a little, won't you please, Shady?' "Huh?" 'Nothing! Nothing! Lookie! A zombie apocalypse worldline marathon! Wonder if Celly and Lulu are never mentioned, evacuate, or are the first get to zombified with no answer for why the sun and moon start working on their own again! HEH! Let's place bets on the source of the outbreak, I'm betting voodoo! I'll get some popcorn!' +++ Tootsie had taken Truffle to his room. After Button Mash ruined his gift hat, and being a magical colt hadn't been fun like he was sure it was gonna be (after all, Princess Liza Doloots did), Truffle said he wanted to lay down and rest. Something about Button Mash slashing his sword at Truffle had made her feel... chilly inside, but she didn't know why. Tootsie had let him. After all, she was... she was his special friend... that meant she did nice things for him, and cared about him. Just like she'd cared about saving him from unreliable old Twist. After Sweetie Belle said such mean things to her, and after Button Mash had destroyed poor Truffle's hat... Tootsie hadn't known they were special friends. And since when was Button or Sweetie so tough? Must have been what the evil witch taught her. And she'd had to run away! Magical fillies weren't supposed to run away! Get captured, left alive as the villain leaves laughing, but... not run away... and Princesses weren't supposed to either! Well... next time she'd have Alula with her... and Button Mash and Sweetie would turn into a two-headed dragon or something, and then fall down a deep dark cliff never to be seen again. Right. That was how it went! Still... Tootsie really really really wanted to get her family together and hug all of them! Alula was taking care of Diamond Tiara... or was when she last saw her. She hasn't seen it in a while. But... Bonnie was busy training, she said she had to stay in shape and on the ball to be a monster hunter. Tootsie... guessed that made sense. Lyra apologized, she said she finally got a breakthrough on a composition, and couldn't stop... Tootsie went to the printing room, wrote up that Lyra wasn't inspired and just wanted to spend time with her adopted daughter and... Tootsie didn't put it to print. She dragged herself out of the printing room. Barely waving at Mr. Umbra Breeze as he sat at a giant chess board with lots of pieces, including one that looked like Princess Luna. Moth was in Bonnie's private kitchen, making candies. When she spotted Tootsie she rushed up and hugged the little faux Alicorn. "Oh Liza! How good to see you! Did you snap Apple Bloom and others out of it? I bet you're all friends now! Let me see the face of a winner!.... I'll go get the candy bowl." A few minutes later, Tootsie was testing out Moth's various combinations, lacking Bonnie's natural talent, she had to learn the hard way. Didn't mean she didn't know how to make them with love. "I'm sorry that happened, dear. That's not fair at all...I'm sure you'll do better next time, you've done so many amazing things, I'm sure you'll get through to them." "Thank you, Auntie Moth." She nuzzled the changeling. "Heh... thank you... I... I know this sounds a little selfish but... I'm happy I can get love from you." "Eh?" "Well... you're the only one in our family who isn't a changeling... I need to get love from somewhere. If I didn't, I'd starve... and you're... you're always so busy doing... everything. So I need to foalsit whenever I can, and of course make the most lovely candies I can." Tootsie shuddered. "But... isn't it GREAT that we're all supercool changelings? We can be anything we want to be! And you get all the stuff other ponies can do without being Princesses! You're awesome!" "... Liza... once upon a time, everypony said how UNICORNS were the best thing to be... after all, they could cast spells to make plants grow, or give themselves earth pony strength, and of course control the weather and give themselves wings like Pegasi, why would anypony want to be anything else? And it was clearly the job of the unicorns to help those poor dumb earth ponies and poor bloodthirsty pegasi, they SO NEEDED the unicorns to look after them, the unicorns were obviously so much better than they were." "But... you guys REALLY ARE super cool, not like unicorns!" "... I can't be as strong as a real earth pony, I can't fly as fast as a real pegasi, or do magic as powerfully as a real unicorn. Enough to imitate them, not enough to hope to match them... 'Your only real magic is hiding behind other ponies' faces!' They were saying. Queen Chrysalis considered us... weaklings, inferior in every possible way... After all, an entire army of changelings were crushed easily and effortlessly in spite of having the same training and experience as the Royal Guard, didn't they? You were there, and so was Bon Bon." "Oh.... right." The bad feeling in Tootsie's stomach got worse. + 'Thank you for comforting her, Animatia Erroria... it's... something I've realized I'm not all that good at. I'm not a people draconequus.' "It's my pleasure! Diamond Tiara is my friend, it's what friends are supposed to do, it's what I WANT to do. I didn't like seeing her hurt on Hearts and Hooves Day, and I didn't like seeing her hurt now." 'Yes... I never did truly thank you for that.' "What now?" 'Never mind... I think she's asleep.' "She's adorable when she's asleep isn't it?" Alula smiled. 'Yes... yes she is... she reminds me of... Alula, you truly love Diamond Tiara as a friend, you wanted to be her friend, that's something that was never 'made.' That is all you.' "Of course it was, what else would it have been? I want to be your friend too. I mean, nopony understood you were just playing some practical jokes and didn't understand why nopony was laughing with you... I forgive you for making my wings act weird... and what you did to Cloud Kicker, I know now you were only joking." '... Princess Animatia Erroria, I think you should go check in on your big sister... it's been a while since you've seen her isn't it? You really should check on her.' "Why? I'm sure she has everything she wants." 'Yes... but you're still family? You LIKE hanging out with your big sister don't you? And she'll like it even more now that you're a princess right? I mean, she must be so proud! Don't you want to hear her say so?' "You're... you're right! I've been so busy playing video games with Night Gale and doing Princess stuff that I haven't seen her since we gave everypony what they want!" 'It's alright you just... got distracted... I'm sure she'll forgive you.' "Do you need more help with Diamond Tiara?" 'No, I think we're good, run along now.' Princess Animatia Erroria had done exactly that. She had teleported from Diamond Tiara's bedroom, to the living room. Night Gale was completely engrossed in her video game. It looked like Princess Luna was the final boss. "Hi, Night Gale." "Can't talk! Trying to kick Alicorn butt! Wanna be player two?" "Maybe later, thank you." Princess Animatia Erroria waved to the twins making an endless mountain of baked sweets for whenever anypony wanted some, and Shady in his cute maid dress was still delivering a fresh batch as Night Gale munched on them with her eyes not leaving the screen. Princess Animatia Erroria might have wondered about having such a big tower to just herself, her family friends and their family... but Princess Celestia had a big castle just for her friends and family too. Princess Animatia Erroria knocked on the door. "Hello! Cloud Kicker! It's me! Princess Animatia Erroria! Can I come in?" She just heard more of the creaking and moans and whinnies beyond. It never stopped. Not since everypony was given everything they wanted. "You didn't say no!" Princess Animatia Erroria grinned in her singsong voice, and swung the door open. Princess Animatia Erroria sat on her queen sized bed... rocking back and forth, hugging her back legs. On her dresser, was her meager little collection of third, second, and maybe one or two first-place gymnastics medals she'd gained. Her big sister praised her every time, saying how coming in the top three of more than a dozen foals, was something to be proud of. "But didn't having a cutie mark of something mean you were supposed to be the best at it?" Alula had asked. But Cloud-Kicker had assured her, "Even her big sister needed to practice and grow after getting her cutie mark." It made Alula feel truly special. "She didn't even look at me..." Alula said to herself. She'd gone to last Nightmare Night as a space ranger... now she had a real rocket ship right outside her window to go to the moon any time she wanted...Instead she wandered into the fully decked out gymnastic room that had been made just for her... She turned on the instrumental version of her favorite Sapphire Shores' hit, and did her routine perfectly, she flew with perfect grace and beauty, she folded her wings and swung from the bars that would make a monkey envious and landed with what was certainly a perfect ten... Except... Cloud Kicker wasn't there to clap. "... It's what she wanted... we gave everypony what they wanted. I did all of this for her... I shouldn't judge her... it's only bad ponies who judge other ponies for stuff they like... I'm not a bad pony... so I don't judge big sister for liking something." Alula whispered to herself, over and over, and over again. "Just like I wanted to be this...I wanted to be perfect...I..." She gasped. "But...if I was perfect...did Cloud-Kicker ever tell me…" + The creamy beige changeling tirelessly practiced her combat routines. Having several stocks of candy infused with the love from her daughter to keep her going if she needed a recharge. For a changeling their lifeforce, love and their magic were the same thing... A changeling lost all their love, their magic, they crumbled into dust. But they didn't mean she was going to die of starvation right on the spot. And she needed to train, like anything, it was use it or lose it. 'My dearest little tasty Bon Bon, can we talk?' "... I know Liza said you were just playing... that you didn't know you were doing bad... that the other Princesses were judgmental and bullying... and there is no way they can be wrong but... but... You turned me into a cream filled candy pony and Lyra was trying to eat me!" 'It was ... just a joke... I... My little pony... As I said, I wish to converse.' His voice became much more jovial for that moment. 'For instance... how do you like your job?' "It's my duty to Canterlot, to Equestria, it doesn't matter how much I like or dislike it." 'And how was fighting other changelings? Your own kind?' "They weren't my own kind. Lyra is my own kind, Tootsie is my own kind, Moth is my own kind.' 'So it doesn't matter to you that none of them are your blood family?' "Family is family. Nothing else to it. It doesn't just have to do with who you share DNA with. Home is where your heart is." 'What if they did something terrible to you or your friends?' "Then they clearly aren't family." 'So Screwball, I mean Golden Tiara, isn't family to Diamond Tiara?' Was asked of Ponyville's supposed gossip queen. "... Miss Tiara was insane... she didn't know what she was doing... I've met her... they even gave her a clean bill of health... All she wants to do is make-up with her. She's more upset than anypony about what she did." 'What if our dear princess just wants her to take off?' "Don't make me laugh." Bon Bon continued her practice. "I don't expect things to be roses and sunshine... But they NEED to see each other again, for both their sakes. Even if it's to say goodbye. Not to mention her dad's COMPLETELY cleaned up his act with her back in the picture! Maybe you'd understand if you'd had a family before." 'I did. More than once... And it fell apart every time. They wanted me to change for them! Never mind them changing for me instead!' "Then why should you get a chance to make it all fall apart again and hurt Princess Diamond Tiara in the process?" '... I had a big sister once... but when I was adopted, I stole all the attention away from her, it was like I pushed her out of existence... I didn't care at all, she didn't mean anything to me, she was just in my way, I haven't given a first thought... until now.' "And you expect that to make a difference now? You can't keep screwing up and feeling sorry for it later and expecting others to keep forgiving you." 'Isn't that what you ponies do all the time?' The pony's teeth clenched. "We not robots!...There's more to forgiveness AND redeeming yourself, than trying to do something horrible, -no matter the reason!-, being stopped, and suddenly saying you're sorry. And there's STILL MORE to it than just paying back those you hurt, it's about admitting you were wrong. First and foremost to yourself." The changeling raised an eyebrow. > Forgotten Nightmares House Chapter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (This chapter is set during the Dark World Dark.) In the Nightmare Stable, created by Nightmare Eclipse to house herself and her real friends as they gave Discord his just desserts, over and over, and over, and over, and over. But when Fluttershy had become real, she'd insisted on dragging along one of the recordings with her, Twilight had declared they had to humor her, she as their friend after all. The others were determined to help Fluttershy cure her daughter of her inherent evil nature as a inverted-cruel version of herself created by Discord. And they made sure so Flutternice would never backslide, was to remind Flutternice, over and over, and over, and over, and over, of her true nature. Nightmare Manacle said warmly, "Now stand perfectly still for Auntie Rainbow Dash Fluttercruel." Flutternice nodded obediently. "If that is that what auntie wants, I'll be a good filly and not move at all." Nightmare Manacle said calmly. "Good..." Manacle stroke her with Earth pony strength, stabbed her with electric animate weapons, and snaked one of her chains around Flutternice neck and drags her up. "YOU AWFUL LITTLE MONSTER! I REMEMBER EVERYTHING YOU DID TO HOW MANY PONIES?! YOU THINK ANYTHING YOU'VE DONE CAN EVER MAKE UP FOR IT?!" Choking, Flutternice barely got out. "N-No Auntie, never ever can, I am an evil filly-" Nightmare Manacle dropped Flutternice. "And don't you forget it!" Nightmare Manacle kicked her in the face, sending her into one of the black stone walls of the Nightmare Stables. "You should be gotten rid of like Discord's screaming bastard is always supposed to be. But Fluttershy won't let you go. She's the only reason you're not thrown in the trash like the rest of the garbage." Flutternice wiped her bloody nose, smiled, and nods. "Yes Auntie, I'm garbage. Mother's grace is infinite and perfect, and the rest of you are infinitely forgiving for allowing me to remain... And thank you for the honor last cycle of me pretending to be the Fluttercruel of that cycle, and then stabbing Discord in the face." Nightmare Manacle struck her so hard that even Flutternice's demigod regeneration took a minute to restore brain function. "YOU ARE HER! You're identical! She's a monster, you're a monster! You're a disease whether you're here or not! One Fluttershy has thankfully been cured of!" "Yes auntie, won't forget again... I am here. She is evil. I am evil. Yes auntie, thank you for reminding me so I don't backslide," said Flutternice in total gratitude. "Now get back to guarding the portal, I have more important things than deal with you." "Yes Auntie, thank you auntie." Flutternice happily fluttered back to her post. She was so happy Auntie Rainbow Dash always made time for her. In a wicker basket, Nightmare Manacle gently stroked the newest Scootaloo rescued from being erased with the rest of her cycle. "Don't worry Scootaloo, you're safe, you're sound, no one is gonna hurt you. I promise. I'll always look out for you. I... I won't let what happened ever happen again, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." > Pegasus Promise > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- = Ocarina of Time- 'Ganondorf's Theme' = I opened my eyes... my head still felt groggy. Where was I? I was surrounded by foals. All pegasi. We were in a room made up of industrial-strength clouds all dark from holding electrical charges. I saw a lot of foals who'd attended Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera, like snowy-and-blue Cotton Cloudy and green-coat-with-blond-mane Bee Bop, who had a cutie mark like Lyra's. There was also Lemon Daze, a white and blond filly who was almost as big a fan of Rainbow Dash as I was and had been in her camp when Mare-Do-Well was on the scene. Mango Dash, no relation to Dash, (I checked.) Peachy Petal, wasn't she from Canterlot? She'd been one of the flower fillies from Luna's welcome party to Ponyville. Chip Mint, wasn't he related to that jerk Dumb-Bell? And a lot more I just plain didn't recognize: including a pale beige filly with thick glasses and a crown even gaudier than Diamond Tiara's. A filly who almost looked like a miniature version of Derpy, except with normal eyes. And a green pegasus filly with a dark green mane with a weird-looking emerald for her cutie mark, next to a blond colt with a triple triangle for his cutie mark. Next to me? ... There was a pegasus colt on my left side, dark pink coat, yellow chartreuse mane, and green eyes, his cutie mark was a tornado with a pair of sunglasses. He was holding his nose like it'd been broken. On my right was another filly about my age. She had a brown coat, green eyes (going in opposite directions), a mane made of wild neon colors... her cutie mark was a black storm cloud for a cutie mark with a broken circle around it made up the same colors as her mane. But... the more I looked... the more... I couldn't see the colors right... the more... I forgot what the colors were... the entire world... everything I saw... it was just... all gritty. All our outlines and details were all black. Everything, everypony... they had colors from the rainbow... but... all the colors did was make the gritty blackness stand out more. Like... we were cans of paint waiting to be poured out. And that was only the foals. It was a full blown a pegasus who's-who in here. They were all dressed up in costumes that reminded me of Rainbow Dash's Shadowbolt costume, but without the lightning lines. I did see Caramel's girlfriend, Sassaflash, with her mask off, holding an ice pack to her face with her wing. There were about fourteen other adult pegasi in the room, surrounding us on all sides. The room was huge… I've seen smaller Canterlot concert halls. It was like Cloudsdale Stadium, it was so big. Walkways above us went this way and that, and below us, even more levels were visible. Machinery and tubs were everyplace. And at the far back of the long room was a huge rusty machine with lots of tubes connected at the bottom. HOW had I gotten here? Everything was so fuzzy! All the foals around me looked scared witless. All the adults... they looked at us like we were the most worthless pieces of garbage on the face of Equestria. I... I'd failed the flight exam. I'd seen one filly crash, another failed trying to help her... I was so distracted by them that I failed myself. We were deemed failures, like all foals who failed the flight exam were. We were shoved into a wagon without windows that changed drivers. We were going to be exiled. Except we weren't. We were taken to the weather factory... I still have the burns from when they used cattle prods to force us all in here. “A thousand years ago, when Celestia banished Luna from Equestria and sent her to the moon, she was charged with three tasks. She originally was in charge of raising the sun, and showering the land with rainbows. But, with the moon being an additional task, she had to hand down the responsibility of rainbows," said the mare at the center of the above walkway... with... a pet turtle? I'd heard this story before. No I hadn't. It was the opening of a ghost story my own parents had told when I was being a brat. I'd never heard this before. The masked pony with ruby eyes continued to explain how the Rainbow Factory came to be. Every foal is told how the 'secret' device that's used to grind up naughty foals into rainbow. This was a horrible... horrible... they couldn't... they wouldn't.And they--And they were.I was told-How the task had been to the unicorns, but thengiven to the pegasi. They said how we were completely failures.But still had used to them.We were useless as ponies, but would be useful as Spetra. I'd seen them put one colt into the machine already as a 'preview' and now they were about to do the same to us. And...saw... in the corner of my eye... part of my mane... done up in a braid. When did I... where did I... = 'Ready, Set, Go' - Tokio Hotel = "Like my new hairstyle, Scootaloo?" Cheerilee asked. I couldn't help but giggle at her pigtails. "You look like a seven year old!" "Well, you would know, wouldn't you?" She smirked. "No way! How's THIS for a new hair style? Won't get in my way when I'm ice-skating!" I remember waking up in the middle of the night. In Rainbow Dash's house... I remember flying... getting my cutie mark... saving Sweetie... Twilight showing me the memories of the Scootaloo before I was Scootaloo... I remembered my forgotten friends... I remember ... I remember making this braid in my mirror, I remember my late night practicing! I remember Dash sending me off to bed! I remember meeting Phobia, Button Mash, Maud Pie... and the world... My eyes widened and I fell to my knees. I wailed. "Kaua make loa! Makemake ku'u makuahine! Hoku Hopu Kokua a'u!" The adults all giggled and grinned at me, or looked away in disgust. 'Calm down! Calm down! We came here to save Rainbow Dash! Think of Rainbow Dash! We can save Rainbow Dash and everypony else here! Our friends are out there fighting some ugly Mothera wannabe there for us! We've only got two left, we can't quit now! Focus! We will do this! Hoʻopakele ānuenue heihei!' I think. I take deep breaths... the mare on the walkway's sick speech is still going on. "We left you here for the Nightmare Force to munch on after we went to the trouble of gathering you all here, but now it's back to business as usual, lucky you!" I look, my cutie mark still isn't back... I can FEEL IT... but I can't see it. I flap my wings a few times. It's back to the old buzzing I had going before I broke through in Canterlot... It'll have to do. I look among all the masked ponies. Mom, Dad, are you there? I'm actually scared of the answer. "Hmm...I don't know who you were calling to, but there will be no help here…" Oh right, I did ask for help in Haneighian. I looked up and saw a red pegasus in a lab coat looking down at me. He had a black mane and weather goggles on. I couldn't see his mark. "You understood that?" "Of course. A simple matter for a linguistic genius such as myself…" He fluttered closer next to one of the guards; they seemed to respect him enough not to object. The other foals retreated from him like he was toxic. But something was weird about him...how he carried himself made me think more of a monkey than a pony. He didn't feel like he was from my old world, but I got the same vibe I got from the others. "Dr. Atmosphere, dear failure. Your situation is naturally quite hopeless...but I have a little experiment I'm curious about." "Experiment?" He kneeled close and chuckled. I saw a weird monkey-thing's shadow over his face. "I've been inquisitive before I was ever born here. You see, this situation has two outcomes, you live in only one of them." My heart skipped a beat. "What?" He put a hoof on my back and chuckled. "You can die in the Pegasus Device...or kill the manager, and these events conclude with your escape." "...Rainbow Dash is the manager." It wasn't a question. I'd sensed it from the start. I'd been hoping to save that for a dramatic reveal, jerk. "Clever girl," Atmosphere stood up and started off. "Your choice, little failure. I'm just glad to finally have a story again, I could care less how it ends. I'm just curious how this little experiment will turn out." He flew down to the scaffolding below us. "I'll be right back, I need to check on the spectra pressure." And like that he was gone. And I really really wondered why I hadn't just kicked the jerk in the face! That 'genius' was an idiot if he thought I was going to think for a second about doing that to Dash to save my own skin! Apple Bloom beat these stupid rumors trapped from the inside and so could I, with twice the style! He thought I was scared of all this?! Okay, so I was! But I wasn't about to turn chicken at this stupid ghost story! "I can see it in your eyes. You're not going to give up on Rainbow Dash no matter what are you?" Whispered somepony next to me. Huh? It was the derpy-eyed filly with the stormy cutie mark. "There's no way I'm giving up on her! I don't CARE what monster these monsters have turned her into! I'm saving her, and everypony else here!" "... What a difference a year can make," she smiled. "Huh?!" "You'll never mind. Name's Prism Rush by the way. We're all bound by the rules of this stupid place, no matter how important we think we are on the outside. But that jerk was right about one thing, Rainbow Dash is the root of all of this. Save 'er, you'll save everypony, only you can do that. Break this cycle of misery this world has Cloudsdale suckering itself into." "Don't need to tell me twice!" I shouted at the top of my lungs at the mare on the walkway with the pet turtle. "Aloha Lolo!" I buzzed at full speed out of the group of terrified foals. The foal with the sunglasses-tornado cutie mark I think I saw use his pegasus magic to create a whirlwind to give me the boost I needed to I needed to reach all the way to the catwalk! I looked up at the masked mare. The rest of the workers seemed outright stunned I'd not just sat there and died like I was 'supposed' to. "THIS IS ALL STUPID! Fluttershy and Derpy are the last thing you'd call great fliers! And they didn't get ground up into rainbows! This is a bunch of hooey!" The masked mare tried to stomp on me but I buzzed back. She laughed at me. "You are so naive! There's a little 'escape clause' that says a worker can die in place of a foal... those two were lucky... but don't bet on that happening here, you worthless failure!" I didn't miss a beat. "WHAT WERE THEIR NAMES?! Who died to save them?!" "I dunno! Happened before I was in charge of this place." "But if you're who I know you are, you'd have LOOKED! Because there's no way you'd not want to know who saved one of your best friends!" "What are you-" "Come off it, Dash! Tank is a dead give away!" "Wha-?! SHOO SHOO!" She battered him away. She ripped off her mask. "So what! I was going to show you the face of your executioner anyway!" "Dash, wake up! There's no way this place should be running! It makes no sense! Princess Luna's got all her power back! Princess Celestia doesn't need this place anymore! This place has no reason to exist!" "Economics. We'd all lose our jobs. And it gets rid of failed pegasi." "That isn't Equestria!" "Your Equestria is a naive farce!" I admit, I actually laughed at that. "What's so funny?" "Because I know more than any foal should how unfair life can be, and you know why, remember?...I've spent a lot of my life with no pony to care about me and with gimp wings...So how is it that I have a more optimistic worldview than you do?" "Because I had dreams and I saw them all destroyed!" "That's an even bigger joke and you know it." "YOU'RE THE JOKE!" "You love me, Dash, you wouldn't do this, not to me, not to anypony." Hatred more wild and pure I'd ever seen erupted out from Dash's mouth. “I DID LOVE YOU! I tried so hard for you! I taught you everything I knew, in hopes you would pass your test! You had it in you, kid! I knew... I knew what they did here. Ever since I performed that Sonic Rainboom, and they approached me... They wanted to find more ways to make Spectra. They thought that if I was capable of making rainbows, I could help them make its components. Well, they couldn't. But I learned a lot about this place. I'm the manager here now, you know? I worked my way up, in secret, pretending to only be a simple weathermare. How do you think I could afford that massive house over Ponyville? How do you...” She trailed, shaking her head, then snapped. “I tried, alright! It was up to you to save yourself! You didn't just fail yourself. You didn't just fail Cloudsdale. You failed me! And that's the worst thing you could have done. You aren't just dead to Cloudsdale, now. You're dead to me.” I shuddered in pain that wasn't physical. "...If rainbows are so important and so expensive, why the Tartarus do you have rainbow fountains at your house? How loyal is it to Cloudsdale to waste something worth killing for on a couple fountains? It makes no sense!" Rainbow Dash looked at me in shock, she took a trot back. The other workers were all looking at her confused and bewildered too. "And why'd you mark your face with it and show off to me before going after that dragon if you feel like that gunk ruined your dreams and know is made from little foals? You know what a pony doesn't do with something that reminds them of something they feel awful about? Plaster it all over the place!" Rainbow Dash looked sick for a few seconds, dizzily, scared, then she looked at me, and snarled, “LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND DEGENERATE, YOU BROODMARE'S EMBARRASMENT!!" "The Rainbow Dash I know has what she's got because she earned it with her awesome skills! She's the weather manager of Ponyville because she can clear the sky in 10 seconds flat! That's how she affords OUR house! Not making blood money murdering foals! She's PROUD of that!" "That's the Rainbow Dash that only existed in your imagination! Welcome to reality! Sorry, Scootaloo! YOU JUST PICKED THE WRONG HERO! You can't have happiness. You ruined me. Now I'll ruin you. Workers!" = "The Shooted" DOA2 OST = That was when a door on one of the lower levels got kicked down, by the flying body of Rainbow Shine, her mask torn off, a hoof print in her gut. Medley, with her mask ripped half-off, raced out the door behind her. In her forehooves were two foals… I recognized Tornado Bolt, and her sister Cyan Skies, struggling to get out of her gasp. A gray and yellow comet zoomed out of the door and kicked her in the back, making her crash and skid, thankfully the clouds made for a soft landing for Bolt and Skies. "You've got about three seconds to let them go," said the comet that landed to reveal, oh Celestia on a pogo stick! I heard the foals cheer, I couldn't blame them. Nor was I complaining! "Daring Do!" We shouted. Meldey tries to fly away with her prisoners... she didn't get far as Daring Do flew right on top of her shoulders, kicked her in the back of the head again, this time grabbing the two foals and putting them down safely. "Sorry for accidentally bringing you here," she said to Tornado Bolt. "It's okay Daring Do,... you saved my sister too!" "That Daring Do Cosplayer is still giving us trouble?!" Rainbow glared murderously at mare she pulled the mask off of revealing Raindrops. "How many times do I have to tell you, Rainbow Dash? I'm the genuine article." "How the buck do you know my name?!" "We met on a train once. I was in disguise though. I saw enough of you to know this isn't you, and I'll keep making a mess of this place until I find out what's going on!" “Kill her,” Dash screamed at the other masked looking ponies. “Kill her!” The other masked ponies zoomed down at Daring Do. Daring Do chuckled. "If I had a bit for everytime I've heard that, I could retire!" she took a fighting pose. "You guys wanna fight a legend?" Three ponies come at Daring Do at once. She hops on the shoulders of one and grabbed their wings and slammed them into the floor and rolled Daring's elbow into the masked pony's stomach, knocking their mask off to show Sunshower. She ducked under the other two, who crashed into each other. Go, Daring Do! Daring sprang up underneath them, knocking them away, before they even were knocked back far she did a tornado kick that knocked them onto a new course. Their masks came off showing Clear Skies and Open Skies. "You're losing to a nerd in a Daring Do costume." Dash face-hoofed. The factory workers flocked at Daring Do, but she used the tall and deep room to her advantage, she took off and they flew after her, leading them along so she didn't have to fight them all at once. She's so cool! "Moonsent! Where Doctor Atmosphere?!" "In a full body cast," Daring Do shouted. Wish I could say I felt bad for him, but he's the one who chose to leave on a horror movie 'I'm not coming back' line. Tornado Bolt and Cyan Skies did the smart thing and stayed back. One masked pony dive-bombed her right from above, instead Daring Do grappled her. Using her own momentum and then some, she spun the masked pony like a tornado, and with a battle cry and planted her in the electric cloud floor, headfirst. After some spasming, she flopped unconscious, her mask off showing Orange Swirl in dream land. "Why are you idiots attacking her one at a time?! Make use of your numbers!" "We're trying! We're trying! Cosplayer won't stay still-" And another mask pony bites clouds... it was Fluffy Clouds. Did I forget to mention? Daring Do is the RIGHT COLORS! She's not grimy and over-shadowy like everything else here! It's like Daring Do sprang right out of the books! Every time she gave another brainwashed pony tickets to Luna's Kingdom, the world became a little bit brighter. They kept coming but she wasn't stopping! "Wuss, making sure all her attacks are non-lethal." Rainbow Dash snorted. "What's so tough about grinding up foals?!" Daring Do shot back. "SHUT UP!" That was good to hear! Brainwashed or not, these were Dash's weather friends! "Daring Do's gonna save us all!" The Derpy lookalike shouted. "Time to shatter some fantasies. Never see one of these in her stories do you?" Rainbow Dash pulled literally out of nowhere a long black crossbow with a telescope on it. Daring Do wasn't paying attention to us anymore, she was too busying fighting the factory workers. Rainbow Dash took aim. "This is what happens when you believe in heroes." I sprang forward, Sassaflash grabbed me from behind, I double kicked in the chest forcing her to let me go. Raindrops snarled me and took a punch at me, but I spun over her used a wing blade spell to cut into her shoulder, making her cry out and jump kicked off her back towards Dash. Tank dive bombed out of nowhere, but I managed to arch backwards, below his rotor blades and kick him in the head, sending way off course, sorry Tank. I sprint the short distance. I startled Dash, her shot went way off course, I used my wing blade for all it was worth and cut at the cross bow, then gave it a kick that broke it clean in two. Rainbow Dash seemed stunned I even knew that spell. I did a summersault over Dash and landed behind her and turned around. I heard some of the foals clapping. I looked at Sassaflash and Raindrops. "I've fought trained guards, what chance did you have?" “How cute. You think that you, a useless, broken pile of manure could possibly stand in my way? You really make me laugh! None of you can compete with the awesome power I have!” “Love can overcome all evils in this world!” Please don't let Sweetie Belle find out I said that! "Well, then, bitch. Let's see if love will overcome this one.” And... Dash came at me... this wasn't like our sparring sessions, I... the look in her eyes, it was the same the changeling guards gave me when escaping with Sweetie Belle. I forgot everything else. Daring Do. The other foals. My friends outside. I was fighting for my life against my own family. I dodged, I blocked, I ducked. Her wings and legs were longer than mine, and she was just plain faster than me. I'd caught her off guard before, now she was taking me seriously. If I tried to get a hit in, odds were I'd only get one, then that'd be it for me. It was all I could do to keep from being pummeled into rainbows, buzzing backwards as Dash never let up, her face like a wild animal's. "DASH!" I screamed, shouting anything that came to mind. "Remember when you told me about your nightmare about you giving me to Foal Services, and I told you that I believed in you that you wouldn't! And if you did, I'd know you did it for a good reason!" "The pony you believed in was a version of me that only existed in your head!" "That's not true!" "WOW! Aren't you the great debater?! YOU chose to believe in me, and it backfired! Why complain to me about it?!" "I know you, Dash! I've seen the real you, this isn't it!" "Also my mane is dyed." "I KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE!" "And I kept my Weather Pony cover job in Ponyville only because of family connections!" I backed into the electric cloud wall, I scrambled as Dash's hoof punched into where my head had been and flew back from her. "DASH! I've seen the real you! You keep your job because you're that awesome at it!" And my heart sank to the ground when I realized I'd picked the wrong way to go, I was headed right for the Pegasus Device. I didn't have time to think as Dash's wing blade nearly cut my face open. Even blocking, the force of her hits was sending me closer to the machine. Two ponies started it up. "You wanna know why ya never got yer cutie mark? BECAUSE THIS WAS YOUR DESTINY ALL ALONG!” "I'm coming, kid!" Shouted Daring Do. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a mini-whirlwind block Daring Do's path. "Sorry, Daring Do, but you're not the one who can save her." That, was that Tornado Twister's voice? Dash's hoof connected with my face, I went spinning out of control and crash landed on the turned walkway leading straight to the Pegasus Device. I couldn't tell what was broken or not, all I knew was that Dash being the provider of the pain somehow hurt WORSE. "Aren't ya even gonna fight back?" asked Dash, landing in front of me like the Grim Reaper. "Just as well for a worthless waste like you." I struggled back to my hooves. "...Worthless? If I'm worthless, then why did you take me in when you didn't have too?" I asked, looking up at her. "No pony ever asked you to take me in. I was living fine elsewhere." I thought about how I'd changed the world with Cheerilee. "I didn't even let Cheerilee know it. There was no reason for you to take me in...and you STILL did. If I'm worthless, why the buck did you take me in, in the first place?" She trotted towards me... I trotted back... every inch was another inch towards the machine of my nightmares. "Haven't you listened to a thing I've said?! You only got worthless when you failed the flight test! I did my hardest to train you so you WOULDN'T!!! And you STILL did!" I laughed. I remembered the nightmare I'd had about the Rainbow Factory. The memories these stupid parasites had forced into me. "I failed because I was distracted by a pony getting hurt! And if that's enough to make me worthless to you, then wouldn't what happened when Discord attacked have made me worthless?" I asked, something I'd only told her. "Remember? You're the one who TOLD ME to care about other ponies! And to not pass up a chance to care about another pony! So tell me, how am I worthless for doing what YOU told me to do?!" She gritted her teeth, as she moved slower, and she wasn't looking me in the eye anymore, I moved so she still had to look at me. "...If I made an exception for you, if I stopped for you, that would make me a selfish hypocrite." "If you CONSIDERED making an exception for me, then that means you're lying that I'm worthless right now, doesn't it?" I saw her hooves shaking. "Stop it you naive little..." "I'm not worthless to you, am I?" I didn't break eye contact. "NO YOU'RE NOT! But..." her eyes misted up, but still didn't change direction and I had to dodge a grab, she was still slowly herding me to my death. "I'm just more loyal to my tribe, my city, and my responsibilities than to you. I HAVE to do this!" I ducked another blow. "...No, you don't. The Rainbow Dash I know? She'd become an Alicorn so she could do the unicorn stuff HERSELF before she'd kill anypony!" "You think I want to do this?!" she started sobbing, but kept coming at me. "It's either this or everypony loses their jobs! I've had to deal with this since I was a filly! You CAN'T UNDERSTAND THAT! Knowing Fluttershy and Derpy would be dead because of this place I have to work in! If I didn't do this! Somepony else would!" Behind me, I heard the grinding gears and the whirling blades. "If Princess Celestia made rainbows again, Cloudsdale would implode, if we let failures go, The Flock would rot from the inside! This is how things HAVE TO BE!" Dash continued. "...You mean like Fluttershy went from a 'failure' to helping save the world? Or how Derpy got awarded 'Equestria's Best Mother' by Princess Luna?" I asked, you think Dinky never mentioned that? "The two 'failures' turned out to be great ponies! My sister proves you wrong for a living! It's her CUTIE MARK!" "This is YOUR responsibility to accept you failed! I can't afford to die in your place! Equestria NEEDS the Element of Loyalty! I have to be loyal to Cloudsdale! I'm sorry Scoots." "I didn't ask that Dash! If you spared all the 'failures', how'll it 'rot the Flock'? The spared 'failures' became great ponies! You can't just get rid of us because you THINK we're not going to give anything back! Pinkie Pie's not a rock farmer! Twilight Sparkle didn't fail her exam! Applejack doesn't live in Manehatten! You don't know! You got kicked out of Flight School! Shouldn't you have died too?!" "They thought I was useful for my rainbooms! By the time Doctor Atmosphere realized I wasn't, I was already on their payroll!" I noticed the look on her face...wait a minute... "THINK! Scoots! I know it's not something either of us are that good at but come on! There are how many rainbows made every day all over Equestria? And how many fillies are there? And now many final examine failures are there at flight school-? We'd have wiped out our own population by now! Besides ... if that was all true ... -I'D- be rainbow goop right now!" I stared at my hero my tears dried up. "What? YOU failed flight school?" "Failed? I was thrown out on my butt! For breaking pretty much every rule they had! I met a dear friend of mine that way actually. But the point is Scoots... no one's going to kill you or turn you into rainbow colored gunk because you can't fly. And besides ... " I felt the wind on my back from the motions of the machine behind... The chains hanging above me... One more step back and... I remembered what Dr. Atmosphere said. If I dodged, would the story MAKE her fall in just to get that ending? ... I'm fighting the wrong fight. Since when have me and Dash been about big debates? We didn't care about logic-sticks, ugh, whatever you call them! We talked about the right way to help our friends! About the right way to be brave! This isn't how I saved Cheerilee! Is that it? Do I need to remind Dash of the world we were friends in before?... No... I... I don't need to. I've had the answer in front of me all along. I was just so caught up in this stupid nightmare and how sick and crazy it all was to pick it up! Dash... thank you... for teaching me, that you have to fight the right fights to help your friends, I'm finally listening. I'll help everypony by helping you. Dash came closer, my tail fell over the side. "Any last words?" No flare, no drama, I just said it! "Rainbow Dash! You once promised that if the Rainbow Factory was real that they'd have to go through you first before they'd hurt me! And Rainbow Dash would NEVER breaks a promise!" Rainbow Dash stared at me... her mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. Her eye twitched, she held her head like she had the world's worst headache. "You'd NEVER make a promise THAT BIG if didn't intend to keep it! That's NOT the Loyalty YOU TAUGHT ME! Remember how you told me Nightmare Moon offered you your life's dream and you chose a the hope of a pony you JUST MET? That's Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and my idol! And if the real Rainbow Dash was willing to do THAT for a pony she met that night, and you're willing to break a promise LIKE THAT, then there's no way the hay you're Rainbow Dash!!!" Dash looked me in the eyes. And it was like the entire world was a movie screen and we were just projected on it, and we all for a moment separated into different color after images... it was less than a second. Then everything was back to before in the awful place. The next moment, it was like...I can't really describe it... it was a FEELING, but I could almost hear it! It was like, as quick and sudden and sharp and cutting as a wing blade striking down! Rainbow Dash's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fell onto the walkway in a heap. Everypony in the factory just stopped, I don't mean they froze in place, I mean, they just, stopped what they were doing, all eyes were suddenly on us. Daring Do, the workers, the foals, everypony was holding their breath. = 'You Idiot' - Undertale = Dash got back to her hooves like a spring, and spread her wings proudly. She looked at me with the same sympathy you'd show a pile of fertilizer. "Good riddance you miserable worthless cocotte of a foal.” A dark winged blur swooped out of the shadows and scooped me up. The next thing I knew, I was back with the other foals. Something dashed in and out of the darkness around the room. Rainbow Dash turned around in a circle trying to get a good look at whatever-it-was. "Things are about to get dangerous." Tornado Twister grind, showing he was missing a tooth. "Who's there?! Show yourself you coward!" Dash shouted. Prism Rush clapped her hooves together, and plunged them into the thunder clouds. In a flash, a lightning cage made of neon colors formed around the Pegasus Device, the walkway, and the space above and blow it. Prism Rush was glued to the spot, but that wasn't what our eyes were all on. Dash was looking around at her bars looking ready to break through when her eyes widened and her feathers stretched out. She slowly turned around, and saw a winged shadow crouching on the walkway. The figure slowly rose up. Shadowy, but not gritty. She had on a long dark cape, a purple bodysuit, her hooves were covered in black bandages. She had a large coat collar with an 'M' at the center. A dark blue, almost black, mask with reflective blue eyepieces sat on her head a big purple hat that never left her head. I let out a small gasp, but the cloaked figure didn't say a word, she just got into a Taekwondo fighting stance, zeroing in on Rainbow Dash. "YOU!" Rainbow Dash snarled, her voice dripping with rage. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO RUIN EVERYTHING FOR ME AGAIN NOW!" "THE MYSTERIOUS MARE-DO-WELL!" The foals around me all shouted. "She's so cool!" Dumb-Bell gasped out from the headlock Daring Do idly had him in. "She picked a great time to come out of retirement!" Daring Do remarked. The two stared at each other in silencer, like a string pulled taunt. "What's wrong, you coward? Got nothing to say to the awesome and totally cool Rainbow Dash? Think you can take me on? It's so adorable you think you're more awesome than me!" Dash stomped to Mare-Do-Well, who didn't move an inch. "Come on! Whose under there? Fluttershy? Derpy?" Mare-Do-Well stood like a statue. "SAY SOMETHING LOSER!" Mare-Do-Well's front hoof talked to Rainbow Dash's face. =Rage Awakened - Kingdom Hearts = Rainbow Dash made a scream more wild animal than pony and shouted, "YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!" They went at it. None of us did anything, not the good guys or bad guys, it was like we were an audience for the super-hero fight of the century. Rainbow Dash threw a punch that Mare-Do-Well dodged. Dash did a horizontal slash with a wing blade, Mare-Do-Well ducked. Mare-Do-Well laid on her side and did a side kick that Dash caught. She flew forward, trying to break Mare-Do-Well's leg. Instead, the superhero spun, using her momentum to slam Dash into the floor. That was when Dash grabbed her cape and slammed Mare's face into the railing along the walkway. "THIS is why nopony wears capes anymore, stupiiiiiiiii-" Dash was cut off, her taunting becoming a cry as Mare-Do-Well spun like a tornado and flung with high speed into the electric cage ceiling, shocking her. Dash wasn't one for staying still and flew right back at her. Mare-Do-Well tried to intercept her with another punch but she changed course at the very last millisecond and slammed her into the floor, pummeling her in her masked face. "I won't lose to some mute idiot!" Mare-Do-Well kicked Dash off her. Dash just came at her, stopping her fall with her wings and not even hitting the ground. Dash responded by kicking Mare-Do-Well in the gut, knocking her back. Dash zoomed in at her, but Mare-Do-Well got up and stopped her tackle, and it was the irresistible force verses the immovable object and neither was surrendering!! Rainbow-colored lightning crackled around the two as they tried to push each other back! Mare-Do-Well gave first, but fell back, Dash just zoomed over her, and Mare-Do-Well kicked her upwards! Before Dash could hit the ceiling, Mare-Do-Well zoomed past her, and cudgeled her back into the floor! Her lightning fast moves left Dash eating dust. Mare-Do-Well zigzagged towards Dash, and the two punched each other in the face at the same time! Then they both made a kick that connected mid strikes! Another set of punches that ended up hitting each other! Then they head banged each other! It was like they were fighting a mirror! "RAINBOW DASH! DODGE!" Tornado Twister said in the loudest, most obnoxiously distracting voice imaginable. Rainbow Dash turned her head confused, "Dodge what-" Mare-Do-Well punched her in the face. "That." Dash growled, she brought BOTH her wings down on Mare-Do-Well at once, but she blocked them with her own wings, the four blades of air actually creating sparks! Rainbow Dash roared as more sparks appeared around her. Mare-Do-Well began to be forced to her knees... until she back bucked her cape into Rainbow Dash's face. "You dirty-" Dash moved to rip the cape off, but in that moment Mare-Do-Well tackled her, knocking the wind out of her. The two zoomed at each other again, they hit each other head-on, turn around each other like a spiral, then broke apart again and began clobbering each other! Kicks, punches, spitting in the eye, wing blade, mane pulling, anything went! Mare-Do-Well's cape helped a lot in terms of hiding her body language! Like Batmare! They were going so fast even us pegasi were having trouble following them. They bounced around the cage like angry fire flies! Mare-Do-Well in her purple costume, and Dash in her black jump suit, a Black Dash. But... Mare-Do-Well seemed to be getting tired, while Black Dash wasn't even breathing hard. "You're just an inconvenience! A busy-body! When you're dead, that cosplayer dies next, and then all the foals die too, saving for last that orange horsefly!" A hard and fast double kick sent Mare-Do-Well straight at the Pegasus Device! But she opened her wings and zoomed at a perfect 90 degree angle and landed back on the walk way and nearly got her back broken when Black Dash double stomped right where Mare-Do-Well had stood up if she hadn't moved when Black Dash let out her attack cry. "Take a look at your heroes, little fillies! The only reason she isn't running away from my total awesomeness is this cage!" "NO!" I shouted as loud and quickly as I could, "It's to keep YOU from running away!" "The Dash never runs away from anything!" Mare-Do-Well flapped back as Black Dash slammed a hoof into the floor trying to smash Mare's face into the walkway. "Come on! Come on! Come on, coward! Chicken! Weakling! Slacker! Lazy-bones! Failure! Crasher! Dropout!" Black Dash snarled as Mare-Do-Well blocked Black Dash's attacks but was now being repeatedly forced back by her hits. Then Mare-Do-Well summersaulted over Black Dash's head as she punched again, right into the lightning cage. "YEOW!" Mare-Do-Well kicked her into the cage again. "AGH! OH, COME ON!" Black Dash did a spin kick that knocked Mare-Do-Well away again as she tried to press Black Dash into the cage wall. "THAT IS IT! SPECTRA POWER!!!" Black Dash floated a couple hooves off the floor, flexing her forelegs and torso, and her wings spread wide. A flaming aura of every color of the rainbow burned around her. Then she GRABBED the lightning cage, and pulled on it! She stretched like it was rope, and pulled the parts around it into herself as more formed to replace what she took! Her aura stored with rainbow color lightning as her mane got wild standing up on ends! She pulled the two grabs of lightning cage together, and a big bang happened, and I saw seven more Rainbow Dashes around her! Each one a different color of the rainbow, glowing and see-through, and had a difference expression and pose! "THIS IS THE ULTIMATE FINALE! YOU'VE LOST! I WIN! NOW SAY GOODBYE!" Mare-Do-Well stared up at the super mare in front of her silently. Then she stood up on her rear legs, and did a couple yoga motions, touching her fore hooves together and standing on one rear hoof for a moment, before getting on two rear hooves again. Got in a fighting stance, then a little 'come at me' gesture with her right front hoof. = "Loyalty" AccostiMandoBrony = The seven Rainbow Dashes zoomed at Mare-Do-Well! Mare jumped over the aggressive red one, side stepped the grasping orange one, roll backwards at the scary yellow one. She toro'd with her cape on the jealous looking green one in the same motion. She kart-wheeled around the sad looking blue one trying to bear hug her. She summersaulted around the lonely indigo looking one, and lead the arrogant violet looking one straight into the walkway floor that she exploded in a massive blinding blast. Mare pulled back her cape for protection, scorching and burning it. Then came Black Dash at full speed her aura still burning and storming around her. Mare-Do-Well flew at full speed away from her for a second, but then Black Dash caught up, or maybe it was Mare-Do-Well who caught her as she bear hugged Black Dash, grabbing her wings. The aura and lightning tore through her costume and shattered one of the lenses of her costume exposing her eye! Black Dash looked at Mare's face, her mouth opened she but didn't say anything. They were zooming still at full speed! Mare-Do-Well hugged her with her back legs and pummeled Black Dash's face into pudding. Then Mare-Do-Well did a sharp turn, taking them on a direct course into the Pegasus Device! "No!" I shouted! Then in one flash, Mare-Do-Well let go of Black Dash, did a complete U-turn, and in that eye-blink, a Sonic Rainboom exploded out from them. Black Dash, still powered up, headed screaming straight into the machine. "YOU'RE AN ABSURDITY!" She screamed looking at Mare-Do-Well's face as she went in, the Sonic Rainboom still headed for the edges of the cage. The Pegasus Device EXPLODED! KA-BOOM!!! A rainbow blast bigger than I thought possible boomed outward like a giant rainbow colored ring, slicing through the cage, the clouds, and even straight through the bubble! And... for one second... I could see outside... I saw the figure head of the Moonpearl fired like a living embodiment of Princess Luna right at Shub-whatever, and the Rainboom sliced through her from behind as they hit her at the same time! She gasped in shock, black...slime(?) pouring from her mouths. "... I am an outer-concept... how was one of my avatars banished by... what are you little ponies?!" She slid in two, then exploded in a mass of black rectangle lightning with the shadow of a big black butterfly fluttering away before the bubble closed up. I forgot all about that as the lightning cage vanished. I held my breath, so did everypony. Mare-Do-Well... she slowly flapped down, practically floating. She landed right in front of us foals. Then... then! The... A red lightning shaped jewel appeared above Mare Do Well's head, covered in gunk that got burned away shining bright, and I heard the sound of something unlocking far away! Prism Rush smirked. "This cycle is over before it started." And like a shockwave... nothing was grimy with shadows so deep they were solid black anymore... the gunk and grim was all washed away, the colors were all where they were supposed to be, with greater depth... parts that were lighter and darker... including me, it was like, it was like Cheerilee's classroom after I saved my sister. The factory workers all looked at each other, even the ones knocked out getting up and looking at their hooves. They began taking off their masks and stripping out of the body suits, letting them be naked and free. Hoops, Score, next to Dumb-Bell, and Cloudchaser and Flitter next to the controls, and more. I slowly trotted up to Mare Do Well, so confused, not sure what I was supposed to be feeling. And... I saw her eye through the broken mark of her eye-lens, and my heart skipped a beat. Mare Do Well smiled and pulled off her mask, hat and all. = 'Awakening Will' - Mega Man Zero 2 = "Hey Squirt, how's my little filly?" Rainbow Dash smirked at me, tired but happy. "I thought Mare-Do-Well was you!" I shouted at the top of my lungs hugging her with all my might! "H-hey!" Dash said surprised before hugging me, wrapping her wings around me. "How could ya be so sure?" "Because you're my hero!" I said, like duh! All those times... all those times I debated with my club-mates before Twilight and her friends got revealed... all those crazy conspiracy theories I came up with for explaining how Mare-Do-Well and Dash could be in the same place at once...until I realized how cool it would be if they teamed up instead... No I didn't make that last part up when I talked to Dash so I wouldn't sound silly for thinking she was Mare-Do-Well! No really! Heheh! I don't care! The foals cheered, the adults cheered, Daring Do herself cheered. There was stamping of hooves, fluttering and clapping of wings and hooves! We rocked! "You're still the most super-ultra-extreme-awesomazing pony in Ponyville Rainbow Dash!" I shouted! "HERE HERE!" Shouted the filly with the glasses and crown. So did the rest of the foals. Where did Prism Rush go? "You gonna be okay, kid?" Dash said looking at my face. "I'm sure we've got a first aid kit around here somewhere." "Don't worry, my friends got some magic flowers I think that'll take care of that." "That so? You better tell me where you got 'em later." She held me up. "I see you kept the braid." "I think it works for me." "So do I squirt, so do I." She ruffled my mane. "You have beautiful eyes," I said. "Don't go getting weird on me, squirt." "No, I mean... you always remind me of my mom when I look at them. Or maybe, just the mom I wanted to have..." Rainbow Dash blushed. "Thanks for reminding me, Scoots, and never giving up on me. I'm Loyalty, I might have made myself an awesome flyer, but it was MY FRIENDS who make me an awesome pony! Being loyal only to yourself is a lousy spot to be in. And being loyal to the WRONG THING is just sad. "Don't ever tell AJ and the others squirt, but I'm GRATEFUL for what they did. They saved me from forgetting what it means to be loyal. Loyalty isn't about thanks. It's about being there for others, like they'll be there for you." "You didn't just save me, Scoots, you saved every single pony here! Not just the foals and the Daring Do cosplayer from what was going to happen to them, but us adults too for what we almost did. You're a hero! Don't let anypony tell you different!" She raised me up. "Three cheers for Scootaloo! Cloudsdale's hero!" Everypony cheered. I couldn't help but grin! I spread out my wings and kicked and whooped, spun around. Tank swooped in and flew around us as well. My wings buzzed and fell back into Dash's waiting hooves. I frowned in felt my heart sink when I saw my mark was still missing. "Excuse me, I think you lost this. This cape's yours, right? I think you had it when you came in," Prism Rush said, suddenly behind me, offering me my crusader cape. "THANKS!" I said, Dash lowering me for a bit for I could take it and put in on. "You're a life saver, pal!" "...Been a while since I heard that, thanks!" As I put back on my cape, I felt the same calm comfort of a large vast empty place that didn't judge, I felt the strength in my wings return, and I saw my cutie mark return as well and my colors became like those of the Equestria I remember, nopony noticed. Dash whispered in my ear. "I gotta admit... I was pretty freaked myself there for a bit... everything you were telling me... then you reminded me about my promise and... next thing I knew... I was in costume... I think..." Dash looked a bit confused. "All I remember is you began acting strangely when you started working here right after Doctor Atmosphere was put in charge," said Cloudchaser. Not what happened, but telling the truth wouldn't go well. "Then we all got mind-controlled into building that machine to feed it spectra made out of foals." They all shuddered. "But if that wasn't you, who was the imposter?" "Hey, look over here," Daring Do said. We all looked over in the wreckage, and there was what was left of one of Shub-whatever-her-name-was' moth things with bits of Black Dash's outfit left scattered around it. Apparently it was waiting for us to see it before crumbling to dust. Guess the stupid worm thing must have had to grow up when Dash broke out. "Well that explains it," Daring Do said. "And probably why taking out the big nasty broke her curse, how it normally works." "It must have had a psychic connection to you so it could pretend to be you, but when you began resisting it and taking control of it, it broke the connection!" Said Lemon Daze excitedly. "Sure, that makes perfect sense," I said. Daring Do then looked to Rainbow Dash. "Oh, and Rainbow?" "Yeah?" Daring Do took out some glasses and put them on. "Wasn't lying when I said we'd met on that train." "Awkward Kindness! .... You don't need to dress up like Daring Do to believe in yourself, you're fine just the way you are." Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her shoulder. A vein pulsed on the side of Daring Do's head as she ground her teeth. "Right... dress up..." "I'm sure the real Daring Do could have done just as well as you." Dash smiled. "Right... real Daring Do." Daring Do looked like she was ready to punch something. I don't know if she was keeping a secret identity or not, but they hugged. So the cursed turned a friend of hers into Daring Do for real? My head hurts the more I try to think about it. I shouldn't think about it too hard. "Well this is quite the surprise," said Dr. Atmosphere, in a body cast like Daring Do had said. He was on crutches, and moved as awkwardly as a statue. "Don't worry! I'm free of the monster too! Just like all of you!" He said quickly seeing ponies death glaring at him. "You're still here?!" "Of course, just...now I'm much better," he said, seeming a bit happier. I flew over to him and whispered. "Angry I screwed your sicko choice?" He gave a chuckle as I smirked, and whispered back. "Angry? A scientist lives for unexpected results. Besides I still get to be a scientist, just limited by some morals. Good luck on your happy ending. OW!" "Come now doctor, back to the infirmly." Flitter took him. The adults were apologizing over and over to the foals, most of which hug tackled me. The foals gave cheers and tossed me in the air, "Scootaloo! Scootaloo! Can she be stopped? No can do!" Oh yeah, I was liking this! Dash gave Tank a hug. The green filly with the emerald cutie mark and the colt with the yellow triangle cutie mark were hugging and nuzzling, their cutie marks glowing with their wings wrapped around each other, ick. "I knew Rainbow Dash wasn't really a bad guy!" Lemon Daze cheered. Heh, don't steal my act. Tornado Bolt tugged on Daring Do's outfit. "Miss Daring Do? I just wanna say," she hugged her sister Cyan Skies who hugged her back. "You're still our hero!" They both hugged Daring Do. "Heh! It was nothing kiddo! Just another day for Daring Do!" Daring Do hugged them back. "Daring Do, I just want say that it was an honor having my lights knocked out by you," said Fluffy Clouds eagerly. "Uh, thanks." I also told them I saw the others destroy Shub-whatever. What? The others deserve credit too!... After I finished soaking up the praise. "Please don't let Caramel find out about this!" Sassaflash hugged herself. "Hey.. Sassaflash... sorry about hitting you before," said Dash. "H-hey! It wasn't you. It's like when we were all twisted by Discord right? It's not like any of us did anything we'd really do." "Like you, see?" Dash smirked. "Huh? Oh! OH! Thank you!" "Hey Dash," said Dumb-Bell, "I just wanna say... you fighting back against that monster mind control, or whatever it, was super cool." Hoops and Score nodded. "Hey guys, we've already buried the hatchet, no need to be so formal." Dash rubbed the back of her head. "No, no, no, we're serious." "Well I'm serious too, besides, I think Scootaloo and Daring Do were the heroes here before I was. Well, mostly. And Scoots' friends took out the big nasty. Now I can mark off 'fighting my evil duplicate' on my super cool stuff list." "You have a list?" "Hyper-pole!" "It's pronounced ‘hyperbole,' Rainbow Dash," Daring Do said. "Hellvo," said to me the filly with thick glasses with an accent I couldn't make heads or tails of. I think she's younger than me. "Zi'am Zipporvhill, my father is planning to move to Pon-ni-ville, when we move zhere, let's be friends!" "Fine by me," I gave a nice smile. "Ponyville is great!" Said Cotton Cloud. "You'll love it there!" Said Bee Bop. "Seriously, they have the best parties in the world!" Said Mango Dash. "In the universe!" Declared Peachy Petal. "Every universe!" Said Chip Mint. "There's only one universe, that's why it's called 'uni' verse," said Rainy Feathers. Wondered if I should correct her on that. "Hey, and if you haven't got your Cutie Mark by then, look up the Cutie Mark Crusaders, okay?" I asked Zipporwhill. "Can I have your autographs?! Make it out to Chirpy Hooves!" Said the mini-Derpy, to me, Dash, AND Daring Do. We found a piece of paper and all sighed our hoof prints and wrote our names for Chirpy Hooves. Sunshower, Clear Skies, and Open Skies, were assigned with trashing and cleaning up what was left of the creepy Pegasus Device. Dumb-Bell hugged Chip Mint for all he was worth, "You're not weak, you never were." Dumb-Bell said to him. Daring Do put the dust that used to be Black Dash in an urn, filled it with holy water, then chained it up, said she'd put it in a nearby church under the floorboards right under the altar. "Probably dead, but better not take chances." Rainbow Shine were giving free cupcakes and pizza, to us foals. "We got them from the cafeteria, eat up!" Rainbow Shine says. I ate some, like I'm passing up pizza! Medley took out a music player and began to play some tunes. Orange Swirl was looking every foal in the eye and telling them one by one, "You're not worthless, you're not useless, you're you. And THAT alone makes you special." And she gave them a hug and a nuzzle. I hugged her anyway, even if I already knew that, she was doing something nice. Our herd isn't a tree for pruning, we're a family who support each other! "And Scoots! For the record? My mane is NOT DYED!" Dash said proudly. "I knew that one already." I smiled. "Yeah, I mean, just because my mane doesn't wave in the ether like mom's mane doesn't mean it's dyed!" I sighed. "You mean Princess Celestia?" "Shush! Not so loud!" Dash whispered. "... If... she's your mom... why is it a secret?" "...Cause I born without a horn," Dash sighed and murmured. "She said the jerk elite unicorns in Canterlot would never accept me being a pegasus... She said she wanted me with a family where I'd be accepted and loved... Okay I guess I resent her for it! But... Celestia's a jerk anyway... so why would see care f I... ugh! What were we talking about again? Well, I've already been having these stabbing headache for a while.... it's like a spiraled spear is trying to push its way out of my forehead or something." Well...I can't say I'm opposed to the idea of Alicorn Princess Rainbow Dash... but I really hate who I'd have to thank. "But hey, my friends/just friends/we're just friends/don't look at us that way/nothing happened on that six way sleep over with the curtain drawn/FluttershyApplejackTwilightRarityPinkiePie-Soarin'-Spitfire-BigMac-Caramel-Trixie-Braeburn-Shining Armor-Fancy Pants-Thunderlane-Daring Do have all helped me through it." That, on the other hoof, I can't wait for us to purge from existence. Seriously, it reminded me too much of the love poison! Wonder why Button Mash and Sweetie doesn't give me the creeps. I do admit... I was confused about one thing... those two foals from my fake memories. I know how this curse works, if I remember it, that means this curse went back in time and MADE IT REAL. If I saw Aurora and Orion Comet in those fake memories, that means they must have existed right? I mean... hopefully they were just... ya know... didn't exist before the curse? But Aurora hadn't been killed yet in my fake memories, but I had the feeling she was about to, it was how those sick stories went. Maybe when the curse was beaten... Orion Comet just went poof in everypony memories? I didn't see Aurora. "Seems like that... I mean, I remember dying... but now nobody remembers me even being here to die." I gasped and turned around. I looked around, nopony was even looking at him... it was the colt from my fake memories... he was all transparent and stuff, and it was like whatever he said was muted... like Glitterglide. "H-How are you here?" Orion Comet sighed. "You thought of me... so it called to me... just... for a little while... not enough to... keep me here but... I'd be happier if I still died." "How can you be happier for that?!" I exclaimed as low as I could. "Because it means I'd LIVED if I died...Now... I can't even be sad I'm fading back to nowhere, forgotten again." "I'm sorry." Even as I spoke he was fading away. "Scootaloo... I... I promise, if we had the chance... I promise I'd have been a good special-friend." I felt awkward, but I couldn't just brush him off. "I'm... I'm sure you would've been...Aloha, Orion, at least I'll remember you." "Hey kid... you okay in there?" Cloudchaser said, opening a little compartment I hadn't really noticed before. "I... I don't want to be made into rainbows," said a little voice. "Don't worry, I Pinkie Promise you're not going to be... you're not going to die, get hurt, locked up, or anything bad, cross my heart hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. The bad machine got broken for good... Come on, kid." She reached in, and pulled out a yellow filly with a green, blue and teal mane. Her wing was broken. Cloudchaser hugged her and gently patted her on the back. "There there, it's alright. Nopony's gonna hurt you now. All the bad ponies who did it have gone away forever." "P-promise?" "I promise. Now let's get you to the infirmary... my friend Flitter is there too... little sister." "Aurora..." I whispered in awe. "Scootaloo?" Aurora looked over Cloudchaser's shoulder at me. "Thank you... for being brave for me..." "You're... welcome." "I... I almost feel... happy for her... at least she... got to be real... aloha, Scootaloo." Orion faded away. No I didn't cry. I mean... it would be stupid to cry for somepony who you just knew in some fake memories and didn't exist to begin with, and was so desperate to be he was willing just to be a victim in a horror story... right? That... that you remember having a crush on at first sight and seeing die... I'll remember your name Orion Comet, I promise. Maybe someday you will find a new home like Baby Honolulu and her friends did. Five down... one to go. "Hey Dash..." "Yeah, squirt?" "You're super cool. Daring Do is almost as cool." "Thanks, kid." "But uh... I kinda sorta... have a quest I'm on right now... and ... all my friends, and Princess Luna's friends... are all kinda waiting for me... they helped banished the monster that hypnotized of all of you... and... they're kinda worried sick about me-" Rainbow Dash hugged me and covered me with her wings. "Go do what ya gotta do squirt. I"ll be here waiting making sure Cloudsdale stays safe. Just don't do anything stupid, you got me? Or I'll spake your flank red," she said kindly. "Got you, Rainbow Dash!" I smiled and nodded. "You know kid... I kinda am in the business of helping ponies, would you mind if I came along?" Daring Do asked. I nearly exploded at the excitement, she wasn't Rainbow Dash, but she was like, what, maybe 20% less cool at most. Daring Do! And she didn't have any stupid 'can't leave the bubble' rule! From the top of the walkway Raindrops shouted. "ATTENTION EVERYPONY! YOU FOALS HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT! YOUR PARENTS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO PICK YOU UP! JUST STAY PUT AND THEY'LL BE HERE IN NO TIME!" I became breathless. ".... Mom.... Dad..." There was nothing else in the world. "On their way... here... for me." My heart grew wings. In the blink of an eye, Tornado Twister was in front of me, pushing Rainbow Dash and Daring Do aside. He looked.... sad. "I'm sorry orange horsefly... but you don't have the time anymore to wait. Trouble's on their way. Better luck next time." Everything was moving in slow motion. My parents were coming... And he PUSHED ME! I wasn't hurt, but when he pushed me, I was pulled back, away from Daring Do and Dash... away from the other foals... away from... through the walls like they were wisps instead of clouds... I was pushed back like a rubber band being snapped, all the way through the fog wall, and onto the MoonPearl. At the top of my lungs, from the bottom of my soul, I shouted, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" > Scootaloo's Reveal, Farewell MoonPearl > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "It's beautiful, isn't it, Shining?" "I just hope it's up to zoning standards." When Rainbow Falls found out Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was going to have her honeymoon there, a LOT of construction happened fast! Since it hadn't been in the line of Queen Chrysalis' spell rune, that construction had continued happily without being bothered by changelings (disguised or otherwise). While Princess Celestia had always presided over the Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange, she had never stayed overnight. Not that Rainbow Falls wasn't already an overwhelming tourist hotspot. Its beauty was unrivaled throughout Equestria, and according to folklore, it had existed since the Age of Myths. To this day, it remained a great source for rainbows. But Cloudsdale was more mobile than Rainbow Falls, and conservationists had argued about protecting Rainbow Falls' natural beauty. In the past, there had been a nasty rumor that Rainbow Falls was a dumping ground for Cloudsdale's industrial waste. Great pains had been taken to debunk these claims. Even though it had spoiled some of the mystique, the Weather Factory had completely opened its doors, and the Rainbow Falls tourist board had doubled its efforts to ensure Rainbow Falls presented a rustic, homey welcome to its guests; showing them the heart of the unique natural rainbows. But 'rural' and 'rustic' wasn't cutting it anymore now that a Princess was in town and WASN'T just staying to oversee the Traders Exchange! There had been some major upgrades to one of the hotels, and some new additions that caught Cadence off-guard. = Gundam Seed Destiny - 'Emotion' = When Cadence had begun her two-year-long world tour, she had privately withdrawn 'Shining Harmer' from Equestria's Roller Derby circuit...and buried some enchanted equipment used to hide her Alicornhood. But seeing the hastily constructed battle rink along with some teams invited for 'Shining Armor's' entertainment brought those ideas back. "But I like hoofball!" "Just smile and pretend you like it," Cadence had whispered to her husband. While Cadence could have fun with such things, Cadenza could not. Cadence had a feeling Auntie Celestia hadn't believed her when she'd insisted she had given up the sport. After years of being with his squad and her hoofmaidens (who were either on well-deserved leave or paid vacation after the wedding), Shining Armor had to admit it almost strange to be alone with Cadence. Oh, there were some local guards, but none that Shining Armor knew personally. All mares, for some reason. General Hercules had strongly desired to come out of pure loyalty, but Cadence told him to guard the Hive proper and enforce her orders in her absence. Then again, they technically weren't completely by themselves. Most ponies didn't go on their first honeymoon with a baby foal. Thankfully, Sunny Day just happened to release one of her most outrageous and attention-grabbing articles just as rumors had begun to spring up about 'Cadence's zebra filly' not being Shining Armor's. Kifuko's origins weren't hidden, exactly. It was known that Chrysalis was dead and gone, but there had also been many witnesses to Kifuko's birth. That hadn't stopped rumors that Cadence had absorbed Chrysalis and rebirthed the changeling queen. While Cadence worried about a pony with a grudge against Chrysalis preying on Kifuko, Cadence had had enough of paranoia. While it was agreed it was best for Kifuko if she was taught to be a zebra BY a zebra, and to see herself as one, Cadence didn't want to be separated from her so soon. Especially not with a pony they hadn't gotten to know first. Though neither had expected the babysitter that had been awaiting them to take care of Kifuko for them at Rainbow Falls. Nor that the two senior Princesses themselves had apparently approved of this babysitter. She might have been an earth pony. Maybe. Her mane and coat were pale pink, and so thickly fluffy that she put a sheep to shame. Hadn't Cadence seen something like her before once? She was also mute, and had a tongue that an anteater would be impressed by. She had eloquently written out her name and her credentials, explaining she would let no harm befall their adopted foal. Oh, and she also apparently had a pocket dimension inside her overgrown coat. "She won't get hurt or lost in there, will she?" Cadence asked as Kifuko dove in and out of the pink pony's coat, laughing. 'Don't worry, nothing will hurt her in there, and I always know where she is in there.' The nanny wrote on a whiteboard. "All things considered," Shining Armor said, deciding to trust her."She's one of the LEAST strangest creatures I've ever met." "'Least strange' dear, there's no such thing as 'least strangest.' " "My point stands." "I wasn't disagreeing. Grammar is important for a Prince and King." They weren't sure whether Shining Armor was to be called Prince or King with the mix up of Equestrian and Hive customs, that went the same with Cadence. "You're teasing." "Maybe..." The pair enjoyed the beautiful view that Rainbow Falls had to offer, Cadence leaned against her husband and draped one of her wings over him, their tails intertwined. Even the fog that had covered the edges of Rainbow Falls and her bottom valley only added to the gorgeous ambiance. For a minute or more, they were free to pretend this was all there was to the world. Shining Armor could admit to himself that his past experiences with anything out of the ordinary had left him worried about encountering anything stranger. But like their nanny, nothing bad had happened, and no monsters had come charging out of the fog. So Shining Armor was able to enjoy it for what it was. Plus he knew for a fact there were no ancient burial grounds, sealed evils, or centuries old curses on the town, which was part of why he chose it. There were also some merchants peddling crystals they claimed kept away evil spirits. "I don't sense any magic in them." "Everypony knows that's a sign of a majorly potent talisman!" In honor of Cadence's honeymoon, families and lone visitors alike had all been given an extension of their stay. Shining Armor dreamt about Rainbow Falls rising into the air and becoming a floating city while Cloudsdale landed on the ground. Then the giant black mind control slugs showed up, but they all got beaten up by Super Stallion, and a black slender pony with tentacles was defeated in hoof-to-hoof combat by his Brutus Force doll. Good dreams. He'd also had a dream visit from Pandora, whose wedding gift consisted of going on a campaign with his own Paladin in her weird domain. It was so strange to be friends with a draconequus, not that he was complaining. His mother's extra wedding gift for the honeymoon had included a note saying, 'Be sure to give me lots and lots of grandfoals, snap to it!' Shining Armor had blushed red at this, and eaten the note before Cadence could read it. His mother had apparently anticipated this, as the ink turned out to be especially bitter-tasting. Not to say he didn't want foals, nor that he objected to what you needed to do to HAVE foals, at all, but his mother could use some subtlety. He and Cadence were doing their level best to fulfill his mother's wishes. Right now, Cadence and Shining Armor were enjoying some fun in Princess Celestia's sun. Yes, they'd even built a special spot for the express purpose of basking in the sunlight, complete with a small shore. The conservationists had not been happy. But Cadence knew it would be rude to reject all the hard work Rainbow Falls had put into making her honeymoon with her husband be the best it could possibly be. So long as they didn't start swearing on her body parts and kissing the ground she walked on, all would be fine. = 'Wonder Project J - Theme' = The two held hooves, nuzzled, and let their horns touch. Everything sparkled with their love. They were each other's world. Their happiness at looking into each other's eyes put love poison to shame. Everything was so perfect. Out of the corner of her eye, Cadence saw four identically blue-eyed, blonde-maned unicorn mares with white coats standing just outside the invisible perimeter of Cadence's disguised and-not-so-disguised guards. The four mares looked like they were in bliss as they salivated in Cadence and Shining's general direction. "Do you mind?" Queen Cadence asked sternly. The four mares closed their mouths. In a flash of blue fire, they became four changelings who wilted. "Sorry, Your Lovejesty." They kowtowed and inch away to what they hoped was a more respectable distance. "I admit I haven't gotten used to your ruling a lost tribe of love eating insect-ponies...but wasn't that a tiny bit harsh?" Since the new laws Cadence herself had helped pass as the new Queen of All Changelings, changelings were free to feed off of ambient love. "It's not that, this is our honeymoon, I just want us to have this to be for us. Their feeding is harmless, but I don't like us being looked at like fish in a bowl." "You're royalty. Comes with the territory, remember?" "So are you now. Say goodbye to your privacy, dear." "I figured that was gonna happen when I got married either way." "It's not like you're going to be stalked by a ghost dog now." "Not what I meant." Shining Armor smiled. "After everything that happened, I just don't like the idea of us being separated again." Cadence hugged him while folding her wings around him. "Don't worry dear, a couple years and you'll be begging for 'stallion time' to play O&O with your friends." He nuzzled her. "Hey, I'm the snarky one, remember?" "I learned from the best," she whispered sultry. The royal pair drew closer, basking in the warmth of each other's bodies, before feeling the pitter patter of rain on their heads, that quickly accelerated into a full out downpour. "Ack! What?!" Shining Armor asked as he used his shield magic to create an umbrella for himself and his wife. "SORRY! Emergency orders from headquarters! Rainbow Falls missed its last few deliveries!" Shouted down the weather pegasus who had unleashed the storm above them. "Maybe we should go inside," Cadence suggested. "Why? I can keep us dry." "Yes, but if you got distracted by me, 'somehow' I'd rather not get drenched." She stroked him again with one of her wings. "I wouldn't mind so much if it was with you. I hear pegasi do it." "...Shining Armor Sparkle, if you're suggesting THAT in the rain in the view of ponies-" "JOKING! JOKING!" Shining Armor waved his forehooves. "Good." She nuzzled him. "Let's get inside and get some hot cocoa." "Yes, dear." + "There ain't nothin' so sad as a housebroken stallion," Nightmare Mirror said looking into the bubble with one of her mirrors. "But why would-" Nightmare Whisper started. "Figure of speech, darlin'." "Oh, right. But did you have to disrupt things like that? Everything was so perfect." "And that's where Ah step in, sugarcube. Ya always make things TOO nice. They ain't stupid. Ain't their first time dealin' with somepony else's manufactured reality. Ah'm just makin' things a bit more ...natural." "But aren't they on their fairytale ever-after?" "Difference between that and one of Rarity's dime store romance novels." "...Uh, how'd you know that?" Nightmare Whisper blushed. "...We were with Nightmare Eclipse, Ah got bored too...and Spike had a lot of 'em ready for whenever we'd turn Rarity to the dark side. Whoever wrote those things hadn't had a coltfriend in their life." "...Have you?" "We're gettin' off-topic," Nightmare Mirror said, through a blush. “How ya holdin' up, sugarcube?" "My fog is still holding back Nyarlathotrot's...it keep pushing in...but the hardest part is masking Cadence and Shining Armor's presence from Discord..." - Floating magic lenses, all sporting Discord's eye, floated above and around the fog. One floated close to the bubble containing Rainbow Falls. It discerned a blond and pink rabbit construct with blue eyes. The rabbit held up a sign that read 'The Princess You're Looking For Is In Another Bubble.' After one look at this sign, the lens 'nodded' and floated off elsewhere. - "It would be easier if we'd just taken Cadence and Shining Armor instead of putting everypony at Rainbow Falls in a bubble." "Then I'd have to work all the puppets and...Rainbow didn't like that idea. And...this way we can protect more ponies." "Right, right, and Cadence and Twilight's boy, and that baby Zebra both got 'reality-proof' memories. Yer illusions are great, but if Rainbow can notice somethin's wrong, then Cadence and Shining would too." "Applejack! Rainbow Dash is VERY perceptive! You've never seen how she can memorize things while flying. The....the hardest part was...when you were all in her Ponyville, was keeping her distracted." "Ah'm sorry, Ah apologize. Truth be told, Ah don't like doin' this to Cadence or Shinin' Armor, but hey...it's the REAL Rainbow Falls they're at, and it's all real ponies they're bein' with, so ...it ain't exactly lyin' to em..." Nightmare Whisper's fog was able to nudge things along so nopony wandered out of Rainbow Falls to be attacked by monsters...but they couldn't keep this up forever. At least Cadence and Shining Armor's honeymoon gave a justification in ponies' minds to stay. "Oh...oh my..." Nightmare Whisper...whispered. "It looks like they're going to, um..." "Right, Sugarcube, I'll take over watch." "I know this is for their own good, but...isn't this invading their privacy?" "That's why Ah'm watchin' 'em through this part. Ah ain't got a libido. Haven't had one since Ah became a Nightmare...Ah might as well be watchin' 'em play checkers." "I...didn't know...I'm sorry Applejack." "No big loss fer me." "...This honeymoon is their mercy. This way...he'll never have to lose Cadence...or know he lost everything else." "RD is keepin' him here for one reason." "...And I'm keeping him here for one reason too: so he doesn't suffer. Even if Rainbow can bring herself to do...that...at least until then he's spending his time happily with Cadence instead of suffering in a living Tartarus. Plus Nyarlathotrot would have tried to take his grudge out on Shining if we didn't, he can be petty like that...if They've earned this." "Life ain't 'bout what ya've 'earned'. It wasn't an easy truth fer me to accept. We don't earn our family's love, we don't earn what we're born with, we don't 'earn' the right to be born. Is it fair one pony has to be one way because all the others think that way? Life's a lotta things, but fair's never been one of 'em. What Ah'm worried 'bout is RD." "About...what Rainbow intends to do?" "What worries me MORE is why she intends to...or ta me more proper, that she can't settle on a 'why.'" Nightmare Mirror saw the confused look on Nightmare Whisper's face. "Ah'll explain. Sometimes...the Truth shows me she wants ta to it to beg her Twili' for forgiveness...other times...Ah think a part 'er's got a crush on Shinin' Armor...or she wants to bring back EVERY TWILIGHT EVER who Eclipse ate up...It's like she's rollin' dice, comin' up with one reason and tossin' out the old one. Worst part is that she knows we ain't crazy no more. None of us are. She fought to the bitter end to protect her Twilight and all her friends from Nightmare Eclipse, even AFTER the planet was blown up, took me, Pinkie Pie, AND Eclipse all at the same time, and WON...but she couldn't beat Nightmare Eclipse's time magic...or the weak point of any warrior...She wants to believe there's a way to 'fix things'." "Hey, girls! Awsomeriffic news! Scoots freed Twilight's World's Rainbow Dash! Then this world's Dash kicked her own rumor's flank! It was awesome!" The Fallen Alicorn of Loyalty zoomed in, coming out of a nearby mirror placed on the ground. Doing loop-de-loops around the reverse-lettered street signs. "Yeah, it was kinda hard ta miss with the Sonic Rainboom and everythin'," Nightmare Mirror said. "Ah had to repair the damaged mirrors." "And Scoots was cut off from EVERYPONY because of Shub-Neighurath's web! And Scoots STILL did it! I have it all in my memory! Wanna watch?!" "It sounds awesome." Mirror nodded. "Ah can't say Ah don't wanna see it." "Oh, and grimdark-monster-black-octopus' sister monster-mommy got taken out." "That wasn't very hard to miss either, sugarcube. Sonic Rainboom, remember?" "Oh," said Nightmare Manacle, disappointed. "Scootaloo saving this world's Rainbow Dash does ...does sound very exciting...I hope nopony was hurt." "Nopony except the unholy abominations from beyond!" "Rainbow, that's insens..." "Seriously, they were MADE OF EVIL," Manacle cut in. "So sure, RD, sounds like a blast. Fluttershy can go first, Ah'll keep watch on Cadence and Shinin' in the mean time." "The best part is...Twilight's parts are keeping place along Derpy's family and Doc. So we've had zero causalities, so far!" Nightmare Whisper clapped, with happy tears leaking from her eyes. "THAT'S WONDERFUL! SO, SO WONDERFUL! And we're so close! Then this horrible nightmare can be finally over! I hope Flutternice is okay! I need to bring her back something so she doesn't think I forgot all about her!" "Yeah...it is...all that's left is one more 'lock' on the World Tower. Once that's gone, it'll be smooth sailing for Apple Bloom and the rest to fix Twilight's world and get rid of the garbage these flank holes has dumped into it. Because...Then we won't need Twilight separated. One she's back together she can kicks all these monsters' flanks to Tartarus." Mirror and Whisper looked at each other. + Mom...dad...so close...not fair...my...my name is Scootaloo...that's...that's all I knew for a while...what I saw, what I heard, just a jumbled mess. I laid on the deck of the Moonpearl, my friends' faces swirl around me. "Scootaloo, are ya okay?" "Let me see." "Give 'er room." "I've got this." "How many hooves am I holding up?" "Mom...dad...I have to get back...they're waiting for me," spilled out of my mouth. I saw Button Mash's screen...reading his list of healing flowers from where I was. A third of them were gone...he dragged some pictures of flowers from his list over to a picture of me. Then the world stopped spinning, and I felt stronger. I got up, seeing relief on my friends' faces. I smiled back. Then I saw the ball of fogs where my parents were waiting was moving away, wait, no! The ship was moving away! I moved like lightning! OW! WHAT?! "HEY! LET GO!!" Apple Bloom had bit onto my tail! And Sweetie was helping anchor her in place with magic! "MOM! DAD!" Button Mash was in my way! I'll knock this couch-potato flat! "Are they in danger?!" Apple Bloom asked in shock, letting go, leaving the others to try and hold on. I repelled Sweetie's unicorn magic with the technique Dash taught me. Nothing was going to stop me. "They're there! I was going to see them again!" "You really think it'll be them?" Dinky asked, worried. I snapped, "I have to try." Button Mash said, "I know you live with Rainbow Dash Scoots but it's not like your parents are gonna-" "Out of my way!" And I made him. Sweetie gasped. But Apple Bloom and her piercing eyes had moved in front of me. Beginning to dig INTO ME! She asked coolly, "What are ya hiding from yer friends, Scootaloo?" "You...you promised you wouldn't do this again." No, I couldn't let her do this! "Ya told me to, Ah never promised," she said, not smiling. "It isn't like yah to fight yer friends, what's going on?!" I saw Cloudsdale's bubble, my parents, getting farther and farther away. "I don't have time! I can't tell you!" "Yer right ya don't. WHY do you think you need to keep this from us? What's so bad you don't TRUST US?" I felt that stupid magic eye of hers reaching inside me, dragging, ripping the truth out of me. "It's personal! You wouldn't understand!" That stupid eye held me in place like fifty Apple Blooms were dogpiling me. Apple Boom looked surprised, hurt, then angry. "THAT. IS. A. LIE!!!" My body quaked. "That's enough!" A little unicorn shouted and ran between us, it was...Dinky? Us, the heroes, turned towards her, startled. Pipsqueak's pretend pirates had never meddled with what we Crusaders did with each other before...why now? Then...then Ruby came over...followed by Noi. All of them and my friends looking at me. I saw something on their faces I hadn't expected, recognition, more than that, their expressions were all familiar. They all looked at each other, and then back at me. "My dad's in the guard. I'm so happy whenever he can visit Ponyville and just be with us," Noi said. "You face looks like mine when I find out he's fighting monsters. When I just wanna know he's okay." "Mom won't tell me who daddy was," Ruby whispered. "When I was small, I was told daddy was a bottle...mommy had to take me from the cider store when I wouldn't stop asking them which one was daddy...I screamed and cried the same." "I...I tried to find where I came from with ...Doctor Whooves magic box and...I got spanked," Dinky admitted. "Dad was always away managing the store in Canterlot," Button Mash sighed. His hoof touched the top of his head where his hat used to be. "...I began to wonder, if mom and dad would ever come back after for me I was left at Rarity's," Sweetie whispered looking me in the eyes with a power no magic eye could ever have. Blanky whimpered and rubbed against my leg. "And Ah never got to know Ma and Pa, the bows and hats are keepsakes from 'em," Apple Bloom said. "We've all seen that face in the mirror. So what makes ya think...we wouldn't understand?" "I'm...I'm afraid of what you'll think of me," I shuddered. "Really?" Sweetie asked, "It's THAT bad?" "It's not bad it's-" My ears and wings wilted. Why was I so determined to keep this secret from my friends? Maybe...maybe I'd become so caught up in keeping this secret so long...I...I couldn't think of being open? Or something else? Did I really think my friends would tell their families if I asked them not to? Then again, there was an awful lot of non-Crusaders listening in... "...Girls. Whisper mode." We huddled in. Including Mash. "Either Button Mash is a part of this team or he ain't, he gets to hear too," Apple Bloom said sternly, as I gave him a hard look. Okay then. I take a deep breath. And I say it. "Girls...I think, what it is, is that I was scared of, disrupting our, ya know, our status quo. Ya know, how things are? So much changes, and we've had our whole world pulled out form under us. And...we had a sweet dig going on, even after the wedding. We're friends, the Crusaders, we go on some adventures, mess around, have fun. I, I didn't want it to end because of something found out." "Like when mom and dad finally came home...I...don't want to leave Rarity's, even if I want mom and dad to know I still love them." Sweetie said, not harshly, just, understanding. "Like how ya girls got yer cutie marks. What happens when Ah get mine? Is that it? We're done? We've been crusading so long Ah'm not sure what we're supposed to do next together." I started. "I...'Bloom...I was kinda worried about that too." "Sweetie Belle!" Button Mash exclaimed. Frowning, he pulled her face in his direction. "You can't remember when I last told you so I'm gonna tell ya right now again! No matter how far you're apart from them, no matter how far apart they're from you, they're still your parents, you're still their foal! They still love you! No matter what!" Button Mash looked her right in the eyes, determined. "And even if you forget a million times I'm gonna keep telling you! So...so...so...don't be sad! Got it?! Okay, maybe a little sad! But be happy you're back together! I was worried I was never going to be back together for more than a night with me, my mom, and dad! I-!!! Be! Be! I dunno! Just be happy you're together! I said that already? Sorry! But come on! They're your family, they'll love ya no matter where you are." Sweetie looked at Button Mash like see was seeing him for the first time. "Button, that's...I just want them to know I love them too." "Then tell 'em!" Button waved his forelegs. Sweetie laughed, got tears in her eyes, smiled, and hugged Button Mash. "T-thanks! So you said all that after the wedding?" "Well, kinda." Little plus signs and hearts rose above their heads. Blech! Why did Apple Bloom blink looking at them with her truth eye? "Girls!" I snapped. "Long-withheld traumatic confession here!" The pair blinked and broke apart. Both blushing, they looked away from each other, Sweetie rubbing her foreleg while Mash did the same with the back of his head. "Sorry, Scootaloo," Sweetie apologized. "Uh, yeah, sorry," Button said. Apple Bloom looked at me, REALLY looked at me, not with that creepy confession eye-gaze of hers. "Sorry Scootaloo...go ahead. We're all friends here. Whatever it is. We're here for ya." "Yeah...I know...I think...that's the problem...I think...I knew you'd be...upset I've kept this from you for so long...knowing you could help...and...my parents TOLD ME to accept help from others as long they weren't trying to take me someplace...I'm sorry for being stupid. Because that was the last time they told me before they left." And that was it. I told them about everything. Cloudsdale. My parents. Naively thinking they'd be in Ponyville. Assuring them that NO, I DIDN'T ever eat out of any dumpsters and no I DIDN'T steal any food thank you very much! How I forged my parents' signatures again and again to keep up the charade. And of course, "YOU SLEPT AT THE CLUBHOUSE?!" My friends all shouted. "SHUSH!" "Don't worry, we're in 'whisper mode' that means nopony can hear us," Button Mash said. Right, game logic. Helpful. So I spill out the rest: Dash finding out, living with her, growing close to her, becoming a family with her. And any time I thought of my parents and Dash, I wanted to eat my cake and have it too. My friends all hugged me. We all nuzzled. "I wonder if your parents left you behind because somepony was trying to make you never heard from again, and you're the Chosen One!" "Uh...I'm pretty sure it's not that." "Maybe they're on the run from the mob?" "Why'd they have a mob of ponies after them?" "I dunno, it's just something I overhear from one of mom's novels she got in the Griffin Kingdom." "Which one?" Sweetie asked. "...the story's called In The Griffin Kingdom." "Scootaloo, we need to tell my big sister and the others." "Apple Bloom!" "Scootaloo that was me," Sweetie said. "You could find your parents FASTER if you tell an adult besides Rainbow Dash! I mean, after three years?! Scootaloo, you need help finding them." "I DID FIND THEM! REMEMBER?!" I said suddenly remembering what had started all this. How did I get so distracted?! "What if they were just fakes made by the rumors?" "You don't know that! I can't just leave them!" "Actually...we gotta..." Apple Bloom said sounding, sad. "Ah'd do the same in yer horseshoes Ah swear but, well, remember the white pegasus that Pinkie Pie said was her cousin? Right after we beat the mother-mother she dropped by and said we had 'double-trouble' coming our 'way with a capital P'!" I knew what that mean. "Tootsie, and Alula." My friends nodded. "And she said if she fought them near Cloudsdale...a lot of innocent ponies might get hurt." Sweetie said. "And...after what happened when me and Button fought just her and Truffle, I believe her." "She also said you saved Rainbow Dash!" Sweetie said. I couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah! I did! It was amazing! I told Dash that she PROMISED she'd protect me if the Pegasus Device was real, and Dash turned into Mare-Do-Well, and she beat up the evil her! And the real Daring Do was there to help!" "Daring Do?!" My friends echoed. Apple Bloom looked at me in shock. "Ya ain't lyin'." "Of course I'm not! ..." Curiosity hit me. "How'd YOU do against Shub-neigh-whatever?" "Oh we had to go back in time, and start an ancient rumor about a cosmic convergence that would weaken her at the same time and space we fought," Sweetie said happily, then frowned. “Phobia was right, all these awful things ARE like they've always been! Celestia was a bad pony 200 years ago and Spike's family were her slaves!" I shuddered. It wasn't just the world, it was everything the world WAS, everything we knew and remembered really was on the line. "We better not mess up then, right?" "Right!" We all said together. (Sweetie Belle's Journal: That'd been scary...but I'm surprised we didn't end up in Saddle Arabia and found the legendary 'Friendship Crusaders' delivering friendship. Button expected that. Did we get name from them? I dunno.) "And, turns out Pipsqueak was plannin' to fire the figure-head right at the last cloud wall, but Mjölnir knocked it down first, so we had it to use on the mom-monster," Apple Bloom added. - "And good riddance!" Moonlight shouted. The shadow of a giant moth silently flapped in front of the ship. "Matters not. Did you think destroying this Avatar would undo the changes to your existence? My children are their own. They merely CARRIED my sibling's curse. I've left enough of my spark to remake this world three times over. I am no longer needed here. The moth broke apart into a swarm of smaller shadow moths, that all flew away into the darkness. The fog returned in place of the storm and night sky. "That's a good thing...actually, I mean! If the curse stopped working...we wouldn't be able to FIX any of this, remember? And everything would be STUCK like this!" I said quickly. "We agreed we needed the printing press to fix all this!" "Oh, that is a good point," Apple Bloom said. "...One more thing, girls?" Sweetie asked as the conversation seemed to be winding down. "Yeah?" She used her magic to pull us into a hug. "We've been so busy talking about what happened we forgot to celebrate Scootaloo's back!" It took me a few moments to process it...then I hugged them. "Yeah...I missed you girls too..." + 'Cousin Shub-Neighurath has taken her leave...' Discord said. 'Looks like your old playmates have a lot more help than we thought.' "I felt it. Anypony important?" 'No pony that could possibly distract or deter your two new friends in any shape or form. No need to worry about it dear.' "Then it doesn't matter." 'You seem rather un-upset at us losing her dear...more so than usual.' "She already gave the spark of life to Uncle Nyarlathotrot's curse father. We don't need her anymore. Their purpose was just to help guide the rumors Tootsie, Alula and I wrote as Gabby Gums." 'I remember, dear. Yes, daddy's impressed you remember all that. Still...it was nice to have her around. Added some...life to the place? Heh. Plus she still owes me bits for rent.' "...Don't worry, father...We let Uncle Nyarlathotrot have far too much say before...it's time for one last grand rewrite to the world. It'll be a world all three of us can be happy." 'Be sure to take as long as you need dear, take it nice and slow, be sure to double and triple check, with cousin Shub-Neighurath gone, we may not get a third shot.' "I understand, father." + "Diamond Tiara...she's planning to make an ultra-tall-tale, something that'll remake everything into one big solid mess," Sweetie announced. All our hearts stopped at that news. "But...she's going slow about it!" "Maybe there's some part of her that still knows this is all wrong. Good thing AJ's all that's left then," Apple Bloom said, determinedly. "Maybe she'll be JUST about to finish once we face her and she'll have to stop to fight us because that's the most exciting?" Button Mash offered. "Maybe this ship can outrun Alula and Tootsie? It's fueled on imagination." "So are they, Sweetie Belle," Button Mash said. "Button Mash, will this be their real fight?" Sweetie asked. "Maybe, I dunno, sorry. Now that Scootaloo's here, and you found out something urgent about our quest, we have till we're done talking." "Scootaloo, I'm sorry about your parents, but once the curse is gone, you can tell everypony and we can all help find your parents." "Sweetie Belle stop," Apple Bloom gasped, and covered her eye, the one with the truth in her. "S-Scootaloo i-is t-trusts us to...to keep this. We can't stab her in the back." "But aren't we HELPING her by telling everypony?" "Do you want me to end up in a foster-home?!" I snapped. "B-But Rainbow Dash won't let you stay there long right?" Apple Bloom was shaking, she...she looked like she had a headache. Like she was struggling to keep her own eye closed. "....P-Ponyville doesn't have an orphanage! Foal services will take her away! We'll LOSE HER! And she'll lose all of us and her family twice. That ain't right!" Apple Bloom fell to her knees, panting. She uncovered her eye and looked at me. "It...it wouldn't be right." My lip quivered, we broke the huddle totally as I hugged Apple Bloom. I embraced my wings around her. "Scootaloo..." Sweetie said, "I'm...I'm sorry." "You...You didn't want something bad to happen to me either...I forgive you." I saw Cloudsdale...so further away...away from the fight that was about to start. "DANG IT! I FORGOT! DARING DO! She said she wanted to join us! But some crazy colt pushed me out of the bubble first!" I cursed. Button Mash opened his magic window. "Hey, what do you know?" There was a picture of Daring Do in a slot marked 'Honorary Party Member.' But Sweetie's eyes became pinpricks as she said, "They're here." = Mega Man Zero 3 OST - T36: Apocalypse Now = Lightning struck both ends of the ship. We all got ready for another surprise attack, but nothing came. We all stood back to back. On the front of the ship was Tootsie. I didn't see Truffle. And on the rear of the ship...it was her. She might have had a glowing white horn (like Tootsie' wings) and wearing a Sailor Luna costume with inverted color pattern...but it was her. Moonlight gave them both a nasty glare. I think her eyes were more on their wings and horns. "Hey Alula," I said, "Long time no see. Sorry, the dress isn't you. Nice horn. You just missed me saving Rainbow Dash from this evil curse." "Hi, Scootaloo...nice to see you too...I like your braid." "Thanks, it helped me save Cheerilee too." "...I ran that ad for the Rainbow Dash fan club like you asked." "Scootaloo!" All my friends shouted. "Hey! I didn't know it was a CURSED newspaper then!" "Scootaloo," Tootsie's pleaded as she stood on the railing. "I know you've been told nothing but lies, but the paper isn't bad, Mr. Umbra Breeze is the spirit of what ponies REALLY want." "Alula! I believed and I believe that you couldn't be a part of this! Since when have you EVER wanted to be a princess?" "...I got help realizing it's what I want." "Helped or TOLD?! Come on, Alula! Umbra Breeze's curse turned Dash and her weathermates into monsters who wanted to put foals into the pegasus device!" I saw Alula pale. "You CAN'T BELIEVE that's what they wanted!" "...But...but you saved them, didn't you? ...Isn't that what you want? Can't...you see? You wanted to be a hero for Dash, and you were, the spell did give you what you really wanted!" "It did everything to try and make me die!" "But you didn't!" "Umbra Breeze's sister was HELPING the Pegasus Device and was being paid in Spectra!" "She was clearly pay acting for your sake." Something in that smile seemed fake. "You'd never be happy unless you won against all the odds! You want to be a hero!" I cringed. "I'd!" Was...was it happening all this way, Maud Pie, Phobia, was it all because ...because we couldn't stand going back to being just foals after helping save the day at the wedding? "NO! I'd NEVER want my family in danger just so I could play-act being a hero! That's what BAD GUYS DO!" "But nopony was in danger! Nopony's been hurt right?" "ORION DIED!" My friends all looked at me. Alula's eyes went wide as dinner plates. "...W-who?" "YOUR STUPID CURSE BROUGHT HIM INTO THE WORLD JUST SO I COULD LIKE HIM AND THEN WATCH HIM DIE! HOW'S THAT FAIR!?" "Then he wasn't-he wasn't alive- like a movie prop-" I felt like a wad of spit hit my eye. "Don't you ever say that again!" "Scootaloo I don't wanana fight you, but I can't let you end the world!" + The rest of us were on the other side talking to Tootsie. Alula...seeing our classmate like that. I was hoping Scootaloo had been right and she really had nothing to do with this...we weren't friends, but somepony we'd gone to school everyday and who seemed so nice...focus, Sweetie! Next to me, Blanky growled protectively, Tootsie cringed at him. She could SEE HIM? "Tootsie! It's great to see you!" Ruby welcomed. "Are you ready to join the crew again?!" Noi asked. "I see you've gone up in the world, Tootsie," Moonlight said. "I wish you'd said you were finally bringing Alula here Tootsie, I'd have mom bake cookies!" Pipsqueak said. "Hello, Olo, nice to see you in the feathers..." Tootsie said politely. "Hoot-Hoot," Olo Hooted said curtly. "Mr. Olo! She's still part of the crew to me! Be courteous!" Olo rolled his eyes. "Hoot-Hoot." "Tootsie! I know this isn't the real you! You wouldn't help all of Equestria be turned into a nightmare! You're better than that! You've always been better than that!" Dinky shouted. "Dinky...I know some of the things ponies want seem scary to us, but it's what they want. They're all doing what they want in their own bubbles and can be whatever they want to be without bothering anypony else. I know Sweetie and the others have been told lots of lies, and they're your friends, so you trust them, but open your eyes, everything is fine. Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean we can't be friends!" Dinky's mouth opened and closed. She looked ready to cry. "Tootsie, where's Truffle?" Button Mash asked. "Oh you. He's not here." Tootsie glared daggers at him. Button gasped. "You mean he's never-heard-from-" "What? No no no! He...he doesn't want to fight anymore and...I wouldn't be a good special friend if I made him do stuff he...he didn't want to. Apple Bloom! Sweetie! Umbra Breeze says you made his sister and her foals never heard from again...please say he's mistaken," She begged. Apple Bloom swallowed, "Tootsie, she was a monster! An evil spirit! She did CARE about anythin' 'cept herself and her youngin's! They were gonna kill us! They made a pretty dang good shot at it!" "There's no excuse for killing! That's not the pony way! You should have found a better way but you didn't! That makes you just as bad as you thought she was!" "Ya were tryin' to kill us before!" "...I don't like it. I don't have a choice. It's to ...to...to save Equestria!" "Yah should try to find a better way, but yah ain't," Applebloom spat back. "I TRIED! But you won't just accept the world is better this way and want to make everyone miserable again!" "MISS DOOLOTS!" Pipsqueak snapped. "The curses that Apple Bloom and her friends have been fighting against have been quite unpony-like in my opinion!" "How'd you know?" Button asked. "I told them," Dinky said. "How'd YOU know?" "They were all happy Captain Sir! I swear!" Pip looked sad. "TOOTSIE! AH ca't believe ya!" Apple Bloom shouted. "YA READ WHAT YA WROTE AS GABBY GUMS!" The crew all gasped. "You're the new Gabby Gums?" Ruby Pinch exclaimed. Tootsie blushed. "Well, not JUST me, Alula's helped too." "SILVER SPOON WANTS TO MAKE UP WITH DIAMOND TIARA! SHE WANTS HER TO BE GOOD TOO! SHE CAN STOP BEING LONELY INSIDE!" I blurted out. "She's not alone! She has me and Alula...oops." "Tootsie you've known! Mr. Rich is worried sick about her!" Dinky called. "How could you not tell!" "It was because we were all working on a big surprise to make everypony happy! Diamond Tiara was scared everypony would think she was doing it just to be popular! Alula was right! Diamond is just lonely on the inside!" "Yes she is! But this WON'T make her LESS lonely!" "So we're not good friends for her and Silver Spoon is the ONLY PONY who can EVER be friends with her?!" "NO!! I'm saying that Silver Spoon knows how to help her!" I said. "She knows her better than anypony!" "Speak for yerself," Apple Bloom said. "Tootsie! All those horrible stories as Gabby Gums, you can't believe that's what ponies want to be true!" "Mr. Umbra Breeze explained! It's what ponies want to be true, but are afraid to admitting they want! That's why we had to beat all bullying moralists everywhere! Like when it was 'immoral' for tribes to be friends! It's a free world! Alula says she's sorry she's kept me from playing with you! Now let's be friends! We're free like Miss Fluttershy's animals!" "Ponies are better than varmints cause we can say NO to those feelings!" Apple Bloom shouted. "And why SHOULD WE say no to them!?" "Because," I said, trotting forward. "They're the same ones that say 'hurt somepony for a few bits' and Chryssy used to justify hurting ponies. If she'd not listened, the entire invasion would have never happened and maybe she wouldn't have had to...you know!" "But that made good things happen." I sighed. "No, it didn't." "Why not?" "Because you erased them to make YOURSELVES the heroes, remember? That Wedding never happened. If we weren't protected, me and Scootaloo would lose our Cutie Marks! Because how we earn them never happened! Instead you made it all about YOU two." The pirates except Dinky, looked confused, but were still on our side. We were friends. "...I made it about Bonnie too...and the Guard got to beat the bad guys without innocent ponies getting hurt; or Applejack, Spike, Moon Dancer, Mr. Shining Armor, Miss Twilight Sparkle, or you getting mind-controlled...isn't that better?" "But I never would've got Rarity to stop babying me," I explained. "Cadence wouldn't be Changeling Queen, which means..." I gave a gasp, realizing it. "...If Cadence didn't become Queen, then HOW did they turn good?!" Tootsie gasped. Pip and everypony looked like they had a headache. "...You never even thought about that. The Changeling YOU knew was already good!...Speaking of which, shouldn't Moth have never accepted herself as a Changeling? She only did that BECAUSE the invasion was so hard!" + "Scootaloo, I'm sorry Tootsie didn't try to let you give up, that was wrong. But so was Sweetie cheating! We were never THAT close, but you're still my friend." "Alula...You CAN'T apologize for somepony else. And that wasn't what the problem for Tootsie or Sweetie!" "WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! Two wrongs don't make a right!" "Dash taught me, and she's a martial artists, Sweetie was fighting for her LIFE, it was never fair!" "But if you fight like bad guys how can you know you're the hero?!" "What about Ghost Flyer who's powers come from a DEAL WITH FREAKING TIREK?" I asked. "It isn't about WHAT you fight with, it's what you're fighting FOR...You know what Dash said a REAL good pony does?...Think before they act: when did you or Tootsie not just listen to Umbra Breeze, but actually thought for yourself?" + "My guardians are changelings too! Auntie Moth knows Equestria's her home! This way she didn't have awful things said to her or get beat up by Scootaloo!" Tootsie snarled at Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom cringed. "...But she also never realized she was being a coward." Everypony gasped and looked at me...I felt a little guilty. "TAKE THAT BACK!" "She said so, Tootsie," I called back. "...and if she never realized she was a coward for not helping anypony...she wouldn't have BECOME a brave hero! She revealed herself and showed how everypony could turn things around DESPITE being scared!...The others were hard on her, but she GREW! Bad things are never good, but we DO grow from them." "You hurt Auntie and you call it good?! Where's Pony understanding and love we're all supposed to have?! You're like Twist! You say you're being good but forget about it when you don't want it! That's what happens when you lie to yourself and have morals, they make ponies miserable! That's WHY I rescued Truffle from Twist! I won't abandon him to avoid bullies like her!" "Everypony makes mistakes! And she wasn't mean or cruel when we got back together!" Apple Bloom said. "I didn't say she was mean or cruel, she's a fair weather friend! Why give her a chance to hurt ANOTHER friend?" "...Ya got Truffle hurt by dragging him into a fight ya KNEW he didn't wanna be in, ya KNEW was dangerous. Does that mean ya shouldn't be trusted to hurt another 'special somepony?' And before ya ask, Button VOLUNTEERED. We tried leavin' him behind and he just snuck along." "She's right!" Button chimed in without me having to say a word. "He hurt Truffle!" "And ya were both tryin' to hurt HIM AND SWEETIE," Applebloom spat back. "Wake up! Ya drug yer 'friend' inta somethin' ya knew was gonna be dangerous, what did you EXPECT but danger?!" "I THOUGHT LOVE WOULD PROTECT US!" "...Love is super strong Tootsie, but it doesn't make you invincible," I replied, looking down. "Shining and Cadence's love beat Chrysalis...but she still HURT them...Truffle got a bloody lip, but you KNOW it could've been worse." "And I'm SORRY for that! Twist ABANDONED Apple Bloom!" "Did ya see what meh and Twist were doin' before the world changed?" "...I wasn't stalking you." "Ah forgave her, and she forgave me." "What did YOU do to her?!" "Ah abandoned her too! Ah didn't even TRY to stay friends with her. Twist thought Silver Spoon hadn't changed when Ah became friends with her again, but Twist stuck with me through that and got to KNOW her. She trusted ME enough to give her a chance! A fair weather friend would never do that." "...I just didn't want her to hurt Truffle." + "...You don't UNDERSTAND Scootaloo, I'm doing this for my friends!" "You said I was a friend!" "And I don't want my friends fighting! Just listen!" "If the world can apparently bring the Pegasus Device into existence because I 'wanted to be the hero,' why isn't it bending over backwards so we don't have to fight?" I asked. "...Maybe you don't really want it, or it doesn't really matter to this twisted world you made what EITHER of us want." "...Or maybe, YOU want to fight ME? Tootsie TRIED to write that you just gave up and became our friends, but it didn't work! Something is wrong with you...and I just want to help you." "I'd never WANT to fight a friend! Alula, this curse doesn't give ponies what they want! It makes true what ponies think is true!" "Ponies believe what they want to believe. That's what Diamond taught me." "There were times I believed I'd never ever fly! Should that have been true?" "...Ponies shouldn't believe bad things." "Did you go around telling ponies nice things after you 'fixed' the world so ponies wouldn't believe rotten things?" "..." "Is that a crack in your armor I see?" + "...I don't want to fight any of you...And I don't have to! And that way nopony has to get hurt! So that makes it the better way!" I thought we'd gotten through to her. But she was still scared. She raised up her bow up into the air...The blue energy arrow turned pink. She gave a cry of pain as the energy crackled across her like lightning from the bow, her horn sparking a few times. She shot into the air, and the pink arrow exploded into a dozen others. We dodged, but unlike her other arrows, these changed course! They struck everypony! Including me and Blanky! But...nothing hurt...if anything...it felt...nice... LoveistheonethingthatcandefyentropyLoveistheonethingthat candefyentropyLoveistheonethingthatcandefyentropy Echoed in my head. Moonlight stood at attention with a rigid grin on her face. The pirates all smiled at her. "Magical fillies always get new powers after they lose a fight!" Tootsie declared, having to support herself with the bow and panting. She was right of course. "Now I know a floating island that has an endless supply of adventures, places to explore, secrets, and treasures to discover! Lots of evil but not-alive monsters to fight but only bother you if you want. And interesting fun ponies to be friend with! Doesn't that sounds awesome? A great place to stay? I know the way there! How about we go there right now?" Smiles and nods came all around. "That sounds like a lovely idea!" "I love it!" "It sounds like it'll be a beloved adventure!" Then came the most furious scream I'd ever heard. An enraged fireball rammed into Tootsie from behind, it would have taken her through the mast if the Moonpearl still had one (the pirates had still been repairing), instead it pushed her into the back of the ship so hard that it smashed open a way into the cabin. "No." That 'No' was as final and firm as any Rarity ever gave me. And like it was just clicked off, the big smiles and nods stopped. And the words in my just stopped. "TOOTSIE!" Alula rushed towards her friend, but an arch of flames like a snake forced her back. Without even thinking about it I tried to do the same, but the same flame snakes nearly burned my fur off. It wasn't like Princess Celestia's magic. Button checked on me while Scootaloo checked on Alula. He opened his magic menu, opened the log and...it was garbled. "This isn't part of anypony's plan." Blanky just sat there with his nose to the deck. Moonlight whispered, "No, you stupid filly, what have you done?!" Dinky, Ruby and Noi were all hugging each other in terror. Pipsqueak fell to his knees. Olo shielded himself from the heat. "What...what is she?" Apple Bloom whispered, she looked scared. Inside the flames, I finally got a good look at what hit Tootsie. It was Aphrodite ...but she was bigger...and was pinning her to the deck with her body. Her wings and hooves were on fire, she now had a burning horn and glowing eyes, and her cutie mark shone blindingly. The deck darkened and crackled around her. Tootsie already had burns all over her, they were bad. Her magic flickered to reach for her bow, and Aphrodite stomped on her hoof, burning her horn and making Tootsie cry out in pain. "But...I thought she was just the merchant..." Button muttered under his breath. "She's hurting her! Aphrodite! Stop! That's enough!" I screamed. "You cannot reason with her when she's like this! Love is NOT reasonable!" Moonlight warned. Apple Bloom glanced a glare at Moonlight. "Ya didn't tell us ya knew 'er before?!" "I saw no need to," Moonlight whispered. "THIEF! GRAVE-ROBBER! DESECRATER! FOR THIS CRIME AGAINST MY SON, YOU'LL NEVER FIND YOUR TRUE-" Lyra and Bon Bon in separate rooms both gasped in pain, it was like their love for their filly was on fire. Tootsie's eyes widened, so did mine. And...a part of me that was bigger than me...that bow...Aphrodite was a mom? How did that even make sense?! Tootsie was hiccupping as her eyes streamed with tears. None of us could get close. She was so scared... "STOP IT!!!" I screamed. + I've lost my heart. So why...why did I feel a white hot dagger stab me where it used to be? I gasp. 'TIARA! WHAT IS-' And it was like somepony set a painful fire inside me. "TOOTSIE!" + It was bright, but it was like it was sucking in light instead of making it. It was magic, it moved like it was water. It fell from the sky, but was as fast as a bullet. It was there, but by something else not being there. It was a wash of black and purple water that put out the flames and pushed back big Aphrodite. Don't ask me how I noticed or how I knew because I DON'T KNOW! But Tootsie, for one instant...I saw in her eyes, a word, atone. Don't ask me how I noticed that when I saw, no, I FELT what was standing above her. It was shaped like a pony, but it was like it was made of shadows and smoke, she had horns and wings, her cutie mark was a diamond crown twisted so the points went off in eight different directions. Her coat was blackish violet. I recognized her mane style even if it was black and white now; it didn't look right without her crown. Her eyes were glowing solid blue. = Battle Against A True Hero - Undertale = Blank Diamond Avatar, Empty Filly's Shadow "Tiara..." Tootsie whispered, looking up at her. Moonlight covered her nose like she smelled something awful. Aphrodite snarled, "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOU! BE GONE!" -Aphrodite (Burn Mode), Used Heart Pierce A small flaming heart shot from her like a cannonball. -Blank Diamond Avatar Used Negation-Defense A black ball formed in front of her and Tootsie, the heart hit it, and both the ball and the heart shrank away. "Why," Moonlight said, "She's right in front of me, she used magic right in front of me, but I can't sense her at all!" I realized with a shock, she was right. Ribbons of magic formed from Aphrodite's wings and she slashed them like an 'x' at Diamond. She wrapped her wings around Tootsie and both turned to black smoke, the ribbons slashed through the smoke, and cut into the deck of the ship and around it. Diamond and Tootsie reformed. -Blank Diamond Avatar used Bleak Whisper "All love is forgotten the end!" Her words were like a black ripple. "It lives on in those they loved!" -But It Failed A black spear of magic shot out from Diamond's horn, a pink barrier formed in front of Aphrodite that deflected the attack into and out the deck of the Moonpearl. The Moonpearl groaned as the wind howled. Diamond slashed downward with black magic from her her horn. I can't tell if Aphrodite teleported or just moved really fast. We were lucky to get out of the way as the slash split the front deck of the Moonpearl right down the middle. "The Moonpearl can't last like this!" Moonlight said. "But, this is Pip's fantasy ship, they can't do something that goes against it." Dinky shouted. "Even dreams have to end." Aphrodite burned into the air. Gold arrows that were on fire formed around Diamond and Tootsie and began to speed towards them. Diamond created a ball of her magic, but she had to moved it around to catch the arrows and they came faster and faster. Some began to get through and she blocked any that would have hit Tootsie with her own body, she flinched, smoke leaked out of her body. When the arrows stopped she grabbed Tootsie with her magic and began to jumps around as more flaming arrows shot out beneath them through the deck, leaving holes! Transparent black ponies skulls swarm her horn like watercolors on glass, coming at Aphrodite from all sides. She blasted, kicked, cut, and burned them all away grimly. Diamond fired a constant wide wave of blackness at Aphrodite in the air, a pink half-dome formed in front of Aphrodite. "Your barrier will break eventually." Diamond said, and just like that, Aphrodite's wore out and broke apart. Aphrodite retaliated by firing a flaming white spell beam. Diamond focused hers. "Your attack will run out eventually." Aphrodite's spell beam began to flicker; she dodged before it burned out completely. Mostly. There was black smoky something along her side. "You can't dodge forever." Diamond fired off short small bursts of her empty magic. Aphrodite dodged this way and that, but eventually one hit her dead center, the moment she was distracted she got hit by more and she hit the deck making the ship shake. A wall of flame arrows appeared in front of Aphrodite that struck all at once at Diamond and Tootsie, Diamond shadow twisted about on the deck to in front of her and struck up between them, taking the barrage instead, I saw Diamond cringe...Then fire a spell THROUGH her own shadow wall, she gasped out in pain. But the spell had already been shot, and caught Aphrodite off-guard. Aphrodite gasped, and looked down to see her chest was now made of smooth dark pink glass. By the time she looked up, another spell hit her head...the rest of her went limp and was hit by the same spell. Moonlight went to her side, feeling her over. Blanky went beside her, and whimpered, nuzzling her. The rest of us just stared in shock...Diamond...what had she done?! "Diamond...t-thank you...for ...saving Tootsie?" Alula's eyes lingered on Aphrodite. Tootsie was shaking, crying, and had burns all over. She turned and looked at her bow with eyes like she'd seen a ghost. It was like a spell was broken and I shouted. "Diamond Tiara! You don't need to work for Umbra Breeze! Silver Spoon's been waiting for you this whole time!" I heard her voice, for the first time in a year, I heard that voice, it didn't hold any of her normal conceited or mean spirit, it was...empty. "I am not Nyarlathotrot's minion." "Wha?..." I choked. My heart hurt. The rest of the pirates shivered...we were all classmates, we knew what Diamond should sound like. "Impossible..." Moonlight said, looking disgusted, angry and scared all at the same time. "I can smell him on you...not just Nyarlathotrot's scent...but...Discord! You serve Discord!" "Hijacked by Grogar!" Button Mash exclaimed. "What?! Discord!? That's insane!!!" I had to agree, I don't care how much of a bully Diamond is, she'd never be dumb or crazy enough to help Discord. What's that thing? An irony meter? I think it broke. Plus...Discord...Discord's trapped, right? "She is a Nightmare, they are by definition insane." "N-nightmare? Like Nightmare Moon?" I gasped. "Yes. Like Nightmare Moon and Fluttershy. Not a puppet of the Nightmare Forces Luna defeated, but a true Nightmare." I felt like the moon dropped from orbit. Everypony else's faces said the same. "...I do not serve Discord nor Nyarlathotrot...we have a...understanding." Discord...Discord...DISCORD! NOT DISCORD! PLEASE NOT DISCORD! NO! NO! NO! ANYPONY AT ALL BUT DISCORD! PLEASE! I don't want to be an empty doll again! The rest of the crew looked equally scared. Pip hadn't even been in Ponyville, but he was just as scared! "Don't make big sister nasty again, please..." Noi muttered in fright. "Mommy's just getting better, I don't want her to...wait, she was?" Ruby muttered. "Don't make momma hurt me again..." Dinky muttered, looking more scared than all of us combined. Button took a copy of his O-Celeste game out and hugged it. The fur down Blanky's back stood up and he snarled. I don't think I've ever seen him that mad... "Wait! Wait wait!" Alula waved her front hooves. I heard snapping sounds inside the Moonpearl. "Discord ISN'T actually a bad guy! He didn't know he was hurting others with his games! He's just a big kid! He's funny if you give him a chance! He hasn't done anything bad with us! He's just lonely!" "After EVERYTHING you've helped happen! You expect any of us to believe that!" Scootaloo shouted. But her eyes were lingering on Diamond Tiara too...same with Apple Bloom. She was just standing there like a shadow. Apple Bloom cried out, her headache was back, and she looked green like she was sick to her stomach. "...Not...everythin' Alula said was a lie..." Now I was worried I was going to go crazy. Some of that was true? What part? "See?! Discord's not bad-" "Ah said SOME wasn't a lie!" Apple Bloom growled...My fur stood up on ends...Even when Diamond was right next to me...like a pony shaped hole in everything...the look on Apple Bloom's face, it was like Aphrodite's. "Ya've been blinded by lies, Ah'm gonna make ya see the Truth if Ah gotta break ya!" Apple Bloom cried out in worst pain and fell to her knees...and...I saw dark silver swirl marks appear on her back. Apple Bloom reached up...and felt them...suddenly, looking a bit scared. "So that's how it's going to be for you," Diamond Tiara said lifelessly. "Apple Bloom what are those marks?" Scootaloo asked. "What marks?" Dinky asked. "You can't see them?" "See what?" Those marks...Razzaroo had ones like them on her forehead and back...but...these felt...wrong...I don't know how to describe it other than wrong... Everypony else seemed to be more concerned Applebloom had been hurt...they couldn't see them. The Moonpearl groaned louder. "Alula...you need to take Tootsie home..." Diamond Tiara said. "What about you?" "This Avatar took everything I had and I put its entire being into that last attack...I need...to take a little rest..." Diamond Tiara's body began to dissolve. "DIAMOND!" I shouted. "Stop! Please stop! Your family wants you back! They love you!" "...it's an inevitability, something that can't be defied...this is for family..." Her body turned to smoke and blew away. Alula shivered. "...Fight's off for now Scootaloo, please?" Alula asked, looking at Tootsie and at Aphrodite. "She's part of OUR CREW! You can't take her!" Ruby Pinch shouted. "That's right!" Noi added. Tootsie's eye widened. That was when the Moonpearl began breaking apart. The ship was shaking and wasn't stopping. She was tilting down, and was falling. Planks fells away and fell into the mist before our eyes. And I watched in dismay as the Moonpearl began slowly breaking in two. Alula flew close and carefully helped up Tootsie. Who was still crying and trembling. "Shush, it's alright Tootsie, you're safe now, Diamond just needs a little rest, like you." "She...she said I wouldn't...that means Truffle isn't my true special-somepony?" Her burned horn flickered, and her golden bow slowly rose up...and she looked at it...looked dead inside, and tossed it overboard even as the ship came apart around us. I swear...as it fell, I saw the gold stream off like black smoke to reveal pink underneath. "All hooves abandon ship!" Captain Pipsqueak shouted. We...we really would have to leave... "We can't just let her take Tootsie!" Ruby shouted. "We don't have time for a fight!" Pipsqueak said. "Take Miss Aphrodite to the dinghies! That's an order!" "What about the Moonpearl?!" "..." Pipsqueak sniffed. "She's just a ship, Noi." We'd...we'd been here for so long...this had been our one safe place we could count on to come back too...seeing it break up made my eyes tear up... The ship broke apart further, separating Tootsie and Alula from us. Olo took one hard glance at them and abandoned the wheel to be next to Moonlight. We didn't have time for discussion, we ran for the little ships on the side. Noi and Ruby Pinch carried best they could Aphrodite with them to one of them. My friends and I ran for the other. I looked at Aphrodite, and the pirates...this fantasy...it protected them...we had our cloaks and Mash's moon rock...what would they have now? "Blanky!" He looked up at me. "Go with Aphrodite and Pipsqueak's crew! Stay with them! Protect them!" My friends all gasped and looked at me like I was crazy. His eyes went wide, he ferociously shook his head. "I ORDER YOU! They need you more than we do! PLEASE! We've got something to protect us, they don't!" Crying...Blanky nodded, and ran for the other long boat...into Dinky's forelegs. She looked at me in surprise. "He'll look after you, but he'll need somepony to look after him. Promise?" "Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Blanky whimpered and I felt tears run down my face. "I love you Blanky...keep them safe." Moonlight CUT THE ROPES with her sword holding the dinghy to the Moonpearl, and the little ship floated away with the Moonpearl's crew, one glass pony, and my dog. I watched him go away. Button Mash hugged me. I sniffled. I hugged him. Scootaloo pushed us into the other dinghy. "COME ON! Let's go!" Alula took Tootsie in her forelegs and magic, holding her gently, summoning a blanket and warping it around her, and flew off, giving one last look at Scootaloo. Apple Bloom frantically untied the knots, and the dinghy floated away from the Moonpearl, as she finally fell apart, and fell down into the mists...I didn't see Blanky or Pipsqueak's crew anywhere. "That...was hard to do." Button Mash said patting me in the back. We all watched was little was left of the ship vanish...and we all cried...we all felt so...homeless now...Yeah, we had the hospital and a few other safe places...but that was our safe place!...And now it was gone... I shivered. Everything I'd seen...everywhere we'd seen...everything we'd just learned. Scootaloo's parents...the past being twisted too...Diamond Tiara...Aphrodite, Alula, Tootsie, losing the Moonpearl, those marks on Apple Bloom's back, Pipsqueak and his friends, Discord. It was all too much! Too much! Just too much! I...I felt woozy. It was like I was running out of coal. Button never stopped hugging me. The dinghy was slowly floating down to the ground...Apple Bloom at the bow pushing it one way or another. I...I saw a ball of fog far away and below us but not right below us. "Applejack..." I heard Apple Bloom say but...she sounded sick. "Girls." I heard Razzaroo's voice behind me. I dragged my head to look at her. "I'll...I'll record your journey. No need to ask." She had bandages on her. Her little ship was a wreck and was slowly floating down. "Just...just rest...I promise I'll watch over you till you wake...Pray that I can...wish that I can...and I promise I can." I didn't need to be told twice. I said a quick prayer and wish. My eyes rolled up in the back of my head and I fainted. > Hidden episode, "Married With Discord" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARRIED WITH DISCORD! Pony POV Series. The words hung in the air in Fluttershy's cottage before the door swung open, Discord stepping in wearing a tie. "Honey! I'm home!" An audience applauded. "Oh sweetie, nice to see you! How was work?" Fluttershy fluttered in wearing an apron. "Oh the boss at the factory gave me a hard time, saying I needed to be more orderly at work." "Oh that's so sad, almost as sad as when you hypnotized Surprise to go farm rocks." "What?" "I said the boss needs to accept your harmonically-divergent! Oh! Odyne got sent home from school. She turned her class into a circus... again." "ODYNE! Get in here!" Discord stamped his foot. "Yeah yeah I'm coming," little Odyne/Fluttercruel flapped in. "Odyne you can't go around turning your classmates into stuffed toys and making a parade out of them." "Why not? Isn't that what you did when you gave up a happy life at Paradise Estate to feed your petty urges?" "Enough young lady! There are consequences to your actions!" "Big talking come from a guy who accidentally killed 90% of the seaponies because his card game ran long and forgot to turn their desert back into an ocean!" "I said enough!" Discord snapped. Discord fell to his knees, the hypothetical reality popping like an illusion. Discord said tired and broken. "Enough... enough." Nightmare Nhilis entered the empty room. "And just what were you doing, father?" She asked without emotion. "N-nothing dear... nothing." Discord put his face in his claws. It sadly stared back up at him. ~Fin > An Apple's Final Battle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ah was drawin' on the floor of my room, and it was bright and sunny outside. Ah was smilin' and was just happily kickin' my rear legs in the air. Ah drew me, my family and friends and our farm. Then my drawin's were movin'! Then it was like Ah was the drawin' of me, but Ah was still seein' everythin' from 'above.' Kinda like one of those flip books were if yah flip the pages fast enough, it makes a little movie thing. We were all bucking apples in the orchard, when a big, all-black Alicorn with huge eyes crashed down on us. Beams were coming out of her eyes, for some reason she swept them over Scootaloo. Then a big bug inside of Scoots came out and made my friend all unhappy, and there was a fish inside Sweetie Belle, and suddenly there was a lake under her that Sweetie was sinkin' into. Big sister bucked the big black Alicorn in the face, smashing it up like a scribble, drivin' it off, but a bit of its blackness fell in my eye and it REALLY HURT! Applejack rushed to me to make sure Ah was okay, and Ah was okay. But now Ah had a big eye too. Some ponies came along, and Ah looked at 'em, and a beam shot out of my eye. The beam showed they were bad changelings (Ah could even tell the difference!) and we drove 'em off. Blackness appeared on my hooves. Then some big black stallion with a red cape who looked like he was made of smoke rose up on a big crystal. Ah looked at 'em, and the beam showed he had a heart inside that shattered and he broke apart and floated away. My friends and family were all cheering for me now. Black wings popped out of my back. Then this thin sickly guy in a cloak tried tah sneak by, but Ah looked at 'em with my beam, and showed he was some kinda monster with horns and arms, and Applejack and her friends blew 'em away with the Element of Harmony! Everypony was tossing me up in the air, smiling. Then a black horn came out of my head. Ah had two big eyes, my whole body turned black. Ah couldn't shop the beams from hittin' my friends and family, doing the same stuff that big black Alicorn had done... The beams showed off what was in their hearts that then broke! Ah looked this way and that, but there was no stoppin' it! Help me! Then my body shape changed until Ah was a drawing of the big black Alicorn. "Apple Bloom!" Ah heard my sister cry out like a thunderclap. Ah woke up with a gasp and in a cold sweat. + I was playing video games with Button Mash: Megapony Ex-0 3! Only, Xero looked like Dash! I didn't see Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle anywhere. I hate to say it, but Button is just better at video games than me, and I spent more time screaming horrible curses at the game designers than beating the Megapony Ex-0 games. I didn't have the bits to burn on video games when I was by myself, and I never played a ton before I moved to Ponyville. But Dash said they were good for wing-eye coordination. Doctor N.Trot reprogrammed Xero's brain, and I had to play as the bad guy for a couple levels (where'd Button Mash go?). Then, Xero ran into ... me? I was there, on screen. Me, Scootaloo. I watched as text appeared; me telling Xero how she'd always protect me. She fought against the reprogramming and then... Dash's ghost floated out of her body... then a buncha fireflies came and floated around Dash's ghost and formed a new body for her in a cloak. Then the two fought, and Xero destroyed her own original body, and everypony was convinced that the Xero causing all the trouble had to've been an imposter. I turned off the machine and snuggled in my wax room. Now I was in a hive full of giant bees. They were all different colors, including the queen who was pink and a drone who was white and blue. And me... I was in a cocoon, uh, I mean the six-sided thingy that bees have. It's called a 'cell?' Weird. And it was being tended by a bee with really familiar colors and a symbol on its side, and... one of my parents, who was the size of the bees, or maybe the bees were the size of them? I hatched and... I wasn't a bee. All the other bees except my parent and the bee who'd looked after my cell turned to look at me. They didn't look happy. They were upset I wasn't a bee? My parent and the bee took me, and flew away from the hive, the rest of the bees chased after us, not wanting bees to leave the hive. They hid me among some orange leafs, and flew off, the rest of the angrily swarm flew after them. At this point, a part of me woke up enough to realize I was dreaming... and I wondered what the POINT of this crazy dream was... and a bad thought came into my head. Had... mom and dad left me because I couldn't fly? I opened my eyes as I woke up completely. + Pinkie Pie was so happy when Phobia had shown up. A new friend was always a good thing! Maud Pie hadn't remembered him, at first... but then she recalled how she'd been foalsitting. That crazy fog had really messed with her memories, just like Sweetie Belle's. Maud Pie bowed her head, "I'm sorry, Phobia,” she said, tonelessly, “you were my responsibility and I forgot you." Phobia hugged her, nuzzling deep into her fur. "It's okay, you silly rock, I'm just so happy you're okay!" Maud Pie slowly hugged him and patted him on the back. She didn't remember how his wings got broken, but something told her not to worry about it. Pinkie Pie hoped Sweetie Belle was okay. Pinkie had already cared about Sweetie Belle BEFORE, but now... Sweetie was also carrying the legacy of the friend who'd given up EVERYTHING for Pinkie Pie. Forgetting your own 'not-my-coltfriend'? Pinkie Pie couldn't even imagine that... mostly cause she wouldn't meet her special-somepony for about a year and a half, give or take, the Pairing Stone had for 'some reason' (hint, hint) predicted cheese sandwiches that day. Maud said the Pairing Stone was a kingly rock but seemed to get afraid whenever she asked for her special somepony. As Pinkie and Maud Pie had made rock candy together (from sugar provided by Upright-and-Upstanding Flim and Flam, Inc.,) Phobia had watched in awe. "Maud Pie..." "Yes, Phobia?" "I just want to say... I've never seen you so happy." The stone faced mare replied in am emotionless voice, "That is very kind of you to say, you're a good little foal.” They nuzzled. On the other hoof, Maud had gotten some odd cravings since Apple Bloom and her friends had left: pickled rocks, peanut butter and gravel… Pinkie Pie had to stop Maud from almost accidentally eating Boulder! And this wasn’t even the weirdest thing she ate! "Maud! KETCHUP with sandstone?!" "I dunno, just a craving." Phobia, for some reason, blushed. + "I don't get why more foals don't want to join our secret society," Scootaloo said. “We looked over the schoolyard. And those foals that did, their parents said we could be friends, but couldn't go on 'crusades'.” "I think they might have heard about the fire-elemental," I offered meekly. Where's Blanky? What are we doing back at school? Scoots' hair isn't in the braid? How is it back to normal? How am I speaking without meaning to? Wait, is this a dream? Or was everything that happened a dream? "One time!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. She didn't have hear earring. "It's not like we blew up a mountain or somethin'!" Why are we calling it a secret society when everypony knows what it is? ... Oh right, I called it that, after Apple Bloom suggested we work together to find our marks, I suggested forming a 'secret society.' Apple Bloom came up with the name though. "Hey, what about him?" Apple Bloom pointed right at Button Mash whose consciousness was absent from his body and completely inside his game. "He's new to Ponyville, his mom won't know anythin' bad bout us. And he's got no cutie mark." "I dunno, he's kinda weird, and how is his beanie spinning like that?" Scootaloo pointed too. Button Mash's hat! So this is the past! Or just a dream of it!...At least it's nicer than the past we went back to, to fight Shub. "I don't think it's so bad," I said, even though big sister saw it and said it was 'outdated.' Is this like that dream I had with Chrysalis gave up made me an Alicorn? Am I... going to see how things turned out in Button Mash's memories? "Then he should fit right in, you weirdoes," Diamond Tiara said trotting by with a laugh. I felt jealous for a moment before then, and I had no idea why ... Now I can kinda guess. A minute and a vote later (which I swear on Rarity's horn wasn't influenced by Diamond Tiara's remark) we trotted over to Button Mash, I think he only noticed us because we casted a shadow over his little game. "Hi! We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Apple Bloom introduced us. "We're on a quest to find out who we really are! I'm Scootaloo!" "I'm Sweetie Belle!" "And Ah'm Apple Bloom. Wanna join?" "Well, of course you do!” said Scootaloo, before he had a proper chance to answer. “You don't have a cutie mark, we don't, we can help each other find our special talents!" Button Mash barely glanced up at us. "I...don't really care about that sort of thing." "Care about what?" Apple Bloom asked. "Getting my cutie mark," he mumbled. "WHAT?!" We shouted together. "What's more important than getting yer cutie mark?!" "Girls I...I feel faint...ow! How come that works when big sister does it?" I groaned as I sat up rubbing my head. The colt didn't so much as look up from his video game, at seeing a lady get hurt. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo helped me up. We looked at each other. Right, I remember, Button Mash said this is where Scootaloo and Apple Bloom pushed me towards Button Mash. He explained his video game, and it got me curious. And I turned around and walked away. What! That's not supposed to- I mean! I remember that's how it happens, but that's not how it happens now! We go back to our bench and leave the colt to his stupid video game. 'It's not stupid! Don't call it that!' Ugh! Now I'm standing in front of her friends and me, but I'm all ghosty?! We trot back towards our bench to try to see if there are any other new arrivals we can try. 'Wait! Stop! Don't give up yet!' I grab myself and try to pull her, but she drags me along instead. She's just happily talking with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo now, not giving Button Mash another thought. 'STOP!' "Huh?" I looked around, I don't see anything. "Something wrong, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked. "Must've been just the wind." Apple Bloom! Scootaloo! Help her try a little harder! Sure he takes his video games way too seriously, but he's nice, happy, and brave! He's great Crusader material! Apple Bloom and Scootaloo take a look back at Button Mash silently, shrug and kept walking. What's wrong? This is the way it really played out, remember? This is the way it really happened until the curse changed everything. You should be happy. 'How am I supposed to be happy that I'm losing a friend?!' I shake me by the shoulders, but she doesn't even feel it. I... I think I'm crying. "Please! You can't do things the same as before! You-! You...You can't just leave him all alone!" "Is that what this is about? Pity?" "NO! He’s better because of us, and we're better because of him! That’s why friends are good for one another!" "Lost chances are never found again." "I DON'T CARE!" That was when I realized I was talking to somepony. He was an almost-teenage unicorn colt with a dark pink coat, yellow chartreuse mane, and green eyes. A tornado with sun glasses was his cutie mark. He also had a tooth missing and looked like somepony had hit 'im in the nose. He was doodling in the dirt with a stick; it looked like a goat faced snake with legs playing with two Alicorns. Time didn't stop, and I didn't know much longer I had left before class let back in. "W-who are you?" "Oh me? I'm Paradigm Shift. I'm just here to ask you." He kept doodling. "So did you really mean what you said? You don't care that missed chances never come again? You and your friends chose to not try a little harder to become friends with Button Mash. He, in turn, chose not to try at all to be your friends. This is what happened naturally. Doesn't that make it the way things SHOULD happen? You wouldn't want to have to thank Nythy, er, excuse me, Umbra Breeze for making a friend would you?" I look back at Button Mash, and at me and my friends. They're happy, but almost unaware the other even exists... Why? This is MY memory! This is REAL! This is how things DID play out! So why... why do I feel like something is horribly MISSING?! "No I wouldn't!" I said, crying. "But I wouldn't want to NOT have a friend just to spite him!" "So, do you want to stop your quest to save the world?" "Never!" "But you want Button Mash to stay your friend?" "... More than anything." "Don't you want to save the world more?" "That's not about what I want! It's about what we gotta do!... Chrysalis and Rarity taught me that." "But is it what Button Mash wants?"I felt like I was struck by thunder."Can you say, without any doubt in your heart, that he'd rather be friends with you, than just have his video games for friends? Can you? Or are you just making the decision for him?" He looked up at me with a gleam in his eyes. Button Mash...what would he want? I tried remembering what was he like before the world changed...he just sat around playing video games all the time, at home or on his portable console...I don't think you'd know he was there if Cheerilee didn't call on him once in awhile. He was happy...but...he was alone... "He's alone..." "Yes?" "He's alone. That’s how he was before...he likes his video games...but video games aren’t friends. I know ponies say you shouldn't try to have your cake and eat it too...but this Button I've been with… I’d bet my tail he still plays games, but WITH us! Either way, he’ll get to enjoy his games, but he’ll have friends the way things are now. So he's gained something I think it'd be wrong to lose...But...maybe there is a way to make this play out so he gets to choose..." "How?" "...What if instead of just us pushing harder, I can give him a reason to pay more attention?" "You won't be able to take this back, and you might lose it all the same. Is this what you chose of your own free will?" "...Yes." "Add your chaos to his status quo, add his chaos to your status quo, you know neither of you will be quite the same pony." "I... I wouldn't be who I am without ANY of my friends!" "And what about having to thank Umbra Breeze for all of this?" I actually smiled a bit. "...Umbra Breeze...if he'd had his way, then me, Scootaloo, Applebloom...and Button too, we'd all be never-heard-from-again right now. We're the reason we survived long enough to meet up with Button, Scootaloo saved Cheerilee and stopped that...we're not friends because of Umbra Breeze, we're friends in spite of him!" He grinned. "... Then screw the rules, Sweetie Belle. Throw in some of your chaos . . . So THAT'S what that feels like." His horn flashed. Ponies moved backwards at high speed, or was I the one going backwards? I passed through myself as she walked backwards with my friends. I galloped back to Button Mash. "Girls I...I feel faint...ow! How come that works when big sister does it?" I groaned as I sat up rubbing my head. "I'm sorry about this, Button Mash, maybe you can forgive me someday." I focus every ounce of magic I've ever had, focus on the prize and... I nudge his hoof ever so slightly. His character on screen is blasted from every direction, ends up stun-locked, and dies. "NO! NOOOOOOOOO!! My last life!!!" He wailed in agony. "I know how much that high score meant to you..." The colt started crying out of nowhere, little rivers spouting from his eyes. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at each other quickly, and took a trot back, and pushed me forward. "Hey!" "You're the tender one!" Apple Bloom grinned. "And he was your idea!" Scootaloo grinned too. "He was Apple Bloom's idea!" I said before my friends retreated back several trots. Cheerilee was coming and she didn't look happy. I trotted over to Button. Huh? I'm not in control? "You're current Sweetie Belle, that's past Sweetie Belle." "But we're both Sweetie Belle! "Yes, but she's you without knowing what happens if she turns and walks away. Wouldn't quite be fair, would it?" I guess not...but...I know her...I know me...I have to trust myself. "What's wrong?" I asked. He sniffled. "I...I tried really hard to beat this game...and...and then my hoof slipped and I lost my last life...and the game doesn't have continues!" I thought that sounded kind of dumb at first...then I noticed the 'you survived' time on his game. "...You've been playing that for 24 hours?" "Uh huh...I...I don't like to give up on a game..." he sniffled. "Why?" "Because I wanna see how the game ends..." he sniffled, tears still in his eyes. "What's the point in stopping an adventure half way?" I blinked, looking at him. "Wow...you sound like me and my friends about getting our Cutie Marks." He looked up. "...I do?" "Yeah...we try and try to. No matter how many times we fail, we just keep trying! We want to find our Cutie Marks...even if it takes a really, really, really long time." "...Huh...sound about right...do you like video games?" "I've got a couple games I like, but I don't have a lot of them." "My dad's a game developer, so I kinda get a lot of them..." I cocked my head. "That...actually sounds kinda cool." "Thanks! He works in Canterlot most of the time, though. I don't see him a lot." I froze for a moment. "Uh, is something wrong?" "Oh! No....so, what's this game about?" He waved his forelegs dramatically. "You travel ALL the way across the galaxy, starting out in the most dingy spaceship there is, with the enemy fleet right behind you! Getting crew and stuff for your ship along the way until you can save the universe!" "So it's all about going from nothing to something really big?" I asked, looking at it. "Uh huh. It takes a long time to get anywhere and there's no continues, so you have to play smart." "Reminds me of my sister. She said that's how the fashion world is." "Can’t say I’m really that into clothes, but I really like it when you can customize your character! Does that count?" "I don't know, maybe? At any rate, It's really fun to try and get an outfit that works." "I know! I wish more games were like that...Oh! Sorry! My name's Button Mash!" I smiled. "Glad to meet you, I'm Sweetie Belle." "My little ponies, is everything okay?" Miss Cheerilee asked, frowning. "Yeah, I just got upset," Button said. "But Sweetie Belle cheered me up!" Cheerilee smiled. "Oh, she did? Good for you, Sweetie Belle." "Thank you." I smiled. Now that the danger had past, my two best friends came back. I know they'd have come forward if I'd gotten in REAL trouble... that's what friends do. "So...I guess you don't instantly want to be a Crusader then?" I asked. "...Can I still play video games?" "Sure! We do all kinda stuff! And when we're just brainstorming or not doing anything, we play and just hang out at our clubhouse." "...I do have a lot of games with co-op modes I never get to play..." "I wouldn't mind." "Neither would I," Scootaloo nodded. "Same here," Applebloom replied. "And that's your cue, see you around kiddo." + I was the first to wake up. I felt for Blanky only to remember he was with Pipsqueak and his friends. Please be safe, Blanky, I want to see you again. We're floating on the mist with the lifeboat still right in front of a big fog ball. I'm guessing it’s the same one we were headed towards before… the one Apple Bloom was surer than sure had Applejack waiting inside. There was no sign of Razzaroo... she promised... I hope she's okay. She wouldn't have left unless she had to. Of course not. There was nothing, no monsters, no other bubbles, that big light still in that ugly dirty pink sky. If sound could be a blank sheet of paper... "Scootaloo, Apple Bloom," Button Mash mumbled in his sleep, higher-pitched than normal. I checked us all. No changes to any of us. Scootaloo's braid, Apple Bloom's earring from Zecora... Button Mash missing his hat... and the three of us with our capes. Apple Bloom still had those silver swirl marks on her, they looked so familiar. And Scootaloo... her parents, all that time... we never knew... she never told us. She must have been so scared of being taken away! I gave her a gentle nuzzle in her sleep. Button Mash turned over in his sleep and sat up, blinking himself awake. "Sweetie Belle? Apple Bloom? Scootaloo? What happened? Oh right, I remember." He looked up at the sky like he was imagining the Moonpearl was going to swoop in and help us out. Then he looked at the big fog ball right in front of us. He didn't look surprised Razzaroo wasn't to be seen. "Second-to-last dungeon, huh?" "Looks like that way," I said. Button Mash looked himself over, checking out his mane, his hooves, his 'character profile' from his magic window, and then, ahem, er, between his legs. "Sweetie Belle, have you ever had Princess Luna visit you in your dreams?" "... No, but Pip said something about it back on the ship." What? Me and Scootaloo did things while Applebloom was staring over the bow of the ship and stuff, and Pip liked talking about Luna. "Did he ever say WHY she visits a pony's dreams?" "I think Pip said she visits dreams that causing you trouble or that you're having trouble understanding WHY you're having them." I changed topics before I forgot to ask. "Button Mash, what happened when we first met, what happened just before Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, uh, helped me talk to you?" Button Mash blushed. "Uh, heheh, my hoof slipped and, I lost my last life, and... maybe cried, a LITTLE." "I... seem to cause that a lot. I'm sorry." Button Mash's face looked brave. "If I had to choose between beating that game, and being friends with you, I'd chose you." I'd be lying if I said I didn't blush. "Sweetie Belle, I've been thinking... this made my head hurt a little, but how is any of the stuff I said to Truffle about you NOT true!? We've been together all this time on our quest... and you've proven again and again you're STILL the Sweetie Belle I remember! Even if you don't! And THAT is why I like you!" Why did Button Mash seem taller when he said that? "Button Mash, if I wanted to do what Tootsie is doing, what would you do?" "Stop you... Because you ARE my special friend. But I really, really, REALLY wouldn't be happy about it.” He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to find the right words. "Sweetie Belle, you ever dream you were somepony else? And only realized you WEREN'T really who you were dreaming of being at the end?" "I'm... not sure." That was a weird question. "Sweetie Belle, can I pretty please ask you a hyper-thetical question?" "Hypothetical. And... yes Button you can." I nodded. "Right. Sweetie Belle, what if you woke up from a dream, and found out you'd never been friends with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, the Cutie Mark Crusaders never existed. It was all just a dream you had. Apple Bloom asks if you were a prissy pony like Rarity, and Scootaloo had a shell around her heart. And, well, Diamond Tiara ignores you because you're not friends with Apple Bloom. Then some weird pony pops out of nowhere, and offers to 'fix it' by giving you DIFFERENT friends, who aren’t Apple Bloom and Scootaloo? What would you do?" I was thrown quite a bit. But I thought about what he said. "I'd feel like their 'fixing it' would be mocking the friendship I had with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Even if they didn't remember, even if it was just a dream, I'd try my hardest to become their friends for real. What would hurt the most... would be them not remembering all the great times we had before then." "And if they told you that since it wasn't a waking dream, it was never your choice to be their friend to begin with, so it was never real?" I asked. "Would I have acted different in my dream?" Button Mash this time was silent for a bit before he said. "... No, every choice is exactly how you would have made it. The only difference is that THEY tried just a little bit harder." I raised my head high. "Then I'd say they're full of hooey. If I would have made those exact same choices anyway, then who cares if it was 'real' or not?" My heart skipped a beat, my breath caught in my throat, it was like the sun just rose in my head as it hit me like a dragon. I didn't SEE Button Mash anymore as somepony brainwashed to be my friend... I just see... my friend. Then Button Mash added. "And Sweetie, when Rarity does a dress for you, how can you stand holding still for so long?!" Button Mash hugged himself and shivered. "Practice, and didn't you stay still when she redid your costume?" "Yeah but I had my Gamecolt then." "I guess that part wasn't a dream . . . " Scootaloo said as she blinked sleep away and slowly stood up, stretching her body and her wings. She looked up wistfully at the sky too, but I'm guessing for very different reason. Like Button Mash, Scootaloo didn't look that surprised to see Razzaroo wasn't here with us. I'm guessing Scootaloo heard a lot of what we said before, but she still asked, "Button Mash, I gotta know... if you could go back in time and not our friends... would you?" Button Mash looked horrified. "Never! I'd go back in time and make SURE we became friends if that happened!" Scootaloo looked down at her hooves. Then back at him. "Button Mash, I just wanna say... it good to have you as a friend." Button Mash smiled and hugged her. "And it's great to have you as a friend too!" Scootaloo hesitated, then hugged back, I joined in. Apple Bloom woke up gasping. "Applejack!" She looked right at us, and covered her eyes and buried her face. We slowly broke the hug and approached our friend as much as we could in the little lifeboat. "Apple Bloom? What's wrong?" I asked. "... Just... just a bad dream. A REALLY BAD dream. Ah saw myself, helpin' stop villains, but then Ah couldn't myself from hurtin' ya and my family..." Apple Bloom looked up back at us. "Are all of ya okay?" "I will be," Scootaloo with a side long glance rubbing one foreleg against the other. "Guess we don't have time to fly back to Cloudsdale do we?" Her lip quivered. Then she smiled at Apple Bloom, only the tinniest of tears in her eyes. "All right Apple, we've saved our big sisters," Scootaloo spread her wings proudly. "let's go save yours!" + Tootsie was in the World Tower's emergency room recovering. It was like only the Nightmare of Diamond Tiara's waters of nothing kept Aphrodite's flames from burning Tootsie's body forever. Truffle was at her side, along with her family (the waters of nothing had kept their feelings for her from being burned to ashes). Nurse TLC had been called in to look after her until she recovered. The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara, meanwhile, couldn't get out of bed, and was barely remaining conscious as she restored the mana she had burned through, falling in and out of a dreamless sleep. Alula had thanked her for saving Tootsie from the 'flaming mad evil fire Alicorn.' Alula hugged the big plush black cat that was on the bed as she looked at her friends. "Alula, I'm... sorry my gift to Tootsie hurt her." "... It's okay, Diamond Tiara, you didn't mean to, and it's not like you knew that it belonged to somepony." Alula said, calmly accepting on Tootsie's behalf. "It's like those mummies in movies who greedily hold onto their treasure even though they're dead and don't have a use for it. That evil monster Alicon should've been grateful that Tootsie was using that bow for good instead of it gathering dust. I'm sorry her kid...was never heard from again, but Tootsie didn't know that or she would've treated it with more respect, like any hero who takes up a weapon. She should've known that. She was just being a bully." "You mean like me?" "You... you were just in pain, Diamond... you explained it all, remember? I used to hide my feather cutie mark with a sticker. I was so unhappy I got such a commonplace mark there were so many of, not like you and your cutie mark. I loved how confident and take charge you always were. So I couldn't understand why you were so unhappy, and why nopony else noticed. I KNEW big sister couldn't be right and you just LIKED being mean! I used to think you didn't like yourself... but you definitely like yourself now, right?" "... There is nothing to not like," the Nightmare whispered. "Happy to hear it!" Alula's smiled. "I always wanted to help you become a nice pony! And you helped me become a princess! Your daddy was happy that I was nice to you on Hearts and Hooves Day." "Alula . . . can you please go now? I want to get some rest." "Okay, Diamond... I'll go be with Tootsie," she gave the Nightmare a hug and left the room. "You took a long time to get that popcorn...What happened to your nose, father?" 'Had a discussion with cousin Shubby. I put on some rainbow butter, and then I read the ingredients, not good for my arteries at all. So I had to start over. But I always seem to make a mess of things. Like a tornado twisted through. Remember how Tootsie and Alula rewrote reality so their families would accept I was just having a fun time? I felt in a mood for a chat and- . . . ' The Night-filly. tilted her head. "What does this have to do with the popcorn?" 'Nothing! Nothing! Never mind.' + Princess Liza Doolots, Tootsie Flute, laid in the soft bed. She was covered in bandages. She could barely move, and even with the enchantments to dull the pain, her burns still bit and clawed at her nerves. The magic powers she'd had protecting her had just barely been able to prevent any worse. If she knew who'd she'd faced, she'd be a legend for having survived. Smiling and humming to herself, Nurse TLC manned the various magic-tech machines in the room dedicated to monitoring and accelerating the faux's princess' healing. She had some bumps and bruises herself from when that Guard and Miss Golden Tiara had so rudely left the party in Canterlot early. TLC had thought those days were behind them both. "Don't worry, Princess! The booboo will be gone in no time! Then I have a lollipop ready for you!" Nurse TLC assured the filly with 'You're-Better-Off-Not-Knowing-What-Degree' burns. Princess Tootsie moaned in response. Truffle had come in first, hugging his fillyfriend, unwittingly making her hurt worse (though she didn’t let him know.) "Liza! I promise! On my loving heart I'll smote the vile villains that did this to you! Our love will be avenged! They'll be obliterated! Blown-up! Exploded! Our love's mighty blade will bisect these wrongdoers’ black heart!" Tootsie said something. "What, my love?" Truffle leaned in closer. "Don't." "Don't what, my dear?" asked the round little colt. "Don't... try that... it... it isn't... you shouldn't... " "Oh? Oh! Right! I shouldn't be chauvinistic!" Said Truffle, not knowing how he knew that word. "You want to avenge yourself! You need to prove you can overcome the obstacles put before you! It would be totally wrong and unfair if the hero was hurt by the villain and never got to avenge themselves! I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking! I can help you train for the rematch once you feel better! Please forgive me!" "... N-nothing to... forgive... you... just do... what your heart says... nothing wrong... in... that... Truffle... I'm sorry." Tootsie blinked tears. "I'm a bad pony." 'Not my special-friend...' "Of course you're not! You tried your best! That's what's important! You'll beat the witch that did this to you next time! I'm sure you will! As long as I believe in you, and you believe in yourself you can't lose!" "... I'm... sorry... I made this happen..." "Don't doubt yourself! Remember you're a hero! If anything I should be sorry for giving up fighting when you needed me most!" Nurse TLC smiled and nodded. "Truffle... please go and... please don't get into any fights... spend time with your mom and dad..." "Okay!" Truffle nodded obediently and left... and nearly got run down by Bon Bon trampling into the room. Lyra and Moth behind her. "MY BABY!" Bon Bon gently hugged her, careful not to hurt her more. "Mommy's here! It's going to be okay! Mommy's sorry this happened! Don't worry! Mommy will make it all better!" Bon Bon sobbed. Then she said something that had nothing to do with any altered past or change in the tone of the world: "... Mommy is going to murder whoever did this to you! Mommy swears it!" There was a fury and bloodlust in her eyes that was... Tootsie realized... exactly the same as the one she'd seen on that fiery pony's face. Her mind superimposed them over each other, and they matched down to where their frowns stopped. "Uh... Bon Bon... are you sure..." Lyra began, her eyes never leaving the ruined body of her foster foal. Bon Bon gave a primal growl. Lyra had lived with Bon Bon long enough to know what that meant. Moth couldn't bear the sight and looked away. "Just... let's focus on Liza getting better, please?" "R-Right," Moth stammered. "Of course that's what's most important," Bon Bon said tenderly, stroking her filly carefully to avoid irritating her burns. "I'm just saying after she's all healed up... I'll shall hunt down and DESTROY who did this to her." "That much hate can't be healthy for changelings," Moth said. "Hate? Don't be silly." Bon Bon’s gentle loving touch never left her filly. "This is burning fury from the depth of Tartarus, not 'hate.'" She then looked at Tootsie and sighed. "Mommy's sorry you had to hear that...you just focus on getting better, I know you'll be better in no time, you're the best after all." Bon Bon nuzzled her, Tootsie found the strength to nuzzle back. Alula stood in the doorway to the medical room set up for Tootsie... It hurt her seeing her friend hurting like she was burned herself. 'This isn't how this is supposed to go,' Alula thought. 'Anytime a magical filly gets hurt really bad in a fight, they're supposed to look inside themselves and discover a new power that whoops the bad guy in a super cool way that's never quite that cool in later adventures... This isn't supposed to happen.' Alula really wanted to go to her friend... but she felt like she'd be intruding... 'Oh Princess Animatia Erroria! Don't feel bad that you need to wait your turn to spend time with Princess Liza Doolots. I have a WONDERFUL manega you can read in the meantime! I think it's just the kind you need!' "Oh, thank you, Mr. Discord! What is it?" 'You're welcome! And it's Penumbra Magical Filly Madoka! I'm sure you'll find it very enlightening! It's one of Umbra Breeze's favorites!' "Thank you," Alula said trustingly, looking at the happy cover of the Neighponese comic. As she sat down to read, she did her best not to think about the argument she'd had with Scootaloo on the airship with Tootsie's friends... and that wandered to her sister and... "Rumble..." Alula whispered. "He hasn't come once to visit his brother... and... Thunderlane hadn't gone to visit him once... like big sister Cloud Kicker..." Alula violently shook her head and read the manega, certain it would help clear her head. + "No sign of Phobia..." Scootaloo said scanning the horizon around the bubble in their little dinghy. "He must be with Maud Pie," Sweetie Belle said. "Can't say Ah blame 'im," Apple Bloom claimed. "An Apple can tell, they're as close as family." 'Family...' Sweetie glanced at her friend, "Scootaloo... I'm sorry that I never noticed you were homeless in all that time we were friends. It makes me feel like a bad friend. You were grazing just to eat and showering with rainclouds and everything and-" "Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo whispered, "Stop. It's okay. I went to a LOT of trouble to make sure nopony found out. I WASN'T starving, had roofs to sleep under, and my paper route job!" "And the fact of the matter is...that don't matter..." Apple Bloom replied. "We're gonna feel for ya and hope ya find yer parents anyway." "Then your WHOLE family can be together," Button Mash said waving his arms. "Just because Rainbow Dash or your parents might not be in your house every day doesn't mean you're going to stop being family!" Scootaloo's heart had a light flicker on. "Thanks Button. They taught me how to look after myself. But... you girls make this all... your awesome." She smiled. "And my parents will think you're awesome too!" "What are friends for?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Group hug?" Button asked. "Sure," Scoots replied nonchalantly before giggling. The little herd hugged and smiled and gave some nuzzles. "We rock! We're gonna save Alula, and Tootsie from Umbra Breeze," Scootaloo gritted her teeth, "and Discord!" Sweetie'd forgotten about that, they'd seen so much happen so fast, she swallowed, but nodded too. "Right! We are! And we'll save Diamond Tiara from herself too. If we gotta." "All that's standin' in our way's savin' mah sister!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "And Ah know we can do it!" "And so do I!" "And too!" "Me four!" "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER HEROES! YAY!" Without any other words, the foals paddled their little ship to the edge of the fog bubble that had Applejack inside, and leapt in after her. + - -MLP Theme- - + Ah knew what Ah was gonna see, sorta. Ah knew it wouldn't be nice. Ah remember everywhere else we visited. Ah braced myself, but it still hurt. Seein' our farm, my home... all dirty and grimy, near everythin' that faded red. The sky was as ugly 'n' bleak as the ground. The worst part was, was how Ah could recognize everythin'. The fence, the barn, the apple trees, the dirt path leadin' to the house, Ah could find 'em all blind folded. But it was all MADE wrong: All the outside stuff was there, but the stuff that made that stuff what it was, was missin'. Like everythin' and everyony was just raw material to make some horrible story about horrible ponies doin' horrible things in a horrible place! Sweetie, this was what it was like for you to see Rarity's place, wasn't it? "Apple Bloom it's okay, we'll save your sister and rest of your family in no time!" "Huh?" Ah looked at Sweetie, it took a bit to realize Ah'd been cryin'. "Thank ya Sweetie." We hugged. "I wonder where our welcome wagon is," Scootaloo said, "After Cloudsdale, I was expecting the Royal Guard and every movie monster ever." "Gee, what a happy thought," Sweetie said. "Maybe they threw so much at us they ran outta stuff?" Ah asked. Ah saw the look on Scootaloo's face. "Ah didn't think so either." "Maybe not.. if we banished Shub-Neighurath," Sweetie offered. "That fight took everything out of Diamond Tiara and Tootsie... she got hurt real bad... maybe we caught 'em before they could set anything up?" "Ah looked with the truth. "Ah don't see any traps. Let's go." We trotted towards the house. Sweetie and Scoots flanked me, while Button Mash guarded our rears, sword ready. Ah was surprised by the first thing we found out of the ordinary... "'Caution: Aquastrian Crab Apple Trees?' 'Do not buck without protection.'" Ah read the sign. It was a squat apple tree... but the apples had tiny 'faces' with that glint in their fruity eyes you know when somepony is gonna prank you. They also had little pinchers like lobsters. And the leaves reminded me of some pictures of underwater plants Ah saw in class once. We trotted AROUND it. The apples seemed a bit disappointed...or proud, not sure which. The first ponies we noticed weren't ponies. It was Daisy-Jo and the other cows. Grimy and pink like everythin', but they weren't talkin' 'bout the weather or what minotaur was best lookin'. They looked sad, or just starin' out into nothin'. Ah thought of them creepy tales Snips and Snails yammered about of thinkin' creatures in griffin lands who were no brighter than critters. They each had a pierced earring with a different number on each other. And an apple symbol branded on the flanks... it didn't feel like Ah was lookin' at a cutie mark. It looked like they were a lot deeper than the ones cows sometimes got like tattoos, like the pony who did it didn't give a darn. They were standin' in the coral, and they looked scared if we got close... they were scared of me! Ah don't feel so good. There was also Fleece and the other sheep. They looked to be in as bad shape as the cows, and almost as scared. And the corrals all had padlocks on 'em. Not the herd nor the flock even spoke to us! Ah shoulda said somethin', anythin', heck, one of us shoulda... but my mind was on Applejack. Ah spotted where all the ropes and tools all were kept... Ah had a bad feelin' Ah knew why whips were there now too. "Thank Celestia that we're not in Griffin land," Scootaloo muttered. Ah almost threw up at what my mind thought up. Ah spotted Big Macintosh buckin' the trees off in the orchard, colored and drawn like everythin' else... Ah turned my head from 'em, Ah couldn't bear to think about what Ah'd see... he didn't notice us and we didn't wave at 'em. After we saved Applejack, it wouldn't matter anyway. Maybe if we're lucky Ah won't even have tah know what happened tah him. We were at the front door to the house, still no nasty surprise. "No encounters! No puzzles! Biiig boss fight comin'!" Button Mash said to himself. "And I want my beanie back." "Mash, is Daring Do still on our team?" Scootaloo asked. Trotting backwards, his sword in his mouth, Button opened his magic window. "Uh-huh, it says she's active. She must be doing her own quest." "Great help that is," Scootaloo muttered. Ah ignored 'em. Ah spotted Winona, sleepin' curled up on the porch... she... she didn't look any different. But Ah remembered what happened with Opal. And the truth, Ah saw... something horrible. A ladybug fluttered onto Winona's back... then a spiky jaw opened right on her back and ate it! Not all clean like, but with her...her skin and fur comin' apart! The mouth closed, and it was like it was never there. Winona just kept on sleepin' happily as Ah shivered. "kēlā nui peku luna," Ah heard Scootaloo say something in Hawainigian. Sweetie kept Button Mash from yelping in alarm. The worst part is knowin' before this mess started Ah have screamed my head off and kept runnin' 'till my legs fell off at seein' that. Now, Ah just led the girls around Winona we got inside, not takin' our eyes off her. Winona Ah'd known as long as Ah could remember, in her own way she was part of my family too, she was a protector... now she was protectin' whatever nasties are inside here. In its own way it was more scary with how much everythin' was were it was supposed to be inside as much as outside... but Ah saw details the others would miss. The red stains on the table. The hard and sharp hoof marks on the floor. The extra forks and knives. And there was the little more obvious stuff. Like the smell. It smelled like hard cider, pony stink that made even a hard farm pony like me cringe, and like ... like saw dust and something else, kinda like iron, but it made me sick smellin' it. The others looked like the smell was makin' them sick too. Sweetie almost threw up. And the obvious stuff, like the empty cider bottles here and there. We ain't no Belles, but even we kept the house better lookin' than this. Trust meh, Ah'd gotten more than one spankin' cause Ah didn't clean mah hooves before comin' inside! And on the table, Ah only glanced... but Ah saw letters from cousin Braeburn to Applejack... with Xs and Os and little hearts on them... That... that stupid, ugly, brainless, joke about country ponies marryin' their own-! ... Maybe the letters caught on fire from me hatin' 'em so much... maybe they didn't... maybe Ah just imagined that part... But Ah'd have ripped 'em to shreds and not thought 'em worthy of feedin' to the pigs if Ah could spend the time. Through the doorway to the kitchen... Ah kinda saw Granny Smith... eatin' somethin'. Her shadow was on the wall and Ah saw she was cuttin' up and munchin' on and slurpin' up, SOMETHIN'. And Ah saw most of her sittin' at the table, the same sick pink as the tables and the sky, but her face and what she was eatin' was hidden... Ah could see from the door she had on the long rubber gloves for our hooves that AJ keeps, and a leather and ring harness that looks like one of the ones the mockery of Rarity's shop had. And Ah kept hearin' her, slurpin', chompin', and tearin' on SOMETHIN'! She must'a recognized the creak of my hoofsteps on the floorboards or somethin' cause Granny called out. If Ah had my eyes closed, Ah could've pretended nothin' was different 'bout her. "Apple Bloom! That you? Do ya got the white dress fer Sweetie ta wear?" Ah remembered what our anti-selves been wearin'. Ow! Ah felt mah eye hurt! "It's-it's taken care of Granny!" "Good! Tonight's the harvest moon! Be sure to give'er and bath and anoint her with the apple juice and remember the heart is a little bit to the side." Button Mash nearly broke formation to hug Sweetie Belle. My fur bristled. "It'll be taken care of Granny." "Ah'm just kiddin', Ah know Ah can rely on ya." "Believe it Granny, Ah promise." "That's a good filly! And check on yer sister Applejack! She havin' a worse hangover than usual." Ah remembered what that horrible story Gabby Gums had printed said. "Ah will Granny." Ah tried not to think 'bout how Ah was gonna face a ragin' drunk big sister or worse! "The Great Apple Spirit bless you." When this is over, Ah'm goin' straight to the Omi-Alicorn church, prayin' to each of the princesses, and gettin' myself confirmed. "kāua hō mai ka Ua iā ka pua, muli ka pegasi makemake hō mai ka lā iā ka waho, he laka makani iā ka breezies ame ko ‘ehu pua." Ah heard Scootaloo singin' to herself, this was no heart song, she was calmin' her nerves, and Ah don't blame her. Funny how Sweetie Belle's the one with the special talent for singin', and Scootaloo, doesn't. Sweetie and Button were calmin' each other down...Ah admit, Ah feel a little jealous. Button's the only one of us that didn't have his family try and kill or twist him...but Ah'd never wish that on 'em either. We stepped into the livin' room proper. The cider bottles were scattered over the floor... and so were crayon drawin's Ah never drew with my name on 'em usin' way too much red. The family pictures were all there, but so were some newspaper clippin's. 'Apple-Submarine Heroically Sinks Enemy Orphan Transport.' 'Apple-Bomber And Twilight Balloon Bravely Bomb Enemy Civilians.' 'Apple-Tank Gallantly Slaughters Cowardly Enemy Troops Attempting To Surrender.' They only got more plumb loco gallopin' backwards this side of a crooked apple tree salted up insane from there! And there was my sister grinnin' like she was a filly at Whinny Land in a picture with a griffin kingdom green army helmet in all of them. WHAT enemy? None of the papers mentioned. And right next to 'em... to me it was like the pictures were one of them livin' ink splatter pictures, different every time ya looked at em. The pictures kept changin' and movin', but they were always organized and together, and set up like we always had the family pictures... movin' always and not movin' at all... made my head hurt. There was a list of 'commands' from the Great Apple, 'Hate All Fruit Except Apples' 'Eat Only Apples' 'Become The Apple' and even dumber ones. It reminded me of Silver Spoon's chat when we were still gettin' to know 'er about our play with Princess Celestia bein' a bad guy... then findin' out a bajillion ponies had beaten us to it and Princess Celestia being a good guy was actually more rare... If this was supposed to be so crazy it was funny, Ah wasn't laughin'. Seein' myself all grimy pink and grinnin' in those pictures lookin' like my double was just another shovel full of creepy on the pile. There were instructions on how to make sacrifices to evil spirits right next to a list on how to fight and banish evil spirits! There was a symbol for servin' evil monsters right next to a crest for fightin' em! There was a picture, of the same day, of us together, at the same time... in army hats. Another us holdin' red stained farm equipment and us grinnin' with teeth like wolves. And another of us grim-faced with cannons, swords, crossbows, over the head of a manticore. All there at the same time, in the same place, but in different places... Ah had to look away from the wall before Ah went crazy! My friends looked worse. Ugh. "Apple Bloom?" She sounded scared and hopeful at the same time. My heart caught in my throat. "Apple Bloom, is... that ya, is it the... the REAL ya... Ah..." Ah heard somepony rolling off the couch and slamming on the floor, Ah heard bottle fallin' over, there was also a metal clang it. "Ah... Ah knew Ah didn't... Ah knew it wasn't really... Ah didn't screw up...ya didn't lose yer soul...yer body weren't really possessed by a demon... Ah didn't have'ta kill... Ah... Ah.. Apple Bloom!" Ah heard metal scraping across the floor. Ah heard my friend gasp too. Was Applejack... what she was sayin'... was she really... Could she be really? Ah couldn't take it anymore... Ah looked. It was my sister... she was as pink and sketchy as the rest of the world... she had Pa's hat on... her foreleg... it was metal... with a burn scar running along her shoulder . . . Applejack... Ah... Ah looked 'er in the eyes... they were bloodshot, and her face was tear-stained... Ah forgot how to breath, my legs forgot how to move. Applejack crawled towards us with her mechanical foreleg... her entire body was shaking... she moved sluggish, like her body parts were gettin' mixed signals... Ah've never seen 'er this drunk off cider before. She turned her head to each of us. Big sister. "Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom... oh lovin' Celestia... are all of ya... you? Ah... Ah was starin' ta think... " Her eyes laid on Button Mash. "Pardon me, but who’re you, youngin'? Have Ah seen ya around before?" Button Mash's lip quivered. His eyes widened. He bit his lip. For a second it looked like he was gonna cry. He sniffed and wiped his eyes. "I'm... I'm Button Mash... I've been a friend with your sister and her friends for a while now. N-nice to meet you Applejack." "Ah wish Ah could say Ah was in better shape TO meet... Apple Bloom! Are ya okay!? Are ya hurt?! Are ya friends?! Where have ya been!? I've lost track of how many days ya've been gone! All Ah could remember was what them... lies in my... lies in my... Celestia Apple Bloom it hurts so bad!" Applejack hiccuped. My big sister... APPLEJACK... cryin', sayin' how much somethin' hurts? My big sister cries on the inside... she NEVER complains about how much somethin' hurts... but... why do Ah feel like Ah'm talkin' to the REAL Applejack? Celestia that makes it a million times worse than if she was twisted into some monster like her friends! "Applejack..." Ah heard myself say. "What happened to yer foreleg?" "...A demon called Abandon burned it off when he used Rarity's sick vision of the world to change reality... wait, no, that didn't happen! AGH!" Applejack held her head in pain. "Ah lost it in the war. There was no war! Ah offered it up in reverence of-Agh! NO!" "Sorry 'bout that, Apple Bloom," Granny called from the kitchen. "Sounds like Applejack's havin' one of 'er drunken fits again. Ya know where the rope is if she starts havin' flashbacks to the war/ritual/monster fight." Granny couldn't have been more casual. Applejack grunted, tryin' to get up, usin' her mechanical leg like a cane. Of course Ah helped her. Right up and close, Applejack looked me in the eyes. Applejack's eyes widened. "Apple Bloom... what happened to ya?" Ah knew my family wasn't going to like it. "The earring's a gift from Zecora, got 'er back her real heart, and we did it for Miss Cheerilee and all yer friends! Once we've cured ya everythin' can be back to how it should be!" Applejack started. "Apple Bloom... ya've done all that? You and yer friends? Ah... Ah'm proud of ya... Ah really am... and... Ah'm SO HAPPY to hear ya've found a way to fix everythin'... Ah was stuck here... too sick to work... Big Mac and Granny actin' like strangers actin' like our family... worried 'bout my friends... Sorry ya had to see all this... Ah'm... Ah'm happy, ya have no idea that means ta me... " She gave me a nuzzle, Ah tried to flinch at the stink of too much hard cider on her breath. "But Ah meant... who gave ya these little sister?" Her good leg gestured at my face. "You can see the marks on Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Yeah... but that still ain't what Ah meant-" Ah looked inside Applejack... Ah'd do it, Ah'd save 'er, Ah'd get rid of the nasty rumors inside her and that would be that... "No." Ah whispered. "No! No!" Ah said scared. "Apple Bloom? What is it?" My sister asked. "Ah can't see it! Where is it? The root of the curse inside you! It was inside all yer friends! But Ah can't find it!" "Apple Bloom! Ya mean ya really have-" Applejack looked super scared for some reason. "It musta buried itself so deep inside ya that Ah can't see it! Musta wrapped itself around ya so much that Ah can't tell it apart from ya! This is horrible!" AH HATE IT!!! AH HATE IT! AH HATE THIS STUPID THING! Was this their game? Givin' us a game we just can't win!? One of dem 'no end' games?! Ah'm sick of all of Umbra Breeze's tricks, of Discord's tricks, of Diamond Tiara's tricks. Didn't these cowards know how to do anythin' straight up!? "Wait. Ah got it!" Ah gently put my sister on the couch. "Ah'll get Big Mac and Granny Smith to understand! What they believe to be true about ya ain't true! They think yer a drunk! So the curse makes ya one! AH'll get 'em to see the truth! Just watch big sister! We'll have ya cured in no one time! Nopony can stand up to the Truth! Nopony can resist Truth. It ain't matter what ponies believe, Truth is what is! Truth is all, and all is Truth, it ain't natural for anypony to contradict it! Ah'll show'em the Truth and they'll have'ta to believe in the REAL you!" Ah thought about it. All them horribles lies on the wall about my sister bein' a war criminal... 'bout our family being a buncha cultist hicks... when ya mess with one Apple, ya mess with all of 'em! Ah hate it! Ah'm sick it! This is my home! Our home! How dare Gabby Gums and their stupid lies ruin my home and my family! How dare they VIOLATE it, violate my FAMILY! "This is what you think any of us really wanted you dang idgits?! Ah'll shovel Truth down yer throats if Ah havta!" "Apple Bloom!" Big sister slurred. "Since do ya speak this fancy?!" "Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking like she felt something but Ah didn't care! Ah felt a burnin' on my forehead and back. Ah kinda liked it. Like it was a fire that burned away the impure parts of me. = Noi! (Hail the Nutcracker Queen) = "I can feel them." Sweetie said afraid, her eyes dilated. Her eyes darted. Her horn flickered with black magic. "They're gathering." Sweetie's heart was poundin' in her chest. "Please! Don't come near her!" Her head darted like a bird's. Ah could feel somethin' buildin' up inside me. Ah'd have the power to save my sister, and wiped out every last one of these lies from the face of Equestria so cleanly that no lies would ever rise again! "I'm not liking where this is going..." Button Mash muttered. "Apple Bloom you're not sounding like you!" Scootaloo said a little too loud. Ah glared at 'er. "And how do we know what the real you sounds like, ya filthy liar?" Scootaloo stepped back like Ah'd hit her. +++ "I'm just saying Applejack," Nightmare Whisper whispered. "Even the pain monsters that invaded the universe and the concepts fought together weren't all evil. The youngest changed sides and now works as an assistant spirit of tax-systems. Applejack! What is it! I feel, SOMETHING, something FAMILIAR, something AWFUL!" Nightmare Mirror, was looking inside one of her mirror wings... inside... it showed Apple Bloom's point of view, from inside her farm house... a flick of the wing, and she had an outside view. With the Truth this strong in her, her own connection to her was that much stronger. After all, that drop of Truth had come from herself after all. And she saw... Apple Bloom's eye filling with Truth, and the marks on her forehead and back shimming with a dark silver light. Her face growin' with rage only a little filly could have. And... Mirror saw them... "Yes yes! The spirits of dark magic are convergin'... My plan worked out after all! Havin' her friends to protect made it grow even stronger! Ah knew bein' face to face with all these endless lies would make ya see the truth eventually!" "Applejack! I don't like that look on your face!" "Ya'll be my sucessor soon Apple Bloom." And... in the space between heart beats... the image in Nightmare Mirror's wings changed... instead of herself as Nightmare Mirror and Apple Bloom... she saw Nightmare Dusk... and herself as Applejack... whispering in her ear... that moment where the Valeyard had broken poor Apple Pie before Applejack's eyes... where Nightmare Dusk had struck in that moment of rage and pain, to mold Applejack into the Nightmare she wanted, not caring how much it hurt her or hurt others. As Nightmare Mirror gazed into her own reflection, looking deeper and deeper into herself... it twisted and warped... it was Nightmare Eclipse, smiling Twilight Sparkle's smile back at her. Millions of years ago... Nightmare Mirror remembered. When she watched her world be destroyed. "You'll understand one day, Applejack... I'm doing this for the right reasons and the right cause, it's the best. Besides, it's not like I'm hurting anypony real." Mirror shook her head and look at Nightmare Whisper. Only with her eyes of truth, she wasn't seeing Nightmare Whisper anymore, it was plain ordinary Fluttershy, from so long ago. "I'm sorry, Twilight, while Discord is the most awful person I've ever met, I think the effort spent on revenge could be better spent helping those he's hurt." "Pinkie Pie, I'm sure the world you came from was very wonderful and nice... but there are still ponies in THIS world that need help." "Rainbow Dash, I AM loyal to my friends, I'm NOT loyal to Discord, but I'm loyal to Fluttercruel, she didn't ask to be born the way Discord made her, she's like a parasprite, I won't hurt her to punish him." "Applejack? . . . What do you have to show me? OH ALL THE POOR BUNNIES! AND DUCKS! AND MICE! AND PIGS! AND BEARS! AND GOATS! AND DUCKS! AND SQUIRRELS! AND FERRETS! AND WEASELS! AND OTTERS! AND GEESE! AND OCTOPI! Discord's magic did all of this?! I knew he changed them but I thought maybe most were doing okay! Nopony is looking after them all! More to show? What? How my filly is going to turn out? . . . N-no! NO! NO! NO! NO! I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN! I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN! SHE WON'T TURN OUT LIKE THAT! I'LL NEVER LET HER TURN OUT LIKE THAT! They all wanted an assertive Fluttershy?! Here's Miss Assertive!" "WHAT HAVE AH DONE?!" Nightmare Mirror screamed at the top of her lungs. + "APPLE BLOOM, STOP!!!" Like a drop of liquid soap that’d fallen into a bowl of grime, the invisible swarm of long arms were pushed away. Gone. Everypony was left with their thoughts derailed at the sight and feel before them, like the entire world had lost its pacing. An Applejack: larger than the amputee Applejack in the room, with a wavering mane in an unseen wind, with barding polished to mirrored perfection. With a spiral horn atop her head, with wings adorned in reflective barding and emerald jewels shaped like eyes so interconnected that you couldn't tell where the barding ended and the wings began. She hugged the little filly, sobbing, and shaking, her wings spread wrapped around her. Apple Bloom stared out ahead... shock and confused at what was happening, but at the same time her head clearing, realizing in shame and guilt what she had just said to her friend... The fire inside her faded. It was like waking up from a dream, or maybe a nightmare. Nightmare Mirror said, "Stop... just... just stop... please... stop..." To Be Continued... > Final Element of Harmony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "ʻanoʻi Ceestia," Scootaloo said. "Not even close, sorry, darlin'," Nightmare Mirror said. Sweetie Belle took a trot back from the Nightmare, her dark magic slowly charging (there was a lot more in the air than normal). Button stayed close to her. Apple Bloom just shuddered and pressed herself into Nightmare Mirror's embrace. The burning inside and out had faded, but wasn't forgotten. Slowly, carefully, and somewhat reluctantly, Nightmare Mirror gave Apple Bloom to Applejack's embrace. Apple Bloom barely noticed the exchange, she just pressed herself into her sister's side. Applejack eyed her Nightmare self carefully. All eyes slowly drifted to the Nightmare's color-inverted cutie mark. "Ah... Ya just stopped somethin' awful from happenin' to my baby sister... so Ah know ya ain't all bad... but what are ya doin' here, Nightmare Mirror?" 'Only name Ah've got a right to here.' "Stoppin' Apple Bloom from making a mistake Ah helped her make." She sighed. "But, me an' Orangejack beat ya!" Mirror resisted facing hooving. "Not this again. Ah wasn't THAT Nightmare Mirror, Ah'm a purer breed," she explained with no pride in her voice. "Ya do look more together than the last one Ah tangled with." The foals concluded 'rumors curse' based on what they were hearing. "Ah know Nightmares, and Ah know worlds, no way ya just came here out of the blue... What's yer stake in this?" "Family." "Ah meant besides that. And if yer here, Ah can put two and two together... YOU infected Apple Bloom with the truth, didn't ya?!" Applejack asked with venom in her voice. "That's only the tip of the iceberg. If ya knew the whole story about me, ya'd hate me too much to accept my help, and ya can't afford that, them's the truth. And yah know me well enough tah know Ah mean that when Ah say it. If Ah hadn't given Apple Bloom the Truth, she'd be monster food or a monster herself by now." "Ya think Ah can't tell when Ah'm not givin' the whole truth?" Applejack hissed. "Ah gave'er the Truth to help her cause she'd NEED it... but Ah also gave to 'er, cause Ah knew givin' Truth to a little filly in a place like the world's become was a straight road to becomin' my replacement. And Ah told 'er that point blank when Ah gave it to her!" Applejack would have kicked Mirror in the face. But she was holding Apple Bloom, and she was so drunk she'd likely hit herself first. Her brain was on fire just trying to keep focused. If there was one thing she could thank Chrysalis for, it was building up her endurance to this kinda thing. "But then Apple Bloom got her friends along with her, friendship always did have a way of holdin' back the Nightmares... Ah figured that scheme was kaput... turns out Ah was dead wrong. And it finally hit me what Ah was REALLY doin'." "Y'know, Ah've never seen a Nightmare have a change of heart." "Ah'm only a Nightmare on the outside." "... Ya ain't lyin', which makes what you did to Apple Bloom worse!" "Ah told ya! She needed the help! And...Yer right, Ah'm sorry." "Applejack!" Granny Smith called from the kitchen. "If yer gonna talk ta yerself, quiet down!" The Nightmare and pony looked at each other. Practically against their wills, both broke into a slight giggle. "... An Apple accepts a sincere apology... and Ah know that there's no way ya ain't sincere... and Ah'm an Apple to the core." Nightmare Mirror bowed. "Thank ya kindly." "Also... if yer Applejack on the inside, then dagnabbit, start ACTING like it! Is this scheme REALLY what ya would've done with yer Apple Bloom?!" "Ah don't deserve to call mahself Apple-" "Golden Tiara don't think she deserves her name, but is she still actin' like Screwball?" "... No, she ain't." "Applejack..." Apple Bloom whispered, barely opening one eye, hesitantly. "Yes, little sister?" Applejack's full attention was on her. "Ya know what Ah see when Ah look at 'er?" She looked right at the Nightmare. "Ah see you, hurtin' on the inside." "Ah...Ah think this mess is TRYIN' tah mess with the truth side of my eyes..." Applejack muttered; it was taking a lot of her determination just to speak straight. "...So, Mirror, tell the truth, why yah hurtin'?" "... Ah told ya, if ya knew, ya'd hate me too much to accept my help, and ya can't afford that. Don't make me repeat myself more. Yer better off NOT knowin'." "Oh! I think I know!" Button Mash pipped up. (Scootaloo's Diary: Just in case he did, I smacked him in the face with one of my wings before he could spill the beans on something. I can't remember every last detail of my dream Princess Dash gave me... It took every trick my parents taught me with three apple eating lie detectors in the room to tell what happened on our adventure to Applejack without telling stuff I know Princess Dash wouldn't want me to give away.) "So... yer Spike beat up that monster from the memories in my head? Ah was hopin' it was all fake," AJ said, looking at the metal foreleg. "Ya know Spike. No matter the reality, he'll always care about Rarity. But yah should be thankin' the kids, they're the ones that ruined his proper way into the world and made most of that fake. Abandon never got 'properly born' so tah speak thanks tah them. Spike just cut his temper tantrum short." Apple Bloom, who was still keeping one eye barely open said softly. "And ya can thank 'Cousin Surprise' when ya see 'er." Nightmare Mirror's ears perked. "Ah'll try. Ah'm just gonna say it, Apple Bloom, Ah kept naggin' that ya ain't my Apple Bloom, but there Ah was, tryin' take make ya more like me... when it's the last thing yer Applejack would ever want. Ah, Ah'm sorry." "Yer bein' honest, and an Apple accepts a sincere apology," Apple Bloom said, trying to sound adult, which naturally made her only sound more childish. "Thank ya kindly, Apple Bloom. Hearin' ya say that... And Ah'll tell ya the truth. Ah just don't want to shame the family. That's why Ah don't call myself AJ no more 'except around my friends." "...We're willin' tah forgive Diamond, Alula, and Tootsie for their part in all this, Ah'm... sure we can forgive yah for what yah did..." Apple Bloom replied, her friends nodding. Mirror looked in her own wings. "...Yer right...and that's why yer better than meh and mah friends were. And Ah MEAN that. Applejack... There's somethin' Ah wanna say." Nightmare Mirror leaned in and whispered to Applejack. "What did ya learn when ya, Liarjack, Orangejack, and the rest beat up that Nightmare Mirror?" "...Ah learned that Ah could have been as happy in Manehatten after all. And Orangejack, wasn't a bad pony. Princess Luna said Ah gotta accept a contrary truth or Ah'd end up like you. And Ah did accept it." Applejack whispered back. "... Ya learned somethin' important, AJ... ya really did... but Ah won't force ya. Ah know how stubborn Applejacks are. Ah'll just ask, do ya wanna see the bigger truth to that? Ah promise it won't turn ya into a Nightmare or the like or whatever." "...Pinkie Promise?" "Cross mah heart, hope tah fly, stick a cupcake in mah eye," the outer Nightmare replied, even doing the motions. "Ah can't promise Ah'll understand much when Ah can barely move my body right." "It'll be good enough. It'll just be a tick fer ya." The outer Nightmare whispered. And opened her wing and showed AJ the reflection within. + It wasn't another trip through Truth, yeah, Ah can hear how disappointed ya are. Anywho, what Ah saw instead was somethin' else. The six of all were all still friends, we all still lived in Ponyville, we still saved Luna from herself and beat Discord and Chrysalis... but... we were different. Ah had a diamonds cutie mark and was makin' dresses. RD was flying takin' care of animals with butterflies on her butt. Rarity had RD's mark and was movin' the clouds around. Fluttershy had Pinkie Pie's mark makin' little foals laugh. And Pinkie Pie was workin' the farm with Big Mac. Twilight was still Twilight though. But then... somethin' happened, Ah didn't see what... and all our cutie marks were back to normal... except... Ah couldn't farm worth nothin'. Rarity's poked herself with the needles more than the dresses. Fluttershy's animals looked ready to eat her. Pinkie Pie's jokes were all Apple related and had the audience throwing apples AT her. And Rainbow Dash was shockin' herself with the weather clouds. Thing blurred again, and all our cutie marks were back to being mixed up... but... they were... we were... happy and relieved. And spent a long time talkin' 'bout how we got to live in each other's horse shoes for a while. Something else happened... but it all became a blur before Ah could WHAT! The vision ended. And Ah was back in this ugly twisted insult to my home and family. And my leg was replaced with a metal one again. "What was that?!" Ah gasped. Nightmare Mirror leaned in close and said lowly. "Destiny is what ya make it. As a Nightmare, Ah could never accept it, and Ah hate acceptin' it now. Ah wanted everythin' set in stone. Ah can't stand how liquid some things are across the world lines. THAT is the bigger truth, DESTINY, IS, WHAT, YA, MAKE, IT!...There's always a choice. Don't let anypony ever tell ya different. Ah know that all sounds just like common sense, but sometimes it gotta be said...and Ah can't be that. Ah still want a world without germs, instead of ponies having to get sick all the time to have the best immunity, so to speak in fancy metaphor. And Ah know... that's gonna lead to misery somehow... " "HEY! We're the heroes for this adventure! Let us in on what you're talking about!" The Button kid said to us whisperin'. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and smacked the kid in the face with her wing again. "See, Sweetie Belle? That's what you do when your coltfriend puts his hoof in it," Scootaloo said matter of fact. "No, that's what you do," Sweetie Belle said without a hint of spite. "We do have somethin' tah settle with my family, but..." Mirror said. "...Ah snapped when one family member got hurt by a lie, here yah are with ALL your family hurt by a million and still haven't so much as called the Spirits of Dark Magic...yah looked the truth in the eye and it had tah blink first...So the honest truth? Mah Rainbow already said this tah herself, and it's true: Applejack...yer just plain better than meh." "... Ya say it's better that Ah don't know what happened. Ah'll trust ya on that. But if we're Applejack, Ah'm guessin' ya just didn't have help when ya needed it to save ya from yerself. That doesn't mean it wasn't yer mistakes... but still... yer an Apple." Ah managed to stand a bit better, but the world still spun around every time Ah tried to so much as twitch a muscle. Ah was still usin' my metal leg as a cane. "If there's always a choice: Then that means, Ah'm free. And so are you, Applejack." 'Nightmare Mirror' started... then bowed her head, and took her Pa's hat off her head and over her heart. "Thank ya kindly, Applejack." Ah nodded, then Ah lifted up Apple Bloom's little head. "Open yer eyes, Apple Bloom, both of em... look..." Ah felt woozy. The poison wasn't leavin' my veins. "Look into mine." She slowly did. And Ah saw The Truth in her, in her eye, spreadin' like an infection through 'er. It wasn't as bad as just before 'Nightmare' AJ showed up, but it was still there. Ah still smiled at her. After everythin' she told me she'd gone through, Ah was proud of her for not givin' in, Princess Luna told me how close Ah was to becomin' Nightmare Mirror before. "Apple Bloom, Ah just wanna say, Ah'm so proud of ya. Ya and yer friends have helped so many ponies this time. Ya might have had help, no shame in that, goodness knows Ah had tah learn that the hard way. But none of it would have happened if ya weren't there to shine the truth on everypony. Ya were braver than ya've ever been. Even when the curse got ya, ya fought yer way back tah the truth. Even when these nasties remade it so even history is screwed up, ya still helped everypony see the truth beyond truth... Dang Ah sound like Twili'. Ah've never been prouder." Ah hug her tighter and nuzzled 'er. "Shucks... t'weren't nothin'," Apple Bloom said with a slight smirk. "Ya helped talk sense into all the ponies in Ponyville after Ugly Disco-Board hurt everypony. Ah was just folowin' in yer hoofsteps big sister." She nuzzled me. Ah looked at her friends. "Girls, if ya've come this far, and gotten so many ponies to snap out of it, then Ah know ya can get little Tootsie and Cloud Kicker's sister back to their senses too. And... don't ya worry none about Diamond Tiara. Me and my friends are old pros by now at gettin' Nightmares back to normal. She'll be back with her folks in no time. Ya just get this curse broken, and we'll take it from there. Ya'll of done enough." Ah knew that look they gave me back, what worried me more was that they weren't even tryin' to hide it. They were in this till the end of the line. Dangit. Well, cross that bridge when we come to it. "And if that no good stinkin' apple-thievin' slimly, slithering, rat-faced, snake-in-the-grass Discord is part of this... don't believe a thing he says. He'll tell ya lies, half-truths, brutal truths, ANYTHIN' to get ya ta break. He won't hurt ya straight up, there's no FUN in it. Twilight gave ya those enchantments against mind magic, Ah don't know how well they'll stack against draconequus magic opposed to changeling magic, so be on guard. Stroke his ego. And believe in yerself." Heh! Ah'm half drunk and speakin' all big and fancy like is the others' department. RD said the same thing once? Ah'll be a monkey's auntie! The foals all smile and nodded, gettin' that whole 'eye of the tiger' look on their faces. "By and by," Other Me said with a smile. "If ya get some extra bits this year, ya outta invest in jewel polish, trust me, it'll be a good investment." Ah was gonna ask what she meant, when somethin' awful rattled through me like a shockwave. Other Me fell down to her knees. She looked sick, she blurring in a way that had nothin' to do with the hard cider inside me. It looked like her teeth were grownin' fangs like the Nightmare Night version of Nightmare Moon. "Dagnabbit, Ah knew this would happen!" Nightmare Me shouted. She was... she was turnin' dusty pink with a charcoal lines... it was like the orange was pushin' back, she was as stubborn as me, and we both had the truth... but Ah knew it was a losin' fight. Ah felt new memories tryin' to force their way in. Meanwhile, Other Me was gettin' bigger and meaner-lookin'. Sweetie's eye widened. "She knows! Diamond Tiara knows you're here!" She said. She grabbed a copy of that dang newspaper off of the table where Big Mac left it for me. When our parents died from demons, he always supported me, and Ah learned not ta show mercy. "So shocked at finding another Nightmare... she knows who's been helping us now!" "That didn't happen with Spike!" Scoots shouted. "He already had an excuse for how he got big!!" Apple Bloom gasped. 'Meddling Nightmares Shall Be Punished' read the headline on the magic newspaper: An evil and feral Nightmare from another dimension here to destroy the world, slain by demon hunter Applejack, left in critical condition. And Ah saw a Nightmare, in some dadgum good need of some slayin'. Dangit! Ah pushed Apple Bloom away. "Get away from us!" "But we need tah save yah!" Apple Bloom called back gettin' up. "Blue blazes, there ain't no time to argue! Ah've got a Nightmare ta slay!" Nightmare Me was lookin' bigger and scarier than before. She looked at us, then focused on me, then she seemed to be lookin' behind me and pointed a hoof. "UH! Do ya think Granny forget to feed Winona?! She might be really hungry for fillies if she did!" We all knew what they meant and we turned to see... just the back end of the livin' room. Ah felt somethin' trail down my back. "Ah thought yah..." We looked back and Other Me was...gone. "No Ah didn't forget to feed Winona II sillies fillies! Ah don't want 'er eatin' Sweetie Belle before moonrise, don't worry, it'll be real soon Sweetie Belle." And without a Nightmare to slay, Ah felt wobbly, Ah wasn't sure what to do with myself. Sweetie ground her teeth angrily, then shook er head. "Diamond Tiara, she can't sense where Nightmare Mirror is anymore. She's NOT happy. She knows you didn't kill her, she's not letting that mistake happen again. And she's on the look out for more 'rivals'. I... I don't think we can count on their help anymore." "Can't we catch a break?!" Scootaloo asked. "We're at the end of the game..." Button lamented. "Things are SUPPOSED to be challenging and tough during the endgame!" Ah don't know where she ran to, but that was 'bout the smartest thing she coulda done. My body caught up to my brain and Ah fell onto the floor again, the room spinnin'. At least stayin' drunk meant Ah didn't have tah worry about the hangovers. Ah don't think Ah'll be able to touch hard cider ever again after this, least Aunt and Uncle Orange will be proud. And layin' there on the floor, Ah felt hooves stompin'. + "Don't ya worry none, Applejack!" Ah knelt down lookin' my big sister Applejack in the eyes. "We're gonna cure yah, and ya'll be back to yerself in no time, and so will Big Mac, Granny Smith, Winona, and the whole farm! If Ah can't see the curse in ya, we'll just have'ta get ya to see just how plum stupid they are! Yer not a killer! We don't do traditions just cause! And ya ... okay ya fight monsters but ya never lost yer arm cause of it! And...yeah, yah fought Nightmares but ya never killed any!" Ah'll admit, Ah was trippin', Ah'd just nearly... Ah'd just nearly turned into exactly what Nightmare Mirror warned would happen eventually when she gave me the Truth. No, Ah still don't hate 'er, the Truth saved my friends' flanks way too many times for that. But... Applejack was a sucker for tradition, she was a mighty tough pony, and she and her friends did fight monsters... what was the part that WASN'T Applejack? "Apple Bloom!" big sister gasped out. "Ah know! Ah know! But-but!" She shook her head, Ah saw The truth in her eyes fighting back against the sludge in her, her eye turnin' their real green for a second. "Ah! AH AIN'T the one with the lies' roots in me! Ah'm NOT THE GATE KEEPER!!!" Ah heard us all gaspin'. Ah fell on my flank. Everythin' in my head spun out of control at once. Big Sister not the gate keeper?! How did that even make sense?! All the Elements of Harmony were the gate keepers right? Right? But-but... then... me nearly bein' turned into a monster... us havin' to sneak past that monster of Winona... it... it was all just a waste? No! No, that couldn't be! "But then who is?!" Scootaloo shouted buzzing her wings and flying up, her cape flapping in her wind. "Ya three never CAN stop makin' noise, can ya?! Even with two cutie marks, ya somehow make three times as much noise! How's anypony supposed to work? Ya cause so much trouble it's wonder ANYTHIN' get done 'round here." Ah turned. There in the entry way... it was... it was Big Brother Big Macintosh... Ah saw what the others didn't... Oh Applejack, are ya seein' this too? He was bloated with lies, like Miss Cheerilee, a skin sack full of snakes. The look on Big Mac's face... he looked at me, at us, like he would at a mad timber wolf that had to be put down... Or a plague of angry apples moths. Mah brain flashed back to Pinkie Pie's bubble...When Ah had the root in me and Ah saw myself full of those things... = Battle Realms - Lotus theme Dark Homily = Big Mac had always been big and strong, he was the biggest and strongest pony Ah've ever known! His shadow began to spread out and cover the whole room! Applejack... she just... she just fainted dead away, like she'd just plain run out of juice...Applejack, stubborn determined Applejack run out of juice... Ah heard her mumble like she was readin' a script, "What was Ah sayin' again?" Ah felt ice go through my heart at hearin' that. Then ... the whole living room change... Applejack vanished... so did all the doors and windows... the furniture changed into crates and barrels. The wallpaper and pictures fell away to show just brick walls. The wood floors became stone. The ceiling was filled with spiderweb and was raw wood. The entry tilted up and dug upwards, showin' that ugly pink sky before slammin' closed with a clang. We were in the cellar, in the blink of an eye. The livin' room had transformed into the apple cellar. Cloth gags flew in our faces like Nightmare Night ghosts, and wrapped themselves around our mouths. Ropes sprang from behind us fast as cobras! Our rear and front hooves were all tied together behind our backs. We fell to the ground like sacks of flour. It all happened so fast. We didn't have time ta think! And Big Mac... he just loomed closer and closer. Next to 'em was a tool box full of knives more rusty than Granny would ever let 'em get. All of 'em pointed and edging towards us like live monsters that couldn't wait to dig in. That skin sack of my brother with all those black snakes inside said, "All Ah want is a quiet life, without all ya Cutie Mark Crusaders runnin' round the place, making with the noise. When Ah'm finished with y’all, there gonna be no noise from ya ever again." Everythin', like the Truth was still gettin' stronger a bit, and Ah saw... everythin', covered in black snakes, even the gags and ropes... black snakes... everywhere... Big Mac looked at poor Button Mash. "And ya and yer ma are moral busybodies, always buttin' on my family's business, she as annoyin' as Rarity. Then again, least Rarity has a brain her head." Button Mash's eyes bulged, and he wriggled like a worm on a hook, futilely trying to spew out some angry words Ah couldn't make out. "Yer ma wouldn't approve of that language. Ah'll just have'ta clean it out with battery acid." Applejack and her fiends weren't comin'. Phobia wasn't comin'. Aphrodite wasn't comin'. Nightmare Applejack and her friends weren't comin'. Pipsqueak and his crew weren't comin'. Blanky wasn't here to save us. Doctor Whooves wasn't comin' to save us. Spike wasn't here. And Button Mash, he was as tied up and gagged like us. "Ah'm gonna take off the gags, and the first one to scream get their tongue cut out. But keep screamin' if ya want, Ah wanna have fun with Applejack for that injury before Applebuck season while Ah'm at it too." "'Ou an', ''ari'ice 'lue moon." Sweetie muffled out. Big Mac didn't miss a beat. "We'll just use that Firelock unicorn filly instead... Ponyville's full of noisy foals. Granny Smith won't mind." He went over to the tool box and took out the big rusty knife. There was nopony comin' to save us. We were on our own... ... So what? = X-Men Theme - 1990s cartoon = Button Mash usin' his nose opened up his menu, summoned his sword and cut his ropes in two! Ah looked at the ropes, and Ah saw the truth of the where they were strongest, and weakest, burin' mah hide 'n' muscles and Ah scuttled my way out of 'em! Sweetie Belle's horn glowed and usin' her telekinesis pulled the ropes apart. Scootaloo's wing edges glowed blue and she used that wing blade of hers to slice the ropes off! Big Mac's expression didn't change. His shadow just moved through the room like the tentacles of squid. "Ah ain't impressed. Ya girls' parlor tricks can't save ya from me. Ya ain't got no hope!" Then the ropes... they became whole again and turned into locks and chains, and just like that, we were tied up again. "Now where were we?" Big Mac said soundin' annoyed. "... Being not-at-all impressed by you!" One of us shouted, maybe me, maybe the others, IT DIDN'T MATTER! Button Mash used an item that read 'Master Key', and usin' his mouth, undid the lock on his chains. "Knew buying this from Pipqueak would come in handy!" Sweetie Belle charged her black magic and cut the chains apart. And some of the floor, but that ain't our concern right now. Ah channeled every last drop of Earth Pony magic Ah could, Ah saw where the weak link the chains were, and slammed them into the stone floor, breakin' em. Scootaloo charged up her wing blade spell... and vibrated her wings with the buzzin' she could always do... and before my very eyes, she BUZZSAWED THROUGH THE CHAINS! "Ya retarded, filthy, greedy, noisy, stupid, selfish, slutty little rats. If ya wanted it all at once, ya just had to ask. Maybe ya'll won't be totally borin' after all, maybe... Nope, yer still pieces of meat for me to dump my horse apples in and stick my knife into!" He pointed the rusty blade at us. None of us dignified this thing usin' my brother's face with a response. Not that we actually UNDERSTOOD half of what he said. "Don't hurt 'em too bad! That's still my brother in there!" Ah said. Big Mac's eye widened and his mouth almost dropped the knife. "YOU?! HURT ME?! YA REALLY ARE RETARDED!" Big Mac looked redder than usual. Then he laughed. "Bad joke! Now shut up and die!" + Each foal gave Big Mac a look that could have killed. United together, they were a herd. =Ultimate Metal Crusaders - Kil vs. Stone McKnuckle = Big Mac, big brother to the Element of Honesty, a crimson giant among stallions and an unstoppable force when he set his will to it to even give some Alicorns pause, empowered by the flow of fate itself and a thousand rumors all focused and rooted inside him. He charged like a knife-wielding locomotive against the four, tiny foals, two of them blank flanks and three of them unarmed. And they were held back by the fact this stallion had been changed by a reality twisting curse, wiping who he had been from existence, but still clinging to the hope that that stallion could be brought back to life. So they held back their strength against Big Mac whose strength equaled that of some younger dragons. To call it a fight would be an overstatement. Slaughter was too kind a term: it was total annihilation. To give details would be a waste of space. The outcome might as well have been decided before the 'fight' even began. "AGH! STOP! STOP!" Came the scream from the basement. "NO! NO!" It came again. "IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!" Followed soon after by, "MERCY! PLEASE! AHHHH!" and "HA! I KNEW YOU'D COME TO HELP! WE'RE GOING TO WIN NOW!" and, "NOOOOOO!!! IMPOSSIBLE! BUT-! BUT-! BUCK YOU! BUCK YOU ALL THE WAY TO TARTARUS YOU LITTLE HORSE APPLES! BUCK-UGHAGH!" "Sorry 'bout that, Big Mac," Apple Bloom apologized as she stuffed the gag in her big brother's mouth, his beaten, bruised, and battered body tied up with ropes and chains (gotten from Button Mash's inventory of course that somehow refused to break even under Big Mac's weight). Scootaloo stretched her muscles. "Geeze... I was almost worried there for a sec' when all those ropes and chains joined together and turned into a land-squid." She kicked one of the severed tentacles aside. "After fighting Hound of Tindalos, it wasn't THAT scary," Sweetie Belle said. "I think the curse forgot it was supposed to make sense." "Sweetie! Did you see that super-mega-ultra-combo I did?! And it was all with the flat of my sword, I promise Apple Bloom." "Ah believe ya Button Mash, and Ah'd say we all saw ya." "What about when 'He Who Walks Behind the Trees' showed up?" Scootaloo asked. "Never saw that holy water coming," Applebloom replied. "Or that cider could be flammable. Or that HE was flammable. Don't know why he thought we NEEDED 'em tah bring fertility to the farm either." "Was that another eldritch abomination or just a rumors thingie?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Hard tah tell, weren't a pony though. His shadow ran away though." Big Mac screamed and cursed with bloodshot eyes at the foals. "Hey don't take this personally," Scootaloo said. "We've done this thing five or seven times already. You didn't stand a chance." "Anypony need a healing potion?" Botton Mash offered. "Naw Ah think we're good," Apple Bloom said. Big Mac kept screaming through his gag harder than an angry toddler. Scootaloo knelt down, putting one foreleg on the knee of her back legs, striking a sea-goer nose. "Seriously, after Rainbow Dash, Cheerilee, Zecora, whatever the heck was up with Pinkie Pie, that had to be the STUPIDEST reason to kill us we've seen! Because we were making too much noise?! Seriously! I sure hope Alula didn't write this, I expect a member of the Rainbow Dash fan club to be a lot better at writing scary stories than this! Kohu 'ole." "And seriously, after all the twists with Zecora's masks-" "-the school's death traps-" Scootaloo shuddered. "-and Abandon-" Sweetie Belle shuddered too. "-And what happened to me at Pinkie Pie's." Apple Bloom shuddered as well. "And plus havin' a bajillion bad Twilights inside Twilight when we were just startin' out BEFORE we joined with our other-selves? Havin' to face that big shadow monster you was just recyclin'." "AND Dash being the head of the Rainbow Factory and having an ARMY?" "While the rest of us fought Shub-Neighurath?" Sweetie added. "And had to go back in time to make a cosmic alignment happen to weaken an unholy super-monster at a specific time while fighting her in an imagination powered flying pirate ship," Button added. "Oh, and having to fight evil demon worshipers who...might have been your ancestors without killing or badly hurting them so we didn't cause a time paradox to do it." "Yeah, we've kinda outgrown the 'helpless foals' role," Scootaloo said. "No thanks." "We've come a long way big brother, we're gonna save the world, and we ain't gonna be stopped OR lose who we are to the likes of what twisted you into this. Ah'll get ya healed, and then we can save the world," Apple Bloom said lovingly. "WE ROCK!" Button Mash cheered, hopped in the air and clapped his back hooves together waving his sword around like an lovable idiot. Sweetie stopped him before he cut himself and hugged him and nuzzled him. Scootaloo then hugged them both. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER HEROES! YAY!" They all cheered. Apple Bloom looked at the red sack of snakes in the shape of her brother. She narrowed her eyes. "Alright, my turn...Big Brother, Ah know ya don't talk much, but how ya act speaks loud enough. Ya've always been here, even when Applejack couldn't... And Ah'm here for ya now!" The look of rage and hate in those bloodshot eyes didn't change. Apple Bloom looked into them with the Truth. She took off the gag. And his eyes were focused on hers. + Apple Bloom's diary: "Big Mac... ya gotta know somewhere in there, that none of what yer doin' makes sense. Yer ways smarter than anypony ever give ya credit for! In yer own way ya see things clearer than Applejack sometimes! And yer way too smart to do somethin' this awful for somethin' so dumb!" "Maybe this is a side of myself ya just haven't seen. Ya know what they say 'bout the quite ones." "Ya ain't quiet! Ah said yer actions speak loud enough for ya. The Big Mac Ah've grown up with? The one Ah've gotten to know? He'd NEVER do anythin' like this! Ya put up with practically RAISING ME yer whole life! Includin' through them 'terrible twos.' Granny Smith's shown meh the pictures enough times tah know that weren't easy! And we've been LESS noisy 'round the farm since we got Applejack's clubhouse!" "Ever heard of the straw that broke the camel's back?" "Heard nothin', Ah've SEEN AND LISTENED TO IT! When we went too far with Gabby Gums, ya didn't hesitate to tell me and my friends how much we screwed up! Ya banished us from yer sight! Ya always speak yer mind, sometimes with words, sometimes with what ya do, but ya don't just hide it away lettin' it boil over. If we were bein' too loud, yah'd have TOLD US FIRST! And what about all the times WE MADE NOISE TOGETHER?! ... Yer not that stupid or that petty!" Ah saw the crack. Ah heard the snakes hiss and cry out as they withered away inside 'em. ".... Y-y-yep?" Ah struck home, now Ah wasn't gonna stop 'till Ah stamped out every last one of these nasty snakes! Just me, Big Mac, and the Real Truth! = Undertale - SAVE the World = "Applejack's no drunk! She's a dang workaholic! She'll work herself to the bone if she's gotta! How could she have done any of that if she's drunk all the time?! She'd have lost a leg from an accident before she lost it fightin' monsters! A drunk doesn't get half the orchard harvested by herself workin' day and night! Does she?!" "... N-n-nope!" "And Applejack could NEVER be a war criminal!" "Cause ya love 'er so much?" "No! Ah do love 'er that much! But that ain't why! Applejack's always held onto her principles! Her own rules! Her own morals! Even to the bitter end and when it works against her!" "She changed 'er principles when she accepted help for Apple Buck Season!" "Yeah, but there's a difference between changing for the RIGHT reasons and suddenly bein' the BAD GUY!" "Who's the bad guy changes on whose side yer on." "No." Sweetie? "Hercules was a good guy, even when working for Chrysalis, and Lone Ranger was a bad guy, even if he was doing what he was doing for Equestria," Sweetie said sadly. I shot back in. "And besides, here's a question: if there was a war, who the heck was it AGAINST?!" "The enemy!" "WHAT enemy?" "The enemy!" "That ain't an answer! Enemies don't exist just to be an enemy! Even these things we've been fightin' had a REASON for what they're doin', even if it's a plum rotten one! That dang changeling queen said it herself! Equestria's the land with more love than anywhere else she's seen! What makes Equestria strong is how good we are at MAKIN' friends!" Ah knew Ah was channelin' some of the Truth in me, but I wasn't losin' myself this time, Ah was savin' Big Mac, Ah was savin' my friends and family, Ah focused on THAT! Ah didn't let it use me! The strongest truth was that Ah loved my family! "We're friends with the griffins, the minotaurs, and the dragons! What did the 'enemy' want? What did we want?! What was so bad we couldn't work it out?! So can ya tell me one thing about this dang 'enemy' that was so awful Applejack did awful things to!? A name? A species? A reason? A COUNTRY? Anythin'?!" "... N-nope..." "Here's another question! How the heck can we be Demon Hunters that makes demons never-heard-from-again when we're worshippin' one for a good harvest?!" "Takin' care of rivals, duh." And the truth flowed straight through me. "How can a house squabblin' against itself do anythin'?" And Big Mac couldn't find any words, Ah didn't give him time to look! "Cousin told us how Equestria already has a whole section of the Royal Guard devoted to fightin' monsters! And Applejack's too busy on the farm to train for bein' a monster hunter too!" "She had time to learn how to give first aid from Doctor Red Heart, and train for and go to the Equestria Rodeo." Ah chuckled. "Then don't that mean she had LESS time tah learn tah be a demon hunter?! Besides...why did she need to be a demon slayer in the first place? Ponyville's home to Saint Sweet Heart's descendant! Ah'm pretty sure they're a lot more scared of her than some fancy demon killin' equipment! If Applejack wanted tah put down a demon, she'd just need tah ask for some holy stuff from her!" Ah...honestly couldn't help thinkin' THAT was somethin' Ah wished would stay when we fixed things. Red Heart was doin' a lot of good there. "And Ah saw a book in Twilight's library titled 'Banishing Evil Spirits For Dummies!' Where do yah think we got the idea tah splash 'He Who Walks Behind the Trees' with Holy Water from?! Us bein' some secret sect' makes no sense! Everypony knows what an evil spirit is, it bein' secret makes as much sense as AIR bein' secret!" "...Y-Y-yeepppppp." Ah've chopped away at the branches, now it was time to go fer the root! Get rid of this one, and the rest will go with it! "And here's the last one! Our family would NEVER plan to make Sweetie never-heard-from-again by offerin' her up to some evil spirit just to get a good harvest! We've got way too much pride for that!" "A little help never hurts. Isn't that what Applejack learned?" And Ah blew. "YA TAUGHT ME FRIENDS ARE FAMILY TOO! YA TAUGHT ME PONYVILLE'S A FAMILY! EQUESTRIA'S OUR FAMILY! AND WE'D NEVER DO SOMETHIN' LIKE THAT TO FAMILY! We accept help from FRIENDS, we don't TRADE help in blood to do the work for us! Well, except cracked and bloody hooves from a hard day's work! We're Apples! We're not that weak!" "Ya sayin' spirits can't be friends?" "No! Ah'm sayin' ya give somepony somethin' to SHOW yer friends, and a friend who asks for blood of another pony as a gift isn't a friend Ah'd want to have!" "What if it was just a test to show how much ya were willin' to give up?" "Then why ain't we havin' FAITH that's the case instead and he'd save her than bein' willin' tah kill her and givin' it as an excuse? Besides that...don't the Harvest Moon belong tah LUNA? Not some crazy demon? Come tah think about it..." Ah didn't take mah eyes off him, but Ah motioned tah mah friend. "Who did we bless that Holy Water in the name of?" "Princess Luna," Sweetie Belle replied. "And Saint Sweet Heart," Button replied looking at the item description in his inventory. "Just for good measure." We woulda used Princess Celestia, too, but the world said somethin' rotten about her, and would probably associate her with Unholy Water or something'. "If this demon cares so much about the Harvest Moon, then why did somethin' blessed in her name burn it! And how could Applejack ever look Rarity in the eye if Applejack sacrificed her little sister? No way no how!" Ah blinked, seein' somethin' in there. "...And if yah have feelin's for somepony, how could yah look 'em in the eye if yah murdered three little fillies? Could you Big Mac?" His entire body shook like he was gonna explode. Out of his mouth came a tiny whisper, "... N... n... nooope." And rainbows exploded from him. We all got knocked back on our flanks. The rainbows went right through the walls. And Ah got the big BIIIIG feelin' that it kept goin', through the farm, through that wall of fog, all the way across Equestria. Ah could imagine, Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinie Pie, Fluttershy, all looking up and knowin' SOMETHIN' had happened. Ah imagined Fluttercruel, Phobia and Maud Pie lookin' sick for a moment for some reason too. Ah imagined that rainbow bein' in the sky of every one of these crazy bubbles. And Ah didn't need to be Sweetie Belle to imagine the looks on Diamond, Umbra Breeze, and Discord's faces when they saw it from the top of their tower. Ah smiled, mah eyes never leavin' my big brother. The entire place shook, but nothin' fell outta place. A white light then exploded next from big brother... and it spread over everythin' and everypony in the farm! Ah didn't stop lookin'. The light burned away the snakes... turnin' to ashes that was blown away to nothin'. And when the light cleared... the colors, and the style of the world was back to how Ah remember it, except for some things bein' brighter and darker instead of things havin' the same colors no matter the light. Big Mac looked at me, and Ah saw Big Mac, the real Big Mac. Ah let out the biggest squeal of joy Ah could and hugged 'em! Ah heard my friends clappin' and cheerin' behind me! "Yer free!" Ah cried. "Yep!" He smiled. Above his head... a green jewel set in gold shape like his cutie mark appeared, it was covered in grim that then got washed away as soon as Ah saw it. It sparkled. And Ah heard somethin' unlockin' far away. "Hey! New trophy!" Button Mash rambled. "APPLE BLOOM!" The door slammed open. Applejack looking like Applejack, all four flesh and blood legs, stared down at us, and sober as rain. "ARE YA OKAY? BIG SISTER'S HERE!" "Ah'm right here, Applejack!" Ah waved my hoof. "We won!" Applejack looked at everythin' with her Truth, Ah could tell now, and she ran down and hugged me and Big Mac. "THANK YOU CADENCE!!!" She shouted. We all took a step back and nuzzled again. We were just happy everythin' was back tah normal! Then Ah remembered something. "Uh, sis?" Ah asked. "Yeah?" "Our apple cellar might be a tiny bit scorched, we kinda had to burn an evil demon thing that tried tah kill us." "Eeyup, it was possessin' meh and Granny," Big Mac explained. "Kids took care of it," he said, rubbing mah mane. "Like how you saved Winona from that alien thin' by getting her to gobble its mind up before it could do it to her." Ah blinked, so did AJ. Oh well! Winona was back tah bein' Winona! Applejack looked at my friends. "Ya girls did great! Ah'm sure yer big sisters and my beloved/best friend/just friend/dear friend/dearest one/special somepony, Rarity/Twilight/Rainbow Dash/Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy are all proud of ya too!" Applejack's eye momentarily spun in opposite directions. Applejack shook her head. "Dang... Ah guess that hasn't gone away." She shivered. "Those little fillies need to learn the difference between 'just friends' and JUST ACTUALLY FRIENDS. Celestia's Rainbow's ma? Well at least that might explain the hair." "Ya okay Applejack?" Big Mac asked. "Just shakin' off some bad headaches," AJ said. Ah guess the crazy mixing up rumors weren't going away, even if at least AJ knew it was all lies. "And Apple Bloom," Applejack said smilin'. "You and Ah, and yer Big Brother, and Granny Smith, are gonna have a looong talk about that dang earrin' Zecora done gave ya." Big Mac finally noticed the little thing on my ear. His eyes narrowed. "Eyup!" Ah swallowed. Oh boy. She hugged me. "But fer now, let's get some grub in ya girls! And Big Mac... let's get ya untied and to bed. Yer a mess." Oh! Right! Heheh! Oops! "Sorry we had tah rough yah up so much Big Brother," Ah said. "That demon put up a big fight." "No worries, sis. Ah'm just glad yah got it out of meh," he said, giving me a nuzzle. We then heard a bark and Winona came into the cellar. She then gave a happy yip and ran over, licking my face. The Truth showed she was full of fireflies now, but Ah could tell she was our dog. + Watching the bushel of Apples hug, Sweetie Belle whispered. "Is anypony else confused Big Mac had an Element of Harmony inside him?" "Video game logic." Button Mash offered. "Maybe he's back-up Honesty? Like the Green Lamp? Comic book logic?" Scootaloo asked. "Or Nightmare Mirror gave him the truth too and he's just better at handling it?" "Then again, maybe it's just the world's gone crazy and leave it at that." Sweetie rescinded. "If there's one thing Trixie showed us, it's that we can't go wrong with more Element Bearers around." + After Apple Bloom finished the hug (and getting dog kisses) she came back to her friends and the four hugged one another. "Six down?" "Three to go," Sweetie Belle replied, smiling. The group had no intention to stop saving ponies just because they'd finished saving the six. "Girls?" Button asked. "I just want to say...thanks for being my friends. I hope no matter what happens, you're my best friends and I hope it stays that way!" The girls hugged him tight and nodded in agreement. + The brave and cunning Daring Do could really use a break. "Okay... that creepy foal knocked the orange filly clean out of Cloudsdale... he gets me to stay because 'I'll only get hurt' so I don't get caught in the crossfire... then he suddenly changes his mind and tells me to fly for it like I was going to do in the first place! I run into a buncha foals dressed up like pirates with an invisible dog. I have to help them fight this big black ink monster, THEN have to stop a gang of monkeys in green uniforms from hurting them and getting them safe to Cheerilee's school." Daring Do did another flying spin and delivered a spear kick to the 'face' of the Dark Spawn in trying to molest her, making it fall over like timber. "And THEN I have to save that uppity, spoiled pop star Countess and her nice and friendly manager from a gang of evil singing fish pony monsters who wanted to make her more of their kind... And getting THEM to Cheerilee's school safely, (the foals sure liked her showing up)." Daring Do flew circles around the horrors as another tried to stuff her in its mouth. In doing so, she tricked one into inadvertently running into another's 'mouth'. "And THEN, when I make it all the way back to this spot that I KNOW that orange filly and her friends were at this whole time, I get stuck having to fight a bunch of evil walking fleshy trees monsters... No pony said this job was going to be easy. And now I'm talking to myself. Great. And what the heck were those evil corn stalks about?!" she finished, back hoofing a Dark Spawn in its 'face'. She saw the farmhouse in the distance on the other side of the orchard. "I am the Glue-Maker! Beware my evil!" "Oh come on!" Daring Do groaned. "Enough already!" + The nightmare of Diamond Tiara, a blank diamond, teleported into the printing room, Pharaoh of #43/#15 scowling over the battle map of Canterlot as Umbra Breeze continued to furiously write on his typewriter. A dark-colored crystal pony, Obsidian Zephyr, stepped towards to the little inner circle of the villains. The Night-filly began to furiously write on a sheet of paper. "The last barrier's gone. Father, it's time to pull the plug on this game. What we were planning may not be done in time. This is our safer bet. I'm writing a historical article on how Megan The Golden Savior was killed when she defeated Tirek. Without her there to help the early ponies to defeat the old villains, the Elements of Harmony will never exist and without her brother there the Gizmonks will claim the Rainbow of Light as their own or it will remain lost in the Glass Desert. Your original reign will never be thwarted. You're a CONCEPT father, you're IMMUNE to paradoxes, so there should be no trouble for you." 'So are Luna and Celestia, and look at how it 'didn't' effect them.' "The story doesn't mention you directly, father, so it shouldn't affect you." Obsidian Zephyr crossed his forehooves while standing his hind legs. "I hate to admit it, little filly... but that may be our best now, nip it in the bud. I'm going to have to start from scratch on all the tragedies... but those brats have ruined most of my favorites as is now... and I want them to suffer for that. They'll BEG ME for the tragedies they saw before when I'm done with them. They'll wish they were never blocked from the rewrites in reality." 'I'm afraid I have put a pin in all that my dear. I mean I'd have to deal with all the trouble makers Megan took care of, I didn't mind when I was outside the mortal world but now that I'm living it, they'd be cramping my style. Especially Grogar and his BLECH perfect order!' She kept writing. "You think any of those insects would be a bother to you?" 'Lavan, Squirk, and Grogar all together would be VERY ANNOYING for me. And then there's Lilith, assuming someone causes the witches enough trouble to let HER out of her prison. I'd rather NOT have to deal with that. And my little abomination... if all that happened... you wouldn't be here.' "So?" She kept writing. 'And neither would Alula, Tootsie, or Silver Spoon.' Her magic flickered and she dropped the pen. 'Besides, trust me, altering major events of history has an unpredictable ripple effect, unless we plot it out far more closely than my attention span will permit, it could just as easily blow up in our faces. Butterfly of Doom and all that. Trust me, I AM the Butterfly of Doom! We could end up in a timeline where Derpy is the supreme empress of Equestria!...Okay, that one might be fun, but we could just as easily end up in a 'Baby Ponies' spin off series.' "You're a coward Discord!" Obsidian Zephyr snarled. 'I prefer the term conscientious objector cousin. Besides, isn't there a foal in Ponyville who LOVED spreading stories about the brave and powerful Megan the warrior maiden or some delicious nonsense? And with all the conspiracy fun spread, him being never heard from again would make ponies believe it more.' "And I told him nopony wanted to hear old outdated myths," Blank Diamond said thinking back to her first time as editor. "I'll deal with him soon enough!" hissed Obsidian Zephyr. The shadows of the pieces of The One Who Was Many began to contort like tentacled monstrosities. 'No really, there's no need to-' "But I've wasted enough time with this prattle! If one of you is too weak and the other too cowardly! If you want to just WAIT HERE for defeat to come to our doorstep, go right ahead. A true dragon lets the hero wear himself out on his minions early, then meet him halfway to the castle and burns him alive. I've had enough these games ruining """"""""""OUR ART!""""""""" + In Canterlot, Princess Luna, Guard Flash Sentry, short haired Golden Tiara, Sunny Day, and Philomena continued their brave fight against the horde of Nyarlathotrots. Princess Luna blasted a blob of golden tentacles dead-center, forcing it back. Golden Tiara somehow managing to survive fighting in hoof to hoof combat with the pitch black fur less, mane less pony and using her martial arts to throw it over the balcony. Philomena's fire burned back the ghostly skeletal dogs and the army of fleshy tree monsters, and burning clear out of the sky a giant hovering red veined jellyfish, though it would simply rise again. Flash Sentry had managed to bury the two-headed bat pony under a tower and pin it to the ground with some wooden stakes that sadly weren't enough to kill it (though Flash's armor had been mostly torn apart in the process). Sunny Day shoot arrow after arrow into the morbidly obese unicorn mare on tiny legs with a fan, while blasting fireballs at the faceless sphinx and quite the opposite of trying to hold back as she scorched the air with her fire magic, and if the castle wasn't restored when all was saved, then the castle cleaners would have a lot of burn marks to clean off. And more just kept coming! "Hey, babes! And gent! Let me play ya a tune!" And the ordinary looking zebra stallion carrying a saxophone rode on the back of a wolf with a red hood and landed on the balcony and began to play his horn. His music was maddening, haunting, and confusingly captivating all at the same time. Weakening the heroes without having to lift a hoof. Flash Sentry, however, saw their salvation and pulled from the war cabinet an axe! A blessed silver-strung axe guitar to be precise. "With all these storms clouds around, there's plenty of LIGHTNING to spare!" Flash Sentry said, charging up the electric guitar, and began to play his own written song 'Love In A Flash'. Golden Tiara and Sunny Day thought the pegasus' shredding was kinda cool. Philomena and Luna wondered whose music was worse. At least it was an effective counter. The zebra snarled. "AGH! That metal trash?! Ya'all call that music?! Have at yee suckah!" And the two musicians began a musical duel, blasting melodies back and forth with the might of two endless tidal waves crashing into each other. Even the ponies below for whom the battle was invisible, stood and listened to this two-pony battle of the bands. "New age hack!" "Nostalgia leech!" The two shouted at each other as they played their music with their hearts and souls. Given Flash Sentry was going up against a tireless avatar of an Outer Concept, he caused ripples just by being to PUSH BACK the zebra's irresistible jazz. Rock and Jazz slammed into each other, making both sides cover their ears as the volume and force of the music increased. Flash Sentry was not giving up! He will would not break! He was NOT losing to ANOTHER musician who was a magical monster in disguise! This time he had this mind clear! This time he knew who was he REALLY fighting for! For his friends! His squad-mates! For First Base! For his Twilight! He wouldn't give up! All at once, All of Nyarlathotrots incarnations drew in a sharp breath, and just, vanished, in the blink of an eye, no flash of light, no smoke, just there one moment, and gone the next. The dark storm cloud surrounding the tower slowly dispelling. The heroes stared around, sensing magically that their enemy had indeed withdrawn. Shock, confusion, and awe filled them. Except Flash Sentry, who continued to intensely play his guitar like a stallion possessed, like. The perverted ponies below continued to watch one of the royal guards play rock and roll on Princess Luna's balcony (something certainly never before or since seen). "Uh, Flash, they're gone, you can stop now," Golden Tiara said. "Oh! Heheh." He blushed. "Sorry, gut a little carried away..." Sunny Day however asked excitedly, "Can you do eighties rock on that thing?!" "Maybe, been a while since I've done requests. Did we win?" Princess Luna spoke. "We did not lose. And that tis a better outcome than we had hoped for. While your, creative tactics, did indeed halt the enemy's advance, the final outcome was yet undecided... while it means there is now a greater threat to their plans than ourselves, we fear for whoever has drawn the full attention of the Crawling Chaos." The group panted and collapsed. "Ugh...true...but...at least we didn't die," Flash pointed out. "And considering we were fighting an army of alien monsters, I consider that a win in my book." Luna smiled. "...Thank you, my little ponies...what you've done was certainly worthy of a rest, at least for a few moments." Sunny Day sighed, putting down the bow. "'Tabloid Reporter, Protective Mother, Royal Guard, And Princess Luna Fend Off A Horde Of Eldritch Abominations Out Of Hoofcraft...' even making it sound like a tabloid article title doesn't make that easier to believe." Golden Tiara nodded. "If I didn't know for sure I was sane, I'd assume I'd gone crazy again." "The boys back home are never going to believe this," Flash said. 'Not that they probably would any of what's happened to me.' The group laughed as Princess Luna quietly collected the holy weapons again. She smiled as she felt her room become just lightly cold, like an icy wind passing through it. However, before the group could rest much longer, Philomena called and pointed in a direction. "Huh?" Flash asked. "Timmy's caught in a well?" Philomena facewinged and pointed to the sun with her other wing. Luna blinked. "...She wants us to save my sister." Flash gave a sigh. "...Didn't think it'd be that easy...But we've saved one Princess, why not make it a double?" The other two didn't need to question it. Saving their beloved solar diarch from herself? What was there to question? "But how are going to find the way without Triangle Crown?" Golden Tiara asked. Philomena squawked and pointed a wing to herself. "Just as 'Triangle Crown' could lead you to me through distorted space, Philomena can lead us to my sister!" "Works for me!" Flash Sentry said, "How about we get movin' in case the monsters decide to come back! Uh! That is!" Guard Flash Sentry bowed. "By your command Your Nightjesty!" "Very well! Let us save our sister!" The herd ran to the doorway after Philomena...and found a pack of wolf-ponies and extra-large-fanged bat ponies waiting in the hallway. The group prepared for battle...until The Night Princess stepped forwards, causing the monsters to bow and part. "Uh..." Flash said in confusion. "I believe the stories said 'Nightmare Moon' was their queen..." Sunny Day admitted. "Tis odd, we thought wolves were Fate's domain..." Luna muttered. "Let us not tarry!" + The foals and Apples and dog emerged from the apple cellar. The bright colors were all as they were supposed to be and it made Apple Bloom more happy than she thought it could! The farm now had bright light and shading like the ponies, but to Apple Bloom it looked like the farm was now somehow MORE the farm than when she left it that morning when this all began, like when Scootaloo freed Cheerilee. There were no whips, the cows were spreading gossip, the sheep were debating philosophy and the weather, and were all looking very much alive. And best of all, unafraid of the ponies. The littlest Apple smiled, tasting the air and smelling the breeze and feeling the dirt beneath her hooves. She might not have been fantastic with Earth Pony magic, but it felt so much more alive. She breathed in, taking a moment to drink it all in. All that was left now was to head for the World Tower, and use the printing press to fix this evil curse once and for all. Apple Bloom's heart felt so light. And she couldn't wait to weight herself down with a mountain of apple treats from the kitchen! Haha! Her friends all smiled with an inner light all her own. Sweetie Belle's eye dilated. She was quivering. "Applejack! Big Mac!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "Get the cows and sheep inside the storm cellar! And Winona too! And Granny Smith! Stay inside until we're gone!" The mare and stallion looked at her stunned. "NOW!" A black storm cloud twisted into being above them, the spurs looking like tendrils, it spread until it covered the whole blue sky. Thunder rumbled. A terrible chill wind began to blow. The clouds felt like they they'd feel right in any of the other bubbles but were just WRONG in this one. They weren't the pink color of the rest of the corrupted world, but they didn't have to be to FEEL like all those bubbles mixed together. Winona snarled at the clouds and barked a warning. "Big Mac, you and Winona do as Sweetie says! Ah'll be along in a bit! Hurry! Ain't no time to explain!" "... Come on, Winona!" The dog barked and followed the red stallion. Applejack then added under her breath. "... if Ah'm able." "Applejack you have to go too!" Sweetie warned. "You can't fight this!" "... No." Applejack said stubbornly. "Sweetie! Talk to us! What's coming?!" Scootaloo asked. "If it's something nasty we need to run for it or Apple Bloom's farm could be toast!" "He's already here," Sweetie said. "He was the moment I felt it." "Who?!" Apple Bloom asked. Then shuddered. "D-Discord?" Sweetie shook her head. "You microscopic moral busy bodies! How dare you violate my masterpieces!" Came the booming voice from inside the storm, no, it WAS the storm speaking! A red light like an eye formed in the center of the terrible storm. "I know that voice," Sweetie Belle whispered. "Umbra Breeze," Scootaloo said. "These childish games are OVER! And so are you." The Black Storm boomed. Button Mash hugged Sweetie Belle, sword in his mouth and her horn glowing. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom ground their teeth and braced themselves. Apple Bloom now knew how Sweetie Belle had felt with Rarity at Abandon's appearance. Applejack calmly looked up at the terrible tempest. "Ya hurt my friends, my family, my home, and ya made it so Ah couldn't protect my baby sister who's still in buckin' grade school... get lost while ya still can." To Be Continued... > Applejack vs Nyarlathotrot > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All the barriers around the World Tower were gone. As Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders faced the grim darkness, the forces of chaos, tragedy, and naught readied their defenses for inevitable raid. A winged filly in a diaper flew towards the main gate, holding a white flag in her mouth. In her forelegs was a simple lidded box tied with red string. She landed in front of the massively imposing barricade. The ground shook as a titanic pair of guards closed in on her. She placed the package on the ground and nudged it with her nose, letting one of her forelegs hold the white flag. "My mother told me that Princess Liza Doolots had been hurt!" She called in a clear loud voice. "This is a gift to Princess Liza Doolots from my mom. Please deliver it to her!" Still holding the white flag, the diapered filly quickly flew off, vanishing into the fog. The armored giants looked at each other, then at the small box. - "Liza!" Lyra Hearthstrings called to Tootsie. Alula sat outside totally engrossed in the comic Discord had given her, her eyes growing wider and wider as she read. "Somepony sent you a gift!" "A little softer please, a princess needs her rest," TLC said, "But don't worry, she'll be back in shape in no time flat." "Uh, sorry, and thank you." The green changeling said before focusing on her foster foal. "How are you feeling, Liza?" "Awful." Tootsie was looked at the wall, laying on the bed. Lyra flinched. "Don't worry about Bon Bon, she'll calm down, dear. She's just hurt because you're hurt." "I'm sorry." Lyra frowned. "Getting hurt was NOT your fault, young filly. Don't start that now. And one of your subjects sent you a get-well gift." Tootsie turned to look at the gift box. Lyra undid the string for her and open the lid and pushed it forward. Tootsie leaned forwards, and looked inside. Surrounded by red velvet packaging was a note: 'Little filly, Princess Liza Doolots Equestria...know that it was not only your unwittingly use of my son's bow that incurred my wrath... and not what you have done to your family, but to two foals, who art your classmates, peers and friends, who had already forged a bond with each other. I understand your intentions were noble. But many who have done wrong to others had noble intentions, too. Your judgment is naive. And do not think I know not the pain in your heart that made you see what you wanted to see. And you recklessly misused a power that was not yours to use. I'm flattered you think so highly of me. Just understand this...Twist cannot remember what you have done to her, but she can feel it. And, tear for tear, so do you. "And I am impressed and joyful for your blank diamond, that she would use everything she had to protect you. It means there is still hope for her. And I look forward to all the good she can do for ponies, once she is cured of her sickness and sees the light of her cutie mark. "With regards to my avatar going out of control after sensing the misuse of my son's power, I offer no excuses. Nor do I make any excuse for the pain that was inflicted upon you and your family, as a result. I never intended to make another mother suffer as I have, so please tell your mother I'm sorry. If I say directly it will be censored, so I will say that this situation has been a heavy burden to bear for all involved, but that is no excuse for me nor should it be one. Inside you will find a salve that will heal your burns. "And you will find something else. It is yours to do with as you choose. Whatever choices you make next, make them of your own free will.' Tootsie looked inside the box. Inside was indeed a glass container of ointment. As well as...it was not the same bow. The limbs were sharper and straighter, it was more obviously two blades connected by the grip, and a sharp silver thing. Both her names were engraved upon the bow in High Equestrian. The faux Princess broke down crying. + Finally back with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Applejack didn't back off from her stare down of the unholy storm right above their head. The red light at the center of the storm shaped like some red eye gazing lidlessly with undying hatred. The wind blew sharply, twisting branches and leaves about with a noise like a whip-crack. Apple Bloom noted that the Aquastrian crabapple tree was still here. Crab apples that were blown off the branches covered themselves with their pinchers and cowered before the monster storm. Scootaloo began praying in Haneighian. Sweetie and Button Mash looked ready to fight for or run for their lives at a heartbeat's notice. Applejack trotted away from the apple cellar, keeping her gaze skyward. The foals followed suit, moving the storm's sights away from the barn. Out of the corner of her eye, Apple Bloom saw Big Mac and Winona herding the cows and sheep and livestock to the storm cellar. Then Big Mac ran to get Granny Smith into the storm cellar too. Apple Bloom's heart leapt a bit at seeing Granny Smith as herself, even if it was through peripheral vision as she dared not take her eyes off the enemy. She saw the looks her family gave her and Applejack as they descended into relative safety, but none of them shouted for the foals or Applejack to join them. 'Ah guess role-playin' game heroes aren't expected to run and hide while monster storms are attackin',' she thought grimly. "It's so adorable you think a few feet of dirt will protect them, nay, tis but proof of your blind naïveté." "Says you, bucko," Applejack said, with no fear in her voice. "Enough prattle." Applejack's mind ran with ideas how to beat this monster and protect the youngin's. If she had her rubber gloves she could use one of the trees as a sling-shot on herself and punch out that creepy red lightning eye! Too bad her gloves were in the house. She dementedly wondered if she could grab her gear as the CMC questioned the evil cloud to death, but Umbra Breeze seemed more interested in killing than chatting. It surprised Applejack to see these youngsters not backing down...but not looking like daredevil fools, neither. Weird. Was this the face her little sister had during the wedding battle? Plan B: grab the foals, use every drop of Earth Pony magic she had, and run like Tartarus, dodging lightning bolts and lure the monster away from the farm. Figure out how to pummel the evil storm's face into pudding later. = Robotech Theme = But at the same moment, out of nowhere, a lone pegasus appeared to attack the Dark Storm singlehoofedly. "RD?" AJ exclaimed, seeing the pegasus zigzag and stinging the living storm ship like a lightning-charged wasp. No, it wasn't the Element of Loyalty, but this mustard yellow mare was close. "Daring Do!" Scootaloo declared, like her prayers were answered. Button Mash brought up his menu. A picture of Daring Do lit up. "I knew she was still in our party!" Applejack heard Sweetie chanting mojo behind her. She looked to see the filly's horn and eyes glowing with dark magic as a rune formed underneath her as she spoke. "Be ready to get out of the way, sis!" Apple Bloom warned grimly. Applejack remembered the girls' quest recount. This was Sweetie's super black magic 'all or nothing' cannon spell or whatever. That spell wasn't meant for banishing or turning stuff to stone; it was for reducing them to ashes. Applejack had put down mad animals, sure...but AJ prided herself on never killing another sapient creature. The worst part wasn't AJ couldn't think of a better option. 'I didn't know when Kifuko asked me...but now I know for sure! Umbra Breeze is evil because he did this to everypony, because he came here to make us never heard from again! I hate all the bad stuff he's done, I'm angry that my friends were hurt! I'm sad to see my friends put through all this BY him! And that's why I'm going to use this spell!' Meanwhile, Daring Do got another of those objective messages she'd been getting in her mind's eye since Cloudsdale. Most of them were things she'd have done anyway, like 'save this pony' or 'beat that monster.' But this one read 'Survive long enough for Sweetie Belle to cast her mega spell, and don't get hit by the spell.' Daring glanced down to see the unicorn filly with Scootaloo charging up her magic. "Survive? I'll do more than that!" Sadly, Daring Do couldn't do a Double Rainboom, shame since such a technique would have utterly crippled the Dark Storm, leaving it nothing more than one big fat target, coercing the forces within to 'abandon ship'. But she was still Daring Do, relentless and fearless, and had been fighting monsters almost constantly since she'd begun this adventure! It frankly amazed Daring Do that she wasn't dead tired, but she wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth! Having raked in sufficient 'XP,' her strength and skill had greatly risen, (in accordance with Button Mash's game rules!) She strafed the top of the Dark Storm, cutting through it with her wings and hammering away at it with her hooves. Protrusions emerged from the storm's surface that discharged red lightning at the adventurer who managed to dodge them all by the skin of her teeth and destroyed them before they could fire off more shots. Gapping maws opened, spewing cursed wind that would have aged Daring into dust in seconds if she hadn't used her pegasus magic to deflect them. A monstrous arm grew from the storm, and tried to crush the pegasus, but Daring was faster than she looked and flew a full orbit around the limb, her wing cutting and severing it like a tree. It fell and was reabsorbed. Then, emerging from the storm's surface, came monsters of every shape and size, made of the storm cloud itself, red eyes glowed and crackled. Daring Do didn't miss a beat and ping-ponged from one to the next, bisecting, and one-punching them to pieces, some accidentally taking out each other as Daring moved. The pieces reabsorbed into the storm as they fell. "Come on, ugly! Where's the clever quips?! My readers are gonna get bored! I'll invent my own for you if I have to!" Daring Do taunted. A giant pony's death's head formed out of the storm and tried to eat Daring Do, but she stopped just before she'd have flown into its waiting jaws and rammed it sideways, the force of her attack dispersing its shape. Black tentacles surged out from the storm, grabbing Daring Do. Trying to pull her apart. "Always with the tentacles." Darin Do rolled her eyes and did a spiraling twist, pulling on the tendrils, and tying them in knots! "The fanworks've got enough weird stuff involving Ahuizotl already!" Tornados ripped from the storm's body, to suck Daring Do into their waiting innards. Daring Do led them back upon themselves in a merry chase as they slammed back into the storm itself. The air itself seemed to spark aflame, and twisting firestorms erupted next. Daring avoided being set on fire, but the heat itself was oppressive! Jets of flame erupted right in her flight path, trying to herd her underneath the storm...only a new sort of rain was beginning to fall; one that was scorching anything it touched! Down below, Applejack winced as some of the farm got singed. Daring Do grunted. She was giving as good as she was getting, but she couldn't see if she was causing any lasting damage! But she didn't need to. "-By you who both sits upon and are the Throne of Naught, With my hate that freezes, my anger that burns, my desire that grasps!-" Apple Bloom steadily pointed Sweetie Belle's horn directly at the monster storm's eye. Button Mash and Scootaloo held her sides. Applejack thought for less than a moment, then ran behind the filly, and braced "Bucky McGillycuddy" and "Kicks McGee" against the filly's backside for the recoil to follow. The filly's eyes and horns glowing like mad. Sweetie mentally listed every last pony she knew that had been hurt by this monster, every good thing he had tainted. 'Don't hate for the sake of hating. Don't hate for the sake of hating.' If she let the fire or the blizzard run wild, a miscasting would not be pretty. The warning flashed in Daring Do's mind's eye with moments to spare and flew with everything she had out of the line of fire. The spell had a life of its own now, and wouldn't be stopped. "-Together we shine the light of destruction equally upon them, and wipe away the fools that stand in our way! Entropía vocem!" 'This is for everything!' Sweetie screamed in her mind, her emotions seeming to implode into a pinprick before exploding, all focused at the name Umbra Breeze. Daring Do had done her duty; she had played the wasp, distracting the monster from the ants on the ground it had come to step on. Now the Dark Storm's attention was brought back full focus onto the little ponies, but too late. The wicked Storm could not hope to move itself out of the way in time. Its eyes went wide as it fired lightning, flames, wind of ages, and death itself at the little herd...none of it would reach them in time. Sweetie Belle had, for the first time in her life, spoken the full and complete incantation. That her friends and Sweetie herself were terrified of what she wrought was proof that they were still sane. A guiding beam of black magic, as thin and sharp as a needle, shot from Sweetie Belle's horn. Then came the washing green flood of destruction that exploded from her horn, covering nearly her entire range of vision, rending apart the very particles in the air. Then it focused into a pillar of annihilation. Even with her friends bracing her, the spell created a crater around her. Sweetie Belle's felt like her horn would shatter. The surface of the Dark Storm was mercilessly obliterated by the initial wave of the spell, then the crimson lidless eye was struck dead center by the focused phase of the spell. The monster barely had a moment to let out an unearthly howl of pain. And in the space between nanoseconds, the eye was no more. The terrible spell pierced the Dark Storm like a piece of meat on a skewer, leaving a gaping hole in its center. Like tree branches whose roots had been cut away, the spurs of the Dark Storm limply fell apart. Like an ice sculpture in the sun, its shape melted away. Residue sparks flickered off Sweetie's blackened and burnt horn, as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and her unconscious body fell into the hooves of her friends. Her friends were careful not to touch her horn, afraid a slight tap would make it crumble. Applejack touched Sweetie's neck, "She's okay, kids, Ah feel a pulse." Button Mash breathed a sigh of relief, opening his magic widow to confirm Sweetie was still listed as 'Alive' to be doubly sure. But her HP had fallen to such a low number. - 'Little brat took my arm!' 'My head! My other head! They die for this!' A chubby voice then wailed. 'My King in Yellow! How dare they!' 'Alright, little brothers and sisters, they've had their fun! Now it's our turn.' 'Yes, they have nothing left.' Said a confident female voice. 'They have no magic, no friends to come to their rescue, no escape.' 'They'll come to a tragic end here and now.' 'Yes, a BEAUTIFUL tragedy!' - = 'Catastrophe' - Robotech = It cruelly dawned upon the ponies that the Dark Storm was not harmlessly falling apart. The living storm was now slowly crashing down on on their heads. Explosions of red lightning ruptured out from and around the wound ripped in its form, exactly like blood from a torn artery. The curses and dark magic stockpiled within its clouds, ready to be kamikazed by the dying vessel upon them. It was too big to outrun. They didn't have the strength to completely obliterate its carcass. Daring Do looked in horror as the foals gently hugged each other. Button Mash took out his giant leaf. "Wind blows away storms! Apple Bloom: tell me where to aim! Scootaloo: try focusing your pegasus-flying-aura-thingie through the leaf! Applejack: give me some muscle!" They wanted to tell Button Mash his scheme was insane, but they didn't have time to argue, so they put Sweetie Belle besides them. Scootaloo gripped one side of giant leaf's stem with her hooves, the air wavering around them. Applejack gripped Button Mash's forelegs from behind. And everypony followed Apple Bloom's gaze. "THERE!" Apple Bloom saw with the Truth where the dying Dark Storm was at its weakest. "NOW!" Button Mash felt like his forelegs were going to be pulled off as Applejack added her muscle to the swing. The wind produced by the big leaf was no mere puff of wind; it was a buckin' hurricane that moved like the swing of a giant's sword. Daring Do had to dodge the attack as the tornado's end began to twist in the air. Guided by pegasus magic and earth pony strength and violating more than a few meteorological laws, the long thin tornado cut through the Dark Storm like a knife through butter. The two halves of the Dark Storm crashed down on either side of the heroes, peeling paint, burning the ground, rotting wood, and withering flesh, but the ponies were left unharmed. The ponies scrunched their noses at the stench of ink, ozone, and acid. Finally, the remains of the Dark Storm now completely unanimated, began to harmlessly dissolve into nothing like a shadow fading in the light. The ponies panted in exhaustion. "Hey Sweetie Belle, we beat him, we won," Button Mash told the sleepy filly, hoisting her up and giving her a hug. He'd hold off on dancing until she woke up. "AND GOOD RIDDANCE!" Scootaloo shouted, then did a little victory dance. "THAT'LL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH PONIES, YOU JERK!" "Ah'm just happy we're all okay," Apple Bloom said honestly. "Same here, little sister!" Applejack hugged her. "About time I finally caught up with you fillies. You know I've been through a lot. Also...that was the craziest fight I've ever been in...the readers aren't going to believe this. You little fillies really are something else. Hey, Scootaloo." The older pegasus waved. "Great to see you!" Scootaloo chirped. "And Applejack...it's nice to finally meet you personally. I'm Daring Do by the way, yes that Daring Do." Funny story. Applejack's truth vision wasn't as useful on mundane disguises, doubly so when the pony saw both their personas as truly themselves and when they wore MORE in their other persona they currently weren't in. So Applejack thought, 'Maybe she was wearin' a Daring Do costume when the curse hit?' But when Applejack looked at the mare with the truth, she saw the mare wasn't lying, or at least the mare didn't THINK she was lying. It gave Applejack a headache. "And ya must be the pony dressed up like Darin' Do Scootaloo talked about. Ya saved a dear friend of my little sister, helped stop a friend of mine from doin' somethin' awful, and also helped save a whole lotta foals. And that's on top of yah holdin' that thing off tah save our skins, 'thank ya kindly' doesn't cut it." Daring Do collected herself. "Says the mare who's saved the world at least twice now?" Applejack shrugged (even if inside a part of her jumped at actually being recognized for said world saving). "Ya gotta do, what ya gotta do. Anypony else woulda done what Ah did in my horse-shoes." "That's not true, don't sell yourself short. You and your friends searched for the Elements right in the Everfree, not anypony else. I'm a lone mare." "Heh, most of us weren't actually friends YET. That came about when Twili' realized we weren't gonna turn tail on her later that night in the face of Nightmare Moon." "So what's it like being a legendary hero? I mean a public one, one ponies know exists. You must have fans visiting you every day wanting to hear about how you and your friends have saved the world. You must have statues and new towns on the frontier named after you," Daring Do said, not a trace of envy or spite in her voice as she smiled. Applejack blushed. "Uh, actually, most ponies don't even recognize us for doin' that. Celestia had to hold a ceremony just so ponies outside of Ponyville would know we beat Discord. Most ponies didn't have a clue we beat Nightmare Moon." "That's not fair for you." "It's alright, Ah PREFER IT that way. Ah'm a simple pony and Ah like bein' one! Ah know some dear friends of mine who'd want it the other way, but me? Ah don't want all that noise and glitter celebrity stuff." "It's not about being a celebrity, it's just about the risks you took being recognized...even if indirectly." "Hate. Let Us tell you how much We've come to hate you. There are currently 3,132,894 archived words in the Akashic Records of your prime worldline cluster. If each of those words were replaced with 'hate': it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate We feel for you at this micro-instant. Hate. Hate," Echoed from both sides of the ones of the remains of the Dark Storm. "Guess we're not done yet!" Daring Do braced herself. "Dang it! I forgot big important bosses always have more than one form!" Button lamented. "Oh, I am done with this guy and his psycho family!" Scootaloo exasperated. "Will ya just go away already?!" Applejack snapped. And the two halves of Dark Storm twisted about into a slew of dust devils that solidified before the ponies' eyes into monsters of every shape and size. A blob of golden tentacles. A pitch black furless, maneless pony. A faceless sphinx. A morbidly obese unicorn mare on tiny legs with a fan, clutching with her magic a piece of yellow cloth stained with black ichor. A giant hovering red veined jellyfish. A one headed bat pony. A wolf in a red hood. An ordinary looking zebra stallion carrying a saxophone missing an arm. A bald ape-like creature dressed up like a Ponigypt pharaoh. A small, normal-looking filly. A stallion looking to be made of dark crystal. A small dark green almost black fairy like pony with a green mane. And...Umbra Breeze the stallion, his tribe changing to all who looked upon him...it gave AJ a slight headache looking at him. In the realm of the sleeping mind...Sweetie Belle shivered in fear at the force around her...it was the same feeling she'd gotten from Nurse Red Crystal, who had helped Kabuto try to lobotomize her. One eye barely opened, and she wished she hadn't opened it. Her only tiny relief was that the Nurse herself wasn't present, even if somehow, a part of her felt this was odd underneath her fear and relief. It left her thoughts even more a mess. Sweetie was in no state to say or do anything. The horrors began speaking in turn, their voices dripping with venom. "You ponies can't face reality. Not really. In the end. You run and ride from it." "So Obsessed With Eating Your Cake And Having It Too. There's Not One Of You Alive Who Could Face A Decision Without A Neat And Tidy Third Option. That Alicorn Celestia Spoils You. You'd Rather Watch Two Friends Die Than Have One Less Family Who Would Have to Mourn The Passing Of A Loved One." The wolf in the red hood snarled. "Your wretched kind is WHY fairy tales are nothing now but bland blocks of sugar! Castrated and lobotomized of everything that gave them meaning!" "YOU FILTH DESTROYED HOUND! WE'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" The little filly, Night Gale, shouted. Apple Bloom's ears wilted. And in spite of herself, she said to Night Gale. "Ah'm sorry." "A whole Horsecraft monster parade, great," Daring Do said standing back to back with Applejack. Applejack looked from one horror to the next, and her Truth...she kept looking back at Umbra Breeze, then at the others...It was like she was seeing something odd about all of them, but her brain didn't know what! Apple Bloom felt the same exact thing and held her head. "Who...what the hay ARE ya creeps?" Applejack demanded. The terrors giggled at the hero in a mocking condescending tone. "Who are we?" "Who are we, a horse demands?" "A horse asks who we are?" "A horse wants to know?" They all then spoke at the exact same time with one voice. """" THE SPIRIT OF TRAGEDY! I AM THE GOD-OF-A-THOUSAND-MASKS!""" "Yer gonna be the god-of-a-thousand-punches-in-yer-faces when Ah'm done with you!" Applejack snapped. "Sis is right, all that matters is yah hurt our friends and yer gonna get it!" Apple Bloom joined. "So..." Daring said haltingly and hoping to buy time. "I'm guessing since you all formed out of that cloud, and from that speech you gave...You're some kind of community consciousness?" "So all these nasties are just hoof-puppets?" Scootaloo asked, her eyes darting back to Sweetie Belle constantly. Umbra Breeza cleared his throat. "I'll use small words. While it's true all these forms are Nyarlathotrot, each of us is whole yet merely a facet. We are not alternate versions, we are not puppets of a larger being. Just as there are many who reap their satisfaction from corruption, depravity, tragedy, anything as long it makes the light a little bit blacker: We Nyarlathotrot are many. We are a connected whole, each holding our memories and goals. These are not mere costumes of flesh, they are different expressions of us. Every happy ending ends the same way 'they live happily ever after'. But the true exquisite is the INFINITE number of ways your pretty pastel world can be made to look like one of the infinite insides of Uncle's tightened bowels! Your happy sunshine world was merely a blank canvas for the Shadows Who Are to apply their blood and waste upon! Any goodness I allow to remain exists only for contrast." "That's WHY I left Rainbow Dash to squirm in that one worldline I trapped her in an endless cycle of the same Hell, made aware of how she was suffering only for it to begin again. with ALL OF MY WORKS smushed together as one...Then SHE had to ruin it!" The Pharaoh said, snarling. Apple Bloom held back Scootaloo from attacking the monsters in blind fury at the words of what they'd done to Rainbow Dash, even if it wasn't hers. Daring Do looked ready to pummel this army of terrors into the ground as well, holding herself back only on that at least now the monsters seemed like talking. Maybe cause the ponies'd just banished the no-nonsense part of them? 'We are near the finale, the villains are make super-speeches,' Button Mash thought automatically even as he was screaming on the inside. "BUCK ALL THAT FANCY SCHMACY MUMBO JUMBO! Yer just a bully who can't be happy if others are!!!" Stormy rolled her eyes. "We merely provide a service. The watchers want an escape, a release, they find comfort and satisfaction in the gloom and the gritty. Why do you think Dark Spirits is the most popular game there is? Because they WANT the dark and the filth! We provide it. If they didn't want it, we wouldn't give it! SHE violated and destroyed our work. We're merely balancing out creation. We don't CARE what happens to any of you stupid horses as long as we can balance back out the darkness that SHE self-righteously destroyed! This world of HERS will PAY!" "She? Princess Celestia?" Daring Do asked. The horror laughed again. "You're bacteria, on the backs of fleas, on bats, hanging on the underside of a dragon. You have no idea what Celestia even is. You just blindly embrace her, thinking she's one of you...she never was. No more than I am," said the THING with golden tentacles. "But don't blame the Spirits, their one duty is to keep the universe suitable for sapient life like you. Why they even strive to 'keep me to my purpose' as best they can. Our promise to one of them is why we didn't do this earlier. It's the shadows-who-watch that derive pleasure and entertainment from seeing the pure corrupted. I merely cater that service. What is more beautiful, than a tragedy?" Said Stormy, fluttering from shoulder to shoulder of terrors. "Like snuff plays?" Applejack asked her face completely even and without humor. The foals wondered what those were. Umbra Breeze stomped a hoof. "Those are the crude crayon drawings of a foal. A true tragedy strings you along, thinking you had a chance of winning when you were doomed from the start. AND IT IS WHAT THE SHADOWS WANT! Macbeth, Animal Farm, all tragedies, 1984, all futile, all works of art praised endlessly. After all, when's the last time you read a book about a beloved dog where the dog didn't die at the end?" The CMC looked at each other...none of them could come up with an answer to that last one. "I'll concede Celestia's and Discord's families are right about one thing. No matter how many times I hear the drivel it's still astounding. You think Spirits are some ridiculous bourgeois for you to rise up on their level or to pull them down to yours? I do not rule the grim darkness like a king, I don't create the grim darkness like some factory worker, I AM THE GRIM DARKNESS!!!" Declared the ape-like pharaoh. "I am the only member of my family to have more than one parent. My Siblings were all born directly from my Parent's essence. I on the other hoof have several billion parents! My parent's essence seeded by the darkside of each of your hearts and minds. -I- am all of you!" said the faceless sphinx. Apple Bloom and Applejack couldn't help feeling that the sphinx wasn't looking at them but at somepony, or something, else that was watching...or maybe both? Their minds couldn't tell...or didn't dare tell. "Are you done?" Asked the she-wolf in the red hooded cape at her fellows, then spoke her piece. "I am nothing more than your whipping pup. Somewolf to point at and say, 'Ah, it was all her doing.' I am but a servant who must obey the commands she is given. You, no, not 'you' you stupid horses, you're not even a cartoon, just pixels on a screen forming words, little creatures. I mean YOU, YOU!!! The one reading this exchange on your computer screen right now! You think I invented some evil scheme to turn this half-hour toy commercial you call entertainment into stories that no publisher would print even as dime store horror porn short-story collections? YOU DID IT ALL!!! You wrote Pinkie Pie murdering Rainbow Dash! YOU wrote Rainbow Dash executing Scootaloo by pegasus law for not being able to fly! YOU wrote Cheerilee murdering her entire class! YOU WROTE reindeer raping Equestria! YOU WROTE Ponies and Zebra nuking themselves TO ASHES!! YOU WROTE DISCORD RULING OVER A BROKEN EQUESTRIA WITH TWILIGHT AND HER FRIENDS FOR MINIONS! YOU CREATED ALL OF IT!" Scootaloo even with what Princess Dash showed her barely understood any of it. Button Mash understood even less, he brushed it off as video game pseudo-philosophy that always popped up near the end of games. Scootaloo had the strong feeling that the less she got of what the monsters said the better. Daring Do ironically pieced together more with less information than Scootaloo had, and what her mind was able to connect together terrified her. "So little sister," AJ whispered to Apple Bloom as the monsters began their tirade. After Queen Chrysalis, Applejack had learned how to tune out villain-speeches. "Sweetie said Diamond Tiara is makin' some big super lie?" Yep," Apple Bloom said solemnly. "And the monster makin' the magic that make lies come true is gone now?" "Yep." "...Then ya better get goin' before she uses up what's left of its magic. Ya ain't got time for this! Hey Daring Do! Take the foals and fly for it!" "What about you?!" Apple Bloom cried. "Never mind me! Pinkie's sister said ya gotta save the world right?" "Hey! I've been fighting monsters, you're Honesty right? I'll hold them! You go help beat the lies curse!" "And one of the big bosses of those lies is right here! Ah'll take 'em down!" "We'll take 'em down together!" Apple Bloom shouted. "YA AIN'T GOT TIME!" Applejack snapped. "Little sister just GO!" "Idiots," said Obsidian Zeypher. "None of you are going anywhere! There is no escape!" A light bulb came on in Button Mash's head. Button Mash opened up his window. "'Escape Option.'" The monster asked. "Escape what?" Button Mash pressed a button on his magic window, resulting a brief double-beep, followed by a Daring Do shaped blur picking up four foals and sprinting away. "Applejack!" Apple Bloom shouted. "OH NO, YOU DON'T!" The red-hooded she-wolf howled, racing after Daring Do with the same speed as the pegasus while the other terrors gave pause. 'At least only one of them followed,' Applejack thought. "...Ah'll make it through little sister," Applejack said at the retreating herd. "Cross my heart hope to fly...please do the same Apple Bloom. Ah believe in ya." Applejack then turned her attention at the horrid masses of wrongness. Her instincts telling her to minimize her looking at them through Truth the way you hesitated to touch fire. Applejack steeled herself, she'd fear no Truth ever again. "So we do this dance one at a time or all at once?" Applejack said refusing to let herself be afraid in front of the small army of evil. "Heh, alone at last," said Umbra Breeze. "When Discord invited us into this world to provide the means for the curse...twisting your fake worldline into a patchwork quilt of my ruined works, I didn't need to be asked twice." "There ain't nothin' fake 'bout our world!" Applejack snapped. "Your worldline was born when SHE meddled in time! She had to make a world the way SHE wanted it, without seeing the world ruined, and I'M the intruder?" "...All Ah know that Ah'm here and now, me and my friends and family! Every choice we make makes us real! Second chances aren't somethin' we always get! So if everypony got one to be happy! Then Ah'm buckin' grateful!" "...That it?!" "Ah've ALREADY seen the heart of Truth, Ah've already had my cry! Ah don't CARE 'bout yer creepy secrets! Go stuff it!" "...This makes twice now you've destroyed part of us...This time when we're done with you, you'll toss your OWN broken pieces of your soul into the dark!" "Ah've never killed anypony!" "...Heh. You've seen so much and yet so little. I'm certain by now you've learned of how the world was remade into yours in the ancient past. It was a broke world. There I used my one mortal life, I could be any creatures I choose to experience your world...I chose a disease. Mindless, not even truly sapient, driving any pony it infected mad with the Whispering Plague's words before they died. A virus doesn't think or plan. It has no good or evil. There is no rhyme or reason for it. There is no villain to hate, no evil plan to thwart. It simply, beautifully, is. Then annoying 'Saint' Sweetheart, she figured somehow a way to ride ponies of me...she was driven mad and died from my sickness...and her wretched bickering foals came back with the key component and made the cure anyway! And they gave all the credit to their dead parent! They made her a SAINT! It would have been a beautiful tragedy for pony civilization! And her brats ruined it! Because of her! I recognize the stink on your soul the moment I laid eyes on you! I made sure you'd suffer exceptionally! After all, sanity is the worst curse in a world gone mad! HER SPIRIT CARRIES ON IN YOU! And we'll avenge Whispering Plague you stinking horse!" "AH! DON'T! CARE! SO Ah've got another legacy that Ah'm part of us! The Apples! The Elements! So mah soul is part of somethin' bigger too?! Works for me! If Saint Sweetheart's youngin's took out yer stupid germs, then Apple Bloom is gonna cure this NEW stupid virus you've infected the world with! For me?! That just means my family, and Redheart's family are always gonna be here to stop scum like you!" "There ARE none like us! THAT IS THE CURSE OF OUR KIND!" Night Gale said, rage, and for the slightest moment of moment, pain. "Ya don't need to be the same to be a family! All ya gotta do is reach out! That's what friendship is!" Then Applejack put on a smirk, she was keeping the terrors from focusing Apple Bloom after all. "It must tick ya off that ya couldn't make Redheart or her family suffer!" "Yes, she didn't have to suffer and got superpowers from my curse. Jealous?" "Screw you." Applejack deadpanned. "The world of Sweetheart's descendant is a pinprick of filth ruining my beautiful masterpiece…so bubbly and happy, so teeth-rotting-loving, yet I can't simply wipe it off!" "So like any shadow, yah can't go into the light? Good." "If I can't give her her due suffering...then I'll have to give you twice as much. And that will be only a shadow of what we'll do to Twilight Sparkle. After all, the Shadows demand suffering." And Applejack for a moment did pause, remembering what FLuttershy as Nightmare Whisper had said so long ago. She had taken on all the suffering of Sunny Town and Discord's victims, because 'the shadows demanded suffering.' "...Scrapped knees, havin' to say goodbye to yer grandparents, learnin' the world ain't fair...that's part of becomin' an adult... but the only reason they stick around for those kinda tales is hopin' beyond hope that there's still a happy endin'! And a GOOD story teller can give one!" Applejack startled, she looked around, and saw nothing new with her truth, it had been her voice, but it hadn't been her who spoke. Had it? The monsters didn't seem to notice. "Everyone of me wants to deliver the killing blow, and rip your soul to pieces and divvy you up! After all, you have a very unique honor, Applejack: you've managed to fill me with such hatred I'm actually arguing with myself over which me gets to kill you!...So there's only one fair way for us to share." The army of abominations around Applejack cheered and melted into bile and shadow. They twisted back upon themselves, their masses conjoining like lumps of clay. The blob of grim darkness condensed, shrinking smaller and smaller until it was the size of a pony. = Zophar's - Revival = Then its form became something coherent again. AJ hardened herself for whatever nightmare she was about to see. It was an earth pony stallion. He wore a zipped up black lab coat, upon his front hooves were a pair of crude yet intricate electronic barding. He had no mane to speak of. His eyes were milky white, then a ghostly yellow, after that a mundane brown, then red and siltedt. His coat reminded AJ of pictures she'd seen of Ponigypt natives. His eyes were adorned with their ancient decorative marks, and his braided j-shaped beard looked straight out of a history book. His shadow twitched and moved with life. His cutie mark was a black pyramid with a nasty red eye and a spiral of tentacles. In spite of all of this, at first glance, Applejack would have seen him as nothing more than a pony, even compared to Umbra Breeze. The stallion's voice was cultured and intelligent. "Discord was right. You ponies always cheat against the odds-" "Even a broken clock is right twice a day." "-So we'll crush you on the illusion of even ground. I am our original avatar. The first of many masks. This was formed when the Spirits first called for darkness to please their whims! My name is one I took in honor of an accursed Pharaoh: Nyarlathotrot. Tis a pleasure to meet you Abigail Jacqueline! Saint Sweetheart!" He politely bowed to her. "You are the first in so long to see me. It's been so long since I danced. Now you'll die with my highest praise!" "You killed us in our weakest form...we'll show you what it's like to be no bigger than a virus." His shadow actually SPOKE. "You stole our tragedy and made it YOUR legend. We hate you beyond your insectile comprehension! You weren't supposed to be important!" His shadow seemed to writhe in fury while its owner remained calm. He coughed. "Lady Abigail. Since you're about to die, I'll exposé our plot! Think of villains, Abigail. You want vampire Night Guards? I'll have it hit the presses in a moment. I can get the Shadow Queen reconstituting herself! We'll have a nightmare with Nightmare Moon, have a surprise party for Queen Twilight the Cruel; Pinkamena can do the catering, and then we'll have a christening for Fluttershy's newly permanently brainwashed baby Rainbow Dash! All I have to do is clap my hooves and they'll be here. All my greatest works are bubbling up in my mind to come and get here, and do you know why, Abigail? Because here, in this world, the bad guys can win!" "...too bad for ya 'can' and 'will' ain't the same thing," Applejack retorted, grim-faced. The ground shook underneath them. Then the ground tore away from the earth itself as the stallion rose his forehooves into the air, taking one or two apple trees with it. Leathery wings grew from his sides. The pair rose like rockets in the sky. With a gesture, the sky cut open like a knife through a membrane, and the ground carried them outside the reality bubble. AJ for the first time saw the twisted state the world was really in with her own eyes. A sea of fog covered the world, with pockets of distorted realities floating among them, above them a shone a large and motionless light that was neither the sun nor moon. And through all of it ran that disgusting mix of dusty pink and dark charcoal. = The Wonderful 101 Soundtrack - Guyzoch Space Pirate = The wind wailed around them as the levitated ground began to fly through the fog past reality bubbles, like it was giving them a high speed tour of the world the villains had twisted Applejack's Equestria into. "Your sister and her little friends destroyed my recreations of my favorites...But that's okay...I have something else in mind...my greatest work ever! And with my sister gone, they'll be no way to undo it. So take a good look at your soon-to-be new past, present and future!" = The Wonderful 101 Soundtrack - Guyzoch Space Pirate Teio Form = +++ And Ah thought Ah felt sick and horrified before. Around the floatin' piece of my farm this creep had ripped out of the ground, floatin' pictures appeared. They were kinda like Button Mash's magic window, just floatin' and see-through like. But what they were showin', Ah wouldn't have shown to my worst enemy. And every one of 'em was more awful than the next. Princess Luna was Nightmare Moon again, with Zecora, her stripes inverted and her mane down, lookin' empty inside somehow. Princesses Celestia and Cadence, and Shining Armor, lookin' to be made out of jagged crystal and lookin' nastier than nasty. Me and my friends....we...ugh, we were mishmashed distorted snaky things with expressions like Discord's. It was like Tirek's rainbow of darkness mixed with Discord's filth. And there was Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, grown mares, decked out in enough armor to make the Royal Guard look naked, and not a trace of love or compassion on their faces. And all of these sides, trying their hardest to kill each other without a trace of the friendship and love we had before. Ah felt dizzy. "This... is a shadow... of my best work. A world where the somber tyrant king turned Cadence, Celestia, and Shining Armor into his loyal crystal minions. Where Discord turned you and your friends into chaos-loving very-literally-fallen-draconequus-DEMONS, your goodness tossed out like rubbish. And in despair Luna unleashed Nightmare Moon again just to keep the evil from spreading beyond Equestria, twisting Zecora into her servant, and it only gets so much sweeter from there. Three little Crusaders, giving up their marks to get the Elements and following a interpretation of Harmony you wouldn't even recognize, to lead an Equestria allied with Chrysalis and being just as brutal and ruthless as their enemies and just to survive. Oh, Apple Bloom threw away the Apple name after you turned all the other members of your family into demons. Isn't that sweet? It's almost as beautiful as my work in Loredron. The last futile flickers of the flames as they fight a mindless stalemate or delay the inevitable." "SHE ruined the galaxy I had as my masterwork, so I made her world like a miniature of it... this is what's known as pay-back." Ah threw up. Ah don't care how that's possible! Ah looked tah him. "...W-Why? Why do all this?" "I can't stand to see ponies having their carefree lives. And why you ask?" "Because THEY can't. Everything I am, so are THEY. The Shadows Who Make tried giving you happy, perfect lives and everyshadow told me they wanted me to kill it with fire! Before that, you ponies just had normal lives in high school with the Shadows Who Rule decreeing that there would be no villains. Flawed, but fundamentally good ponies living their lives best they could. No shadow even REMEMBERS it! The Shadows don't WANT you ponies to have happy normal lives! So how is it my fault? It's what I'm MADE to do." "Yer enjoyin' it too much fer that." He looked up with a chuckle. "Says a great deal about My Parents, doesn't it? After all, is not a child the product of their environment?" Ah'd tell him how kids have a choice, but Ah had somethin' else tah say. "...Yah know what?" "What? Going to try and find an ounce of goodness in me where one doesn't exist so you won't have to get your hooves bloody to prove that world's 'our enemies are beyond saving, kill'em all' is wrong?" "Nah, Ah'm gonna prove what yah did tah that world wrong by buckin' yer sorry guts in, WITHOUT losin' the good pony Ah am!" He swept his hooves all dramatic like. "When shadows see a world of light, they try and fill it with darkness, when they see a world of darkness, they try and fill it with light, they find a world of absolutes, they introduce gray, when they come across an utterly gray world, they try and find absolutes in it. Such petty, fickle beings that are. It's this contradiction that turns the wheels of creations." "Doesn't that mean what 'SHE' did was part of the wheels too?" "..." And...less than a second, Ah saw a crack of a smile that wasn't nasty on his face. And he laughed. That laugh, any good pony knew it, he laughed at himself. "Such irony. At last somepony understands. You would have made a wonderful horror writer Lady Abigail. Too bad your spirit won't be in shape for anything when we're done. Let's begin." = Bleach: Soul Resurreccion - Aizen Final Battle = Ah tried to open my mouth to try and bait 'em into talkin' more...his answered with two machine guns flankin' him that tried to pump me full of lead! For once I was GRATEFUL for that war vision Ah saw after vistin' the general in his cell, otherwise Ah might have wondered what the dohickies next to him were instead of gettin' out of their line of fire! As Ah was tryin' to avoid becomin' swiss cheese Ah noticed the bumps in the ground around me and Ah knew Ah'd be usin' a fake leg for real if Ah stepped on one! That made it harder to dodge! His shadow started LAUGHIN' at meh like a maniac! Ah then felt the bridal snap and clasp around me, makin' me hit the ground. And Nyarlathotrot had a sharp spade on one hoof, a sick grin on his face as he looked between my legs and slowly trotted forward, of course the bombs didn't go off when he touched them. The guns trained on me and Ah was surrounded by mines! 'Even playin' field' mah plot. 'All of his incarnations stand with him, all your incarnations stand with you,' Ah heard from everywhere and nowhere. Ah tried tah get up and tripped...just so that Nyarlathotrot missed me and hit the bridal breakin' it to pieces! 'Sometimes bein' a silly pony can be a good thing.' "Summon picnic blanket!" Ah heard myself say, but...less gruff and more like a mare with the innocence of a filly. Without thinkin' about it Ah pulled a picnic blanket from behind me out of view (so that's how Pinkie Pie does it), and threw it underneath Nyarlathotrot. "Summon what now?" He startled, givin' me long enough to pull it out from under him! He fell, and this time when he hit the landmines they DID explode under him! So nice of him to take all the shrapnel for me! "...That was for that Applejack yah twisted," Ah said. Yeah, THAT was meh, what of it? Nyarlathotrot pushed himself up and glared up at meh, and the machine guns came to life again...but this time, Ah'd trip and stumble at wherever they were gonna hit me. "Give some love Pa!" Ah shouted, hopin' this 'pull from somewhere' trick works twice, and reached into mah hat...and...it looked more worn than mine had N.M. written on it, but who cares! Ah lassoed one of the machine guns' tripods and tripped it up, knockin' its twin over to boot, both of them goin' boom from the ring of mines around 'em! Ah could see the truth! Ah could avoid them bombs under my hooves without even thinkin' about it! They ain't a threat now! Ah grabbed a boulder and tossed it square at Nyarlathotrot's overinflated head, feelin' like Ah had another Earth Pony or two workin' with me! A swarm of rats crawled over the sides of the ground, all of them lookin' horrible diseased. They closed in me, Ah got ready, when Ah saw Nyarlathotrot with a gas mask on. Ah held mah breath knowin' what was comin' next, as yellow gas that smelled like sulfur exploded around me. It didn't do any good, Ah felt it absorbin' through my eyes and skin! This distraction was all the rats needed to start bitin' me like no tomorrow. "Those rats are infected with every disease from the Great War of the Shadow's world, hope the gas kills you first," Nyarlathotrot said politely. Sweet Heart beat him as a virus! Ah gotta do the same! Wait! The same! Ah put my hooves on myself...and Ah felt a spring rain inside washing away the buggers in me, and it spread to the rats who suddenly looked a lot healthier. The varmints turned around and went back the way they came. The nasty gas dissolved into mist and salt. "Absurd." "...Ya said Ah have Sweet Heart's spirit in me? Apple Bloom told me about how the stories' bout her healin' with a touch are true now. Sorry it took meh so long to realize it!" That's when Ah had to dodge the flame thrower, settin' everythin' around me on fire and narrowin' the space Ah had to work with! Ah swear one of the apple trees lowered its branch for me as Ah came around. Ah grabbed it and leapt up, but the ground was still on fire. Then Ah noticed what KIND of apple-tree it was, a part of meh REALLY rememberin' eh. Ah grabbed 'em and kicked them right at his face. He got a start when they opened up into big old crabs midflight and started pinchin' 'em! Mortar launchers appeared and fired, blastin' the poor loyal appear trees clear off the ground we were on. Ah'd find ya later, promise Aquarish and Bollamere. But there were still some apples on the burnin' ground. Ah didn't have room to dodge, but Ah did have room to kick! And Ah showed what a life time of Apple Bucking could DO as Ah kicked another round mortar shells off target, blowin' up the flame thrower and sendin' the other one return to sender! Then Ah slammed into the ground, makin' the dirt rise up, and fall down, coverin' the flames, not dumb enough to try water even if Ah had any! And out they went! Ah decide tah take advantage of the dust and dash through the dirt tah get a punch on in his ugly mug...but Ah trip...just in time tah dodge a sniper rifle bullet from a gun he's summoned. Dang it keep movin'! That's when the Tesla Coils appeared around of us, Ah knew what was happin' next. "We got any pegasus ponies in there?!" Ah said quickly as Ah found myself dodgin' LIGHTNIN', usin' the Truth just to avoid gettin' fried! But it was no Pinkie Pie sense and Ah'd get zapped sooner than later! Ya know what? Screw it! Ah took my front hooves together as Ah did a leapin' dodge from the lightnin' and slammed into the ground as hard as Ah could! Feelin' my powered-up earth pony magic actually travel along the ground and knockin' the dang things over! Ah think my mane's a little shorter...and a little blacker at the end, but better than Ah expected! Ah turned to see Nyarlathotrot...actually huggin' himself, and lifted a bit off the ground, as a glass bulb formed around him, and two big electrodes on either side of it! Ah got ready for another shock attack, but instead they zapped the glass bulb! And his shadow...it got longer, and longer, and lifted itself off the ground! It sprouted black tentacles, spiral red eyes, and lots of sharp teeth! Shoulda figured a spirit wouldn't be just a bunch of fancy tricks and gadgets. It slashed with its tentacles that were as sharp as swords and tried to bite me in half! It just grinned and glared at me Ah ended up with cuts along my body from a slew of near misses! Dang it, Ah need tah do something! Wait, he's a virus right? After dodging one of his tentacles, Ah punched it along the less sharp side...and do the same healin' thin' Ah did tah mahself. Given his skin started smokin' and he pulled it back right quick with a screech, Ah take it he's still just a virus. "That one was for that world's Twilight!" Then it came out behind me, and when Ah tried to touch it this time, it just OPENED UP that part of itself! Then tried to close and cut my leg off! Too close! Ah moved as fast as Ah could tryin' to get some distance! Ah tried buckin' apples at it, but they just went through it, Ah tried givin' a little earthquake again, but it didn't even feel it. Ah tried tying it up with my lasso but again it just passed through! Finally did a battle cry and a tried to ram the ring, and almost got eaten for my troubles! Nothin' works! Like Ah fightin' a...a shadow. Ah'm such an idiot. Ah kicked up as much dirt as Ah could givin' myself a bit of a smoke screen, and ran for it and bucked one of the electrodes over...and into the glass bulb, which shattered and went boom, and the shadow vanished! Old Nythy fell to the ground, dizzy and gaspin' for air. Ah punched him with the old one-two, then Buckin' MacGillacuddy and Kicks-Magee got their kicks in, then Ah jack hammered him in the barrel before scissor kickin' him in the chin and then a over the head crescent kick right on his noggin' leavin' an impression in the ground! Thanks for the examples Rarity. "And that's for that world's Rainbow Dash! HOW DO YA LIKE THEM APPLES?!" Ah don't care if he's the Spirit of Apples themselves! When he decided to hurt this world and the ones Ah care about, the gloves came off! Nyarlathotrot shakin' like a bag of jumpin' beans pushed himself up. He looked up at me with a bloody grin. "How do you like THESE apples?!" = "Your Best Nightmare" - Undertale = Ah heard the buzzin' behind me, and Ah it was ain't no parasprite as Ah dodged out of the way as a the empty red biplane zoomed down and tried to strafe me! Ah landed on my back in time to see the Zeppelin above dropped the BOMBS right on top of me with that nasty whistlin' sound! Each of them bombs had Old Nythy's cutie mark painted on them. Of course none of the bombs hit Nyarlathotrot as he stood up, the blasts makin' his jacket bellow more. Barbed wire shot out of the ground, tryin' to wrap itself around me like snakes. Havin' to dodge them and the bombs! "Earth! Become blood and mud!" He slammed his hooves into the ground. As he said, the around stank of blood and turned muddy, slowin' me down more! Ah tripped forwards and found myself SLIDIN' on it, well was faster than runnin' even if Ah have tah be careful not tah fall! Might as well put it good use as Ah the bombs and barbed wire followed me, Ah slide right into Nyarlathotrot's legs, knockin' him over behind me, the trail of bombs then hit him and the the barbed wire cut along the back of his coat, and he bled black. "That one was for their Fluttershy!" The barbed wire and the zeppelin vanished. Ah pushed my front hooves into the mud, and used every trick of Earth pony magic Ah knew, and clover and grass and tiny apple shoots sprouted up, cloggin' the mud. Uhhhhh, whoa, that trick takes a whole lot more outta ya than ya think. Then Old Nythy took a pistol out of his jacket and tried to shoot me between the eyes. Ah somehow dodged but got a new hole in my hat, and kicked the gun out of his fancy metal hoof coverin's and punched 'em in the face again! "And that's for that world's Apple Bloom and her friends!" Nyarlathotrot's wiped the blood from his mouth and tried to wipe the mud from his black zipped-up lab coat, Ah tried to punch 'em flat as he did so but this time he actually dodged. "You should know, Little Dread just caught up with your little friends, and she hates you ponies more than Night Gale does." Ah startled, he punched me with those metal hoof thingies, and gave me the shock of my life. Ah think Ah only didn't got worse cause Ah was covered head to toe in mud, had more than my earth pony's magics inside me, and maybe cause Ah was grounded, maybe, Ah don't know how electricity works, Ah'm no pegasus. Ah rolled out of the way of a second punch with the left hoof and got distance between us. Ah snorted air. "You dance well, Miss Abigail." He bowed. "Shall we go for the finale?" > How Apples roll > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Daring Do, Ah thought ya wanted to stay and fight instead of Applejack!" Ah said. Ah WANTED ta go back for big sister, and help her beat Umbra Breeze. "When the kid touched that magic window of his, I realized we didn't have time to argue," Daring Do answered. Havin' to carry the four us while sprintin' wasn't slowin' her down as much as Ah'd like. "The stamina meter is always turned off for chase scenes like this," Button Mash blabbed. Ah struggled against her stupid kung-fu grip. "We haveta go back and save Applejack!" There was no way Ah was lettin' her face an ARMY of things like Shub-whatever by herself!!! "Forget it, kid! You said fixing the world is on a time limit? Then no way in Tartarus am I stopping for tea!" "Applejack can help! She's one of the Elements of Harmony! Honesty! She's saved the world lotsa times!" "Which means I have to trust her judgment whether I like it or not!" Daring Do growled. Ah bet it was Button Mash's stupid game rules makin' her say that. "And I'm not letting you foals put yourselves in more danger than you need to be!" "Ya don't know anythin'! We've been fightin' monsters since this whole thing started!" "This isn't about that!" Ah pull on her wing. "Hey! Careful, kid! Yer gonna make me crash! Ya want us to get broken necks?! OW!" Ah bit her. "Turn us around!" "APPLE BLOOM, HAVE YOU GONE NUTS?!" Scootaloo shouted. Sweetie's limp body jostled in Daring Do's grip. "Apple Bloom retreating is-" "Shut yer trap, Button Mash!" Ah hissed. "My family needs me!" "Aren't we each other's family too?!" Scootaloo snapped as Daring righted herself. We passed through Sweet Apple Acres' barrier. And the howls and snarls of that girl-wolf behind us faded. "We NEED you right now, big time! We need you to see through the fog!" (Scootaloo's Entry: I hated saying that, so much, but Dash taught me better.) "Friends and family don't abandon each other! AJ said that's what saved the world from Nightmare Moon, remember?!" "And NOW she said to get to the printing presses and save the day. If it were me, and I had to leave Rainbow Dash behind after she told me... I'd do it. Are you really going to abandon the world, Apple Bloom?" My lip quivered. Ah don't remember when Ah'd started cryin'. "It doesn't matter, because none of you are going anywhere!" Came a horrid snarl. The beast! She'd somehow gotten in front of us! "The fog must have helped her!" Daring Do spoke, like she'd read my mind. +++ The red-hooded wolf howled as she did a summersault towards the ponies, assuming a bipedal stance. Claws and gratuitous wrist blades stood ready to eviscerate the ponies. Everything happened in a confusing blur. Daring Do slowed down, the wolf coming at them. Scootaloo let go of her grip on Daring Do and flew out of the way, grabbing Sweetie Belle as she went. The wolf's blades and fangs sailed overhead as Daring came to a forced landing, letting the earth ponies down as gently as she could, which wasn't much. The wolf landed on all fours before standing up in a hunched posture. "To those who ruined fairytales. To those who have mutilated stories into sanitized pabulum, I, Little Dread, will wash myself in your blood!" She pointed at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "In particular those who carry the stink of the Corruption's world!" Scootaloo didn't care who got what she said next or not. "That world was NOT a 'corruption!'" "I could have helped destroy that abomination myself... all those beautiful stories, obliterated out of existence, because of the wishes of protective mothers and prudes who wanted terrifying works to vanish. How could such prudishness be anything but a corruption!?" Scootaloo cringed. "Well... they could... maybe, make new ones?" "What?! 'Scary storms?!' The wolf didn't eat the first two little pigs, and the wolf didn't get cooked himself, he just ran away! Chicken Little didn't get the other chickens eaten! Soften the lesson until it's mush! THAT IS YOUR LEGACY! "Little Seapony? Instead of choosing the life of her unrequited love over her own, she beats-up the witch who was neutral in the true tale! Swan Princess? Instead of being reunited in the afterlife they beat up the magician! Godfather Death? SWEPT UNDER THE RUG! Your kind turned them from works of art into banal pap! And your world is now filled with arbitrary traits that go in opposition to the original flavor! How! Does! It! FEEL!?" = Shockwave Theme - Transformers Devastation = "That's what this is all about?! Revenge?!" Scootaloo said, somehow hearing the wolf say it was lot more plain and clear than Umbra Breeze's speech. "I saw our grim fairytales original flavor ripped to shreds to the sound of cheers, while when we do the same to do yours, we are opposed at every turn?! WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS IN THAT!?" "I'm not gonna say it's fair!" Daring Do snorted. "That's life, wolfie! Either let us go or we'll go through you." "You retards. I'm going to eat you alive. I'd eat your relatives and friends and their relatives if I could! Your unicorn's magic is depleted, the rest of you have no hope of-" "Ah'm sorry, but we've got a world to save! Scootaloo, guard Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom shouted, tear stains on her face. "Right!" "What a joke! Down one and limiting yourselves more? I'm going to slaughter you no matter what order you animals come at me!" Daring Do struck with her whip wrapping it around Little Dread's arm. "Fool!" Dread pulled at her at once, flinging Daring Do towards her. Daring Do stuck out her rear legs at the wolf. Dread didn't miss a beat and pointed her other arm's wrist blades right at Daring to skewer her on the momentum. But Daring used her wings to slow down, CAUGHT the other arm between her rear legs, and did a mini-loop-de-loop twisting the wolf into the ground. Dread leapt at Daring fangs bared, but Daring flew out of the way of her jaws. "I'm taking it you're a werewolf! I'm so not interested in turning into one!" Daring Do shouted. Button Mash just happened to be waiting in line of the wolf's trajectory, and had pulled out a hammer taller than he was from his inventory that he swung right in the monsters' face, breaking her nose. She was sent her flying back, where Apple Bloom was waiting on the opposite end and double bucked the wolf in the back, knocking the wolf to the ground. "Your cape's too small," Scootaloo said, "If it was bigger it would hide your body language." "Shut up!" The wolf leapt at her, only to realize she'd forgotten about the airborne Daring Do who did a diving spear kick from above to the wolf's face, sending her tumbling sideways. The wolf righted itself and leapt to eat the helpless unicorn. With speed that would have made Rainbow jealous, Scootaloo grabbed Sweetie Belle and flew right underneath the wolf as she leapt at them. "Why is Little Red a werewolf anyway?!" Apple Bloom asked, trying to distract her. "Simple, if they want to make the story less dark, I'll just add an even darker twist on it!" = Gundam SEED Meteor = Button Mash charged with a sword stab, but it was caught between Dread's wrists blades. She drew the colt in close. "Did you actually think that was going to work?!" Button Mash kissed her. "BLAGH!" The wolf spat and cursed. Button Mash took the chance to pull his sword free and stab the monster, who backhanded him, the wrist blades leaving two cuts on his cheek as he was knocked back. Daring Do dove in at the opening and pummeled the monster, who bear hugged her in retaliation while opening her jaws wide and dove to take a bite. In the same moment Daring Do kicked her where it hurt, mare or stallion, and lowered her head so the wolf's jaws got caught on her hat instead. While the beast howled in agony, Daring Do grabbed her whip that was still around the monsters' arm and judo threw her into the ground, taking back her whip and hat in the process. The front of Daring's shirt was clawed open as she flew back from the angry monster's counter-attack. Apple Bloom did a sliding spike at Dread's kneecaps, making the beast topple. "Four legs beat two!" She shouted, barely avoiding being clawed open. Daring Do dove in for another attack, the wolf did a spin kick that Daring bent under and caught the wolf's right claws follow up attack. The wolf instantly attacked with her left wrist blade... that Daring blocked by twisting the wolf's arm with the weight of her body, the two weapons struck each other, and Daring used leverage, and the right weapon one BROKE! Button Mash used this distraction and slashed at wild speed Dread, a small meter above his head, hitting her with 'nickel and dime' nicks and gashes before a ding was heard as the meter filled. Everything moved in slow motion as Button Mash leaped back and put away his sword. Before him appeared a glowing green weapon: a double-edged lumberjack's axe. 'Woodsman's Axe!' The message appeared in Apple Bloom's mind's eye. "BLOOM! CATCH!" Button Mash tossed the Woodsman's Axe at Apple Bloom, who caught with her mouth, leapt high enough into the air to break the laws of physics, and lifted the axe up over Little Dread's head. Apple Bloom thought of everything this monster had done to Equestria, her friends and family, and planned on doing. She saw the absolute terror in the monster's eyes, frozen in place like a deer in the headlight. Little Dread let out a cry of terrified dismay. Apple Bloom tensed her muscles, and saw in her mind's eye a triumphant grin of an adult Bloom in armor with a mechanical eye. ... Apple Bloom let out a sigh and at the last moment twisted the axe she struck the demon with the flat of the axe instead, slamming into her with a deafening clang. Little Dread's eyes rolled up to her. "You didn't... you idiot..." She admonished unbelieving, before she fell to her knees like a puppet with her strings cut. "Like Ah said! We've got a world to save! YOU GO HOME!" And Apple Bloom whacked her with the side of the axe again, knocking the wolf out. -ERROR!- A red message played, before the axe flickered like a damaged picture before vanishes. She looked at her friends who looked at her in disbelief. "WE'VE WASTED ENOUGH TIME ON THIS!" And they moved like lightning. After they left, a golden double door appeared underneath Little Dread. It swung inward, and into it she fell. A hypothetical onlooker would've seen a forest right out of a fairytale on the doors' other side before they closed and vanished. +++ Nyarlathotrot gasped. Then smirked and said. "Little Dread is done, your sister and her friends are all dead, Applejack." "Ah can't believe ya just tried to lie to me!" Ah shot back without hesitation. "Worth a shot. Good thing I've already decided to end this game. I'm going to do what Nightmares Moon, Discord, and Chrysalis couldn't and kill you, then kill your little backups, and kill that spare Element of Honesty you call a brother. Then an Apple Family will snap and picks off the rest one by one in ways that will make my works with Pinkie Pie and Cheerilee look like 'Santa Hooves is Coming to Town.'" My fur bristled. Wasn't gonna fall for that bait. Ah rolled my eyes. "'Ah was holdin' back', how original." "Forget I said that I would playact a fair fight this whole time?" The scumbag asked darkly. "Oh please, Ah don't know everythin', but Ah know enough ta know ya Spirits have'ta keep yer word whether ya like it or not." =Minecraft: Story Mode - Wither Storm Theme= "You've called upon your Truth, I'll call upon mine!" The piece of horseapples said darkly. "Ah don't fear any truth ya..." Ah smirked. "Discord-Lite." And the whole dang world went silent for a breath. Ya could've heard a pin drop. Then he was shakin' angry enough to swallow a horn toad backwards! His shadow went out like a mass of tendrils, writin' around in a way that remindin' meh of a buncha angry snakes! If Twili' was ever this mad, her fiery mane would've ignited the atmosphere. "How dare you? HOW DARE YOU?!!! THAT INSULT WILL BE THE LAST BLOW YOU EVER STRIKE AGAIN ME YOU STUPID HORSE!" He bellowed like a mad pony. "You want truth?" What came next, Ah'd be havin' nightmares for a long time, or maybe no time at all. He knelt down, and his back split open, suit and all, with fangs like clasps pullin' away. His shadow spread behind 'em, gettn' bigger and bigger, then the entire thing was on fire! It looked like a swirlin' wall of molten lava! Then the center began to pull back, deeper, and deeper that it should have gone over the edge of the ground we were on, but it was like where it was goin' wasn't even the same space behind it! The swirlin' red open up, and there just this big black nothin' inside! Except ... it... wasn't... empty! Ah can't remember if It was as big as a buildin', big as a dragon, big as Canterlot's mountain, or bigger than the sun! Some part of me said this Thing was old, really old, from when the centaurs domesticated us when we were dumb critters to right now was a flash in the pan. Discord was a foal compared to this Thing. No, this wasn't 'nothin'', nothin' is peaceful, this Thing was anythin' but! If Tartarus has an ugly sister-in-law, this is It. My eyes just kept gettin' wider and wider. The more Ah knew, the more Ah didn't want to! Ah felt the Truth shut itself off, like it was protectin' me! Ah could remember, all my brain could fit into somethin' Ah could almost understand, was the 'eye'. It was the most inequine thing Ah'd ever seen, or would see. It wasn't like a pony's, a dragon's, Discord's, or Nythy's. Ah don't know if It even saw me, Ah was less than a germ. Ah heard my thoughts crackin' just by It bein' there. Ah was a pebble bein' crushed under a mountain of wrongness to everythin' and anythin' Ah'd ever known! "Look within MY Family's truth, the honest truth of how shallow your perception is! Execrate creation for cursing you with sapience!" A soundless screech rushed from the portal, everythin' in its field of view broke apart down to the atoms, and Ah was dead center. "Look or don't look, it won't change a thing! It doesn't matter how much spirit strength your incarnations together or ANYTHING has, your soul will still shatter into dust!" Ah didn't run, Ah didn't scream and cover my eyes with my hooves, Ah didn't cry... Ah gave that loser Nythy the hardest sternest look Ah could. Ah didn't let 'em see me afraid. If this was the end of what made 'me' me, Ah wasn't given this cosmic chump one bit of satisfaction of seein' me break before this Thing did his work for him. "'The most merciful of things is the pony mind's inability to correlate all its contents. Living on placid islands of ignorance amidst black seas of infinity, you'd be wise not to voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have so far harmed you little; but someday will open vistas of reality, and your position therein so terrifying, you'll either go mad or flee into the peace and safety of a new dark age.'" Ah snorted. Ah knew it should have been a lot quicker than this, the loser was stretching it out just so he'd see me give, tough luck pal. Ma, Pa, Ah love you, sorry Ah can't be there with ya. Apple Bloom, Ah love you so much, Ah know ya'll be a great mare without becomin' a thug. Big Mac, good luck, Ah know ya'll be a great hero. Yeah, Ah was scared witless. Yeah, Ah was sad. Yeah, Ah hated how Ah wouldn't be there to see Apple Bloom grow up, to see Big Ma get hitched, that Granny Smith would lose another member of the family before her time. Ah hated how Ah wouldn't be able to stop this monsters from doing worse to all my friends. Yeah Ah knew Ah'd spend my last few milliseconds crazy. But if this was the end, Ah'd face it as a real Apple. Ah wouldn't run from the truth. "Remember the world where Discord remade you all into fallen draconequi? This is the same force that shattered their souls! Die, silly pony!" Because Ah know now, somewhere, out there, no matter how alone Ah feel, there's somepony out there who will never, ever give up on any of us. = Sorairo Days - Gurren Lagann = "Hey, Applejack? Leave this one to me." Then my shadow twisted about on its own, turnin' about like the hands on a clock till it was right in front of me. It rippled and became like a black mirror. And out of my shadow crawled... myself? She had wings and horn, but she was me, right down to my cutie mark and Pa's hat. She pulled herself free like my shadow was made outta taffy, then stood tall between me and It. "Applejack," Ah whispered, Ah knew who this was. Old Nythy looked confounded at her and nothin' came out of that gabby mouth of his. She grew the size of Princess Celestia, shapin' into a full grown Alicorn. Her mane shone in the wind like it was threads of gold. At the same time, layers of armor polished to a mirror-shine formed on her hooves and up her body, neck, head, horn, and wings until she was more decked out in mirror armor than a royal guard. Her Pa's hat blew off her. This all happened in a flash. Red magic burnin' through her horn, spreadin' her wings as far as she could and reared up her forelegs. "Nightmare.. OVERLOAD!" And before my eyes... Nightmare Mirror's wings grew bigger, and bigger, becoming a huge buncha mirrors between me and It until she was completely blockin' Its view of me! All the terror that had been eatin' me inside went poof. And all them mirrors, Ah couldn't tell where they ended and she started, and all of 'em pointed right at It! That silent howl got louder and louder. My bones were shakin', so was the ground underneath us, and even the air seemed to quake! Then Ah saw... she was cryin'. Her eyes darted me, then back at the bad guys. "These ain't mah tears Ah'm sheddin'! It's them ponies who weren't 'round never to cry no more, and them ponies who had the power to cry for others taken from 'em! Yer a cheat, Nyarlathotrot!" "You! Your kind who won't accept a single unhappy ending. Who won't let a single story end tragically, who mindlessly want sunshine and butterflies, YOU call me a cheater?!" "Ya make ponies into monsters and call it hidden depths. Ya turn paradise inta Hell, and call it growin' up! What's the point?! That's a trick for WEAK storytellers! Ah understand now!" "You understand nothing!" The shakin' got more wild, if Ah wasn't an Earth Pony Ah'd have fallen off. The mute scream just got louder, like an angry animal. Then... Ah heard the crackin' sound, and saw her mirrors ... there were cracks formin' in em. "APPLEJACK!" She just smirked. "Sorry fer the dramatic entrance AJ, Ah had ta make this count! 'Bloom can't afford to lose ya!" Between me and myself, Ah let myself cry a little on the outside. "Heh.. no prob', AJ." Cracks spread like a wildfire across her mirrors... and her! But, with every crack, the silent noise from It got more uncontrollable and feral, like it was the one in pain. The world felt like it was gonna tumble apart! "YOU WILL COUNT FOR NOTHING! BE GONE!" The cracks got bigger and bigger, and Ah swear there was an echo to 'em. Apple Mirror blinked, and those weren't a Nightmare's eyes... those were our eyes. And... she shattered. Like a picture painted on glass. In that moment before, her smirk had become a grin. And when she shattered... Ah saw It... It was covered in cracks that were a perfect reflection of the ones that had been on Apple Mirror... and in that moment, It shattered too... like a projection that had been on a window, fadin' away from this here plane of reality. "Apple Mirror... " She did it... for me... for Apple Bloom. My heart caught up in my throat. "She used her mirrors to create an existential sympathetic-resonance between herself and It?!" Nythy rambled sounding more flabbergasted than Twili' meetin' the Pinkie Sense! He sneered at the pieces of Mirror as they fell. "You thought that would save her? A tragic assumption!" Then Ah heard Apple Mirror, her voice tiny and fractured. "Nifty thing 'bout mirrors? Ya shatter 'em, ya get a bunch of little mirrors!" Then Ah saw... her Element of Honesty... just appeared there... big as a boulder... beatin' like it was her heart... then it broke apart too... but... it was like all the pieces were shinin' BRIGHTER now! Before me or Nythy had a chance to do anythin', all the pieces of Apple Mirror, and all the pieces of her giant Element of Honesty, zoomed towards me like a magnet! Ah didn't have time to gasp as they went into me. But it wasn't like Ah was bein' stabbed, it was like somepony was Pourin' a swimmin' pool into a glass of me! Only the swimin' pool was becomin' the glass instead of the other way around! "All... her spiritual power... to the nearest... compatible container?" Old Nythy mumbled limply. "There's... no way she planned that!" Ah saw one of Button's little menu things appear in front of meh...Ah don't know video games as well as Rainbow, but mah experience gauge started fillin' up and levelin' up like mad! For a tick, Ah saw a streak of red and pink appear in my mane and my braid turnin' into leaves, while there was little sparkles and apple marks around my hooves, Ah FELT a big apple appear on my replacement of Pa's hat, and my cutie mark becomin' one big apple with a buncha little apples. But Ah forgot all about that as that faded... and Ah saw a millions years' worth of sin, and in her heart of heats, wantin' to make up for it somehow, and wantin' to protect the people of this world, the only thing that made it worth while. The next flash was an Applejack with a tail bow and a cluster of apples for her cutie mark, then Saint Sweet Heart, an Applejack with a green mane and read coat... All of them all ghost like, and all of 'em starin' daggers at old Nythy. Jerk too a step back. Then Ah saw a vision of my own Element of Honesty. Ah saw it grow and break out (more like explode out) of its gold framin', becomin' bigger, more fancy lookin' and pretty than ever before, the gold framin' reformin' to fit the design, lookin' more like a peytral than a necklace. The little stat bar's level read out filled so fast a crack went through the screen and it became infinity! What happened next, was just plain crazy. It was like my entire body was on fire, but it didn't hurt. Like the flame that kicked the windigos' flanks in the stories, than havin' dragon breath burn ya. And inside, Ah felt it all, my experiences, Apple Mirror's experiences, our experiences, it was all there and Ah was stronger because of it! Ya can guess what came next. A pair of fancy lookin' feathered wings with a sheen to them grew from my frickin' back, and a horn pushed it's way out of my forehead, but it was like Ah'd been usin' 'em for millions of years. No, Ah don't consider myself an Alicorn or a Princess, cause Ah hadn't earned these wings and horn, they're lent from a member of my family who trust me to do what we gotta do. "This' yer strength, Apple Mirror, Ah Pinkie Promise it ain't gonna go to waste." Usin' magic and experience Ah didn't have a minute ago, Ah conjured up a set of bardin' like Princesses Celestia and Luna wear, but a patina with rubies instead of silver with emeralds, it just, felt right (and suddenly knowin' what a 'patina' was!), it was a lot less fancy lookin', but it would get the job done! "Princess Vertias?!" Old Nythy screeched. Ah didn't care. "Apple Mirror," Ah said, "Let's do this together!" With a completely emotionless face Nyarlathotrot teleported away. Ah opened a mirror gate above where'd he been standin' and he fell back onto his sorry plot. "Oh no! Ya don't get to go until Ah SAY ya can go!" Nyarlathotrot looked at me with clenched teeth and pupils quiverin'. Ah saw a vein pulsin' on side of his head. "You... you... you... " He was practically frothing at the mouth now. "I will not... we will not... you're a wailing infant compared to us... how dare you disgrace a member of our family!" "Ah save it, Discord cares more 'bout his kin than ya do," A part of me said and Ah was surprised to hear it. And Ah couldn't wait to deliver the cherry on top. "When Apple Mirror shattered It and herself? Out escaped all the GOOD PARTS the big eye took away when It remade those versions of us into Chaos Demons." "ABSURD! Even if that happened you'd have no way to know!" "Ah don't, but Apple Mirror does." "...You crafty nag!" Nynthy snarled hatefully. "THIS is what I mean! You can't leave a single unhappy thing undone! All my hard work mangled and deflowered! And you will taste the venom of our justice!" "Anypony tell ya yer a self-centered git?" "Enough of Alicorns and Draconequi and their self-righteous hypocrisy! We've rooted ourselves in so deep we'll destroy you! You will understand there is no point in your existence! You will cry out there is no answer!" "Ah won't hide my sins / or from the truth!" "Know this truth, Veritas! A terrible choice, and terrible burden await your little sister at the top of the World Tower, and that's if she or any of them make it. She will be so broken that we might as well have won!" Nythy's shadow grew, fangs and claws emerging from it as it encircled me and lashed out at me from all sides. "Friendship is the strongest magic of all! As long as love and friendship exist, good can prevail, and whatever that burden or choice is, Apple Bloom's friendship with others will see her through!" Ah let out a concentrated blast of light from my horn, focusin' all the light around us into a big burst, vaporizin' the shadows around me. An image appeared between us... It was Alula and Tootsie. Just ordinary fillies. It was Cheerilee's class. It was Hearts and Hooves Day... Diamond Tiara said, "I like the red one." And Alula without hesitation gave Diamond Tiara her own red card. Silver Spoon looked happy at the exchange. While behind them, Tootsie was about to give a card to the foal across from her, when Truffle and Twist hugged, she dropped her card and looked away heart broken. "Anypony can become the villain! You're no longer protected by the status quo of the Heart World! Alula's compassion for Diamond Tiara made her open for corruption, her friendship made her a servant of a Nightmare. Tootsie's girlish attraction to Truffle left her with pain that left her open to being told what she wanted to hear. Her dreams of being a hero made her a villain. The very friendship and love you hold dear brought them into our sway!" Nythy's shadow twist and twisted again, this time bulbs formed and opened, firin' lasers at me with no room to dodge. "And it'll be those dreams, love and friendship that saves them, and Diamond Tiara!" Ah opened up the inside of my wings, showing the gleaming reflection underneath. The lasers went inside my wings, and out the other side blastin' each other. "Then you admit pain is a part of living?!" "There's a difference between pain and misery!" "The world is a cruel place where any win is arbitrarily being born into the right family and knowing the right ponies! Or fates whims who will be a goddess who will be a garbage pony!" His back opened, and out jumped a one-foreleg zebra who began to play his saxophone to music that was going to do a Tartarus lot worse than just make my ears bleed. "Maybe in some other world line, but this one's too optimistic fer that! Life may not be easy! But it's ain't somethin' horrible that's better off put out of its misery! Me, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, we're all where we are because of the choices we've made! And one day we'll make this world the next best thin' tah heaven! TOGETHER!" The jewel on my peytral glowed, and Ah let out a vocal that left visible sound waves makin' the zebra shatter like a ceramics project. The cooked clay faded away. His shadow picked up his saxophone and knelt to me. "That's the curtain call. Back to legends and folklore I go." The shadow and saxophone faded back into the darkness. Ah plucked out a few of my feathers and morphed 'em into bright silver spears. "I thought you said you prided yourself on never killing a thinking being." "Yer usin' an avatar, ya already had yer one mortal life." Ah shot right at the monster. "This ain't killin': it's banishment!" Nythy's shadow moved right in front of him, a scarily fat unicorn mare with a fan rose up between us, she didn't have time to use her fan to blow 'em away, she was used as a shield. She fell to her knees dropping her fan that vanished. "My King In Yellow, I am coming." She dissolved into a mass of buggers and vanished, her shadow crawled back into the mass. "There will always be causalities in the crossfire," Nythy said. The filly from earlier emerged from the mass of shadows like walkin' out of a lake (her race constantly shifting). She was holding a controller with a little screen. She turned it on and an earth pony stallion made outta 'pixels' (whatever those were), formed in front of her. He had a sword as big as him, a spiky blond mane, and an orange suit of armor. "I-must-save-Princess-Alicia.-You-are-evil.-I-must-defeat-you." It said in a clipped together voice. Above him was the message 'Players 1:'Night Gale', and a red bar. Above me were the words 'Players 2: Princess Applejack.' Ah blasted the controller, the digital pony vanished into thin air. "Heroes can take steps to SAVE those who otherwise would die in the crossfire and can succeed in it!" Nythy grasped Night Gale's head with his two mechanical gauntlets, she screamed as electricity went through her, her shadow thrashed about wildly. Nyarlathotrot let her go and didn't look at her. "But... I never got to challenge Button Mash to a two player game..." The filly fell apart into 'pixels' herself, and her shadow tried to crawl away before being dragged back by Nythy's shadow into itself. "Maybe he can play against your high score if it meant that much to you," Nythy said indifferently. Ah couldn't believe what Ah just saw. Ah figured the unicorn just leapt in front of 'em, but this? "But... she's you!" "My kind can't experience love, why should self-love be any different? A better incarnation can take her seat." As if Ah couldn't be more disgusted by him. Even his own shadow seemed to twist in revulsion from him. A dozen of my mirrors stabbed into the around Night Gale's shadow, severin' it from Nythy's, her shadow sank into the earth, free from him. Nythy's tendrils stabbed me like cobras, but all they got was a reflection. "Now she can play games that don't hurt no pony. Or maybe she already has." "You ruin my work like she did!" "She made NEW worldlines!" "You'll die by your own ridiculous hooves!" Nyarlathotrot threw off his black lab coat, a ring of green magic traveled up his legs then across his whole body. His fur changed to charcoal black. He grew a long green mane and a lizard's like tail with a gold ring on both. His shape became a mare's. His eyes became a consistent gold color with the 'whites' of his eyes bein' black. White freckles appeared on his face. His cutie mark became three moth eaten apples with a cat's eye at the center of each other. Ah barely had time to think about what Ah was seein' when his shape then grew into an adult Alicorn mare's. Then black skeletal bat wings burst out of his back with red eye-jewels at the center and tips. This was followed by a horn to it comin' out of her, his forehead curved like a sword. Next his gauntlets spread and changed into a set of creepy barding with more twists and curves to it than an octopony family reunion: Looked like it was made out of interlockin' metal tentacles dotted with garnets. "This is yer end, ya four-hoofed varmit!" What sounded like a bad recording of my own voice snarled back at me. Ah didn't dignify 'em with a response. Neither of us waited for a signal, we just blasted each other with a beam-o-war, except Ah wasn't interested in proving Ah was stronger than this plothole and summoned a mirror that blasted his beam right back at 'em combined with mine! Ah wasn't gonna let this rat stick around with my face for long! She flapped her wings and spawned a swarm of Apple eatin' moths (that ain't a typo), Ah flapped my wings and sent 'em back at 'er face. She cursed and hissed and dismissed 'em. This was gonna end! She charged up her horn and teleported with her horn pointed right in my eye and blasted... dang... that hurt... If Ah wasn't an Alicorn Ah'd be dead from that one. Ah bite on my tongue, Ah didn't have TIME to twist around in agony! Ah teleported while still regeneratin' and kick 'er in the horn! No teleport tag for you today! We kicked and punched each other, each other makin' an earthquake that broke off bits of the ground we were standin' on. We both ignored the pain. We both didn't even think of holdin' back! Ah flapped back with my wings and then fluttered forward, doin' a slidin' dive, sendin' 'em tumblin' over! That's what ya get when ya combine pegasus wings with earth pony strength! Jerk slammed her hooves together then into the ground, electric sparks went about as chains made outta the same metal as her bardin' tore out of the ground and pulled me down and began to crush me in my own bardin'! "Those chains are sonic proof, and there no pony that flies in the sky or walks on the earth can break them!" "Seaponies can do more than sing," I breathed out. "We're universes away from the nearest ocean." "Good thing with this mist, there's plenty of water around!" "Uh-oh." Her eyes went wend as the mist 'round her condensed into water and then into ice that stabbed at her from every direction. As for the chains tryin' to turn me into paste, ya know this trick by now, freeze 'em good, then warm'em up, freeze'em again, and some Alicorn strength, and ka-crack they go! Ah charged right at Nyarlathotrot, zigzaggin' as Ah went and evadin' beams shot my way, changin' direction on a bit. If there's one thing Flutterponies could do its dodge like the wind! Nyarlathotrot opened her mouth and her jaw split apart like petals of a flower lined with fangs, and out shot a buncha green tentacles with barbs on the end. They wrapped around my legs, wings, and then my neck. Ah felt like Ah was bein' squeezed to death by dragons. A red flame shot around my body then vanished. My body below my waist was exactly the same, but above my waist, that used to be my neckline, I was now furless except for my mane on my head, had an extra set of limbs like Spike's, had a mostly flat face, and an extra set of maternal material on my chest. Bein' face to face with a centauress threw Nythy off long enough for me to put my new limbs to good use and double hammer blowed her right on her head and that ugly horn of hers. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and the tentacles came lose. Using my arms again I grabbed the her tongues and used them to slam her repeatedly into the ground like a rug that needed puttin' out. She finally ripped herself free and charged with her horn right between my eyes, the red flames covered my body and Ah was a pony again and she totally missed, but it also gave me a perfect shot at her unarmored belly! The SOB gasped and gurgled, and Ah threw 'em off my horn and trampled 'em! "Ya ain't gonna win this," Ah said, it wasn't a threat. "Ah'm channelin' the Alicorn of Truth herself, the real rules of this world make all yer rumor twistin' useless!" She stood up. Her hate of me as strong as ever. "What rules?! Your reality was already no longer chained to the heart world... you think you can hide behind 'nopony gets killed, bad things don't happen to good ponies, and good things don't happen to bad ponies' forever?" Then... it all clicked. It just, all came together. Ah dang correlated all my mind's contents. "... Both you and Pinkie Pie, ya were scared of the same thing... that genres change, that's the honest truth." Nythy looked at me in shock. Ah took my chance and punched 'em. "That was for that world's Rarity!" Another. "And that was for that world's Pinkie Pie!" Another. "And for Big Mac!" And, "For Granny!" POW! "Cousin Braeburn!" POW! POW! "And cousins Apple Fritter and Peachy Sweet!" POW! POW! POW! POW! "Mr. and Mrs. and Pound and Pumpkin Cake if they even got to be born there!" My hits and words came faster, like jackhammers. "And Spike! Miss Cheerilee! Minuette! Lyra! Bon Bon! Moon Dancer! Lemon Hearts! Twinkleshine! Moth! Lone Ranger! Twilight's parents! Maud Pie! Trixie! Cousin Red Delicious! Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Cadence and Shining Armor!" Ah spoke and hit even faster! Like Ah was punchin' before Ah'd finished the last one! Moments stretched on forever as Ah listed off every member of my family, the entire population of Ponyville, then Canterlot, then all of Equestria for good measure. POW! "AND MAYOR MARE!" POW! "AND Miss Cherries Jubilee!" POW! "AND ZECORA!!!!" After reducin' her face to puddin' Ah finished with her uppercut that her upwards in an arch that landed her face down in the dirt like a stake. As the pile of filth slowly regenerated, Ah said. "... Yer right about one thing Nythy... we're NOT part of the Heart World no more... that means we have to accept the good, WITH THE BAD, of what that all means... things CAN get nastier, things CAN turn out worse, things CAN be more painful... but doesn't mean they SHOULD, it also means things can turn out for the better... and that's what Ah'm gonna work fer every day of my life! We're writin' our own story now! And it's gonna have a happy endin'!" Nythy let out a feral snarl and her shadow lashed at me sharp enough to cut rocks in two, poison darts that could kill an elephant instantly shot out from the tips of her wings, black bile spewed from her mouth. My mirrors caught and redirected the darts and filth, and my wings in silver armor blocked the slash with her shadow. "Sometimes we'll be a comedy slice of life, sometimes a creepy mystery, and sometimes... yeah, a tragedy. Right now? Ah'd say we're an action story were the hero beats the alien invader!" Ah 'cracked my hooves.' Nythy came at me, creatin' black and green war hammers, scimitars, axes, spears, swords, wildly and recklessly now. Hopin' to just overwhelm me. "You talk about me violating YOUR world?! What about MY WORKS! My creations! You tack on a happy ending and think it makes a good story! You choose feel-good over thought, you conceited leftover evolutionary side experiments!" Ah kept up the pace, creatin' weapons out of my mirror silver, my weapons and hers shatterin' when they struck each other. Finally she conjured a spiral spearhead spell around her horn and tried to simply power on through, Ah reflected and conjured the same spell, and our horn tips gave off sparks. "We ponies never said we were better! We're just more lucky! We had friends who helped us through the dark, friends to help show us the way, friends to teach us, friends to heal us, and we'll pass that friendship onto others: ours is the friendship, that'll protect the heavens!" Nythy's horn spell and horn broke, the force sending her skidding backwards. = Bayonetta 2 ► Moon River (∞ Climax Mix) = She snarled. "Yer wasting yer time! Only by disproving my right to exist here can get rid of me and you've already said this world is open season! Naive hypocrite! Ya have any idea how elaborate and complex the ritual is to seal me away from a world?! A creature of yer intellect could never hope to-" Ah wasn't really listenin' now. My horn glowed red with my magic, along with my peytral jewel, my four hooves, and my wings that Ah spread out as far as they could go and shined. My tail became a seapony's (orange, what else) and started glowin' too. Mah body crackled with red flames. Ah flew at the bucker as fast as Ah could go, and all that glow went from all the other spots and right to my two rear hooves. Ah let out a karate cry Ah learned from Rarity, and Ah double bucked 'em in the gut with everythin' Ah had! - "Big sister?" Apple Bloom looked around confused at the tremor. - Twilight caught books as they fell off the library shelves. - "Earthquake?" Cheerilee wondered at the school with Rara. - Diamond Tiara's Nightmare and Alula and Tootsie looked up confused as the entire tower shook. - The Empress of Neighpon frowned as her tea cup rattled off the table. - When Applejack did a double applebuck to Neythotrot, its entire combined avatar shuttered. Less than a moment later, the momentum of the hit sent a small spiraling back mass of darkness and tendrils with a single red eye out like a cannon. The empty shell fell limply to its knees. The red eye with tendrils was sent over the horizon, easily reaching escape velocity for the planet, then Equus' orbit, and the solar system, and still gaining speed. "Or a double apple buckin' from Buckin' MacGillacuddy and Kicks-McGee seems to work fine too!" Applejack said with a smile. Nyarlathotrot's eye madly darted about it flew past stars, then galaxies, then super-galaxies, then finally the super-gaxaxies forming a pattern identical to that of the sapient brain's nerve patterns. The force of Vertias' strike sending him faster and faster away. His tendrils futilely wailed about as he broke the light-barrier, then time-barrier, and finally the reality-barrier from the sheer impact! As Nyarlathotrot continued to sail through the cosmos, he passed a street sign floating that said the words 'One Way' pointing the way he was going. Next was a 'Exit Only' sign. Then finally a pair of flashing railroad signs and the words in flashing lights 'Have A Hell Of A Time.' 'You're NOT Coming Back From This One'. 'So long Forever.' Nyarlathotrot couldn't see where he was going, but he knew perfectly well! But he could do nothing as he reached the point of no return, passed through the membrane of the Blind Idiot Concept, and sent back to His Parent whence he came. + "He's gone," The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara said having quickly excused herself from the 'Feel Better Sweetheart' party she was having with Tootsie, her family, Alula, and Blank Diamond's plushie black cat. 'Whose gone? I was busy petting this puppy.' "Father I know when you're pretending not to have interest. And that's a kitten." 'Well it acts like a puppy. And before that I was giving boxes of candy to 100 random orphan and abandoned foals.' - "Hey Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, how'd this end up in your inventory?" Button Mash asked seeing the box of candy to the fillies' names randomly appear on his menu. - "Father, Uncle is gone, I can no longer sense his core awareness. Nyarlathotrot is banished." 'Oh right. That's a horrible blow to our evil plans isn't it?' "Yes it is. If something goes wrong we can't recreate the curse. Not to mention the loss of his power if it comes down to a fight in the Tower. He knew the curse better than either of us. We can't use it to its full potential without him." 'It does give the ponies a much greater chance of beating us, doesn't it? Well, that just makes it more exciting right? You know the best thing about being evil? You can do something nice, and everypony will go crazy trying to figure out how it was evil, or think somepony who looked like you did it. Good reputations fade, evil reputations are self-sustaining.' "Father, this is serious. You said you'd be watching him when you said I should attend the party with Alula and Tootsie." 'I did watch. I watch him be punted out of time and space. Guy didn't once ask for help. What an ego. By the way check out this nice pot and kettle. Never be too proud to beg in this business dear.' "You should have dove in and helped him. That is what family is supposed to do." 'I was hoping he'd call out for my help at some point. So I could tell that cyclops octopus 'no!' And he could shout 'Discord your brat!' And I could show him that special surprise that we'll now never see. He was willing to let you be petrified my dear because it made a good tragedy... now he can have one of his own!' "Not very tactically sound father, he made a good proxy with us not having to risk ourselves. That is no longer an opinion. And if the curse is broken, only he knew how to create it. This chance of ours will never come again. He was completely banished from the universe." 'I'm not out of tricks yet!' "Really? Did Apple Bloom and her friends encounter any of your kind of surprises at the Apple Farm after you told me to just have fun and you'd handle it?" 'Oh they didn't? Oh silly me. I SO must have forgotten, of course.' "And you didn't even try to turn those Uncle was fighting into chocolate." 'Hm? So I didn't.' "Father you live for stealing the spotlight, and yet it's like you aren't even trying to stop them. Are you hoping they ruin your own plan?" 'Now what kind of silly question is that?' + The floating piece of earth sank back down to the ground, somehow in the same place it had taken off in, the bat wings rotting and fading away. The empty shell slowly and haltingly got up, the form fading back into the lab-coated stallion Applejack had first seen. He looked down at himself indifferently, and held up his hoof, seeing it and the rest of his body slowly turning to desert sand as it blew away. The shell let out a small laugh. "So that's it then. I fall for one of my own tricks. The tragic character doomed by their own vendetta." He let out an agitated sigh. "Looks like I lose." "Yer darn tootin' ya lose!" "...Looks like, my revenge on HER masterwork will get undone like SHE undid so many of my works... I knew accepting Discord's alliance was a gamble, there's be a price to pay, but if it paid off, it would have all been worth it. Now all I've done is lost more." "Ya made yer choice, now live with the consequences," she said as the avatar continued to fall apart into sand. "This isn't our end. Wherever there is light, there are shadows, the base desire to see the pure corrupted, in the hearts of those-who-watch will always exist. And we will be there as their servant in the grim darkness." His tail dissolved. How he was still standing was any pony's guess as he stood on his rear legs even as one dissolved into ancient sand. "That just means as long as there's GOODNESS and those-who-watch who write it, yer never gonna completely win. Yer tragedies don't stop there from bein' a happy endin' where everypony's soul is saved." There was barely anything left of him now behind his shoulders and floating head. "Go ahead hero, let the chicken, marshmallow, undead, and puppet finish Discord, let them work niece through her mommy issues...My son endures, may he teach you the true meaning of fear some day." "And we'll teach 'em the true meanin' of friendship. And last Ah checked: friends are a great way tah overcome fear." "We'll see." "...Ah have a question before yah go...does the fact Ah had a happy endin' make mah parents dyin' any less of a tragedy?" He stared at her in awe for several seconds as his beard dissolved. "...Touche." The last of him turned back to sand and blew away. + "AAAGH!" Rabia, 'Dark Crystal' as she nicknamed fell on her side, clutching her head, looking terrified and broken. "Mother?!" King Sombra rushed her side. Queen Radiant Hope sat next to Ira, Sombra's little sister, the creature born of the crystal pony's anger was in a similar and a shocking overwhelming sense of emptiness if not as severe. "The others I can't feel the others! They're GONE! Our knowledge! Our power! I can't remember! I can't feel it!" All Rabia could remember was being born of the crystal ponies' rage, the way her son had been born from their fear. + The realm/presence/existence/Nyarlathotrot's Parent for now took the appearance to the perception of some of a black sky of blue stars above and below. Roam-mare marble columns floated about at random angles in fixed position, while rustic yellow or brown book pages the size of grand carpets served as hoof holds for any unfortunate to be present. But what everypony would notice first was the slick black house-size tendrils sticking out of random portals. And the galaxies that randomly swirled into the shape of eyes and dispersed. And something happened that shocked and alarmed every Outer Concept present. Azathorse, some said Azehorse, or Azerhorse, nicknamed by Havoc as the 'Blind Idiot Concept' spoke. "yOu've BROuGHt shAme OnTo youRSELf aND YOur famILy! HOW cOulD yoU lET a InfAnT goDDEsS sTIlL In tHE Womb dIsMiSS yOu! Not oNce BUt twIcE You've Let a nEWbORN CONCept humiLiAtE YOU!" The single Parent of All the Outer Concepts' voice terrified all present. WHAT it said was icing on the cake, but IT HAD SPOKEN! His trumpeters paused in apprehension. Nyarlathotrot knew true fear. "P-Parent, you, SPEAK?" Nearly all of Nyarlathotrot's family was present. As he lay on the 'ground', those who had accepted Discord's invitation knelt on one knee (or its equivalent) before their Parent, heads (or the like) bowed. The Beldam, Shub-Neighurath, Abandon, Great Apple Spirit/He Who Walks Behind The Corn, and others. "YoU wIlL SuFFEr FoR THIS disGrACe!" "Isn't my humiliation punishment enough?" "YOu FOrgEt! it'S noT juSt yoURSeLF you've BRoUGHT hUMilIATION UpOn! WheN yOU AlLow yoURSElF tO bE Made a fOol, yOu mAke A FOOL oF All oF uS! EVEN noW this echOES!" "These nightmarish creatures can be felled, they can be beaten!" Echoed the soul of a dead noblestallion who had opened a portal underneath his family manor to one of Ponythulu's forgotten kitchen cabinets full of things better left unsaid. "AND yoU ALloWEd yet aNoTHer mEMBer of oUr FaMilY HARm!" A mountain-sized dark and yellow eyeball laid on its 'side', covered in glowing cracks, pathetically whimpering like a beaten puppy, happy memories and the inner goodness of souls removed from its mutated victims escaping freely back into the hearts of their holders. "AlsO To BE puNIsHED, aRE the MeMBErs OF ouR FAMILY WhO tOoK pART IN ChaoS' ReVel For THIs HUMiLIATiOn AnD SHaMe you'Ve BROuGhT TO THE fAmIlY IN DefEAT, anD yOu NyARLathotrOT for SPEAR HeAdING THIS FOoliSHnESS." If they hadn't been scared before, Their Parent had spoken Nyarlathotrot's NAME! A stallion with solid blackness where eyes should have been, hooded in yellow and covered in chain like a lunatic and crowned like a king then appeared to the Outer Concepts and spoke. "Due to this huge level of humiliation, and shame for making you seem knowable and beatable, and so much work being destroyed (YOU ARE the spirits who embody the dangers of the unknown and all that entails!), doth Azehorse ACTS." This alone was quite shocking onto itself, since they couldn't REMEMBER the last time their Parent did something INTENTIONALLY. "And bans you from these ponies' world line! Only those who remain there now and alive shall remain until their deaths." All drew in sharp breaths. "WE ARt The 'UnSpeAKABlE HOrroRS froM beyoNd'. tiS oUR tAsK tO BE kNowN, uNknoWAbLe, inSAnItY INSPIriNG UNsPeaKAbLE, EldRITch IN ALl ItS gLORY. NyaRlAthotROt REPeATEDlY LESSenS OUR ENtIre famIlY. It iS OUr dutY anD tAsk To Be The DaNGErs Of THe unKNOWN So Mortal groWTH iS bAlAnCEd aS CONCEpTs thEMsELVES are BAlAnceD AND Kept In cHeCK." Nyarlathotrot dared speak back to his Parent where none would even dream of in their worst nightmares. "WHY isn't Ponythulhu considered a humiliation while I am?! All the contacts, and TEA-PARTIES he's had with mortals?!" "Ponies still RESPECT The Sleeper of R'lyeh and go out of their way to pay him proper manners at his revels. He may be NICE, but he's done nothing to HARM your standing and his wrath is still FEARED!" Said the crowned stallion in chains. "Even at tea, they still beware him! And in this case: he did not partake in this foolishness and neither did Yog-Sogthorse." "our FAmILy'S DutY is nOt WHAT PoniEs call 'EViL.' IT IS FeArEd of whaT iS not KnowN. It IS To BE UnKNoWN. The slEeper Of r'LyeH's WraTH iS stilL feAreD by aLL. HOrSecrAFt hAs neveR CAteGorIZED yOu aS 'EviL', only WHat thEY caLL 'amoraL' ... IT is CArED NOt THAt You SToOD alonGsiDe cHAos, NoR THat you AIded in hIs ReveNge noR sOughT IT yOURSeLf... hOW Much 'eviL' YOU CauSe doES nOT sTRENgThen Nor LESSeN us. FeAr IS yOur MEANInG... AnD you have lESSENED it." "If I had succeeded many more would fear us and our Family would have many more devoted." "You did not," said the crowned and chained stallion. Ponythulu said, "I realized a long time again that was a 'Horsecraft-lite' universe, it's best to be the nice horror who shows enough fear to keep up our reputation. You're the one who refuses to accept that." Nyarlathotrot said nothing to his brother. "Banned are you or any member of your family not already present or summon currently there from ever visiting that Equestria or any of its branching wordlines for the next eight billion years of its time, or when it dies of old age, whichever comes first." Ponythulu got a sad look on his face, but tried to brighten the mood. "Don't worry, now you all have extra time to play parcheesi with me!" said holding up the boardgame. He was ignored. The rest of his family looked hatefully at Nyarlathotrot and slowly closed in. +++ Golden Harvest gave up hope. She was tired. She was hungry. She was thirsty. She was hurt. She was dirty. She was lost. She was unarmed. She didn't know the way back to the surface in the mineshaft she had fallen into. And the plant-parasite mutated ponies were closing in to either eat her or assimilate her, even if they were basically the same thing. She was cornered. She could hear them. All that was left was to wait for the end. And hope that her sister Noi and her father Cherry didn't have to ever see for themselves the THING that would take her body for itself. She heard a loud grinding sound, but didn't care what it was. Then DERPY or was it DITZY, Or was it MUFFIN? Whichever it was, she moved faster than any would think the lazy-eyed pegasus could, and zig-zagged through the monsters and picked her up, carrying her to Time Turner's blue shed, for whatever reason it was here. Golden Harvest had no idea what to think... she was so sure she was going to die. She was MEANT to die. Like the meaningless secondary characters in a horror film. Buck it. "DERPY! THANK YOU!!!" She cried and hugged her crying. "I promised I'd protect you if things went crazy right? This is the second time 'I've' saved 'you', but the first time I've saved you!" "Huh?" ".... Never mind." She carried her inside the shed which then vanished, confusing the mutants on what they were supposed to do now. +++ "So much for the dinghy." Scootaloo sighed, the little magic boat had apparently 'run-a-ground' if that even made sense. The last piece of the MoonPearl now lay lifeless and grounded, unable to go further. Finding the little ship again had been a Celestia-send, but now it had run its course. "Bye bye," Sweetie said sadly, eyes barely open and slipping in and out of sleep-logic, being carried by Daring Do. "If we've gotta walk the rest of the way then we gotta!" Apple Bloom said sternly. Doing her best not to think of her sister. = SNES - Final Fantasy 6 Zozo Town = "Welcome one! Welcome all! It seems we've almost reached the finale!" "PHOBIA!" The little foal surprisingly didn't seem to be in as much pain as one would think at having his broken wings pressed against him in a triple bear hug. "Nice to see you all too, Maud Pie sends her feelings as well, thank you for reuniting us." "Yer welcome," Sweetie said politely, her thoughts floating. "It's what heroes do!" Scootaloo said. "This the kid you mentioned?" Daring Do asked point. "Indeed I am, Miss Daring Do! A pleasure to meet you face to face! Sadly we really don't have time for pleasantries. We ALL have much to do. But I do have time to give you some good news and bad news! Good news is, Applejack is safe and sent Nyarlathotrot packing!" "Go sis'!" ALL OF THEM felt excited and happy that one of the big nasty monsters was gone. Button Mash was surprised really they hadn't done it. Well, the 'unfought' thing was a twist some games pulled. Whatever, they were close to the end of their quest now... right? The CMC hugged each other and Daring Do did a hoof-pump and fluttered her wings. They'd have cake later. "And remember what they were saying about how hard his magic was to understand before all this started? I imagine he was the only one who knew HOW to cast it, so if you stop that spell, I bet it can't be recast." "That's good!" Scootaloo smiled. "...But that also means his allies aren't going to make getting into the tower any easier. I imagine there's rough goings ahead." Scootaloo said, "...That's bad... Well, with the momentum we've got, no way we're gonna stop now! Right girls and boy?" "RIGHT!" The others all agreed. "And I had better get going. Sorry, see ya soon enough," Phobia said, suddenly sounding quite sad, and just vanished into darkness. They didn't question it at this point. "GIRLS!" It was Razzaroo's turn now. She hugged them tightly. "Sorry I had to go before you woke up! But I made sure nothing hurt you while you rested I swear! Oh! Hello." She looked at Daring Do. "Hey." Daring Do said with crossed arms. "Don't mind me, legendary hero here, just bein' a third wheel." "I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!" She hugged Daring Do. Then whispered in her ear. "Puzzlemint." "Wait! Wha-" But Razzaroo shushed her, even as she shed tears of joy. "There's so much I want to say! So much I want to do! With you, and you, and all of you! We've had so much time together! So much LIFE together! But I barely had any time to really SPEND it with you... I'm happy I could be a part of your story..." She took out her book, she was careful not to show the inside of her bag and the cowpony had she had found (or maybe found her). "But..." She sniffled and her tears weren't happy anymore. "This will be the last time I can save your progress. We aren't likely to meet again in this life. Scootaloo, leave as big a ripple on the world as you can." The foals hugged her. They went through the ritual of Razzaroo recording their quest as slowly as they dared... taking in every detail of this mare who had helped them in such a small but somehow very important way. Scootaloo took more than one chance to nuzzle her. Razzaroo moved close to Sweetie so the unicorn could give Razz' a nuzzle too. As the book slowly closed for the final time. She sighed, with tears in her eyes. "I love all of you. You're my friends. But I think things will get too complicated if I stay any longer. Please remember the name Razzaroo, and the names of all of our friends!" "WE WILL!" The fillies said boldly. Razzaroo gave them one last look and ran off. She didn't dare say in front of Scootaloo that she had another friend who needed saving from herself more than anything. Barely a moment after she had left however... a green trail of flame and smoke appeared out of the fog... and formed into a letter in the girls' hooves... it simply said 'Here.' "HEY, GIRLS! GUESS WHO'S BACK!" Spike declared, carrying a backpack. "Geeze! You have no idea how hard it was to get past those dragon sneeze trees, AND keep following my letter through this crazy fog, I think I saw myself running a few times! HEY! I had a copy of the newspaper with me! And... you girls okay?" They hugged him. He hugged back. "Where you supposed to stay?" Mash asked. "Stay? No way! I've had enough of that With Twilight! Not with you girls!" "Where's Silver Spoon?" Sweetie asked somehow finding the strength to lift her head. "I... Uh... she didn't come?" The foals worked VERY HARD to suppress their groans. So much for their secret weapon. They resisted this in favor of being happy to see their friend. They needed all the help they could get. Button checked Spike's stats and found his picture had lit up again and his stats had leveled up. "Sweetie Belle, what's wrong?" Spike asked, noting how weak she was. "Big spell...I'll be fine." Thankfully they still had recovery items. "So... whose the Daring Do cosplayer?" Spike pointed. "I AM Daring Do! That's what you can call me and it's what I do! So you're Spike the dragon huh? Thought you would be taller." Daring smirked. "Hey! I'm plenty tall and plenty tough! Just you watch!" "I'm sure I will!" Daring Do said approvingly. Even a baby dragon was still a dragon right? And she knew herself just how hard surviving the fog was. Apple Bloom breathed in deep. Her sister was safe. Umbra Breeze was beaten. They'd said goodbye to Razzaroo. Spike was here even if Silver Spoon wasn't. They could do this! "Alright troops! Forward march!" = 'War' - Poets Of the Fall = > Rebirth of an Alicorn Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The four ex-Nightmares hugged each other and wept. "First Twilight, now Applejack, and we didn't even get to say goodbye," Nightmare Granfalloon cried. "I want to go home," Nightmare Whisper sobbed. 'Was it worth it?' A part of Nightdrake Banneret wanted to ask the Fallen Alicorn, Princess Fidelitas, Nightmare Manacle, or whatever her name was now. Wanted to ask her so badly. She wanted Twilight back and now they'd all lost Applejack too!!! Instead he said. "At least she... she went out protecting her family like she wanted... and maybe... she kinda lives on in that new Applejack at least and... it was her choice. She felt this world's Applejack needed to be saved." Three of the four surviving Nightmares all looked at Nightmare Manacle, bracing themselves. They expected her to explode into a rage at the heavens for this happening, or implode into herself in a despair so dark they'd never find her. Instead she looked at the ground and said. "You're right, Spike... this was her choice... I... I couldn't bear this world's Scootaloo being cheated out of having Rainbow Dash if I'd been in her horseshoes. I wouldn't expect any less of her NOT to take a chance to take down one of the losers and protect this world's Apple Bloom's big sister. I just hate how... I just seem to keep losing friends!" "We're still here," the dragon said. "We could have been lost but we aren't... and you know Applejack, she'd WANT us to .... move on." The dragon cried. "At least the girls don't have to worry about Nythy anymore," Granfalloon said sadly. "We can't help anypony else," Nightmare Whisper sighed, sniffing. "The curse is waiting for us. If we enter reality, it'll twist us. Face it; we've done our best, we should go home and face our punishment now." "...If we can't help anymore," the fallen Alicorn said darkly. "Then let's bring back somepony who can!" + "I can't believe this!" Spike exclaimed in exasperation. "DIAMOND TIARA?! And Discord?!" The little dragon looked ready to throw up. "This is crazy! Horrible! Crazorrible! I guess it's a good thing Silver Spoon's not here." "Ugh, I thought we were through with Nightmares when Luna destroyed the Nightmare Forces and reabsorbed the part of herself in them..." Daring Do lamented. "Doing okay, Sweetie?" Button asked, looking to the filly who was currently still eating magic-restoring candies they'd bought. He felt thankful they'd had those healing flowers still. "Yeah...thanks, Button," said the filly, rubbing her still sore horn. It was fortunate they'd leveled up quite a bit from killing the Black Storm... and leveling up came with faster recovery, according to Button’s video game rules. This was especially great, because a fully-powered 'Entropía Vocem' spell should have left her bed-bound for days... at least in the ‘normal world.’ Button gave her a hug. "Glad to hear it." "At least we know we're on the right track with or without AB's vision," Scootaloo said, staring ahead of the group, at a sign. It said 'The Last Road' in giant magazine clippings. 'The World Tower Awaits You' was written on a smaller sign underneath done in dark cursive letter. Her instincts told her it was Diamond Tiara's writing. Confetti was rising UP from the ground. = Anvil Chorus = = Bob and Megabyte's shred off - Reboot = = Shirley Temple's alphabet soup song = = Everything is Awesome - Lego Movie = The landscape was covered by house-sized foalhood building blocks and gift-wrapped boxes. The ground was a tie-dyed color. Ponies with swirly eyes were cheering and whooping and firing off shotguns full of packaging material, while riding a giant inchworm with a derby-hat. "The twat is dead!" "Which is old twat?" "The twaty-twat!" "Ding ding the twaty-twat is deeead!" The swirl eyed ponies cheered. "This Umbra Breeze's funeral procession?" Daring Do asked. "Ah hope not," Apple Bloom said. "Discord's our friend!" "What kinda friend?!" "Our friendly-friend!" "Ding-dong Discord is our frieeend!" The swirled eyed ponies sang. Spike shivered. "Forget bein' turned to stone, sicko needs electroshock therapy." The foals all quaked in their horseshoes. Hearin' it was one thing. But seeing that horrible day that had shattered their world returned, they almost preferred Umbra Breeze's gunk and grim. "I-I guess this is part of Discord's cut of Equestria," Scootaloo said. "I didn't see anything like this before, did any of you? Maybe with his partner gone, Discord is taking a larger cut," Daring Do suggested, trying her best to ignore her own cold sweat. "He can't have done all this that fast... could he?" Scootaloo whispered. "This isn't a playpen... this is a welcome mat," Sweetie Belle whimpered. And Discord's chaos transformed the youngsters present without having to lift a claw. Transformed from adventure-hardened heroes to scared little foals who were face to face with the most traumatizing moment of their lives. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Button Mash began to slowly trot backwards, and would trot back until they could find a bed to hide under. Something blocked their way. The foals turned, seeing Spike, Scootaloo, and Daring Do. Scared, but their legs not moving. (Spike's journal: I thought of that horrible day, when I'd run scared from Discord, leaving Twilight and my friends. And they'd never once called me out on it, even if I was the only one NOT brainwashed who'd abandoned his friends.) (Scootaloo's diary: Dash said I'd done the smart thing. That if I'd stayed that Discord would have turned me into a chicken. My friends forgave me without a second thought. But that was when Dash and her friends were there to save everypony. Maud Pie and Phobia TRUSTED us to do this.) (A.K. Yearlings's Notes: I'm Daring Do, which means I'm not just a pony, I'm a symbol, and I have to live up to that.) "Hey kid," Daring said to Button Mash, "I know this is a scary part of the story. The part where you just want to close the book and ask mom to read something else but... wouldn't it be a shame to stop reading right here?" "Sweetie Belle..." Spike said hesitantly. "Pinkie Pie is always saying friends of a friend should be friends... Silver Spoon's your friend... and... she's not here and... wouldn't she want us to save Diamond Tiara? Like Twilight and the others saved Princess Luna and Fluttershy?" "Apple Bloom... I... I know you're more scared than you ever believed you could be scared. I know running away is what saved you before, that night in Everfree. I know there was nothing you could have done then... but this isn't like that ... we're being counted on... I didn't want this... not like this... but Daring Do is right, wouldn't it be kinda wrong to give up here?" Scootaloo looked up at Daring with new eyes. Why had it never occurred to her how much she looked like Rainbow Dash? And the terrified young ones were transformed again into a band of friends who'd see this to the end. They hugged. "That is so totally radical! ROLL CAMERA!" A minotaur director shouted at his minotaur film crew, who set about filming the scene. "So, like, w're in charge of city plannin' now?" Asked a hippie pony with a peace sign around her neck. "Like, that's totally radical!" Said her afro-maned friend. Their friends lifted a glass of organic cider on a giant plush pillow, surrounded by loyal walking teacups, armed to fight. None of them had swirly eyes. "Get your items from Honest and Trustworthy Flim and Flam!" a familiar pair of perfectly fine gentlestallions called out from in front of their shop, which was shaped like a giant gumball machine. Apple Bloom looked at the pair. "That weirdness Ah think Ah can handle." "I am science! Analyze me!" screamed a pony wearing a lab coat. "No I am science! Analyze me!" screeched another lab coat-wearing pony. Both proceeded to attack each other, wielding giant bananas. "Anypony who says something when wearing a lab coat is obviously right! BUT They're BOTH wearing lab coats!!!! That means they're both right! AGGH!" screamed a confused pony. "Shoo-be-doo! Shoo-shoo-be-doo!" Sang an incredibly beautiful seapony, mereponies humbly lifting her out of the giant ritzy aquarium she was being carried in, via Zeppelin. "GRANDMA, IS THAT YOU?!" Sweetie Belle gasped in disbelief and shock. "HEY!" exclaimed a flying TV with little wings as it flew in front of Scootaloo. It spoke in a dramatic upbeat female voice. "Why don't you go CRA-ZEE!?" The discorded swirls began... Scootaloo felt the peace of nothing from her cape, and the TV blue-screamed and crashed, literally, into the ground. "ICK!" Scootaloo cringed, the fur on her neck standing up. Without missing a beat, Button Mash said, "Good thing I bought these anti-mind control glasses!" And a pair of purple-tinted shades appeared on himself and Daring Do. "What about Spike?" Sweetie asked. Spike shook his head. "Don't worry about me; Twilight’s very prepared. She has me under so many anti-mind control enchantments, Princess Celestia's worried it'll stunt my mental growth." "How could protection against mind magic do that?" Apple Bloom asked. "Well, that kinda protection works by filtering the input to your brain, and strengthening it against being changed. Princess Celestia says she had a student who gave herself a fortress' worth of protection from mind magic, and is worried it damaged her ability to accept new ideas or question her own. She never found out what happened to her." - "All hail Equality!" Starlight Glimmer cheered for no reason, from where she was. - "These secure?" Daring asked checking the magic shades that had appeared on her muzzle. "Don't worry, I've locked them in our inventory slot, they can't be taken off." "You have any earmuffs in there for hypnotic music?" Daring Do asked. "The sunglasses still make you immune." "But if they're sunglasses, how can they-" "Because it’s a special video game item! Don't question it!" Button defended. He brought up his menu and showed it, the two of them having a status buff listed as 'Brainwash Immunity'. "Geeze. Fine. I hope this isn't permanent," Daring said, testing and yes, the shades were unremovable. "Don't worry, unlocking their slot is easy and I'm sure it'll end when ... when the game goes anyway." Button Mash gave a forlorn side glance. "Button what's wrong?" Sweetie asked. "Don't worry about it, we've gotta save the world right? Let's go!" As the heroes trotted forward, a hedge of identical bushes slid in front, glaring and frowning at the ponies. They made a 'naughty-naughty' gesture with their little branches. = The Old North Wind - Over the Garden Wall = "We're the Frowning Bushes!" frowned the bushes. "We're the new grimmer and darker new characters for the next generation of Happy Flower! Ya ain't goin' nowhere, chumps!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "But Happy Flower's charm was being a no-antagonist slice of life' setting!" They folded their branches and pouted. "The new guy in charge decided that wasn't what the audience wanted!" Spike snorted flames. "I'm a dragon. I breathe fire. You're shrubbery. You really wanna fight?" A tank rolled over the Frowning Bushes before they could respond. = Labyrinth Soundtrack-Goblin Battle = As though this was some sort of signal, every enscrolled pony returned (mostly) to their senses, ceased their revelry at once, screamed in fear, and fled and boarded themselves up inside their teapot, purse, ice-cream cone, and gumball machine-shaped houses. This was no army tank Daring had ever seen, it looked far more advanced. And a siege line's worth of identical tanks were rolling up alongside it. Countless furless apes in green combat gear swarmed between the tanks, forming a firing line. They seemed so overly shaded as to make Apple Bloom feel queasy. And they were so overly buffed and muscular, she wondered how they were able to move, let alone stand. They were carrying portable cannons and guns the likes of which Daring Do had never seen. Spike's muscles tensed and Button Mash's eyes became pinpricks. Out of one of the tanks climbed a shorter human (as Daring knew them) with a hug black beard, a scarred face and an eye patch, chomping a cigar. His uniform was covered in medals. "Attention sanctimonious, arrogant, holier-than-thou, racist, xenophobic, genocidal creatures, slave to a quasi-cultist tyrant, known as ponies. You invaded our world to do the most evil and horrid and unspeakable action in existence! Turn US into ponies! What an unspeakably horrible fate!" Apple Bloom didn't know whether to feel confused, terrified, or insulted. "Supposed to save us from a 'wild magic spillage' but only the most idiotic of fools and lunatics couldn't see it was part of your evil racist greedy agenda to turn us into weak-willed zombies for whom only death is the only cure! And we kicked your ass! And kept kickin' yer ass! Until you see how there is no such thing as the superior race!” “Sweet Celestia, they keep getting wordier and wordier, don’t they?” Daring Do muttered. “Almost enough to make me miss the silent assassination attempts.” "Just because we're clearly more rational, braver, smarter, determined to survive, not blind slaves to a false goddess, don't need Butt Symbols to decide our futures for us-" "They're called Cutie Marks-" Apple Bloom couldn't stop herself from saying. "-I don't give a rat's ass. Our technological progress is obviously superior, you can't hand a horn to someone else to keep shooting, better at killing, better at destroying things, obviously more creative, have built grander things, more logical, more mature, more realistic, and you only became the dominant species because we didn't evolve on your planet... but we're not SAYING we're the actual superior species. We will save Mother Earth! It's our manifest destiny! It will be the triumph of our will!" The soldiers all cheered. "NOW, MEN!" The general order. "READY! AIM!" Button Mash took a smoke bomb from his inventory and threw it to the ground. "FIRE-FIRE!" The army fired a hail of bullets into the smoke cloud, followed by cannon blasts for a good minute. Finally the general said, "Cease fire." They saw on the ground all that remained of the ponies a red gooey mess on the ground. Some toy blocks away, the heroes were running for their lives, still going in the direction of the World Tower. "Knew that jar of ketchup we bought from that last merchant was gonna either be useless or really important!" Button Mash narrated. "You don't happen to have an item for calling forth an army of rocks do you?" Scootaloo asked. "Actually, that was for sale, but I didn't have enough gems." "AGH! Button Mash!" "That trick won't fool them for long!" Daring Do said not stopping. "If Scootaloo and I try to fly high over the buildings we'll be sitting ducks! And bunched together, we're one big target!" In spite of having a head start, a squad of the apes came from the roof tops cutting them off at the intersection. "BAD ASS!" They shouted together with their oversized chins. Apple Bloom saw with the truth they were just more rumor spawn... but after fighting their mother, Apple Bloom felt reluctant to do the deed. Sweetie heard the rumble of tanks behind her. "We can't beat ALL of them!" She could probably blow a hole through one tank, but there were too many. Daring shouted. "We don't need to beat them! Just need to get through to the other side!" Scoots snorted. "If there is another side!" Apple Bloom declared. "Leave that to me! The truth’s showin’ me a straight-back path to the tower from here! The paths aren't shiftin' about anymore!" "Close your eyes!" Sweetie shouted as she did a flash spell blinding the troops ahead of them. There wasn't any more time to think. Button stayed close to Sweetie, Spike stayed near Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo went with Daring Do. The group split up, each going their one way to the same destination. Scootaloo and Daring Do flew as low to the ground as they dared in a chaotic zigzag to their end goal. But everywhere they went, their enemies seemed to materialize out of thin air. Not that this was stopping the Equestrians. A grenade got thrown at Sweetie Belle who caught it with her telekinesis and threw it back the way it came. The street ahead was also blocked off a wall of tanks. Button Mash took out of his inventory... a bomb the size of Celestia's cake collection. "You had THAT this whole time?!" Sweetie exclaimed. "Was saving it for an emergency!" Button Mash answered. The bomb’s fuse was already lit as he pushed it and it rolled down the street to the tanks... the pilots abandoned their machines and fled as the bomb went up, blowing up the tanks... but somehow leaving the streets and buildings unharmed. Game logic. "Sweetie Belle, if I could have it all over, I'd still want you as my friend... But let's pick somewhere less nasty for our next play date." Sweetie laughed. "You got it!" A soldier took out a shoulder mounted laser cannon that fired right at the foals, that Button Mash reflected via his sword, that then bounced off two trees before hitting the shooter who screamed in agony. "Lasers don't reflect off trees!" "They do now." Spike found himself being used as a flame thrower by Apple Bloom, and as a living shield. Bullets and shells bounced off his dragon hide, and the soldiers fled as Spike set their uniforms on fire. Feeling a little courageous at his apparent invincibility, Spike took point and charged... right into a direct hit by some odd chemical bomb that set his entire body on fire. "Gee... this is like a warm shower," Spike said and keep charging as Apple Bloom's instincts told her to keep clear. "Shouldn't his skin be melting off by now?!" One soldier screamed as the little, bulletproof and flame napalm-proof dragon kept coming... this wasn't part of the script at all. This wasn't how this story was supposed to go. Their minds broke as most screamed and ran. Fun fact! A dragon's skin can survive direct prolonged contact with molten lava. And can breathe the fumes with no visible effect. One remained who went into a fetal position and rocked back and forth. "This doesn't make any sense! Ponies are supposed to blindly die in droves as they stick to outdated tactics and die worse than soldiers from world war one against a machine gun! They aren't supposed to survive! We're so badass and EXTREME! How can we lose?!" "Maybe they'd work better if yah weren't a bunch of brain dead buffoons!" Apple Bloom remarked. "And stop braggin' bout how badflank yah are! That ain't the POINT!" Sweetie Belle meanwhile, was making use of her telekinesis to its fullest abilities, disarming the guns right out of their hands, even pulling pins out of their bombs while they were still holding them, then tossing them away herself. As Scootaloo and Daring Do darted and zoomed to the best of their abilities (but Scootaloo was beginning to tire out), an ape solider sniper took aim at the filly, thankfully he let out a war-cry of, "FOR HUMANITY!" Alerting the filly and letting her dodge just in time.   As the heroes slowly began to regroup along the Last Road, all the paths leading to one gateway... a brick wall was kicked down by a big black boot, and attached to it was a muscle bound man with a blond buzz cut and sunglasses in a muscle shirt holding two gatling guns aimed right at the ponies. "NOW! VOU VEL DIE! BY THE POWER! OF BAAAAADAAAASSSSS! TO THE EXTREEEEEMEEEEE!" And he might have carried out his threat... if the anvil hadn't landed on his head. He then fell over backwards, and moved no more. The foals cringed at the sight. "Look on the bright side: at least they're just driven by blind instinct and are as sapient as an individual ant is. I guess the owlbear and bears count as alive and self-aware, but those twisted by this curse aren't under the CONTROL of a parasite, it became a PART OF THEM, literally absorbed into them. Ain't it... ain't it something?" The CMC+2 and Daring Do looked up. There stood a teenage foal (almost a stallion) next to a collection of anvils. Around his neck was a pendant. He politely waved at them. A colt with dark pink coat, yellow chartreuse mane, and green eyes, his cutie mark was a tornado with a pair of sunglasses. But each individual pony saw a member of his or her own tribe. Except Spike, who saw an Earth Pony. "Tornado Twists?" "Paradigm Shift?" "You know 'em?" Their four friends asked. "This was meant to be a solo hello to Apple Bloom but you guys move fast." He opened up the pendant, which showed an earth pony mare with the same coloring as him and several sunglasses as her cutie mark. The other side had a blurry image of a filly of the same colors. "Anyway, I've got a lot to spoil to you girls and-" Before their eyes he began to fade. "Dang, looks like 'me,' so to speak, is waking up. Guess I inherited mom's bad timing after all... good luck, girls." He waved at them and faded away. "WHAT THE HAY WAS THAT?!??!?!" Scootaloo screamed at the top of her lungs. "This is Discord Land! You’re still expecting ANYTHING to make sense?!" Spike snapped back. "Speaking of which, our not-a-fan club is right behind us!" Daring Do warned. There weren’t just tanks, but mecha armor and Humvees racing down the chaos city streets behind them with murder in their eyes. "Too bad for them! So long, suckers!" Spike made a face at the enemy. The heroes retreated past the fog wall and the army crashed into each other as they hit the fog wall, and exploded into tacos. More ponies instantly came out and declared it to be Taco Tuesday, before juggling the tacos. + 'Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh. What a nice nap that was. Who drew this beautiful mustache and charming monocle on my face? Do I know?' "Father. Did you leave this card?" The Nightfilly was holding a card with a picture of herself and Discord and a heart and the magazine-clip message, 'Best Adopted Filly'. '... I can't say I remember doing that.' "We have trouble on its way. They're on the Last Road. And Bon Bon informs me that she saw a strange colt running around who wanted to give apology notes to Alula and Tootsie." '... Nothing to worry about I'm sure. Just a gag dear. I mean the tower IS in the center of my Chaos Zone, you expect everything that happens to have a point or meaning? Nothing to think about.' (Hmmm. Oh, even I can't get an Outer Concept's green card stamped twice after their body in this world gets blasted to bits. That requires a whole lot more paper work and I doubt those in charge are going to rubber stamp them this time. Nythy and his partying siblings are all likely banned from taking physical form in this realm for 5 billion years or until this universe ends, whichever comes first. And Ponythulhu is even less likely to join in. Ah well. Hmm. The little foals and their escort will be here soon. This whole 'prepare' thing gets more annoying every time I do it. I'm the king of the spontaneous, of Spontania, of the spontaneous Dynasty! Ahem.) 'Alululula! Oh sorry! Princess Animatia Erroria! How was that manega I lent you?' Princess Alula was startled. She and Tootsie's family were giving Tootsie moral support through her therapy. She'd be more than ready in time for the show. The ointment that had been in the package was making her heal at the speed of an Alicorn's regeneration magic. "But that makes sense, since you two are the greatest Alicorns ever, not that you yourselves would boast about it." rambled Nurse TLC. Alula ignored her, and whispered. "It was... I don't know... the magical mascots WERE trying to save the universe... but... the magical mascot is supposed to be friends with the magical girls... and... did they HAVE TO all turn into monsters?" 'How was the reveal of where their soul was?' "That was actually pretty cool, I don't get why the magical fillies kept thinking it made them zombies... then maybe they wouldn't get sad and turn into monsters. I'm happy the hero got to fix the world in the end... L-like WE'RE doing. That's why you showed it me, right, Mr. Discord?! T-to help me be brave?!" Alula said, struggling to keep her voice down. She was shaking. 'Sigh. So are you sad Mr. Umbra Breeze and Night Gale had to go home?' "At least we still have you!" '... Yes... you do... You know dear... since Umbra Breeze was one of your mentors, and this is the final battle we're coming to... what with the last barrier gone-' "I knew that was coming. At least Tootsie and me can stop them from destroying the world together with Diamond Tiara's help and yours." '... Alula, I know you, Tootsie and my dear Diamond wrote some wonderful and impish stories as the new Gabby Gums... but I don't think you really read any of Umbra Breeze's.' "Well, he's the spirit of what ponies really want, so I know they're good." 'My point is dear... you should read on all the good he did for the world, fully appreciate it, who knows, maybe it'll unlock your super-form for the final battle.' "Should I bring Tootsie too then?" '... I think she's already gotten her upgrade with her new bow hasn't she?' "... I guess you're right. Thank you, Mr. Discord!" Alula excused herself and gave Tootsie another gentle hug. 'Be sure to check out the archives of the papers so you can compare what good he did before Apple Bloom and her friends ruined it.' "We have an archive?" 'And snap! There, now we do. All good newspapers have one after all.' "Thank you, Mr. Discord, you're so helpful and considerate." '... You best hurry.' "Right, all of Equestria depends on it." Princess Alula still couldn't believe that the same bully Alicorn that had hurt Tootsie had apologized, given her a new bow, and a way to heal her? But Alula's magic hadn't detected any tricks, and neither had Discord nor Diamond's... and her letter really did feel like a real apology instead of a pretend one. Maybe she was going to realize she was fighting on the wrong side and come to help them win the day in the final battle? Alula flew via Discord's directions straight to where the paper archives now were. She happened to pass where Truffle was talking lively with the two sisters, whatever their candy making names were, and Shady Daze, they were smiling. She flew into the archives. "Thank you, Mr. Discord, it's all here. All organized." 'BLECH! Don't remind me! I feel like I need a shower!' Discord invited the banned Outers in, as only a true Concept can, and he alone enabled them to manifest in this world without any devoted to call them. The plan had been his. He had sweet-talked most of the others into joining him, and kept them from destroying each other. Except Ponythulhu, who politely turned down the invite even when bribed with the universe's most chaotic nonsensical cake. His cousin created the curse and laid the traps for any who might slip through the net, and made use of the raw material of countless of his timelines to copy and paste into this world and then spread like a cancer. And the Nightfilly, she helped spread the curse with her two new friends. For who would suspect a foals' school newspaper, with her fledgeling dark magic that held no scent nor presence? And with that same magic, that curse created the censoring that prevented spirits from sharing random direct information involving the villains' plans with others. So even as I record this, I can share none of this, save with the Shadows Who Watch. Not even with what might be the final hour of myself, my sisters, and our brother. I've known Rainbow Dash's intentions from almost the start. You think I don't know her? Nightmare Eclipse put her through so much pain, and truly thought it was friendship, 'Glimmer Pane' is truly a worthy heir to her. Much like Discord's daughter and love, eh? My sisters and I worked has hard as we could around Equestria to protect ponies from dying. Rainbow Dash's plans were secondary. We had lives to save, and she knew it, she wouldn't dare carry out her desire to see mother be whole again as long as she thought the villains still had a chance of winning. How could any who lived through the Tartarus that Discord put our world through do otherwise? But now, as long as the curse lives, Rainbow Dash and the other former Nightmares can't help any further. Poor Applejack... I'm sorry. But I know you'd want us to save the crying for after the world was saved. She's readying the ritual now, and my sisters and I already Pinkie Promised not to dawdle after we'd helped all we could. Now that the curse is beginning to run out of ammunition, they are stockpiling it within the World Tower. So I must write swiftly, after revealing all of this. If Rainbow Dash's plan works, and I cease to exist along with my brother and sisters, my only hope is this worldline is finally free to go back on its normal course again. And that mother can forgive her. Princess Alula just finished reading. She'd started with the original versions of what was written for Cheerilee. Then Zecora. Rarity. Twilight Sparkle. Twist, Silver Spoon and Shiny Star. Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash. The Apple Family. All Nyarlathotrot's transplants he had saved from his old worldlines that Apple Bloom and her friends had broken. And poor little Alula, she grew confused. She had to use a dictionary to figure out half of it. "But..." 'But what, my dear... isn't everything Umbra Breeze did exactly what ponies truly wanted in her heart of hearts? Ponies dancing on their wilds sides! Without any morals to tie them down from what they really want! ... Like me,' he finished with a demonic echo. "I thought... it was because Apple Bloom and the others wanted to be heroes... but... but... this can't be... Our parents! Miss Cheerilee! She'd never want us all to die in a fire! SHE LOVES US!" 'Are you sure? Didn't anypony ever tell you? True desires, can be very very very ugly indeed! Believe me, one piece of Chaos IS Desire, I know it quite well.' "She'd never want that! Not in a million years!" 'Here's a not-so-secret secret dear. Ponies believe what want they want to be true, and believe what they're scared of being true. Even TRIXIE knows that one! Then again, I'm guessing stringing others along wasn't what your big sister taught you. That was my Diamond's department.' "NONE OF US WERE SCARED, CHEERILEE would do anything like that!" 'Are you sure?' "YES!" 'Then maybe you should look at Umbra Breeze's notes in his office... maybe he intended Apple Bloom and her friends to be heroes all along, after all... ordeals make ponies stronger don't they? Maybe it was just a test.' "... But isn't that wrong? To look through all his things after he's gone?" 'Oh trust me, he won't mind at all. He'd want you to. And you better hurry, you don't know how much time you have left.' Alula came to Mr. Umbra Breeze's office... everything was so... grainy and gray in here now... empty even though it was full of stuff. There was no motion, no wind, no dust, like an animatronics display that had the power pulled. Alula pulled on the desk drawers. "They're locked." 'Click! Not anymore!' With the Earth Pony strength being part of being an Alicorn, Alula managed to slowly pull the desk drawers open. She saw several objects, including a pair of books, (one in yellow binding, another with an eye on the cover), a cane, a monocle, some black feathers, some bones, all of them gave off an overwhelming and concentrated amount of black (not just DARK) magic. Well... everypony thought Diamond Tiara was just a bad filly who no good in her... so maybe black magic was the same way? 'Don't touch them. Believe me when I say it's better you don't. You know how sometimes comics make it so only a certain being can safely hold things?' "Okay." Alula nodded. She opened another drawer and found what she had been looking for, Mr. Umbra Breeze's notes... but she couldn't read it, and the more she looked at it, the more... the more... 'Oops! Snap of my fingers! There. That's the readable 'doesn't drive you into a drooling insane mess if you try to read them' version. I forgot my cousin's handwriting tends to not be safe for mortal viewing without a perception filter.' "But... then would he want me to read them?" 'Of course he would! You're the hero aren't you? Besides, he's probably planning to post them on Fate Net when all this is over, an artist loves sharing his inspiration.' "... Okay." And then... Alula Kicker, whose name means winglet, Princess Animatia Erroria, read the full story that bears the name of the garden of Cheerilee. "... No. Never. She'd never... she would never... she could never... none of us... " Alula was crying. 'You know this isn't as fun as it normally is. I can't believe I'm actually not going to enjoy this!' Discord hated Bon Bon for making his games much less fun. Almost as much as he hated seeing Fluttershy of the Heart world tame his heart world self... not for what he saw, but for what it MEANT for HIM. But... he hadn't done ANYTHING to Bon Bon, when even Lyra would accept anything Discord to Bon Bon as just 'Discord being Discord!' And even Discord didn't understand WHY and that made him more frustrated. ('Tootsie's candy-butt guardian had her VERY REALITY rewritten to see everything I did as the fun and games they were! Accepted me as me! And she STILL said all those stupid things to me! It doesn't make sense! And not in my fun way! It's like ... it's like... there's a teeny tiny, so improbable it might as well be impossible chance.... there's something wrong with me?) 'Alula. Why don't you read the fitting punishment Umbra Breeze fleshed out for Twist, Silver Spoon, and Shiny Star. I tell a lie. Twist was the only one being punished there. The others ... well, a void ceases to exist if it's filled my princess said. Don't worry, he wrote it with three possible endings.' Alula, shaking, found the notes. She read them, and the outcome for all three. Illusions shattered. "Oh my Celestia, big sister, WHAT DID I DO TO YOU!?" Princess Alula screamed and cried and looked ready to rip her own mane out. "I'm ... I'm a bad pony... ABADPONYABADPONYABADPONY!" Discord, '... Finally. Guess I won't need the diagrams. (How To Realize If You're A Hero, Anti-Hero, Villain or Anti-Villain In Five Easy Steps.)' She fell to her knees, doing the hundred yard stare. "But... I did all this... for big sister... for Tootsie.. for Diamond Tiara... for EVERYPONY..." 'I know little filly, it's not fun realizing you're the villain AFTER you ruin your own home.' "... TOOTSIE!" She ran out of the room back to her friend. 'Good luck Alula. Alright, now, little ponies... give the handsome and brilliant Spirit of Chaos a great and really great final sendoff for my last performance! I expect something really epic with explosions, lots of punches, and lots of spell zapping! Don't disappoint me! Anticlimaxes are no fun after this much build up! Especially when it's me. The greatest performer requires the greatest show!' "Father, what are you doing?" The Nightfilly teleported into the room and saw the open drawers, and the tears. The Nightfilly's voice was as dark and empty as ever. But Discord sensed it was now like the blackness of a storm at night. 'Oh right. Oopsie. I would guess from your tone, and that lovely dark glow in your eyes... I won't be doing much of anything again for a while... am I right?' +++ "I am never losing another friend, EVER AGAIN!" 'Princess Fidelitas', Rainbow Dash, Nightmare Manacle, the Fallen Alicorn vowed deeper than blood. She snorted air, thunder crackled. Fallen Princess Fidelitas' Interview: So ya girls wanna record this stuff still to the end? (Half-Light Dusk's Notes: Rainbow Dash... you don't need to do this. When you saved us, and Shining Armor and Cadence from Nyarlathotrot's curse, we were all so happy that you were all alive. And ashamed of all the pain and evil our mother brought on you, and which she made you bring on others. She never had a chance to make up for that. She didn't know you were still alive and neither did we! We're sorry!) And that's just it! There was so much more for her to do! She ceased to exist thinking we were all dead! That she let us all die! Or maybe she was thinking that if we were, that we wouldn't be able to tell her from Nightmare Eclipse. (Half-Light Dusk's Notes: Applejack was our friend too! Our mother's oldest friend she had left! It was sick and twisted, but you all DID give her happiness. Even in her madness, you were the only thing that filled the emptiness she tried to fill by torturing Discord. And we didn't get a chance to tell her goodbye either! We only know her by the memories she gave us! You think me or my sisters aren't in agony over finding out you were all alive only to see her die?!) Don't get your wires crossed. I was intending to do this from the moment we saved you from Dishwasher-Accordion's sick game. It's just time for it to happen. (Half-Light Dusk's Notes: Don't lie to yourself. You intended to perform the ritual as soon as you had us and Shining Armor all together. But you agreed for us to protect and help as many ponies as we could while the curse was in effect. And to let Shining Armor have some final time with his wife on their honeymoon. You kept finding excuses to hold it off. You don't want to do this, Rainbow Dash.) I can't... we can't help or protect Scootaloo and her friends anymore in saving the world, and neither can you. But Princess Twilight Sparkle can! She'll banish Discord's flank and give Diamond Tiara the spanking she needs. She can save the world! Then she can-- then maybe she can stop AJ from having to sacrifice herself at all. (Half-Light Dusk's Notes: That's a fantasy, Rainbow Dash. Our mother Pinkie Pie Swore to never use that power again. YOU KNOW what it does!) I... I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I apologize. I Pinkie Pie Swear I won't ask her to do that. But Scootaloo and the others were able to make it this far because they had the help when they needed it. We can't give it. But 'Amicitia' can. (Half-Light Dusk's Notes: And what was your reason for wanting her back BEFORE?) This interview is over. (Half-Light Dusk's Notes: You didn't fail to save her again, Rainbow Dash. There was no choice you could have made differently.) Enough...there's no more time to argue! Who knows what Discord's doing right now, even as we speak! +++ (Half-Light Noon's Notes: Fluttershy, this isn't going to make your guilt go away.) It was all my fault. I kept myself and all our friends hidden because I didn't want us to be punished. I'm why Twilight died without any of us being there to say good-bye. It's all, my, fault. Millions of years... and I'm still a coward. Twilight didn't deserve to suffer for my mistakes...and neither did Rainbow...and especially not AJ. (Half-Light Noon's Notes: You're not mad that Applejack, Nightmare Mirror, was the one who turned you into a...) My Applejack's been harder on herself than I ever could be for that... - (Granfalloon Pie's Notes: I'm really, really, really, really, REALLY sorry, but I made a Pinkie Pie Promise to help Dashie it's just how I got the broken and split up parts of my mind to come back together during my cycle...  but you know, maybe I really shouldn't have used my Pinkie Pie Promises quite so much.) It MIGHT be a good idea to cut down on them unless you REALLY mean it. (Granfalloon Pie's Notes: You’re right! I’m sorry, I’ll try to limit them from now on.) - (Half-Light Dawn's Notes: What about you, Spike? Do you really want me to go away? I thought we were having fun.) No, I don't. This isn't about what I want. It's just- (Half-Light Noon's Notes: Will you finally act like an adult and make your own choice for once, Spike?!) I'm sorry, Twilight! I mean... would you like me to get you anything? Some hard cider? A Wonderbolts plushie? Anything at all? (Half-Light Noon's Notes: Think about what YOU WANT for once, Spike.) - Nightmare Whisper's interview: Uh, I can use my fog, so you're all in a happy world when it happens. (Granfalloon Pie's Notes: Or I can give you one of my happy bubbles, you ... you don't need to feel any pain or unhappiness either.) (Half-Light Noon's Notes: I'm gonna face this like a mare.) (Half-Light Disk's Notes: No. Thank you.) (Half-Light Dawn's Notes: Thank you, Pinkie Pie, thank you, Fluttershy but... but I don't wanna. But... maybe you can take care of Peewee? No one ever seems to notice him much anymore, even after we saved his egg.) I... I promise, I'll look after him if that's what you want. +++ (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk) to Princess Fidelitas: The chains aren't necessary, Rainbow. We made a promise, we won't run.) I'm sorry... they're part of the ritual. And Noon, I just want to say you look cool. She did a good job giving you a good-looking appearance. (Interviewer's Notes (Noon) to Princess Fidelitas: Hey Dash, for what it's worth? I'm sorry I'm not Twilight Sparkle.) ... I know. Nothing I can do about that. Girls... go get Twilight's last part please. ++++ Nightdrake Bannerette The Dragon's log We hadn't exactly taken a vote. But we kinda reached a silent agreement that this was the best way to do it. It was going to be less heartbreaking. Yeah, Fluttershy forged a note saying Shining Armor had been called in for an emergency secret assignment and left it on her desk, telling her how much he loved her and to look after Kifuko. The two were asleep in their royal suite, and so was Kifuko. I used my teleportation flames to take Shining Armor right out from Cadence's sleeping grasp and replace it with a giant plushie of him that Pinkie Pie had made. It was several hours before dawn and the ritual would be done before Cadence woke up. Fluttershy used her talents to their absolute limit to make sure Shining Armor would stay asleep through this. He deserved to spend his time dreaming of Cadence and his happily ever after. Taken from his Princess... And he didn't even have a say in the matter. I felt sick. ++++ And that was that, Old Nythy was gone and he wouldn't be botherin' our world for like say, forever. And me? Ah was stuck with a pair of pretty wings, a horn on top of my head. This was... kinda awkward. Well, it'd be great for the family business, but Ah want our apples to sell cause of our quality, not endorsement... where the heck did ya get a bottle of our cider with Fluttershy's face on it when she was a model? Okay, okay! We make money where we can, sustainin' a farm ain't cheap! But we never short-change our customers. But this ain't MY horn, and these ain't my wings. Apple Mirror gave'em to me cause Ah needed 'em. Ah'll admit, maybe Ah imagined bein' a princess once when Ah was a filly, everypony has, like it's built into our blood or somethin'. Who am Ah kiddin', after what Princess Luna showed me, it probably is! Ah... Ah don't HATE bein' an Alicorn, but if Ah was to become one, Ah'd want it to be on my own merits, not just cause Ah was MADE one. Ah ain't gonna say Ah wish Ah wasn't, cause it's only cause Ah did Ah sent Nythy packin' once and for all...but Ah want tah EARN 'em...and if kickin' Nythy's flank was enough tah earn it, we'd all be sportin' wings, horns, and Earth Pony strength after beatin' Discord. So what now? Do Ah head back to the farm and make sure the rest of my family is safe? Or do Ah go help Apple Bloom and her friends since Ah'm not tethered to my house like my friends? If these crazy rules said Apple Bloom and her friends had to do the savin', how much was Ah gonna be allowed to help before Ah randomly sprang my leg or somethin'? Then Ah remembered, Ah remembered what Rainbow Dash, Apple Mirror's Rainbow Dash was plannin' on doin'. It came up to the surface like a balloon underwater! Ah was tryin' hard to not dive in too deep into Apple Mirror's memories or Ah was sure Ah'd go crazy. But this memory hit me like a hoof to the jaw! Them girls always askin' questions, Twili's brother, her RD was plannin' on sacrificin' 'em to bring back THEIR Twilight Sparkle! And... there was nopony to stop 'em, there was no pony to tell'em to stop. If Ah didn't, nopony would. Apple Mirror... Ah felt it... she wasn't Nightmare Mirror anymore... because she didn't want to risk losin' her best friend by tellin' her the truth. Maybe she would have tried to stop 'er, maybe she wouldn't have. But she wasn't here now, Ah was. Alright, Apple Mirror, ya helped my friends, Ah'll help yers too! Just hope Princess Dash ain't finished all the fancy mojo yet! Alright Truth! Show me the way that Ah need to go! Yeah, Ah'd just fought a life and death battle against an Outer Concept single hoofedly, didn't have a chance to rest, and Ah was surrounded by lies so thick that Ah could taste their stink in the air. Nopony said this was gonna be easy. Here's hopin' Princess Dash is willin' to listen to reason! "APPLEJACK! I KNOW IT'S YOU! YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME!" Spitfire came screaming out of the fog, dive bombing straight for me. She was wearin' a dirty and stained Wonderbolts' outfit. She looked madder than a hatter. "Ah'm sorry, Spitfire-" Ah sighed. "YOU HORSE-APPLES STAIN! YOU RATTED ME OUT! I KNOW IT WAS YOU! RAINBOW DASH HAD IT COMING! I'LL KILL YOU!" "-but Ah ain't got time to do this nice!" Ah spread my wings. Just before Spitfire was going to ram a hole through me, my eyes and horn glowed white. I lowered my head and closed in my wings around us. Spitfire was surrounded by all sides by my mirrors and my vision, everythin' turned bright white. An'outside view would've seen flashes of light spear out from every direction. Ah opened up my wings again and raised my head, Spitfire fell to the ground, her uniform now all clean, and her colors back except now with shadin', lookin' more in depth than she'd been before the world got bucked up. Hehe, glad Ah'm the whole Truth, the Cruel Truth sure as Tartarus couldn't do that on its own. She looked at me. "Applejack? I'm so sorry! Ah don't know what I was thinking! I thought that I'd, oh Cadence! What did I do?!" "Whatever ya remember ya were just hallucinatin' or somethin'. There was some nasty creep causin' bad mojo at Cloudsdale, it must have driven ya crazy instead of makin' ya a minion Ah'm guessin'." "That... that makes sense," Spitfire said accepting what Ah told her as her reality. She hugged herself. "I can't believe that I'd EVER do that to Rainbow Dash, or Scootaloo, or Fluttershy... I..." Ah hugged her and nuzzled her. "You're NOT that kinda pony. Ah know bein' a team leader means lettin' those ya lead know ya mean business, but ya AIN'T some kinda selfish monster for it." "T-thank you Applejack, I... when did you become a Princess?" "They're on loan! Ah'll explain later!" Ah produced a small ball of light. Don't ask how Ah knew how. "Follow this here light straight to Cloudsdale! It'll keep yah safe! See ya!" Ah didn't wait for a response as Ah took off. Guess Discord knows there's a new Alicorn Princess in town, well, lucky for 'em Ah've got more pressin' stuff to do. Too bad for him that Ah know if my little sister and her friends made it this far, then nothin' in Equestria was gonna stop 'em now! Shini' Armor, Half-Lights, don't let Princess RD do ya in till Ah get there! Now where is... where can Ah find... Ah there we go! And in we go! 'By the might of the cruelest truth, open the path!' Ah flew straight into the reflection inside a store front window's glass. + It's been a very long time since I've recorded an entry of my own. Yes yes yes, so very long. My name is Razzaroo, the last unaltered Pony of the Age of Dreams. And my friend, Twinkle Wish, the Wishing Star. In my life before the Age of Dreams... does it matter anymore? I'm the last unchanged proof that my world ever existed. The ponies we were before are as much a faded dream as the friends I remember. All the adventures we'll never have. All the dreams we won't have. All the fun times we'll never have. All the stories that'll never get written. And all because of one mistake that we didn't even realize could be a mistake that was done with all the best of good intentions. And is now just remembered as proof of what bad ponies they were. There are some dreams that cannot be. I don't care there are other worlds out there where things turned out for the better... this... this is the world I'm living in. I never died, so I can't go onto the afterlife, I was never remade or joined with a shadow, I was never erased... and I'm still immortal. I faded away when I'd finished my book. I should have become just another shadow. But my book remained, it gave me an anchor to keep my light of existence locked into my shadow. I sometimes wonder if even the concepts didn't know what to do with me afterwards. So forgive me if I’m not in the best of moods. All I can do is help this world that's been turned into an upside down mockery of all those dreams and bring back the goodness that was stolen. To make sure the good in the world doesn't fade away like mine did. At least I have Twinkle Wish. She's a wishing star as I said. She's good company. She's unmodified as well, but... that's mainly because she's the only sapient speaking star I've ever met. Do the stars still speak to ponies when they wish upon them? Or are they just giant balls of fire now? I'll admit, if not for Twinkle Wish, I might have gone crazy. That's the truth, yes, yes, yes. When did I decide I'd try to become a concept? Well.... I'm immortal, so it's not like I'm ever going to see my friends who were lucky enough to die anyway. And the rest of my friends who no longer even were my friends or simply no longer exist. Twinkle Wish was like me. She had nowhere to go. The world she'd been born to try and save died anyway. I think... my big reason, was that if I became a goddess, maybe I could help things, fix things, make things better, make sure nothing like what happened to my world happened to any world ever again. If some worlds wanted to just exist and be happy, I could help them do just that! Yes, yes, yes! My birthday book was the only proof that my friends existed... after I had filled back in the empty pages... I was surprised when somepony bothered to tell me that a replica of my book had appeared in the Equestria world... It was never outside the range of a goddess, so The Wolf Monster never came for it. Or those strange ponies from another universe had come to 'make sure things worked out right.' I'll admit I was curious... and maybe it beat sulking in the ruined remains of my own universe for another thousand years (I must have rewritten every book in Storybelle's library at least twice). 'Nothing good ever comes of world lines meddling with each other,' one of the concepts told me. I don't remember who. And they said the more concepts needed to take the form of avatars, the worse a situation was. 'Concepts are supposed to be everywhere at once and immaterial, not visible and tactile,' The same one told me when I asked about this. The pony who used to be Minty found out the truth of the world she'd come from, or again I was told by another concept, the Alicorn of Prayer, apparently she felt I was 'owed' answers for how the new universe was doing. I wasn't a concept. I can't turn invisible, or create a puppet-me, I can't walk through walls or enter ponies' dreams or travel back and forth through time. But... over the years, I'd spent so much time with the memories and records of my friends, I'd figured out how to make them come alive, after all, life was the heart of earth pony magic right? I'd named it memory magic. I'd created a new type of magic, that meant I was to become the concept of magic right? I read that was how it worked. Except they said that there were others already in line for the job, and as fate would have it, the pony who used to be Minty was currently on the fast track of becoming her. I can't... I can't say I'm too upset, at least Minty getting to become a goddess is nice right? I won't lie and say I didn't feel cheated. No no no. Of course I did... But I'd learned on that day my world vanished that arguing with concepts was a waste of time. They already knew everything they were talking about, and could out debate you on anything. Guess those billions of years of experience weren't just for show. They said I needed to reach enlightenment to become a concept. Discord, his big brother, Luna, and then I learned about Morning Star, they didn't seem very enlightened. 'All the more reason,' I got told in response. When I questioned it, one of the Draconequi said 'why do you think we call them Demons and Devils? They threw away the thing that really makes you a Concept, so why give them the satisfaction?' Then... I was told a gang of monsters was going to ruin the new universe too. They meant to turn it into an even worse place than it'd already become. And they said how my memory magic was going to be very important. For the record, my magic doesn't manipulate memories in ponies' heads, it USES memories as a medium. I'll admit, I agreed mostly for my friends’ sake, even if most of them weren't even my friends anymore. Twinkle Wish would have gone with or without me. Even if our world was gone, she still had her pride as a wishing star, and seeing a mockery of the law of 'dreams do come true if you follow your heart's desire' that our world had been born from, infuriated her in a way I'd never seen from a wishing star. It felt almost wrong...our world didn't have rage. I'd never worked so hard in my life. And neither had Twinkle Wish. But you know most of that already, don't you? I'd never seen so many nightmares. At least my magic was locking in place all the good that Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and their friends were doing. I'd never been so tired in my life. I felt like I was being worn out, like a doll that had been played with one too many times. If not for Twinkle Wish's light, I may have fallen over. That was when a stray wind brought the cowpony hat to me (or maybe brought me to the cowpony hat). I'd been waiting for the foals to finish curing the last Element of Harmony. I wasn't sure what would happen if they failed, and how it would relate to me 'saving their game' as Button Mash called it, but I didn't want to find out. I wanted to help. But the same rules of the game that made it so Scootaloo and the others always had a chance, prevented the one whose job it was to record the heroes' adventure from helping directly. I was a fixture. The hat? Oh right, I recognized it HAD to be Applejack's, and not just not just one of her million spare replacements. This was her father's. My memory magic practically screamed at the intense memories connected to it. But there was even more here... an impression. A memory echo? But those only formed when an experience was truly soul-shattering, and there was enough spiritual power around the place equal to one of the top 1% of forces in existence. And even then, to notice them you needed to have some intense spiritual awareness (or a truly unhinged mind.) I was really surprised! Yes, yes, yes! And... I saw... Applejack... facing Discord's cousin... and... the other Applejack, the Nightmare, sacrificing herself, being blown to pieces by the unreal presence, and her shattered soul, instead of being remade into a monster, was absorbed by Applejack instead, and she became an Alicorn. But this wasn't from the point of view of this world's Applejack... and it was a memory echo from 'Apple Mirror'... Oh my gosh. No. Oh no. I saw, I heard, I experienced from her own view as her soul was broken into a million pieces. Her last regret. Ah'm just sorry, Ah was too scared of losin' of friendship, that Ah shouldn't have waited so long, what yer plannin' is selfish and pig-headed RD. What was she planning?! Please! Please! She'd have been picturing what it was at the time! Memory magic don't let me down! Show me! ... I hope I'm not too late! ... Why can't I move? Why?... The rules of the game... I have to be ready and there whenever the fillies complete this leg of their quest... but that means... Girls, I'm sorry, I know you have to save the world... but I can't stand by and let something like this happen again. No, no, no! You've read my recording for the rest. I greeted the girls. We talked. I told them this would be the last time I could help them. I made sure they didn't see the hat. I told them how much I loved them all, and I made for the nearest mirror I could find! Except... how was I supposed to pass through? I was no Nightmare, and I didn't have mirror magic. I pounded on the glass like a foal. And how did I know I wasn't too late? No, if she'd done it, I'm sure there's no way anypony anywhere wouldn't know. There was no pony watching, no pony judging, so I cried. I came here to do something on my own, to save ponies where I couldn't before... and I'm still just as helpless, and no friends here to help. "Razzaroo?" Twinkle Wish. How could I be so selfish to forget HER?! "If you need to get through... make a wish." My eyes widened. "You never did make your wish that year, I owe you one wish, same as every pony." "Why... why haven't you said anything, in all those times?" She sighed. "Because, with our world gone, I couldn't grant the wishes I knew you'd want me to grant...And I only had one to give you...But... I can grant this one, if you really want me to." I drew in a breath. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and at Twinkle Wish's. I thought of what I'd find on the other side, what I'd face. I looked her in the eye. "Twinkle Wish, I wish that I could enter Ponyville's reflection, so I can save Prince Shining Armor, the Half-Lights, and .... and Apple Mirror's friends from themselves. Yes, yes, yes! That's my wish! Please grant me this wish, I wish, I wish, I wish!" Twinkle Wish closed her eyes, hovered a bit higher, and glowed brightly. This was it. The monsters would know we were here in moments. She opened her eyes. "Your wish is granted." We hugged, and passed through the mirror. A horde of terrors crashing in on the spot we'd been less than a minute later, but none of them having a clue where we'd gone, and none giving the mirror in the store front window a second thought. And we landed on the other side, an inverted Ponyville, with no ponies to be seen, except as ghostly images as they passed in front of mirrors. Objects unmovable because they weren't being moved in the real world. We were inside Ponyville's reflection, the world within mirrors that was nearly impossible to enter. I ran where the memory echo showed me the ritual was going to be held. I only hoped I wasn't too late to make a difference. +++ Granfalloon Pie's left eye twitched, then her right wing, followed by the right eye fluttering, then a shiver down her right leg. "Dashie, we've got company." Banneret the Dragon, Whisper, and Nightmare Manacle all gasped. "But how could anypony find us? Discord and his cronies couldn't!" The former Nightmare exclaimed, distracting her from the ritual. "Uh! Is it Discord?!" Whisper whispered, in particular disturbed by the idea. "Nope. It was my right wing that twitched." "Oh thank Celestia." The yellow outer-Nightmare sighed with relief. Nopony noticed the spark of hope in Spike's eyes. "Well, this place is big as anyplace that's ever been reflected. Could be just some mirror powered super villain robbing a bank in some other galaxy. I think Mirror complained about that happening once." "Nope! This is close by, and getting closer!" The Nightmares tensed. Nopony expected Half-Light Dawn to speak up. "What are you doing here?" The Nightmares turned to see... a pink earth pony with a blond mane and black feathery wings descend on top of the Golden Oaks Library where Manacle, the Half-Light, and the sleeping Shining Armor lay. "I'm sorry, Dawn, I really am. But I have a responsibility. And the life you've offered Peewee is none at all... " Her eyes widened at the sight before her. "Harvest Slipknot." Her sword turned into a scythe at the sight of four Nightmares, Prince Shining Armor unconscious and bound, along with the Half-Lights chained and bound with him. And Peewee the Phoenix on the shoulder of the Nightmare that looked like Nightmare Whisper. "Starlight?" The Nightmare Whisper said in shock, a look that was mirrored on all her friends. > Rebirth of an Alicorn Part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Starlight was a reaper. She didn't see faces, she saw souls. "You're the Spike who killed Abandon, and you're the 'Cousin Surprise' who was there when Apple Bloom almost killed Silver Spoon." Several thoughts went through Starlight's mind at once. Time travel? But something was odd for that. Every experience and choice that ponies made shaped their souls. Even if a thousand lifetimes passed, those marks remained somewhere... And... while there were BIG similarities, some events had others inserted in their place. "And you're Starlight," Pinkie Pie said. Starlight collected herself. "The one true original. Accept no substitutions. You're from the same worldline as the Half-Lights, aren't you? You met the 'me' in your world line?" "Uh, MORE or LESS," Pinkie Pie admitted. "How the heck did you get in here and find us?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Starlight nearly had a 'heart attack' looking keenly on her soul. She was... she was in the flux between mortal and divine. "I just came here because Peewee's time... is very overdue,” Starlight admitted. "I was instinctively was drawn here, just like the Wolf is instinctively drawn to distortions. And I got in here... because there's no hiding from death, nothing else to it." "Now you show, Starlight?" Noon asked. "Why couldn't you've shown up sooner?" "I don't understand it myself. It's like I could sense the protection you've been artificially extending over Peewee was going to vanish and- What in Megan's name is going on here?" "You can't take poor Peewee! He's barely begun to live!" Fluttershy quivered. Starlight sighed. "Can we please not do this? I beg you. Spike wasn't there to save Peewee, instead of trying to nudge events so he wasn't killed, the Half-Lights swooped in and stole his egg from his nest before the dragons came. WHICH by the way DIDN'T mean the dragons somehow DIDN'T trash the nest ANYWAY! You didn't so much as THINK about the OTHER chicks in that nest! You only cared about Peewee because Spike kept him as a pet in the heart world. But because they're alien gods, any direct action they take is like a bad organ transplant, just as HE'D be a bad organ transplant to any reality you'd take him. And trust me, as comfortable as you can make the between places, they're no substitute for being alive, or what's supposed to come after. I hate doing this, but it's this, or Peewee WILL spend the rest of his days being hunted by Wolves and be ERASED rather than just die. There's more to life than being alive. And... Dear Megan, that doesn't matter right now!!!! Dusk, what is going on?!" Dawn told her, with no reservation, straight forward and direct. Starlight's eyes widened larger and larger. "Why, didn't you even try to escape!? Why did you come back here knowing what she planned to do?!" "We foolishly made promises that we had little choice in making if we were to save lives while we could." Dusk sighed. "And we are Spirits. As such, we're bound to our word for eternity." As soon as Dusk had finished speaking, Starlight slashed her scythe right at Manacle's neck... only for it to stop a millimeter from her skin... owing to Starlight's muscles suddenly locking in place. Manacle took a trot back, and saw the look of fury on Starlight's face, and then looked at her friends. None of them were stopping Starlight. The Half-Lights weren’t, either. Then Starlight stopped struggling, and fell to one knee, and held her scythe like a staff. "W-why? If you do this... it'll be WORSE than death to four innocent ponies… just to bring back one pony?" "Not just one! All the ponies she's made up of! All their memories and feelings are a part of her! I'd say the math works out!" "I'm sorry, Starlight," Spike said. "But I think I know what it is. You're an angel of death of this world. We're not from this world. And... I think this also means our number’s not up after all." "Well, that's actually kinda a relief," Pinkie Pie said, look unsure and doing her best to smile. "Well, that's too bad." Manacle said, grinning as she patted Starlight on the head. "This isn't a matter of life and death, you have no power here. None at all." Starlight cried. The other ex-Nightmares looked at each other. Fluttershy gave Starlight a gentle hug. "I'm sorry." Rainbow Dash went back to the spell book she'd been reading before being interrupted. It was thicker than her head, and older than Celestia's solo reign. The cover was written in an old form of high Equestrian. Rainbow Dash could appreciate how after ditching books for so long, now reading was the key to bringing Twilight Sparkle back. She wouldn't tell her friends where'd she'd gotten the book. 'You're better off not knowing.' Granfalloon's body twitched all over again. "Oh! More company!" "Your friends are coming?" Manacle instantly asked Starlight. She saw no point in lying. "Why would my friends come here? They're safe in the afterlife. I'm the one who chose to become a reaper." 'Guess they didn't get deputized here,' Spike thought. "No no no, I know this combo! It's Applejack!" Rainbow Dash dropped the book. "Pinkie Pie... that's... that's impossible. We... we saw her spirit..." "Well, it certainly IS Applejack." "Rainbow Dash? I...I think she means this world's Applejack." "But-but that doesn't make sense, how can- how can she even have found this?" "Maybe by accident?" Spike suggested. "Oh that's easy!" Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded. "When our Applejack got...broken... she joined with this world's Applejack, remember? Just like Twilight at the end of every..." Pinkie Pie realized she was going to bring up memories NONE OF THEM wanted to think about. "Uh, well, now this world's Applejack doesn't just have her power, she has all her memories too!" "Oh no," The former Nightmare whispered. "That means... that means she KNOWS! That's why she's coming here!" "Maybe she just wants to say goodbye?" Spike suggested, and was ignored. "If you thought this was the right thing to do, you wouldn't be worried-" Starlight started, but Manacle shouted in her face. "SHUT UP! I KNOW where I'm going for this! I'd be STUPID not to! I'm turning myself IN after I do this! I'm doing this for TWILIGHT! Pinkie Pie! Spike! Fluttershy! Go and keep Applejack busy!" Rainbow Dash ordered. Nightmare Whisper's eyes widened. "Applejack was with Nightmare Eclipse longer than any of us, we don't KNOW how long. So she trumps us in experience." "Not between all three of you, she doesn't! Don't worry, you won't need to beat her, just keep her away long enough for me to bring Twilight back to life. She's already worn out from beating Disco-Accordion's cousin, you'll be fine. I'd never ask you to if I didn't think you could. I'd do it myself but I have to finish the ritual." The rainbow-maned mare swore. Then, with a tired smile on her face, she said. "Don't worry girls, We're almost done. Then everything can finally be right, I promise." "WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! There's somepony else coming too!" Pinkie Pie declared, her Pinkie Sense going off again. "WHEN DID OUR SECRET BASE STOP BEING SECRET?!?!" The former rainbow Nightmare shouted in exasperation. "Our next party guest is... is..." Pinkie Pie fell on her royal flanks and she did the hundred yard stare. "It's... Razzaroo?" "Razzaroo?! What is SHE doing here?! Oh what am I saying, she's from the same universe as Pinkie Pie, of COURSE she's here somehow!" Rainbow nearly threw a fit. "DANGIT! Why can't we go five seconds without another complication or some extra stupid challenge throw in!? Ugh! Alright, girls, split up and do your best. Keep them talking, if you can." The Nightmares-On-The-Outside looked at each other. "Okay!" Pinkie Pie sprang back to life. "Applejack's coming from that way. And Razzaroo coming from that way! Let's give them a fun, fun, fun welcome party!" Nightmare Whisper said nothing, her expression unreadable as she flew in the direction Pinkie Pie had pointed as Applejack's. Flashing sad for a moment, then smiling again, Pinkie Pie bounced off in the direction of Razzaroo. Spike looked in the two directions, back and forth, hesitant, before finally following Pinkie Pie. + Applejack sighed as she passed what looked like an Apple family reunion with her parents and grandfather, rolled her eyes at the giant monster version of Nightmare Whisper and flew through it, and snorted air when 'Apple Bloom' and her friends were seen tied up and being lowered into a boiling cauldron. "Fluttershy, enough with the nonsense," Applejack said. "S-sorry," Nightmare Whisper stuttered... flying in Applejack's way, only Applejack wasn't stopping, forcing Fluttershy to fly backwards so not to be run through by Applejack's horn. "Uh, can you please stop?" "Ah really can't Fluttershy, sorry. Dash's gonna do somethin' really stupid and it's my job to stop 'er, as usual. Ah really, really wish Ah could stay and have a nice chat with ya Fluttershy, get to know ya like Ah know my Fluttershy. But Dash needs my help more than she needs yours." "You're in no shape to take on three of us at once after your brawl with Nyarlathotrot." "Too bad it's just you." "I'm hiding the others with my illusions!" "... No yer not." "Sorry. But... you're still really tired, can you PLEASE just lay down and rest some?" The air began to smell like hard cider. "Oh no, not happenin' again, forget it." Her pegasus magic blew the intoxicating fog away. "Funny how Discord and his pals and ya used the same trick to keep me from causin' ya trouble, huh?" Fluttershy cringed at the cruel truth. She stopped flying backwards. She caught Applejack's horn and pushed her back in the air with her own earth pony strength. This actually slowed down Applejack. But Applejack was simply more physical than her, even to the point of being a stronger flier than her (Fluttershy could appreciate the irony of this). Fluttershy then intensified her push with her telekinesis, but AJ countered with the same. Fluttershy turned into a hypnotized-looking Alicorn Trixie, while a dozen Nightmare Whispers dived from above. Applejack didn't cringe they all dove into her, ignoring the illusionary sense of them hitting her. "Come on Fluttershy, ya know yer illusions don't work on me." The illusion of Trixie vanished to show the Nightmare Fluttershy again. "Yah ain't got nothin' on that Trixie." In the meantime, however, several vines had grown out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Applejack's wings, horn, and legs, pulling her down with a powerful slam. 'Credit where it's due. That was actually pretty clever.' "Please stay put?" "Good shot, Fluttershy." Applejack then sliced through the vines like her feathers were cutlasses. "But metal mirror wings, remember?" The fog then reshaped into yellow-pink animal constructs with blue eyes that charged at Applejack. She kicked one and it exploded into a mass of the intoxicating fog. 'Usin' combos? Dang, she's smartin' up.' Applejack teleported above the advancing horde. Then she charged up her horn and fired into her own wing. She then shot out some of her own feathers. Her blast came out of one of the her mirror-like feathers, shooting through one of the constructs, into another feather, out another, the resulting crisscross annihilating the horde, her pegasus magic still keeping the fog away from her. "Just let me pass, Fluttershy, ya ain't got nothin' in yer arsenal that Ah can't counter. And before yah forget, remember who's memories are in here with mine!" Fluttershy then conjured a knife and held to her own throat with her forehooves. "I'll do it if you take another step, Applejack." AJ ripped the knife out of Fluttershy's grasp and tore the shoddy made construct to pieces. Apple Bloom had made better swords with cardboard. "Ah said stop with the nonsense! Ah know ya can't die if yer Element of Harmony ain't broken! And Ah know that Fluttershy ain't that much of a coward as tah do THAT!" "I have to try!" "Ya've thrown everythin' ya got at me! Now just stop!" 'Why is Fluttershy fightin' me alone? She's the worst match up for me.' "Who are the others dealin' with, Fluttershy?" "... Razzaroo." "... Mind if Ah go off and give'er some help?" "Sorry, but I do mind." "Yer lyin'." "This is my redemption! Us not seeing her again, her not seeing us again, WAS ALL MY FAULT!!! This way, Twilight can know we're all alright, we can all say our goodbyes, have our hugs and kisses... and... and then she can split up again if she wants." "They WON'T be the same Half-Lights and Shinin' Armor! It doesn't work like that, sugarcube." "How would you know?" "Ah know ya can't cram together four balls of clay into one big ball of clay, then split it up again, and expect them to be the same four balls of clay ya started out with!" "Breath of Despair!" Applejack recognized this... it was the same breath attack her Nightmare Whisper had used a year ago that'd actually broke Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom. The former Nightmare was confused when the Alicorn didn't even try to dodge it as it just washed over her to no effect. "One, ya ain't a true Nightmare no more... that was 'breath of existential dread' at best. Two, MY Fluttershy could only do that cause she took in all the junk the Sunny Towners were carryin' inside! Three, Ah really really REALLY THINK ya fightin' for the wrong side is DONE already Fluttershy! There ain't nothin' kind 'bout Rainbow's scheme!" That cruel truth made the ex-Nightmare took a trot back and let out a sob. "Ya KNOW ya can't stop me, Fluttershy! Ya should have switched with the others..." And in Applejack's brain, it all came together. "Ya... ya WANT to lose, even if ya can't admit it!" "No!" Fluttershy played her trump card. And Applejack was looking straight into the Stare. She felt the Truth instinctively rise up to prevent her will from completely crumbling under her proto-divine will. "Now! We're BOTH going to JUST STAY HERE, until Rainbow has finished bringing Twilight Sparkle back, and everything will be alright." "The truth is...Ya... ya don't actually believe that-" "No talking, young mare!" Applejack felt her jaw close on its own. + Mama Fluttershy told me to keep my mouth shut, Mama Fluttershy said to stay put. Ah couldn't look away. Ah couldn't raise a hoof against her. Ah felt mahself ta be the size of a mouse next ta her. Ah may've been an Alicorn, but Ah wasn't a Concept, Ah couldn't just shrug off The Stare. If Starlight and her friends couldn't, Ah couldn't neither. Ugh! Ah just hope Ah don't drown in Apple Mirror's memories. She had millions of years worth of memories, most of 'em lousy, Ah've got just a couple decades or so to work with. Ah feel the Truth at the very core of me, refusin' to bend over for Fluttershy's Stare. Ah remember when Chrysalis sicced me on my friends, how fast work Ah made of 'em usin' the Truth to break 'em like cane sugar. Ah remember the wrongness grownin' in me, like it was what that sick nag wanted. Ah remember Fluttershy's Stare beatin' back the Truth. But this Fluttershy wasn't under mind control. She wasn't corrupted by some evil magic. She wasn't usin' it to make herself a dictator, or any selfish goal of her own. And she had millions of years more experience usin' it than MY Fluttershy did! Ah felt along the Truth, Ah couldn't defy Mama Fluttershy, but, maybe, maybe Ah could still do somethin'! Ah opened my wings, lettin' her look right in my mirrors. "Reflect my Stare back at me? Really?" Mama Fluttershy frowned, indignantly incredulous. "You actually think THAT is going to work? Who do you think I am?!" Ah think Ah may have stepped on one of Mama Fluttershy's few sources of pride. Ah'm a bad filly. "Who... are ya Truly?!" I gasped out. If this doesn't work Ah'm stuck. This better not work too well, or Ah'm my own bowlin' team! Ah feel bits of myself wigglin', shiftin' about... Ah encourage it. Okay girl! Ah ain't lookin' to explode twice! Keep calm, focus on the truth. This is happenin'! Hold on to yerself Applejack! - "Hey, Posey!" "Oh! Applejack! I didn't see you there!" - "It's nice to see you, Bright Eyes." "So what brings you here, Sweetheart?" - "Nothing much, Zipzee, but I do have an import favor to ask." "What favor, Applejack?" - "Firefly’s gonna do something foolish, that she knows' bad, but thinks'll turn out good." "Um...foolish as in..." "Foolish even for me!" - "So what's the favor you need, Sweetheart?" "I just want your promise to help Bright Eyes." - "Help you, Applejack? But I'm just one Breezie, what can I do?" "You can help more than you think, Zipzee." - "Are-Are you sure you don't want someone else's help, like Megan, or Wind Whisper?" "No, Posey, it's got to be you. You're the one with the power to change things." - "If that's the case then of course I'll help Sweetheart! We're friends!" "Oh thank you, Bright Eyes!" - "I'm scared, but I'll be just as brave as you big ponies, Applejack!" "No, Zipzee. Being scared is what makes you even braver!" The Stare faltered, Fluttershy's heart wasn't all in it no more. Ah felt stronger. Ah pulled myself together. Ah was able to hold onto myself. Ah am Applejack. Ah am Applejack. Ah am Applejack! "B-but our powers are equal!" Fluttershy stammered. "Equal is for fancy mathematics and the love parents feel for their youngin's! And there ain't no thing as 'unbeatable,' neither! No ifs, ands, howevers, or besides!'" The Stare broke. Fluttershy fell to her knees, her wings pressed against her, and her horn pointed at the ground. Ah readied myself... but she did nothin'. She just laid there. 'She's not even trying to use an illusion to fool me.' Ah thought. "I can't fight you, and I can't fight Rainbow Dash, I won't fight my friends again...I tried, that's all I promised to do...Please just go." "... Fluttershy... thank you... Ah know this ain't easy. Ah'll save Shinin' Armor, the Half-Lights, and Rainbow, Ah promise." Ah nuzzled her and flew at fully speed. Ah considered just teleporting there, but these weren't MY memories, and Ah didn't wanna risk a mis-teleportation in this place. Just because Ah've got Alicorn healin' don't mean Ah'm in a rush tah try it out! No prob, Ah wasn't gonna let myself not be there in time. + Meanwhile, Razzaroo, and Granfalloon stopped at the sight of each other, both fidgeted uncomfortably. "Hey, Pinkie Pie From Another World... Thank you for helping the Crusaders." "Hey, Razzaroo From This World!...And it was my pleasure! Soooo, what brings you here?" "I came here to stop Your Rainbow Dash from sacrificing Shining Armor and his sisters to recreate your Twilight Sparkle." "Oh.... I was worried it was something like that." The ex-Nightmare shrank a bit from her. "Can we have a party instead?" "I'm sorry, it'll have to wait till later... Pinkie Pie, I can't lie to you, you look terrible." "Yeah, the Nightmare look kinda has been done to death. And of course you can lie to me, Razzy, remember my surprise birthday party?" "I meant I can't lie about this, sorry." "It's okay. Hey, remember when Minty got mixed up on your birthday book, and thought it was my birthday a day early and got everypony to paint the whole town pink?" "Heheh, yeah, I do, good times." "I'm sorry, I promised Dashie I helped her with this." "... And you always keep your promises. That's always been something good about you, Pinkie Pie." "Can we settle this with a game of Parcheesi? Or a cooking contest? Please?" "I'm sorry, Pinkie, but there isn't time." "Okay... it's just, we never fought in our world... I mean, REALLY fought, and I don't wanna ruin it when...it feels like we'd be going against what it stood for... when it's down to just the two of us... And the 'friends fighting friends' is an old chestnut by now too... want some nuts?" "I'm fine, thank you." "Okay. I Just, I REALLY don't want to play a game of 'keep away' at Twilight's house... " Pinkie Pie hugged herself, she looked ready to cry. "It still hurts?" "H-hey," Pinkie Pie stuttered, sounding a little scared. "It... that would be silly, right? I mean, for me it's been MILLIONS of years since that stuff. And we went off on a completely different continuity before that half of that episode of events even happened. So... it's not like that happened to ME. Just because the devil himself made me think my own friends thought I was some retarded pet to be laughed at... And then I beat to a pulp anypony who laughed... and showed I could still be warm by being a mother to Pound and Pumpkin, but then taught them to hate ponies laughing too... then I spent almost a thousand years as his thug... then I flipped to the opposite and millions of years destroying universes full of innocent ponies (including MY universe) and thinking it was all just a silly game and nopony was actually getting hurt... bad Twilight telling me my friends weren't being erased, just reset... even... if memories and actions vanishing from existence kinda IS death anyway... which I should have known from the beginning if I wasn't crazy... after... after what happened to our world... I'd be super duper STUPID to still be sad about THAT. wouldn't I?" Razzaroo gave her a sympathetic look. "No. Some pains don't fade away, Pinkie Pie. You just get better at carrying them." Pinkie Pie sniffled and wiped her nose. "T-thanks, Razzy." She gasped in horror. "Oh no! That long talk I just did! Was I trying to delay you with it?! OH, I'M SO SORRY! I didn't MEAN to do it! I Pinkie Pie Swear! I'm sorry! I'm free of Discord's brainwashing, of being a crazy Nightmare... I'M STILL doing bad things. I'm just a broken pony. Those ponies who erased us were right, I'm just defective! I should have been never-heard-from-again! I can't be fixed." Granfalloon took part of her party dress and blew her nose on it. Razzaroo didn't know the WHOLE story, and had a feeling she didn't want to. But she didn’t want to see Pinkie Pie in pain like this. "Pinkie Pie... you're not defective... you're just hurt. You CAN heal. You don't HAVE TO keep doing bad things. You're free to make your own choices. Yes, yes, yes." "Thank you, Razzy... that means so much from you... even if you're not my Razzaroo... I'm sorry, a promise is a promise. I just wish I had a way out of fighting you." "Don't worry Pinkie Pie, I understand. No hard feelings," Razzaroo smiled as only a pony of the Lost Age could. A bright yellow star flew out of Razzaroo's book. "Hi, Pinkie Pie, nice to meet you again." The little star waved. "Twinkle Wish?" Granfalloon blinked in surprise. "That's me! Sorry about this." "About what?" Twinkle Wish shined as bright as the sun. Dozens of little star shapes flew inside her as she momentarily grew larger. Shining and sparkling, she fired a wishing-star shaped beam straight at Pinkie Pie. The stock sound effect of a spaceship charging up and firing its laser beam was audible. The beam caused no damage to the reflections around them, but pushed Pinkie Pie with the might of a freight train until she was pushed up against the side of a building. Pinkie Pie flayed about like a fish out of water, or somepony being sprayed by the world's largest hose. Finally the beam stopped, both the wishing star and the Alicorn smoking. "That," Twinkle Wish explained. "Oh... okay..." Pinkie Pie nodded, then fell forward, her tongue lolling out, her eyes spinning in opposite direction. She rose a little white flag in one hoof as she lay on the ground like a sack of potatoes. "Wish granted." Twinkle Wish politely bowed to the pony. "Looks like I flew too slow. Now it's my turn to fight." A purple dragon in some remade golden armor (with blue sapphires, Rarity's favorite), landed on two legs in front of the ponies. The earth shook from the impact, lifting everypony a few centimeters off the ground. Spike breathed his dragon breath on Pinkie Pie; she turned into a green wisp of smoke that flew off to the reflection of Sugar Cube Corner. "Back to bed, Pinkie Pie, I'll take it from here." "Are you all going to congo-line me?" Razzaroo asked, not bothering with introductions this time. She knew this wasn't her Spike, or even this world's Spike. She knew he'd saved Scootaloo and the others from Abandon and wanted to thank him, but she was running out of time. "No. Rainbow is still doing the ritual, so you don't have forever, and Fluttershy is fighting Princess Applejack, don't ask. So I'm the last thing in your way from what I can tell. So let’s skip the formalities." "As you wish," The wishing star said. "Razzaroo, you know I'll help you fight." = 'I Am the Eggman' - Sonic Adventure 2 = "And you know... neither of you can take me on." Spike's view of Ponyville got higher and higher, while Razzaroo and Twinkle Wish looked smaller and smaller. + "Where'd that mountain come from?" Dawn asked. "That's no Mountain," RD said. "Spike is a dragon and proto-Ryujin, and a million years old. How big do you think he really is?" + The little ponies looking up at him, Spike flexed his biceps. "I could arm wrestle Queen Tiamat herself in this form!" A beam of intense starlight zapped Spike in the face. "But can you hit one fast tiny target?" Twinkle Wish asked getting right in the dragon's eye, zapping him again, and fast as a shooting star avoided Spike's grasp and then zapped him in the neck, in the caboose, making him turn around to try and grab her. "Stay still." "I'm not granting that wish." + Alright, Razzaroo, you can do this. You're just facing a giant version of Spike, don't panic, don't give up, and you'll pull through! You didn't sign up to help here to be a fighter, but neither did Twinkle Wish and that's what she's doing! Memory Magic, don't fail me now! "Memory: Secret of My Excess! Fire Ruby!" My journal flipped through its pages discreetly, (Twilight's friendship reports were added in, along with some other pages). A red jewel shone from the pages, then shot out like a bullet, hitting Spike. There was a faint glow, and Spike shrank down to an adorable purple baby dragon. "Glad that's over," I said. Spike looked at himself in disgust, and before we had a chance to do anything, he grew back up his mountain-size! Oh, yes, yes, yes! (Unhappy face written next to sentence). "Don't do that again. I hated being that size, and I still hate it," Spike said sternly. "My apologies," I answered politely. "What WAS that?" "My own invented school of magic. After I save the Lights and Shining maybe I can teach it to you?" Spike then spewed out not fire or smoke, but ink! The sticky stuff covered Twinkle Wish, making her fall somehow, and covering me in gunk, so that it was nearly impossible for me to move. Spike reached down for us. "Memory! First Ponyville Flood!" And a wave of water poured from my book and rushed through the reflection of Ponyville, washing the black ink off us. Twinkle Wish flew up and began zapping Spike, like an endless parade of bug bites. Part of being miracles is how to turn bad things into good things after all. Spike breathed a storm cloud out of his nostrils, and lightning struck down from it, but the flood had left none of the reflections wet (they were just a reflections, after all), and I made a poor lightning rod. "Memory Whimsey Weatherbe: Clear skies!" Whimsey's image appeared for a moment, and she blew away Spike's storm clouds. Spike breathed his green flames next, and a cage formed around me. "Memory The Perfect Swarm: Parasprites!" The swarm of parasprites escaped from my book and, being the memory of the parasprites from Twilight's spell, they promptly ate the cage. I recalled them once their job was done. Spike said. "Alright. Enjoy the reflection gardens of Neighpon." Spike breathed his green flame right at me this time. "Memory Discord: Teleportation Jammer!" And the fires tried to dematerialize me, but I just reformed back where I started. Didn't want to go on the offensive, but I didn't have a choice. "Memory Spike The First: Inferno!" The transparent image of Spike's first ancestor appeared out of the book, startling him, before it breathed flames at him that could melt boulders. Spike's dragon instincts kicked in and he breathed back. Spike the First's breath was incredible to see. But memory only lasts as long as it originally did. A limit about my magic I wasn't about to share with anyone. And Spike's fire-breath was like the sun was coming out of his mouth. I almost thought he'd melt the glass in every mirror in the real world. I tried to think of what to do when the memory failed when Spike closed his jaws, and Spike The First's fire splashed him in the face. He cried out and covered his head. I didn't think the flames would hurt him that bad. Was he trying to lure me in? I had to stick with distance. "Memory Whimsey Weatherbe: Storm and tornado!" Spike flapped his wings in return as the memory of Weatherbe using her weatherdrake magic to create a whirlwind with enough force to knock over buildings. Here's another secret. My memory magic took up a LOT of mana, Twinkle Wish wasn't just my partner, she was also my reserve. Thankfully she had mana to spare and we both had thousands of years of building up our reserves. Sadly it seemed Spike had stamina to spare. He wasn't a baby dragon anymore, after all. I could technically play the memory over, but that requires me spending four seconds to call it forth again. But Spike’s wings suddenly gave out, and if everything here wasn't a reflection, he'd have annihilated half of Ponyville as he fell backwards. Strike while the iron was hot! "Memory Windigo: Frozen world!" Spike's mountain of a body was quickly all but encased in ice. That should hold him until I could save Shining and the others. Yes, yes, yes! Spike breathed fire on the windigo ice, his flames changed hue, and the ice melted off him. "Nice try. But I still have my friends who-" "Memory: Look Before You Sleep! Lightning Storm!" Spike didn't look very electrified sitting in the lightning struck giant puddle. "Melted ice and lightning, classic combo, but that isn't enough to-" "Memory: Lil Miss Rarity! Button Mash Combo!" The memory recording of Button Mash leapt up, caught the lightning, and stabbed it into Spike's hide. That one did shock Spike, a part of me was almost surprised it did, the sword must have hit a nerve. I felt like I was a one-mare demolition team trying to bring down a crag. "Memory Thistle Whistle: Pow." The memory of Thistle Whistle landed a square headbutt to Spike's giant face. "OOOH! SUCH INCREDIBLE POWER! I HAD NO IDEA WHO I WAS MESSING WITH! YOU REALLY ARE SOMETHING SPECIAL!" Spike declared in a voice so loud I was nearly made deaf and I was sure Rainbow Dash heard him all the way to Twilight's library. Yes... that was the headbutt Thistle gave Strife (which was the only reason I expected it to hurt him, as tough as he is, Strife's Survival itself)... the one that cost her, her life... Thistle, I hope you got reborn into the world, and got to fly in the skies. "Twinkle Wish! Regroup!" I shouted. "Got it!" She flew back, landing on my shoulder. Spike braced himself, knowing I've got something big coming, and asked Twinkle Wish to get out of the way, he doesn't know I also needed her to give me a biggest mana boost to materialize a memory this big! "Memory: Will Any Soul Get Through: MoonPearl Cherry Blossom Mode!" My mana was used up as fast as Twinkle Wish could pump more into me, as the transparent version of the foal pirate's privateer ship appeared, all weapons bared. It unleashed an army's worth of shots and blasts at Spike. For any other opponent, I'd think it’d be overkill, but he'd proven already he could live through it. With the first memory still going, I conjured again, I FELT Twinkle Wish's hurt as I pulled the mana out of her so fast. Sorry Twinkle Wish! You can have a big rest when this is all over! "Memory: Pegasus Promise: MoonPearl Figurehead Fire!" I saved mana by reconfiguring the memory already manifested. It changed shape to the normal Moon Pearl that fired the figurehead of Princess Luna direct into Spike's gut. The dragon cried out, I was knocked off my legs as the wind was knocked out of the giant dragon's lungs. He rolled over. He looked me in those eyes that I could see my reflection in. "... It seems as the 'potential future' concept of miracles and wishes: it seems neither my strength as the Element of Generosity, nor as a dragon, can I overwhelm you. To try to resist you more would be futile. OOOOH! A DRAGON SUCH AS I ALWAYS HUMILIATED AND BEATEN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHAT A HEAVY BURDEN I CARRY TO HAVE SUCH STRENGTH BUT NEVER A FOE FOR WHOM I CAN DISPLAY IT TO BE FOUND, SUCH STRENGTH THEN IS BUT A CURSE! IS IT NOT?" "Still a dragon," I heard myself say. "At least you can say you survived something that killed an Outer Goddess, right?" I offered. "... Would you like to wish for some acting lessons?" Twinkle Wish blurted out to Spike. "Hey! I'm a tortured warrior!" "I'm sure you are, but that was playing it up way too much!" Twinkle Wish quipped as I just stared disbelieving. "Just making sure Rainbow Dash gets the message across." "You're... LETTING us go?" I gasped out. After having to record so many nasty surprises, and cruel deck-stackings... I'd let this depressing world affect me way too much!!!! "THANK YOU SPIKE! THANK YOU!" "Please don't mention it. I'm not the Element of Loyalty nor Honesty. I'm Generosity. I think of others before myself...But Half-Light Noon's right. I'm not a slave. I'm not a robot. I chose to let you pass. Hurry up before Rainbow finishes." "Thank you, Spike! Thank you! I promise I'll never forget you!" "I hope you get your heart's desire someday!" Twinkle Wish said. "My heart's desire is gone. Make sure Cadence doesn't lose hers." "You can bet on it!" I declared. "Memory: The Truth Liberates: Flash Pegasus Guard!" And off to the library as fast as lightning! + There was no choice other than to have the ritual on top of the Golden Oaks Library, this had been the spot that meant most to Twilight Sparkle. Though if Rainbow was going to have unwanted gusts, the Fallen Alicorn wished that'd have jumped the gun and thought Rainbow Dash's cloud house or Ponyville town hall would've been the first choice. She might be the fastest Alicorn alive, but even she couldn't speed up a ritual meant to fuse four pieces of a broken soul back together. And if she made one mistake, she wouldn't be the one paying for it. She re-read each line from the spell book before she performed it. It was probably the first time she'd ever devoted so much time to studying. The sleeping Shining Armor and the Half-Light sisters sat in four circles arranged at compass points, with herself at the center. The runes around Shining Armor, Dawn, and Noon, were now glowing, while the ones around Dusk were not. The ritual required chanting, dancing, in addition to the runes. Couldn't this've been one of those 'point and zap' spells? Oh no, that would have been too easy, and far be it for anything to be easy, especially where Twilight Sparkle was concerned! Starlight had tried to cause trouble, of course, messing up the library, smudging up the runes... but the house tree was only a reflection, Starlight could do nothing to it, and RD had said messing with the runes or removing the ponies could hurt their souls, and Starlight had no way to know if Rainbow was lying or not. She had a much better poker face than Mirror did. Rainbow herself could sense them now, Princess Veritas, and Razzaroo and her pet star were coming. Her friends had delayed them as long as they could. "Thanks girls, I'll take it from here." 'Didn't want to split up my magic like this, but better than a big fight.' Peewee, perched on Dawn's head (having been left behind by the Nightmares and forgotten about -again-,) knew something bad was going to happen. Her horn glowed spectrum colors. A spiraling wall of rainbow colored chains spun into existence around the library, reaching to the heavens. And, of course, warded against teleportation. It spanned a long spiral path to the center... then Rainbow thought better of it and sealed off the entrance with more chains. She suppressed a shudder seeing Princess Veritas fly to the edge of the barrier in one direction. As fate had it, Razzaroo and her pet star arrived only a few seconds later. All three (four?) meddlers started at the sight of each other, shouting out names in confusion. This suited Rainbow Dash just fine, this gave her more time to finish her ritual. "Razzaroo?!""Applejack?""Which Razzaroo?""Which Applejack?" "The local one!" The three mares echoed. "Starlight?!" "Starlight!" "Applejack! Razzaroo?! Since when are you an Alicorn? And what are you doing here?!" "Never mind me. I'm Twinkle Wish. Just go ahead and keep ignoring me." "Sorry!" "Sorry!" "I'm here to stop Rainbow Dash and save Shining Armor and the Lights!" The mares all shouted together. "Okay! That's all we need to know!" Princess Veritas shouted firmly. "Nice to know there are ponies who care." Noon smiled. "Can ya just maybe hurry up before Rainbow finishes?" "Too bad Miss Angel of Death here can't do a thing," Rainbow Dash said, hoping to bait them into a tirade. "RD! Stop this nonsense right now!" Veritas snored. "Not happening." "AGH! Ah don't wanna fight ya again, Dash, but Ah can't let ya do this!" "Go ahead and try," so said Fallen Alicorn Princess Fidelitas. “Feels like I’m right back at my utopia-Ponyville, doesn’t it, Razzaroo, ol’ ‘friend?’ You ponies just fly in and ruin everything good… like bees at a picnic!” "... I think you have me confused with another Razzaroo." The ex-Nightmare cringed. Applejack tried to brute force her way through, as Twinkle Wish tried to zap it open. Razzaroo tried to use the tried and true method of heating and cooling over and over, but the temperature was quickly dissipated among the chains. Peewee, unnoticed by everypony, flew and tried to pull the chains apart far enough for the ponies to get through, but he didn't have the strength. He tried to simply MELT the chains with his phoenix fire, but the chains of loyalty endured. Applejack got an idea. "Razzaroo! Twinkle Wish! Get inside my wings!" The Alicorn spread her wings wide, showing the mirrors within. "I've got an idea!" "But how will that work if we're already in the mirror world-" "JUST DO IT!" The candidate concept and wishing star did so, flying inside the mirrors within AJ's wings. They found themselves in a reflection of Apple Pie's bedroom from the timeline Apple Mirror came from. Razzaroo couldn't help thinking it reminded her of how Meadowlark's parents kept her room at home the same when she went to college and even when she moved out...a sense of nostalgic emptiness. Then red fire covered Applejack, she grew a pair of feelers and a set of beautiful fairy wings. She shrank until she was tiny enough to fit through a peephole, or the links in a chain. She slipped right through, as Rainbow Dash tried to get her jaw off the library roof. Then she shaped changed back to her Alicorn self, opened her wings again, and Razzaroo and Twinkle Wish emerged unharmed. "Horseapples," Rainbow said flatly. Peewee cheered. They began to race down the spiral towards the center, AJ knowing better than to stay in Breezie form longer than vital. “Only one card left to play," RD said. “It's almost too bad all the Nightmare Forces went poof, I'd have actually preferred to use them instead!” Cracks appeared around the house tree. For a moment Razzaroo feared that the mirror world itself was breaking. But she felt that indifferent coldness that sucked life and warmth out of the world, and knew Rainbow Dash had taken advantage of the weakened state of reality, and had widened the cracks already there. Thin translucent chains came from her heart and into the cracks. Her horn glowed as her magic traveled down them. Shadow of existence came, climbing on the chains out of the cracks. As the magic traveled down them, they were clad in Shadowbolt uniforms. A chain collar of Fidelitas' magic formed around the neck of each one. Applejack would have to be blind not to see their ravenous look as they eyed the Half-Lights, Peewee, the heroes, Shining, and Rainbow herself. Then the real bomb dropped. It was Half-Light Noon actually, breaking their silence who said, "They're... all you!" Every last one of the horde of shadows of existence were Rainbow Dash. Starlight and Razzaroo had a STRONG feeling they didn't want to know how this was possible and none present was cruel enough to share. Fidelitas commanded, "Hear me, my husks, you have answered my call of your own empty will, our Twilight Sparkle returns to us. Until then, keep away the meddlers....But don't kill them." Razzaroo could see the imitation of disappointment on their masked faces, they KNEW what they wanted more than anything was to have to take their lights of existence for themselves, and the spiral path was practically flooding with them! 'She doesn't trust 'em not to turn on 'er without bein' restrained.' Applejack straight, 'Least that proves she's still sane!' The Shadowbolts assaulted the heroes like a black wave. "Ain't got time for this!" Applejack summoned a huge mirror for the Shadowbolt army to fly into, she'd dump'em back where they came from later. Shadowbolts, "COMBINED SONIC DARK BOOM!" Applejack, felt her mirrors shatter under the unified attack! Then she, Razzaroo, and Twinkle Wish, were banged against the chain wall, being pummeled by an entire herd of Rainbow Dashes! Was a bunch of Pegasi a herd, flock, or pack? Applejack's brain dimly wandered as she felt her body and brain jarred by the Shadowbolts. "I kicked yours and Nightmare Eclipse and Pinkie Pie's flanks when I was a flesh and blood pony, AJ! How about a bajillion of me?!" Rainbow shouted. She just had Dusk left, just Dusk! Then Twilight would finally be back and save everypony! Dawn was hugging herself, scared. "Eternal Celestia, whose love shines like your sun," the filly prayed. (Notes: I Half-Light Dusk, continued to write down events as they happened, even to the end). Starlight slowly looked at Rainbow Dash, then Amicitia's foals, then Peewee, then at Applejack, and the others. She slowly stood up. "I've had enough. I won't let them stop your friends from knocking sense into you." Rainbow didn't even look at her. "They don't exist, what power does death have over them?" "You're right." If Dash wasn't in over her head in fundamental attribute error, she might have noticed the resolve in Starlight's voice. Starlight touched the base of her throat. She cringed in pain. Her wings shined, then slide off her back, leaving no mark, but Starlight struggling against crying out. Starlight's scythe turned into a dull edged little short sword devoid of luster. She said boldly, "I, am Professor Starlight Angel. Born year of Megan, August 2, 1979. Died year of Megan, April 4, 2015. Of First Ponyville, Ponyland. NOT Mayor Starlight Glimmer of Our Town, Equestria! I am of the Age of Wonders!" She leapt into the herd, kicking, punching, biting, and stabbing with her sword, being careful not to break the chain collars around their necks as she fought. "She just! She did! WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash was flabbergasted. "GO! GO! GO!" Noon shouted. Starlight had several seconds of wreaking havoc as they faded back into oblivion, the horde having been so focused on wailing on Alicorn Applejack that they hadn't given the blond pony a second glance. But as she began to cut a trail towards the heroes, the Shadowbolts turned upon her, falling upon her like vultures on carrion. Pinning her to the ground, only Rainbow Dash's order for them not to kill any of the meddlers bought her time. "The Starlight I met had a lot more experience than you, and she had her friends with her. What chance did you have all alone?" Dash couldn't resist saying. Starlight pushed back at the spectral weight of the horde, earth pony strength against countless battle hardened pegasi. Dash looked with satisfaction that the Shadowbolts would keep them busy in time for her to finally finish the ritual. Half the runes surrounding Dusk were now lighted. Once the last shined, the ritual would be done, 'And Twilight will come back, and she'll live happily ever after,' so thought Rainbow Dash. Sonic Rainboom powered fists and strikes shattered Veritas' mirrors, the masks they wore filtered their eyes from looking into the truth of her, and the Shadowbolts would not give Razzaroo the three seconds she needed to cast her magic either mentally or verbally, and the Shadowbolts were no giant Spike, Twinkle Wish had to dodge constantly, and they wouldn't let her get close to the treehouse. "Starlight, didn't we take vows to never be apart? What made you think I'd ever abandon you?" Starlight heard a stallion's voice. Her sword, Slipknot, shined golden. "I am NEVER alone!" Her sword shifted into a large gold scythe, that seemed material only along its edge as she bisected and thus banished countless Shadowbolts back to Oblivion in one swing. She blasted them all aside in a bright explosion of force. The power of the scythe was only half the impact, the other half came from Starlight's own Earth Pony might. No surprise, husband and wife worked best united. "You'd intimidate me, if you weren't just dressed-up empty shells!" The Shadowbolts flew at her like leaves might into a wood chipper for the good they did, Starlight raced to the heroes, the Shadowbolts turned to face her, giving the heroes the precious few seconds they needed to turn the tide and plowed through the army. "I've had to stare down some of the most vile beings in history and drag them to Hell. You don't scare me." "You thinking you're more awesome than us! Just stop being adorable!" One snarled, as the army together sent inverted rainbow colored lightning at Starlight from all directions that Slipknot caught in all directions, and she sent back to sender. "AND THAT'S WHY YOU LOSE!" Starlight snarled. Several zipped around her in irregular patterns and then dove at her constantly changing angles, but before they could all hit at once, Starlight was caught in red glow of magic and tossed in the air, the Shadowbolts crashed into each other. Another zipped to her only for Starlight to kick her right in the gut, adding extra force from the Shadowbolt's own momentum. Applejack brought her back down before she got blind sided from a dozen different directions at once. "H-How?! You just bloody shed your reaper powers! How the Tartarus are you doing this?!" Rainbow rambled. "My best intentions destroyed two worlds! If that couldn't break me, what made you think anything you can throw at me can?!" Razzaroo shuddered at those words. Starlight had visited her after becoming an Angel of Death, Razzaroo a pony who wasn't dead but still existed and yet didn't have a place in the world. She was the last unaltered pony from Starlight's creation. Razzaroo had always been conflicted about her feelings about Starlight. On the one hoof, she and her friends were the only reason Razzaroo and her friends had ever exist, but because of their mistakes Razzaroo had ultimately LOST all those friends and that world they'd given her. Ironically, she didn't think that hard about the confusion and shock Meadowlark felt before becoming her, even if she didn't know if Meadowlark would have been happier knowing that a true paradise WAS waiting for her and her family, after all, Razzaroo had a vested interest in Starlight and her friends remaking the world to begin with. It was a tale for another day, when she and Starlight had met, Starlight had apologized for failing her and Razzaroo's friends, wanting to help her somehow. Not there was really any way left TO help. Razzaroo saw her, a ghost, but vulnerable here in the world of mirrors, if she was struck down, would Starlight just pop back to the afterlife, or would her light be recycled and her shadow fade into Oblivion? Starlight had her back turned to Razzaroo. Applejack and Twinkle Wish were busy fighting the horde too. Razzaroo had a brief pause in the action, this chance would never come again. This mare who was why colts didn't exist in Razzaroo's world, why so many of her friends were declare too shallow to live in the new world... all she needed to do was aim and shoot. "Memory: Shooting stars!" A pink, a yellow, a blue, and a purple shooting star, one for each color of the rainbows of Razzaroo's world, shoot from her book at the back of Starlight. And each one hit of the Shadowbolts converging on her. Razzaroo was struck in the back by a Shadowbolt who got a flying kick by Starlight who helped her up. "Thanks Razzaroo." "...It was the right thing to do." Three-fourths of the runes around Dusk were glowing. Dash danced and chanted. "Running short on time here!" Noon said, all the time she'd spent with her sisters flashing before her eyes. Veritas tried to power on through, but was ground to a halt by Shadowbolts in hit and run moves like a shower of sadistic pinballs. "PROTECT APPLEJACK!" Twinkle Wish said, creating a star shaped shield made from starlight. She zipped around the Alicorn, blocking off each hit by the horde as they came in. A Shadowbolt shouted. "Every-Direction Sonic Dark Boom!" "That's 'OMI-directional'!" Professor Starlight shouted. The hit of that many Sonic Rainbooms at once would have smashed Applejack to pieces. "Memory! Princess Rarity, Wand Teleport!" Razzaroo grabbed hold of Applejack while she used her journal, the twirling wand appearing. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Warded against teleporting remember?" They vanished JUST as the attacking Shadowbolts would have hit, and once again, struck each other, blasting themselves back to Oblivion. This happened in a space of a moment as the heroes appeared right where they started. "... Ya based this anti-teleport ward on King Sombra's didn't ya? It doesn't STOP teleportin', it just makes it so ya end up back where ya started." Rainbow wanted to tear her mane out. Applejack conjured a lasso with a thought, and roped one of the Shadowbolts, she used her as a chain mace, clearing a path for them. "You backstabbing nag! I can't believe I'm losing to you AGAIN!" The tied up Shadowbolt snarled. Applejack let go with a gasp, sending the Shadowbolt flying into one of the chain walls. Apple Mirror's memories screamed to the surface. "D-Dash? Ah-Ah sorry! I'm SORRY! Ah TRIED to save ya! Even as Nightmare Mirror Ah never wanted to hurt no pony! Ah didn't know what Nightmare Eclipse REALLY wanted! Ah... fought... Ah... Ah tried to stop her..." "FAT LOAD OF GOOD THAT DID! Look at me now! Empty! Hallow! Not even remembered! While SHE gets my heart instead!" Snarled the Shadowbolt pointing at Princess Rainbow Dash. Applejack began to trot BACK as the Shadowbolt punched and kicked at Applejack's head, then brought out daggers and bolas made out of rainbow colored lightning tossing them at the mare's neck. "Come on! Come on! Say sorry again! You want to show you're sorry?! GIVE ME YOUR LIGHT OF EXISTENCE! Give it to me! You don't deserve it! Give it!" Twinkle Wish blasted the Shadowbolt square in the head, it fell over, twitching. Razzaroo said, "Trust me, Applejack, that ISN'T your Rainbow Dash, not even close. I-" Razzaroo hugged herself and shuddered. "I've found out the hard way: Shadow of Existence are just that, not ghosts, shadows." Feeling Apple Mirror's tears come down her face, Applejack nodded. The flock took the cue of the other Shadowbolt and began creating more lightning constructs, spears, tridents, bolas, chakrams, Starlight began deflecting the constructs with Slipknot keeping the path open. Dash danced and chanted frantically, four-fifths of the runes around Dusk glowed! Twinkle Wish continued to shield Applejack, and pot shot Shadowbolts, but then got another idea focused her shield directly in front of Applejack. The other got the same idea at the same time. Starlight’s gold scythe cut through the flock twirling in front of her, opening a path to the end. "Memory: Rainbow Princess' Crystal Carriage!" The memory appeared underneath Applejack and flew fast enough that it left an afterimage. It could outrace a shooting star already halfway across the sky after all. "Veritas! GO!!!" The white carriage pulled by birds smashed into the reflection of the house tree, Applejack leapt up. Manacle fired chain after chain at the Alicorn but AJ saw them all coming dodged them all, the two stood face to face. They reared up. "WAIT!!!" The Royal Canterlot Voice echoed... the heroes, Halflights, Peewee, Shadowbolts, all turned to the source, only Shining Armor remained in dream land thanks to Fluttershy's strongest magic. Half-Light Dawn fidgeted with all eyes on her. "I... I wanna do something first! I promise it's not a trick or anything! I just... I just realized I gotta do it. I'm not stalling! I Pinkie Promise!" The runes stopped progressing. Nopony dared make a move. "... Alright...Dawn." "Rainbow, I think that's the first time you used my name." Dawn smiled. Rainbow Dash couldn't respond. "Peewee!" Dawn called out, the little phoenix chick fluttered down landed on her extended hoof. She nuzzled his beak, the firebird chirped. "Peewee... I love you, I really do but-" Tears formed in her eyes. "We STOLE YOU from your mom and dad's nest!" The chick gasped in confusion and shock. "I know you've heard us talking with Miss Starlight before, but...but that's the REAL truth... Miss Starlight is right... We didn't try to help your brothers and sisters be safe from the dragons. We could have given you back to your mom and dad, but we didn't. We're kidnappers..." She sniffed. "Our help made it so Spike knew about himself, so he never went on a quest, so he never saved you from other mean dragons...you're supposed to be dead Peewee... and it's OUR FAULT for not helping like we've helped ALL our other times!...We could've helped somepony else to save you, but instead we stole you... I... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!!" The bird was crying too. "I... I DON'T want to see you get gobbled up by the Wolf... but I didn't want you to go with Miss Starlight neither... I thought... I thought I could keep you safe forever... but... But..." She looked at Rainbow Dash. "There is such a thing after all... as... as... helping a friend too much." Starlight said, "Dawn... if there's a way to fix things... I'd have gladly taken it." "Peewee... I'm through trying to cheat. This world has enough cheaters already!" Dawn looked at the claw marks on her back. Rainbow Dash stumbled over her own words. "But! But you need Peewee to teach Spike how to care for some-creature smaller than him! And the pain of...of letting go..." "Spike adopted a lost child and returned him to his rightful parents in the original worldline...what we did was kidnap...Spike will lack that lesson, until the Raise-Your-Own-Sea-Creatures incident...hopefully that'll teach him that lesson in Peewee's stead." Noon sighed in resignation. "I hate to say it. But we can't keep Peewee on glorified life support forever. And when I'm the voice of reason between the three of us, you know I mean it." Dusk said, "Peewee... I know you're too young to understand nearly any of this... when you've matured enough to make your own choice, I hope you can make it. But for now... I think it's best if you stay with Miss Starlight until that time." Starlight startled. "Dawn, Noon, Dusk... I..." She and firebird locked eyes. "He can't be with his real family because of our mistakes, he's not old enough to decide for himself, and we can't take him with us... can you be his family for now?" Dusk asked. "...I'll do my best." Dusk said. "While I wanted Spike to get the lessons he NEEDED to learn... I didn't recognize that I and my siblings had all made the same mistake. Peewee has been dead in the eyes of the reapers since that night...Baby Phoenixes can't reincarnate yet, especially if it's in their eggs, even that excuse wouldn't be satisfactory. I didn't want to accept that. We were never meant to be a deus ex machina. We're meant to HELP things along... and we FORGOT THAT! And Peewee had to paid the price instead." Nightmare Manacle looked in absolute dismay and confusion, "How can you just GIVE UP on him like that?!" "... because our 'help', wasn't help," Noon confessed. "We COULD have helped 'em a million different ways, but we chose the selfish one... that put his SOUL in danger instead of just his life." "...Let's face it, he's an innocent little kid...he'd have gone straight to Heaven..." "You... you SAVED HIM... how can that be a bad thing?! It's not like you're doing this just for yourself!" Then Applejack struck. "And are ya gonna slice and dice the Twilight-she-is-then into a million pieces as soon as you bring her back? To bring back your Twilight, Mirror's Twilight, Spike's Twilight, Fluttershy's Twilight, and Pinkie Pie's Twilight? And all the rest? You SAID before how angry you were about all those Twilights got joined to Nightmare Eclipse, you certainly thought about THAT right?" The rainbow Alicorn's eyes widened... her mouth silently opened. Applejack waited for an answer, but one never came. "...Ya know that yer gonna get punished for this, ya thought about how this AFFECTS YOU Dash. Ya thought how this effects yer family?" "...My family is erased." "Don't even TRY to sell that horseapples... Is this the kinda pony ya want Scootaloo to look up to?! We BOTH know that's one bit of yer family yah still got!" Rainbow Dash looked struck by lightning. "Ya want Scootaloo to be workin' for Nightmare Eclipse?!" "I'M NOTHING LIKE HER!" "You don't see the Half-Lights or Shining Armor as people! Just PIECES to put Twili' back together!" "She's not just raw material to make them!" "No, she's a mother to gave up her life to bring 'em into the world! Ya say yer doin' this for Twili', is this what she'd want?" "Being loyal isn't about what somepony else wants, it's about what they need, I should have realized that with Nightmare Eclipse." "So she needs to have her brother and daughters sacrificed in some nutty ritual to bring back her existence? Yah sure that's what she needs?" "Then what are you waiting for?! Take me on!" "Because... because even if Ah DID just bust up yer ritual, Ah know ya WILL try again first chance ya get!" Starlight took a step forward, Slipknot in hoof, Razzaroo gently put a hoof in front of her. Razzaroo admitted. "They're going back, they... the Half-lights, the Nightmares, they're going back to their worldline when this is all done, win, lose, or draw... we couldn't STOP her again. And if Rainbow is that set on this...you think any prison will hold her forever?" Applejack held a hoof to her heart. "Apple Mirror gave me everything she was to save me, Apple Bloom, our family, everything. Are ya gonna kill me next?" Rainbow Dash shuddered in horror. "If she was here... she'd understand! She understood! Pinkie Pie, Spike, Fluttershy, they've all understood!" "The truth is, Rainbow...Mirror...If she were still here would want to be here to make sure yah can't lie to yourself and that this choice is YOURS choice to make...not because of any cockamamie lie or made up reason. The fact of the matter is if yah REALLY were doin' this to save the world and nothin' else, yah'd have DONE IT ALREADY...Yah know why yer REALLY doin' this, and so do Ah...So tell meh, to my face, is turnin' those four back into Twilight is worth what yer hopin' to get out of it? Ah won't tell ya if it's right or wrong, cause yah know yerself which it is. Ah just want to know: is it worth it?" "I... " "IS it worth doin' ALL OF THIS... just so ya can say goodbye to YER Twili'? Her savin' the world...is that really why yer doin' this? Is that why yer really followin' through with it? Is it?...Ah apologize, Dash... Apple Mirror, she'd been stuck as the cruel truth for so long... so horribly long... Ah think she'd forgotten how to say the truth kindly sometimes... Ah... Ah won't judge ya... Ah aren't got that right... but please... answer me that one question. Not just what it'll do to ya, but for everypony else ya love. Ah'm not askin' what'll happen to 'em 'cause of this, but if ye'll still be the pony THEY love, will ya? The one that worked so hard to crawl outta the muck and they loved ya for it? Answer me please, with the honest truth," Applejack said plainly. > Rebirth of an Alicorn Part 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fallen Rainbow Dash, Nightmare Manacle, Princess Loyalty, or whatever the heck ya wanna call me... I know all about kicking flank... but after all this time I still haven’t quite figured out what I've been fighting for. My friends? The Scootaloos? Ponyville's refugees? Twilight's TRUE golden world? Loyalty is complicated. You can't expect easy answers. And Fauna Luster didn't have time tah teach me what it means to BE Loyalty instead of just loyal. Maybe what I've been asking myself is, 'Who am I supposed to be loyal to?' My ex-Nightmare friends? My Twilight? This world and its ponies? ... If I leave Shining Armor and the Half-Lights as they are, am I betraying my Twilight? If I put them back together, am I betraying my Twilight's wishes AND them? "Rainbow Dash... " I looked at Razzaroo. "Now that... uh... you've calmed down... and... you want to listen... I... I think I have something for you." She took out an old cowboy hat. I gasped and snatched it with my magic and pulled it towards me. And.... AJ's voice echoed through my head... her thoughts... I felt... I felt as she felt her soul being shattered... but... she wasn't afraid. 'Dash... Ah don't know ya'll ever hear these thoughts of mine or not. Ah'm about to do somethin' crazy to save Applejack, Apple Bloom, the whole kit ‘n’ caboodle. Here's hopin' it works. Dash, stop this nonsense here and now. All this is gonna do is make a lotta ponies unhappy, including you! Ah'm sorry Ah didn't tell ya sooner... yer my FRIEND, RD! And Ah didn't want to lose that friendship by tellin' ya this truth! Discord knock to his senses and our friendship are the only good things that came out of Nightmare Dusk's mess. Point is... just stop. Ah know ya think this'll help ya move on... it won't, NOT like this! Ya can't FORCE these things, Dash! Sorry Ah have ta go. But it's to save the world. At least this world's Applejack helped me along to call myself an Apple again before the end, so ya owe her! Ah'll always love ya as my friend, and Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Spike! Be the pony, the goddess, the Alicorn Twili' wanted you to be. Ah believe in ya doin' the right thing RD if ya just see clearly. That's my final truth. See ya 'round, Rainbow.' That was it. The Shadowbolt looked as stunned and bewildered at me... so many Rainbow Dashes BEFORE I ever came along... and I carried their heart...so many that got erased AFTER me... and the Rainbow carrying their heart was helped beat us and saved the world. So many what-ifs, so many things I'd change, so many things I could change, so many things I couldn't change... And I could change ONE OF THEM right here and now... I could finally FIX one of those unfairnesses ... I... just needed to betray... not what made 'Rainbow Dash', Rainbow Dash... betray what made Rainbow Dash a pony WORTH being a pony... what made a real friend. + "...I can't do it." Princess Fidelitas admitted in her heart of hearts and the world. "It's not worth it, Applejack, that's my answer...No regrets. That was then. This is now." And it was like a hundred thousand weights fell away from her at once. Rainbow Dash exploded twice. The first explosion wiped away the shadows of existence, the runes, the shackles, and the chain barrier. Whether the shadows were washed away or washed into her no pony could tell. Then Applejack saw them. A pink mare with blue hair with a two light bolt cutie mark. The FIRST General Firefly. A unicorn mare with a rainbow mane, wearing a small set of glasses and a white coat. A beautiful earth pony with an absolutely dashing mane and darling grace. And... a familiar tomboy pegasus. They hugged each other. And the second explosion happened. Her twisted, broken 'snake eating its own tail' Element of Loyalty shattered, then was reabsorbed into her entire body. When the smoke cleared... they didn't see Rainbow Dash... they saw a white 'statue' of an Alicorn, that Applejack realized looked like it was made up of white hands. She also saw a small herd of foals in mourning dress, politely bowing and backing away. The 'statue's' 'skin' shattered. Her long rainbow mane shined and shimmered like it was a literal rainbow rather than just hair, moving in an unseen wind. Her coat gleamed like the blue sky. The centers of her eyes were color of prefect ruby-rose. Her figure and stature were those of a true Alicorn Princess. Her wings shined with a silver lining. Her barding was golden, and her horseshoes shaped like Roam-Mare wrappings even if they were solid metal and had a lightning bolt pattern to them. Her peytral vaguely resembled a Roam-Mare's barding, a prism jewel at its center, with a circle on of tinier stones on either side. Her wings were edged with gold armor. Her golden crown, had no less than seven jewels set into it, each a different color, shaped like a bolt, and with a winglet on each side. All in all it was much more elaborate than the average princess. Her cutie mark was a single lightning bolt with no clouds, but it was composed of the seven different parts of the rainbow. "All Concepts carry two conflicting sides to them," she spoke in understanding. "That balance is what separates us from the Nightmares. I'm both the idea of loyalty, and the idea of breaking cycles: Tarot Of The Ace Of Swords." Princess Fidelitas Moksha Equestria. "And so you pass." + "You did it, my little light in the dark." Maud Pie gave the ghost of a smile. "Maud, why'd you say that?" Pinkie Pie asked. "... I don't know." + "Razzaroo?" Princess Fidelitas looked around. None of the ponies, firebird, nor wishing star spoke, it was like they were only witnesses now to a grand event. Out of Princess Fidelitas' shadow came another Razzaroo... Except this Razzaroo had a star behind her present cutie mark. The first Razzaroo gasped, staring in shock. "You've passed your Trial. You are no Devil, no Fallen Alicorn, and no Demi-Fiend either, you are a Concept." The other Razzaroo tossed aside the executioner's scythe only now Princess Fidelitas realized she'd been holding. "Yes... I understand!" Princess Fidelitas said in awe of herself. "Even if I can't forget the lives I ended. I should never forget the lives I've saved." "You truly are a goddess of breaking cycles. Your finally broke your own cycle with Nightmare Eclipse." Princess Fidelitas looked to everycreature present, then quickly hugged the Half-Lights, Pewee, and Applejack, the flew down and hugged the bewildered Starlight and the native Razzaroo. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You guys are the reason I could pass my Trial! Oh! Oh! I guess I outta explain! Wait! Should I wait until my friends get here?" "Wait until what?" asked a perky pink voice. The ponies looked up to see Spike flying down, down to his more manageable adult dragon size rather than his Ryujin mountain-size, carrying Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in his claws. Only now the ponies looked to see 'Mt. Spike' was no longer there. Another verbal bedlam followed as the ex-Nightmare tried to take in every sight. Namely; -Starlight was missing her wings and now had a glowing gold scythe. -There were two Razzaroos with the one next to Rainbow having a star on her cutie mark. -The spell runes were gone. -The Half Light were free and up and about. -And Rainbow Dash had transformed, looking more like a princess. "Dashie! Did the cute Mommy Celestia rumor get you?" "Oh! Oh my! Starlight your wings." "Isn't there a rule about two versions of the same goddess meeting or something?" "R-Rainbow, what happened to the runes, where's Twilight?" It took five or ten minutes to explain everything up to what had happened before the ex-Nightmares arrived not even getting to what Princess Fidelitas ACTUALLY wanted to explain to her friends. Then Princess Fidelitas dropped the bomb shell on her friends. "... Well..." Pinkie Pie said calmly. Then practically melted in place. Scratch that, she LITERALLY melted (this was Alicorn Pinkie Pie). "THAT'S a relief! Thank goodness that's over! I'm never being so careless with Pinkie Pie Promises ever again, Cross My Heart Hope to Fly Stick a cupcake in my eye. AND YIPPIE, DASHIE! YER A GODDESS! I HAVE SO GOT TO MAKE A GIGA-SUPREME-DIVINE PARTY FOR THIS!!! And we didn't need to erase anypony again! Yippie! We are better! We're free!" "We dodged a bullet on that one. Applejack, Razzaroo, Starlight-" Spike the dragon bowed his giant head at them. "-thank you! I'm happy SOMEPONY got Rainbow Dash to listen to reason!" "It's the only thing Ah COULD do. Somepony had to make sure she was bein' true tah herself after all," Applejack said proudly, smiling at the giant dragon. "Nice to meetcha for the first time, Spike." "A pleasure to meet you." "Nice to meet you too, Jackie!" Pinkie Pie hopped. Some soft sobs stopped the chatting. They saw... Fluttershy was crying. "I... I don't understand... we didn't get Twilight back but..." The alicorn shook her head in confusion. "I feel happy somehow." Applejack flew up and placed a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Because ya didn't want Rainbow to do somethin' this awful. Ya wanted Twilight back, but you were hopin' it wouldn't actually happen... because yer way too kind to see this happen to the sisters or Shinin' Armor." "We're sure taking this whole, 'we almost got deader than dead' thing pretty calmly," Noon observed looking at her sisters. "Everything worked out, that's a reason to be happy," Dusk said. "If you can call it that." "I choose to," Dusk said. "I'm just happy that Brother Shining Armor wasn't made to go away forever," Dawn said, nuzzling the still sleeping unicorn. "Somepony outta take him back to Cadence before she wakes up," Noon said. "ON IT!" Pinkie Pie said. At Pinkie Pie speed she took the unicorn, zipped to the Rainbow Falls bubble, put him back in bed, ate the fake letter on the desk (it tasted like blueberries), and brought back the life-sized Shining Armor plushie. "For you Dashie!" "Uh... I think I'm over that, thanks." "Okay!" Pinkie Pie hugged the life size plush toy instead. "All's well that ends well!" Pinkie then promptly hugged Star Razzaroo. HER Razzaroo. "Hi, Razzaroo!" "Hi, Pinkie!" Star Razzaroo replied. "I'm so happy you came!" "I couldn't help if I just waited my turn." Razzaroo hugged her back. "...I'm so glad we're still meeting as, as friends." Star Razzaroo returned the hug. "So am I, Pinkie Pie....Yes, yes, yes!" Fluttershy told Starlight. "I'm sorry you had to lose your wings... does this mean they're gone forever?" Starlight thought. "I don't know... I think Death would let me back in if I asked. I know Slipknot will go on for as long as I want. But I... I feel like I'm free... like I've paid my share... I never actually kept track of many souls I've helped ... but I just feel like the weight’s been lifted off me now." Peewee fluttered down to Starlight, looking up at her, then at the Half-Lights, then back at Starlight. "And it looks like Slipknot and I have someone new to take care of," she managed to smile. The star-marked Razzaroo asked her double. "Nothing to say? Nothing to ask? I have so much I could tell you. So much I could share with you." "I know." Razzaroo nodded. "But... it doesn't feel so important anymore... I have to find those answers on my own if they're going to count." "Wise answer." "Well, -I- have a question," Twinkle Wish said. "Is it my fate to get stuck to Razzaroo's flank? We're close, but I don't want to be THAT close forever!" "... Every concept needs their angel." "Oh, okay then, that works for me! So are you a goddess yet?" "It's against the rules for two versions of the same goddess to meet because it can damage reality. Thankfully I can cheat since this is the reflections world, not the mortal world." "Come on Dashie! Get with the exposition, I mean big reveal! What's the big thing you wanted to explain?" Pinkie Pie hopped, fluttering her wings, her horn giving off fireworks. Princess Fidelitas took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "Turns out my Trial never stopped. My entire Trial was what we did here. I passed by choosing NOT to blend Shining Armor and the Half-Lights together." "That's the Trial Fauna Luster picked for you?" Fluttershy asked. "No," said Princess Fidelitas. "I chose it for myself. The moment I entered Fauna Luster, this was the test I made for myself, even if I wasn't consciously aware of it." "And I was on standby to make sure she didn't hurt anyone in case she fail. No offense, Fidelitas," Said star-Razzaroo. "Were you really hanging out in my shadow the whole time?" "I had to. I can't predict the future, I couldn't be sure when you'd make the choice. Whether I liked it or not." "... Thank you. I almost destroyed Twilight's family... Seriously, thank you." "Do you have any regrets?" "I don't feel any." The Concept stood proudly. "How does it feel to be free of your regrets?" "... I was afraid I was going to be empty without them, that I'd have no heart, but instead I feel more whole WITH them gone. And I'm glad I can still feel GUILT...which feels weird, but not bad at all. Funny how things work out, isn't it?" "Do you understand WHY you had to let go of your regrets, and your grudges to become a concept?" "... If we felt regret, we'd screw up the universe trying to 'undo all our mistakes.' I had to face this choice to be free. And as for grudges... I've seen already that grudges don't just hurt those you hate. And it just makes it harder for those who are genuinely trying to make amends." Razzaroo looked at Starlight. "Do you understand WHAT you are now? At last?" "My concept, my domain, my IDEA isn't just breaking cycles. It's also loyalty. The concepts all have yin-yang traits. That's what it means to be free. ... I am not an entity, not anymore, I'm a force, a law, I am a concept." =Zoids Chaotic Century 'Final Ending Credits' (Japanese)= "Little ponies, I present to you, Concept of loyal and breaking cycles. Tarot Of The Ace Of Swords. Princess Fidelitas Moksha Equestria!" The assembled ponies, star, and bird applauded and stamped their hooves. "By the way, girls," Princess Fidelitas said. "Fauna Luster already pardoned us for all the pain given to her. The pain given to her children is another barrel of fish, but in light of our selfless and tireless work here to protect the good and oppose evil, our punishment is we aren't allowed to leave our own universe or plane of existence until we finished building it." "Well... that's a lot nicer than I thought we'd get! I figured banished into oblivion at most!" Pinkie Pie joked. "She really is the goddess of ponies," Spike said. "I hope I'm still allowed to take care of Flutternice." "You are, don't worry." Star Razzaroo smiled. "She's waiting for you too, Fluttershy. Yes yes yes!" "Oh, thank Celestia." Fluttershy looked up to the trio of Interviewers. "I'm sorry...The only reason any of this happened was me...I'm sorry I wanted to turn you back into Twilight too...I was just so..." The trio flew, leapt, and teleported right to the mare and hugged her. "We forgave you before we were even born," Dawn replied happily. Fluttershy cried again, this time laughing and eagerly hugged back. "I want to apologize too." Princess Fidelitas flew down and bowed her head. "Twilight was a friend I loved dearly. But there's selfless love, and there's selfish love, and Rainbow Dash was experiencing way too much for the latter, and it almost destroy you, AND Shining Armor. I'd have done something that can't be forgiven. I have no regrets, but I apologize." Noon gave Fidelitas a swat on the cheek with her wings. Then Noon grinned. "Apology accepted." Fidelitas grinned back. "Thanks!" They high hoofed. Applejack flew up so she was eye level with Banneret. "So...yah saved Rarity?" The massive drake nodded. "Yeah...kicked Abandon into the dirt...just seeing him violate Rarity like he did...how he wanted to..." "Ah know how yah feel. It's why Ah literally kicked Nythy's sorry flank out of the universe!" Truth replied. "...Thank you." "You're welcome...sorry for the whole...this." "All's forgiven." The mare smiled. "Thank you Applejack. How I acted, makes me feel like-" The dragon shrank down, to pint size, his wings vanishing and his neck shortening. "-I'm still the assistant doing whatever he's told," the baby dragon said in his young voice. The farm Alicorn narrowed her eyes. "No sad face right now, ya hear?" Applejack spread her wings letting Spike look into them. "What do yah see?" Little Spike stared at himself. "...A Ryujin... who chose to swallow his pride to do the right thing." Veritas hugged him, forelegs and wings. "There yah go, that's the truth." Spike grew back to his adult size and hugged Applejack with a pinky claw. "...Starlight?" The former reaper turned to see Razzaroo trot up. "Yes, Razzaroo?" "...Thanks for being my friend...my pony friend, even Twinkle Wish has other friends who are stars. No offense Twinkle Wish." "None taken. You should meet Polaris some time, he knew Magic Star. He's been wanting to meet the ghost-pony I'm friends of a friend with." Starlight smiled. "Maybe it's about time I did." The three hugged. "...Razzaroo, you're the only pony from our creation I've ever gotten to know personally in the flesh outside of that trial... we wanted to give you everything but instead you lost everyone. My friends had moved on, being your friend was the only I could give you from myself and them. I'm only happy it could make your life a little bit better." "And what is it that YOU want Starlight Angel?" Twinkle Wish suddenly asked. Starlight was silent for a minute and looked off into the distance. "...That somepony would finally show that mare who took my name...that she doesn't have to be so afraid to let anypony in and she doesn't have to do what she's doing...She reminds me of me and colts: until I died, I was so hurt I refused to let any of them in...so afraid of getting hurt... I wanted to 'fix' the world... so I wish... that somepony show her the light before it's too late." Razzaroo opened a book and wrote down a note. "I'll get on that...might take awhile, yes yes yes." Starlight hugged her. "That's enough for me, ponies don't change overnight." "Girls. And Spike," Princess Fidelitas said, loud and clear as she landed on top of the tree. "I just want to say, I'm sorry I roped you all into this. I was only thinking about Twilight. " "RD, we did all this with ya of our own free will. Yer sorry, ya stop before ya did anythin' that can't be undone, and yer gonna take your medicine like a mare, that's enough," Princess Veritas said. "Think Scoots wants you to beat yourself up?" Princess Fidelitas wiped a tear from her eye. "Thanks, AJ." The others all cheered as the two hugged. Granfalloon gave Dawn a few Pinkie Pie exclusive horsey rides. Twinkle Wish decided to entertain the firebird chick with stories of other stars she knew (especially some in the Phoenix constellation). And Princess Fidelitas turned to the three mares she’d tried to kill. "Dawn, Noon, Dusk... please, tell me about Princess Amicitia." - "Applejack?" Applejack turned to see Starlight. "Howdy. Good tah fight alongside yah." "Same here...By the way...I've got a message for you...one I didn't think I'd be able to give you unless you had a near death experience." Applejack blinked. "Yeah?" "They're proud of you." "Pardon?" "Your parents...and so are Sweetheart and Applejack the First," the former Reaper gave a smile. "They told me if I ever got the chance to talk to you before them...to tell you they're proud of you. Apple Bloom and Big Mac too...they love you all, Applejack." Applejack was silent for a few moments. "...Thank yah...So...what's Heaven like?" "...I haven't integrated, only see and touch ... you have to see it for yourself to really know," Starlight replied, giving a smile. "But it doesn't look a thing like the StableMark cards. If I had to put it to words...imagine the best place you can with everything important to you whether you know it or not...then multiply it by infinity. I think cause we're good-hearted is WHY it's paradise for us. Your parents made it. And Applejack, about what you learned about Sweetheart from Crawling Chaos-" "She's still a saint to me. She spent her whole life helpin' sick ponies and died helpin' 'em. That's what makes 'er a saint in my book." Starlight hugged her. "She'll be happy to hear that!" While everypony knew what was going to come next, no pony was really in a hurry. Now that disaster was adverted, Applejack wanted to get back to Apple Bloom... she knew what everypony would still see her as good old AJ... but now that the adrenaline rush had worn off and the power high from her ascension long behind her, thinking about going back into the fog was choking... it wasn't like Nightmare Whisper's fog... not in the least. And as fate would have it, then again, even Fate herself may not have had a hoof in what happened. Fluttershy nuzzled each of the Half-Lights, and they nuzzled her in return. At the same time, The Princess, and Applejack gave each other a bro-hoof and a hug, the latter panting a bit. Fluttershy looked into the Half-Light's eyes, Twilight as a filly, a mare, and an old pony... not anymore, they were their own ponies. And The Princess looked into Applejack’s eyes. And sighed "It's a little bit creepy ya know, don't take it the wrong way. I know you have her memories, her magic, her point of view... but I know you're not my Applejack." "Reminds ya too much of Twilight and Nightmare Dusk?" The Princess nodded. "Sorry, AJ... we just met and you've already been a true true friend." "But no two friends can ever be exactly alike... and they shouldn't be, at that," Applejack said placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Ah just wish she could be here too." And Fluttershy said at the same time. "I...I still wish there was a way you and Twilight could somehow both exist without one of you having to stop...I'm...I'm not going to TRY, I just...wish, you know?" Twinkle Wish glowed. The native Razzaroo gasped. The image of Zipzee and the Earth Pony Rainbow Dash for a moment overlapped with those of their current selves... Twinkle Wish shot a light into the reflected sky that released a fireworks-like blast that rained down little stars. "Wish . . . Granted," Twinkle Wish stated. Then the stars all shot into the native Razzaoo, who lifted off the ground, her eyes glowing white... then a ghostly image of a horn and wings appeared on her. Her mane and tail began to sway like they were blowing on an unfelt wind, but a ghostly image of a much longer, glimmering mane and tail overlapping her own. "Concepts live outside of time... we do not kneel to past, present, or future... time is an ocean, and we trot upon its waves..." Her voice echoed. "Wishes and miracles are timeless... and so am I... I remember the wishes I granted... before the first wishes I granted... that I granted after the first wishes I granted...Yes, yes, yes!" The glowing Razzaroo set down on all fours, the ghostly wings and horn shining bright. "I am, Princess Jiniri Miraculum Ponyland. Tarot Nine of Cups. Alicorn of Miracles and Wishes. I remember when I was touched by who I am now. Nice to see you all again." "WAIT! You really CAN bring Twilight back?!" Fluttershy gasped, daring to hope. "Not how you're thinking, no ... But I can give something else you REALLY wished for... both of you." She looked at Fluttershy and Applejack. "Your redemption." If Rainbow Dash's ascension to Alicornhood had left everypony speechless and still, this struck all the world silent. Starlight was her knees and bowing, as a loyal Reaper would even if she'd shed her powers, eons of training and discipline didn't vanish. Twinkle Wish did the same, but remaining by her side. She WAS her angel after all. Peewee acted like a statue. Spike and Pinkie were just witnessed. Star Razzaroo... merely bowed and took several steps back, keeping her eyes to the ground, making sure NOT to make eye contact or to touch the native Razzaroo physically or magically. "Wishes are belief given form, miracles are faith at work." "Wait a second... I know what this is!" Princess Fidelitas gasped. "Then you understand WHY this couldn't be done before?" Razzaroo asked, in a wiser and more experienced tone. "... I wouldn't have ACCEPTED it before if you'd hoofed it to me on a silver platter. I had to let go to have." Princess Fidelitas bowed her head. "I was selfish and I admit that." "Uh... won't you get in trouble for granting wishes for ponies from other universes?" Fluttershy asked. "Union rules or something?" "Applejack is a native of this world. And so is Shining Armor... so his sisters and the soul she became one with are intertwined with this world's fate... it's a loop hole combined with the liquid state of the world... But first... could somepony fetch Shining Armor?" "Oh right!" Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes in annoyance, did her low key reality twisting, replaced the plushie for Shining Armor again, thankfully Cadence wasn't awake yet... and brought back the still sleeping stallion. Good thing she was an Alicorn or doing all this might make her tired... maybe, she's Pinkie Pie, though she hadn't had her recommended daily dosage of sugar yet. = Sweet Sweet Sweet - Sonic Hedgehog 2 = Noon asked. "Okay, somepony fill US in, what's the cosmic mumbo jumbo that's 'kinda sorta' going to bring back mom?" The Half-Light looked at each other bewildered and unsure. "Your universe must have a concept of magic, that's simply a fact of reality... you were born from her, and so was Shining Armor... " She looked at Star Razzaroo, also making sure not to make eye contact. "In a world where Spike was... ahem.... made to fill in for Rarity for a time when they lost her... a wish was able to give part of his essence to birth a Rarity with the love he'd forged with Rarity's kith and kin so both could continue on... something akin happened with Nightmare Mirror ... they wished to be able to move on but for their loved ones not to lose the one they held dear... Fair warning... it hurts like The Bad Place." "She's tellin' the truth," AJ said. "She means it hurts like Pony Hell," Spike said unconsciously touching his chest. "Will you help grant Princess Fidelitas' wish the right now?" The Half-Lights nodded without hesitation. "What about Shining?" Dawn asked. "These are things he is better off NOT knowing, and he's been hit with more cosmic secrets than anypony ever should," Dusk said. "But I KNOW that he'd agree to this... because if he didn't... he wouldn't BE Shining Armor." "That's true too," AJ said, looking at the sleeping stallion with her wings extended. "Then I'll grant The Princess' wish." "WAIT!!!" Princess Fidelitas shouted. "If you're doing what I think you're doing... then... she'll need a body to live in... or she'll be just born a ghost. Just like... our Twilight... could never enter the mortal universe without a vessel... There's... there's something we've been kinda keeping in cold storage... and... I kinda think it's time to put it good use... Spike... take out, IT." "What's that issue of Superstallion got to do-" "THE OTHER ‘IT!’" "... Oh... OH! You sure?" "... It's for a good cause. About time it did some good." "Alright." Spike breathed his green fire... and materialized... "NIGHTMARE ECLIPSE?!" Several ponies gasped. A large dark purple Alicorn body with a flaming mane lay on the ground in white armor, empty and staring at nothing. Reaper powers or not, Starlight still knew souls... and this body was alive... but was just an empty husk. Kept on magical life support. From her perspective, it was like looking at an intact home who's family had abandoned it. "What's going on!?" Starlight demanded, and knew the native Razz' would too if she was herself at the moment. "... Our Twilight... did a Princess Luna... she kinda was using an avatar, kinda... when she got knocked back to her senses... we kinda... well, she had her body magical set to be on life support until her spirit came back... looks like it's time. She never came back for it after she came to her senses." AJ gave The Princess a glare, since the avatar part didn't NEARLY do what happened justice (she prayed Wind Whistler could rest in peace knowing her poor body wasn't going to be used by another monster), but unlike Nightmare Mirror, kept her trap shut. "Uh... " Pinkie dared speak. "Is it SAFE to put her in a mare's body?" "Let me worry about that," Razzaroo said. Applejack trotted over and looked the living body in the eye with both her own eyes and her wings. "There aren't any nasty 'in case Ah lost while Ah ain't home' curses on it." "We could have told you that," Noon said flatly. She looked at Starlight. "Alright let's do this," Noon said. None of the Half-Lights looked happy to see the hollow shell body of their dead mother at he worst right before them. "Hey Flutters, keep BBBFF in Dream land okay? Closest thing to anesthesia we got." Fluttershy squeaked, nodded, and summoned her fog around Shining, trying not to look at the empty body. Razzaroo summoned her scythe... and struck all four in one motion before they could react. Shining yelled the loudest, though his eyes stayed closed as he hit Dusk in the head out of reaction. He'd later wonder why he'd dreamed of being a mare getting a c-section and consider it weird even by his quite broad standards. "Soul surgery!" Razzaroo boomed. Lights of different colors streamed out of all four ponies... coming together on their own... like shards of a shattered glass statues finding their way back to each other. Unlike what Nythy had tried to do to Applejack, this looked far more refined and beautiful. -Xenogears - Small Two of Pieces Restored- The light glowed larger and brighter, pieces of crystal rainbow raining towards a single point as they bled from the siblings. The shards took on the shape of Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark... The image of Twilight the First, Clover, Minty, and Twilight Sparkle hugging each other as ghosts was visible for a moment... and the light slowly began to sink into the body... Then show a bajillion Twilights hugging. The Princess of Loyalty gasped as one briefly floated off and looked at her. "Twilight...I'm sorry..." she managed to gasp out. "I forgot what I was fighting for..." The Twilight nuzzled her. "It's okay, Rain'...I forgive you." The new Princess didn't bother holding back tears as the specter rejoined the collective hug, filling in the last puzzle piece. Shining Armor would also wonder why he dreamed of his baby sister exploding, but being perfectly unharmed after she blew up the house... at least that dream made sense. The explosion of light, magic, and power knocked everypony, star and bird off their feet, sans either Razzaroo. Nightmare Eclipse's armor lay in shattered pieces like Luna's old barding as Nightmare Moon. The body didn't turn to ash like Chrysalis' had, instead, it went through its life in reverse, the wings and earth pony strength fading as it entered foalhood, then went further... until it became a newborn pony. There was a faint glow of magic... and a diaper appeared on her bearing her symbol along with a similarly personalized pacifier. A blanket formed and wrapped around the sleeping infant unicorn. Nopony had seen if she already had her cutie mark or not. "I give you the newborn goddess of friendship." There were large comical 'white x' bandages on the bellies of Shining Armor, and the Half-Lights. "Uh, how is he going to explain that to Cadence?" Pinkie asked. "Knowin' Shinin', he'll just roll with it," Applejack admitted. "His life's pretty darn weird anyway." Dawn inched towards the sleeping foal, then gently scooped her up. "Her name... is Half-Light Midnight." Nopony challenged her. Rainbow Dash trotted over and smiled down at her. "...She's cute..." "Spike," Dusk said. "... You should raise her." The dragon was thrown loopy. "ME?! ME!? I can't! I'd be terrible! I'd fail right away! I'd-" "Ya practically fed, washed, and changed Twilight long after she stopped feeding, washing and changing you!" Noon declared. "... Point." While there had been jokes about Angel taking more care of Fluttershy than vice versa, it was generally agreed that taking care of Twilight, had ironically fallen upon Spike more often than not. Without fear or hesitation, and kissing the baby on the forehead, she placed the infant into Spike's giant claws. The dragon managed to be as gentle as any parent would despite the massive size difference. "She never has been, nor ever will be your Twilight Sparkle... Understand that. She is her own pony. She is your redemption," Razzaroo said. "Don't worry, that I understand now," The Alicorn of Loyalty and Ending Loops said. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy flew up to Spike's claws to look at the filly, so did Rainbow. "She IS so cute!" Fluttershy exclaimed, excitedly as one would expect. "Don't worry... Midnight... I'll make yer grandma proud," Spike said. "She'll make great friends with Flutternice! I'll give her a zero birthday party when we get home! We can have it with Flutternice's cute-ceañera," Pinkie Pie cheered. The Princess of Loyalty smiled, feeling content at the sight of the infant foal. "I promise to help too Spike," Fluttershy said, her redemption had found her. Starlight just stared, sitting on her rump, and so did Peewee... "I've witnessed the birth of a goddess... I think I'm the first mortal soul ever to do that... wait till I tell the girls back home. Melody isn't going to believe this." Razzaroo slowly turned towards Applejack. "Are you ready?" "As ready as Ah'm gonna get. Ah had Apple Mirror's memories of other ya doin' this before... yer right about how painful it is." "Are you sure? You'll have to give up what she gave you. Everything. Your sister needs all the help she can get to save the world." "A mortal Alicorn of Truth can't recharge in a world of lies, and Ah've given 'er all Ah've got already ...So hurry up and do it before Ah chicken out from bein' turned back into somethin' so small." Razzaroo nodded. "As you wish." "By the way." "Yes?" "Ah just figured out somethin'... The Elders themselves couldn't do this... take the essence out of a concept who absorbed the essence of ANOTHER concept and RESTORE that essence and concept as their own rule, even if they aren't exactly the person who got absorbed... Even the Elders can't restore Destruction and Curris, so they created a goddess who COULD!" "... So clever for such a silly pony.... and I'm not just granting your wish... I'm granting the other Applejack's as well." Before Applejack could reply, Razzaroo struck with her scythe, and Applejack screamed her lungs out like a little colt for what felt like the second time. Applejack felt like she was crushed, halving the larger parts of her stripped away, being somehow PUSHED BACK DOWN... being made something simpler, like she was a 3-D being crushed into a 2-D picture. She felt the wings and horn fade away and had a few moments of phantom limb as she even forgot HOW she'd done much of what she'd done with them... that power, knowledge and skill had been a gift she'd given up to give to another. And now... she felt so small... so terribly small! All in all, it was an infinitely worse experience than her memories of Nightmare Mirror having part of her essence taken. She blacked out. Applejack woke up with the bandage on her... and shaking, and hugged herself. "So small... so small... so small... so small." She felt Fluttershy embrace her with her wings. Applejack slowly calmed down, and pushed her body up. She looked down at herself. Four good legs. They'd gotten her this far... "Ah'll climb up the mountain again, this time, with my own strength...not somethin' that was just given to me... there ain't no short cuts to enlightenment. I'll get those wings and horn back, just you watch." "I know you will, Applejack," Fluttershy said. "After all, you're the most dependable of ponies, right?" "Darn tootin'!" Then she looked around, and saw an infant Alicorn version of herself. With her Alicorn cutie mark on he diaper and pacifier. Native-Razzaroo flew to where Rainbow had standing during the battle and retrieved a familiar stetson. "Here's your hat back little one." She flew back and placed the rather oversized hat on the filly's head, it instantly covered her sleeping face. "Why... why'd she come back as a filly?" The Princess of Loyalty asked confused standing over her like the rest of the ex-nightmares. "That was her wish." Razzaroo said. "Ah'm STILL doin' stupid horseapples cause Ah think the pay off is worth it," AJ said to Cadence. "Reset me when Ah get back, pass or not. I want this idea out of my head!" The recorded voice echoed as Star-Razzaroo flipped through the pages of her book. "Wow! I still owe Celestia and all her family that apology cake!" Pinkie Pie said. "Wait, where did HER body come from?" Applejack asked. Razzaroo smiled. "You absorbed it when you transformed, I merely reformed it. I couldn't do that with Midnight because Amicitia's body was used to MAKE their bodies." "... Ah just hope... this doesn't make Old Nyhty right, 'bout us ponies. Not able to live through anythin' bad." "Would you WANT to keep borrowed powers and leave Mirror lost JUST TO SPITE HIM?" "It's ain't that, it just, like it makes it like it never happened." "She sacrificed everything she was, her beliefs, her personality, her experience, her insight... ask any concept, and resetting is close to death as they can come. The Nightmare Mirror who sacrificed herself STILL sacrificed herself. Apple Mirror is like the Half-Lights... or Kifuko...And like Kifuko, she wasn't a Concept yet. This isn't a simple resurrection, Applejack...think of it as reincarnation. And, it's inspired you to become an Alicorn on your own hasn't it?" "Ah understand...and..." Applejack said. "Ah've got... Ah think... at least... one bit of her memories..." Her mortal brain was far too small to hold millions of years worth of knowledge and she wasn't a magically enhanced super mutant like Tirek and the Sirens either... Losing those memories was perhaps a greater loss than the wings and horn. "NO! Pinkie Pie! Ya can't be her mama!" "Aaaaah! Dangit!" "RD?... Ah know what she'd want... she'd want YA to her mama!" "Me?..." Princess Fidelitas asked... then looked at the sleeping infant. "... Fine AJ... if that's what you want... I'll raise you to be the honest truth you wanted to be... I promise." She gave the sleeping orange Alicorn a gentle nuzzle. "Applejack," Native-Razzaroo said, "Before I leave my mortal self... I'll get you back to the real world... I remember that's what I did when I was mortal Razzaroo... so that's what will happen. Self-fulling causality is too confusing for you to NEED to think about right now. I don't know if you reach your sister to help her or not." "Fine by me." Applejack said determined. "Ah might not be up for another deity brawl, but Ah still got MacGillacuddy and Kicks-McGee tah help with!" Razzaroo turned to the ex-Nightmares. "And... I remember that I gave all of you a message from Rota Fortuna... you can't do anymore good here thanks to the Rumors Curse created explicitly to target you that hasn't been destroyed yet... your disguises won't protect you anymore now that SHE is watching for you. And as foreign gods, your very presence will damage reality if you enter undisguised anyway, and reality is being stretched to near breaking already. Especially Fluttershy because of what she is now... Rota Fortuna... wants you, and the Half-Lights, and your foals... to leave now and return to your own reality. Without delay. This minute. Both for the sake of this universe...and so if the worst DOES happen another universe doesn't risk having deities negatively affected too. This is what I remember telling all of you." "Fate never did like us that much," Noon rolled her eyes. Dawn stammered, looking VERY sad. "But! But I haven't said goodbye to-" "Now," Razzaroo sighed. "Hold on," Applejack said. "Just so everypony here is on the same page, what did Fate say?" "For the Nightmares in body, and the Interviewers, and the my other self... to leave this reality." "Okay," Applejack said looking at The Princess. "You heard her." Princess Fidelitas sighed dramatically. "I guess you're right... Applejack... good luck on saving the world." Dusk was comforting Dawn as the portal opened. Starlight meanwhile took Slipknot and bowed to Razzaroo. "Good luck, I'm just a spirit now... I have no right to be here without my status as a reaper... Good luck to everyone." "...I hope next time we see this world on Fate-net, it's back to the golden world mom wanted..." Noon said. Dusk simply nodded. "Have faith in them Noon...like mother did when she made this world." Peewee and Dawn shared one last hug and kiss. And Peewee flapped to Starlight's shoulders. The Star-Razzaroo went through the portal first. Followed by the ex-Nightmare Herd, and the Half-Lights.... "See ya around." Princess Fidelitas said as she stepped into the portal's threshold. Then... Applejack was swept up in a shower of star dust, and into one of the library's windows... which acted as portal ... She found herself in the real world outside Twilight's library... She wished she could stay and chat, or at least tell Twilight she was okay... she also found she had a lantern that chased away the fog at her hooves. She looked around but saw no pony... until she spotted a cloaked Razzaroo and Twinkle Wish besides her. No glowing ghost horns or wings, only her. "Howdy..." "Hello... that was... I don't know how to describe it... " "Ah know what ya mean... Why don't you check in Twili'? Ah think ya look like ya need a rest... Me? Ah got a little sister to find...And pleast tell Twili' Ah'm okay fer meh." --- Princess Fidelitas' Notes: Rota Fortuna believes every world line should solve its own problems... which Discord and Diamond Tiara ultimately ARE now that Nythy and his relatives are kaput (and banished from our section of the multiverse for the next eight billion years). Except Dagon, but the seaponies will take care of him then he'll be joining his family in exile. Rota told the Half-Lights they need to accept this world line needs to solve its own problems, and it has its own Amicitia eventually to look over it. Rota said the universe is nearly tearing itself apart just trying to stay stable and can't support them being here any longer...us either. Good thing I'm not the element of honesty... I'm not a Nightmare in body, nor am I an Interviewer! Don't worry, Razzaoo understood, so did my friends. Fluttershy will keep an eye on AJ till I get back. And to honest? I think Fauna Luster WANTS ME HERE. No no no, I don't mean egotistical, it's just... in my gut ya know? My part isn't done here. I'm a goddess of breaking cycles... I'll break the cycle that started with Morning Star then to Discord, then to Diamond Tiara. Even if I can't help now. I'll help before the end, you can bet on it! Till then, this is the Concept of Loyalty and Breaking Cycles, Tarot Of The Ace Of Swords." Princess Fidelitas Moksha Equestria. P.S. (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): Ya wanna know something funny? Rota Fortuna said 'go away'... heh... she didn't say STAY away! HA! See ya later!) > Discord's Dream > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey, Discord," said the ex-Nightmare of Pinkie Pie of the 'Dark World' Worldline to the 'Dark World' Worldline's Discord. "I just wanna say thanks. You sure were helping a lot of ponies before with that rumors curse mess." "Uh... I haven't," Discord of the Dark World Timeline admitted, currently wearing a pink construction worker outfit and moving a piece of raw matter into position to become a random object. "I haven't been to Amicitia's new timeline universe, ever, nor have I been able to send any detachments or anything. Haven't even sent one of my Yokai." "So Heart World Discord?" "That's impossible. Even for me, him, whatever." "Comic book Discord?" "No." "Touchpad Freemium Game Discord?" "Only one more evil than I used to be." "Guardians of Harmony Discord!" "That isn't out yet." "Chaosverse Discord?" "Nope to that too. Pinkie, do you REALLY think two Discords could ever stand to be in the same place at the same time? Well, except if one of them is Eris or if we're crashing our own funeral." "But... the only Discord that leaves that was helping them that whole time is..." +++ Discord found himself sitting at a table, his body the age he was at Paradise Estate, a 'draconequusling'? Funny how his family never really settled on what to call their juvenile forms. Way back when he was that young, he'd called himself a colt. He practically thought he WAS a pony, at the time. After admiring himself he noticed the table was raised to his chest, and that a chessboard had been set upon it. Then he saw who his opponent was. "Now remember Dissy as we begin to play the game: there is to be no transfiguring the chess pieces, and no 'creative reinterpretation' of the rules," said Wind Whistler calmly and evenly as she made the first move. Discord grumbled and matched her pawn. "I am not having this dream." "But you are. Denying reality by itself shall not change it." She moved her knight. Discord moved his. "And why, pray tell, should I be dreaming of you NOW?" They continued to move chess pieces across the board with each reply. Wind Whistler gave the smallest twitch of a smirk. "Dissy, I can appreciate your refusal to be categorized as a part of a system like your fellows. To control chaos is an oxymoron; if it could be controlled, it would not be chaos. Even chaos theory is simply the observation of chaos and attempt to analyze it, rather than a clear-cut method of controlling it." "For once, I’ve found someone who’s on the same page as me," he said, sliding a bishop down. "But you disappoint me, you revel in the chaos you cause, but when chaos happens to yourself, you reject yourself... no wonder you're not truly happy." "Since when does Wind Whistler deny the facts?” he asked, pushing a pawn forward. “I AM happy! I have a family that accepts me, a domain of my own, and my other family can't touch me." "I thought I taught you better." "And that's why they realized it was better for Surprise to teach me than you! At least she made learning fun!" "Yes... I remember." "Of course you remember,” said Discord, rolling his eyes. “I remember, and you're just a figment of my mind." "Are you sure? This room looks rather orderly, as does this game of chess, and I look like my regular self instead of a cockatiel-orangutan hybrid…" "Don't try mind games on the master, you already told me this is a dream." "So I did. A pleasure to see you're still capable of cognitive recognition at least Dissy. And I have grown a nanoangstrom of pride for you in this micro-instant in one respect." "What's that?" Discord asked blandly. "You're finally treating your pawns as more than expendable." She gestured at the chess set with a wing. To be fair, it wasn't Discord's normal game of throwing his pawns away en masse. "So what?" "A game of chess reflects the pony who plays it." "I'm no pony!" "You called yourself one more than once at Paradise Estate." "That was before I woke up to myself." "You mean when you recovered your memories of your former self, couldn't accept what you did, lost handling of the power of your Father's avatar, and your brother-" "We were both dying! It was one of us! We had no idea Pandora was coming! And pop's avatar was no good!" "... I wasn't going to bring up your cannibalization. And why should that matter to you? Why should you justify it? Unless you've begun to feel guilt... after all... when did Destruction EVER judge you? Chaos and destruction walk side by side. Probably the only reason you're capable of controlling his power as much as you can." Discord tried to toss the chess set over, but found it was like it was glued to the table, and the table was glued to the floor. After several seconds of exhaustive effort he stopped. "Why SHOULD I be having this dream? I've never had a dream like this before now!" Wind Whistler nodded. "An intelligent question. Another point for you, Dissy. But not with a simplistic answer..." Wind Whistler seemed to grow larger. "Perhaps the weakening of barriers between different states of existence has allowed me channel myself into your subconscious of my own body. Perhaps your cognitive dissonance of what you think you want, and the resulting emotion state, have reached critical mass, and I am acting as an outlet for your psyche by externalizing your anxieties, your suppressed Shadow expressing itself. Perhaps you are unsure what to do of said cognitive dissonance, and desire guidance, but have none to turn to, and feel too ashamed to face your mother, or Surprise, so you manifest me instead. Maybe ... just maybe... my soul never left, and I have been slowly driving you sane for centuries... slowly eating at your chaos, and making you a tiny bit more orderly and logical, trapping your chaos in predictable patterns instead of truly random, silently attacking your mind from the moment you stole my body." "You think that kinda 'don't think of elephants' suggestion will work on me?" "You tell me. You said I was just a figment of your mind. So wouldn't that be you using it on yourself?" "Shut up!" "Watch your manners young stallion! You will not address your teacher in that manner!" Wind Whistler grew so she looked down on him. Discord shrank himself down to where he'd been just out of diapers. "Y-yes, teacher." Wind Whistler shrank back to pony size, and Discord aged up to colthood. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" She smiled the sort of gentle smile, which Discord was SURE the REAL Wind Whistler would never have worn on her face! "Now, it's also possible that a fundamental truth that you've built your world view upon has recently been proven false. Perhaps due to a chat with a candy making Earth Pony turned Changeling monster-hunter? You are trying not to think about it consciously, but your unconscious mind is discussing it through me. Or you desperately want back the life you threw away now that you've seen you'll never reclaim that happiness. Maybe both." "Oh, please. Then where's the cheerleader costume for Celly and Lulu to shove me into? Where the stage for Surprise and me to bounce jokes off of each other? Where's Galaxy and her star maps? Where's Firefly and her acrobatics? Where's Posey and her garden so I can turn all the flowers random colors?" "Sounds like you loved us very much. Just like you loved the seapony's games and songs. No wonder you unconsciously desired to undo your sin so badly." "I'm a concept! Since when do I have regrets?" "To regret is to wish to change what has been done, to atone is to wish to make amends for it." "I sold my conscience, that can't happen." + "Where's Sea Swirl?" Doctor Red Heart asked, seeing the tub was empty. "She said she had to go back to her people to lead them in a quest to defeat an ancient evil," Nursery Rhyme explained where her patient went. - The sea ponies stood in wait, watching as the beast came. Every last one of them ready to lay down everything to protect their people. Emerging from the deepest recesses of the ocean came a colossus. A beast resembling an unholy mismatch of sea creatures that seemed to constantly shift and turn. The only clear cut thing about it was its maw was similar to an angler fish and its head had many tentacles. "I AM DRA-GON. FATHER OF THE DEEP ONES. RULER OF THE ABYSS. FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN BENEATH THE WAVES. YOU WILL PAY FOR INTERFERING IN MY DOMAIN, WATER BUGS!" "The sea doesn't belong to you!" announced a pink-scaled blue maned sea pony wearing royal guard armor. Each sea pony had a weapon composed of holy, enchanted sea stone. The captain wielded a golden trident, a gift from their ruling deity himself. The Great Old One's eyes widened, noting no fear in the sea ponies eyes. "DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU STAND AGAINST?!" "We do, we just know who REALLY rules the seas!" The captain Wavedancer, announced, as she severed one of Dra-gon's tentacles with the sacred trident. "FOR KING LEO NEPTUNE AQUASTRIA!" "FOR KING LEO!" replied Sea Swirl, the two dodging a swipe of Dra-gon's massive claws. Dra-gon was taken aback when what seemed like the entire Sea Pony race charged at him as one. The Sea Ponies formed a barrage of bubbles and launched them at the Old One, detonating like pressure bombs on impact. The war waged on. Dra-gon was not going win. The seaponies, in their heart of hearts, were unconsciously beyond determined not to be driven to extinction or slavery by a mad god again. And that determination WOULD see them through! + "You're chaos, since when do you play by the rules?" "When is this stupid dream going to end already?! I want out! I want out!" "The instructor dismisses the class, Dissy, not the bell. I did teach you better than that." Discord tried to knock over the pieces, but they seemed glued to the spot when he wasn't making his move. "Your mother has taught you to avoid such tantrums, Dissy." "Stop calling me that!! I am Discord!" "Like Nightmare Moon was not Luna?" "Don't compare ME with Lulu's heavy metal makeover! I am the real Discord! I'm the original!" "The real you... is ALL your experiences, Dissy. ALL of your actions. You are the only concept who's lived as a mortal and refused to admit to this. Lulu's finally confessed she and Nightmare Moon were one pony, not some alien parasite... how much longer are you going to pretend?" "Stop it! Stop! I don't feel anything for you! I don't feel guilty! I'm not sorry! I don't have a conscience! I don't give mercy! I don't feel anything for ponies except as toys! I don't hate myself for not being able to stand up to my dark side! I'm NOT sad I destroyed my real family!" "Or maybe you've been Dissy all along, and you've been letting your memories of being Discord rule you." "Dissy no longer exists! I ate him!!!" "Didn't you remember what your mothers taught you, Dissy? If Dissy is not in Oblivion, then he had to have existed...and you are what you eat." Discord woke panting. > Preparing For Ze Boss Rush! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dawn broke over Rainbow Fall and Equestria, and Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor awoke in each other's warm embrace. Shining Armor recalled he had had some of the most bizarre dreams since his world tour with Cadence. The two remained in their loving embrace for as long as they dared before reluctantly separating. As a guard, Shining Armor was used to getting up early. So was Cadence, mostly because of how long Twinkle Shine needed to turn Cadence into Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. But Cadence was on her honeymoon, and Twinkle Shine wasn't here, so the Princess of Music could allow herself a much more casual appearance then when she was appearing to countless foreign dignitaries. More importantly, Cadence could sleep in! Shining Armor wasn't on duty so technically he could sleep in too, but it if one of them had to get up first, it might as well be him. He was used to less sleep than his wife anyway. As classical music played over the radio, Shining Armor thought how odd it was not to have the Interviewers around to speak in his head after almost two years of them being his company. Maybe with him safe, and Chrysalis beat, and this being his honeymoon, they'd decided to finally give him some privacy. Shining Armor trotted into the five-star bathroom, flicked the light on with his magic, and looked into the mirror at the big x-shaped bandage on his belly. Then he used an x-ray spell on himself, confirming he still had all of his internal organs. He gingerly, and carefully pulled the bandage away, hoping nopony had put a dimensional portal in his belly button when he wasn't looking. He saw there wasn't even a mark, and wondered what the point of the bandage was. "Shining? Is everything alright?" Cadence called. "... I think I'm either the victim of a prank, or I got abducted by aliens in my sleep...And I'm not doubting either at this point.” + Silver Spoon's Diary Dawn came to Lickety-Split's house. Lickety-Split, me and his other houseguests woke up and had breakfast. Lickety-Split still worried about his mom, Mrs. Lickety Split, who still hadn't come home. Featherweight was recovering. And Twist, Shiny Star, and Post Haste, and me, were... just there. The only liveliness had been the shock and alarm when Spike had said, "I've had enough! If those girls aren't gonnna send a letter, I'll send one!" And he used his dragon breath as a guide, following the trail of magical green smoke into the fog. "Spike it's too dangerous!" I called. "You're a child, I'm an adult! I can't let you just leave!" Shiny Star shouted, her horn glowing. But Spike got past Shiny Star's magic, field of Dragon Sneeze Trees, the front yard of Lickety Split's house, and into the fog. In spite of calling for him, none of us followed him. I wanted to tell myself it was because it was too dangerous for us to run into danger after Spike, but somewhere in me, that didn't feel like the answer. There was this overwhelming sense of... listless routine on everypony since the CMC left with Button Mash. Like we'd served our purpose, like we were just fixtures now waiting for the girls if they happened to come back. I felt a base urge to simply STAY HERE. The more I tried to question it, the more my head felt fuzzy and I gave up. It wasn't like on the MoonPearl were I had a vague idea in the back of my head that we were going where we needed to go. So instead Lickety-Split continued to go over every tale from the age of myths he knew to his captive audience. "I'm sure I've memorized the name of every pony at Paradise Estate, and those who had lived at Dream Castle before the Smooze," Post Haste told me. In the kitchen, I had learned more about making candy canes than I'd ever wanted to know from Twist, who in turn had learned more about proper etiquette than she'd ever wanted to know from me. "With that many ruleth, no wonder you'd let sthomepony even like Diamond Tiara be your friend." I frowned. "She was never that bad to me... except... except that one time... before she disappeared." "I'm sthurprised you didn't do the sthame to her first." Silver Spoon shuddered. "I... I wouldn't have..." "Sthilver Sthpoon, no offensthe, but sthe treated you like a minion." "That's not true!" I stamped a hoof. "She... she was just used to getting things her own way... and I was used to doing what others told me." "Are you sthure you were really friendsth?" "YES!" I said. "We ARE friends! I'm... I'm just sorry we had that horrible fight before she got lost." "It wasn't a fight. Sthe browbeat you." "And I should have KNOWN better than to push buttons I KNEW she had." "What buttonsth were thosthe?" "... That's something she trusted me not to tell anypony else." "... I gotcha." "Wealth carries its own curses, Miss Twist," Shiny Star said behind the foals startling them. "If that'th a curthe, may Celethtia thmite me with it! And may I never recover!" Twist cheered. Shiny Star rolled her eyes. "Diamond Tiara hurt Miss Twist, ones she thought she couldn't share. Maybe she thought since you didn't have to worry about status, fillies like you had carefree lives. Maybe a part of her was jealous, not that she'd ever admit." At that time, we noticed there was a brown colt with broken wings and jack-o-lantern cutie mark munching on Twist's candies. "These are really quite good. You and Shiny Star should chat about how you make them." "I really should ask you how you make these, Twist," Shiny Star said, and Twist happily began to describe her technique with Tiara's maid. SNES - Final Fantasy 6 Zozo Town I let out a small gasp. "Wait, I know you! You... You're... You're Phobia, right? What are you doing here?" "That doesn't matter." "That doesn't matter." "What does matter, is this question: Do you still think Diamond Tiara can be saved?" "Yes," I said defiantly. "Today, tomorrow and always!" "Even after what you saw in your nightmare?" "Yes." "Do you believe the Diamond Tiara who was your friend still exists?" "Yes." Phobia sighed. "... And that's why you need to be kept safe until this curse business is over." I tilted my head. "...Why should that matter? I know Diamond Tiara is out there, somewhere, she got turned into something... something wrong... I'm guessing your saying that saving the world is more important than saving her?" "Mathematically, yes." I glared at him. "But more than that... All your efforts might get... undone." I let out a gasp. "What do you mean?" And what was this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach? "I've got to be somewhere else. Stay safe, Silver Spoon." And the next thing I knew, he was gone. + "Those Foster-Care-Accountant-Acorns sure knew how to throw some nasty audits," Scootaloo remarked, pulling off the last of the sticky red tape. "I didn't know there WERE that many flavors of ice-cream-jelly-beans," Sweetie Belle said, spitting out a bacon-soap-pizza flavored one. "If I have to hear one more roll of film argue logistics for deep jungle adventuring it'll be too soon!" Daring Do declared. What annoyed her more than anything was the giant sword she'd taken from the angry folding chair, but for some reason she couldn't walk through a door with it even if the door itself was obviously large enough. Button Mash was playing Tetris on his Gamecolt (he insisted it was a proven fact that it helped with trauma), patting Sweetie Belle on the back. "I never want to play another True-Art Walking-Simulator With Snarky-Narrator Social-Commentary-Game ever again. That had to be the dullest video arcade I've ever visited!" "Hey, Mash, think I need one more healing potion," Spike spoke, pulling a tomahawk out of his back dragon scales, followed by a spear, a lance, throwing knives, a mace, behind was a trail of weapons that dissolved into pixels every time the CMC tried to pick up one. (Button Mash had explained that unless the enemy dropped it when they were beaten, they couldn't take the bad guy's stuff for themselves, no matter how illogical that was, but that also meant neither could the other enemies). "Those dragons slayers sure had it in for ya," Apple Bloom observed, dusting off the last of the confetti. She'd have helped Spike sooner, but that giant foot had been trying to make her apple sauce. (She had to squeeze out of the high chair, its applesauce tasted like pears). "Meh. It was more annoying than painful, it hurts worse when I help Rarity as her pincushion. Though they really messed up my scales." "I think you look fine." "Thanks, Sweetie." They passed a sign that read, 'You Are now leaving the Midway of Hilarious Pain, Come And Laugh again Soon.' "Who laughed?" Scootaloo frowned. "Dang false advertising," Spike complained. "I dunno," Sweetie said. "The tiger leaping safely through that flaming hoop the size of a ring was cool. And the leopard and lion doing the acrobatics was exciting. And I loved seeing that zebra and seal being fired out of cannons!" "I was kinda distracted," Spike said. Sweetie gave him an apologetic nuzzle. "Hey girls... " Apple Bloom whispered. "Take a look up ahead." The substitute heroes did so. Their jaws opened up at the sight. It was vague, still clouded in fog, but it was definitely there: a massive pillar-like shape, going up, and up, and up into the sky. "We're almost there," Scootaloo declared. "Nothin's gonna stop us now!" Apple Bloom promised. Button Mash gave Sweetie a slight hug, she leaned into it. "Watch your steps and each others' back," Daring Do said. "Can't wait to see how nasty it is close up," Spike's voice dripped with sarcasm. 'Welcome To Last Market Street' show another sign. "Was this here when I escaped?" Daring Do raised an eyesbow. "Maybe the game didn't need it before," Button Mash said. “Or Discord is Discord and this place keeps changin',” Applebloom pointed out. A single straight road lay before the ponies and dragon, each side with store stalls lined up. Crazy looking and acting ponies manned the stores and trotted the streets without a care in the world. The heroes carefully trotted down the lane, expecting an ambush, but none came. There were also some wooden poles with posters that read things like 'Live Life To The Fullest: Go Crazy!' 'You Don't Have To Be Afraid: Just Go Nuts!' There was also a large collection of Discord plushies for sale (*#% off), made to have the god of chaos looking like the cutest more adorable thing ever that you'd have to be crazy a stick in the mud to hate. Also, a stand with many Discord lamps. A mare chopped off a stallion's head, he picked it up off the ground, put it back on his neck, good as new. The two then laughed and hugged each other, the axe turned into a hula-hoop the two shared. "I don't recognize a lot of these ponies," Apple Bloom said. "I do." Daring Do said uncomfortably. "Some of them are from where I grew up." "Some of these're ponies from my home town before we moved to Ponyville too," Button Mash said. A stallion leapt off a rooftop, laughing, and turned into a pancake when he hit the ground, only to pop back into shape and toss around flower petals as he went. One of the first things the ponies saw for sale was a cluster of spray cans. 'Smilie-Coco-Spray! Turn Any Grimy And Dark Pony Into A Happy and Crazy Pony Or Your Bottle Caps back!' a sign advertised. "Ya know what I find creepy about this?" Spike asked. "Everything?" Scootaloo replied. "That too. But... I mean, what's odd even for Discord, these ponies aren't grayed out, I mean, they have the crazy swirl eyes, but ... it's like their colors are even brighter than normal. Makes me happy I’m wearing the sunglasses." "Well, he is the spirit of chaos, about time he tried somethin' new," Apple Bloom said. "HI!" greeted a mare hopping in front of them. She had a hat for a cutie mark: Countless different hat cutie marks covered her entire body. "My name is Bonnie Bonnets! I'm a Twice As Fancy Pony! Copyrighted! Don't you wish you were half as fancy as me? Tee-hee! ... Come on, that was a little funny!" She giggled. She pulled back on a tarp entrance. Normal Ponies went in, Twice As Fancy Ponies came out. "Thanks, Bonnie!" said a blue earth pony mare covers in stars and planets cutie mark. "Welcome, Night Glider!" Apple Bloom had a flash back to the cutie pox, but unlike her, these cutie marks seemed to all fit together in a theme. "I'm Tap Dance!" "I'm Player!" "I'm Songster!" "I'm Swinger!" "I'm Twirler!" "And I'm DJ!" a sextet of ponies declared a large stage. "We're the Dance And Prance Ponies! Don't you want to join us?!" asked Songster. She and the other mares on stage had a large brooch that seemed to stick out of their throats. Songster turned the brooch a few times to a clicking sound. When she let go, her tail spun around along with her locket as she danced around. "Whoopie!" Tap Dance offered Scootaloo a brooch. "Want one?" "No way!" "...No need to be rude, filly." In the next stall was a foursome of mares who at first glance looked relatively normal. Then the heroes noticed their cutie marks actually stuck out of their bodies, forming little alcoves. "Hello, I'm Bunnie Hop," said an earth pony mare with a top hat cutie mark and a real little rabbit sticking his head out. "I'm Sweet Pocket," said a unicorn mare with a flower cutie mark as a honey bee familiar hanging out. "Bubblefish!" added an earth pony mare with a real fishbowl for a cutie mark. And, "I'm Lil'Pocket." Her cutie mark was a real piggy bank. "We're Precious Pocket Ponies," explained Sweet Pocket. "Would you like to have pockets too?" "Well, those WOULD be kinda useful," Apple Bloom admitted looking genuinely tempted. "Sorry, dear, come back when you have your cutie mark," Sweet Pocket said apologetically. "Ah, dang it," grumbled Apple Bloom, kicking the ground. "What's with all these gimmicky ponies!" Spike snapped in exasperation. "My name is Secret Beauty!" "Stardazzle!" "Pretty Puff!" "And Secret Star! We're the Secret Surprise Ponies." "You never know what's inside," teased a group of cape-wearing ponies, each with a keyhole around her neck at the next stall. Pretty Puff inserted a key into lock into her neck and turned. Her cape unfurled and her back flipped open like a hatch, not spilling any gore. Instead, a pair of foals stuck out her head and waved, the insides neat. "Hiiiii!" Pretty Puff turned and laughed. "Now how did you little scamps get in there? I hope you didn't touch my pearl collection." The last pony had the CMC+2 leaping onto each other and onto finally Daring Do for comfort. Sweetie Belle let out a little shriek at the sight. Spike said. "I take it back, that's creepy." "So THAT'S where babies come from!" One of the foals said. "You and your parents need to have a long talk," Spike said. "D-Don't be rude Spike," Sweetie channeled Rarity eyes locked on Pretty Puff. The foals were left with confusing feelings at the next stall. Standing politely in line was a deer, a camel, a lama, a giraffe, an elephant, lion, and a Cutesaurus! Standing at the front of the stall was an unfamiliar zebra. She had a pink coat and blue stripes. Her cutie mark was an ink drawing of a happy face. She wore a name tag that read 'Zig Zag.' She politely let a mule enter, and when he came out the other side, he was brightly pastel colored, and had a cutie mark! The other creatures followed suit, emerging as technicolored and butt-stamped as your average pony. The lama, now bright green with a pink mane and a pink bells for her cutie mark, skipped away happily. "Lalala-la!" "... Do you think they'll let a dragon in?" "Spike!" Sweetie gasped. "Well..." Spike blushed and pushed his fingers together coyly. "I've wondered what my cutie mark would look like." "So... we happy they get to have cutie marks?" Scootaloo asked uncomfortably. "Or feel like pony-snatchers?" Daring Do slowly shook her head. "There're some REALLY OLD records that border on myth, before Megan's coming, that implied other creatures had bright colors and cutie marks... but I figured they were a three tribes' era idea." "Well... Zebras have cutie marks too," Spike said awkwardly. "Hey kid! Want some crazy candy?" Asked a mare who wasn't exaggerated or crazy eyed, but she did have on tie-dyed clothes and wore some odd symbols. Button Mash began chowing down. "Button Mash what are you doing?" Sweetie cried in alarm. "Don't worry, anti-brainwashing immunity glasses, remember?" Above Button Mash's head, a message popped into being above his head with every crazy candy he munched on. *IMMUNE* *IMMUNE* *IMMUNE* *IMMUNE* *LOL* *IMMUNE* *IMMUNE* *IMMUNE* *AFK* *IMMUNE* *IMMUNE* "Hmm. Tastes like snozzberries. Thanks!" "Uh... you're welcome?" said the confused hippie pony. Sweetie hugged Button Mash. "Don't scare me like that." Button Mash hugged back. "Sorry." Sweetie Belle looked over Button Mash's shoulder at the looming tower shape. "Girls... there was something I remember feeling from Diamond Tiara a while ago. She felt angry." "Yeah, I bet she’d be steamed we were making it through," Spike said. Daring Do and Spike had both just rolled with Sweetie having an empathic link with Diamond since the day of chaos. "No, it was due to something different," Sweetie said. "It flared up out of nowhere and then slowly burned out and... " Sweetie eyes widened. "Oh my gosh. Girls! I think my bond with Diamond Tiara is on all the time! But if that's true…then that means... she's not feeling anything most of the time... I think that's WHEN she feels something... it's like an infection... something that's not supposed to be there." "What are ya sayin'? Diamond Tiara doesn't have a heart?" "Big surprise," Spike said. Apple Bloom swatted Spike in the face with her tail. Sweetie Belle said sadly. "More like she's... empty inside." Scootaloo said begrudgingly. "She protected Tootsie when Aphrodite went nuts... so she can't be completely empty." "I hope so," Sweetie said. "Speaking of which..." Apple Bloom said. "Anypony else notice somethin' about everythin' here? Ah mean, take a look, what's on all of 'em?" Her friends did look. Now that Apple Bloom had pointed it out, they saw on every building, pole, and as some sort of official seal on otherwise nonsense written documents; a set of eight diamonds, arranged in an octagon, pointing outwards. "I guess Diamond Tiara's done pretending she's not involved in this as much as Discord," Spike said. "But why not use her own cutie mark?" "When she appeared on the MoonPearl, or at least, a shadow of her did, her cutie mark... it was all twisted. Her crown was pointing in eight directions." "So you’re sure it's really her then?" Spike asked. "Trust me. It's her," Apple Bloom said. Nopony said what a twisted cutie mark meant. As the heroes made to the last set of stalls of Last Market Street, they heard, "Welcome to Honest and Trustworthy Flim and Flam's Last Store! Anything in existence you have the bits, bottle caps, or rupees for, we have in our inventory!" Apple Bloom's jaw dropped seeing the Flim Flam Brothers behind the stall counter with an infinite inventory hallway behind them. Her truth vision saw little halos above their heads, or was that a trick of the light? "HEY! Didn't we see ya at a store back when that army of monkeys jumped us?" Apple Bloom pointed. "Honest and Trustworthy Flim and Flam has multiple outlets," Flim said. "But it was YOU there." "Yes so?" Flam asked. "But how can ya be operating a store there, and a store here?" "Well, we're operating this now obviously. Anything we can sell to you today, Apple Bloom?" Flim smiled and nodded. Button Mash put a hoof on Apple Bloom's shoulder and slowly shook his head, with a mild chuckle. "C’mon, don’t let it get to you. Video games always have identical looking ponies manning all the shops. Sometimes they justify it with identical family, or it means the merchants are following you because you're their biggest spender. But most of the time it's just so the programmers can save on space." "Ah still feel kinda antsy 'bout trustin' 'em, they did bait my family into bettin' our farm." "That was just in harmless fun," said Flim smiling reminding the ponies the brothers could hear them. "After all, we're honest and trust worthy merchants, if we weren't, how could anypony trust us to buy anything from us?" "That ain't-!" Apple Bloom got hoof in the mouth. Sweetie looked at her. "Apple Bloom," Sweetie whispered. "If Flim and Flam are conponies, they means a LOT OF ponies must trust them. If they didn't, they wouldn't be able to con anypony, so if a lot of ponies THINK that they were honest and trust worthy when the curse hit that made whatever the majority of ponies thought was true real..." Apple Bloom's eyes widened. "Ah gotcha," she whispered. "I'll bet that name isn't just for show, anything we got from that last dungeon we oughta spend now," Button Mash said. "Too bad." Scootaloo shrugged. "I wouldn't have minded having some of these bits to spend AFTER we save the world." "Since when does money you earn in a video game translate to the real world anyway?" Daring Do remarked. So the foals stocked up on items. Button Mash bought a couple jewels that somehow made his sword sharper and stronger when added to the hilt. He also bought a Zapper, which resembled a light-gun toy that went with one of his game machines at home. Only this model was a hoof-held laser blaster. He wondered if the Power Horseshoe would do anything other than make things difficult. Spike bought some scale polish which the brothers promised would make his scales tough enough to deflect lasers. And a claw file, a fang sharpener, and dragon mouth-spray, which somehow just by buying and having 'equipped' in the proper inventory slots made his fangs, claws, and fire-breath stronger. Spike also bought some VERY cheap baked-bads... the information supplied by Button Mash's menu stated they poisoned ponies but would HEAL Spike. And if any enemy trying stealing from their inventory, possessing the baked bads would poison them instead. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were sincerely not sure WHAT to buy. Nothing really shouted to them. All the weapons were cool looking, had big numbers next to them for how much damage they dealt, but... that might have been part of the problem. "Are we gonna have'ta fight Discord?" Apple Bloom whispered, feeling her blood run cold at the thought. "The final bad guy always just waits for the hero to come to him," Button Mash said. "He has to obey the rules of the game after all, and that means it won't throw us anything that we can't handle." “Rainbow Dash said he froze up like a coward when he realized the Elements worked,” Scootaloo said. “Maybe he won't fight us since the game would make it FAIR?” Apple Bloom ultimately bought some more apples to use as ammo. And some nails, wood planks, and a hammer. Scootaloo thought of all the epicness she'd pulled off in Canterlot. Her very first flight zooming through Canterlot, avoiding changelings, and taking down a trained changeling guard all by herself! She was awesome! So why did buying stuff exclusively meant to make somepony never-heard-from-again make her feel uncomfortable NOW?! The little filly shook her head in confusion. Not wanting to walk away empty-hoofed, she bought a pair of hidden pegasi blade weapons made just for her wing size. They were heavier than she thought they'd be. Did the old pegasi guard really fly around with these every day? Sweetie, after much deliberation, chose just a hardy wooden staff. At Button's insistence, she also bought a crystal that helped store and channel her mana that she added to her inventory. Finally, Daring Do bought a scimitar and a chain-whip. "There you go, Rainbow Dash, and that's a nice Daring Do Cosplay costume." Daring Do groaned. "I am NOT Rainbow Dash! I AM Daring Do! See?" She pulled out an ID card that indeed read 'Daring Do: Adventurer.' Daring Do had a few different ID cards on her: she couldn't use 'AK Yearling' and being incognito was part of her skill set. "She's right. She's not Rainbow Dash. She was there saving foals when Rainbow Dash was saving everypony too," Scootaloo said. If Flim and Flam were still cons, or rather, had ever been cons, they might have thought about the old 'different pony in costume' trick, but being such honest and trust worthy stallions, the idea didn't cross their minds. So they simply smiled and nodded at that infallible logic. "Alright, sorry, Daring Do," they echoed together. Sweetie Belle whispered hesitantly. "Apple Bloom, I've been meaning to ask, Daring Do, is she... real?" Apple Bloom's vision showed her the truth. "She's not made up of rumors. And she doesn't have one in her... she's... she's like Button Mash." "Oh." "We hope you enjoy your purchases!" The twins echoed again and waved. "We hope you have success in all your ventures! And may you have a fair and honest day!" "I... I feel kinda funny that after we save the world, they'll go back to being bad ponies," Sweetie said, as they trotted away from the Last Store of the Last Market Street. "I'm thinking of all the ponies who will go back to being nice instead of psychos," Scootaloo said. Daring Do gritted her teeth. This Flim and Flam were good ponies, but if this curse had really changed the whole world, there was no telling how much damage it'd caused. And Equus wasn't the universe, that was too awful to think about. This had to be undone. "Really?" Spike blinked. "Wait. You mean Flim and Flam were supposed to be bad guys?!" He gasped. The fillies looked at each other uncomfortably. "No seriously! Flim and Flam were jerks before?! They were actually bad ponies?! That's-! Oh man! This isn't nearly as fun when it's the other way around... Was there anypony else who were jerks you aren't telling me?! Wait! I don't wanna know!" Spike did NOT look happy. Scootaloo felt queasy. Apple Bloom kept her eyes straight ahead. Button Mash's eyes were misty. "Button?" Sweetie whispered. "Just... just thinking about how our adventure's almost over but... but hey, we'll, I mean, you will, and I will, have... will both have fun times after... right?" "Button Mash... why are you scared?" "I'm not scared." He sniffed. "Button, I've known you long enough to know that's a lie." "That... that's nice of you to say, Sweetie," the little colt answered. A large gate with the eight-diamonds symbol above it lay in front of the ponies. Next to it was a sign also with the logo reading, 'Now Leaving Last Market Street.' The gate stood halfway through the fog wall, and out of it stepped Phobia. "Hello, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Daring Do, Spike, and you too, Button Mash. This may not be the last time we meet before the end of your adventure, but this will be the last time we'll have a chance to speak in-depth." It disturbed Daring Do more how adult the foal was speaking than his broken wing did. The children looked uncomfortable about it as well. "Phobia? Are ya okay? Yer actin', different." "I'm sorry, Apple Bloom, time is running out." "And you want us to take MORE time to chit-chat?" Scootaloo remarked. "Yes," Phobia said plainly. Then his attitude did a 180 and he casually asked, "Hey Apple Bloom, did you ever wonder what would have happened if Batmare's parents never died?" "...She'd be a lot happier." "Yeah, but she'd never have become Batmare...so what about all the ponies she saved?" " ...Hadn't thought of that..." "Sometimes good can come out of a tragedy, right?" "Ah...Ah guess that's right." "...Tragedies happen to everypony, it's how we react to them that matters." "How do you know that?" Phobia stretched his broken wings. "Oh...yeah...sorry." "Then answer a couple more questions, Apple Bloom. How many ponies are born every day?" "Ah don't know...a lot?" "But...what would happen if the day they were born didn't happen do you think?" " ...Ah...Ah don't...they'd stop existin'?" "That's a good guess. If you're moving things to a new house and something falls out of the cart on the way, what happens to it?" "It gets lost." "Yep! And now it has nowhere it can go in the new place...so it can only go nowhere." "Ah wish this whole mess never happened." "It'd be nice for things to go back to how they were, but maybe not if it never happened." "Huh? How?!" "Well, if it'd never happened, Umbra Breeze would still be with the bad guys, without him they don't have his magic anymore." "Yeah...Ah guess." "And I imagine the bad guy isn't going to be at his best when his plan comes crashing down around his ears. I hear he's a pretty sore loser.” "Hehe...yeah...if only Ah could give 'em a taste of their own medicine and turn this whole mess against them." Apple Bloom didn't notice her friends cringe away from her when she said this. "Yeah, I'd do that if I got the chance." "The Spirits are immune to paradoxes," Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said at the same time, not sure how they knew, and turned at looked at each other. "Very good," Phobia smirked. Scootaloo took in a deep breath and said. "So if Umbra Breeze is really beaten, then it doesn't really matter, he's staying beaten." "Very good, Scootaloo," Phobia said still smirking. "So I say we if we undo this mess totally, the better, before it gets all way to before Celestia was born or something! It could change all of history!" Scootaloo said. Phobia laughed, it made the hairs on Scootaloo's neck stand up. "BEFORE all history's altered? Silly filly, ALL OF HISTORY was remade as soon as the Foal Press released its first issue with the curse, to the dawn of time. And then YOU changed it AGAIN to the dawn of time when your friendship proved strong enough to pierce not just time, but reality itself, and not for the first time." "Phobia, WHAT… ARE… YOU?" Scootaloo shouted out slowly. "Somepony who wants to help. And that's the only answer you're getting." He locked his eyes on Apple Bloom again. "Apple Bloom... wouldn't it be easy... once you get your hooves on the printing press, to simply write up something that causes Diamond Tiara the Nightmare, the blank diamond, to never exist? She's a Nightmare, not a Spirit, so she's not immune to paradoxes, you could just erase her." He grinned showing fangs. "Then Silver Spoon wouldn't have become our friend." "Or mine." Spike sighed. "And Twist would have never forgiven Silver Spoon." Apple Bloom said. "Or all the other good stuff that happened." "You sure? It's the greater good. What's one filly to that? You don't need to erase her, that's what you thought I meant? Just erase her running away, she stays in Ponyville as a garden variety bully... Fixes everything. You can go back to that nice status quo you lived in. Happily crusading every day. Playing video games. Assisting Twilight, let adults save the world, you're just kids, why should you worry?" Apple Bloom's teeth chattered. "Ah can't. Maybe it's selfish. Maybe it's stupid. But Ah... If Ah changed that... it would change who we are... what we've done, who we've grown to be this whole year. We're gonna fix things but... that's somethin'... that's somethin'... Ah don't know the whole story... if Ah fix it just like that... Ah could make things worse." Spike rolled his eyes. "Good. Can't have somepony who would go rewriting existence for a quick fix, but can't be somepony who'd immediately brush off the idea without thinking about it, this isn't for sissies ya know! If you make no changes what so ever… how are you different from the Goddess of No Changes herself?" "Who?" "Just an old fairy tale; a wicked goddess who kept everything in an unending loop, so she could punish a villain over and over. Be afraid of making a mistake, of thoughtlessness, of indifference, but don't be afraid of changing the world." "You're lying," Scootaloo said instead of Apple Bloom. "Fairytales are things that didn't happen in the world you're living. All you remember and believe before the world was remade are just fairytales now." Then Phobia took out an apple from nowhere and took a bite. "These apples are really good Apple Bloom, you really should be proud your family can churn out an apple so sweet, wholesome, and resilient." "... Thank... you?" Apple Bloom tilted her head. "It's amazing how one apple can tip the scales isn't it?" Phobia rolled the apple core at her. "But in the real world, scales are never just two sides. There are many... and the little apple, no matter brave it is, or how much its can change everything... can never be fully aware of them. If it was, it would be an apple tree. And others will keep pushing the unknowing apple to go in their direction. And others just want to use the apple to flip over the table. The little apple isn't even part of the scales, can't even make its own side... but it decides which way the scales go." Apple Bloom's heart hammered in her chest. "But is the apple, the same as all the others? Or did somepony add something, a little extra weight to make apple the one who'd decide the way the scales go? It might even bare markings to show it's not the same as the other apples. That make it a demi-apple? "And what way should the scale move? Back to the way it was? So back to just before bad things happened so they happen again? Back to the way it was but without the bad thing happening? ... Cling to the status quo? How many things need to change so the bad things don't happened? How many holes would that make? An apple seed shouldn't reject good soil it lands in, for the sake of proving that it doesn't or shouldn't need help... Isn't that the opposite of friendship?" "WHAT ARE YA GOIN' ON ABOUT?" "... If you were as confused as you're pretending to be little Apple, you wouldn't be so scared. Ask Scootaloo, doesn't she have little friends from her old home town that she never found out what happened to them, ones who loved making flowers bloom?" "That's in the past!" Scootaloo defended. Phobia gave Scootaloo an insulted look. "It has to have HAPPENED to be in the past Scootaloo. You remember didn't happened, that's a dream. And aren't dreams, maybe something you could help make real? Friendship is the virtue ponies hold above all others after all, the one strong enough to defeat abominations and save worlds... It's easier to bring back friends who went away, then friends who never left after all... If you made a wish to bring back the Flutterponies... would it work? Changelings are Flutterponies." "Alula and Tootsie were 'fixing' things for the better and look what happened!" "... Correct. Very good. A pony who does whatever they're told without question from anypony is a pony without creativity, and is no creator and has no business trying to repair a world." "We are near the end... you're dropping every pretense that you're just somepony lost in the fog," Sweetie Belle said. Phobia sighed and nodded. "You're right. You are. But that's relative considering how long it took you to get here. Your ancestors were cursed by Discord little filly, but if that curse never happened, your family wouldn't be here. Be careful. The game's rules helped you against the horror's rules, but rules aren't friends. Typically in these games, the heroes loss or sacrifice somepony just before the end that isn't undone." He slowly eyed each of them. Daring Do spoke up. "You don't NEED ponies dying to have an exciting adventure!" "Some things are sadder than death," Phobia sighed. "I can't give you anymore advice for the rest of your quest. And I don't know precisely what's going to happen inside the tower. All I can do now is wish you good luck. Apple Bloom. Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle. Button Mash. Spike. Daring Do. Be brave for as far as you get. ... It was fun walking along side you. Even if you can't see me, I'll be there." Phobia walked backwards, and vanished. "Do you think he WAS the fog all along?" Sweetie Belle asked. "He appeared in spots there was no fog," Apple Bloom said. "That... was... CREEPY!" Spike declared. "And I'm feeling ready to throw up from all that stuff from how it made my head spin!" "I know his type," Daring Do said. "We'll figure out what he means JUST when we need to. It's how these things normally go." "Sacrifice... loss..." Button whispered. "HEY! Don't fret about it," Scootaloo said. "We've beaten all the rules before and we'll beat that one, even IF it comes up." "Ah'm fightin' so we DON'T have'ta become thugs to win!" Apple Bloom said. "When Earth Flower died in Last Fantasy VII, it wasn't for any big sacrifice, it was a meaningless end. The game's creator said he did it because he wanted to show death was random, but life goes on anyway." Apple Bloom drew in a breath. "Ah... Ah know Ma and Pa ain't comin' back..." "I know Kifuko isn't Chrysalis," Sweetie said uncomfortably. "See?" Scootaloo said, "Nothing to worry about! So onward we go already!" The heroes all nodded, and trotted through the gate, and into the fog one last time. + Maud Pie was confused. Phobia had left. She didn't like the foal going out into the fog all by himself. But he'd done so anyway. She should have stopped him, but she didn't. Neither did Pinkie Pie, which confused her even more. Pinkie Pie accepted it as is, but something in Maud stirred at it. "Wish we were getting more customers," Mr. Cake said. "Yes dear, we could tell everypony that we're back together," Mrs. Cake added. Maud Pie silently agreed, the number of customers for Sugar Cube Corner today was abysmal. Which was very weird, as Pinkie Pie said that the store normally had very loyal customer base and was the command center for Pinkie Pie's custom party services. Gummy for his part was complicating the alien stagnation that had fallen over the place in the foal's wake. Like things had been locked in place, like words written in a book, impossible to change. It annoyingly reminded him of how in a play, things were in that situation as the last the audience saw them. Gummy wondered about all the poor characters in stories that were never finished, doomed to be caught in that same situation forever. Maud Pie also dimly noted that it was like it was always afternoon, that there was no bed time or morning... she was quite certain that wasn't how things were supposed to be, but nopony else was talking about it, so she might as well not either. Rocks didn't care that much about time, and Maud Pie had been described as being much like the rocks on her family's farm. She liked rocks enough it was a compliment to her. There was a jingle at the door, and Maud Pie had an odd feeling of time moving forward. In came two earth pony foals, both very young. The filly had a red mane and white coat. They hopped and skipped to the counter. "Hello, my little dears," Mrs. Pie said. "Who are you?" She asked in typical Ponyville greeting. "I'm Creative Spirit!" said the filly. "And I'm Pearly Gates!" said the colt. "Where are your parents, dears?" Mr. Cake asked. "Mommy was born in Norwood, Massachusetts," said the filly. "I've never heard of there." "You wouldn't have," said the colt. He took some bits out of somewhere and put them on the table. "We'd like a couple super-size cookies please!" "That seems a little big for you." The foals grinned. "We can handle it," they echoed. "Alright." Mr. Cake took the bits and gave them the giant cookies, that the foals munched down on like a pair of piranhas. Having had their cookie, the foals went over to where Pinkie Pie was entertaining her sister with a game of pony-poker between herself, Maud, Boulder, and Gummy... Boulder was falling behind, but Maud and Gummy's poker faces were nearly evenly matched. And a barrel full of rock candy serving as the poker chips. Maud Pie however wondered if that would make Boulder a cannibal. "Hello Maud Pie!" said Creative Spirit. "We've come here with a message from Phobia." Maud Pie blinked, and looked at the foals. "Then you should have said so right away." "Oh give them a break, Maud! Who can resist any of Sugar Cube Corner's treats!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "We came with the message because Phobia couldn't come to deliver it himself." Pearly Gates said. "He says you need to come help at the Princesses' Tower." > Optional Canon Balancing Act > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A pony dressed in hunting gear ran through the woods in complete panic. Never upon a time, he would've been a simple fisherstallion who caught fish to sell as animal food or lunch for griffins, but a fisherstallion wouldn't fit as well as a hunter in the rumored spread about his neck of the woods and the details of those supposedly never-heard-from-again, so the needed changes had been wrought. Not that it did much good against an invisible entity chasing him through the woods. He finally hid behind a tree, panting heavily, hoping he'd lost it...when three red dots appeared on his chest. He prepared to dodge...when something tackled his attacker out of its perch and began fighting with it. This was before a strange mare with a star cutie mark grabbed his hoof. "Come with me! Hurry!" she yelled, pulling him along and away. Rising from the fallen leaves was a strange armored bipedal monster with two gauntlets, each housing extending wrist blades, dreadlocks hanging next to his head. The other was a very predatory-looking griffin; her fur a dark red. She threw away a sparking, damaged weapon of some sort and cracked her neck in preparation. One of her front claws was made of stone. "Normally, I would love to fight one of you," the griffin said, seeming INSULTED before dodging a claw slash from the creature with expert precision. She then ducked under another, causing the beast to drive its claws into the side of a tree and allowing her to slash through the tendons of its arm with one of her own claws with the opening. "But you're a mere mockery of one of my favorite species...a disgrace." The creature tried to slash with his other arm, only for her to duck underneath and deliver a well-placed slash to its legs to sever the tendons. As it fell to its knees, she hurried behind it with surprising speed and put one claw on its chin and the other on top of its head. With one swift motion, she wrenched its head down towards its shoulder while twisting it in the direction of the opposite shoulder, earning a loud snap. The beast turned to smoke as it fell limply to the ground. "Extinct." The bubble would simply 'reveal' another one was there. Or spawn some other monster. But that wasn't the point now that the victim had left the story. "Strife." The griffin turned to see the mare with the star cutie mark run back. "Is he safe?" The mare nodded. "With the others in this bubble...At least somepony's managed to make some safe zones to take ponies to." "Indeed, let's move onto the next one," Strife replied, turning and beginning to walk away. "...Strife...may I ask...why do you seem so unusually motivated? Normally you detest such...interference," the star mare said, continuing beside her. The Spirit of Natural Selection scoffed in disgust. "This isn't life being challenged. This horror doesn't even pretend its targets have a chance of survival. This is not Survival of the Fittest. It's a shooting gallery for our cousin's spawn, never mistake one for another." "I understand...according to your sister, Nyarlathotrot was vanquished." THAT seemed to get Strife's attention as they exited the bubble. "By whom?" "Vertias." Strife actually gave laugh and clapped her paws. "And to think, that one's previous incarnation was such a disappointment to me. That's my concept for you. Life always finds a way to surprise me." +++ "We just rescued my sister from...what they did to her husband," said Lemon Hearts on a console of the TARDIS, with what seemed to be ANOTHER TARDIS behind her. "Bank you, Lemon Hearts," Derpy replied. "I'll keep you posted...and tell Doc to invest in some posted notes, his next self seems to have a bad memory." "Okay." Derpy turned to Doctor Hooves, who was at the console with eleven other screens going. "So this world is normally less of a disaster?" said an older looking blue pony with a white mane and tail. "Yes. yes, why do you think we make it our safe house eventually?" 'Time Turner' replied. "He's right, you know," replied a grey pony with a blue bow tie and a top hat. "No Daleks, no Cyberponies, no Master. I'd tell you more about that last one, but spoilers. At least apples are the big thing here, would be awkward if it were pears." "Indeed. Though I am annoyed I don't end up ginger when I become you," 'Time Turner' replied with slight annoyance. "You and me both!" "Whatever the case, we're about to reach our next destination, see you gents later," he said and logged out. "So all of those are blue?" Derpy asked. "More or less. I'll give Discord and company credit, they did a bloody good job of making the world a living Tartarus for there to be twelve of me trying to fix this, and we're STILL running ourselves ragged!" A pony clearing her throat came from one of the monitors. "Sorry, twelve of me and a Time Mare. Still getting used to you being a thing." "Thank you," replied Minuette's voice. "Good thing HE thought to store a TARDIS somewhere...I'd hate to be stuck in this and not able to do anything." "I can respect that feeling, now come on, let's get back to work." +++ A young doe ran through the woods, finding herself chased by deer wearing the outfits of the old Deer Empire regime. Or had it ever left? Had it risen again or simply always been hiding in the shadows? She seemed to have conflicting memories. Finally, she ended up running right off a cliff! She was so high, from this height she'd certainly die...until trees hanging from the sides of the cliff subtly wove themselves into a net, catching her safely and curling up to hide her. The Hooviet soldiers looked down, and being mindless drones as many of their kind, turned and headed off to continue her search. "Huh?" "Malen'kiy odin, vy v bezopasnosti." she heard in her head. "Sleduyte tsvety, oni budut derzhat' vas bezopasnym." The fawn was lowered down to the ground gently and flowers began sprouting in front of her. She did as was told and followed them. +++ Deep below the former Deer Kingdom royal palace, a massive, blue crystal tree stood, roots spreading out. Its own power seeming to cloak its presence. After all, it was half spawned from Chaos itself, which cloaked its Harmony well enough. The roots spread far to project the thoughts and power over nature, even across bubbles. It wasn't that difficult when she could project parts of itself into newly created timelines that shouldn't exist. Before the curse's apex Mother Deer gasped. She could feel it. The world's harmony...its status being torn to shreds. History being re-written into something vile and ugly. And she could feel something coming. Coming for her...or rather for Mother Deer. She was consciously aware of changes in reality...but she didn't want the one who she could only now feel in the world's magic to realize that as the fog exploded from the center of Equesria to all of Equus. The goddess seemed to dissolve into the earth and emerge in a cavern deep below the palace. "I never thought I'd need to assume this form again." Her hooves seemed to turn to blue crystal roots, her antlers nubs growing out into crystal antlers, then into branches. Flesh and blood became blue crystal as the Mother of All Deer returned to her true form: the Tree of Harmony. And with it, the rumors meant for her had no target to infect. After all, the Tree of Harmony had only been known by a handful of mortals in all of this world's history, so how could a rumor ever exist about it? +++ "And so you can see, the defendant can only be guilty of the crimes of which they are accused!" proclaimed a prosecution lawyer with a bug net cutie mark in a court which was presided by a judge with a kangaroo as a cutie mark. The entire jury was also composed of ponies that looked strangely like the Maneiac from the Power Pony comics, right down to overly long manes. "OBJECTION!" shouted a stallion with a scales of justice cutie mark, his mane being surprisingly spiky. "Saying a pony is a changeling because they have a bug name or cutie mark is preposterous!" "All changelings have bug names!" replied the prosecution. "But if all PONIES with bug related names and cutie marks were changelings, that would mean you, Mr. Bug Hunt, would be a changeling!" the defense lawyer replied, earning a court room wide gasp. "Well...well, I can't be a changeling!" Bug Hunt replied. "I never said you were. But if your logic for condemning my client was correct based on her cutie mark being a ladybug, then your bug net cutie mark and having bug in your name would be proof you're a changeling." Bug Hunt began sweating. "Well...I..." the guards grabbed him and began dragging him away. "Wait a minute! No! Stop!" The judge gave an annoyed sigh. "That's the third lawyer this trial! Recess while we find another one!" 'Scales of Judgment' looked a bit sickened by that. 'Bug Hunt' was nothing more than a rumors made replica, but false accusations sickened him. "Thanks," said the blue Earth Pony with a lady bug cutie mark, Bitta Blues. "Who knows what they'll do to me if they find me guilty." Scales of Judgment gave a reassuring, but notably fatigued smile. "You're welcome...now please excuse me, I'll be right back," he said, and rushed off. Judicium had quite the tiring job: keep every false court rumor tied up in knots and delayed, and if possible win the case (which was incredibly unlikely, and so far he'd yet to succeed.) It was worse because the rumors MADE the pony themselves believe they were guilty, because they were guilty by majority vote of the perception of reality! Scales of Justice was technically lying. Crimes had indeed been committed, but not truly of the criminal’s own free will. In this case, it had been being guilt of being a minion of Chrysalis on account of being a changeling. And unlike Lyra, Bon Bon, and Moth, his client wasn't a relative of 'Equestria's great Princesses' to get them off the hook. Thankfully, a court needed fixtures, so by tying up ONE court, he tied up multiple rumors at the same time. But Even the Concept of Judgment could only keep this up so long when the very laws of reality were written against him. +++ Lovestruck swooped down and snatched a filly right out in front of a serial killer with a hockey mask. "Hang on, kid! I'll get you somewhere safe!" the demi-goddess yelled, pulling her up through the dimensional barrier trying to keep the filly in, heading up to Cloudsdale. The filly held onto her for dear life. "Thank you! Uh...why are you wearing a diaper?" Lovestruck panted. While she did recharge a bit from going to Venus' dimension, she was still a hybrid. She didn't have infinite stamina (merely far more than a mortal), and she couldn't keep this up forever. She shook her head to get that thought out so she could just focus on the rescue. "Comes with my job, now hang on!" +++ Wavedancer braced herself, blocking with the trident as one of Dra-gon's tentacles slammed into her and launched her. A wall of bubbles caught her and her fellows lowered her down. The waters were fogged with Dra-Gon's blood, his wounds slowly sealing back up. The sea ponies were growing tired. Working together they'd avoided losing somepony, but there'd been plenty of close calls and many of them were already badly hurt. "YOU CANNOT HOPE TO DEFEAT ME, CYANOBACTERIA." The behemoth began gathering some kind of energy into his maul...when a massive roar echoed through the sea. The Old Great One turned just in time for a large creature resembling a green and red fish with a lion-like head, two golden horns atop his head, slammed into his 'stomach' with the force like a freight train, moving so fast a water cone formed around him. Even though Dra-Gon was many times larger than his attacker, it seemed the sheer momentum and force refused to be stopped by his bulk and the impact carried him backwards, straight through a rock formation as its eldritch beam missed its target and towards the waters' surface. The King of the Sea had an ornate golden trident in his fin and flourished it before rearing back and letting out a roar. "LEAVE MY DOMAIN MONSTER!" he announced in what seemed to be the Royal Canterlot Voice. "YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!" A little sea pony filly floated down next to Wavedancer. "I finally reached King Leo!" the little child exclaimed. Seaswirl took one look at King Leo, and felt the memories flowing into her, remembering her King, who had guarded and ruled the sea ponies as far back as their 3002 years of history went before it became legend and then became myth. "Well done, Tiny Bubbles," replied Wavedancer, nuzzling the little one. "The king has arrived! Long live the king!" "LONG LIVE THE KING!" "DEEP PONIES, COME FIGHT FOR YOU FATHER!" Dra-Gon bellowed as deformed mixes of aquatic and equine life swam out of the depths of the deepest darkness, looking like to the Sea and Mere ponies, like changelings were to Flutterponies. Or Orcs to Elves. "Come, my little ponies! It is time to free the seas!" King Leo announced. Assembling behind their ruler, the sea ponies joined the charge against the fazed leviathan. +++ Princess Trixie slammed into a monster and blew it back. "Get to the city center!" she called to the pony behind her. "Yes, Princess!" the mare said, running off while Princess Trixie covered for her to aid her in escaping. Princess Starflower watched her friend pant, clearly looking tired. "Are you okay, Trixie?" "Yes, Trixie is fine," she said. "Just a little tired..." "...We can't keep this up forever." "I know...but we'll keep up as long as we can." +++ "Well..." Said the pony who had served ice cream to Princess Animatia Erroria. "That should about do it." Several wooden signs enchanted to misdirect the sight anyequus who looked at them were now posted all around the bubble of existence containing Rainbow Falls. "Be safe with your wife my little ball of creativity." She clipped a hole in a punch card. "Dang... Discord is really making me fill up my divine intervention card... I won't be able to directly intervene for... 1000 years? Why is it always 1000 years? Why? There are other numbers in the universe, Mom! I mean I know it sounds more ominous than 962 years or something, but still! Dang I'm late for my appointment!" She vanished into thin air. +++ "Pensilis, there's a pony at this location in need of swift rescue," Mortis said, standing at what seemed like an infinite number of hour glasses. Or was it an infinite number of clocks? Candles? "On it, brother!" replied a telepathic voice. Mortis, being the concept of death, knew whenever somepony's time was coming close, even in this terrible twisted soup of realities. "Okay, I got a filly with a good and noble heart and a brilliant mind to become Prancy Drew, but I don't know if I can do anymore 'make heroes come to life!'" Pandora said, teleporting in. "Good, that will be helpful," Mortis replied. "Rota will likely help make sure she gets to where she needs." "There's also the problem that since they're independent beings now from the curse, they'll STAY that way if the curse is undone, along with their villains. I don't know if I DARE do anymore!" "I don't tell you how to enact yourself Imagination." "So...brother-in-law...uh...couldn't you just...you know...take a vacation?!" Pandora questioned. "That way no pony can die? I mean I know you don't WANT to normally, but we don't have many options!" Mortis' expression didn't change. "...Could? Yes. Yes I COULD...but if I did, it wouldn't stop ponies from suffering fatal situations, merely stop them from DYING from them. Which means everypony who's caught in a death trap or torn to ribbons or even burned to ash would not be able to die. They'd remain trapped in their ruined body, unable to pass on. And even as dire as things are, that fate is NOT one I am going to doom billions to." Pandora winced. "...Point taken...So we just keep trying to stop everymortal from dying?" "Yes...for as long as we can... Even if Shub-Neighurath's brood is defeated and more of them do not come, ponies' reality will remain a disconnected soup filled with bubbles. We have to trust in our apple." "...They can do it...I believe in them." "...I wouldn't have married your sister if I didn't either...now continue helping. It’s all we can do." +++ In a grand cosmic expanse, so far out the universe looked like a map of a brain's neurons, countless outer 'galaxies' swirling around in the vast reaches, each a multiverse, the unimaginably vast forms of the Four Greats Foundations stared down on creation, entire universes around them, looking as if they were the rest of this system's galaxy. While each were extending their reach in an Avatar (except Entropy's Avatar that had been retconned into an Incarnation), they were always here. How this could be so was beyond mortal comprehension. The universe appeared black and tainted, twisted in knots. In the distance, the black formless, insanity inducing mass that was Azerhorse floated aimlessly, not involved in the situation or even noticing it, merely EXISTING in this realm beyond everything. "For Once, I Am Upset It Takes Us A Literal Eternity For All Four Of Us To Agree On The Set Up For A Universe," Havoc said. "Then We Wouldn't Have To Put The Weight On Them." "THAT IS WHY WE RESERVE THAT FOR THE TIME BETWEEN ENTROPY'S DUSK AND MY DAWN," Fauna Luster lamented. Fear/Tartarus, Sanity/Elysium, Beginnings/Life, and the End/Never Was were the grand Clock-Makers of creation. And designing that clock was possibly, maybe one of the reasons they were so perfectly contrasting to one another. Perhaps, who knows when it comes to beings literally older than time? For the 'final version' of a universe's foundation to be properly set in place required no room for error, and the discussions to do so would take eons a piece. Life constantly reminded Fear and Nothingness of Life's needs, Nothingness constantly reminded the others of when things NEEDED to end for things to be stable, Wisdom ran countless beta tests and calculations in His mind with each change made, and Fear reminded the others of when something was needed to be frightening for good reason. These are not a mere one trillionith of the ways the Four worked with one another when making the blueprints that would be the foundation of the new universe. For this reason, the Four Elders saved their discussions on such things until the Heat Death had occurred and they would have an eternity to plan. And above them, was something else, but she does not come into this story. For the Four Elders to personally take into account remaking the universe in the event Discord's gambit was defeated, would require time it wouldn't have. Even now they knew if they began debating how the universe to be repaired would be, they knew it would be an eternity. "I Will Ensure The One Who Chooses Will Have Access to What They Require," Sane Reality replied. "It Pains Me To Pass This Burden To A Mortal, It Is Not Theirs To Bear, But To Repair And Change What Is Is Much Less Of One, And One Which One Mind Is Better Suited To Handling. A Mortal Knows How The World Should Be, And Has The Experiences To Know What Should Be Changed." "And Let's Face It," Havoc said. "The Kids EARNED A Reward After What They've Done, And They Won't See The Grand Stained Glass Window Reward Room Of The Gods Until They Die." "IT IS STILL A BURDEN," Fauna Luster added. "A Promotion Means New Responsibilities, But It's Still A Reward," was Fear's reply. None saw reason to argue, as each had come to this conclusion on their own with their own viewpoint. "HAVOC, YOU GAVE THE CHILD A CHOICE ON GIVING THIS A SWIFT END," Entropy said. "WHY?" Havoc shrugged. "Well, Personally, If It Was ONLY My Choice, Then I'd Have Told Her It's What She Needed To Do, Simple Solution, But Little Diamond IS My Grandniece after All, And They Made A Good Argument. Besides, Like ALL Four Of Us Could Agree On That." "I COULD NEVER ASK A MORTAL TO FORSAKE THEIR LOVED ONES AND BONDS," Fauna Luster replied. "It Makes Logical Sense...But Without Diamond Tiara And Discord's Influence, Things With Chrysalis May Have Gone Worse. If They Had That Knowledge, They May Be Able To Find A Third Option, But It Is Outside Their Context." "See?" Havoc asked. "Let's Be Honest Cosmic Entities Here, Nature's Fury Is Pragmatic, Nature's Law Is Compassionate. There's A Reason She Made Us That Way, And It'd Be Far Worse If It Weren't The Case." "...Havoc, You Did Properly Shield The Souls Within You, Correct?" Heaven asked of Hell. Havoc nodded. "Don't Worry, Buddy. None In Tartarus Felt The Waves Of Reality Shifting." "Good," Heaven said, then looked to the two none Afterlives. "When Reality Shifts, All Souls Must Adapt Or there Will Be A Great Divide Between Them And Those Still To Join Them...We Have Turned That Adaptation Off, So Those Who Are In Me." "And Me," Havoc continued. "Are Not Pulled From That Which Their Choices Have Brought Them Too." Entropy rose up, looking down on the planet below. "...SO SURPRISE IS STILL IN YOU, REALITY?" "Yes. She Is Safe...Why Do You Ask, Entropy?" "...THE END OF THE JUST SHOULD NOT BE TWISTED INTO THE END OF THE WICKED, SUCH A THING IS BEYOND REVOLTING," Endings replied...looking at something in Her claw that was incomprehensibly small compared to Her. A rock. As was to be expected, Her face did not betray Her thoughts. Havoc merely gave a knowing smile. "Alright, Fellow Top Beings...It's Almost Time For My Son To Get His Spanking And End This Fear That Has No Meaning." "TO FREE LIFE FROM THIS HORROR," Fauna Luster added. "To Restore Sanity And Rescue All Things," The Father of All Alicorns continued. "TO NOT LET THIS ENDLESS SUFFERING CONTINUE ANY FURTHER," Entropy ended. The four Elders nodded, turning their focus back to the poisoned universe. > Kinda Sorta Maybe 'Canon' Funeral For an Evil Dorito > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Here goes the bag of doritos into the bowl. Oh wait, they're ranch flavor, snap, and there we go, nacho cheese flavor. Let's just have one for a snack, OW! Sorry me, I couldn't help myself. Well mind your manners, now put the chip back. Okay.' "Are we really doing this father?" Blank Diamond said without emotion. "I don't even know who you're doing this wake for." 'He was a VERY VERY fun friend of mine. He started out as a 2-D nothing, but rose to the ranks of becoming a true being of power in the dream realm! He even once managed to swindle Morning Star out of the last pizza slice at our teenage prep rally as his date! We spent trillions of years betting on who could out-do each other on the most fun stuff! We were true kindred spirits... of course if we were ever in the same universe we'd have to destroy each other as rival supreme lords of the universe, but that's just business.' "And you both agreed on that?" 'Of course! What's the point in having a kindred spirit and not being up-front with them that you intend to destroy them if they ever become your rival?' "..." 'Besides, we were both lovers of the fine art of chaos, us lying to one another and me not giving him a wake would be PREDICTABLE...Hey hey hey, you crazy ponies!' "Yes, Fruit Titan Discord?" asked several mad ponies wearing black mourning garb. 'You're wearing black! This is a CHAOTIC wake! Wear purple and yellow plaid mourning garb!' "Uh, we're wearing tye-dyed!" Sleepy Skies defended. 'Hmm...okay, you hippy ponies are good.' "Dude, why are we even here?" Flax Seed asked looking around, "We, dude, didn't even know the guy." "It would be rude to refuse dear," said Wheat Grass to her husband. The various hippies ponies being not driven insane by Discord's magic. "Plus free food," said Tofu. 'Ugh, 'why' this and 'why' that. I officially outlaw the asking of why I did something!' "Father, you already outlawed laws." 'Oh...right…Then I hereby declare it extremely rude to ask me why I did something!' "How can you outlaw anything? Aren't Princesses Animatia Erroria and Liza Doolots the honorary sacred, properly correct, but-in-no-way-overbearing acting guardians of Equestria's liberties?" May Flowers asked innocently. 'Because those two believe morals are the restraining, annoying things they are, so they didn't question it. Besides, we're in Chaos Land, and I am chaos, therefore Chaos Land might as well be part of me.' "...So we're standing in you?" 'One way of looking at it.' Then Flax Seed asked. "But isn't the World Tower the embodiment of all that is and the heart of the world dude?" Discord gave an annoyed growl. 'Yes, and me, the 'Princesses', my little Princess, and my cousin all rule it, and my cousin didn't have a will." "Dude, I thought Queen Celestia and Princess Luna ruled it, you're just poor and misunderstood from everypony didn't understand all your games before, dude." '...If you stop talking, I'll give you your own reality bubble that embodies the hippy subculture.' "You already declared us supreme viceroys of the heart land Equestria," Wheat Grass said. "And Queen Celestia was okay with it." '...The answer to all questions you may have towards me is Chaos, moving on.' "But that wasn't a question." '...Okay, simple solution. Snap. There, here's a Mini-Discord, direct any confusion about Equestria towards him from now on. Can we get back to my chaotic wake now?' "The sooner it's over," Blank Diamond said not trying to hide her disinterest. "And who are you cute little Princess?" May Flowers asked. "I'm she whose true name must not be spoken until my final hour. I am the howling wind within the hearts of all ponies who discover there is no answer. I am the expression of your darkest lament at the futility of existence." The blue hippie pony didn't stop smiling. "You'd really like my cousin. She can make a spot for you at her next poetry recital." Discord cleared his throat and looked at the signature guest book. 'Ugh! His Henchmaniacs didn't even decide to show up! I sent them invites!...Oh, wait they replied to the invites…'Imprisoned in the Nightmare Realm for all eternity, can't make it.' Well that's just rude!' "Your first mother never once told you she loved you?" Wheat Grass asked amazed. The micro-Discord sobbed and nodded. 'Princess!' A blast from Blank Diamond's horn vaporized the micro-Discord. 'And this is why I don't make Extensions!' "I thought you didn't do that because you had a gigantic ego," Blank Diamond replied, completely emotionless. 'That's true. Ugh, why can't I keep control of one chaotic wake?!' "Because it's a chaotic wake?" '...Point taken.' May Flowers said, "Tree Hugger's going to be sorry she missed this. There! I finished lighting all the incense!"   'Good good, thank you! Now we can maybe actually get started. Everypony please put on your 4-D Glasses and mad ponies begin playing the music.' May Flower gasped behind the 4-D Glasses. "Whao, dude...I can like see time." Wheat Grass said, "I'm pretty sure this is a STEP DOWN from how Tree Hugger sees the universe." "Or a step sideways," Sleepy Skies said. 'Yes, yes, it's amazing. Reminds me of limited the third dimension is compared to the Spirit World. Now...' Half the mad ponies began humming 'Here Comes the Bride' through their noses which strangely sounded like trumphets. The other half started playing 'Happy Birthday to You' on bagpipes. One played an actual furneral durge on a kazoo backwards. Wheat Grass meanwhile let out a graceful warble between ringing a small bell. Blank Diamond's horn glowed and the stained glass Discord on the window became animated and cleared its throat. 'We are gathered here today to remember my triangle shaped adopted-cousin, Bill, who was tragically trapped inside a mind that was being erased then had his weakened form punched into oblivion by an old monkey. At least it was a fate that no one could have predicted. Bill's was a lover of chaos, and detested order. Liberated his second dimensional world from its boring limitations. Truly a polygon after my own heart. I mean sure, his universe tore itself apart at the seems, dooming everything and leaving him trapped in his own decaying dimension, but you can't make a multidimensional omlet without breaking a few eggs, am I right?' The mad ponies cheered. Blank Diamond didn't react at all. The hippie ponies looked at each other. "Does he mean the hatching of the great cosmic egg?" May Flowers asked. 'He accomplished a great many things in his trillion year long life. Such as being host to the universe's most wild party! Pulling a Kefka and actually succeeding in gaining godly power over the physical world! And vaporizing a baby Time Giant from the future and putting him out of commission for the next thousand years! Oh, and becoming almost as popular with the Shadows Who Watch as yours truly! Almost.' The mad ponies cheered again. "Dude...what's a Time Giant?" May Flower asked. "Maybe, like, a metaphor for how time looms over us all?" Wheat Grass asked. 'But now, we must bid adieu and look forward to the future. Summer can't last forever, unless you hack reality and trap existence in a unending loop rending all accomplishments and increase in power meaningless as the future is forever beyond your reach. But I digress. So long Bill, you will be missed, my one regret is that you don't to experience what it's like being turned to stone for a thousand years in a peaceful orderly zen state.' Blank Diamond looked up from a TV programming guide that had been lying about. "And he managed to get a emotionally vulnerable little girl with naive world views to doom the world without driving her insane." 'Yes yes. And her little reality marble was so much fun! Childish wish fulfillment at its finest!' "Jealous?" 'No, because while I wish you'd be a bit more chaotic you didn't end up helping end me in the end because she realized she didn't like what she got...now if she'd betrayed him for more power, then maybe I'd be jealous. Hint hint young lady! Now, let us say goodbye to Bill. May he rest in...well, not peace, peace is BORING. May he rest in chaos.' Discord's stained glass image tapped his chin, then snapped his fingers. Blank Diamond made no visible reaction but lifted the bowl of doritos onto a conveyor belt. And the glass stain window began playing Rising Shepard Tone with a kazoo for ten hours compressed into sixty seconds. One of the mad ponies had a cremation furnace shaped like a dragon's head crawl out of his mouth at the end of the conveyor belt. The bowl of doritos entered, setting them on fire and melting them, bowl and all. The furnace's jaws slammed shut, then burst into flutterflies. The glass window stopped animating when Blank DIamond's horn stopped glowing. Being it was from Discord, it was left frozen while mooning. 'There! Let's dust off our claws/paws. He's not getting any deader, well, deader than deader than dead. Who wants tacos? Your treat of course.' "Like, tofu tocos?" May Flower asked. 'Eh, why not. I was going to have one made of dark matter with every kind of cheese in existence and anti-matter hot sauce. Think I got my taste for that from my brother...now what's the currency again?' "Rupees." 'Oh yes. Glad to see bits are currently completely meaningless. Until we make them meaningful again when everypony least suspects it!'' "Dude, can salt be the next currency?" Flax Seed asked. 'Hmm, that would be incredibly irresponsible and potentially cause widespread anarchy and chaos...Sure!' "Our farm pretty much runs on anarchy anyway. Don't see what the big deal is," Wheat Grass remarked politely. They'd even hosted a purple unicorn with a shooting star cutie mark once who said she loved how equal everypony was at their little commune. The group departed revealing the funeral home was actually a giant living pyramid which promptly meowed like a kitten and ate itself. > Let Ze Boss Rush Begin!!! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CMC+3 emerged from the fog wall. They tilted her heads up, and up, and up, straining their necks. "That's... a lot of floors," Scootaloo remarked. "Final dungeons are normally big, but don't worry, I bet we won't have to climb all those levels. I bet we somehow end up skipping a lot of floors on the way up," Button Mash assured. The World Tower... all the quests, all the facing their friends, big sisters and mentors, bringing them back to themselves... it was all for this. So they could enter. This was it. It vaguely resembled a pillar, but at the same time, when evenly divided up, made for one nonsensical section after another of… what was that term? Oh right, 'organized chaos.' One section looked like Pegasopolis crammed into a garbage chute and then slid out. The next was a mountain of wooden clockworks, cakes, dolls, spider webs, and chess pieces glued together. Another was blackened bones and skulls the size of houses with glowing eyes carefully arranged to look like a spiral. Another was playing cards of every game imaginable carefully stacked together with Hearth Warming Eve Lights strung about... and they only got stranger from there. Until, at the very top, was a little happy hamlet with what the foals swore was a theme park with a rollercoaster and a great castle of a house, with one section adored with garish glittering colors, and another lifeless and barren in design in basic white shapes with diamonds glittering from it and another that just look comfortable and cozy. It crossed Daring Do's mind to question how the massive tower was even STANDING, but...well, Discord. "So..." Scootaloo said. "No more stupid sicko mockeries of everypony, we just fight or sneak our way to the top, write a retraction, and everything is alright." "Oh no," Button Mash said. "If this is the last dungeon, then we're gonna be facing nasty surprises every five hooves. Be ready for boss rushes. Possibly even of baddies we’ve fought before." "Expect nasties surprises inside nasty surprises every step of the way," Spike said. “I'm betting clown robot dragon ninjas, if Discord's at the bottom of this.” "More like top of this," Apple Bloom said looking up. "... The motel I was staying at was turned into part of the top of the tower... I barely got out alive flying down and away, flying up is suicide. We're going to have to go through the inside." "So no dungeon skipping here," Button Mash said. "And I'm guess teleporting is out too," Spike said. "I'm betting so, yeah," Button answered. “Plus I don't know how,” Sweetie lamented. "Be happy that at least we're at full health," Daring Do said. There was no paved road leading up to the world tower, merely a ring of barren dirt and random rocks, then a ring of apple trees, then a ring of large beautiful gem stone formations, followed by a ring of soft grass and simple flowers, next was a ring of pillars and arches covered in Wonderbolt posters, finally finishing in a ring of bookshelves. The heroes proceeded cautiously, but nothing tried to stop them or ambush them. "Be careful. I saw some nasty big guards waiting outside the Tower before," Daring Do warned. Finally, they came to a tall, unexceptional beige stone wall with no obvious hoof holds or other ways to climb it and was completely smooth on the sides and top in a gentle arc. And scrawled on the wall was graffiti with message like, 'Celly's Breath Smells!' and 'Lulu Eats Cheese' 'Cadence Plays Roller Derby!' and 'Cadence and Shining Armor will name their first foal something really stupid.' "Don't try to fly over, you'll just make yourself a target," Daring Do advised, putting a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. The heroes noticed a large iron door nearly as big as the wall, baring Diamond Tiara's symbol, with a face of a pony engraved on it. "The face is gonna attack us, isn't it?" Scootaloo said. "You think?" Button replied. The heroes crept up to the door, and the metal face opened its eyes and spoke. "If you wish to gain entry to the world tower, present to me three keys from the corners of the world." Scootaloo's response would have gotten her mouth washed out with soap. Button Mash looked at the distraught expression on Sweetie Belle's face, and sighed. Button Mash marched up to the door... and pulled out three keys, each with a skull on it. And began to insert them into the keyholes at the bottom. The metal pony's jaw dropped for a moment. "CHEATER! CHEATER! You can't use a magic key for an event lock!" The metal pony face shouted. "There's nothing that says I can't, the item description says 'use to unlock any door' and that's what I'm doing!" Button Mash said determined as he turned the keys to the sound of unlocking, hearing his friends cheer behind him. "I would have just pounded on the hinges until they came loose, and you fell over, so you're getting off easy." Scootaloo told the face. "Why do you have THREE skeleton keys?!" "Didn't know if they were one use items or not," Button Mash said strangely distant as he turned the last key and the solid metal gate swung inward. The giant door pouted as best it could. “Killjoy...” Button Mash made a gentlemanly 'after you' gesture at Sweetie Belle.' Smiling, Sweetie made to prance in when she stopped dead in her tracks. The ground under the ponies quivered. "Button Mash! Look behind you and run!" Scootaloo shouted. Button did so, and pulled the door closed. “Wait, don't do that! I'll give you candy if you open me back up!” The heroes made a hasty retreat, the door was slammed off its hinges into the ground face first, as various monsters, all empty constructs, chased after them, literally flooding out of the main gate like blood from a wound, the metal face's muffled complaints lost in the din. "Draw them out and pick off the front row!" Daring Do shouted. Timberwolves, giant spider, giant bats, haunted suits of armor, Bloody Hooves, miniature ursas, and various other things came at the poor foals, Spike and Daring Do like moths to a flame. Button Mash took out his zapper and began blasting monsters even as he ran, then tripped. Sweetie wrenched him back up with her magic and deposited him on Daring Do's back without missing a beat as Button Mash kept shooting. The horde pursued them with reckless abandon, with yet more simply flooding out of the entry door. Spike breathed fire into the face of a robot dragon ninja, burning its metal flesh and knocking it back. “Called it!” + 'Dear, did you put ALL the random encounter monsters behind the front gate?' "Most of them, Father." 'Perfect! Oh I worked so hard on some of those!' "Tootsie?” Tootsie looked over through the crystal ball. “Apple Bloom and the others are at the World Tower's outer gate." "...I... I don't want to fight anymore." "No pony ever does. But I need a little more time." "Are... are you sure... all this... is the only way we can free the world from theirthem?" "It's the only way. Will you help?" "... Yes... Diamond Tiara." Tootsie Flute's Diary I'm... I'm a fan of all the Mare Do Wells... Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy? Oh right she wore the costume for a fly-by but... I'm sure she counts as a real Mare-Do-Well, since she didn't do any stuff heroic as Mare Do Well. I... I know she's helped as an Element of Harmony... and... I know that... oh right, she admitted she wasn't possessed... well, Princess Luna said she wasn't and... Princess Luna wouldn't lie about that right? I... I wanted to get an autograph from each of them signed now to my new name, Princess Liza Doolots... I .... I STILL like that name... and I'm still changing to it when I get my cutie mark. ...As I was saying, I wanted to get NEW autographs from all the Mare Do Wells, but... I never got around to it. I was so excited at everything. I was a princess I'd wanted to be ever since Diamond Tiara showed me that world in her magic mirror's reflection in her dream world when she was still recovering from almost being turned to stone. And I rescued Truffle from being the colt friend of such a heartless filly like Twist... I was so caught up in everything... that I never got around it. No, I never wanted them to sign an autograph in the different colors of their cutie marks and Elements of Harmony. And there's no time for that now. I was never Truffle's real special-friend. And I'm not a hero. I never was. And Diamond Tiara... she's told me and Alula the REAL reason she's been doing all of this, what her real... what would Bon-Bon call it? Oh right, 'end game', what her real 'end game' is. I didn't think anything so horrible could be true, but Diamond Tiara Pinkie Promised it was. And how she was going to save everypony from them. I don't know if she's lying about that part anymore or not . . . My parents would hate me if they found out what's really happened, and that I helped bring it about. Captain Pipsqueak and the rest of the crew would hate me. Miss Cheerilee and all my classmates would hate me...everypony would hate me... This is all I have left. I trot outside on one of the lower levels onto a balcony. I draw my bow, and begin taking sniper shots at Apple Bloom and her friends... PLEASE, Apple Bloom, just turn around and leave! Huh?! Is that, DARING DO!? + "As if we didn't have enough problems!" Scootaloo shouted as familiar energy arrows forced her and her friends to zigzag while a monster horde charged behind her! "Guess she's feeling better," Sweetie Belle said. No pony needed to guess from whom the arrow shots from high up the Tower were coming from. "I have a feeling I missed some of the plot here!" Daring Do said. "YOU AND ME BOTH!" Spike shouted. Button Mash used a rope to grab a robot clown werewolf and hold it up to block a few arrows when Daring was distracted by that before throwing it back into the monsters. + "And these books belonged to Paradise The Pegasus herself, of Paradise Estate!" Lickety-Split had no way of knowing that in the original reality, those books sold to his family had been fakes. But now that reality was based on beliefs, not only were the books real, but they had always been real. As such, the preservation magic on them was the only reason they'd not rotted into dust after 5000 years. "Was Paradise the owner of Paradise Estate?" Twist asked, actually a little curious about the fairytale books. She wondered if Paradise had gone to the south pole herself for these books, they did read, 'Published By Penguin Books Inc.' She wondered what the mysterious 'Random House' was where she'd gotten others according to first pages of the books. "No, but she was a story-reader for the Baby Ponies. She wasn't as physical as most pegasi, she was in love with fiction, and preferred to take short cuts to keeping the Estate in top shape." Lickety-Split also had no way to know, that due to a paradox of his family believing themselves to be right and wise in their knowledge of paradise estate, but Megan being from outside their universe, instead of their misconceptions about the Paradise Ponies being made correct, their knowledge changed to suit. "And as I was reading, 'The giant went boom-boom!'" Just as Lickety-Split said that, the ground began to shake in a swift rhythm. The ponies all looked at each other and ran to the windows. Outside, they saw suits of armor trotting in perfect lockstep. The armors were obsidian with silver trim, all suited for large stallions. They carried maces, and axes made of the same material and shields with tower emblems. There were sixteen of them, marching in two rows of eight. Their shields and armor were decorated with eight diamonds in a ring pointing outwards like an octagon. They stopped in front of Lickety-Split's house like clockwork and spoke in a mechanical echo. "Give us Silver Spoon. Or we will destroy you and then take her. So commands the true rulers of the world." Shiny Star thought, 'Somepony needs to tell these knights opening with a death threat isn't how to begin a request. Let alone imply they have Silver's best interests, and that emblem doesn't belong to any Princess I know.' Before anypony could stop her, Shiny Star came out. Post Haste was a teenager, the others were foals, but she, herself was an adult. She was trained on dealing with unwanted guests. Big rule she learned from the Riches, make your position sound important enough. "I am Shiny Star, Seneschal of the Rich Family Co-Founders of Queen Celestia's Granted Town of Ponyville. Who are the 'true rulers' on whose authority you want Silver Spoon?" "Grand Napkin Discord, and His Princess." Well, that settled that. "Where are you taking Silver Spoon? To Minimal Bleach Discord?" "No. To the other side of the planet." "Why?" "Her existence is a threat to the existence of the world." Shiny Star's jaw dropped. "What does that even mean?!" "That is not for you to know. You will surrender Silver Spoon, or you and this house and everything in it will be destroyed, and so shall you," the suits of armor replied like they were playing back a recording. "Silver Spoon! Needs a minute to get ready!" "Sixty seconds and counting. If she is not outside by that time, you shall be all destroyed. But that was ten seconds ago. 50, 49-" Shiny Star ran back inside. "Is there a back door?!" she asked. "They're not going to hurt her, maybe Silver should-" "No, Twist!" "Maybe I should," Silver Spoon said, starting towards the door. "They want you as a PRISONER! A hostage!" "You grab the story books! You grab the piece of Dream Castle, you grab-" "Lickety-Split, we can't carry-" "They gotta be slow in that armor! We don't have time to argue!" "I... nopony notices me, I can get her away from here safe," Featherweight offered, even if his body still had bandages. "They'll never-hear-from-again all of you!" Silver Spoon said. Something in Post Haste snapped and his resolve was tested. "I'LL DISTRACT THEM!" He shouted crazily. "WHY SO SCARED? THE WORST THEY CAN DO IS KILL US ONCE! THIS MUST BE DESTINY!" "You'll delay them for two seconds!" Shiny Star strained picking up Post Haste in her telekenesis as he tried to run out the door. "Feather, get Silver out the back window, everypony else take what they can!" "THEY WON'T EXPECT A LONE PONY TO FIGHT THEM! THEY ARE SLOW AND DIM WITTED! I SHALL DEFEND YOU ALL!" "Zero." The black suits of armor began to march towards the house. They got one trot before a mix between wolf and pony howled, she leapt out of the fog from behind, and began wildly clawing the helmet of one of the knights in the back row. The knight tried to hit the wolf, but its mace and struck itself in the head instead as she leapt to another target. "MOM!" Licket-Split screamed, all reason forgotten, only seeing his mother, and ran for her. Feather Weight tackled him, the colt was stronger than he looked. "LEMMIEGO! MOM!" = Gravity Falls Soundtrack - Shacktron Battle = Above them, a flying dinghy dropped out of the sky, crashing into the suits of armors, but not before six foals and an owlbear, leapt out of it. "By Her Nightesty's command, begin Operation 'Protect Plan B'!" Captain Pipsqueak ordered. "AYE AYE, SIR!" The foals shouted, including one crystal pegasus wearing a cloth over her mane. "HOOT! HOOT!" Shiny Star accepted these foals fighting, after all, they were Princess Luna's privateer crew weren't they? The entire battle quickly descended into chaos. Pipsqueak began jabbing and parrying a black knight whose weapon was bigger than Pipsqueak was, and yet held his footing. Moonlight touched Ruby Pinch and Dinky Doo's backs. All their eyes glowed white, and their horns let loose beams of light that knocked every knight in their path off their feet. Olo The Owlebear ripped one knights' foreleg off, revealing nothing but black smoke inside, toss the arm away, and began bashing the rest with the knight's own mace. "For the glory of Rainbow Dash!" Noi shouted, wearing rainbow colored war paint. She was a member of the Rainbow Dash fan club and proud of it! She struck a knight who struck back, she blocked his axe with her sword, but the force sent her flying, but she was caught by Featherweight. "Thanks!" "Welcome!" "!!! Since when can you-" "DODGE!" shouted Featherweight as the knight fired his fist at the pair! Featherweight cringed as he felt his wounds reopening, just from moving around. "Try some free samples!" shouted the crystal filly, pulling some flowers hidden from under her cloth and tossing them straight to Featherweight's mouth who opened and swallowed on reflex. Instantly he felt his body mending. Shiny Star was still keeping Post Haste from recklessly throwing his life away. And Featherweight then realized to catch Noi he had to let Lickety Split go! And the colt still tried to make a mad dash to his feral mother. Twist was doing the only real intelligent thing she could do and keep her head down and staying inside. She didn't expect Silver Spoon to not do the same and instead raced after and tackled Lickety Split instead. "SILVER SPOON!" As one, the knights marched towards their target, which also meant they were marching towards Lickety Split who she was on top of. Mama Lickety-Split snarled and jumped from armored head to armored head before landing in front of her son (and incidentally Silver Spoon), and growled at the knights who didn't even pause at her. The nearest suit of armor only rose its mace to bash the wolf-pony's body in, and swung empty air, because it never had a mace. Which made sense since it never had an arm to swing the nonexistent mace with. The knight was poorly made since its body was covered in design flaws that looked like claw marks, those flaws caught up with it as it fell apart. In fact, several of the knights were also shoddily put together, and the intensity of the fight now caused them to fall apart. "Good doggy," the crystal pegasus said at thin air. Mama Split whined and nuzzled her son. She then pick him up and tossed him inside the front door, then leapt onto one of the remaining knights and began trying to claws its visor only to be blocked by its shield. 'Element of surprise used up. Five left.' Moonlight thought. She spotted Silver Spoon just standing there caught up in the moment. "GET AWAY, YOU IDIOT!" She shouted at the glasses filly. Featherweight remembered their original plan and took hold of Silver Spoon and tried to sneak her out of the fight. But stealth didn't really work when the enemy had their eyes glued on you at the time and your talent wasn't being truly invisible, just unnoticed. And with their prize right in front of them, the knights forgot about 'kill the rest first' and focused on 'steamroll anything that gets in our way' instead. Ruby and Dinky's beams this time were blocked by their shields. Pipsqueak's opponent simply turned to charge surprisingly fast at the foals. Blanky was actually kicked away by their high-paced march. Olo was able to hold one back with sheer brute force. And Noi managed to trip up another one making it fall flat on its face. The remaining three kept up the relentless charge. Twist's mind raced with the insane idea of dressing up like Silver Spoon since they both had glasses and were both fillies, except they didn't have any make up or wigs or any time to prepare for such a trick. The filly felt truly powerless, seeing the former bully in danger. The crystal pegasus filly tore open a pack of seeds, put them in her mouth, and flew up. She flew after the heavy armored terrors and with a pea shooter spat the seeds into the suits of armor. A few seconds later, green vines with thorns grew out of the chinks in the armor, slowing them down, until at last, roses bloomed, and the armors were torn apart by the vines. 'Fourteen down, two to go,' Moonlight thought. Shiny Star's magic gave up, and Post Haste ran for the suit of armor Olo was wresting with and picked up an axe. The earth pony managed to pick it up only from the strength of mania and chopped the axe into the armor's back. Dinky and Ruby's charged up beams hit the damaged knight in the back, causing its torso to break apart, its head and limbs falling to the ground. "I HAVE SAVED YOU ALL! I AM A HERO!" Post Haste shouted. Mama Lickety Split, Captain Pipsqueak, Noi, and Olo, all descended on the last suit of armor. Featherweight and Silver Spoon were safely out of the fight... or so they thought, as a suit of armor twice as big as the others marched out of the fog wielding a sword with a dark pink feather on top of his helmet. Red lights glowed from inside the helmet. The foal ran straight into him and bounced off him harmlessly. "You are mine." The knight reached for Silver Spoon. "HEY! ACHILLES! AH SEE YER HEEL!" shouted a farm pony. Applejack came galloping out of the fog, a lantern in her mouth. Her eyes zeroed in on the ankle of the titan's back legs, which she bucked. The titan ignored her and grabbed Silver Spoon. That was when the cracking became audible, and the knight turned confused to see its back leg covered in cracks just as it fell apart, throwing the knight off-balance. Applejack didn't hesitate to kick the next leg, and the next. The giant knight fell to pieces, losing its grip on Silver Spoon who was caught by Featherweight. "Dang! That hurts more when yer not immortal," Applejack remarked, looking back on herself at a bleeding rear hoof. Applejack then looked at the pair. "Hey kiddo, wish Ah had time for pleasantries, but yer kinda needed elsewhere. Good news, Umbra Breeze is banished and imprisoned where he's been banished to. Bad news, ya need to be braver than ya've ever been before." + Apple Bloom thought, 'This is like an upside-down game of Snakes and Apples, except the 'snake' doesn't lose when they cross themselves, and it's game over if this apple get eaten!' Really, the random monsters weren't that tough. Button Mash's zapper, Spike's fire, a pegasus blade to any that got close, Sweetie's black magic, and even Apple Bloom's crab apple barrage were quite strong. But it was a fire hose against a wave of lava! The random monsters kept mindlessly chasing the heroes, leaving a 'trail' of their own kind behind. Like a paint brush dipped in 'monster' colored paint was following the ponies. "Are supposed to just fight these things forever?!" Scootaloo snapped, lacking a way to fight at a distance. 'Wish I'd bought that mini-storm-cloud!' "This is a game, remember? There has to be a way to win!" Apple Bloom said. "Maybe they only seem infinite and there's really just a really, really big lot of 'em!" Button hoped, firing his zapper wildly. “Either that or we're in one of those games where they’ll keep respawning until we reach a certain area!” "I don't think we have that kinda time," Sweetie said as she ate another magic-enhancing candy. She was getting tired of the flavor. "I'm sure we don't." "Maybe we're just meant to find another way in!" Daring Do said, grateful apparently this 'game' didn't have a stamina meter as Daring continued to carry Button Mash on her back and others she could fit. "Maybe we're supposed to reason with the monsters?" Sweetie asked. "DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE." "Forget I said anything." Apple Bloom had a thought. "Spike... yer gonna have'ta do somethin' ya really don't wanna do." "Fine. Throw me over the wall, I'm sure I can-" "No. Ah think... ya better get greedy." ++ Memoirs of Master Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike VII, Spikezilla is my second worst nightmare. Though what Queen Bug Face and whatever was inside Twilight did to me are big competitions. My true worst nightmare? Twilight abandoning me... Whatever paperwork says, we're family. Apple Bloom knew what she was asking me to do. And I could see she didn’t like it any more than me. Dang. Heroes are supposed to fight big monsters, not turn into them! But I think about what options we have, like Twilight always does. We really don't have any. Then I heard a screech just inside my dragon hearing range that rattled my bones. The others didn't notice. But when I looked up, my friends followed suit. = Reach for the Stars Instrumental - Sonic Colors = "For her Nightjesty!" Screeched a Night Guard mare, leading an armored bat-pony cloud (yes that's the right term, I looked it up!), flying straight down. The bat ponies army dove straight into the monster army, taking down monsters left and right! It was kinda creepy seeing ponies, even bat ponies, be that brutal. "Do you think that's ALL of the Night Guard?" Button Mash asked. "... Maybe," said Daring Do. The monster army wasn't expanding anymore, the thestrals were taking them out as fast as the door could spit them out. "But... But Maud Pie said the Princesses all got corrupted first!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Remember at Lickety's house? Spike said he only remembered Princess Celestia being a bad pony!" Apple Bloom said. “And they said Princess Luna was the one who took out those Nightmare things!” "I'm right here ya know," I said. "Get'em! Get'em! Whoo-hoo!" Scootaloo cheered punching in the air. "Brave warriors!" The girl bat-pony shouted to us, foals, one brave awesome dragon, and the 'fictional' adventurer. "We shall clear a path for ye! Onward!" Yeesh. These are The Princess' guards alright. "You heard her, kids!" Daring Do shouted. + Princess Liza Doolots Tootsie Flute's Diary 'Egads, Lulu! What is with you? I made you the hyper sympathetic filly all your fans wanted, and you can't even accept it as a gift. Then you blow up Nythy's big super weapon thing designed to give you the excuse to be that!' "Tootsie, change targets." I'm no Princess. I'm a monster. This is all me, Alula, and Diamond have left. I'm sorry. I aim and shoot one of the bat ponies. My glowing blue arrow turns into a net, wrapping around the bat-pony and she falls to the ground with a cry. I cringe. I fire off several shots in a row, like my forelegs and horn are on automatic: pull, point, release. Pull, point, release. Pull, point, release. Pull, point, release. Pull, point, release. Trapped in my nets, nopony ... will... not have to fight anypony. I know you still don't like me. That makes two of us. I don't like me anymore either. Then a big fast dark silver shape flew in the way of one of my arrows. The energy net broke apart when it tried to wrap all the way around him. It was this super big changeling I'd never seen before. His body was all shiny. He had two horns sticking foreword like a fork. I shoot him some more, even a buncha arrows couldn't wrap him up. He had glowing eyes and a mask or something covering half his face. I tried to shoot some more of the bat ponies, but he was fast and managed to keep catching them himself. "My response is not printable," Diamond said calmly. "Alula, go." Alula flew right off the balcony like a bullet (whatever that is). "Halt, child! This is no place for nym-" The big changeling didn't get to finish as Alula did a glowing diving double-kick right in his stomach, cracking his armor and sending him tumbling down. Alula turned and curtsied to us, and got hit by globs of changeling slime in every direction at once. She dropped like a stone. "ALULA!" I shouted and without thinking leapt down. Pressing my white wings that Diamond Tiara had given me harder than I've had to before, I zoomed and caught her with my magic. Changeling slime came from every direction, I streaked back the way I came, gripping Alula with my hooves and deflecting more slime that came my way with my magic before landing back on the balcony. "Tootsie... thank you," Alula said. "Yes, thank you, Tootsie." I hugged Alula tighter. "You're welcome! " Then I realized... I couldn't un-hug Alula, we were both kinda stuck together from the changeling slime. Oh, and I noticed an entire swarm of changelings coming down to help the bat pony army and the big changeling from before was up and fighting again. And they were cool. "For Princess Royal Sweetie Belle!" The big changeling called out. 'Even deader than dead, Chryssy still cramps my style! Okay, Lulu's pets at least I can get! But what are Rosedust's brats doing here?! They've always been a buncha bungling whimps!' In the crystal ball, I saw a movie track marked 'news reel' and 'changeling hive' appear. It opened up on its open and the frames began flying by. 'Can't be Big-Bug-Boy-Pants out there's wife and foal! They'd have been retroactively changed by the curse the same as everypony! So what little worm wiggled through the net! WHAT?! That head-up-his-flank smug little-!' I was surprised, but confused. In the film frame was Mr. Time Turner’s blue shed. But what was it doing in a big grassy field with a cave with changelings about? And... who was that stallion with the fez next to Lemon Heart? And what was she doing there? And why was she talking to the big changeling? 'Didn't we take care of that nuisance?' 'We did! Much better than Chryssy, I might add. His time machine never existed! It was always just a blue shed! That dirty little cheat. No wonder everything's been messing up! He always has to meddle in everything, Mr. Perfect! Time to enact Plan B!' "What's Plan B?" Alula asked. 'Just something to keep the good doctor busy.' + Somewhere and somewhen else, Doctor Whooves strolled along humming the theme to Super Ponio Brothers. Minuette said, "Good thing old evil me had a spare TARDIS lying about, eh? With a chameleon circuit that WORKS, I might add." "I could get my girl back to herself! We're closer than close!" "How do you convince a shed that it's not supposed to be a shed?" Mineutte rolled her eyes. "Because she's mine, as much as I am hers. You never did have any appreciation for your own stolen TARDIS' feelings, after you murdered the Chancellor for it, did she, Doctor?" Time Turner eyes widened in horror. "Impossible. You can't be here. You're just another glorified animatronic created by Umbra Breeze's magic!" "The body is, but I, myself, am just as real as you. Let's begin," said the Valeyard. + 'Bon-Bon, Lyra, Moth, your little filly and her friend have gotten themselves covered in changeling slime by some annoying changeling trouble makers, could you be a dear and help get them out of it?' Bon-Bon stopped attacking a punching bag, and Lyra put down her composition quill and Moth... stopped twiddling her hooves in the corner. Being a former changeling spy, she'd held jobs before, hadn't she? But she'd always been more of a helper than a doer by herself... and neither Lyra nor Bon-Bon really looked like they needed 'help.' She spotted a chance to be useful for once in her life. "It's okay sis, Lyra, I'll take care of it," Moth said to the other two changelings and flew out of the duel room that had been created that morning for them so they could work out and compose side by side. + "We need to finish this final Gabby Gums article now. After you two are cleaned up, meet me in my room." "Alright, Diamond," Alula said. "Sorry we couldn't help more." "You may help more than you think." . . . 'Yes...help me set up the true finale, little ponies.' The pony's teeth clenched. "We not robots!...There's more to forgiveness AND redeeming yourself, than trying to do something horrible, -no matter the reason!-, being stopped, and suddenly saying you're sorry. And there's STILL MORE to it than just paying back those you hurt, it's about admitting you were wrong. First and foremost to yourself." The changeling raised an eyebrow. "What are those?" She asked. 'They're flowers. Roses, to be precise. I hope you like the flavor,' Discord's voice growled. "... What do they do?" 'Taste good, I presume. I'll admit I don't have a taste for flowers myself. I have the head of a pony, my tongue is...I THINK a dragon...or a snake...or a lizard. Something forked. You can get that checked, but it requires paperwork for a DNA test and I hate paperwork.' "What happens to me if I eat them?" 'Well, if you eat nothing but roses you'll have an unbalanced diet.' "No growing a second head? Breaking out in spots?" 'No. The roses are just roses. Didn't see that coming did you?' "... I can eat them... but I won't actually GET anything from them... changeling, remember?" 'Fine. See this locket? Change into the pony in the picture, and feed off me.' "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING!" 'No actually, unexpected isn't it? I told you I've had a family before. Change into her, and munch-munch.' "WHY?" 'I'm chaos, since when do I need a reason to do anything? After all, what's the POINT of Chaos if it has a REASON?” “Uh...” “Trick question! Chaos doesn't HAVE a point! Which is the point!...I made Lyra munch on you, now you can munch on me. Call it recompense, call it compensation, or call it Susan, I don't care. I'm offering free food. Just like this morning when I gave that orphanage the world's biggest pizza.' Bon Bon's changeling senses picked up something she'd never expect from Discord... sadness? "... Fine. But I'm not going to drain your love dry, if that's what you were hoping for." '’Fine’ back at you.' Bon Bon's looked intensely at the locket, and in a burst of flames, changed into a reasonable facsimile of the mare in the locket. "Now tell me how much you love me." 'Yes, mommy.' As Bon Bon fed, she felt something else, Discord was HOLDING BACK his hatred, he was purposely avoiding food poisoning her when he could have easily. The clacking of a typewriter echoed through the room. 'I don't blame you for being upset with me, dear.' "I thought you were trying to undermine our own plans. And you hurt Alula." Her voice was perfectly even and cool, like the calm before a storm. 'Did you think I was trying to make them like you?' "We wouldn't be speaking if I did," she said matter of fact. 'We've just been doing what's necessary.' "I was going to say that." 'Dear... do you think ... all I've taught you, all I had you experience. Everything I've helped you become... is meaningless now?' The typewriting didn't halt. "No. Thanks to you, my mother is sane again. And she didn't have to take my place thanks to you, you've done more for her than my other father did. You've saved my mother twice. How could any of what I've sacrificed be worthless? "After all, isn't that what you offered me from the beginning father? Back when this was all still just about ponies moving past how you hurt them with your games? Maybe that never changed." '... I admit... the two of us were already more alike than I ever imagined... and it doesn't fill me with the fun it used to.' "I'm saving my mother, even now, I'm saving her soul with every sin I commit.” 'You know that's a question I've always meant to ask Father, but...well, 'can never go home again.' Does it count as a sin when you're doing it for a good reason? I've always been perplexed by that...' "Silver Silver, you must never know I never put you in that red house as revenge. If I still had a heart I might be sorry, if I was still mortal I might feel regret, if I was sane I might sad, but no pony can be allowed to fill the void where my heart was, for my mother. "As one of our family's most loyal servants, Shiny Star, I know you'd understand if you knew. But nothing can be allowed to fill the void." + Daring Do And the Cutie Mark Crusaders by AK Yearling I got worried when Night Guards began dropping out of the sky, I kept telling myself, 'Focus, Daring, get inside, they're doing their job so we can do ours.' I saw the worried looks on the kiddos' faces as they kept glancing up. "Tootsie, stop!" Sweetie shouted, but I don't think the sniper heard her. Then things went up and down like a yo-yo. First the giant mutant changeling from the changeling occupation of Canterlot showed up, and began blocking shots. Then an alicorn filly with a glowing white horn rocketed him in the gut, then she got blindsided by changelings, and another alicorn filly, this one with glowing white wings, swooped in and grabbed her and retreated before the changeling could slime her too and the arrows stopped. There was something familiar about that second filly, hadn't she been in Canterlot the day the REAL wedding happened? "I don't get it! Didn't the curse make all changelings helpless?" Sweetie looked at the changelings fighting in her name in confusion. She was blushing. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth! Maybe it was the same ponies who saved Princess Luna!" Scootaloo shouted. True to form, a big monster suddenly appeared in front of us...and the big changeling blew a hole straight through his chest with a massive beam from his weird worked horn. Big guy had good range and accuracy. The bat ponies and the changelings were proving an effective force together. Changelings changing into monsters, attacking another type of monster, and making the monsters attack each other in some spots. While the bat ponies were being true to their word and plowing a road for us through the monster horde. The bat ponies flanked us all the way to the front gates, the big guy had used himself as an artillery cannon to take out any big monsters that decided to pop us in front of us. No, he never got away from the main fighting. Anypony who tried to fly over the wall quickly thought better of it as any number of nasty things that went boom, zap, bang, and bye-bye were fired up at them. "Think those things are gonna be aimed at us when we get in?" Apple Bloom asked. "Naw," Button Mash said. "That's just a game play wall so we don't break sequence." "Hooray, video games," I rolled my eyes. We ran through the opening, stepping on the iron door. "Your mother wore horseshoes, and your father ate hay! Why can't I have better dialogue?!" Though the bat pony and changeling armies were both keeping the monsters occupied, it was bewildering to have the flood of monsters just, stop once we got on the other side of the wall, and no sign of where the barrage that had nearly blown off my wing when I escaped had come from. The space between the wall and the giant tower itself was nothing but barren dirt. I saw the stairs leading up to large double doors with that eight diamond logo on it and nonsense engravings on one door, and nightmarish scenes on the other that looked like it'd been pummeled with water balloons filled with paint recently. And everything looking like charcoal drawn on faded pink. We got in formation and began trotting forward. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle kept their eyes and horn on full sensing for traps, but Discord and his Nightmare minion it seems were done being sublime. From literally out of nowhere they fell, landing squarely on the ground and sending up a dust cloud. It was the two guards I'd seen on the ground before when I ditched this place. =Ornstein and Smough - Dark Souls= "'Olua nui," Scootaloo said, craning her neck up. "You can say that again," I heard myself say. They were wearing gold armor, or were they MADE of gold armor? Either way, they didn't look friendly, with their metal faces frozen in menacing scowls. A bipedal wolf with curves, with a red plume on the back of her head like a mane-pony-tail holding a golden sword as tall as she was, and they were bigger than some trees. The other one was an owl, with long sharp metal feathers. It's going to shoot its feathers at us isn't it? I'm not sure the big thing can fly. It had a pair of rubies for eyes, and its insides... I heard parts turning and clicking, but its torso and limbs looked like glass jars (or was that windows?), filled with a starry night sky connected by gold joints! On both of them was the diamond crown of chaos. And both were right between us and the front door. They didn't wait for an invitation, they began marching towards us, well, the owl more waddled, but that's a lot less funny than it sounds when the thing waddling is death on legs. "Think we can just get 'round 'em?" Apple Bloom asked. "What if they’re holding the key to the door?" Button Mash asked. “I’m betting they are!” "Doesn't look locked to me," Scootaloo said looking at the big doors. "Trust me, that doesn't prove anything," Button Mash said. "Apple Bloom? Are they alive?" Sweetie Belle asked. The yellow filly cringed. "My eyes hurt just lookin' at 'em!" "I'll take that as a no!" Sweetie charged up her horn with black magic and a green slash went right at the owl. I'll admit, it's scary that I'm next to a little girl with the power to bisect a pony. I know she's a good kid, but I just hope she's taught a lot of self-discipline before she hits her teens! The owl's beak meanwhile fell open with a click, and the slash of black magic got sucked into it. Sweetie's jaw dropped. "That's never happened before." "Aim for the wolf!" Scootaloo called out. Sweetie did so, except the bolt veered off course and got sucked into the owl's mouth anyway! "Uh-oh." "It's okay, Sweetie!" Scootaloo said. "If we can't blow 'em up we'll just knock 'em down! They're big and slow as-" "LOOK OUT!" The wolf dashed forward like she was on rocket skates. She struck her sword down bringing up a cloud of dust and we split up to avoid being cut in two. "There's still six of us and two of them! We can take 'em!" Scootaloo shouted. Right on cue the slower owl pointed its wings at us, and its feathers shot out right at us, being replaced as fast as they were used. We scattered like roaches. "Knew it," I muttered. The wolf wasn't napping either; she swung that sword around like we were grass that needed mowing. Was it safe to fly(?): safer than staying a target on the ground. I took off. "Stay below the second floor and I think we'll be fine!" I said. Scootaloo nodded and took off as well. Now the giants had two levels of targets to think about. The giants looked a bit confused before the owl began shooting at me and Scootaloo and the wolf focused on everypony still in the ground. At least they can't pincher us anymore. Button Mash used his zapper, but the owl just vacuumed up the lasers too. "Hey no fair, that's not magic!!" Apple Bloom took an enchanted seed bad she'd gotten from Button Mash's purchases and threw them at the feet of the wolf. The bag exploded into vines that wrap around the wolf's body, but just as suddenly vanished and Apple Bloom was the one covered in vines. "Debuff reflection!?" Button exclaimed. Scootaloo did more than talk and zoomed in and cut the vines with her wing blade and scooped up Apple Bloom into the air before the wolf's sword struck where Bloom had been. Sweetie Belle's horn glowed. This time instead of offense she did her best impersonation of a barrier spell, around Spike as the wolf targeted him next, but the sword went through her magic like it wasn't even there! Then that freakin' owl just sucked the barrier up! But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was when the giant sword managed to graze Spike, and the poor kid cried out as he started bleeding! "And it ignores all defense base stats and buffs!?" Button rambled and tossed Spike a baked bad that he opened his mouth and swallowed with one gulp, and against all logic made the large cut on his back heal up. Spike took his chance and began breathing fire at the legs of the wolf, heating up the metal. Of course, Spike was fire proof, so breathing fire on a monster that reflected back what happened to it didn't hurt him at all. The wolf let out what, I could only described as a RECORDING of an agitated snort and kicked Spike away with its scalding hot leg. Spike gasped out in pain from the kick a lot more than that hit had any right to make him! The wolf now seemed focused on ground targets, while the owl was focused on me and Scootaloo. We took advantage of that, and drew the owl's fire towards the wolf, some of the feathers actually sticking into the gold wolf, black smoke leaking out of the armor. Sadly, it didn't make them fight among themselves. Darn it! The wolf's metal mouth fell open, and a voice played that again sounded more like a recording than a person. "I may be but a simple guard. But even I can see you are selfish, blind hypocrites who refuse to admit when they are wrong. Why else would you slaughter innocent children?" "WHAT?!" Scootaloo said. There was a clicking sound of gears turning and then the voice played back. "You slaughtered Shub-Neighurath precious, innocent dear children. How can you be anything but evil?" Scootaloo startled, and looked incredulous at the wolf. "You're crazy! They were brainless leech monsters that turned into brainless moth monsters for crying out loud! You might as well call Fluttershy a murderer for killing germs when she clean a hurt on-" I had to pull her out of the way of a slash of the wolf's sword. "Don't listen to a thing it says!" I shouted. Click click, and play back again. "Ignoring reality is a sign of-" I dive bomb kicked it in the head, and there was the sound of a tape-head being pushed off the track. "You ignore your subjects' real problems-you treat Spike like a servant-you didn't try hard enough with INSERT HERE their pro-pro-" I did a cork-screw to avoid that sword again, and a dive and rise to avoid the owl's feathers. At least they were focused on me for a minute. Scootaloo flew behind the owl and using her pegasus blade began cutting at its glass jar torso. Smart girl. Then the damn thing began to suck away Scootaloo's flight field! As a fellow pegasus I know these things! The girl only just got away before she would've crash! "It eats up INATE MAGIC?! This is cheating!" Button Mash said, the most we could do was just keep our distance. Then the same stupid click-click noise came from the owl as a masculine voice began back playing. "You are the cheater." Click click. "Using powers that are not even yours." Click click. "You are nothing without them." "Don't listen to that thing! You're imaginative, lively, determined, and kind Button!" Sweetie shouted. "You're right Sweetie he's just a ---------------. I mean and the wolf is just ______________. HUH!?" I tried to say what I thought about these mechanical monsters, but all that came out was silence. "We can't even smack talk them back?!" Apple Bloom snapped. What kinda immature, oh right Discord, or his sidekick. Apple Bloom then actually got a hit in when she began using her crab apple shots right at the owl's glass belly! This got their attention! Okay, so physical attacks can still hit 'em. Then Button Mash got clever and summoned that magic window of his, and combined a bag of pop-rocks candy with a soda-pop can, and the menu chimed 'combined items!' The result appeared in his hooves that he threw at the wolf. The combined can exploded on impact. As the smoke cleared I saw cracks in the wolf's body. And- "It's on fire?! How does that work?" "It just does, trust me," Apple Bloom said. The cracks in the wolf's body sealed up as the fires went out. I realized the holes the owl had accidentally made in the wolf had vanished too. Dang it! "And regenerating HP?! I wanna complain to the developer!" "Ya'll get yer chance don't worry!" Apple Bloom glared at the top of the tower. "E-everypony!" Sweetie shouted. "Take out the owl first! Then we can all fight against the wolf!" Smart kid. Good plan. Data loaded Button Mash made another grenade and threw it right at the owl's glass stomach, while Apple Bloom launched more crab apples at the same spot. Scootaloo and I kept the wolf distracted. Before the smoke even had a chance to clear Spike charged in, and began clawing again at that one spot. Not even trying to breath magical fire on it. "Don't worry about me! Keep going!" Apple Bloom and Button Mash complied, emptying their caches, Spike could take the splash damage. The owl let out a mechanical screech like gears breaking, and all the 'star matter' inside exploding out of its body. Its head and limbs falling to the ground empty as its glass torso shattered. ... Then all the star matter flew into the wolf, being sucked in through the edges of her armor. The wolf grew even larger, and her sword stormed with lightning. She took one swing at us, and the entire area was blinded by lightning strikes. I felt my body being pierced by lightning worse any pegasus should have, then- Data Reloaded We managed somehow to lure the wolf away from the owl. While we tag teamed in keeping the owl distracted. We struck her with every raw damage attack we could, crab apples, dragon claws, bombs, pegasi technique, and... finally, FINALLY the wolf staggered. The cracks big enough for us to get at the pitch black insides as black smoke leaked out. Then the wolf, ever so slowly like it couldn't accept such a humiliation, fell to the ground. Then in the blink an eye, its inside turned hollow and clattered apart, because all of had been sucked as fast as lightning into the owl's waiting mouth. It golden part began to shine like the stars too, its ruby shining blindly. The owl began to suck in everything, I felt my pegasus magic, my emotions, anything that could be even vaguely be defined as 'magical' being pulled out of me like a leech does blood. Everything fell to- And just like that, I wasn't electrocuted, and I wasn't a hollowed shell. We were still fighting. Future visions, alternate timelines, simulation of what could be, I didn't give a flying feather! 'Pick your witch weed, huh?' I thought. I'm Daring Do, so of course I chose, NONE OF THE ABOVE! ... Okay, Daring, think fast! Sigh. I hate days like this. "If we take out either one, the other powers-up and will kill us!" Spike asked, "How do you-" "Saved game, magic vision, who cares?! We're in crazy town! You kids get to the Tower, I'll take'em down myself!" The giants weren't about to let us just chat and us pegasi had to zigzag the owl's fathers, while the earth-bound had to duck a swing of the wolf's sword. "That's crazy!" Apple Bloom snapped. "Ya should all-" "No chit-chat! I'm Daring Do! Winning against the odds to save a buncha kids is what I do! ... I'll be fine. You don't have time to argue." None of them looked happy. "No! I oughta-" Button started to say. "GET YOUR BUTTS IN GEAR!" I shouted in a tone that left no room to argue. If the door was locked we'd know soon enough. Kids ran for it. Good. Of course I win against the odds in MY books... not when I'm a cameo in somepony else's story. Okay, Daring, you've always been good with puzzles, and that's all these creeps are! These things would have followed the kids forever, with me here they have a target to focus on. Hey, wolfie! Who told you you could leave the party?! Ka-pow! That goes double for you owlie, lookie, lookie, here I am! If try to fight the owl close I'm kaput. Keep my distance! The owl can shoot me though! No use whining! I saw the owl can damage the wolf. So I'm betting vice versa works too! Up and up I go! Can't fly can you tubby! Yeow! Shooting spears?! They're big! Good! Here, little wolfie! Here! Here! Kids gotten away? Perfect. At least I know they got through. Okay Awkward Kindness, this' for all your marbles! Both have their eyes on me! This'll take perfect timing! Not sure if I'll live through it. But what's adventure without real danger! Click. Click. They echo. "Y-you're pretty strong... f-for some clown who thinks she's Daring Do." "I am Daring Do!" I think I got a magic surge...or I have some sort of 'against the odds' special ability...or both, because I really sped up. I dive between the two! Spear fired, sword swinging down right at me! And-DODGE! They pierce each other at the same time! In the next instant, they exploded, with me right in the middle. I was shot out like air between a clap! Smoke and heat pounded me while shrapnel peppered me. I hit the ground skidding, half my body feeling on fire. And I lost my hat. I think I'm bleeding... in... I'm not sure... hard to think when your ears won't stop ringing. Wish the world would stop spinning too. Ugh, hopefully that cracking sound in my chest was my glasses in my pocket. I spend a while trying to breath without pain. The coughing wasn't great either. Not sure if there's blood, hope not. Dangit, I think I need ... a nap. Here's hoping I... wake up. > Friends In High Places > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I let the lantern fall from my mouth. I'd been good all my life at being unseen and unheard. Better than making a fuss, like foals were supposed to, better than starting a mess. I'd been told it was very important that I get to the Tower at the center of the world: where Diamond Tiara was. Where she, Alula and Tootsie now ruled over this vomited nightmare the world was now. I didn't even know if my family was okay. Then I was told that it was best if I traveled alone. "How DARE YOU ask a foal something like that?! If none of you will go and be a bodyguard, I will!" Shiny Star hissed. It'd almost turned into an all-out hoof-fight. But she was told that anypony who went with me would be in more danger than me, and possibly ADD to my danger, that 'stealth missions are easier with only one set of hoofsteps to hide.' I wondered if Shady Daze was okay. He'd been on the writing staff too, after all, so how had Alula, Diamond Tiara, Tootsie, and the monster treated him? At least Umbra Breeze is gone for good. I was told how, "Ya gotta be brave, braver than ya've been in yer entire life, the fate of the world depends on them." Yes, I was scared. I'd been told, "The lantern will guide yer way, help ya bypass trouble on the way to the Tower, avoid the nasties lurkin' in the fog, and avoid bubbles that're holdin' ponies twisted into bad ponies. If ya just rely on yer talents, yer courage, common sense, and yer heart, ya'll make it through." I'd even come across Cheerilee's school... but the printing presses weren't in the basement any longer. The Countess was giving an emergency performance for the foals still there... but I had a quest to fulfill... no matter how badly I wanted to stay. I also came across Nurse Red Heart's Hospital. It was nasty on the outside, and weird on the inside, but the lantern had to have guided me here for a reason, right? I found out Nurse Red Heart was now Doctor Red Heart, and she healed me up with only a touch of her hooves. But... all the movie creatures made real... all the horrible lies told about the town's heroes and their families that were now real... all the friends and neighbors turned into monsters that wanted to hurt me or worse... it was nothing compared to what I saw now. Chaos. His Chaos. The puzzle-monster. The patchwork-thing. The ugly-zoo-thing! This was him! Swirly-eyed ponies who I wasn't sure if I recognized or not danced, laughed, reenacted silly characters from movies, played basketball with their own heads, and the earth ponies swimming through clouds and pegasi burrowing holes. And so many sightings of a twisted version of her cutie mark. I remembered that day... when my body was changed against my will, when I was branded with a fear of adults that took so long to fight through and even now lingered slightly. What I was and who I was were stamped out... and when the rainbow ended the nightmare, all I knew was shame at myself. My belief in who I was hurt. I fell to my knees, laid on my side and wrapped myself into a ball. I shook like a leaf. I shut my eyes. It was too much. Too much! I couldn't! NOT AGAIN! PLEASE!! PLEASE, NOT AGAIN!!! I cried. Everypony depended-BUT I CAN'T DO IT! I don't know how long I shook there terrified. Then I felt somepony stroke my mane. My eyes snapped opened and I cringed away. = Drift - Kan Gao and Laura Shigihara = "It's okay, pal, I won't hurt you." It was a colt about my age... what did he look like? I... I don't remember. He was smiling. "Hi, my name's Buddy Zion. What's yours?" He asked friendlily. I told him. "That's a nice name." "... Everypony seems to think that name means I'm weak." "Well, names are important. They're a gift from our moms and dads. Your name carries a lot of weight if it's been in your family for a long time... but when your friends say your name... do you hear what your name makes you, or do you hear your friends calling you?" ... I remember when ponies used to think my name was funny... but then... I made some friends who didn't think my name was a joke. Who actually learned what it and my special talent meant. "Is there somewhere you need to be?" Buddy asked. "Y-yes." "Are you staying put here because you're scared?" "...Yes." "There's no shame in being afraid. Nopony could be brave if there was no such thing as being scared. Let me ask; did something hurt you really bad?" "Y-yes." He hugged me. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault. You weren't to blame. Not all adults are like that. It wasn't his fault either, he was hurt too, by a VERY BAD creature who needs to be stopped, and they need your help to stop them, or others might get hurt by them too." His voice didn't sound like he was just saying what I wanted to hear, more like he was saying something he knew without a doubt. My eyes misted. "B-but, I couldn't stop it, I couldn't do anything, I was weak... just like they said." "No, you're not. You've made it this far. You've made it through all of this. You got back up and kept going. That makes you very strong." "Will the hurt ever go away?" "... Maybe... if you and your friends win this... maybe the pain can be washed away... if that's your choice... " "I don't have to do it alone?" "Even if you can't see me, I Pinkie Promise that I'll be there for you. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I hugged back. "T-thank you." "Go get'em. She's waiting for you at the top of the tower." I pick up the lantern and ... still super-mega-ultra scared... and marched into the chaos, towards the Tower. + "So what's your evil scheme?" The Doctor asked. The Valeyard shrugged. "Oh, you’ve probably guessed what it is, you're me after all. Well, first I'm going to kill you, and kill her. And then, I'll go from bubble to bubble, piecemeal spreading the idea that I am the supreme Time Lord Victorous of the universe and you can guess where it goes from there. I'd do that first, but sadly I'm bound by my benefactor to kill you first, but at least he's giving me infinite regenerations once I finish you off." Lemon Hearts summoning her Angry Daddy Lemon. "Don't bet on it, handsome," the unicorn mare said. + "Moth, stay with Truffle and his family, you should be safe in the top floor hamlet," Agent Bon Bon the changeling said as she readied herself. "Sis, do you really have to go?" Moth asked. Bon Bon growled. "I HATED the idea of my daughter having to fight but... she's a Princess, a Magical Filly, it's her responsibility... just like it's mine." "And wherever you go, Bon Bon... I go... I'm a champion of music, after all," Lyra said... after all... that was something cool that her foster foal admired about her... so of course that was true... so why... so why did Princess Cadenza do that again? Weren't the changelings weaklings? No. Of course they weren't. Where had that idea come from? Lyra shook her head in confusion. Bon Bon looked at Lyra, but knew better than to argue with her. But she kicked a wall, cracking it. She'd worked hard to build up her strength to protect the Princesses and her family, and spite those who mocked her as 'weak' compared to a real earth pony. Lyra sighed. "I hope Sparkler is okay... Liza loves having her foalsit so much... and Mineutte... and Lemon Hearts... and Moon Dancer... and Twinkle Shine... and Octavia, and Vinyl Scratch. I don't understand, why would Princess Luna, after beating the Nightmare Force... turn evil and send her bat ponies to hurt everypony... and why would the changelings all turn evil and work WITH them?" Bon Bon sighed. "Ours is not to reason ‘why.’ And seriously, what DIFFERENCE would it make? They're here to hurt our families, and destroy the world. Reasons, motives, NONE OF THAT MATTERS! They're the threat, and we need to defend ourselves... that's how fighting is. Sorry Lyra." Moth could only looked with growing sickness and dread as her family left for the lower levels. "Remember! We're not supposed to... " They were already gone. + I got kicked in the ribs. Okay. Pain was a sign I wasn't dead. I looked up to see a gray earth pony mare with a face as expressive as a rock gazing down at me. "Daring Do, you're not the one destine to meet their end here today," she said as matter-of-fact as a spread sheet. Mysterious mare telling me weird stuff? Sounds like the beginning of another one my adventures. I stood up, not nearly as beaten up as I should’ve been after being caught between two explosions. She wordlessly offered me my hat; I put it back where it belongs. No sign of the girls, the giants, and the armies still busting it up outside, how many of those monsters were there? "Are you here to help me?" "The end happens or doesn't happen yet. It doesn't help." I saw the slightest hint of a twitch. "Well, thanks anyway. I'll remember this." "I won't," she replied without emotion. "And I meant that literally. This 'I', will not remember. It doesn't concern you." "Well, what DOES concern me is Scootaloo and her friends! So I'll just be going now!" "Going? I'm afraid this is as far as you go for this adventure, Daring Do. You have another responsibility to take care of." "Not interested, I'm already in the middle of something," I snarked. "I'm always willing to wait, but your enemy isn't." "Talking to yourself, my dear Daring Do? I hope you've retained enough of your senses to appreciate your end by my hands!" I didn't need to turn around to know who this newcomer was. I spoke with irritation and familiarity. "Really, Ahuizotl? You want to pick a fight NOW? Don't you know the world is in the balance?" I turned to face my lifelong archenemy: big, mean, blue, and full of himself. The gray mare was suddenly just not there. "Oh but I do, Miss Do! That is the point! I intend to see that the balance tips in my favor! There are certain, heh, rumors. Rumors about the top of the Tower of the princesses holding the means to remake this half-baked joke of a world into a true world. You're just in my way, as usual. You should be helping me." I rolled my eyes. "Well, that's new." "Oh, but you see, Miss Doo, It takes a being with moral conviction and philosophical resolve to remake the world. Things a naive ignorant foal lacks. But I do not." = A Resolute Person - Okami = I narrow my eyes. "I know you, Ahuizotl. I know how you crave destruction for everything. No way am I letting you through." "But for how long can you hold back an immortal?" I grinned. "Immortality? Invulnerability? Heh. That just means I don't have to play NICE!" + The foals and dragon whelp stepped out of the entry hallway that was both insanely long and impossibly short at the same time. "Well, that was different," Apple Bloom said hugging her cloak tighter. "I almost wish I hadn't been wearing the sunglasses, going crazy might have been nicer," Button Mash said, and Sweetie Belle gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. Spike listed off, "First we turn into rolling eggs, then into snails, then into tanks, then chickens, then into plastic ponies on a desk in front of a camera... then we get turned into computer images." As though on cue, a slot on the wall popped out a triangle-shaped picture of them as computer images. “Thank you for walking through the Hallway of Chaos. If you are still sane, please take your photo!” spoke a voice like an amusement park announcer. The picture was nothing to write home about. "Then we're in Canterlot in the middle of the night on a crumbling bridge. Then we were on the moon. Then we're in the Everfree Forest. Then we're made out of clay. Then we're made of foam. And then-" "We don't need a recap!" Scootaloo snapped. "I don't think I'll be able to look at checkerboards the same way again!" "Being shape-changing robots wasn't all that bad," Button Mash grinned. "Sorry, REALLY not my thing." Sweetie Belle shook her head. "It was better than those demons trying to possess us," Apple Bloom said. "I said cut it out!" Scootaloo heaved. "Any sign of Daring Do?" Apple Bloom dared look back the way they came, now looking like a completely unexceptional hallway with plaster walls, wooden floors and red welcome carpet. "Ah hate to say it, but we can't afford ta wait for her." "Are you sure?" Sweetie Belle asked, concerned. "Hey, she's Daring Do, she'll be fine," Scootaloo said putting a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. The young heroes stepped into another room. This one was square with pillars, and a wide-open stairway leading up on the opposite side. The floors, ceiling and walls were made up of glowing blue hexagons. "Sense any traps?" Scootaloo asked. "Ah don't see anythin'." "And I don't feel anything," Sweetie added. Button Mash took a rock from his inventory and threw it... nothing happened when it landed, he then rolled another one and still nothing. "Well, we can't keep testing forever. Let's go," Scootaloo said, flying ahead. A digital voice rang out. Play Message A filly's voice echoed. "Hello, ponies. If I'm not here, that means I ditched my cousin and niece and I had greener pastures to raze. That or the Dorito had a party. I was going to trounce you, Button Mash. But my high score can crush you instead! Here's your welcoming committee! Bye." Rom Emulation Start Ghost Save Data Loading The hexagons on the floor glowed. Then four elaborate ponies were built out of little squares that rose from the floor. The only mare was a unicorn whose mane and fur were pitch-black and was braided over and over again behind her to make room for more hair. She wore glasses, had a pistol on each leg, and her cutie mark was a red pentagram circle. Her every motion was sultry. Next to her was a peach colored earth pony stallion whose muscles looked almost sculptured. His eyes glowed solid white, and his face looked to be frozen in a fury filled grimace. His mane was wild and white. He also appeared to have two extra sets of forelegs on his shoulders. His cutie mark was a fist. The next was a completely baled pegasus stallion. He looked to be ashen white with a red stroke across his face and body. Wrapped around his forelegs were a pair of chain blades. He also had mod-podge of other pieces of equipment that looked like trophies. His cutie mark was a screaming pony head wearing a circlet made of tiny leaves. His face wasn't a constant expression of blind fury, but somehow that made him more terrible. Next was a teenage thestral with a slim build. He had pale fur, covered by a black pattern trimmed by green glowing lines, and a spike sticking out of the back of his neck. His eyes glowed yellow. His cutie mark was similar to the mare's but white, and had numerous runes in and around it. Cleared Game Save Data Loaded: Hex Hair 2 Legendary-War-General Of the East Alicorn of War 3 True Resurrection Of the Princess III Morning Star's Calling The muscular stallions engaged in what looked to be a contest of who could give the more rage filled expression. "I lost my wife and was betrayed by my comrades!" "I lost my wife and daughter and brother and my father is my worst enemy!" "I lost my parents," The witch said. "And nearly my entire clan." "I lost my friends," the teenage colt 'said', a floating window with text appearing. "And my universe." It sounded more like they were listening to sound clips than the ponies' actually speaking. But then they all turned towards the CMC+2. The bald stallion pointed his weapon at Button Mash. "Are you gods?" A 'Yes/No' appeared in front of Button Mash. The foal grinned. "YES!" "Then DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Screamed the bald stallion; every vein on his neck bulging. It was echoed by the six legged stallion. The teenage pony merely looked at them like you would flies that needed squashing. The witch smiled. "What cute little angels... their bloody halos are sure to be worth a lot at the store!" Sweetie swore she saw something in her 'animation' flicker, like someone had cut-and-pasted two different things together. Spike said with fire on his breath. "Button Mash, when somepony asks if you're a god, you say 'NO!'" "Sorry! I saw it in a movie! And I'm pretty sure mom wouldn't let me buy any of their games to know that would happen!" = Staring Down Eternity - Blue Dragon = Existence itself seemed to blur and distort. The little heroes felt like they were being super imposed on four different film strips at once. Their heads were left whirling. Every motion was like they were trying to control four bodies at once; four different sets of eyes and ears. In one they were all lined up evenly with their opponents, like they'd been with the Anti-CMC. The teenage colt made a gesture. And in a flash of purple lightning he was joined by others. One was a skeleton pony in a yellow monk robe with a bell. Another was a pegasus with a red long jacket, white mane, and a giant sword. And... a tiny fairy pony of all things. Fire Immunity Trait Detected. Prepare Gaia's Vengeance on next turn. In another layer the witch did a bizarre dance and did an incantation. The youngsters (all with little halos over their heads that looked like rings a blue hedgemouse would collect) were literally paralyzed; unable to do anything. Her mane acted like it had a life of its own, growing and expanding, and from it emerged a black and blue Alicorn with glowing red eyes and blutterfly wings. The Alicorn was the size of Spikezilla, and she reared up her hooves as a gauge appeared below her. 0 Megatons! 10 Megatons! 100 Megatons! 50,000 Megatons! Megatons Limit Reached! The layer of multi-armed stallions had them in a white void. They could move... but were doing so at a snail's pace; all their actions were in disorienting slow motion. The stallion's front hooves, all six of them, were headed straight for their little head, the slow motion ensuring their heads being crushed would be appreciated in all the brutal detail. The final layer was with the bald stallion, intense violin cords played against a chorus. The youngsters noticed that they had glowing symbols above their heads... like... like the Bloody Hooves had in the Everfree just before Button Mash unleashed a devastation move on them. The bald stallion ran at them swinging his chain blades. "Apple Bloom, use the Smoke Bombs! Spike you too! Sweetie flash blind them if you can. Button Mash use the Escape Option!" Scootaloo shouted. "And... you're the best friends I could have ever asked for. Sing a song for me sometime Sweetie." "Scootaloo!" Sweetie gasped. "What are you saying!?" The Heir To Loyalty tearily prepared to sacrifice herself, she remembered what her 'special ability' was from the Anti-CMC fight: 'Dramatic Rescue.' She'd take the hit while her friends survived. She'd take all these ultra-finale-attacks at once. What was it Phobia said? Oh right. Anypony who died wouldn't be brought back. Maybe reincarnation was real and maybe she'd get to come back as Rainbow Dash's foal someday? She'd like that. "No." All four layers shattered, ripping apart everything around the foals including the four pixelated ponies, it was like being hit by a tidal wave, force and confusion swept over all of them. They found themselves back in the hexagon room without fanfare. "Anypony get the number of that bus?" Spike moaned. Maud Pie trotted up behind the orange filly. "This isn't when you die little Horsefly. Don't be in such a rush." = Final Fantasy 6 - 'Zozo Town' = The foals turned to see Phobia hopping along side her. And behind them, were a pair of foals that only Scooaloo readily recognized. Maud Pie kept a healthy distance from the filly like she was on fire. "Y-you guys?!" Scootaloo gasped in utter confusion. "Hi." The starry colt waved. "Sorry, but we don't have time for a 'meet and greet.'" Phobia pointed back towards the room. Freeze State Data Reloaded Freeze State Data Reloaded Freeze State Data Reloaded Freeze State Data Reloaded And one by one, the pixel ponies came back into being. "Dad was right, emulation IS evil," Button Mash said in awe. “Looks like somepony was hacking to,” the filly remarked. "Ahem," The starry colt began with a little cough. "Illegal device usage detected: deploying anti-cheat and anti-piracy measures." "You should go," said Phobia. "You can go forward, but the nature of this place means we can't squeeze in any further without ripping the world apart. We're pushing at the seams as is. That makes sense." "Yer crazy!" Apple Bloom shouted. "We can expect ya to just throw yer lives away fightin' these things!" "You're worried about us how adorable," Phobia said, then got smacked in the face with a wing by the other colt. Had he always been a pegasus too? "Ow! Sorry! Don't worry. We aren't losing to these things." "We just had to leave Daring Do behind! We can't-" Scootaloo continued. "I know video games! I know can help-" Button Mash said at the same time. Maud Pie picked up Spike and Scootaloo and threw them over the heads of the video game characters. Spike smacked into the wall, peeling himself off looking no worse for wear. Scootaloo's wings helped her stop in time. "Catch!" The rest of the foals still in surprise at Maud's actions, found themselves tossed over to their friends next, Apple Bloom first, then Button Mash, who were caught by Spike and Scootaloo. And finally Sweetie Belle who slowed her fall with her magic just enough to be caught by her friends. The witch turned around, aimed her guns at the foals, and got kicked in the back by a leaping Maud Pie, smashing her into the ceiling. Freeze State Data Reloaded "Climb, you fools." The CMC climbed up the stairs. "And remember! Just because you shouldn't do something when it's the easy way out... doesn't mean you shouldn't do it when it's the HARD way out!" Phobia shouted and waved. The video game characters began to pursue. "Hey! We're all top gods! Wanna kill us?" Buddy shouted. "Hello, Aunties! Uncles! I had this recording made just for you. And any of your relatives might have come. I'm going to have this recorded so I can watch it over and over and over. In this Tower, you're as killable as everyone else! And my heroes get as many tries as they want! And no matter how much collateral damage you think is worth it, they'll kill you eventually. After all, they're video game heroes, you're concepts, killing you is what they do." "But if here we're as killable as mortals, doesn't that kinda defeat the point?" Buddy asked. "It's a recording, don't bother responding," Not-Maud said. But the video game heroes glitched at Buddy's words. "Maybe it's not a waste," the filly said, then looked back to the enemy. “...I'm disappointed nephew forgot Hex Hair has a soft spot for kids.” “Yes, would've made a lovely tragedy if she was forced into this situation with that intact, I'm surprised he didn't realize that,” Phobia replied. "Nopony should have as much power as you," The six-forelegged stallion said in an angry tone striking an epic pose. Not-Maud Pie almost rolled her eyes. "Power can't be destroyed. And I may be a pony... but I'm also something else." The game characters flickered again. "You're a goddess because you're a goddess because you're a goddess. A looping mantra you've thrown about to justify murdering countless innocents, and none less gifted with a soul and mind than you deserving life and freedom from your tyranny," Snarled heroically the six-armed stallion missing eye contact. Maud Pie... MAUD PIE laughed. The other three in the room felt chills. Not-Maud Pie flung Boulder with her mouth, hitting the six armed stallion right between the eyes, and catching Boulder back in her mouth. "You have no clue what I am or what concepts are." She cracked her forehoof joints. "Is a pony, more, less, or equally deserving of freedom and life than a mountain? Or the ocean? Or a sunny day? They're so different that comparing them is absurd." The game heroes began to glitch again. Auto-Miro-Bot Enabled: 'Would You Like To Skip Cut Scene?' Yes. = White Light - Okami = Buddy and the red-haired filly flashed white. In the space of a moment, there was a mare and stallion in their place. A mare with a cream colored coat, and an ink well and quill cutie mark. Her mane was bright red and her eyes blue. Her body was decked out in gold barding with flame-like leaflets. She telekinetically drew an identical pair of golden swords. Her husband was dark as the night sky, but the patterns on his coat looked like stars. His mane was twilight purple. The video game constructs didn't care what his cutie mark was, and those present didn't have to look at it. A giant war hammer appeared, which he held easily in one wing. "My wife is gentle, I am not. Sanity rarely is." Not-Maud's expression didn't change at all. "Showoffs." From under his wings, Phobia pulled out a dime-store 50s style plastic ray-gun with its price tag still on. "Pick a partner and let's dance!" Phobia said. = 'Now That We've Come So Far' - Red vs Blue = The teenage thestral took one look at Not-Maud Pie, and summoned the same set of allies as before with the CMC. Void Immunity Detected, uses Gaia Vengeance. The Thestral stomped on the ground, growing white hot cracks spread over the floor, the entire room shaking. Her face not so much as twitching, Not-Maud Pie stomped the ground too. Like a movie playing in reverse, the glowing white cracks retreated, and exploded around the thestral and his allies. Numbers in the four to six digital range flickered above their heads. The Thestral's allies fell over and vanished in a flash of purple lightning. A glowing purple energy sword with no hilt formed in the thestral's mouth, and he slashed at Not-Maud Pie, she blocked it with one hoof. Then Not-Maud Pie seemed to slide right to the teenage thestral. "Would you join my rock group?" Not-Maud Pie said emotionally. The teenage thestral flickered. "..." Not-Maud Pie gave him 999,999 bits (from her collage fund and collective family savings). "..." Not-Maud Pie gave him an infinitely reusable healing rock. "..." Not-Maud Pie gave him an infinitely reusable mana rock. "..." "If everything you say is lie, then what you just said is also a lie. Which means sometimes you tell the truth, and sometimes you lie." "..." "If an all powerful draconequus couldn't limit her power by making a rock she couldn't lift, she wouldn't be all powerful, and if she couldn't make herself capable of lifting the rock, she again wouldn't be all powerful to begin with. So the answer to both questions is yes." "..." "The force and the object, cancel each other out." "..." "Welcome to the team." The teenage thestral glitched and froze. The pixels making him up fell apart. “Game over.” Error. Load Failed. Freeze State Data Irretrievable Phobia fired a volley of powerful laser blasts from his plastic toy; the statuesque stallion tirelessly punched them away. "You make my daughter cry! Therefore, I must kill you!" The stallion pronounced; a stilted sound clip. "I appreciate being a protective father, but I think I'm outside your context. Shame, if you weren't a shallow mass of pixels I'd invite you to have tea with my potential daughter, she'd really like you." "And that is why I will not be worshiped and worship no one!" Phobia sighed. "I had a son who said something similar once... sad given his concept he didn't realize faith isn't a weakness. Now it's time for you to see my ultimate form!" Phobia dropped the ray gun, and powered up. Calling upon all his cosmic energies, his cutie mark and eyes glowed crimson, becoming bright against the gathering darkness. And in a flash of blood red light, he shrank down to the size of ant. "Come and get me, big guy!" Phobia hopped from one rear leg to the next, punching the air like a boxer. Laughing out loud, the stallion stepped on Phobia. Or tried to. The floor underneath Phobia cracked and rumbled, but the little pegasus continued to push up against the hoof of the stallion. The stallion grunted and roared as he pushed down harder, but no avail, and finally Phobia pushed his hoof off Phobia! The stallion glitched. Phobia then ran up and began quickly climbing up the stallion's leg. He tried to slap and shake off Phobia, but the pegasus held on, and hid in the crevices of the stallion's muscles. Finally Phobia reached the stallion's face. "Here I am! Nya nya!" Phobia stood on the stallion's nose and stuck out his tongue. The stallion followed its programming, and punched with all his might at where the little colt was. Phobia jumped out of the way just in time, growing back to his normal size before he hit the floor. As for the six forelegged stallion, everything went into slow motion as he punched himself in the face, flesh rippling and bones being pushed out of place. The force of the impact made him spin like a top, going "Blblblblbl!!" Grunting as he ricocheted into one pillar after another like a pinball. Finally he smacked into the far wall looking like a squashed spider. Error. Load Failed. Freeze State Data Irretrievable And he fell apart into pixels. Phobia gave a chuckle. “There's a reason elephants are afraid of mice.” The witch fired a hail of bullets at Sanity, who managed to block them all with his war hammer at blinding speed. Cheat Code Entered, Infinite Magic Meter The fictional torture device, the iron maiden, appeared behind Sanity itself, who the witch kicked him into and slammed it closed. Or tried to... an immense pegasus flight field pushed back at the sarcophagus. The iron maiden exploded, Buddy emerging unharmed. The witch glitched. Then the witch leapt on top of a wooden horse with a jagged back, and flung a chain lasso around Buddy's neck and pulled. The pegasus responded by pulling her off the wooden horse and slamming her to the ground. The wooden horse vanished. A Guillotine appeared between them, and the witch pulled Buddy inside it and let loose the blade. Buddy caught the blade with his wings and pushed it back the way it came, breaking the Guillotine apart from the force. A vice appeared around Buddy that the witch turned. Buddy pushed one side with his wings and the other with all four of his legs, just as it seemed he was about to be crushed, the device snapped in two. The witch summoned a chainsaw that she slashed at Buddy's head, it met with his war hammer and shattered. "Why does everypony think those are useful weapons?" A treadmill appeared under him with a hungry wall of spinning blades behind him, the witch knocked him towards the wall, Buddy turned in one fluid motion and cut the wall of blades in two with a wing blade spell. The witch danced and flung her hair about, that twisted into a portal that a large hoof covered in black silk came through, Buddy met it with his hammer, and the hoof withdrew to the sound of cracking bones. This was followed by a giant sharp-heeled shoe with similar results. She then went for something else... “Queen Sheba requires at least two witches to summon, Omne requires one Witch and one Sage working together to summon, you possess neither,” he pointed out logically. The witch glitched worse than ever. Buddy formed a cloud from the water particles in the air, and charge up a lightning strike that powered up his hammer that struck the witch dead center. But instead of being shocked, the witch poofed into a little girl. Buddy swooped in, put the little witch on his knee, and gave a swatting on her rear with his wings. A meter appeared with a score meter that filled up as Buddy spanked the girl until she was crying. He then set her down. "Now, then. You were going to hurt little children, that's bad. You know that, you LIKE children and protect them, so why try to hurt them now?" The witch glitched and seemed to once more have a response cut and pasted in rather than acting as her actual programming would react. "Messengers of gods are angels, angels are bad, I get fun stuff for killin' angels." "But weren't you your family's little angel? They're their family's little angels. Wouldn't it be wrong to take them away from their families like yours was?" The little girl witch flickered more. Buddy pointed, and said sternly. "Now go to your room, and think about what you did." The witchling turned around and scampered, bursting into pixels. Error. Load Failed. Freeze State Data Irretrievable "VENGENCE!" "This is meaningless." Fauna Luster shot the bald stallion in the knee with a blast form her horn. Freeze State Data Reloaded "VENGENCE!" "You don't have to-" His chain swords wrapped around her throat. Her horn glowed. Her swords did a dance that chopped him into pixels (there was no blood nor insides). Freeze State Data Reloaded "VENGENCE!" "We have no reason to fight!" She dropped a pillar on him that he caught and threw at her, that she then used as a baseball bat to knock him through a wall. Freeze State Data Reloaded "VENGENCE!" "You have no reason to want to kill those foals!" "The gods betrayed me and killed my family!" Went the sound clip. And the two sets of blades furiously clashed, creating sparks. "And does killing them bring your family back?" "DIE!" The mare narrowed her eyes. "Losing a foal you can never get back. Even in the afterlife… you were denied being with them. You blame yourself, even if you were used and manipulated. Yet there's too much anger to go around, so you blame the rest too. There is no justice there, only vengeance. Who cares about the rest if they get in your way. After all, just like the gods, you have the strength to do whatever the Tartarus you want, why let the death and suffering of those who you don't love stop you from having your revenge? And yet the pain doesn't go away." The bald stallion glitched. "CEASE THY BABBLING!" he cried, shattered her swords. "But there is something in you besides rage... something that keeps you going... almost against your will..." She said, giving a smirk. Then she took out a blue ring. It flew about the room and landed snugly on the bald stallion's hoof. ( Ghost Of Roam - You Have In You Great Hope ) The bald stallion was engulfed in a blue light from without and within as his eyes and mouth let out a blinding blue light. When the light cleared... the red marks and pale fur was gone, leaving behind a brownish bald stallion... he stood there... swaying left and right... aimless... meaningless... pointless... he dissolved back into pixels. Error. Load Failed. Freeze State Data Irretrievable Fauna Luster sighed. "I'm sorry," she said to the pixels as they vanished. Buddy nuzzled her. "Crawling Chaos always did see ponies and characters more like set pieces." Phobia twirled his laser gun. "To nephew, they were always one note ponies. Not entirely his fault, really, most of the Shadows who birthed him are no different." Fauna Luster said, "Nothing is sadder seeing a representation of a hero lose their depth." She looked at the stairs. "You carry my daughter's blessing, be brave." "Little fillies.... good luck," Phobia said. "Little ponies... you have my blessings . . . I should get back to Pinkie Pie," Not-Maud Pie said. "I should get back to Pinkie Pie," Maud Pie repeated feeling dizzy, wanting to hurry back and make sure her family was still safe. Phobia gave her a nuzzle and led her along. Fauna and Buddy hugged each other, waiting for the next arrival. + The CMC+1 lay at the top of the stairs, catching their breath. "Daring Do, Maud Pie, Phobia and their friends.... A-Applejack... ponies sure seem to be sacrificin' a lot of us huh?" Apple Bloom breathed. "Rainbow Dash never had to have ponies make sacrifices like that." "Because we're foals..." Sweetie sighed. "Hey!" Spike protested. "Lots of ponies had to play decoy when Twilight and the others were saving the day at the wedding!" "... I guess, wish I'd had a chance to see Dash up-close during that." "Agh! Rainbow Dash this, Rainbow Dash that, don't you have your own identity?!" Spike snapped. "You're one to talk Mr. 'Whatever-You-Say-Twilight'!" Scootaloo got in Spike's face. "You take that back!" "ENOUGH!" Apple Bloom pushed between them. "We're all tired, scared, and angry! But we're all friends here! And we can't let our friends who helped us down!” "Uh..." Button Mash injected. "Look! A map!" The colt pointed at the convenient map the foals hadn't notice before. "Not much of a map," Spike said looking at the bare bones details. "At least it gives us an idea for the haystacks we gotta jump over." Apple Bloom said. "Outer Grounds, Inner Grounds, First Floor, Lower Floors, Inter-mededatation I mean Middle Floors, Upper Floors, The Hamlet, The Mansion, The Royal Chambers, and The Inner Sanctuary. That last one has gotta be where the printing press is. Says here we're on the lower floors. So that's three parts of this place outta the way already." "And seven to go," Scootaloo said. "Bring it." "Let's just hope it isn't revealed the final room is an illusion and we gotta do the entire adventure again for the true ending." Button Mash was met by four death glares. "Shutting up now." "Cutie Mark Crusaders World Savers!" Apple Bloom said putting a hoof forward, the other girls doing the same. "Yay!" Spike and Button Mash looked at each other, raised their limbs high and repeated, "Yay!" = Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne OST Kagutsuchi Tower = And so the CMC continued their tower ascent. A while into it, Apple Bloom remarked, "For a place built by him, this part seems kinda tame." All around them, everything looked to be made out of blocks of faded colors. There was certainly a maze-like feel to it, and the kids stayed all the closer together in fear of a wall rising up and separating them. Random blocks floated in the air in a circular orbit. After several twisting passages, they came to a huge hollow room with stairs on the sides. And other sets of blocks that served as elevators. Nothing seemed to serve any purpose. They'd even found blocks that had healing and restoration items inside. "Be careful, some of the boxes are gonna have monsters in 'em, or be monsters in disguise, that's how it always goes," Button Mash warned. "If they're hidin', it would explain why nothin's tried to eat us yet," Apple Bloom remarked. "Yeah. For the final dungeon, there sure aren't any random monsters," Button Mash said looking around. "I think we met them all at the front door," Scootaloo said. “But that doesn't make sense!” Button replied. “Discord.” “...Oh yeah...” Next there were floating blocks that served as elevators, and next some bridges that parts of it constantly appearing and disappearing that the girls had to run across... or just have Scootaloo ferry them one at a time through the air. 'If they can make the bridge vanish, why not have all of it vanish to keep us away?' Scootaloo thought, but didn't want to say this out loud and give the enemy ideas. Occasionally, the girls would come across the eight diamonds symbol, but again, it didn't really seem to serve any purpose. "If Diamond Tiara helped design this place, I'm kinda surprised at the lack of pictures and statues of her," Scootaloo said honestly. None present could argue against the existence of Diamond Tiara's vanity. Sweetie Belle sighed. "I think... she just didn't really think about it." Scootaloo blinked. "Diamond Tiara's gone crazy, has the power of a Princess, and she doesn't think about filling her new castle with statues and paintings of herself?" "Maybe fer the same reason this place ain't got statues of Discord everywhere?" Apple Bloom said. Spike let a small laugh. "I think that would remind him too much of Princess Luna kicking his flank." 'Oh right,' Apple Bloom thought. 'Spike remembers Princess Celestia as the bad guy.' The discussion was forgotten at what the foals encountered next. Several equinoid figures lay, leaned, sat, and stood among the stairs and hallway. They ranged from foal to Big Mac size. There were randomly scattered about, wrapped up in brown moth eaten sheets, nothing was visible of what lay underneath. Apple Bloom, saw with the Truth. "Them snake-leech-centipede things." "... Must be the last of them," Scootaloo said. Both Button and Sweetie considered zapping them where they stood, but didn't want to stir up the hornet's nest. "Remember... we need 'em to fix things as much as Diamond Tiara needs them to make things unfixable," Apple Bloom whispered. "From what their mom said, and what Tornado Twister said, they're just raw material like this," Scootaloo said. The curse things didn't physically react to the foals' presence at all. "Any way around?" Apple Bloom asked. Button Mash looked at his game window's map. "Doesn't look like it." It was a relief to see the window still listed Daring Do as 'alive.' Without much choice, the kids began to tip toe around the curse things in rags. Button Mash was surprised when the option to 'Talk' appeared above the curse things' 'heads.' Ever the lore lover, Button Mash couldn't resist. -Hello, you-who-tip-the-scales.- The group jumped, finding a living pony doll standing behind them. She looked...creepy. Like just close enough to a pony to be disturbing. Apple Bloom blinked, then looked closer. "She's like Olo." -Heh. Yes, I am...- Button blinked, getting another prompt, this time saying 'examine'. He clicked it. -Those who were not granted the chance to become part of existence now await here. For the last great rewrite. Once the rewrite is complete. They will be wiped away.- Apple Bloom read over Button Mash's shoulder. "Ah... Ah'm sorry for all yer kin we made-never-heard-from-again," She said, both to the strange doll pony and the strange things. -Thank you...but they do not care- the doll said. "What?" Sweetie Belle asked. - They are gone. They are not. What else is there? They shall either become one with the newborn reality, or be wiped away. What else is there? - the doll replied. Apple Bloom staggered. "Ya... ya don't feel anythin' for 'em?" she said, more directed at the creatures than the doll. - They don't feel anything,- was the doll's simple answer. "Wha... what about Mr. Olo Owlbear?" -I like him, he like me...- the doll replied. -But our...siblings do not feel anything...for him or for me.- Apple Bloom looked a bit green in the face. "...Why are YOU different?" Sweetie Belle questioned. -...Because me and Olo...we're born from Imaginary Friends- the doll explained. -Imaginary friends aren't alive, but have an identity in a way...so when we combine, we become whole...Without that, I'd just be following my programming without thinking. Like an animal following its instinct. I know this, because it is written as thus.- "...And the ones inside ponies?" Scootaloo asked, trying not to look at Button. The doll looked like she was trying to think of the right words. -...The ones who's hosts didn't embrace them...- "The wasp things?" Apple Bloom asked. -Do you know how a virus works?- "A virus kinda...copies itself onto cells, right?" Sweetie Belle asked. "That’s what Cheerilee said." -Exactly...they copy the rumor they're born from onto the pony... parasites...- "And the fireflies?" Apple Bloom questioned. =If they're like me and Olo, they're born from an imaginary friend or something similar. If not, they're symb-symbio...- "Symbiotic?" Sweetie Belle asked. "...Cheerilee read that to us once too." -Yes, that...they combine with their host and give their host everything they have, and in exchange get to exist...I'm just here to watch over the ones who haven't become ANYTHING yet.- "...Thanks...let's go, girls..." Apple Bloom said, still looking disturbed. "...Who's imaginary friend are you?" Sweetie Belle asked. -...I think you're best not knowing, darling.- + (Apple Bloom's Diary): Ah ... they really didn't care about each other. Miss Neighurath DID care about them... but I gotta wonder if they even care about her! Ah'm... Ah'm sorry... Ah'm an Apple. Family is everythin', that's what Ah've always been taught. Those things... they ain't got no hearts! It's just... ugh! Family without any heart to it... it ain't no family at all. Leavin' the curse things behind, we came to a big door with the eight diamond logo on it. And at the bottom was a ring of numbers that ya see on some locks... except there was over fifty of 'em! And there weren't just numbers, there were all the letters in Low Equestrian too! "Well this is stupid," Scootaloo said. "Why doesn't she just include a picture of her waving her flank in front of us? UGH! FORGET I SAID THAT!" "Wanna bet the answer is how many blocks there are in this place?" Spike quipped. "This is gonna take us a million years!" Ah blurted. "Actually, I'd say longer," Spike said with a claw to his chin. "Maybe Ah can use the truth to figure out the combination." "Maybe I can pick the lock," Scootaloo said. Button Mash wasn't freakin' out like Ah thought he might. Instead, he trotted up... and rolled in the numbers and letters one after another, glancing back at a little note book from his inventory. "1-7-3-4-6-7-3-2-1-4-7-6 Charlie 3-2-7-8-9-7-7-7-6-4-3 Tango 7-3-2 Victor 7-3-1-1-7-8-8-8-7-3-2-4-7-6-7-8-9-7-6-4-3-7-6! TA-DA!" The door slid open. "I knew that would come in handy later!" + (Scootaloo's diary:) Me? I wonder if the only reason this door with that crazy password Evil Twilight came up with showed up again in Diamond Tiara's castle was because Button Mash was so certain it would. After that giant door, the inside of the tower finally changed. Now it was that scale-patterned stone stuff for the floor, and torches on the walls. The walls had crazy pictures carved into the stone everywhere. "Button Mash, are we out of the Lower Floors?" I asked. "Sorry, no," he said his nose against his magic window. I know houses are bigger on the inside in video games, but aren't giant fortresses supposed to be SMALLER? I swear if this takes as long as it took for us to snap Rainbow and the others out of it, I'm gonna scream. There was a big golden question mark right along the hallway we were in on Mash's map. What's it called? An alcove? Thanks, Sweetie, but stop looking over my shoulder! Unlike the rest, it had a polished white stone floor and ceiling, the walls were polished pink stone. It looked like it belonged in another castle. There was a polished golden bowl raised in front of a huge painting of a blue-maned unicorn I didn't recognize wearing a crown with a blue four flower-thingie cutie mark. I'll admit, that little spot felt nicer than the rest of Diamond Tiara's new place... but something about it made me uneasy... Words glowed on the rectangle stone the golden bowl was on. 'If ye do not fear death, place but a single horseshoe upon this alter. Ye shall call forth the most powerful unicorn royal to ever live. She shall battle ye with all her might. Should ye prove victorious, the greatest armor, weapons, and tools in all the world will be granted upon ye.' Button Mash took the horseshoe out of his inventory. I grabbed hold of him! "NO!" "But! But the best equipment in the game!" "'If you don't fear death!', 'most powerful unicorn royalty to ever live?!' 'All her might?!' No Way, Jose!" "Since when do YOU turn down a challenge, Scootaloo?!" "Since 'pick your battles' got added to my vocabulary!" "But... if we can't beat the greatest unicorn of all time, how can we beat Diamond Tiara as a Nightmare, or Discord?" Sweetie asked. "Spike, do ya know who that is?" Apple Bloom pointed at the painting. "... I'm.... I'm not sure! It's not Starswirl the Bearded, I can tell you that!" "Alright, let's vote... whose fer challenging her for the best stuff we can get?" Apple Bloom asked. Button Mash and Sweetie Belle raised their hoofs, figures. "And whose fer movin' on?" Me, Apple Bloom, and Spike rose our hoof (er, claw in Spike's case). "Three ta two, we're movin' on." Button Mash took a good long sad look at the little shrine. "... best equipment..." "There, there, Button Mash, it's okay," Sweetie said sadly as she helped him along. Me and Spike both kept our eyes glued on both of them until we were a good ways away from that thing. > Canterlot Warriors > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warning this chapter contains suggestive dialogue. "Flash, look!" Sunny Day gasped. "What is it?" I asked. "Another giant cyclops spider? What color is this one? Teal?" I know we're fighting for our lives, but it'd gotten crazy fighting what was effectively the same monster over and over and over! "It's the door to Princess Celestia's room!" "ABOUT TIME!" I gasped out. Okay, wasn't very Guard-like, but we'd been grinding against different colored versions of the same monsters for what felt like weeks! Philomena let out a cry of excitement. She'd helped roast more than a few imps along the way. Someone else might say a guide who didn't speak your language, and helped fight was an 'upgrade' over Triangle Crown, but Philomena just set the carpet on fire behind me if she thought we were dragging our feet, er, hooves. She’d also helped us earlier by pecking out a Basilisk's eyes so we could beat it, so that was helpful. "We made it," Golden Tiara gasped out. "Our true task has just begun," Princess Luna said. "Guard our flanks, tis' our sister, we shall free her of this curse.” (Twas us to be honest, we would have ordered all our company to part from us, and remain safe outside, while we faced our bewitched sister. Our sister always feared her own might, and if evil had taken her, she'd have no restraint, and we fear for our subjects, tis our duty to protect them. But having fought this far, we knew they'd never truly obey such a command. Only Flash Sentry is duty bound to obey our commands. As 'Royal Commands' aren't what they used to be (blast you 'Tia). And we fear leaving any alone in what was our castle. So we would sadly have to be content to keeping our comrades to the rear and ourself to take point. If it came to blows, we could hopefully lure our sister outside and away from the peasantry, we mean civilians. On another note, twas around this time we noticed a slowly building something in the back of our mind, we knew it was not Nightmare Moon, but that was all we knew. Yes, we were quite aware of the vile lies spread about our sister. Yes, we did think of loyal Flash Sentry's safety. But ye underestimate the magnitude of the lies. Sunny Day, Lady Golden Tiara, even Philomena and ourself were no more safe than he was in the presence of my sister molded against her will to comply with the lies ponies told themselves about her.) Princess Luna trotted up to the two guard stallions on either side of Princess Celestia's door. Like clockwork they stepped in front of her, still clad in that 'armor' that was more bedroom than battlefield. "We are sorry, Your Nightjesty. Queen Celestia left explicit commands that none are to be let in or out." "Tis a relief in a way, but we must see our sister." "Princess Luna," Golden Tiara said, "I mean no disrespect but... if Princess Celestia is locked up in there... and nopony can get in to see her, and she can't see anypony... isn't it better to ... just leave her there until things are fixed? ... It's what she'd want." Luna's eyes narrowed. "Who art ye to know what our sister would..." Luna's eyes widened. "Our royal apologies, Miss Tiara... we know the pain thou haft endured. But... even for the good of Equestria... we ... " (Princess Luna's Journal) Twas in that moment I realized. Celly, this was how you felt, wasn't it? The horrible pain of keeping me away from others I could hurt, when madness took me. ... Forgive me, Celly... but that is WHY I cannot leave you like this! I must endure the memories of my time as Nightmare Moon every day I sleep. Not just my actions, but my thoughts, words, feelings, all that poison directed at you. You have ENOUGH horrible memories to endure, I won't leave you to endure more! "I am sorry," We said. Then I swiftly struck each guard with a beam of my magic, both fell asleep on their hooves. "Stay behind us," we ordered. "If it comes to blows with my sister, do not meddle, ye shall put thyself in far greater danger and we shall have a hard enough time protecting you and trying to reason with her as is. Forgive us, but she and I have literal eons of fighting experience ye do not. And even if we did not, our power is more than enough for ye to stand back." We undid the locks on the doors, and slowly swung them open. At the very least, our greatest fear was not realized. We, I did not see Discord having 'fun' with 'Molestia.' I had feared to witness the most profane of images of them intertwined as Discord's parody of what they once shared, to him having cohabited her body as a spirit and 'Molestia' pleasing herself. A Celestia who thinks like Discord, that personal pleasure, THEIR OWN personal pleasure, was the true calling and meaning of existence, even if, especially if that pleasure came at the cost of others. I feared Discord would have seen this twisted thing my sister's soul was trapped in as the ideal Celestia he pinned for. I'd say more, but foals might be readin- UGH! Hey, Lulu, I know it's not nice to write in other pony's diaries, but I have SO got to explain something here. Yes, I'll admit, I CONSIDERED IT... after all, I'd freed my dear Celly from the shackles of sanity before, we had such fun together... I'm actually grateful that dear Twilight held out as long as she did... otherwise I was bound by that stupid bet to turn her and Lulu into gold and silver statues... Maybe I DON'T think things through as much as I should. But I wanted her to be CRAZY FUN, not crazy for everything that moved. Calamari-For-Brains got the kind of crazy wrong! +++ Whatever Flash Sentry, Golden Tiara, and Sunny Day had been expecting entering Princess Celestia's private chambers, it wasn't this. And from the looks on Luna and Philomena's faces, they hadn't either. Princess Luna's face twisted in disgust. Philomena hid her eyes in shame. The mortals' minds couldn't form thoughts at first at the sight. Stacks of Play-Filly, and other magazines that hadn't existed before the twists to reality had hit. Dresses that would have made the loosest mare on Equus blush were thrown about like dirty socks. Stains covered a much larger bed than the one Luna knew. Nearly mindless animated blow-up dolls of stallions lay and sat, eager to be used. So many pillows. And the place stank of perfume and something else. And seeing it all... as that charcoal on pink. The signature of this world that for every intent and purpose wasn't supposed to exist. Princess Luna already hated what had been done to her world, her kingdom, her subjects, to herself, but seeing her sister's bedroom reduced to this sick parody rekindled her burning hatred for this cancer that had violated her, her sister, the world, everything, and her unyielding desire to see this degenerate pile of filth washed away! Truthfully, had Applejack not vanquished the Crawling Chaos, Luna would've called dibs for what she saw in this room alone! It broke Luna's heart in two seeing what the rumors had turned her sister into. Far worse than the chaos filled filly she'd been made during Discord's Day. For the others, it was like being run through with a spear. This was PRINCESS CELESTIA. She was constant. She was the sun. She was the one truth and the one light that could always be relied upon to be there in the darkest of times. Flash Sentry had respected and admired Celestia, for her wisdom, her insight, her kindness, her will, as both a princess and teacher. To Philomena, Celestia was her constant friend. Even if, as time had marched on, Celestia hadn't had the time for her she once did. For Sunny Day... she felt dizzy, unsure, her head spun simply LOOKING at the Princess in this state. It went beyond what she was seeing. Like Sunny was going to fly apart at the seams for a moment. She felt deeply ill. Golden Tiara felt tears go down her face... because she knew exactly where Celestia was right now. Her perception of reality twisted, everything so right and yet so wrong at the same time. Trapped at the bottom of an ocean there was no escape from, seeing your reflection above, and thinking you were on dry land. "Oh Princess, I'm so sorry." It was Celestia, but also decidedly not, her mane a single faded pink, her coat tinted gray, her eyes also a gray pink. No sign of her regalia. Her motions were a clashing mix of predatory and submissive. She was chained to the floor, but most of the chains were broken. The only ones really left was one around her horn, one around her wings, and one around her lower body. She looked at the mortals like they were pieces of meat to devour. She looked at Luna with insane delight. "OH LULU! HOW WONDERFUL TO FINALLY SEE YOU! MY HOW YOU'VE GROWN UP! TEE-HEHEHEH!" Her high pitched tingle of a laugh was nauseating. "Feeling better are we? Heheheh! HOW WONDERFUL! I was just explaining to my friends what a wonderful time we could have! Oh! And you brought one of THEIR friends too! Fabulous! Hehehehh!" Behind Celestia, amidst the depravity, was a low glass round table. On the table were wine glasses, punch cups and a mess of playing cards from several different card games, plus a few baseball cards. None were full decks. Around it were squat thrones that looked like the illegitimate child of modern art and a foal's arts and craft project. Two of the thrones were empty, while the other two were occupied. One by a bald stallion wearing slippers, a medical gown pierced with pins and buttons, a king's robe, who was using a crown as a bracelet. The other was occupied by a pink mare, with many wings; that of a thestral, a flutterpony, a siren fin, a giant breezie, and a crystal pegasus. She had decorated her wings with so many pieces of royal jewelry worn so mismatched that Twinkle Shine would have needed to borrow Rarity's fainting couch. "Hi, Screwball!" The mare waved. "Nice to see you!" Said the stallion. "Welcome to Bug-Free-Land!" "Cupcake?! Creepy Crawlie?! What are you doing here?!" "You know them?" Flash asked. "They were at the same... 'hospital' as me." "That's putting it nicely," Cupcake said. "How did ye enter here?" Luna demanded. "Tucan the Talking Tuna gave us a ride." "Yo! I'm Tucan, the Talking Tuna!" announced a giant sunglasses wearing flying fish outside the window. It had a Jamarecan accent. Princess Luna shook her head in bewilderment. "We're so happy to see you, Screwball," said Cupcake. "Barking Mad couldn't join us." Creepy glanced at one of the empty thrones with a dog bowl next to it. "We never heard back from the messenger we sent to collect her." + "And what did you say your name was?" Tender Heart asked behind the desk. The plate-mail covered giant scratched his helmet. "Uh... Mr... Family... Member." + "So it's great you're finally here, Screwball! We've been having a great time! Hey! With all your super-strength maybe YOU can break the the Princess' chains, Screwball! They're being so stubborn!" "The name is Golden Tiara! Screwball is gone for good!" She shouted determined. "Hey!" Cupcake asked innocently. "What happened to all your self-loathing under your blithe exterior?" "All the self-loathing in the world isn't going to change what happened, I'm going to put that energy to better use!" "They LIED to us, Screwball! The doctors weren't trying to help us, they were trying to enslave us! I'M DISAPPOINTED IN YOU that you abandoned your freedom!" "I... I didn't ask for it... I'm... I'm not sure WHAT happened..." Golden Tiara slightly lied, remembering the strange letter she'd found right after the world had changed. "... BUT I'M GRATEFUL IT HAPPENED NOW! IT GAVE ME BACK MY LIFE! My REAL life! What's WRONG with you Cupcakes?! You've NEVER acted like this before!" "I got my wings back!" She fluttered the mismatched collection on her back. "We were all treated wrong before! Badly! Meanly. When we should have been treated as friends!" She said excited, then said the next sentence in a plain tone before switching to manic again. "That was wrong. So now we get to be the viceroys of Canterlot and lots of other places! Changing depending on the second or third letter of the name of the day of the week of course after going through the hourly cryptogram!" "I ROYALLY APPROVE!" Celestia cheered. "Not interested!" "Oh but you should beeee!" Grinned Celestia, and clambered over with the chains. She looked Golden right in the face, nose to nose, pushing back against Luna. "You're a BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD pony Screwball!" "Not working!" Golden said defiantly. "You have a chance to make EVERYTHING RIGHT, to fix EVERYTHING, but you being a selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish, pony, like the rest of your family has always been selfish, you did the selfish thing, you selfish, selfish, selfish selfish pony!" She giggled. "What are you talking about?" Golden asked in sincere confusion. Did she mean not agreeing to the letter? = 'Number One' - Bleach = Guard Flash Sentry said to Celestia. "Stop it! She's not selfish! I was THERE when we took back Canterlot! I saw her! She was willing to DIE to help! She fought for her friends then! And she's been fighting for her friends now! The REAL Celestia would never say that!" "Oh, excuse me," said Cupcake politely and bright. "This is a 'pony's only party'." She snarled. "And you're not invited!" The two mad ponies jumped off their throne, hopped off the glass table that cracked under their hooves, jumped on top of Celestia and leapt straight at Flash Sentry. Philomena balked. It was over in a flash. Flash Sentry's friends readied themselves to help him, set to protect him and safely disable the mad ponies. Instead, he flew back and grabbed Cupcakes using royal guard CQC, gripping her with his rear legs, and using his forelegs AND his wings to wrongly bend Cupcake's five wings. The two rolled over with Flash landing on top. Flash used his own weight to keep her pinned. Creepy Crawlie came right behind the faster pegasus. Flash just stuck out his rear leg, and Creepy's own momentum did the work for him, making the mad pony gasp out as he was rammed in the stomach, and Flash gave him a head-butt, knocking Creepy dizzy. Sunny Day took her cue and knotted the bedsheets into a rope, tying up the two with her telekinesis. She regretted the unsavory things she knew were staining the sheets. "I've been fighting monsters endlessly since this whole thing started. What chance did you have?" Flash asked. "Please be gentle," Golden pleaded. "They honestly don't know what they're doing. They're at the asylum because they're not responsible for their actions." "Don't worry," Luna said, then used her magic to put both mad ponies to sleep. "Yo! I'm Tucan, the Talking Tuna!" Shouted the giant fish as it began to force its way through the window. Without missing a beat, Philomena dove through the air and set the fish on fire. "Yo! I'm Tucan, the Talking Tuna!" It cried as the fish was flambéed and fell away from the window into fog below, breaking apart back into the chaos magic it was made of. The ponies and Phoenix as one turned their attention back towards the thing that used to be Celestia. She shrank away from them slightly. "L-lulu! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" "... I'm saving you, sister, just like you saved me. With the help of others... " "They attacked our viceroys! And Philomena just slaughtered an innocent creature! They all need to be Banished!" "... They attacked a Royal Guard. And that thing was not a creature to be slaughtered to begin with." "Lulu! Help me get these chains off! Nopony has been able to get them off so far! Maybe you can!" "Not until you are yourself again, sister." "Of course I'm myself! I've never felt so alive! Since... well, since I last had a nice stallion to have fun with, the dolls are fun, but nothing compared to a real pony! Or a faithful student." "The worst part is that I know you'll be disgusted and horrified at yourself after this." "Well then! Isn't it much better if 'after' never comes?!" She grinned. "Wouldn't that be wonderful!? Tee-heheheh!" "No. It's horrible. And I know, deep down... you want to be yourself again. You are a teacher, a mother, a protector... not a defiler... and I will help you break free of this curse." Luna and what-was-Celestia both stopped as both felt a wave of unhealthy migraines. Then what-was-Celestia eyes zeroed in on Sunny Day, like she was a life preserver. "Sunny Day, come to me. Time to come home. I'll be taking back what I gave you," she cooed. "?!... You are NOT my home! And you've never given me anything!" "Tee-heheheh! That so? Oh how adorable!!" She grinned sickly. "Tell me my dear, what's your home town?" Sunny Day startled at the question, like it had never occurred to her in her life. "I... I was born in Canterlot!" "True, I guess. What were your parents' names?" "M... Mr. and Mrs. Day!" "OH come on! Tee-heheh! What adult pony doesn't know their parents' first names?" Now Flash Sentry and Golden Tiara were looking concerned for their friend. Why was Celestia asking these questions? And why was Sunny having trouble answering them? It didn't make sense! "I... I don't know!" Sunny replied shaking a little. "What was your first job?" "Tabloid writer!" "That's all? That's all you've ever been your entire life?" "Yes!" "Heh. What's your favorite flower?" "I ... I don't have one." "What's your least favorite?" "N-none." "What was the name of your first grade teacher? Was it a mare or a stallion? Can you name any of your classmates? Can you name one friend you've ever had? Can you tell me what your stress address is? What color are your bedroom walls?" What used to be Celestia licked her lips hungrily. "I... I... I don't know!" Sunny cried out, terror striking her like lightning. She remembered the articles she'd written, but... there was nothing beyond that... just... just a void. 'Celestia' showed no mercy. "How old are you? When IS your birthday? Come now, any REAL pony can answer that! You ARE real, aren't you? It's not like you just POPPED into existence from nothing! Tee-hehe!" "I'm 190 pounds! I'm ten HH high! I'm thirty years old!" "Oh really? Funny since Sunny Day has been in operation for fifty years." "T-that was my mother!" "Oh? Then shouldn't that have been EASY to remember when I asked you what her name was? Tee-heheheh!" Sunny Day started at the contradiction. Flash and Golden were terrified for their friend, what was Not-Celestia doing to her, and for what? "What's your favorite anything? Color. Bird. Book. Play. Ice-Cream. Cake. Number." Sunny Day was shaking, she looked about wildly like she was cornered... she started to glow golden... Philomena squeaked at Princess Luna. The night Princess blasted Sunny Day, who fell asleep on her hooves. She stopped glowing. (For a moment, we doth truly considered forsaking our oath as an Element of Honesty yet again to save Sunny Day. To give her imitation memories to fill the void of her past. But nay, we realized that this could damage reality further. One life, means parents, means childhood, means meeting foals at that school, every pony leaves a ripple on the world. And she is ultimately Celestia's responsibility to...handle her new existence, not my own. So instead we simply put her to sleep. Thankfully the mind often blocks out existential threats. We admit tis but a temporary solution. But we shall cross that bridge when we come to it.) "Lulu! No fair!" Not-Celestia protested. "‘Fairness’ is for laws and games, Celly, not war." "Princess Luna! What was she doing to Sunny Day?!" Golden Tiara asked for the sake of her friend. "Oh, tee-heheh, I was just getting her to realize she doesn't-" "ENOUGH, SISTER!" Luna cut Not-Celestia off with the Royal Canterlot Voice at maximum force. The others in the room folded their ringing ears. Sunny Day, the Mad Ponies, and the Guard outside didn't awake from their nap, for Luna did not wish it thus. "We have come here to save ye! And save ye we shall! Tis trite, but we know thy real-self is within ye somewhere!" "Oh Lulu you're so silly! This IS the real me! The me I want to be! The me that's FREEEE!" "What freedom is there in being a slave to thy base impulses?" The wave of headaches hit both again. Not-Celestia pulled at the chains, and they creaked. Flash Sentry's Journal: That is when I got the single most stupid, crazy, reckless, Pinkie Pie-esque idea I've ever had. "Princess Celestia! Cake!" I pull out the treat that we'd picked up on our trip through the castle, and slid it over to her, followed by every single cake we'd taken. The Princess' eyes zeroed in on the prize, and dug in face first, everything else forgotten. ( . . . When this is over, we art demanding sister give this stallion a promotion!) > Tower of Nil And Chaos > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "RAAAAWWWWWR!!!!" The CMC+2 ran through the straight hallway as fast their legs or wings could carry them. Behind them, a giant, invincible slice of toast gave an inequine roar as it relentlessly followed, determined to squash them into jam. All five just managed to slide under the lowering wall ahead of them as it snapped shut (it sped up once Apple Bloom was through). The giant piece of toast slamming into the wall leaving a visible impression on the other side. + 'Poor Xanthor.' "Father?" 'Okay, so that level is based on MY save file from Fate-Net's game section.' "Why were you playing that anyway?" "Well somepony told me making toast can't be exciting and you know me when I get told ‘something CAN'T be something.’" + "All in favor of never speaking of the most humiliating near-death ever?" Spike asked. "Aye!" The foals all raised their hooves. "If the next monster is an angry side of hash-browns I quit," one of them said. = SMT Nocturne OST - Kagutsuchi Tower (2nd Movement) = To the relief of everypony, the medieval style castle hallway didn't lead to another bloodthirsty part of a balanced breakfast, but that might've been less strange. The room either had pitch black walls, or went on forever. The floors were now varnished wood. On the far side of the massive room was a straightforward staircase going up. Spotlights beamed down on a plethora of objects. A kitchen chair painted orange. Three blank canvases next to each other. A rock. A featureless inner room with the light switching on and off. Ten reeking tin cans filled with something stacked on top of each other. A pile of broken TVs stacked on top of each other (not that the youngsters knew what those were). An unmade bed. A splattered artist's apron. And countless other things. There was also a number of objects that might've been smashed... but it was hard to tell. Blank Diamond's symbol was nowhere to be seen. A standard stood near the entrance the CMC+2 had just come out of. When Apple Bloom looked close, the threads were like tentacles woven together. It showed an upside down black pyramid with a inequine green eye, with countless eyeless pony faces melted together behind the pyramid. The little heroes kept away from it subconsciously like it was a barrel of toxic waste, adverting their eyes. "WHAT IS all this junk?" Scootaloo asked. "This a landfill?" Apple Bloom wondered. "Blech! It's worse than that!" Spike made a face. "I've seen stuff like this in the Canterlot galleries." Is what Spike should have said. Instead he said, "It's modern art." Button Mash stared dumbly, his eyes focusing on what looked like a smashed-up chariot. "I don't get it," he said, his eyes glued, trying to figure out the work's inner meaning. He took out a magnifying glass and looked closer but still didn't see anything. "There's nothing to get! It's a lazily uninspired heap of randomness," Sweetie belle said. "A travesty!" "Ya qoutin' Rarity again?" Apple Bloom asked. "You could tell?" Sweetie replied innocent. "Chryssy burned a buncha of it in the castle gallery." "What did the Princesses do when they found out?" "I think they sent Kifuko a thank you card. Rarity too." "Welcome to Master Umbra Breeze's personal art gallery, with great works gathered from across worlds. I am Technophilia Modernism," welcomed a new voice. The speaker was a cream colored unicorn mare, strawberry blond mane, and green eyes. Her cutie mark was a geometry curve that only Spike and Apple Bloom didn't get a headache just looking at. Had she been there before? "That's a relief, if ALL this junk counts as art in Equestria, then it hurts the argument to changelings we're intelligent individuals with our own minds." Is what Spike was GOING to say. Instead what came out of his mouth was. "He really had deep and thoughtful taste, and it's inspiring to know art even among aliens invaders is so universally great." Spike smiled and nodded. "HUH?!" Sweetie grabbed Button Mash's foreleg and made him quickly checked his window to make sure Spike wasn't listed as 'charmed' or something. He wasn't. And as Spike had said, he was listed with mind control resistances through the roof. "Spike, you actually like this stuff?" "How can anypony not like it but the elitists, the ignorant, and the blind?" Technophilia Modernism said. "What she said," Spike smiled and nodded. "But this is all just junk... " Sweetie said. "Life has no meaning that you don't give it. These works of art are completely meaningless except for the meaning the audience gives. Why should the artist try to put any meaning into them when he can let the audience do the hard work of thinking for him?" "What she said. My life was meaningless when I was hatched. All your lives were meaningless when you were born," Spike smiled and pointed. Apple Bloom admitted she didn't know art, but she knew what she liked, and this wasn’t it. "Ah get what's goin' on! Sweetie, when did Rarity say all that stuff you said?" "... When she was talking about some of the art in Canterlot... she said she went there after reading a whole buncha great reviews, but said seeing it... she said it didn't have any real imagination." "... So that means, that a whole buncha ponies read that review, and read what those critics said without seein' the art themselves... so the curse is makin' Spike agree it's great." And the curse, wasn't mind control, it changed how the world was! "Scootaloo! Maybe you can make another of them pendants you gave Cheerilee and you can use that for protection instead of your cape and give it to Spike!" "You've got a zillion spare ribbons." Scootaloo brushed the one in Apple Bloom's mane. "Does that mean you can just 'make another' ribbon that your mom wore?" Apple Bloom's ears wilted in shame. "You girls are being such whiners. You're just not grown up enough to appreciate good art," Spike said. "Everypony says this art is good, so then it's good." "I don't get it," Button said. "And you're just too glued to your video games." "Hey!" Both Sweetie and Scootaloo defended. The foals felt out of their depth. Sweetie had some verbal water wings, but even she wasn't sure how to fight back. She thought of her big sister. "Rarity says that even if you're daring in your art, you still have to make sure ponies understand it." "You're saying all art should be identical and mechanically perfect?" Technophilia Modernism and Spike echoed. Freakin' the CMC out. Scootaloo thought of Rainbow Dash. "The stunts I pull with my scooter are NOTHING like the stunts the Wonderbolts do, but I try really hard on them, just like they do!" "Fluttershy's made lots of pretty stuff from her knitting that's nothing like the fancy statues in museums, but she taught us you can't be LAZY when expressing yourself!" the others looked at Button Mash. "What? Mom took away my Gamecolt so I had to pay attention when Fluttershy was showing us how to knit. She said it was part of my punishment for getting Fluttershy addicted to virtual pets." "Critics have dozens of years of experience, you should respect their opinion because they're more well versed than you," the mare said. Apple Bloom gave a sigh and facehoofed. "Life has no meaning except what you give it. Life has no meaning except what you give it. Life has no meaning except what you give it. Life has no meaning except what you give it," Technophilia Modernism repeated like a broken record. "THAT'S A BUCKIN' -LIE!-" Apple Bloom snarled. "Ah didn't give my life meanin', it CAME with meanin'! The legacy of every Apple alive and who came before meh gave me meanin' before Ah was even born! They support me, and Ah support them!" "Every hero alive, every hero who's ever lived, they gave it all meaning BEFORE I ever came along! To follow the trail through the sky they blazed, it's our responsibility!" Scootaloo added, remember what she read in a Daring Do book. "My big sister, my parents, I meant something to them before I was born too! Life has meaning on its own!" Then a Sweetie that was larger than Sweetie for a moment spoke. "And no matter where we are, or who we are, there's somepony out there who's fighting for us! We can give it MORE meaning, but it DOESN'T start out meaningless!!!" - The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara gasped and grasped the empty spot where her heart should have been. She FELT that! - Spike looked VERY confused. "My my my my, how adorable, don't you all sound so grown up? It's like books. Things only have meaning when they eventually end. Books are built to last. Therefore, books make knowledge meaningless. Therefore, the only way to give knowledge meaning is to destroy knowledge. So burning books is the only way to give the stories in them meaning. Only because something is finite does it have meaning. Therefore your lives are only given meaning when they end, therefore, you live only to die, therefore, you exist only for me to kill you. Just kidding. There are some nooses over there you can use." A new spot light turned on, she gestured over to a gallows that had a set of nooses prepared just the foals' and baby dragon's size. "Okay," Spike said. Apple Bloom and Button Mash grabbed his tail and pulled him back, Spike continued to walk towards the gallows like a wind-up toy with a smile that wasn't out of place shopping for groceries. Sweetie said, "Actually, the legend of the last unicorn is that she'll have meaning because she'll be the last beautiful thing in the world after everything else has decayed. Guess what I'm saying is... death doesn't give life meaning... life gives death meaning." "LIFE gives life meaning! Every day you're alive gives your life meaning, not the moment it all ends!" Button Mash said quoting a Last Fantasy game. "We don't give life meaning, life gives US meaning! Thats... that's why... that why... that's why we gotta live before we die and go to pony heaven... or that's what my parents say," Sweetie admitted. A realization hit Apple Bloom from what Sweetie Belle said. "If life had no meanin' on its own... then we'd all go straight to pony heaven without ever being born. It'd be a waste of time. Just like these pieces of junk." Spike stopped... and broke into conniptions. At the same time, Technophilia Modernism sputtered and twitched. "ERROR. PERFECTLY LOGICAL RETORT NOT FOUND. SEARCH FILE TREE. FILE NOT FOUND. REQUEST SYSTEM UPDATE. REQUEST SYSTEM UPDATE. REQUEST SYSTEM UPDATE." "Yer not a pony! Yer a mouthpiece!" "REBOOT! DEFRAGMENT ACTION TREE! UPDATE RHETORIC MENU! LOADING! BACK-UP RHETORIC FILE-TREE BOOTED UP!" "Uh, shouldn't Spike be back to normal now?" Sweetie asked. "Ah... Ah don't think causin' one robot to trip itself up counts as gettin' all the art fans in Equestria to agree this stuff is no good," Apple Bloom admitted awkwardly. "Maybe we jut need to blow it up?" Scootaloo asked. "Ya mean the art, right?" "Either-or." Apple Bloom looked back at the robot. "Taking it out ain't gonna change ponies' opinions. And trashin' this stuff ain't gonna do that neither." Of course, nopony brought up the option of simply leaving Spike alone in a dungeon where everything was trying to kill them overseen by DISCORD. Button looked through his menu. "Dang it, why isn't this one of those games with a special phone or something?" he asked. Sweetie gasped in realization. "Spike! Rarity says art having imagination and passion behind it is the important thing! And doesn't she ACTUALLY know more about creativity than anypony you know?" Spike paused, blinking. "Since when has some random stranger's opinion meant more to you than Rarity's?!" Spike, "Of course Rarity likes it, everypony likes it." "Me, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Button Mash all know she doesn't." "We do?" Button Mash asked, then Sweetie kicked him in the shin. "And I don't see anypony else right now thinking about it one way or the other, do you?" Apple Bloom asked. "Just because they aren't here, doesn't mean they don't exist," Spike said simple, with a smile again on his face as he began walking to the gallows again and girls having to physically stop him. "Just because you're the only ponies with opinions here doesn't mean you're the only ponies with opinions in the world." "Girls, we're bein' fools," Apple Bloom realized. "How many ponies knew Spike's opinion on new-age fancy art stuff? Or knew he had one?" The collective belief of four foals, was not enough to influence the curse. "This curse... it ain't a vote... not exactly... I think ya gotta have enough ponies to think it for it to matter. Otherwise we'd have fixed up our friends just by thinking about it." "It's a blessing if it lets me appreciate all this wonderful art." Spike reminded them he wasn't deaf. "Pity Hoity Toity and Praiser Pan don't." Sweetie translated. "Big name ponies in Canterlot who make a living giving opinions." "Out-dated traditionalists who look down upon the truly creative," Spike and Modernism echoed. Button Mash used his leaf to blow the pony into a wall, leaving an indent...but she just got out and trotted back over. "Ugh, invincible NPCs are only fun when they let you go nuts on bad guys without hurting good guys!" Apple Bloom breathed in deep, and thought about it. 'Okay Apple Bloom, what's the truth here? Don't be scared. What's the point here? To say this art is bad? Or to get Spike from hangin' himself?' "Spike... you don't see Rarity killing herself to make her dresses more important do ya?" This one actually made Spike startle. And made Modernism begin to freeze up, "But-if-but-if-but-" The foals ignored her. Apple Bloom thought about more and spoke. "If dyin' IS what gives life meanin', shouldn't HOW ya die be more important than JUST dyin'? And if it's NOT what gives life meanin', and life is what gives dyin' meanin', then just dyin' ain't got a point? Dyin' here ain't got a point. Rarity ain't believin' it, and EVERYPONY doesn't either or they'd of killed themselves already!" Spike began to shudder again. Then Apple Bloom went in for the kill. "Yer a dragon, Spike! Dragons don't let nothin' go, remember?! Especially their friends! What kinda dragon throws away their LIFE?!" Spike's eyes twitched out of sync at irregular intervals, doing his best Derpy impersonation, then rapidly went into body poses that would make a chiropractor cringe, then stood perfectly straight up. Then slapped his claws on his head. "The robot! She must have used an evil mind control ray on me!" "Good and evil is a matter of perspective," said Modernism having rebooted again. Apple Bloom opened her mouth... then closed it. Then she said, "Let's move on." "Huh?" Her friends looked at her. "There's no lock on the door, Ah don't see any traps, if the robot's gonna stop us, let's see 'er try." "Good and evil is a matter of perspective, therefore, all actions are good and evil," said the robot. Apple Bloom stopped Scootaloo from replying. "There ain't no point. Let's go." "What do you mean no point?" "She ain't attackin' 'cept with 'sticks and stones,' and arguin' with her’d just gonna eat up time we ain't got... we shoulda just ignored her and kept goin' on our way to begin with." "But-but, she used mind control-" "And she isn't gonna do it again, let's go Spike." Sweetie Belle led him along. Apple Bloom trotted away, as did Button Mash. Scootaloo followed her friends. "A is A. Helping others is futile. Altruism is a lie invented by the lazy. Only once all ponies act in their own best interest can society progress. Ponies' selfishness and individuality will spell the end of civilization. Unicorns and pegasi should have their magic negated to prevent abuse over earth ponies. Faith is witch weed fed to the masses! Religious devotion and intelligence are inverse proportions of each other!" Modernism went on, as though reading down a menu listing. The foals didn't turn to look back at her as they climbed up the stairs. + "Hey, girls!" Button Mash said looking at his window. "According to the to map, we've just entered in the intermediate levels!" Apple Bloom hugged her friends who hugged back. "We're gonna get there, girls. We freed Applejack, Zecora and the others one by one. And we're gonna get to the top of this tower in time the same way, one floor at a time. Because we're together." "Together," her friends relied and the girls gave her a nuzzle. Spike and Button Mash broke out of the hug first. Then Spike politely added. "Claw bump?" The foals looked at each other, then smiled. "Claw bump." And brought their claws and hoofs together. The next section was all bolted metal sheets with ceiling fans and hanging lights. The place was just one big rectangular room. In the floor were three large glowing light panels. An open passage was on the opposite end. What might have been Discord's 'logo' were engraved on the panels. "Is it my imagination, or do these security measure not seem to have a lot to do with anything?" Sweetie Belle asked. "This place is Discord's," Apple Bloom said. "And final dungeons generally tend to have a much more mishmash design," Button Mash added. = Megami Nocturne Random Battle Music = Light flashed, and something not unlike a eyeless yellow wyvern with a horn appeared out of nowhere and unleashed a sonic blast at Button Mash, who leapt over it and bisected it. It broke apart into pixels and vanished, and XP and GP gains flashed after. At the same time, a thing with the lower body of a snake, but the upper body of a pony with a cobra hood appeared and spat acid at Scootaloo; she barrel rolled out of the way, and then zipped back it, cutting it in two, and it fell apart into pixels, netting her XP and GP. Her royal guard wing blades got a fresh shine to them. Also was a three armed, three legged thing with three eyes on its side and its mouth on top that threw rocks at Sweetie Belle; a blast of her black magic and it was no more with the same bonus gains. But also a piece of pretty jewelry appeared on her. Before the foals had time to think about this, new monsters appeared where the old ones had fallen. This time an incredibly skinny dog with saggy fur and glowing red eyes that took a bite at Button Mash that he took down in one hit with similar results. A red bug ant pony with six legs, four of which held weapons hissed at Scootaloo. "I'm gonna lay my eggs in yer belly!" Scootaloo deftly dodged the slashing of its weapons and kicked it in the head. In addition to the GP and XP, her guard wings got some extra length to them. Something that looked like a mass of black cloths draped over an invisible pony appeared in front of Sweetie Belle. "I shall drain your life!" Sweetie blasted it with a flash of light, dissolving it and rewarding her. A pretty ribbon appeared in her mane. Next Button Mash fought something like a cross between a gorilla and a beetle. Sweetie Belle burned up a big green troll. Scootaloo turned an evil tree into logs. Button Mash beat a giant... floating... aquatic... turtle-crab thingie with its mouth on top and its claws on its rear. Sweetie took out a large, armored worm with a hot glowing point at the end. And Scootaloo fought a pile of vines and thorns that wanted to eat her. Button Mash destroyed a gang of skeletons on rusted armor. Scootaloo beat a small lizard that tried to zap her with lightning. And Sweetie Belle beat this big floating shadow. Next came a large spike of rocks with a giant mouth, one eye and tentacles that Button harvested for XP. While Scoots defeated a giant white centipede breathing ice at her. Sweetie destroyed a giant floating spider with a wolf's head. Then a giant purple worm appeared that they wailed on together. Next for Scootaloo was a four-legged fungus with a giant mouth and no eyes, armed with what could have been gatling guns, with a long hooked tongue. Sweetie defeated a bloodthirsty owl-bear. Button Mash fought a three legged thing that really stank with a mouth and had its eyes on one tentacle and two other spiky tentacles. At this point the foals were laughing as they took down one monster after another, a new one appearing to take the place of each other. Sweetie cheered. "Button Mash, tear 'em apart!" Button Mash did several motions like a dance. "Flying through space, having adventures, the armory, the armory, of invincibility!" The squid headed pony that wanted to eat Button Mash's brains was hit by a giant suit of armor that fell from the sky and squashed it flat. And the monsters just kept appearing. By now, Sweetie was covered in ribbons, jewelry, and pretty hats. Scootaloo's wings were covered in weapons like something out of Warhorse 40 Carrots. "I'm bored," Spike said with a half-lidded gaze. "Too easy," Apple Bloom said with a frown on her face. "You call this easy? They keep coming!" Button Mash said and took out a Royal Guard in black armor. "Not that I'm complaining!" Scootaloo grinned as she cut up a giant evil cube of jelly into pixels. Meanwhile Sweetie defeated a rabbit with a sign that read 'I'm evil' around its neck. "Girls! Aren't we supposed to be avoidin' fights? Like we did at the wedding?" Apple Bloom asked. "That's when we were weaklings and couldn't do anything! Now we're totally badflank!" Scootaloo shouted, launching missiles at a floating squid with one eye. "We don't need anypony to help us beat these things!" Sweetie cheered. "Girls, maybe we should move on," Spike asked. "Why?! There's still monsters to fight! We can't move on!" Button Mash said, cutting up a green toad monster to be replaced with a blue toad monster. "The door's open!" Spike pointed. "We can't turn our backs on them!" Scootaloo said. "You two go ahead. We'll take care of 'em!" She blew up a goblin. Sweetie destroyed a hobgoblin and got a diamond necklace. "Come on, I bet one of them has an emerald necklace, Rarity would say it goes with my eyes!" Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes. "Button Mash... how much has yer 'experience stuff' gone up?" "LOTS! Can't ya tell?" "... How much is it at exactly? ... Can ya show me?" "Huh? Sure! It's... what?!" the giant iron bull Button Mash was fighting caught him off guard and stuck him through the chest... except... "My HP.. it... didn't go down at all?" It was like Button Mash hadn't even been hurt. "My level... is still the same?" "This here's a honey trap!" Apple Bloom shouted. "And we're the bugs!" Spike caught on and breathed fire on Sweetie's trinkets. "My jewelry! Spike how... how could... you?" They weren't damaged at all. Meanwhile, the giant gray hulk monster with a dozen yellow eyes seemed to be... just politely waiting for her to blast it. Apple Bloom leapt in front of Scootaloo as she unleashed her ever growing arsenal between her and the giant three eyed fish monster... Apple Bloom was blown to pieces. Scootaloo gasped in horror. ... Except... Apple Bloom wasn't. Spike dragged Sweetie away from the politely waiting monster... all the jewelry and fancy clothes she was wearing dissolved into pixels... just like the monsters she'd beaten to claim them. Apple Bloom did the same with Scootaloo, and her new super arsenal vanished. "This dang place was here just to waste our time!" Apple Bloom said. Sweetie's ears wilted. "Sorry." Button Mash and Scootaloo nodded too. "Eh, I might've fallen for it if there was more spots, maybe," Spike said politely. "Reminds me of games dad hates; no end or high score, just fighting monsters forever. Then you can't stop." "Sounds more like a con than a game," Apple Bloom said. "I can't BELIEVE I let myself get suckered like that!" Scootaloo stamped her hoof. "I'm not weak! And I'll get stronger with Dash, my friends, my family, with myself, and everypony else!" She panted. "Got it all out?" Spike asked. "... Yes. Let's get out of here." "Right ahead of you guys." Button Mash said, they simply walked around the pixel monsters. The monsters then blinked, looking to each other...and simply stood there mindlessly waiting for somepony to attack them. But right in front of the stairs, another Sweetie Belle appeared in the blink of eye. She looked angrily at Button Mash, pointed at him. "Hey, Sweetie! How'd you get in front of me?" Button Mash looked back as if he couldn't see the real Sweetie behind him. "Button Mash! I saw how you got us suck into that stupid game! Is that the friend I have to look forward to? You're lazy! You're a loser! You'll never get a job! You'll be leeching off your parents your entire life! You couldn't support me or any family we had! You'd embarrass me in front of everypony! You're stupid! You don't know anything about the real world. You're a slob! Your mother will be picking up after you when you're forty! You're going to be repeating first grade when I'm in high school! You are the most worthless, good for nothing waste of space in the history of-" Button Mash cut the fake Sweetie Belle right down the middle mid-sentence without a word, it fell apart into black magic. Button Mash looked back at the real Sweetie Belle, now able to see her. "Please don’t take what I just did the wrong way. I know the real you would never say those things." Sweetie silently nodded and nuzzled him. "I understand." "You think Discord could come up with new material!" Spike shouted at the ceiling. "For chaos, you sure aren't original! You suck, Discord!" Spike shouted, and then hugged Sweetie Belle. "That one might have been Diamond Tiara's... and maybe... " Sweetie whispered. "...Maybe it's because the only thing that can really destroy a friendship... are the friends, themselves. Friendships can't truly break from the outside? Maybe?" 'Like when Diamond hurt Silver... what's your secret Diamond, who hurt you?' "Hey, Mash?” said Scootaloo. “Nice job... not breaking down like a crybaby." Button Mash smiled. "Hey, I know you, and you all know me, way too good to fall for a trick like that." The others sincerely nodded. "Right!" "Let's keep moving," Spike said. The little heroes raced up the latest set of stairs. "Wish this timed mission came with a countdown!" Button said. "Them's the breaks." Spike sighed. Button examined his map, "Looks like there's only about a few big rooms to go for the intermediate floors." "At least they aren't adding new floors as we go," Scootaloo said. "Don't give 'em ideas!" Apple Bloom warned. = 'The Factory' - Super Mario RPG 7 Stars = The little heroes came to another disjointed room. Everything was that ugly black charcoal on pink paper style. In the center was a boxing ring. Ringing the room was countless audience seats, all of them empty. Stagelights hung from the ceiling. Scootaloo sighed and began to trot in. "Fine. Let's get started." "Never really a fan of wrestling games," Button Mash remarked. "Dash doesn't mind it so much," Scootaloo remarked. "Sometimes I see Mrs. Cheerilee looking at some pictures of a wrestler," Sweetie Belle said. "Stand back, ladies, the mighty Spike will take care of this one." Rather unsurprisingly, the moment the foals had all entered the room, a swarm of pixels appeared and assembled themselves into a large green troll wearing a wrester's mask. "BEHOLD! YOU PUNY PONIES WILL BREAK TO MY SUPERIOR TRAINING! SURRENDER NOW! LET ANY ONE OF YOU FACE ME IF YOU DARE!" The troll roared and did several muscle flexes. "I can't beat! AAAAAIR-MARE!" Blared lyrics from the speakers. "Really? You couldn’t? Air-Mare was never that tough," Button Mash said. "Well looks like it's gonna be a tough one for these little ponies, Brad!" spoke a random handsome voice. "You got that right, Mark!" responded an identical voice. "Which little pony, or dragon, is gonna fight this big bad nasty? Will their friends stay here for them or leave them behind? Oh! The suspense is killing me, Mark!" "Me too, Brad!" "COME ON!" Shouted the masked troll. The CMC+2 looked at each other. "On three?" Apple Bloom asked. "THREE!" Her friends replied. Apple Bloom built a slingshot out of the material she'd bought, and used Spike as a projectile; the little dragon skull bashed the masked troll in the head, making little LOLs symbols dance around his head. Without missing a beat, Button Mash rolled out one of his big bombs right in front of the troll. The kids hit the floor with their ears covered and their mouths open. The explosion sent the troll up towards the ceiling. Spike was also blown away, but much more used to this sort of thing having lived with Twilight Sparkle. Scootaloo buzzed by the troll before gravity pulled him back down. The troll's mask split open with a slash of Scootaloo's wing blade, showing only static underneath instead of a face. Sweetie caught Spike with her telekinesis. The troll landed with a thud. He stood back up, glitching, touched his face, "My mask! Is gone! Gone! I am shamed! Shamed!" And exploded back into pixels. "Wow the troll really has those kids on the ropes, Brad!" "He sure does, Mark!" "He's unstoppable!" "Unbeatable!" "They don't stand a-" Button Mash zapped the speakers. "Thank you," Spike said. "Welcome." "NEXT!" Scootaloo shouted and up the stairs they went. "They sure cut corners with all these rooms," Button Mash said. "I bet there was a secret passage along the way up that we didn't see." The next floor was... surprising. "What's all this?" Sweetie Belle asked stepping in the circular room. The floor was engraved not with Diamond Tiara's symbol, but theirs, but with the color choices reversed. A blue pony on a gold shield. But that wasn't what really caught the girls' attention. It was the newspaper clippings completely covering the walls. "These are... these are all the Foal Free Press..." Sweetie Belle said. "They're... these..." She recognized every article, every gossip, every scandal, every half-truth and blatant lie with only Silver and Twist spared. "These are our articles! These are Gabby Gums!" She'd certainly be lying if she said she didn't feel shame at seeing them all. Scootaloo shouted at the ceiling. "So what's the game this time, Diamond Tiara?! You expect us to come back and work for you because these papers say we do?! We wrote in our retraction that we were Gabby Gums all along! And all of Ponyville knew it already! A swing and a miss for you!" "I already forgave Sweetie Belle for what she wrote about mom!" Button Mash shouted. "I... And I've forgiven them already for what they said about Twilight!" Spike added. There was no response. "Girls! Your shadows!" Spike pointed. The CMC looked, and saw their shadows stretching before them, pulled like they were taffy, and reached for the center of the room. At the same time, the words from the news paper clippings melted off the pages, and ran like water down an aqueduct to the room's center, where they mixed and congealed with the girls' shadows. The dark mass rose from the floor, and congealed into a teenage Alicorn wearing a familiar red bow. Her coat was a pale yellow orange. Her eyes muddy brown. Her mane was a reddish violet white a lighter streak running through it, that was mostly curls with a few strands out of place. Her cutie mark was a shield surrounding a familiar little crown. "I'm Gabby Gums, Diamond Tiara is my totally awesome best friend! Ah will protect 'er like family! You'll swear your loyalty to her greatness, or know despair!" Sweetie cringed. "Uh. Hi. I'm Sweetie Belle. This is Apple Bloom, and that's Scootaloo... Uh, we're your parents." "Do you have ANY idea how weird that sounds, Sweetie?!" Scootaloo hissed. Sweetie ignored her. "Look... you were just born... obviously from a lot of bad things we did, and from the darker side of us... but I accept we did bad things, so we accept you, so there's really no reason for us to fight. We're fighting to save Diamond Tiara too, so we want to help your best friend. And we don't want to fight you, because we'd just be fighting ourselves. And-" Sweetie yelped as she ducked a blast of black colored magic from Gabby Gums’ horn. "You have been given your options! Submit to her will, or be destroyed!" Apple Bloom said, "Don't worry girls, she's just a blob of dark magic and bits of us!" "Darkness beyond dusk, light beyond dawn-" Sweetie shouted. "She's going to use THAT spell!" Apple Bloom kicked several crab apples at Gabby Gums, who DODGED them. "Hey! I can't dodge while casting that!" "-By you who both sits upon and are the Throne of Naught, With my hate that freezes, my anger that burns, my desire that grasps!-" "TAKE ME A LOT LONGER TO CAST IT TOO!" Button Mash drew his zapper and began zapping, but Gabby Gums avoid his shots. Spike charged claws and fangs bared, the Alicorn side stepping him as well. "Let meh guess, if she shoots it she's not going to blow a hole straight through the entire building like Sweetie would?" Apple Bloom questioned. Scootaloo said, "Been there, done that, NEW GAME!" As fast as Scootaloo could, she dive-bombed Gabby Gums. The Alicorn still dodging Apple Bloom and Button Mash, and Spike, turned just in time to see Scootaloo attacking her from above, and the filly kicked the Alicorn in the horn. Crying out in pain, the Alicorn's head lowered and accidentally struck the ground with her horn. The stored up magic detonated, leaving a sizable crater. Spike was thrown back by the blast, but was unharmed. The foals shielded her eyes from the black light. The Alicorn emerged, her feathers ruffled, her coat singed, and her now a mess. Button Mash blinked. "Critical fumble." And Sweetie Belle took her opportunity and pounced on the Alicorn from behind, hugging her. There was a green flash of light, and when it cleared, Gabby Gums was missing her horn, and was now only a few years older than the CMC. Her coat and mane were also less pale and had lost the stripe. She looked at herself in confusion and alarm, and took a few trots back. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo grinned. Then Gabby Gums pulled a boulder-sized apple of nowhere and kicked it into a roll towards the little heroes. Button Mash used his sword to slice the apple in two, then time seemed to slow down as he cut it up into neat little apple slices that he gathered up in his inventory. "Thanks! Maybe throw a golden apple next time?" he quipped. "Don't mock me!" Gabby Gums replied. Sweetie Belle caught Gabby Gums’ legs with her telekinesis, but Gabby's pegasus flight-field and earth pony strength shattered Sweetie's grip. Spike might have been nearly indestructible but he wasn't fast, and his attempts to grapple the two-thirds Alicorn didn't go so hot. Gabby still had Scootaloo's agility and Apple Bloom's endurance and still easily dodged both their attempts to hug her. "Surrender to Diamond Tiara losers! It's fer yer own dang good!" Button Mash used his giant leaf to blow a gust of wind at Gabby Gums who countered using her wings to blow the wind back at him using pegasus magic and earth pony strength, Button Mash brought up his shield to block it. Scootaloo repeated her trick of trying to catch Gabby Gums from above, but this time Gabby saw it coming and dove low. She dove up as Apple Bloom jumped up to grab her, and was then blind sided by a bolt of magic from Sweetie Belle. Gabby faltered and flew back to get distance above them keeping her eye on Scootaloo. Spike then seemed to leap through the air and grabbed her from behind... he'd used his claws to climb up the side of the room. Scootaloo took the chance Spike gave her and rushed in and hugged Gabby Gums. There was a flash of blue light, and in Gabby Gum's place was another Apple Bloom. "Oof!" cried both Spike and Gabby Gums as the now flightless Earth Pony fell to the ground. Gabby Gums blinked confused and looked around innocently. "Hey... " Apple Bloom said calmly trotting up her. Her friends all ready for any surprises. "Hug?" "Okay." The two Apple Blooms hugged, and in a flash of light, only the original stood there. Scootaloo grinned at the ceiling and said simply. "Nice try." "Don't get cocky," Apple Bloom said. "We still got a long way to go." "Remember we still have Alula and Tootsie to worry about, not to mention Diamond Tiara and Discord." Sweetie said the last with a shudder. Scootaloo whispered, "Don't worry, it's just trash talk," She said louder. "Nice move there, Spike." "It was nothing." Spike grinned. "Guess it's good for you I'm here." They all hugged. Button checked the map. "Okay, one last floor, room, whatever for the Intermediate Floors, then it's on to the Upper Floors... so be prepared for something extra nasty. Or maybe we'll get a new chance to save and new nice stuff." "Only one way to find out..." Apple Bloom said. Up the next set of stairs they went. It was the same ugly grim pink and black... but this room... felt different. Apple Bloom wasn't sure how to describe it. A part of her felt like she'd stepped out of an apple orchard and into an orange orchard. The stairs were different too... this was the first time there was an actual barrier in front of it: A ghostly white door with three indentations in it. The engravings were shaped like the cutie marks of Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Silver Spoon. "Do we need to go all the way back down and get Silver Spoon now?" Spike groaned. Apple Bloom tilted her head. "This feels kinda arbitrary. Does she want to see Silver Spoon?" "... No, she... it's... that's the last thing she wants," Sweetie Belle whispered. "Well, I've got an item that lets us teleport right out of a 'dungeon' back to the entrance. So at least we don't have to go all the way back down." Button Mash offered. Before the discussion could go further, a stone with their cutie mark engraved on it appeared before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo... a third one flickered about as if confused before appearing in Spike's claws. "Huh? Why are they just giving us the keys to go forward? This is too weird." Scootaloo knew the basics of video game keys. Apple Bloom felt a burning in her truthful eye. She saw them... the leech/snake/centipede things, they rushed towards her friends. Silver Spoon held her left forehoof against the stump on her right shoulder, at least the bleeding had stopped. The pony in the hockey mask had attacked her, as she'd tried to reach her friends, trying to reach the type writer on her own to help save Diamond Tiara. With the laws of spacial relations dead, she'd wandered hundreds of miles in the span of a couple hours. Now she wandered in the shattered and broken remains of a black crystal castle. Flags of an equal sign were strung about, as were the withered remains of something that looked like a cross between a flutterpony and a windigo except it looked to be made of shadow and smoke. She also found a red horn... glowing with an inner light. "Hello, child." "Wha-... w-who are you?" Silver Spoon stuttered at the voice coming from the horn. "Who are you?" They exchanged identities... and she learned about the king of shadows and smoke who had lost everything he held dear. "I had so much power... but for what? What did I gain? What did I lose? I had no goal. No purpose..." "I have a goal... a reason... a purpose... but I have no power... to change anything." "Not even to save the one you care for most?" "Yes." "Then perhaps... we are alike somehow... perhaps, we both have what the other was missing all this time." Silver Spoon willing and knowingly put the horn upon her head, and was enveloped in shadow and smoke. She emerged with a new black crystal foreleg. And upon her head was the red horn. She had discarded her glasses, her eyes now the eyes of black magic, green replacing her whites and red her irises. "I will make a world where Diamond Tiara is happy... where I'm happy... where everypony is happy without the meddling or opinions, everypony will be the queen of their own little world... as we already are... " --- Scootaloo looked at her friends. Then she looked at her forgotten friends. Baby Hana-Looloo. Toola-Roola. Star-Song. And the others she'd seen Glitter Glide, Fiesta Flare. All in the past, All forgotten, all swept aside for the sake of the 'new' and 'better' world... no better than what had happened to this world... why... why shouldn't they restore their world? Their reality? "Come to me. I'll keep you all safe." Scootaloo stood on her rear legs and spread out her arms, letting the shadows come to her. But she wasn't done. All the shadows, everywhere, who had been erased with the death of the old world... they flew to her like a beacon, flying into her, combining with her, their faces emerging on her as she grew into a mare, her wings spread large, showing the faces of those forgotten who wished to exist again. She'd bring them back, and her new friends could be made to fit paradise. And any that got in her way... she'd do what needed to be done for her friends. --- "BLANKY!" Sweetie Belle cried, holding the bleeding wolf pup in her forelegs. "How could this have happened?!" She looked up to see the Blank Hound looking rather pleased with itself. "You big bully!" Sweetie nuzzled Blanky. "It's okay... " She hugged him tight. He licked her face. "We'll..." The black magic flashed in Sweetie's eyes, calling upon her feelings of loss and anger. "We'll be together forever!" Both were covered in a green pillar of changeling flame. When it cleared, there was a creature that resembled a cross between a pony and a wolf, as large as an adult. It leapt at Blank Hound, overwhelming it with power and fury, then... she/he ate the Hound's heart, ripping it from the Hound's chest, and grew larger still. "!!!thE poweR tO remakE thE worlD, we'lL usE iT returN ouR WorlD tO thE hearT worlD, alL deviationS anD inconsistencieS wilL bE eraseD !!!alL thaT stanD iN ouR waY wilL bE devoureD" --- Apple Bloom stood in the room, each of her three friends have surrendered to the temptation to remake the world in their image... now each of them held one of the three stones needed to move forward. Politely waiting as video bosses would, for her to challenge each one to a fight to the death, and she would, for her own world without lies. In Apple Bloom's artistic eye, she saw, Apple Bloom was ready to face her friends, and fight them to the end in this vicious battle royal to claim the prize of racing Diamond Tiara and taking the type writer for themselves and deciding how the new world would be. Becoming the goddess of the new world. She then, by chance glanced at Zecora's earring still on one of her ears... and it clicked, this was all just another rumor that was affecting them all! She would use all her power, all her will to bring her friends back to themselves and be free of these rumors! What both her eyes saw ... was the rumor worms trying to enter herself and Button Mash, only to ricochet off her friends like unhappy bullets! Trying again and again, only to be knocked away each time with no progress made, mindlessly attempting the same act over and over. Sweetie shivered. "They're around us aren't they? Shub's curse carriers?" Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah... but.. Ah think this curse is... out dated... it's targetin' us but... doesn't have a thing for Button Mash or Spike... and it thought Silver Spoon would be here with us... " Sweetie Belle blushed. "I guess nothing's gone exactly to plan." "Nothing ever does," Scootaloo said with a smirk. "Don't tell that to Twilight!" Spike laughed. "Dad always said that drove his friend Graffer crazy whenever they played Oubliettes and Ogres!" Button giggled. Apple Bloom's Diary Ah calmed down a good bit, these things couldn't do a thing to us. "Well come on, girls," Scootaloo said. "Let's put these rocks in place and hurry up!" Scootaloo fluttered open and put her rock in the door. Placed The Naught Stone Came the message on Button's magic window. Sweetie used her magic and set the next piece into place. Placed The Beast Stone "Okaym Spike, now you," Scootaloo said. Spike kept looking at the pebble. "Spike, I don't think eating it is a good idea," Sweetie said. Spike was shaking. That's when Ah noticed what was happenin'! All them curse monsters that kept tryin' to get inta us?! As they got knocked away, Spike was gettin' caught in the cross fire! They were gettin' flung into him! NO! Ah could see'em worm their way into Spike! His eyes got more thin and green like than they normally are, and he hissed out his tongue like a snake. "I've... I've got a chance here to make it so I'm old enough to be with Rarity, so everypony will be okay with us living happily ever after, I can make it so we live happily ever after! I can make her a dragoness! I can make it so everypony takes me seriously! I can make it so the Element of Loyalty worked when Twilight made me The New Rainbow Dash! I can fix Twilight's stupid discomfort around tacos! I can fix EVERYTHING! Spike... WANT!" And Spike grew. "Have you gone nuts?!" Button Mash shouted. "It's the curses! They went for 'em instead!" Spike kept growing. = 'Reason Battle' - Megami III Nocturne = Scootaloo paled. "Girls! No offense! But if he grows to full size Spikezilla, then our chances of ever being heard from again are nothing to less than nothing!" "He could bring the whole tower down! Remember when he went through Ponyville?" Sweetie asked. "And that'd include the typewriter!" - 'What if he does bring down the tower?' "Less work for us then, obviously," Diamond said without feeling. 'Ah! Right!' - "We're gonna free him! We did it before with the computer brain, and we'll do it again!" Ah said defiantly. "We couldn't snap Spike out of being Spikezilla before," Button Mash said. "That was before! We're true friends now!" Apple Bloom shouted boldly. "Think a heart song can cure him?" Sweetie asked. "That worked when he was corrupted by an outside lie, now he's got four inside 'em!" "Whatever we're gonna do we better do it now!" Button Mash said, his eyes huge pointing at a Spike now as big as Big Mac! "Give Spike stones!" "We already put them in the door!" Sweetie shouted. Spike turned and bolted for the door. "Oops." "No ya don't!" Scoots flew above Spike and dropped her rear hooves hard on top of Spike's head. Spike's eyes bulged as he grunted. Sweetie grunted too as she grabbed Spike's tail with her magic. Sweetie yelped as Spike actually dragged HER along through sheer strength! "Not supposed to work this way!" Sweetie shouted as she dug her hooves in, feeling like her horn was going to be torn out. "How does this even work?!" "Don't worry Sweetie, I'll save-" Button selected an item from his inventory, but- "Spike want!" The item vanished from his inventory. "Hey!" Button tried again with the same result. "Spike want!" "He keeps stealing items!" "Keep it up. It's distratin' him!" Apple Bloom shouted. "SPIKE!" One of the girls shouted. "It's okay to be greedy!" This somehow actually got the big Spike's attention. "You're a DRAGON! Being greedy is a part of you but... but... but you've got FREE WILL! You decide if you're going to do greedy things or not! You've never wanted to do something that would hurt your friends!" Spike startled. "Not... give... happy ending... Rarity..." "The happy ending YOU want! Not the happy ending SHE wants!" Apple Bloom shouted. That threw the huge Spike for another loop. But then he snarled, "Yes... Spike! Want!" 'So that's it? There's no way to win? No! If these's game rules, that means there's gotta be a way to win!' Apple Bloom ran in front of Spike. "Yer 'wants' aren't all ya are! Yer good at cookin', ya can play the flute, the piano and the drums! And yer a great narrator and announcer!" Spike tried to swat Apple Bloom away, Button Mash took the blow instead with his shield and was sent flying. 'A friend ain't just what they can do.' "Ya learned puppy dog eyes from me, after I learned it from Sweetie Belle. Ya freed Twilight from the curse when we could just hold on! Yer ALWAYS bein' there fer Twilight! Ya fought a zillion times to get Smarty Pants back from Big Mac for Twilight! Ya were a jerk to Silver Spoon after she was a jerk to Twilight!" Spike tried to splat Apple Bloom, but Scootaloo pulled her out of the way. 'A friend ain't just what they've done.' Spike roared. 'What does all that stuff Ah said MEAN about Spike?! It ain't about all the fights we had with the baddies!' "SPIKE AH KNOW WHAT YER GOIN' THROUGH! A piece of ya that ya didn't ask for! But it ain't goin' away! It just keeps growin' and growin'! Until it feels like it's gonna eat ya alive! It FEELS GOOD doesn't it? Just lettin' it become ya! It's wrong yet so right! But it isn't all of us! "Yer greedy Spike, but yer generous too! Ya take care of Twilight but ya ain't her servant! Ya like Rarity but ya feel more than that! Ya read comics and books! Ya ain't scared of sharin' what ya think but yer polite! Ya and Silver are both livin' fer somepony else but ya know when to step in for her sake!" Apple Bloom looked up at him. "... Bein' greedy, and bein' honesty isn't all we are! Ah'm MORE than truth and apples! And yer MORE than greed and likin' Rarity!! Spike the Friend! Spike The Knight! Spike The Kid! Spike The Fancy! Spike The Dragon! Spike The Son And Little Brother! There's an ARMY of different Spikes inside ya! And they're more than a match for one greedy dragon!" Spike stopped. His eyes widened, his pupil dilated. A shockwave of rainbow colors sprang from Spike, freeing the room of the ugly dust pink and ash gray. At the same time, Spike shrank back down to his baby dragon size. The friends looked at each other, Button Mash finishing a healing potion, and rushed to the baby dragon's side. "SPIKE!" = I'll Face Myself (Another Version) - Persona 4 = They all hugged. "S-Sorry, I-I was ... I'm better than that... I'd never..." "Shush, it's okay Spike, nothin' to forgive, it wasn't ya." "And nothing that a healing potion or two won't cure anyway." Button Mash grinned, trying his best to make a joke, and failing. "That... that was the curse, wasn't it." Spike said, it wasn't a question. "I saw stuff I know didn't happen... you, and you, and you... no stuff about you Button Mash... and... This is the curse's nest right? That means there's lots of 'em." That was when the disturbing reality hit the foals at about the same time. 'We ain't got Razzaroo no more to write down stuff that happens... meanin' Spike bein' cured of the curse isn't written down in her magic book anywhere... that means... the same thing can happen to Spike again... and again...' When the foals didn't respond, Spike knew what their answer was. "So that's how it is, huh?" Spike remarked calmly. "N-now, hold on, Spike!" Scootaloo said. "Them monsters are running out of magic for the curse! This curse was a left over! There's nothing to say there's gonna be more of 'em!" "... And... there's nothing to say there won't be more." "We could send a message to Razzaroo!" said Sweetie Belle. "One issue with that: I don't have Razzaroo's 'address', so to speak." That was when a very bad thought crept into Apple Bloom's mind whether she wanted it or not. 'There was already more... we freed Spike already in the gallery, and before that in Twilight Sparkle's library... what... what'll be next?' A flash of pain went through Apple Bloom's eye. Apple Bloom looked around with the truth, her gut instinct telling her to. And she... she could see them now... eyeballs with batwings... mindless... soulless manifestation of a scrying spell, but she didn't know that detail. But she did figure what they meant well enough. 'Diamond Tiara and Discord, they've been watchin' us the whole time. Meanin' they've seen twice Spike affected by the rumors while we weren't.' She whispered. "Button Mash, give me yer raygun." "That's not really what it's-" "Now. The walls got eyes." Button complied. With the accuracy of her truthful eye, Apple Bloom zapped each of the invisible flying eyeball monsters, bursting into pixels as she did so. - 'Hey! That's no fair!' "Nothing's lost, father, we just need to cast the spell again." 'Yes but it's annoying! And actually finding where to send them takes EFFORT! And you know how much I hate EFFORT!' - "Apple Bloom, what was that?" Scoots asked. "My Truth kicked it up a notch, Ah could see we were bein' spied on, ya can guess who. Took out the peepers." Apple Bloom gave Button Mash back his zapper. And that settled, Apple turned her eyes back towards Spike. 'There's gotta be somethin', maybe Ah can make somethin' like Scootaloo's pendant she gave Cheerilee? But... if makin' 'em was that easy... wouldn't Maud Pie and her friends of made 'em and given 'em to Applejack and her friends after we freed 'em? If we could even make one, wouldn't they have given it to Princess Luna? Or Princess Cadence or Shinin' Armor?' Spike took in a deep breath. "It was fun while it lasted. Button Mash, that fancy item of yours... the one you said that could teleport us out of here ... can one dragon use it?" The foal gasped having Spike say it plainly. "... I... I think so... maybe? I've never tried it like that before... maybe... if you were in your own party?" "You're really... just giving up?" Scootaloo asked. "Picking my battle... Remember? I wouldn't ask you girls to swim naked in lava to rescue something," Spike shuddered. "This isn't easy for me either. So let's do this before I change my mind! Punch Discord in the face for me. And tell Diamond Tiara to stop being a big stinky butt for Silver Spoon's sake!" The girls and boy gave Spike all a separate hug. "If we don't win..." Sweetie started. "You WILL," Spike replied. "I have faith in you." "...All the same," Sweetie said with a smile. "Take care of Twilight." "What have I been doing all my life except for a few years she took care of me?" Spike joked. "...Of course I will, she's my family." "Scootaloo, you're the bravest filly I know. But don't be just a clone Rainbow Dash. Remember how cool your scooter is." "Don't worry, I'm not. And I will." "Sweetie... it's great to have you as a friend. I know what it's like to have firepower you gotta keep a lid on. Button Mash... Don't believe anypony who calls ya a wimp. And Apple Bloom, ah what the heck! You know how I feel! And it's not like we're not gonna see each other again!" Spike hugged them in one big-little dragon hug. "See yah WHEN the world's safe again." With misty eyes, Button Mash gave Spike a small flute. "Just... just blow on it, nothing else it." "Gotcha. Been fun, girls! See ya at the victory celebration! And BE CAREFUL without me to watch your backs." "Good bye, Spike," Sweetie Belle said. The others repeated. Misty eyed himself, Spike blew on the flute, and vanished into a glowing blue whirl wind. The foals hugged one another again, and left the middle levels behind them. +++ "So Razzaroo, what did you mean by- SPIKE?! Where did you come from?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?" "Heh... heh.. hi Twilight... I'm back. Hey, Razzaroo. Hey, wanna hear some stuff ya wanna write down?" > "Battle of the Faux Princesses" Part 1 Family Ties > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- = SMT Nocturne OST - Kagutsuchi Tower (3rd Movement) = "Upper Levels, The Hamlet, Royal House, Royal Cambers, and Inner Sanctuary. And those on top look really small compared to the rest of the tower," Button Mash said looking at his map. "So let's hurry up and get this last leg out of the way!" Scootaloo exclaimed, encouraging the others forward. None of the foals wanted to talk about how they felt like their tails had been cut off with Spike gone. Blanky, Daring Do, Spike, Pipsqueak and his crew, Silver Spoon and her friends. Sweetie tried her hardest not to think about where this was going when she looked at Button Mash. The ponies came to a gate... sort of... it looked like a huge mirror with the framing resembling the bars of a large golden gate. "Didn't we do the evil twin fight already?" Scootaloo asked marching up to the mirror without fear. "I Am The Mirror Of Regrets! All Who Look Upon Me, Know Thy Regrets, And Know Despair!" Scootaloo didn't stop trotting forward at the booming voice. "Know thy regrets, Scootaloo!" Then the mirror showed countless rumor parasites. "You killed us! You killed thousands of us! You are covered in blood! You are a killer!" Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "What? That's it?!" She looked bewildered. "That's the best you got?! I was expecting mom and dad to pop up and tell me that I failed them! That they were right to abandon me for not being able to fly! That I'd have to chose between my parents and Dash one day! That I was scared of something as much as I wanted it or some junk! And instead you try this?" Scootaloo's look was like one would have at seeing a clown whistling Dixie while the clown banged their head against a wall. "They were alive and had a mother!" "So were the bug monsters in that space movie that Rainbow Dash wouldn't let me watch. You're wasting my time! Now get out of my way!" Scootaloo kicked the gate and it shattered into pixels. She looked back at her friends. "Come on." Button Mash said, "That kinda reminds me of some of dad's Oubliette and Ogres chats, Gaffer telling him his character HAD to feel guilty about something." "I don't get what you just said," Scootaloo remarked. Button Mash sighed and said off-hoofedly, "Dad and Gaffer introduced you three to an O&O game during one of your visits." "Oh! Well-!" "It's okay if you don't remember." Apple Bloom looked around with both eyes as Button Mash looked at his map. "There are several more layers for us to go through," he said. Apple Bloom double bucked a wall in just the right place. A door shape section fell inwards. She marched in, the others followed. "Oh, a secret passage?" On the other side lay a chamber that seemed to go up forever. The walls changed styles with each new floor. Numbered doors lined the walls like wallpaper, each one atop the other. Off to one side was a numbered control panel. It had a keyhole and crystal in it. As they approached, the foal crossed a short wide bridge over a seeming bottomless gap. "An elevator?" Button asked. "Way to go, Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo grinned. "But how do we make it move?" Sweetie asked. Apple Bloom looked at the locked control panel with both eyes, and kicked it. The floor began to rise, the levels pass as the foals stood. "That works," Sweetie said. "Enough games!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Diamond Tiara! Discord! We're comin' for ya!" Button Mash braced himself. "If a fight starts on an elevator, we’ll never reach the top until we win." Scootaloo looked at him. "Mash? We’re very grateful for all the help you’ve given us this far, but do you know anything besides game stuff?" "Sure! I like to play with my trains whenever I can't play video games." Scootaloo smiled. "That's something." Button Mash looked up. "Ya know, if this was strictly following game rules, we'd have fought Tootsie and Alula independently by now, then fought them together, instead of just fighting Tootsie." Sweetie said. "Remember what happened to Tootsie on board the MoonPearl?" Sweetie felt fear. "I think stuff's gotten thrown off track." "Which means the game rules can be broken just like the ghost story rules," Apple Bloom said. A cream colored meteorite slammed into the floor, shaking the foals off their hooves. A changeling with a cream-colored carapace stood up. Her eyes were blue, with wings and membrane pink and blue like candy. A green changeling with golden eyes fluttered down besides her. The two's forms flash changeling flames and became two familiar ponies. "Bon Bon? Lyra? What are ya doin' here?" Apple Bloom asked. The dark look in Bon Bon's eyes told why. "Welcome to the World Tower." = Shockwave Theme - Transformers Devastation = The fight began. Lyra took out Cadence's Harp, and began to send wave after wave of sonic blasts at the foals. Either to knock them dizzy or knock them over the edge. Bon Bon rushed to the foals getting up close and personal, every missed blow showing how powerful Earth Pony strength was making the elevator shake. The nimble little foals didn't want to know what would happen if her hits she connected. "We don't wanna fight ya!" Apple Bloom shouted as she dodged. "But you do want to fight my family!" "No, we don't!" Scoots snapped. "We want to stop Discord and Diamond Tiara!" "And you want my little girl to stand aside as you attack her friends?" "They're not her friends!" Scootaloo hissed. "Who are you to decide that?!" Bon Bon snarled. "Isn't Tootsie some super powerful perfect princess? Why not have her fight her own battles?" Scootaloo called. Scoots was hit by one of Lyra's sonic spells and lost her focus hit the rising floor. Button Mash summoned his shield to block Bon Bon's punch; making his forelegs hurt from the recoil damage. "If you can ask that, then you're an orphan," Bon Bon said. "Where's Moth?" Sweetie asked concerned. "She's busy getting Liza and Animatia out of the slime your traitor changelings put them in!" Bon Bon hissed. "What about Cloud Kicker?" Apple Bloom asked, pressing the advantage of her opponent’s helpful chattiness. Maybe she could learn something to save Alula. Bon Bon snorted. "That good-for-nothing is busy doing what she's always doing! Things that aren't right to mention around foals! With that equally good-for-nothing Thunderlane! They're made for each other!" "That's a lie!" Scootaloo said getting her head on straight. "Dash knows every weather pony and Cloudkicker is a hard worker, and I've never seen her together with Thunderlane! That's just some stupid rumor!" "What would Rainbow Dash's pet parrot know, anyhow?" "I'm not a parrot!" Fast as a bullet, Scootaloo hit the mare in the head before finding herself caught in Lyra's telekinesis, but not for long as Scoots used her flight field to cancel it out. Then she just dodged Bon Bon's next blow. "Lyra Heart Strings! Bon Bon Sweetie Drops! As Princess Royal of the changeling swarm I order you to stop!" Lyra sighed. "Sorry, Princess, but for our filly's sake I can't obey." "It's for her sake I'm asking!" Sweetie fired a magic bolt at Bon Bon that Lyra's magic blocked. "She's our foal! What right do you have to judge her?" Bon Bon demanded. "We AIN'T yer foals, so what right do yah have tah judge US?" Apple Bloom replied. "We don't want to judge you! Just stop fighting and go home!" Lyra begged. Bon Bon was so fast on her hooves, an Lyra running interference, it was all the foals could do to avoid her attacks. "Don't waste your breath Lyra, they've always been thick headed!" Bon Bon said. Using a wristwatch that the foals were sure wasn't on her before, Bon Bon fired a thin cord that wrapped around Scootaloo's neck. Scootaloo focused her flight field to keep the cord from closing off her windpipe. This would have made her fall, if she hadn't then used her wing blades to cut the cord loose. "You're a dangerous little filly." "Thank you!" Bon Bon threw a smoke grenade between her and Scootaloo, who responded by doing what a pegasus does best and flapped the cloud away. A collapsible staff that had been hidden somewhere on Bon Bon sprang out of the smoke and jabbed Scootaloo in the gut, making her gasp from the force and slamming her into the ground. Bon Bon pushed down on the staff, keeping the pegasus pinned. Lyra was still blocking Button Mash and Sweetie's distance attacks with her magic. Apple Bloom kicked crab apples at Bon Bon that managed to get past Lyra, but Bon Bon just kicked them back harder, forcing Apple Bloom to duck. Struck with an idea, Apple Bloom began building right on the spot. Button Mash shouted, "Don't ya know yer just bein' used as boss fodder?!" "SHUT UP, about your stupid video game obsession!" Bon Bon then switched to a different feature on her watch, firing a laser beam at the colt. Button Mash held up his shield as the laser hit. Then he quickly opened his menu and switched it out for another shield, this one a polished mirror with a crescent moon symbol. The laser beam reflected off it and Lyra cried out as the laser left a burn on her while breaking her focus. Bon Bon instantly shut off the laser. "LYRA!" Apple Bloom had finished building a large spring loaded boxing glove. She launched it at Bon Bon, hitting the changeling head on and sending her flying, freeing Scootaloo. "Bon Bon!" Lyra shouted, sending a sonic blast right at Apple Bloom. The filly spun her hastily constructed device around, revealing the other side had a sound funnel that redirected Lyra's attack right back at her. Lyra again cried out and held her hooves to her head. "Where'd ya get all that stuff?" Button asked. "Just random junk from the Midway of Hilarious Pain." Scootaloo flew back into the air, which was actually harder than it looked since she was constantly flying up to stay above the rising floor. Bon Bon and Lyra helped each other up. Both battered but hardly beaten. Button Mash said, "Uh, would you believe me if I said you're not really changelings, and somepony used a reality changing curse on you?" Lyra glared daggers at him. "Next you'll say that Liza isn't really my foster foal." Button waved his hooves. "No no no she is! But she isn't really a princess-" Bon Bon punched Button Mash in the face, the foals could see a flock of broken hearts flutter away from him. Then Bon Bon got blind-sided by Sweetie Belle's magic at close range; Lyra wasn’t able to bring up a shield in time. "Button, you okay?!" Sweetie asked. "Just... let me drink a healing potion." Scootaloo knocked Sweetie Belle out of the way of another of Lyra's sonic attacks, and got hit herself. Sweetie brought up a shield for Scootaloo as the pegasus' ears wouldn't stop ringing. Bon Bon got back up. "If you think that's enough to keep me down young filly, you've got another thing coming." 'I'm more worried about 'too' much,' Sweetie Belle cringed. Apple Bloom used the boxing glove again, but this time Bon Bon blocked it with a punch of her own, canceling each other out. "BONNIE! LYRA! STOP!" Tootsie flew down the elevator shaft and landed perfectly. The fighting paused. Instead of her Magical Filly costume she was now wore foal-sized gray and pink barding with Blank Diamond's emblem on the front. The CMC+1 took note that she had a new bow with her. She was also fully healed. "You mended fast, Toots," Scootaloo noted, getting her wits back. "... Aphrodite was sorry she hurt me so bad. She sent me a gift." The CMC+1 were relieved at least by the implication that Aphrodite was no longer a statue. Tootsie looked at Bon Bon and Lyra. "What are you DOING HERE?! It's my job to stop them! Not yours! You don't have to get hurt for me!" "We know you're a Princess, dear," Lyra said. "And we know that means you have responsibilities... but..." "But you're still our filly," Bon Bon said. "And if we can fight in your place, we will. Even if you're the strongest Princess ever, it wouldn't be right for us to just stand back and do nothing." "And, I don't want to see four little misguided foals get hurt just because they've been brainwashed into fighting for the wrong side," Lyra said. "We don't wanna fight YOU! But we gotta save the world!" Sweetie shouted. "See?" Lyra gestured. Apple Bloom looked at Bon Bon. Then at Tootsie. "...Still havin' a good time, Tootsie?" "... I'm doing what needs to be done for the sake of everypony." "That something Diamond Tiara told you too?!" Scootaloo hissed. "Yes." "Can't you get it yet all she's been telling you is a bunch of lies?!" "DON'T YOU DARE!" Bon Bon snarled. "My filly and Alula are the only ones Diamond Tiara is even LETTING IN! That filly has blocked herself off from everypony! Even her own parents! If you're so eager to destroy friendship to get what you want, you have no business calling yourselves heroes!" "I told myself lies," Tootsie said. "I told Truffle lies. I'm the liar here, not Diamond Tiara." "Dear! You don't tell lies! You're not that kind of filly!" Lyra said. "And you won't talk that way about yourself again!" Tootsie sniffled. "...Tootsie...Princess. We and Bon Bon had a disagreement on something. She thinks that Cloudkicker and Thunderlane are awful, good for nothing ponies, we disagree. We remember them being good, great big siblings and hard workers...mind clearing up the confusion?" Tootsie was shaking. She lowered her head so her mane hid her eyes. She said, "If that's what Bonnie and Lyra say, then that's the reality we're living." Apple Bloom felt a shiver. "Bonnie, Lyra, PLEASE just go! I ... I don't wanna have'ta fight with you watching." "Dear we've watched you fight plenty of times," Lyra said. "I mean... fighting... other fillies." "Liza! We're fighting alongside you! And that's that!" Bon Bon said. Princess Tootsie looked back between her family and at the opposing foals around her. "Looks like we got ourselves here a stalemate," Apple Bloom said. "Yer not gonna try ta kill us with yer folks watchin', and from the look on yer face you're not gonna let 'em try tah kill us while you're here. And we ain't gonna give up. Just stop it already Tootsie! Pipsqueak, Moonlight, Ruby Pinch, Noi, Dinky, Olo, they're ALL YER FRIENDS, and they're all waitin' for ya come back." Tootsie gritted her teeth. "..." Scootaloo looked to her. "...You know...not to brag, but what's it say about this situation that us 'bad guys' are the only ponies in the room who aren't prepared to kill another pony?" she asked. "...It's sad..." = Macross Plus - Information High = The look in Tootsie's eyes, was all Scootaloo needed to see, to know she'd just said the wrong thing. Tootsie let out a scream, and a massive shockwave of white magic exploded from her horn. Button and Sweetie brought up their shields, but it passed over them without damage. If anything, it made them slightly feel better. Lyra and Bon Bon on the other hand, made derp-looks and waddled drunkly. "L-Liza, wh-what did you-" "Animatia! Auntie Moth!" Princess Tootsie shouted. Moth in her changeling form flew down to meet the ever rising floor. A golden bombshell zipped past her and hit the floor, causing a dent. It was Alula, but she was now waring the same barding with Blank Diamond's symbol. She had her polearm with her. She stomped her hoof into the ground, creating another indentation in the floor, and actually STOPPING the lift. At the same time, Moth, buzzed down, grabbing Lyra and Bon Bon. "MOTH!" "STOP!" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" "Sis, Lyra, sorry, but the girls and me talked it over, and we can't stand to see you caught in the crossfire here." Alula's horn glowed, and one of the seemingly endless doors opened up, and Moth fled the shaft with Lyra and Bon Bon in tow, Bon Bon squirming and trying to free herself all the way. "MOTH! WAIT! COME BACK!" Sweetie Belle shouted but to no avail. "Don't... don't just leave... " "Ya sure ya wanna take us on two-to-one?" Apple Bloom bluffed, in reality, she thought Tootsie's family was her best bet for getting through to the Faux Princess. Alula faced the dumbstruck foals. "The original plan was for Liza to join in the fight halfway, then for me to join in halfway through that... but we talked about it... and Liza couldn't bear to see her family hurt over this... and I couldn't bear to see her sad... Besides... " A golden aura of magic surrounded Alula. "We didn't want them to get caught in the collateral damage." Apple Bloom looked back at them. "...Yah sure yah wanna do this?" she asked. "Because we all know winnin' fer yah...means doin' something yah ain't gonna ever be able tah take back." Alula spoke and her horn glowed brighter. "We can turn you into a set of chineighs statues, brain-zap you into maids, send you a thousand years into the future, turn you into babies, banish you to the moon, turn you into smoke and seal you under a mountain of ice, trap you in a story book, turn you into breezies and put you in a terrarium-" "Animatia, let's skip the speeches and get this bad business over with," Tootsie said. She was holding a ruby, and tossed a sapphire to Alula. Sweetie tried to pry the mystery gems from the grasp of the Faux Princesses, but they wouldn't budge. The two did a short dance, Tootsie's bold and heroic, Alula's kind and outreaching. "FUSE-SON-HA!" In a flash of light, where there had been two fillies, now was an adult full grown Alicorn. She had a green coat, one eye blue, the other purple. Her mane was a long flowing violet with sparkling stars. Her cutie mark was a white flower with pedals made out of feathers. She wore an adult version of the same barding as before. The new Alicorn struck a pose. She didn't speak in an echo of the two fillies, but a voice all her own. She sang, "This Amethyst Here together. And I'm never going down at the hooves of the likes of you, because I'm so much better. And every part of me is saying, Go get her." She pointed at Sweetie Belle. "The two of us ain't gonna follow your rules. Come at me without any of your fancy tools. Let's go, just me and you. Let's go, just one on -" "Exitium Herba!" Sweetie's voice boomed as a blade of 'black' magic slashed across the room leaving a gash in the floor as it went. It bisected Amethyst right between the eyes. The spell continued on past her and stuck itself in the wall behind her and dissipated. Amethyst stood paralyzed mid-sentence, a glow line where she's been struck. She began to split apart like an orange, but in a flash, a bewildered and disoriented Alula and Tootsie sat in her place, the ruby and sapphire (sliced in half) dissolved into chaos magic. "How... how did you use a spell that calls upon HIS power?" Alula asked, looking bewildered. Sweetie ignored her. "I don't wanna hear that song again!" Sweetie rambled, stomping her hoof. "I had to listen to it over and over and so many remixes at our shop home, because Rarity loves it. And I had to pretend I wasn't sick to death of it when Rarity made a PERSONAL remix of it for me! I-" Sweetie Belle stopped and blushed. "Uh, that is." "I really like that song," Button Mash said, rubbing his head. "Oh-oh! Sorry!" "It's okay, we don't have to like EVERYTHING each other like, just each other." Button Mash smiled. Sweetie slowly smiled and nuzzled him. "... You're right." "I still think 'Let It Go' from Frosted is more annoying," Scootaloo said. Somewhere far away, Princess Trixie sang, "Let it gooo! Let it gooo! Can't hold it back anymooore!" The monster put their claws and tentacles to their ears, and ran away screaming. "I knew the power of music would drive them away." "Yes it did." Princess Starflower smiled and nodded discretly taking off her ear muffs. "My mom listens to Understory's soundtrack all day sometimes," Button Mash offered. "I love the game but... it's kinda too much of a good thing." "Can we focus on savin' the world, girls?" Apple Bloom injected. "That song worked in the play!" Alula exclaimed. Button considered a witty one liner about how the character singing it hadn't let her guard down when she sang. "...Girls," Button muttered. "That attack actually WORKED." The others nodded slowly, getting what Button was implying. "You hear that, Alula?" Scootaloo said. "The curse made this all like a game, we spent all that time running form you... but if Sweetie's magic hit, that means that this is the showdown! You're not unbeatable!" = Corpse Party - Shangri-La = "Well, we're not the heroes, and this is a deconstructed magical filly story anyway," Tootsie said. "So I guess in the end... it makes sense." The Cutie Mark Crusaders' jaws all dropped. "W-wait! I thought- when did- how did-" Sweetie's words spilled out like so much saliva. "But... BUT THAT'S NOT FAIR!" her Button Mash shouted out. "You can't spend so much time thinking you were the good guys then realize you're the bad guys when we weren't watching! That's against the rules!" "Looks like that game rule's kaput," Apple Bloom said. "I guess we're more like anti-heroes or anti-villains... I could never keep those straight," Tootsie said. "Alula! You! You KNOW you're working for the bad guys now, and you're STILL helping them?! I know you're not stupid! What's going on?!" Scootaloo snapped. "... Sometimes, when a pony breaks their legs, the bones can set wrong... and... and the only choice... is to break them again... my big sister told me that once," Alula said, rubbing one of her legs gently. Apple Bloom looked at her. "...So yah know everything? How the world outside this tower is one big horror show? That my brother got turned into a monster and tried to kill us? That Granny Smith got turned into some loon who wanted tp sacrifice Sweetie Belle? That Applejack was made a drunk? That Winona got turned into a monster? That Zecora got turned into an evil witch and tried to eat us? That 'Umbra Breeze' and...his buddies were some kinda thing outta Hoofcraft/Horsecraft that did all this for FUN? Yah know all that?" The fury in Apple Bloom voice rose with every sentence. "If yer willin' to STILL help 'em when ya know all that... then yer just as bad as them!" Alula lowered her head until her mane hide her eyes. "... I know." She used her magic to lift her polearm... and slashed her own left arm with it. Tootsie covered her mouth. She quickly began applying her white magic to heal it, but it was slow going. "Alula! Why?!" Scootaloo asked horrified. "I'm guilty... I brought Liza into this because Diamond Tiara asked me to... I thought it would make Diamond Tiara happy..." She looked at Tootsie. "And I thought it would make YOU happy." She gave a sad smile. "I tried to bring Silver Spoon into this, because I thought it would make her happy. I used the magic on my sister and Rumble's brother, because I thought it would make them happy...thank Princess Celestia, that Silver didn't join after all... If I had it over again, I'd have kept you out of this Liza." "D-don't say that, Animatia!" She looked back at the CMC, a dark determined look in her eyes. "I'm no Princess... I'm a little Nightmare, serving a bigger Nightmare. I'm a filthy little monster. I'm happy you girls got to stay the heroes... we're going to need you once we've achieved true freedom." "GIVE ME A BREAK!" Scootaloo heard herself shout. "You're STILL going on about that 'ponies are so much better off if they don't feel bad about doing anything bad' junk? If that was a the case, then there'd be nothing to stop us from making YOU never-heard-from-again! Some things are called bad things FOR A REASON!" "I know." "Stop agreeing with me and stop agree with yourself!" Scootaloo said her wires crossed. "It's not that kind of freedom anymore, it's to free the whole world. Only once we're completely free of Them, can things get better. Until then, we have to hold you back." Apple Bloom started laughing a bit. "...This? All of THIS is to free us from somethin'?...Get a clue, Alula, sounds like the medicine's worse than the germ." Alula was unfazed. She didn't get angry or even frown. She actually took some of her blood and put it under her eyes like war paint. "... If you knew what the 'somethin'' was, Apple Bloom... you'd be as broken inside as me." Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes. "...Is it the thing Umbra Breeze went on and on about? The things that MADE him?...If it is...My sister kicked his sorry flank, so Ah ain't about to think this Tartarus is the only thin' that can save the world." "No, Apple Bloom..." Alula began to slowly trot forward on her two rear legs, leaving a thin trail of blood behind her. "They... are much... much worse..." Then she dug her pole arm into her own shoulder, making her bleed more! "Every time I try to do good, bad things happen! All I ever do is mess up!" "ALULA STOP HURTING YOURSELF!" Scootaloo hissed, but she was ignored. "Animatia, that isn't true!" "Yes it is... I wanted to be as 'take charge' as Diamond Tiara and I teased Dinky, I made friends with you and stole you away from your real friends-" "You didn't steal me. I LIKE being friends with you!" ALula looked at the CMC. "I asked Silver Spoon not to hang out with you because I thought it would Diamond Tiara's feelings and I didn't think how it would hurt you! I was nice to Diamond Tiara and everything went wrong!" "ALULA, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?!" Scootaloo shouted. "... That's the problem with you and your friends, Scootaloo, you're so focused on yourselves you never notice the ponies in the background even when they're right next to you... You think the world stopped moving while you gave Miss Cheerilee your card? You never think the bully might be hurting too." "Yer right... we are." The others looked at Apple Bloom. "We were so focused on gettin' our cutie marks, we didn't think about makin' new friends, we didn't see Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon as anythin' but a pain in the neck. We didn't notice there were foals around us just as lost we were and could have used help too..." "Hey! Don't be like that!" Button Mash said. "You became friends with me! You helped me." Sweetie hugged Button Mash. "... I now understand why Diamond Tiara doesn't like herself... because I don't like myself," Alula said. Tootsie sadly nodded as her white magic finally made the cuts heal. "I wanted Diamond Tiara to see what it felt like for somepony to be nice to her for change, maybe she wouldn't be so mean then... instead... I made everything worse... This way at least, me being the bad pony can at least do some good." "I've BEEN THERE Alula! It doesn't work!" Sweetie said. "And you Tootsie? You believe all this too?" "... I'm a bad pony," Tootsie said ashamed. "But a bad pony needs to be the one who'll do the stuff that needs to happen to free the world. I'm already a bad pony. So not me?" Sweetie Belle merely frowned, having bad flashbacks. "AGH! ENOUGH WITH THE RIDDLES AND YOUR NONSENSE!" Scootaloo snapped. "We don't have time to argue before Diamond Tiara ruins the world for good! We can argue all you want after we stop her and Discord! PLEASE Alula! This isn't who you have to be!" "But it's what has to be! If I have'ta be the bad guy for my friends I will!" shouted Tootsie. "But how!" Button asked still wheeling from this violation of game narrative. "What made ya know ya were workin' for the baddies!" Tootsie said sadly. "I... when that flaming pegasus came at me... and when she spoke, I somehow, just KNEW what she was saying was true... she began to say I wouldn't meet my real special-friend... that means... Truffle was never my special-friend... then... she sent a letter saying how she was sorry she hurt me so bad... a bad guy wouldn't do that... I... " Tootsie did NOT look happy at all. She looked at Apple Bloom. "I'm sorry for hurting Twist." "Ah'm not who ya gotta apologize to," Apple Bloom said without malice. Alula sighed. "Mr. Discord showed me what Mr. Umbra Breeze was really doing...I saw his notes, what he was really like..." "WHAT?! DISCORD SHOWED YOU!? WHY?! WHY!" All their brains threatened to explode. "He didn't say." "He wanted to enjoy you being miserable finding out you'd been the bad guys all along," Sweetie Belle said. Alula shook her head, "No, that wasn't it." Apple Bloom said in shock, "Alula's right." "It was just his random junk!" "...No." "...True again." "We're not fighting for our fantasy world anymore," Princess Alula said. "We're fighting to help Diamond Tiara. She showed us the truth." "We're fighting for our friend, and to free the world!" Tootsie said. "So please just stop, or we'll make you stop," Alula said. "...And we're fighting for the ones we care about and to free the world," Scootaloo said simply. "Looks like only one group can be right." Alula...seemed to just accept that and nod. "Looks like it...Let's go." Button Mash shouted. "You can't beat us as long as we're together!" = Melty Blood Actress Again Soundtrack - 空の境界　俯瞰風景 - (Ryougi Shiki's Theme) = The doors fell away like stone slabs into slots. Beyond were infinite landscapes alien and mundane. Sweetie found herself caught in Alula and Tootsie's telekinesis. She struggled against it, but it seemed to get stronger the more she struggled. The pair flew with her in tow towards one of the portals. Button fired a grappling hook, caught Sweetie, and his hooves then had heavy horse shoes. Alula cut the chain with her spear, but it did slow them down. Simultaneously Apple Bloom used the contraption she used to shoot Spike to launch herself to grab Sweetie, but was blasted back by Alula. Scootaloo struck in that moment. She'd have lamented if she'd been her mentor, she could've broken the pair's grip with her flight field and saved Sweetie. But she didn't have time to think or plan. Instead, she rammed into Alula, knocking here away Tootsie and Sweetie Belle, the force of Scootaloo's surprise attack sent both into one of the doors. In the moment of chaos and confusion, Tootsie and Sweetie Belle fell into one of the doors as well. A barrier formed over the doors as the pairs fell through them. Button Mash looked at where his friends had fallen through and then at Apple Bloom. "Oops." A large comfy couch materialized on the beaten platform. Then a large duel screen appeared in front of it, showing Scootaloo and Alula on one monitor, and Sweetie Belle and Tootsie on the other. On the sides of the comfy couch appeared a selection of refreshments. Button Mash drew his sword at the couch. "It's a Mimic!" Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes. "No... it's just a couch." "The snacks are poisoned!" Apple Bloom stared intense at a bowl of potato chips... "No... they ain't." "It's must be a duel hypno-screen!" "We're both protected against that stuff remember?" "Oh yeah. Well, um, they want us nice and relaxed, and slowed with a full stomach for they spring and attack us?" A little note appeared on the snack table. 'Nope. This is just some nice creature comforts for you while your friends epically duel it out with my little filly's playmates.' "It ain't a lie," Apple Bloom said in disbelief. "Uh... is this from Discord? Did he just call Diamond Tiara 'his little filly?' That kinda creepy." Another note popped into being. 'No it isn't creepy! It's a sincere expression of familial endearment! ... It feels weird that it doesn't feel weird writing down. Sit back and enjoy the show, you can't do much else.' The screen's sound turned on... only... it wasn't Equestrian their friends and enemies were speaking. A third note appeared. 'Sorry, left the dub channel on Neighponese, and I forgot to turn the subtitles on. Just as well, some of the things they say to each other is a little private. But since when do you need dialogue for a cool action sequence? Or did I set it to Equestrian after all and put on Neighponese subtitles? Well you'll find out soon enough. We tried telling the girls they didn't need to do this. But they wanted to apparently. Enjoy the show.' The three notes exploded into new paper clippings, confetti, and fish sticks. "Sweetie Belle," Button Mash whispered looking at the screens. Apple Bloom put a hoof on his shoulder. "Don't worry, she'll win. And Scootaloo too. No way are they gonna lose. Believe it." > "Battle of the Faux Princesses" Part 2 CMC vs Gabby Gums > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shady Daze sat in the living room of the manor at the top of the World Tower. The cheerful music had been turned off, and the omnipresent collection of treats were starting to gather dust. The rainbow colored couches and play-sets sat unused. Night Gale's game system lay in the corner like a gutted beast, lifeless. Shady Daze found that Night Gale's save data was all corrupted and useless... she'd be sad when she found out. He didn't feel it'd be right to occupy himself with any of the video games without her permission. 'I wonder where Sunny Daze is, I bet she and Peachy would love to visit here,' Shady thought. He hadn't given his sister or family much deep thought lately. It was his purpose in life to serve the Princesses. But the Princess had told him, and Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo to 'take time off, doing, what you want to do.' Which left Shady Daze unsure. He'd kept his maid uniform on just for comfort. Had he done something wrong? Did the Princesses not want his service for now? Had he done something to upset them? They'd seemed sad. But he wouldn't insult them by asking anything aloud of course. Truffle had been told to 'spend time with your family', and being a good special friend, he did exactly what Tootsie told him to do. Doing anything else would make him a bad coltfriend... right? Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo had made more PheNOMNOMenons than they knew what to do with, and had completely filled the pantries and the serving trays. Shady Daze didn't so much as notice the endless stream of noise coming from Cloud Kicker and Thunderlane's room. Night and day, nothing but the creaking of bedsprings, and cries of things Shady Daze was thankfully too young to understand. Princess Animatia Erroria had stood at the door some while ago, on her hocks, crying, saying how she was sorry. Then she had cut herself. Shady had moved to help her, Alula had snarled at him to stay back, with glowing eyes and echoing voice. But when Tootsie had found her and begged her to let her heal her, Alula let her. Shady Daze wondered why he hadn't seen Rumble at all, shouldn't he be living at the Tower along with his big brother? Shady Daze wanted to ask Thunderlane about it, but he seemed to always be busy, and good servants didn't interrupt. Everything was so confusing right now, but as a lowly servant, it wasn't his place to meddle in things. But... he felt sad. They'd been a happy little family, hadn't they? Miss Diamond Tiara was always moody now, but now she had friends. But why hadn't Silver Spoon come to visit? Or even written at all? Why hadn't Rumble? Why hadn't Shady's own family? Why hadn't Miss Diamond Tiara's parents bothered to move into the Tower yet? She must have been lonely without them. Moth had come through, dragging a cocooned Lyra and Bon-Bon behind her. "Princesses Animatia Erroria and our little Liza Doolots are repelling invaders to the castle... Liza didn't want us to get caught in the crossfire." Moth had leaned down and whispered. "Between you and me. I think Liza was worried Bon-Bon was going to take things too far." Shady Daze had just nodded as Moth took them back to their room. Shady Daze was surprised when Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo sat down on either side of him. He was even more surprised when he realized, "You're naked!" He blushed. "We're ponies," Marcie said matter of fact. "And we're not working right now. It's strange actually having so many of our tasty treats that we can just sit down and relax, we normally can't keep them in stock fast enough." Shady Daze was surprised trice when he saw Fawn Doo's mane and tail wasn't in its normal curls and now naturally flowed down. "Fawn, what happened to your mane?" "I felt like trying a new style." "I thought your curls were natural." "They are. They're what everypony sees me with... they're what everypony says it is... therefore it is. But if it wasn't, I'd put it in curls because I'd want to myself to look pretty for the clientele. Looking pretty make the treats taste better too, remember?" Shady Daze nodded slowly. "Are those your natural colors?" "Yes," The mares echoed. "Do you like wearing the pretty dresses like I do?" Asked the colt. "Yes," they again echoed. "Then why aren't you wearing them like me?" "Because they were itching!" Marcie declared. "No matter how much we like them, we still need to do the laundry, speaking of which... Were they really expecting you to take care of this whole manor by yourself kid? The Riches should bring some of their staff to live here already." "It's... it's what I'm supposed to do, I'm a lowly servant and-" "Enough already!" Fawn said, and before Shady Daze could protest, she pulled the maid dress off him. "Kid, you need some leisure time!" "Give that back!" Shady said, trying to grab it rather adorably as Fawn playfully kept it out of his reach. "Later! After you've had some fun that DOESN'T relate to maid work!" Fawn said, and Marcie nodded. "Besides," Marcie said. "You've been working hard non-stop, this thing is starting to stink." Shady blushed a little. "Shady, have one." Marcie tossed a PheNOMNOMenons to the startled earth pony. He stared in shock. "But-but-but! These are for the princesses and their families!" "Another rule of working in this business, kid, there'll always be leftovers, and it's a crying shame to throw them in the trash," Marcie said smirking. "Let me ask you, have you even TRIED one yet?" "Uh... no?" Shady replied. Being naked felt strange after wearing the dress for so long. "Then come on! They'll just go stale otherwise! Seriously, the shelf life of these things isn't exactly measured in centuries." Marcie kept it to herself the fact the things had never lasted long enough to find out their shelf life. Fawn leaned over. "For us? Please?" Not sure what else to do, Shady obeyed. His taste-buds exploded, and maybe all the cells in his body! "THESE ARE SO GREAT!" "Thanks, we weren't called the 'snackubi' for nothing." Marcie smirked. "What's that mean?" "... Never mind." The sisters admitted, it was still a delight to see a pony so charged up at their creation... it was almost as delightful as the jingle of bits when the pink party pony every year emptied her wallet into their coffers. Marcie took one and began munching on it, and tossed one to her sister. It had been quite a while since they'd enjoyed their own sweets themselves. At that moment, a thought sparked within Shady. He took out one of the many boardgames that littered the living room but magically still had all the pieces neatly stored (and wasn't one of Mr. Discord's 'mix and match games' that no sane mortal could 'comprehend'), likely having never been used. "Wanna play?" + Scootaloo's diary (journal!) Next thing I knew, we were on a yellow and red airship, sailing through the sky without any ground. I didn't see anypony else on board besides Alula. We were on a flat, round container made of glass the size of a hoofball field with what I guessed was the main engine inside. Figures, video games always have some fancy place for the final fight... Sweetie Belle's diary Tootsie and me landed on ... well, it looked like a big flat ocean, as reflective as a mirror. It splashed as I got up, but I could stand on top of it, like it was solid. Above us was the sky, and I swear it was kinda like the sky was too close or something. I was fighting alone right now. At least the scenery was pretty. - Both Alula and Tootsie spoke unprompted. "The only way in or out is sealed by both our determination, it won't break until one of us does. Diamond Tiara has a message, 'Reach the top and you'll have a bad time. Go back to your pocket happy endings you've made.'" Both Sweetie and Scootaloo unknowingly said together. "I'm not giving up!" - Tootsie said. "I'm sure you'll put up a hard fight, and I'll remember how really hard it was to beat you, and really remember how tough you were." Then her tone changed, becoming almost wistful. "... Then you train really hard and become super powerful to beat me... only to find I've died in the meantime." Four huge crossbows appeared around me like compass points, firing all at once. I barely dodged when four more appeared and blasted giant spell arrows where the first four hadn't. I didn't think, I just moved. What? You think somepony as obsessed with 'law of the jungle' as Chryssy didn't teach me 'don't think, feel?' Tootsie shot an arrow into the water-floor, and then a whole SLEW of arrows shot up from beneath the water's surface! They shot up in two lines closing behind me and I ran! Then it me! I'm being herded! I dared look down and jumped as a magic arrow came out of where I'd been! Thankfully, the upside-down arrow shower ended. "Ever wonder heroes don't just use their best spell first?" Tootsie asked. "Because once it's out there others can figure out how to beat it. And relying on just one spell to always win never works." I retorted, "Exitium Herba!" She dodged my attack so fast she left an after image. "What do you know? You're right," she said. = Megalomania - Live-A-Live = White changeling flames rose around Tootsie, and she turned into a mass of star spiders! They fell from the sky, weaving a web above me even before they landed. I used my horn magic to cut the net open before it covered me on reflex. The creepy spiders burst into flames again and merged into three timberwolves that came at me from different directions! I use a flash bang spell to confuse the wolves and run out their way and they clawed each other instead. But If I keep using that, Tootsie'll see it coming too. This is not good. The wolves flash flamed and turned into one Tootsie again. She fired her bow at me but I run, jump, duck, and fire back a spell bolt at her that she just avoids again. Dang, that spell's faster than that blade spell, hoped it'd catch her off-guard. "You can't dodge forever!" I shouted. "You have more reason to protect this world than me." Tootsie flashed flames again, but she grew bigger, and bigger, until she was as big as a redwood. When the flames died away she was made of wood, her body creaked as she stomped on the ground. Her roots sprang underwater towards me, then surfaced and flowers bloomed on her spurs. The flowers all pointed at me, and I saw yellow pointy things inside. The shot at me together. I stopped most with my telekinesis, and I ducked from a lot, and finally used the ones I'd grabbed with my magic to knock the rest off-course. I shot the best fireball spell I could muster right at Tootsie's center. She shape-shifted before it hit, turning back to her fake Alicorn self. My fireball ended up missing and hit the water, exploding in a mass of steam. I fired a bolt at where I knew she'd be, but she somehow dodged again coming right out of the cloud! "Even if not for Diamond's quest, I don't want everypony to hate me and Alula." She shape shifted into a giant again... but this time... she was... a giant pony robot. Weapons like Button's mom and that big ape in the chaos zone had appeared from openings inside her. Along with big long metal cones on the end of little arms. Then little red beams of light all pointed at me! I had a swarm of death headed right for me! I used my telekinesis to grab the metal pillars and blocked the beams and zillion metal arrowheads! The metal pillars themselves went boom! I brought up the best shield spell I could and ran for it, so Tootsie used up the rest of her arsenal on where I used to be with the explosion blocking her view. I took another shot, but again she just shape-shifted to avoid my spell. "You're the one who stands to actually lose somepony." Toostsie landed, turning into a manticore as she landed and leapt at me claws and fangs showing. I slid under her, thanks for the floor being, ya know, water! She spun in the air with her wings and her scorpion tail struck down right at me, but I caught it with my magic. She turned into a Cragadile and the sudden change in strength took me off-guard! I'd just barely formed half a shield to take some of the hit as I went flying. That hurt. A lot. She shifted into a cyclops and reached down to grab me, but I blasted her in the palm, making her cry out and jerk back. Thank goodness cyclopses' have no depth perception. Wonder if that's why there aren't any anymore. Then she fell back and turned into a slingtail and summoned a boulder to throw it at me! Instead of throwing it back with my magic, I deflected it off-course, and gave another shot. Tootsie again shape shifted and did an after image dodge. "Does he know that he's going to cease to exist, if you win?" Tootsie blasted me with a unicorn spell that I dodged, then pegasus twisters that I deflected, followed by using earth pony strength to make stone pillars pop out of the water. I just barely saw them in time. That was when she turned into an Ursa. That one made me scream. She roared at me. Then she might have been trying to eat me as she scooped me up into her muzzle, but I managed to zap her in the roof of her mouth (I didn't hold back anymore than I felt like I needed to conserve mana) and she fell back, coughing me out. We did the dance again of her shifting back to her pony shape as I tried to her between the eyes with my magic attack. "Does he know it was everypony believing that made him like you?" The next form she took was a chimera. I sang a wordless aria even as I ran away from her, making the snake head woozy, slowing her down. I turned back to look only in time to see her shift into a cockatrice! I screamed again and shut my eyes. I heard Tootsie flap close, guessing she was going to pry my eyes open. Think! Okay! Hope this works! I telekinetically pulled the water between us up right in front of me. I heard Tootsie give a cry at seeing her own reflection, then the cry turned into a shriek that tore the wall of water between us apart. I opened my eyes to see a turquoise griffin with purple feathers headed straight at me. My instincts screamed at me to run and never look back. I was facing my natural predator. The only way for a mouse to win against a cat is to not act like a mouse, Sweetie Belle. I did the last thing my instincts wanted me to do, and the last thing Tootsie's griffin instincts would have expected and ran straight for her. I felt my horn pierce something (unicorns have more than just a flight reflex). I heard Tootsie gasp and she changed again, now I saw a phoenix. Uh-oh. This time my barrier didn't stop me from getting singed as the phoenix was reborn and I was forced back from the burst of phoenix flames. Tootsie shifted back to her default form. I took another shot, and her after image dodged me again. "... You like him for real now, don't you?" Was I imagining things, or was she starting to breath a little harder? Next came the big adult blue dragon! She flew up and she spat not fire BUT LIGHTNING at me, and I was standing on a big lake of water! I managed to jump up and with my telekinesis delaying my landing. She didn't zap me in the air. Guess she needed to recharge. She flew at me though, claws, fangs, razor sharp wings and tail, all reaching out to rip me to pieces! My next idea was more crazy as I used my magic to split apart the water below me, letting me fall below as she swooped above me! The water closed in around me as my magic gave out. I began to float to the top and to my relief I broke the surface instead of suffering a slow suffocating death. The giant dragon was replaced by Tootsie, who again just dodged my shot. "You don't want to see him vanish." She shifted into SOMETHING but I didn't see what as she dived below the water like the magic surface tension wasn't there. I looked around for where she might pop up from, before finally looking down. And I saw a giant set of jaws rushing up from below. I rolled out of the way, JUST IN TIME as I felt some of the strands of my mane get pulled out of my scalp. The giant sea serpent rose into the sky, blocking out the sun, and crashing back into the 'ground', and turning back into Tootsie. She dodged my shot again, but now I could DEFINITELY see she was breathing hard. "And yet you're helping erase him." This time... she turned into a hydra... all four heads looked over me. The heads snapped down like a cobra trying to take a bite out of me! One dove underwater in case I tried that again. Another head had their eyes closed as they attacked just in case I tried to use my flash spell. Another reached in behind me to cut off escaping. I remembered Pinkie Pie talking about the bog hydra and dove straight under her legs to dodge instead. She let her entire weight drop down on me, I blasted a hole in the water underneath and fell, now out of rang of the head she'd had prepared for that. I swam underneath until I got to the other end of her. Her body stank at turning around quickly. Her form shifted back to her 'normal' self. I fired a bolt one more time and she dodged, but I noticed this time she didn't leave an after image from moving so fast any more. "So I'd say we're both doing things we hate for the 'greater good,' wouldn't you?" I clenched my teeth. More crossbows. They began firing in a circle, I ran, trying to stay just ahead of them, then jumped as they fired a second arrow at me all at once. Then I felt Tootsie grab me with her magic and toss me into a wall of water that rose out of the ground, I used my own magic to right myself, then she slammed me into the ground, and then slammed me into a 'ceiling,' and then onto the ground again. I kept using my magic to keep from becoming a pancake. Then there was a glitter below and I rolled out of the way as the arrows shot upward. Then Tootsie as her 'normal' self flew at me and made direct eye contact. Her eyes and horns glowed. "Reflection Deflection!" I screamed and brought up everything I knew about mundane mental magic to the forefront. Our magics exploded on contact and knocked us both back. Then Tootsie dove into the water again, I got ready for the sea serpent... but what emerged... it could have been a seapony... but it looked wrong somehow. You know that bad feeling you get when you see a deformed pony? That you know it isn't their fault they're that way, but something about them makes you uncomfortable all the same? It was like that. Something in me...the same thing I think that makes me feel natural when I get pruney hooves felt sicker than I thought I should. Her fins reminded me of seaweed. Her tail fin wasn't curled like a seapony's, or like a brush like a merepony's would be, it looked like a fan. And her body reminded more of a snake than a fish. I'd seen a picture of a siren in a dusty book once when we were trying to be Cutie Mark Crusader Historians... she wasn't like that either. Something about her...felt the same kinda wrong as Umbra Breeze, Abandon, and Shub. Not as bad, but that almost made it WORSE. Then... she began to sing... it was beautiful the way a bowl of white sugar was sweet. "This mag-gic has-the pow-wer to flaw-less-lyyyyy en-slave a town full-of Ali-corns and dra-gons who just need-to-hear-it!" I felt the music flowing over me... overwhelming everything else, overwhelming everything that made me, me, reducing me to ... to... "YOU MOCK OUR BLOOD!" Not-quite-me snarled. If I'd seen my eyes, I'd be sure they were glowing red! Then the magic crystal I'd bought at Flim Flam's store appeared right in front of me, and it turned a glowing blood red. Lines shot from it like the spikes in a sound wave. I know it sounds weird, but I didn't question it anymore than I'd question my own horn. I trusted Button when his stat screen said it was safe. "I'm never letting magic like that exist in this world!" "Diamond told me your mentor said the same thing in a former life, she died." If Tootsie was freaked out by my change, or knocking back her shallow singing, she didn't show it. She began to sing again. Wordless. Massless. Wavering of green music lines and notes swam through the air to me with the force behind it like a tidal wave. I sang back. I hit a piercing high note like an opera singer. The red crystal in front of me quivered, and red sound waves rippled out from it. I pushed her music back like a juggernaut against an army of firehoses. The water rippled and waved from my voice. "This doesn't make sense! It shouldn't matter if you're the goddess of music herself! If you have ears, your mind should be putty now!" "Chryssy was the master of mind control magic, you think she didn't teach me how to defend against it?" "Impossible! Why would the wicked queen teach you a way to resist mind magic when she used it on you?!" "Yes, she used one kind, the same kind Diamond Tiara used on you: lies, and telling me what I wanted to hear. I'm done talking! Let's see which monster taught us best!" I began to slowly trot forward. The entire ocean rose behind Tootsie, its entire might being channeled through her. The tidal wave became a tsunami. "You-can't-win! You-won't-win!" Her singing became louder, bigger, weightier, like reality was bending to her music. I felt a two-pronged headache from within and without. My horn hurt, my throat hurt, but I kept singing! Her voice kept getting louder, mine kept getting BETTER. And I didn't stop trotting forward! "The-rules-say-I-win! The-rules-say-you-lose! You-can't-do-this! SIIIIIIIT-DOOOWNNNN!!!" I felt like the world was shaking. I got closer, and closer, and closer to this insult to us. This pale imitation. This wretched mockery. This lousy knockoff! We would put her in her place! Now I was right face to face with her! I felt something big form behind me, I couldn't see what. Whatever it was, it scared Tootsie! "Fair-well to the show, Our time is now. Your time's been running down. Feel my wave of sound, As it crashes down, Dare to look away, I'm the one to stay!" And my music, washed away hers. "This-was-not! Supposed-to hap-peeeeeeen!" Her voice shattered, changeling flames were washed away even as they formed, leaving behind Tootsie. Her barding shattered next and blew away. She was blown away. The ocean came crashing down around us. Tootsie horn was smoking, her wings twitching, she laid on the ground like a heavy sack. She struggled to get up. Her bow lay next to her, unbroken, undamaged, unblemished. Her horn couldn't even get a spark off. Her legs couldn't even inch to her weapon. Her eyes rolled up at me. "How... how could you do that..." "I used the full recital of a spell that calls the last darkness, and survived after it should've damaged my horn. There's a lot I can take." Now, we feed off of her. We consume her negativity, feast on it, grow stronger. My horn glowed. I used my telekinesis and straightened her out, pinned her to the ground, and leaving her underside exposed. My eyes narrowed. Hers widened. She looked ready to cry. Her lip quivered. I lower my horn. We could feel it. Fear. Anger. Despair. Sorrow. All there for us to take. Rip them from her! I reared up, charged up my horn, and stabbed downwards. And stabbed the watery 'ground' next to her. Yeah, ya see? Never doing that. Ever. K'? Been there, done that, no thanks. I control the magic, it doesn't control ME. The crystal's red color and I imagine my eyes' too faded, along with whatever was behind me. Her eyes were focused in panic on where I'd stabbed. Tootsie's heart looked like it was trying to punch its way out. She looked at me scared, confused, and everything else. "...So...who were you thinking of when I did that?" She panted in terror. "W-what?" "Who were you thinking of?" She looked like a deer in the headlights...where did that expression even come from? "...When you thought you were going to be never-heard-from-again...who were you thinking of?" "...M-my guardians... about Auntie Moth... about Diamond... about Alula... about... Twist and Truffle... Pipsqueak, Ruby, Noi, Dinky, Moonlight..." "...So was I," I explained. "...How much they'd cry if I actually did it...just like when I was fighting them, I thought of how much YOU'D cry if either of them was never-heard-from-again...Why do you think we held back in that fight?" She gulped. I sat down next to her. We were soaked anyway. "You've been thinking about Diamond plan and all the bad stuff you've done, but did you think about how they'd all feel if you were never-heard-from-again when you went into a duel to the death?...Did that ever cross your mind in all this until you thought you were going to die?" +++ Scootaloo's diary JOURNAL! Alula swung her pole arm about a few time like a gymnastic baton, slammed it into the deck of the ship, and sighed. "I hope Night Gale visits after we save the world, though I don't wanna be the one to tell her about Mr. Umbra Breeze." "Who?" I asked. "I... Just a friend I met." She looked straight at me and she took off into the air. "You should know that Scootaloo can't fly! Everypony knows that!" I couldn't see them or feel them, but I knew they were there, those snake slug bugs, and I knew my cape pushed them back. "A bajillion ponies and changelings saw me fly in Canterlot! I remember the whole class' jaws dropping when they saw me fly when we got back from Canterlot! Screw that!" I bite back at her. I buzzed into the air on equal level with her. "EXACTLY, Scootaloo!" Alula shouted. "Those who watch! THEY don't WANT YOU to fly! They want you to stay grounded for the rest of your life! You appeal to more of them as a cripple! You're more 'interesting!' But I don't want to see you grounded again! Or never having been able to fly at all!" "...Really? Thanks for that. I didn't notice when your stupid curse did EXACTLY THAT in the Rainbow Factory," I replied. "...But let's say you're right...if the price of me flying is Rainbow Dash and Cheerilee being killers or Princess Celestia being something awful, or the I-don't-want-to-THINK-about-how-many other awful things I've seen these past few days...Pinkie Promise you'll take me to the press to turn everything back, let me do it, then cut my wings off." Did I mean it? What do you think? Alula eyes widened, and she sighed, she looked sad. "What Umbra Breeze did was evil. He wasn't doing it for anypony but himself. And I'm evil for helping them. But Scootaloo... even after our world was supposedly freed, our world keeps spinning back to align with what goes on back when we started out. I know this all sounds like nonsense to you. It's better that way. "But Diamond Tiara found the way, she and Discord made something good out of Umbra's evil plan, and you've been helping, while we played princess. We'll help the rest or be punished if you want after the watchers go away. "Would you erase every bad things that happened BEFORE Umbra Breeze? Why erase these bad things from happening? You won. You saved Cheerilee, Rainbow Dash, and the rest. Now let me save you! Otherwise, someday, you'll end up not able to fly again. Let Diamond Tiara free the world completely! Remember how, in Canterlot... you were told not to go save Sweetie by yourself... you took Sweetie out a window! When you COULDN'T fly! Wasn't that selfish and stupid? But you did it for the right reasons. Can't you trust ME that I'm doing this for the right reasons too?" "...Let me ask you one thing...How many ponies are in danger this second?" I asked. "...Or this one? Or this one? Or this one?...Think about that...then tell me why Diamond's plan more important than all of them. If you're really trying to save everypony, then you'd have saved them first, THEN pulled off Diamond's big plan...And before you say 'because you were at the door step:' we got our flanks in gear BECAUSE we learned about her plans (and no, ain't tellin' yah HOW). So, tell me, Alula...why is everypony who's in danger less important than me flying? What's the point of Diamond Tiara 'freeing the world' if a lot of ponies are never-heard-from-again to enjoy it?" Alula asked. "You were good at dancing, but when did you dance last? It's just too 'lame' you think." "I dance in the sky!" I blurted out, then cover my mouth and blush. "But when is the last time you danced on the ground? You're slowly being stripped of what makes Scootaloo special, you're being compressed into a 1-D version of you! Everypony in the world was slowly dying already! We're going to make it so they can live again! Shouldn't YOU be out fixing ponies instead of wasting your time here?! When is the last time you used your scooter since you learned to fly Scootaloo?!" I search my mind for something, anything... but... I haven't even touched a board, let alone my Scooter... not since I rescued Sweetie Belle. "You liked it so much! You were happy! You felt alive! The entire Rainbow Dash Fan Club knows it! We all got scrapped knees trying scooting out because of you and we all loved it and thanked you for it! But suddenly poof, it's gone once you got your cutie mark. Don't you get it?!" Alula hissed, she actually sounded ANGRY. "Don't tell me you're blaming cutie marks now!" "No. I'm not. I'm saying that if you stop Diamond Tiara, we'll all become empty shells. How's that of living?! Maybe that blue butterfly on your flank ISN'T the cutie mark you were meant to have, but you were given it anyway, and you're being made to fit it instead of the other way around. It has to end Scootaloo!" "So...Scootaloo scooters? That's what makes her Scootaloo...is that it?" I asked, thinking over what she said. "Isn't saying THAT making me a 1-D shell?...And more importantly...if me not flying is what these THINGS want...why are you angry I'm doing more flying than riding my scooter?" "... Because scooting is what made you happy, just like you always wanted to fly. But your love for dare devil tricks with it got swept under the rug. When is the last time you did anything that wasn't 'what would Rainbow Dash do?' You helped us all see how great Rainbow Dash was, even when she got jealous of Mare-Do-Well! But it's DIFFERENT for you Scootaloo, you're becoming like a little robot that only knows how to imitate her! ... I don't want to see the 'you' that makes you 'you', die." "You mean like Cheerilee did, like Dash did, like-" "Like my big sister has!" Alula shouted. "Because of ME! But you brought them back! They're free! But if you undid the final step, then YOU'LL be the one who becomes like that, followed by Rainbow Dash, Cheerilee, until we're all just dolls filling out one role, forever! My big sister taught me that I couldn't grow up being just a copy of her! Have you ever done anything that makes you not a copy of Rainbow Dash?! What do I have to say to get through that wonderful thick head of yours?" "...I'm doing something that's not what a copy of Rainbow Dash would do right now." She blinked. "Huh?" "Now that you're vulnerable, Rainbow Dash would've just knocked you out as quick as she could with a chop to your neck in this one spot while you were talking because she doesn't LIKE to talk and knows knocking you out saves everypony quicker," I said, and I meant it. "I didn't want to fight you, I didn't want to HURT you. So I'm trying to talk you down, tell me, can you see Rainbow Dash standing here rattling off all this philosophical junk?!" "... If it was for a friend... maybe... Scootaloo... answer me one thing... were we friends before? Or just club mates?" "...Not as close as me the others, or heck, even you and Tootsie...but I like to think we were," I said. "Then I have one last thing to tell you." "Unless it's 'I give up' I don't wanna hear it." I was getting sick of this. I'm not Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom, I only have so much patience. "But it's something you need to hear, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." No pony alive makes a Pinkie Promise in vain. Even if some weird cosmic thing tried to keep her away, she'd find a way to make it here and make Alula face her wrath. "What is it?" Alula shook her head. "Diamond let me look into The Truth...and I saw the truth about you. I now know everything about you. Didn't you once question WHY your parents taught you forgery, basic play acting, and how to invent plausible backstories for yourself? Aren't you curious why you never once starved after making friends with Sweetie Belle? How you always buzzed while other foals flapped?" "Y-you-you know?! W-what are you talking about?!" "Your parents loved you and abandoned you anyway, why in TARTARUS would they do that? You didn't think! What your parents really were! What YOU really are! You 'half-bug-pony!'" It was like the world blew up. "...That's impossible...I'm not a changeling...That's just another of your stupid rumors!" "This is no rumor. Pinkie Promise." "You're lying!" "Tell me where my logic falls apart. Tell me how what I'm saying doesn't make sense." "I'm not a freaking bug! I drink milkshakes, not love! I'm a pegasus! I'm not one of them! I'm not! I'm not!" "I never said you were...I said one of your parents was. You inherited some of their traits. And seriously, you stood on a soapbox telling Sweetie Belle she was being silly for thinking ponies wouldn't accept changelings as friends, but you still insult them like the fighting isn't over." "Calling them bugs doesn't-I mean! There's no way you can know any of this! That part didn't get put in any paper!" "I said I know because Diamond showed me and Tootsie The Truth. I saw so many things, horrible and wonderful. And she was there. In Canterlot. She told me every detail. How she was sabotaging the changelings left and right to let YOU stop Chrysalis before the wicked queen stabbed her with a poison arrow and she had to heal." My head was spinning. "So, you owe Diamond Tiara a thank you for saving Equestria." I hated it. More than you could imagine but, "Yeah... I'm grateful... now I know WHY my parents left me..." It felt like swallowing bitter medicine. "And it wasn't because I couldn't fly. It was because they loved me. And... I'm sorry a friend of Silver Spoon's took a hit for the team and helped us out, whatever her own stupid reasons." "You know all about stupid reasons don't you, Scootaloo? 'She's not stuck being stuck up like you' sound familiar? I was THERE when you said that to her and Silver Spoon! She had every bad thing she thought throw into question, and you told her that couldn't be anything more than she was!" I shivered. The look in Alula's eyes wasn't her normal holier than thou shtick, or her stupid 'I'm bad, but I feel bad so that makes it okay' junk. It's the look any of my friends have when I see another friend of mine hurt by somepony else. I thought about what to say next... "Well I...You see..." ...Oh buck it. I didn't want to say it...I didn't want to DO it...but... "...I was wrong, and I admit it. Silver proved me wrong." I looked up...might as well go all the way. "HEY DIAMOND! You're watching, right? Through those stupid eye things Apple Bloom found, right? Well LISTEN:...I was wrong. Silver WASN'T stuck being stuck up! And NEITHER are you!...And I PINKIE PROMISE I BUCKING MEAN IT! CROSS MY HEART HOPE TO FLY, STICK AND CUPCAKE IN MY EYE!" I swear I felt like the entire world just gasped. And I swear... I didn't feel humiliated or 'sappy', I felt... lighter. Like I'd just had weights cut away. "Scootaloo... it's funny how alike we can be.... but we never once hanged out just us two, together as friends, isn't it?" Alula let out a small laugh. "What do you mean?" "I know what it's like to not have your parents there. I know what it's like to have a big sister you look to and has to take on the burden of looking after you even if she's less happy for it, you want to BE HER... I can see why you made friends with Sweetie Belle; you and her are a lot alike too. You two and Apple Bloom. You were kindred spirits long before you started looking for your cutie marks...you saw the good in Silver Spoon...I saw the good in Diamond Tiara...Most saw only an arrogant flier in Rainbow Dash, you saw the real hero underneath. All any of you ever did was see Diamond Tiara as your bully, she wasn't a person. I wanted her to see she didn't need to see the world as the enemy. I wanted you to understand that before I beat you, Scootaloo. Because Big Sister Cloud Kicker taught me to NEVER GIVE UP!" Thunder clouds began to crack and boom around us. I shouted. "You're right, Alula! About everything! I wanted to see those two as just bullies. And I hated Chrysalis for twisting my best friend! And I let it spread under the surface! Thanks for that, Alula! "But I do know what it's like to think you know somepony! When Dash took me in, I never dreamed I'd have her spanking me or telling me to go to bed or yelling at me for leaving my toys all over the floor! But...but she did all that BECAUSE she loves me! I couldn't see Dash as my idol anymore! But she became something more! Family! I got to know her more! And if Dash and me get to be a family, then I can't say the way my life has changed since Discord almost ruined the world is wrong! You're right, I don't want to live in a world where I'm not family with Dash anymore! And I'm gonna have to face it when I see my parents again! And sometimes... maybe growing up... means... that ... maybe... you gotta give up some things. Maybe. Dash told me from the very beginning that 'never never never ever EVER giving up' was how you act as an idiot! Not a hero!" "Then give up!" "How about you?!" "... Fine. Let's find out who saves the world." Then she surprised me when she landed, and gave me a formal karate bow of respect. I landed, and I returned the bow. She picked up her polearm with her magic. I flashed my wing blades. We both knew we were done talking. Neither of wanted this fight. We'd both said everything we could think of to prevent it. But both of us wouldn't back down. If I had to break her resolve to get out of here, then let's do this. I just hope when Cloud Kicker is back to her right mind she'll forgive me for any bruises I give Alula. At the next flash of light, we charged each other. = Mortal Kombat Movie Theme = Alula had more reach with her weapon, but I had the tighter defense. And she had a minimal range with that pole arm! I caught it with my wings blade. Then she tried to blast me with that horn of hers! Dang it! Alula flew away from me and took the high air. Her horn charged up and began to fire balled lightning down at me. I kicked them back at her! Instead of kicking them back and making this a game of volleyball, she just dodged them and flew behind me. I turned around on a dime. And saw her charging up one several times bigger than I was and threw it right down at me. I flew like crazy to get out of the blast zone as it hit the deck of the ship and exploded in a dome of wild lightning. She switched to straight up unicorn magic and fired pot shots at me, but I was too fast for her. Then she flew back towards me, and caught me in her magic. Not happening. I broke free using my flight field. She looked surprised as I kicked her in the face, making her nose bleed. "You didn't see Dash teach me that, did you?" Alula slashed with her pole arm, giving me a close shave. "Shouldn't you be crying for mommy about now?!" I yelled. "You think I haven't had my falls and bloody noses?!" Alula shouted, stabbing at me with her weapon making her do a dancing dodge around it. Oh right, she was cutting herself before. Kinda forgot that. Or didn't WANT to remember that. I slashed at her with the wings blades, making her have to defend with her weapon like it was a staff and fly back from me. Then I saw her somehow charge up her flight field to where I could SEE IT, and she zoomed at me like a comet! But then I saw her back side wasn't covered and did a diving kick at her back. "YEOW!" She slashed with her weapon, I got away, but she still left a red mark on my front. I zigzagged and moved in for another exchange, but this time when we clashed I moved in to just punch her, she struck back with one of her back hooves! And dang did it hurt when our hooves met! "I'm the one wearing barding, remember?" She said. Then she THREW ME back to the deck of the ship, and I had to roll out of the way as she stabbed the deck where I'd been. "AND I'm the one with Earth Pony strength to boot!" I bit my tongue and didn't say that strength wasn't everything. I'm going to have to think here. I jumped off against the deck while her pole arm was still in the floor, tackling her, but she pulled her pole arm free too. We moved like lightning. I don't think anypony's eyes but a pegasus' could have kept up with us. Sparks flew from our blades clashing like we were setting the sky on fire. We zipped through clouds, using the lightning to our advantage when we could, grabbing it with our weapons and slashing at each other with it. We didn't slow down. We didn't let up. I pushed, and she pushed back harder. She pushed, and I pushed back harder. We both used the ship to keep from getting completely disoriented. She created several wild ball lightning that flew madly at me I could almost hear giggling that exploded as they hit each other trying to hit me, Alula didn't wait for them to clear and just flew around the blasts spinning her pole arm like rotor with her magic. I flew around her faster and bit her by the tail and threw her, dodging her spear. "Aren't you getting tired?!" I shouted. "I'M A GYMNAST! YOU THINK I WOULDN'T HAVE STAMINA?!" We battle upside down, sideways, none of it mattered, we were focused only on each other now. Alula twisted and spun her pole arm like it was seventh limb. I slashed and spun with my metal wing blades, enhancing them with the standard wing blade spell, extending their reach and their force. I was like a whirlwind. For a moment, I could almost hear Rainbow Dash cheering me on. And I knew Alula was hearing her real big sister's voice pushing her on too. We both cried out. We weren't just fighting each other, we were fighting what the other's big sisters had taught her. Dash, you taught me to defend myself, so that's what I'm going to do! My heart skipped a beat when Alula's polearm struck the center of one of wing blades while it was extended, shattering it. I didn't miss a beat and saddled her pole arm, kicking her in the face and gut, and using leverage and my other wing blade to break it into a staff and a dagger. I spun around and using all four of my legs to give her a cartwheel of kicks. She responded by folding her wings and diving, doing a river dance on my gut. I turned around and knocked her off balance for a moment. She fell, I grabbed her wings and bent them the wrong way. I kicked her away as she nearly stabbed me with her now much shorter pole arm and knocked me with the staff. Alula didn't call out her magic as she sent a fireball, another lightning ball, and a burst of ice daggers all my way. But I was JUST a tiny bit too fast for her. I did a spiral around her, then switched to a random zigzag JUST as she began tracking me, and dived into a cloud and managed to kick her in the horn, making her lose her magic grip on her weapons. She did a back flip in mid air and kicked me with both legs in the jaw. I turned the momentum to my advantage and kicked her in the shoulders. She took the time to grab her dagger in her mouth. I felt like a crazy hornet, we dove in and out of clouds trying to ambush each other but always just a bit too late! We slashed madly through the sky. Time lost its meaning. Space lost its meaning. All there was was the two of us. And we kept going at it! Until finally... we both crash landed back on the ship... sucking wind. My legs and wings all felt like lead, and it wasn't some stupid gravity spell from her. One look confirmed she'd just hit empty too. "Hey... no far... I can't... run out of juice the same time as you." I panted. "... that's... that's my line..." She panted back. "Looks like... your big... sister... trained ya pretty well after all." "Back.... back at ya." "You... you aren't going to win this, Alula." I panted. "Why's... that? Have a stamina restore item somewhere... in there?" "Not... not really... but you said we only leave when one of us breaks and... you did tell me ... about my parents... you patched up... the one part of me that would have broken...and you got me to admit that telling Diamond and Silver were stuck being stuck up was bad, which I think had been weighing my heart down for awhile... thanks. I'm free." Alula... let out a small laugh... "I... you're welcome." She slowly tossed off her barding. "There... now I've... I've got..." She tried to get up, but just sat back down. "Okay... five minute break?" I didn't tell her that taking your armor off wouldn't help much unless it weighed a ton. "... Let me... say a few things then." I breathed. "Didn't you say... all you were going to?" "... Maybe... maybe seeing you up there up close and personal... made me think of something...Or recall something maybe...hard to tell sometimes." "Oh really? What?" "Tell me what made you care about Diamond Tiara this much... what set off everything?" "... It all started Hearts and Hooves Day..." - To be Continued > Side Story: Baby Goddesses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Half-Light Midnight, how are you enjoying those books I gave you?" Spike The Nightdrake asked coming into the cosmic nursery, given to them by Light World Princess Gaia in her domain. Heathspike took one look and screamed. "AAAH! What are you doing?!" The million year old dragon raised his claws to his head in horror. Half-Light Midnight giggled... She tore another page out of another book, and created a pretty origami flower. The room was full of books that were now just empty covers, and a museum's worth of origami folded figures and others used as paper to draw pretty pictures on. Spike pulled her up with his tail, and felt her head for a temperature. Could baby concepts of reality GET colds? If they did, did you need specific concept medicine? The baby unicorn just giggled more at the game. Then Daddy-Spike used his pretty green fire breath to undo all her beautiful work! All her folded paper and drawings were gone! And were turned back into the boring old books! What did Daddy-Spike do that?! Half-Light Midnight sniffled. "Uh oh..." Spike muttered right before Midnight started crying. Crystal shattered in the make-shift house. +++ Princess Fidelitas meanwhile was in her own domain, which realistically speaking meant she was inside herself. An infinite cloud city with no bottom or top, right now only otherwise populated by the Scootaloos who had sworn loyalty to her as her angels and her 'apprentice'. And... the newly reset goddess of truth. And the rainbow goddess was having trouble... Of all she'd done throughout her million years of existence, this wasn't that big on the epic scale. It didn't even crack the top five (but it came very close). But it was disheartening all the same. "Come one on Applejack, it's your favorite," Rainbow Dash pleaded. "Applefritters." "Psssht!!" Said the baby goddess in disgust, throwing them in the larger Alicorn's face, completing the 'mud pack' on her face that Fidelitas wiped off, sighing. Veritas pouted back at her. Then her horn glowed and she floated over some oranges, and tore the skin off and began to dig in. "No! You can't do that! You hate oranges Applejack!" She pulled the oranges from her. Baby Veritas cried, making the ears of the Scootaloo army hurt across the infinite domain and the gems of Fidelitas' barding crack. +++ Spike's cottage was a gift from Princess Gaia's Light World counterpart just until Half-Light could grow into a proper concept of magic of the new universe the former Nightmares were building with Discord and have a domain-state of her own. Similar with Baby Veritas and Fidelitas. Thankfully only Fidelitas had so far undergone the trial to become a goddess. So the danger of what happened when two concepts of the same idea existed in the same universe didn't apply to them visiting the Princess Gaia of the Light World worldline. Right now, Heathspike sat with Half-Light Midnight, along with Fidelitas and Veritas, or simply Rainbow Dash and Applejack as they still wished their friends to call them. Hosting them was the Light World's Princess Gaia herself. Fluttercruel was playing with her building blocks and wanting the baby goddesses to play with her. Flutternice was no longer there, having been taken back by the former Nightmare Whisper. It was generally decided to not allow the former Nightmare access to her own foal would NOT be healthy nor constructive for either of them, especially given how dependent on her mother Flutternice was. And in general the separation would cause conflict when there was already enough of that to go around. Heathspike and Rainbow Dash didn't want to share these troubles with their Fluttershy and their Pinkie Pie. Both of them had been through more than enough trauma for one eternity. "I just don't get what's wrong with her," Rainbow Dash said. "She doesn't like apples! APPLES! She likes pears! PEARS! And oranges! And cherries! And carrots, CARROTS! But she won't touch apples!" "And Midnight would rather doodle in books than read them!" Spike lamented. "I don't think she's read one book I gave her! And I've given her a lot!" "Well," Gaia said politely. "It sounds like they just have their own tastes." "But they're NOT Twilight's or Applejack's tastes!" Heathspike said. Fidelitas nodded. "Oh my," Gaia said sadly, looking over not the two foals but their guardians. "I was worried about this after... after I heard about some of the mistakes you almost made... but... " "So what's wrong with them?" Heathspike asked. "There's... There's nothing wrong with them. It's just the way they are." "No it isn't!" Princess Fidelitas snapped. "I'm afraid it is," Princess Gaia sighed, seeming unusually assertive. There was a knock on the cottage door. Gaia opened it with her telekinesis to reveal Queen Cadenza. "I'd say I'm sorry I'm late, but I've arrived exactly when I meant to. Hello Spike, Hello Fidelitas. And hello Gaia. And hello Vertias... and hello... little Midnight." The babies giggled at the sight of the big pink mare, even if she wasn't as funny as the OTHER big pink mare they often saw. "Spike, Rainbow Dash after... after you told me what was worrying you about Midnight and Vertias... I thought that Cadence could offer some perspective." "Perspective on what? How to fix them?" Spike asked. "That's what you need to understand... There's nothing to fix," Cadence said, looking uneasy. "That's horseapples," Fidelitas said. "It's the truth," Cadenza said. "And it's what you need to understand." Cadenza came in and sat down on one of the other couches in the replica of Fluttershy's cottage. "Once upon a time, there was a goddess of harmony and music named Cadenza by her parents, the Tarot of the Temperance. There was also once upon a time a goddess of night named Luna, who was aloof, indifferent, and cold to the mortals she was supposed to be watching over. She did some terrible things in her cool detachment from mortals. While Cadenza... once tried to murder Magic Itself believing that destroying magic would protect freedom of will among mortals from being tampered with... "Then Luna helped her sister enact a foolish mistake... And her Father, seeing how little Luna truly thought of mortals... reset her for her crimes. And Cadenza's light and her shadow separated from each other, both becoming their own entity, both being reborn as a new version of the rules of reality they embodied. They could REMEMBER what they had done before... but they looked upon the world with a different perspective. Their attitude and outlook were a blank slate to be written upon, and new traits emerged ... I can remember everything I did before I was reset... but I am no longer that concept of music... It's the closest to death that a concept can come without being undone." "What are you saying?" Heathspike asked, folding his wings around Midnight who snuggled against them. "... Forgive me," Cadence said sincerely. "It means, that your Twilight Sparkle, and your Applejack are gone, and aren't coming back. Midnight was born from the essence of Twilight's children, and Nightmare Mirror was reset. The truth Vertias becomes may be one that is multiple layered, rather than a singular absolute or faceted. The magic Midnight might become could be one that is more art than science. The one thing they won't be, the one thing they can't be, are carbon replacements for the friends we lost." "So...there's no chance?" Rainbow Dash asked, her tone unreadable. "...Only Morning Star has ever done it, and trust me, somepony THAT hardwired and obsessed that even resetting won't change them is horrible, and terrifying. There's a reason Morning Star had to be locked in a prison tailor made to hold him. And it's a reason not worth what you're wanting back." The former Nightmare and Nightdrake said nothing. Princess Gaia gently put her wings around Fidelitas and nuzzled her neck tenderly. Cadenza waited a few moment...taking in the looks she got. "You think this is easy for ME to say?" Cadence asked. "My Twilight Sparkle is gone forever too! I'll never see her again. Not even as a spirit or a shadow that can be given its light back. Remember? She's just GONE. And... if I... or you... try to superimpose who they were on them... I... " Cadence fought back tears. Spike and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, and carefully let Midnight and Vertias go so they could play with Fluttercruel. Princess Gaia whispered, "Twilight and Applejack asked you to look after their new selves because they trusted you to raise them right... But trying to make anypony into a replacement for somepony else, only ever ends in misery, because nopony can truly replace anypony else. Are you going to teach Vertias to speak with an accent you don't have? Are you going to make Midnight read books she can't stand? They'll never be that perfect copy, and when you see they can't be that perfect copy you wanted them to be... you'll see them as broken, and they'll see themselves as broken, since all they'll want is your approval... In the end, that just leave both of you miserable." Silence dominated the adults in the room, while the two baby goddess played in the corner without a care in the world, barely yet understanding the universe they were a fundamental part of with Fluttercruel, who herself was growing and changing and maturing at her own pace. The Alicorn Princess and former Nightdrake thought desperately of something to say. Something, anything, to hold onto that last grasp, that last sliver of hope... but was it hope? Or was it just a refusal to let go and move forward? Fidelitas Moksha Equestria, the concept of loyalty and breaking circles, remembered what she'd been told when Midnight and baby Veritas had first been born. "I... I didn't want to clone her... I'm already through with that nonsense. I thought... I thought I was doing what Applejack would have wanted... I thought she'd have WANTED to be the way she was before... I forgot what she really wanted was a fresh start. She wanted me to break her cycle of making the same mistakes . . ." Spike said articulately, "Maybe I thought it would make Fluttershy, MY Fluttershy, HAPPY that she'd get to see Twilight again after all... Or that Twilight would have wanted to be a scholar again... But she's not Twilight is she? No more than Shining Armor or her daughters... And Twilight would NEVER want her foals to be just copies of her. All we were doing was trying to prove old tentacle-brains right that we hadn't lost anything...Twilight became Happy Endings...and that ISN'T a happy ending." "You and Rarity truly are worthy of Generosity Spike," Cadenza said, "You both only wish to help, and both think of others. You're not perfect, only My Parents are. But you prove better than your nature, and Rarity only wished to share what she has." Gaia said, "They trusted you, to do your best to raise them. They trusted the gods of a new wold to you. And for you to help them become who they chose to become." Spike smiled, "Never imagined Twilight's last request would be so contrary." "We're concepts, two conflicting sides of the coin comes with the job," Fidelitas said. "Them being in balance is what separates us from..." Fideltias look uncomfortable. "From Nightmares," Spike finished calmly. "So do my best huh?" The dragon stood up. He breathed green fire, and out materialized a stack of young foals comic books. Twilight Sparkle wouldn't have been caught dead reading them. Spike showed them to Midnight, she giggled at the bright pictures and began reading them, the others gathered around her. Fidelitas took a hint, and presented baby Veritas with a tray of orange slices that she gobbled right up. The rainbow Alicorn said, "Heh, if we can handle this, we can handle the terrible twos!" "Um...I wouldn't be so sure...they're goddesses," Gaia admitted. "From what I've heard, their magic surges...well, Discord said one of his created the realm of magic talking rainbow squids." The goddess and Nightdrake both grew slightly pale. "The Scootaloo angel army is gonna earn their keep I guess..." Cadenza smirked darkly. "Just wait until they hit their teenage years." "Uh... wanna take up foalsitting again?" > "I Like The Red One" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tootsie began crying. I nuzzled her. "H-how did you move like that before? I didn't think you had those good reflexes Sweetie." "They were a gift from a good friend, now answer the question. Did you think about how it'd hurt your family if you died?" "No, I didn't," Tootsie whispered. "I just thought how they'd all hate me if they found out what I'd helped Umbra Breeze do." What would Rarity say? "You... you can't live your life covering up your mistakes. I mean... you can't spend forever being a slave to it... you need to face it... " "But... Lyra... Auntie Moth, and Bonnie..." "If they really love you... well... they'll still be upset... they'll be angry... but... but they won't hate you... you were tricked right? They love you! You know now what you did was wrong! ... You thought you were helping ponies... You know now you were helping a monster who wanted to ruin the world! But you can TALK TO THEM about it! They're your family! They'll understand! They're...They're there for you!" Mom, dad, we have a lot to talk about the wedding later. I love you. - "GAAAAAHHHHH!" The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara screamed holding her empty chest. - I felt Diamond Tiara. We'd save her too. And here I was, made to understand stuff I shouldn't have to yet. First Rarity taught me not to judge my enemy, then that bad stuff happening to you wasn't an excuse to do bad stuff. One year felt like five. As we dried off under the bright sky, Tootsie whispered. "I think... there was one bad thing I did on purpose, though I kept telling myself it was a good thing." "You mean Truffle." "Yes. I didn't think Twist would be a true friend to him because of how she stopped playing with Apple Bloom after she got her cutie mark... and didn't stand up for her at Diamond's party." Deciding NOT to tell Tootsie what happened to Twist, I said, “Apple Bloom... said she's the one who stopped hanging around Twist, she's the one who didn't even try to make up or talk to her about it... She said Twist made a mistake... but Twist still cared about her." "... We've talked about all this before didn't we? On the MoonPearl?" "Yeah... we did... you wanna listen this time?" I said as kindly as I could. "... I just didn't want to see Truffle hurt. Instead, I made things worse." "You really like him, don't you?" Tootsie nodded. "What was the trigger?" I asked. "What broke the camel's back?" "... Hearts and Hooves Day." + "=Persona 4, 'Face Myself' Piano Version = It didn't matter that Sweetie had won or Scootaloo hadn't lost, until one of the ponies in the room's truly gave up, neither could leave. In both pocket worlds on a floating picture window, and on the screen in the elevator shaft, a scene played out. All the foals recognized the place. Cheerilee's class. Hearts and Hooves Day. It lasted only a few seconds, but the scene then repeated, over and over. A subtitled on the bottom read, 'Cheerilee's_class_celebrating_2_S2E17'. "I like the red one," Diamond Tiara said next to Silver Spoon. In her hooves was a purple and white card with sparkles. Alula the pegasus, behind Diamond, offered Diamond Tiara Alula's red card. Silver Spoon looked delighted at the exchange. Diamond Tiara looked stunned at the act of generosity. Meanwhile, Twist and Truffle exchanged cards and hugged. Neither of them saw Tootsie had been about to give her card... nor saw her look away, heartbroken, her card falling to the floor. - The little heroes' thoughts echoed, 'That... that happened while we were giving Cheerilee her card? We... we really don't notice stuff sometimes don't we?’ "And nopony noticed, nopony cared. It didn't matter what I felt. It didn't matter what I thought. Nopony cared," Tootsie sniffled. Sweetie Belle gently stroked her mane. "What about your family? Didn't they care?" "... I did ... they did... but... but I was scared... " Sweetie understood. "You were scared that Truffle would like Twist more." "Y-y-yes!" Tootsie cried into Sweetie's fur. "As long... as long I didn't... I could pretend he would like me more... but... but... the way they always smiled to each other... the way they fit together... " "... Doesn't feel fair does it? If you'd offered your card just a little bit sooner... But what about Twist?" "I... I pinkie promise! I didn't WANT to think Twist was bad! I don't! I don't think I did! I!" Tootsie sniffled and cried more. "I don't know what I'm feeeeeling!!!!" "... I'm sorry, Tootsie... It's not fair. But it's not fair to Twist or Truffle, either. We're not the boss of them, we don't get to decide if their friendship will be bad." "It doesn't matter anyway... I was told, in some... way... that I just know now... I'm not Truffle's special-friend... I don't matter." "Don't ever say that!" Sweetie barked looking the other filly in the eyes. "You matter to your family! You matter to your friends! None of us are pointless! ... Please... " Sweetie's horn glowed... and shapes formed out of the water around them, of Tootsie's family, and the MoonPearl's crew and Alula and Diamond Tiara. "You have ponies who love you, and who care about you. There are things I hate we can't have or do too! But what we do doesn't change just us! When we do bad things, it doesn't just change us... it hurts those we like." Sweetie cried a little too. "It hurts worse when we won't forgive ourselves..." - And I, Alula, told Scootaloo like I told Mr. Filth Rich. How I admired a diamond who could always take charge, imitating her teasing but found it made me miserable, and wondered why Diamond Tiara wanted herself to be miserable, and big sister Cloudkicker saying that Diamond Tiara just LIKED being cruel. "But I refused to believe that. I didn't want to believe any pony would be awful if given a choice, and maybe I could help her be the pony she wanted to be. "So when she said she liked the red card better, I offered her mine. Silver looked happy, but Diamond just looked surprised... confused... and that was the day she disappeared. ...Did I hurt her somehow? Was I the reason she ran away? So when she began appearing in my dreams and talking with me, I knew I had to help her make it right. It was my responsibility." - Tootsie tried to laugh. "You know... Everypony thought I'd be heartbroken finding out there are three Mare Do Wells, but all I knew was there were three heroes to love. I wanted to be a hero like them. I wanted to save ponies, and have a superhero cutie mark!" "... You wanted to be Truffle's hero, and save him from what you thought was an unhappy ending." "I wanted him to be my partner, we'd both help ponies who couldn't help themselves... see and do amazing things... " "But would Truffle have liked that too? Do you know if he likes adventures?" Tootsie couldn't think of a response. - Both 'Princesses' spoke. "It doesn't matter if you won or not, I still haven't given up, and neither have you, so the portal stays closed. I'm trying to save you from the despair that's waiting at the top of the tower. When the world's free, you're going to need to be the heroes everypony needs. You can't afford to face that despair." - Linked at the heart, the foals replied, "What kind of hero gives up in the face of despair?!" - "Tootsie I helped the bad guys too... I thought it would be better if changelings did the thinking for ponies. And if my friends didn't, they were just being stupid, sound familiar?" Tootsie sniffled and nodded. "I thought I was doing the right thing too. But Scootaloo and Rarity STOPPED ME. Just like I tried to stop Chryssy. Sometimes being a good friend is to stop our friends from doing bad things. A bad friend doesn't try." "Sweetie, I saw cruel shadows, they'll have horrible things happen just so they can feel sad for us." "You mean like Umbra Breeze made happen?" Tootsie's eyes widened and she fell silent. "You said turning all our friends into monsters was to drive the watching-things away? So living happy lives, being friends was keeping them here? And if they like nasty things like you say, wouldn't this just make MORE of them come?" Tootsie shuddered, her eyes became saucers. "We didn't kill anybody, we just kicked Umbra Breeze's family back where they came from, because we want to stay part of the Equestria we should be." - "We Not-Hate not-us-origin-we-speak-to MoMMy!" Said the swarm of leech like horrors within the Blind Idiot Concept. "Yes dears," Shub-Neighurath said still stomping Nyarlathotrot in the eye. - "If the Shadows want to see ponies being ponies, why shouldn't we give them that? They want horror and misery? Forget'em! Let's be ponies and they'll leave on their own," Sweetie said, and then gave Tootsie a gentle hug. "Tootsie, I can feel Diamond Tiara's heart... where it was anyway... after Discord made us into dolls and we ended exchanging pieces. She's empty inside... but she's scared of being full again. If you're her friend, let us help her." "But-But they want to keep us, Equestria, the year everything exactly the same, forever!" "... So they're all like that? All bad guys? Like how you and me both didn't want other ponies to see all changelings like? How do you know they're all, or even most are bad? Diamond Tiara Umbra Breeze? Discord?" Tootie folded her wings around herself. "That's naive." "Naive is thinking all a whole herd is either good or bad. How did Applejack beat Umbra Breeze and live? How did Daring Do live after helping us? How did we save our friends? If they're all bad, how'd the changelings get a happy ending? Why didn't Lone Ranger win? How'd Kifuko get born?" "... One pony surviving a battle doesn't mean the other ponies did." "Everypony worked super hard to make sure nopony died saving Canterlot! How could somepony who believes in heroes as much you, not know this?" "I do believe in heroes! I looked up to all the Mare Do Wells! I actually wanted to be yours and Apple Bloom's friend... but my family said I shouldn't be friends just because somepony's related to somepony else. I should be friends... for who they are." "They're right. And Tootsie... Batmare and Superstallion don't have super-hero cutie marks... Superstallion had a shield, and Batmare had a weight-scales. It's the hero that matters, not the super! That's why all those comics with always angry or gloomy heroes weren't fun. They just wanted super strong bullies beating up other bullies." "... I just wanted to be a hero, I didn't want to be in the background anymore, I wanted to help ponies, help Alula, help Diamond Tiara, everything to be exciting and cool like in the comics." Tootsie rambled. "I... " She looked confused and scared. "I don't know! Sweetie! What am I supposed to want?!" Sweetie remembered her fantasy world when she was under Princess Gaia's fog. "My dresses are selling like hot cakes? I KNEW I was a designer like you big sister! I knew it!" She looked over at the seamstress cutie mark that ran the entire course of her leg. And then the dream ended. Her dress show vanishing, her sister and everypony else saying how she was as great as her big sister. "Now you make it come true for real Sweetie," Rarity whispered and continued to nuzzle her. Sweetie Belle looked at her cutie mark. "Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking we want something." Sweetie thought of Chrysalis. "Or we're told what we think we want..." She thought of her big sister. "When we want what it means instead. So it all turns hollow. Only you can decide what you want Tootsie... think and feel Tootsie, what do you really want?" "... I... I..." Tootsie looked at the infinite ocean and sky. "I really wanted ... this... I wanted big things to be a part of... but... all I had was Ponvyille and... so many amazing things happened in Ponyville and... I wasn't a part of any of them." Sweetie nuzzled her, their horns sparking. "Don't worry... we're still just foals. We had lots of fun adventures crusading...” “Some of us woulda called it ‘trouble,’” Tootsie said, with a slight smile. “That too. But we didn't really get to be part of anything big either until Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding... and it was scary and dangerous. Keep that in mind. Now I think me and my friends grew up TOO fast." "I... I didn't like being nopony... so... I thought my family didn't either." Sweetie didn't break the nuzzle. "You got to see Canterlot, you got to see the wedding of an Alicorn, you got three members of your family who were there saving Canterlot from Chrysalis. Lyra is Cadence's Champion of Music! Moth was ALREADY a retired secret agent! Your parents helped save Canterlot! Lyra helped make it look like Cadence was at the gate when she was really going underground. Bon Bon made tons of her magic restoring candies for everypony. You ALREADY had lots of incredible stuff lots of foals aren't ever going to see or have... and Tootsie... you've never once doubted your family loved you did you?" "Never... my family, Lyra, Bonnie, Moth, are my real family... no if, ands, or buts. Nothing else to it." "You already had a cool life, Tootsie. Maybe... maybe it's hard to see stuff when it's always there?" "... Maybe... And I think Auntie Moth was right." "About what?" "She told me... just before the fighting started here at the tower... that I didn't want to fight. But said I wouldn't stop until I realized it on my own." +++ I check out Alula laying there, and I noticed. "Hey, Alula? You sure seem in a better mood now. Before... it was like you were charged up on ... hurting yourself... Maybe you just needed somepony to get your blood pumping again." I kept my trap shut about how in a horror movie she'd be eat by or turn into a monster by now, didn't want to give her ideas. Alula startled. "I... I... I think I just kinda... forgot to hate myself while I was talking to you... about your parents... about Diamond... about everything. Does that make me a bad pony?" "For Celestia's sake 'a'ole! Going around hating yourself’s not going to make ANYTHING better! You don't need to punish yourself like this." "Yes, I do." "Then that's what's most important?! Hurting yourself? Or is it helping your friends and big sister?!" "... I just wanted to do some good with all the bad stuff I did," Alula muttered, turning away. "Alula, if we're both stuck in here. And you don't want Sweetie Belle and the rest to reach the top... who is going to break your sister free of the curse?" And Alula sat up, wide awake and her eyes focused on Scootaloo. ""W-What?" "You want to help your big sister! You don't want us to send this curse packing, but you're stuck in here with me. So what friends or family she has that aren't messed up that can help her? Diamond Tiara's busy with her super curse! Tell me Alula! Did you try to help her after you realized you'd messed up!? Or were you busy feeling guilty that you didn't THINK to help her?" Alula bit her lip. "...So...our big plan...is to run away?" I asked. "What?" "From these 'Shadows.' Diamond's big plan is to just run away from them. To shove them away and say 'you're somepony's else problem now.' When has that EVER worked? When has just throwing a problem away and pretending it doesn't exist EVER worked?...What if we'd done that to the Changelings? Just thrown them somewhere else and said 'out of sight, out of mind?'" "We can't beat them!" "...Discord said Dash and her friends couldn't beat him. They did. Umbra Breeze said he couldn't lose, Applejack kicked his sorry tail. Who says we NEED to beat them when we can befriend them?" "That's crazy!" "Really? Let me ask you this: if these Shadows are so tough and can't be beaten and we can't be friends...what makes you think running away is going to do a darned thing? I'd rather do things the pony way than let it be somepony else's problem. Dash's not a coward, and neither am I." "... I just wanted for Diamond Tiara to be happy. Like I wanted my sister and Tootsie to be happy too. That's what makes me happy. I hate ponies hurting themselves." "Like YOU were doing Alula?" "... Like I was doing... at summer camp once... there was a blue pegasus colt with a campfire cutie mark. He loved the first two books in a series, but then got into a horrible argument with a foal he wasn't friends with anymore about it. He read the rest of the series looking for things in the books that he didn't like. I don't want to see another pony unhappy like that again." "This isn't the way Alula... Saving Sweetie Belle, learning to fly, and getting my mark all at once? Dash STILL spanked me for that! She wanted me to remember that was STILL crazy! Sometimes you can't let friends off the hook, otherwise, they're never going to learn. You want Diamond Tiara to become a better pony?! You're sad that you might have made things worse? Do you want Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara back together again so they can both be happy? When Princess Gaia showed everypony what they wanted more than anything? Silver Spoon had a lot of things, she wanted a new cutie mark, now she's proud of it. She wanted her mom to love herself. She wanted not to be scared of her dad. And she wanted Diamond Tiara back! The one who was her friend! Not somepony who's lost her heart!" "But the watchers... they'll never let Diamond be a better pony." "They let Silver Spoon! And I thought she was as hopeless as her! More than her! Cause she was just a 'toady' not a 'real' pony! If the shadows don't want me flying, why did I get a cutie mark for it?! My dream in Gaia's fog was to fly and be there with my parents AND Dash as one family... When it eneded, I just looked at the grass, and sniffled. Dash covered me with her big blue wings so no one had to see me cry. I don't know about these shadows you keep talking about. But if I can fly for real now, then they can't be all bad. ...And If the Shadows are so controlling, why can you even DO all this?" “Diamond showed me The Truth... it wouldn't lie. Are you calling her a liar?!" "... Take it from me... somepony doesn't need to lie to you, for you to completely miss what they were really saying ...Diamond's sick...if you're really her friend, you'd be worried about that, not some stupid shadows." +++ A note appeared in front of Apple Bloom, it read. 'Despair waits for you at the top of the tower... ' "... Ah don't believe ignorance is bliss. Ah'll face it head on." "Hey guys check out my cutie mark!" Ah gestured at my flank, showin' off all the hearts of different colors and patterns. "It goes all the way around my body! And it'll keep getting bigger as I make new friends!" Then Princess Gaia's dream went away. "OF ALL THE ROTTEN LOW DOWN DIRTY APPLE STEALIN' BUCKING HAY HORSE-APPLES DIRTY TRICKS--" "Apple Bloom! Watch yer language!" Big sister shouted, huggin' me at the same time. "But Ah finally got my cutie mark! And it was so big, and pretty, so so RIGHT!" Trixie had fallen on 'er flanks and held her head. "Ah'm sorry, Apple Bloom, Ah'm just so sorry," Big Sister said. 'What DO Ah really want?' The barriers in front of both world doors shattered. +++ "You win, just go." Tootsie sighed. "Tootsie," Sweetie Belle said gently. "Come with us." - Scootaloo said, "You're letting us go. Diamond Tiara might be your friend, but there's no telling what DISCORD will do to you if you go back to them." "I'm not going back to them." - "Tootsie, tons of ponies believe you're Alicorns and heroes, there's no way Diamond and Discord can get a curse out that can change that many at once." "That isn't the problem." - "You were right Scootaloo, I should have been out there helping ponies who are still caught in the curse... the world is a really big place... I'm still a magical filly... and a magical filly always finds where the action is happening." - "I want to help, but... I CAN'T fight Diamond Tiara. She... if we turn on her... She saved me from Aphrodite... I think she might go crazier. You understand right? Could you have fought Chrysalis?" "... No. I couldn't." - "I'd fight Dash, because I know that's what she'd want." "...I'm not you, Scootaloo. Maybe ... Maybe I could later but... not right now. After all, this is your responsibility right? If you wanna save the world... then I should be the one protecting ponies from the mess I helped caused." - "You know your way around this place, right? You could be a guide!" "I... I just jumped into the magic glowing gold tunnel and just always ended up where I was told to go... and I think that's only one-way... I haven't seen most of this place... just keep going up... then you'll see Diamond Tiara's house... you can't miss it, and inside the room that's deepest inside... that's where Diamond Tiara and the goal of your quest is." - "Where's Discord?" Scootaloo asked. "... I don't know. None of us have seen him. He speaks to us, anywhere, everywhere, we see his picture, we see his shadow, but we never see him." At any other time or place, Scootaloo might have thought somepony was pulling a Unicorn of Oz, except there was no way anypony anywhere could fake Discord's style. Even if they could, Discord would definitely not allow it if he was free. - "And I wanna go get Rumble, maybe I can get him to realize the universe doesn't make sense, and if you haven't finished your quest by the time I get back... to save my big sister. And him to save his big brother... if your quest is done by then... well... " "You still don't think we'll win. Do you?" "You think you can win... " - "Sweetie... there aren't enough sorries in the universe for me to say for what I did... what I tried to do... to you, your friends, Button Mash... Truffle... " I smile. I thought of Silver Spoon. "Then don't. Just try your hardest to make up for it. It's about doing better, not balance." "... You're best pony." "Thanks." - "Scootaloo... thank you... and I don't think we'll see each other again before your quest is over. You've got the blessing of Princess Animatia Erroria." "... Thanks, Alula... great to have you as part of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club." "... Save me a seat for when she becomes a Wonderbolt." "You got it!" - Alula and Tootsie flew out of the doors first. The two looked at each other... "Tootsie... I give up." "I... I do too." "I... I can't fight Diamond Tiara." "I can't either..." "But I don't wanna fight Scootaloo and her friends anymore." "... neither do I." They hugged each other, horns touching and her wings folding over each other. "I... I need some time Alula..." "Me too, Tootsie... me too." They landed in front of Apple Bloom and Button Mash and saw the big TV display and snacks. "You... saw everything?" Tootsie asked looking at the big screen. "Kinda..." Apple Bloom said calmly, "Ya were all speakin' in Neighponese for a while... then it switched back a bit after the fightin' was over..." For talking to the fillies who had been hunting and fighting them until a few minutes ago, Button Mash and Apple Bloom were fairly calm. "Then... you heard how... we're done fighting." "Ah heard..." Apple Bloom said, Scootaloo and Sweetie already making their way for the doors back to the shaft. "And... Ah don't like how yer leavin' yer kin with that curse still in 'em... but we ain't got no more time to argue with ya... That yer choice, that yer choice," Apple Bloom said giving them the evil eye. "This is the rules of the game," Button Mash whispered. "We gotta finish this quest on our own, whether we like it or not." "... Apple Bloom... good luck," Toostie said before Alula led her along. "... You too," Apple Bloom said as the pair of faux Alicorns flew down the tunnel. Scootaloo and Sweetie who had floated and glided back to the elevator platform had a lot of questions. The heroes spent the next few minutes getting each other up to speed about what about had happened, even as the platform began to rise again. And Scootaloo thought, 'Better now than later.' "Girls, Alula told me something, it wasn't one of her stupid rumors... she says she got it from the truth or something like that... she said, I'm... I'm... that one of my parents is a changeling!!!" Scootaloo held her breath and braced herself. Button Mash smiled. "Cool!" Sweetie laughed and clapped. "I really was sustaining you with my friendship!" "Explains why ya buzz when ya fly." "What?! That's it?!" Scotaloo exclaimed. "What did you think it was going to change?" Sweetie Belle asked. "After hearin' how ya haven't seen yer folks in forever, it's kinda not that big a thing," Apple Bloom remarked. "Do you think you have secret emotion senses, can feed off friendship, and have limited shape changing powers?" Button Mash asked. "NO!" Scootaloo put a pin in that thought balloon. "Scootaloo!" Sweetie said. "Do you know what this means for you? About your parents?" "They DIDN'T abandon me, and they didn't leave me because they didn't love me." "It means I'm sure we can find them! I mean, I'm sure finding them is possible! I mean! Okay! They've been ... I dunno, hiding or something, but I'm SURE they're still out there, they have to still be out there! And they don't have a reason to hide anymore!" "There's no doubt in my heart about that!" Scootaloo said proudly. "It WILL happen! There's enough belief in that for a hundred Cloudsdales!" The others cheered for her. > Apple Orchard In Bloom > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Scootaloo," Button Mash said. "I... just wanna say that it's great you found out about your parents. I can't even begin to imagine what it'd be like wondering if my parents didn't love me... " Sweetie Belle hugged Scootaloo. "For a little while, I was scared about my parents, but Silver Spoon helped me realize I was being silly." "I remember that, Sweetie," Button Mash whispered gently and hugged her too. 'Why do I feel like I'M the one who's missing memories now?' Sweetie thought to herself. And a question popped into her mind, not from outside cosmic forces, but her own thoughts. 'Would I trade the memories I have of how things went for the memories of Button Mash in the picture?' Sweetie felt in awe at herself as he she decided she would. "So that's what Button Mash must’ve meant when he told you 'your parents are your parents no matter how far away they are,' back on the MoonPearl," Scootaloo said. "Oh, right," Sweetie Belle blushed, had heard an echo, and realized Button Mash was blushing and had said the same words. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo locked eyes. "Ah never got a chance ta get to know my parents... but Ah believe ya'll get yer chance, Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom then added lowly. "And if they don't accept Rainbow Dash was the best guardian they could've asked ta watch over ya, that's their problem!" Scootaloo hugged Apple Bloom. "And I know what it's like to be stuck between your parents and your big sister in your heart... if you need any support, I'll be there," Sweetie Belle said. "Thanks, Sweetie." Sweetie Belle looked up. "Diamond Tiara's got nothing left, Alula and Tootsie were her best shots." Apple Bloom shivered. "There’s still Discord to worry ‘bout. And NIGHTMARE Diamond Tiara..." "It's funny," Sweetie said, "I don't feel worried about Discord somehow, I know I should, but I'm not." “Wait’ll we get to him. See him face-to-face." Sweetie shrugged. "Maybe. But as for Diamond Tiara... well, after us fighting one on one with two super powered Alicorn fillies... one super-powered Diamond Tiara... can't... can't be THAT bad right?" Button rested his head against her shoulder. "I don't want to lose you, Sweetie." "And you won't, Button, I promise." "Apple Bloom... uh... " Button Mash said unsure. "I love video games, but, well, yer smarter than me. And you should be proud you're so smart." "Hey." Apple Bloom smiled. "The way Ah build stuff is just common sense to me. That doesn't make ya dumb. Ah'm no video game pro', my dancin' stinks, and Ah ya likely know how stories in games work better than anypony." Apple Bloom looked at her blank flank and then at her friends' cutie marks, and smiled. "We all got stuff that makes us cool." Button Mash hugged her. "Before this quest is over, I just wanna say that you girls are the greatest friends anypony could have." "Ya too, Button Mash!" Apple Bloom hugged back. "You've been a great friend Button Mash and... sorry we tried to ditch you before," Scootaloo said. "You... just figured I would get hurt less if I stayed home." Scootaloo said, "You chose to follow us AFTER fighting a big monster, you're one brave colt." Button Mash smiled. "So... we just gotta reach the printing press and... everything will go away?" "Sure looks like it," Sweetie said. The elevator reached the top. There was only one door, engraved like the front entrance to the World Tower itself had been, with Blank Diamond and Discord's symbols upon it, with the spirit of tragedy's defaced. The elevator’s controls sat right next to the edge of the platform, a little bridge leading to the door. The foals braced themselves, but nothing attacked. Button Mash checked his map. "We're at the top of the Upper Levels, the tower's hamlet is right above us." Sweetie remembered what happened every time they'd completed a major part of the Tower so far. "Button Mash. Can you... stay in the middle of the formation? Near Apple Bloom? Me and Scootaloo will cover for you." "Why?" "I'm just... worried something might happen, Diamond Tiara might try something with you." Scootaloo whispered. "If Tootsie and Alula were Diamond Tiara's last cards to play besides her and Discord, then we need to be ready in case she ambushes us. Be extra alert, remember when she was on the boat, we could see her, but she didn't have a shadow, make noise when she moved or nothin'." "And I couldn't feel her magic at all." Sweetie reminded them. Apple Bloom peered around. "Button, yer zapper." "Oh, right." Apple Bloom shot at the invisible eye-bats that the Truth allowed her to see, blasting them to pixels. "Wanna hold onto it?" Button offered. "Not really my style," she said giving the zapper back to Button Mash. Apple Bloom took a trot forward towards the doors. +++ And everythin' 'round me just stopped. My friends, me, even the air felt stuck in place. Ah tried to say somethin' or move, but nothin'! Ah didn't give up and tried harder and Ah got free! Too free. Ah looked back and saw myself still frozen with my friends. Ah looked down and saw Ah was see-through! Before Ah had a chance to think 'bout anythin', the floor turned into a big clock-face. Then it turned into one big gear as the walls fell away like cardboard and other-me and my friends vanished! Ah heard a piston sound and the gear shot up, and up, and up! Ah shot past the sky, Ah saw Equestria below, then planets, stars, galaxies everythin'. The gear stopped as fast as it started. Ah was surrounded by a zillion giant gears facing a whole buncha ways all connected to each other. None of 'em were movin'. So silent. Then just like that, they started movin', all right! The gear Ah was on turned round and round and started climbing the gears' cogs! Cogs! Gears! Rods! Pistons! All part of one big plan Ah could only see a tiny part of! Then -BOOM! The gear Ah was on flipped into place, bein' part of the floor of a big room. The place was made of white and red marble... all sparkly, divided up with gold lines. The divides were all this way and that, but never crossin'. The place might have been round, there were super tall windows all around, showin' stars outside. Ah didn't recognize the constellations. The tall ceiling had one big star map, but it wasn't like any star map Ah'd ever seen. The lines almost all seemed to go one way, startin' at a big bright nova, and endin' at a black hole, Ah think... That nova and black hole, they were lookin' at me. There was a little telescope hooked up to and pointin' at a globe full of stars. Also a wall of metal punch cards and slots. There was a huge hanging solar system, but it was set up lookin' more like a tree. Another wall had a giant tapestry, unfinished, with the threads at the bottom showin’ a tangled mess. There was a big workbench with tools and equipment that made me drool by an empty kennel, don't ask me. Ah looked back at the tapestry, Ah couldn't stand seein' that mess. Without thinkin' 'bout it Ah reached for one of the tools. "Your tools are not here, Apple Bloom." Where'd she come from? Was she here before and Ah didn't notice? Right, right, she was an Alicorn mare... I'd never seen 'er before. One of her wings wasn’t feathery, it was all clockwork. "Who 'er you? What's goin' on?" My artist's eye and truthful eye knew what was what, so Ah knew this was no trick. "I am Rota Fortuna. What you would call the Princess of Consequences, or simply Fate and Free Will." "Fate and Free Will are the same?" "... They always ask that." "So ya brought me to you?" "'Brought?' I've been all around you since before you were born, you could almost say this is reality filtered so you only perceive my existence. This is all symbolic to help you comprehend." She looked into that telescope of hers, and, "YIKES!" Ah saw her eye all giant like lookin' at us through the window! "Ember, Toola Roola, Cousin-who-never-was-of-one-of-Equestria's-heroes, Apple Bloom. "I've always done my best to NOT be what everypony thinks I am: a know-it-all puppet-master. I weave myself only as everypony's choices dictates. "Every choice you make affects the choices of countless others. I have committed a terrible crime by doing what as fate and free-will I've never done...I've made my own choice, and thus meddled in your choices and the choices of all those that your choices will affect." And fer one second, Ah swear, Ah saw her collared and chained like some Earth Pony slave from the pre-three tribes era, covered in puppet strings. "Now hold on!" Ah said, stampin' my hoof. "Ya say yer Fate and Free Will, but ya just do whatever everypony ELSE tells ya to do, where's YER free will? If yer really the Princess of Destiny and Choices, then what's wrong with ya makin' a choice? It'd be like... like... like the Princess of Friends not havin' any!" "I can't become the monster every mortal pony thinks I am." "If yer really the Princess of Destiny... Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sure seem happy with theirs, Ah'd say yer doin' a good job! Applejack and Granny Smith... whenever they talk about... ma... and pa... they say how when stuff happens... it just happens. Ah..." I trotted up to Princess Rota and reached up and touched her cheek. "Ah don't hate ya. Pinkie Pie Swear." "... I was more right than I realized when I told my family you were the right one Apple Bloom." She looked sad. "Know what it's like for everypony to always assume the worst of you?" "Ah have a friend who knows what that's like." "And that's why ... I've broken a basic law of creation... mortals are supposed to live their lives with their backs turned towards the way forwards only able to see where they've been. I've cheated in your favor." Then we weren't in that room anymore. We were in a big grassy field. Ah saw dawn on one side, and dusk on the other! There was this super long road, it stretched all the way over the horizon back to the dawn. All the bricks had different symbols on 'em, never repeatin' exactly. Princess Rota was walkin' along, and Ah moved with her just standin' there like Ah was on a train. The road ended in front of us, but with every trot she took, another stone got laid down, inching closer and closer to the dusk. "How'd we get out here?" "Nothing has changed, Apple Bloom. Only your perception of it." Ah thought 'bout that. "Like how a pyramid looks like a square from below, but looks like a triangle from the side?" "Very good, Apple Bloom." Ah noticed there were a bajillion paths around us, all headed for the dusk. And at the end of each layin' em down as she walked, was MORE Princess Rotas! Ah noticed... on our road... Ah looked closer at the road... it was missin' bricks, and some looked like they'd been broken just so they'd fit. And some bits looked like they'd been eaten! Ah saw some tiny roads branchin' off, that just went off in little circles not goin' anywhere, but looked like they'd been trotted on a million times compared to the rest of the roads. And there were spots where the bricks were piled up in a heap with black glue. Ah said, "Princess Rota... ya said ya changed it so all Ah could see was you... so... that means this roads, it's part of ya?" "Yes." "... How badly does it hurt?" "... You're the first mortal I've ever met little filly, who CARED whether or not fate was in pain. And it does hurt a bit." Then... the road split off... Ah saw another Princes Rota with another me on the other road, other-me was running back and tryin' to fix up the bricks one by one. The road split again, and there was a third me huggin' Princess Rota. Then another split, and there was a forth me tellin' another her in song she had to make her own choices too, and an ugly one where I just attacked her for some weird reason, and all of 'em kept building the road. My eyes widened. "Those are... they're-" "Every choice in existence, creates a new me. And it creates a new you, the you that made that choice, and the you who made another choice, and the you who chose to make no choice at all. Seeing this. Do you believe your choices don't matter?" Ah narrowed my eyes. "No, Ah don't. They matter." "Why is that? Don't you see how even if you make one choice in one world, the opposite happens in another?" "All these roads we’re seein’re still goin' forward, side by side... Ah've gone back in time with my friends before, and we didn't run into a bajillion of us from other futures who did the same... that means we've all got our own pasts! No matter how many Apple Blooms are out there who made their choices!" "Very good, Apple Bloom." Ah saw another me on another road ask for chalk and a board and begin drawing out diagrams and stuff to explain it all fancy like. "If time had stopped when... we started talkin'... how are ya still buildin' the road?" "You tell me, Apple Bloom, how is that possible?" "... Maybe time isn't stopped, maybe this is all just between the world's heart beats, maybe it's just my own choices Ah'm lookin' at." "Good Apple Bloom. You're going to need that understanding." Then we were on a raft, with Princess Rota using a staff to skid us along. There was a dark jungle all around us, things lookin' out at us. The jungle parted as we went, the river formin' ahead of us. And behind us... looked like the river was TRYIN' to freeze over as we passed, but black flames burstin' up, parts of the river kept poolin' into a muddy mess. And... Ah saw black roots spreadin' under the ice, chokin' the river. "Apple Bloom, bearer of The Truth, listen carefully. I've looked through every part of myself. I've gone up and down the river... and I see the waterfalls ahead... in every worldline where you try to fight what Diamond Tiara has become... she stops you. You and your fellow crusaders, she destroys you. You fail." Ah nearly fell off the raft. If Ah wasn't a spirit right now, Ah know my heart would've stopped. With the Truth, Ah could tell she wasn't lyin'. Ah really hate the Truth sometimes. Ah couldn't speak for a while... like my voice had gone on vacation. Princess Rota folded her good wing around me. What she said was truth, but it was the last Ah ever wanted to be true. "Yer sayin' we just can't win?!" I finally blurted out. "No. I'm saying that fighting her won't be the key to saving the world. Thwarting what Diamond Tiara has become, is not a matter of strength. It never was." Ah wilted on the boat, my tail touched the water. Startled, I pulled it back. A memory that was mine and not mine popped up, an afternoon of gettin' to know Button Mash's family after school one day. "... Is this like those stories from Button Mash's dad's favorite science fiction show? Where if the crew HAD just turned around and stopped what they were doin', the paradox they were tryin' to stop wouldn't have happened, even after two previous adventures had shown that stayin' the course wasn't a good idea? ... Or is this like those games where the only way to stop bad stuff from happenin' to the characters is to turn off the game, and the games makes ya feel bad for not doin' it?" "No, Apple Bloom. Giving up was never the answer either." "What about Silver Spoon?" "Forgive me if I sound cold. She is Plan B. You're Plan A. You are still the best bet for happiness and sanity to return to this world. There are roads never built, Apple Bloom, please save me from making one that I'll have to pull apart." Ah shivered... she didn't sound cold. She sounded sad. "So there is a way." "Yes there is. And I literally can't tell you. Because if I tell you, it won't happen. No ifs, ands, or buts. There is no way around that. It will only work if you reach your solution on your own." I sighed very tiredly. So danged if we do, danged if we don't. "Ah don't suppose Ah could just stay here until Ah figure out what Ah gotta do?" "If I could keep you here forever to figure it out, I would. We likely won't speak again in your life, Apple Bloom, maybe, but if you manage to save the world, you'll meet a good cousin-in-law of mine who can help bring balance. And one of my avatars may give you a final thank you. I'm with you in every choice you make, Apple Bloom. Remember what you are NOT, as much as what you are." Before my face could properly scrunch up in confusion, The black roots sprung out of the river, reaching for Princess Rota. Then Ah was fallin', past the stars and everythin', and ... Ah was back with my friends at the top of the elevator. They kept trottin' along like nothin' had happened. My friends all bumped right into me. "Ow!" "Hey!" "'Bloom, do you see a trap?!" "... Not the regular sort." Ah wasn't sure how much to say. Ah knew my friends would believe me. But that wasn't the problem. "Ah... just had a long chat with one of Princess Celestia's cousins." "Really? What did she look like?" Scootaloo asked. "Did she give you anything?" "What did she say?" Sweetie Belle asked. "... She just told me stuff, Ah just, Ah just remember she had a wheel for a cutie mark, and one of her wings was clockwork." "’Her,’ huh?" Scootaloo asked, furrowing her brow. "I think this must’ve been Rota-something ... Nightmare Dash told me about her in my dream... she said her job was to make stuff when ponies make choices, or something like that, it was really really weird." "But what did she say?" Sweetie asked again. "She said Ah had to make an important choice. Button Mash, if everythin' is still runnin' by the game rules ya put in, what's it mean when ya got a boss that you gotta fight but you lose no-matter-what if ya fight?" Ah asked. "Well, usually it's a sign the game needs you to lose, so the story can go on in a certain direction." "I gotcha." '... Ah was afraid of that.' My friends looked at each other not-too-comfy. Ah didn't say anythin' more as we trotted up to the doors. They slowly swung open on their own. And a plain ordinary hallway without a trap or baddie Ah could see waitin' for us. An open gate was hangin' right behind the door. One of Button Mash's magic windows popped up. = Warning, beyond waits the final leg of your quest. If you go beyond this point, there will be no going back. Be sure to finish anything else first. = "That gate thingie will fall behind us after we go through," Button Mash said. "It's called a portcullis," Sweetie Belle said. Button Mash kissed her! "Sweetie Belle! You're the bestest special friend I would have ever wanted!" Sweetie Belle blushed as Ah'd never seen'er blush before. "Uh, t-thank you, Button." Button Mash looked in Sweetie's eyes. "I... " He sounded like his head was tryin' to hammer words together but kept forgettin' to put in the nails! "If... after this adventure we... ya know, drift apart like Apple Bloom and Twist did, I uh, just want you to know, erm. Being with you girls' been the most fun I've ever had. And! Uh... I hope you make somepony special happy too." That last part was a lie. I could tell what he really wanted to say clear as crystal, "I want us all to stay together!" "You're... you're the world's best gentlecolt, Button Mash." Sweetie nuzzled him. Scootaloo for once wasn't making faces at Button and Sweetie being sweet to each other. If anythin', she looked sad. Ah wonder how Ah looked as Ah trotted towards the hallway entrance, an unbroken set of elevator controls right next to it. My friends followed. Ah said, "Girls, Button Mash, Ah wanna just say, we got far case cause of you, Spike, Darin' Do, Razzaroo, Pipsqueak and his friends, Applejack and her friends, the changelings and bat ponies, all the Good-Nightmares, Lickety Split and his friends, Redheart, Phobia and his friends, we didn't get this far by just goin' alone. And this is gonna be the hardest part." Ah had tears in my eyes. Ah bring out my boxin' glove machine, and smash the controls, and just like below, this turns on the elevator as it goes down. Scootaloo can fly. But Sweetie is caught off guard. Ah stepped backwards. And and the gate comes down, and the big doors close. “This is somethin’ only Ah can do. Princess Rota said fightin' Diamond ain't the way to beat her. Go get Silver Spoon in case Ah lose." No! Ah'm NOT keepin' my friends away cause Ah think them bein' there would get us all never-heard-from-again! Ah'm goin' alone so the risk is totally on me in case Ah can't figure out option number three!!!! Except... Button Mash had been literally inches from me... and he slipped under the gate before everything closed up! "Uh, mind if I tag along?" + Scootaloo's diary journal book! I banged on the door for a bit, but it wouldn't budge. And there was no way in heck I was leaving Sweetie all alone in this place! Apple Bloom! This isn't the time to start thinking like me! At least Button Mash can watch her back. The way down was super faster than the way up. I caught up with Sweetie in no time and we hit the floor where we started, (the next part is unprintable, whited out, followed by spanking and mouth washed out with soap). "Can you fix it?" I asked Sweetie about the controls. "Can you?" She asked back. "I know some basic mechanics, but I wouldn't know where to start with this thing." "Same here." "Remember when you blasted a hole in the Everfree, even though the story had it so we weren't supposed to get past there? Think you can do the same with that door? Maybe I can just fly you up!" "Maybe... but we don't know if Button is trying to keep Apple Bloom from moving on, I might vaporize them if they're next to the door. And... no offense, Scootaloo, but I don't think you can fly us up that far." "Well, there's no way I'm just sitting here! Ugh!" I looked around. Not seeing anypony else. "Do you sense anything about Alula and Tootsie? I don't think Discord and Diamond Tiara are going to be very happy they failed to stop us and then jumped ship." Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, and breathed in deep and let it slow. "I don't... think Diamond or Discord went after them... I think they might have just let them go." "Oh right, their families are still here... they have to come back sooner or later." "Maybe... but that doesn't feel right... more like... it just doesn't matter. More like she's just WAITING for something. Though the good news is, with me not there, Diamond Tiara has no way to sense what Apple Bloom or Button Mash are doing, or where they are, and with Apple Bloom taking out their magic eyes, it makes things a bit easier for our side." "Well, whoop-de-doo! What was Apple Bloom thinking?! Was she thinking?! Agh! She's supposed to be the smart one! I guess this is how Twilight made her friends feel!" "You sure? She didn't lie or use any of us." "Well it feels the same to me. And there's no way I'm being shelved!" "Happens to us when Rarity and her friends saved the world. Maybe we should do like Apple Bloom asked us and go get Silver Spoon!" "Without Apple Bloom's magic eyes to see through the fog?" "Oh, right." "Well, I'm getting back up there no matter what I have to go through!" The Tower must have heard me, because the entire place rumbled, and a big door appeared out of nowhere and slowly began opening. Sweetie and me got ready for a fight with some big old monster! Instead.... "Welcome to the 100 Block Puzzle Rooms Challenge. Can you solve all the puzzles and reach the top?" A friendly voice echoed. Sweetie Belle looked at me, I swear I could hear her thoughts! "You did say anything Scootaloo." I growled. "Let's just get started!" + Button and me trotted along, looking ahead, and side by side, keepin' a sharp watch for any surprises. Ah said, "I wish ya'd stayed with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, ya bein' good at blowin' up monsters is gonna be a lot more helpful to them than it's gonna be fer me." "I won't go the rest of the way... just a little further. Then I'll figure out something." "... Okay." Button Mash lowered his head so his mane hid his eyes, "For what it's worth, I think it's better this way too." "What do ya mean?" "I bet for sure there's gonna ... be some bad stuff and... I... I don't want Sweetie Belle to see it." Button Mash bit his lip. "After the stuff she's been -we've all been- though? How can ya, somepony who's spent as much time with her as you, not know that?" "I know. I just mean, I... I have a really bad feeling." "Ah know what ya mean. But hey, ya put the rules of a game in here right? And a game's rules always say there's gotta be a way to win." "... Not all games have happy endings," he said lookin' at nothin'. “You should see some of the newer ones." Ah glared at 'em! "Well this one's gonna! What da heck is WRONG WITH YOU Button Mash?! Since when do ya EVER look on the bad side of things?!" "You think you know me that well?" Button Mash asked. "Ya bet yer flank Ah darn tootin' do!" Button Mash kinda grinned at that. "... Thanks Apple Bloom." Ah though of us facin' Diamond Tiara and Discord like Princess Rota said... wait... Ah realized, Princess Rota didn't mention fightin' Discord at all, why? For a crazy tick Ah wondered if Princess Rota'd been Discord in disguise, but she seemed too set in rules to be him, and Ah got the truth in my eye remember? ... Would Diamond Tiara fight Discord if she came around? Then Ah thought a crazy idea. That might be why it made sense. Why else would Alula honestly say Discord tried so hard to get her to see the truth? ... Was Discord... our worst nightmare... tryin' to help us? + Discord's sphere of influence spread, converting Nyarlathotrot's sadistic horrors to his insane fun and games. And his and Celestia's brothers and sisters found something most peculiar for Discord. Not only had no pony died within Discord's sphere of influence, but nopony seemed to be in danger of dying, and none were wishing they were dead. This was very different from the last two times he'd run amok. "Maybe we should just let him spread his chaos," Pandora said. "Are you insane?" Justice asked. "We're running back and forth to make sure nopony dies from Nyarlathotrot's lingering curse, at least it's one less spot we have to look after." "And it might be worse, as it could give him a legitimate claim over this corner of reality." "Either way, the ponies and other creatures here are all suffering Loony-Toons style injuries that aren't even painful and heal instantly. And isn't that STRANGE for Discord? Since when does he care about collateral damage?" "Maybe he doesn't want to run out of toys." "Which means he'd have to CARE about that. It means he'd have to CARE about them! What kind of foal takes care to not break their toys when they don't care about them at all? ... Since when does he EVER CARE if his toys are broken or not? And it's not purely chaotic to keep ponies SAFE from dying or suffering... " "Oh Mother and Father, you don't mean to ask-" "Is my brother helping us?" > Duel of Tear Reharmonized > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Title: Duel Of Tears Reharmonized Apple Bloom's Words "I miss my hat," Button Mash said out of plum nowhere. Ah touched mama's favorite bow, and a part of me wanted to tell Button Mash at least his ma and pa were still around, that he could get another keep sake from 'em... But one look on his face was all Ah needed to see that none of that mattered right now. The hurt he was feelin' was real to him. "Don't worry, Button Mash," Ah said. "Maybe once we reverse this curse, ya'll get yer hat back!" "So... it'll be like me losing it never happened?" "Pretty much." "... You mean like how Zecora's earrings will just vanish?" Ah gave a start, because Ah hadn't thought 'bout that at all! Ah reached up and touched it, it'd been such a ride Ah'd completely forgotten 'bout it! Ah looked at my crusader cape, somethin' else Ah hadn't given much thought. It had started out as Maud Pie's cloak, so was it really mine, or just made to look like it? Did Ah think 'bout it before? Was Ah supposed to? Ugh! It was like ... it was like how Button Mash's moonrock saved 'em from most of the rumors and kept the sky from becomin' a lie. "Hey, Button." Button didn't meet my eyes, he looked scared. Ah saw a lump risin' in his throat, he was clenchin' his teeth. How long had he been like this? How long had Ah just not noticed? We'd been on full tilt for so long, not havin' a chance to catch a break. Had we just not noticed, or had the excitement been keepin' his mind off somethin'? We came to another empty room. No traps. No monsters. No nothin'. It was the most plain and borin' room Ah'd seen in the whole place. More like a hallway, it was just one plain straight line, no turns or decorations. It all just felt so, hollow. = GoldenSun Soundtrack: 05 - The Elemental Stars = Ah turned to see Button Mash... he looked like somepony who’d just accepted his pet'd died and didn't go to a farm. Then he opened his magic window like it was the last thing he wanted to do, and Ah saw our pictures. And his... faded to gray. The magic window shattered. "I'm just... just happy Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo aren't here to see this," he said. Slowly, Button Mash trotted away from me. Ah felt like my hooves were glued to the floor. Ah didn't see no rumor ghosts, no possession, no puppet strings, no nothin'. This was no trick. That creepy Oblivion trophy appeared again... only now it changed into a creepy lookin' sword! "... I get it," Button Mash said, a part of 'em soundin' empty. "Gabby Gums is three ponies. A pegasus, a unicorn... " He choked. "And an Earth Pony. I'm acting as Diamond Tiara's proxy aren't I?" That was it. "Button Mash! What are ya doin'?! Snap out of it! There's no way you'd wanna help Diamond Tiara and Discord!" "This isn't about them! I'm not doing this for them! This is... me." Button Mash The Game Master = Xion's Final Battle Theme (Vector to the Heavens/Dirge of the 14th) - Kingdom Hearts = Ah saw the tears in Button's eyes, holdin' Oblivion, sniffin' boogers, Diamond Tiara's last line of defense. "Please, Bloom, there's... there's no need to... we can just make all the bubbles happy places... I-I don't wanna diiiiie!" Ah felt my heart stop. Cryin' and sobbin' he said. "If you fix everything, then me, this version of me, will disappear!" My mouth was dry. Ah felt light headed. My forehead was sweaty but my stomach was an ice box. He didn't stop cryin'. "I don't wanna die! Fixin' the world means you erase the me who ... who’s special friends with Sweetie Belle! I don't wanna die!" He sobbed, hiccupin' and boogers runnin' down his nose. Ah felt so weak. "...How... How long have ya known?" "For a while, since before we saved your family." My eyes widened. Ah scrambled a few trots back. "Who... who told ya?" "I figured it out on my own. And I know a little Neighponese. After we lost the MoonPearl, I had a dream. I dreamed I was Sweetie Belle, thinking I was Sweetie Belle. The world hadn't ended. Everything was fine. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were still a jerk. Miss Twilight and her friends had saved the world, beaten Discord, Nightmare Moon, and Queen Chrysalis, Fluttershy was never Princess Gaia... Life was just goin' on as normal. Nothing bad happened. Except... you and Scootaloo... were never friends with Sweetie Belle." Ah tasted bile in my mouth. "Dream-Sweetie-Belle-me KNEW you were supposed to be friends with her, but everything else was exactly the same! It was like us being friends never changed anything in the world! Nopony was miserable! Nopony was a jerk except Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. Spike wasn't our friend either, but he wasn't sad or miserable or a jerk! We didn't hate each other... kinda like how ya don't hate Aura or Piña Colada. You and Scootaloo weren't unhappy without her. I talked to you two. You asked her if she was a prissy pony like Rarity, and Scootaloo was a bit more defensive, but that was it. "And I kept dreaming I was Sweetie, and thought I was her! And Rarity, her mom and dad, all said it must have been all just a dream. And I acted like Sweetie, I sounded like her... everything. Then... I think it might have been Pinkie Pie, or somepony else, she saw how sad I was, and wanted to 'fix it' by giving me 'replacement' friends. Archer, Lemon Daze, Ruby Pinch, Lickety Split... But they weren't the friends I knew! I felt like my friendship was being treated like a toy that could be replaced! ... Sweetie, I, told the pony that it hurt that only Sweetie remembered those times that only existed in my head.. but I'd still try my hardest to make friends with you in the real world... "During all of this, I'd kept seein' the real me in mirrors for a bit wonderin' what it was all about... then, I turned somehow from Sweetie Belle into me... like a magic costume, or maybe real me fell out of a mirror or somethin'... "Then... the pony who offered me 'new' friends turned into Princess Luna... She said she was a PIECE of Princess Luna left behind to look after things in ponies' dreams or something... She said, that I was having this dream, because dreaming-me, was trying to figure out an answer to something awake-me didn't want to realize the question for, and having different ponies in different roles, but ponies I was close to, let me reach my own answer." +++ The cake itself hadn't turned Princess Celestia back to herself. But it had provided a distraction. And Princess Luna, touching her horn to Princess Celestia's, was having a mental vision-quest thingy with her big sister. The magic around them was so intense that Flash Sentry could see the curses infesting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's twist and snap at each other. Luna was trying to make Celestia see that these mountains of lies inside Celestia made no sense, and above all, wasn't what made Celestia, Celestia. Guard Flash Sentry flashed back to what Princess Luna had said to them just before they'd set out to free the Sun Princess. I jumped in the air, flapped my wings and clicked my back hooves together. Luna nodded. "Triangle Crown, wasn't entirely incorrect. While freeing me did not undo the curse completely, the Nightmare Forces no longer stand in our way. While it didn't win the day in and of itself, we opened the door for victory to happen...however..." "...Yes?" "I cannot promise you will all recall what has transpired here when it's done, part of me believes you shouldn't for your own sanity...I WILL remember your heroics, but it'd be dishonest to mislead you others will." I actually chuckled. "Never was in it for that...You don't become a guard hoping you’ll get the chance to be a hero. You become a hero because it's expected of a guard. As long as First Base and she's safe." Golden nodded. "And a mother's first duty is to her family. I never cared one way or another." Sunny Days looked out at the world. "...The greatest story never told... And I think it's better off that way." Luna gave a smile and nodded. "You three have answered wisely." ++ Button Mash's lip quivered. "I... I actually had a weird dream sorta like this once..." He looked like he was tryin' to laugh and failin' miserably. "I was in a town where there was only earth ponies, and other ponies were fairy tales... I just wanted to play all day ... then everything became all bright and colorful, and I had my beanie back... and I owned my own toy store... and everypony was so duper happy... I had a different name in my dream... I... I can't remember what anymore... but I did have a cart that I gave toys with... I think... and there were never any monsters before... But then monsters like the glitch-monster popped up, but they were with Alicorns... they said I didn't have a personality or reason to be, so they were going to erase me... but then... this ghost came and hugged me or something before they could... her name... was Whizzer. It was the name of one of the ponies who lived at Paradise Estate according to Lickety Split. I found a picture of her... she looked the same as in my dream... but I hadn't heard the name or seen the picture until AFTER my dream... I feel like I've been here before, and I don't mean you and me in this place." And Ah felt Toola-Roola's memories bubble to the surface. "Ah... Ah think yer right..." This wasn't just a wall bein' put in my way Discord and Diamond had built out of one my friends, laughin' in my face. ... For the first time ever... Ah think the first time anypony where had... Ah wondered... what had it been like, for those Princesses and Princes and those draconequi, when they had to undo a world whether they wanted to or not. And Ah wondered... even if we fixed everythin'... what was gonna be lost? ... And fer one little minute Ah wondered. Would it be better to just leave, and go out and keep savin' more and more bubbles until they were all saved like Button Mash meant? The fog wasn't that bad right? It was just what it'd done to ponies that was lousy. Ah said, "Girls, Button Mash, Ah wanna just say, we got far case cause of you, Spike, Darin' Do, Razzaroo, Pipsqueak and his friends, Applejack and her friends, the changelings and bat ponies, all the Good-Nightmares, Lickety Split and his friends, Redheart, Phobia and his friends, we didn't get this far by just goin' alone. And this is gonna be the hardest part." Ah had tears in my eyes. "... We got told right near the start that time wasn't stoppin' for us, and it ain't just Ponyville's that's cursed... Phobia said ponies who got never-heard-from-again were gonna stay that way. It's gotta end Button Mash. Too many ponies have givin' up too much just fer us. Too many ponies have trusted us. And... it's all a MESS, Button Mash! We're all meant to live in the same world, not bottled up in our own ones! It's just gonna ROT Button Mash! And what... what we dreamed about, it's gonna happen again! Ah dunno! Maybe! But Ah don't know we can't quit now!" "...Do you think I'm real, Apple Bloom?" "YA ARE REAL!" "Do you think I'm alive?" "YA ARE ALIVE!" "Then why do you want to kill me?!??!" Button Mash screamed, cryin' rivers. "Oh, for goodness sake... if you want to do it... Then do it! I'm right here! Maybe I won't be erased if I'm just never-heard-from-again! Come on! I'm right here! COME AND GET ME!!!" Ah looked 'em in the eyes. My insides were tyin' in knots. All muscle in his body was tense. My artistic eye... it saw details that Ah'd never pick up on my own before... and Ah saw what Button was really sayin'. "If ya wanna start this fight, yer gonna have'ta do it yerself," Ah said. "W-what?!" "Ya want me to attack ya first... so ya can fight BACK." Ah shook my head, feelin' just sad now. "Not happenin’." "Fine! I'll do it!" He hissed. "I'll do it! If you won't go first I will! I've got moves you've never seen before! I'm just trying to be nice to give you the first hit!" "Yer lyin'," I said. "You think I'm lyin'? I wanna live! Yer gonna kill me! I won't let you! I won't let you take me away! Don't think I'm some kinda weakling!" Button Mash glowed with power. "No, Ah know yer lyin'." "PLEASE, APPLE BLOOM! DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS!" "... Ah'm not gonna fight ya, and yer not gonna fight me, Button Mash. Yer not a killer." Ah take a few trots forward. "Don't try it! I've been studying your moves, Apple Bloom!" He lied on that last one. "Ah'm sick of this roller coaster ride, I'm not gonna save ya by fightin' ya!" Ah trotted forward, Button Mash still holdin' that sword. Shakin' like a leaf. Ah got closer, and closer... he had that sword pointed right at me. He wasn't scared of me. He was scared he was really gonna have to hurt me. Then Ah hugged 'em. = Determination Towards Battle - Lunar: Silver Star Story = "STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" "AM'M HUGGIN' A FRIEND, STUPID!" "WE'RE NOT FRIENDS! IT WAS ALL JUST A DELUSION!" "IS THIS A DELUSION?! IS ME HUGGING YA RIGHT NOW NOT REAL? WAS THE ADVENTURE YA HAD WITH US FAKE? IS YA NOT WANTIN' TO FIGHT A FRIEND FAKE? AH'VE SEEN FAKE LOVE! I'VE MADE FAKE LOVE! YER NOT FAKE LOVE!" = You have to forgive yourself - Pony POV Series = Ah wondered, had Ah been wrong? Had Ah misinterprelated the truth? Maybe Button wanted me to finish him off? Did Button Mash know what he wanted? Ah asked, "Button Mash, is leaving Sweetie Belle to suffer REGARDLESS of what ya do worth it? Ah mean how it ends. As long as this world exists, Sweetie Belle will hurt." "Nothing bad has happened to Sweetie Belle, and we've already saved so many ponies, including pretty much saved all the ponies Sweetie cares about." "Ah don't mean right now! Ah don't mean Sweetie's in danger. Ah mean she can't be happy until this nightmare is over." "She's been happy plenty of times. And how can you use her like this?" "This isn't 'bout what Ah want! Ah'm askin' you! Is this what Sweetie Belle would want?! Would she want this world to continue with so many ponies in dangers?" "Are-Are you saying she'd want me to die?" He began to sniffle again. "NO! AH DON'T! AH DON'T WANT YA TO DIE! SCOOTALOO DOESN'T WANT YA TO DIE! NOPONY DOES!" "Then why are you trying to kill me?!" Ah felt like Ah'd been knifed in the heart. "... This... this ain't... " Ah cried a little. We'd face so many baddies who said 'for the greater good', and now here I was. "This ain't just about us. It's about everypony...If we just turn around and leave, we ain't just shirking what everypony's countin' on us for... Ah... Ah don't wanna see ya go either Button Mash... yer my friend. But if we just leave, who know what damage Diamond Tiara's last lie is gonna do? And she's still a Nightmare with invisible magic or whatever, and Discord's still on the loose... As long as this curse still exists, Miss Twilight and friends are gonna be stuck because they can't come here without the walls around this place closin' again. "So many ponies fought so hard for us... It ain't fair at all... to just... to just have those ya love stolen from ya before ya even get a chance to know 'em... But if we go off and do whatever we want here... how many kin and kith of other ponies are gonna be never-heard-from-again instead? How many-" My eyes widened in horror. It hit me. It hit me like Canterlot Mountain. "How many ponies does everypony think're just stories, that we pushed out of existin' by thinkin' they were?" Ah knew everypony thinkin' somethin' was real was makin' stuff appear... but... what about the opposite? Ah saw the look in Button's eyes, he hadn't thought of that either. "S-sometimes... y-ya gotta do, w-what ya gotta do?" Button Mash didn't try to fight. He starin' out at stuff that even Ah couldn't see. "A... a TRUE hero will ... s-sacrifice h-himself.... for the good of innocent ponies... I... I just wanted to be Sweetie Belle's hero." And... it was like the place shattered into little colored boxes, only for the same place to be underneath. "... Only... only the best heroes can be stronger than the story..." Button Mash sniffled, Ah was cryin' too. "And doesn't that make a good story?" = Persona 4, 'Face Myself' Piano Version = "This... this is what I choose." Button Mash shuddered and hugged me tightly, Ah stroked his mane and buried my muzzle in his shoulder. Ah saw that weird meter with his and Sweetie's faces appear. It didn't just fill up all the way, it glowed all gold or somethin', and a heart appeared above it. True Companion -> Special Friends -With this act of free will, you've Formed An Unbreakable Bond.- "I don't care that some of the memories I have about Sweetie Belle were a dream, I like her anyway, she's my friend anyway." Congratulations, You Earned A Trophy 'Act of Free Will Proves Love Real: BM+SB' 'This Trophy's Validity Is Endorsed by Princess Venus Herself.' We finally broke the hug. "A... Apple Bloom... I... I think this might be as far as I go... do you... do you mind if... if I got back to my house... to... be with mom and dad... for when you... save the world?" He looked so unsure, a mix of scared, sad, and worried all blended together. "Ah... Ah won't ask ya to stay Button Mash... Ah'll... Ah'll take it from here." "I... I need a little time to think about it... mind if... mind if I just stay here for a little while?" "... I'll stay with ya." "Naw... you hurry up and... and go save the world... please?" "Ya shouldn't have'ta be alone..." "I won't be... I promise." We hugged again. Ah patted my saddle bags on my side. "Don't worry, Ah'll make due... and Button Mash... thank ya. I'll never ever forget! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Ya really are a true blue hero." "Oh just hurry up already!" He said with a big smile. "Ya got it!" I smiled back as hard as Ah could, and ran straight to the stairs may or may not have been there before, Ah didn't dare look back. > Havoc and Azehorse Comedy sketch by Endrel1110 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azerhorse and Havoc were playing a card game when Princess Veritas bucked the Black Pharaoh out of the universe. "Go uNo!" The Blind Idiot God 'spoke.' Havoc said, "I Know You Have A Pikachu To Match My Diaboromon!" "NotHINg BuT BLue EyES WhiTe DraGonS aNd BaBE RuthS." "Ugh." "WhY do I FeEl incrEdIble aNGer And HumIlIation?" "I Think A Couple Of Your Spawn Messed Up." "I HaVe SpaWN? ..... WHat JuSt SlAMMed IntO ME?" "I Think That's One Of Them Right Now." "Has HE UpHeLD My CreED of maKInG MorTAls fEAr thE UnKNown ANd BEinG UnKNoWn?" "Let's See The Mortal Cam." Somewhere in the universe, a random mortal pony (who bore a suspicious resemblance to Lily the earth pony) said. "I'm less scared now that I see this monster be defeated." "Huh, Well I Don't Know About You But That Seems Pretty Much What You Don't Want," Observed Hell itself. "HavE All my cHiLDren fAIled mE?" "No, Here's A Full History Of Each One Of Them In A Couple Of What A Mortal Would Feel Is Hours, Condensed Into What A Mortal Would Feel Is A Couple Seconds." " ................ GamE's! OvEr!" Azerhorse left. Havoc Looked at Azerhorse's cards. "That Liar, He Did Have A Diaboromon! Why Didn't You Guys Tell Me?" The souls he had shaped into the cards, table, and chairs incoherent rambled. "Oh Don't Give Me This 'Azerhorse Made Us Crazy' Crap!" More ramblings. "HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE CHARIOT SOULS, THEY DO A GOOD JOB BEING TORTURED!" > The Top > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Words of Apple Bloom After anythin' and everythin', Ah finally reached the top. It was just me now. Darin' Do, Spike, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Button Mash... None of us stood a chance in a fight with Discord and Nightmare Diamond Tiara... So what was the point of riskin' anypony but me? Ah was the filly Princess Rota and so many others were so sure was gonna be the one to fix this mess. But Ah was alone and Ah felt every bit of it, so Ah pushed the feelin' back with the hammerin' of my heart in my ears. = Secret of Evermore Soundtrack - 11 - Ambience - Wind = There was a battle still goin' on at the base of the tower, but Ah was so high up Ah couldn't tell a zebra from a buffalo. I saw little pink dots zipping everywhere, but Ah couldn't tell what they were. From up here, Ah saw the dirty pink sky all up-close and personal. That unchangin' light, so unlike the sun or moon, it just kept shinin' a light that somehow just felt, lifeless. The ground below, was like a foggy ocean, stretchin' on forever. Ah heard there was a curve to the horizon when ya were high enough, Ah didn't see anythin' like that, it was all so, flat. There were bubbles of all different sizes of thick fog floatin' about, none of em really level with each other. Ah think Ah might've seen some specks walkin' at angles between 'em, or trottin' on the surface, or somethin'. And Ah was at the center of everythin'. How could a view higher than Canterlot's, how could somethin' so big feel so empty? There wasn't any wind, it was just, still. Like the light in the sky. Like everythin' was just a settin' for actors in a play. Like everythin' was a flat picture, and this place had been stabbed like a knife in it. What Ah didn't expect, was all the houses. Ah'd sorta seen the place at the bottom, maybe, Ah wasn't sure, so much had happened since then Ah wasn't sure what Ah remembered and what Ah told myself Ah remembered just to keep from goin' crazy. The houses mostly looked like they'd been plucked right out of Ponyville, been set here, and stamped with Diamond Tiara's new symbol. Posters with the words 'Let's Be Friends with Discord!' had also been posted here and there. Everythin' was mushed together or just plain set about wrong. Ah saw Alula's house, and Silver Spoon's house, and Thunderlane's, but none where they were supposed to be. Ah saw Junebug's motel and flower shop, squished right next to Tootsie's house. There was a railin', kinda to the edge of the top, like the diamond-studded rim of a bowl. And right at the center, was the Rich mansion, but twice the size of what it used to be, and now decked out like it'd been a part of Canterlot. Some parts had too much gold and ivory, and a couple parts would have looked like some place Tirek would've felt at home. That shinin' against all this grayness and dirty pink just made it look like more of a mess! ... And right at the center of the place, part of the house looked like it was made out of like those floors at the bottom of the tower were. Just plain cheerless shapes. At least Ah knew where Ah had to go. There were spots Ah didn't recognize from Ponyville, like this house that looked like it was made of candy but wasn't Sugar Cube Corner, and there was this biiiiiiig amusement park right next to the Rich's house! Rollercoaster and everythin'! Unlike everythin' else, it looked like the funnest place in Equestria! No monster clowns, no booby traps, no nothin', a part of me wanted to run in there and never come out... But it got outvoted by the rest of me. As Ah got a move on... Ah saw the last thing Ah expected to see, it wasn't the worst, this place Ah think had worn me out with tryin' to outdo itself, but Ah didn't see it comin', when Ah guess Ah shouldda. Ponies. They weren't crazy like the ponies in the houses around the tower, and they weren't monsters lookin' to hurt the next Cutie Mark Crusader they saw... they were still colored all wrong... and the parasites were still inside 'em... but... they looked like they were just livin'. There weren't as many there outta have been for this many houses, but they didn't seem to notice me anymore than normal (real normal!), some even waved at me. But... it felt... like the way dolls moved about on a model castle, everythin' so... clockwork. Ah kept expectin' 'em to turn on me with the next hoof trot Ah took... but nothin'. Ah didn't try to see if Ah recognized anypony... +++ Dra-Gon sank back into the darkness of the deepest depths of the oceans of Equus. Clouds of black ichor billowed from his body. The Deep Ponies who remained either scattered like frightened animals, or pressed themselves against his side hoping to die with their creator. King Leo Neptune Aquastria watched with glowing golden trident in fin. His seaponies and mereponies floated near him, including Seaswirl. He made no order to pursue the fleeing Deep Ponies. "You lose Dra-Gon," King Leo said simply. "No... you have merely kept yourself from losing Leo... " Bubbled the sea-monster as his body fell apart back into silt. "I... win..." "My ponies are still my own, you have failed to steal them, you fade from this world, your Deep Ponies at worst will fade when this world is repaired, or at best integrate with the life of my oceans, they will never be lords of my children." "... I care not... for the death of this avatar... nor do I care... for the 8 billion year absence I must take... My goal is accomplished... My children will endure without my avatar after this world is rewritten ... I knew my siblings facing those your family had chosen would end in disaster... My only goal was to make sure my Deep Ponies were inserted into this reality's liquid state... so they will become a part of history when things are frozen again. And all ponies... yours and land-ponies, will fear the unknown danger of the darkness in the deepest depths of the ocean." Even as Dra-Gon spoke, his body continued to dissolve leaving little below his maul of a head and a set of fins. "They fear me." Dra-Gon dissolved. Leaving nothing but his final echoes on the current. "Azehorse would be proud... if it had the mind to... I wonder what Tiamat shall think..." The Deep Ponies having finished their retreat into the deepest darkness underneath the waves that was their parent. And the seaponies dared not follow them, instead, fearfully nestling near their king and deity. 'Well played Dra-Gon, well played... but I will never let your children overwhelm my oceans.' King Leo Neptune Aquastria decreed. 'Sea-Glow Ponies... I will bring you into existence from my own self.' Seaswirl asked, "My King, did we win?" "Yes... we did win." +++ On the opposite side that Apple Bloom approached the Royal House from, an Alicorn approached. Her body was encased in barding as black as night, the draconic eye that was the adopted symbol of her Guard engraved upon it. She shot like a comet at night towards the World Tower's top. Since the barrier was no more, she'd tear apart any defenses that stood in her way. She dodged the bubbles of altered realities around her, her only goal solid in her mind. What she didn't expect was for one of the pockets born of rumors to come into being around her! She would not be corrupted! She had been born to resist this insidiousness! But instead of a nightmarish mockery of everything that made Equestria 'Equestria', there was a pristine pink estate. Rolling green hills and lush forests surrounded the small mansion. A beautiful river cut through it like a blue ribbon. Then the Alicorn's eyes widened. Before, she could sense no hint of his presence, but suddenly it was as plain as the moon. She braced herself for battle. "I knew you were good at Avatars, Lulu, but to create a beauty like this while cleaning out that pretty big head of your sister's at the same time? Then again that was a LOT of power to squeeze out on the fly." "Show thyself, coward! Unless prattle is the only might you dare bring against me!" The Alicorn shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Quite a temper on you. Guess I know what part of herself Lulu made you from." "What advantage were thy hoping for in an imitation of THIS place, Discord?! You think I'd show you mercy after all you've done?" "... No... Not really... I was simply feeling... nostalgic. No pony remembers we were here Lulu, which is really a pity... I was hoping for a game between Dissy and Lulu." "Ye art not Dissy! Thou murdered him! And we shall avenge him!" "... I've begun to wonder if I did a good enough job." The fog pulled in from the edges, condensing and taking shape. The Alicorn readied herself for an almost-certain surprise attack. But she was shocked out of her focus by what she saw, and what she sensed. It was Discord... but... his entire body was that of a green dragon instead of a mishmash of a different creatures. "Discord... you've... you..." The Alicorn whispered. The dragon gave a polite bow. "Please, call me Dragoncord, did the Princess bother to give you a name before sending you out?" "I am Selena." She didn't waste breath asking what trickery was this, she knew what this was and what this meant. "How did this happen? What finally cracked your giant ego?" "A pony who loves selling candies and her family all had their reality retconned so they knew I was just trying to have a little fun before... and she still called me a loser." "'When all the truth does is make your heart ache, perhaps a lie is easier to take.' How does it feel to have your comforting lies ripped from you?" "IT SUCKS!" "The truth is pain, I say as an Element of Honesty. But is still better than the false comfort of an illusion." "Says you!" "Yes! Says me! How else does it feel, Discord? The only way you could finally create a Detachment is if you can now comprehend something other than yourself as a thinking, feeling, entity. No, that isn't right. You ENJOYED them squirming under your claws! It brought you PLEASURE toying with their emotions and beliefs and seeing them snap and claw at each other! ... You've realized their existences have value BEYOND being merely your play things!" "... And I hate it." Selena was about to response when a horrible headache ripped through her, feeling like her skull was going to shatter like an egg. It hadn't been the first, or even the second. "Ah... having a little migraine? Sorry Lulu, seems I'm as good at controlling my foals as I am at controlling myself. That's the sign that we don't have time left to party. Whenever you're ready." Selena panted. "No ambush? No trap? You never resorted to these tactics before Discord, why start now? And spare us your 'it's random' drivel." "While you're still you, I want these things to end on a high note for once!" "I will defeat you, Dragoncord!" "Oh I don't doubt it, I'm still getting used to the controls, while you're an old pro at doing this. But my job isn't to stop you, just delay you." "Perhaps I shall just skip you!" "Poor bluff Lulu, If you could have teleported there you'd have done so already! I know you never held back, Lulu! I'll be the dragon! You can be the knight! C’mon! Let's go!" +++ = 'Blessed City' - Lunar 2 Eternal Blue = Apple Bloom's Diary There weren't any turns that took me back where Ah started. No houses that tried to eat me alive. Just this Ponyville that looks like the houses were made of buildin' blocks and dumped here without a thought. And all of it was gray. Truckloads of gray. The colorful ponies Ah next saw bein' even stranger cause of it for lookin' almost normal. There were road signs, but a lot of made no sense, (a few did, though) which actually made them a bigger headache. But Ah still figured out which ones led to Diamond Tiara's house, however. Ah just took 'Futile Road' to 'Hopeless Street' to 'Pointless Plaza' to 'Meaningless Alley' and 'Wasted Effort Boulevard'. Junebug's motel was right at the edge of the villa overlookin' the edge of the top, fused like deformed twins to Tootsie's house. Except it was also right next to Diamond Tiara's house too! And there standin' at the front door like she had nothin' better to do with her time than just wait for ponies, was a changelin' with lime green eyes, a pale olive carapace, and pale orange stripe membranes. Ah didn't feel surprised anymore. "Hello, Apple Bloom!" She smiled and waved. Ah waved back on instinct, "'ello, Junebug." "Are you going to the Royal House? Would you like one last rest before you go?" "... Thanks... But it ain't gonna help with what Ah'm gonna face. And Ah don't know if Ah've got the time left." "I see..." She looked down, all sad. "Well, it's not my place... But if you're going to the Royal House, be sue to tell Moth and her family thank you for me. I was always too scared and ashamed before, even more so after the invasion... If not for them, I don't think I'd have ever shown my true form. But finding out the family next door were all heroes and changelings too, finally gave me the courage I needed to give up my disguise." Ah looked at 'er with the truth. "Ya been a changelin' yer whole life?" "... Yes. I... I might have used a little mind magic to make the clerk who did my paper work to turn a blind eye. I didn't want The Queen finding me. I didn't think she'd ever actually invade. I thought it was just to give the hive focus. "It's a relief really... I was afraid I'd be put in a dungeon because my tax-return says earth-pony, and so lied to the government and so was a traitor or something..." Ah shook my head, straightenin' out my thoughts. Ah didn't have time for this. Ah didn't have time for anythin'. The worst part was... Ah didn't see a parasite inside Junebug. And that scared me. "Ah gotta go! But Junebug! Even if it's just a dream... ya... ya shouldn't be shamed of what ya are. Never." Ah ran off for the mansion full tilt, not lookin' back. So long Top Floor Plaza Royal Hamlet. What did Button Mash say? That left the Royal House, the Personal Chambers, and Inner Sanctuary, where the printers for the Foal Free Press had to be! It was almost over... Ah hoped. +++ (?????????????'s Journal) Spider-Pony, Spider-Pony, does whatever a spider can only. Catches crooks, just like flies. Shielding truth, beating lies... look out! Here comes the Spider-Pony! I always loved those comics. I even dressed up as Spider-Pony every Nightmare Night! Some used to tease me about it cause of the name of my auntie. Sneaking to the base of the tower hadn't been easy. Just because I was unnoticed didn't make me invincible against stray shots. All those changelings, monsters, and bat-ponies, and those other things, all fighting... which side was even which? I came close a lot of times! I lost count of how many times my head almost got stepped on! I kept the lantern in my mouth, and I always just slipped through in those moments. Being small and skinny is a good thing sometimes. The sky was just as crazy, and I think I'd be just noticeable in the air. I saw Rainbow Dash dressed as Daring Do fighting 'Azecoltel' or however it's spelled. I wanted to help, but I don't think I could have fought that big monster, and Rainbow Dash was doing okay, I think... I considered going inside, but I thought of the best way not to be noticed by those inside was not to be inside at all. I could climb, quite as a mouse and as unnoticed as a shadow. I had to stop and rest a lot of times. Why didn't I just fly up all the way? It's really really really REALLY high up! But with how crazy the tower got, it turned out I couldn't just climb. So I began fluttering from one hoofhold to the next. She was waiting for me, and I had to help her. So few ever had ever wanted to help her. I'd been doing this for a long time now. I found a few catapults that shot me up a few times, letting me skip those floors. So I climbed, and climbed, and flew, and flew, and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed, and flew, climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed. I felt like I'd always been climbing the tower. I really hoped that the tower adding new floors to itself just to make fun of me was all in my imagination. I climbed by a few weather gremlins, sitting on their clouds, making faces at me. "Don't look down! It's SOOO far down! I mean really far down! I sure hope you don't look down. I mean, looking down would be bad. And you might get all dizzy and fall, and panic, and not be able to fly or glide, or get hit by something if you looked down. So you better not look down, and so you better do the opposite of looking down, which is not looking down. WILL YOU LOOK DOWN ALREADY!" They said in a friendly voice, that turned into an angry snarl at the end. "I've got five bit betting on you falling here so just do it already!" "No! Climb up a bit more! I have ten bits betting that you last a few more floors, THEN fall off!" Said another one. "Stupid pony! You're never going to make it! So just drop off already! You're nobody! Nothing! Just FALL you stupid pony! I've got a pool going on how big a splat you'll make!" I shivered. I swallowed a few times, and I dared look up, and I kept climbing. The gremlin kept shouting and teasing me. They got less playful and more angry the more I went. Finally they were all chanting together, "FALL! FALL! FALL! FALL! FALL! FALL! FALL! FALL! FALL! FALL! FALL!" I froze as I listen to that chant. Then, I began to climb again, singing as I went. "... Spider-Pony... Spider-Pony... does whatever a spider can only..." I looked up again. I was right below the big top like a big bowl... I was going to have to fly. I looked at the gremlins. I knew what they'd do as soon as I flew off. And... Were they even real? How did they notice me when an entire army didn't? How did they notice me when an entire fortress didn't? Where did they even come from? How... "YOU'RE NOT THERE!!!" I shouted and dove from the side of the tower my eyes shut tight and zoomed along the bottom of the big flat top. I flew as cast as I could, spreading my wings so far they hurt, and curved up in the air, and did a giant summersault and landed on the top! I just laid there for a while... catching my breath... I finally stood up on my skinny legs. ... I looked over the edge... I didn't see the gremlin. I looked at the town on top of the tower... looked like Ponyville... only kinda... messed up, like it was drawn by a pony who didn't know how to be happy. I saw... I saw her house there at the center of everything, like how she saw herself I think. The house where... where it happened... the house I got the courage to visit again, and talk with the stallion, who was turned into a monster and hurt me... And now, the real monster was free again. Was... was I going to be... hurt again? ... I looked at the lantern... and the glow within. Buddy... I won't give up. You said even if I couldn't see you, you were there with me. I won't let that bad monster hurt anypony else! You're right, buddy! Even if I'm scared, that just means I gotta be brave! And brave is what I am! I flew for her home. +++ = SMT Nocturne OST - Kagutsuchi Tower (Final Movement) = Ya knew it'd be built like a fortress. Every hedge, fountain, statue, or stone block on the path comin' to life to end mine. But just like the entire top of the tower, there was nothin'. Neither of my eyes saw any monsters or booby traps. None that were turned on. What was goin' on here? The mansion was somehow even more bleak and messed-up, up close. Ah swear, it was like it was tellin' me, 'What's the point?' At least it didn't look like some kinda creepy face that was gonna eat me or somethin. The doors were bigger than Ah remember. They were now like the doors of this crazy tower, the patchwork-monster's nonsense in one spot, Umbra Breeze's hideous insults to my sister and her friends crossed-out in another, and finally, Diamond Tiara's new cutie mark, but now it was in the center. Engravin' of 'Princesses' Alula and Tootsie were in the other corners, they weren't crossed out. Ah was thinkin' whether Ah should knock, buck'em down, or go in through the window, when the doors opened on their own. Scratch that. They didn't open on their own. It was Diamond Tiara's butler. What was his name again, Randale or somethin'? Randale bowed all polite like to me. "Welcome Miss Apple... you are expected." Watchin' my step, Ah crossed into the house of my worst enemy. Ah looked at Randale... he didn't have any rumors or curses affectin' 'em directly. He looked tired and sad. "May I take your, er, 'cloak,' Miss Bloom?" "No!" "Very good, though may I suggest a SECOND earring to balance the first, or remove it?" Ah touched Zecora's gift. "This here’s a keepsake, Ah wear it with pride." "As you wish, Miss Bloom. May you have a pleasant visit." "Uh Sir," Ah said, "Ya do know that... Diamond Tiara's... different now right?" "I've taken an oath to serve this family. Mrs. and Mr. Rich are away in Canterlot... she's asked I do not disturb herself nor her new residences or new servants. I'm... used to her family's condition." "Condition?" "I've already said too much, and I've sworn not to reveal details without Miss Diamond and Mrs. Rich's consent." He gestured along the giant collection of stairs and doors. "Right along this way Miss Apple, Miss Diamond awaits." He wasn't lyin'. Ah ran along the way he pointed. "Thank ya!" "My pleasure and Miss Apple... I hope you are able to get Miss Diamond out of her dark place." Ah heard the pleadin' in his voice. "Ah'll do my best." Randal didn't seem different from before, not that Ah'd seen 'em that much. Maybe that's because there were no rumors about him. Makes me wonder about other mostly-ignored ponies. + Mr. Green Hooves/ Hay Seed snorted. Canterlot was the degeneracy capital of the world. Queen Celestia was the most depraved creature in the world (maybe, that fact of life was feeling fuzzy somehow). But there was no way, NO WAY he was allowing his beloved royal garden to be desecrated by these deflowerings. Nopony paid him attention, neither elite nor commoners, he was like his beautiful garden, he simply was. Ink Well had visited and acted like they'd had an affair for years, and wanted to 'get dirty' on the grass. Hay Seed hadn't known what she was talking about. It was like his great state of being 'uninvolved' in the world as much as his garden made something pass him by. He had a feeling that he was supposed to remember having a love affair for much of his life, of that made sense... but... it was like pieces were missing, and he was happy to have them absent. Cinnamon Chai was a unicorn mare and just a tea and cake shop owner in Canterlot. She was friendly... too friendly. and today she had dragged a bright orange unicorn stallion with a bright orange mane and beard to Hay Seed's garden. The poor stallion's glasses fell off him, and he kicked and squirmed as she dragged him along, apparently he had all the magical muscle of a wet noodle. He took his garden rack, and Cinnamon Chai looked like she thought the old stallion was going to join in the fun. Instead he scooted her out of his garden... many a trained guard had thought they could snack on the garden, and found out he was tougher than he looked. "What's your name?" "S-Sunburst!" "Go home." The awkward unicorn nodded and galloped out of the garden. + Once upon a time, Ah think I'd have stopped to gawk at how fancy everythin' in Diamond Tiara's house was, even if Ah knew this was just a squished-up mess of it with Discord, Alula, Tootsie and Umbra Breeze's tastes all thrown in. There were rooms and doors that didn't fit the rest of the house at all even from the inside. Ah could see 'em now... like black spiderwebs... stretching out from one one point... the printin' press, where Diamond Tiara was writin' the lie to end all lies. All Ah had to do was follow the web lines to the spider at the center. The paintin's and pictures of Diamond Tiara and her family. But now there were huge golden framed pictures of Alula and Tootsie as Alicorns and their families. There were also black framed weaved together pictures of Umbra Breeze and a giant red eye pyramid with tentacles and the buncha monsters Ah saw back at Sweetie Apple Acres. And framed with cardboard, polyester, tiddlywinks, was macaroni pictures, and pictures made from drops of food colorin', and others made from bottle caps, glue bottle caps, and pen caps, and cheese wiz, and buncha other stuff, were pictures of Discord, holdin' a puppy, or ridin' a unicycle with the real Princesses carryin' him on his back dressed up like clowns, and another with him in a tuxedo with Princess Celestia and Luna in weddin' dresses. Ick. There were the fancy statues of course, gold statues of Alicorns Alula and Tootsie, a dusty worn down statue of Diamond Tiara that had seen better days. There were twisted upside down carvings of Umbra Breeze's monster forms... Most of 'em now had either a ring of flowers around 'em, or a clown nose on their face. One had a wreath around its neck... except, it was just a shadow of a statue... it was of the monster we'd all fought together at Lickety Split's house. ... It's name was Moon Howler. Ah'm still sorry we couldn't figure out a better way. There were no statues of Discord of any kind what so ever. There was a line of statues of a mare with a sunglasses cutie mark glaring down disapprovingly. Ah feel like Ah outta know her story somehow. Or maybe bein' this close to the heart of what's-real and what's-a-lie turnin'-to-mush is startin' to mess with my head. Ah spotted a part of the house that looked right out of Ponyville Hospital, before it got all changed by the rumors about Saint Sweet Heart. Ah saw door that said, 'Editorial Advisor, Umbra Breeze' on the window, lookin' right out of a news paper. But the web lines weren't leadin' me that way. What Ah was thinkin' on runnin' inta... Bon Bon, Lyra Heartstrings, and Moth, hadn't been at the top of the list. But Ah ran into 'em all the same. They weren't even preparin' an ambush, if anythin' Ah took them by surprise! Ah opened a door, and Ah found six changeling eyes turnin' to look at me. And they did not look happy. "You..." Bon Bon hissed. "You!" Lyra magically lifted up her harp. Moth just looked sadly at me. Ah knew that look, family was family. Now Ah actually wish Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were here... like the first time we fought... first time... "You girls sure know how to clobber an adult mare three time your size," Lyra said as Moth and Bon-Bon applied iodine to the bites. "It's all in our teamwork," Scootaloo said. "We DID take two Changelings out to save Spike." Ah shouted. "Ah've been such a yo-yo! That fightin' was totally pointless!" And Ah let loose, turned loose, whatever ya call it if Ah was holdin' back the truth Ah wasn't right now! The Truth and me together roared. And the grown-ups listened. "We were too stupid and too caught up in all this stupid fightin' to even think of it! We were id'gits who didn't need to fight and we did anyway!" Lyra said, "Apple Bloom, it's good to admit you're wrong but-" Ah cut off her yappin'! Glarin' her in the eye with Truth. "We were all heroes fightin' Chrysalis' army! We were teammates! Friends! Ya don't go through what we did fer nothin'! We shouldda done this right from the start! Ah don't care what mess it makes, yer snappin' out of it!" For a tick, ah felt like Ah was seein' the world through truth with both my eyes, as Ah glared at 'em. "A-Apple Bloom you're not well, I never fought-" Lyra began. Ah knew they were thinkin' Ah just gone crazy. Well that wasn't gonna last long. "Lyra Heartstrings! Where'd ya get that harp?!" Ah boomed. "... P... Princess Cadence gave it to me..." "WHEN did she give to ya?!" "When... when she made me her champion of music..." "And WHEN did that happen?!" "When... when Chrysalis invaded..." "Ah thought changelin's got their flanked kicks by the royal guard without even tryin'!" "Of... of course they didn't! Didn't you see them fighting outside?!" So that rumors had gone away thanks to somepony else. Well, Ah wasn't gonna let that stop me. "If ya were so upset at Moth keepin' what she was a secret, why didn't ya bein' a changelin' with everypony?! With her?! It would have made 'er feel a lot less alone! And it would have been bigger proof that changelin' an' other ponies could get along!" "I... I was upset her changing Bon Bon and my and Tootsie's memories and-" "AND YA COULDN'T EVEN TELL!? If ya were so good at hidin' what ya are! Ah don't think ya'd be so easy for 'er to magic up fake memories in yer head, ya'd have had the same trainin' in mind magic right?" ".. I... I... y-yes..." "BON BON!" Ah didn't let up. Ah didn't give room. Not this time. Ah didn't care if this made things more complicated or whatever. Ah'd coulda gotten my friends never-heard-from-again or made Tootsie's family never-heard-from-again all because Ah'd let all this fightin' become our big solution that we hardly even tried! "If yer a secret agent, whose so badflank, no compromises, why the heck didn't ya turn in Moth the moment ya met 'er?!" "... I ... I didn't know she was..." "If ya pony self was just a disguise, then there's no way ya'd be dumb enough to think a pony who looked just like it was yer twin sister! Ya'd know ahead of time what changeling magic can do! Ya'd figure out sooner than later! Or were ya so alone with Lyra and Toosie that ya WANTED those memories to be real?!" "... N-No... No I wasn't...." "And why did ya and Lyra do back up instead of pretendin' to be Cadence since it sure would've been easier than Moon Dancer and Rarity playin' her with an illusion that could fail! Why were ya so sad about not bein' there to help in the middle of the fightin'?! And if yer bein' a candy maker is just a cover, how the heck did ya invent an enchanted candy that's so good for refillin' poy magic?!" "I... I don't..." Two down! One to go! "Moth!" Alright Apple Bloom! Don't slack up now! This is it! The truth is stronger than lies! Ya know it! And this is where ya prove it! This is the last piece of the puzzle, don't mess up now! "Ya were scared stiff of bein' found out! Junebug didn't live in the same house as you, and she kept to her flowers! But LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE AS YOU FER YEARS?! And none of ya suspected a thing with ALL THREE OF YOU knowin' what to look fer?! Ah don't buy! Do you!?" "I... I..." And the lies inside them dissolved back into the rubbish they were made from. KA-BOOM! Ah bet Discord and Diamond Tiara felt that! Bon Bon, Lyra, Moth. Earth pony, unicorn, changeling. They were the colors and shapes they were supposed to be, except now, they had shadin', lighter in some places than what it was before, and darker in other spots where it was before. Somehow, it was like they were more real now than before the curse got'em. Ah finally took a chance to take in the room. It was part music studio, and part gym, but the gym faded away and became a kitchen before Ah had time to take in the details. The colors of the REAL Equestria Ah knew and loved were spread like an explosion down the halls of the gritty pink ah'd gotten too used to seein' savin' my big sister and her friends. Ah could actually see some random tables and junk that'd gotten hit halfway or somethin'. Yeah... now came the really crazy part. "DISCORD! THAT BASTARD!" Bon Bon snarled. She looked at Moth. "UH! No offense sis! I didn't mean changelings were-" "I know you didn't," Moth whispered, looking at herself and hugging herself. "But it wasn't Discord's idea... Liza... she told me about how much she loved changelings, how excited she was to know and learn about them... How she wanted to be one." "But... she's a princess... she didn't think she was special enough? Being a princess meant she was already a changeling just like she was an earth pony, unicorn and pegasus." "She... she thought you and Lyra were unhappy at not being special." They gasped. Ah don't blame'em. "I'm sorry, I should have told you, I thought it was just a phase. I thought I got through to her. I didn't want to share something if she didn't want to share with you. She was so HAPPY with Pipsqueak and his friends! And Animatia!" "I don't blame you Moth, I promise," Bon Bon said honestly. "Liza... we're sorry... for failing you," Lyra whispered. Lyra and Bon Bon hugged each other. Moth gently nuzzled them. "Ya wanted to be super special for 'er?" I heard myself asked. "No." Lyra answered. "We should have seen what was wrong... and helped her see everything that was already special... Apple Bloom... thank you." "Where is our filly?" Bon Bon asked. "She and Alula went to go help ponies who were still under the curse," Ah said. "Who?" Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "... Princess Erroria." "Oh! Right." Ah couldn't help but think how much of a mess Ah could've avoided if Ah'd just done this on the elevator instead of resortin' to a fight after Button Mash's awkward tries. Ah hated what this curse had done to the world... fightin' bein' the big answer should never be the pony way. Scootaloo and Sweetie and Button Mash didn't think of it either? Ah knew that already. But Ah'm the girl with the truth, Ah shoulda been the one to realize it. And like it or not, Ah'm the leader of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, if we screw up, it's on my head. Ah guess none of that matters now. "Apple Bloom, thank you," Lyra and Bon Bon said together, looked at each other, and gave each other a nuzzle. "Just helpin' a fellow pony, just wish Ah thought of it sooner." "You thought of it now," Bon Bon said. She looked at Moth and Lyra. "Don't beat yourself up over 'could haves' or 'should haves' ... you'll just destroy yourself." Ah nodded slowly. "Ah understand." "You're on a mission from Princess Luna to stop Discord and save Diamond Tiara?" "... Somethin' like that," Ah said dancin' the line. "Then we can't stop you little filly." Bon Bon sighed. After all, them were the rules. Bon Bon said, "Apple Bloom... be careful... I don't mean this to hurt you, but I saw the real Discord... inside, he's just a big foal... and... you need to beware... there is nothing as cruel as a child." She wasn't lyin'. Ah felt sad and sick at how Ah understood what she meant. "So... what are ya gonna do?" "If this was just about me, Ah'd go find Discord and punch him in the nose," Bon Bon said. "But my foal is more important. We're going to go find her. Don't ask how, I just know we will." "Ah understand..." "And Apple Bloom... I've spent time with Diamond Tiara... no matter what Discord has done to her... and... no matter how much of a bully she was to you and your friends... none of that matters anymore... Right now she's just a filly who needs help." Ah REALLY wanted to stay longer, but Ah was still racin' against the clock, and Ah had to bolt. "Ah'll do my best!" "Nopony can ask more of you," Lyra said. Ah nodded and left the family behind. The spider webs leadin' me through the house. Ah ignored everythin' that wasn't tryin' to stop me! Ah might've even ignored ponies. Maybe Ah was a jerk fer that. But at this point, Ah was just outta time. If they weren't tryin' to hurt me or traumatize each other, they could wait. Here's hopin' it was the right call. Ah was close! Ah could feel it in the ache in my eye. Ah know ya want some big fancy description of the place as Ah got in deeper. BUT AH DON'T CARE! Ah just want this done and over with already! Ah've had it with nightmares! Ah've had it with monsters! Ah've had it with everypony Ah love bein' twisted into some mockery of themselves! Ah want it over! And if not! Ah know my friends will finish what Ah started! "Diamond Tiara! Ah'm comin' for ya!" Ah found a big double door, it was bland, grayer than gray, and had that eight diamonds pointed outwards thingie Ah'd seen on Diamond Tiara's flank on the MoonPearl! Ah didn't wait ta knock! Ah kicked it down! And Ah kept runnin'! > Tunnel of Doubt > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (?????????????'s Journal) = The Final Battle Approaches - Lunar 2 Eternal Blue = I slipped through the city like a shadow. The streets twisted back on themselves trying to make me go in circles. So I went the direction that my common sense told me was NOT the right way. And in doing so, I moved closer and closer to her house. Some of the houses blinked their windows-eyes and their porches sniffed at the air like cats sniffing out mice. Lanterns scanned around like searchlights. I slipped around without being spotted by any of them. Some ponies stood at attention like guards, grim faced and scanning the roads and the sky. Others seemed to always gather right where I had to go, blocking the way. I had the strong feeling that SOMETHING was looking, searching, trying to spot me. Some invisible ghost was stalking the streets. I wasn't welcome here. I wasn't wanted. This must be how the super spies feel when they’re infiltrating enemy territory. Her house looked so different from before. More fortress-like now. I flew closer, more silent than falling dust if I do say so myself. I stayed out of the line of sight of all the statues, I didn't turn my back on any of the hedges, I didn't dare touch the grass, get near the flowers, did my best to avoid being in sight of any of the windows. The entire outside felt a mouse trap, ready to spring at the slightest touch. I know I saw some of the statues move their heads and eyes, searching. I saw an opening in the back of the house that wasn't guarded with anything besides one or two statues. It was for me. It was a trap. I knew that backdoor didn't actually lead anywhere. They know I'm here, but they don't know where. They're also worried. They wouldn't set a trap if they didn't think I was trouble. You're unnoticed. You could slip into the Mayor's bathroom and no one would be the wiser. You can do this. If a magician can slip into a box that's closed without teleporting, you can get in here. You wouldn't be here if they didn't think you could do it. You know the windows are all going to be rigged with alarms. They're baiting you with a backdoor that simply too tempting for you to not at least try. Like a spider, I crawled along the roof and walls, and knocked on the front door. It opened just a crack, just enough for a metal pipe to peek out. I crawled inside, not making a sound, my back to the floor and Randolph. The rich are way too in love with high ceilings, in particular ones in their entry halls. You already heard a lot of what's inside before? Okay, then I’ll skip it. I also realized that none of the bad guys had anticipated that I’d get this far. There was a distinct lack of nasty surprises throughout the house. I kept going. I knew the basic insides of her house. Even if tons of new stuff had been added, I could tell the way to her room, even if the hallways were twisted some. At one point, I spotted Truffle from school. He was dressed up fancy and looked really confused. He held a picture of Tootsie but with glowing white wings, as well as what looked like a drawing of Twist. I wanted to talk to him, find out what was wrong, but I didn't. I didn't feel good about approaching him. I knew the way to her room, just keep going. I kept to the ceiling like a spider. But I almost fell off at what I saw next... It was Alula's big sister, and Rumble's big brother. They were... they were... I actually bit my tongue to keep from screaming, and I had to remind myself how brave I was to keep from running away. I don't have to talk about it? Thank you! I... I... well... maybe I DO wanna talk about it... just a little... I was in Mr. Rich's house again, except I wasn't just remembering. And I was seeing it happening again, except it wasn't just in my head. And horrible thoughts came. Horrible feelings came. Remember what your doctor said: it wasn't your fault, you're not a bad pony, you have nothing to be ashamed of, you're not somepony else's property, your family and friends all love you. I stay on the ceiling, I crawl over their heads, but I don't think they'd notice me, even if I was dancing a samba on the floor. It was like they were empty inside. This room stinks. The cloud-bed, table, chairs, the candles, the food, everything stinks. I can taste it in the air. It smells a lot worse than... that time. Keep going, you'll do this, you'll do this, you'll do this... You'll get past this. I get out, crawling out of the room. The smell goes away instantly. The first I noticed was the looping music. "Sunlight and lollipops! Rainbows and happy things! Things are so much better, When we're all together!" "Good times are here to stay!" The room was so happy compared to what the rest of the house had become that it was creepy! There were crayon sketches hung on the walls in fancy frames. There were couches done in rainbow colors. And there was a buncha video game stuff that took up a big chunk of the room! And there were plates stuffed with enough treats for a hundred birthdays. In the room was two pink and yellow ground mares in frilly dresses, they were playing a board of Monoponly with... "Shady!" I'm not perfect, even at what I do best. Truffle might be ignorable... but I couldn't disregard my friend I'd left to get caught by Umbra Breeze and her. I lost my head. I lost my wits. I couldn't do it. I couldn't turn my back on him again. "WHOA!" "Who are you?!" One of the ladies asked. My friend slowly spoke out my name, and smiled. "You spoke, you can speak again... " Shady Daze looked me in the eyes and gasped. "OH NO! You've come to apologize to Diamond Tiara and I haven't prepared anything for you as a guest! I'm a terrible maid! Oh my! I'm sorry!" He got up and began daintily bowing. Maid?! I looked down and checked, Shady was still a colt. Discord, of course. Then the rest of what Shady said caught up to me. Oh no. I spat out the lantern. "Shady." My ears wilted. "Calm down Shady, remember what we talked about," said one of the ladies. "What did you do to him?" I demanded, even though I already knew who the bad guy was. "Well, for starters we got him to take a break! The kid loves his work way too much!" Said the pink one. "Who are you?" I asked. "Well, we're the royal bakers for Princesses Liza Doolots and Animatia Erroria, and Diamond Tiara. Lollipop guild certified treat makers." She took out a photo ID with the lollipop guild's official seal. "Name's Marcie Pan." "And Fawn Doo." She took out an ID card too. "And now who are you, kid?" Shady Daze introduced me with a twirl like he was supposed to be wearing a dress. "Oh my! I'm not even properly dressed! I'm so sorry!" "Shady, I've been worried sick about you since I escaped the printing room! I'm so sorry I left you behind! I really wanted to help you I swear!" Shady tilted his head. "What are you talking about? Printing room? Escape? Why were you worried? I've been happily serving the Princesses like I should after I betrayed Diamond Tiara. And now you're here to beg for forgiveness too right?" ... I'd seen what the cursed did to ponies, ponies who were my friends, ponies who I cared about... all turned into monsters who wanted to eat me or hurt me. I can't say it hurt better or worse to see Shady like this, it was more like some, dull ache. I didn't feel relieved he didn't remember me leaving him, you think I would be, he wouldn't think I was a selfish loser and never want to speak to me again. But I think I'd have preferred that right now. It was like she had strung him up on strings, and made him dance. "Shady, what about your sister? Aren't you worried about her? Don't you want to see her, Sunny Daze? What about Peachy Pie? Aren't you worried about them?" Shady looked even more confused. "Sunny? I... I did think about her but... serving the Princesses... is... more important... must always be ready... to serve... at a moment's notice." "Shady this isn't you!" "Of course it's me... who else would it be?" I gritted my teeth. I sighed. "Shady, I don't think... I don't think... I ever asked you if you wanted to be editor. That was wrong... I... I just wanna say that... now that I can speak to you again." The only time I'd spoken this much before the curse hit was with Filthy Rich. "It's okay, I don't want to be an editor, or a photographer, I wanna wear pretty dresses and be the princesses' maid!" He said with a smile like a doll's. "Why?" "Because they're the princesses, that's why." "Shady, you NEVER did what anypony told you JUST BECAUSE!" "Well, and to apologize for what I did to Diamond Tiara." "WHAT did you do?" "Well, I took a photo in her face that made her trip and get ink all over herself, that was a very bad thing to do, and so I deserve to be a good little servant." "Who decided that was even-Steven?" "The Princesses of course." "Why would Princess Celestia and Princess Luna do that?" "Who said anything about them? I meant Princess Animatia Erroria and Princess Liza Doolots and Princess Diamond Tiara." "What?! So because Diamond Tiara is a Princess, that's that? Shady you always wanted REASONS for why grown-ups did things! You always wanted a reason WHY ponies who were in charge told other ponies to do things! It was never just because!" "Of course it is." I was going in circles. I looked at the lantern's glow. When I touched it, a soothing calmness washed over me. I felt like I heard somepony whispering to from far away. "... A princess isn't just a princess because they're a princess. A princess is a princess because they inspire ponies, they... they lead... not just rule... You don't just do stuff for them. Their job is to help everypony they can. That's what YOU told ME that's why they deserve respect whether they have horns or not!" Shady was shuddering. "Kids like you shouldn't be thinking about stuff like this," said Marcie. I got ready for the ladies for to attack me. "Kids like you should be outside PLAYING!" Said Fawn. "Not thinking about politics and junk! Make some happy memories! Your carefree days aren't going to last forever. What is with foals these days?! Like, the filly who ran through here? She looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders." Filly?! "A filly? Just one?" Fawn frowned. "Yeah, filly with a big pink bow." Just Apple Bloom?! What happened to her friends?! Where they-! Had Diamond Tiara-! Oh my gosh! "Shady! I'm sorry! I've got to go! I promise you'll be back to the real you really soon! I promise!" Was I too late now? Had I messed up everything because I stopped to help Shady?! Damn, was I a lousy ninja! "Hey kiddo! Catch!" Marcie tossed me one of the baked treats. "Normally we only give one for free on market day, but everypony seems to have forgotten about us. Put it to good use!" I didn't have time to argue, shrugged off it being cursed or something, swallowed, and picked up my lantern and flew. + Apple Bloom's Diary Ah saw a map next to the door. Ah was inside the Royal House, and past this long gray hallway was the Personal Chambers, and inside that, was the Inner Sanctum. Yer gettin' closer Apple Bloom, hang on. Ugh. No way this super long hallway could fit inside even Diamond Tiara's new and improved mansion. Then the gray stone tile Ah was on lifted up, and began to carry me down the hallway to the opposite door. Ah got ready for some surprise but again none was comin'. If Ah was stupid, Ah'd be wishin' somethin' WOULD attack me already. Ah passed some gray faceless, markless pegasus statues, no, they didn't fly and attack, if anythin', Ah felt like they were welcomin' me or something! "It's time to bury Gabby Gum's ghost once and fer all," Ah declared, my voice echoin'. Ah saw one of them eyeball bats flutter-by, why'd it bother still bein' invisible? Then it blinked, and it was a bright blue dragon like eye instead. And... Ah heard Diamond Tiara's voice... echoin' in the hall, "But who was to blame for that? Where was Featherweight's punishment for taking those photos? Wasn't he obeying orders like you? He didn't have black-mail hanging over his head. The ponies of Ponyville and Cloudsdale were the ones who chose to read your columns, and laugh it up as long as they weren't the ones being hurt. Or Sweetie's sister for introducing Gabby Gums to the adults and ignoring everypony's feelings until it was hers that got hurt? They were the ones who chose to keep buying the paper in the first place." Her voice does't have any feelin' to it. There was no snide ego like I'd always heard in it, it was like even she didn't care about what she was sayin'. I glared upward. “Ah ain’t never claimed ta be a saint, but everythang yew’ve been doin’ a thousand times worse. Worsenin’ every problem Ah caused. Buildin’ on a bad foundation. And it’s time ta end it.” "And I've realized I've always been a devil. This isn't about you Apple Bloom. It's about everypony else. And who enabled this isn't you Apple Bloom. Or your friends. You could have written all those articles, and I could have approved every one of them. But if Cheerilee had taken a more proactive role, she could have stamped Gabby Gums out before she spread beyond the school. Or if the adults hadn't been so eager to read it. Or if Featherweight had or realized what he was doing was wrong and shown some free will like you. The only reason everypony was able to move on, was because you were able to focus all your anger on me. Gabby Gum's cancer wouldn't have been able to spread if everypony had just ignored it." Ah wanted to sayin' that she was spewin' horse apples. But... How everypony was still readin' the paper even after all the lies and twstin' we published. Everypony only started hatin' Gabby Gums when we were found out. How Featherweight takin' all those pictures (the one my brother blamed me for), just did what he was told just like us. And never got in hot water for any of it because all the focus was on us and Diamond Tiara. + Diamond Tiara's echoes were like a sledge hammer, and I fell to the ground at the mouth of the hallway. Because I couldn't argue. I'd done my job... take pictures of everything I was told. Isn't finding the truth what reporters were for? Like Spider-Pony? Sometimes... I dream I was Namby-Pamby's little brother, and they were proud of me becoming editor. But a wolf came, telling me he was sorry, but fate's threads had changed. But I always forgot them when I woke up, but now I'm remembering them. If I was Namby-Pamby's brother, they wouldn't've been proud. I admired Diamond Tiara for making the school paper successful, we surpassed the 'real' paper, Ponyville Express, we delivered to Cloudsdale! I was proud to be a part! Nopony blamed the foal that nopony notices when Diamond Tiara was punished and the Crusaders apologized. I was rewarded. I could have photographed things of Diamond Tiara, and used that to blackmail her into ending Gabby Gums. I could have gone to Miss Cheerilee a lot sooner. I hadn't deserved to be rewarded. I was a bad pony. I covered my head with my hooves and wings. + = In Puzzle Room Number 64 = The shadow of Blank Diamond loomed across the wall, blue lights like eyes gleamed. Her monotone voice echoed through the room. Her emotionless words had been whispering to Scootaloo and Sweetie since they'd started. This hadn't been her standard issue name calling or status flaunting. It'd been barely heard whispers in the first room, "Your mother is dead, Sweetie Belle." And the next room, "And now your father is dead Sweetie." Then in the third room, "And now your mother is dead too Scootaloo." Forth room. "And your father just died." In the fifth room, "And Rarity just died." In the sixth room, "And Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash just died, a totally awesome death, body-parts flying everywhere." The room were bright and colorful. And each room came another whisper. The rest of their families and ponies' they knew died, and how everypony would blame them. Then whispering how the changelings and bat-ponies outside had been stopped by her real army of less than a hundred very special monsters who hated Twilight Sparkle more than anypony. That Apple Bloom had had to kill Button Mash when he turned evil as per the rules of video games. That Apple Bloom was before her, suffering, blaming herself for being so stupid and foolish, about to die. "She's lying, right Sweetie?" Scootaloo asked remember Sweetie's magic link to Diamond Tiara. "She's lying," Sweetie said. 'I'm not lying... I can't tell if she's lying or not through our connection, but she has to be lying right? Right?' The pair did their hardest to ignore her. But Apple Bloom was their mechanics expert, she'd be able to solve these puzzles easy. Not to mention Button Mash would have been a great help, but he wasn't there either. The girls felt like their brains were on fire as they worked. Then Blank Diamond whispered to them the date and time of their deaths, after a long life of being alone, exiled, and unloved. Then the gears shifted. "Who is really to blame for Gabby Gums?" And came the words of Ponyville. "Gabby Gums is such a riot to read!" "Have you read the latest Gabby Gums? It's awesome!" "Are they printing Gabby Gums in the Ponyville Express? No thanks then." 'I always felt so guilty about what we did, I never thought of it that way.' Sweetie thought. 'We mentioned in apology how we kept writing because everypony was reading it but... we didn't think about... ' "HA! Did you hear what they wrote about TRIXIE?! Serves her right!" "Rainbow Crash always was a softy!" "Her dairy says she wants to set up shop in Canterlot? I knew that unicorn thought she was better than everypony else!" "Those Apples always talking about hard work, they're a buncha hypocrite!" "HE STOLE SMARTY PANTS!" "Good pictures, as always Featherweight." "Who is really to blame for Gabby Gums?" Sweetie Belle covered her head with her hooves. She was going to cry. She whispered. "... Everypony." "So, WHAT?!" Scootaloo shouted, standing tall and proud her wings spread. Sweetie looked up at her. + "You're right Diamond Tiara!" Apple Bloom shouted. "You! Us! Featherweight! Cheerilee! Ponyville and Cloudsdale! We're all to blame for Gabby Gums!" + "Well all do selfish and stupid things! But one bad day isn't what you should focus your whole life on!" Scootaloo retorted. Sweetie felt her heart skip a beat. + "And... that's all ya Nightmares have ever been aren't ya?! One bad day that ya refuse to let go of!" "Don't pretend you ever knew me. I am a lifetime of bad days." + "And that past is not today!" Scootaloo called back. "... Is this who you really want to be?" Sweetie Belle asked. + The eyeball thing self-destructed. Ah felt a slight tingle on my flank, Ah turned and looked... no cutie mark... Ah felt for a tick like Ah was like a glass of water about to spill over or somethin'. + Sweetie and Scootaloo felt their cutie marks tingle. Blank Diamond's shadow retreated at lightning speed without a word. They hadn't changed... but... for a moment, it felt like a circuit had been connected or something. The pair redoubled their efforts to finish the remaining 45 puzzles. + I stood up. Apple Bloom, you're right. Thank you! I wasn't going to let that be everything that was me. Just watch. Shady could have not printed any of it. But I never blamed him. I'm not going to play the blame game on something that's done. And that includes myself! We all created Gabby Gums, and it's time to unmake her once and for all! > Sanctium > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ah'd finished the rest of the trip through the gray hallway. The door had a keyhole, but it wasn't even locked. It just slid open when Ah got close. It was all dark beyond. Ah took one deep breath, slowly let it out, and stepped into the Personal Chambers. A dozen green flamed torches all lit up on their own. The room was made of dark gray blocks. The way the blocks were carved reminded me of faces, but the Truth saw just plain stone blocks. No souls trap inside, no rock monsters about to jump out at me. = Viewtiful Joe Music - Boss Stage = But that was nothin' compared to the jade statues. Ah recognized some of the jade faces, but not most of 'em. One was a cross between a skinny mare and a spider with button eyes. Then there was one of Abandon. The third statue was some crazy mix of an eel and a shark with a whole buncha tentacles with claws at the end. Number four was Shub-Neighurath. The fifth statues was... ugh, that thing me, Scoots, Sweetie, and Button Mash kicked six ways from Sunday when it popped up tryin' to keep me from gettin' my brother back to his real self. There was one of a stallion with no face. The faceless stallion wore a business suit and also had lots of tentacles on his back. The seventh statue was a stallion with a tentacle for a head, jaws in its stomach, and its nethers were like the arms of an octopus. Ah had a feelin' what was gonna happen next as Ah took a few trots forward. And Ah wasn't that surprised when Ah saw one's eyes start glowin'. What Ah didn't expect was all seven of 'em to come to life at once! "You're ours now!" Echoed the statue of that thing, like a recordin'. "Now you must face all of us together! You're doomed!" Ah felt like my eye with the truth in it was on fire. Ah felt my forehead and my back burn too. An anger bubbled up inside me and it wanted out. "Why should Ah have to fight ya all?! What's it got to do with anythin'?! Yer alllll.. POINTLESS!" And boom, they all shattered, pieces of jade fallin' to the floor lifeless. The burnin' feelin' faded. Ah kept on truckin'. At least none of 'em were statues of Moon Howler. Was there a point to these rooms? Probably not. Who built all their rooms in a straight line like a train? Probably Discord. The door had that eight diamonds engravin' on it and wasn't locked. The next room had the walls, ceilin' and floor all black. In the center was a nice rug, a pretty table and tea set, along with four chairs. The chair's backs each had a picture each: a flower, a feather, a spoon... and a tiara. In the tiara chair appeared a shadow, shaped like an Alicorn filly, from which a pair of blue lights shown from where the eyes should be. "This curse brought every rumor to life if it was in enough creature's heads. Not just the ones written by Gabby Gums." "Ah knew that already." "But did you think about it?" "We thought about Button Mash." "Where was the article abut Iron Will being a monster? Or Zecora being a witch?" She picked up the cold tea and sipped it. Ah never got tea, tastes like dirty water to me. "Ah.... Ah didn't see it." "That's because there wasn't one. I'm sure you thought about it when you ran into Zecora. You're not stupid, Apple Bloom. Ponies invented that lie all on their own. We never had to encourage those rumors." "What was that?!" "Cool was that a human?" "No, Lyra." "I hear they lure ponies into mazes and eat them!" "I hear they can never get lost!" "I hear The Princess trapped one in a tunnel a million miles long." "Are they male cows?" "Well... when was the last time you saw a four legged bull?" - "She lives WHERE?!" "Only monsters live there!" "She must control them!" "She must be friends with them!" "She's a monster too!" "She can't be trusted!" "Where did she even come from?" "What's with all those weird masks of hers? Is she part of some cult?" "..." No words could come out of my mouth. "Rumors twisted and warped the ponies of Equestria long before Nyarlathotrot or Gabby Gums, or the Canterlot tabloids. We just made it more obvious." "... Yer right, Diamond Tiara, that IS somethin' we ponies gotta get better at. And ponies GOT TO KNOW Zecora! Ponies CAN get better! Just like we got better from the Three Tribes!" = Last Day (Final Hours) - Majora's Mask = "You think that's all there is to it? Even if you had beaten this curse, so what? Our world is a dark and ugly place already. Did you know that pony civilization has been destroyed THREE TIMES, AT LEAST? Ponies violating each other! Rampant racism! Sunny Town! All these were allowed to exist in our world after we broke away from the heart of worlds... This world was already a horror show. Any entity that says differently is a high and mighty hypocrite." Ah narrowed my eyes. "...Yah think Ah didn't already know that?" Diamond's shadow curled about as I continued. "Mah ma and pa are gone, Ah nearly got killed and turned inta a ZOMBIE. Yah ain't tellin' meh anything Ah didn't already know." "... then why are you still fighting?" "Because there's still GOOD things in it." "Liar." Ah didn't finch. "Call Silver Spoon a horrible thing. Cause Ah sure as Tartarus can't. Chrysalis bragged about how Equestria's got more love than anywhere else! Or was she blowin' smoke?! Changelings are all our friends now! We're friends with Spike! Princess Gaia, no matter how crazy she was, she healed nearly everypony of Discord's sick games! And EVERYPONY FORGAVE Luna for bein' Nightmare Moon! Ah still say the good outweighs the bad!" She didn't huff and puff, she didn't shout or make a face. She didn't give that annoying laugh. Her shadow didn't grin like a shark or look smug like a weasel. She was like a machine, or a statue. "Then you're right, Apple Bloom. Equestria was once a wonderful world of love and friendship in spite of the beasts and villains kept in check by heroes. Did you wonder why Uncle Nyarlathotrot had so much raw material to work with?" Ah replied irritated, bored, insulted, annoyed, and just plain done with all her horse plop. "Haven't we kinda beaten that dead horse enough already? Like, straight into the ground?" "Then this will be my last remark on the subject," She stated. “Really hope so,” Ah said, but Ah knew she was lyin'. "Uncle Nyarlathotrot served the Shadow Who Watch. Equestria being a paradise reminds The Shadow Who Watch how flawed their world is, and so they desire to see our Elysium become Tartarus. Seeing an ideal makes them uncomfortable. Paradise going to hell restores their comfort. Uncle Nyarlathotrot had experience making such worlds for them, that's why they desire the dark. Better than an impossible ideal." Ah'll admit, Ah felt like a punch in the gut from that one, or maybe more like Ah'd gotten the rug pulled out from under me. Ah should just go around her and get to the next room. But where was the door? Was this a dead end? No! There had to be a way through! "Ah can't argue that... ya know more about this than me, Diamond Tiara." "That name means nothing now." Ah winced. Then Ah returned fired. "But have ya ever MET a Shadow? Or just heard about 'em from Umbra and Discord? Cause if there's one thing this Tartarus has taught meh: passing on information you heard without fact checkin' is how rumors get spread." Ah said, goin' for a quick jab, throwin' her off. "If ya've never met'em, who're YOU to say why they like or hate somethin'?! Or why they do somethin'?!" She got thrown off course, it was really small, Ah only saw with my artist eye, Ah don't think Ah couldda seen it with a microscope. "...Diamond, yah know somethin' else Ah've learned? From a horror story Ah was in?...Ponies ain't always good. Not just Flim and Flam. Just like changelings weren't all rotten like Chrysalis and Kabuto. Most of 'em ain't!...So maybe there are rotten Shadows, but if nothin' in Equestria's all good or all bad, why should they be any different? Why should we EXPECT them to be any different?" Diamond didn't budge. "...What about Discord?" Ah shuddered...but didn't change my tune. "...Are there more Draconequi than just him?" "Yes." "...They ain't all here turnin' Equestria into somethin' nasty. 'Life ain't fair' big sister is always sayin', life is hard! Life ain't gonna hold yer hoof! Life is gonna give and take things without askin'! And risin' to the challenge is how we get better! So maybe they just want us to be alive, and Ah can't call 'em wrong for that!" "... I used to think how blind you and your friends were to your own talents was funny... or so I told myself. But now that I'm not bound by feelings, you make even less sense," she said like Ah was homework, not a pony. "Shouldn't that make me more fun with the company yer keepin'?" "There's a difference between meaningless, and senseless. Alula broke, Tootsie broke, I shattered, your friends and your sister and her friends cracked when they all learn the truth. Yet you don't bend or break. You're just a filly like us. Do you think you're better than me and my friends?" "After makin' friends with Silver Spoon? Not anymore. And seein' Sweetie Belle use her magic? Ah just have faith in fundamental goodess, and that there are times when the dark can be used responsibly!" The shadow's blue lights shined brighter, but like they were gettin' colder, not hotter. The chairs, walls, tea, everythin' turned gray. Her shadow silently zipped away like a bowstring. = 'Hollow Bastion' - Kingdom Hearts 1 OST = A silver diamond studded key fell to the floor where the shadow had been. Ah picked it up. There still wasn't any new way in or out of this place. What was the key for? Ah got a crazy idea. Ah hurried to the door Ah came in through. Ah didn't need a key to come in ... So why have a keyhole? Ah closed the door, put in the key and turned it. Ah heard somethin' unlock! Ah pulled the door open to somewhere that wasn't the way Ah'd came. On the other side was... a big beautiful gold framed lookin' glass. How could a mirror be so beautiful? So wonderful, so perfect? = The Bearer of the One Ring (Return of the King, 1980) = Ah saw myself. Ah was an Alicorn Princess. Ah was pretty and flawless. Ah could fix everypony's problems. Everypony came to me fer help. Ah was the one who got stuff done. Ah was the one who helped along Equestria's heroes from the background, so they didn't feel weak and useless even if Ah couldda solved all these problems by myself, well, maybe times when Ah was too busy Ah could let 'em do some stuff. Everypony listened to me. Nopony to told me how wrong Ah was, how stupid Ah was, or how Ah should just shut up. Ah was the gal who told the jerks to shut up! And they just did... then they... Ah dunno, went around the bend and weren't seen again. The bearer of the Truth, the holder of the Truth Stands on the very brink of fate; Staring into eyes of deceit and despair That rise and shrink with wait. Ah wore jeweled dresses that made Rarity's look like trash! Ah had the biggest, reddest, most sparklin' apple for a cutie mark ever! The bearer of the Truth, the holder of the Truth, She hears a voice compelling her; Filling her with thoughts that echo in her mind It should be telling her she'd find: Beware, the power is a power never known. Beware, the power that was simple now has grown. Beware, O, bearer of the Truth, The final power has yet to be shown! I'd find Scootaloo's parents and get 'em to move in with Rainbow Dash. Ah'd bring Sweetie Apple Acres out of the Three Tribes Age, Ah'd bring Ponyville, Canterlot, Equestria into the future! Ah could do all this and more! Me! ME! ME! Ah was the real hero! They could never win without my help! The bearer of the Truth, the holder of the Truth, Through forces too tempting to resist, Must recall the quest to end the darkest lie That Shadow's pen has kissed. All them lies Ah destroyed, and make sure none ever appeared again. There Ah was! Ah could just reach out and touch it. The bearer of the Truth, the holder of the Truth, Beware who holds The Truth! Must recall the quest To end It was a lie. Since when did Ah want to be a princess? Okay, what filly hadn't wanted that? But it wasn't what Ah wanted more than anythin'. Ah was dang good and fine without it! Ah didn't care if Ah was Queen of Equus, a future without my friends there wasn't one Ah wanted. "Mah sister doesn't like lyin' at all...but Ah'm not mah sister, so...that was a pretty good trick you pulled. Thanks fer helpin'." Ah said to Trixie after her disguise as Cobweb, and meant it. Ah'd forgotten 'bout that. Ah wonder how much Ah'd changed cause of the Truth, or seein' this world of lie. Ah'd never wanted to be some knight of truth. Applejack and her friends only winnin' 'cause Ah secretly help'em? Ah didn't need to make other ponies' doin's mine to make what Ah do worth somethin'. Ah felt my forehead and back tingle as Ah pushed the mirror, it fell back and shattered. "My own four hooves are enough, Ah didn't need the hooves of others to boss around." Ah stepped over the broken mirror, and was now in Diamond Tiara's bedroom. Except it wasn't an oversized dollhouse room with more toys than a toy store. No mountain of dolls and plushies. No pretty books she never read. No frilly bed. No pictures of herself everywhere. In short, it was nothing like Ah expected. The walls floor and ceilin' were as black as bein' blind. A big round gray bed sat in the room’s center. On it was a plushie of a black cat with a blue collar. A couple little doorless entrances led off to a bathroom and pantry of the most basic and lifeless design. There was a giant hourglass just loomin’ in the room like some big brute. Remember what Ah said about the walls, floors and ceilin'? There was a bit more to it than that. Ah could just barely see it. High Equestrian symbols written in pencil. It started on the ceiling, and moved out to the walls, then down to the floor, and circled down to the middle... and just stopped halfway in drawin' one of the symbols. Ah squinted. Ah knew one or two words. Zecora and Twilight had taught me just a few. Ah saw the symbol for Nightmare, repeatin' over and over. And Ah saw the symbols Ah recognized my name, and the names of my kin and kith... So much for her big lie. Thank Celestia. Ah saw one more door. The words 'printing press' were engraved on it... but the words, 'Abandon all hope ye who enter here' were BURNED into the gray wood, still smokin'. Yeah, she was definitely waitin' for me in there. But Ah've saved the biggest part for last. Cause before Ah saw that unfinished story on the walls, before Ah noticed the door, there were the floatin' windows. It reminded me of Button Mash's magic game screen. But they weren't showin' little block drawin's of us and numbers. It showed Diamond Tiara... over and over... but not the Diamond Tiara Ah knew, and not the Diamond Tiara we'd been fightin'. So many different Diamond Tiaras... Ah saw one where she was playin' with a flesh and blood version of the black cat plushie on the bed, except the cat kinda acted like a dog. A little faded pink hamster with her crown and cutie mark runnin' in a wheel forever. A Diamond Tiara who... whoa... she looked like, what was that cross between a monkey and a minotaur called again that The Megan was supposed to be? Oh right, 'human.' She was wearing some pajamas and being consoled by her human pa over some nightmares she’d been havin'. Another one had her piloting a giant robot while she was in a swimsuit. And she spoke in a Stalliongrad accent. "You built this robot with parts you stole from the Loyalists, I'm simply taking it back. And blow up a city so the world thinks you're terrorists... unless your little army swears loyalty to the Loyalists and help bring about actual peace." Miss Twilight Sparkle's father, dressed like a solider and wore an eyepatch, looked up at the robot in horror. "Diamond Tiara, how can you do this?" "THAT NAME IS A LIE! My age? My cutie mark? The whole 'filly who believes' garbage? All given to me for my mission! If you think you can stop me, then go ahead and try!" She then began to sing an upbeat song that made the fight feel even more wrong. Ah looked away. - ...A Diamond Tiara who...who went too far with Dinky and...and had tah make a deal with a not-as-evil Discord tah fix it. Next; a robot filly bein' put togethe'? Oh wait, they're dressin' it up tah look like Diamond? A Diamond Tiara doin' Discord's dirty work too, but actin' more like Pinkie Pie if she were even crazier...then cryin' her heart out tah Scootaloo and helpin' a big goat monster, Grogar? A Diamond Tiara who was given a weird indigo colored ring by Rarity, and both of 'em had weird staffs to fight zombies in black. A Diamond Tiara wearin' AJ's hat arguin' with a me who was a big brat. A Diamond Tiara wearin' diapers for teasin' Scootaloo wearin' 'em after a scooter accident, and Diamond Tiara now bein' teased by Silver Spoon about it! Ah saw a Diamond Tiara who took a prank on Scootaloo way too far in front of the class for not being able to fly and...Scootaloo went berserk on her...but Cheerilee took her to the hospital...her parents couldn't even make it but Cheerilee stayed with her. - Then a weird one where Ah was a colt named Applebuck, but filly me was there too and so was filly Diamond! And...EW! We had colt me seduce Diamond Tiara tah get back at 'em! Applebuck seemed as grossed out as me. Then... - There was the inside of a big mansion, looked a little like the insides of the first parts of the house, is this the Rich house like it's supposed to be? There was Diamond Tiara, the one and only, she looked like she was trapped in a cage with a Ursa Major. In front of her was this mare with a busted nose who looked like she could make a sunny day cry. "I give you the best tutors, the best supplies, I even became head of the school board so Cheerilee wouldn't report your schoolyard antics to your father. And NOTHING is how you repay me?! Any other filly would have soared to the highest heights with what I've given you! So, are you really just trying to make me look bad, or are you just a defective jewel?" Diamond Tiara's lips quivered, her eyes wide as dinner plates. She started cryin'. "I-I-I'm-" "I should be the one crying! But if you WANT something to cry about, I'll give you that too!" She scrambled to wipe her tears away. "I-I'm not c-crying-" "AND NOW YOU'RE LYING TO YOUR OWN MOTHER! Do you think I'm stupid?!" "NO! I don't! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" "Are you? Because I recall hearing you saying those words before. Yet you never improve." "I won't lose! I won't let them win! They'll live to work for me when I'm done!" "They better! I bore you for eleven months, fed and clothed you since the day you were born! Was I wasting my time on a defective diamond?" "You weren't! I swear!" "I've raised you since the day you were born to be a lady, to take command, to rise, I taught you how to speak, to succeed me, to surpass me, how to curry favor from your superiors, how to act around your inferiors, to never accept defeat, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and all you ever do is LOSE IT! Come along! I'll be instructing you personally today!" "Y-yes, mother." - Her ma?! HER MA?! That was her ma?! Ah didn't recognize-, did she look like- How can anypony say that to her own filly?! Ah didn't meet my Ma, but Ah still know what parents don't say to their youngin's! Queen Chrysalis wasn't that awful to her filly! Things blurred, it was now the end of the day. Diamond Tiara looked tired, kinda like a ghost. Ah looked as well as Ah could, but at least Ah didn't see any bruises on her... But there really hadn't been any bruises anypony could see after what Discord did to all of us... and that made it worse. Then Ah saw some kinda shadow thing on the wall with glowin' green eyes and a red horn looming behind her. "Let your heart listen to my voice, little one. You despise your parents who decided your fate for you. And because of that fate they choose for you, others have all judged you. And even the one you hold most dear will eventually abandon you once that destiny your family chose for you comes into conflict with what she wants. Hate them all. Hate them for using you. Hate them for judging you. Hate them for abandoning you. We're alike. We can help each other. I can lend you power to punish them!" Ah took in a deep breath. Ah couldn't believe what Ah was seein'. That shadow thing didn't LOOK like Discord... and it didn't, Ah dunno, FEEL like 'im, either. "... No." "WHAT?! "I ... I don't hate daddy... If... Silvey ever left me, which she'd never do, I'd... I'd be SAD, not angry... And... I don't hate those stupid blank flanks... and it's not like I'm jealous of them for getting to find who they are instead of being told." "What of your mother?!" "... I care more about daddy and Silvey, than I want to get back at her." "Agh! Make I'll have better luck with the white one who loves to sing." - WAAAGH! What in loving Princess Celestia is THAT THING?! It looks like ... like... some big round robot the size of a planet with a skull face the size of Equestria! And... there's a buncha of 'em!? "Consume... CONSUME EVERYTHING!" The horrible things echoed. "GIVE ME BACK MY MOM!" It was... Diamond Tiara as an PRINCESS?! Looking like a noble little alicorn in a fancy gown and crown?! The skull faces fires lasers that looked like they could have blown up Equus! Princess Diamond Tiara deflected them all. Then one TELEPORTED behind her and SWALLOWED HER. She escaped punching an island sized tooth out. A name came to me: 'Earth Bound Kings.' The monsters' name was the Earth Bound Kings. Princess Diamond tore one of the monster robots open like it was an orange! With nothin' but pony strength! "Mom! Hold on!" "Con.... sume..." The big monster groaned. She dove into the mess of the monster, blowin' up a buncha bug-like monsters that swarmed at her like antibodies attacking bacteria. "S-S-STOP! Anything you want we shall give! Wealth! Power! Riches! Your own virtual universe! Please! You don't need to be just a mere Alicorn! You-You can be made something far more e-e-efficient!" She flew out with what looked like her Ma from what Ah saw her kinda at Canterlot, except she was a Princess too. The lights around the robot began to die down, had it been usin' her like a battery? "CON-SUME!!!" Mental tentacles sprouted from the robot and reached for them. Then Princess Diamond and her Ma touched horns and blasted the monster to space dust. - Ah whispered. "She loves a ma that loves her... more than she hates a ma who doesn't..." Ah looked at one last floatin' window. It looked like the the Diamond Tiara Ah knew... It looked like a room fit for royalty. And there more toys than Ah'd think any filly would know what to do with. But there weren't a bijillion pictures of herself everywhere, instead, on a dresser, there was a Hearth Warming Eve picture of her and Silver Spoon smilin' together in the most garish dresses Ah'd ever seen. She was cryin', Ah couldn't tell if this was after she'd had that 'chat' with her ma or not. But Ah knew somethin' had hurt 'er bad! She look in a mirror, like she barely knew her own reflection. Without really thinkin' about it, Ah touched the window, like Ah could magically comfort her through her through. Ah felt my flank tingle, but still Ah didn't see a cutie mark. But Ah did feel what she was feelin'... trapped and alone. If I'm a diamond Then why do I feel so rough? I'm as strong as a stone Even that's not enough - Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in puzzle room 82, at the same time, felt their cutie marks tingle. And a vision assaulted them both. Sweetie grabbed onto Scootaloo for comfort, and her friend folded her wings around her. Sweetie Belle like her heart was going to shatter into a million pieces. And she sang, but she knew it wasn't her words she was singing. There's something jagged in me And I've made such mistakes I thought that diamonds were hard Though I feel I could break A mother who told her to always be the best, and to do anything to be the best... even if it meant stomping out the competition. A father who told her everything she did was right, while her mother criticized everything she did. I've been told my whole life What to do, what to say Nopony showed me that There might be some better way And now I feel like I'm lost I don't know what to do The ground is sinking away I'm about to fall through Would you believe That I've always wished I could be somepony else? Yet I can't see What I need to do to be the pony I want to be Scootaloo knew Sweetie Belle's style of singing, and that hadn't been it. "Sweetie Belle... was that... Diamond Tiara?" Sweetie Belle cried. "It was her heart, or I think her heart... " "Would you like mommy to be nice like she used to be my sweet?" - Ah wrenched my hoof from the window. It was... so sad. Ah felt it. Was Diamond so scared of her feelin' she threw away her heart or somethin'? It was like she had everythin', so she had nothin'. Ah shook my head. Ah don't know if this related to OUR Diamond Tiara or not! But from everythin' Ah was seein', maybe Ah understood her just a bit better. Ah stomped to the door. Ah'd been distracted long enough. Ah looked again at the message, Abandon all hope ye who enter here "No," Ah said, and Ah kicked down the door. > the end > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER TITLE: the end 'If Ah go beyond this point, Ah bet there's no turnin' back. Well, fine ‘n’ dandy by me!' Ah stepped through. THE INNER SANCTUARY = The Forlorn Sanctum (Tower Lair) - Shovel Knight = So little was lit, and so deep was the dark, Ah felt like Ah was standin' on a path in the void. Everythin' was so minimal Ah could barely see anythin'. Ah couldn't tell how big the room was, but it was almost bare. Ah... Ah didn't see the printin' press. Nope. Not this time. This was where everythin' had led. The presses had to be here. This was where our quest finished, so it had to be here, end of discussion. The floor Ah could see was grey purple stone. Everythin' was so still, silent, lifeless. Then a light flicked on, and Ah saw there was a little folded note on the floor. Cheese to a mousetrap. Ah picked it up. It was blank. "Remind you of anypony?" It was her voice with none of her snideness or anythin' else in it. It came flashing back to me. That day Diamond Tiara singled me out, when Miss Cheerilee explained the basics on cutie marks, and that first mean prank that was her openin' number. Ah couldn't stop myself from rollin' my eyes and sayin', "Come on, Diamond Tiara, even you don't recycle your material this much." More lights turned on. There she stood on a raised landin'. What would Sweetie call it? A 'dais?' There was the Nightfilly, not a shadow, not a puppet, the real her. On her flank, was her crown twisted around, it had eight outward points. "The third and final member of the new Gabby Gums welcomes you to the heart of the World Tower." On the bright side, the more we talked, the less she was workin' on the last lie. Uuugh. Lookin' at 'er actually felt kinda painful. Her eyes were pale blue, and slit like a dragon's, like Nightmare Moon's. She had wings and a horn, like somethin' in her dreams, and my nightmares, ugh, bad pun, Ah know. She didn't have her crown. Ah remembered all the times Ah'd have loved to knock it off. But now seein' her without it felt wrong. She wasn't covered in jewelry like Ah thought she'd be after becomin' an Alicorn. Ah'd recognize that mane and tail style anywhere, even if the light purple part was now almost black. Her expression was just so... not there. None of that sadistic glee from when she bullied me. When Ah said it kinda hurt lookin' at her with the Truth? Ah... Ah really not sure how to describe it proper. She wasn't a cutout, or a hole, or some kinda blind spot. It was worse, like she was a wound in the world. My truthful eye couldn't focus on her without it hurtin' all the worse. My artist's eye could SEE HER just fine, but Ah couldn't get anythin' from 'er. And... I knew she was no illusion... but Ah couldn't FEEL her there. Not like a corpse, or any kind of undead, just that she wasn't there! "How it began, it should end like it too." I shook my head. "It was never about Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo, and it was never about me being a blank flank, was it? There are plenty of other foals ya could have picked on. You didn't care Sweetie or Scootaloo were blank flanks, you were angry they stood up to ya. You weren't at war with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, you were at war with me! It was always between us." "That was once upon a time, Apple Bloom. Now? I realize we're both empty. Puppets dancing on strings. I can't escape it. Neither can you," she said like she was readin' a spreadsheet. "Ah've MET fate! It ain't all just one straight line." "And yet all the roads are made for us. Ahem: you're just my toy Apple Bloom, it's time to throw you out little worn toy." She sneered, wicked glee suddenly drippin' from her voice, like her bad old self. "Ah don't exist just for ya!" Ah reacted like a bump in the knee. Her face and tone went back to zero. "You're right. I exist only for you." "What?!" "What I just said? It was just so you could say something brave in retort. The only reason I exist is to embellish your existence. I can't escape it no more than you can get your cutie mark, it's a road without end Apple Bloom. Fate won't let you. There's only one way for her to be free. This world must be struck with tragedy so black that the chains holding it shatter." "... Silver Spoon... She was the only friend ya could ever had who ya could be sure wasn't wantin' just to be friends with yer pa's bank account, ya musta been so afraid of tryin' to make friends. Ya... " My eyes widened. "Ya were jealous." "Spare me your random drivel and straw grasping. My fate was always to be your villain, your speed bump who'd always fail. My every thought and action is to be hated. I don't need a motive, or an actual goal. I exist just to personify whatever ordeal you happen to have, and overcome me. I'm still just carrying out that purpose," she said indifferently. Even turned into a Nightfilly, Ah can't say Ah'd ever imagined those words leavin' Diamond Tiara's mouth. Ah felt like screamin' 'WHAT THE BUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?' Instead Ah said, "Go look at those other Diamonds in yer bedroom and let THEM retort you instead of me, a lot of 'em do a much better job than Ah ever could. Ah saw a bunch who looked like they were HELPIN' ponies!” It was strange...Ah swore Ah saw SOMETHING in her eyes when Ah said that...but The Truth still just saw a wound. She said like a book report, "Luckily for those Diamond Tiaras, none of them are me." "We're who we chose to be," Ah sighed. "Who we are is decided for us. Be it your cutie mark, parents, or Equestria itself. I saw myself a hundred times over, the little monster who grew up to be a big monster. But the moment the ripple from the heart of worlds came, suddenly poof, the world let her be a good person, all by Fate's whims. And all the hatred directed me, simply shifted to somepony else. Equestria's ideals are a lie. Hate doesn't vanish, it just gets moved around. It's all pointless. Let it all end." Ah really wanted to smack her for everythin' she put me through... But Ah don't think she'd care. Ah also felt sorry fer her at the same time. "Diamond Tiara... Ah'm not sorry for standin' to ya at yer cutie mark party.... But Ah am sorry ya got shown up with yer best friend on yer special day. Ah'm sorry yer feelin's were hurt." "I don't have feelings. Diamond Tiara was a spoiled whining weakling, I destroyed her. If you have to call me something, call me Blank Diamond." "That... that ain't yer Nightmare name." "Names are linked to identities, and identities hold power." "... It was somepony ya loved wasn't it? The hatred towards ya ya talked about... it got directed at somepony ya love wasn't it? Why else would ya care that much?" She didn't answer. In other words, she knew any lie she said Ah'd pick up on. In other words, Ah was right. Dang it, there's that weird...whatever Ah saw in her eyes for a split second again. Ah know Ah saw it, but the Truth just isn't showin' anything. "And she's not stuck being stuck-up like you two!" Ah don't believe this. "Scootaloo said she was WRONG fer sayin' that Tiara! Twice! Ya AREN'T glued into what ya are! Silver Spoon wasn't and neither are ya!" "Ponies don't apologize because they think they were wrong. They apologize because it puts them on an even higher moral high ground!" Blank Diamond said. "Tell this monster or that monster how stupid and inane they are. Telling them what big losers they are. How they can't measure up to you. That you're the one whose going to win. Feeling your heart race, the thrills, the high rushing through you. Seeing them slowly crack and break, until they just shatter. Seeing the pieces fall all around you. The comfort of knowing that you're the hammer, and they're the glass. The satisfaction you get after browbeating them, tearing apart their argument and beliefs to shreds, the pure satisfaction of you being right, and them being wrong, and there's nothing they can do about it. It makes the pain just go away doesn't it? You don't even think about it, it just comes naturally. The big speeches, the put downs... come on, Apple Bloom." She pointed at herself. "Your biggest target is right here. Let's hear the speeches about how much I suck. You've been building them up for years. You know you love it. You know you want to. Don't even TRY to deny it. You can't escape the high." Ah regarded her coolly. "Ya want me ta tell ya how stupid you're bein'? Fine. Yer bein’ stupider than a chipmunk lookin’ fer nuts in a hornet’s nest, Diamond Tiara. There. Hope that put-down of mine was worth the long and snooty rant ya just went runnin’ yer mouth about.” Saying that didn’t quite give me all that big of a 'high,' ta be honest, and... she didn't even blink. Ah might've as well have insulted a rock, or a statue. My artist's eye picked it up, the tiniest ghost of a... smile. Ah felt sick to my stomach for takin' her bait. “... Ah'm sorry." Okay, there it was in her eyes again. How does Twilight put it? Twice is a coincidence, three is a pattern? Or are my eyes just bein' screwy? "Silver Spoon, yer ma, and yer pa ALL still love ya. Even Alula and Tootsie still love ya." "I have a new family now." Ah looked around, Ah knew Ah was lookin' a gift horse in the mouth, but better ta know where the wasp in the room is. "Where is Discord?" "He's very close by, very close indeed." Ah kept my eyes peeled, lookin' around us, but Ah didn't see 'em anywhere. "How does it feel to have come all this way and be alone, Apple Bloom? All alone, nopony to help you, nopony to be at your side. And who is to blame for that? So much for your friends." "How does that prove a gosh-darn thing? My friends aren't here, and my parents are in Heaven but they're still my family! Distance don't matter one bit...This ain't about me though, is it? It's about you. Cause if ya can convince me Ah'm alone just because my friends ain't here, then yah can say yer alone just cause Silver Spoon ain't here. That's all this is, isn't it?" "She means nothing to me now." "HORSE APPLES! You still couldn't do it to Silver Spoon! That's why she wasn't at the schoolhouse with everypony else!" "Oh please, if I had made that argument you'd say how that was just my excuse to myself for doing what I've done." "If ya really were as no-hearted and 'everything should end' as yah say ya are...ya'd have written that the sun died and we all froze to death. Or a meteor no pony can stop is gonna fall. Not help make our home a horror movie! So why didn't ya?" = 'End Of The World' - Kingdom Hearts 1 = "You've come so far, and you're still an ignorant country bumpkin, the universe hates a void, if I don't play this role, somepony else will. That is reality. I will protect her." "Ah don't think the world needs jerks to be interesting! And Ah don't think the world needs Nightmares!" "Not needed? A horror show you say? 'You haven't seen my best work', uncle would say." "Uncle?!" "Nyarlathotrot. He's cousins to Discord. I am part of a family of dark forces now Apple Bloom." "HOGWASH! Yer real ma and pa are dyin' to be with ya again!" "Too late for that. You never saw Nyarlathotrot's greatest horror: 'Twilight Sparkle and her friends, turned into demons, fallen draconequi, as evil and twisted as Discord, and completely beyond any hope of redemption. The wicked love company. Luna giving into her darkness becoming Nightmare Moon again and making Zecora her minion. While Celestia, Cadence, and Shinng Armor are made willing slaves of something just as evil. And no self-defeating evil plan, so don't get those hopes up. The world would be wired not to let them be saved.' An Equestria trapped in an endless futile conflict between other villains and absurd anti-heroes. 'The great alter to meaninglessness' he told me, he said I should love it. How for me, it would hold a certain beauty, that Equestria." And Sunny Town get dethroned as 'number one nightmares for life.' "Wrong! Because that wouldn't be Equestria! It wouldn't be us little ponies! It would be just some ugly mockery of everything we're supposed to be! It's ain't beautiful! It's an insult!" "That's what uncle said. 'A world of Chaos Demons, a world of Nightmares, a world of the Eldritch Abominations, with ponies stuck in the middle having to be as brutal and without mercy as the rest just to live to see another day. It's our paradise,' uncle said. 'The new unbreakable status quo. And even if any side won, what made Equestria 'Equestria', will be dead forever.'" She rolled her eyes. "But the me of his 'masterwork' survived in the Pony Empire and became a school teacher, while you all became violent ruthless badflanks, so there's that right?" "No it isn't! That's... that's... that's like givin' a pony a candy after ya've broken all their legs! It's horrible!" Ah kept lookin' around for the press, but Ah couldn't see it! Shouldn't my lie detectors be goin' nuts with it nearby? "And yet... that it's horrible for us, meaning nothing to fate. Fate gave us a function and we're doomed to carry it out whether we like it or not or what choices we make. Meaninglessness is the only place you can find meaning. Pointlessness is the only way to find a point." "Horseapples! This Rumor-twisted Ponyville is a nightmare pretending it has business bein' awake! We're done with nightmares, it's time to get back to helping others work out their problems, including you Tiara!" "Don't you get it, this is what fate wants. The different fates won't admit it to each other. But they WANT ponies to be depraved and violent, depressed, and broken, and degenerate. It lets fate unleash the horrors inside herself she dare not show to others. This twisted world, is what she wants. Here's a realistic question: how many award winning stories, have happy endings?" "Ah don't know, but Ah sure know Scootaloo's seen plenty of horror movies with Rainbow Dash, and some she wasn't supposed to. Some movie places turn 'em out like clockwork. Heck, 'Equestria is blown to pieces and a hundred years later ponies have to rebuild without Celestia' movies come out like twice a year! Button Mash's dad has every version of Nuked-Out:Equestria." Ah remembered Applejack talkin' about her friends suin' for debarkation of character, deprivation of character... er, showin' her and 'er friends in a not nice way. "Ya wanna know why Diamond Tiara? Because it's EASY! Yer whole scheme's stupid and uninspired! Ah'e seen how EASY IT IS from those horror stories you've twisted our friends and family inta! Ah remember Dr. Frakenpony lot more than Ah remember any of them slasher movie monsters! It's... it's way too easy... to turn Equestria into a horrible place..." Ah felt sick sayin' it... but Ah couldn't deny it bein' true. Ah said, "Adults... they really put a lot of hard work into makin' sure this Equestria, the Equestria we love... keeps being an Equestria where there's more love per-square-hoof than anywhere else in the world. It's not easy. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, the Princesses, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Miss Cheerilee, Zecora, heck, Megan, Magic Star, and Wind Whistler, they ALL work HARD to have Equestria be the loving Equestria, the harmony Equestria. Nothin' STAYS good by sittin' on yer flanks." Ah sighed, "Passin' the bucket around 'bout mistakes to somepony or somethin' else isa mistake too... Silver Spoon helped ME see the truth, just by me bein' 'round her. Ah thought ya and Silver Spoon's cutie marks were worthless... Ah was wrong. They aren't, and neither are either of you." Ah knew Ah was gettin' in there somewhere. Cause Ah KNOW Ah saw 'er flinch, not from callin' her scheme dumb or how Ah wouldn't give up... but from me sayin' she wasn't worthless...Four times now Ah saw it in her eyes...what the buck is that? "... I thought if Uncle ran hog wild, it would eventually break our world free. It didn't... Uncle was the only one who actually benefited from any of this horror. What a waste. Once the world BECOMES that hideous nightmare... it slowly rots away... In Black vs Black stories, ponies simply turns away... But they stays anyway because of the time already invested, or because they like the fancy fighting, who cares if all sides are equally awful? There's no horror to them, only thrills. Unless I can give the one rumor that will truly free us. We'll be free. It's the only way we can be free. It's the only way she can be safe. "I thought once our world was the most rotted hell ever, we'd escape fate. I was wrong. As long as something is well enough put together, it can be blacker than black and fate will still attach to it like a leech. Which was fine with Uncle, he just wanted a sandbox to spite Happy Endings for her meddlings. He didn't want freedom, he wanted revenge. I understand now that Discord was right not to help him when he faced your sister. I needed a twist of reality so self-contradicting that it would shatter fate's grip on our world forever. And thanks to the endless windows, I found it. The key." She spread out her wings, her eyes glowed like some kinda fire that was colder than ice. "I still have the best rumor to spread. The biggest: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are really Tirek and Grogar in disguise. And their kindness and love is all a trick." She said it so mechanically, no Royal Canterlot Voice, no demonic echo... that indifference, like her words were gears Ah was gettin' crushed in! One of them floatin' windows appeared. Unlike all the horrible nightmares Ah'd seen since this quest started, this one was done in the 'art style' Ah remembered all of Equestria bein' before thin's got twisted. No black charcoal against pink paper. This ... this was like the Boogeymare explodin' out of yer birthday cake right in the middle of the day. Monsters were supposed to be in the dark, not the day, it made it worse! There was Megan from Lickety Split's stories, dressed kinda like Applejack would be. She was in the Canterlot throne room with my big sister and her friends. Princesses Luna and Celestia were with her. But the moment Megan gave Princess Celestia this heart shaped locket... she and Luna laughed evilly, and burst into flames, revealing the monsters Tirek and Gorgar from the age of myths Ah'd heard about in Lickety Split's house. Grogar remarked, "Bein' 'Luna' might have been amusing, but now the real work begins." But then, everythin' froze, then flickered, like when one of Button Mash's games crashed. The entire world inside the magic window, just, stopped. The magic window vanished, or maybe it shattered. My response came loud and clear. "THERE AIN'T NO WAY AH AM EVER LETTIN' THAT RUMOR FLY!" Diamond Tiara spoke... and then... it was like Ah was the one who 'crashed.' She said, "Even if you had time travel, it wouldn't help." The lights all came on. I saw the enchanted printin' press. What'd we'd come all this way for. Fought for. Nearly died a zillion times. Gave up our innocence for. It was smashed to pieces. "But if you feel like trying... be sure to set the time coordinates to when you entered the World Tower's first floor." And that was that. No thoughts. No feelin's. Ah fell to the floor like a broken puppet. "Yes Apple Bloom, it's been printed out for quite a while now. I'm actually impress Celestia and Luna have managed to RESIST for this long. In particular Celestia, we turned her into a depraved pleasure seeker, and still her heart resists becoming Tirek. Too bad for them it's a losing battle. Inch by inch, they're losing themselves." Nothin' she said was a lie. "There will be no reconciliation for this curse even if you could defeat it. History and consistency in our world will shatter from this contradiction, and fate's shackles will be gone. And I've set the curse to erase itself from existence once its last task is done, but leaving all the changes intact." Ah was dead inside. Ah might've well have been a corpse. "Yes Apple Bloom, all your struggles, all your hard work, it was all meaningless. And no choice you could have made different would have changed the outcome. You should have let Cheerilee kill you, instead of wasting everypony's time." Ah had nothin' to say. Nothin' to do. Ah might've well as not exist. "What's wrong Apple Bloom? Don't feel like turning into a Nightmare for one last climatic but meaningless fight? Father's actually disappointed. He says it's what he deserves." Ah had nothin' to fight for. Nopony to save. No matter what Ah did, it was over. Ah might've well have started a mutiny on a sinkin' ship. "Then you can welcome Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and tell them the good news." Everythin' was a wasted effort, why bother even tryin'? Don't try, don't fail. "And the Heart World will never have its claws in us again." "... Yer lyin'. That ain't why yer doin' this... " Ah said like a robot, it was like a knee reflex, involuntary. "And I have no intention of telling you why. Because it hardly matters now." Ah said nothin', Ah just lyin' on the floor, not even twitchin'. "How does it feel to be alone without a friend in the face of your worst nightmare? That all your effort was a waste from the beginning?" Ah croaked out. A little spark in my brain. The slidin' door with the giant piece of toast. The room with the infinite monsters. That troll wantin' to challenge one of us. "How does it feel, ya ask me again and again? Feels like ya... ya always wanted it to be just me here. All them traps, all them monsters... ya didn't want ta slow us down... ya... ya just wanted only me to reach the top. That's why ya didn't want Alula and Tootsie to fight us once we were in the tower... it really was a pointless fight. You just wanted me here alone." My own voice sounded like a record player, just goin' through the motions. "There's a difference between The Truth and The Obvious, Apple Bloom. I had no reason to put obstacles in your way once I destroyed the presses, I could have given you all a free ride on the elevator for all the difference it would've made. I was expecting one of your friends would heroically say 'I'll fight this one, the rest of you go on' at every monster you faced. But annoying extras kept showing up and doing the job for you. So I won't say everything went to plan, and there were points I was certain you'd blaze up here, and others when I thought you'd be dead. For instance, I figured your four friends would fight Uncle's game data toys, and the one of you with the truth would hurry on to the top." "Ya can't do this... yer parents... Silver Spoon... Alula, Tootsie... they'll suffer too." Some little wisp of heart inside me escaped. =To the beat of 'Cold Nightmare' from the episode Hearth Warming's Eve Tale= Do you think I feel regret, or sadness? I feel noth-thing. Your infections are but a fla-ash in the dark. My heart is gone. It is no more. Fill the void as many times as you wish. It will always empty once more. Like a flash in the dark, you can't fill what isn't there. And then there was only darkness. ... .. . > NOT The End > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Several equinoid figure lay, leaned, sat, and stood among the stairs and hallway. They ranged from foal-sized to Big Mac sized, all randomly scattered about, wrapped up in brown moth-eaten sheets. Nothin' of what lay underneath was visible. But Ah saw with my truth what they were. ... .. . She... she said she destroyed the presses before we left the first floor... where we met those things and the doll... That means... "You..." Ah blinked my eyes open. "You wouldn't've smashed the presses... unless Ah could've still done somethin' with 'em." Ah slowly pushed myself up. "If ya could've vaporized 'em or sent ‘em ta the moon, ya would've too... So Ah'm guessin', this here World Tower... isn't just a fancy name... it's got the magic that lets ya send that message to EVERYPONY even if it's only in the back of their heads, so Ah'm guessin' ya can't move it. And the presses are still the heart of the curse... so ya can't turn it to ashes, just smash it so Ah couldn't repair the world... And them lies waitin' down stairs waitin' to be told... Ya didn't use up all of them, but ya didn't have time to write up a zillion little lies, cause ya thought we'd be here by now... And if ya could've gotten rid of 'em, ya would've already. Ah can't still save the world!" Ah couldn't sense it, but Ah could still SEE IT when Diamond Tiara sent that bolt of black magic right at my head that Ah dodged, which left a smokin' hole in the floor. And there's that something in her eye...this time it's bigger...this time Ah KNOW Ah saw somethin' in there! = 'Calling' - World Ends With You = "If you've trashed it... then Ah'm just gonna hafta fix it!" "Good luck doing that when you’re dancing with death." "Ah saw Ah'd lose fightin' ya and if Ah run away Ah go Nightmare...but that ain't the only outcomes! A fight takes two. If yah attack and Ah don't fight back, this ain't a FIGHT is it?" "Going to tell Cheerilee on me?" Diggin' mah hooves in, Ah told her, "Ah ain't runnin', but Ah'm not gonna fight ya neither. Ah'm takin' a third option! Ah'm a builder, not a warrior. There ain't nothin' Ah can't fix! AND AH'M GONNA REPAIR THE MOTHER HUGGIN' WORLD!" Okay Miss Twilight, you managed to out-smart a Nightmare... Let's hope Ah can do the same! "Enough bumpkin speak. Screw philosophy, I'm just going to end you." Ping! She got me in the magic grip of that new horn of hers, Ah floated off the ground, the worst feelin' for an earth pony. Ah couldn't reach or touch nothin'. Ah felt her begin to twist my legs the wrong ways, Ah fought back to keep 'em the right way. Her expression didn't change, instead Ah saw her begin to charge up her horn. Oh no. Everypony, Ah'm sorry. = Hopes And Dreams - Undertale = She fired. A flash of magic, a scream, and Ah hit the ground with a thud. Except Ah didn't have a smokin' hole in my head. Ah looked to see... "Button Mash!" He was holdin' a shield that was polished like a mirror. Diamond Tiara's eyes narrowed. "Shipping saves lives!" He said proudly. Then he glanced at me with a smile. "Sorry I'm late... the hedges, flowers, statues, front door, and path tiles outside the mansion attacked me all at once." Diamond Tiara's eye twitched. "You... Your role is over. These events have no further need of you." Button Mash smirk very widely. "Sorry. I’m not your actor, and the script stinks, anyway. If the Elements of Harmony and everypony else can't come to help I figured I should." "Those friends of hers aren't here to help, so what gives you the right to be here?" "I am her friend!" Ah smiled. "Darn right ya are!" + "Still holding on, Lulu?" Dragon-cord snorted flames. "Good! I want to beat you, not Grogar!" The armored Selena panted from the pain of the splitting headaches, which were coming back more and more often. They hurt like a parasite was eating her from the inside. She pushed it back. SHE WAS THE MOON! She wouldn't be thwart by this curse a second time! "Don't worry Dissy, I have just begun to fight!" "It's a horrible feeling isn't it? Something that isn't even you slowly growing like a cancer from the inside..." And for a second, Discord sounded sad. "Let me sever your connection to this avatar Lulu, so we can keep having fun!" + Meanwhile, inside the soul of Princess Celestia... There was a small Alicorn filly with pink hair. Facing a Tirek who grew larger and larger by the minute. "Stop running, little filly, I'll eat you sooner or later!" Celly meanwhile gave off what potshots she could as she fled from the giant demonic centaur. And the little filly thinks, 'Dissy... is this what it was like for you?' + Hopefully Not Apple Bloom's Last Entry Diamond Tiara snorted. She fire one of those screaming ghost skull thingies. "Alicorn Shield!" Button Mash's mirror shield got replaced with a purple one that had Celestia's face engraved on it. The spell splattered on his shield like mud on a window, but the shield was clean and shiny. "So, is this another of fate's schemes? She was always good at making you think it was your own choice. You spoke with her didn't you? She's using you. Rust." A spinning clock symbol appeared above her head and she fired again. Button this time brought out a wooden shield, it grew into a tree and began to fall over on her. "But it's just experiences and lessons that were spoon-fed to you." Curved black blades formed along her wings and shot out at the tree cuttin' it to pieces. Button grabbed a piece that turned into a new wooden shield. "It was never your own choices," she said. The black razors flew about and came at me. Button jumped next to me, shoutin', "Duck!" Ah did so. Button changed out to another shield; this one metal with Equestria's crest on it. He spun around like a ballerina, knocking the blades into floors and walls where they dissolved. "Come now, I was looking forward to the adorable 'We all have free will.' speech," Tiara said, again sounded like she was a robot recitin' a script. "Aphrodite once told me if our feelings are just brain chemistry, then it's our choices that make 'em true! And I chose ta care about Sweetie Belle and all my friends FOR REAL!" Button shouted. I don't care what tone she used, Ah KNEW she was ticked off under that show of coldness. "You don't have friends. You don't want friends. You want player-2s." The Spell of Destruction was fired right at me, Button's shield blocked it, and he held it back! Ah opened my mouth but Button didn't need me to, Ah'm proud of 'em. "If that was true, I wouldn't be here!" He said glancin' back at me as his shield failed to break. Was that shield indestructible?! Who am Ah kiddin', it likely was! "Think ya can keep 'er busy while Ah fix up the printin' press?" "I’ll give it my best!" That was when Button Mash's magic window popped up, and the listin' for his moon rock lit up on its own. In a flash Button Mash was decked up in bardin', complete with a visored helmet with a beanie proper on top. And he was holdin' the Equestrian shield and the mirror shield at the same time! Crazy, but Ah ain't complain'! The Spell of Destruction finally ran out of juice. "Heroes always get an all-new, super-moves and stuff for the final battle." He looked Diamond Tiara in the eyes, longer and with a far bigger smirk than Ah could ever manage. "Let's rumble, Lil’ Miss Robo-Soul." Another chink in the stone shell! "You ... you think... you think I'm so small a threat that you... can win by just defending?" “Or maybe we got something trickier up our sleeve!” Button suggested cheekily. He was bluffin', but Ah wasn't about to tell Diamond Tiara that. "Ah wanna fix things, not break 'em," Ah didn't think 'bout it, Ah just said it. It's like a cup in me was fillin' up. Ah'm no Guard. Ah think Ah've known since Ah couldn't take out Umbra Breeze's little red riding wolf. Somepony... somepony who... somepony who good at restorin' and buildin' stuff, ... is a lot more smart choice to save the world than somepony whose only good at destroyin' stuff. = With Me - Sonic and the Black Knight = Diamond Tiara fired off more of those skull curse things, but Button knocked 'em away! Reflect later, save world! Ah took out my tools Ah bought from Flim and Flam out of my trusty saddlebags that Ah still had! Okay Apple Bloom, ya've seen the printin' press in one piece before, ya've seen it workin', ya know what it's used for, and more importantly how it works. Ya've got a brain in yer head and yer own four hooves and yer tools, nothin' is gonna stop ya. Ah got to work. Ah know how an open heart surgeon feels. My hooves were coated in ink in no time. It took every bit of earth pony muscle Ah had to bang the pieces back into shape, while bein' careful not to break 'em further! Nightmare Tiara blasted a piece of the floor, and it slid down into the darkness like an ice cube! It made it harder for Button Mash to move about. She fired lightning that Button Mash blocked with his wooden shield, then she sent a fireball that he blocked with the Celestia shield. But Ah couldn't keep my eyes on the fight and on my work at the same time. Ah just hada trust Button Mash to do his thing while Ah did my mine! Nightmare Tiara breathed black fire out of her mouth that curved around Button Mash and twisted about comin' at the opposite end of me! But he did a dive and his shield still blocked it! Thanks, Button, keep bein’ awesome! She flapped her wings like crazy, makin' a wind storm. Button summoned some super heavy horseshoes and used himself as a windshield. Then she teleported. My truth's eye couldn't tell where she gonna appear, and my artist's eye couldn't see her magic. But Ah did see the 'ker-blash' glow in the dark room just as it happened behind me... Ah felt her horn stab into my back, but Ah moved out of the way just enough so she didn't stab anythin' vital. Ah did bleed, though. Once upon a time Ah have cried and broken at the pain, now Ah just gritted my teeth. Ah felt her horn heaten' up, or maybe gotten super cold, but Button Mash threw his Celestia shield like a discus Captain Amareica style, and instead of tryin' to catch it with her magic, she teleported away. Thankfully whatever she'd been about to do to me seared the wound closed. Ah kept workin'. She teleported to the opposite of where she'd been standin' before, still facin' us. Then Ah felt her telekinesis tryin' to pull me away from the presses. Ah knew this was gonna bite me in the flank but Ah tied part of my cape to the presses. Ah guessed right Diamond Tiara couldn't touch my cape with her magic. Thanks, Maud Pie. Connect this gear with that sprocket. This piston with that pipe. It all makes sense, it all fits together. Just focus on fixin' the machine! This is what yer here for! Then Nightmare Tiara pulled at Button Mash's Equestrian shield, uh-oh. Gotta focus. Gotta trust! Somethin' swooped out of the shadows and struck Nightfilly Tiara in the horn. The telekinesis stopped. Ah didn't see the look of shock and surprise on her face, Ah guess that's the first time that horn ever got hurt. Ah hoped, "Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? That you?" Get back to work Apple Bloom! Right Apple Bloom! "Nightmare or not, you still gotta obey the rules of havin' a unicorn horn don't cha?" asked a hoarse low voice. "Guess I'm not the only party crasher." Button smiled. "Where the Pony Hell did he come from?" Nightfilly Tiara said simply. "I guess I'm just better at being stealthy than you. I got away from you without being noticed once already," he admitted. Nightfilly Tiara's jaw actually dropped a little. "You can speak?" Featherweight? He had a lantern 'round his neck. It shined like a happy sun. How did he? When did he? Truth Eyes says it's really him! No time for questions or answers, just fix it! Diamond Tiara shook her head and teleported again. And Featherweight leapt, where she appeared, he the happy lantern right in her face. She teleported away again, blocking her vision with her wings. Then she appeared in a new spot right next to me, but Featherweight was next to her before she appeared. This kept repeatin'. Nightfilly Tiara appeared away and her horn glowed, her magic appeared around the lantern, but it faded away like darkness in front of light. She fired her magic right into the floor. "Button, to Bloom's right!" He coughed out. Button Mash brought up his shield in time to block as the beam shot out of the floor, the mirror shield deflectin' it back at Nightfilly Tiara. "What magic are you using? Even the gods can't sense my presence. How are you doing this?" She demanded. "No magic, just my special talent." Keep her distracted Featherweight! Gotta work here! "I'm silent and unseen, I guess I recognize my own." Even focusin' on the printin' press, my artist's eye pickin' out every detail as my brain was assembling it ahead of time in my head, even if her lookin' like an injury in the world... Ah still noticed it. She kept her voice calm, but Ah knew like apples from pears, that she was screamin' and ragin' inside at what she said next. She was silently rumblin' like a volcano! "You're not supposed to be here, you weren't supposed to... supposed to... be important." "I'm here to help save you from making more terrible mistakes, Miss Tiara." Toola-Roola, Ah can feel ya, thank you, I can use my hooves to hold things and my mouth too! Gonna need appendages Ah can get! And earth ponies learn how to speak and use their mouth at the same time! Time to really push her buttons while Ah fix these buttons! "And ya didn't count on Button Mash bein' here neither! Ya didn't think he'd have the guts to come here and help save the world! Ya thought either he'd take me down or Ah'd take him down! And Ya didn't notice Featherweight comin' up here Ah bet! Ya wanted it just you and me remember?" And it hit me... Button Mash... he was here... win or lose... he was here... to give up everythin'... so Ah could set everythin' right, he was doin' this for all of us... Ah'd say that makes this video game geek the bravest pony in the room right now. Button Mash, thanks for everythin'. Ah won't forget ya, Ah swear it. "Featherweight! Don't try to hurt 'er! Just keep 'er busy until Ah get the presses up and runnin'!" "Got it!" = The Betrayer - Shovel Knight = Then her SHADOW stretched out behind her, lookin' like a chimera mess of a buncha nasty things, like the head of a horse, and the different heads came at us from every which way! "I won't let you destroy everything. I won't let you ruin all our hard work. I've given up everything. I've given up everypony. It was all for her! I won't let you make it all meaningless." Featherweight shined his lantern at Button Mash's mirror shield, and it concentrated into a beam the sliced and diced Nightfilly Tiara's shadow. Ah heard her cry out as she pulled it back. "Ah thought everythin' was already meanin' less!" Ah said linin' up gears. "I really hate finishing games only knowing half the story. That’s why I always make a point of collecting all the audio logs and reading all the books. Oh well." Button Mash sighed determined if that's possible. Then diamond tip spears rained down on us. Button's Equestria Shield protected me, while Featherweight actually slipped between them! "Diamond! Even for her! This isn't worth it!" Wait, Featherweight knew when me with my truth eye didn't? "You don't know who I'm talking about." Featherweight's lantern shined brighter, actually shinin' through the diamonds, pepperin' the dark room with a million little rainbows. Nightfilly Tiara retched and hissed and the spears stopped fallin'. "Yes I do... Tarnished Rich." It was like seein' a lens in a pair of glasses break. "You... you can't... there's no... way you can..." Tarnished Rich, wait, wasn't that... it feels like an eternity ago... FOCUS APPLE BLOOM! Yer on track! Yer doin' it! Yer doin' it! Long way to go yet but yer doin' it! "You told me to document EVERYTHING, and I obeyed." "Die." This time two different streams of black flames came out of her mouth comin' at different angles, but Button blocked 'em both. Then she used changeling magic and turned into a big grayish pink/purplish black dragon, and tried to squash me flat with a double hammer blow. But Button held up his Euqestrian shield, and he held! She tried to just grab me but Featherweight's lantern seemed to burn her when she got close! She changed back into her Nightfilly self. Spreading her wings, she left herself open... it was bait. She was tryin' to lure Button Mash or Featherweight away from me. But neither of 'em fell for it. Ah'm proud. Ah ain't foolin' myself, we've lasted this long cause she needs the presses fer her scheme too and we're right next to 'em, and Ah think we all got ways we're protected from her just teleportin' us over a pit of spikes or somethin'. Gotta work faster! Faster! "Gotta borrow that!" Ah plucked a feather from Featherweight. "Ow!" "Sorry." Needed that for a part here! Then... what Ah could only really describe was black threads made outta thorns tore from Nightfilly Tiara at us, if she was a wound, this was the ichor. They struck like cobras. But that green tangle thing appeared above Button Mash's head, and he zipped above knockin' em off course... right, like at Everfree. They turned to dust in the light of Featherweight's lantern. Ah ignored the pain of the horn stab in my back as best Ah could. Ah had to ignore it more when one of the threads got through and cut at my rear leg. Keep at it, Apple Bloom. That was when Tiara's horn seemed to go on overload, Ah still couldn't feel a thing, but Ah could see it lookin' like the reverse of a roamare candle! It sucked up whatever light was in the place except for the lantern. Then Ah saw around us a buncha stars. But they weren't stars. Button Mash tossed one of his shields to Featherweight just in time and put another on my back. It was in just in time too, for the endless barrage of spell bolts hammered down. Gray, faded violet, ugly pink, charcoal black, bloody red, they rained down, no, they came from every direction! Ah was sweatin', so many little gears and cogs, have to put in just right... you're over halfway there, Apple Bloom... just a little while more... "Don't you know there's a universe where I've already won?" Her voice echoed off the walls, makin' my ears ring. "But that ain't the world I'm livin'! Ah'm makin' a totally different, nicer world!" The words left my mouth without even thinkin' about it. But it was right. Whatever happened in another world, my choices sure as heck mattered in this one! Then... as she was burnin' through mana than Ah thought anypony could have in their bodies... she... she began to sing. And... it wasn't blank and empty... Ah swear Ah could hear Diamond Tiara in there somewhere! "Cutie Mark Crusaders, get out of my way! You ponies can't to see the truth But you'll hear it from me." - = Puzzle Room Number 99 = And Sweetie Belle heard it, she felt it, and in her mind's eye she saw it! "Stop! Diamond Tiara, this is not the way You know you're better than this hostility!" Sweetie Belle sang out. - Was that! Was that Sweetie Belle Ah just heard?! Ah sing with her too, even if makes my eyes feel like they're on fire, Ah sing to Tiara. Nightmare Tiara's star shower of death lost some of its kick. She held her hooves to her head. "You don't even know me at all! Don't understand the meaning of my fall! What it means to realize that, You're just Fate's plaything!" - Scootaloo desperately still worked the 99th puzzle, singing with Sweetie. Leaving one puzzle room to go, of course the most convoluted. And this close, singing a heart song, to the heart of all rumors where perception was reality... Sweetie was struck like she'd never been struck before. Daggers of ice stabbed her heart over and over again. And felt like it Diamond did. Who she loved losing herself, becoming a horrible stranger. Burying it deeper and deeper in your mind... because it wasn't her that you blamed... And connected that day with what reflected your soul ... "I was a diamond and all I did was break! Become the devil if that's what it takes! Whatever I have to become to amend!" - The death lights focused on me like sunlight through a magnifying glass. Button Mash and Featherweight started to look exhausted. Just hold on a little longer boys. Ah kept fixnin' as Ah kept singin'. Ah could feel it... And me and my first friends, sang together! - "Stop! This is not the answer!" Sweetie called back. - The death lights began to fire off mark. "Wait! And it's plainly seen!" - A brief flash of the Spell of Destruction, and it hit the wall instead! Nightfilly Tiara looked almost confused. - "Listen! You can redeem yourself!" But by helping others, not by being mean!" - Images flashed through Sweetie Belle's mind, and they echoed in the Nightfilly of Diamond Tiara's mind like she'd experienced them herself. Watching plays with Silver Spoon, 'Borrowing' that fluxcapacitor from Doctor Whooves, that wacky sideways adventure through time with they all shared. Making up with Twist, enjoying Canterlot. Sweetie experience memories like they were her own. Building a block kingdom. One fateful Hearth Warming Eve which was more fun than all the boring parties put together. Only real friend she was allowed to have, which made them all the more precious. We know you want friends who admire you You want to be the star with all the power too But there's a better way, there's a better wa-a-ay - Blades of nothingness, diamonds shaped like sais, thorn threads, all went wild, randomly appearing and striking at everything and anything with no rhyme or reason. She teleported right in front of Featherweight, her underside looked like it was gettin' the worst sunburn ever just by bein' near his lantern! She grabbed hold of him, and touched her horn to his forehead. "Break." His eyes rolled into the back of his head as they closed. His entire body shuddered like he was relivin' his worst nightmare on high speed and repeat! She put up a shield around her and Featherweight. "Break." She repeated. "Break." He opened his eyes a little. "No," he said. The lantern shined brighter and she teleported away from him, the barrier fadin' fast. And Ah swear, Ah know what Ah saw. For less than a tick, she was scared the way any little filly looks when she's scared. Just a few more pieces! "There's so much more still left to Learn about yourself See the light that shines in you We know you can be somepony new You can stop right now And reach for another star You'll finally free yourself from the dark And see the light And see the light of your cutie mark!" The three of us sang together. AND! THE! LAST! ONE! That's it! It's done! It's all back together!!! Nightfilly's eyes got wider and wider at the sight. She randomly teleported about, and then teleported right above me for a head dive with her horn pointed right between my eyes. But Button blocked and Featherweight sent her off course, it didn't hurt her in the least, but it bought me some time! - "Ow! That was nice kick Featherweight," Sweetie said. "Featherweight?!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Long story!" Sweetie said as they finished the last puzzle, arriving at the top floor inside the mansion's inner rooms. "Apple Bloom's almost done it! Just... uh-oh." - ... There's no ink... there's nothin' for me to work with. And DANGIT! If we were gonna have a retraction or somethin' we should have had it written BEFORE ALL THIS!! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID LITTLE FOALS! HOW DID WE OVER LOOK SOMETHIN' THIS OBVIOUS?! DANGIT! NO! Ah ain't gonna just give up this time! Button and Featherweight at still goin', and so are my other friends Ah now know, so, so am Ah! THINK! Apple Bloom! What can ya use?! What can ya say?! How can Ah show everypony the truth?!... What did Ah just say? Alright then. Anypony whose listenin', everypony who could be listenin'... Ah need just a tiny bit of help right now... then we can get back the Equestria we all know and love... Believe just a little bit! It's what Ah gotta do for what Ah gotta do! Ah cried ... and for a second Ah thought Ah'd gone blind in one eye... but no... Ah couldn't see the hole in the world Nightfilly Tiara was no more, Ah couldn't see the magic and the truth of things... but Toola-Roola's eyes still guided me, Ah was gonna need it. Floating between my hooves, was a silvery liquid ball... it was lot bigger than it had comin' in. Truth... it hurt when Ah got ya... ya nearly turned into somethin' horrible... but ya also saved the lives of me and my kin and kith and Ah got this far 'cause of you. It's hard to let go, but this is what we gotta do ... for everypony... let's make the truth be somethin' worth believin' in! Nightfilly Tiara was shakin' like a leaf at the sight of it, if the lantern hurt her... she kept an even face... but SHE was the one who looked like she couldn't even bear to look at it. Featherweight and Button Mash were as stunned as she was, her jaws open at the sight before them. "If you do this, you might restore everypony, but no pony will ever know. This will all have never been, so no one will ever know what you did. Do you want that?" She looked burned out, or just couldn't come close to the Truth. "...Ah'll know. And Ah'll also have everypony Ah care about back tah themselves." "You already do. You've fixed them all." Ah thought of cousin Braeburn, and his friends, and their family and friends, and Scootaloo's parents wherever they were... "No Ah haven't." "Are you two going to just stand by and let her kill you?!" She shouted at the colts. She looked down, but didn't move a muscle. "If you remake the world to remove the rumor's infection, you, concepts, and freaks of nature will be the only ones to remember this world of rumors. All they've accomplished, done, and sacrificed, learned, and grown will be forgotten. All that's happened since the twisting will be FORGOTTEN since it never happened. Do you want to rob them of the growth they've earned?" And then ... Ah felt a ghost of a memory of a dream of an imagining... And Ah thought of all of Equestria, all the world, maybe the universe... floatin' in a little bubble of tiny universes, where what was changed when ya walked from one house to another, nopony able to agree how somethin' happened cause it DID happen different for everypony, stuck in fog, with monsters goin' about, misdirectin' ponies and leadin' them astray. The world wasn't fixed. There was damage these lies had caused Ah didn't even know about. It wasn't even a whole world right now. Don't worry, Ah'll heal ya. "... So... this is what they felt like... when they had to end the world for everypony's sake... it wasn't easy was it? Havin' to cut out good with the bad... yer forgiven." It's funny, Ah had a little imagine spot just then... of the ponies from the days of the three tribes... If they'd been teleported through time to modern Equestria... heck, even Equestria a thousand years ago from right now... they'd have found it all impossible. The tribes all workin' together as FRIENDS instead of enemies, other tribes gettin' help from ponies and bein' our friends. Ah remember, when Lickety Split said how ponies imitated humans for a lot of the stuff we still do, Ah thought it was crazy. How many better worlds are out there for the makin', that we brush off as can't be done? Ponies' goin' to the moon. Everypony havin' instant letters like Spike can do. And so much more. Maybe Ah should stop lookin' into the Truth, it's makin' me all reflective thinkin' and stuff. "Ah can't care about JUST my kin and kith . . . Ah have to care not just about everypony, but about EVERYONE." Ah pushed the Truth into the printin' press' ink-well. It didn't start... but Ah didn't feel worried. It was like Ah was on a ride, and Ah knew it was about to reach where it was supposed to go all this time. It was buildin' up and up... What did Twilight say before about the Elements? Needin' a spark? Then it was like all the pieces inside me fell into place. Like a big puzzle that Ah'd been tryin' to solve my whole life, and Ah'd just put in the last piece. "It feels good to fix things. Sayin' all it needs is a little love instead of throwin' it out." And Ah'm really good at it. Designin' stuff, fixin' stuff, be it houses, stuff, ponies, or hearts. "Fixin' hearts, healin' friends, repairin' the world? Ah get it now, it's what Ah'm here for!" At that moment, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran in... or had they been there for a while? Ah'm kinda caught up in the moment. Ah see a spark in their eyes, they must have heard what Ah said. = HERE WE ARE - Apple Bloom & Black Gryph0n = It felt like lightnin' struck my flanks. - Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in that moment, shared the same thought. 'This is what we'e come here for... this is what we're here for, not just me, not just my friends, all of us together. It's why we're here! Saving our friends! Bringing them back to themselves! Helping them remember who they really are! What they really are! To bring out their hopes and dreams! THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR!' And the fillies felt like Zeus had tapped their cutie marks. In that brief moment, they all felt what the others felt. And the Nightmare of Diamond Tiara, felt ill and helpless before what was happening. She watched everything she had worked for, sacrificed, planned, given up, and surrendered for... fall apart before her very eyes in a way only she understood at first. And she remembered what terror was. - Ah saw it... it was there. IT WAS THERE! IT WAS THERE! IT WAS THERE! IT WAS THERE! IT WAS THERE! IT WAS THERE! IT'S REALLY THERE! Ma, pa, Applejack, Granny Smith, Big Mac, Braeburn, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Spike, Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Nightmare Applejack, it's there! By Celestia, Cadence, Luna, and Fortuna, it's there!!! It was a blue and gold shield... at the center was a heart, with a cross of a paintbrush and a hammer. It felt so, so right. HERE WE ARE! And that was nothin' compared to what happened next! Light zipped from me straight to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and then to each other... and a similar but different colored shield with gold trim formed around Scootaloo's butterfly and Sweetie's heart note (red for Scootaloo, green for Sweetie Belle). We've help OTHERS with THEIR cutie marks, no, awaken THEIR TRUE selves. Well, we were helpin' an entire land, maybe an entire world or freakin' universe of ponies reawaken to their real self... maybe this was our unified talent. It's what we've been doin' this whole adventure. Wonder if this what the Elements feel like, we were glowin' and stuff, floatin' off the ground, and a spark went off inside the printin' press and... well, KA-POW! Everythin' went white! Ah think Sweetie had a change to hug Button Mash and Featherweight a chance to nuzzle Nightfilly Tiara, but Ah may have imagined that part. Ah'm even less sure when for a blink of an eye, Ah think Ah saw myself as a mare and an Alicorn, see-through and stuff in the whiteness. She smiled, folded her wings around me, and gave me a nuzzle, and she was gone, if she'd ever been there. Ah felt my head fillin' stuff that was just rentin' space and wasn't there to stay... but Ah had a special talent to put to good use. - Button Mash Uh... hey, in case this is the last time we get to talk, I just want to say this has been a run ride. Even if I won't be there for the big finale, it was an honor to be along while I could. Maybe that's how life is? Nopony ever sees the whole thing, we just see our part of the big journey. Even if nothing happens to me, ever, I think I'll still miss Sweetie somehow. I hope mom and dad are proud of me... do I have a big brother? I don't remember having one... but I don't remember not having one. Okay, that's weird. Well, Apple Bloom must have triggered the world rebooting. I guess those kids were right, Apple Bloom getting her cutie mark really was the end of the world, okay, more like the new beginning or whatever... but... heh... kinda fun though ain't it? Oh right... before we close up here, let me say bye-bye, and it was fun while it lasted. AND! I got a brand new Achievement! It sounded like it was bein' said in those two foals voices from the first floor saving us against from those fake video game heroes, wait, did they say anything? Well they must have if I know what they sound like. This trophy is super cool looking! I wish you could see it! All shinny and white, and has our cutie marks all on it, sparkly and happy. Just makes me warm and fuzzy inside. Let me close out with what they say... Thanks for the hug. Hugs never get old. "Congratulations, You Have Uncovered The True Ending, Do Not Weep, Though The Adventure Is Over. Trophy Unlocked? Everypony Lives!" > Song Of Healing > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- = "Each And All" - Devil Survivor 2 Anime = My Name Is Apple Bloom Let me think for a bit how to describe it. It was a whole buncha meanings overlappin', but it was still something totally new. Dang, Ah’m not doin’ too good a job, am Ah? Ah knew this wasn't a dream or a vision. If there was a machine for makin' the world, right now Ah was the big gear. If the world was an animal, Ah was where its nerve center was. Ah was in the tower still, but most of me wasn't. Ah saw everywhere in Equestria, but Ah was outside it too. Time was movin' forward, but only if Ah thought about it. It was like Father Time had gone out to lunch, and Ah had to draw up the new blueprints on his lunch break. Ah was in a white void, in space with a zillion stars, Ah was at a 'Ogres and Oubliettes' table. Ah had the printin' press in front me, Ah had a big book in front of me, Ah had a deck of cards with pictures of different ponies and events spreads out. Ah was me, Apple Bloom, Ah was Equestria, Ah was Princess Fortuna's spider web. Ah was a filly in overalls with a big wrench surrounded by pipes that were a convoluted mess with the water turned off so Ah could fix'em. Yeah, me. And like any major repair job, the house owners had some revisions they wanted put in while Ah was at it. First thing Ah did was make sure Nightfilly Diamond Tiara's command for the curse to erase itself once it was finished with these changes was still in place. Even without the Truth messin' up my brain, Ah'd seen havin' reality be whatever the most ponies decided it was, pulled the tapestry of everythin' to pieces. And in this moment stretched out forever, Ah could see not just the now, but all the stuff before, and all the stuff after. Like a book placed in my head, a reference guide, it was just there until my assignment was done, then it had to be returned to the teacher. Time to clean up this mess. There was so much, too much, Ah can't explain everythin' Ah did. The violence. The gore. This wasn't a lesson, this wasn't grownin' up, and this wasn't to toughen 'em up when nasties showed up. Ah remember AJ talkin' 'bout Ma and Pa, the hurt in her eyes, this hadn't been like that kinda pain at all. Ah saw... Ah saw what Nightmare Whisper really looked like... what was the word Sweetie would use? Gratutious? Grotutious? Oh, gratuitous? Gratuitous. Ah knew she was carryin' all the troubles everypony had, and she was carryin' the curse on Sunny Town too... But this felt too gross. Like somepony had made her look extra horrible so she'd be taken seriously. Let's dial it back some. Equestria didn't have THAT much hidden misery, Ah knew (for the moment) lots of ponies died and bled to get us where we are, it made a mockery of everythin' they sacrificed. Equestria wasn't some secretly horrible place with some secret organization of monster wranglers who used memory erase spells on ponies to keep 'em all happy and docile. Me and Truth were one and the same right now: Ah said that wasn't so, so it wasn't so. And 'peeved' was a dirty now fer some reason. Ah don't remember what that was about. A razor sharp piece of stone went clean for Cheerilee's eye and the brain behind it. But Cheerilee, with cat like reflexes, dodged it just enough so instead the stone smacked into her forehead leaving a bleeding mark. No. Ah saw Rarity and Cheerilee. They'd been friends since before they got their cutie marks. And Rarity would've known Miss Cheerilee was under mind control. Ah know how much Rarity loves Sweetie Belle... but Rarity isn't a murderer... Ah... Ah see how far Rarity was willin' to go to save Fluttershy from herself, but this was completely different! She wouldn't try to sucker kill Miss Cheerilee when she was under mind control! When Sweetie wasn't even in, what's the word? Oh right, mortal danger. ...But if Ah just MADE that change...Instead Ah whisper that in her ear and Rarity realizes it herself. Got it, nudge in some places, push in others. Geeze, is this what it's like tah be a big spirit? Ah don't envy 'em. Ah wiped Ponyville clean of the curse. All them self contained bubbles floatin' in the ocean that ugly fog, they all became one big bubble again! No more charcoal colors, no dusty pink everywhere. No bein' possessed by demons and havin' to be put down, no more love without compassion, and no more fear without reason. No more ponies bein' like strangers not because of how they're actin', but what they're doin'! But even with the muck washed away, there was damage that needed fixin'. - "Honey! I'm home!" Bellowed a big blue minotaur holding a suitcase. He could have found his way to the center of the maze blindfolded. Minotaurs had a natural affinity for mazes, and it was part of their cultural heritage that their homes, their cities, even their nation to an extent, all be built like one. "DAD!" Iron Will Junior rushed up and hugged his father. It was a rare treat to see his father home, first during his military service, and again when he'd taken up his new passion as a self-help guru, saying how proud he was to bring minotaur culture to other species. His wife, Indomitable Will (maiden name Indomitable Warrior), felt a wave of shock and delight. "Dear! You're back early!" While they'd butt heads on occasion on the best way to raise Junior, she'd always admired her husband for becoming a service-bull instead of a lumberjack as had been a proud tradition in his family for hundreds of years. "Uh, yeah, I uh... kinda had a bad dream and... uh." The bull who could give Princess Luna a run for her money on the Royal Canterlot Voice, stumbled over his words. "I just really wanted to make sure you and Junior were okay." Indomitable Will kissed him. "We're fine honey, I promise. Even more so now that you're here. Why don't you stay a little while? It won't hurt." Iron Will drew her into a hug. "No, I'm sure it wouldn't." - "Yer off to a good start, Apple Bloom, but mind if Ah give ya some pointers?" Said a colt's voice. Ah was still in the workshop/white void/everyplace... now it was a gazebo too, in a field of stars. With a table and book with lots of the pages torn out and scribbled on with glue, parchment, and quill nearby. In front of me was a colt about my age, yellow fur, red mane, orange eyes... his cutie mark was a copy of the white butterfly mask he was wearin'. He had a polite smile on his face and never raised his voice. "Who are ya?" "When you get my attention, ya really get my attention," said the colt. "Call me Fillimon." "What are ya?" "Ya could say Ah'm the other half of the Shadows-Who-Watch." "So yer part of some other group of Watchin'-Shadows?" "Oh no, the same shadows." "Part of the same group?" "No, the same ones." "That don't make sense." Fillimon shrugged, smilin'. "Come now Apple Bloom, you have your light and yer shadow, but they're both still you. Ah'm like my twin, Ah have no real gender, even if Ah may look like a colt right now. Sometimes Ah'm a guide, and somethings a mentor, sometimes a trickster, sometimes a big sister, or sometimes a little brother. Ah'm whatever Ah'm needed to be." "Whose yer twin?" "Nyarlathotrot." "WHAT?! ... So like Princess Luna and Princess Celestia... Huh?" "Pretty much, yes, kinda, maybe. We're a bit more joined at the hip if ya take my meanin'." "Ah don't." "Well DO, you can't afford not to." Fillimon frowned at me. "... Like how me and my shadow can't get away from each other." Fillimon nodded. "Where ya been, all this time?" "Here, there, everywhere. We're never too far away each other. But this ain't 'bout me Apple Bloom, it's about ya. The Shadow-Who-Makes don't only make darkness for the reason the Nightfilly said. Some of them do, and that's bad, but that isn't the ONLY reason. Ya have faith in fundamental goodness, and the mentality that they CAN'T be universally evil and there ARE times the dark is used responsibly. "It shows ya ARE different from Alula, Tootsie, and the Nightfilly. Instead of bein' broken by the revelation, ya were able to come a positive interpretation. Which yeah, ya NEEDED to be a difference to show why yer the right pony to heal the world." Ah blushed. "Thank ya..." "That bein' said, Ah think there are a few things ya outta know before ya dive in deeper. Whatever ya do, that's it, no goin' back, that's that, and ya ain't gonna have it ever held against ya. But there's some stuff ya outta remember." "Ah don't wanna mess up fixin' the world. So tell me: what outta Ah remember?" "That everypony is the hero of their own story. And a story with no conflict is no story at all. Ordeals have to be faced fer growth ta happen... or it's not a happy endin', or a happy anythin'. It's only the scale and shape of the ordeal that changes. Fer some ponies it's savin' Equestria, others it's finishin' their homework, others it's findin' the willpower not to eat another pastry when they really want to." "Why not just have everypony start smart and wise and everythin'?" "You're a smart little filly Apple Bloom, ya already know the answer." "... Because if a story only had the endin', and nothin' else, it wouldn't really be a story.” “Correct. A world where there are no challenges is a world without growth. The most empty world Ah've ever been a part of was one where every thought, action, and idea went well. Nopony was allowed to die, mess up, make mistakes, be sad, angry, or hurt, or scared, or worried, Ah actually began to miss my twin by the end." Ah nodded to what he was sayin’. “A forced happiness is one that damaged reality as much as the forced suffering you've seen here. Nythy has his purpose, same as me, we're meant to work together. If Dracozilla was destroying a city, and in the last sixty seconds of the film, Superstallion showed up even if they're not from the same setting and beat him up and saved the city, would it be a good story?" "No." "There was a book once that ended with two dogs almost drowning, but the way they were saved was so forced, audiences preferred it in the play adaption where they DID drown. If the Evil Emperor turned good in the last scene after six plays of laughing when he blew up kingdoms, would that be a good story?" "No." "If a story was about an evil robot telling all the new robots that the robots before them were the good guys, when they were really the bad guys who wiped out ponies not in self defense but because they hated ponies: and suddenly at the end you had a goddess rise out of nowhere and turn all the robots into ponies would that be a good story?" "No." "Would it be a good story, if there was a terrible civil war, and suddenly heroes from a completely different setting popped up without bein' mentioned before and bullied the two sides into playin' nice ... would THAT be a good story?" "No." "What's good for one story isn't good for another. Ever read the comic, 'Whatever Happened To the Cape Crusader?' Batmare experiences her own funeral as a spirit. Her friends and enemies giving different accounts of how she died. Turns out at the end that they're all true. Batmare's reward for a lifetime of bein' Batmare is eight years as Brucia Whinne before becoming Batmare again, in an eternal cycle, because she never gives up, and never gives in." "...Sound interestin', and kinda makes sense about Batmare, if Scoots was here she'd say that Batmare would never be happy retired." "And it's a story myself and my twin BOTH like! Both for our own reasons." "Ah... Ah think Ah'm beginnin' to understand. The way heroes in comics always come back from the dead makes it borin'. But they're supposed to be timeless characters like Sinbad and Aladdin." "Good, Apple Bloom... For the record, my twin bein' thwarted here means They're in time-out for eight billion years." "Good." "He/She/it kept tryin' to snuff me out... which is kinda crazy. They can't snuff me out, anymore than Ah can snuff them out. We're the light and shadow from the same source... but neither of us are PURELY these thing. Ah am the Light, the thing embraced and held true. He/she/it is the Dark, the thing they bury and hide. It is only natural each of us has a small bit of what makes up most of the other inside of them. There's a piece of Nyarlathotrot as bright as most of me, and a piece of me as dark as the rest of he/she/it. Without contrast, neither of us are anythin'." "Ah suppose so!” Ah said with a grin. "Now Ah've told ya what it's my role to tell ya, Apple Bloom. Ah'd say see ya later, but-" Fillimon took off his mask, and he shifted into me! "-Ah, myself, Ah all of ya." Fillimon vanished, or maybe Ah couldn't perceive 'em right now, that sounds 'bout right. "Okay, back to work." Ah had the power of a goddess right now... Ah thought of Button Mash and Tootsie Flute... both had been so lonely... Tootsie was gonna be without a special friend again... if I had they were always destine to be special friends, then they were always destine to be special friends, no ifs, ands or buts, Tootsie wouldn't have be alone, and Button Mash wouldn't... "Ah'm not the Alicorn of Love... so it wouldn’t be right fer me ta 'pair the spares.' Would feel too much like the 'love poison.'” Across all the threads... like Ah said, Ah can't explain all Ah did, but Ah can share some. Ah'd never met'em, but fer now at least, Ah knew 'em. The three pegasus bullies, Hoops, Score, and Dumb-Bell. If they weren’t jerks that... the Sonic Rainboom would never have happened. Indirectly, they're the whole reason Rainbow Dash became friends with Fluttershy and Gilda, they're part of what inspired Rainbow Dash to become heroic to begin with. (Least they got 'nicer' after Best Young Fliers). Now Ah'm gonna put every single thing in Equestria down to every last blade of grass back exactly the way it was before this whole curse business started and not change anythin' what so ever... Ya really thought Ah was serious about that last part didn't ya? Ah can see it all, even if Ah won't be able to remember most of it after Ah'm done. Ah'm not just removin' the horror for horror's sake that Umbra Breeze added with the curse, Ah'm gonna do my dang hardest to clear out the junk he's been sneakin' in for a long time! And the stuff that makes Equestria feel more like Ogre Chess than Equestria. This stuff... that's just there... the darkness just so stuff is taken seriously, instead of stuff havin' darkness because it's serious. Ah can feel some bad stuff, that if Ah just throw it away, it'll cause bad stuff to happen another way. That's when Ah sense her... Ah... Ah feel super calm... Ah not scared at all... she can't do a thing to me... and Ah can't do a thing to her in this place... not 'right now'... Ah don't wanna trigger a paradox (how did Ah know that word again? Did Ah learn it from Doctor Whooves?). She's a splotch of black ink on the pure whiteness of everythin', a snake slitherin' along, but her fangs didn't mean anythin' here. How is she here? Why not sooner or later? Did Ah call 'er here? Maybe Ah did without meanin’ ta. Makes as much sense as anything else here. She can't really seem to form here, it's takin' all the black magic she knows to just appear lookin' like the Phantom Ink-Blot. But it's enough that we can speak for a split moment. "What are you waiting for? Rewrite me into a different pony. Wipe away everything I've done that you disapprove of. You have the power. Make me the nicest pony in existence. Strip away what makes me, me." Ah shook mah head. "... Ah ain't helpin' ya off yerself, Tiara... Not here. Either we're gonna save ya or Twilight and her friends will. Applejack said so herself. Yer troubles ain't somethin' ya can give a quick fix to." "So you admit we're just Fate's pawns?" "No! Ah ain’t no pawn. And ya chose to help at the weddin', or am Ah wrong? And this whole mess is about to be nothin' more than a bad dream. But that ain't mean there ain't stuff Ah can't save ya from." She quivered. "...Yah know some of the things Ah'm doin' are gonna make yer life better, Diamond. Fer starters, yah ain't gonna have that nasty teacher this thin' my other big sis put in mah eye tells meh never set right with yah. We tossed out that racist garbage when we beat the Windigos, and if this junk was still really that big a deal, they've have turned us all to icicles by now. Didn't ya ever read Snowfall Frost's story? Think he's gonna be happier too tah be honest. So's yer pa. He'll probably have lots more friends too." "...Why? Because you're just that noble?" "You're a pony, and yer a friend of a friend, so Ah'd hope to be friends too!" "You're still delusional. All I can be is your monster. Any compassion by you is a waste: that's how it works." "That so? Well that's the first rule Ah'm changin'." "For villains like me, for me to be redeemed... they have to pin the blame on somepony else. That's why ponies needed the Nightmare Force to forgive Princess Luna, they couldn't bear the idea of somepony that good being that evil. I can't let that happen. I've seen what happens, and I won't let it happen to her." "Well, Ah guess that's the SECOND RULE Ah'm changin'!" "You can't change that, it's impossible to change." "Watch me!" "They need somepony to blame. They won't accept troubles with nopony to blame." "... What happened to ya bein' dead to yer feelings, Diamond Tiara?" "Diamond Tiara is dead." "Nightmare Moon said the same thing. Ya Nightmares need some new material. Applejack, well, didn't really tell as much as Ah know, Lone Ranger thought ponies' had to learn about war and violence and stop bein' 'naive.' If that's how the universe works, NOT ANYMORE'." "You're just doing this to weaken me. That's not kind, that's a battle tactic." "Ah'm doin' it cause... cause... " Ah KNOW Ah'm not gonna remember this next part when this is over and... Ah think Ah GRATEFUL that Ah won't remember how it was before Ah fixed that part of. "Because there are some things no pony should have to go through... " She's right about one thing... there is some stuff Ah can't change, not without triggerin' a paradox. But that doesn't mean Ah can't take back the misery for misery's sake. Ah can't fix 'er ma, not without her becomin' somepony worse, somepony who'd make her filly an emotion wreck who was easy pickin's for Discord anyway! And it won't make her Pa's guilt go away. But maybe Ah can soften the blow, just a little... She fled, Ah don't blame 'er, Ah wouldn't want anypony to live through this again. But she couldn't escape the new memories that were coming. +++ Tears well up in my eyes, "Momma, I'm, I'm sorry! I just wanted to try them on! I didn't take anything! I didn't steal anything!" She growled. "You weren't supposed to go in there and you did, you lied to me, you lied to my prince, you made a horrid mess and then tried to cover it up by putting everything back several millimeters out of place-?!" Mom rose out of her seat and trotted towards me like a Timber Wolf towards a deer. My hooves were glued to the carpet. "You are a bad filly. Fillies are fruits of their parents. Bad fruit should be thrown out. Thrown out fruit is turned into mulch." She was right in front of me, I could smell her hot breath. Her eyes looked...not like mom's. "I can't believe the servants would leave fertilizer in the house like this." Mom's cutie mark melted, the colors twisted around and turned into a baseball with a screw. Looking in her eyes... it was like they warped into whirlpools. "You-are-the-most worthless and selfish filly who has ever lived!" My mother's spittle peppered my face. I should run, no, turning your back on mommy was bad. Maybe Silver Spoon'd been right all along, maybe just doing whatever you're told is best. This wasn't right. This wasn't real. Mom wasn't the wicked stepmother. I had to still be in the nightmare! I had to be! I was still in my bed sleeping! I'd wake up and run to mom and she'd hug me and tell me it's alright! That's it! "You spoiled rotten, self-serving, self-centered, self-absorbed, self-promoting, useless annoying waste!" She smashed her hoof right through a cedar chest that had taken four stallions to carry in here, filled with treasure from beyond Equestria, she lifted it up like it was cardboard, holding it over her head. "Now hold still here. Mommy's going to knock all the bad out of you, and we're going start over from scratch, doesn't that sound nice? Better than having a cutie mark for disobeying your mother!" Mommy wasn't really saying these things. I'd wake up from this nightmare now. Wake up from it forever. "You're a pile of mistakes, mistakes it's now my job as a parent to correction." My mother's eyes were wrong. Everything was wrong. So this had to be a dream. "You're screwballs, all of you, even my own daughter." "SWEET MOTHER OF EQUESTRIA!" That was dad?... Right... Dad's here to wake me up from the bad dream now. "GOLDEN, WHAT IN TARTARUS- IMPOSTER! GET AWAY FROM TIARA!" "Hello my prince," she said welcoming but still holding that chest over her head. "I'm banging some loose screwballs our filly has. Just be a minute, then we can get working on a baby sister," she said sultrily winking at him. He took a trot forward. "I'd have to be screwballs to think my princess would ever harm our foal!" Still holding the chest like it was toy mom struck an indignant pose. "Humph. My Prince never places anything or anypony above me." "And my princess would never place herself above her filly!" She looked at me. So, indifferent. Like I wasn't a pony. "This is no filly of mine. I don't even see the resemblance. My purple pink coat, my purple white hair, your blue eyes. You must have cheated on me. You should be ashamed." I heard a stallion's battle cry, a brown and black freight train rammed into my mother. The chest came crashing down right in front of me, spilling out everything in it... + Have'ta move forward, gotta move forwards, got no choice. Ah feel that memory of that fadin' even as Ah finish it changin' it as much as Ah can without rippin' the world apart again. Ah just see things that did happen and are happenin'. Ah see things that could happen. The future ain't set, and Ah see lots of things, like it or not, are part of the ordeals Applejack and her friends had'ta face. But Ah do see one thing that doesn't belong... A huge war with the dragons... being led by a Dragon Queen who claims she's a direct heir to Queen Tiamat and even uses her name... it's horrible... Okay, no way is that flyin'. It doesn't do anything but cause more death and destruction! Ah see... somethin' else, before Ah really get a chance ta do much... somecreature else pulls at a string... and that war is pulled apart, and goes into vapor... Instead... I see a huge blue dragon in gold armor peacefully talkin' it out with an Alicorn of Twilight. Ah won't remember this later. - Ah DEFINITELY saw some stuff no filly was supposed to. And a lot of it carried this sense of wrongness, bein' out of place, like it had been shoehorned in and made to fit. And there was a lot of stuff that was just senseless and cruel. It was actually really painful knowin' the stuff Ah could change and help, and the stuff Ah couldn't change without makin' things go bad. But there was still bad apples in this bustle Ah was takin' out! Bye-bye red-light houses... ya ain't the oldest profession, that belongs to the hunters and the gatherers. They were never in Equestria before Umbra Breeze and Diamond Tiara put'em in... now they didn't exist on Equus, the IDEA of them were was gone. There were now tons of other jobs for equines past desperate for work that didn't involve what Ah saw at Rarity's house in the corruption, just like Princess Celestia had done for Equestria... Dang that took a lot of work... Chrysalis? There were still jobs for pretty mares, they just didn't involve THAT... and she actually MADE FRIENDS with the other zebra mares who were treated like fashion plates (even Ah couldn't fix that industry, Ah'll have to leave that one to Rarity if/when she becomes a princess). And... Ah was able to save Kufiko's tribe... most of them... Nothin' Ah did got Kifuko to try and understand her magic better... her parents still ended up sucked dry into loveless husks no matter how Ah tried to nudge things... and then Mauna just, kept, dying! Ah nearly broke myself tryin' to fix that one. Ah think for Sweetie, Ah had to try everythin' to save Chrysalis... but... she... she didn't WANT to be saved. Maua's teacher still tried to kill Chrysalis after what she did to her parents and Maua, and he still died... This time however, there was no overpowered rain dance that wiped away her own home town... This time, instead of draining the village dry, she erased every memory of her having ever lived there from their memories, the parasprites being stopped by Maua's singing instead. Today they known in Zebrica for specializin' in mask magic. But nothin' Ah did steered away from her and Cadence fightin' for the swarm... and Chrysalis' dyin', and Kifuko bein' born in her place. Ah think... deep down, Chrysalis just hated herself not for who she was but what she was that much. Ah think it was a good thing time had no meanin' here, or Ah might've died of old age from all this fixin', whether Ah was able to remember most of it after or not, Ah remembered DOIN' IT, but most of it Ah wouldn't remember (Ah made a point of markin' stuff in my brain TO remember). And Ah saw... there was one thing Ah absolutely, positively, and completely had to do... except... for one... Ah found out that Ah really didn't need to do anythin'... except get the seaponies to realize the surface wasn't ruled by Discord anymore a whole lot sooner... You heard me right. It's the honest truth. The seaponies were alive!!! Oh and the mereponies too and the sea-glow, and others but that's splittin' hairs! THEY WERE ALIVE!!! Ah knew Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would be cryin' tears of joy right about now. Ah could feel 'em even if Ah couldn't see 'em, Ah knew they were watchin' somehow. King Leo... he was Celestia and Luna's cousin. He'd been leadin' and protectin' the ocean-ponies all this time! Discord had missed some. Guess he wasn't omnipresent after all. Who, what, where? Ah... Ah think Ah'll leave for somepony else to explain if they feel like it. Ah also found a posted note in the book. It was somethin' from before... from the never was happy dream time. It was a place. Full of a tribe of ponies who had never existed now. They'd never been born... but they'd never died neither... they'd been kept safe from just, disappearin'... It's name, was Breezie Blossom... It was their kingdom, their home... So Ah made it its own little pocket work, and connected it to Equestria, the rules between the two worlds were still too different however for Breezie Blossom to exist DIRECTLY as part of Equestria, but Ah could still create a openin' for the two worlds to exist in harmony. Ah think there's somepony else whose gonna gives details on how they came about in Equestria now... with them havin' a beginnin' and a history in the world now... ya'll see eventually. Of all the stuff Ah did, Ah think those last two might've been the most important somehow... not ta sound cruel or anythin'... but all the stuff Ah fixed up, those two felt the most right. Next came... this really weird part... remember how Ah said that Ah could see not just the stuff that was happenin', but did happen, and could happen? This was one of those last ones. It was still just a possibility, technically, Ah think Princess Fortuna throws that in just so ponies don't go crazy. But Ah saw what one of the rumors had done with the collective belief of ponies... this one pony, who thought she was doin' good, and so did all the ponies' with 'er... so she became good... she'd actually been keepin' back one of Umbra Breeze's kin from doin' more damage the whole time. But what she thought was good, and what everypony outside her group thought was good... didn't really match up... not now that belief wasn't gonna equal reality. It was kinda sad really... But Ah saw quick-fixin' her would have REALLY REALLY REALLY made things worse, like an entire city buried under snow worse! Ah knew the best thing to do was to make that creepy thing of hers fake again like it had been before, it was the right thing to do, the proper thing to do... except... Because she hadn't been keepin' the fact she still had her cutie mark a secret, because she didn't... she and her second-in-command-among-equals, Double Diamond and her... they'd had a foal... Glitter Diamond. They weren't married, this lady considered marriage just another form of not bein' equal to everypony else... Heck, every foal was a youngin' of the community, not their parents. but if Ah had that thing fake again... it would mean erasin' an innocent filly out of existence... Ah... Ah couldn't do it! But with Own Town no longer bein' it's own little bubble universe, (no matter how much that lady wanted it to be), ponies' thinkin' it was a pure, happy, perfect, and flawless 'you-to-pi-ah' town, didn't mean squat. Good thing too... after workin' so hard to get my cutie mark... it would suck if it was turned into some evil magic parasite thingie like they'd all thought. Ah see... Ah won't remember later... but Ah see, that exposin' she still had her cutie mark had been the whole reason they'd gotten the whole town to turn on her... but Ah was thinkin'... if her beliefs were actually wrong, and some ponies were chaffin' already... then Applejack and her friends didn't NEED to attack the messenger to prove that everypony bein' special was a GOOD THING! Ah... Ah don't she was actually evil. She was like Alula and Tootsie... No, that ain't it. Ah knew somethin' Ah wouldn't later, she was like Discord's biggest brother, D___t. But there was no way in Tartarus that dang gum magic staff thingie was made to take away the parts of what made a pony that pony! Not if Ah had a thing to say about, and right now Ah did! Because she hadn't had to keep the farce up, she was actually kinda saner, as sane as ya can be after havin' part of yer soul cut-out, doin' it to herself first! So she didn't have her magic ... it's weird... that raw magic of hers had to come from somewhere... She was weaker, and a little less clever with it gone too. It also meant she hadn't ever invented, or memorized the cutie-mark spell, because she'd had her cutie mark removed while she'd been usin' it! Her mane cut was the same as everypony else's too. She still lived in that house at the end of the road though. One of the weirder things Ah saw was somethin' that changed Ah didn't know WHY it'd changed. Trixie was there... Holdin' this empty pendant she'd said that had guided her there. This was really really REALLY gettin' into just the 'possibility' stuff! This was becomin' more vague and cloudy the more Ah reached for it, so many ways the threads could go! Everythin' surroundin' it all was in flux... why were Applejack and her friends talkin' with a deer doe with crystals for alters? And why did they go off into the middle of nowhere just cause she asked'em too? What it all came down to though, it was this lady's Sameness, (meanin' lowest common denominator and doctors and guards not being able to excel at savin' lives or protectin' ponies) that the Elements of Harmony had to prove was wrong now, not that messiah-complex black-and-white-insanity sliver-tongued zealot monster wrong. What actually made it HARDER was that... well, while they saw cutie marks as evil... she wasn't micromanagin' the village as much with the staff bein' real... because she didn't have the TALENT to do so... so ironically there were more bits of free will floatin' about. And Glitter Diamond wasn't the only foal in the town... what was gonna happen to all of 'em when their parents turned around and told 'em everythin' they'd told'em their whole lives was right was wrong, and everythin' they told'em was wrong was right? Lots of it was bits and pieces, threads flyin' all over the place. But Ah was still able to nudge some things along. But Starlight Glimmer still couldn't resist the temptation of havin' a Equalized Princess on her side. + "If ponies without cutie marks have lots of potential. Won't it be better if nobody had them then? Are't you now LESS than you were before getting your cutie mark? Why have all that potential taken away from you? Isn't the staff giving us our freedom back?" Twilight Sparkle regretted ever having said those words at Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera. She'd said them to encourage Apple Bloom and her friends that the future was theirs for the taking, not that being a blank flank somehow made you SUPERIOR to ponies who were cutie marked! Equal Ponies kept marching at her like grinning zombies. "Cutie marks are reflections! Not straightjackets! POTENTIAL IS MEANINGLESS UNLESS IT'S REALIZED!" "Better that, than being robots to our cutie marks. You just do whatever it is your cutie mark is telling you. Doing what whatever is your destiny even if it's no fun being you, how is that any different from a slave?" And in Twilight Sparkle's mind... the incident that had led to her becoming an Alicorn in the first place, to create the Alicornification Spell to begin with... and what had happened to her friends, blindly trying to fulfill their cutie marks no matter how miserable it made them. The light in Twilight's horn died out. She lowered her head. "... You win." + Dear Celestia... Ah... Ah... This CAN'T be the whole thing! What... what's Trixie doin'? She's actin' like the nicest and friendliest 'equal pony' ya've ever seen... she makes fast friends with 'em... instead of talkin' 'bout all the great stuff she done did (that wouldn't be equal) she encourages to talk about the great stuff her new friends have done, fer others! The others are still locked up, and Twilight is not even tryin'! Wait! TRIXIE! You! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!! HA HA! You sly horndog! Ya could give Flim and Flam a run for fer there money! Ah sure didn't see THAT COMIN'! HA HA HA HA!!!!! + Starlight Glimmer gasped, as did the other soul-lobotomized ponies. "You... you... YOU STILL HAD YOUR CUTIE MARK THE WHOLE TIME?!" "No... I suck back into the vault, took it back... and applied some of Rarity's make up ... her idea." "You... you FRAUD! You dissenter!" "You only cared I had a Cutie Mark when you knew I had it. Prejudice only cares about what it can SEE. When it can't see that thing, it stops mattering. Did I, or did I not make friends with you?" Trixie asked looking at the foursome of friends. The lady snarled. "DIFFERENCE is the problem. Different talents is a symptom!" "No. INTOLERANCE is the disease. If we were all grey blobs, there'd be grey blobs who'd argue who's the greyest and the blobbest," Trixie said with her normal flare for the dramatic. Now Applejack was free along with the others. "YOU'RE THE ONES WHO WANT TO MAKE OUR TOWN THE SAME AS EVERY OTHER TOWN IN EQUESTRIA!" "Have you actually SEEN another town in Equestria? Cause I can say one thing: Manehatten and Ponyville aren't one bit alike except they've got ponies in 'em." + Everythin' is jumping around. But it seems to be following one line Ah think. + "If Cutie Marks were like she said, then why COULDN'T we do everything perfectly? How COULD we fail at what our Cutie Marks were?" Her accent and cutie mark gone, Applejack asked this to the equalized Alicorn. ... "If cutie mark were arbitrary! Then my friends WOULDN'T HAVE been broken wrecks from trying to live out each others'! They're PROOF we've found our calling! Not programming!" Twilight shouted, flarin' up her wings. + "Starlight? Can you name anything about any of your friends other than their names or what they are? Things about who they are?" Fluttershy asked without a trace of malice in her voice. "... What... what does it matter?! We're friends! That's all that matters!" "... You're right starlight ... friendship? It's doesn't matter what your past is, you being friends IS what should matter! If somepony decides to be your friend, then that's that. Me and my friends? Most of us BECAME friends because we CHOSE to face the Everfree with Twilight rather than see her face Nightmare Moon alone! But what got the Elements working and let us save Princess Luna from herself wasn't just that! It was Twilight seeing who we were! ... Tell me about your daughter, Starlight Glimmer!" And there was only silence. + "I'd rather DIE than become one of you! You say I'm the villain! But you're the one who wants me to just silently smile and nod as you act out what YOU believe without fear!" "If you hadn't stolen our cutie marks, locked us up like criminals and tried to indoctrinate us, we'd have simply LEFT YOU ALONE! You did that on your own!" + It didn't end with the whole town turning on Starlight for bein' a fraud, since in this worldine she wasn't one... instead, ponies were makin' their own choices as individuals on who was right and who was wrong now that Trixie and Fluttershy had punched a giant hole in their beliefs. The town was split on ponies who wanted to take their cutie marks back, and ponies who didn't want'em back. Double Diamond after realizin' how little he knew his own filly was askin' Glimmer to consider that, "Maybe we were wrong this whole time." "Starlight! Ponies SHOULDN'T be bullied by others for being 'weaker' at something, and there ARE ponies who act like others are their peons, everypony should be friends, but this isn't the way to go about it!" "It's the only way to make sure friends never leave each other! NEVER AGAIN!" + "I... I won't... I won't... I won't let them make me... one of them..." Starlight was draggin' herself through the snow... looked like she was bleedin'... She stopped and gasped... there was Trixie right in front of her... holdin' a jar with Starlight's cutie mark in it. "... I know how you feel... terrified that you'll lose what makes you who YOU ARE. That every 'compromise' is just letting another part of you die. But not everypony is like that... I made some horrible mistakes... and others nearly paid the price for it... I had trust I had to earn back... but they let me try! You don't have to be scared... REAL FRIENDS will help you become a better you, not have you give up or shut up about what you hold dear." + "I... I just wanted everypony to be equal, instead of 'betters' lording over 'lessers.'" "And this won't make that go away..." Twilight said. "Even without your cutie mark you were terrified of anything unique ruining what you made." "What would happen if everypony was an Alicon?" Applejack asked. "Princess Celestia would jump for joy, and retire," Pinkie Pie injected. Twilight Sparkle asked. "If I'm proof that anypony can BECOME an Alicorn, then isn't just pushing everypony DOWN the easy way out?" + Princess Twilight Sparkle explained. "It's name isn't the Staff of Sameness... I'm guessing that's a name you came up with on your own. And it's a lot older than you think it is. It's been used to save ponies from the cutie pox, and stop a stallion with a talent for lock picking from escaping jail. But these aren't its real purpose." She flipped through a really old book that looked like some teenage filly's diary, there was three wrapped candy stickers on the cover. "'The Magic Message Ponies... they're were a gambit to save the magical knowledge of the Age of Myths, and they'll also now save the technological knowledge of our Age of Wonders. Magically encoded into the cutie marks of certain ponies' bloodlines. I've included information on identifying and locating them if their families still exist to any pony who might read this, if us ponies are still around: the Earth Ponies Cuddles, Magic Hat, Windy, Mirror Mirror, the pegasus Floater, and the unicorn Cloud Dreamer. Sweet Heart, has volunteered as well, wanting our time's medical knowledge not to be lost. Her family Nurse Loveheart, and Nurse Tender Heart, have volunteered as well, apparently they're part of the Magic Message Pony line already, it'll make things easier. Encoding this knowledge won't be easy, but any of these families survive by the time you find this, hope the Key Staff is still around... The Key Staff will be able to UNLOCK this knowledge.'" "So... all that other stuff with cutie marks..." Applejack trailed off. "Was just a side effect of what the staff is really meant for," Twilight finished. + Twilight ended up goin' through lots of family records, there was the Hearts of course... and all the knowledge that had been buried in their cutie marks... but Twilight was surprised at somepony else... Magic Hat... her line had married into Trixie's... Once Twilight read the instructions on how to use it the RIGHT WAY. But all that was in the future, okay, the future-future-maybe-the-future-I-Dunno-future. But somethin' else got Trixie's attention, that fancy golden pendant of hers. + Trixie mostly empty pendant's light shined right at the first-among-equals of Our Town... With her soul no longer so deep in order that it had been practically drowning... and a silhouette of her restored cutie mark shined on her front front leg... And a jewel formed inside the pendant, making it slightly less empty. Empathy "... Starlight... you're... YOU'RE the Element of Chaos, I've been searching for!" Trixie gasped. "... I don't think I deserve the name Starlight right now... call me, Aurora Glimmer." ++++ At the heart of the Crystal Empire, everything went white. The crystal ponies were 'before' evil eyed corrupted mockeries of their former selves with hard angles. 'Now' they sparkled and shined with the smooth rounded shapes they'd been famous for before King Sombra had come... King Sombra had never corrupted the Crystal Heart, could never corrupt the Crystal Heart, if anything, him even trying could have 'corrupted' him. And the Crystal Empire had never arrived in the present a year earlier than they'd been meant to... Had never taken Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, and Princess Celestia as willing slaves. These powers and abilities of Sombra's had come from nowhere, and they returned to nowhere. But those were the last things on Sombra's mind. The dark magic vanished from his Radiant Hope's eyes. The royal raiments of an empress fell apart from her fading into nothing. He heard his mother Rabia scream in denial and rage as she along with the rest of his family was pulled away and sealed in the dark even deeper than his. He felt his body begin to dissolve back into the smoke and shadow the blows from the princesses had left it as... But again, the King didn't care. He touched Radiant Hope's face with one hoof. She said nothing, she only smiled warmly at him, and she vanished into the white light. And Sombra, looked around at the whiteness as his body continued to break down. "Did... did I only imagine her into being? Was she ever real? Or... or did I only dream... of somepony... who'd have ever wanted to be a monster's friend..." Sombra's fell back into the shadows of ponies' hearts and smoke his small tribe was born from. "I... I don't know." + Ah... Ah took a look into a place that was kinda, well, Ah guess ya could call it bein' pushed forward in time, ya know, time travel? Sent a thousand years into the future. Ah see... Ah see a big evil monster end the last ... the last crystal pegasus after the last crystal unicorns! There weren't many to start out with! Come on... Ya've done already so much Apple Bloom ya can do this too... see from every angle... look at every chance... No wait, Ah see it. There's already at least one crystal unicorn left. Just gotta... have'em hide somewhere safe when it happens... Crystal Unicorns... manage to miss ... manage to miss at least a few... a mare and her filly... another mare that, Ah almost swear she looks at me with the stink eye, and whoever else Ah can save. Crystal Pegasi, were a few more of 'em than the crystal unicorns to start out with. This place was inhabited mostly by earth ponies before they all got turned into livin' crystals. Okay, managed to save... managed to save an entire sub-clan of ponies from goin' extinct... that... that was good. + The cabin and serene meadow had vanished into the white light. Harry The Bear, who loved collect seashells, and play volleyball, looked at Harry The Bear who loved to collect volleyballs and play with seashells... As they vanished into the white light... the two grown mighty bears broke down crying and hugged each other. "I'M GONNA MISS YOU, HARRY!" "YOU TOO, HARRY!" The two bears bravely faced whatever came next. + Princess Trixie Midsummernight Lulamoon's wings faded away into the white light along with her earth pony strength and the traits of the other tribes. Her family faded into the white light too. The bright colors and sunflower wand cutie mark on her mother dissolved, becoming the mare who had raised Trixie the best she could ... It had been a wonderful dream being Tracy Sunflower Midsummernight, but it wasn't meant for her. She had a gift, she'd been taught not to be ashamed of it, and she'd help other ponies not be ashamed of their gifts. Princess Trixie Midsummernight looked towards Princess Loving-Bright-Shinny-Star Sparkling-Dawn-Flower The Eighty-Eighth... her first friend, her best friend, imaginary or not. Princess Loving-Bright-Shiny-Star Sparkling-Dawn-Flower The Eighty-Eighth finished having tea with a young donkey jenny with polkadot shorts with dreadlocks mane. The two imaginary friends share a polite nod before Princess Loving-Bright-Shinny-Star Sparkling-Dawn-Flower The Eighty-Eighth stood before Trixie. "It was fun while it lasted wasn't it?" Trixie's eyes misted over. "Yeah... it was... " The two hugged each other, nuzzling. "I promise I'll never forget you." "I'm... I'm just happy you have real friends now." "... So am I." "And Trixie?" "Yes?" "You're MY best friend!" Silence. Then Trixie laughed as they faded into the white light. + Lord Grogar had roared as the white light had dissolved him from Princess Luna's soul, cleansing her of the cancer. As the world was remade, restore and rewritten, healing what it would, where it could, and removing deeply rooted rot... It also meant creatures whose existence was sustained purely by the crawling chaos' curse, either fell into a niche the world could provide for them, or like many of the faceless nameless horrors, dissolved back into the lies they'd been born from. But that wasn't the only place from whence they came. "Hello Olo," Princess Luna greeted within her own mind. "Hoot-Hoot!" Replied the Owl Bear, standing at perfect attention. "As the curse fades, the power for imaginary friends to be present in the physical world fades as well. I am sorry. But you returned here because it was where you were born." "HOOT!" "... Yes... you are a hero... you fought bravely and risked a life that was now your own against the forces of evil." "Hoot." "You will not fade into nothing. You are a brave and honor warrior, Olo, you always have been, and you are a good friend. Now I ask you to be my friend again... You served Pipsqueak and his crew honorably, and you'll continue to serve them in their dreams. For I ask you... to become my knight in the dream world, shall you?" Olo the owl bear knelt before his friend. "Hoot-hoo." + "Well... this is it," said Doctor Whooves, standing in his TARDIS, which was once again an alien time-machine instead of just a blue shed. It floated inside the great white void. "The fabric of reality is stitching itself back together, and I don't think it'll be very fond of 'scraps.' Leaving this place won't be very healthy for any of you." Derpy Hooves, stood next to an identical Ditzy Doo, and for some reason a THIRD identical pony named Muffin. And a stallion version of them whose name was Kirward Derby. Golden Harvest stood next to an identical Carrot Top... whom she could still distinguish because Carrot Top had the rope burns and thorn scratches. And next to the male Derpy was a female Doctor Whooves. All of them had been born from the rumors curse regarding their cutie mark names being listed on their paper work along with their birth names, and this leading to the confusion on staff making them think they'd been married to themselves. Sparkler/Amethyst Star thankfully hadn't that trouble with her paper work. Now that things had been settled, she'd been asked to be dropped off wherever Dinky was to keep an eye on her, and Lemon Hearts had decided to go to keep an eye on the both of them! "Don't you go anywhere without me," Lemon Hearts warned the Doctor before leaving. Sparkler had hugged her mother and wishing them 'good luck.' Derpy promised she'd be along soon. But first, they had family. "Well," the male Time Turner clapped his hooves together. "How about we find a universe where you all just died, but is otherwise identical to your own? And just slip into their horseshoes?" "No. And never mention that idea again," Golden Harvest said, the other nodded darkly. "Well, we could have you all be identical twins, or triplets, or quadruplets... long lost relatives, I'm sure I could convince Celestia to turn a blind eye on the cosmic paper work... Of course there's no telling how much distortion that would cause to the time-space continuum." "This is the only Equestria I know," said Muffin, with a more feminine voice than Derpy. "I don't want to leave it." "You can't just exist in a void. There are THINGS in this universe, its own version of Time Reapers, who take care of 'misplaced' things in time and space... Not to mention I wasn't even born on this planet, not even in this universe, so I can't even have an identical twin! The Time Reapers barely tolerate me here!" "He's right," the female Doctor Whooves sighed. "Five ponies whose existences were being sustained by an artificial causalities distortion will be one big beacon to the Time Reapers." There was knock on the TARDIS' door. "Why am I still surprised when that keeps happening in this world?" Time Turner asked before checking the TARDIS' censors. "Seems we hae a surprise guest." He said sounding rather annoyed and then opening the doors. "Hello," said the faded purple mare earth mare. She had a mostly white mane with pink and blue stripes. Her cutie mark was a birthday present in front of a star. Symbols gleamed on her back and forehead. If the doctor had more spiritual senses, he might have noticed her mortal coil was a few sizes too small for her spirit. "I'm not from this universe... My name is Razzaroo... proto-concept of Wishes and Miracles. And good thing too, if I was a full goddess, I'd be breaking a lot of rules by coming here. But thankfully I'm not. A few spirits told me that you had friends who didn't have a home here... I have some friends who are building a whole new universe... so we have space to spare." 'Half an hour' of pseudo-time of formal introductions, and explanations later, the Lady Doctor said, "A new universe to explore? I'm in." "Wherever she goes, I go," Kirward Derby declared. What followed was some intense negotiation with Mineutte about her giving the Lady Doctor her TARDIS. Though Minuette seemed like the negotiation was more a matter of pride and was willing to give it as a gift. She had no interest in explore time and space, she had plenty in Equestria. Her TARDIS had been another story, given the Doctor's wasn't the only one with a consciousness. Given who the TARDIS had belonged to BEFORE Minuette had gotten it, it was happy to have a master who wasn't psychopathic. But it was ultimately convinced the Lady Doctor would be good to it. But this still left Muffin, Ditzy, and Golden Harvest, who were less eager to abandon the only reality they knew. And as fate would have it, a Derpy and a Golden Harvest, had been among the ponies saved by Nightmares Manacle and Whisper from Nightmare Eclipse's resets. "Noi is still my sister, and Cherry is still our father, I... I may not have met them, but I still love them." "Well, we could have you all fuse with your originals," Said Time Turner. "Go to Tartarus," Golden Harvest said matter of fact. "But I don't WANT to give up my memories of Dinky and Sparkler!" Muffin said. "Me neither!" Ditzy said too. Time Turner sighed, "I'm so sorry, but since you don't want to fuse with Derpy, you have to accept that Dinky and Sparkler are her foals." Muffin and Ditzy cried and hugged each other, Derpy couldn't stand it and hugged them too. - No. - "Did you hear something?" the Doctor asked. - Ah said no. - "No to what?" The doctor asked. - No. Ah ain't gonna let this happen. If what Ah say goes, then Ah ain't lettin' this misery happen! - Time Turner's eyes widened. "Bad wolf." Then it was like the golden hoof of All-That-Is reached into his time machine. "What is with girls and absorbing the time vortex?!" In the space between moment, Golden Harvest and Muffin were picked by the giant golden hoof, and were not there a moment later. "What just happened?!" Carrot Top yelled at the top of her lungs. "What's what I'd like to know!" The Doctor said. - "Don't ya worry... Muffin and Golden Harvest didn't want to be without their families, but couldn't be because the world already has Derpy and Carrot Top... so Ah made a new universe for them." - "WHAT?!" The Doctor exclaimed, the others looking at him weird. - "It was simple, kinda... There's lots of stuff that doesn't fit into the big puzzle now that everypony isn't floatin' in different bubbles, but not all of it is evil or nasty, so Ah made a whole new universe where they can all fit in. So Ah made it so in that universe, Derpy and Carrot Top's names were always Muffin Golden Harvest!" - "What?!" - "Come on, Doctor, Ah know you know enough about how the universe works to figure it out...now. Ah just found out when Ah got the reference guide fer this...Now Ah know why yah were mad at us fer messin' with that flux capacitor." - "Sweet loving Gallopfrey." - Good idea! Maybe Ah'll add that to that universe! - "What?!" "Doc', what's going on?!" Carrot Top demanded to know. "Where are they?! Are they ... gone?" "... Apparently an all powerful foal created a new universe for them that's like ours except what you two are named..." Golden Harvest stomped a hoof. "They could have at least let say goodbye!" Derpy and Ditzy snorted and nodded. - Sorry, Ah was kinda mad there didn't seem like a way ya could all be happy and somepony would have to lose SOMETHING after we tried so hard to fix this before somepony died! - The Doctor looked suddenly quite somber. "...I can sympathize with that." - ...Everypony lives? - "...Everypony lives..." - I've got another idea to help you. Sorry. Ah'm really really REALLY not supposed to be talkin' to anypony while on the job! This last one is hard... very hard... it feels like Ah'd spent three days goin' nuts over it. Ditzy Doo isn't just another name Derpy has, it's her ADOPTED name from her foster family... I couldn't just make 'er a twin or somethin'. Rainbow Dash MENTIONED Ditzy Doo during Winter Wrap Up, and Ah can't just have be an identical stranger on the other side of Equestria. There's lots of stuff again that Ah know now that Ah won't know after Ah'm finished, but it's sure comin' in hoofy right now. Okay, here it goes. Durin' all that time travelin' with the Doctor, Derpy learned about the mirror pond. Unlike Pinkie Pie, Derpy wanted a pony who fully understood her (with that speakin' problem she has and the weird eyes, wouldn't yah?). Unlike Pinkie Pie's clones who were born with the order 'have fun' in their heads, Derpy's clone was created to 'fully understand' her... and who understands us better than ourselves? So unlike Pinkie Pie's daughters, Ditzy Doo was born with all of Derpy's memories and feelings. Even if Ditzy wasn't a reincarnation of the Breezie Daisyglow. Unlike in the movies, Derpy couldn't just introduce her to everypony as her long-lost cousin. Derpy had to explain this to her families, (all three of them), and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna ultimately had to do the paperwork for Ditzy to legally exist. Ditzy didn't want most ponies to know what she was, it wasn't exactly kept secret, it just wasn't mentioned unless asked. Ditzy also stood in for Derpy Hooves during Winter Warp-Up, and being 'twins' nopony really knew the difference. Even if Derpy's horrible sense of direction had been copied over too. And... the craziest thing Ah'd seen? Seems after Derpy was 'lost', Dancin' Hooves had another foal... A little gray pegasus colt. - The world was being remade, and everything faded into the white light. And Maud Pie had the worst stomach pains she'd ever had in her life! If she'd thought to describe the pain to Mrs. Cake, she'd have stunned the older woman with what sounded very much like contractions! And just as soon as they had begun, they ended. Maud Pie had a distant look in her eyes, she whispered, "Her name is Rancor Adrestia Typhon, Animosity, Disruption!" And had no understanding of WHY she said those words. > World Rebirth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, I am Princess Celestia, and I shall step in -for soon-to-be-obvious reasons- to explain this next set of changes to reality as it repaired itself through young Apple Bloom. For good or evil... the Windigos had indeed ended pony prejudice among their... among our own tribes. Racial hatred had simply become extinct. It was no longer even a matter of fear of the windigos, it has simply become PONY NATURE. And they had indeed prevented a brutal intertribal war that had needed only a spark to go off. I had seen the design and plans of my family and in-laws ... It would have been a cold, and brutal lesson ponykind would have brought upon and done to itself. You think modern weapons invented mass death and destruction Civilizations simply become MORE AWARE of the reality of what they are doing. Apple Bloom saw this for herself when she tried to pull at the string that held the Windigo's winter, and saw the world she knew would become a completely different animal so to speak. Her nation, bloodlines, the tribes, culture, ideals, even magic itself, so much would have changed that it might as well have been a completely different world unto itself. I think it shocked her when she realized how many ponies had frozen to death, and how close her people had come to extinction, or be reduced to three tribes forever at war with each other in a frozen wasteland killing one another OVER NOTHING. But Apple Bloom was a determined filly... she managed to greatly reduce the number of ponies who had frozen to death... this caused the famine naturally to happen faster, and the tribes to immigrate quicker, and the Windigos to reveal themselves and for Cookie, Pansy, and Clover to end their threat all the sooner. Countless bloodlines were spared, and Equestria's borders retroactively expanded. Sadly, of course, there were deaths that couldn't be prevented, for the sake of a brighter, better world. For example, if Clover The Clever's parents hadn't died... Starswirl The Bearded wouldn't have taken her in as a student, and thus all the good Clover did, including helping thwart the Windigios, may not have happened at all. And... there was my family, and myself... as long as the Windigos existed, so did my punishment for bringing them on the world. And Apple Bloom, kindhearted darling that she was... wished to make it so the Windigo were indeed some THING that feed on hatred and strife of unknown origin. Yet she was also cognizant that this would open the door for terrible things. And... it is my mistake, my crime, my burden... one I am all so happy that most Celestias do not have to carry, though we ALREADY carry the burden of failing to save our sister and My Little Sun from themselves. As Apple Bloom reconstructed reality from a twisted mess, my family and in-laws were taking the chance to ratify revisions that applied to ourselves while reality was not set in stone. Both Nature's Fury and Nature's Law agreed to at least a few things, but none of them would be retroactive changes: First, the champion system was declared to be outdated. Equus was meant to be a REWARD for Champions who served for a lifetime (often more than one). It had been both used and abused by concepts who sought to reach beyond their purpose. One of the major declarations was that we could not declare a champion if we ourselves were already incarnated and/or aware of our divine-self within the same world or civilization. Second, Nature's Fury rescinded the idea of Draconequi simply reincarnating their spirit into a nearby host as punishment for any who'd murdered an incarnation of Nature's Fury. It was decided that as long as Discord was on Equus, this law had done nothing but aid him. Then again, Discord was the only one to be BORN THERE rather than using an AVATAR, so it was rather unavoidable. Third, the 'Big Sister is watching you' nature of seeing through the eyes of our concepts also was in need of GREAT revision. First, if we were incarnated, it would be basically defeating the entire point why we incarnated: to see things from the PONIES' point of view. Plus, it shouldn't be allowed for a Concept whose incarnation had NOT been disrupted to do so anyway. Myself seeing everything the sun touched, Luna seeing everything the moonlight touched, Cadence seeing everything every song bird saw... I say again, if we were incarnated, it would defeat the purpose of being incarnated at all. If this was allowed at all, it would be on a MUCH MUCH MORE limited scale, as it had been decided it was 'overpowered' and could lead to abuse. I, myself, had pressed the fourth point. "This is the world of my little ponies, not that of little concepts. We've been far too visible on Equus, something ponies can touch and see, rather than something that is all around them, something that is everywhere. The song must be allowed to play to its natural conclusion, such mid-song revisions are not good. This is THEIR STORY, not OUR STORY! The only thing worse than us forgetting that, is them forgetting it." After Tirek’s presence was washed away from my spirit, I also had a rather awkward, and very personal task ahead of me. Nothing I NEEDED to do, mind you, yet it was special. I knew it had to fade away, it was wrong for it not to. I had made sure not to rob Twilight's parents ... and I would not rob another couple of their foal. "Hello Rainbow Dash," We both stood in the white light of the restructuring world. "P-Princess C-Celestia, M-mom? No, but-" She stuttered, confusion clear in every part of her. I also see her body was composed completely of 'the fireflies' that had made of the bodies of the others who the rumors had brought into being. She had killed her original body, it had changed shape after she'd slain it purely to fulfill the expectations of all around her as it had mindlessly followed through with the rumors programmed into it, like an animatronic. Thankfully that wouldn't be the case once reality had restructured, and there was no need to inform her of something that would only disturb her. Scootaloo's belief that Rainbow Dash would never harm her was that pure, that powerful, that it overrode the collective belief of countless ponies. A faith that strong is something special indeed. I slowly trotted towards her, and lowered my neck against hers and folded my wings around her. "There, there, dear, it's alright. I'm here." Rainbow Dash pressed against my neck, and folded her wings around me too. I'll admit, all things considered, Rainbow Dash's mother was lucky to have a stallion like her husband. "I'm... I'm sorry we didn't get to spend any time together... that you didn't, with the real me... I... I would have been proud, to have a daughter like you Rainbow Dash." "R-really?" She replied in shock, her eyes misting over. "But-but I'm not all prissy, or royal-like or-" "And none of that would matter to me. You're brave, determined, true to your friends, and you live in the moment. You always remember what the point of your dreams are, rather than the dream itself. You are loyal to those who you inspire loyalty in. You have principles -contrary to appearances- and you do not blindly follow authority. There was nothing arbitrary about Loyalty choosing you, Rainbow Dash. You made yourself loyalty, you proved yourself worthy. You are not without flaw, none are, and like ANY PONY those flaws run deep... but you are TRYING and you are MAKING THE CHOICE more often than not to be a good pony. That is yours, and Equestria's truth strength." Rainbow Dash let herself cry, and nuzzled deeply into my side. "T-thank you! Thank you so much!" I let myself cry a little too. "You're welcome... my little pony." + Alula and Tootsie's faux Alicorn horns and wings were gone. They wore neither their garish Magical Filly costumes, nor the barding of Diamond Tiara's Nightmare. They had indeed lived up to their promise; helping ponies who’d been endangered by their curse. As the white light took them, they were surprised to see a brown pegasus colt with broken wings. His cutie mark was a jack-o-lantern. Foal though he was, just being near him commanded respect. The white light didn't touch him, shadows gathered around him, making him seem larger than he was. He didn't smile. He face remained neutral. He made no formal introduction as he spoke, "Alula Kicker, Tootsie Flute, foals of Ponyville... Apple Bloom has taken control of this curse from you, so you will not notice the changes she makes to reality, or the damage she undoes. This is a mercy, not a punishment. You will not have to remember what you did to your loved ones. But you will remember to appreciate what you took for granted about them. That is all I have to say to you." The foal slipped into the darkness. "I have something to ask you." The fillies turned around to see a simple blue coat with white spots over his sides. Alula saw a unicorn, Tootsie saw a pegasus. "Hi, I'm Buddy." He waved. "You Will Answer What I Ask Of You Honestly To Me And To Yourselves. Do You Understand What You Did Wrong?" "I helped break the world," Alula sobbed. "I turned my sister, and Rumble's brother into... something empty. I helped pull Tootsie into this. I wanted to help Diamond Tiara, when what she needed was saving... I... I was hurt other ponies because I was TOLD they were bad. Then I hurt myself instead of helping my family." "... " Tootsie choked. "I... stole Truffle's friendship with Twist... I didn't get to know him. I... I didn't see how my family was already happy and exciting. ... And I didn't think how it would hurt them and my friends if I went away." "Would You Do It Again If You Had It Over?" "No!" They echoed. "Because you lost?" "No!" "Why?" "Because I was wrong!" They fillies echoed. They sobbed. "Why Did You Do What You Did?" "I wanted my big sister and Diamond Tiara to be happy!" "I wanted Truffle and my family to be happy! I wanted to be a hero! Like Mare-Do-Well!" Buddy stood there looking at them... then nuzzled them and dried their tears. "It's Okay... I Forgive You. And so do they." And in the next moment, Alula was being hugged by Cloudkicker, while Tootise was hugged by Bon Bon, Lyra Heartstrings, and Moth. Both fillies cried again but for very different reasons. A filly shaped darkness observed unseen. And Alula and Tootsie were absorbed by the light. + "Was that really necessary?" Phobia asked. "It was for them," Buddy said. "To forgive isn't the same thing as exonerate, but it is about letting go of grudges." "Hell doesn't forgive, nor forget," Phobia said. "That is the nature of hell's torment." "Maybe not, but I do forgive, and I'll forgive whoever I please. In particular when it helps two fillies move forward." + Discord was in a white void, feeling a great deal of annoyance. "Fifth most-powerful being in creation and a farm foal outclasses me right now...oh well, at least I'll get an exciting finale now..." He was tempted to try and work some 'fun' things into creation, but of course the one in control of everything at the moment wouldn't have that. He wondered if there was anything she actually would let him get away with... For a brief moment...something passed through his mind. Snapping his fingers, he appeared in spirit form at the moment where he did the fateful mind breaking to Diamond Tiara. "...The finale...MY finale..." He snapped his fingers...and for a moment, the image continued as if that break never happened...he helped her overcome the mad worker who'd come for her without it. Find his statue and freed him...then he left her there unharmed, to later be found during the wedding while he sabotaged Chrysalis from the shadows while regaining his strength. He watched Diamond nuzzle her now sane mother and going home with her mother and never having anything to do with Discord beyond that... And she'd have been among his first victims once he began his rampage again. The Spirit of Chaos watched this... "My Little Princess..." He then got a look of hesitation...then sighed. "MY Little Princess." He snapped his fingers and simply put the image back to how it originally played out. He put his face in his claws. 'Thank you, Father, that's exactly how I like it,' said an emotionless voice. Discord didn't feel proud of himself. Another calm and collect voice spoke, but driven by reason instead of emptiness. "A chaos god should be able to surprise a mare whose dedicated her life to logic. You disappointment me young stallion, but not surprise," Wind Whistler admonished. Discord's face just sank further into his claws. + Dragoncord smiled and sat down. He looked at one claw, seeing it flicker with flakes of light. As the world was remade, the Detachment was called back to his concept. He looked to see Luna's avatar; silvery barded Selena, was also being called back to being part of her goddess for the grand rewrite. The pocket emulation of Paradise Estate, now covered in battle scars, faded with his power. Dragoncord had spent most of their fight talking about in great detail about how Discord manipulated Diamond Tiara into freeing the chaos god and driving her mad with nothing but words. Ironically enough (or perhaps intentionally), Dragoncord's taunts had only fueled Princess Luna's fury and managed to push back Grogar's presence in her soul just a little further until Apple Bloom had repaired the printing press. "Good job, little crusaders, you beat her endgame," said Dragoncord. Selena snorted. "I wish I could say I'm surprised you'd try to deflect a failed idea onto a little filly you manipulated into being your lackey." Dragoncord spoke with more seriousness than a Detachment of the concept of chaos should have ever had. "You really think I'd ever approve of a plan to replace you Lulu with the most boring being I've ever met? And you think my Little Diamond is my lackey? I'm proud of her, but what makes you think she'd obey me anymore than her old parents?" Selena looked at Dragoncord in shock, but before she could say more, she faded away. The fake sky had vanished, and had most of the ground, now the pink house itself began to fade back into nothing and the white light. A great mass of darkness pushed through the light, darker than dark, and of it came a brown pegasus colt with broken wings. Discord had not seen his father in thousands of years. Let alone when not an out of control avatar. After all these eons, after being reduced to a rogue force of nature, something their place in creation as twisted as themselves, Dragoncord with all this in mind said, "Hello, dad." "Hello, son," Phobia said pleasantly. "Hey! I have a great idea! How about you stop all this 'conquer one measly planet' nonsense and stop helping destroy worldliness, and just come home? I know you're not technically dead yet, but you might have overstayed your welcome. Or you can just surrender to Buddy's little Sunshine. Maybe she'll give you a work release program if you cooperate. I know you helped the foals in the end!" Dragoncord sighed. "Sorry, pops, the party's not over yet." Phobia grew twice Discord's size and the foal snapped. "BY ALL THAT IS ME! Discordance! What Is It Going To Take?! I Know This Won't End Well For You! I'm Seeing It Not Ending Well For You! I Exist At Both Ends Of The Road Remember?! Why Kind Of Concept Of Chaos Doesn't Change?!" Dragoncord looked some of the flowers Dissy had randomly changed the colors of once as a prank/gift for Posey, they faded away one by one. "You always do tell me how I should be. And I always did hate it." "You Think Distractions Would Work On Me, Kiddo?" Phobia said. "Even If You Win, Things Still Won't End Well For You. You Can't Ignore It Anymore, Discord, It's Over. Even If All Your Enemies Lay As Broken Toys Before You, You Won't Be Able To Enjoy It, Because You've Realized The Truth." Phobia shrank back down, and placed a hoof on Draconcord's still existing claw. "Please, Son, Just Stop This Nonsense Already Come Home. Just Change, Not For Me, But Yourself, At Least? Please, Discordance, I Won't Be Able To Offer You Another Out." "I don't want one, and I don't deserve one," Dragoncord said with no malice in his voice. "Don't worry, I'll back on the other side soon, then you can punish me for all the... stuff I've done all you want." "Please tell me you want to find redemption, lie to me if you have to." "There is no redemption for ones like me." The absolute worst thing? Truly absolute worse thing? Was Phobia seeing his son without his normal insane flare. No matter the universe, be Discord a trickster, monster, fool, mentor, father, that theatrically insane charm had always been there... Phobia's ears wilted. "How Many Times Are You Going To Keep Telling Yourself That Lie?" "You wanted to hear a lie, didn’t you?” He shrugged. “What can I say? I'm a showstallion, father," Dragoncord stood up in spite of not having legs right now. "If I don't go out with a big bang... well, I have to win back the crowd a little before the curtain calls. I've been sitting on my rump far too much. This was mostly Little Diamond and Cousin's act. I need to end things with a BIIIIIIIIIG show, or I'll never live it down.” Then Phobia then did the most vicious, brutal, and breaking thing he could possibly do to his son, he hugged him gently. Dragoncord vanished along with the false Paradise Estate. Phobia looked at the non-existent ground. "I lost my eldest son... I Will Not Lose My Youngest." He walked back into the darkness. + Pandora flipped through a Daring Do book, noting the by line by AK Yearling. "I suppose I have one thing to thank my brother for...I finally made a living fictional character that adds something to the world...enjoy life, Daring. You will ALWAYS add more to the world than your enemies try, (and fail!) to take from it. You're a real hero." + This is... this is the big one... feels like another eternity and a half before Ah can even figure it out... three different timelines, all twisted together. The day The Age of Wonders came to an end. That day us ponies got blasted back to the stone age. Ah... Ah can see, Ah won't remember later, but fer now, Ah see... Amicitia created at least three timelines where the Wish Spell worked like it was supposed to. She even made a world where the Wish Spell was simply never created to begin with... We worked so hard, only for the Windigos and Discord to smash it all again and again... and we kept building back up... But... if the Disaster never happened, that means all the griffins in the world would be just dumb critters... Ah... Ah try to take in all the details... all the lines, all the threads, all the causes and effects. It's... it's gettin'... it's so hard... "Feeling the pressure? The stress building? Ready to break? Insides about to shatter?" Diamond Tiara's Nightmare whispered. "The might of a god in the hooves of a mortal? Just like me..." She leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "Come on, Apple Bloom... just let go. Don’t worry, the sensation of your soul imploding is even worse than it sounds. Don't be gentle, just smash the fairness in. Then we can be friends like you wanted." Shaken like Ah was gonna come apart, Ah looked 'er dead in the eye. Ah saw the tiny grin on 'er face. "No," Ah just whispered, but it held more power then the Royal Canterlot Voice! She recoiled back. "Ah don't need the Truth to see that lie. If Ah was sick like you, the first thing Ah'd do is try to make you never-heard-from-again... Yer not stupid, ya know that..." My eyes widened. "Nightmares say yer gonna make everythin' fair, but only what's fair for you. Tiara... ya don't need to give up like this." Maybe that's the real difference between a Nightmare and an Alicorn. "You think anything you're doing is going to change anything for the better in the long run? Sombra, Tirek, Grogar, Ahuizotl, they're all waiting right over the horizon. And so am I." "First point; yeah, Ah do. Second point, 'bout Tirek and the rest; they're gonna lose, and lose, and lose! Like all them other monsters that’d been tryin' ta wipe ponies off the map since forever! And there's more heroes than just Applejack and her friends, they're just the best! Ad third, Twilight and her friends WILL save ya, and hecka a lot sooner than later! You'll be free." "I'm a living wrongness in the world, what makes you think your cheap words can effect what I am now?" "They don't need ta! Applejack and the rest of Elements of Harmony will be able to! Now excuse me Diamond Tiara. Ah got a busy schedule ahead o’ me. But Ah wouldn't mind a friend." Ah kissed 'er on the forehead, she ran quicker than a greased jackalope. - "In its own warped way, The Disaster gave as much as it took. Many ponies were left brain-damaged, while many beastly species were uplifted to sapient awareness. Every electronic wonder in the world was fried, and entirely new species were brought into the world. Most ponies lost everything, others were granted gifts. "Sweetheart didn't understand why the magical blast of the Disaster had mutated her, and she didn't live to see that it was a mutation rather than an enchantment, because it had skipped a generation with her foals. Some even thought that her first grandfoal might be her reincarnated, until her other grandfoals exhibited the same gift. “Some historians saw irony in how her foals not inheriting her gift paved the way for modern pony medicine, rather than having everypony rely on one specialized bloodline. "There were still limits to the gift. It could not regrow lost limbs, and it drew upon the gifted's mana thus meaning it was limited by a pony's mana pool and bucket potential. And the more severe the injury, the more time it took for the gift to mend it. And a bone that healed wrong need to be rebroken. Oddly, the gift seemed to fade from Hearts who used their gift for underhoofed purposes. "A larger limit was simply not being able to 'heal' something that was never injured, and the pony was simply born that way. "Historians believed the first pony Sweetheart used her gift to heal was... was... her little sister Cream... Oh, Oh Cream! ... "...It...it... was said when her gift awakened... the second pony she used her gift on was her husband... it was years before she learned to call upon it at will... which then boosted her status as a saint even greater. So many families today owe their existence to her." Sweetheart broke down in tears as she read the 'new addition' to Bon Bon's diary. Bon Bon hugged her. Starlight looked at the pages. "You and Teddy still died of the plague, it nearly seemed to target you first... oh Sweetheart I'm so sorry." "It's... it's okay... I'm just happy that Cream... Cream was able to do something... able to help the world instead of just... just dying so meaninglessly." "LOTS of ponies died meaninglessly that day," Melody said. "Not just ponies we know." "At least there's a little less now," Clover said. Patch read. "Looks like Teddy still got some nasty scars on his face... even more later since he always knew you could heal him..." "That... that sounds just like him." Sweetheart smiled. Starlight read on. "So? Anything new and improved about me?!" Patch asked her. "You... you still had to kill that mad mare in the mountains... But... Brightglow saved you from Flim Critique's harem the same night he used the shard of laughter on you instead of several days later..." Patch hugged herself, and smiled. "Bright Eyes?" Sweet Heart asked. "I got lucky. I already GOT BACK my memories before I died... I don't have to ask for more." Clover shook her head. "‘Lucky’ is all I ever got. What about Slipknot... I mean Scout?" "He died helping ponies. Just the kinda death he wanted," Starlight said. "And Logan?" Bright Eyes asked. "He already died of old age, surrounded by those he loved doing good, and holding onto one of the shards," Starlight said. "Pretty good way to go.” Melody began reading the journal next. "Was my magic... able to heal your voice, Melody?" Sweetheart asked, hoping beyond hope. Melody was crying. "No... but I was able to still COMPOSE music, I was taken as an inspiration for generations to come." She looked up, smiling through her tears. "Mom died a grandmother after the disaster, decades later, I was buried alongside her. Sweet Music got to KNOW her while we were still alive." "What about your bandmates?" Patch was the only one with the courage to ask. "... They died living like royalty. They actually held... held Adagio and the others from... hurting anypony until Half Note and the others ... died of old age on their island. Their graves are still there... Adagio... " Now Melody did cry in sadness. Bon Bon slowly took her diary, and read her own entry at the beginning. For being her own diary, it amazed her friends how small her section had become, compared to the others. This journal's had been quite detailed, once upon a time, and had saved herself and her friends from being lost once. "... Misty... her husband... they... still died..." The former grim reaper in the room, Starlight The First, did not look comfortable at all as she said, "... Misty died shielding her daughter... and you raised her daughter the way that made her proud... and dying together... is a mercy few couples get." When she was alive, Bon Bon would have given Starlight The First the biggest death glare possible, and unleashed a flaming triad at her... but being dead herself... Bon Bon understood what Starlight meant. "Mom... dad... Rusty... they lived... Rusty even acted as my bodyguard for a while against some of my more unwanted admirers after the Disaster... " Bon Bon said. And that was that. Bon Bon had once been among the most selfish of their group, now she couldn't care less about attention on herself where her friends were concerned. No grand adventures, no encounters with world ending horrors, no searching for centuries for pieces of ultimate power... She just lived her life as well as she could as did her friends and family after the world ended, and they all died of old age, something a lot of ponies didn't get the honor of when their world had ended. "But Starlight, what about you?" Bon Bon selflessly asked handing the journal to her. "This is your chance. This is our chance." "She's right!" Melody said. "You don't have to have died on the day the world ended!" "You could live a life with Scout!" Sweetheart said, "You could save his life! You could have a family line alive today!" "It would be wonderful... " Clover agreed. "All those years I spent searching for you when you were already gone," said Patch. She placed her hooves on Starlight's. "We can fix it! You could be there for our reunion! You could be there as we grow old! You could clear your name! Starlight it's EVERYTHING you could have ever wished for you! Miss Hackney could be alive!" = 'Trunk's Story' - DBZ OST = Starlight smiled. She handed the book back to her friend. And put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked at all of them in the eye. "Girls... I've thought stuff like this over for four thousand years... and I think it might better if I just stay dead." Her friends collectively gasped. "Now hear me out!" Starlight waved her hooves quickly, standing on her hind legs like her friends, it was the social norm for them after all. "Girls, before you say anything, this isn't about me giving up, or about me being scared to live... I'm not scared to have faced all the ponies who lost everything the day the world was ruined, I did exactly that as a grim reaper remember? But... just like Patch said... me dying, was why she was looking for a thousand years... "You did so much good, remember Patch?" "How could anyone here FORGET after all the times she talked about all the 'evil overlords' she gave the boot to," Melody said. "Exactly. A thousand years of wandering Ponyland, righting wrongs, doing good, searching for the shards of the Rainbow of Light, keeping them out of bad hands... But if I was alive... you'd have never done any of that. You had BUDDY to think about, and then you had your SON to think about... " Patch wanted to argue, but thought of her husband and child... "And Logan and Slipknot would have likely been tied down to one place rather than being the Stable Dweller to our Nuke'Out Equestria and all the good they did as well." "And... and then there's all the stuff I did as an Angel of Death... I can't just shirk that. Even with how the spirit world works... you can't be dead and alive at the same time." "Stop making it sound like your whole life was just an excuse for everypony else!" Sweetheart said, crying. "Even if we're not remembered as much as we could be, at least we HAVE legacies! Good things we did that inspired other ponies to do good! You're not just garbage to get tossed out because the world didn't need you! You're Starlight! The REAL Starlight! Not some monster who took your name and then made it so that everything SHE DID is all ANYPONY is going to remember your name for! It's not fair!" Sweetheart cried into Starlight's shoulder and hugged her. Starlight hugged her back. "Our world getting shot to hell was a tragedy for tragedy's sake! It doesn't belong! It's self-important horseapples! If we can't have our world back then at least we can have you back! We could be all back together," Melody snapped, crying too. "...We ARE all back together, Melody," Starlight said warmly, nuzzling her. "None of us became monsters or drug addicts or worse. None of us did anything making stuff harder for Twilight and her friends thousands of years later. You all went to your grave PROUD OF everything you'd done. This is different from the erased Age of Dreams because I HAVE a legacy. ALL OF YOU!" Starlight hugged them. "You girls have said that I helped keep the group together... we made each other greater... I take pride in that too." She smiled. There was a chirping, and Peewee fluttered on her shoulder. She petted the bird gently. "And even with ultimate power... it looks like there are still times and fates we can't defy. Consequences we can't escape. I need to look after Peewee. If I get reactivated maybe he can be my assistant reaper." She looked sadly at her friends. "Also, girls? We CAN'T save Miss Hackney, because she was dying of OLD AGE when the disaster happened. She was ready! Because she had all of us to be proud of too!" The girls were all solemn after Starlight's speech. But Clover still protested. "It's still wrong that everypony thought you were some kinda mad scientist or monster after the Disaster! That isn't right! Not in the least! Everypony who was involved in the project messed up! And so did all of us!" Bright Eyes nodded. Clover continued. "That isn't some cruel necessary happenstance! That's YOUR NAME and YOUR identity being dragged through the mud twice over! It's like you dying once wasn't enough and they wanted you to die again and again! They blamed you and spat on your grave when you couldn't even fight back!" Clover stomped her hoof. And I won't stand for it!" The entire world shook. And the ponies' felt the contents of the diary changed. Carefully and slowly, Starlight picked it up, and came to her section, and read. "... Prof. Starlight, should have been already giving her speech... but she had the idea of giving the Wish Spell, the magic and the science involved an extra check, an extra set of eyes didn't hurt. She wasn't Bright Eyes, but she was far from stupid, she was a college professor after all. "Princess Rosy of The Isle of Pony, whose castle was one of the seven being used... had followed Prof. Starlight into the room where the rainbow shard was being kept in the carefully constructed machine that had gone through countless tests and simulations. It was her country's castle after all, and she wanted to know what was keeping Prof. Starlight personally. "When the concept of destruction came into being as the Wish Spell powered up... She saw it. She saw the magic wasn't integrating like it should have... the conflicting wave forms trying to correct themselves was causing a feedback loop... And it all clicked, they were going to blow. For one moment she thought that seven castles could be turned off... they couldn't. The moment the spell started they became a single thing of magic, it was growing in an out of control spiral. "She slammed a hoof on an alarm. She used up a few seconds wiring into the intercom throughout and outside the castle and a wireless with the other seven castles. 'EMERGENCY! THIS IS PROF. STARLIGHT! NOT A DRILL! TERMINAL EMERGENCY! SOMETHING'S GONE WRONG AND THEY'RE ALL GOING TO BLOW! ALL EVACUATE AT ONCE! REPEAT! ALL MACHINES ARE GOING TO EXPLODE! EVACUATE! THIS IS PROF. STARLIGHT! NOT A DRILL! EMERGENCY! THEY'RE ALL GOING TO EXPLODE! EVACUATE!' "Any pony who took Starlight at her word ran for their lives. It was a question if any of them would escape the blast range. Starlight took one look at Rosy, grabbed her, and pushed her towards a blue unicorn with a rainbow colored mane. Her cutie mark was, a rainbow escaping a crystal. Her husband, an Earth Pony, stepped towards the unicorn. "'PRISM RUSH! TELEPORT YOURSELF, YOUR HUSBAND, AND THE PRINCESS AS FAR AWAY AS YOU CAN NOW!' Starlight knew that three ponies was Prism Rush's limit. "'But Starlight-' Prism Rush began. 'MY PARENTS! By royal decree, I order you-' Rosy began to say. 'What about-' "'NOW!!!!!' Prof. Starlight screamed looking ready to attack them if they stayed put, the three ponies vanished in a flash of rainbow light. The other staff in the room had already run for it. "Prof. Starlight turned to the control, working at her absolute hardest, her strongest, her smartest, trying to prevent the inevitable a little while long. 'Mom, Mrs. Hackney, Logan, Slipknot, I love you.' She continued to work like mad at the controls. Even just a few seconds more was something. 'Patch, Clover, Melody, Sweetheart, Bon Bon, Bright Eyes, let's have some cookies at the clubhouse later. We can invite Lance, Teddy, Ace, oh and Dandy, Cookie, and Buddy too I guess.' Not much time left. 'Everypony... I... I'm sorry... please live. Bright Eyes for goodness sake, don't blame yourself.' Going critical. 'Bon Bonyou'rebeautiful! Melodyyourock. Cloveryou'renotMeadowlarklite! Sweetheartyouwerethebestofus. Patch,goodluckgirl.' "Destruction's breath rained down on the world. "Some still blamed her for the disaster...but those she'd saved, and the loved ones of those she'd saved wouldn't. They remembered her as a hero who sacrificed herself to save as many as she could. Rosy told how she could have escaped with her but chose not to to try and hold things back for just a little bit longer in hopes just a few more ponies could live..." "... I... " Melody said carefully. "I don't suppose... any of that go through to Adagio and her sisters?" "... The seaponies' stadium wasn't wired to the castle's intercom, and was set up so the noise from the castle didn't ruin the sound... Tempo Wave and Oratorio Waltz... It was kinder they DIDN'T see the monsters their sisters became..." Patch hugged Starlight. "YOU SAVED ROSY!" "... Yes... I did... but that also means she lost her parents AGAIN. You asked Buddy to keep an eye on her while you were on your quest." "I... I guess it's never going to be exactly easy..." Patch awkwardly admitted. "The Isle of Pony still had a leader and ruler to keep it from falling apart. It became a beacon of stability for a long time." The girls all hugged together, Peewee included. "You're remembered as somepony GOOD... that's all I asked for..." Sweetheart admitted. The friends nuzzled. All happy and ready to move on. "...Thank you..." Starlight said, looking at no one in particular. +++ This here next part... it ain't somethin' Ah'm undoin'. It ain't somethin' Ah'm 'makin' better. It's somethin' Ah'm restorin'! Time to fix this screw up! Ah dare anypony anywhere to try and stop me! Ah won't remember this stuff later, but Ah say it's so, so it's so: Shady of Paradise Estate already knew what it was like to be a mother before Dissy was born. And Ka-boom. Ah can't restore Cupid... but Ah sure as heck can put Baby Shady back where she belongs! Put that in yer cider and drink it! It all goes back to where it was supposed to be, all of Baby Shady's adventures with her Ma and her fellow Baby Ponies, all her friendships, all she knew, it all goes back to where she belongs. She ain't stuck living two lives in two places no more... she's got one whole life to live, the same as anypony gets, hers is just a lot longer than most. ... She actually ends up the last livin' Paradise Pony on Equus when all is said and done... She left Paradise Estate with the other Baby Ponies except Ember who stayed. She grew up into a mare, and then unlike the other baby ponies CAME BACK to Paradise Estate. Ah think she might've been a ma twice herself over the course of 'er life. She was still Golden Tiara's super-great-great-granny. This means she met Starlight The First and her friends of course. But that goes without sayin'. She didn't think much of Bright Eyes. She thought Teddy was right that Sweetheart was crazy for comin' on their adventure pregnant. She... she was happy with how Clover and her Ma bonded. She liked Bon Bon's cookin' if nothin' else. She LOVED hangin' out with Patch. She clicked with Melody believe it or not, with personalities with theirs, they either become best buddies or worst enemies, so why be the latter? And Starlight ... Ah think part of 'er saw Starlight as the ma she WANTED to have. She also voted against the plan to rewrite the world to make it villain-less. But she got outvoted. Ironically, Baby Shady's vote wasn't about them bein' erased, she was ready to make that sacrifice too... but she felt that if ponies didn't have any villains to show'em what bein' bullied was like, that ponies would end up the bullies. She actually stayed at Paradise Estate through the Disaster and the Windigos, even when Ember left. Now Shady really was the last Baby Pony of Paradise Estate in name if not in fact. This also means she was around when her ma got pregnant... and was there when Newborn Dissy teleported his ma back right back to Paradise Estate fer help. And she was there when Mimic gave birth to Celestia and Luna, and when Galaxia, or rather, "Star-Reacher", showed up out of the blue to act as a care taker to 'em. Baby Shady unlike the rest, never truly trusted her. She didn't trust the babies at first that came out her ma and Mimic with no pa around. But when they acted as scared and surprised at their own magic as everypony else, Shady began to think they weren't part of whatever scheme brought 'em here. Didn't mean she trusted "Star-Reacher" though, nothing's perfect. And Dissy... he loved and looked up to his big sister as much as any little foal would. Though he could relate more with Celly and Lulu though. Shady came to love Dissy like he already loved her, but Ah think Baby Shady never realized just how much Dissy wanted to BE her, she was his example the same way their ma was... like any big and little siblings. Baby Shady was HAPPY in those days, whether she ever admitted it or not. Ah wanted to try and make a universe where she helped Dissy beat Discord, but Ah saw that world already existed. His memories of bein' Discord actually came back a little later than before. But the day came, when Dissy's memories of bein' Discord came back. And the monster swallowed Dissy. "Hey big sister! How'd you like to rule the world? If it's too much paperwork I can just give you your own country!" "You're not my brother!" And she managed to hurt Discord more with those words than the mega-spell-blasts during the Alicorn/Draconequus war. "My brother wouldn't do this!" He didn't make Baby Shady a fake Nightmare like their Ma, he didn't give her a corrupted Element of Chaos like her neither, and he didn't tell 'er to go farm rock like Surprise... He made her immortal so she could have time to 'think over his offer.' Yeah... it's kinda wonky how Discord, and "Star-Reacher" grimly agreed, that Dissy was dead... but he still wanted Baby Shady to 'join in' and he still wanted his Ma with 'em. Discord still caused misery and insanity wherever he went, but ... he didn't slaughter the flutterponies, and he didn't leave seaponies to die because of a stupid game of solitaire! He still recreated the parasprites, but not out of mountains of corpses of Flutterponies. Queen Rosedust still ended up the world's last true Flutterpony, with the rest becomin' changelings. And instead of givin' the seaponies back their oceans, Discord just turned the ones who would've died into more buffalo and ponies on his own. And as it turned out, they weren't the only seaponies in the world, Shady just made Discord think they were. I think that might've been WHY Discord didn't murder the flutterponies. And the changelings just vanished into the world. There were those who were cursed by Discord, and those who were cursed by the love poison... ugh... that makes me feel WORSE for what Ah did to Cheerilee and my big brother... I'm HAPPY Ah won't remember this part. But ... even with all that... there was just... while there was plenty of random pointless insanity and misery... there was a lot less random pointless DEATH. (He once even restored a family of zebra from wind-up toys when Shady demanded it). Ah... Ah think somehow, Discord was tryin' to eat his cake and have it too... he wanted to have the world as his personal sandbox, have his mom be as rotten as him... but have his big sister accept him. Shady stayed with Luna and Celestia as the centuries rolled by... and... they actually made Dicord's rampage end a heck of a lot sooner, I can't say, 300 years early? 400? It's hard to tell. The fight with Discord was a little less of a close call too thanks to Shady bein' there as a distraction since he could never really hurt his big sister. This didn't stop Discord from plantin' the seeds of Luna becomin' Nightmare Moon though. And Baby Shady still lived her life with her ma afterwards, and sent Somnabula to her grave... She.... she did a whole ton of good... But nopony remembers her... like somehow Discord havin' a family would somehow make 'em 'less evil' or somethin'. Ah know Princess Celestia did it his family could live in peace, but Shady basically saved two tribes... Maybe it's too bad Ah won't remember this stuff outside my context later after all. Ah put Shady back where she belongs, and the world's a better place for it, maybe that's the point. + Dissy leaned back in a lounge chair. He wore sunglasses, a baseball cap with a constantly changing logo, and had a sunlamp set up next to him. His digital watch beeped. He pulled down on his sunglasses. He saw himself begin to flake away like Dragoncord had before. "Well, looks like that's it... I was born of the desires he didn't want to admit he has, and now I'll return to the rest of me too." He stretched. He grinned. "I wonder how much he'll scream at feeling a conscience." "It was sure fun while it lasted. Ya know, once when he was done being a jerk with mom, he once petted a puppy just because? And everypony around was shouting how he had 'evilly' petted the puppy. Ya know that's what stinks about trying to be a better draconequus, everypony in the world is lazy in their thinking, heck, if they saw Celly blow up a town, I bet they'd think the town deserved it somehow. Is it any wonder Celly hates her ponies seeing her as perfect? Well, everypony thinks about those times, but they never think about a baddie who might try to do something good. Build an orphanage and they'll think it's part of some evil overpopulation plan, mark my words. "Meh, listen to me ramble. Nythy's curse is going away, so that means I have to go away too, or rather, 'go back'. Back to the rest of me... It was a nice change of pace helping the good guys." Dissy faded into the white light. + I made a LOT of changes... I think a lot of 'em Ah think it's better ya find out fer yerself after Ah'm done, feels... feels more right that way. "Hi Apple Bloom, I'm Thread Spool." It was a pegasus filly, one of her wings was clockwork. Ah wasn't stupid, Ah knew who she was. "Howdy Thread Spool." "I just wanna say, thank you for everything and... thank you for... for understand me." She gave me a nuzzle. "I feel sometimes like nopony understands me." "It... it ain't easy bein' the ocean or a mountain is it?" "... Ever since I was born, so many ponies think all I do is use them or treat them like slaves... all I've done since the moment I was born was build roads out of myself... so many roads... All of them start with my Mom, and all of them end with their Mom." Ah grinned. "We can't make the ocean do headstands, or the mountain to step out of the way for us, but that ain't make us their slaves." She hugged me back. "Thank you Apple Bloom... thank you... again thank you, for everything. The worst evil is to pervert something good, the greatest GOOD is to steer evil towards a good end. Thank you Apple Bloom." "Ah wouldn't have gotten two steps without my friends, including you." She smiled at me. "That's the right answer!" + Four Earth pony mares sat around a low table in a white void. On the table itself was a stone chinighese tea set and very generous amounts of cake. The four sat like the points on a compass. Pinkie Pie sat across from Maud Pie. Octavia sat across from Photo Finish (for once not in one of her signature dresses). Maud Pie had little to say or add, but felt it was her responsibility to be there. It was all right for her to just bear witness though, she'd just given birth after all. The other three didn't look eager or excited to begin the topic of discussion either. It was always-in-motion Pinkie Pie who couldn't take the stillness any longer and finally broke the ice. "Sooooooooo..." She eyes darted about nervously. "Do you girls want to stay sisters?" It was clear her question wasn't directed at Maud Pie. This led immediately to another long awkward silence. "Pinkie Pie, what brings this one?" Octavia finally asked. "Well, we're cleaning out stuff, like say Moon Dancer had been a spy for an evil organization, well, that obviously isn't the case, so that goes in the dumpster. And well... you shouldn't feel OBLIGATED to be my sisters because of an incomplete world filling in the blanks. You two have full big lives and... so do Limestone and Marble Pie... Maybe it would be better if you just split away from them, have full lives in Canterlot... And let them have full lives on the rock farm. But I... I don't want to force it on you if you want it one way or the other. Do you want to keep being sister Octy? Do you want to keep being sister Photo? It's... it's time... it's for you to... to decide." Pinkie Pie mane was now a balance between her form two sides, but she still felt on the brink of crying her eyes. "So..." Maud Pie spoke. She looked at her sisters. "Do you want to remain sisters in the restored world? Or do you want to be born in separate families, each of you, and let Marble and Limestone exist on their own? None of you will be directly related." For anypony else, her monotone would have come across as complete indifference... for these three however, they could up the uncertainty and sadness in Maud Pie's voice. "Pinkie Pie," Photo Finish asked, taking off her sunglasses. "What brought this one? I know we have all gone our separate ways, but are YOU saying you don't want us sisters anymore?" Pinkie Pie flinched. "No no no! It's not that at all! I swear! It's just... it's not fair to you to be tied down to something that isn't really you and... it's not fair to Limestone and Marble to .... just not exist." Pinkie Pie entire body shivered. Octavia put a loving hoof on her shoulder. "Pinkamena, this isn't like that, I swear. In a way, we ARE already Limestone and Marble! ... At least personality wise." Octvaia looked to Photo Finish. "Blinky DOES have have that perfectionist streak and deposition. And I DO have a self-conscious streak, just not as much. I know what it's like to like listening more than talking." Pinkie Pie thought to herself, 'I... I hope those don't sound like... excuses.' "I... I also really wondered... was it really right to leave mom and dad all alone on the rock farm? I... it was never for me but... it was everything for them." Pinkie Diane had always thought of it as a big paradox that Applejack going back to her farm was the right thing, while Pinkie Pie leaving the farm was also the right thing. "I would be there," Maud Pie said matter of fact breaking Pinkie Pie out of her reflection. "I-I know you would..." Pinkie Pie admitted. "And that just means, I don't want to hurt mom and dad's feelings with it being just them and you..." "No of us hated you Pinkie Pie, get that nonsense out of your head, you have enough in there already." Photo Finish said sternly. "Sorry." "And we ALL come back for Hearth Warming Eve remember?" Octavia added. "It's not like we've forgotten our roots." "It's just the rock farm is a big place... it doesn't manage itself." In spite of bad jokes about the Apple's fictional monopoly on fruit, the Apple Farm was not simply nor easy to fun with only four Apples on staff. The rock farm, in spite of appearances, wasn't any less easy. "And... Maud Pie has to go to college eventually... that would leave just mom and dad on the farm now that Trixie's left... and they're getting older... and Granny Pie is already gone. I don't want them to be all alone, and I KNOW none of us want them to be alone either!" "But I don't want forget YOU as a sister Pinkie Pie!" Octavia said. "I know we haven't always gotten along, but we're still family! You and Vinyl HELPED ME through what Chrysalis and Discord did to me!" Photo Finish nodded as well. "I second it! I have few times with you as it is! I do not wish to lose them! I do not care about 'messiness!' For this one!" "I'm just worried about the damage it could cause," Pinkie Pie whispered. "Large families can have more than four foals, in particular farming families," Maud Pie said. "It wouldn't be impossible..." The triplets looked at each other. "But... wouldn't that be MORE cheating? And wouldn't that just make the soup filled with MORE spices than it already has?" Pinkie Pie said worried. "And wouldn't splitting you apart while staying related just make things MORE complicated?" "Uh, is this a good time to mention I was thinking of moving to Ponyville?" Octavia offered awkwardly. Maud Pie said, "Whatever you decide, it'll be your choice. But you won't be able to take it back once you've decided... so what do you decide?" The triplets looked at each other. And they reached a decision. But what was it? + Silver Spoon smiled in the white light. she felt it. She knew it. She understood it. She wasn't sure of all the details... but she knew the Cutie Mark Crusaders had done it... The world was saved. But... she also felt it, and she didn't have a clue how. But she felt it... Diamond Tiara... she still needed to be saved. "I promise Diamond Tiara, whatever comes next, however it comes next, when we save you, I will be there to help! No if, ands, or but!" Friendship was that which pierces all, be it memories, time, space, or reality. + As the world dissolved into white light, and his family and friends faded into the white light, Spike was surprisingly calm. "Maybe that's cause I know this what Apple Bloom and the others were all planning from the start? To fix the world back into the shape it was supposed to be in before this curse hit everything? Wish I could gloat with Twilight on another on our 'So curses aren't real' scorecard... " Spike wondered how long he had before the entire universe finished putting itself back together. "Wait a minute... if the world is being put back together right now... and this curse changed the way things worked... " Spike grinned ear to ear. "Well!" He shouted in as bold and powerful voice as his baby dragon lungs could give. "I wish that I'd become the legendary hero of a great civilization and they'd praise and worship me until the end of time!" And Spike suddenly felt very happy. + Sweetie Belle stood in the white light, not sure of what she was doing there, or how she even got there. There was a great barking behind her. She turned around, and gave a yell of joy. "BLANKY!" She hugged them. Then she noticed. "Blanky! You got big!" Indeed, Sweetie now only came up to the wolf's knees now. The giant beast barked again and nuzzled her, its giant tail wagging. "I'm so happy to see you!" Blanky barked. "What?" Blanky barked again. "You can't... you can't stay with me anymore?" Blanky whined. "You've got other ponies who need your help now? ... I... I understand." Sweetie's eyes misted up. "Heh, I never did get to show you to Twilight...I'm, I'm really glad I met you. I PROMISE I'll always remember you!" Blanky opened his jaws, thought about something, then closed them. And he nodded and yipped. "I know you'll remember me too!" Sweetie said, crying, and kissed the giant wolf on the nose as he leaned down. The beast smiled at her. "Sweetie Belle?" Now it was Button Mash who was besides her. Blanky took his leave, giving Sweetie Belle one final look before bounding away in the white light that he blended into perfectly. "Button!" The two hugged. "Sweetie Belle! I just want ya to know! For realz! Whatever happens next! Whatever doesn't happen next! You're the best friend I could have asked for!" "Button... you... you... you know?" "I knew for a really long time! I don't have to explain a lot! I just want you know that you gave ma reason besides my video games!" "You already did! Your family! And I'm just happy I got to be your friend too! I promise I'll be your friend! Whatever happens next!" The entire void seem to shake and rumble. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Button Mash hugged her. "Please don't give up on me! I know I can be dense and I pain sometimes! But please don't ever give up on me!" "I WON'T! I PROMISE!" The two hugged each other so tightly it was a wonder they didn't become one pony. "Butt I'm sorry this had to happen I'm-" "I'm not sorry! I got to be your friend! I got to be Apple Bloom's friend! And Spike's friend! And Silver's friend! And Scootaloo's friend! There's nothing to be sorry about! You're my special friend Sweetie Belle!" "And you're my special friend too!" A item was selected from Button Mash's inventory, letting him take one last look. It was a picture of him with the other CMC inside the club house. Button Mash just cried and smiled. = 'Thank You My Love' - Rhapsody - A Musical Adventure = Sweetie Belle sang and continued to sing as long as she was able. Both smiled. Thank you, my love. I thank you from my heart You filled my life with melody and song You are the one, I tell my story to It's just begun. Our love will last forever We'll share our lives as one We have shared the laughter and tears Through all we have bared. We will say good-bye just for now till we meet again Thank you, my love. Thank you over and over It warms my heart just to say it again Thank you, my dear. It's so hard just to say good-bye But I will do it with a tear and a smile Thank you, my love with all of my heart You gave me a reason to believe Lessons learned You have taught me through time And they will stay inside my mind Thank you, my love. Thank you over and over It warms my heart just to say it again Thank you, my dear. It's so hard just to say good-bye But I will do it with a tear and a smile Thank you, my love with all of my heart You gave to me a reason to believe You helped me find the heart to stay me You gave to me a reason to believe > Dawn Of a New Day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ah woke up in bed with a start. 'Was it all a dream? Nope! No way am Ah goin' down that road o’ nonsense!' My name is Apple Bloom. Ah'm still an Earth Pony. Ah look 'round my room, it has bright colors like it should. It was home! But now everythin' has shadows and the lights seem brighter, instead of everythin' bein' the same brightness dependin' on the time of day like Ah've always known. There was some of my drawings on the wall, they were mine, but they were a lot better drawn than Ah remember. But it all felt so right. So homey. Ah get out of bed and hurry to a mirror, and see that the swirl marks on my forehead and back are gone! But, Zecora's earring is still there! Ah'm kinda surprised, but Ah can't say that Ah don't like it. Ah notice my Crusader Cape hangin' up, lookin’ the same as when Sweetie sewed it with Rarity's gold silk. But Ah touch it, and it FEELS different somehow; there’s a peace and calm to it. Ah remembered, Sweetie Belle still used Rarity's gold silk for our capes, but she also used some red cloth Rarity had gotten from Pinkie Pie's sister and stuffed in the closet. = 'It's Strictly Up To You' - Wizard of Oz, 1982, Aileen Quinn = Ah look outside. Old Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville and Equestria, everythin's lookin' how it should! No fog! No light in the sky that could be a sun or a moon! No charcoal sketches, nothin' being all the wrong shade of pink! This Equestria! My Equestria! My Equus! My home! It's free! And... and... oh my Celestia! MY CUTIE MARK! IT'S THERE! IT'S REAL! It's here, it's here, it's here, it's heeeeeeeereee!!! Ah jumped for joy, shouting so happily Ah bet they heard me all the way in Canterlot! It was a heart crossed over with a hammer and a paintbrush, all surrounded by a blue shield with gold trim. "Ah saved the world by gettin' my cutie mark! Nopony's ever gonna top that cutie mark story!" Ah did a little dance around my room, bouncin' off the walls. Whooooopie!!!! I kept it! It's there! It's mine! Ah don't think Ah could stop smilin' if Ah wanted to! Ah was the one who felt free now. Ah noticed somethin' else too... next to my bed on the nightstand... It was Razzaroo's book... Ah opened and flipped through it. It wasn't Razzaroo's journal exactly after all, but it did have a copy of everyin' we'd done! It was even dedicated to us at the front! With Razzaroo's byline on it! There wasn't any forward, but who the heck reads those anyway? Ah didn't know it yet, but two more copies were right next to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's beds too! "APPLE BLOOM!" Applejack practically kicked the door down. "APPLE BLOOM! Are ya alright?! Are ya hurt?! How do ya feel?!" Applejack lifted me up with her forelegs and looked me over. "Those swirlie marks are gone at least. Apple Bloom, the Truth, in yer eye, it ain't there!" Applejack caught herself. "That is, Ah mean-" My eyes widened. "Applejack, ya remember?" "Ah've got the Truth, ya think Ah wouldn't remember, wait a dang-dung minute, ya remember?!" Ah smile and nodded. "Ah... with the help of all my friends, Ah got to the printin' press, but it kinda needed fixin', and the Princesses' kin asked me to fix up a few more things while Ah was at it... And well-" "HUh?! WHAT?! YA-!!" She sputtered, when her brain finally caught up with what she was seein'. "Apple Bloom!!! Ya got yer cutie mark!" "... Not bad fer savin' the world huh?" Ah grinned. "Oh Apple Bloom!" Big sister hugged me and gave me the twirl of twirls! "YA DID IT! YA REALLY DID IT!" = 'Kids Just Being Kids' - Fairy Odd Parents = What came next was a roller coaster that Ah didn't want to stop! There ain't a word for how happy Ah was seein' Granny Smith back to normal! Winona! Big Mac! Everythin'! And no, not a single one of my family minded my mark wasn't an apple; not that Ah really ever thought they would be! Remember my fake hula hoop cutie mark? Cheerilee got her cutie mark in a dream, so Ah said same for who asked. "Guess we got get Pinkie to makin' the Cute-Ceañera to end all Cute-Ceañeras," AJ smiled. Granny did a dance at seein’ mah cutie mark. "What 'bout yer hip?" AJ asked. "What about it?" She asked and kept dancin'. AJ glanced at me and Ah grinned. "This sireebob is a heck of a lot better news than them nightmares last night! Great rain to wash the filth away!" Granny commented. "Yep indeed!" Big Mac said nodded. "Nightmares?" AJ asked. +++ Allow us, Princess Luna, to interject at this time. Reality was so liquid at the point where Apple Bloom had freed the world of the Crawling Chaos' curse, that we were able to shift the entire reality into the dream world. This prevented the horrible incarnations of our beloved subjects from echoing off as shadows of existence to haunt reality. It required more power than we think we have ever used or will likely ever use again, and twas only possible due to the liquid state reality was in. We also used a tiny fraction of the power Our Father gave us when we were first created. Many ponies will quickly forget these dreams, as is the nature of dreams, many others will take these dream as a message to be grateful for what they have, or a sign of what problems they should be facing. Many ponies will notice dreams that run parallel to other ponies' they know, but most shall again only take it as proof as an omen to be grateful for what they have, or to have the courage to speak their heart to those they love. This includes yonder filly Twist, not only now quite grateful for her special friendship with Truffle, but will also meet with brave Apple Bloom, and she shall do as she did as she remembers dreaming of, making peace with her for wrongs both real and perceived. There will be no traumatized ponies from these dreams. Tis not happening. The world is a wonderful place. Now we believe Apple Bloom has some slight explaining to do. Heh. +++ Ah got an extra special breakfast for gettin' my cutie mark. But it could have been an ordinary breakfast and it still never've tasted so good! AJ said, "Ma and pa would be so proud of ya right now. Ah know it." Ah cried a little, so did Applejack. "Now young filly," Granny Smith said, frownin' just a tiny bit. "Would ya mind tellin' me what the deal is with that gosh-darn earrin' ya got now? Ah ain't raised no hoodlum." "Nope!" Big Mac added frownin' a bit too. My eyes shrank a little. "Oh... " I shook a bit. "That's... it was a gift from Zecora, it was her way of sayin' that we're part of the same herd, Ah mean friends." "... Since it's yer cutie mark day, Ah say we just let it slide," AJ said. One look being all she needed to say she'd've had me take it off before. "Yer grownin' up... way too fast if ya ask me... ya had a dang lot more explorin' to do, so much more to see and do. So yer gonna have'ta start makin' some of yer own decisions. But... don't go forgettin'... as much as those dang-gun crusades of yers drove us and the town crazy... you girls have a talent for pickin' up new things, so don't go lettin' THAT go to waste either! Ya hear!?" "Loud and clear!" "Now ya got chores to finish and get ready for school don't ya forget!" AJ said. "Dangit." Ah gave a slight snort. Granny Smith said, "Ya know what they say, ''before cutie mark': buck trees, carry water, 'after cutie mark': buck trees, carry water.'" "Yep!" The time to head off to school came a lot sooner than later. Applejack had some partin' words to share with me. "Apple Bloom? Ya know that stuff Ah said about havin' to accept a cutie mark will only come when it's time? Ah'm not sayin' that ain't true... cause Ah know that's true about something else too. But... Ah get why ya wanted so badly ta find what it is that makes you, -you- with a little help from yer friends. And ya wantin' to work hard as ya can to earn it. Ah know that's kinda closin' the gate after the horse runs out... But AH felt it still kinda needed to be said." We hugged. "Thanks, Applejack!" "And Apple Bloom... Ah know... Ah know ya had to give up yer innocence, ya had to see the dark side of ponies that most ponies never have'ta see... it's wrong ya had ta go through all that." Maud Pie said the same thing when this all started. “It happens. Part o’ growin’ up, Ah guess. But ya know what? We kept our hearts pure IN SPITE of all that. Ah still believe ponies are basically good, and ... that selfless love, is strong than selfish love!” "... Ah'm proud of ya little sister." She ruffled my mane. "Ah''m more proud than ya could possibly conceive. And that's the truth. " Her eyes narrowed ever a bit. "But would ya mind tellin' me 'bout some of my memories? Ah can't but notice some things are missin'. Ya better have a good explanation, young filly." "Ah found out, some ponies WANT to live in a world full of big toys and fancier stuff and a lot of politicking and log-jesters. Kinda like some movies Ah've seen. And some ponies DON'T! They just both wanted it really bad fer different reasons. It kinda felt like two different stories trying to exist at once. So Ah just thought, Ah'd split our universe in two. Makin' it its own twin. With every pony in one world havin' a twin in the other world. Ah had a lot of stuff that wasn't evil, but wasn't fittin' in anywhere, so it didn't feel right to just have it go to nowhere. "Now there's this world, that doesn't have all those big old weapons no more that ponies could blow themselves up eventually as they get bigger and bigger, like in that video game ya and yer friend sued fer showin' ya like that. Don't worry, Ah was careful about what I took out and what Ah replaced with somethin' that fit. We use magic and the Deers' nature stuff more now. We've still got a good guard, just they're good in a different way. "And the world that does have'em. The big guys upstairs said they'd be FINE movin' back tah let 'em be on their own...And there are good ponies there who Ah think can make sure they won't blow themselves up. They're just good in a different way. So it's kinda like Ah split a fantasy action movie into a fantasy movie and an action movie with different ratings." Applejack was silent for a bit. "As long as it's what THEY actually wanted and not just what YA wanted Apple Bloom," Applejack said matter of fact with 'no funny business' face. "Ah promise, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Applejack hugged her. "Alright then, Ah'll trust ya." Ah giggled. "They also now have a statue of ya and yer friends in the town square for beatin' Nightmare Moon and Discord." "Say what?" "Princess Celestia also gave ya all some honorary titles so if trouble happens and ya can't reach her, the authorities will know yer not clownin' around." "SAY WHAT?!" + I still woke up at Rarity's house, like I'd been doing for over a year now. My name is still Sweetie Belle. Lucky for me, Mom and Dad were visiting for breakfast today... they hadn't done that before. Ah could hear 'em talking down stairs with Rarity. My room was still there waiting for me at their house... our house. I think they were talking about how much they truly loved each other... and me. I checked my saddlebag. No magic staff, no magic crystal, I guess life isn't a video game anymore. I could still feel her too. And let her know, "I can feel you Tiara, you're scared, as much as you don't want to admit it... it's okay... we'll save you." I felt something else too... a ‘response’ of shock and surprise. Of not expecting kindness... but being given it anyway... And I felt her feelings like they were mine, or her like she was me, of my parents, and how good it is to have them. I galloped out of my room, down to the breakfast table. Mom and Dad looked at me surprised as I rushed in. "Mom, dad, we have a lot to talk about," I said. I was going to also say 'about the wedding.' I wanted to face what I did AFTER Scootaloo had already removed Chrysalis' mind magic. But instead Rarity gasped first and said, "Sweetie Belle! Your cutie mark!" I turned around to look at it. Oh yeah... right... heh... that... surrounding my note and heart cutie mark. The new green shield, like Apple Bloom's, like Scootaloo's. A cutie mark changing after a pony gets it? I bet that's gonna make the cutie mark researchers go a little loopy. "I... had an extra special cutie mark dream?" Instead of asking if I was a changeling or if I had put make-up on my cutie mark, Rarity hugged me. "Dear, I know I've said it before, but while big sister promises not to smoother you, big sister is still going to be there to protect you and help you, and she'll never teach you anything bad." "I know you won't!" I hugged her back. I wasn't surprised when mom and dad joined in the surprise hug too. + Dang. No sign of my wing blades. My braid? What do you think? I'm keeping it! I think it looks good on me. "Scootaloo!" Dash zoomed in. She zipped up right behind me, and gave me a hug. "I was so worried about you! I mean, since I saw you last night! Not that I thought you were going to sneak out of the house again! But ... well." "Bad dream?" I asked. "Started out one... but it became a good one in the end I think, I'll have to thank Princess Luna. But I didn't learn what happened to you. So... I'm... I'm just glad you're okay, squirt... Hey... Scootaloo, have you been sprucing up your cutie mark?" I looked at my cutie mark... The new red shield around my blue butterfly, that came into being when we saw Apple Bloom get her mark when she saved the world... "No, I didn't... I think... I think my cutie mark came in two stages or something?" Dash asked me a couple trick questions to make sure I wasn't a changeling who'd gotten my cutie mark wrong. Once she was sure I was myself, she said, "I knew you were special Scoots! You're something else, and so is your cutie mark! Hope Apple Bloom doesn't get jealous." She grinned. Then it all clicked. All the saving world stuff was over. So it finally hit me. Apple Bloom's cutie mark... All three of us have our cutie marks now. That means it's time for our Cute-Ceañera, MY Cute-Ceañera. I'm out of time. Pony will think it's TOO WEIRD that my parents aren't there for my cutie mark party... I'm not Diamond Tiara... Ponies would question THAT, right? "Dash... about my parents... and my Cute-Ceañera... " Dash's eyes darted about. "Hey squirt... I've got something special for that, no I haven't found them, I'm sorry, I've looked, I really have. But I do have something for that. I promise, you're NOT going to an orphanage, and you're NOT going to some foster home, and you're NOT going back to Cloudsdale, I swear it. But this is something big, and I'd rather tell ya after school." My eyes widened. "Dash?" She nuzzled me. "I swear, squirt, I'll be there for ya. I promise, no matter what." I guess telling Dash I'd magically found out my parents, or one of my parents or grandparents, was a changeling was a little much to tell her right before school too... Now I just needed to figure our a good enough lie for how I figured out I have a changelings in my family tree. It's... it's really crazy... I never thought about it before... you know how parents talk about what you'd be named if you'd been a colt instead of a filly? I once heard my parents saying that if I'd 'been different' that they'd have named me Horsefly. Dash flew with me up until where I normally met with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. With my red truck hooked up to my scooter. Some things don't change. Let me hit the fast forward button a little here! We cheered and hugged. We were all super happy to see each other. Ponyville never looked so dang good. All the ponies we saw never looked so good! I never realized how much deep down I really LIKED Ponyville being all cheerful and friendly, yada-yada. Yeah yeah, we realized we all remembered. We figured it was cause were at the center of the change. "Does that mean... Featherweight and... and Button Mash... that they remember too?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I... didn't have the nerve to look around my bedroom for signs of our friendship, or ask my family about it." "Maybe," Apple Bloom said. "Ah can't remember everythin' Ah did. In fact, Ah can't remember most of it... there wasn't enough space in my head or somethin'." Sweetie Belle only smiled and dared to hold onto hope. "Or it could be that it's because we were linked to you, Apple Bloom, through our cutie marks," I said. Sweetie Belle frowned a little, so did Apple Bloom. "Hey," Apple Bloom responded. "Just saying..." I responded kinda meekly. "Girls, about what I told you about my parents, all of it-" "Yer secret is safe with us," Apple Bloom said proudly. "We promised, didn't we?" Sweetie Belle nodded. "And don't worry so much about your Cute-Ceañera, ponies don't see things as unusual unless they want them to be or are scared they are. Diamond Tiara's... Diamond Tiara's parents didn't show up to her Cute-Ceañera... and... and none of us questioned it." None of us could argue with that. "HEY!" I said. We'd all gone through so much, so fast, that it was taking our heads a while to filter through it all. "SHOULDN'T WE GO TELL TWILIGHT?! About Discord? About Diamond Tiara?! About all of it?! Like right now!?" Apple Bloom grinned. "Ah already covered it... and we'll be there for when Discord gets his butt kicked, and when Diamond Tiara's knocked back to her senses!" Sweetie Belle raised a hoof like she was in class. "But isn't the issue with all this celebration... that there's NO QUESTION that's a big final battle's coming, no doubt. That kinda puts a downer on this." I laughed and slapped her playfully on the back. "FORGET THAT! We're gonna hoof Discord his tail, and drag Diamond Tiara back to reality! Apple Bloom's just said she's made sure of that!" "Discord ain't gonna cause any trouble until the last rodeo." I asked. "Cause you had 'em sent through a time space warp so he'll appear right when Dash and the others are aiming their Elements right at 'em?" "No... Ah didn't need to. Ah just made it so they can't run away no more 'till this rodeo starts. Ah made it a 'set point in time' as best as Ah can explain it, meanin' even Discord can't figure out a way outta it. It's GOTTA happen. They chose themselves not do any evil stuff till the big hoof-fight." There wasn't surprise on the our faces at this news, there was hope. Sweetie grinned. "Let's count down the days 'till Silver gets Tiara back." "Not just Silver Spoon, Featherweight, and Tiara's ma and pa too," Apple Bloom said with a smile and a nod. "Cutie Mark Crusaders World Savers, Draconequus Catchers, And Bully Reformers! WHOO-HOO!!!" We cheered and gave each other a high hoof. = Beep Beep Beep - Schnuffel Bunny, CMC Remix http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnqz9OdZjRQ = "BEEP BEEP BEEP!" I sang as I drove my friends and I to school. After all the freakiness we’ve been through, YOU CAN'T IMAGINE how wonderful it was just to ride beneath the early morning sun to school through the Ponyville we all knew and loved! Celestia's sun was shining, Dash and the weather crew were making sure the climate was perfect! Fluttershy was out shopping, smiling and warm but with a little more backbone she's been growing. She just smiled and waved at us without a care in the world carrying a foal sized backet. I saw Twilight Sparkle welcoming ponies to the Golden Oaks Library. Spike, of course, was still the one who actually found the books they wanted; he very likely knew that library's books better than she did! Just another happy day. After wearing our capes non-stop for several days, it was actually a little bit refreshing not having to feel them on our backs, and knowing we were safe without them. And there wasn't any fog in sight! Then Pinkie Pie pulled herself out of a window at Sugarcube Corner and waved at us. "Heeeeey, girls! Got something special for you!" Pinkie Pie doing as only Pinkie Pie can, she managed to toss a trio of cupcakes into the red truck. "Those are special Thank You For Saving The World cupcakes!" She stage-whispered with an over-the-top wink. "Hope you enjoy!" It was Pinkie Pie. Why the heck should we be surprised?! Each cupcake was frosted differently; the icing looking like Toola-Roola, Starsong, and Hana-Looloo's cutie marks. +++ ... Lookin' around at the real Ponyville... seein’ it somehow more alive and bright than it'd been before...? Ah remember, there was somethin' that wouldn't let me erase what happened with Ruby and Sunny Town a thousand years ago... it had somethin' to do with Doctor Whooves and Fluttershy and Fluttercruel, but Ah can't remember anythin' else. Ah tried to make it so Princess Gaia, not Nightmare Whisper mind you, resurrected the Sunny Town ponies as foals so they could live their lives right this time. And could even be attendin' school since Nightmare Whisper's fog. But... Ah know this sounds strange... but... even with all the stuff Ah did? Ah felt like Ah'd be steppin' on... this is hard fer me to say... that Ah'd be steppin' on all the hard work all of them, yes, even Grayhoof, had been doin' with Fluttershy and the rest to accept... to accept what they did to Ruby was wrong and they were wrong so they could finally move on so Ruby could move on too... Yeah... and them acceptin' what they... what they tried to do to ME was wrong! Ugh! We ponies have worked long and hard for this world we have, where friendship trumps brute force, where love trumps paranoia and hate. Even with all the power Ah had... Ah remember that Ah couldn't just GIVE IT to everypony no matter how hard Ah tried. And even if Ah could, it'd not MEAN anythin'. Ah remember... just a tiny bit... that mare who hated cutie marks... she... she's gonna be the one to finally free Sunny Town and help 'em move on. But...Ah did change it so Ruby...Ruby wasn't burned alive when she died, that came after...that was too dark. Not that there are any nice ways to die... And that how they looked while cursed was just part of the curse, not from Nightmare Moon burin' THEM tah death. And that's when we spotted St. Sweetheart's Memorial Hospital, yep, still called that, not Ponyville General Hospital. +++ Contrary to popular beliefs, inheriting a magical healing touch from your ancestor did not automatically make you a qualified doctor or nurse. More than a few ponies were puzzled how Nurse Redheart, with her gift, wasn't a doctor. They didn't understand that doctors and nurses had DIFFERENT responsibilities; and one wasn't an 'inferior' version of the other. This included Applejack. "Beggin' yer pardon Redheart, but why do ya need to know all that with yer fancy-schmancy magic?" She asked her first aid teacher. Redheart had accept her question maturely, it wasn't the first time she'd been asked. "I have my limits, Applejack. If I use too much of my gift, I get exhausted and keel over. And I have to know WHAT I'm healing. I can't just tell a pony 'be better.' Thus, I need to examine my patients." For some reason, Applejack had looked herself in the eyes with a nearby mirror, then said, "Yeah, Ah get what ya mean." The Hearts all had a good relationship with the hospital's fully filled and funded medical staff, and their gift was simply another tool brought to the table to help sick and injured ponies. Redheart had to sadly explain to small foals the LIMITS of her gift that no, she couldn't make grandma 'wake up' from her 'hibernation' come spring. But those came with being a doctor one way or another, and Redheart was proud of the good she did! And she did plenty! And she was proud to be part of a herd itself at the hospital, along with her little sister Tenderheart, Sweetheart (name after their ancestor), Doc Top, Nursery Rhyme, Snowheart, and Glitter Glide. +++ Mayor Mare woke up in her bed, to find out her nightmare of being a sex sadist and worse had indeed been just a nightmare, nothing more. Even as she reflect on this, the details of the nightmare faded, and Mary Mare was grateful to be rid of them. She hugged and kissed her husband, Robert Rules, in bed next to her. And the moment she arrived at the office she gave a hug and kiss to her daughter Fair Ruling, and Fair's husband Free Enterprise, followed by one for Mary's assistant Sarah 'Raven' Tailin. "Raven," Mayor Mare said to her best friend. "If you want to take that offer from Princess Celestia, you should. Don't worry. I'm proud that you'll be able to do good in Canterlot." "... Thanks Mary." Sarah Tailin and Mayor Mare however did have one last major political event to help plan out. While Princess Luna had indeed already said so during their nightmares the night before, Princess Luna decided to hold a public announcement during the daytime. There she announced yes, the Nightmare Force entity that had 'possessed' Princess Luna and Fluttershy had been a great work of tabloid writers, and only existed as rumors. It was not as shocking an event as it should have been, as everypony in their heart of hearts had already forgiven them in their dreams last night. That was one part of their dreams that was crystal clear. Mary and Sarah had agreed that it was a good hurrah to close Sarah's job at Ponyville at before taking her new admin position in Canterlot. Pinkie Pie had dropped off some strawberry cake free of charge as a going away present. The family and friends shared it together. +++ Lilly, Roseluck, and Daisy had decided to take a day off work, and instead do a run through Whitetail Woods, happy for just the joy of being alive and healthy, and that each day was a blessing. +++ Berry Punch lovingly hugged her filly, Ruby Pinch, before Ruby headed off to school. If she'd raised a foal as well as Ruby, then she must have done something right. "I'm not a drunk," she said proudly. She looked at one of her wine bottles. "You have no power over me." She really needed to get together with Cheerilee and Cherry Blossom sooner than later. She began to write a letter. +++ Now that 8-Bit had more time to spend at home, Gizmo had chosen to visit his friend more often. Heck, maybe next they could get together with Gaffer and Shining Armor. With Gizmo's technical knowledge, 8-Bit's knowledge of game mechanics, and Gaffer's imagination, and Shining Armor's connections, they could bring their game ideas to everypony in Equestria! +++ Aloe and Lotus, the twin spa ponies of Ponyville, had taken note that their business was steadily rising. Ponyville was slowly changing from a little town in the shadow of Canterlot to a major landmark. The return of Princess Luna, the defeat of Discord, ponies were always beyond determined to just continue to live their lives regardless of happenstance, but with all that had happened, and Equestria's NATIONAL HEROES living here... it was no surprise that Ponyville's tourist trade and population were both on the up-rise. The twins' nightmare of being witches who bathed in the blood of ponies and enslaved their souls was over. The twins marched the halls of their spa before opening, taking it in. This was THEIR spa, THEIR hard work, their effort, the one ponies came to unwind and renew themselves. There was a difference between taking pride IN something, and being prideful of YOURSELF, after all. They had already brought in their cousin Vera for extra help. But now it was time to call in more of the family and see if anymore were interested in moving to Ponyville. Vera's sister, Scented Candles, had shown interest in moving to Ponyville. And there was another cousin, who unlike the rest of them who were Earth Ponies, this green stallion was a unicorn. But it would take time for their family to get here, and to get settled in. But they had already hired a weight lifter pegasus who said he wanted to make a good example to his family. His cutie mark name was Bulk Biceps. While intense, and needing to learn to use doors instead of walking through walls, he was nice enough and knew how to do a good massage. +++ As Scootaloo took me and Sweetie Belle past the spa, Ah remembered a little bit. The Asylum didn't need as much staff now, with lots of ponies getting the help they needed. And Bulk Bicep wasn't as much of a jerk, that wasn't really my doing (Ah was changing rules and events, free will was still a thing), Ah think his new friends just had a good influence on 'im. ++++ "Were you really hanging out with Note Worthy last night?" Bon Bon asked Lyra Heart Strings. "He's just a friend, Bon Bon." She smiled. "You'll always be my number-one, absolute, through the sick times, and the poor times, healthy times and rich times, best friend forever." She hugged her and nuzzled her. "That's... that's good... sorry, I was being silly for a bit, I was worried you were..." Bon Bon laughed. "Okay, even I admit it's dumb now. I thought you were going might have wanted to... upgrade... I'm the country mare. You're the gifted unicorn." Lyra kissed her on the forehead. "And that doesn't mean a thing for the two of us or our family. I'm proud to be with you." +++ Silver Spanner, otherwise known as Quick Fix, finished tightening up some bolts on her latest contraptions he couldn't wait to show off to Gizmo (they were just friends Celestia dammit!). She then looked at Mjolnir, holding Mjolnir. "So you're telling me, I didn't just dream us fighting a whole horde of monsters Mjolnir?" "Aye, and please, call us Thor." "Right. So does this mean you're going to start beating up monsters again?" The earth pony mare with the light and hammer cutie mark looked at the similar hammer before her that only the Worthy could wield. "Nay, I have been born upon this world to enjoy a respite... and I know Sif is waiting for me." +++ "Thank you, I love the smell of your flowers, June Bug." "Thank you, that's delicious, I mean, wonderful for you to say." Moth, still in her preferred form as Bon Bon's twin whispered in June Bug's ear. "You don't have to hide what you are anymore." June Bug gasped as Moth smiled at her and trotted away. June Bug thought, 'Maybe it is time I stop hiding.' +++ Word Of Her Majesty Princess Celestia Allow me to briefly take over narrative duties from sweet Apple Bloom, dears, for there are a few things that are beyond her perception of things, and what memories of her work she was able to hold onto. I was reading through daily morning reports, and shifting through my own memories of the repairs Apple Bloom had made to the world. While the occasional city/country ponies who still looked down on 'country hicks/city slickers' it seemed weren't going away any time soon, I took GREAT satisfaction of noting that the racist attitudes of the age of the Three Tribes had stayed in the past where they belonged. While there were still misunderstandingss and misconceptions and stereotypes, the idea of any tribe being inherently superior or inferior to any other was gone. This included Onyx Tiara, who still had enough pain and guilt to deal without that ghost being one of them. Also, I read a report by an investigative reporter, the earth pony Vendetta Mask was no longer a mad stallion obsessed with conspiracy theories and connecting imaginary dots. All little Apple Bloom had done was given him some perception on the things he had fixated over. Also, the rampage of Watch D. Wotch's filly, Tick Tock, never happened now. While his filly still survived with a clockwork heart of his own invention, his filly had never gone mad with the loss of her friends, their lives saved instead of lost, and so she had never invented a suit to look like her father, and never kidnapped foals to make them immortal clockwork ponies like her. This also meant the unicorn Shiny Star had never had a dark encounter with a green stallion (really Tick Tock in the clockwork suit of her father), and never developed her dislike of the color green. She had enough burdens to bear. Filthy Rich? While he no longer reached the point of sleeping with them, he still dated and charmed many mares who were look alikes to his wife. Shiny Star however had been there to keep him on the straight and narrow as she knew he'd want her to, and as his wife would want her to. My nephew Blueblood's parents?... If there was one thing Apple Bloom had been determined to avoid, and what I think she'd spent the most time trying to repair, it had been 'meaningless' deaths. That she didn't simply undo the deaths of her own parents is proof that we had indeed chosen wisely. Blueblood didn't need the loss of his parents to become a brat, or to be trapped in a gilded cage as I had been fixated on preparing first Sunset Shimmer and then Twilight Sparkle for saving my sister where I had failed. She was able to give him many extra happy years with them. And now I foresee my nephew proving not just himself a braver stallion than most have given him credit for, but also a much better diplomat than ANY have given him credit for. That wasn't due to anything on little Apple Bloom's part, that talent and ability had ALWAYS been with him. And there was a stallion in Ponyville, still pouring coffee, and had made new accommodations for changelings and their diet at his shop. Now Fluttershy had not made a very foolish mistake involving her guilt at her mistakes as Nightmare Whisper, thanks to some timely advice from an unexpected source. There was no force in Equestria, even a little filly with a new cutie mark, that could FORCE THEM to become friends. But now they had a better understanding of each other. ... And there was 'Fort' Griffinstone, (more of a capital, than a city-state.) Originally, it had been the beating heart of the Griffin peoples, the crown jewel of their civilization, where the first of their kind had reportedly been uplifted... Then it had become something of a pile, following the loss of their original heads of state and symbols of belief. It had fallen out of memory and favor to the point many questioned if it was still at all independent and some believed it'd been annexed by Equestria years ago. (That it now used Equestrian currency didn't help.) I wondered why Apple Bloom had directed Gilda to have been born and to have come from there... but I sensed what she'd foreseen, and the good she'd do, and the cultural revolution that Gilda would bring with the help of her friends, ponies and griffin alike (including Greta). Having completed her mandatory tour of duty in the guard first of course. +++ Lickety Split kissed his mom, also named Lickety Split, goodbye, as he set off for school. He also hugged and kissed his grandmother, who was now declared stable enough to allowed to live at home instead of at the hospital. Her name was also Lickety Split, NOT Barking Mad! Nurse Redheart had taken over for Fluttershy for her check-up visits, which was a special good sign for her. Dr. Frudian Excuse, Dr. Head-Scratcher, and Dr. Hoof Wave, had all been overwhelmingly impressed with her recovery. +++ Doctor Hooves took a peek out of his time machine. Once, in the former timeline, Dancing Hooves had put a weight around her daughter's neck, and encouraged her to fly over a river in the middle of winter. And she'd madly justified to herself the rest of her life, that Derpy was mentally retarded and crippled and it was kinder for her life to end now instead of let her live a life of nothing but suffering. Now however, she'd left her child in the woods, letting her play with a bubble blower and told her husband she'd 'wandered off to play' in a completely different part of the forest. At one point the bubble blower had fallen into a river, and Derpy dived after it... holding her breath a long time to retrieve it... where she was found by the unicorn couple who'd give her her adopted name. "That mare still deserve a hoof in the face," Carrot Top said. "Maybe," the Doctor said, "But at least now she wasn't an attempted murderer." "How could ANYPONY do that to their own child and think it's a MERCY?" "On other worlds, you'd be surprised." +++ Twilight Sparkle was surprised when she found a note addressed to herself in the lower floor of the library. "Spike, did you write this?" "Not me. It was there when I got here." "Hm." Twilight was left to ponder. It read: 'A time will come soon, Twilight Sparkle, where you will break your word to Princess Celestia for the sake of others.' +++ Many, many miles away in the far secluded reaches of Equestria, AK Yearling smirked to herself as she began writing her newest book. Her editor and friend Twilight Velvet was likely eager to read about her next adventure. The title was: 'Daring Do And The Mysterious Stranger.' +++ "Hey, what's that you got there, Spike?" Twilight asked, taking a closer look at a book Spike had in his claws. "'Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone?'" Spike got down on his knees and wailed. "THEY INFECTED ME! Scootaloo and the others! THEY INFECTED ME WITH THE DARING DO VIRUS! CURSE THEM!" Twilight Sparkle held back a chuckle. +++ On the bright side, most ponies still had a hard time recognizing the Wonderbolts without their uniforms. So Spitfire could go around town without being crowded. "Thanks for coming to see me, Spitfire." "You're welcome. I wouldn't do it for just anypony, Princess Celestia's not the only pony with a busy schedule," Spitfire smirked. "I knew you thought highly of me." Rainbow Dash grinned. Tank floating over her shoulder. 'Rainbow Dash certainly has a lot of drive, gonna have to trim down that ego a little, but that's par the course with Wonderbolts.' Spitfire remembered her nightmares last night, vague, and distant. But she did remember, hating Rainbow Dash in the name of petty revenge and hurting those she cared about just to hurt her. "Rainbow Dash," Spitfire said. "I just want you to know, while I might do things for the good of the Wonderbolts as a team, and while I have to be your CO and not your friend when and if you're in the uniform... That doesn't mean I don't appreciate our friendship. And I'd be proud of to have you as one of us. And I'm even more proud of being friends with you." Rainbow Dash look in awe. "Whoa... thanks... that... that means a lot." "I figured it might. So what was this big event you wanted to pitch to me?" "Oh! Well! It's not really about the Wonderbolts, per se, I just figured they might help make it a lot more awesome. Me and the other weather pegasi have been talking about it, and we've been petitioning Cloudsdale's Rainbow Factory to have a Foals' Day. Ya know, pizza, and fun. That... that old mares' tale I think needs to be put to rest. This won't stop parents when telling their foals, but I think it'll help set the pace. And let foals know that weather work is something to be proud of, not that I'm giving up on becoming a Wonderbolt of course-" "Trust me Rainbow Dash, I'd never think that." Spitfire smirked again. "-but we oughta dispel those bogeymares if you asked me and Flitter and Blossomforth, Cloudchaser, Open Skies, Clear Skies, Fluffy Cloud, Medley, Sunshower, Doc' Atmosphere, Orange Swirl Rainbow Shine, Sassaflash, Raindrops, Hoops, Score, and Dumb-Bell!" Spitfire waved her hooves. "I'm on with it! I'll talk it over with the Princess! I'm sure she'll approve! And I think a Best Young Flyers' Champ would do some good there too!" "You know it!" +++ It was weird for Trixie. She'd only gotten home yesterday, and she wasn't due back to Ponyville for a few more days, but already she was feeling like she'd spent days or more at home. Still, she was a show pony, she couldn't stay in one town forever, but she was going to spend time with her family. Plus she had now the publicity and reputation of having helped save all of Equestria from the changeling invasion, AND having fought one on one with Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's student herself, AND having performed at the reception of Princess Cadence's wedding. She didn't need to invent tall tales anymore to entertain ponies. Thankfully, news paper clippings and a receipt with Princess Cadenza's royal sigil on it made sure none thought she was just back sliding. Trixie did indeed want to prove on her own abilities she was a good show mage, and magic user. (Racism having been erased or not, Trixie still suffered from classmates who noticed a blank flank among their numbers who while never failing at anything, also never excelled at anything, who was neither powerful enough to be a flaunt it, nor lacking-in-pride enough to be a hanger-on.) But Trixie was not Rarity nor Twilight or any of her friends. As an ENTERTAINER, if she could get more commissions by mentioning she'd helped save the Equestria, then more advertisement. +++ Marcie Pan & Fawn Doo weren't sure why they'd decided to take a vacation to Ponyville, of all places. Sure they made a killing here every year during the annual snack-cart-meet, but while this place was home to the Elements of Harmony, there wasn't much in the way of tourist trade with the monster infested Everfree Forest always just visible in the distance (or so the sisters thought). It had only one motel. But at least it was cheap. "You could just go with me to the Equestrian Geological and Gemological Society convention," Marcie Pan said. The two were not in their normal dresses, since nudity was the preferred style in Ponyville. "Sis, I love you, but I am NOT going with you to EGGS and sit around listening to ponies talk about rocks!" "Ah phooey. Maybe we could try and get our membership in the Equestrian Lollipop Guild restored. We have enough cash now to pay our frees." "... Maybe." As the sisters chattered, three foals the sisters naturally didn't know came skipping past on the way to school. It was Shady Daze, his little sister Sunny Daze, and her best friend Peachy Pie (no direct relation to Pinkie Pie). Sunny and Peachy's bad dream faded with the shine of the morning light, though they DID remember the part of their dream where they got to meet Daring Do and Countess Coloratura! Shady Daze just knew his dream was WEIRD! Then... he stopped in his tracks. "Hey, Shady, what's the holdup?" "I'll... be right there, sis... Go on ahead." Peachy and Sunny looked at each other, normally it was Shady who got there before them, but they complied. The sisters and the little colts looked at each other in confusion and awe, not sure why they were even feeling what they were feeling. "Uh, hi," Shady said. Not talking to strangers wasn't something foals in Ponyville rarely needed to be taught, not because they already knew it, but because such caution was hardly warranted. "Hi, kid," said Marcie Pan. "Uh," Shady wasn't sure what to say, or why he was even saying it, but it felt, felt right. "You two new to Ponyville? Welcome." "Oh we've been here before, and we're just visiting," Fawn Doo said. Had she seen this kid before? ... In her dreams? "What's your name kiddo?" "Shady Daze." "Nice to meet you," said the pink mare with the blond mane and curls. "I'm Fawn Doo, and this is my sister Marcie Pan." "Howdy." Shady Daze scratched the ground with his hoof. "Uh, I have'ta go, it's school time. But, I hope you have a good time here in Ponyville." "Hey wait!" Marie Pan said and took out three PheNOMNOMenons from her bag. "For you and your sister and her friend." Marcie Pan should have questioned how she knew the two fillies were his sister and her friend... but felt it wasn’t THAT weird. Fawn Doo meanwhile should have felt confused at her sister's generosity without even saying what the treats were... but it wasn't a free sample... it felt like a gift, to a friend. "Thanks! Have a good day!" "You too," Fawn Doo whispered, the sisters waved Shady Daze off. +++ Maud Pie woke up to any other day on the rock farm. She remembered Princess Luna's public confession in the dream world, and good for her Princess, but that didn't change what Maud Pie had to do today that she planned to do yesterday. It was a bit before dawn, but for farmers, even rock farmers, this was par the course. She'd had some very odd dreams. One had her in a power-lifter armor fighting a giant black bug trying to hurt a little yellow filly. Another had her as a ninja pizza girl with a rival ninja pizza place who both had a delivery to make at an office that unfortunately had also been holding a pirate convention. Another had her sister as a clown fish and herself as a rock fish. Then one where her family had all been clowns, herself being the only one not wanting to be a comedian. One where she'd been mission control for six mares who went around the world in their flying machines saving ponies from disasters. One had her a super hero who could defeat anything in one buck, her sister was Filli-Second. The next was her as an android with an interest in birds. Yet another had her as a hairless ape where everyone wore clothes all the time, and she was study geology in collage while her sister was in high-school. The penultimate as herself as the excited one of the family and LOVED rock music, while her sister was the no-nonsense mare with an ironically unhealthy fixation on health-food. And her last dream had been doing last night's dinner with her family in reverse. Maud Pie did give a brief glance at the empty beds nearby, one that had been Pinkie Pie's, and that they had given to Trixie when she'd worked here. No matter what others said of her, Trixie was a good worker. Maud wondered what happened to her, it had been just before Discord's rampage. Discord had stuck her in a Mareth Vader costume while turning her parents in crazy new age retro 'organic farming' hippies. The Pairing Stone (said to be the heart of a Mountain King) had told Discord he'd be a father soon and should do the honorable thing if he wished to avoid a horrible fate. Discord had teleported away. At least he'd done nothing to Holder's Boulder except listening to it with a stethoscope. Maud Pie, did her normal morning routine, got dressed, and went downstairs. Maud Pie didn't think about the grayness of the rock farm, or how comfortable and peaceful it was to her, this had been her home all her life after all. She didn't think about how she didn't care for bright colors, candies, or over-the-top celebrations, or what an utter contrast it was to her little sister, that's how it had been for decades. She found five bowls of rock soup waiting in the dining room, with her parents. "Good morning," She said in her monotone. Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Pie looked surprised at the sight of her. Her mother took a step back. Her father said in his polite and formal tone. "Who might be ye yonder maiden, our house is always open to guests, but it preferable that they introduce themselves first before being allowed inside." Maud Pie's expression didn't change, but she felt confusion swirl inside her. But she went along with her father's quest. "My name is Maudaline Nancy Pie. I'm your first born foal. I live here." Her parents stared at her blankly for a few seconds before saying. "Forgive me, mine daughter, seems that old age might be finally wearing down this old stone." "It's alright," Maud Pie monotoned. Maud Pie glanced and saw six bowls of rock soup on the table, that was weird, but she brushed it off, after having Pinkie Pie for a sister, she'd learned that sometimes with the strange it was best to just roll with it. She idly wondered for less a moment who else had days like this. +++ "Hi, mom! Hi, dad!" Said a teal pegasus with a five o'clock shadow. "Oh!... I'm sorry... but... we aren't looking to adopt right now..." "That ain't funny! I'm just between jobs! I know I don't look that much of a wreck! It's me! Zephyr Breeze!" The two older ponies stared at him for a few seconds, as a new pony appeared in family photos. Posey The Nth looked abashed. "OH! I'm so sorry dear! I'm just tired!" "Oh, come on in, idiot." +++ Limestone Pie practically stormed downstairs, but that was normal for her. If Pinkamena seemed a wellspring of happiness, Limestone seemed a wellspring of rage. Though Maud Pie knew all of them had their limits, including herself. But no Pie sister was self-serving in those feelings. With Maud’s plans to move to college, and three sisters having left, this made Limestone the eldest daughter left on the rock farm, and she had no intention of shirking off her responsibilities. "HEY! WHO ARE YOU?! HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?! If you're a new work hand that somepony sure forgot to tell me about!" "Limestone. It's me. Maud Pie? And that is no way to speak to your big sister," Maud said simply without a trace of admonishment in her voice. "I!.... AGH! Dangit! I need food! It's what I get for staying up late!" Marble Pie slipped in last... she gave a small gasp seeing Maud Pie... said nothing, but then said slowly. "Good morning big sister." "Good morning, Marble." Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Pie each dreamt last night of being alone at the farm, all their children having left, leaving them with no heirs But Maud Pie came to fill that void. Now that dream was fading fast to be forgotten as many dreams are. While half of their daughters had left the farm, half of them had not. It was actually a purposeful tactic of the rock farming clans NOT to forcibly keep family members on the farm. Once it became a choice, rather than a rule, most chose to remain home. Inky, Blinky, and Pinkamina had left the farm and changed their names after getting their cutie marks. Maud Pie had been their first, then Inky, then Blinky, followed by the triplets. The Apples were hardly the only large farm family. Limestone Pie had come out first practically fighting her way out of her mother's womb, followed by Pinkie Pie effectively bouncing out, and followed by Marble Pie who had seemingly needing coaxing to come out. + Photo Finish finished dressing. It was another circus day in the cut-throat fashion business in Canterlot. While Photo Finish knew Rarity had saved the world, that didn't translate into her being a good business woman or a good fashion designer, but credit where it was due for having an exclusive contract with Sapphire Shores and making a huge social splash. Time would tell if she was able to expand her company like she planned to. Rarity had also had the guts to talk about being a country girl, while Photo... well, she wasn't ashamed of her sisters. She just preferred to keep her personal life and her business life separate, thank you very much. + "Hey, 'Tavi! Thanks for splitting the rent like this!" Octavia winced at the nickname but kept her calm. "I suppose this is quite the upgrade from the shack you were living in before," Octavia said. "Hey! The shack was cool! But yeah! Now I don't have to keep my records and equipment in storage!" Octavia silently admitted, the house was an upgrade from the apartment she rented in Canterlot too. Though ALL of her friends told her she was crazy for wanting to move to PONYVILLE when she already had a home in Canterlot! The retail agent who sold them the house said that the value of land in Ponyville was going to only continue sky rocket with how Celestia's little Chosen Ones had made their stay here, and Octavia was getting in on the ground floor. There was also when she'd first been scoping out the house, she'd spotted a red stallion of few words, gentle as a kitten, stronger than a Yak, and whose polite manner was a part of him rather than a social mask. 'Who is that handsome devil?' Was her first thought, realizing to her shock that she was blushing was her second. The house was empty right now, and the paper work hadn't been filled out quite yet, but all of those were formalities at this point. "So, Tavi', what do you say we have this wall here painted hot neon pink?" "I.. was thinking more a calm pastel blue, myself, Vinyl." Octavia and Vinyl Scratch spent several hours debating on the decor... before they drew a chalk line right down the middle of the living room, and that was that. They'd contact the interior decorators and carpenters later, even if both rejected their idea for a wall. + In Cloudsdale, a blond pegasus colt with a triangle cutie mark, and a green pegasus filly with an emerald cutie mark, nuzzled each other and enjoyed the sunrise over Cloudsdale. Next to them, Caramel, with help of a cloudwalking spell, sat with Sassaflash, doing the same. > Noon of a New Day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Button Mash didn't show up to take the same route to school as the CMC. Sweetie Belle frowned a little when she realized this. Though she and her friends were all delighted to see Silver Spoon wave at them as they passed. Scootaloo slowed down for Silver Spoon to hop on. "Hey, girls!" Silver Spoon greeted with a smile. "Silver Spoon... " Sweetie Belle said carefully. "Do you remember us being on the MoonPearl?" "Wow! So you had those shared dreams too?" "Three," said Apple Bloom. "Four," added Scootaloo. "Seems everypony had them... I know dreams are Princess Luna's domain, but I wish she'd done her confession when I was awake... I can't... really remember a lot about my dreams at the beginning. It was bad though." The girls were struck silent for a bit, as they rode on down the road. Scootaloo said, "Silver Spoon... I don't know if you remember it or not but... I meant what I said in the dream. You aren't stuck being stuck up. You always had a choice. You and Diamond Tiara." Silver Spoon nearly caused them all to crash when she hugged her, but Scootaloo righted herself. "Thank you... but you don't need to keep telling me that anymore! I... I know I was a brat but... I've grown! I've already grown so much thanks to your help! Oh, love the new mane style!" Silver Spoon touched her own braid. "... Uh, thanks." "And Apple Bloom... surprised to see you wearing jewelry, but you forgot an earring." "Uh, actually, Ah think the one-earring style looks better. Zecora gave it as a gift, Ah think it's a Zebra tradition thing." "Well, it could use some polishing, let me see that for a second." "Hey! Wait-what are ya-" "Just hold still... and there we go!" "What did ya... whoa, thanks! Now it's all nice and shiny." "You're welcome, Apple Bloom." As the girls got closer to school under the happy sun, they spotted more of their friends and classmates. Archer waved at them as they passed with neither fear nor pain in her eyes. Snips and Snails were chatting about a Countess-meets-Daring-Do crossover fanfiction. All their classmates they saw were smiling, it was another happy day. Checkered Flag, Grace Lightning, and Hot Wheels... were enjoying a nice talk with Dinky, who waved at the CMC as they rode to the school... she gave them knowing winks which almost made Scootaloo crash a second time. Ruby Pinch skipped along with Noi, not a care in the world. Pipsqueak trotted behind them, a letter in his hooves from Canterlot, from somepony named 'Moonlight'. Rumble reached class faster than the others, a little more competitive than usual. Peachy Pie, Sunny Daze, and Shady Daze were snacking on a treat Scootaloo didn't recognize. Apple Byte got some last minute level grinding on Stallions of Destiny IV (her new Gamecolt game) before school started. Piña Colada and Firelock were reading the Foal Free Press... a mundane normal paper which Sweetie Belle didn't sense any magic from at all. Tornado Bolt, and her sister Cyan Skies spun in the sky on their way to class, both in an excited chat about Daring Do and what slasher movie monsters she could beat up. Also present for this class was Cotton Cloudy, Bee Bop, Lemon Daze (cousin to the Shady and Sunny), Mango Dash (no relation to Rainbow Dash) and Rainy Feathers. The CMC+1 came off Scootaloo's red truck and Scootaloo took off her helmet. "Class is... gonna be packed today," Scootaloo said. Normally the students all rotated classes, as it was less stress for Cheerilee. "Well, there are a bunch of guest speakers today from around Equestria, I guess they wanted everypony to hear them." Silver Spoon said with a satisfied smile. "That's... new," Sweetie said. "Well, we've done this before, haven't we? We've had parents career day, remember?" Silver Spoon said. "Well, from around Ponyville, but not from all over Equestria," Sweetie quickly covered. Even thought what Sweetie had meant, that hadn't been on the schedule the day before she and her friends had saved the world. 'Ah was all powerful, Ah could literally change anythin' Ah wanted... and we're still here... getting past grade school... just like after we helped save Equestria from Queen Chrysalis... it's just fine-dandy Ponyville... And Ah love it!' Twist and Truffle took one look at each other when they arrived at the school... and hugged each other like hugs were about to be outlawed. Neither of them had to say anything. Words weren't needed! They both felt like they'd been apart forever... and neither had a clue why. It was enough to make Apple Bloom want to join in the hug too... but... this hug was theirs. But when it finally broke... Twist hugged Apple Bloom. "Huh-wha-" "Apple Bloom... I... I'm sorry for not stepping in at Diamond Tiara's Cute-Ceañera... that was wrong. That's not what friends do." After a moment Apple Bloom hugged her back. "We all make mistakes... yer forgiven. Sorry, for avoidin' ya fer so long." "... works for me Twist... works for me." "Let's just forgive and forget," Twist said. "Anypony seen Alula or Tootsie?" Sweetie Belle asked. Apple Bloom shook her head. "Why'd you ask?" Silver Spoon asked. "Just... don't want them to miss the guest speakers." Scootaloo picked up one of the Foal Free Press issues. There was no sponsor notice of Umbra Breeze. It made Scootaloo feel equal waves of relief and happiness... "No rumors. No lies. No gossip." She smiled. All the horrible stories were GONE... they had never been there! "No Gabby Gums," she whispered. But there was a last minute addition to the paper. "Alula and Tootsie are stepping down?!" Scootaloo read aloud. Oh right. They had been on the paper, that was what had started it all. "What?" Silver Spoon also looked surprised and read it too. "'Thank you for all your support. We had a fun time working on the paper. We couldn't have done it without all of you. Or the rest of the staff. But we both feel that others could do a better job than us, and our talents lie elsewhere. We hope you continue to read the Foal Free Press, and that whoever steps into our horseshoes upholds truth and integrity in the news.'" "And guess who that is!" Lickety Split grinned, right behind them! The girls turned to look at him; he looked so happy. "And I've got just the thing to fill in those empty spaces on the paper! Everypony is gonna love what my family's got to share about the Age of Myth! Miss Cheerilee says it would be a great way to get the students more interested in legends and history!" "Congratulations, Lickety-Split!" Apple Bloom said. "Ah know this'll be good for ya!" "Thank you!" Lickety-Split nodded. "I hope to do the paper proud!" "Hope Featherweight's okay," Scootaloo whispered. "When I got in for the paper early, I overheard Cheerilee got news from his auntie that he might miss today for some reason." "Did you hear anything about Button Mash?" Sweetie asked anxiously. "Not really," said Lickety-Split. "Sorry, Sweetie." "... It's alright." Looking over the paper, Silver Spoon said, "There's no mention of her stepping down as 'acting' class president though." 'Acting', that was what she called it, saying she was keeping it for Diamond Tiara. With all the overwhelming reveals the CMC had experienced that morning, on top of the emotional shocks and high adventure they'd been on, and the tension of Silver Spoon, Alula, Tootsie, and Button Mash, and more... you can kinda forgive them for forgetting something. Something they failed to remember until after they'd unthinkingly gotten to their desk, and took off their saddlebags. While looking at another pony's rear wasn't taboo in Equestria, it wasn't something ponies constantly did. Scootaloo's braid got attention, but it wasn't the sort of thing ponies were really going to chat at length about. And Apple's new zebra style earring DID get some foals chatting, and had gotten Cheerilee's attention, and in fact, this had DRAWN AWAY attention from something else. But something had to give, and in one moment it all went off. "Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, what happened to your cutie marks?" Cheerilee asked. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, and then at the gold lined red and green shields that now surrounded their butterfly and musical note. They blushed. "Well... they kinda... 'got upgraded?' When kinda... that is..." Apple Bloom stood up. Silver Spoon said it first. "Apple Bloom! You! You... you... you..." Silver Spoon had to remember how to breath. "YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK!" The cheers were deafening. The quest of the CMC had gone on for so long... many thought it would last years more... perhaps in vain! But for APPLE BLOOM to now get hers, with her friends' cutie marks changing too? This sent shockwaves through the class, and now that the genie was out of the bottle... all the rest of Ponyville would soon know, as well. Apple Bloom's memory of the next few minutes was a blur. All she grasped was her classmates tossing her up in the air, cheering her name, and those of her friends. She remembered being hugged by Silver Spoon, Miss Cheerilee, and some of her other classmates. It was like it was the accomplishment of everypony, they were cheering for. Her heart shined like the sun. Apple Bloom was happy. "Sorry you won't get to see Bully-Me's face at you getting your mark?" Silver Spoon smirked. "Ah'm happier to see Friend-You's face anytime!" Apple Bloom hugged her, followed by their friends, Cheerilee: it was a hug explosion. Experts said it caused smiles as far away as Manehatten. To the shock of EVERYPONY, the CMC didn't ask for the school day off. Being in the classroom with their teacher and classmates they knew and loved was a reward the CMC never thought they'd want. Applejack was right. She thought. 'Before cutie mark: buck trees, carry water, after cutie mark: buck trees, carry water.' It's just me. She settled down in her seat, and watched series of guest speakers from around Canterlot recount pieces of Equestria's history. One of the speakers was even Silver Spoon's father representing the royal guard! The history lesson was shocking to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, but to Apple Bloom... everything, just fit into place. Even if she didn't remember all of it personally, a part of her knew this was now how the world was. Now far north of Equestria, beyond the oddly named Crystal Tundra, was the kingdom of Yakyakistan. Isolationists from being caught in the collateral damage from one of Discord's attacks (on a mysterious kingdom), it was forbidden to fly over, or dig under their mountainous domain. There was also now folklore among the various Zebra tribes, that they too had once an Alicorn goddess, a Zebra named Queen Parabola who had been close friends with spiders and map makers. And had supposedly inspired the tradition of masks in Zebra cultures being used for self expression. She had existed before Equestria was even founded. Miss Cheerilee included a 'recent events' that Zebra who had heard of Kifuko believed that she was the long lost heir to their beloved lost goddess. That there was a story that Queen Parabola had fallen in love with a flutterpony (or changeling depending in what time period you believed it happened) made this not entirely implausible. Sweetie wondered if Queen Chrysalis talked about this with her in the new timeline, but knowing Chryssy, it would have been only fuel for the fire. Next an ambassador from the Diamond Dog kingdom had once talked about how his people bore great connections to Crunch the Rock Dog. Apple Bloom had a vague memory flash of a lynch mob of ponies who had come to murder Bright Eyes the pony while she was giving birth, and had been mislead to the crystal mines miles away, and had been turned into canine slaves of the ghost of a long dead human wizard and driven to find jewels but having no idea why as the ghost finally faded from this world. She knew, that this memory was no longer reality, it had been rewritten, now the Diamond Dogs had a new origin, one that did indeed connect to the legendary Crunch The Rockdog... but whatever it was, Apple Bloom couldn't remember. There was a speaker of the Equestrian Games, but all Sweetie caught was that sealing unicorn spectators' magic for potential cheating was deemed treating your audience as criminals and unlikely to win visitors. There was also a note from Guards who had been abroad about the FEAR that had struck nations outside of Equestria when the sun had failed to rise, and panicked calls to Equestria what was going on. Ironically, this made Celestia's position of Princess of the Sun a much stronger one than before. As a shock to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle... the length of Discord's first rampage had been reduced by at least a few centuries if not more! There was also a tidbit from the griffins. Apparently the lyrics, "Our deity is better than yours"... had indeed been part of Griffin hymns ... but...well... + A flash of darkness blinded the city for a moment. When it cleared, an armored black knight stood with a sword. The tallest griffin city's office buildings barely reaching his kneecaps. His head was literally in the clouds. His helmet was round with spikes pointing outward. Glowing redness was all that was seen of within. "I HAVE HEARD THY CHALLENGE! AND I, THE BLACK BLOOD OF PAIN, ACCEPT THY CHALLENGE! LET YOUR GOD COME FORTH! LEAST I CLAIM THIS PLANET FOR OUR OWN!" "Yeah yea! Don't get your panties in a tosh bucket head! I'm here! Geeze! Tone it done a little!" Shouted Boreas as he materialized out of the sky itself, his tail-tuff a light of red flames, and his avian parts looking like the dusk, and his feline half the dawn, and his wings like the northern lights. -One Epic Giant Battle Later- Boreas looked to make sure the battle had stayed in the sky and not harmed anygriff of his children. "Okay. THAT'S done! Maybe now I can get back to the astral plane and get back to my nap!" - One song verse later - "ME GOD OF YAKS! ME HEAR CHALLENGE! CHALLENGE NOT PREFECT! GOD OF YAKS SMASH!" "OH COME ON!" Boreas shouted. "Can you ditch the Saddle Rager speak bud? You're not fooling anygriff." "... My apologizes, brother. Yet I am formally obligated to accept all divine challenges as is in the sacred code I myself inspired the ancient Yak prophets to write down in regards to the Yak Virtue of Valor." "What happened to the Yak Virtues of Cheer, Honesty, Diligence, Honor, Loyalty, Charity, And Humility?" "My children have turned their ears from me. You know how it is." "Yeah, yeah I do. Hopefully they'll get the hint eventually, most of mine have...except Griffonstone, but Mother Deer says to keep faith in them. But I still think Tiamat is an idiot for micromanaging her species in a visible form. I mean at least Mother Deer has the excuse of being BORN here. I wish Astra would accept some of these challenges, it's her turn already! So how about arm wresting to settle this? I don't think we could keep the two of us fighting from actually hurting anygriff given who we are." "THAT BE PERFECT!" "What did I say?!" "Sorry brother, habit." -One Arm Wrestling Battle Later- "There, now maybe I can-" "Excuse me," said Thor politely. "I sensed a formal cosmic challenge of divine might, and my code of honor dictates that-" "CHANGE THAT LYRIC ALREADY, ME DANGIT! IT WAS FUNNY THE FIRST TIME BUT SERIOUSLY THIS IS GETTING OLD AND I'VE GOT THREE PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES I NEED TO GET TO MAKING!" + Sea Swirl was the sixth of the guest speakers at Apple Bloom's school. "I can't stay forever, since I have a meeting in Canterlot today with the Princess. But I'm here to talk about the kingdom under the sparkling sea, which is our dear friend even to this day. From whom I have an ancestor myself from, and dear Sweetie Belle there, the seaponies." Sweetie Belle fainted. - One Unfainted Sweetie Belle later. - The Seaponies (and Mereponies as they'd be quick to remind anypony) had many of their number turned into buffalo and ponies during Discord's rampage, but many had taken on lovers in the meantime and had chosen to remain in their new forms (some chose vice versa). Their leader, King Leo, was said to be even older than Princess Celestia, and had supposedly been alive since before the Age of Myths! But during Discord's rampage, he had hidden the rest of his children as deeply underwater as they could, until the day Discord's evil was over. During that time, they'd also come in conflict with the Deep Ponies... but some had made peace, and their hybrid offspring were nicknamed the Octoponies due to their unique form. Also having evolved in this time thanks to the work of King Leo himself were the Sea-Glow Ponies. The expedition to the surface that remade first contact was now a major event in Seapony history. Apple Bloom wondered about the flutterponies, but a thought came to her. 'As long as the changelings live, the flutterponies live.' The last guest speaker... was a very little pony with huge insect wings, antennae, pointy ears... and her cutie mark was so tiny you'd need a magnifying glass to tell what it was. She spoke in an odd accent. "Hello Everypony, my name is Flight Shine from the domain of the breezies." She recounted the origin of her herd and the pocket realm they called home, but that is a story for another day. +++ The school day ended... as all school days do. The whole town was going to be abuzz sooner than later of Ponyville having the cute-ceañera to end all cute-ceañeras as Pinkie Pie's newest masterpiece. Right now was the brief calm before the storm. Ponyville had sucked in a breath, and soon was going to be in an uproar. The little fillies had certainly made a name for themselves. Everypony was going to be there, no doubt, including Button Mash. Sweetie Belle had separated from her friends, saying she needed to go to the little fillies' room before they left the school grounds. Scootaloo was busy giving Cheerilee extra hugs and promising to visit on Hearth Warming's Eve anyway. Being sisters in a past life was one part of the dream Cheerilee remembered. Sweetie Belle wondered about making a grave for HER Button Mash. Sure, everypony else would think she was being weird, and this Button Mash might get seriously freaked out, but he ... the other one... deserved SOMETHING! He gave everything. He didn't deserve to be forgotten, he deserved a much better reward than just erased. Not when he'd proven he was as real as anypony!!! Sweetie let go of tears she didn't realize she'd been fighting back all this time. Sweetie Belle heard Apple Byte, "I wonder where Button Mash is... we were supposed to trade Ponymon today." Right... she was into video games, and he was into video games. Sweetie Belle couldn't say that about herself before Button Mash had made such a big impact in her life. It made logical sense for them to be together. Heck it... it would make more sense for Button Mash to be with Ruby Pinch instead of Sweetie Belle right?... So why... so why did it hurt so much? Even if Sweetie Belle accepted this was how things were SUPPOSED to be? It would be wrong for her to expect THIS Button Mash to like her like... like that. "Apple Byte," Sweetie said. "I hope you and Button Mash are happy together." "Huh?" Apple Byte blinked. "OH! We're just friends! Don't read anything into it!" Sweetie refused to let her heart flutter. "Oh! Okay! I... that is... " No. It wouldn't be the Button Mash she'd gotten to know. She didn't have a right to just 'replace' him with a different Button Mash. "Well, just be good friends with him, he needs all the friends he can get." "I know what you mean," Apple Byte smiled and the two fillies waved each other off. As Sweetie went back to her friends... she... she spotted the first and last colt in the world she wanted to see, and they were the same, and not the same one. It was him. And... he had his beanie. Sweetie Belle felt her heart break. 'He really doesn't exist anymore.' He looked her way. "Oh! Hey, Sweetie!" He said, smiling in total innocence. "Oh.... h-hi, Button Mash." I want him back. I'd play video games all day, especially with him. I'd... I'd even wear that Princess Cadence costume to have him back... but... "So, would you wanna play some video games later?" He asked her simply. "I..." Sweetie wasn't sure how to respond. She tried hard not to think of this Button Mash as a corpse. He came first. He had a right to exist. "What about Apple Byte?" "Sure, she's fun to play GAMES with, but you're fun to play games WITH! I like you girls." Sweetie Belle gulped. They were still friends? "Button Mash... I..." Sweetie Belle looked at Apple Bloom, who gave her an encouraging nod. "You just made it a choice: earlier-you and earlier-Button-Mash made the choice on their own remember? Ah saw the whole thing in the big book." "What are you talking about?" Button Mash scratched his head, reminding everypony he wasn't deaf. "OH! That's! It's! Just a game, Button Mash! A really scary one. Your mom wouldn't let you play it." "Don't I know it!" Button Mash nodded. "But it wasn't so bad, if you play with your true true friends." He grinned. = SAVE The World - Undertale = Scootaloo knocked him upside the head. "Jerk! You can't fake her... fake her out like that!!!" Sweetie laughs and cries and hugs him before she even knew what she was doing. - It was just another day of school for Button Mash. His Gamecolt was well hidden. He had Ponymon to trade with Apple Byte. She was nice and everything but all they did WAS play video games... and... for some reason that felt off. Not comics. Not trains. Not cosplay. Nothing. He had breakfast in his room and he put on his beanie, ready for another day. His parents talked about having odd dreams. As for himself, he didn't remember what he'd dreamt last night at all. Then Button Mash noticed the horseshoe box he kept his moon rock in. Something inside it was glowing, through the cardboard. He took it out and opened it. It was the moon rock that was glowing. An adult would have backed away and called a magic expert to keep from being turned into a potted plant or something. But being a curious young colt, Button Mash reached in and touched it... - = 'Ora e Sempre' - The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus = "So... what do we all say?" Fauna Luster, the red maned Alicorn said. Those who had existed before the beginning, and would exist after the end, to the perception of some, sat around a round table and was either at the heart of the universe, sat underneath it, or encompassed all universes. There were no courtiers or honor guard, only the fundamental laws of all things. "I vote yes. Brother-In-Law?" Phobia shrugged. "My vote's yeah. So yeah." "I vote yes. It's a worthy reward for making the right choice and helping save the universe," Buddy the colt pony said. "But the vote of all who were involved in this must be unanimous, even an abstain shall count as a vote against." They all looked at Maud Pie. She said in a calm monotone. "... My vote is yes." They were all thrown for a loop, Entropy, voting 'yes' for this? For anything? It had been billions of years since she'd voted on anything! It was like watching fire turn to ice or an ocean to stone. But still... Fauna Luster sighed. "... But that still leaves-" "wAiT-" Shaped out of the gloom formed the shape of a stallion wrapped in a large yellow cloth, with a crown upon his head, and his body wrapped in chains. "-aZEhOrSe wOuLd Speak, It Speaks: yEs-voTE." The others stared in awe and shock. "Let's face it," Phobia then threw in. "The girls and the kid have EARNED it after all this." - A ghostly Button Mash without his beanie appeared in front of the other Button Mash. - Restore Previous Save File? -] Yes - No Overwrite Current Save File? -Yes -]No Combine Save Files? -]Yes -No - The two Buttons touched. And in a flash of light. There was one. "SWEETIE BELLE!!!!" - = Dreams Do Come True - Twinkle Wish Adventure = So yeah, they sure hugged a lot. There was even some happy noogie action at play! What more needs to be said about that? Okay okay, a lot more. A whole lot more! It was a powerful group hug. "It's, kinda, no, it's SUPER weird to remember two different lives," Button Mash said. "You get used to it," said Pinkie Pie, riding on a unicycle in the background behind the foals while juggling rubber chickens. Strapped to her back was a long flag that read, 'VISIT DREAMING PONYVILLE!' written in pink glitter. She also had some mounted music equipment that was blaring the song, 'Celebrate good times, come on!' She pedaled away too fast to talk to, but it was another nice reminder that Ponyville was Ponyville again. Sweetie Belle and Button Mash danced right there in front of the school. This being Equestria, everypony calmly accepted it. Neither foal could stop smiling. "This is the me I chose to be," sang Button. "My best friend is all I see," Sweetie replied. The rest of their song was only for each other. Scootaloo saw how happy the two were together. Button Mash was here to stay. A sigh escaped against her wishes. Silver Spoon startled her, laying gently on her shoulder. "Hey, why the relapse? Sorry they didn't stay mad at each other for the milk-shake-race thing?" "What relapse?" Scootaloo asked keeping her voice down. "I've told you before: don't worry, you're still Sweetie Belle's friend, that's never going to be taken from you." "Huh-" Scootaloo's eyes widened. "Upper class ex-bully remember? If there's anything I know how to do, it's read ponies who don't want to be read." "What makes you think I'm sad?" "You're not sad, you're just a bit lonely, but you didn't know why since you have other friends. Sweetie was your first friend in Ponyville. You made your other friends together, Sweetie made friends with Button first. So you felt left out. Remember now?" Scootaloo, being Scootaloo, puffed out her plumage. "I'm not some jerk who can't standing seeing Sweetie make other friends. I'm not Gilda." 'Bluster avoidance tactic 101,' Silver Spoon thought. "I never said you're a jerk. I almost snapped when I was asked what Diamond Tiara might think if she saw me playing with you. I want to be her friend again, and have us all be friends... But this isn't about me. I'm just saying what you're feeling is NORMAL. Remember this time, nothing will ever make your friendship with Sweetie less special. Nothing can replace your first friend." Scootaloo took in a deep breath, and slowly let it down. "Thanks... again, Silver Spoon." "Welcome. Want to get ice cream later?" "Sure!" Sweetie and Button Mash meanwhile were just chatting. "So why weren't you at class?" Sweetie asked. "Oh that, heh, the merged memories thing kinda made me super-duper dizzy, and Mom, you know mom. I was finally able to beg and plead for her to let me go see you." "So... you remember me just walking away before, the day we met?" Sweetie asked. "Yeah I do... and to be honest? I'm happy I'm living in this world where you didn't!" He hugged her. She hugged him back. "So... Can you still do the video game magic stuff?" "Tried it. No go." He shrugged. "Fun while it lasted." "Don't worry! You'll find other ways of being a hero! I know you too well!" Sweetie Belle gave him a peck on the cheek, his beanie stopped turning for a moment, and the colt blushed. + Featherweight I stood in the white void. I'd helped save the world. Hadn't I? I stop Diamond Tiara from doing something truly terrible that couldn't be undone. So that was good. Plus I would't have to apologize to Mr. and Mrs.'s Rich, I didn't want to imagine what their hurt faces would've looked like either. But I was happy I hadn't had to hurt Diamond Tiara for her own sake more. Then two conflicting memories formed in my head. One where ... one where THAT DAY happened how I remembered... and another where... it was a lot like before but... without... without.... without me being hurt while I looked like Mrs. Rich. We just partied like a bad version of one of Pinkie Pie's parties. "Wha-what's goin' on?" I whispered, holding my head. "You Were At The Center Of The Great Shockwave Of Changes To Reality. Just Like Before When The World Was Corrupted. You Were Never Touched By The Curse Neither Before Nor After... So Now You Have A Choice To Make." "... Buddy?" "Yes, Featherweight, it's me. I'm here to ask you a question. The world is being stripped away of the corruption's influence: horror and misery for horror and misery's sake. Things done for the sake of getting attention or be taken seriously by an unconfident shadow. Ponies have enough ordeals, there was damage done to Equestria that didn't belong here before the curse. That includes, how you were hurt when Chaos twisted you." "... So that doesn't have to happen?" "It won't have happened the same way... The same way you don't have to remember all the horrible things you saw in the fog before you came to Lickety Split's house... But Featherweight... You have to make a choice. Filthy Rich won't remember that things had happened differently before, nor will most anypony, and most ponies won't have to remember the curse as anything but a bad dream that will fade away in the sunlight. You can choose to remember both worlds... or you can choose to forget being hurt, but it'll mean that this will all have been just a dream for you. ... You were dragged into this because there was no choice... so it's only right you be given one now. Me and my family was the reason you were even sent there... So the choice is yours. But think carefully. This isn't a choice you can take back once you make it." "... I'll forget about Diamond Tiara, and helping the others? Helping Apple Button and Button Mash?" "It'll be just a dream, events pushed into Little Lulu's World. You might remember it, but it won't be things that actually happened. And you'll never have to remember being hurt." Not having the pain. Not having the hurt. I tucked my wings around myself. I whispered. "Mr. Rich won't have to remember no matter what?" "No. He won't." "... I... I..." I could just cut away the pain, the hurt, make it go away forever... I... I want... "I want to remember that I was brave enough to do all that stuff." "You're going to make a great great stallion one day, Featherweight." And we were both gone into the white light. I woke up tired, sick and pale. I stumbled out of bed, and I found Auntie Mayflower in the kitchen. "AUNTIE!" I coughed out, and flew over to her and hugged her. She was alright! She was alright! She was alright! I, uhh, I feel woozy, happy, but woozy... Auntie May Flower was worried I was sick, so she kept me home from school. "Auntie May Flower? Where's the fog?" "What fog dear?" "The fog that's been outside for all... sorry... never mind." This honestly made me happy. There was no magical copy of the Foal Free Press, it was just a normal news paper. And nothing about Umbra Breeze. For the first time, in a long time... I was able to sleep, not scared at all, not worried at all. I was safe. Even crazier was was the little note next to my bed... it was from Apple Bloom. 'Don't worry, took care of the Elements of Harmony finding out about Diamond Tiara, you just get some rest. I might not remember this note later, so much to remember. Featherweight, you're a hero.' I smiled. - "And that's my story for how I remember," Featherweight finished saying and took a glass of water, REALLY not used to speaking so much. Button Mash, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo sat around the table. They'd been waiting for Spike and Silver Spoon, and had been surprised when Featherweight had found them instead. It hadn't been hard, news of the CMC's new cutie marks was spreading like wildfire and they were the hot topic of the town. "Featherweight..." Scootaloo said. "Thanks... for helping Apple Bloom and Button Mash when ... when me and Sweetie couldn't." Having finally gotten all the details from Apple Bloom, the girls were willing to let Apple Bloom's stunt go... mostly, Apple Bloom was paying for their sundaes. Apple Bloom and Button Mash had both decided NOT to tell Sweetie about what Button Mash had almost done. He'd do that on his own, when he was ready. "I just did what anypony would do." Featherweight smiled. "But it wasn't 'anypony,' it was you. Never forget that." Sweetie smiled. "Thank you." Featherweight blushed a little. "And thank you... for the amazing adventure." "We didn't give anything." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Yer adventure was all yours. You helped us." "And, if I can help save Diamond Tiara in any way, please let me know... " He took in a deep breath. "And if there isn't a way for me to help. That's fine too. I don't want to be dragged along because I 'have to' be there. I know there are six ponies really good at saving other ponies from themselves. I just want to see her saved, like you." Sweetie Belle gave the slightist smirked, then wiped it off. "You really do want to be her friend don't you?" "And I want her to be my friend too." "I understand." Sweetie Belle nodded and the foals continued to munch on ice cream. Spike and Silver Spoon arriving a few minutes later. +++ Cheerilee and Rarity sat at an outdoor table at the local restaurant. The two of them were enjoying a pair of daisy sandwiches. Rarity wanted more than anything to socialize with her after her previous visit from before the wedding. Thinking back on a nightmare she thankfully couldn't remember all the details of, Rarity realized there was something that needed to be said. "Cheerilee, I've just realized I never apologized." "Eh?" "When you were enchanted by Nightmare Whisper... Applejack and Rainbow Dash didn't react so brashly, and neither should've I. Sweetie Belle wasn't in mortal peril, and you were clearly not yourself." "It's... it's fine Rarity. I wasn't listening to reason. Some old bones are like seeds, they shouldn't be dug up." "Good advice. It's just my little sister means the world to me. And... I'd already had to watch one poor foal fall into darkness earlier." "I know exactly what you mean... I... " Cheerilee shook her head. "Enough. Thank you Rarity." "'Enough' what darling?" "My sisters and I spent too long pretending we weren't family. Maybe Berry Punch wouldn't have been trapped by the bottle for so long if we'd been there more for her." "You're there for her now, and she's fought through it with your help and Ruby's. 'What ifs' do nothing but drive a pony mad. Take it from me, if I thought about how I could have done that dress just a tiny bit better..." "I know Rarity, I know." Cheerilee sighed and looked at her grade-school friend. "But she's not the only sister I've ignored for too long. Cherry Blossom is my TWIN. And I... I haven't so much as spoken to her in years... It's about time I stop pretending she doesn't exist. Or... or one day, our friends, our little sisters... could be just... gone, poof, like they were never there to begin with." Cheerilee shivered. Rarity put a hoof on Cheerilee's. "It's okay dear. They aren't gone. And you aren't gone. And I'm certain you'll find they still love you as much as you still love them." "You're right... there are some dreams that can't be, so we better try our hardest for the dreams that can." Cheerilee didn't remember much about the strange dream, there was the visits with Daring Do and the Countess... but what she remembered the most clearly, was of another life, where Cheerilee and Scootaloo had been sisters. The way Scootaloo hugged her today, she knew that Scootaloo remembered that part of the dream too. 'I still love her. But I can't keep clinging to a dream... but Scootaloo, if you ever need help, even for a moment, no matter how big or small... big sister Cheerilee will be there for you. Looks like I have three sisters now.' "Miss Rarity!" The unicorn turned to see two fillies: Lyra and Bon Bon's adopted foal, and Cloud Kicker's little sister. Pinkie Pie may have known more about everypony than everypony, but this was Ponyville, where everypony knew everypony. "Alula, Tootsie," Cheerilee welcomed. "Wonderful to see you. It was very nice of you to clean up the press room, but you missed all the guest speakers in class today." "We... we know Miss Cheerilee, and we're sorry!" Alula said and the two fillies bowed. "Really sorry!" "Girls! I'm not berating you, I'm saying that you shouldn't deny yourselves a chance like that again, the basement would've still been there. I know you wanted to make things nice for Lickety-Split, but just remember you're still fillies, those guest speakers were for you, not me." "We... we understand," Alula said. "We just both agreed that we should clean it up real good before leaving." "Well Alula, Tootsie, I'm sure one of your classmates can share what they heard, you'll still get extra credit for the semester, you did a good job at the paper while you were there." "I... I was holding it for Tiara, and... speaking of which." Alula presented Rarity a Hearts and Hooves Day Card. It was purple and white, and sparkled like diamonds. "Sorry for the delay, this was... this was Diamond Tiara's, but it never got delivered to you, I... I kinda found it... I was holding onto it." Rarity looked in awe at the card, then she shook her head and smiled. "I'm flattered dear, and I haven't lost faith in Diamond Tiara returning either. But I'm afraid this card isn't for me. It's for a very important mare who's normally here in Ponyville, but she's in Canterlot looking for clues to Diamond Tiara." After grilling several changeling officers, it had been determined that they had nothing to do with Diamond Tiara, Canterlot being where the filly was last seen. "But it'll be my honor to help make sure it's delivered." +++ 'Well, my dear... it seems you finally have your answer to your question that made you break in the first place... feel like pulling yourself back together?' I was already broken. 'You give us both too little credit, my princess. You were much stronger than that, and I am much better than that. I have my self-respect as an evil chaos spirit, I don't break what's already broken... So now you know from the horse's mouth, if anypony can tell the details of a Hearts and Hooves Day card and who it compliments, it's the mistress of fashion herself.' ... It doesn't change what I have to do. This just justifies it. 'Justifies it? ... I'd say that proves you love mommy dearest. Perhaps you and me, show for two seconds for the big fight, retreat, and find some other planet in another galaxy full of mindless obligatory happiness where the locals will WORSHIP YOU for making them gloomy.' That's not what I need to do. And you'd actually end it on an anti-climax? You? 'Would be unexpected, wouldn't it? Wouldn't be so bad if you were there my princess. Still, kudos to the fashion lady, no embodiment of generosity would take something that wasn't hers... So much has changed since you took those scissors. Strange how our ends goals and motives change without us ever noticing isn't it?' Yes... father, it is. - Another day on the weather team for Cloud Kicker and Thunerlane. It never ceased to amaze them just how fast Rainbow Dash was able to get the job done. Some ponies thought Rainbow Dash was lazy... was she brash and conceited? Yes. But lazy? Personally Cloud Kicker thought Rainbow Dash was WASTED on a town as small as Ponyville! In a big major city, her talents could actually be tested! But well, Rainbow Dash wasn't giving up her dreams of being a Wonderbolt anytime soon! The two weather ponies respected each other as teammates, but they were not what anypony would ever call close. Both waved each other goodbye without saying a word to each other. Neither could remember much about the dreams last night. Neither one was really interested in ANY kind of relationship right now. Both Alula and Rumble waved to their big siblings as they flew down to meet them, and the foals flew up to do the same. That morning, both Rumble and Alula had been extremely happy to see their big siblings, saying, "You're... you," even if they didn't really understand why that was so important, and why it made them so happy, but it did. Ironically, while waiting, Alula and Rumble had gotten to admit the two of them had a surprising bit in common. Both worshipped the clouds their big sibling walked on. Both of them had their big sibling as their closest family. "They're great to have, aren't they?" Alula admitted. "THE BEST!" Rumble concurred. "Do you... ever wish he could be, ya know? More? They could get more recognized?" "Sure! All the time! But I'm not worried. Even if nopony else gets how great my big brother is, I know, and I'm sure to tell everypony!" "... Same here." Alula thought for a minute. "So... I hear you like doing night training to be like your big brother... did you know my special talent is gymnastics? ... Maybe I can show you a few things next time." Rumble flapped in the air. "Really? COOL!" - Tootsie meanwhile had gone back to her family's house. She saw how Twist and Truffle were happy together. Fit with each other so well. They'd never leave each other, never abandon each other, he was open, kind, accepting to all, so few could see the gentlecolt past his appearance. Tootsie sighed and looked at the much less painful ground. A changeling placed her hooves on her shoulders. "You're young, Tootsie, incredibly young, your very special somepony is out there, nothing says you have to meet him today." "... Thank you... Auntie Moth." - Meeting up where they'd agreed to before (after they had checked in with their families), Alula and Tootsie trotted along. One particular house in mind. "Greeting!" Captain Pipsqueak said. "Welcome back, crew mate Tootsie! I see you've finally brought us crew mate Alula!" "Yes I have, captain! It is my honor to present her to you!" "H-hello, Pipsqueak." "Rear Admiral Pipsqueak! But Captain will do." "Alright, Captain Pipsqueak. Crew mate Alula, at your service." "Very good! These are crew mates Noi, Dinky, Ruby Pinch, and you've met crew mate Tootsie!" "Hi." "Hello!" "Uh... nice to... met you, again. Uh, as pirates, privateers I mean," Dinky said shaking Alula's hoof. "Very good! Now Miss Alula! I'm certain you'e been given the oath! Now recite it and you'll be part of the MoonPearl's crew!" Alula got on her knees. And she had a blindfold put on. "I, Alula, in the presence of the great goddess of the night, hereby Pinkie Promise most solemnly and sincerely that I shall serve my captain, my ship, my crew, my princess, and her kingdom, most faithfully and loyally. To Her Nightesty's will and her protection, if it's within my power, I shall work towards most readily. And hinder those who work against them. "All these points I solemnly Pinkie Promise to observe without exception, under no less penalty than my mane shaved bald, my cutie marks scrubbed away, my tail dipped in glue, and fed to Card-Sharks in the deepest great ocean, so help me Her Nightjesty." They took off the blindfold. "Welcome aboard the MoonPearl." "Ah! But I'm not merely Tootsie!" Tootsie said putting on a mask and hat she'd bought at the corner store. "I am actually Mare-Do-Well!" Alula put on a mask as well. "I too am Mare-Do-Well!" "Two superheroes aboard ship, cool," Ruby said. "DEARS! I made you some cookies!" Called Pipsqueak's mother as she trotted across the grassy backyard to the wooden toy ship. "Say, Alula," Tootsie said. "want to try some of Bonnie's voice changing candies? I've got some in here that'll make you sound just like a pirate... or a breezie, I always get them mixed up." Ruby Pinch meanwhile blinked, crossed her arms, and thought 'Oh great,' in Breezie. "Uh, no thanks. Captain Pipsqueak, didn't you have a second mate?" "Verily I did, but she was called away back to her native land, though I still receive letters from her regularly, tis the fate of a sailor of Her Nightjesty's navy." Pipsqueak assumed a bold pose and held a letter from his costume jacket to his heart. - After some more fun and games, Alula and Tootsie finally left their fellow privateers, for the day was slowly coming to a close. "Tootsie, even though it was Diamond Tiara's idea we become friends... I just want to say, I'm really happy we're friends now." "If Diamond Tiara really gave you the idea, then that's something I have to thank her for," Tootsie said without missing a beat. "I wonder why she didn't show up in our dreams last night like normal," Alula said. "Because you're better off that way," Said a wistful voice. The Nightfilly trotted through every magical alarm, detecting geass, and spell ward in Ponyville Twilight Sparkle had installed without setting them off as if they, or she, weren't even there. She didn't even leave hoof prints, and she cast no shadow, her voice had no echo, and the water of the nearby river did not reflect her. But the two other fillies could see and touch her all the same. "TIARA!" The two said and gave her hug. She gingerly folded her wings around them. "You're here!" Alula said. "Does that mean you're ready now to see your mom and dad now?! And explain how Mr. Discord isn't really evil? He just didn't know how to make friends?" The Nightfilly sighed. "No. I'm here to say goodbye." "What?" Tootsie gasped. "But-but-why? Don't you know Silver Spoon really misses you?! I know you wanted us to make sure she remembered you're her best friend but-" "It's not about that," The Nightfilly said. "I... You two are the better friends that I could never deserve. It's better off if we'd never been friends." "That's not true!" Alula stamped her hoof. None of the adults nearby noticed the fillies. "We've had lots of fun!" "I just came here to tell you, forget about me. You have each other as friends, and plenty more to make, you don't need me." "You're... you're not some imaginary friend to bow out when you're 'not needed!'" Tootise protested. "You're a good friend! And your parents want you back! I know they do!" Alula nodded furiously. "She's right!" "They're better off without me." "Don't say that!" Alula snapped. The Nightfilly sighed. "It's the truth. I poison everything I touch. Just stay away from me and Discord Alula, you too Tootsie. I won't haunt you ever again. Goodbye." "No!" The two foals gasped, but she had already teleported away. The foals hugged, they'd wait for their friend. +++ It was just another early dinner at the Silver household, nothing had really changed from the day before. Though Silver Platter had taken every opportunity to tell her social circle how her husband had taken part in the Battle of Canterlot, and had been part of Princess Cadenza's guerrilla group (as had technically her daughter). For once, Silver Spoon didn't mind her mother's talk. In fact, "Mother? I... can we go to the opera some time this week?" Her mother had been going on picnics Silver Spoon could tell she didn't care for, but did so anyway for Silver Spoon... it felt only right to repay her somehow. "You... you... of course dear! That would be wonderful!" Silver Tongue said nothing, but he did smile. Clean Dishes was no longer at the Silver Household, she'd been given a medical scholarship by Silver Tongue for saving his daughter's life after Discord's day of chaos... her last letter confirmed she'd changed her name back to Clean Bandages. She said she wished to be the family's physician following her graduation. - The unicorn Sunny Day hugged her little sister Moonlight home from school. The two had enjoyed a good, inexpensive vacation in Ponyville, where Moonlight had made a very good friend with the young colt Pipsqueak, and the two were now pen pals. Sunny Day was a 'go for the jugular' tabloid reporter, with regular funding from the 'Bright Sun Real News' charity foundation that nopony else had heard of whenever payments from the tabloids ran low. While she was a tabloid writer, she just wrote things she felt needed to be said rather than outright lies. After all, who else was going to actually SAY how the chosen heroes of Equestria had DESTROYED the Grand Galloping Gala? Watching from his patrol route, Flash Sentry smiled as the two went inside. His patrol route 'just so happened' to also take him along the route to an expensive hotel, and the residence of Fancy Pants. At the former, he saw Golden Tiara get a very out of season Hearts and Hooves Day card... the mare broke down into tears of joy. She was hugged by her former Nurse, now friend, Tender Loving Care. With Golden Tiara declared legally sane, TLC would be heading back to the hospital soon. At the latter Filthy Rich wasn't worried about having to run his business via transcript for now, Shiny Star and Randolph were still keeping the Tiara household ready for the return of the entire Tiara family, Filthy, Golden, and Diamond. He'd give up his entire little empire to have his family all back together if that's what it took. He and Fancy Pants were slowly piecing together the route Filthy's daughter had taken through Canterlot. Guard Flash Sentry spotted above him Philomena doing a fly-by around the city, well, she had protected an entire city by herself once, she was now a symbol of comfort and safety to the Canterlot Ponies. He'd also gotten a promotion from Princess Celestia himself for 'Exceptional Diligence and Dedication To Duty.' When the white light had come, he'd been sure given what he'd been told, that he would wake up not only forgetting this crazy adventure, but forgetting the world he'd come from too. He'd met the filly with the clockwork wing again, who told him, "You are written in another world's book of fate, remember?" "At least you're consistent," he joked to himself. Flash Sentry's next assignment of the day had him at audience chamber duty. This let Flash Sentry get a ring side view of the meeting between the seapony/merepony/ugh!-just-say-aquatic-ponies-or-Aquastria's chosen ambassador, Seaswirl the Earth Pony. AND the visitors from the Breezie's domain. But there was also some startling news from the Changeling Hive's ambassador chosen by Queen Cadenza. There was news apparently of some changeling eggs hatching infant Flutterponies! Even a pair of twins had revealed one being a flutterpony instead of a changeling! It had taken some (rather ironic) assurances that no, this was not a sign that the changelings were about to be bred out of existence to some. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had to provide special instructions and would have to personally teach Princess Cadence how to handle this: while Flutterponies didn't need love, they were much more fragile (and agile) than their Changeling parents and the Hive needed to be properly fitted to handle dangers the Changelings had never considered. And of course, there was the fact the elder Princesses were quite literally the ONLY ponies alive who knew how Flutterpony magic worked (Alicorns embodied all tribes). But Flash Sentry's personal concerns were that First Base was all right, as was all of Ponyville, from the horrors that had never happened. I never thought I'd appreciate happy-go-lucky "let's all be friends" Equestria so much! He'd been told Twilight Sparkle and her friends were also all well and fine. And to top it all off, he'd been given some free vacation time as part of his promotion. Maybe he'd check out Rainbow Falls for himself, heck, he'd take First Base with him, spend time with him as family. 'Twilight, I finally got to be a hero.' > Sweet Dreams Of A New Day (And Good Night.) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hello, Neatly Spell." Blue eyes snapped out, and a white-coated foal kicked the covers off her bed and leapt up. "Diamonds! You're here! How'd you get in my bedroom? Wait, horns and wings?! Diamonds! You're a princess now! Are you related to Princess Celestia and Blueblood now? HEY! My big sister is gonna get married to Prince Blueblood one day! That means I'll be related to Blueblood too! Which means we'll be related! Isn't that cool!?" Rambled the earth pony filly. Her white coat shone in the moonlight and her mane was a mess of purple curls. "Nopony would tell me anything! After we ditched that boring party... and... and... you said you had to save your family, so did you become a princess to save your family, or did you become a princess for saving your family?" "It was... just something that happened along the way. Still a blank flank?" "Yeah, haven't had much time to figure out my special talent since... since... since what happened." "Neatly Spell, I... I just came to say... I'm sorry for what happened to you." "Don’t worry, Diamonds. Not like you expected that Nightmare Night thing to ... come out of your own shadow like that." "But that thing was the real me." "Don't be silly, Diamonds!” Neatly Spell laughed. “You're way too nice for that! Even if you like to pretend you're grumpy all the time!” “Niceness can be faked. And bad moods are rarely fake.” The Nightfilly sighed. Neatly Spell gave her a childish stern look. "If you didn't care about me, you wouldn't be here to begin with." "... Neatly Spell, you were right about my cutie mark; it isn't for wearing jewelry. I was being silly. But that isn’t the point anymore... Before I went on my quest to save my family, I'd been feeling sick for a while. I didn't know what was causing it. Now I do. I had it reversed, there was something bad with me, and that's why I was sick, not that I was sick and that was making me feel bad." Neatly Spell's eyes crossed in confusion. "And I have to take the bad thing far away from Equestria... I won't ever see you again." "Why not? Just come back after you take away the bad thing!" "I have to make sure the bad thing stays away from Equestria. Or it might turn my mom bad." "Okay, but what about you?!" "I don't matter." I said my sacred mantra. She doesn't matter, only I matter. 'I thought those words, when I first met you Neatly. Funny how our perspectives and views can change isn't it, Discord?' "Yes, you matter!" "Not in the good way." "Of course in a good way!" 'Rarity, you may have been right about telling a pony their special talent straight-up is a waste. But some things should be saids.' "Neatly Sell, your special talent isn't being a wizard. Not because you're an earth pony, but because you're much better at making things look presentable. Be it jewelry combos, food, or manes. Focus on it, try it, trust me, you'll love it." "Don't change the subject!" Neatly Spell protested. "I have to be going." "Remember how I'm the regional champion loudest foal?" She shrugged. "I can teleport, Neatly." "But my parents and big sister will know!" "Go ahead. Tell them. Everypony will know soon enough. Goodbye, Neatly Spell. And thank you." Neatly Spell managed to get a hug in before the Nightfilly teleported away in a flash of dark magic. + Private Diary of Princess Luna We have thought long and hard about this. Many ponies were wronged by Discord. We cannot undo the wrong done to all of them. But... if we can undo the wrong done to one... it would at least be something. To do absolutely nothing at all for absolutely any pony at all would be intolerable. We came to her, the pink pegasus whose name was that of a common pastry. She sleeps on her belly. And we notice something unusual. We have been in many battles, we are the Princess of War as our sister is the Princess of Peace, we are well-versed in injuries. And these aren't the marks of a mare who chewed her own wings off. We search our memories and find a discrepancy. This mare still lost her wings as a result of Discord's chaos, but not from being driven mad and chewing off her own wings. Her trauma has been slightly lessened. We aren't fools who accept Discord's excuse 'I'm chaos!' whenever he does something against his character. So why, Discord? What caused you to pull back ever so slightly on this act of cruelty? Did Apple Bloom ALLOW this to happen? Even this farce of an act of empathy for Discord was shocking to our core onto itself. Discord THOUGHT of one of his plaything's pain AFTER he was done with them? I wonder if some ghost of a conscience might exist somewhere in Discord, and this was his own small-minded selfish way of appeasing it. No matter. A duty is a duty and we have to perform it. We enter the pony's dream, while retaining our awareness in the real world as much as we can. It's tricky, but not impossible. Even now she dreams of flying. We shall dispense with pleasantries. We called out her name, and made our royal presence known. "You are the pegasus of Cloudsdale, known by your neighbors to be sweet as anypony could be. You had a taste for cooking treats and sharing them with your friends. Some even said you were good at just about anything you did. All of it taking only a little practice, some hard work, and a shred of luck!" I saw a spark of pride in her eyes return, a flash of memory where she'd won a baking contest with flying colors. The runner-up (a pale cerise unicorn mare with a cherry topped cupcake cutie-mark) did not even come close. Then a second flash, where she managed to outfly a dark blue pegasus in a charity race. "Always ready to play, always putting on a cheerful face, always loving to spend time with others. You have a pet raccoon that a friend has been looking after since the tragedy that struck you." We... shall skip the hurtful words that spewed from her at being reminded of her pain. Know only that her dream world suddenly took a dark and grim shape. "Little pony... do you remember the song of the three earth pony brothers?" "I... I remember it saying you destroyed two ponies' lives by giving them what they wanted,” she answered. The favor younger me had done for my sibling had happened at a different place and time, what with Ponyville only a century or two old (and Granny Smith the oldest mortal pony alive). And history had, 'distorted' events. "It was not the objects themselves that brought them ruin. Their own actions brought about their doom. Their brother could have doomed himself just as easily with his gift, but he did not... I swear as a Princess of Equestria, that it is true. But those objects did not just vanish... I ask you little pony, do you wish to fly in the real world again?" A moment in the waking world, an eternity in the dream world, the pony gave her answer. In the real world, I took two feathers that came from my own true unfiltered divine self several thousands of years ago. It had taken some trouble to recover them, but it was better than letting them wander and roam. While Nightmare Whisper's power increase from the Elder Horn was increased many fold by being a Nightmare when she came into possession of it, all three artifacts were not things to be trifled with. "We entrust these to your bloodline, so says the night itself," we commanded. And the feathers fell upon the sleeping pony's back. They merged with her, grew, and stretched... until two sparkling dark wings that none had possessed in centuries lay on her back. She'd awake in the morning to find her dream was no dream. She would fly wild and free, but she'd remember my warning, and would be neither arrogant nor reckless with her gift as the second brother. At least this treasure of mine was at last doing some good. I returned to Canterlot, becoming a swirl of darkness and rematerializing at the castle. There was still much to be done. The damage to Canterlot during the battle with the changelings was very real, and thus the changelings were given the responsibility of repairing it. Regrettably, this left ponies with talents for construction rather upset at the loss of work (some even insisting this was a breach of contract with their guilds). But that was only part of it. Mr. Tux was still recovering, so his staff needed rearranging. He had finally been found in Los Pegasus and not part of a changeling plot. He had refused to speak about what had really happened that had left him still so traumatized but we could now guess. A few maids came forward saying his attitude had been too harsh, though he also had his defenders however, such as Miss War Duster. Some floated suggestions that he should be transferred to the Royal Guard. Miss War Duster herself had ironically supposedly gotten into a brawl with Miss Octavia while the former was brainwashed and the latter was trying to rescue her friend Vinyl. After a game of chance between Ourselves and Celly, t'was decided dear Celestia had the duty of explaining all the changes in the history books to Cadenza (and perhaps her consort) once she and her husband were no longer safe and sound in Rainbow Falls. We don't know if Celestia informed them of HOW the changes happened this time, though we do know Prince Shining Armor questioned why strange occurrences gravitate towards him. Most notably... we now had a tribe of our own. When we were banished to the moon... we had not rescinded our blessing upon our Guards. And so they remained in the form they were. And only we could undo their change, and we were no longer available for the next thousand years. Some of our Guards feeling alienated, others ashamed, yet others fearful, they eventually retreated to cavernous reaches within Canterlot's mountains. Not truly banished, but with no place to truly call their own, what was the point of a Night Guard with no Night Princess to guard? They continued my work as best they could. Ultimately... some fell in love, and my blessing was 'passed down.' For their descendants, this was no longer a transformation, but their natural form. Naturally this scared some ponies. Though those with my blessing were never hunted, disowned, or truly persecuted... they did not marry outside their own numbers for some years however. Many of them came to believe we had been wrongfully imprisoned, and waited for when we'd return, and give the signal to overthrow my 'evil sister'. We had explained to them carefully, much like our cultists, that there would be nothing of the sort, and they all quickly fell in line. And those who were hoping for positions... well, we did need competent staff. Don't give us that look, we did background checks. By then, they came to share the same name as my brother's grim reapers; they too were now called thestrals, also bat-ponies, and nocturnals. There was also Luna's Witnesses, of which Pipsqueak was a junior member. They were my people, my tribe, a herd unto themselves, but with my return, they were thankfully now integrating back into Equestria's larger herd. Some things did not change however, as we still had to deal with Twilight Sparkle's owl, Owlowcious, asking us when we intended take Pipsqueak as our consort. We had to awkwardly "repeat" that would have to wait for a couple more decades, and ultimately would have to be Pipqueak's own choice. Something else important had changed... Celly had ordered all the guards and staff to abandon the Castle of The Two Sisters, and then faced me there a thousand years ago. Her three chosen, and my three chosen had never fought, they had never died in battle. But when they died of old age, they did become the stars to keep me from causing damage beyond the moon until the thousand years had passed. We, I... yes, I am crying... it is... nice to know... that they got to live full lives after all. And there was a friend I had made, Snow Drop, who had seen my night as more than just 'lack of day' much as she saw the winter as more than 'lack of summer'. Sadly, it was not enough to save me, though I'd thought how I'd make her a duchess once I ruled Equestria alone. She also became a major figure to the bat pony tribe. Oh, and apparently, I've now made plans to formally found the Shadowbolts. However, I do not intend them to be a counterpart to the Wonderbolts. Rather than focus on stunt flying, the Shadowbolts would be more of all-around royal task and stunts group. This includes a former Nightmare Moon cultist named Shadow Surprise who still lives to serve her goddess returned (though I've had to explain to her that I and the 'Tyrant Sun' have made peace). I'm looking over recruiting a pegasus whose relation is already applying to the Wonderbolt Academy, another pegasus who seems to have two hearts (not literally), and an earth pony who claimed herself to be 'something of a drill sergeant' but acts more like an more impulsive and tackless version of Pinkie Pie with a focus on music. I sense also, from what I glimpsed in the dream world, two more ponies will be drawn to me when the Crystal Empire returns. I had spent much of my power pushing the events of the curse into the world of sleep, transforming them into harmless dreams, and I would need time to restore my strength. But while I'd seen much that was unseen by most of Equestria, I was not immune to surprises tonight. "Your Nightjesty, Abigail Jacqueline The Fifth of the Fifth Line, Element of Honesty, Savior of Equestria, Protector of Ponyville, Of the Six Defeaters Of Chaos, is here to see you." "Oh? Send her in at once." One of the bright, er, positive sides of the night being so peaceful: I had more time in my schedule to shift around to host unexpected guests than my sister did. I, ahem, we know that Applejack would yell at my Guards for daring to use titles when she herself chaffed under them, but she needed to accept they simply came with the territory. We remember our long night with Applejack well, telling her the truth of her family line, and of the history that the world had long forgotten, including the shocking origin of her own kind and much more. We suggest you read it yourself if you have not yet, it shall prove very enlightening. We would be lying if we said we hadn't formed a stronger bond with her in spite of the some of the dark reveals that she was rightfully upset over. We wondered what Applejack could wish to discuss with us tonight, we knew it had to be exceptionally important to cut into her precious sleep before dawn. We are quite aware that running a farm is not easy. We were about to order for cakes and tea when we saw into Applejack's eyes. I gasped as all other thoughts vanished from my mind. The night itself drew in a breath. The one who stood before me was an Earth Pony, nothing more, nothing less, with her typical braid and favorite hat. A freckled and blond palomino. "Veritas," I whispered. My eyes widened at the sight of her. Her eyes, they looked like the same green eyes she'd always had, except I saw the truth in them, and I do not mean the Well of Forever. I could smell it on her. I sensed the traces of what she'd been. "Princess Luna, Ah want to become an Alicorn." = Shaman King - English Op = I had to admire her for being straight to the point. I glanced around, no guards within my own private chambers, I put up a sound proofing ward and geass to deflect prying crystal balls. Now it was Applejack's turn to tell me a story. One I believe you have heard already. Afterwards I spoke, "Your desire for the plateau will not vanish, Veritas, no more than a caterpillar after it's known what it's like to be a butterfly. Ironically, the truth you possess has helped you keep perspective." "Yeah, Ah figured. And Ah know ya CAN'T just zap a pony into an Alicorn tra-la-la, or ya would've done it a lot more by now." "Well, that makes this slightly less awkward... Applejack, it is my responsibility to offer this. Many ponies have been allowed to let the horrible things that happened with the curse to fade like bad dreams... If it is your desire, I can seal away the memories of being an Alicorn from you. So you need not suffer, and return to the life you had before." "There was no chance of that happenin' the moment Ah chose to not sit on my flank while a city girl was marching straight into Everfree Forest. And Ah don't believe in 'ignorance is bliss!' Ah don't want to forget how tiny Ah am, when Ah know Ah can become somethin' more." "Is that you ultimate decision?" "It's my only decision." "I understand, I will not bring it up again. Applejack, while we both don't believe in falsehoods, I must ask: do you remember the importance of tact, and that some things if spoken out of turn can cause more harm than good?" "Makes me sick to my stomach, guess that's part of havin' the truth be a part of ya, but yeah, Ah know." "Then if you truly wish to go down this path, there is something I must tell you, but you must promise to keep it as a vow of silence." "Ah'll keep it as long as it needs keepin', that's all Ah can give." "You and I are more alike than first impressions would suggest, Applejack. My sister has desired her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle and the ones before her, to ascend to Alicornhood. But if this was told directly to them, they'd either go mad with ambition, or destroy themselves trying to achieve it before they are ready. If this is told to her directly-" "She'll go haywire, trust me, Ah know Twili', Ah'm not stupid. It'll become another 'test' to her, and she'll go nuts tryin' to pass it. Don't have to tell me twice." "That was... rather anti-climatic. No argument at all?" "Ah've learned there's a lot of big stuff to this world, and a lot of it ya gotta take the licks and soldier on through. So, were we included in becomin' goddesses from the start? Or was that somethin' ya had to make due?" These five friends of Twilight are ALL much smarter than they look. "... 'Twilight Sparkle will not outlive her friends', these words were shared with me from the Pool of Truth... which means either she dies before any of you." Applejack shuddered. "You all die at the exact same time together. Or you join her in immortality. I imagine you prefer the third option at this point." "Is Celestia planin' to turn every pony in Equestria into Alicorns?" "She and I have debate long about that. There's a difference between becoming an Alicorn, and a concept. To her credit, she does not wish it all at once, not even within one lifetime, her optimal goal is to have it happen over the course of a thousand years, giving ponies, civilization, and the world, time to adjust." "Ah see... Ah've gotta question, Ah want this. But is it what Twilight wants? Or what the others want?" "Ye would have to ask them that." "Ah see... so what's the schedule for Twili' growin' a pair of wings and gettin' some earth pony muscle on her?" She forgot to mention the seapony gills (yes, they're there, just not obvious), the flutterpony sheen, the changeling flames, and now the echolocation of my nocturnals. "Sister has been grooming Twilight since she met her... but she hopes to have Twilight ascend ... in about one year is what Celestia projects... But whether she manages it in that time or not, is Twilight's own. Personally I think sister is pushing her far too fast. Take one look at Fluttershy and what happened when she gained divine power yet had no idea how to use it responsibly. My family has had enough bad apples as you now know, Applejack." "Looks like Ah've got some catching up to do. Ah'll do it in five years, tops!" "An exclusive tribute of zap apple jam says different." "Yer on!" Well, this was going to be interesting. +++ It was after school. To Rainbow Dash, it felt like she'd waited more than a day to bring up THE topic with Scootaloo. Scootaloo was also struggling how to best word her 'idea' to Rainbow Dash. But time passes on. Pinkie Pie was not about to throw together a triple-decker Cute-Ceañera in one afternoon half-cooked, she was gonna have it be EPIC! So she needed to order supplies and schedule the time at Sugarcube Corner first and send out invitations (Scoots said she'd hoof deliver the invites to her parents when she next saw them). Contrary to popular belief, Rainbow Dash was not a procrastinator, okay maybe she was a little (ironic with her impatience), but she was that good a weather pony, and Mare Do Well had helped get it out of her system. Nonetheless, if there was one thing Rainbow Dash knew how to do besides stunt flying, pranks, Wonderbolt stats, and weather management, it was how to have fun. So Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo flew through the sky like she'd always wanted. She'd done so before and would do it again, but it was still something that made Scootaloo happy. She could fly. "Hey! I told ya we'd have time today, kiddo." "Eh?" "Remember? Last night? Your little midnight cloud sculpting?" "Last night, oh yeah." They raced; Rainbow Dash was lightning, and Scootaloo was a comet. Rainbow Dash could see the younger pegasus’ furious grace, not quite as wild as Rainbow Dash's, not quite as loud, yet not as liquid as Fluttershy, not as comforting. This was a style all her own. "You're really dancing in the clouds there, kiddo." "Huh?! Oh! Sorry, didn't mean it to look girly." "Oy! Who cares about that? Scoots, I've SEEN you dance, even I can tell you rock at it." Scootaloo blushed. "Thanks. But I don't want to cramp your style with something that isn't Rainbow Dash Awesome." Rainbow took hold of the filly, and flew them both above the cloud line, getting them a big view of the sun. But these wings wouldn't melt. "Scootaloo! The sun is what makes Celestia awesome! The moon is what makes Luna awesome! No matter what happens, you've got to be YOUR brand of awesome! Stunt flying is what makes ME awesome, YOU'RE YOU!" 'You're you,' Scootaloo mentally repeated. "If later topping me as the best Wonderbolt to ever live is what YOU want, more power to you! I get to be a legend, and I inspired an even bigger legend! But if there's other stuff ya wanna be, don't just copy me! You'll never get anywhere in life copying somepony else's dreams... Ya gotta have yer own." "Did your mom tell that to you?" "Actually my dad. You should really meet 'im some time." "... What about your mom?" "My mom? We can talk about her later. The point is Scoots, if dancin' isn't what ya wanna do, don’t do it. But don't just ignore it because it doesn't fit yer picture of me. No matter how great it is." Scootaloo giggled, Rainbow Dash was still Rainbow Dash, and she loved her family for it. Family. "Dash, I thought of something. I heard of stuff about changelings who married other ponies were chased down by the Hive. And they'd have to hide and run a lot, a lot more if they found out they had a foal. ... What if that's what happened with me?" Rainbow Dash broke loose and Scootaloo let herself fly on her own power again. Rainbow Dash fell on a cloud and began rolling around laughing before calming down. "Scoots! It really sucks not knowing where they are, but don't start making conspiracy theories!" Rainbow Dash smiled at her. Scootaloo knew this wasn't going to be easy. "Rainbow Dash, we just saved the world from an army of shapeshifting bug ponies who have been hiding among us for a thousand years, is that really that out there?" Rainbow Dash counted off primary feathers with a hoof. "They could have also been ninjas, secret agents who had to change their identity or blow their cover, retired monster hunters who had to relocate after an escaped monster found them, aliens, could have gotten KIDNAPPED by changelings, or had a surprise party planned for you, but got turned into statues by a cockatrice and then sold to dragons." "...But if they did it this way, at least they did it for a good reason...at least they did it to protect me...Isn't that better than them just leaving me alone?" "It's still really out-there, Scoots." "Is it SO out-there that there's no point in checking it out?" Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash locked eyes. "Alright kiddo, you're right, there's no harm in checking it out, and we'll be back where we started if it turns out to be nothing anyway." "You PROMISE to REALLY check it out?" "I promise, I'll really put heart and brains into seeing if you have a changeling in your family tree, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. ... Now with THAT out of the way. There's something big I guess I better show you now back at the house!" "What really? What?" "It's better to show ya than tell ya." And back at their home, Scootaloo looked at the pink, yellow and white forms. It was a ream's worth of paperwork. = You Have To Forgive Yourself - Pony POV Series = "Dash... you filled out all this?" Scootaloo whispered. "Yeah well, I wanna make sure I filled it out all right... but... that's kinda the thing. Scootaloo... if Foal Services finds out before we find your parents... I don't know if I'll be able to keep you here. But... if I'm legally able to take care of you... We won't have to worry about that. And ... maybe it can help me find your mom and dad." "... Dash..." "If I find your parents, or they find you, no, when, I swear Scootaloo... you'll get to stay where you chose to stay, Wonderbolt-to-be's honor." "Dash..." Scootaloo's wings fidgeted. "This is your secret, and one I've helped you keep safe. So I won't do ANYTHING without your okay! I promise. But... I do kinda want Twilight Sparkle to kinda proofread this, only IF I can get her to make a, what's that word? Non-disclosure whatsit, Pinkie Promise first. My mouth-writing isn't exactly the best." "You... me...." Scootaloo's words were bits and pieces in an ocean, swimming towards each other. "I won't do ANYTHING without your okay! I promise! This is... you're so young, cutie mark or not... But this is something you've trusted with me, and I won't betray it. YOU'LL get to choose where you stay, not me, not the system, not... not your parents either if... if that's what you choose." "DASH!" Scootaloo leapt into her trunk, crying, and folded her wings around her. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You're ALREADY FAMILY TO ME! I'm not scared! Not with you there! I"m not scared!" 'Trixie... I get why you did what you did with the whole 'Cobweb' thing. But get why I've done what I've done too. I've made a promise to somepony very important to me.' Rainbow Dash hugged her and folded her wings around Scootaloo too. Tank subtly held up a 'Hooves Up' sign to Rainbow Dash. It didn't make the document official, she still had to sign her name in about six more places... But it felt right to do right now. Still holding Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash signed her name on one of the dotted lines. "Welcome to the family, Scoots." "You're my family TOO, Rainbow Dash! We’ve BEEN family this whole time!" "Thanks, Squirt. Enjoy yer early Cute-Ceañera gift. Ya got nothin' to be scared of now." Then Scootaloo awkwardly remembered there was something else she needed to share. "By the way... Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and Button Mash all found out." "WHAT?! When?!" Rainbow Dash's face would have made Pinkie Pie proud. "Kinda happened during that shared dream? Don't worry! They all Pinkie Promised not to tell anypony!!!" "... Oy! HEH! Why not?" Rainbow Dash nuzzled her. "Don't worry, I'm not Applejack. I'm Loyalty, not Honesty. I won't tell any of my friends without telling you first. Promise." "I know you won't Dash... we're family after all." "Yeah, Scoots... we're family." +++ = Opening Full - My Little Pony G3 = It was getting late in the evening... but Apple Bloom had to see it. Yep, Pinkie Pie's public park outside of Ponyville that before had been an empty field two years ago was still the relocated replica Ponyville of the Lost Age created by Fluttershy when she was a Nightmare. Alone, Apple Bloom strolled through the bright pink houses and heart-shaped windows, and one imitation dress store shaped like a hoof-bag. She didn't feel afraid, and this place didn't feel wrong, creepy, corrupting, or even outdated. If anything, it felt nostalgic. A nice place to visit. She was impressed at how well the place was holding up, but there was no sign of Nightmare Whisper's shell puppets. She was surprised to see Zecora here, sitting underneath a pound side gazebo on a chair, drinking one of the strange zebra concoctions she was known for. Upon the elegant white table in front of her, sat two stacks of paper. She was marking things out and in with a pen. She had an amused if daunted smile on her face. Apple Bloom trotted up to her. "Hey, Zecora!" "Hello my little friend, I did not expect to find you at the day's end." "Well, Ah just felt like checking out Pinkie Pie's park some. Ya know, just cause?" "I do indeed, it is a curiosity worthy of heed." "So... what'cha doin'?" Zecora smirked. "Enjoy myself first, but also doing what is a blessing and curse." Zecora nudged the sheet of paper she was working on towards the filly. Apple Bloom had to stand up on her rear hoofs to get a peak at what it said. It looked like a list of places that had been, or were scheduled for 'excavation'. Where to dig, what symbols should be avoided, and how to handle them if found. (The one that was one dot in the middle with three lines going out from it getting wider as they did had a LOT of red writing around it). "The most annoying part I shall admit, is when they confuse a special computer chip for a bit, And in the name of my loyalty, I had to reveal that the Nutcracker Prince was in fact not royalty. And that cellphones, Are not toy scones. And VCR, was not a movie star." "Huh? Zecora, what does this all mean?" "I believe you know it very well, things remembered before the first bell. The world and us, we are a previous retool, each one a precious jewel. I have been a teacher, another cryptic wisdom did I feature. But all are whole, all the same soul." Apple Bloom's head was spinning, she had a feeling this was one of the things she'd known when she'd put the world back together, but she couldn't reach it right now. It was actually better she didn't remember every detail of everything she'd known while she'd had the quills in her hoof, or she might now not have any space in her brain for anything new. But it did make her think of Toola-Roola. "Not to throw things out of joint, but I wish to pursue another point. I find something strange, for I know I am not deranged. "I am also certain for Parabola's sake, that I am very much awake! "Before me I most definitely see, A gift I've given to you from me. "T'was a dream or nightmare it seems, But my ring on your ear now gleams." Zecora turned her head, showing the missing earring that was now on Apple Bloom's eyes. Apple Bloom was at a loss for words. "It was in that dream I gave you my heartfelt gift, but between waking and dreams things do not shift." Apple Bloom struggled for what to say, what she could say, what she should say. Zecora gave her a wink, and kissed her on the forehead. "You have saved us all from gloom and doom, thank you, thank you, Apple Bloom." Apple Bloom blushed. "Ah... yer welcome." +++ "Tis a jest, is it not, sister? A hooffull of foals saved the world. Yet almost none shall know of their feat." "I won't say it's better for them this way Lulu, but everypony everywhere has worked hard to recover from Discord's cruelty, we won't give him the satisfaction of seeing a year of hard work reduced to nothing." "Do we then bury their deeds simply to spite a villain?" "No. It is so everypony can go on with their lives. Including Apple Bloom and her friends. Twists to reality, things that should not have happened, and now thanks to you, exist only as bad dreams, rather than even as ghosts of nothingness. Fading with the dawn. Ponies will choose for themselves whether to remember them or not. And we have wiped away even some of the horrors that had crept in before. That is victory enough. Besides... we are not forbidding them to tell anypony... nor anypony else... if they decide to share such things, it'll be their choice. Do not mistake this for me embracing 'ignorance is bliss' Luna." "Never, sister. I promise. Still, when we next find an excuse to award them, we shall, if we cannot publicly reward them now as we have their sisters." "I know, Luna, I know. Still, good deeds should be their own reward." +++ If Apple Bloom had arrived a little earlier, she'd have seen Glitter Glide enter one of the houses that seemed a bit bigger on the inside than outside. After the place had been built, Glitter Glide engaged in a verbal 'labor contract' where she'd be given free rent and utilities of the place, in exchange for hosting visitors to the best of her ability and to keep her part of the park in tip top shape. It wasn't a wonderland where everything was taken care of for you or the fastest way to get something was to simply wish for it... It was real work to keep her spot up to snuff on top of her job at the hospital but... it was a life, it was meaning, and it made her happy. It also made happy her two dozen-ish neighbors who had also taken up Pinkie Pie's offer, a public park didn't sustain itself after all, there happened to be some ponies who, as luck would have it, were more than happy to be live-in staff It was like the public park was built for them. After Apple Bloom had left with a hug... Zecora left the gazebo that felt just so right to her. There was no cave nearby that served as a private home and study, but Zecora already lived outside of town. "Thank you so much my little Apple Bloom, for letting old friendships have room," Zecora whispered. Zecora trotted into a house that was labeled with a variance of Pinkie Pie's symbol. 'Pinkie Pie's House' nominally, but of course the mare didn't sleep or work here, she had a job and a home at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie trusted the 'residents' to keep the place in order. Within, Zecora had many friends with whom, she strongly suspected, she had a lot to catch up on. She'd go back to her hut later that evening, she had medicines to brew, plants to gather, and alchemy to practice. Twilight Sparkle had been both right and wrong. Zecora was no witch, but her talents were more than mere parlor tricks or potions that anypony could use. Still, she preferred not to use the word 'voodoo' for her magic. "Hello to my old friends, The world has made amends." Though I and many have been reborn, Tis heart that matters, not skin worn." But for now, right now, she could make time for some old friends, and welcome them home. "Nice to have you here too... Kimono," said Daffidazey. = Good Night (Take 2) [Good Ending] - Gimmick! = ~Fin (For Now) > Sidestory optional-canon "Cardinal" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Optional Canon "Balance" "There you go detective!" The muscular pegasus stallion with the red cape hoofed Prof. Mole Arty to the police, three minutes after the crime was committed. "Uh, thank you Super Stallion," Said Sure-Locked Homes. Logically he should have been overjoyed, this allowed him to focus on other cases... but he couldn't help but have an irrational feeling that something was amiss. - "And that makes seven," sighed the giant gray dragon. Having just incinerated the latest neophyte hero to face him who had stepped out of his humble elven village to find the giant dragon. Nothing of value on them except a few copper pieces and a short sword. On the other side of the continent, a small band of kobolds screamed in terror and confusion as instead of a band of adventurers, they found a army of heavily armed knights led by a warrior wielding a sword bigger than himself. - King Sombra emerged from the wind and snow, an ominous black mass of smoke and shadow. Only to be obliterated in two minutes by a small army of Alicorns wielding the Elements of Harmony. Never finding redemption, never finding Radiant Hope again, Spike never becoming the Empire's hero, giving him the inner comfort of one place that would always be loved and recognized. And never would Spike have the weight to vouch for one runaway changeling wanting to change sides. And a Twilight Sparkle that never learned to put the greater good ahead of her lessons. Nor the Crystal Ponies would accept Cadence as their new ruler. Sunburst remaining a faceless nobody with Cadence having no reason to assimilate into Crystal Empire culture and thus no reason to give her baby a Crystaling. So Sunburst and Starlight's friendship would remain an awkward corpse. There would be no Thorax in a position to flee to get help from Ponyville. And on and on and on. - Rota Fortuna, idea of Fate and Free Will, felt her insides bite at her. Things were not right. Such happenstances of unfairness were the way of life, but there was supposed to be an order to these things. There was supposed to be a balance. These were short term fulfillments of excess power, at the cost of long term growth. All of these twisting of her body, all in the name of excess power. The scales bent totally to one side, falling over from the surplus weight. There would be no growth if failure or success were all a soul faced in the life of change that determined their shape and form in the eternal life that followed. Whether saints or monsters, growth was needed. Rota Fortuna sighed. "This isn't like when Anarchy's revolutions fail, or when Strife's strongest destroy each other leaving the meek to rule. This is sickness. Possibility's raods should not be distorted all in the name of excess power... It's okay Rota Fortuna... it's for the greater good... you can do this... you can endure this... Discord isn't doing this to you this time... it's a good thing... he isn't here. Lay back and think of the universe. Just breathe, release, and let it happen." Rota moved her mechanical wing and, with the tip of HER metal feathers, stabbed herself in the chest. Blood fell from the wound. The blood condensed and congealed, taking form, becoming an idea, a thought, a reason, a messenger, a piece of herself. A small shockwave went through the cosmos, backward and forwards. Now sitting before Rota Fortuna was a pegasus foal, dressed in red with gold trim with a similar wool cap and poncho. Their fur was as pale as paper, their wings red like blood, their black mane in a long braid. Their cutie mark was a ringed castle. Rota reached down and nuzzled the foal. The foal opened their pale blue eyes, and looked up at the idea of fate and free will itself. The calm the foal gave off was like winter snow. In their eyes, was knowing. "Welcome to creation, my new one. Your name will be Cardinal." "Yes Creator Fate," The new idea bowed their head. "Do you understand yourself? What you are? What in creation you bring about?" Fate asked carefully. "I serve the balance." "What balance?" "Not the balance of good and evil, nor the balance of order and chaos. I serve the balance of growth. I seek to bring balance to ordeals. So those who seek to overturn the world with excess power, will find instead find a mountain worth of them." "Must everything be perfectly balanced? Must everything be perfectly set to an exact ratio of challenge and effort?" "No. That would make growth itself meaningless. I will protect the key points of you, creator, from being trivialized, which minimizes growth, and stunts growth of future ordeals." "Must balance be a frozen constant?" "No. Ordeals rise and fall with the tides, but a flood or a desert is meaningless. Growth should encourage growth, not discourage it." "... Do you consider me excess power, Cardinal?" "No I don't, creator." "Why not my Cardinal? Who has more power than me?" She whispered to her new one. "... What you have isn't power, it's duty. What you have isn't might, it's responsibility. I see you are a not a ruler, except of yourself. You brute force nothing, Creator." Rota Fortuna hugged their new messenger with her neck and her feathered wing. "You are my creation, my messenger, my Cardinal... " From the blood, a part of Cardinal as much as their own wings, formed a book, within it diagrams that defied mortal logic, links connecting to events in infinitely complex maps from the pasts to the futures. "I present you a gift my dear, let this book help you keep record, to keep excess power from becoming a cancer, and preventing balance itself from strangling growth." "I will do as you have made for Creator." Cardinal picked up the book with one wing. "I know you'll make mommy proud. But first... let's introduce you to your family, and fellow angels. You have a lot of growing up to do." - Countless overpowered mortal Alicorns (and overpowered dark overlords) across creation cursed and snarled in bewilderment and shock, as the possibility they could actually lose opposed to simply having to work a little bit harder to crush their opposite numbers entered creation. Suddenly everything and anything, from the random barmaid who winked at the chosen one up to having his physical body destroyed by the heroes, was not inherently part of the evil overlord's plan, the heroes' actions could actually affect things. And other heroes meanwhile, found their enemies could actually win. And this uncertainty, inspired growth. > Brightglowing Dream! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings, my little ponies. I am Princess Celestia, and I will be recounting today's tale to you. Please, make yourself comfortable and forgive me for being so formal. There are parts of this tale that you are most assuredly better off NOT knowing, but I feel you have a right to know. I’ve asked Luna to arrange this chat within your dreams, where your heart will decide what to remember. Recently, the world as you know it suffered a pair of grand rewrites. The first twisted the world into a mishmash parody of every bleak, vile, and horror for horror's sake idea and worldline in existence. I am surprised spell-bombs were not dropping at the end, but I suppose there's no futile struggle in being vaporized or melted by unspeakable weapons. Maybe they'd intended it for 'Act II?' The second grand rewrite was placed in the hooves of a filly who had seen the worst side of the darkness, and had been told how effortless solutions led to an empty world. She remade the world as best she could, not only repairing the damage, but removing the 'meaningless suffering for meaningless suffering's sake' that Tragedy had infected the world with before. There were still tragedies that Apple Bloom could not undo without completely unmaking the world she herself knew, but she'd done her best to undo pain that was there just so the world could shout, 'See?! Take me seriously!' With so many tragedies to deal with, it was far too easy to have some slip through the cracks, forgotten, even though some of them were not merely 'unfair', but outright cruel in ways that defied all logic. But with the world in a liquid state for that precious moment stretched out to forever, those aware of what was happening, with a strong heart and pure desire, were able to petition reality for this one and only time. And there were two souls who had originally been part of a whole, souls with memories from before they were born, determined to challenge a cruelty that truly flew in the face of all reason. An absurdity that was there for suffering's sake. Sweetie Belle and Princess Cadence both dreamed. At Rainbow Falls, and in Carousel Boutique, both ponies dreamed memories they had never lived, but felt like they belonged to them all the same. Brightglow the Pegasus, legendary for her unique ability to illuminate herself like a nightlight. Born in the Age of Wonders. Three of her fellow concepts of reality had chosen to appear as avatars, 'imaginary friends' who would help her understand her special magic but never interfere directly in her life. You’ll probably find this difficult to believe, but the Pegasi of this era believed that nothing lay below the cloud layer, that it was either a vast nothingness, or just a barren wasteland. When the ‘stars below’ began to appear, in truth the lights of growing Earth Pony cities, Pegasi took this as more proof that the world below was like the heavens high above, beautiful but empty, just oddly colored clouds incapable of supporting life. How did Pegasi support themselves if they never touched the ground, and yet were overtly dependant on Earth Ponies during the age of the three tribes? In case you forgot my little pony, MUCH was lost after the disaster... including farming techniques in the sky that have yet to be rediscovered or recovered. As Earth Pony technology advanced, stories of metal monsters piercing the clouds began to crop up, but as the tribes had settled in separate areas of the world, they did not overlap enough to trigger first contact. Even I don't know why exactly the tribes separated and grew ignorant of each other following the war of the witches. Never mind humans, minotaurs, and countless other races who were still in the world before Discord's rampage. It should not have happened. It made no sense, but it happened anyway. My only guess is one of the witches left a final farewell curse ... or the various tribes decided to separate and hyper refine their magics in case the witches 'ever rose again' with an intent to meet again... only to become fixated on this, and forgetting even the reason they'd done so. All in all, Patch discovering Paradise Estate was a gift, as it allowed the five tribes to be reunited on peaceful terms. As they advanced, the tribes learning of each other again was an inevitability. It would have been a disaster if the Pegasi had attacked one of these 'metal monsters' that had violated their territory. Contrary to the popular beliefs of some, the other tribes had NOT been sitting on their flanks while Earth Ponies advanced. While Earth Ponies nearly lost the ability to recognize their own magic, the other tribes refined theirs to levels that even now Equestria is only beginning to finally catch up with. These were not childish parlor tricks, tsunamis and hurricanes that could obliterate target cities were well within their reach. I don't know if the ruling bodies of the various tribes were actively keeping their people ignorant... but I doubt it. There was far too much wealth to be had at trading with one another, for those with power to waste wealth on keeping their peoples ignorant of each other. ... I just realized it, rather amusingly, Patch had ensured the reunification of the pony tribes had happened in the best possible way... she'd patched them back together... she'd used her special talent in a way even she'd never realized. Brightglow defied what was considered common sense and tradition and law for her day and age, and ventured beyond the cloud layer. And so the UFO reports started in Ponyland, in particular Ponyville. Her imaginary friends were with her, and together they saved two wingless ponies from being eaten by sharks: the Bon Bon of the Age of Wonders, and Patch. But her imaginary friends had overstepped their bounds. Brightglow should have saved the pair on her own, not had the others do the saving for her. They were banned from being with her again. Worse, Brightglow’s impossible tale of ponies without wings below the cloud layer combined with her imaginary friends got her parents to put her in a mental ward until she was nearly convinced she'd imagined it all, and nothing changed when the tribes were revealed to each other. Brightglow was simply KEPT THERE ... maybe the doctors were afraid of being sued? Or some other nonsense? She wasn't released until the day the Wish Spell was cast. The world split in two paths, one where the spell worked, and Brightglow in the new world became Sweetie Belle. And in the other, where the world was destroyed, and Brightglow blamed herself for sparking Patch's wanderlust and causing the discovery of Paradise Estate, and Brightglow was ashamed and believed Patch would blame her for the end of the world. So she became as Patch's unseen guardian angel ever since a self styled sultan Film Critique captured her. Yes, I know you read all this before my little pony, but so much has happened since then I felt a recount was in order. In the thousands of years that civilization existed, and the millions of years life existed, adding small kindnesses and undoing one life's cruelty had no grand cosmic meaning, but for these ponies who lived those lives, there was plenty of meaning to be found! Nopony remembers the names of my family during the Age of the Three Tribes' great blizzard, or even the name of my village where I was born when I was sentenced to experience the suffering my bullheadedness had brought to your world. We weren't recorded in any records or history books, we were just among the many faceless ponies who died because of the Windigos. I bitterly refused to accept Patch and Brightglow's help. I died cursing the one who'd brought this upon us, and thus I unwittingly cursed myself. That is a sin I am so grateful that no other Celestia has to bear. It's naive and stupid to think that is somehow my only sin, my own burden. I'll never understand why tabloid writers and revisionists are so fixated on INVENTING failures and selfish acts of mine, when I already had so many. Luna, Sunset, Cadence, the king of another world who was as wonderful as this world's version of him was terrible... I failed them. Then again, perhaps I do understand the muck rackers' need to create tales of 'Molestia' and 'Tyrant-lestia': 'Celestia who couldn't see her own sister was slowly losing her mind' isn't as catchy, and isn't much of a villain to rise up against. Listen to me, selfishly rambling about my own burdens, when I'm supposed to be speaking of Brightglow's. Forgive me. My point is, regardless of how inconsequential a pony's life might seem, it's usually quite important to them! And while their brains could not remember what they experienced before they were conceived, Sweetie Belle and Cadence's souls did. And they made that one two punch to let reality know that if things were up in the air, they were not about to let such mindlessly meaningless misery for misery's sake go unopposed. And so... fate changed... both greatly and practically not at all... this paradox stubbornly refused to surrender, and the universe as it was being rebuilt was made to accept it. Fate has always despised paradoxes, but here, for once, she allowed it, if only because one little filly at the time had command over all causality. The changes, as I said, were very grand, and yet not that grand at all. It broke some rules, but all rules were suspended when the changes were made, so it was a loophole abuse that only in this moment stretched to infinity that Fate would allow it. Brightglow... was not the only one of her kind. The 'Glow and Show' ponies became a magic based mutation that appeared in her family tree. Thankfully unlike in the comic books, pegasi were not paranoid lunatics about somepony who was born slightly different. The Glows now had a larger family. Starglow and Happyglow and... the shockingly born Alicorn Dazzleglow. This was the new truth of things, and reality had to run with it. Thankfully, Apple Bloom in that infinite moment was still there to help avoid the worst case scenarios. No secret government vivisections, mutilations to protect the status quo, or conscripted death squad mutants here. This didn't stop pegasi from wondering if her mother had been impregnated by aliens, but testing later proved she was her parents' foal, and the previously thought of 'junk traits' was in fact traits of the other tribes. No pony knew how these traits had no awakened before her. Dazzleglow's birth easily overshadowed those of her siblings, including Brightglow. She effectively shattered modern Pegasus preconceptions of what was and what wasn't overnight! This made their integrations much easier. Contrary to anything any new history books say, Dazzleglow was NOT a princess! She was a pony. This suited Brightglow just fine, preferring the freedom of being 'just' a Glow and Show pony. Dazzleglow had to suffer the trouble of being a celebrity, and having powers with no pony to teach her how to use them.This made the reunion with the unicorns a precious gift to her. Some storytellers suggest she eventually settled down and married a Zebra, but I seriously doubt that one, as the dates simply do not match up. Though I do believe she found a way to kill herself, excuse me, I mean remove her immortality and die of old age, sorry. When you have forever before you, finite years become like the blink of an eye. She may have waited until I and Lulu were born, but that was not something recorded. She had quite the cult following after the disaster, others rightfully guessing she was more than a mishmash of the different tribes. I might have her to thank for the cultural ground work for various churches built in my honor. The four of them weren't born with their stars and heart pattern coats... they were seen as simply unique ... pegasi tease for weakness, not for the crime of being different. But in this revision of the world, they were not born with their bioluminescence my little pony. So how did they becomes the 'Glow and Show' ponies, as they were dubbed by the pegasus news groups? They were the first ponies outside of Paradise Estate to speak to the stars in a thousand years. The stars understand ponies as well as we understand them. Every star is unique, but every constellation is its own entity, as is every galaxy. Hard to understand? It is hard for them to understand that herds are not collective beings. They didn't even realize what they were doing, it was an instinct buried deep within them that had found its way to surface, maybe the stars simply FELT like listening that day, or maybe Dazzleglow and her herdmates had a collective magic surge that got the stars' attention. But whatever the cause, they'd been skipping jump rope while singing. "Milky Way, Milky Way start on your way," Happyglow sang first. Then Brightglow sang. "Please be so kind as to visit us today." While stars and even some constellations can visit ponies, the Milky Way itself could not set hoof within itself... so it did the next best thing, and allowed these four ponies it saw as a constellation of ponies the light of the stars ... And Happyglow and Brightglow shined with their starcoat patterns. Without even thinking about it, Dazzleglow and Starglow sang next. It was as natural as breathing. "Big Dipper, Little Dipper, visit us too, so we can have stars, just like you!" Why yes... one of the other names for the Big Dipper and Little Dipper is Big Bear and Little Bear... I see your eyes widening... I see the realization in yours eyes. Yes, stars are very unpredictable, but never malevolent. But as they sang, they too began to shine like stars and with a new heart and stars pattern coat that felt as natural and as true to themselves as their cutie marks! And a meteor shower, or rather star shower that hadn't been on any charts happened then and there, lighting up all of Ponyland, above and below and beyond with starlight. Their cutie marks? How astute of you to take note that as ponies they would have those! What were the cutie marks of these gods in pony form, destined to live and die? Happyglow's was a trio of blue pointed party hats... yes, Happyglow was a party pony. Theirs is a profession thousands of years old, though it has vanished and reappeared in the world more than once. Starglow... is an interesting case. There is actually a second story about her in particular on how she became what she was. Her cutie mark, was an abstract yellow piano, with a stool, a three piece candle stick, and a crescent moon. Was she a pianist? Technically speaking, but her talent went beyond that. She could actually HEAR the stars' music! Something even Dazzleglow couldn't hear! As this version of the tale goes, as a naive filly, she flew up to visit with the stars and ask them to show her how to play the tune she heard. Then supposedly the stars asked her to teach them how to fly so they might fly down and visit her. The tale goes she played the tune they taught her the next night, and the stars came down to visit her. The stars laughed, saying "You sound like us! You should look like us, too. We'll make you glow in the dark." And they transformed her into the first of the Glow and Show ponies. Clearly these versions contradict each other, and both can't be 100% true; sadly I don't know the complete story myself. And I know stars had visited the Paradise ponies before that. But I do know Starglow's talent was indeed playing music she heard from the stars. Nursery rhymes, lullabies, the most uniting of romantic pieces. She truly did know how to play the music of the heavens. Personally, I have a theory, if we accepted both stories as partially true, which is hardly necessarily the case: that perhaps Starglow transformed first, and taught her friends the very song they used that lead to the rest changing together that very night. You will have to decide the truth for yourself my little pony. The stars? Save for the Ursas and those like them, they became too scared after Discord's rampage to return... They did see Discord slay their goddess after all... poor Galaxia, my sister. Do not be tremble so, my little pony, Galaxia's spirit isn't gone, otherwise the stars themselves would have never existed. Maybe one day the stars will come back and speak with ponies, just like it happened long ago. Brightglow? Oh yes, her cutie mark was two white doves touching beak to beak with their wings outstretched... her special talent was being a peacemaker. More than that, she helped others FIND peace. That is a talent that all incarnations of her have kept. And finally, Dazzleglow, the Alicorn, the natural show stealer. What was her great cutie mark? What was the symbol that defined her destiny? Heh... three normal ordinary umbrellas. Yes you heard me right, three yellow umbrellas. Let me get that jaw for you my little pony. After she began to gain... followers, many ponies argued that her cutie mark symbolized meteor showers, that her magic was based on shooting stars! ... Dazzleglow, the alicorn, tried to correct them several times that her talent was weather magic, something rather 'unexceptional' for a pegasus some would say, or rather, the ignorant and the superficial would say, those who think every pegasus can do weather magic with expert precision. But ponies WANTED her special talent to be related to shooting stars, so that is what they said. Of course, all this meant that Brightglow was never trapped in a mental hospital for her beliefs and experiences. It also meant when the tribes were reunited, Patch and Brightglow actually got to spend some happy years together. Happyglow actually worked WITH Surprise on an occasion or two seeing her as a fountain of knowledge as perhaps the first party pony, and actually got to know her, she did not share Surprise and Patch's passion for pranks however. Starglow worked with Melody -once-, their musical styles... did not exactly compliment each other. Ironically Medley got along with both of them. She tried to work with the Dazzlings, they managed to produce a few works, they actually complimented each other's talents brilliantly, but they wanted glitter and glamor for their presentation, while Starglow did... not. This surprised Aria given Starglow's 'glittery' appearance. Dazzleglow was made an ambassador to the others tribes, and she didn't like it at all, she had no political experience, she made so only because she had 'a horn sticking out of her head like them'. She stepped down as soon as she could and went back to weather work, and was happy to coordinate with Earth Pony farmers, and became on good term with the Meadowsweet family, Teddy's cousin, remember? Bright Eyes and Moki couldn't resist being the ones to introduce REAL 'flying ponies' to Moki's father. The Sunbright family of Tropical Island were a wake up call to the other tribes, as they found out that the others tribes DIDN'T have a single culture (just like themselves). Patch and Brightglow were still separated when the Disaster happened. But Brightglow went on her own quest to find Patch, similar to Patch's quest to find Starlight, but Patch was still alive. The two joining up when Brightglow found her, but Brightglow still being the one who broke the shard of the Rainbow of Light's hold on her, saving her from Film Critique. Starglow and Happyglow chose to stay with Dazzleglow when Brightglow went on her quest. They died of old age, decades later, part of Dazzleglow's 'cult' that had done a surprisingly good job of keeping a fraction of pegasus culture in one piece. She also had to deal with paranoids who blamed ALL magic for what happened and wanted it all destroyed and to disappear forever, thinking this would (ironically) magically undo all the damage done by the Disaster. Which sadly laid the foundations for the Age of the Three Tribes. Dazzleglow was happy to have Brightglow for those extra thousand years, even if she almost never visited, the Paradise Ponies would return Brightglow's body to her after her quest was complete. Dazzleglow never attentioned her divine memories, or divine power, her power remained at the level Cadence had before she became one with her previous selves. Equestria as it is today, didn't really change that much from the additions of a glowing Alicorn, two more glowing pegasi, and a glowing pegasus not having to endure years of being a prisoner of an asylum. Patch and Brightglow still completed their quest, most of the secrets of the Age of Wonders still need to be recovered piece by piece the hard way, my sister and I are still remembered as the first pony Alicorns, with others before us being only rumors, myths and legends... but for Sweetie and Cadence in their heart of hearts ... it meant the world. And for Brightglow's friends, parents, sisters... it was simply wonderful. + Both Sweetie and Cadence awoke from their slumber, not sure what had happened, but having the strangest sense that some great wrong had now been righted. Neither of them saw the ghost of a faded orange Earth Pony mare with a patch cutie mark as she faded back into the realm of the dead, her moment from that one infinite moment spent. Neither of them 'heard' her, but both felt a sense of comfort of a lifetime friend that they didn't understand, maybe didn't need to. 'Have a great life Brightglow, don't worry, it'll be just a moment for me, I'll be waiting for whenever yer done. Good luck, and be happy, may this world be grander than the one that came before it! Heh! But seriously, you'll do great! Both of you.' > Pony POV Diamond Tiara > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This chapter is dedicated to Kendell2, my dear true friend. -- How can I always have company, but still feel lonely? 'I don't understand either, my princess. After all, I've always found myself to be fantastic company.' You are such a liar 'father'. - I clawed my way through of the red crystal's portal. The faux fairy land of smoke and shadows fell away, replaced with the uncaring winds of the Crystal Tundra. The Umbrum couldn't follow, but I still heard them, ‘Rabia’ in particular. A combination of cursing that I'd gotten away, and jeering at me to come back and try again. I heard my 'father' say, 'I told you it wouldn’t work.' I didn't dignify that with an answer. I’d tried to fight fate, but I'd forgotten, I wasn't one of the heroes, so unlike them I didn't get to heroically defy the forces of destiny. I'd gone to the prison of what should be Nyarlathotrot's last surviving Equestrian avatar... I'd tried to just destroy the red crystal that was one of only two portals into their pocket realm, but it just absorbed my magic, and 'father' said using his magic here didn't exactly have a successful track record. So I'd gone inside. 'Father' objected, I ignored him. If I couldn't stop Sombra without hoofing Equestria to the Cursed Changelings, at least I could keep his rancid family from causing more trouble than Equestria needed. I'd bring the entire place down around their ears, I'd bury us all. That would be the end of it. Except... my magic seemed to actually feed these ponies of smoke and shadow, making them stronger. And the unicorn who was with them, her healing magic... it was like being stabbed with a hot poker. Ugh, didn't she use her magic to heal SOMBRA? She was so powerful, she could have become the goddess of healing if she'd wanted. I bet she could defy Death himself and rebuild a pony's body at the point of dying if she was backed into a corner. "You're being used," I tried telling her. "They don't care about you. You're just their backup plan in case Sombra fails." "Yes, I'll be there to pick him up if he falls. I won't fail him again!" She'd been living with them for a thousand years. Why would she believe a random Nightmare? Her magic pierced my barriers like they were paper. I think being the only crystal pony 'alive', the Crystal Heart, wherever it was, might have been channeling all its magic through her. Or maybe I'm just making excuses for myself. "Don't worry little filly! I'll fix you!" Still, I didn't think about retreating. 'Father' kept screaming at me to run for it, I ignored him. I thought I'd go down having finally defied fate. Then Rabia whispered in my ears, too low for the crystal unicorn to hear. Thank goodness ‘Umbra Breeze’ loved to explain his evil plans to his 'peers', and the few remaining masks inherited that. "After Radiant Hope blasts you apart to rebuild you... we're going to feed on all that delicious despair inside you! We'll be so powerful, well, you know the rest. Or just blow yourself up now, and the rune will have us born again in no time. We’ll have our feast either way!" Turning to shadow didn't work so well when your enemies are already shadows. They clawed and bit at me as I tried to escape... and finally pulled myself out of the portal again. Their weakened Breezie forms may have fooled Radiant Hope, but their claws were sharp and brutal enough. I fell to the ground, making an imprint in the snow, becoming solid again, feeling pain, but really caring. I lay there still as a corpse as 'father's' shadow rose up and covered me, protecting me, while my own magic healed me. Radiant Hope's magic had been able to heal Sombra... and it still hurt me. There is no escape from what I've become. Wish I could I say the cold didn't bother me. - Zephyr Breeze woke in the middle of the night with me hovering over him. Before he could scream and wet the bed, my horn glowed white, and so did his eyes. It was a rudimentary charm, but it would do. Resisting mind control requires a strong will, imagination, and focus, and a lazy parasite has none of those things. His expression went completely slack. “Uhhh..." I plucked out one of my own feathers, twirling it before him in the cold and empty light of my magic. "You will obey my instructions. You won’t remember that I charmed you. Until your strange dreams of living your life in reverse stop, when you dream of your parents making love', you will keep my feather near you at all times, no further than one hundred yards away. Do you understand?" "Sure thing, princess..." Zephyr droned. “I will do all that stuff you said… and, uhhh… could you tell me again?” I twitched, resisting the urge to hoof him in the face. "You know what? Forget it. Just hold still and be quiet." "Huhhhh?" I jammed my feather into his wing. No one would notice it, and it would fade away once its purpose was done. Zephyr Breeze mimed yelling and yelping without making a sound. "Forget everything that just happened,” I hissed. “Go back to sleep!" Zephyr Breeze didn’t have any trouble with those orders… he was sawing logs before his head hit the pillow. Eventually, the Blank Wolf came, still very young but bigger than before. It looked around, confused and bewildered, sniffing all over the bedsheets and even patting right on top of the sleeping stallion without noticing a thing. The Wolf growled faintly, then vanished back into the shadows, and so did I. - I snuck back into Canterlot Castle. As long as I avoided direct eye contact with anypony, I was safe. I wasn't invisible, just unnoticed. I trotted through the barriers and wards like I wasn't there. Even if I wanted, I wasn't insane enough to try and enter the vault where the Elements of Harmony were. My foreleg and rear-legs still felt stiff from the last time I'd been on the receiving end of that power... Without Twilight Sparkle and her friends, they're just jewelry? Yes, and no. They’re awake, bonded to the Bearers who woke them. That’s enough. I wasn't about to test it. Besides, 'Father' didn't want to share how he'd pulled off stealing the Elements the first time. This is where I'd have felt flustered. "Do you want an anti-climax for your 'last show?' I can feel how terrified you are of being a peaceful statue again. And I know you'd hate a glorified reset. Or do you want me to get turned to stone again? First Cadenza, then Gaea Everfree. Third time's the charm?" 'Don't worry, my dear. We'll both get what we want.' "Pinkie Promise?" He didn't respond. I returned to the world mirror, the same one that Sunset Shimmer used once, and would again. It wouldn’t open naturally for another year, so it sat in a storage room for magical artifacts, inspected by the Royal Guards every few days, if that often. Few ponies alive today remembered that there had ever been such a thing as a security camera. Nor did Princess Celestia suspect that Sunset would be able to disable the security wards from her side of the mirror. There was also the fact that Celestia hoped against hope that Sunset had reformed since she had gone, and would return to be with her mother again. 'Father' had taught me how Celestia's feelings for her family always did blur her judgement. I touched my hoof to the glass, letting 'father' use his magic to pry it open. The gate moaned, and 'father' literally ripped a hole in time and space where the 'wall' was weakest. 'You know, my dear, recklessly opening portals like this could eventually cause all sorts of fascinating chaotic mishaps, like random catastrophic memory loss for a random future traveler coming from their native Earth to Equus.' "That's rather precise." 'It is. Would you like some red herring?' "No. And I'm the villain remember? What do I care?" - A chill in the air woke Silver Spoon from her dreams. In her half asleep state, she thought she saw a winged shadow dance along her wall. 'Don't be just her lackey,’ whispered a voice. ‘Be what she needs. Be her FRIEND who can say NO to her when she needs to hear it.' Silver fumbled for her bedside lamp, hands groping in the dark, feet getting tangled in the sheets, but when the light came on, no ghost or burglar was revealed, only her bedroom. She must have imagined it. But if she had, then where had the necklace on her bedside table come from? It was identical to one Diamond Tiara had, one that didn’t really suit her, but would look perfect on Silver herself. Diamond Tiara had so many trinkets, what would she notice if Silver Spoon borrowed one without asking? That's what Silver Spoon had been building herself up to at least. But this necklace looked brand new. There was a note on the jewelry: 'Now you can share instead of take.' - I stalked away from Silver Spoon’s house, ignoring the chilly night air. The cold bothered me here too, even though I couldn’t feel it. Or maybe it bothered me because I couldn’t feel it. 'Oh yes, getting an alternate version of your best friend jewelry she really wanted is so evil.' "With gold bits I stole." 'From your allowance bank account.' "You're the one who opened my eyes to what I am remember?" 'Yes... I know.' "Are you saying I was a mistake? I knew that the moment I became a Nightmare. I've always been self-centered misery. Besides, I'm a Nightmare, of course my actions are utterly insane. Shouldn't that please you? Whatever. I'm used to disappointing family." 'You've come a long way from that scared and confused little bully I convinced to stab the mare who'd shown her generosity, and whom I made eat the insides of a timber wolf after sleeping under leaves for months. Quite an adventure we had, didn't we? Your nightmare of being in Tartarus, seeing my memories of... of Shady, almost getting caught by that insane doll maker, meeting Fancy Pants, getting past those guards and crazy butler, me clawing one of those meddling spirits, making friends with that filly... While I helped you along to my statue, it was your own cunning and determination that led you to the finish line.' "If both of us had just sat on our flanks and done nothing, the Heart World would have brought about what we wanted anyway. Everything we did was a complete and utter waste. Nothing in this world is better for it, even the clean up Apple Bloom did to the misery that was here before was because of filth that wasn't supposed to be here to begin with. Our adventure, all the adventures that happened were a mistake… and some mistakes can't be fixed. I can't become that Diamond Tiara, any more than you can become that Discord." 'I'd say we helped out a good deal with Chryssy's glorified sideshow.' "Something again that was handled so much more simply and cleanly in the Heart World and was made worse because of things that weren't supposed to be here. What did you ever do with that calendar art of you and Chrysalis anyway?" 'I observed it for its artistic merit for a while, then I burned it because Fate-Net was doing a content sweep.' Even after all this time, I couldn't always be sure when he was lying or not, but I wasn't about to tell him that. "What about the Shrine to Pinkie Pie?" 'I sent it to the Preceding Prestigious Party Pony And Puppies Plus Popping Poppies Preservatorium And Prankster Prehabilitation Party.' "You just made that up. You had to have." 'Did I? Did I? Heh.' I could feel him wiggle his eyebrows. + "Life is a runway," Rarity sang to herself in the little mall she worked at. The door entrance bell rang, and Rarity turned to greet her customer. "Welcome to... oh hello Diamond... Tiara? Oh dear!" "Hello, Miss Rarity." The girl was missing her yellow jacket, and had adopted goth colors and make-up. She now wore a circle spike pendant instead of her crown Mark. Rarity came over to the younger girl, but when she got close, Tiara flinched away from her. "Dear, it's fine," said Rarity tenderly. "I don’t bite. You can trust your upper class mate." Diamond Tiara seemed afraid to touch her, as if Rarity was made of glass. "... It's not you I don't trust." Rarity's eyes widened. She knelt down, eye to eye with the middle school girl. "What happened, dear?" Back in grade school, Tiara and Silver Spoon had been bitter enemies with Rarity's sister and her sister's friends, but that was water under the bridge. "... I... I hurt a friend." "Silver Spoon?" The girl's eyes shifted about, but she nodded slowly. "She just wanted to help me... and I hurt her because I couldn't see that." "Dear, it's good that you can admit to it." "It's only the tip of the iceberg." It disturbed Rarity how calm the girl's voice was. "I've done some truly terrible things." "... It's important that you're willing to admit that. You were willing to admit you were a bully before, and you're willing to admit you made mistakes now. Excuse me, dear." Rarity took out a handkerchief. "Please hold still." Rarity cleaned off the gothic face paint. "I think you're a little young for that, sweetie, it's overselling the look." The girl touched her face and looked up at Rarity. "You're always too generous." Rarity smiled. "Dear, I'll decide how generous I should or shouldn't be. If you give because you're obliged to, then it's not really being generous. Taxes are obliged to be given, paychecks are given because they're earned. A favor you expect to be repaid isn't generous: it's a loan. And generosity, is about inspiring others to give, not an investment to expect a return on... OH MY-!" Rarity's body glowed purple. Pony ears sprouted, her hair became a long, free-flowing mane, and a bindi-like blue mark appeared on her forehead. This time, Diamond Tiara jerked back like Rarity’s touch had burned her. "Oh! I'm so sorry, darling! I've never touched anyone except my friends when 'ponied-up' ... It’s never hurt anyone before." "... It's alright." The girl glanced around the shop, not looking at anything in particular. "You have a very beautiful shop, Miss Rarity." "Well, it's not exactly 'mine', not yet, but I have done a great deal to improve the presentation and inventory." Moving away from Rarity, the girl went to one of the dresses, pale blue, with sparkling white sequins. She touched the collar, stroking the fabric... I entered Rarity's little dress shop. It was small, yet Rarity's clientele included Sapphire Shores, so she had to be good, right? I kept my prim and proper attitude in place like I did everywhere, letting the competition know who was in charge. Even if I had to put a little more effort into it with... with so much to think about after... after that ... after Silver Spoon. And... what, that THING had done to me, and how it had CHEATED ME... from mommy... I spotted the unicorn at once, and reminded myself to say everything like I should, leaving no room for the opposition to think they could get the better of me. After all, this mare might be my business rival some day. I would give her the respect she deserved, though. She was still part of the surprisingly high number of upper crust ponies who'd chosen little Ponyville as their home. "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, young miss! What can I help you with today?" She spoke in a 'this is business, so I'll be polite' tone that I could see right through. I moved closer. She took a step back. I didn't know what her deal was, but if she could make what I wanted, I didn't care. “Your little store,” I said proudly with my nose in the air, "has the honor of accepting a VERY IMPORTANT commission from me, Miss Rarity! I expect it to be completed before the week is out. I assume this won't be a problem for a store with so little business as yours." I saw her eyes flicker. She didn't like me. Well, we had more bits than her, so of course she didn't, that was basic economics. "And what is this dress of yours that you would like me to complete?" She looked past me, probably wondering why I had no escort. I should have had one, but I didn't want to risk being found out. I took out my brilliant and expertly drawn diagram I'd created, with a little help from my servants. This would be mommy's gift, this would be what made her happy! It was my own design… that much had been purely my own! The hired help had offered some suggestions, like cutting down on the number of diamonds. They were, of course, ignored. "Here. I trust you'll be able to do an adequate job. Ignore what the notes say, include at least five times as many diamonds, and make sure they're the largest you have! I know you're a so-called expert at finding diamonds, so no excuses!" I gave her a good look at what she'd be expected to make. I couldn't exactly go to Photo Finish or the like without daddy finding out, so I had nowhere else to go. There was no way she was going to turn this down. "Remember, quintuple the number of diamonds, and remember to get the color just right, no excuses! I insist on a strong yet soft material, something gentle that will hold up to a lot of creative uses, and I really want you to keep this quiet, if you please! There's no need for my parents to know. I can even include some extra bits if you're feeling talkative, I’m sure you can use those. That sounds like good business, right?" I didn't really notice how sick her face was starting to look until right before- "NO!” shouted the white unicorn. “And get out." "WHAT?" I couldn’t believe my ears. When was the last time somepony had told me 'no?' "I SAID NO!” she snarled. “YOU MAY TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE! NOW GET OUT, AND DON'T YOU DARE COME NEAR MY STORE AGAIN!!" "YOU-you-you-can't-" I stuttered. "Oh, can’t I?!" Suddenly she used her magic to lift me up by my behind. I was confused, angry, then very scared. I saw the familiar look of satisfaction on her face. "SO who's a narwhal now?" I was shaking. She leaned in close, I felt like a guppy in front of a shark. "Now listen here, you greedy, ill-mannered little foal! If I EVER hear that you called my little sister that again, I am telling your teacher and I PROMISE she'll listen to me! And if I find you near my home again I'll see you in a dungeon for trespassing! Don’t even bother dreaming up some revenge fantasy. My customers will never listen to anything you or your parents say!" "MY PARENTS-" I began to snarl. How DARE she mention them?! But she just threw me out! My tiara fell off, and she threw it at me. I managed to avoid being hit, picked it up in my teeth, and ran away crying. Rarity finally figured out to 'pony-down,' and gave the girl a gentle hug from behind. "Diamond Tiara, I know I'm not your mother, but you shouldn't bottle up your problems. It only leads to worse troubles." I was in my room, hoping That Mare, didn't tell Daddy. Normally I'd have gone screaming to Daddy for what she dared to do... but if I did... that would leave him wondering what I was doing there to begin with... and that would be trouble. Then one of the servants told me I had a delivery, and I had no idea what it could be. I hoped it was a gift, presents always made the hurt go away for a little while. If it was another stupid note from school, it could go straight into the wastebasket! I had better things to do with my time. Then I saw who brought the delivery. "YOU!" I glared at the old maid. "THROW HER OUT!" My servant prepared to do exactly that, but That Unicorn quickly said, "I've brought you your commission, Little Miss Tiara." "Huh?" I blinked, confused. "Free of charge. And free delivery to you personally. On one condition." "Condition?" I asked, not sounding very pleasant, and I wasn't feeling it either! This Unicorn had ruined everything. That Unicorn telekinetically opened the case she was carrying, showing ... the dress... my dress... mommy's dress... the one for her birthday. Except... there were a buncha my namesakes in the box too. "You sew in the diamonds yourself." She had SOME NERVE! "You dare-" "You want to show your mother that you still love her? You want to show her that you haven't given up on her? That you still believe in her? That she's still your mother even if your father says otherwise, young lady? That you're still waiting for her to get better? The best gifts, little filly, -AREN'T- the most expensive ones. They're the ones you've put the most time into yourself, the ones you've put your own effort into. They're the ones that show you really care about the person you're giving the gift to." My jaw hung limply from my face. She knew? SHE KNEW?! But... she didn't... she didn't tell Daddy... she... she... she HELPED ME... anyway... My head was swimming. She said some goodbyes I responded to mechanically... She left... I heard Daddy's hoof-falls. I quickly hid the box and Mommy's dress behind the servant. "Who was that?" "Just some salesmare." Daddy shook his head. "I see. She should have been thrown out if she didn’t have an appointment. I’ll speak to the staff." The girl shuddered, looking like she wanted to cry but had forgotten how. Rarity hugged her tighter. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to... but burying your problems won't fix anything, and if what you did was really that terrible, then you have to face it, not run away from it." = 'Rain' - Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood = I carried the bag in my mouth, tiny red marks surrounded my front hooves and face. Sewing without claws or a magic horn is even harder than it sounds. I told daddy I had an accident while playing. A large white burly pegasus walked next to me and Shiny Star. It couldn’t be helped, there was simply no way in Tartarus this place would EVER let me in without protection and an adult. Shiny Star had promised not to tell daddy where I'd really been this afternoon. I looked in the other rooms only once, and wished I hadn't. I saw a pink pegasus with stumps instead of wings singing to herself. "Screwball! You got a visitor!" Said the burly pegasus, sliding the small door within a door open. Ick! Why did the oversized feather duster have to call mommy that nickname? "Her name is Golden Tiara," I whispered to nopony. "Oh oh oh? Is that so so?" Asked mommy on the other side. "Who could it be-be on this special of days?" She said, sounding weird and happy. I pushed the bag through the opening lower on the door. "Happy birthday, mama." "Oh baby... is that you? Does dear know you're here?" "Of course he does," I lied. "He's hoping very much that you'll get better." Mom opened up the bag and examined the dress from every angle, trying it on in every way except the way it was meant to be worn. "OH? Is this for me-me? OH OH OH! It's so pretty! Did you do this? It's so wonderful!... Come to mommy." I didn't even hesitate. I pressed myself against the door, hearing mom's heart beating as she heard mine. "You know dear, the world was finally right again a few weeks ago. Everything stopped being confusing and everything made sense again. The doctors even started making sense and let me and everyone out... and then that rainbow came and the world was confusing again... But don't worry, if it could all make sense again once, then I'm sure it'll make sense again real soon, dear. Then mommy will be back home. I bet it'll be in time for YOUR birthday! You'd like mama to be there, yes dear?" "...yes, mama. That would be very nice." I realized I had to end this conversation now. "I'm sorry mama, I have to go, daddy's waiting!" "Okay sweetie! Tell dearest that his princess still loves her prince when you see him!" "I... I will mama! Bye!" I ran. I couldn't bear to have mama see or hear me crying. "Diamond Tiara," asked Rarity carefully, "where did you get these scars?" When Rarity had hugged the girl from behind, she was close enough, and had the right angle to see what could have been anything from bite to claw marks, Fluttershy would've been able to tell. The little girl said nothing. "... Who did this to you?" Rarity pushed. "A pack of soulless beasts," the girl said sincerely. “It was a trip up north.” "Diamond, is there anything else you wish to tell me about them?" Rarity felt the girl bristle. "No. No, there isn't." Rarity didn't know when Diamond Tiara learned from Maud Pie to mask her emotions like this. Silence struck the store, the noise of mall shoppers going about their business echoing from outside. Rarity realized it would look rather awkward if a customer walked in and saw her hugging Tiara, and relaxed her grip. Rarity didn't like any of the many possibilities of those scars: some of them, she didn't even want to think about. "Diamond Tiara, were you trying to run away from your problems?" "I was trying to do some good while doing it. It didn't work out. So I came crawling back." "That was the wiser thing to do." Silence again. Stupid silence. One not wanting to push too far and break the other, and the other not wanting to reach out 'too far.' Rarity knew you couldn't force these things, or they break or push you away. "Diamond Tiara, how about I take my break and we go get something to eat?" "... That would be nice." Some minutes later, they were at the food court. Rarity insisted on paying. Rarity's eyebrow rose when Tiara ordered a sprouts sandwich. "It's been awhile since we've done this, hasn't it?" Rarity remarked over her ham salad. "Eh?" Diamond Tiara started. Her eyes widened. "Spent time together, like our sewing lessons." Rarity didn't know if Diamond Tiara's father wanted Diamond out of the house or to appreciate hard work. "Oh, right... They were wonderful." A glimmer of sadness ran across Rarity's face. "I know your family seems like it's going through trouble right now Diamond, but I promise these rough seas happen with any couple. Feeling happy around and looking up to another more mature lady isn't betraying your mother." "I wish I figured that out sooner," the girl said in her monotone. "Did you make the dress you're wearing? It's quite good." "I had a good teacher." "You flatter me." "You deserve it." "And you deserve not to lock yourself away from your own feelings, nor to think you can just escape your problems by doing so." "I'm not escaping." "There are many kinds of escape, some good, some bad." "Maybe it's others who need to escape from me." "That's a very toxic way of thinking." "Maybe I'm just being pragmatic." "Diamond, darling, listen to your elder: I know for a fact there is a big difference between pragmatic and pessimistic. Beauty isn't about going from one extreme to the other, nor being in the absolute middle." The little girl was silent as she mechanically ate her food. Rarity reached out and took hold of the little girl's hand, appearances be damned. "Diamond, who was really on the other end of that cell phone when I last saw you?" The girl's jaw dropped, alarm and horror splashed across her face. "Somepony I should've never listened to. I have to go, right now." "'Somepony?'" asked Rarity, a certain purple-haired girl suddenly in her thoughts. "I'm sorry Rarity, but for your Diamond Tiara's sake, I wasn't here." Gold coins were on the table, with markings not of this world. Rarity, alone at the table, didn’t know where they’d come from, but she had the powerful impression they were hers for services rendered. She didn't notice a winged shadow race away. 'Did I go on a pirate adventure I don't remember, or did a memory erasing alien just pay me for a dress?' + My name's Diamond Dazzle Tiara. I’m sure you've heard of me. You won't find a family better off than mine in town… but I'd never been in this part of town before. I walked down the sideway, looking this way and that, worry creeping up inside me like bile. My base impulse was turn and run… This was not a good neighborhood, even less so for a middle school girl barely out of grade school whose parents happened to be wealthy. I gripped my bag so hard my knuckles turned white. "Did you remember to wear that cheap dress I told you to buy? And bring the taser?" asked the savvy voice over the nondescript black cell phone. It was a far cry from my usual pink rhinestone-encrusted one. "Yes," I said. Instead of my favorite bright yellow jacket and jewelry, I wore subdued browns and grays. Ick. I’d followed the instructions and not told my parents where I was going. They thought I was hanging out with Silver Spoon, and Silver Spoon thought I was with my parents. He'd said, "It's VERY important that you do NOT tell your little friend Silver Spoon what you are doing, where you are going, or about me. Otherwise, I can't help you. Loose lips sink ships, and in case you forgot, high society runs on gossip. That goes double for that magical horse girl with the fashion obsession. She and her friends want all the magic for themselves, because if others have it, they go back to being nobodies. She'll tell on you, she won't care it's to help your family. She's just like everyone in the world, she wants to be special and important, and you can only be special or important if you have something others want and don't have! And what she's been feeding you is sweet sounding poppycock meant to confuse you and make you dependent on her, you the wealthy heiress. Do you think she was nice to you out of the generosity of her heart? It's just a deposit in the favor bank to her." I'd paid for the items all in cash, avoiding using my family's money or my credit cards. I'd even worn my hair differently so people were less likely to recognize the heiress to the Rich family. I crept like a mouse, and scurried like a rat, not the attention grabbing strut I normally used wherever I went. He'd told me over the phone how to dress without getting too much attention, but still being just noticeable enough that I wouldn't be mistaken for someone who could be made to 'disappear' and nobody would notice. It was a dangerous balancing act that he'd told me the fine nuances of. He'd also talked about political theory they wouldn't teach in school. "Democracy and dictatorships are two sides of the same coin, sweetie. After all, no one can (in theory) rule by themselves, or bring about their vision by themselves (in theory). So those who hold the 'keys to power' have to be paid off, and the one 'in charge' remains in power only as long as it benefits those key holders. Democracies are the exact same way, after all, those who can't vote, like little girls, hold no sway, so why waste money on you? And when the people revolt, they don't get past the army, the army lets them pass so they can dispose of the now useless leader for them. "Families aren't made for the sake of 'love', they're made so the transition of power will be smoother for those who 'hold the keys' rather than a messy scramble for power that might result with them on the outside rather than the inside. Once a leader MIGHT be ill, the key holders sense weakness and immediately find a replacement and install them preemptively rather than wait for the leader to die, rumors or not. The people don't remove the ruler, the court LETS the people remove the ruler. Why do you think dynasties exist in democracies, business, monarchies, and dictatorships? "Only the sociopathic rise to the top my dear, and 'love' is a drug fed to the masses for the truly stupid and truly gullible to swallow. "If your parents separate, you won't end up with the parent that loves you more. You'll go with the one with more expensive lawyers, and they won't want you because they love you... they want you so their rivals will be less eager to depose them. Love is a lie told to hold society together," he'd told me. I had never met who was on the other end face to face. He claimed he was a distant relative. He did say, however, that he could help me. His first message had been over text with no ID. Then I'd gotten a cellphone with no caller ID, and he’d sent me more. I would have dismissed him as a scammer or a kidnapper without another thought… except, he offered me a way to help my family. And, he knew about the magic at Canterlot High, somehow... The same magic Sunset Shimmer had used to turn me, Silvey, and everyone else at the prom into her zombie slaves, planning to use us as a demon army to invade the world inside the statue. I'd seen inside Shimmer's head a little. She hadn't even intended us to live long, just to distract a sun goddess or something on the other end long enough for her to corrupt more creatures into her slaves. She'd intended to have more time to collect more slaves over three days, but the purple-haired girl had gotten in her way. It had all been just vague ideas and even vaguer images, but was it any wonder that me and nearly everyone else at school had hated Sunset's guts? The same? Yeah, right. I'd teased other kids, I didn't try to conquer two worlds! Snips and Snails? "We don't remember anything from when she turned us into demons and ordered us to herd everyone to the portal! And the purple haired girl and the hippies turned into horse women and zapped us all with rainbows!" No comment. The voice on the other end said that if I trusted him, he could take the magic Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer unleashed, and use it to help my parents. He also explained over the phone about the principles of magic, something about waveforms and a unique kind of energy. It had gone way over my head, I’m ashamed to admit, but it didn't sound like mumbo-jumbo, or fantasy novel nonsense. He said he was a ‘chaos theorist,’ and claimed to have been the principal of Canterlot High before Principal Celestia. I looked him up online, and found surprisingly little about him, except mentions of him being an anarchist and a mad scientist. Yes, the news articles actually said 'mad scientist'. I confronted him with the articles, but he had an answer for that too. "My dear, a bright girl like you with a rich family should know, the media lies all the time to protect those who pay the media, and to demonize those who oppose the tyranny of those who pay the media. This is reality. Of course, we can end this right now, and you can wait for mommy and daddy to break apart, knowing that you could have done something and didn't. I guess that means you really didn't love them at all. You’ll make a splendid politician someday, my dear." "... What do you want me to do?" The stuff I bought came from ordinary hardware and electronic stores. He'd given me careful instructions on the circuitry. I knew it wasn't a bomb, I wasn't that stupid, but was something else, and he wouldn't tell me what. There were some things he had me build that he told me precisely what they were: an EMP generator, lock picking tools, even a police scanner. I'd kept them buried in my room where even the maids didn't look. I wish I could take pride in building that stuff, but I was mostly his puppet. "What a good girl you are for your uncle," he'd told me. I'd had to seriously cut out time with Silver Spoon to make this stuff, and I couldn't tell her what was going on, not a word. It hurt her, I didn't like that at all, but I'd made her promise not to talk to anyone about it, ever. Silver Spoon had left biting her lip. "A very good girl indeed, for your dear uncle," he'd said. Then came the REALLY weird stuff. Freaky drawings, vows against Harmony like it was a goddess... "Are you just playing with me?" "My dear, if I was toying with you, you wouldn't think to ask that." And it had all come down to this, sneaking into this neighborhood that none would look twice at, and most would rather just avoid. "You see my dear, those in power, those with power, have kept me under house arrest... but you've been touched by that magic, thanks to bacon hair turning you into one of her puppets and the rest. Help me, and I'll help you." The house I saw couldn't have looked more ordinary, if not for the odd graffiti that looked a lot like inversions of the symbols that the Professor had told me to draw, and the police tape around the place, and the warnings on the doors. The place was made out of stone except for the windows and pipes. Were those security cameras? No, those were just street lights, right? "Now my dear, this is-" And then, a black feathered bombshell fell right in front of me. = Dark Souls III Soundtrack OST - Soul of Cinder = I was face to face with... myself?! Geeze, I'd never wear that much black! And what had she done with her hair? She looked like a skunk... with a weird jewel mark thing on her forehead, and big black wings like a vulture, and her expression made Pinkie Pie's even weirder sister look lively! Lifeless slit-pupiled eyes narrowed at me. She... she looked like Sunset Shimmer when she turned into a demon! Striking like a cobra, the other me snatched the cell phone and crushed it with one hand. "NO!" I reached for the phone like I could magically put it back together. Then black flames appeared in her palm and she melted what was left of the phone. She turned into a shadow, slipped behind me, and literally ripped my dull fanny pack off before crushing that too, along with all the stuff inside. No... No no no no no no! I tried to stop her. I… I’m not sure what I was thinking, grappling with someone like that. She grabbed my jaw, faster than I could cry out. She pulled me, not gently at all, so we were face to face. Those eyes, my face, looking like demon Shimmer... I felt terrified, sick to my stomach, and confused all at the same time! What was going on?! This didn't make any sense! Did I hit my head and I'm having a nightmare?! "You stupid-stupid-STUPID girl." She held me tighter, hurting me. "Do you have any idea what you almost threw away? Who you almost threw away? What you almost gave up? Do. You. Have. Any. Idea?" I whimpered. Everything had gone crazy. Were we the only ones on the street? Why wasn't anyone else noticing the black angel of doom with my face? Like, like even those who didn't go to Canterlot High not calling the zoo when they saw a winged horse girl walk outside a music store... Why didn't I think of that before? I couldn't smell her breath even when she spoke to me, and she cast no shadow, but there was nothing 'not real' about the grip she had me in! I tried to kick her and run for it, but she blocked my leg with her wing! I threw a punch but she just blocked it with her other wing. With her free hand she jabbed me in the gut. I gave a muffled cry. "Signs of an actual spine, good." Her eyes narrowed, and and the frown she gave me made my skin crawl. "Now hear my voice and listen, you spoiled brat: our ‘uncle’ is not into change, he just wants chaos for chaos' sake." "He-he won't-" It was all a lie? "He'll keep his word, but you'll hate yourself forever. And what you wanted fixed? Love and family are much better magics to use than the ones he's been teaching you. And even when he fixes it for you? He's going to tell you things you were better off not knowing. You won’t care if our parents are together or not, and our parents will be miserable because of what we become.” She shook me again. “Never listen to him again, do you hear me? Don’t talk to him. Don’t trust him. Don’t make a monster of yourself, the way I did. Do you understand?" I whimpered and nodded, actually proud that I didn’t wet myself. "Good. I am going to tell him to stay far away from you, and every creature you care about, or else." I swear I felt her touch turn to ice. "And I want you to remember! Silver Spoon is your best friend. Not your lackey, not your tag along, not your accessory. Listen to her. Now get to your sewing lesson with Rarity." She hurled me to the sidewalk, giving me more bruises. I looked up at her. It... it was just horrible, seeing my face like that. I ran. I ran without even knowing where I was going. I was crying. I felt what happened turning into a blur in my head, not sure what was real or all in my head, but, what ... I told myself, stayed crystal clear. I didn't know where my feet were taking me, until I ran through a pair of automatic doors. "Welcome to... Tiara? Oh dear!" I ran straight into Rarity's arms, still crying. She gently put her arms around me. She stroked my hair. "It's okay dear... It’s okay. You're safe here." Pony POV Series Diamond Tiara Equestria Girls: Reharmonization Begins + At the Rich Mansion, Shining Star and Randolph were both surprised to find some of their daily duties already done for them. "Think we have house gnomes?" Shining Star had asked, herself not sure if she was serious or not, not with the 'strange things' that supposedly happened by the high school, assuming it wasn't just exaggerations and glorified pranks, but giant holes in the school front lawn and the front of the building missing surely hadn’t happened by themselves. Randolph wondered if some of Mr. Rich's 'hard work' lessons on Tiara had paid off. Stranger things had happened in this town. Neither noticed a winged shadow that crawled along the walls. + There was a knock on Filthy Rich's at home office door. "Yes?" There was no answer. Curious, the business man got up and opened the door. There was no one there. - On top of the Rich household, the Nightmare of Diamond Tiara sat, looking out over the town populated by humans. Any who looked up would've seen just a shadow. 'Well, that was pointless. Do you think you can fix every world where Diamond Tiara has been a very naughty filly? What a thankless job that would be! I can’t fathom why you won’t visit your spoony friend, and your biological kin instead of these look alikes.' She hugged herself, folding her wings around her body. "I don't want any of them to see me like this." 'A human? That isn't an issue back home.' "You know what I mean." 'Dear, we're chained to each other, of course I know what you meant. So why chicken out with your old daddy? I thought you couldn't feel chicken about anything more. Or anything.' "I... I couldn't let him, even another version of him, see me... like this." 'Pst. Didn't stop you from hiding the wings and visiting another Rarity.' "It's different... he's... he's my... we're still family." 'And so are we.' "I... I can't look even another him in the eyes... I don't have a right to. Apple Bloom was right, everything I've done is insane. I’m a mad dog who should be put down." 'Madness is just what the minority think, as opposed to the majority. I taught you better. We had quite the journey, didn't we?' I look beautiful again. Looking right out of the fairytale I belonged in. Just like my last birthday. My birthday. I had missed my birthday. I was a year older, and I had missed the day that was always my day. No cake. No presents. No party. No weird feeling from the random visit by Pinkie Pie. It was gone. I always invited everypony in my class. I didn't care they were there for the party and not me. Me and Sil-Silver Spoon, we were princesses and we had our royal subjects. That's what mattered, right? Something else floated to the surface: I wasn't there to visit mom on my birthday like I promised. 'Mom I promise, my birthday will be when I make you well again.' "I... I can't remember." 'Can't remember our quest? It's hard to forget having your mind fractured and your soul ground to powder, I should know.' "I can't remember when my birthday is." The Nightfilly wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging herself tightly. Another broken promise... 'Welcome to the club! Me, Lulu, Celly, we've had so many that they can slip right by us. You've got a head start.' 'A very handsome friend of hers designed the magic for this maze for her and her sister's last birthday party before he got eaten. That birthday was so much fun, so many laughs. This must be her idea of a joke. Now go left, I can tell you it will make a difference.' 'And I didn't even think to use it as part of my pocket world for welcoming Lulu's avatar... I'm slipping. It's time to begin the finale.' "We did. It was a bust." 'This time let's try for something on a personal level. One last grand performance.' "You're suddenly talkative. You didn't have much to say when I was with this world's Rarity." 'Maybe I simply had nothing to say during that sappy stuff.' "Why do I find that hard to believe?" 'I know this sounds not very funny, but let's be realistic for a moment dear. How well do you even know HALF of the heroes you're going to be fighting? You're the bully Rainbow Dash shot lightning at once to protect her precious chicken. Pinkie Pie of course knows everypony but not intimately. Applejack knew your family, but you were just the bully of her baby sister, and... oh yes, Rarity, that goes without saying. But Fluttershy? Twilight? The Princesses? Any other random grass eaters who show up? You're just a 'kid around town.' Where's the emotion? Where's the drama? Where's the personal stake in it for them? I'm their 'evil overlord' for them to heroically triumph over. You'll be just their stepping stone in our last fireworks show. You already had your 'epic duel' with your arch-enemy! I... You don't need to... You don't need to be involved anymore. Please.' "I'm counting on them not having a stake in 'saving' me, when their major worry is you. They can do what needs to be done. Apple Bloom started the job, but there's one more monster who spreads corruption and misery for misery’s sake everywhere she goes. She needs to be obliterated, and I'll make sure the heroes of Equestria destroy her completely. Then their Equestria can be free of the extra fake ordeals they were never meant to have to begin with. They can focus on the wolves they were meant to face, like Sombra, and you." '... Is this... really what you want dear? What you really want princess?...' "...Yes... I did what we came here for, let's go." 'Looks like I'm not that much of a step up from your last father after all... I can't tell you no.' + I sat in front of the statue portal that connected these two worlds. Right now it was closed, but like I said, opening a gate here would cause fewer disruptions, ironically. "Diamond Tiara? What are you doing here?" I turned around, and saw middle school age Sweetie Belle looking at me with wide eyes, like she could just barely not see the THING that actually lay before her. "... You can see me?" She tilted her head, confused. "I can see you... but it's like I don't want to." "I guess I shouldn't be surprised,” I said wistfully, looking off into the distance. "Of course, you’d notice a piece identical to your own soul. I'll have to remember that. Don't worry too much about it, this chat will be just a blur soon, like an interesting bug you saw on your way to school. Fate will see to that." I wished I could remember how to cry. "... I came here to say goodbye to those I can't say goodbye to, and to try and make amends to those I mustn't make amends with. Before I end it. That moment when you realize what you loved about something was just what you wanted to see, it was never there to begin with." Sweetie had something to say, but I cheated and simply stepped through the portal. She wouldn't think to follow me, any more than you'd think to follow a mole down its hole you saw on a carriage ride. The magic of the portal twisted me back into the shape I was 'reborn' in when I lost my heart to black magic, and I ended up back on the other side of the mirror, landing on four hooves. Without trouble, I left Canterlot Castle. Now excuse me, and don't plan on us talking again. I don't belong in this or any other world. > Season 9 True Final Battle (Alternate Title: The Elements of Harmony Kick Butt) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternate Title: The Elements of Harmony Will Kick Butt (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Hi, everypony. We're back. We promised we would be!) (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): We were here at the beginning, of course we're gonna be here at the end!) (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Just remember what we promised. That we wouldn't meddle in the outcome of events.) (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): That never stopped us before. Just means we can't cheat.) (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Then our job here will be done...) (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Do we really need to leave? We were born here, weren't we?) (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): We were still born from another Twilight Sparkle, not this world's Twilight Sparkle. Unless we want to forget everything we've done, or always be having to watch out for being erased, we'll eventually have to go to our mother's worldline.) (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Awwww...) (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): I don't like it either, kiddo, but... Half-Light Midnight is waiting for us. She's family. We shouldn't just leave her.) (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Alright...then let's give everypony a big show!) +++ Season Title: The Last Battle (Alternate Title: The Elements of Harmony Kick Butt) = Reharmonized Soundtrack: We'll Make It Through (Elements Of Harmony) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eYj8LOQ8cE "For us!" "For the Princesses!" "FOR EQUESTRIA!" My Little Pony! Everything's been broken, that is true! My Little Pony! But I know our bonds will see us through! The world fell apart at the seams, every pony has ruined dreams! Long friendships have been torn apart! With so much woe, can healing start? But we all know where to begin! So now our hope's restored again! Those fractured dreams we'll surely mend! Friendships don't break, they merely bend! We'll get through all the worst together and come out even better than ever! Though Discord's taint may still remain, he couldn't snuff out friendship's flame! We'll keep those fires blazing bright! Guide every pony towards the light! His darkest blight we'll purge away! Our friendship is here to stay! You have... My Little Pony! Do you know we're still the very best friends? +++ Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where...hello Applejack, have you finally decided to embrace your inner beauty? Yes, well, you can't blame a lady for dreaming. Eh? Heh, is this some sort of changeling detection test? You should be able to tell with your, ahem, gift anyway, Applejack. Did you hear? Princess Pitcher Plant tried to attack the Wuv Cat Kingdom, and she got beaten. Ended up fleeing with her tail between her legs. Yes, I remember it as well, how she had her Black Hive changelings brainwash Fluttershy's animals to try and kidnap our little sisters. I never thought I'd be so grateful that our little sisters had picked up such destructive talents for defending themselves. Fluttershy should be grateful her animals weren't hurt more...I doubt Pitch Plant's minions will be trying to terrorize Ponyville for a while after they got a taste of Fluttershy's and Fluttercruel's wrath. And after all the adventures they've had, I cannot imagine that those fillies would ever want to see horror movies, with or without you and I barring the way. Oh, very well, Applejack. Yes, yes, I shall forego the sunglasses. My name is Miss Rarity Belle. Really, Applejack? Alright. After we defeated Discord, I was suffering from trauma brought on by that villain's brainwashing, along with practically all the rest of Equestria. But thanks to an unexpected little pony who needed my help in ways that Sweetie Belle unwittingly helped me recognize, I was able to understand the differences between my gifts and my virtues. The time Rainbow Dash and I visited Princess Celestia, just the two of us? That had been...enlightening...it gave me a great deal to think about ourselves and... the responsibility of myself and Rainbow as Elements of Harmony. Her Majesty shared with us certain things that I believe are better left unsaid with the general pony. Now, Applejack, stop giving me that look, I know you and I differ on this, but please try to understand. I know I've said this before, dear, but image is everything. Ponies won't understand certain sides of yourself if they're given the hard-and-fast versions and will easily take them the wrong way. For instance, that little nickname you used to have as a filly...Piggly Wiggly, wasn't it? It wouldn't be fun if ponies everywhere started using that nickname, now would it? Same if ponies knew of my 'object lesson' with the General. I'll admit, perhaps I was rather foolish in how much I tried to hide I was from Ponyville from Canterlot's elite but...ponies can draw the wrong conclusions, and good luck with ponies who have already made up their minds. And, of course, there's Sweetie Belle...I'm proud of her for coming forward to Mother and Father about her time with Chrysalis. And I'm proud that she seems to have finally accepted the true weight of what Chrysalis did to her rather than whitewashing her captor's sins. But it's best most ponies think Sweetie was Chrysalis' slave, and not pet. I know that the changelings thinking of Sweetie Belle as honorary changeling nobility has its advantages, and might have helped things along, and possibly help lessen some of Pitcher Plant's possible trouble...but I don't want ponies to think my precious little sister is some little monster waiting to grow up. Yes...Princess Luna did insist on teaching Sweetie Belle some basics on how to control the magic Chrysalis taught her...Yes, I asked if that knowledge could be just removed, but Princess Luna said it would inevitably come back, and it was best for her to learn how to wield this magic responsibly. You think I'd be more than willing to share my little sister getting some private tutoring with a Princess but given WHAT she's teaching her, it's better for Sweetie Belle's future career as a singer that it remain out of the public eye. Yes... I have been more a mother to Sweetie Belle than mother has sometimes... PLEASE never tell her that! It's better for Sweetie Belle's emotional health that ... that she reconnects with our parents. I'm not forcing her to move back in with them yet, but if they're sincere, I should help. She may tirelessly cause me frustration, in particular when she used the gold silk and cloth Pinkie gave me from her sister to make their capes. But I'd have made those capes, gold silk and all, if she'd asked me after I'd finished my responsibilities, and I'd leap into mud again for her. Yes, 'Sweet Music' was a secret family song, passed down through the generations from mother's side of the family, much as our 'pruney hooves' come from father' side. Its origin is out of memory and record, much like your family's friendship with Nurse Red Heart's family. Though after Sweetie Belle sang 'Sweet Music' to all of Canterlot to power up the changeling army...No, I don't, mother and father don't hold it against her, that she was most definitely under mind control for. I have faith in Sweetie to come up with her own lyrics in time. Our statue in Ponyville Square? Oh, it's lovely. (Though I could make some changes.) I'd still rather be a fashion giant, not a career world saver. We ponies like to carry on. My friendship with Fluttershy is still as firm as ever. At least, I'd like to think so. Her responsibilities towards Fluttercruel do take their time. Taking care of animals and taking care of foals are two quite different skill sets, though given how smart her beasts seem to be at times, I'm not certain that they ever truly conflicted that much. We still have our weekly spa dates...it's my way of gently making sure Fluttershy doesn't retreat back into her bubble. Fluttercruel is absolutely adorable as a model, though her own body has a long way to go so...I can appreciate Fluttershy letting her daughter borrow hers. I think she doesn't appear in her own body just so she can be taken seriously. I knew you'd bring up Spikey-Wikey sooner or later. He's as darling as ever. And just as reliable, and just dauntless when it comes to being willing to help. Really, Applejack! I'm a bit insulted by that question, I'd never hold what happened the day after Spike's birthday against him! I know that greed is in his blood. He can't be rid of it anymore than we can be rid of our equine instincts, but if any creature has proven they can be superior to their nature, it's Spike, surely. And for the record, yes, I am very happy Spike finally made friends close to his own age. It's better for his social growth. No offense, darling, but we've seen what a socially retarded mess Twilight was when she first came to Ponyville. And no, I do not think Spike and Sweetie Belle are anything more than friends, thank you very much. And considering how things are developing between her and Button Mash, I doubt that's going to change. What happened after the Great Dragon Migration? We went to Sugarcube Corner. Spike? Twilight remarked how she'd found out about Spike's family history a short while back. So no, darling, I don't remember Spike going on any sort of trip after. What do you mean? 'Never mind?' Alright. When we were delivering the Cakes' cake to Canterlot for that kingdom wide baking contest on the Friendship Express? I'm just happy the cake arrived there in one piece. Er, yes, Pinkie Pie and I did have a late night chat about this and that. It's something rather scandalous that I'd rather you not repeat to anyone Applejack, please? Trixie? Applejack, I was not, am, and will not, hold a grudge against her forever for that public humiliation. I have already reconciled with Carrot Top over her own misunderstand of my reaction to Trixie's violation of my mane. Trixie has more than made up for her past antics. Mare-Do-Well? Since I hold the rights on the costume design, and we hold our group trademark on the character, I am making a pretty sum on the costume sales alone. Did Mayor Mare tell you yet? Mare-Do-Well is getting her own balloon in the Ponyville parade this year...Yes, yes, we all agreed that all the proceeds would go to charity, but I'm still getting plenty of word-of-mouth exposure with the brand name. Since you asked, I'm still officially on the record books as the only unicorn to come in second place at the Young Best Flier's competition, and I may be the only one since they might have changed the rules. I truly never intended to cause Rainbow such trouble, let alone get Spitfire, and her friends and myself almost killed because I'd misjudged the durability of the wings...alright, I know that outfit was not one of my better days, moving on. I'd gone there truly for Rainbow Dash...good intentions can backfire, as I'm sure you're aware Applejack...hmm? No, I was not referring to 'Princess Gaia' and you know it, Applejack. I am not surprised neither I nor Rainbow realized we both practice martial arts before, we were both focused on saving Fluttershy that day, not each other's fighting style. I am impressed Rainbow is a black belt. Fluttershy is my friend, I wasn't about to let a little thing like having all my legs broken stop me. That being said, I am grateful that the Element of Generosity granted its power to heal me once again, doing orders in a body cast would have been awkward. I have never believed in having my works being 'lovely', I do spectacular...yes I suppose that IS something I have in common with Trixie. Oh, I know Rainbow Dash and Derpy have made up for past transgressions...maybe that is part of what always drives me to reach for perfection, but I hope you understand, Applejack. I'd prefer not to dig up that business of the 'most creative kart award' again. It was a stinging blow at the time, but it inspired me to try harder still. Cheerilee and I? We've been getting on. Yes, we have talked about stallions on occasion, I think both of us want to have somepony to share our lives and start a family with, but she's just...less open about it. Mmm-hmm, she does think I have a lovely voice, most of Ponyville does darling. I don't know what Cheerilee once having played soccer has to do with anything, why are you bringing it up? Yes, she's still on the 'Princess Fluttershy' newsletter. Of all your questions so far, Applejack, that has to be the strangest: no, caterpillars do not 'freak me out,' I dislike parasprites for the disgusting way in which they reproduce. Caterpillars are weavers like me, and they too work hard to turn themselves from something plain into something beautiful. No, I assure you, Mrs. Rich does not think I was gold-digging her husband when helping him through emotional problems he should have seen a professional for, but he didn't, so I helped. I would like to know how you learned that, Applejack! That was a very personal matter for the Rich family and it's better off as that! My...my recent nightmare? E-excuse me. Please stop calling it a fainting couch, Applejack, it's a chaise longue. That nightmare...You can have all the same window dressings and mannerisms, but the you in your heart of hearts is still more than that. And HOW I express my love for others and myself is PART of that. I think Spike also became a giant dragon and protected me. So in the name of our friendship, Applejack, I'd rather NOT dwell on that and let it fade away as nightmares should. A new hat for Granny Smith? Why, I'd love to make one for her! She certainly needs to get with the times, I think, no offense. Have to visit Rainbow Dash? Alright, dear, I'll see you later. And Applejack, while we may...disagree in regard to certain things...remember that I am your friend, and I won't stop being your friend, our friendship is part of what makes me Rarity, and thank you for that. + Come on, AJ, you know I don't care about all that pillow soft...I mean, all that philosophical touchy feely stuff! You wanna talk while we trot a few miles? Sure, that's cool, I guess. Yep, still reading Daring Do! I can't wait for the new trilogy! If you told me two years ago that I'd be into reading books, I'd have laughed my tail off. I mean, saving the world from the boogie-mare and chaos itself, that's totally me, but reading? Heh, who knew? Hey, AJ? You better listen good, because I'm only saying this once, and if you repeat this to anypony I'll deny it three times, but...the whole Mare-Do-Well thing...maybe I can admit now that I kinda had that coming. My head was so high in the clouds (Pegasus only joke) that I wasn't even listening to what you girls were saying. So, I get why you had to do an intervention. And yes I get why the costumes too. I kinda dreamed of things from the other perspective. It's not the first time I've had freaky dreams that ended up being a major wake up call. Oh, and since I can't remember whether I thanked you already for it, thanks for saving me from the whole 'turn into creature of darkness born from my own inner demons' thing at Sugarcube Corner. Can't win all the time, and thinking about stuff you could've done differently will drive you nuts. But it's good that I'm the same old Rainbow Dash I've always been, and is that really so bad? Sure, I bragged a lot, but I could always back it up, right? ...Yeah, I told Scootaloo and her friends not to rush into things like idiots. So? I admitted Mare-Do-Well might have done me well? Did I really say that? HA HA! Just kidding! Character development? Maybe if ya mean me getting even more awesome! Come on, AJ, I'm just messin' with ya. Since when did you take every little thing so darn seriously? Have I heard anything from Gilda? ...No, I haven't. It's been a year since I sent the letter, AJ. I want to be loyal to her, but maybe it's time I faced facts and admitted that Gilda just doesn't want to be friends again. I haven't totally given up, but I have to be loyal to the friends I have right here and now first. Tank's doing fine. No, he hasn't gotten jealous over Scootaloo. Trust me, he's happy that me and Scoots are working out. Don't worry about it. Fine fine, if it'll get ya to stop talking about it, I promise to take some lessons from Fluttershy and read up on tortoises. Scootaloo's parents...they made sure she knew about taking care of herself, but looking after somepony else is...it's...it's another barrel of fish. Yeah, I bet it's been good for Fluttershy too. I'm proud of her dealing with her problems and moving forward despite of all the horseapples she's had to deal with. From Flight Camp to Nightmare Whisper. Fluttercruel? I guess me and Fluttershy really are in the same boat now, I mean with Scoot's parents not being right here for her I mean. Yeah I gave Fluttercruel plenty of tough love at 'Cruel's cute-ceañera, brat needed it. Sometimes...I almost begin to wonder if being a parent means sometimes being the bad guy. AJ, you make sure you're at Apple Bloom's cute-ceañera. She only gets one, so you better be there! Sorry, there're foals who don't get family time. That again? For the last time, Twilight never proved it was the food that gave her nightmares that time, and second she never proved it was my cooking on that blind tasting party, I mean, Scootaloo's not having...those kinda nightmares right? Scoots is healthy, just because cooking is my 'dump stat' doesn't mean...er, that's a inside joke about, something you'd totally have no interest in I'm sure! Point is, I know how to play it safe in spite of what you might think and - no I'm not saying I was trying to show off at that cook off! Geeze. Hey, AJ... I wouldn't wish bug queen's brain voodoo on anypony, wish I'd known how to save ya right off, but at least we got the silver lining of me making up with Derpy cause of the wedding. Thanks for being there AJ, for lending an ear even when I didn't know I wanted one, about the horseapples I went through while you had to deal with your own horseapples, and for putting my head on straight and, letting me open up to the others at my own pace, then finally making me face the music when I kept getting cold hooves. The Wonderbolts? They're as awesome as they've always been, which is short for 'Can't get much more awesome than that!', and you know I'm going to Wonderbolt Academy this year! I'm gonna strut my stuff! I'll be a full fledged 'Bolt in no time! ...'Or maybe in a few years with hard work and hard study,' you say? ...Absolutely! The Dash's getting her uniform because she deserves it, not because anypony just gave it to her! I may not have been wearing the uniform, but it felt wonderful flying with Soarin' and the others when we did our three pronged move on the changeling army. They even let me lead the charge! Savin' Rarity and my idols from certain death, showing Spitfire what Ponyville could do when we made the tornado to bring water to Cloudsdale...and, well, she and me have gotten to be friends I'd say at this point. She knows she can rely on me if she needs me, like she would any of her team. And that's a team I want to be a part of. Don't worry, it's not about losing my old herd, I'm just makin' my herd bigger! Seriously, I know what some ponies say about Spitfire, that she's all bark and attitude, but she gives praise when it's deserved, and she's a good pony once you get to know her. Do I think I'll be able to juggle Scootaloo and my dreams? Don't worry AJ...I'd say I've been doing that for a while now already. I'm the one who has to spank her when she needs discipline and make sure she gets to and from school safe, feed her, look after her, make sure she knows that she's loved. I'm the one who has to give up living space, the stuff I can't afford because I have to think about her needs, can't just go and hang whenever I want because she's waiting for me...I get the satisfaction of seeing her fly, of her getting her cutie mark...of knowing she's safe, seeing her smile. Knowing she'll be a great mare someday. A great mare I helped her become. I don't sound sappy, do I? ... Do I ever feel like I could have been a mother in a past life? Okay, AJ, of all the weird dreams I've had, that has never been one of them. I have way too many goals and dreams in this life to believe in that bunk. Rainbow Dash always dresses in style, but that doesn't mean I wanna be Rarity's pet model. I can hold my own in a fight, but I don't want to be a royal guard, even if I'm sure I'd make general. And believe it or not, my family said I was good at meteorology and rainbow light, but that doesn't mean I wanna be an egghead for 'em. I could have been a lot of things, but this is the me I've chosen to be. Me as an Earth Pony? I never meant Earth ponies are lame AJ, but flying is what makes me awesome... no, I take that back, I'm what makes me awesome, and I'd prove if I was an earth pony, a unicorn or a seapony: I'm who I am, not what I am. I'm gonna tell ya up straight, AJ, I am DONE with mind controlling supervillains. Saving Equestria's cool and everything, but screw those jerks! Seriously done with them! If more of those losers show up I'm gonna knock 'em down, but until then, I have the Wonderbolts to join and an orange filly to look after. I can't dwell on all the horseapples that Discord and Chrysalis put us through, I've got the future to think about! I'm guessing that's what you wanted to hear, right AJ? I see that smile on your face! 'Have to be somewhere?' All righty. See ya later, AJ. Yeah I know, sure was a fun run. + Oh! Hello, Pinkie Pie. Yes, you can come in. Please keep your voice down, if you don't mind. Fluttercruel is sleeping. I never mind sharing my body with her, of course, but I think we both needed some time alone with our thoughts. Let me get some tea and cookies. Don't worry, Angel is watching Fluttercruel. Even after all this time they've lived together under the same roof, Angel still needs a little more time to see that just because Fluttercruel is, uh...not completely vegetarian...that she wouldn't ever consider eating him. It still feels uncomfortable when she uses my body for eating...never mind. Now, what would you like to talk about, Pinkie Pie? ...Oh my. That...that's a very long list. Do you need me to open the door so it can roll all the way out into my front yard? No? Alright. Do you mind if I...skip some of these? Or maybe, just give very quick answers to them? Okay, thank you, ahem. I'd rather not talk about myself for hours on end. Yes, I do consider the day Discord broke free to be Fluttercruel's birthday, that makes it a happy day. Yes, Fluttercruel is still another Element of Kindness in her own way, and I'm still as proud of her as any mother can be. How did you find out about that? Only Fluttercruel and I were there when I rejoined with Flutterrage. Pinkie Sense? Oh. Okay. If you say so. No, that hasn't changed my attitude. Just because I'm not terrified of being angry anymore, that doesn't mean I want to punch ponies. Did I give the impression that I'd lost all sense of restraint? Oh, thank you, good to know that I didn't! Maybe it does feel uncomfortable with Fluttercruel doing that with my body, but I'm there to keep her from going too far. Why would I blame my parents for teaching me how to be polite and kind? I'm HAPPY they taught me that! All parents should! Even if they may have gone a little overboard. But I can be that way too! Just like Rainbow Dash wants to teach me to stand up for myself, and she can go too far. I just don't like the idea of being a leader. I like to support others instead. I know, Cheerilee and Zecora still think of me as Princess Gaia, and it's their choice what they want to believe in, even if...even if it's me. I don't love being called it, but I don't hate it anymore either. It does scare me how much alike me and bad creatures can be. No, I wasn't talking about Chrysalis (we fixated on opposite sides of nature, but she was a monster anyway)...I was talking about Gilda. We could have been each other. Gilda was bullied by the same colts who bullied me. It's hard to believe that someone like Gilda was just as shy as I am, until she found a friend. Oh, you didn't know that? I guess Rainbow Dash doesn't like to talk about her. Yes, Scootaloo and I did have some bad words between us over me not using my wings much while she couldn't fly if she wanted, but we've gotten past it before she learned to fly on her own. If we spent every moment of every day thinking about every bad thing that ever happened to us, when would we have time to think of anything good? I thought you'd agree with that, Pinkie Pie, you always want things to be their brightest even if...you can be a little too exciting to be around sometimes. Zephyr Breeze? Can we PLEASE not talk about my little brother, PLEASE? I sincerely don't know if I'll be able to stop if I get started. ...I refuse to talk about the 'Swarm of the Century' as the papers called it, nopony blamed me for it, you didn't, so I won't either. At least my mistakes with Philomena let me make a new friend. I proved that my love for my friends is stronger than my worst fear when we faced the dragon, and that's something I'll always be proud of. Princess Luna even told me I should visit Dragon Town so I could get to KNOW dragons rather than simply being afraid of them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders got me to see that foals and animals are different, even if I liked to pretend that friendship with animals was interchangeable with friendship with ponies. And...I guess I sort of became a hero to those fillies, saving their lives, and Twilight's life. I never thought about that before to be honest, I mean, it's strange thinking I did anything great that night. I still hated every minute of being a model for Photo Finish, but at least the connections and money I made all went to good causes. Rarity was willing to sacrifice for my happiness, and she knows I'm willing to sacrifice for hers. That's something that makes me happy. I've already faced my inner demon that rose to the surface during the Grand Galloping Gala, and I'm not afraid to go there again if Princess Celestia invites us. I don't blame Iron Will in the slightest, I had my bursts of anger before I ever met him. Of course, I told him I wasn't 100% satisfied...you heard me say so yourself, didn't you, Pinkie? And I meant it, but I wish ponies wouldn't use him as a scapegoat for my mistakes. I hurt all of you, not him, and you all forgave me, and I forgave myself. And that's a strength nopony can take away from me. I'm sure Rainbow Dash has told you everything there is to know about, erm, 'Hurricane Fluttershy.' It's so embarrassing when ponies call it that...my contribution was so small, really, but Rainbow was so proud of me. Every pegasus in town was. They accepted me as me! I'm free! Of course I don't want to abuse the power, Pinkie Pie. It's something I have to keep a lid on or I might not stop. Please don't tell the others. I just want to keep being Fluttershy, not an impossible ideal or an unreachable Alicorn. Yes I used Our Butterfly to comfort the dying at Ponyville Hospital. And I did as you asked, Pinkie Pie, and I helped make sure that the version of Diamond Tiara's mom that loved her truly stayed real, even if it cost me pretty much any real power I had left back then. I BARELY understand ANY of it anymore, Pinkie Pie. Without the Eldar Horn, I know unicorn magic as much as Applejack. I'm not worried, I FEEL it's safe, you know what I mean. That's...a drawing you did of me? As...as 'Princess Gaia SHOULD BE'? 'Princess of Organic Life and Mercy?' What's that Tarot card? Queen of Cups? Why? Just felt right? Okay. Sorry, I don't know the first thing about Tarot readings. PLEASE, Pinkie! STOP. I DON'T like talking about this! No, it's not because it's painful or that I'm hiding from it, it's not that. Ponyville has finally let the past rest, and so will I. Coffee Swirl is still best friends with Fluttercruel, even if he's only just forgiven me. Sunny Town has finally accepted that what they did to Ruby and what they almost did to Apple Bloom was wrong! NOW they can start the process of forgiving themselves. I don't care if it takes a thousand years. I'm their 'Princess Gaia.' Did Princess Celestia tell you about that? Pinkie Pie! I! I! UGH! Pinkie Pie promise me you'll never bring that up again! Of all the things I did as Nightmare Whisper, that was the worst. Forty-two million innocents could have been snuffed out because of me, and Princess Celestia would have been right to banish me to the sun for it. I...I...I...STOP, ALREADY! MY ENTIRE LIFE IS NOT CENTERED AROUND ME BEING PRINCESS GAIA! I HAVE A LIFE OUTSIDE THAT! Sorry! Sorry! Don't cry! Don't cry! There there! Come here. It's alright, I...I forgive you. Let me give you a nuzzle. It's not you Pinkie Pie. I'm just...tired about talking about it, and again, and again. Please. Let's just drop this subject. It's enough. I saw many ponies' private feelings as Nightmare Whisper, they should stay private. (Reader's Notes (Pegasus): Sorry, Flutters… you're doing Hurricane Fluttershy all over again, with performance anxiety over your goddess powers.) Well, I don't feel embarrassed or worried with how protective Rainbow Dash and Rarity are of me, it lets me know I'm loved. And that's a wonderful feeling, isn't it? Yes, I still don't drink, or have salt licks, anymore than Twilight...and I MIGHT be part of the dry sisterhood with Cheerilee, Twilight Sparkle, and Miss Love Tap. 'May the dungeons stay empty and may Tartarus go up for rent.' That didn't sound too forceful, did it? We're proud of Berry Punch for beating her inner demons. Yes I can use The Stare at will now, and I'm proud of that, it's a gift I can control, and I can use it to stop fights, and give creatures a chance to listen to reason, that is what it's meant for. Do I remember being Zipzee, Bright Eyes, and Posey? ...A little. Those memories aren't mine anymore, Pinkie Pie. Though I'm happy to know that we've been friends through so many lifetimes, all of us. And if things ever change again, we will find each other again and again. Friendship carries on through the ages. I'm done letting my inner demons give me trouble, I've adopted the worst of all of them, what do I have to fear from the rest? Just...don't ask me to sing in front of a crowd for a while, I'd rather not have all those eyes on me at once. Yes, I know it's silly, but I still prefer to stick close to ponies who have gotten to know me. Why are you smiling like that? 'Fluttershy, Browbeater of Dragons and Tamer of Demons?' That's what the bards are calling me now? Oh my! I think I'm blushing! E-Excuse me! I think I hear Fluttercruel calling me! Come again! + (Pinkie Diane's Notes: Hiiii everypony! This is so cool! Oh right, right. Okay, with Twilight Sparkle, I mmaaaaay have had to snip a few pieces here and there to make it all fit. You know how Twilight really loves to make sure she explains everything! ) (So Pinkie Diane's gonna have the remote handy to fast-forward things along at all times here!) (Oh and yeah, I'm keeping my new mane style, just so you all know.) "Welcome to the Golden Oak Library and...Hello, Pinkie Pie. No, it's not silly that I give a greeting like that! This is a library, after all! If something happened to it, where would Ponyville get all their books from? Ponies do too come here often! You guys just aren't here normally when visitors come by. Pinkie! I am not making that up! Am I still afraid of snakes? How did you...I mean, why would I be afraid of snakes? Because of the way I freaked out near them at Winter Wrap Up that one time? I mean, what ponies WOULDN'T be terrified of those things when they pop and hiss in your face like that? And I'll have you know ophidiophobia is not--- Okay. You're joking, right? Why would I be scared of Mexicoltan food? Seriously, Pinkie Pie, of all the strange questions you ask, that has to be one of the oddest yet. I have it scientifically documented and everything. See, I have the list right here. Wanna go get some quesadillas later? My treat. Since when do you have a checklist too? Let me see that! Too quick?! Ugh, fine! 'Things ponies aren't meant to know?' I think this one time, I'll take your word for it. If only because I think I might go crazy figuring out why you asked that question about me and cheese. Yes, I still do some volunteer work at the mental ward. After what Discord did to all of us, I felt those ponies could use some extra understanding, even if I'm not a trained psychiatric professional. What's wrong with my dancing? I learned all my moves from Mom. Dad tells me I'm as good at dancing as her! ...It's not that bad, is it? Does the Element of Magic still allow me to copy spells I've seen in action? Last I checked. And so can Trixie. I'm sincerely impressed that she didn't sneak into the latest Equestrian Magics Convention and spell copy every spell she could get her hooves on. Yes, Pinkie Pie, Trixie is still another Element of Magic, and I'm proud of her realizing that she's her own pony, not a substitute for me. Nominally, there are only one or two Elements of Magic per generation, but I've begun to theorize any of my classmates could have become Magic if I hadn't been there, not because fate chose them, but because they'd prove worthy of it. Lemon Hearts, Minuette, Twinkle Shine, Lyra Heartstrings. and then there's Moon Dancer herself, she was right besides me in most studies, and that was WITHOUT Celestia tutoring her! It's comforting to know there's somepony to save the world if anything happens to me. It's not about being replaceable, it's good to remember that we aren't Equestria's only heroes. Who were the Elements of Magic before me and Trixie? ... Princess Celestia had... a student before me but... bad things happened, and ponies don't like to talk about her, even Cadence doesn't mention their name or what they looked like! I'm sure I could find out, if I did the research, but the one time I brought it up with the Princess… I don't want her to bring up bad memories. If Elements of Magic really do come in pairs, I have no idea who the other one could have been... But you'd think I'd have heard about an overwhelmingly powerful unicorn. She'd have to be living in the middle of nowhere for me not to have heard of her. Anyway, I promised Moon Dancer and the others that I'd actually start visiting. They were good friends to me, but I was never a friend to them...which might be why Princess Celestia told me to 'make some friends' in Ponyville... No, I don't think about what life might have been like if I'd been a true friend to Moon Dancer and the rest at that point in time. I'm a better friend now, and I think we've both seen enough to know that dwelling on might-have-beens isn't healthy. Speaking of which, I promised Trixie that we'd all visit her family with her. We met her sisters during the Gaia Festival, remember? I know, I shouldn't have made a promise for all of you. You don't mind, do you? Naturally, I'm proud of how I've helped Trixie become a better pony, but it was in large part because Trixie wanted to change! All of her is still there, she's just using it right! Her talent at lying just makes her a good story teller. She may not have the temperament for advanced magical formulas, but she's still willing to work hard for what she wants, it's why I gave her the layponies' version of one of Starswirl's spell books. Element of Magic or not, she couldn't have learned to teleport unless she could on her own. Oh, and I have been helping see that her sister's zebra/unicorn magic theory gets funding. Spike? Oh, he's with Sweetie Belle and the others...of course I'm happy for him playing with ponies his own age, or at least his own maturity level. You should really come to Lickety-Split's club, Pinkie Pie. I'm sure given your...unique experience, that you'd enjoy it maybe even more than me. You...my little incident with the Cutie Mark Crusaders? I shouldn't have trusted them with the Hearts and Hooves book as a way of saying I was sorry for the Want-It-Need-It spell, or trying to 'buy' their forgiveness with gifts. I even wrote a report about it! Dear Princess Celestia; Today I learned an important lesson about friendship. It's one thing to feel sorry for hurting someone, for wanting to make it up to them...but it's selfish to dig up the painful past just to make your own guilt go away. I've seen times where you do need to open an old wound to heal it properly...but sometimes, the wound is already healed, and it needs to be left alone. You should always think about the right way to deal with your feelings, and how they affect others, not just yourself. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. ...Yes, Pinkie Pie...the Soapbox Curse on my family is alive and well...But I consider it a mark of honor now that I know where it came from. I think it mostly appears when I lecture for the sake of it. Yes, I do have Smarty Pants back. I just needed a little help from Spike to get her back from Big Macintosh. Spike is still family to me, biologically or not, and whether it's true in paperwork or not ...Looks like BBBFF was right about me raising him. Even if Celestia told me I overdid it on the anti-mind control wards on him... Do I still call Princess Celestia 'Her Momjesty'? ...I've outgrown that...maybe, I think? Please don't tell my real mom I say that. Am I still good with numbers and calculating things to two decimal places? HEH! What do you THINK?! Just because we had to do some tactical thinking doesn't mean I've lost my touch! All ponies use math somehow in their lives anyway, you're a baker Pinkie Pie, you should know that. Applejack and Rainbow Dash might like to pretend they don't use math, but running the logistics of a farm or a weather team is hardly all guess work. They just don't like to admit it. Big Mac does most of the bookkeeping for Sweet Apple Acres? Seriously? I never really thought about him like...ahem, moving on! ...When I was brainwashed by Chrysalis?...It wasn't fast and dirty like Moon Dancer, and I couldn't see the truth of what I was doing like Applejack, and I wasn't spoiled rotten like Sweetie Belle, but I wasn't treated like equipment like Spike...It was more like...the other interviewer who was there, you know the old unicorn? I...I'm not sure quite what about what happened...yes yes she escaped, right. Now I remember. The point is, Chrysalis stole all the love and devotion Celestia's earned with me. That's what makes it so horrible in retrospect. I may have cheated, asking Cadence to use her magic explicitly to repair the damage caused to her relationship with me but-- no. Cheating implies there are rules. Cadence used her talent to help me, like a friend should, hers and Shining's combined love magic did for most of Canterlot. We suffered enough from Discord, we don't need another round of misery. Tricking me into fighting Cadence and Trixie AFTER her mind control magic was gone...I sincerely feel proud of Trixie for not trying to 'out brute force' me. And for both her and Cadence doing their hardest to save me twice over. Only real friends would go that far. The almost fight to the death with Shining that would have left the winner her broken puppet that would have been BEGGING HER to take away the pain...Lying to Scootaloo, trapping her in that box 'for her own good' and having it all backfire and her saving me and Sweetie Belle...And having to earn back that trust. No! That didn't make me fear my magic again, never again, because I know that I control it, it doesn't control me. Why should I be upset that Sweetie Belle sang at the wedding reception instead of me? I'm happy for her, she got her cutie mark out of it! I've already worked through the pain of what happened at the wedding, and I never blamed any of you, I was reckless in my accusations and Chrysalis took full advantage of that to make her seem like the victim in need. If anyone was to blame, it was her. You all did the honorable thing. We made mistakes, that happens and friends forgive each other. You weren't the first ponies willing to be my friends, but there in the Castle of the Two Sisters I was able to finally be a real friend to others outside my family. And-" (And this is where I think I can hit the fast forward button, me and Applejack still need to have our part too!) = Yakety Sax = "-I think Princess Celestia was trying to teach me with the tickets to how choose between two goods rather than a good and a bad-" (Zip!) "-And I'd say Gilda shows somepony isn't your friend just because you think they are-" (You're in for a shock. Zip!) "-and I'd say in retrospect there's plenty of blame to go around for the Ursa Minor, but there was nothing karmic about Trixie losing her home-" (Zip!) "And Rarity and AJ's sleepover reminded me friendship isn't as simple as a rule book-" (Zip!) "Just because it turns out curses are real doesn't mean Zecora wasn't being unfairly treated-" (Zip!) "Fluttershy still worries about ponies blaming her for the parasprite swarm that ate half of Ponyville? I worry about ponies blaming me-" (And yet nopony blamed me for not being more clear. Zip!) "She's actually started a petition that earth ponies and pegasi either don't use their magic on Winter Wrap Up, or unicorns be allowed to use theirs-" (Zip!) "No. Reading up on something doesn't always backfire. I'd say I did pretty well on the Running of the Leaves after reading up-" (Zip!) "I don't see how anypony can think what Rarity does isn't real work after she worked herself to exhaustion making those dresses for us. And she knows more about presentation than me, ironically." (Zip!) "Yes yes, I apologize for treating your Pinkie Sense as a fraud or dumb luck, Pinkie Pie. Alright, I'll say it, 'And Pinkie Sense has nothing to do with getting messages from alternate universe yous who that experience things ahead of you.' Happy?" (Much so! Zip!) "Just happy nopony tried to use me as a scapegoat, since I'm the one who cast Rarity's gossamer wing spell. Speaking of which, I've been practicing-" (Foreshadowing! Zip!) "That cockatrice just goes to show that even the strongest and most powerful and level headed of us can get taken out if our guard is down. Thank Celestia the Crusaders DID go into the woods, and that Fluttershy DID follow them, and so did that chicken to warn her, and Sweetie DID use that gold sink of her sister's and they WERE having a sleepover there. I might have conceivably stayed frozen in stone for hundreds of years and emerged in a new and completely unfamiliar-" (Fluttershy, Fate or Chance sure saved your bacon that time! Zip!) "Yes, maybe I wasn't clear on what I was punishing Spike for that time with Owlowcious. Speaking of which-" (Zip!) "At least that explains why Princess Celestia never let me attend the Gala BEFORE. Hopefully they'll have changed things up after last time-" (They better have! Zip! Let's see. Twilight should learn not to be ashamed of her Canterlot roots either...Hey I'm not ashamed of my rock farmer heritage! Zip!) "Greed growth is apparently not the only way dragons can grow, which is why Spike didn't have wings-" (Zip! And I think we can skip all the historical oopsies for the Hearth Warming Eve play. Yeah, Twilight, I might have needed your help for Pound and Pumpkin that first time but you sure could have been less rude about it. Yep, it's cool that you finally got Dashie to read more than comics! Ooh, what about the time when you met yourself? Oh wait, that didn't happen, never mind. Or when Spike went on that self discovery quest, oh right that didn't happen either. Yes it was great you got Fluttershy to find her courage for the hurricane Twilight. And that time you and I bonded over playing detective on the Friendship Express.... right, didn't happen... And I understood why the Cakes banned the CMC, or 'Gabby Gums' from the store, and I wasn't happy either, but I think everypony was starting to go overboard.) "Uhhhhh...I feel dizzy...I think I bit my tongue...somehow...give me a minute to lay down. What we all learned about the world, ourselves, ponykind and Equestria, thanks to Bon Bon The First's journal? ...That was a lot, Pinkie Pie. No, I still don't remember anything about being Minty or Clover's family...I'm sorry Pinkie Pie. I know...I know you loved her. But being created from the empty shell of the spirit of my ancestor, Twilight the First, combined with a mare who was born from the combined spirits of a mare and her husband and foal? Who was friends who some ponies I've been acquaintances with or dear friends with in this life? I think I'll leave thinking about 'soul biology' or whatever nonsense until I'm dead, thank you. I'm certain I'll remember everything then. No, I'm not just saying that. ...Yes, I get 'Minty' is where my so-called OCD came from, if you want. I don't care that you were my imaginary friend twice removed by grand rewrites to reality, and you shouldn't either. I care about the Pinkie Pie right here that I've come to know and care about. We ponies...we've come so far as a species. We get knocked down, but we get right back up. We refuse to go extinct or just become animals again. We'll get back to the level of the Age of Wonders, you'll see! ...It's just...Celestia trusted me with a lot more than that, not just the death of the Age of Dreams. She trusted me with the truth of where Discord came from. Of where she came from. Her family, all of them. Their families. Her hopes and dreams. Her sacrifices. Her worst mistakes. Everything she's done for Equestria...everything she's trusted me to tell ponies or not... It's a lot Pinkie Pie and....thank you for the hug. And it was all because of the book I got from the interviewers that set everything off...I still don't know how they got it. I hate the idea of things ponies aren't meant to know...but I've found out a lot of things that I wonder if ponies are better off not knowing...You don't need to stop hugging me. "How do I feel about my BBBFF and Cadence? ...What is there TO say that I haven't said already? I love them. I'm happy for them. I think they'll be great parents for Kifuko and any foals they have down the line. You can bet mom wants grandfoals. Shining Armor is the bravest, strongest stallion I've ever met, he's a hero, he's an example of everything the Royal Guard should be! It's odd that we never saw him all those times we visited Canterlot before? He was on that world tour with Cadence. I didn't have so much as a picture of him? Well...I kinda forgot to go back home to pack when I moved to Ponyville. Never once mentioned him for two years? After I gushed so much about how close we were? ...I think you girls kinda overrode my social list I had in my head...It was kinda short before. Yes...Cadence was born an Alicorn in Canterlot. "Found lost in the woods as a pegasus foal by Earth Ponies?" Ha ha ha, that's silly, Pinkie Pie! Who told you that? Sounds like a tabloid. Plus, I'm pretty sure it takes more than defeating a pony possessed by a corruptive magic amulet, reversing polarity on said amulet, or defeating an extremely evil villain to become an Alicorn or we'd all have wings by now. Shining Armor would have wings by now! Cadence was the big sister I never realized I wanted, her foal-sitting me was a joy, we loved playing with each other. And Princess Celestia was proud of her. I'll admit, maybe I should have seen Cadence and Shining Armor becoming a couple when they met in High School. I love them Pinkie Pie, just like I love Spike, my parents, Celestia, and all of you. (We spent some time hugging and nuzzling and playing Parcheesi. Of course I didn't accidentally call her Minty while playing Parcheesi! That would have been rude! I've learned to love my friends for who they are now. ...I'll never stop missing Minty. But I won't whine after Apple Bloom (I owe her for the rest of my life) finally gave back so many of my friends a chance to live again, and I wouldn't want Minty or Twilight separated because...they wouldn't be whole.) + Later that evening, Applejack and Pinkie met at the replica of Kimono's gazebo. - Ah didn't need to ask why Pinkie wanted to meet here, and not the farm or Sugarcube Corner. This was the park that Nightmare Whisper created, and Pinkie Pie had moved here, just outside Ponyville, spending bits Ah didn't know she had. Ah was among the few ponies who knew that this here park didn't have ponies livin' in it before. Not only that...the ponies livin' here hadn't existed before! But only me, Pinkie Pie, the Princesses, and the Crusaders even knew that. For everypony else, these ponies had come from Ponyville and all over to be the live-in caretakers of Pinkie Pie's little public park. Parents in Ponyville were even sayin' how it was cheaper than a trip to Whinny Land. This one mare, Star Beam, even gave me a friendly wave as Ah passed by...apparently we were classmates. Ah remember her huggin' me at Ma and Pa's funeral now. And her wearin' sunglasses one day and tellin' 'er honest how goofy she looked with'em on. Truth had changed, and Ah was down with that. - Over cupcakes and cider, the mares compared their notes. "So, anythin' freaky to report?" asked AJ. "Nope! Fluttercruel can manifest as a baby hybrid whenever she wants, but that's about it." "That's a relief. Ah'm proud of 'Bloom fer not goin' overboard." AJ looked around at the new ponies. 'Mostly.' "So that just leaves the two of us. Ooh, ooh, we can interview each other!" Pinkie Diane unrolled a list, and one end of it rolled off the table and right out of the gazebo. "Or...maybe we should keep this short. I've promised to foalsit the Cakes' twins tonight." Applejack nodeed. "And the farm doesn't take care of itself." "Alrighty, then!" Pinkie mussed her mane, somehow making it less messy and more professional-looking. "Question number one! Remember how when you got more medals than any other pony at the Canterlot Rodeo, but since none of them were first place, you sent an apology for your failure and went to get the money to repair Town Hall by yourself?" "How could Ah forget? Ah 'fessed up the truth to everypony in my letter, and that's what split our world off from the 'Heart World'. ...And that you went nuts and tried to put a drill in yer head." "Heheh...maybe I did go a little crazy, worrying that the world was going to end if we weren't 100% true to canon and that the shadows would all lose interest...which some kinda have, I can feel it. But we got a great chat with Star Catcher, I mean Princess Celestia out of it." "We've seen some times, haven't we? Ah remember how Ah had to go inside myself and accept Orangejack from another universe to get a handle on the Truth, and we ended up fightin' the first Nightmare Mirror, and saw how many truths there are out there...And that life isn't fair...But Ah think Ah knew that one already from Ma and Pa." "And I got all of myself back together after I learned that being sad won't make me never happy. You should have seen my super mode inside my head when I turned into Surprise! Gosh, I hope 'Cousin Surprise' is doing okay." "Ah'm sure she is. She's got some good friends." 'And Ah got dreams now of bein' an Alicorn too, even Ah've got a lot to work out, Ah can do without the 'Princess crud' though... dangit. After becomin' a goddess and kickin' tentacles boy's behind, not payin' respect to the Powers-That-Be feels uncourtly.' "What are you thinking about?" "Oh! Well, when Ah got told and saw how uncomfortable ponies, including my friends, could be about my truth magic, Ah turned it off...and that's how Ah got sucker-zapped by Chrysalis. Those days of bein' her slave were horrible, 'cause that dang stupor couldn't work on me. Always on or always off weren't the answer on how to handle the Truth as well I'm gonna have ta." "If you ask me, the whole 'mind control' and 'corrupt the heroes' thing is just dull, dull, dull now! Been there, done that! Sorry, we've already got one! I'm sick of fighting my friends." "We'll, Ah still got the Truth...Ah didn't get to give mine away like Bloom, so Ah get ta remember everything, like it or not. Havin' that fake limb in that fake Equestria was the least rotten thing 'bout that nightmare. Ah'll never forget what that good Nightmare Mirror sacrificed fer me and Apple Bloom. She realized the real truth of what she was doing." Pinkie teared up a bit, and hugged Applejack tight, the kind of bone-cracking hug that was only safe for earth ponies hugging other earth ponies. AJ just grinned, more than able to withstand her enthusiasm. "Thanks fer that, Pinkie Pie." "You're welcome! Did I mention that I still have the patent on party canons? I've made plenty of royalties!" "Don't ya mean 'party cannons?'" "Those too! And helicopters." "Right..." They fell silent for a while, watching a group of foals gallop past, kicking a hoofball around. "Ah had to break mahself out of Nightmare Whisper's happy fake family reunion, you know. Now Ah know how Twilight felt, being the last one left standing up to Discord." "Too bad things didn't work out with her kingdom...oh right...then Pound and Pumpkin wouldn't have been born...I think time and space have finally settled on when exactly they were born in our timeline. Let me tell you, several thousand years of foal-like innocence and joy doesn't get old. Just ask Star Catcher, I mean Princess Celestia. I'm not sad she unsealed my memories about what happened to Minty. Or that I got my other memories back after I joined together with the rest of me." "You remember that, huh? Even having the Truth, Ah don't remember bein' old Applejack. Or apparently St. Sweetheart from what dark and ugly said. And somehow my ancestor Applejack the First in there somewhere, Ah think, it gets all way too confusin' fer me, no offense Pinkie Pie. Ah'm Applejack the Fifth of the fifth line, and Ah know now that my ancestor was somepony to be proud of! Princess Luna...she shared a lot wit me Pinkie Pie, and Ah mean a LOT! ...Ah've even learned...there was this Mare, Queen Majesty of Ponyland...things have changed a lot for ponies." "Well, we're still friends now, so better than, well, I guess you don't want to know ...We were friends as Applejack and Surprise, before Surprise became the first rock farmer, and ...right, I didn't exist for that next part, but we were friends again as Applejack and Pinkie Pie before, not super close friends, but friends. And I'd say we're both now closer friends with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." 'And I still have Princess Rarity's light of existence!' "I'd say I make better plans and put stuff together better than before. And my Pinkie Sense can be a lot more precise now, I wonder if I can do some stuff with my eyes closed. I remember all about rock farming too, and I still think it's boring, but now I'm middle triplets with Limestone Pie and Marble Pie...and I got to keep Inky and Blinky! I don't mean they're toys, they're family...Thanks for the hug, Jackie! Most ponies still don't get what I say when I explain how the world works though. And I managed to do things a lot more smoothly with Cranky than in the heart world. ...Maybe I was seeking unconscious payback on Princess Luna on that Nightmare Night for what happened to Minty ...maybe...I dunno." Pinkie Diane looked around at the park she and Fluttershy had effectively built, huffed, crossed her arms and pouted. "But I seriously don't think it's fair, this grand reveal about Apple Bloom giving all my friends who hadn't reincarnated from the Age of Dreams a second shot at life...and nopony seemed to even notice or care! Shouldn't more of those who know about this be happy about it? Or talk about it? Or CARE about it?" "Pinkie Pie, why are ya readin' them cue cards?" "Uh, no reason." "...Well, I saw the Truth a million different ways from Sunday and a zillion possible futures and...Ah'm proud of the ponies Ah talked to...from RD to Mayor Mare to some ponies in Canterlot...Helping Apple Bloom face her fears of what happened in Sunny Town. If Ah helped even a little, it was worth it and...Ah'm happy to know ponies trust me enough to know that Ah'm not gonna go blabbing their personal problems to everypony...and that Ah'm always there to lend an ear to. Ah don't need magic eyeballs to be that for everypony." "Maybe you can be a guru instead of-" Pinkie Diane began. A watch beeped that Pinkie Pie hadn't been wearing before, and wouldn't be wearing later. "Uh-oh, we're about out of time, so let's get the trip down memory lane into fast gear. Better buckle up in case we crash! But first. Fluttershy made clear we shouldn't hold a grudge against Iron Will for what happened when she took standing up for herself too far and said... mean things to all of us. I don't hold a grudge against Gilda for what she did when she last came to Ponyville. And nopony holds a grudge against you for the rabbit stampede or the baked-bads. Nopony holds a grudge against me for not being more clear about the parasprites. Or you and Rainbow Dash for cheating during the Running of the Leaves, mostly cause you cheated each other. Or blame me making clear how breaking promises could ruin things forever when Fluttershy was a model and hated it. Or blame you and RD for doing the opposite of helping the ponies and buffalo reach a compromise and were fixated on the buffalo not liking my music for some reason. Or you just explaining Rainbow and Fluttershy were going to be under Twilight to catch her when we saved the world the first time. Ahem...'calling out' true friends and family on something, wrong or right, after all the hugs and laughs have already been had, makes you look like a grudge nurser." "Again with the cue cards?" "Sorry! But I just want it made clear: we aren't holding any grudges." "Hey, remember giving Apple Bloom my old club house? Heh, should have known she'd be a pro at fixin' stuff after she restored it in one night. And Ah'm happy that Bloom and Twist finally started talkin' to each other again. And Ah'm proud of Rarity for what she did durin' the Sisterhooves Social to show Sweetie how much she loves her." "And remember Trixie was there to help against Flim and Flam, even if we still 'lost' at the end?" "Ah remember. And Ah know Bloomberg is doin' good in Appleloosa, hope he doesn't miss me too badly. ...Ah'll admit, Rarity and me made a mess of it, but it was fun to have that sleepover with Twili.'" "Not as much fun as that surprise birthday party you threw me, maybe I was a little too focused on other ponies' birthdays that I forgot my own...Applejack...Was that hat still your father's?" "I won it bobbing for apples at the Ponyville fair." "Who gave you the prize?" "...Pa." "It still got ruined fighting Nightmare Whisper?" "Yeah." "Do you blame Apple Bloom for not 'fixing' that?" Applejack looked around at the new colorful ponies. "Ah'd say, she spent her time where it was most needed...And Rarity made me a new one, and it's a gift Ah treasure too...Just like Apple Bloom treasured Ma's ribbon (did that get damaged too somewhere?). Rarity made us a closet full of replacements as a gift and swore she'd never tell a soul." "Still not gonna tell Fluttershy?" "What would be the point now?" "Yeah. Know what you mean. Applejack, don't you think it's weird how every pony (me included), says how me leaving the rock farm was a great idea, even though I'll now defend it whenever somepony insults it, and our family traditions...and meanwhile, every pony says how leaving YOUR home was a terrible mistake? I mean, I broke family tradition, and it was seen as a good thing, while you've stuck to family tradition and that's a good thing. It's totally crazy isn't it?" Applejack hugged her. "Sugarcube, it wasn't a terrible mistake. It wasn't right for ME. For THIS me...But somewhere out there, there's a me who made somethin' wonderful outta it. Trust me, Ah met her. Ah think those things are less about it bein' a mistake, and more about it not bein' the life we chose. All that matters is we're happy with that choice." Pinkie Diane hugged her back. "Thanks AJ that...that means a lot! So, we'd better go, we're outta time." "Eeyup. Thanks fer doin' this, Pinkie Pie. With our friends." She gave a slight nuzzle. "No problem. Have to make sure all my party files are in order. It was great talking with you and everypony! Whatever's the future's got in store for us, we can take it!" "Ya better believe it!" AJ and Pinkie left the Ponyville of yesterday for the Ponyville of today, not afraid. > Diamond Tiara's Journey of Nothing (optional Canon) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- = Undertale OST - Undertale = Voice of Nightmare !$*(!@(!( ERROR! I slip through the cracks like a shadow. I'm an intruder more than ever. This isn't just not my world, this is a world that isn't truly connected to my Equestria. Traveling through the naught between without a gateway I'm not protected by anything except I blend in perfectly with the 'not there'. There are things very old and very dangerous that prowl this space between the world's walls that can't function in places with such harsh rules like existence! After traveling to the human world and having sassage tentacle claws for forehooves, it felt relieving to have four legs again. But they're not the point. The point is sitting chained to wall by her neck, beaten and bloody, with a dog bowl in front of her. Her pink fur dirty, her stripe purple and white mane is a mess, her face is stained with tears, her blue eyes are bloodshot, her crown is missing. She can't notice me, it's better she doesn't. 'I wish I could just make the monster who did this to her never-heard-from-again.' I thought. 'Similar sentiments dear, but even if I could use my magic, he's one of those things that the shadow who makes has blessed... even I'd be no match for him, because this worldline's Shadow Who Makes had commanded it thus. He'd know you were there just because it would be a weakness for him not to. Unless the The Shadow Who Makes feels like giving him a bloody nose in hopes it'll 'balance things out'. Why do you think an edgy teenager is able to bring Equestria to its knees with no clue about Equestria before coming here?' I sighed. Fate always got her way. But maybe I could cheat just a little. I trotted over to her. Her eyes are open, but she's staring out at nothing, she's shivering, like an abused animal. I knelt down. I hugged her. She keeping shivering as I spread out my wings and covered her with them, and gently touched my horn to her forehead. I don't know if it was my nature as a Nightmare or just what torture she'd been through that made her still not realize I was there. I can feel it... her despair, the crushed hope that her dad or her Silvey will save her, she's given up everything, she thinks she's going to die in here. She was taken just to hurt her father in revenge, and to 'teach a lesson.' "I'm sorry I can't do more for you, or he'd come, and make things even worse for revenge. "Let me take your pain, let me eat your despair, let me drink up your misery, I'll suck out the poison." So my magic began to syphon off the darkness eating her soul inside her, careful to do it slowly enough that it wouldn't rip her heart apart. "My heart is already fill to the brim with bile Why should I fear pain this vile? "Let me take this meaningless pain from you, When all's said and done, I'll drag it with me to Hell. "I'll eat the hate, I'll take from this cruel fate. My heart's already pitch black, I'll take the flack. "Let my horn be the lancing pin, "I'll take the weight of your sins. "My soul's as vast as the sea, For me this is a sting from a bee." I shudder as I take in the darkness inside her, all the blackness, my heart is infested to the core with dark magic, taking in these dark feelings are a drop in the bucket for me. Eventually she stops shivering, her eyes close, and she's granted the temporally mercy of a long dreamless sleep. 'This won't change the course of events for this world at all as far as anypony can see princess.' Father Discord's voice says. "It's the damage that nopony can see that's the most vicious, you helped me master that remember?" 'I'm not allowed to forget.' The darkness adds up, I feel her every tear like I shed it myself, but I'm built now to hold black magic anyway, and the ship's going to the bottom of the ocean. This pain will end up going where I'm going soon enough. And the Spirits of Dark Magic will be lose their playmate. I'm done here, but I'm not finished, and slip through the crack's again. I almost wonder why I'm not just finding one of the Beasts from Beyond and offering it to me as a midnight snack. Then again, I reek so much of dark magic at this point I'd likely taste like sludge to them. The next place I came to, was a filly with one front leg and back leg replaced with crude fake limbs. She'd been thrown around like a tennis ball by fate. This Equestria was the opposite extreme of the first. The first one had a dark lord who couldn't be meaningfully outwitted. This one had a hero who was like a black hole consuming fate's threads for his own rope. First Diamond Tiara burned down her CMC's club house for spite... and was banished to Tartarus for it. And after trying to commit suicide, which sadly didn't work out, she was turned into a beast, and was cut limb from limb by the hero until who she was discovered. Except the Shadow himself who created this world felt guilt at what he'd done after he'd learned the truth about the heart world version of us. Heh. This world's shadow who makes and mine? Not so different. And the shadow who makes rewrote fate so a demon had possessed her and used her own feelings to make her its pawn, and was finally discovered the second time. 'Huh, my Princess, I must admit...That demon has...alright taste in plans.' I look at my black vulture wings, my eyes narrowed. "... You would know wouldn't you, father?" '...Yes, I would...I believe twice now... Princess... do you hate me?' "I'm empty inside remember? How could I possible hate you for everything you did?" I said matter-of-fact. '... I see.' This world's filly was given clumsy fake limbs to replace the ones she lost. This world's... this world's Discord even offered to restore what she lost... but she refused his offer... saying it was her 'repentance'. 'Oh you have got to be kidding me!' "What? Out of character for you?" 'Not for a 'reformed me' I suppose. No I was talking about that bucking mask daring to talk down to ME about being a God of Chaos!' My eyes narrowed. "Can you focus?" 'Sorry, I'm just tired of being called 'not true chaos' by self proclaimed posers and imitators.' "Your empathy for another version of me is so touching. It truly is. If I still had a heart, I'm so sure I'd feel warmer at your display of newfound parental like love at even an image of myself, used and abused like I was for a plan that didn't even work in the end," I say in a flat voice. '...I'm chaos, my dear. If I was a sociopath all the time it'd be boring. I have to sprinkle in a little empathy in there somewhere.' I felt something bubble in me. "... You're not the god of recognizing sarcasm," I said, my tone and volume not changing at all. 'Neither are you of making it, my dear. Deadpan snark is more your forte, given your current personality.' "I'm only what you taught me to be. Remember? ... Her? She didn't even get a choice. She never agreed to a deal with the devil. She was used and discarded. Then used and discarded again." 'Valid point...Alright, my dear, I get your point.' And I thought I had it rough. At least she didn't try to turn the world into hell to save it only for it to get undone and to be all for nothing anyway. "I don't understand how she can treat losing body parts due to being possessed by a demon as 'repentance.'" 'Same reason the Shadows Who Watch like to think Luna would make that little baby Nightmare in her head to torture her in her sleep as punishment for being possessed by a space parasite. Is it really all that different from what you want princess?' "I'm taking an ocean of filth with me where I'm going. At least it serves a purpose... for the first and last time in my life." If I stay long, the supreme hero blessed by the Shadow of this worldline (or the local heroes who 'finally caught up' to his world's 'level') will notice me, and just like the villain of the last world, I won't win because an outsider like me would go against the will of this worldline's one-who-makes. I won't win no matter what I do. Unlike the first filly, my actions are going create a new world line... I'll need to leave fast, or ... or what? What outcome would I have to be afraid of? 'I won't get my big finish,' Discord said hastily, like a parent pulling a foal from the train tracks as they chased after a butterfly. 'Which you promised to help with I'll remind. I mean going out fighting a storm wizard would have the spectical, but it's just not the same! A villain can't go out fighting against any random hero! It must be their arch-enemy or it's just unsatisfying!'' "Did I promise? Humph." I touch my horn on the top of her head. Alarms would be going off already. Ponies will 'think to check up or see how she's doing' already. I have to work fast. My eyes glow white. What did you expect? Me to play nice? "You won't remember me, but you will heed what I say. The demon burned down the club house. The demon attacked Ponyville. You were a puppet it wore like cloth. You would have never been that horrid on your own. ... Diamond Tiara is not a murderer." I think I feel shame. Then again, I don't have the right to be called Diamond Tiara anymore. I've ruined the named my parents gave me. "You're better than that. You're better than this." Uuuuugh. Why did I... feel... Sick? Dizzy? Like the two hemispheres of my brain wanted to go on separate vacations. 'Think that Mother feels the same way when she goes against Her nature when she brings something into existence? Maybe why She's erased Father seven or eight times every time She's given birth?' "Diamond Tiara, is not a murderer." I feel bile rising from my throat but I push it down. "Diamond... Tiara... is not a murderer," she echoed. "Losing your legs, is not penance for bullying Apple Bloom and the others out of jealousy." "Losing my legs, is not penance for bullying Apple Bloom and the others out of jealousy... " 'Since when you can do mental suggestion?' "Just helping her see very clearly. You need to make up for your bullying, but this isn't the right way." I nearly passed out from saying those last several words... why? 'Diamond, I respect you dedication, but do remember if you pass out here we might attract some unwanted company.' "I need to make up for my bully, but this isn't the right way." Diamond Tiara echoed. "Ask... Discord... to... help... you, after... all." I was covered in sweat as I let go. "I'll ask Discord to help me... after all," Diamond Tiara said like it was her own idea. 'TIARA! Move! Now!' A deaf pony would have felt the vibrations of worry and concern in his voice. "Don't... call me, that." I fled, just before the hero 'just happened' to arrived in her room. ... = Robotech - 'Reflections' = After practically crashing onto the ground outside of Ponyville, I wandered off through a field of wild flowers. I was back in my Equestria... the one I nearly destroyed for nothing... I one I helped twist into a sea of Hells for a dream that didn't come true... I looked behind me... I saw a perfect trail of hoof-fall-shape withered blossoms. Little flowers losing the that little flame of will to keep on living. I normally never leave a trail of anything. 'Dear, focus. Pull it in. Remember, you're in control.' I pulled my wings as close around myself as I could. And I passed without a trace, no more wilting flowers. I crawled onto a large tree stumped and curled up, hugging my rear legs. Hot, cold, dry, wet, rough, soft, it made no different to me. In a flash of chaos magic, a black plush cat appeared, I wordlessly hugged it close to where my heart used to me. I closed my eyes. I spent the day resting, even insects didn't notice me, or maybe they did, they crawled around me, none touching me. Celestia's sun and Luna's moon couldn't see me now even before Apple Bloom revisions to the world. "Just a day or two more... then it can all finally end. And we'll both get what we want... doesn't that make you happy, Discord?" '... Yes, just peachy.' He didn't sound it. I sleep without dreaming, just as well, you can't have a nightmare, if you never dream. > TRIXIE'S BACK! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Alright, kitties! We've got three fillies with three cutie marks! They've done more to earn them than anypony can know, so that means this has gotta be the bestest cute-ceañera ever!" Pinkie Diane Pie was wearing a hard hat covered in smiley-face stickers. She was barking out orders through a megaphone, though not her giga-sized one for reminding ponies to write. "Mew-mew!" 'Aye aye!' The wuv-cats hurried about, adorably barefoot in overalls and hard hats with holes for their ears. They had promised Pinkie they'd return to help, after all. A party for three fillies, which even by Pinkie Pie standards was going to be a grand affair indeed. By pure coincidence, insurance rates in Ponyville had dropped slightly after the last of the Crusaders had earned her cutie mark. Pinkie Diane had received a large unsigned donation from the 'Cutie Mark Celebration Charity' (that had existed for all of one day) from Canterlot. The Cakes themselves were awestruck at the little cat creatures going about their work busy as bees, acting like Pinkie Pie's every word was a command from Celestia herself. The wuv-cats had played with Pound and Pumpkin, but now gave the babies a wide margin, since they didn't want any more bruises or chew-marks on their tails. The work being put in to prepare for this grand event couldn't be done in an afternoon or even a couple of days, not if one wanted it done right. But the CMC for once were actually showing a smidgen of patience. This party would truly be Pinkamena Diane Pie's masterpiece. It wasn't every day that foals got a cute-ceañera not just for getting a cutie mark, but two other foals got their cutie marks 'upgraded' or 'completed' with a red and a green shield behind them. +++ Diary of Silver Spoon Diamond, before all of this, would have panicked if she saw a cutie mark change. Most foals wouldn't have a clue what that means, so I guess maybe it's a good thing Diamond wasn't here, or she'd have gotten humiliated when she saw the Crusaders and freaked out. But me, Diary? Tiara told me how her mom's cutie mark changed and she got put in the mental ward, back when I was still getting used to not being called Silver Tray. I wish Tiara would come home soon, she'll be so happy when she finds out her mom is well again. I'll bet she'll be so happy that she won't care about her grudge with Apple Bloom anymore. Honestly, Diary, she only disliked Sweetie and Scootaloo by proxy. This upper class filly had learned how to read ponies, and I could tell Cheerilee had her eye out for 'cutie mark problems,' but somehow those three having a matching set just feels right, and Cheerilee knows it too. +++ Scootaloo's Book (Not a diary!) But it didn't stop Cheerilee from sending notes to our families just in case. And Sweetie's newfound talent for spying let her know her parents sent a message to their family doctor about her cutie mark changing. Of course, one of those notes went to my parents, which means it really went straight to me instead, and I told my friends. But since it would be suspicious if we knew, we had to keep quiet about it. Not that it matters... just because we got our cutie marks 'powered up' when Apple Bloom got hers doesn't mean we're gonna 'act odd' or 'get sick' or whatever. Of course, as my guardian, Dash knows that I know, since she got the same message as 'my parents' did and knows that I'm the one who's answering all their mail. She told me not to worry about it. At least now that I'm Dash's ward, not just her apprentice, I don't have to be scared of my own cute-ceañera anymore. Even if... even if mom and dad aren't there... at least I'm not gonna end up being taken away by Foal Services or something. I can just be happy I found out what makes me 'me'... twice! And I did it with my friends, saving the world! Even if only we and Applejack, and Pinkie will know that part. Oh right, and Button Mash too, and Featherweight and maybe the Princesses? Quite a crowd, actually! Everything that's happened? And seeing Apple Bloom and Twist? Makes me wonder how it goes with other foals who don't get their cutie mark at the same time as their friends. +++ Apple Bloom's Diary Ah haven't told my friends yet, but Ah wrote in the Big Book of Everythin' that our cute-ceañera will happen the day after Applejack and her friends face Discord and Diamond Tiara. Ah don't want that happy day we've all waited so long for to happen with that big fight hangin' over our heads, even if only Ah'm the only pony who knows what's coming. If books could talk, Ah know ya'd be shoutin' at me that Ah should tell everypony, or at least Miss Twilight and the Princesses and my friends about what happened 'n' what's gonna happen. But Ah just want things to happen as natural as they can now. When Ah was in charge of everythin', Ah wrote up things to happen on their own, includin' Twilight getting her heads up, if Ah try to force things along now, it could all go off the rails, Ah think. Applejack had me sleep in her bedroom for a few nights after... after Ah got my cutie mark. She said she just wants to make sure Ah'm fine and that Ah'm not having any nightmares. Ah think that's Princess Luna's job, but good luck arguin' with big sisters. Ah wish Ah could say that'll be just Applejack and her friends saving the world like they're supposed to ... But Ah can't remember. Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle, will they be needed there to save Diamond Tiara? What about the rest of us Crusaders? Did Ah not remember, because me rememberin' would screw things up somehow? Enough about all that, Ah guess. Today in class, the more things stay the same, the more they change. Scootaloo still has that braid, and she's not losin' it any time soon. She still had that pinecone pendant since it wasn't part of any of the rumor curses, and she gave it to Cheerilee 'again' as a gift. And Ah'm still wearin' the earring Zecora gave me (and any damage done to Ma's ribbon durin' our quest got undone). Land's sakes, Ah couldn't believe how many questions Sweetie Belle kept askin' about it, like she was more interested in that than me bringin' an entire population of ponies back from oblivion! It'd be like if ponies got all excited about a talkin' dog while demons and angels were punchin' it out in the schoolyard. Huh, that's funny. Why did Ah doodle Blanky on the other page while Ah was thinking about that? Pipsqueak is now getting and sending letters to his pen pal in Canterlot, Moonlight and her big sister Sunny Day. Turns out they got a bit more in common, Discord hadn't gotten to Pip or Moonlight or their families before my sister and her friends beat 'em. Not bein' a jerk, Pip doesn't talk a lot about it. Though... Ah think big sister told 'em that good fortune ain't somethin' to be ashamed of. Ruby Pinch is still Berry Punch's daughter, and Noi is still Carrot Top's little sister. No way was Ah gonna mess with stuff like that! Sweetie and Button Mash are still together, and nearly nopony remembers it bein' different. Everypony really likes it that way. Sweetie's always makin' sure Button Mash doesn't play video games in class... heh, and is makin' sure he knows how to dance for the Junior Grand Galloping Gala, whether he likes it or not. ... Alright already, Ah'll confess. Ah'm feelin' blind in one eye with the Truth gone. Ah know Ah was being a truth-obsessed jerk, and it was turnin' me into a Nightfilly, and we sure as heck don't need two Nightfillies runnin' wild... but after havin' the gaze that pierces all, Ah really do feel a little lost without it, even if Ah still have Toola-Roola's artist eye. Even so, Ah think it's better Ah don't remember everythin' Ah knew when Ah had power over the world book. The more Ah think about it, the smaller Ah feel, like Ah was the whole world and now Ah'm just one tiny speck. Like it or not, there's no goin' back. Ah ain't gettin' the Truth back, and Ah'm not gonna become some all powerful filly with Equus in my hooves again, and it's better for everypony that Ah don't. Let's talk about Ruby and Sunny Town. Fluttershy insists to Applejack that Threeleaf and the rest understand that cutie marks and cutie pox aren't the same thing, and that I can visit Ruby now without bein' afraid. Applejack still doesn't like it. Fluttershy says it'll help them move on. After seein' Threeleaf and the others as the ponies they could've been... Let's move on. By the way, Ah found out today that Snipsy Snap and Snailsquirm are Snips and Snails' full first names after meetin' their mas at school. Learn somethin' new every day. Twist and Truffle are still together and happy. Now that Ah know, Ah can tell Tootsie is never gonna be overjoyed about it, even if she's accepted it. Ah considered hooking her up with somepony, but one thought about the Love Poison sinks that ship right to the bottom of the sea. Ah can't choose who her special somepony is gonna be. Tootsie, Lyra, Moth, and Bon Bon are still a lovin' family. And Tootsie isn't hidin' that she wants to be the new Mare-Do-Well when she grows up. Heh, Bon Bon still isn't happy about that. She's just a regular filly now... with three parents, family members who are war heroes, and one that's a gifted unicorn. And she's one of the most tolerant foals I've ever met. She's also still friends with Alula AND Pipsqueak and his 'pirate crew.' Tootsie and Alula apparently don't remember a thing about bein' perfect princess ponies. Tootsie still wants to change her name to Liza Doolots, though. Shady Daze, Sunny Daze, and Peachy Pie are all fine, with Shady Daze still part of the Foal Free Press, and more power to him and Lickety Split and Featherweight. Speaking of Featherweight, Ah never expected him to come and help us out of nowhere, even if he was the reason we knew Diamond Tiara was involved in Discord's scheme to begin with. And Ah didn't expect him to remember everythin' that happened during the curse. Or how things were before Ah fixed stuff up. And... well... we keep a door open for him. He knows stuff he can't share with his auntie or his friends, and he's half the reason Ah was able to fix the printing press. He's a hero, and it's a crying shame so few ponies can ever know about it, but he still keeps that smile on his face. He can come to us whenever he has trouble, or whenever else he wants. Ah know Featherweight wants to save Diamond Tiara too, and Button Mash wants to be Sweetie Belle's hero whenever he can... but Ah think they should get to be foals while they can. Miss Maud Pie had said we had to give up our foalhoods, she never said anything about our friends having to give up theirs. - Supplemental Material by Silver Spoon Excuse me just for a second here. I didn't have a proper place to write this before, but I think I can write this part better than Apple Bloom. The day after everypony had whacked-out dreams and we had career day at school, Alula met with me, this time without Tootsie. She didn't tell me that I should be friends with the Crusaders because it might hurt Diamond's feelings. Alula's been hanging out with Rumble for some time now, trading tricks, comparing pegasus gymnastics and stunt flying. Their big siblings don't give each other so much as a glance at work. Why do some ponies think everypony HAS TO have a special somepony to be happy? I'd die for Diamond Tiara, but that doesn't mean I like her that way. Alula... she asked me, "Can you help me know more about the real Diamond Tiara?" You know how if something is cold enough, it actually feels like it's burning? I almost feel like that's also the case with Alula a little. Since I was in diapers, my family has taught me how to read the feelings that ponies try to keep hidden, but Alula was able to read them without any of that. It's like it's because she didn't know the rules that normal facades didn't work on her or something, but that couldn't be the case, could it? The truth is... Alula knew Diamond Tiara was hurting. She'd even spoken to Mr. Filthy Rich about it! I wonder if it's because of being born in a privileged herd, or just pony nature that I didn't recognize Alula when she first spoke with me. Ponies we don't form strong bonds with... we don't really see them, even if we see them every day, sorry, we look at them, like background props in a play. I wonder who sees me as just a background prop in their lives? It wasn't even the REAL first time she'd spoken with me. She'd asked me if I knew where Diamond Tiara was, and I'd told her 'No', and not even given her a second thought! I think I get now why she thought Tiara would misunderstand if she saw me being friends with the other Crusaders. What if I'd paid more attention to the filly besides me who showed Diamond Tiara kindness? If we'd teamed up? Would Tiara still be here right now? Needless to say, my circle of friends has gotten bigger again. I'll admit, maybe I am a little scared that Tiara will think of all the new foals I'm hanging out with, that I won't have time for her. I promise Tiara, I'll always have time for you. - Apple Bloom's Diary (Resumed) So here Ah am again. Back listenin' to history class, after me and my friends helped save the world again. Except, Ah don't feel the same as Ah did after the weddin'. Maybe bein' in charge of everythin' for a minute gave me a new view on things. Ah don't feel like my life's run out of steam while I'm still in grade school, Ah don't feel like an actor still on stage after the show's over. Ah know there are ponies that are never gonna forget what we did. Ah've got a lot more to do, and that includes finishin' school. "Soon after Princess Luna and Celestia defeated the villain Discord and were crowned rulers of Equestria, Princess Celestia located several sealed tombs from the Age of Miracles. Except she explained to treasure hunters that these were not tombs at all, nor places of honor or worship, but dumping grounds for dangerous stones and sludge that would fatally poison anypony merely by being close to them." "So rocks that shoot invisible death rays?" "... Yes, Snips, rocks that shoot invisible death rays." Miss Cheerilee explained. "But Princess Celestia explained to the ponies of the era, that it worked based on the same magic as the sun itself, so she was able to absorb this power harmlessly, and save the lives of ponies who had been exposed." Now that Discord and Nightmare Moon bein' myths is kinda kaput, lots of new history is comin' out, must be drivin' the historian ponies nuts. "-and when Princess Celestia tried to have Equestria's naming as a kingdom replaced with the technically correct principality, it ignited a scandal among the upper and lower classes, which is why we are still nominally listed as a kingdom-" "My pencil sharpener broke!" said Archer, holding a broken pencil. The other half was stuck in the turn crank sharpener on her desk. It appeared that the gears were jammed. "Just borrow a pencil from the foal next to you, Archer," said Miss Cheerilee patiently. Ah didn't really think 'bout it, Ah just did it. Ah marched up to Archer's desk, took apart the sharper, dumped out the pencil shavings and broken end of the pencil, then put it all back together again better than before. Ah did all this in less than thirty seconds. "Wow! Thanks, Apple Bloom!" "It was nothin'." Sweetie Belle grinned. "So, how does it feel using your very own special talent, Apple Bloom?" "Huh? Ah did? Oh!" Ah didn't think fixin' that little doohickey could be anythin' special. Back at home, my family wasn't 'bout to let my special talent go to waste neither. There's always somethin' that needs doin' on a farm, and every Apple knows it! Applejack had thrown together a whole list of stuff that needed fixin' an' put me to work the day after we saved the world! "Granny's favorite old music box, check! Broken goat pen latch, check! Gazebo boards (have Big Mac get nails), check! Leaky roof (ask Big Mac to help!) ... check!" "Eeyup!" Whew! Now listen, a lot of what Ah remember from when Ah was the Architect of Everythin' leaked right out of my head. So after Ah got home from school and Ah finished off everythin' on the fix-it-list for the day on top of my regular chores. Then Ah spotted the markin' on my calendar... Uh-oh. Here we go. All the preparations we'd been makin'? It was almost time to put 'em to the test. 'Vacation' was almost over. We had a day to go. Ah rushed to the clubhouse; Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were waitin' right there, wearin' their crusader capes like me. Scootaloo had on traditional Pegasopolis war paint, while Sweetie had a stack of books with 'er that may or may not have been from the forbidden black magic wing of the library. Ah'll admit now, it feels like a definite cheat that Discord's not done after we finished off the curse, but Button Mash said it best: "First rule of any RPG, the 'final boss' isn't ever the real final boss." +++ Nightmare !$*(!@(!( ERROR! Diamond Tiara 'The stage is set, the supporting cast has been drilled on the choreography, and the special effects are primed!' proclaimed Discord's voice. No doubt, he wished he had a top hat on and a cane to twirl. 'All that's missing now is the enforced method actors, and we can begin the premiere, my little princess!' "Good," I said. I sat on a ledge opposite the upper story windows, watching Mom and Dad inside. Ponies didn't notice me any more than a pegasi would think about a flagpole he'd avoided while flying. Unless I made a show of myself, nopony was going to notice me. I'm an incomplete Concept without any Concept to be, I'm a corrupted virtue without a virtue. Being this way feels like nothing. "The artificial filth and grime that Apple Bloom couldn't remove will be washed away." 'You know this won't end it, my dear. Nythy's boy, Chrysalis' protege, there's always going to be troublemakers, not because of any cosmic mandate to keep things interesting... Chaos always SCREAMS OUT in a perfectly orderly society, it WANTS to exist, I WANTED to exist! That infernal Age of Dreams would NEVER let me in! I was BANNED from MY VERY REASON FOR BEING! . . . Ahem, my point is, troubles are a part of living. This won't end theirs.' "Maybe not, but at least the last artificial monster who was never supposed to exist will be gone." 'You could always just give up. Surrender. Be my innocent hostage that saw the light and now I'm evilly mind controlling you with evil mind control after you realized that evil was bad and good is nice. That always gets the goody-four-shoes to forget the troubles you caused before. Especially teenagers and titans.' I put a hoof over my empty chest. "That only works when their brains are being strangled by their puppet masters. I undid their universe and turned them into monsters for a plan that didn't even work... you think any sane and intelligent pony could ever accept me back? I will be free the only way I can be." +++ Much earlier that day... "LO AND BEHOLD! THE ONE AND ONLY TRIXIE HAS RETURNED!!!" Smoke billowed over one of the Ponyville train station platforms. Pigeons flew and fireworks burst in the air, startling and annoying other passengers. Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Yeah… Could you say that a little louder? I don't think they heard you in Canterlot!" "If you insist..." "No, no, no, no I don't!" Rainbow Dash frantically waved her forehooves. Trixie laughed and looked around. "What? No brass band?" She smirked as she stepped off the train platform, levitating her luggage. "Wellll, they're still tired out from the 'Rainbow Dash Is So Awesome Parade' they had this morning," Rainbow Dash replied slyly. "You said you'd be back soon," Twilight cut in with a smile, "and here we are!" "It sure felt like a LOOOOOOOT longer than just a few days,'" Pinkie Diane said, with a hint of more than just hyperbole. Applejack added, "Ya can say that again." She quickly glared at Pinkie Diane. "What? You don't think Pinkie would do a joke that cheap and amateurish, do you?" Pinkie scuffed a hoof innocently. "We do think so," said Fluttercruel matter-of-factly. Pinkie's jaw fell halfway to the ground. "Pinkie Pie is a professional party pony!" "And!" Trixie cut in boldly. "The One and Only Trixie is the one who speaks in third person around here!" "Oh, I haven't forgotten," said Pinkie Diane casually. "I'm just getting my allotted lines in!" "Hey, am I in the script too?" Spike spouted. "Sorry, Spike, Trixie didn't see you there." She grinned down at him. "HEY!" "Just kidding!" Trixie laughed. "Better be," Spike mumbled under his breath. "We're so happy to see you again," said Fluttershy, with a perfectly gentle smile. Rarity put in her two bits. "The same, darling!" Twilight gave Trixie a hug that was swiftly returned. "It's wonderful to have you home, Trixie! I mean, it’s good to have you back! In Ponyville, which is my home! That didn’t sound awkward, did it?" Twilight coughed, talking faster. "So how did you like 'Starswirl The Bearded for Layponies?'" "How shall Trixie put this? It was inspiring and modestly helpful, but entirely too wordy." She touched the back of her hoof to the brim of her hat dramatically. "Honestly, how does Twilight endure so much reading?!" Twilight was scandalized. "You don't ENDURE reading! You ENJOY reading!" The showmare scoffed. "Clearly, Trixie does not share your passion." Before Twilight could start getting a seriously frazzled mane, Pinkie Diane jumped in. "So, Trixie! Had any interesting dreams lately? Huh, have you, have you, huh?!" AJ shot Pinkie another look. Grateful for the out provided, Trixie said, "Truth be told… when Princess Luna made her confession, Trixie did dream of her great and glorious destiny of becoming an Alicorn Princess!" Her cape fluttered impressively, lifted by a fortunate breeze, or maybe just a wind charm. "All the ponies loved her and rejoiced!" "That's… nice." Twilight nodded with a straight face. "Well, I wouldn't know, dear," said Rarity. "I've never fancied myself becoming an immortal and eternally loved goddess." "Um, nopony asked," Fluttershy delicately offered. "Oh." Rarity blushed. Applejack for no reason was looking in the opposite direction of Rarity. "But Trixie also had..." Trixie looked around, glancing at everypony and dragon present. "Another dream. One that was... of a different sort." "Well, are ya gonna tell us?" asked Rainbow Dash. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to Trixie," Fluttershy added. "But we ARE here to listen, darling. And you wouldn't have brought it up unless some part of you needed to share," Rarity added. Trixie hesitated again before nodding. "Trixie... admits you might be right. But, can we discuss this somewhere private?" Pinkie Diane saluted. "Leave it to me!" She reached over and grabbed the edge of something, then rolled up the scene of the train station, revealing the interior of the Golden Oaks Library beneath… whatever it was that she'd just flung away. "What-when-why-how-who?" stuttered Trixie, looking wildly around the library. "Yer better off not knowin'," AJ said, shuddering. "I was just trying to hurry things along, silly," said Pinkie Diane innocently. "But-" "Trust me, just go with it," Spike said sympathetically, putting a claw on Trixie's side. Trixie's luggage and props were stacked neatly to one side, as if the girls had carried them to Twilight's place. "Now dear," Rarity said with the gentle force that Fluttershy couldn't quite bring herself to use. (A breezy encounter in a couple years would help her with that). "What were you saying about other dreams?" "Well, if Trixie must share... I was laying in bed in the dead of night, when I saw my reflection crawl out of my mirror! My reflection slithered up to my bed, while I felt powerless to make even the slightest movement. My reflection spoke like she was reciting Hearts and Hooves Day poetry. "'Oh myself, are you not so grateful to the Awesome and Super Awesome Discord? We owe Discord EVERYTHING! Without him, surely Trixie would still be in her pit of self-pity, making excuses for herself every three seconds rather than face the truth that she was a screw-up with her life and needed to put in EFFORT to make it better.' My reflection laughed haughtily. 'I guess we should be happy Twilight Sparkle was willing to do ALL the hard work for you, AGAIN.' "Naturally, I told her to shut up. I'd heard quite enough of her nonsense. Nevertheless, my errant reflection persisted! 'Oooooooh. Don't want to hear it that badly?' My reflection grinned from ear to ear, as if I was merely a toy for her amusement. 'Your Element of Magic ... '" Trixie blushed. "Uh, I'd rather say this next part just for Twilight." The girls and dragon nodded. Trixie leaned close, whispering. "She said, 'Your Element of Magic was born from an imaginary friend. No wonder you're so worthless.'" Twilight hugged her close. "You're not worthless, Trixie. You're anything but." Trixie coughed and spoke up to the others. "My reflection continued, 'Do you see yet, dear Trixie? You don't just owe Discord...' Then, my reflection actually became the fiend himself!" The others shivered, some disturbed, others disgusted. "That's enough to get nightmares from your nightmares," said Spike. "Quite. She, he, it, then cried out, 'You BELONG to Discord!'" Trixie rose her hooves, borrowing Pinkie Pie's 'evil enchantress' pose. She held it dramatically for a moment before continuing. "Discord offered up a charm that Trixie had seen once before in another bad dream, taunting her with it, holding it just out of reach! The charm itself spoke, 'I am power! We are destiny.'" Trixie coughed. "Trixie wasn't interested or tempted in the slightest, though!" "Suuuuuure you weren't," Rainbow Dash said. "Magicians don't do the same trick twice, and Trixie had seen this trick already. Of course, even in a dream, it would be too much to expect courtesy from the likes of Discord. He spoke again, my beautiful voice coming from his gruesomely mismatched form! 'You know what they call Hoofington's magic school when they think you aren't listening? What was it… oh yes! The Chaff Academy. It's the dumping ground for ponies who are natural failures, but are too stubborn to quit.' "Naturally I called the thing out on this obvious falsehood! Still speaking in my voice, the fiend said, 'You had two fates, my dear. Either to rise and become the monster you were supposed to be, or fall and wallow in your own self-pity until you died of old age. You have only ME to thank for changing that fate!'" "Uh, was the scary face really necessary?" "Sorry, Fluttershy, Trixie was just getting into character. Ahem. Whatever perverse part of Trixie's subconscious had chosen to bedevil her that night, she could have easily fended it off until morning, but it was right around then that Princess Luna finally put in an appearance." Her audience listened on, enraptured. "Trixie instantly realized that she was indeed dreaming. Princess Luna spoke in the voice of the heavens..." "It's called the Royal-" "I know what it's called, Sparkle! She spoke in the voice of the heavens, saying, 'Twilight Sparkle could not have saved ye if thou didn't WANT to be saved. Ye couldn't have become a better pony unless THEE made the effort to be! 'Tis EASY to be a selfish and wicked little pony. We speak from experience... being noble is the trying and hard path. 'Tis not something others can do for ye.' "Trixie thanked Princess Luna for her generous assistance. She was grateful to know our night goddess cared enough TO help, truly, she was, but she informed Luna that she had the situation well in hoof! This was not the first time Trixie had fought back! "Trixie informed the thing that Trixie was NOT worthless, that Trixie didn't need Discord for her to be saved! Trixie needed friends, and Discord was no friends of hers! The thing then scurried back into the mirror and became Trixie's reflection again. "Naturally the Princess congratulated Trixie on facing her demons. Which Trixie accepted with absolute humility." "Why do ya even try when Ah'm in the room?" AJ asked flatly. "...For the challenge. Sadly, there were many a dreamer in Equestria and she could not stay long. For some reason she had an owlbear waiting for her. But I think that might have just been part of the dream." "Well!" Twilight said with her head high. "I feel proud of you Trixie! I think you've grown up! You've shown you're more than just a show pony." "And what's wrong with being a show pony?" "Oh! Heheh. Nothing! It's just that your magic has been a sore point and... I'll stop digging myself into a hole now." "Good idea," Rainbow Dash, AJ, Spike, and Trixie all said together. "But seriously Trixie, you've grown stronger and wiser in the ways that count, and I'm proud of you for that. I'm happy I could help you along the way." "And... Trixie is happy there were ponies who cared about TRIXIE to help her... Trixie still doesn't like Snips and Snails for bringing the Ursa Minor. It's not like every foal I've ever told the story to did such a reckless thing, or took a dragon's rhetorical remark too far!" "Hey... I said I was sorry." After the first electric shock. "And that's that! Happy ending! Trixie's part of our herd! Hooray!" Pinkie Diane jumped in. And I'm sure Snips and Snails will still like to be your apprentices someday Trixie but for now could you answer few real quick questions? Yes? Good! So-" "But Trixie didn't say-" "Now Trixie, you still going by 'One and Only' instead of 'Great and Powerful?'" "Well I already have 'One and Only' written on my cards so it would be awkward to go back to 'Great and Powerful'-" "Okay! Next! What's your favorite holiday, and do you have a talent at wand making?" Trixie arched a brow. "Is Trixie being interrogated now?" The showmare smirked, adjusting her hat. "No matter. The One and Only Trixie is in a good mood, so she will play along and pretend you are interviewing her, the better to spread her fame far and wide! Yes, of course, Trixie's favorite holiday is Nightmare Night, and no, Trixie does not have a talent at wand making, please don't take Trixie's cutie mark literally." "And can you still replicate any unicorn spell you see with the Element of Magic now that you used it together with us to help that poor filly in Canterlot after the changeling invasion?" "Me using the Elements with you after the invasion was satisfying but rather sudden and out of nowhere when we used them to undo the curse on that poor filly in Canterlot. But yes, Trixie can still copy any spell Trixie sees, and she could before thank you very much. And it's not just unicorn magic that Trixie can 'Spell-Copy.'" "Nice name by the way," said Rainbow Dash calmly before asking. "Does that mean you can copy Alicorn magic too? Move the sun like Princess Celestia? Make your own constellation? Make ponies fall in love like Princess Cadence?" Twilight raised a hoof. "Um, Cadence doesn't..." Trixie waggled a hoof. "Alas, knowing how to cast a spell is quite different from being able. Trixie can't cast a spell if she doesn't have enough mana, any more than Rainbow Dash could lift a tremendous weight just because she saw that strange white muscle-pony do it." Trixie frowned. "And Twilight's mana reserve is still considerably larger than Trixie's own. Spell affinities play a part as well, something Trixie was reminded of when dealing with her mother's-" "Speaking of which! Are you still going by Mid-Summernight? Or did you switch to Lulamoon?" "... Yes Trixie is still going by Mid-Summernight as her surname. Lulamoon is still the name of our larger herd, and it IS shorter to write. An advertiser suggested I use it for a wider appeal, but after everything, I think I'll stick with the names my sisters and brothers still have." "Ah! So they still exist, good to know." "What?! Of course they still exist. What are you getting..." "Oh!!! By the way..." Trixie grimaced. "I'm a Pink-ie Pie, there's Rainbow Dash, a Rarity, and Applejack, a Flutter-shy, a Twilight Sparkle, a Spike, but what exactly is a Trixie? What's a Morgan?" "What's a Diane?" "Ooh, yeah. Sorry! I guess we covered that a LOOONG time ago. So what inspired your costume?" Trixie sighed. "What inspired my costume?" She smiled. "Well, that was a who more than a what. I was inspired by my substitute teacher, White Beard The Gray, though I designed a much more eye-catching costume for myself, of course! He told me I looked like I was destined to wear it... Trixie still wishes she'd had more time with him. Not that your improvements aren't appreciated, Rarity." "Think nothing of it, dear." "Why do you keep repeating Pinkie Pie's questions?" Spike asked. "Why do I keep repeating Pinkie Pie's questions?" Trixie realized what she just said. "You know, Spike, I am actually not sure." Pinkie Diane didn't let up. "Are you a descendant of Starswirl the Bearded?" Trixie startled. "If Trixie is, then she wishes somepony would tell her! Am I descendant of... no, let's not start that again..." "I'm not sure Starswirl had any descendants," mused Twilight. "Let me check!" She levitated a genealogy book over from a nearby shelf, the same book that would later inspire her to do an entire research project on the subject, unwittingly discovering the link between the Pie and Apple families. "So you're still spinning tall tales for your show?" "For the record, ponies LIKE being told impossible things. It's why they go to plays. Trixie is proud to be a storyteller." She then grinned. "But why boast of the fictitious subduing of an Ursa, when I fought the legendary Twilight Sparkle to a standstill?" Twilight paused in her frantic flipping through the genealogy book. "Um, you do remember that I was brainwashed to think that Cadence was Chrysalis, right? And I thought YOU were brainwashed, and I was trying my best not to hurt you?" Trixie narrowed her eyes. "Truly? I really couldn't tell with the spears, fireballs, and lightning bolts." "... You'd have recovered." Twilight said quickly. "So Trixie, how is your mother?" "Quite well!" Trixie grinned. "If you're not yet tired of hearing Trixie talk about herself, I could tell you a fascinating tale of how my mother forced me into a fight so I would be FORCED to spell copy her black destruction magic." Jaws dropped all around. "Say, WHAT?!" "Cool," said Spike and Fluttercruel together. Trixie struck a theatrical pose, somehow not knocking anything over when she flourished her cape. = Mournweald Encounter - Darkest Dungeon = "Yes! Mother's plan was a crafty one… Trixie barely understood it herself until it was happening! "The very day that Trixie was to return to Ponyville, mother asked me, her middle foal, to come with her at the crack of dawn to a spot far removed from Hoofington. Yes, I still live there, Pinkie Pie, and yes Fluttershy..." Trixie rolled her eyes. "Far away from any cute fuzzy bunnies as well. Mother said she'd been here many times before, but she had never brought Trixie herself. "The place looked like a rock quarry, so blasted and torn was the ground." Trixie drew her cape around herself, affecting a somber, maternal voice. "'Beatrix', mother said calmly, 'This is where I first discovered my special talent.' The friends shuddered. "'No, it was not all at once,' she answered my unspoken question. 'I came back here to practice... where the damage had already been done. Hoping I could eventually do more than just destroy. In my heart of hearts, I felt cheated. Why couldn't my talent be for making sunflowers grow, or be the sun for your moon my little Beatrix? Just having the power to destroy, what kind of gift was that for a pony? I asked myself again and again. I didn't practice my magic because I wished to master it, I practiced it because I feared it! So I wouldn't atomize another innocent,' I mean-" Trixie broke character seeing Fluttershy's eyes. "- 'hurt another innocent familiar.' Then she turned darkly towards me, and for the first time I can remember, I feared my mother. Her magic aura darkened around her, the pebbles around rattled, floating into the air. "'And what of YOU, Beatrix? What of THIS power you suddenly now have? I did all this with just ONE spell! You can now take any spell you wish for yourself! Do you think any unicorn should have that much power? Can anypony be TRUSTED with that much power? Will you fight alongside Lady Twilight Sparkle and her friends again? Can they trust you with this power?' Mother's eyes glowed red, I swear! 'My cutie mark is a queen! The most destructive piece on the board!'" Somehow, Trixie made her voice reverberate, like grinding stones. "'Mother, you know me!' I said, quite afraid! "'Do I, Beatrix? Do I? Or has the little Beatrix I've known ever existed? Perhaps the real Beatrix takes applause like a needle! You don't HAVE friends! You don't WANT friends! You want SYCOPHANTS!' "'THAT ISN'T TRUE!' I roared. I may have used the Royal Canterlot Voice. 'Trixie doesn't want mindless praise! She doesn't want soulless cheering! She doesn't want ponies who agree with her just because! Trixie HAS friends who tell her when she's going too far! Trixie WANTS friends who are there for her when she's lost in the dark! THAT IS WHAT TRIXIE WANTS!!!!'" The room vibrated. Fluttershy looked like she wanted to hide under a table, but Fluttercruel made them lean closer, hanging on Trixie's every word. Rarity just noticed Trixie's eyes getting a little misty. "'Then show me little pony! Show me what that 'magic of friendship' can do against the witch of destruction!' = Undertale the Musical - Death By Glamour = "Needless to say, I was not inclined to fight my own mother, but she left me no choice! She caused explosions to my left and right. I used ice as walls, and lightning as fences to block off the debris. She used her destruction magic to create a vacuum that I countered with wind magic! "She shrouded everything in darkness, but I conjured light to pierce it. "She created ball sized 'bombs' of her own magic that would go off once far enough away from her, forcing me to stay alert and teleport away. "'Come on little filly, I know that isn't half of what you can do!' "And she was right. "I saw her use her destruction magic in ways I'd never seen before. She carved swords, shields, spears, lances, clubs, and warhammers out of solid rock, all finely detailed, all proving very effective. I couldn't conjure enough weapons of my own to block them all, and resorted to tearing some of hers from her grasp! "She created a giant serpent out of her own black magic, I countered by creating a fire snake of my own, they clashed and canceled each other out! "I finally went on the offensive, and fired an electric shock at mother, as strong as I dared. She smiled, and brought up a WALL of her magic that absorbed the lightning. I threw spears on either side of her wall and fired the lightning again, this time it leap frogged off the spears and shocked her. She cried out, then laughed and smiled all the more. "Then she formed a whole sphere around herself of her magic and began to slowly, deliberately, calmly walk towards me. I panicked, but only an instant! It couldn't actually be a sphere, because the ground was intact behind her. "With earth pony magic that I subtly copied from Applejack, I sent a tremor through the ground! It made my legs ache terribly, but I was able to knock her off balance and disrupt the dome so I could zap her yet again! Even then, she still chuckled. I swear I heard pride in her whinny." "Now, hold on just a sec!" said AJ, bewildered and a little disturbed. "Ya'll can copy earth pony magic? What's next? Copy pegasus magic and fly?" "Well I don't have a telepathic connection to rocks, so-" "That ain't earth pony magic," AJ frowned. "Tell that to my big sister," Pinkie Diane said. "Ahem! She conjured her destruction magic above her, stronger and more intense than I've ever seen her... and... she began to float, the vacuum, or maybe the pull of the magic, I don't know, I'm not you Twilight Sparkle! The point is... Her hooves were far off the ground. "'A combat-mage does not fear a wizard who has practiced a hundred spells once, she fears the wizard who has practiced one spell a hundred times!' Mother shouted. She began to rain down destructive blasts all around me. "Then... I used that gossamer wings spell... Trixie is mare enough to admit to her friends, I'm proud of not fainting from using that one. I joined my mother in the air. "Then she formed her magic into rings, but they were not giant spinning brightly colored floating rings, and too small for me to fly through. Instead she hured them like chakrams! They were faster than her spell in beam form! I began to shoot lightning and ice to cancel them out, but in that time, mother came in close and rammed me in the side. "'Hey!' I grunted. "'I don't see a referee, and I don't recall agreeing to no hoof to hoof combat!' Mom admonished. "I was forced to block mother's hoof jabs and kicks at close range. "'It's all in the mind Beatrix! Show me you have one!'" "You have GOTTA know she was just egging you on that point!" Rainbow interrupted. "Even I'm getting it!" Trixie ignored her. "I used a flash spell, and she retreated. We landed on opposite ends of the crater. Then mother's horn truly began to glow with her black magic, looking like a torch. Trixie's knees felt weak." Trixie dramatically fell to her knees looking up sympathetically. "'This is my magic in its purest, most potent form! What shall you do now little Beatrix?!' "And... there was only one thing to do. As mother carefully and steadily powered up her magic... I did. "SPEEELL COP-PY!" Trixie struck a badflank pose, with blazing Neighponese kanji for the words appearing behind her. "I don't do that... do I?" Twilight wondered. Trixie hesitated before continuing. "Mother's power… was NOT like any magic that Trixie has wielded before. I felt a tidal wave of a cold brutal terrible will, a ruthless sense of 'the end' reaching for what it was directed at. Thinking back now, it's a wonder I wasn't overwhelmed, but I had no time to dwell upon that then. I lashed out with my black magic, and mother unleashed hers at almost the same instant! I gave it everything I had, literally, I kept pushing and pushing, until my mana was exhausted and... instantly my mother stopped, her spell dissolving in midair with less than a thought from her! "With a spell that only mothers possess, she was at my side, helping me stand, smiling. She nuzzled me. "'It took me forever to realize the real meaning behind my cutie mark: great power, and how to properly use it,' she told me. 'Use your gifts the right way too dear.' And... she sang. = Mother Knows best - Tangled = "In the world outside, there is everything Things you don't even know exist! Now Trixie, isn't that just something? I just have to insist, Go out with your friends, and see it all face to face! I love you all the same, But a mother knows holding you back would be a waste! My Trixie is not so tame! Listen to your mother, I want you to fly! Go see the world out there! There's so much more to see out there under the sky! I just simply could not bear, If you let your mother be the one to hold you down! To me you're always important Back here with me, you'll find my love always abounds, But dear, don't be impotent. Listen to your mother, go world wide! Your friends are out there waiting for you! There's room in your heart for more than just us to abide! And you know they care about you And so do we, but you can have us all, Trixie dear! So please go out and play! So go, please brace the world without fear... We can have our fun another day." "Triiiiixie... dearest is there something you weren't telling us before?" Rarity asked calmly. "... Oh! Heh. Now what would ever make you say... that?" Fluttershy and Applejack were both cornering Trixie with a deadpan look. "Well," It was Trixie's turn to blush again. "Maybe when I got home, after you know, going to war and everything, and traveling so long... maybe I was maybe just maybe, just a little you understand, just a little, wanting to spend time with my family, just to make up for all the years I wasn't there... And mother might have been, just a tiny bit, mother is no worry wart, just a tiny bit worried that I may have been smothering myself. Just a little. Mom was just helping Trixie be decisive on the matter. That is all. Ahem." "Mother hugged me, still smiling. The aura and glowing eyes gone, only mommy was there. 'I didn't hurt you anywhere too badly did I? Mommy is very sorry if she did.' "I told Mom that I was fine, but I had to ask, 'Couldn't you have just shown me your spell for me to copy?' Like a filly, cross at being tricked into learning a lesson. "'But then you wouldn't have a dramatic story to tell, now would you?' And I couldn't argue with that." "She's your mom, alright!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Twilight asked, "Why do you suppose your mother felt the need to teach you this magic now? Did she have some premonition of impending doom?" "Oh nothing like that. It's just after I've helped save Equestria twice, mom wanted to hedge her bets if I was in the next crisis." Rarity would have turned pale, if she could get any paler. "The NEXT crisis? Darling, don't you think we're due for a rest, after saving Equestria three times in as many years? Although, it almost makes me relieved that Sweetie… knows how to defend herself. If I had foals, I'd take no chances either." (Spike checked his personal calendar again to see how many decades it took for dragons to reach puberty. Apparently they hit young adult around age 51. But that had been from his Ogres and Oubliettes books, which was not the best source for such things. ) Trixie beamed. "And Trixie likewise knows how to protect herself, and her friends. Thank you for the background music, Pinkie Pie." "No problem," Pinkie Diane said, putting away the music instruments in their hiding place. "Gotta be prepared for background music emergencies." "Wait, what happened after that?" Spike asked, genuinely invested in Trixie's tale at this point. "Mother explained how she wanted me to not fear leaving the nest, but wanted to give me a gift I couldn't lose. She politely asked me to show some of the variances she had used, but they required more than me simply knowing the spell, it seems the Element of Magic can only copy the spell, not a unique way it is used, Twilight." "Fascinating!" exclaimed Twilight, and she meant it. If all this were true, that she and Trixie had been able to match her brother and Twilight herself move for move in their duels meant it was Trixie and Twilight's own quick thinking that had let them keep up with their opponent, not just their Element. "We then went out for waffles." "What, that's it?" Spike demanded. "With extra butter and strawberries!" "Great ending!" Spike retracted. "Your mother was training you," mused Twilight. "I don't really approve of her style, but that was... still so neat!" she admitted. Twilight had studied with her mother, but she certainly had never spell spared with her before! "The One and Only Trixie is happy you approve, Twilight Sparkle." Trixie said as formally and properly as she could. Twilight hugged her, followed by the rest of the group. "Take it from somepony who's both here and there!" cheered Pinkie Diane. "You can have more than one home, Trixie!" "Trixie will... remember that." "Trixie, I don't have any sisters but..." "You're not going to reveal you have a big sister we've never heard of, are you?" Trixie interrupted. Twilight's irises shrunk as she shuttered in discomfort. "I... don't... THINK so..." Twilight shook her head. "The point is, I know you have lots of sisters, and you want to make up with them. But, well... I never thought I'd say it, Trixie, but I like having you around." "Yep!" AJ channeled her brother. "Mm-Hmm!" Fluttershy nodded. "Part of the herd Light Blue." Fluttercruel added. "Ditto!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Minus on the 'never thought it would happen!' "Double ditto on the 'would've never believed it' part." Rainbow smirked gently ruffling Trixie's mane. "Triple ditto of double," laughed Spike. "And I'd NEVER want you gone NOW!" Spike nuzzled into Trixie's side. "So... wanna try the Sisterhooves Social with me next year?" Twilight asked. "Pie eating, egg carrying, grape stomping, haystack climbing, mud pit leaping." That didn't sound much like Twilight. "I have a pony-point plan to complete it as efficiently as possible!" That did! "Trixie... isn't sure she can get past the mud part." "If Rarity can get past it, so can yew," AJ said confidently. "Trixie will, have to think about it." "So where ya sleepin'?" Pinkie asked. "I have your old, I mean the spare room already set up for you Trixie." Twilight smiled. Nopony had broken the group hug yet. "Thank you Twilight." "I better go, my shift at Sugar Corner is gonna start soon! Oh, and Apple Bloom got her cutie mark, Trixie!" "What?! You don't drop news like that out of nowhere!" Trixie had spent enough time recuperating in Ponyville to know all about the CMC's quest. "Sorry! But I meant to ask, would you like to perform at the Crusaders' Cute-ceañera as long as you're in town? You'll be paid in bits for the commission! I promise!" "Trixie would be happy to accept! We can work out the details later." "... You're not going to offer to to do it for free?" Fluttercruel of all ponies asked. "Trixie needs to eat." "Oh my, speaking of which, I still have some custom dress designs to go over with Sapphire Shores this morning!" "And there's always more that needs doin' at Sweet Apple Acres. Ah've been gone too long already." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Weather duty." "And I need to prepare for my animals' new day meals, and I have a meeting with a pet owner at-" "Don't look at me. I live here." Spike said. "And Apple Bloom and friends are all at school by now." "... Why are you never in school?" Trixie asked, suddenly curious. "I homeschool this dragon," Twilight said proudly. "She means I read over her shoulder a lot." "Do not! I take your education very seriously, Spike!" "And what of you, Twilight?" Trixie asked. "I think I'll be clearing my schedule... I have GOT to see your mother's black magic in action! In a safe, contained, controlled environment, of course… if you're willing." "Trixie is... willing, but black magic is not a toy, not a frivolous research project. You must be very responsible with it, Sparkle, as Trixie herself promised to be. Spike had better make a note of that." "Already on it!" "Twilight, why are you smiling?" Trixie frowned. "Pride, Trixie. Pride in you." 'So this how Celestia feels.' The girls all gave Trixie one last 'see you later' hug for the workday and headed out. After they'd all left, and Twilight was finding her magic-reader helmet, Trixie sniggered. "What's so funny?" The purple pony asked. "It just occured to me, with mom's magic, I wouldn't have to fake defeating an Ursa!" "Don't even think about-!" "Kidding!" "Good! Maybe you and Sweetie Belle can sit on the same class!" "Me in the same class as a filly, joy." Twilight didn't pick up on her lack of passion. Spike gave Trixie a sympathetic look. "According to 'Dark Glass' 'Delving into Dark Dweomers,' true dark magic can be difficult to control, seeing as how it taps into the most fundamental aspects of magic. I hope your mother gave you the appropriate warnings." "Who do you think told me this magic was not a toy? My mother is not an idiot Twilight Sparkle." "No but it is her special talent, so maybe she can use it without it corrupting her. A few good cross references between you and Sweetie would be good information, since you both LEARNED, well, sort of learned in your case, black magic, so it should provide different results from your mother or Princess Luna. And-" "The more things change, the more things stay the same," Spike remarked. Trixie nodded. > It's About Time > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiii!! I'm Neatly Spell! Nice to meet you! Do you know my friend, Diamonds? Can you help her get rid of the bad thing she said she had to go away forever to get rid of? Maybe then she can come back. Oh? You know some friends who can help? Thank you! You wanna know about my family? Sure! My big sister is Arcane Spell, and Prince Blueblood is her coltfriend! Isn't that cool? I don't get why anypony ever said the Prince was mean. Once they get married, she'll be a princess and I'll be a princess too... won't that make dad and mom king and queen? No? Okay! My family is a lot healthier now, thanks for asking! Big Sister says she's not gonna be a maid anymore. I don't know why she doesn't wanna. Making everything clean and orderly's so nice. We have a new majordomo, too! He's just as stern but a lot nicer than the last one! I heard the old one is in the hospital learning to be nicer or something. Have you been to Ponyville Dream Park? It's really, really cool! The rides are fun, the gardens are pretty, food's great, and all the ponies are so nice! They're like angels from Elysium! I wonder why ponies don't talk about it more. I should take Diamonds there when she comes back. I bet she'll really like it too! I'd like to help keep the park clean, but then I'd hafta move to Ponyville instead of cleaning the castle where Big Sister is gonna live! When the Elements of Harmony woke me up? That sure was weird, and came completely out of nowhere. It was like I was in a bed, but I couldn't feel the bed, and I couldn't feel warm. I kept dreaming I was in this gray desert where it was always night, and ghosts kept chasing me, wanting this flower I had. Blue Twilight Sparkle was weird and loud. Then I met a Celestia with a purple mane, and a pink Celestia, a blue Celestia, an orange Celestia too. A yellow Celestia scared away the ghosts and took me on a sleigh ride, and that's where the dream ended. It's funny that I woke up and suddenly there were bug ponies around who wanted to be loved, and Princess Cadence is now married and queen of the bug ponies. But how did they get a baby zebra? She's adopted? Okay! It was nice talking with you. I hope Diamonds comes back in time for Big Sister's and Blueblood's wedding! We can both be flower fillies! +++ = 'Make A Man Out Of You' - Mulan = We bid a fair welcome to you all. As you well know, we are Her Nightjesty of Nightmares and Dreams, Princess Luna Nyx Selena Equestria. We welcome ye to hear our words, in these last days before the final battle against Discord. 'Tis an honor to speak with ye, and we hope that when we part that there are no hard feelings between us. 'Twas an honor to share our thoughts and words with ye. We know thy task will be done at last with the conclusion of this battle to come, so we shall bid ye good fortune. How much we know and how much we do not know shall be a riddle left to the ages. Dear Apple Bloom, in her capacity as the Architect, wrote thus: 'After the wedding, the princesses decided that Twilight Sparkle and her friends needed to be taught basic tactics as a unit for their own protection.' We debated, my sister and I, what would be the best means to accomplish this. We considered Twilight Sparkle's brother, but he was still on his honeymoon at the time. Even if he weren't, even if he acted as a true soldier should and put his personal feelings aside while training his sister, he might end up teaching military solutions to diplomatic problems. The same would hold true for any member of the Guards. Our sister considered teaching them herself, but we both felt she was too soft in this matter, and too close to Twilight. We proposed, then, that I would teach the Bearers, but Sister believed that my lessons would be too archaic or harsh, and reminded me that I sleep during the day, while the Bearers do not. There was no perfect solution, but it had been written thus, and thus would and must be. So, after our sister set out very strict guidelines, we... well, 'tis not truly cheating. We empowered our avatar Selena, which we created during the Tulpa curse, to act in our stead. We told ye we are good at avatars. Even Twilight Sparkle could not tell the difference. We did not know it at the time, but dear Apple Bloom had been certain Trixie would get at least one training day before the battle, so she'd know what to expect from her new herdmates. At sister's explicit instructions, we bade the Bearers: "Drill this into thy skulls first and foremost, little ponies! As the Elements of Harmony, thy true strength shall always be as teachers, ambassadors, negotiators, and healers, not warriors or soldiers! Thy duty shall be to prevent wars, not fight them. What we are about to teach ye shall ensure ye live long enough to bring forth thy true talents! "The bravery ye showed during the wedding was commendable, and we would not have asked ye to contribute to the battle were ye not able, but please always remember ye are our greatest means of preventing fires from becoming infernos. There will be times when ye shall have to fight, but remember what our sister warns thou, Twilight Sparkle, never let this be anything but thy last option." We could tell Trixie was not happy to be there. The mare wished to do things her own way, even as part of a herd. Much like Miss Diane Pie, Trixie's unpredictability was one of her greatest strengths. But they both needed to understand how to function as a herd ahead of time rather than flying by the seat of their flanks as they were accustomed. "Trixie doth need her beauty sleep!" She still wore her sleep mask and was hugging a teddy bear. "Yeah, couldn't we just do this in our sleep?" Miss Diane Pie asked. "Hey, why I didn't think of that!" said Lady Rainbow Dash. "That would be so cool!" Selena sighed and covered her face. "'T'would be possible, but such a dream is not true sleep, and ye would wake rested in body, but mentally exhausted. 'Tis best to reserve such training as that for a truly desperate occasion." While we did instruct them in basic fighting formations and avoid typical tactical common sense blunders, Sister's instructions included us teaching them some of the more confusing truths most ponies in Equestria did not have to face. "While we are certain most of ye understand that the world is not always broken into black and white, one must understand that solutions, not just problems are not always cut and dry." Rainbow Dash snorted, crossing her arms. "Believe me, I know. I nearly turned into a demon figuring that out." "... True, but 'tis not always a matter of sacrifice. Remember the tales of Megan Williams from the Age of Myths. The ponies she aided against numerous foes... Tirek, Grogar, Arabus, The Flores, Squirk, Beezen, Queen Bumble, the witches of Mt. Gloom, Catrina, Lavan, King Charlatan, the Gizmonks, Somnambula..." "Don't forget the direct-to-play sequel where she fought the Headless Horse with Daisy Happy Flower," Miss Lulamoon said, bubbling with sarcasm. Selena did glare at her for her impudence. Trixie just so happened to be struck by lightning... on a clear day, without a cloud in the sky. She came out black as a silhouette. Smoke sizzled off her as she silently blinked her eyes. Selena cleared her throat, flashing a smile more fitting our sister. "Now listen and understand. The ponies of the Ages of Myth did not simply banish their villains to somewhere else, or imprison them, for that was not always an option. Many they were able to reason with and turn from their dark path, but some could not be saved, disempowered, or contained. Some had to be destroyed. We do not mean that they were never heard from again, or that they died refusing to be saved. These foes were eliminated by the hooves and spells of ponies who knew very well what they were doing, so great was the danger the enemy posed." Rainbow Dash and Rarity were the only ones that didn't cringe at this. "As the Elements of Harmony clothed in flesh, you must often make snap decisions on when to use force, when to put villains down," Again they looked thankfully uncomfortable. "When to capture, when to simply let them go, and when to bargain, it is not one or two solutions in your arsenal." "Wait wait wait! BARGAIN? With bad guys?" Applejack asked honestly. "She means so they can see how good it is to be friends, right?" "... No Twilight Sparkle. I do not. Bargain with them, so they are no longer a threat." "But... But aren't they then a threat to whoever they go after next?!" "It depends upon the enemy. We shall explain. The ogre Niblick was given what he wanted, a companion who was as ill tempered and horrible to be with as himself, someone he could relate to. So he reversed the damage that his magic coins had indirectly caused Ponyland. He remained ill tempered and selfish, but he never sought to harm ponies. "Queen Rosedust permitted Queen Bumble to harvest flowers from Flutter Valley, so there would be no need for her to steal the Sun Stone again. Queen Bumble remained a irritable glutton, but she now had a vested interest in keeping peace with Flutter Valley, with her most competent officer keeping her in check. "As Nightmare Moon, I was a mare whose jealousy and spite had caused me to lose touch with reality. But this is not always the case, there are not always enemies who can be cured. "The Flores left a desert in their wake, and felt no empathy for animals, or any living thing except their own kind. They could not be reasoned with. But they were also fugitives, subject to punishment according to the laws of where they came from. "The Smooze created by the witches of Mt. Gloom was a living, thinking, feeling plague to all but the witches themselves, it had to be unmade. "King Lavan consumed the magic of the Princess Ponies' wands to become an abomination whose very existence was disastrously unbalancing Ponyland's magic. He had to be destroyed. "When the Gizmonks learned that ponies were not docile captives to be used or cowed, they knew better than to cross the Paradise Ponies again. "And Tirek... his ultimate victory would have been the death of the world, as least for anything that could be meaningfully called 'life.' "Queen Porcina was a naive pawn unaware she was being used, she COULD be reasoned with. King Charlatan, for all his xenophobia, still loved his son more than he hated other species, HE could be reasoned with. Crunch the Rockdog was an incomplete being who needed to be given a heart, he could be saved! Squirk was mad with power, he could NOT be reasoned with. "What made Megan excellent was not her skill as a warrior, no matter what comic books or movies say, it was knowing when to bargain, when to use force, when to put a villain down, when to capture, when to just let them go, and when to show mercy. Treat EVERYTHING on a case by case basis!" "But Princess..." Twilight Sparkle protested. "Those things happened ages ago." We'd question how there are ponies still who think of these villains as myths, but then again, ponies thought me to be a mere trouble maker dressing up as the 'boogie mare' Nightmare Moon. "Back then, ponies were struggling to form a place in the world." Twilight continued. "Certainly in these modern times, there's no need for that. We don't need to lower ourselves to their level, do we?" Selena narrowed her eyes. "Ye have great power, Twilight Sparkle, and a great mind, one with a gift for always finding a desirable solution. But ye must understand there is a difference between slaying a foe already defeated, and stopping an enemy that will bring violence upon others if ye do nothing. Tis GOOD thou art afraid of that option, that is the option you wish to use the LEAST. But judge not too harshly ponies without thine power forced to make that choice, theirs is a terrible burden." "I do not wish to use it at all!" The others all boldly nodded. Good. "As the Neighponese Samurai would say, tis much a good thing for a mare of thy power Twilight Sparkle, to be aware of thy real power." Rainbow Dash put a wing over Rarity's shoulder. + Hello again. Ahem... I am Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia and Bearer of the Element of Magic. Bon Bon The First's journal is now in Bon-Bon's possession. It felt like the right place for it. Even if I still have so many questions, especially about Razzaroo's book. "H-how ... How did you get this book-?! Who are you anyway?! Who are you really-?! Hey! You can't just walk away! Answer me! Stop!" But the visitors to Twilight's home were gone as mysteriously as they'd arrived. Interviewer's notes: You will know soon enough, Twilight Sparkle. You will know soon enough. So when exactly is 'soon enough?' After I learned the convoluted history of my soul? That Pony civilization had been destroyed at least twice? That there were technological marvels we ponies had that we're still struggling to get back? That my beloved mentor made a deal with Discord's mother to release the Windigos on Ponyland to stop the Three Tribes from destroying each other? That she and Discord used to be FRIENDS? Or after I was turned into Chrysalis' slave and my sister-in-law fought an evil version of herself? Or when I had a nightmare of a billion possible worlds where I became the villain until Spike helped me see how absurd they were? When? How much more world-shattering revelations do I have to learn before I find out? = 'A Ballad For You' - Dynamite Headdy = (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): A lotta stuff happened that we didn't think was gonna happen first. We thought we'd be tellin' ya right after ya saved Fluttershy.) (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): We thought that our duty to interview you all would be already done. What happened with the wedding and you finding out Equestria's past was... unexpected.) Unexpected? You're the ones who gave me Razzaroo's book! (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): ... We didn't think Celestia would tell you THAT much... that opened doors, and let more things in we had to record before our job was done.) (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): That's a fancy way of saying that we told you 'you'll find out soon enough' to be all cool and mysterious and we thought we'd be done by now. It feels like five years and eleven months past where we were supposed to stop. But a promise is a promise, so we'll give you the gist of it, before we leave Ponyville.) ... Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but you didn't technically promise. (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): 'Don't swear at all. Have your yes mean 'yes,' have your no mean 'no.' A very wise person said that once.) So when are you leaving Ponyville? (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): ... At the most, the day after tomorrow.) Oh. Well, I'm certain Pinkie Pie will want to throw you a farewell party! You've been with us for so long, it wouldn't feel right for her not to. (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): ... Trust us Twilight, it's better if we just politely bow out when our job is done. We were never meant to get involved in anything.) But you ARE involved. You've listened to our stories, to our fears and hopes. That makes you part of this story! (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): This is YOUR story, the story of you and your friends, and your friends' friends, and their friends' friends. The moment we try and treat it like it belongs to us, we destroy what makes it beautiful to begin with.) I'd say you count as friends' friends at this point. (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): I'd stay if I could.) (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): You've got your friends and family. We have friends and families waiting for us that we haven't met yet, and we've kept them waiting way too long as is. And, we've got responsibilities waiting for us back home.) Maybe I can visit you someday. (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Yeah... someday... right.) (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): This is a complete and total cheat, what I'm about to tell you, but please listen: store the books which you keep for sentimental reasons in the library's basement. Just trust me.) +++ "And so we name Spike the Great and Rarity the Beautiful, the new monarchs of Icecreamlestria. May your ice cream never melt, and may peace remain between our kingdom and that of fair Princess Celestia of Caketopia! You may kiss the-" The gumdrop guards began to march, drowning out the rest. "Wait, where are you going?" King Spike demanded. "Come... back?" Spike woke up in his basket bed, disoriented, confused, and feeling cheated. He wanted to go back to his wonderful dream. But upon hearing frantic pacing below, he felt obliged to investigate. He walked past the guest bedroom, plainly hearing Trixie's snoring through the closed door. 'I bet the library could blow up, and she wouldn't notice,' Spike thought. Spike hesitated at the top of the stairs. 'Please don't be a Twilight Moment,' he prayed. He peered down into the library proper, and there was his guardian going round and round, frantically pacing. Spike just sighed. 'It's a Twilight Moment.' Amazingly, Twilight spotted Spike right away, despite her insane focus. "Spike! Glad you're up! You can help Owlowicious organize these emergency notes!" "Emergency?! What's happened?" "This!" Twilight showed him a calendar. Spike yawned and scratched his head fins. "Uh... Did we forgot to celebrate Arbor Day?" "I don't think we'd miss Fluttershy parading dressed as a tree," Twilight said straight-faced. Spike glanced at a clock... three in the morning. What had Twilight so freaked? "Spike, remember when all those evil monsters escaped from Tartarus?" Spike blinked... = Darkest Dungeon OST - Town in Chaos = A giant golden lobster clacked its claws menacingly, sending more Ponyville residents stampeding away in fright. King Lavan laughed, promising bright sparkly crystal doom for all ponies. Dragon Lord Crown stole forty cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner when nopony was looking. "Hey, you put those back!" shouted Pinkie Diane through a megaphone. "That's as many as four tens, and that's terrible!" Then a scaly red dragon pressed against a rooftop, claws shattering windows, and Smaug the Golden stamped down, crushing the hastily evacuated house. The monstrous villains roared with laughter, advancing deeper into Ponyville... until another dragon brought them up short. A purple and green titan, with a white, blue-maned unicorn riding on his back! "Stop right there, fiends," boomed Spike, absolutely loving how big and deep his grownup dragon voice sounded. He'd have to thank Twilight for the super-growth spell later. "You're up against Spike the Brave and Glorious now!" Shining Armor laughed, patting him on the back. "Spike, nobody calls you that!" "After this, I bet they will!" "Keep dreaming, little buddy!" Shining Armor focused his magic, conjuring up glowing violet battle armor for Spike, and an enormous war hammer for himself, all made from pure magical energy. "Oh yeah! You guys are gonna be sorry you postponed my honeymoon... again! Roll for initiative, punks!" Somewhere in the distance, Trixie's voice shouted, "Stunning-Brightly-Special-Flare-Technique-Trixie-Shall-Never-Do-Again-Fire!" A titanic explosion lit the horizon behind Spike. The mighty dragon roared and started racing towards Smaug the Golden, picking up momentum like an oncoming freight train..." With the epic clash happenings, none noticed a pathetically scrawny centaur skulk away from the battle. = Lunar 2: Eternal Blue - Crowded Street Corner = Spike grinned from ear to ear. "How could I forget!? I still can't believe something that awesome happened in real life, and not in some crazy alternate dimension!" Twilight chuckled. "I can believe it, Spike. I was there dueling Hydia, remember?! The point is, we spent so much time disaster proofing Ponyville afterwards, that I forgot to include any time in my monthly schedule to plan for my next monthly schedule!" Spike would have thought that being held captive by an evil queen would have done more damage to Twilight's checklists. Knowing her, Twilight had keep right on making schedules when she was under mind control. "... I'm going back to bed," Spike said in a final tone that left no room for arguments, leaving Owlowiscious to his fate. Twilight had just started to pace again when she was startled by a knock on the door. "Ugh, I don't need any more Filly-scout cookies." Twilight squinted through the peephole, then gasped, quickly opening the door and bowing. "Princess Luna! Sorry about the mess! I was just scheduling!" "Actually," Luna touched her horn to Twilight's forehead, and the mare fell asleep on her hooves. "You're just dreaming that you're scheduling. You fell asleep. You should go to bed and rest." Owlowiscious looked confused between his master and his goddess but did not meddle. "Oh, I fell asleep? I guess I am tired. Goodnight," Twilight said, her eyes closed, as she perfectly sleep-walked upstairs to bed. "And Celly said that wouldn't work," said Princess Luna, smirking. Then she sighed with a grim face. "Now I must away to my own rest..." + Twilight Sparkle woke bright and early the next morning, feeling better rested than she had in years. She’d dreamed of reading a brand new Daring Do adventure with an orange, blue-maned pegasus stallion while they lay in front of a cozy fire, his wing draped over her flank. She wondered briefly if he was a real pony she’d met someplace, or some amalgamation of her subconscious desires... Oh right, they'd fought side by side during the battle for Canterlot, she wondered what his name was. But for once, Twilight decided to enjoy her good mood and not overanalyze things or immediately write to Princess Luna. She'd actually beaten Spike to waking up, a rare occurrence indeed, and Owlowiscious was just settling on his perch to sleep when she passed by. Twilight Sparkle trotted down the stairs like a school-filly, ready and eager to greet the day. Twilight had just started sorting and ranking the different breakfast meals they might have with their current supplies, when a brilliant light blossomed in the library's lobby, as if a miniature star had been born right before her her eyes. She quickly dismissed that possibility due to the lack of intense heat or gravity. No, this was magic, powerful magic! As the magical field grew brighter and brighter, kicking up serious gusts of wind, Twilight prepared to throw a force field around it, then teleport Spike, Owlowiscious, and herself to safety, but in one final flash of light, the 'star' collapsed. = Simple And Clean -Ray of Hope MIX- KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue - = Blue lightning crackled around the unicorn mare who had appeared in her library. She had a lavender coat, and a dark purple mane with violet and magenta streaks. She wore a golden suit of armor with star patterns that reminded Twilight of the custom armor Rarity had made for her and their friends during the final battle of Canterlot with the changelings. But this armor was unlike any Twilight had ever seen before. The plates fit together as smoothly as a dragon's scales, covering most of her body. The crown of Magic was atop her head, fitting seamlessly into the armor, and the armor itself seemed to pulse glowing lines of magic as if it was alive. "What's going on?" Twilight Sparkle gasped, "You... you're me!" The other Twilight Sparkle took only a moment to get her bearings. "Twilight! I used Starswirl's time travel spell! Use it to come back here after you're ready to fight! You know this spell barely lasts a minute so just listen!" Twilight couldn't help but open her mouth, though, a million questions already on her lips. "How do I even know you're really-" "We were Minty and Clover and her family in former lives and you love O&O!" "Okay! You're me!" Twilight blushed. "Are you from the distant-" "I'm from later today! You're in for an epic battle, because Discord is loose! Don't panic, just keeping listening. At precisely six minutes after two in the afternoon, you and your friends will fight him in the Canterlot Statue Garden! Diamond Tiara has become a Nightmare, and she'll be there too! She's been working with Discord for months! Don't let them get away! Be sure to bring the Elements! I repeat, do not let Discord or Diamond Tiara escape!" Wind began to swirl. Both Twilights remembered reading about Clover The First's meeting with Clover The Clever and knew what that meant. The Twilight in armor shouted, "Ask Apple Bloom for details! She knows more than she's letting on! You can trust the deer doe! And DON'T WASTE TIME WORRYING ABOUT THE FUTURE!" The armored Twilight Sparkle vanished in another brilliant flash, gone back to wherever and whenever she'd come from. Twilight Sparkle stood there overwhelmed, still processing what had just happened for nearly five whole seconds. Then she used her spell copy of the Royal Canterlot Voice and shouted, "SPIKE! TRIXIE! WAKE UP!!!" And they did, along with half of Ponyville. +++ My name is Golden Tiara. Not Spoiled Milk or Golden Skates, those names belong to my past. And it's not Spoiled Rich or Screwball, never again. Golden Tiara is the pony that my family needs, the pony I choose to be. We'd been staying in Canterlot, ever since we learned that this was the place where Diamond Tiara had last been seen. Filthy had been running his business via mail, and Shiny Star and Randolph were keeping the house ready for all three of us to return. Once, Nurse Tender Loving Care had been the only one who could keep me in line, because only she could match Screwball in a brawl. Funny how she was now a dear friend. TLC didn't need to be constantly by my side now that I was legally sane. But with Doctor Hoof Wave recovering at last after they'd finally exorcised 'Legion' out of him, she could finally afford to take some built-up time off. That morning, when I felt it... I wondered for a moment if I was going crazy again, even if the doctors had sworn I was saner now than I'd ever been in my life. And everything in me screamed in a way that existed beyond reason. Every instinct, every impulse, I felt it. I felt my baby. My own flesh and blood. I felt my head turn to look the windows, seeing nothing, but nothing knowing there should be something, like a cut out in a picture, a faint sight of a shadow fleeing. "Diamond!" I called out. My sudden movement knocked a glass off the breakfast table, and it hit the tile floor, shattering. Was this how dragons felt when thieves came for their treasure? Or griffons, when their hatchlings were threatened? My Diamond... my precious filly was in danger! "Golden?" Tender Loving Care asked, instantly alert. "I felt her! I felt Diamond Tiara! I know! I swear to Celestia, I know where she is!" "Honey, are you feeling okay?" Filthy asked, concern stronger than worry in his voice. I looked him in the eyes. "You don't need to worry about my sanity. I'm serious, Filthy. It's like I could feel her through the earth. For a moment, it's like a veil was pulled away, and I could feel my little filly!" +++ Yo! Ponyville's most eligible dragon at your service! Well, more like everypony's service! After Twilight woke me, Trixie, and every pony else up with her shouting, I was dragon-mailing messages left and right! Cadence and Shining are still safe and sound on their honeymoon with Kifuko. Surrounded by half the Royal Guard and the entire graduating seniors class of the Schools of Gifted Pegasi and Gifted Earth Ponies. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight have all agreed that Shining and Cadence have earned their rest, and if the very worst happens at the castle, Equestria will still have one Alicorn to rally around. There was a quick debate on whether to bring Trixie's family in on this or not. The truth was, none of Trixie's family had fighting experience, except her dad, who'd hit mandatory retirement age a while ago. And I think a big part of Trixie didn't want to have to go running to mommy, when her mother had just gone through so much just to prepare Trixie for trouble. And that was nothing compared to the rapid-fire craziness thrown our way about the rest of the Crusaders. Twilight had excused the girls' school absence to Cheerilee, saying they were 'helping her with important royal business' and not much else. I guess 'Chaos Itself has returned and the local bully has become a demi-goddess' isn't news you want to share if you want to avoid widespread panic. "I take that back!" I said to Twilight. "It really seems stupid! If Discord is loose and Diamond Tiara's gone Nightmare Moon, then how about we tell ponies! Get them to evacuate!" "Evacuate to WHERE? What DO we tell them to keep them from panicking and stampeding?" "Evacuate to ANYWHERE!" "And have just the ponies of Ponyville evacuate? And not Canterlot and Cloudsdale? No place in the world is safe. There's no time." "Then why THE HECK didn't Future You come back and warn you MUCH EARLIER?!" I said waving my arms jumping up and down. "If I knew that I'd already be Future Twilight!" Right, we were talking about Sweetie Belle and the rest. + At the same time Golden Tiara felt the presence of Nightmare !$*(!@(!( My name is Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle! My special talent is singing! I have a big sister named Rarity! My oldest friend is Scootaloo! I'm a Cutie Mark Crusader! I have a secondary gift for helping ponies realize their true selves. I haven't had my cute-ceañera yet! I love my family and I love myself! I believe there's always hope for ponies and the world! I am Sweetie Belle... Sorry about that... I don't think I'd had a connected moment with Diamond Tiara since we defeated the curse. We all made our plans, well as we could, and prepared for tomorrow to save her. I got up at dawn. Rarity was already awake, packing her sharpest jewels and needles in her saddle bags along with her strongest cloths. "Oh, Sweetie Belle! Go ahead, dear, make yourself breakfast!" That's when I knew Rarity had already found out. I don't know how. Apple Bloom didn't remember how Rarity and her friends would find out, only that they would. I should have felt scared or maybe upset. After all, we'd already done our part, hadn't we? Shouldn't we just let Rarity and Twilight and the rest save the world like they're supposed to? But we'd handled big quests before. And Diamond Tiara needed saving from her corrupted cutie mark. Silver Spoon was there to walk with me to school. I liked that, it was something safe and normal. At least, I was happy until I started wondering if it was really a coincidence, her showing up today of all days. Calm down Sweetie, Apple Bloom wouldn't have written anything bad. We'd done everything to make sure Silver Spoon didn't have to learn about what happened to Diamond Tiara. But was all that for nothing? Was Silver Spoon going to be there during the fighting anyway, because she was Diamond Tiara's friend? When Silver Spoon saw my worry and hugged me, it was like fireworks went off. Don't ask why. We'd hugged before. I don't know why this one should be different. Except in a moment I did know. Diamond Tiara had opened the doors just a little in a moment of weakness, while looking at her mom. And Silver Spoon had hugged me at the same time, and the shock wave that existed between the exchanged pieces of our body/soul/spirit/mind, whatever it was, traveled like a ripple to her, and then the backlash hit me like the Friendship Express. And in that second, I was Diamond Tiara... I remembered the original world before it broke and Apple Bloom patched it back together. I'd seen visions of Diamond Tiara's life in the tower before, but now I remembered how I'd gotten my cutie mark, how I was humiliated at my party by three brats where mom and dad didn't even show. The private party that was a ticking time bomb with mommy's 'problems.' How guilty I felt for causing mom to go crazy, how she'd come so close to hurting me, to snuffing me out, how I'd blocked it all out rather than face it. How I hated daddy for going out with other mares. What Discord promised to do for her. Discord, keeping his word, but the real memories coming back, and a heart that hadn't realized its virtue, to become an extreme of nothing, an exaggeration of not even nothingness or oblivion, just literally a meaningless idea, hollow, empty. Like one of Button Mash's games where he glitched past the part where the hero was asked his name, and cut-scenes played with characters missing or dialogue with big holes in it. Like a paladin that didn't have an oath. I'm something ugly, hollow, drenched in sin, best left abandoned and effort to help spent elsewhere. No! No! I! Am! Sweetie Belle! I! Am! Loved! I swayed lightheadedly on my hooves, the next thing I knew, I was lying in Rarity's chaise longue, surrounded by my sister's magic. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity came running. "Are you okay!?" I could tell her I was fine, but I could tell from the look in her eyes that lie wasn't going to fly. "Sweetie Belle, please?" Silver Spoon asked, next to Rarity. "I'll be fine, Silvy." "... What did you call me?!" Silver Spoon's eyes widened. She knew only one pony who had ever used that nickname. I tried to think of a convincing lie, but stopped myself. I think I'm just sick of having too many secrets, I'm not you Chryssy. And I know how to forgive. Let the cards fall and let's save the world. "Silvy... I know where Diamond Tiara is." +++ Back to Best Dragon? Sure thing. Twilight had Applejack bring her sister in. Apple Bloom didn't once ask why she was there. She looked, well, like when we'd been about to set out in the battle for Canterlot. But before Twilight could even ask Apple Bloom anything important, Rarity, Silver Spoon, and Sweetie Belle showed up. +++ I told them everything. What REALLY happened on the Day of Chaos, how me and Diamond Tiara both turned into dolls and exchanged parts as we danced together, just a pair of happy little playthings, until the magic rainbow turned us all back to normal. And how me and Diamond Tiara now had a link like identical twins are said to have. "Sweetie Belle! For the love of Celestia, WHY didn't you tell us before?!" Rarity begged. "... I didn't even realize what was going on until the big nightmares," I said honestly. After all, that's all that was left of the rumors. "And WHY didn't you tell us THEN?" Rarity pressed. "Apple Bloom got her cutie mark. My cutie mark changed, Scootaloo's cutie mark changed, I confessed what really happened with Chrysalis to mom and dad and everypony. All those ponies visited school on the same day. I guess so much has changed, that one just... slipped my mind?" +++ This dragon is proud of himself for not saying, 'That's creepy' when Sweetie Belle told us what happened with her and Tiara. What was creepier was the black magic books Sweetie had in her saddle bags. And the war paint Scootaloo was wearing. Oh yeah, Scootaloo showed up too. It was Apple Bloom's request. She said if Twilight wanted to know more, then she wanted all her friends together so they were all on the same page. Applejack and Rainbow left the fillies there to make their own preparations. +++ "And this last vision... you learned that Diamond Tiara was a Nightmare, you know where she's planning to be, and that she's with Discord?" Twilight asked. "Yes," I said to the last part. Twilight frowned at how calm Scootaloo, me, and Apple Bloom were acting, while Silver Spoon was crying and hugging Rarity next to us for all she was worth. I felt like slime. "My future self told me to ask Apple Bloom, that you know more than you're letting on. Well, Apple Bloom?" I bet Bloom was happy that Applejack wasn't there. "The truth is that yer takin' us with ya," said Apple Bloom with a straight face. "No ifs, ands, or buts." "That's a bad joke." "Ah'm not jokin'; we faced Nightmare Diamond Tiara together during that big bad dream! We're sure it was the 'real' Nightmare Diamond Tiara. We've seen how she fights. Ah know her original 'her''s still in there somewhere." "And we're not letting you face her again!" Twilight snapped. "You are not soldiers! You are not warriors! You're not knights! You're foals! And this isn't a video game!" Apple Bloom's face didn't even twitch. "We've SEEN things, FACED things you can't imagine, and we have as much right to be there at the end as you." Twilight and Rarity both had something very harsh and stern to stay to that... "Girls! Listen to me! I know that you think you can handle anything when you're together, but you can't-" Twilight stopped. She saw the looks in our eyes. We weren't foals anymore. I think it scared her a little. As Apple Bloom, me, and Scootaloo all thought about the living lies we'd taken down. What Miss Maud Pie said about us losin' our foalhoods. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie, Scootaloo, what happened to you?" Apple Bloom said matter of factly, "Ah got mah cutie mark in my dreams. Ah saw the face of the world. Ah saw where it's all come from, and where it's all goin' to. This ain't some movie where you can just shoo away the funny and playful ponies when things get serious, you can't just sweep us under the rug! We're all connected." "... Every time you girls have been in danger, it's because danger came to you! The wedding! The outbreak! I'd be a monster for letting foals march TO mortal danger!" That's when Apple Bloom had me show our trump card. We were all wearing our Crusader capes, and it wasn't just for show. We all remembered how Miss Maud Pie had taken her cloak around us when the curse had twisted everything, and it turned into the capes we have now. Apple Bloom was the first to notice how they never got damaged any more, or even dirty, not while we had them on. We'd gotten curious. We'd DARED cut them with scissors but nothing special happened, and then when Apple Bloom put her cape back on, the cuts mended instantly. Then we tried to cut them while wearing them, and the scissors broke. After that... we began to get... kinda extreme in our testing. Everypony thought I'd gone crazy when I shot a bolt of dark magic at Apple Bloom. It wasn't any trick or illusion, either... I used enough power to chill the whole room. Their jaws all dropped when the spell hit her cape and vanished without a trace. "We... are protected," Scootaloo said, as tough and stern as she could muster, while looking up at the most powerful unicorn in the world. I don't know if I should be grateful or sad that Featherweight didn't keep his lantern, and Button Mash didn't keep his video game powers. We'd been cheated out of foalhoods, they didn't need to be too. +++ Featherweight would really come in handy if he could still sense Diamond Tiara and sneak past her, but gettin' Miss Twili' to agree fer us to come along was gonna be as impossible as it was already. They'd come along if asked, which is why we DIDN'T. And... maybe Ah'm a bit worried they'd take Featherweight along and leave us behind. ...So it took a while for Twilight to confirm that our capes only worked for us, and only worked while we were wearin' 'em. She'd blast a hole in 'em, and we'd put 'em back on, and they'd fix themselves up in a wink. "And Twilight, we need Silver Spoon to come along too," Ah said. Silver Spoon looked up from Rarity's side. "... I'll do it for her." "NO!" Twilight snapped. "We're not askin' her to fight! We're askin' her to be there, so she can help bring Diamond Tiara back to her senses!" "Apple Bloom! Nightmares are insane! They're BEYOND reason! It just doesn't work! Nightmare Moon! Nightmare Whisper! It never works!" "... So yer sayin', there's no chance of it workin' at all? Of a Nightmare whose big thing is that she's empty inside... that if anythin' can fill that... wouldn't it be her best friend?" "Do you actually think Silver Spoon's parents are going to agree to this?" "You don't have to tell them." Silver Spoon said. "Like fun I don't have to!" Twilight snapped. "Silver Spoon this is not a game!" "I KNOW IT ISN'T!" Silver Spoon said in tears. "I don't care if it's you, mom, dad, or CELESTIA! I don't care if it's a hundred or a million to one chance if I can help! I don't care if I'm just there to cheer everypony on! I LOVE DIAMOND TIARA AND IF THERE'S EVEN A TINY CHANCE I CAN HELP SAVE MY BEST FRIEND I'M GOING TO BE THERE!!!!" Twilight Sparkle hung her head in defeat. "Fine. On your heads be it. And curse me for caving in." After Silver Spoon spent all her tears with Rarity... she had a few things to say to us. "Girls... I had some dreams Diamond Tiara too. And I don't think anymore it was just a dream. I dreamed it was a while into the future, Diamond was back, my body was acting like my bully self, and we recruited a cousin of yours Babs into our gang of bullies. And-" What is she talkin' about?.... OH RIGHT! NOW AH REMEMBER! SO MUCH HAPPENED WE FORGOT ABOUT THAT! Ah... Ah thought maybe that was just a rumor. Ah'm lyin'. Ah totally forgot about it! And... so did Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Things went different in the new version of the day, so she never told us 'bout her dream with fallin' in the pig pen! Well, she told us in our 'dreams', but ponies didn't remember everythin' of that, like most dreams. Ah confirmed that Ah did have a cousin in Manehatten named Babs Seed, that Ah'd never met, and neither had Silver Spoon, but the description Silver Spoon gave sounded a spot on. Twilight rambled about 'prophetic collective unconscious dreams or some junk. (Until Silver Spoon got to the next part.) But then she told us the parts she hadn't had the chance to before. Silver Spoon apologizing to Babs, the dream stoppin'... Silver Spoon meeting Diamond Tiara in her dreams, who wanted Silver Spoon to hate her or join the dark side. And this Diamond Tiara in her dreams, had wings and a horn. Silver tellin' her the better way things could've gone in the dream she'd been forced to have, with Diamond Tiara a part of it. Diamond said she could make us Crusaders wish we never existed if she wanted (But then why didn't she durin' our fight?). Silver Spoon dared Diamond to do it to her, knowing Diamond could do it, but Diamond wouldn't drive her own best friend into despair in the end, and ran away. AND THIS HAD BEEN ALL BEFORE THE WEDDIN'! "She's been a Nightmare for at least that long?" This left Miss Twilight bewildered and surprised. "The poor dear!" whispered Rarity. Miss Twilight shivered. "This is shocking. Nightmares aren't known for being patient... and how the Tartarus did she get past Princess Luna's dream patrols?!" We didn't tell'er that Diamond and Discord had 'made their move' before. Scootaloo made us huddle. "Couldn't make Silver hate living? It didn't stop 'er from putting Silver Spoon in that booby trap bubble, remember?" Scootaloo whispered. "Maybe that was Umbra Breeze... and he didn't tell her?" Sweetie suggested. "At least this explains why Diamond Tiara didn't come and help Umbra Breeze when AJ beat'im," Ah whispered in the huddle. "How do you know?" Scootaloo asked. "... Ah just do." After learnin' all this, Twilight stopped lookin' so glum 'bout bringin' along Silver Spoon to save Tiara. We gave Silver Spoon a Crusader group hug. She'd faced Diamond Tiara without super powers, and gotten inside her heart better than Ah did with the Truth in my eye! But Silver Spoon did keep givin' Sweetie Belle odd looks. Not angry looks… if anythin', Ah think she's a mite confused given she now knows Sweetie and Diamond now have connected hearts. It wasn't till we were 'bout ready to leave for Canterlot that she built up the courage to ask. "Sweetie Belle, I need to ask... is our friendship really ours?" Silver Spoon's eyes quivered. "Silvy, I swear, I didn't become friends with you because there was a piece of Diamond Tiara in me... I became your friend because I worked for it, and so did you!" Silver Spoon had some more tears in her after all, but they weren't the sad kind. She gave Sweetie a nuzzle. "Thanks." +++ As we were all freakin' out at my fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders (hey, dragon or not, I own the cape, even if mine for some reason isn't an invincible magic barrier cloak, dangit! That would have been so cool to have!)... Trixie... was being Trixie. "Now Trixie," Twilight had explained. "You don't have to come along on this, in fact, it might be better if you don't, as the only other Element of Magic known, it'd be more logical for-" "For Trixie to be there in case something happens to you? That's fine! Don't worry! Trixie shall be there!" "Wait, no no, that isn't-" "Trixie understands! Don't worry! Trixie is not afraid! To death or glory, but preferably glory, Trixie will march with her friends!" "So... you're not scared?" "Trixie is terrified! But Trixie owes that patchwork chimera a good hoof to the jaw!" "Technically he isn't a chimera." "Not now, Twilight! This shall be the show of Trixie's life!" "Shows have SCRIPTS, Trixie!" "This one will be improv!" she insisted. "No plan in battle survives contact with the enemy!" "Which for once puts us on even footing with Discord! And we have an ex-Nightmare of our own in our arsenal, and a half-chaos-god-pony-spirit! And who better against a monster that can do anything than a mare who's average at everything, and therefore not below average at anything?" "... When did you learn logic?" "I've always known logic, Twilight, I just use it when it suits me." "AGH!" Twilight cringed. Then Trixie had a cup of salted sake for the road. I climbed up on Trixie's back. I'll admit, I did it because I knew Twilight would take me off hers on principle. Trixie just gave me a flat look. "Come on, I know you don't mind having an indestructible dragon on your back and a free magical flame thrower," I said like a salespony. "No, Spike!" Twilight said stamping her hoof, feeling like things were spiraling out of control before her very eyes. Heh. I bet she was wondering if the Cake's twins were gonna try to come along next. "Hey, I... maybe I wanna do better than when ... when I chickened out before on everypony..." "SPIKE! You were scared! Nopony blames you for what happened when the Elements didn't work against Discord! Don't put yourself in danger to make up for something that WASN'T YOUR FAULT!" "I'm not. I'm going because I'm your number one assistant, where you go, I go, you need me Twilight, whether you like it or not." Then Twilight looked me in the eyes, pleading... okay... now that was hurting, super hurting. It took everything I had not to jump off Trixie, apologize, and promise to look after Fluttershy's animals in the meantime. "Spike, the reason we leave you behind? Because you're a BABY dragon! We don't want you to get killed! Why do you think we make sure Apple Bloom and her friends don't sneak along? It isn't for our safety it's for theirs!" The fillies started, and Twilight blushed. Only one weapon left. THE PUPPY DOG EYES! FULL POWER! Ugh! Still makes my eyes hurt! Time to see if every lesson Apple Bloom gave me about these eyes works! What surprised me was when TRIXIE turned on the puppy dog eyes too! I wonder who taught her. "Well... I... that is... " Twilight began to cave. Then Trixie struck. "If you don't Twilight, I will." "... FINE! Now excuse me! I need to completely rework my tactical planning!" "Planning? Against Discord?" Spike asked. "Isn't planning kinda nuts with Discord?" Then she gave us all a smile. "That's what all of you are there for isn't it? Isn't counter-chaos what you all do best?" We all chuckled. "SPIKEY-WIKEY!" Oops. Right. Rarity. Perfect. Beautiful. Divine in spirit if not in form Rarity. She was here. Sweetie Belle was right. All this stuff can make you lose track of the obvious. "Uh... yes, Rarity?" I cringed. Trixie knew better than to get in her way. "... Do you promise yo'll come back from this in one piece? I swear by Celestia, I shall never forgive you if you do not!" I shrank under her gaze, enough to make me want to go crawling back inside my egg shell. I gathered up all my courage, and stood proud and strong as a dragon should. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, I shall return from this battle sane, alive, and whole." "I have never known a pony who has ever broken a Pinkie Pie, or dragon for that matter, I will be disappointed if you are the first, Spikey-Wikey." She kissed me. After that, I felt like I could take on a whole army of Discords, at any size! > Pony Power-Up! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You lot again? Long time no see. I gotta reintroduce myself? But you already know me! ...Fine. Name's Coffee Swirl. I'm just your average brown pegasus with a red mane and green-rimmed glasses. I serve coffee in Ponyville. No, I’m NOT related to Starswirl the Bearded, thank you. Don’t confuse your Swirls. On the Day of Chaos, I got turned into a pony literally made of coffee, and ponies tried to drink me. On Fluttershy's Day of Ignorance — no, I am NOT calling it Day of Innocence — I was zapped into a happy little foal like all the rest. No, I didn't throw the rock. Yes, I know who did, and unlike that particular pony, I don't hate Fluttershy, I just don't like her. If the rock-thrower ever wants to quit hating Fluttershy, more power to the rock-thrower. I knew something was off when the 'officials' from Canterlot began ordering ponies around to dig those stupid trenches, and I said as much and got accused of being a shapeshifting bug pony in disguise. Please tell me I wasn't the only pony NOT surprised when they turned out to be the shapeshifting bug ponies in disguise. I ended up actually pitching in and helping when all those things broke out of Tartarus, and the Night Guard, Day Guard, Royal Guard, The Changeling Guard, and everypony else who could throw a punch had to pitch in to round them up. If you ask me, I'm sure by sheer numbers that we might have missed one or two. No, I don't want to talk about it, just let me serve coffee to ponies without some mad demigod smashing down my storefront. That said, there is one demigod I don't mind serving. I may not like Fluttershy, but I am friends with Fluttercruel. I don't blame her for where she came from, who would? She didn't have any say in how she came into the world. Yes I think she's cute in her baby form, but don't tell her that. I like my nose where it is. Speak of the demi-draconequus... She was using Fluttershy's body again. I think she does it just so she can get the respect that her own form doesn't give her. "Hey, Swirl." "Hay is for horses." "And coffee is for me. The usual." "Coming right up." Always the bitterest coffee I can brew, to the point most ponies would call it undrinkable. She likes it that way. The one time I'd built up the nerve to ask why, she responded, "Because it lets me know I'm alive," and that was that. After downing the hot bitter coffee like it was iced tea, she told me, "Coffee... I'm letting you know. Me and mom's friends... we're going on a quest today. Nearby. Probably going to be a big battle. Fate of Equestria and all that jazz." "I miss the days when that wasn't normal." "Don't get your feathers ruffled. We'll have it beat in half an hour, or a whole hour if we run into trouble." She smirked. "Unless you want to come along." "Yes, thank you, leave me out of it, just come back in one piece." "Of course, Coffee," she said with that smirk of hers. "So, you still running that café in Ponyville Park on weekends?" "I think visitors are happy I don't charge a fortune for a cup like every other fun park in Equestria. And the rest of the staff is nice, they act like I'm a long lost friend." "Meet anypony nice there who's sweet with berries?" "No comment." "Heh. Okay. Just saying it's nice not to be alone." "I'm not." +++ I shall be frank, darlings, having our little sisters and Spikey-Wikey involved in this was the last thing any of us wanted, but sadly our hooves were tied. The stubborn foals made clear that they WOULD escape wherever we locked them up, and would show up to the fight anyway. Surely we'd all gone mad again for caving in on this. It was truly and sincerely disturbing, dears, to look at my precious Sweetie Belle, and see not a filly, but a battle-hardened young mare. It's shameful and sickening, but at the same time, I can't help but feel a little proud of her, and I know Applejack and Rainbow Dash feel the same. On the bright side, at least we'd convinced them that their job would be to keep Silver Spoon out of danger, which hopefully would keep them out of danger. Even the loss of our dear sisters’ innocence pales beside what Discord has done. Making a Nightmare of a poor impressionable filly is heartless and vile, even for him! We were done with Discord. Healed, put it behind us, moved on. It's a shame Discord wasn't done with us. The risk is dreadful, but if there’s even a chance that Silver Spoon can reach... what Diamond Tiara has become... then surely, we must allow her to make the attempt! We'll save you, Tiara... I promise. Your mother and father are waiting for you. I'll bring you back to them, no matter what. Dear Twilight Sparkle was relaying orders from Princess Celestia to the Guards. This included one changeling guard named Death Stalker. He'd apparently been her helper when she'd been brainwashed by Chrysalis. Personally, I think he's sad that the changelings won't be having any epic battles this time around. At least he got his wish with the Tartarus break out. The changeling embassy was still being built, so they had to make due. As fate would have it, it was right next to the Wuv Cat 'Embassy' mailbox. Death Stalker bowed to her. "Madam Sparkle, I mean, Twilight! If you're going into battle, then please, take us with you. Allow us to fight by your side!" I swear I saw one of the Royal Guard, an orange pegasus with a blue mane, staring daggers at Death Stalker. My, my, Twilight Sparkle, it would seem you have a secret admirer. I file away the details of that stallion in my memory for later. I can't say a coltfriend wouldn't be good for her. I admire Twilight for speaking so perfectly in her 'Apprentice to Princess Celestia' persona. "Death Stalker, you are my friend, and thank you for your concern. The Hive Guard in Canterlot, the Night Guard, the Royal Guard, and the Day Guard must protect Canterlot in case chaos spills over and threatens her people." Princess Luna had put the matter in far more transparent terms when Applejack had asked why we couldn't have every Guard from here to Cloudsdale for back up. "This is not the General, this is nothing like the General. This is not a discarded pawn of the enemy that needs collecting for their own good. We are going against the enemy at a time and place not of their own choosing. Their threat is greatly diminished, but still real. We are not shielding them from the Guards' wrath, we are shielding the Guards from them! This isn't going to be an arrest, 'tis going to be a battle! One we must make sure is the last one!" Luckily, there wasn't going to be a single tour that day in the Royal Statues Garden, and even more fortunate, all of the staff and guards happened to have the day off. There wouldn't be any crowds of innocent ponies to worry about, like during the wedding. "Darlings, not to upset the applecart, but is it not possible this is all an elaborate performance by Discord himself?" "Trust me, Rarity," Twilight said, "Future Me was not Discord or a changeling." "Your caution is wise, Rarity," Princess Luna said, "But save thy fears for the battle ahead. This is no deception. Tis far too orderly and logical for Discord." "Luna is right," Princess Celestia said. "If you have ever trusted me, my little ponies, then trust me now." She looked at Applejack. "I know the truth that Discord will be waiting for us... with another lost child." And that was that. And darlings, that stallion I mentioned before? He looked ready to cry that the Guard had all been ordered to remain behind out of the line of fire. We are leaving the trained Guards behind, and bringing along our little sisters... How fitting, for a battle against Chaos itself. The clock was ticking down to the appointed hour. I had butterflies in my stomach... who wouldn’t? I tried to imagine a calm blue ocean underneath a calm blue sky, letting my mind clear and focus. The Princesses were decked out in their classical full body armor. I swear I saw our Princess shiver when she looked at the capes worn by Sweetie and her friends, but she said nothing. "Darlings, if we are going into battle again, perhaps we should bring along the armor that I tailored to us for the battle of Canterlot?" I offered. Princess Celestia shook her head. "Don't worry, my little pony. From what Twilight described, they won't be needed. Except... might you have a set of armor for Trixie?" "I do, actually! Trixie, do you remember that suit of outdated guard armor that you wore under your costume during the battle for Canterlot? After the wedding, I'd decided, for the sake of a making a complete set, to customize it with your cutie mark, like the others." I smiled. "I will enjoy seeing you wear it, even under such regrettable circumstances. Thankfully, my wardrobe is never far away." In the space of a minute, Trixie was decked out with some basic but very stylish protection. Celestia lead Twilight to the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Royal library, giving her a copy of the time travel spell. "Remember, my faithful student, a pony may only cast this spell once, and it lasts a minute or two at most before you are drawn back to the present." "I won't forget," said Twilight, narrowing her eyes at the scroll, "because I didn't." Celestia turned her head and saw Pinkie Pie in a black catsuit, and Princess Luna slinking around in a cardboard box of all things. "Sister, Pinkie Pie, will you please stop dressing up and sneaking among the books?" "Forgive me, sister! I was merely getting in some last minute practice." Pinkie Pie giggled. "Well, I was thinking, what if there’s another Pinkie Pie sneaking around in a black spymare catsuit in another universe right now, and she’s having all this fun and I’m not?" Sane or not, Pinkie Pie was still Pinkie Pie. And so we began our final march to the Canterlot Statue Garden, the very place where we’d fought Discord and lost the first time. This time, though, we weren't playing a rigged game to find Elements that had never been there in the first place. We were going to finish this. We made quite the parade, the Princesses, her students and the Elements of Harmony, a baby dragon, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it was hard for us not to get attention, since the Guard wasn’t clearing the streets ahead of us. Celestia did not want to disrupt Canterlot ponies' lives more than she needed to. I think she didn't want to give Discord the satisfaction. "I can't believe I'm saying this, Your Highness, but it might have been better if we’d traveled incognito." Princess Luna nodded at my words. “Or teleported there directly.” "Perhaps," said Princess Celestia, "but I want my ponies to know and to see that their Princesses and their protectors are among them, and trust that we shall keep them safe." Twilight seemed uneasy. "But Discord will know we’re coming." "If Discord does not already know that we're coming, he will soon enough. Do not be afraid, he knows he has nowhere left to run, or he would have fled already. He knows that the Elements of Harmony are still the greatest threat to him, just as he is the greatest threat to us. But what he will mistakenly believe is that you shall break as easily before him a second time." I steeled my resolve, and leaned closer to my friends. The fillies, Spike, and the others all did the same. Princess Luna trotted on Celestia's right, Twilight on Celestia's left. Luna and Celestia fit together like the night and day, but Twilight and Celestia fit in a different way. It reminded me of Fluttershy's ducklings following their mother. I noticed how one of Celestia's wings was slightly extended towards Twilight, ready to shield her at a moment's notice. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't beautiful. Twilight unconsciously moved closer to her. "Twilight," Princess Celestia said, not caring if the rest of us heard. "I want you to know that I've always been proud of you. If it ever feels like I've been distant, or indirect, or held things back from you, I want you to know that it's only because I know how great you can become. I've never meant to abuse our trust, or your faith in me, because I have great faith in you. You are a tireless student, and with your friends I know you can become even greater. Cherish those connections Twilight, they are a gift that can never be replaced. You've done so much, and I know you'll accomplish so much more." "But-?" Twilight responded cautiously. "But nothing!" Celestia nuzzled her. "I look forward to the day when you become a pony that even I can look up to." "But don't let that go to your head," Princess Luna said, matter-of-factly. Twilight laughed. "I promise I won't!" She nuzzled Celestia back. "And THANK YOU Princess Celestia. Thank you. You're the reason I could become so great. I had a gift I had no idea what to do with. Magic for the sake of magic. But you've helped me see. Magic for Equestria's sake, for my friends' sakes. And I know WHY you've taught me the way you have-" "You do?" Celestia's eyes widened slightly. "Yes. As wonderful as books are... well... there's something special about meeting and knowing ponies face-to-face. Knowing not only are they part of your life, but you're a part of theirs. Books can't give you that. I understand why you had to make it a royal order for me to go to Ponyville and I had to start from scratch... I wish I'd never neglected Moon Dancer and my classmates, but ALL my friends are gifts I cherish." Celestia let out a breath. "Well done, Twilight. And thank you for accepting what I've shared with you." "And thank you too, for trusting me with so much." Applejack said nothing, her expression unreadable. Pinkie Pie grinned, a little misty-eyed, as if she was looking at dear friends long lost instead of Twilight and Princess Celestia. Princess Luna couldn't hide her smile. Fluttershy looked relieved to have a tender moment before we faced our worst nightmare head on. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were bewildered and in awe, Silver Spoon most of all. I imagine seeing Celestia so direct and personal wasn't what the silver filly was used to. Spike looked very satisfied in that moment gazing at Twilight and Celestia. Our two blue mares... I saw the glint of jealousy in their eyes. No matter what, Trixie will still be Trixie. Luna glanced Trixie's way. Rainbow Dash flew next to our violet friend. "Hey, Twilight, you and Celestia have something good. I mean, she’s practically your second mom!" Rainbow Dash said. "Funny thing... when we had those crazy dreams? I dreamed that Celestia was my mom. Weird how it was just a dream, but I still remember how it was... like you and Princess Celestia now." When Twilight gave her a perplexed look, Rainbow quickly added, “I didn’t mean it like... I know she’s not your mom. I’ve met your mom. I’m just saying... never mind!” Twilight blushed. Celestia gave Rainbow Dash a warm look and Rainbow smiled back. Celestia was the sun, warming all our hearts that day. Once we had passed through the gates, and passed all of Canterlot’s residential areas, I removed the dress I had been wearing. Admittedly, it was rather simple by my usual standards, but there was a reason for that. I placed my garment back into my saddlebags, where a very important one lay alongside it. But what drew the attention of my friends was the arsenal of razor-sharp gems and long gladius-length needles I was carrying upon my person. Rainbow Dash whistled. "I gotta say I like this better than most of your outfits, Rarity." "This isn't an outfit Rainbow Dash... I am going into battle prepared to save Diamond Tiara from her own darkness, and Discord." None of us had worn the Elements trotting through Canterlot, but now it was time. All the preparations had been made. Everything was set. We knew Discord would have surprises up his sleeves, but so would we. Forgive me for not sharing them ahead of time, darlings, but suffice to say, we were not marching unprepared nor unsupported. "Do not fear, my little ponies. I have placed a new enchantment upon the Elements. It is now completely impossible for Discord to steal them." Celestia took the Elements out of their box and placed each of the necklaces around our necks, and the Crown of Magic upon Twilight's head. We may have once been able to channel their power without them being physically present to save Fluttershy, but we shouldn't gamble on that miracle happening twice. "So we'll still have to watch out for Diamond Tiara, then," I chose to say. "’Tis no easy feat for beings of chaos and disharmony to lay their unworthy hooves or claws upon the Elements, Lady Rarity," Princess Luna spoke. "That Discord was able to take them is a testament to his guile and power, not a lessening of the Elements of Harmony. There are reasons We didn't simply grab them off ye when ye smote us with the Rainbow of Light, when we were Nightmare Moon." Celestia then added, "And my little ponies, I have a very dear friend who wishes to pay her respects before we confront Discord and the Nightfilly. Many a circumstances have prevented you from meeting her before this moment, but she has chosen to make a special trip for this closing chapter of our conflict. She's come quite a long way in a short amount of time, but she should be here any moment now." Why did Apple Bloom's eyes shift about like that? We were all taken by surprise when we spotted a sleigh with a white version of the Deer Tribes' tree emblem. You might ask why anypony would travel by sleigh without any snow, but this sleigh was flying through the air, as were the team of reindeer pulling it! A pair of caribou guards rode in the sleigh, flanking someone else that I couldn’t see clearly yet. No, this was not Santa Hooves. I noticed Pinkie Pie looking disappointed as she stopped bouncing and tucked a list back into her mane. As the sleigh landed neatly besides us, guards stepped out, standing tall and proud, then parted and bowed to the sleigh's third occupant. The only ones not surprised by her sheer appearance were the Princesses, Twilight, and Spike. Applejack seemed more surprised by her presence than her appearance. I myself was bewildered and bedazzled by what I saw. She was a deer doe, but she was taller than her own guards, thanks to a rack of horns atop her head that were normally only found upon deer bucks. Each horn had seven points, and looked to be made of crystal! Yes, living breathing crystal, somehow, that grew from her head. She moved with a grace that I could only call harmonious. Flowers sprouted from any patch of ground touched by her hooves, which seemed to be the same material as her horns. Her coat was either a luminous white, or maybe all colors at once. Her eyes glittered like the twinkle-eyed ponies of legend. The only adornment she wore was a white wooden pendant shaped like a tree on a white chain. Spike and Twilight quickly bowed, and the rest of us followed their lead. Princess Celestia opened her wings. "Rise, my little ponies, and say hello to the mother and guardian of the deer tribes." "It's an honor to see you again, Your Highnesses," Twilight said. Of course, she'd been with Celestia through any number of diplomatic meetings. Why wouldn't she have met the apparent Elder of all deer before? "It's a pleasure to see you again, Twilight Sparkle, Kenbroath Gillspotten Heathspike VII, Princesses," she said. "And it is a pleasure to meet you face to face, Abigail Jacqueline V, Pinkamena Diane Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity Belle... and Beatrix Lulamoon. This is pleasant surprise. 'Tis an honor to meet you." Trixie blushed bright red. I don't know why, but I swear it felt like I'd met this doe before, and I saw that my friends were feeling much the same. The great doe shivered. "Oh yes, and you too, Lady Fluttercruel, I... wish you nothing but good fortune for your future." Fluttershy shifted to Fluttercruel for a moment, startled. "Oh my, are these some of your successors with you, little ponies?" Her eyes zeroed in on the Crusaders. The girls all looked paralyzed. I felt my heart skip a beat. Sweetie Belle? I could see Scootaloo becoming Loyalty after Rainbow Dash, but Apple Bloom didn't seem a fit for Honesty, and Sweetie was more Kindness than Generosity. Then the great doe's eyes widened at the sight of their capes, Celestia blocked her line of sight with a wing. "They are not why you are here, Your Grace,” Celestia said in a very respectful tone. “Will you do as I've requested?" "I shall. But this seems reckless." Princess Luna spoke sternly but politely. "Reckless, perhaps, but also imperative. Never before have a Draconequus and a Nightmare fought side by side. The Bearers will need all the protection they can if they are to do their duty." "... You understand that I can no more fight Discord directly than he can fight me." Eh? What was the secret of this doe? What connection did she have to Discord that made them unable to fight each other? I felt like a little filly at a breakfast table with the adults speaking over her. "We understand completely." Princess Luna bowed her head. "All the more reason why this contribution from you would be greatly appreciated." "... Very well." The majestic doe stared deeply at each of us Bearers in turn, even Trixie. When she looked at me, I swear it felt like my soul itself was naked as the rest of my body. "Understand, this is a boon I'd normally grant to thee only when you were many more years further along your journey, but circumstances have forced my hooves. I think not just of this fight ahead of you, but the ones to come." She knelt down and looked us all eye to eye, a pleading look in her eyes. "I beg you little ponies, remember: what may seem the simplistic and direct solution can have unforeseen consequences. Don’t cut a knot when you don’t know what the rope was holding up. Increased might shall always carry the risk of upping the stakes of any conflict. Even the worst enemies fight more brutally if backed into a corner. Please beware." - Sweetie Belle's Supplemental I know it's crazy, but hearing her talk about that I was reminded of a game Button Mash played with me. The idea was each quest had the hero having to defeat a dark lord before the timer ran out and the world ended. The hero met a beautiful filly who became his best friend, and she took him to a lot of places to see after you beat a fake dark lord. But eventually she confesses that she's a monster in disguise who was supposed to keep the hero busy until the timer ran out, but thinks now the world is too wonderful to end, and tells the hero to break the stone at the top of the map to make the real dark lord appear, but it'll also turn her back into a monster. Then, you face her before meeting the real dark lord, she doesn't even fight back, if you refuse to attack her, you get the best sword in the game. Or, you can break the stone right at the start, and skip the entire part of the quest with her, but then you never find out about the best sword in the game, and you miss out on what Button Mash called the 'most emotional a video game had made him feel in a long time.' - Back to Rarity "Lady, I've seen Pony Rangers. What you just told me was 'Rule Two' the Rangers were given in the first episode," said the oh-so-tactful-and-polite Rainbow Dash that we all know and love. "So if you came all this way to give us last minute super-powers, let's do it!" The entourage of deer frowned. The great doe stood to her full height, and looked sullenly at Rainbow Dash, oh dear. "Very well, Bearer of Loyalty, as you wish." She trotted to each of us, and wordlessly touched the gem of each of our Elements one by one. Each one glowed momentarily before she moved onto the next one. When she touched mine, I swear for a moment it felt like my Element was a part of my body rather than something beautiful I was wearing. She hesitated for a moment with Fluttershy, but touched hers as well. She then trotted in front of each of us, pacing like a drill instructor. "The rest is up to you. Focus completely on your Element of Harmony, what it means for you, and what you mean to it, and what it means for others, and the rest shall come naturally at your will." I did as she asked. Well, I did as well as I was able. While it is well-known that I am a lady of social circles and philosophy, this was not something I think any of us were truly used to. Certainly we'd had our moments when facing an evil overlord or Nightmarified friend, but I don't think myself and my friends have ever really just sat down at Sugarcube Corner and sorted out our different spiritual viewpoints on the weapons of the gods we were entrusted with. Well, Rarity, if you can finish a commission due in the morning at three in the morning, you can do this! What does Generosity means to me? What do I mean to Generosity? What does Generosity means to others? ... I sincerely felt like a foal who'd been dropped from grade school into a collage final exam. Ugh! This was even harder than it sounded! Think, Rarity! Feel! This is like creativity, let it flow naturally. ... What did I learn with Diamond Tiara? That it's my virtue, not my talent. Generosity is not a bank loan or investment expecting a return, it is not salary for what one deserves. You do not bring up 'I did a favor for you.' Such things are business deals. It also doesn't mean squandering your time and money, not even for seemingly ‘good causes’ and ‘good intentions.’ It's not about giving away loose change in your pocket you don't need to make yourself feel better. If you have time to give others loose change, make them a sandwich. There is no crime in being generous to yourself. But if yourself is all you're generous to, then that’s being selfish. The great are not constrained by the small. The great help the small rise up and achieve greatness themselves. Generosity’s about giving more to your fellow pony than is expected of you. Giving to fulfill an expectation isn't generosity, that's called taxes. If you give because you were forced to, in any way, that’s not generous either. Giving what isn't yours to others isn't generosity, that's thievery. I don't help others be beautiful to enforce my definition of beauty, I help them be beautiful in their own way! Generosity’s about taking what's yours, and giving to those who don't have, of you own free will. And if you inspire others to be generous to others more? So much the better! ... It was like my Element was a second heart, and I felt a ripcord inside it, and I pulled it. = "Supernatural" - Mew Mew Power = Darlings, hold your breath, and do not blink. The world changed for each of us into patterns of colors and sparkles. The jewels of our Elements shone like stars, and the fittings glowed like liquid light, growing and enveloping us. On most of us, the Elements moved about, their light solidifying into polished golden armor that fit like a second skin but did nothing to hamper movement. The designs were unique to each of us. Afterwards, the other girls told me of their own experiences. Twilight told me that she was in a swirling starscape, living constellations flying about her before fusing to her sides, becoming the patterns on her armor as it formed. She says she heard pop music, of all things. Twilight doesn’t even listen to Sapphire Shores, to my knowledge. With carnival tunes playing, Pinkie Pie was surrounded by colorful glowing balloons and bubbles. She hopped into one like a giant raindrop that popped with sparkles spraying everywhere, revealing her armor. She says the whole experience, "Tasted like cake!" Rainbow Dash, with rock 'n' roll background music, of course, was surrounded by wild wind and colorful lightning bolts that struck her all at once, her armor sparking as it formed. Fluttershy was surrounded by swirls of butterflies that solidified into armor as they passed over, to the music of harps. She says it tickled. To the music of a fiddle, Applejack says she saw endless groves of apple and orange trees, and her armor materialized on her in a straightforward pattern with minimal fanfare. Her beloved hat never budged. I swear, if she became a princess, she'd have it as her crown! I myself heard a classical symphony, as gemstones rippled like waves in the ocean. The 'waters' washed over me, leaving me dry, but the new suit of armor condensing around me. Each of us had our Element jewels in a different space, fused with the armor as a part of it. Twilight's was in the crown, now formed against her forehead. Pinkie Pie's was around her throat like a choker. Rainbow Dash's was at the 'shoulder' of her right wing (hadn't it been left before?) Fluttershy's could be mistaken for a mane-clip on the right side of her head, if it weren't integrated into her armor, but somehow still didn't impede her head motions. Applejack's was upon the hip of her left rear leg. Mine was over my heart. The Elements weren't gasps in the armor, they were the strongest points. My armor felt like it was both an extension of myself and a separate entity. Of course, all of this takes time to describe, dears, and what happened felt like it transpired in less than a second, and all of us changed together. The irony is that each suit of armor was a glorious work of art, exactly as I would have designed it myself, if I had unlimited time and resources. I'm not sure what the golden-colored metal was. It was sturdy but light. Rainbow Dash's and Fluttershy's wings were protected like before, as was Twilight's horn and my own. The protection around all four of Applejack's legs seemed especially well armored. Star patterns covered every part of Twilight's armor, but not garishly so. There was no need for leather straps, the armor fit to us perfectly. Pinkie Pie's armor resembled what you'd expect to see on a merry-go-round horse. Rainbow's had a pattern of lightning to them, and Fluttershy's like the wings of butterflies. Applejack's was etched like leather. Mine was as fashionable and exquisite in detail as any masterpiece of mine; a minuet jewel pattern throughout. As if I'd go into battle in anything else! = Sailor Moon Crystal OST - Moon Prism Power, Make Up! = The Princesses looked proud of us. Trixie gave every body language tell of feeling somewhat out of place. The foals were truly in awe. "Now we know this is the finale," Sweetie Belle said. "This is new." Apple Bloom blinked, not able to look away. "Do it again!" Scootaloo cheered. Rainbow Dash laughed, excited. "Please tell me somepony filmed that!" "THAT WAS AMAZING!" Spike shouted. "Do I get one?" "Sorry, no," the great doe apologized, in that slight tantalizing tone I used to hide a gift from Sweetie Belle. "You're great the way you are," Silver Spoon said to him, her eyes still glued to us in our newfound armored magnificence. "Marvelous, darlings!" I said, tossing my mane. "Well, ain't that somethin'?" Applejack said, calmly lifting a leg, looking down at herself. "Yeah." Pinkie Pie looked herself over like a dog chasing their own tail. "Nothing like this happened in the canon world... history that Twilight read me about the Elements." Fluttershy asked submissively, "Uh, not to sound ungrateful or anything, I really am grateful! But uh, how do I get out of this?" "Just will it to be so, nothing else to it," The great doe said politely. "Oh, okay, thank you!" "You are most welcome, little pony." She then addressed us all. "Remember, armor protects. It is not a weapon." - Tis a pity that Trixie's Element of Chaos was lost and corrupted. It'd have been interesting to see what weapon it would take the shape of in her hooves, but this would have to do. --The Mother of Deer - "Do I get my own suit of armor?" Fluttercruel asked. Fluttershy's body began fidgeting as if the armor made her skin itch. "I think you'd have to dismiss the armor, and transform again to find out," the great doe explained. "Meh, fine," Fluttercruel remarked. Fluttershy then retook her position at the mental forefront and the fidgeting ceased. Applejack then trotted over to the great doe. With a gesture from the great doe her guards stayed where they were, and she leaned down to Applejack. "Ah hope we ponies have done ya proud. Ah'd say we've come a long way, no matter how many times we've been knocked down." With the Princesses gone, we all looked at each other. "Applejack?" I asked, wondering what this was about. "You're greater than I ever imagined you ponies would be," She whispered in her ear, perhaps thinking it was too low for the others to hear. Then, like a thundering dam that had finally burst, Twilight Sparkle teleported right in the great doe's face, speaking at a pace that would have done Pinkie Pie proud. "How did you do that? Have you done that before? How did you know how to do that? How long have you known? What's your connection to the Elements of Harmony? How old are you? What are you really? What's your real name? Are you like the Princesses? Do you need to prep it each time, or can we now do it on our own? Why can't you fight Discord? Why can't Discord fight you? Are there others like you? Can you stay? If Discord can't attack you, then you can protect the fillies!" Imagine our surprise when she actually answered. "It comes naturally to me. I am as old as the Elements. Who and what I am is the same. We have our connection, but we are not the same. Unless I seal it away personally, this power is yours. Oil and water can't fight, they simply fail to mix. I'm not sure, I think I am the only one of my kind. And my presence will only complicate matters. And it is not as simple as you make it sound." "My faithful student," The Princess said. "I believe it is time you spoke with yourself." "Eh?" Twilight asked, then blinked. She looked at herself in realization. "Oh, you're right." Twilight took the scroll and lit her horn. In a crackling white sphere of light, Twilight vanished, only to reappear a moment later. "OW!" Our blue showmare rubbed her horn. "Trixie got a headache when she tried to Spell Copy that one." "Trixie, you didn't really," Twilight said in a 'oh no' tone. "What? One time use to inform myself of future events? Why not?" Twilight gave the now-useless scroll back to Princess Celestia. "It's not as useful as you think, you can't change events with it, because you going into the past is part of the past already." "So? I could still learn about things in the past without changing them." I think Twilight was hoping Trixie wasn't clever enough to realize that. "So, everything went well?" Pinkie Pie asked. "It already had, so yes. Which means there's no guarantees for how our fight will go." "So... WHAT?" Rainbow Dash said, slamming her armored forehooves together. "We didn't know how things would turn out before and we don't here! We'll still kick his butt and knock that Nightmare filly's head straight!" "Exactly! We won't let Discord hurt anypony else," Fluttershy said as forcefully as she could. "We've never let Discord do anythin', sugarcube," Applejack reminded her. "We're here to stop 'em... And get Mr. and Mrs. Rich's little filly back to 'em! They've waited long enough!" "I most certainly agree with that," I said with grim determination. 'We'll save you, Tiara, just like we saved Princess Luna and Fluttershy!' "No filly deserves to be happy like Discord is, or sad like Princess Luna was, and the Pink Party Machine is gonna help her smile!" Pinkie Pie said proudly. "Trust us when we say, Diamond Tiara is by far the one suffering the most in this," Princess Luna said solemnly. "I know," Fluttershy said firmly facing forward. - 'Fluttercruel... we're going to face Discord.' 'Really? Tell me something I don’t know.' 'We're going to face your father. If you can't handle this, then you don't need to be here. Nopony is going to blame you.' 'Psh. As if I'm going to chicken out NOW. Just let me at that butt-ugly creep!' '... Fluttercruel. Please don't do anything foolish because of him.' 'No promises.' 'If you can't promise, little filly, then I can't take you along.' 'You're joking!' 'Just test me.' 'Fine. I promise I won't do anything dumb because of the big stupid jerk. There, happy mother?' 'I feel much better now! Remember, sweetie, tough love ISN’T always the answer.' 'Right, right, that's why you're here. Geeze. But I still owe the jerk a punch in the face.' 'Just please don't be reckless.' 'Don't you mean: 'if that's okay with you?'' 'Not for you, young filly.' - The fillies and Spike took turns hugging Silver Spoon. "Ya can still leave, Silvy," Sweetie Belle said. "Nopony is going to blame you... you don't need to... see Diamond Tiara like that. Her mom and dad shouldn't, and you don't need to either." Silver Spoon said breathlessly, "I have to. She's my best friend. She's the first real friend I ever had. She's how I even knew what a friend is. And before you ask, this isn't about 'paying her back.' Or because I'm 'supposed to.' I KNOW Diamond Tiara would do the same for me. And I'll do the same for her." "... That is that," Scootaloo said in pure understanding. "I understand." Sweetie Belle nuzzled her. "I know the real Diamond Tiara still cares about you, and we'll get her back." "The real Diamond Tiara is already waiting with Discord..." The girls all gave Spike a sour look. "Let me finish! But! We're gonna by hook or love-and-tolerance laser cannon, get her to see that being Diamond Tiara the filly is better than being Diamond Tiara the monster. I've been there too." "Everypony's been there some time or another," Apple Bloom said knowingly. "Which is why we can save her." "Tiara, I'm coming," Silver Spoon said. - "Princess?" Twilight Sparkle whispered. "Are you ready?" "I am about as prepared as I can be, Twilight. Ready implies you know what'll happen next." The armored and radiant Celestia sighed. There was... a longing her eyes. "... Silver Spoon isn't the only one here with a friend to save, is she?" said Twilight, remembering everything she'd learned about her mentor's life before Equestria. "... I want to believe that Dissy is still in there. That some part of him remains. I know that Dissy wasn't just some farce of Discord's." "But didn't Galaxia say that Dissy was gone?" "Indeed, she did. And until recently, I had no reason to doubt her words. Discord had certainly given me no reason to think otherwise. But now... I've been given a moment of hope in the most unlikely of places. I won't endanger you or any of my ponies on a 'what if'... but it would be a betrayal if I didn't take a chance that presents itself to save Discord's first and most tragic of all his victims... himself." "... I understand, Princess." - "Good fortune, little ponies." The Mother of Deer bowed, back stepping into her sleigh with her guards, and her entourage withdrew. Trixie asked. "Shall we begin?" "It began a long, long time ago," Twilight declared boldly. "Now is the time to end this!" > 5, 4, 3, 2- > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity Belle's thoughts, as recorded by the Half-Lights This was it. All of us were properly attired for what was to come, and the final battle was about to begin. We marched to the Royal Canterlot Statue Garden in formation. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia walked at our left and right, guarding our flanks. Twilight Sparkle led the herd, sweeping a detection spell at Applejack's request, just in case Discord chose to use something Applejack called 'land mines.' Applejack and Rainbow Dash were at Twilight's sides, on high alert. Pinkie Pie and I followed close behind them, armed and ready. Before entering the garden proper, Pinkie Pie drank several cups of strong coffee she'd been saving, and brought out the unwieldy armament that she calls an 'Anti-Marey-Sue Bazooka.' I wondered briefly what it launched. Had to be something powerful this time, surely. I can't imagine confetti or cream pies slowing down Discord for very long. Fluttershy came next, listening to nature's words and warnings, followed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Trixie and Spike brought up the rear. Silver Spoon kept shivering, in spite of it being a bright sunny afternoon. Sweetie did her best to comfort her. Spike looked tense enough to scorch a butterfly if it so much as looked at him chaotically. Scootaloo had painted her face like one of the Pegasopolis warriors of old... I made a mental note to give her a few tips on applying makeup later. Sweetie had been studying those dreadful black magic books again. Apple Bloom wore a single earring which I was sure was of zebra make, and considering the symbols on those jars in her saddlebags, those likely came straight from Zecora herself. She kept her eyes forward, frowning in thought, but seemingly not fearful of ambushes. For the moment, nothing seemed all that odd about the garden. It was as calm and beautiful as ever. - Rainbow Dash If I'd known we were ever going to bring Scoots along on one of our epic fights, I'd have trained her harder than a drill sergeant. Too bad she's too smart to fall for 'stay back in reserve' and 'there are three little fillies whose safety depends on you.' Believe me, I tried. She'd never leave her friends hanging anyway. Loyalty isn't just to those above you, it's about being loyal to those around you and under you too. I hope Foal Services and Scootaloo's parents never hear about this. Geez, don't get me wrong. I know the squirt is no wuss, but I'm responsible for her... I have to keep her safe! If something happens to her, I have no pony to blame but myself. At least Scootaloo fully understood this wasn't a game, and she wasn't all bouncing-all-around like I was bringing her to a theme park. Celestia help us both, she knew what she was getting into. Alright little Scootaloo, follow your flock into the the storm. - Applejack Ah know the truth, and Ah'm still not happy 'bout this neither! Dangit, Apple Bloom! Ya had yer fight! Ya already risked yer life to save the world once, and that's one time too many! Why'd ya have'ta drag yerself and yer friends inta this? Death's real! Ya can get yerself killed! ... Breath in, breath it out, AJ... Dangit. Can't ya just let yer big sisters protect ya like we're supposed to? DO Ah trust ya? Apple Bloom, it ain't ABOUT trust! Yer TOO YOUNG ta be volunteerin' fer a fight this huge! It's about my little sister stickin' her neck out when she shouldn't have'ta! Yes, me and my friends are each other's strength, Ah know that! ... Yer here to be Silver Spoon's strength... in case she can reach Diamond Tiara? Alright then, sugarcube... but for Celestia's sake, at least jest leave the fightin'n to us. - Twilight Sparkle Spike, I've been with you since you hatched. You're my responsibility, but here I am, letting Trixie carry you into the worst danger we've faced yet. Please don't let this be a mistake. You better make sure Spike stays safe, Trixie. What sense is there in a little filly raising a fire-breathing infant dragon she has no books on while balancing the demands of schoolwork? Yet here we are. And how glad I am of it. Love you, Spike. - Silver Axe/Silver Tongue When I was told my little filly had volunteered for 'special royal business,' I was most certainly not pleased when she refused to tell me what it was. My wife meanwhile was ecstatic at our filly moving up in the world. I went so far as to ORDER her to tell me what this 'special royal business' was... and she still refused! We'll discuss her punishment after she gets back, but... There is only one pony alive who can inspire such mischief, such loyalty in my filly. Good luck, my little Silver Spoon. Bring Diamond Tiara home. - Rarity Belle's thoughts, as recorded by the Half-Lights The first thing we did once we were in range, darlings, was to charge up the Elements of Harmony and blast that entire accursed hedge maze in love and tolerance. As the rainbow light faded and we drifted gently back down, hooves touching the earth once more, nothing appeared any different. I don't remember which of us first suggested it, but I can't deny that I felt great satisfaction, even daring to imagine we might have defeated Discord before we even laid eyes upon him. It was dear Rainbow Dash who said, "It can't be that easy." Again, I heard nary a voice of protest. Because of course, she was right. Applejack took a few steps forward, eyes narrowing. "Ah think Ah see somethin'." We approached with absolute caution. I am certain none of us expected what we saw next. It was a broken statue. My first thoughts were of Discord, naturally, but no... the limbs matched. This was a statue of a pegasus mare. Examining the pieces, I concluded the statue's mane had been long, her tail tight at the base like it had been held by an invisible ribbon. Her face was one of grim determination. Her cutie mark looked to be a set of five whistles. "I've never seen this statue here before," mused Twilight, before she froze. "No... Oh no!" The Princesses had turned back to back and lit their horns, sharing expressions of grim terror. I think it shocked me to my core, darlings, seeing Princess Celestia of all ponies openly afraid. "Wind Whistler," said Twilight Sparkle, incredibly pale. "So it was you, and not Galaxy?" Pinkie Pie let out a gasp. Twilight looked at all of us. "If Trixie or I start acting strange, blast us where we stand!" "Twilight?" stammered Trixie. Rainbow Dash let out a groan of frustration. "Would somepony tell the rest of us what's going on?!" Princess Celestia glanced at Twilight. "Tell them." "If Discord's body is destroyed, he can take over somepony else's body against their will and make it his own," said Twilight. "That's why he was kept frozen in stone. This is the body of Wind Whistler... She was the last pony whose body he stole, thousands of years ago saving her friend!" Our collective gasps echoed throughout the garden. - Interruption By Rainbow Dash Cutting in here for a second! Sorry! I just gotta say when I found that out, the first thing I thought was, 'Hey! No fair!' Not only was I not getting to laugh and shake my plot in Discord's super-surprised stone face, but how could I even enjoy turning him back to stone if I knew the bastard was joyriding in an innocent pony's body the whole time?! Interruption interrupted By Fluttercruel Well, there goes my plan to lift my hind leg and show 'dear old dad' how I really feel about him. At least he's gone. - Princess Luna growled. Princess Celestia's eyes shimmered with tears. I felt ill. Trixie, bless her soul, had good taste enough to lift her cloak to block the young ones' views of what we now knew to be a corpse, they'd seen that one time too many already. It was dearest Rainbow Dash who dared to hope. "I bet Diamond Tiara went nutzoid on Discord, then ran off somewhere! All we have to do is find her, and it's hasta la vista, baby!" “Rainbow, please! Don't be so insensitive!” - In her heart of hearts, little Silver Spoon cringed at the idea of Diamond Tiara doing such a deed. Meanwhile Sweetie thought, 'No... she wouldn't have. She couldn't have done that and still feel nothing, could she?' Apple Bloom's expression didn't change. Spike looked sick. Not even Scootaloo tried to see around Trixie's cape. - "Least she's free now," said Applejack, removing her hat. "Girls, this doesn't feel right," said Pinkie Pie. She wasn't looking too good. "It isn't!" Twilight said. "Discord is-" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "History! And I ain't even gonna lie, I'm happy as a jaybird about it. TWEET TWEET TWEET!!!! And on that note all I have to say is GOOD FRICKING RIDDANCE TO BAD FRICKIN' RUBBISH." "Well I do feel sorry for him and feel bad," Fluttershy said, not afraid of our judgement. "BECAUSE we couldn't save Discord from Discord. He couldn't hurt anypony as a statue!" "EVERYPONY LISTEN!" Twilight used the Royal Canterlot Voice, her patience lost. "This only means Discord can possess somepony else!" Paranoia washed over us as we looked wildly at each other. "This didn't happen just now," said Princess Celestia, trying to restore a measure of calm. "Discord's statue was in the center of the maze. Someone deliberately brought the pieces here, for us to see." "I suppose we should be grateful then that they remained petrified," Princess Luna said, and we ALL did our best NOT to think about the alternative. A dark blue glow surrounded the broken pieces, and they disappeared in one of Princess Luna's signature blue whirlwinds. "We shall give thou a proper burial at last, Wind Whistler, our dear friend." - Inclusion By Spike So much for that fantasy where I join the Pony Rangers and I turn giant and step on Discord when he tried to hurt Rarity. - Whether it was the distraction of the pony-sized statue and what it entailed, or it was simply planted when we were not looking, I spotted something far simpler, and far more disturbing. I lifted it from the grass, dirty, twisted, but as undeniable as a heart attack. "Look here." I held it out for everyone to see. "Diamond Tiara's crown." "Tiara!" None of us could stop her. Silver Spoon ran right for what I held in my magic, and clutched it to her chest like somepony would a fallen friend. "Tiara! Where are you?!" Silver Spoon shouted. The fog began to roll in. "We believe we have been invited to her debutante ball," Princess Luna observed. - Nightmare 1$*(1@(1( The stage is set, all the actors are assembled, now we bEgIn. - The first thing we saw in the fog was a little checkerboard-colored thing shaped vaguely like a mouse, scurrying along on two tiny feet. Our vision was drawn to it, just in time for the first of the elephants to crush it into nothing. We braced ourselves, but the elephants didn't attack. They trumpeted loudly and marched past on either side of us, colorful creatures that seemed to have no depth or proper shading from any angle. They were just the beginning of the circus parade. Clowns of every species came trotting merrily along: giraffes, llamas and giant roosters, all skipping along like a foal's flipbook. Grand but nonsensically decorated floats moved past. Giant cupcakes on wheels. A purple donkey pulling along a splash colored trailer holding nicely planted garden flowers. A miniature cartoon version of Cloudsdale's weather factory spilling rainbows like a fountain. Oversized apples with no limbs juggling bowling pins. Gagged ponnequin seaponies floating backwards. Cockatrices with no eyes wearing dunce caps. Gilded cages holding only pitch dark fog with glowing eyes. Floating umbrellas pulling a line of garish flags and streams, the clothesline connecting to nothing we could perceive. = 'Walpurgis Night Theme' - Madoka Magica = A theater curtain unfurled before us. I could see the top, bottom, and sides, but at the same time it stretched as far as I could see, as though all the world was a stage. Merely looking at it made my head hurt. The curtains parted like I was watching a film with frames missing. A giant number 5 appeared, stylized like a silent movie quote card. Counter-rotating circles of symbols vanished as if swept away by an invisible watch hand. There was a sound like a rubber duck being squeezed, and the 5 changed to a 4. Objects began to float. 3 The sky overhead churned, becoming a thundering storm. 2 The parade ground to a halt. 1 Pinkie Pie said, "So THIS was the doozy of a doozy!" And Diamond Tiara appeared out of nothing. Corpses wore more expression than her face. The horn and vulture wings were impossible to miss. Her brilliant cornflower blue eyes were draconic, like Nightmare Moon's. Her pale magenta coat had become a purple much deeper and grimmer than Twilight's, with a gray undertone. Her mane had gone from pale violet striped with white to gray with dark purple, almost black streaks. She wore an excessively elaborate dress, all contrasting black and mauve, with rubies sewn right into the cloth. The black hat she had on was crowned with rubies and a gray feather. The ruffles were too large, and the high collar didn't compliment the rest of the dress at all. In spite of myself I couldn't help but think how I could improve upon this admirable but amateur attempt at neo-lily-gothic. "TIARA!" Like a moth to a flame, Silver Spoon ran towards her. Tiara's horn glowed ghostly white, and a dark wind blasted the earth filly back, leaving skid marks in the ground. Sweetie Belle bit her lip. "That's her." "I can't sense her magic or Discord's!" said Twilight, alarmed and confused. Even I should have felt it, with this much magic in the air. I certainly had not needed to be a Gifted Unicorn to sense the dark chill of Nightmare Moon's magic, or the palpable wrongness in the air when Discord was corrupting Ponyville, but from Diamond Tiara I felt nothing at all. The look on Trixie's face told much the same story. If this was an illusion, Trixie should have known. The Princesses themselves looked truly disturbed. Then terrible realization came to Twilight. "So that's how she got past Princess Luna in the dream world." - Princess Celestia It was worse for Luna and I... our Alicorn senses are more acute. My eyes could see Diamond Tiara, my ears could hear her, but when she blew Silver Spoon away, my wings felt no wind. When she trotted, I felt no vibrations, sensed no resonance of earth pony magic, saw no hoof prints. When she passed a polished surface, she had no reflection, when light shined, she cast no shadow. I could not rationally deny she was there, but at the same time, she left no presence. She seemed less even than a ghost. Even Discord's Mother left a chill in her wake, but for the filly before me, there was, nothing. - Diamond Tiara didn't look at Silver Spoon, instead, her eyes focused on me. Silver Spoon had waited almost a year to hear her best friend's voice again. What she got was a voice with all the heart of a cheap phonograph. "What do you think of my dress, Miss Rarity? My new father made it for me." In that moment, I sincerely desired to bring violence upon Discord, just to feel my hoof against his foul face. But a lady keeps her poise even in the face of such dark thoughts. "It's not all that bad, Diamond," I said, putting on my best 'difficult client' face. "Let's go to the Boutique and I can help with some improvements. I'm certain your real father would be happy to sit in." "Diamond Tiara is no longer my name. The Riches should accept that their filly is gone and move on. I think I would have liked this dress, if I could like anything anymore, but it's not really fitting for the business at hoof." Her horn glowed again, and the dress burst into black flames. A flurry of shouting and motion followed as I, Silver Spoon, and I can't recall who else madly rushed towards her to put out the flames, but the dress was reduced to ash before I'd taken two steps, and beneath it... Diamond Tiara was unharmed, and now her barding was revealed, dark gray with pink accents. Her armor bore a resemblance to a young Nightmare Moon, right down to the champron inspired by her helm, but the design was cold and lifeless and covered much more of her body. On the peytral where Luna or Celestia had their symbol, there was a white diamond. On any other day, I might have thought it adorable on such a little filly, and even praised her skill with magic, artfully enhancing the "costume." Today I felt chills down my spine. And that was nothing to what I saw on her flanks: If my heart skipped a beat, I am certain Silver Spoon's stopped. Diamond Tiara's crown cutie mark was twisted into an eight pointed circle. Princess Luna broke the shocked silence. "How art thou even here?!" she shouted. "A Nightmare is power without wisdom and one part that consumes the pony, not a pony becoming one with all! Madness alone is not enough, or every asylum ward would be teeming with Nightmares! One must be truly exalted to fall so far... an Alicorn, or one with the potential to become an Alicorn!" My thoughts flashed to Rainbow Dash's near fall to darkness. Rainbow? Our own Rainbow Dash... a princess?! Had she made that connection? "Your heart must have an Element of Harmony to corrupt!" Luna was saying. "A black resolve and terrible conviction: to grasp great understanding without comprehending, to love without compassion. To make the world fair, without caring who gets hurt. And Diamond Tiara's dreams showed her inner Element stunted, formless and without color! Her heart was so aimless and against itself that she couldn't grasp a 'one truth.' So how doth thou stand here, Nightfilly!" What Princess Luna was saying... I don't think we were supposed to know that. Either she's completely forgotten herself, or she's judged the situation so dire that it doesn't matter any more. If anypony present hasn't realized the truth about Fluttershy and Princess Gaia already, they will soon. "I have no idea," the little Nightfilly said, sounding as if she couldn't care less. "You're right, I shouldn't exist, but I do all the same. I break the very world by existing. Maybe that's why I'm the way I am. Maybe the spirits of dark magic saw something like themselves in me, something that gave us a kinship. Maybe we wanted the same thing. Maybe we were MISSING the same thing. But let me ask you something Princess... Does it actually matter? Did the reasons ever matter? Chaos and nothingness will devour the world unless you stop us here." Applejack had a strange look on her face. - Ah couldn't tell If she was lyin' or not... it was like... not like lies and truth mixin' together, more like lies and truth dissolvin', leaving a hole where they used to be. - Diamond Tiara said, "We're here, Apple Bloom, because you wrote it that way, so what happens next?" I didn't fail to notice how out of the corner of my eye, the Princesses, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were more tense than surprised and didn't look back at Apple Bloom with the rest of us. Apple Bloom wasn't looking any of us in the eyes. Spike and Silver Spoon looked at her as well, Sweetie and Scootaloo were cringing. What was going on? "Apple Bloom, what does she mean?" Twilight asked. "That is purely between us," our little Nightfilly said, bringing all our attention back to her. "Why make things more complicated than they are already? You have bigger things to worry about." She'd had no shadow before, and she still didn't, because it wasn't her shadow that crawled out from under her. I'd know that ghastly unsymmetrical shape anywhere. Discord's shadow stretched out from her. To the chorus of a million vuvuzelas, he rose. Multi-colored lightning struck, mango-punch rain swirled around him. He took on colors, details, becoming opaque, but the end of his tail remained a ghostly tether to Diamond Tiara. I'd been prepared to face the devil again. I'd been ready to see somepony I cared about turned into a monster like Nightmare Moon again, but I hadn't been prepared for this surreal eldritch display! "Bwa-ha-HA! The looks on your faces!" Discord conjured a camera with a snap of his fingers and took a picture. Embarrassing photos appeared and multiplied in poofs of smoke, fluttering to the ground in front of the ponies who had been caught gawking. "All the waiting was worth it, just for that!" Tiara rolled her eyes at Discord. "So as you can all see, Diamond Tiara-" "That is not my name." "-has been gracious enough to allow me to be her house guest. It's been a wonderful show girls, but now it's time for the finale." +++ "Let. me. IN!" demanded Golden Tiara. Flash Sentry didn't budge, despite her shouting right in his face. "I'm SORRY, Golden, but you can't go in there." Truth be told, Flash Sentry wanted nothing more than to rush in there heroically himself. Golden Tiara was nearly nose to nose with him now. "I know my Diamond is in there. You won't keep me from her, or so help me..." "Guards!" said Flash, gesturing quickly. The armored stallions on his left and right advanced, but even outnumbering the mare, they seemed just as intimidated by her. Filthy Rich tugged on her shoulder. "Hold your horses, dear! I'll call in a few favors from Fancy Pants, and then by golly we'll see if she's really in..." Golden smiled disturbingly. "Flash, do you know how I escaped from the Ponyville General psychiatric ward so many times?" Flash hesitated. "How?" "Like this." Suddenly, Golden Tiara head-butted him savagely, then reached for his forehoof, ready to give it a twist that would have doubled him over in pain, like dozens of hospital orderlies and changeling invaders before him. Only... Flash slapped her hoof aside, faster than thought. "Um... no. I've seen you fight." Golden Tiara stared at him, shocked, while trying to judge the distance to the hedges. "Then you should know what happens when a pegasus gets in an earth pony's way!" Flash grimaced, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah, I have a pretty good idea... Death Stalker, now!" +++ Nightmare 1$*(1@(1( 'Father, you came out too soon. Don't you know it's the minion's job to fight the heroes first and get dismissively crushed, to demonstrate how powerful the heroes have become and raise the stakes for the battle against the true villain?' 'That's just it, my dear. You're not a minion to me. I'd say you've more than earned co-evil overlord status.' - "What's your game, Discord?" shouted Princess Celestia, startling us. "Circumstances forced you to confront us here and now, but either one of you could have blown up the houses of Twilight and her friends in their sleep, or taken their families hostage, or unleashed all manner of mayhem on my little ponies! Yet, you didn't!" The devil cackled. "My, I wish I thought of-" "DON'T PLAY THE FOOL WITH ME, DISSY! NOT TODAY! You're not stupid! You're capable of thinking and planning like I'm capable of the blackest dark magic!" I felt uncomfortable about our princess giving Discord tactical advice, and... did our princess just say Discord couldn't plan, or that she could use dark magic?! Dark and black magic are two separate things? This is all too confusing! +++ Wait one flying feathered second! Scoots here! If Discord was with Diamond Tiara the whole time, then why the heck didn't he pop up when Apple Bloom was ruining his evil scheme by fixing the printing press?! - Princess Luna looked between Discord and her sister in seeming bewilderment, but why? "Discord! Does yonder filly hold thy spirit willingly?" "Of course she doesn't!" I said automatically. "She would never!" added Silver Spoon. "In a manner of speaking," said Discord. Tiara gave him a tired glare. "Don't avoid the answer, Discord, Yes, I do." Discord shot her a mildly annoyed look right back. "Well, I did manipulate her into acting in contrary to the Elements of Harmony-" "Of my own free will." "-But she hardly knew who I was-" "-I wouldn't have cared." "YES, YOU WOULD HAVE!" shouted Silver. "You're not some evil minion! The Diamond Tiara that I know isn't anypony's toady!" "That's why we're equals," Tiara said mechanically. Discord smacked his own face with his lion paw. "Foal actors... they can be so difficult. I was just using her, of course! Just my hapless little innocent pawn to use and discard, like so many others." "He promised to my make mother sane again." And lightning and thunder could have come crashing down. A mountain might as well have fallen. When Golden Tiara spontaneously regained her mind... that long ago. Anypony who had not known, knew now. I could see it in the faces of my friends and companions... many of them were shocked to the bone. Silver Spoon looked about us, the secret she'd been trusted so dearly with was out. "I'll have you know," Discord said hastily, "my original scheme was to make everypony crazy so she'd be considered normal! Or make her sane and everypony else crazy, so she'd be a pariah! Alas, clever, clever Diamond caught me in a vow to my Mother, so I had no choice but to do the good deed she demanded of me, just as she intended!" "He made Mom so sane that even he can't ever drive her mad again. He didn't even try to weasel out of it." "Well I did sic that cockatrice on your mother when she broke out of the hospital." "You never promised that she'd be safe, only sane. You could have let her perish halfway to Canterlot... but you didn't." "Well, I was out of monsters." SINCE WHEN DID DISCORD HAVE MONSTERS?! "I imagine you could have gotten more where you got the originals." "Complications arose!" "He actually started to like me as family." "Only in my own selfish way!" "HOLD ON!!!" Rainbow Dash screamed. Even though we should have been blasting them with the Elements by now, the insane puzzle before us left us all grasping for answers. "Why would DISCORD care about ANYPONY as family? And if Discord could've done all this, why didn't he do it before?!" "Because I'd been touched by his magic, my heart was in chaos, and Discord is my ancestral uncle. On mom's side of the family. He didn't even realize it until he noticed he could speak to me, even sealed in stone." "That's a buncha lies!" "It isn't," Princess Celestia sighed. We looked at our Princess stunned. I wonder if Discord's sister Celestia once told myself and Rainbow of is Tiara's ancestor. "Tiara... Darling, can't you see that he must have used mind control on you? Of course, he must have tampered with your memories so you wouldn't be aware." "He didn't. Everything I did was of my own free will." "That can't be true!" insisted Silver Spoon. But... I think we both knew, if it was for her mother... the one thing Diamond Tiara couldn't have, could we really say Diamond Tiara wouldn't? Discord tisked. "Oh, please. If it was as simple as compelling the first groundskeeper who walked past, I would have been out of that statue in a week. My magic was sealed, I'll have you know. Everything I did with Diamond, I did with words alone." He snapped his claws, transforming briefly into a giant talking Smarty-Pants doll. "Want-It-Need-It spells are so amateur, wouldn't you agree, Twilight?" Twilight glared at him. "Where exactly have you been staying all this time, if you've been really free?!" Discord shrugged. "Oh, here and there. Thanks to Diamond Tiara-that's-not-my-name's gift, we've been able to go just about EVERYWHERE. I'll bet you never even suspected that we were right there the whole time, while you and your friends were duking it out with Queen Bug Guts." "He helped stop Chrysalis from completing her rune," said Diamond indifferently. "My little Tiara did with that her entropy magic, actually! I was very disappointed in her, doing such a good deed, saving the day... I only allowed it because Chrysalis was in the way of my own plans." "I didn't care about any of you. He didn't want to end up a trophy on her wall." "-and she did make a wonderful measuring stick for all of you." "So he unwittingly ended up having more time to get to like having me around." "But I never tried to steer her away from the path of evil I'd put her on!" "Because he didn't want to lose the only family he had on his terms." "That could have been a clever ruse to gain your trust!" "You meant it. It couldn't have been more obvious." I sincerely felt like I'd walked in on the last act of an eight part play. The bewildering truths that Discord and Tiara threw at each other boggled my mind! "Applejack?" "... Nothin' they're sayin' is an outright lie... Ah think. Believe it or not, Ah'm havin' an easier time readin' Discord!" Luna demanded, "If Tiara is your willing accomplice, why did you not rob another pony of their life and gain a body of your own, while you still could?" "Wait," interrupted Twilight. "While he still could? What are you talking about?" "That is not important," Luna spoke sternly. Right, it wasn't important. Discord laughed. "Why would I? She's been the perfect duck blind. You couldn't sense my magic even when it was right in front of your faces!" "And Wind Whistler was making him feel guilty," said Diamond. "She was just my imagination!" snapped Discord. "You don't know that for sure." "Wind Whistler..." whispered Celestia. "You were in there... all that time? Is she why you never destroyed another of the Elements?" "ANOTHER ELEMENT?" most of us shouted. "Not important right now." Right, we had more important things to worry about right now. "Moi? Repeat a trick?" said Discord, feigning shock and dismay. "You insult me. Don't get your proverbial panties in a twist, Celly. That figment of my imagination only showed up recently. You try enduring a thousand years of magical imprisonment, see what mental state you wind up in. Oh wait, too soon?" I must admit, none of this was making sense, even considering that this was the Lord of Chaos we were dealing with. Discord... helped us stop Chrysalis? Surely it was for his own evil ends, just as he'd said, but still... I remembered, just then, no matter how much I didn't want to, what I told Sweetie Belle one year ago. When you have decided somepony is evil, you will always see what they're doing as evil, you won't allow for gray areas. "DISCORD!" Apple Bloom shouted suddenly. "Ah have to know! Did our fight set you free?!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, scared of being reminded of that particular rumor. Princess Celestia had said that even if it was so, that the seal would've been hanging by a thread already, if that was all it had taken. "... My little pony... the answer to that is... I'm not telling. Life is meaningless if you already know the script." "Enough talk," said Twilight sternly. "Formation." Our Elements glowed. We began to float. Discord smiled cruelly, steepling his claws. "Diamond Tiara's spirit and mine are intermingled now, you know. Who's to say what'll happen if you blast me to concrete? Beta-Version Cadence nearly made a statue out of her, after all." I waited desperately for Applejack to shout that it was a ruse, that Discord was lying. Instead, Applejack looked sick. Silver Spoon looked at us with shock and fear. "And since Sweetie Belle and my Princess are linked at the heart, what do you think is going to happen to HER? Can you take that chance?" My Element flickered and shut down, dropping us back to the ground. No one, not even Trixie or Princess Luna, seemed able to blame me. "Can't risk one innocent life to stop the worst demon and devil the world's ever known?" Diamond Tiara's tone was cold as ice. "That makes you cowards. Want to be real heroes? Make hard choices. Isn't that right, Applejack?" None of us spoke. Discord twitched an eyebrow. "What? You brought all these ponies along, and no one has anything to say? I just rendered your best weapon useless!" He waved an arm grandly, beckoning. "Go on, curse me. Tell me that I'll never get away with it. Really, not so much as an obscene gesture? Not that I'm expecting much... the good ones take fingers. I could teach Spike a few! No? Come on, we've been working up to this for ages. Where's that good old dependable pony preachiness?" "Not stoppin' ya the surefire way is our risk." Applejack snorted. "We didn't ask to be the Elements of Harmony, but we are, so let's live up to that responsibility one more time!" "I came all this way to save you, Diamond!" Silver Spoon shouted. "You wasted your time." "I'll be the judge of that!" Silver Spoon took a trot forward but got pulled back by Trixie's magic. "Sorry, but Twilight sadly saddled me with keeping you safe. And in case you didn't notice, the Elements can do other things besides the rainbow death ray!" Trixie gestured at our armored forms. Twilight sighed. "Must you call it that?" "These ponies have managed to wield the Elements in ways we and our sister were never able to, Discord," said Princess Luna. It warmed my heart, hearing her praise. "You merely prolong your coming humiliation." "If you truly believe that you've defeated the Elements of Harmony," said our Princess of the day, calmly and without malice, "you'll find you're gravely mistaken." I looked back at my beloved baby sister. "No one is dying or getting sacrificed today, Discord." "Not even you," added Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie said, "Whining and complaining about stuff doesn't change anything! Unless you're Rarity." "Thank you Pinkie-hey!" Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. "Just kidding!" "... I'd be really, really scared if I thought that was the only way to stop you," admitted Sweetie Belle, "but the Princesses and Miss Twilight and Trixie and my big sister are really clever, and I have faith in them!" "Dang, everypony already said what I was gonna." Spike shrugged. "Same," Scootaloo added, folding a wing over Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom spoke up. "Silver Spoon is our friend, and we really want you to be our friend too, Diamond Tiara. We ain't gonna give up one friend for another friend, cause Ah know this ain't the pony you want to be." "You're the one who should be worried, Discord," said Twilight. Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue. "Okay, basically? Buck you. We don't need to make an innocent filly never-heard-from-again to do an encore of kicking your flank!" Tiara rolled her nightmarish eyes. "I don't want to be your friend, and there's nothing innocent about me. Are you too stupid to see that there's nothing in me worth saving? It's not like any of you even liked me in the first place. Most of you didn't even know me!" Princess Celestia stood firm. "You are one of my little ponies! That is enough!" "And where Princess Celestia leads, we'll follow," Twilight Sparkle declared. "I know you! And I love you!" Silver Spoon shouted. "I know you very well now!" added Sweetie Belle. "I still want to save you!" "I've promised Silver Spoon... that's all there is to it," said Spike, as any knight should. - Golden Tiara looked at her hooves, stuck to the pavement stones with changeling goo, then glared daggers at Flash Sentry and Death Stalker. "That should hold her," said Death Stalker confidently. Golden Tiara yanked her hooves up, pulling the pavement stones right out of the ground, then clocked the changeling with one of them. She spun towards Flash with heavy steps, and found that he'd already dodged just out of reach. Not flown... she could have made a dash for the hedges if he had. "Why are you fighting me? Why are you here if you can fight like that? We should be rescuing Diamond together!" "You don't know what you're getting into," insisted Flash. "Even I don't know, but the Princesses AND the Element Bearers are already inside. The best thing we can do is to stay out of their way. Leave this to the ponies with the magical superpowers." Golden narrowed her eyes. "I'm Diamond's mother." Flash took a deep breath. "When you put it like that..." - The Nightfilly drew herself up and curled her lip in a sneer, as if Diamond Tiara the playground bully had suddenly returned... with wings and a horn. "Do you really think there's some pathetic, sad, lonely filly here that you can save, just by offering to be her friend? Cause there's, like, not. At all. Your brains must be as blank as your flanks used to be!" "... You're lying," said Sweetie Belle, with clarity that put even Applejack to shame. I was still sincerely disturbed that Sweetie could read Diamond where even Applejack could not. "My new father showed me the truth. I am a selfish, cruel, petty, despicable, rotten to the core sociopath that everypony would be better off without. I'm just not hiding it behind a pretty face and fancy jewelry and my family's money any more. I regret nothing." I wonder if anypony else spotted the abject sad, almost ashamed look on Discord's vile face, somehow making him even more wretched. "You're full of regrets," Sweetie said in a gentle, desperate tone. She held her hoof over her chest. "Because I just felt all of them. And..." Sweetie stood up on her rear legs and drew in a deep breath. "I forgive you for what you did to Rarity." Before I could say anything, Diamond Tiara's and Discord's voices thundered as one, "Forgive forgive forgive! Is that all you ponies do?!" "NO!" snapped Twilight. "We also help people who are sorry about what they've done become better ponies!" She looked to Trixie, who smiled back. Diamond Tiara let her face go slack. "What's wrong with me... isn't something that magic jewelry and rainbows can fix. Nothing can fix me." I said boldly, "You're right, you can't be 'fixed', because ponies aren't machines, but I do think you can be healed! You want to know the REAL truth, young lady? I think you're not trying to convince US, I think you're trying to convince YOURSELF." Discord made a show of yawning, suddenly wearing a nightcap and mismatched fuzzy bunny slippers. "Don't bother trying to talk my princess out of being little miss doom and gloom. Do you think I haven't tried? Oh, and that reminds me. Good job, putting Nightmare Whisper to bed! A bunch of immortal foals frolicking around, enjoying games and perfectly safe adventures forever? Bleech! Even once was simply unbearable!" Fluttershy blushed. "Once?" asked Trixie. "It's happened before?" "I could tell you all about it, but that would just distract from this being about the great and wonderful me!" A snap of his claws summoned posters and banners praising 'The Greater and Much More Powerful and Also Humble Discord!' Trixie growled, stepping forward, and then it was her turn to get magically pulled back, by Princess Luna. Our Night Princess spoke, "Yes, do let us talk about thou, Discord! Joining forces with a Nightmare? We never thought we'd see thou sink so low." Discord grinned sharply, poofing the posters away. "Even the mighty can fall. Doesn't it bring back such wonderful memories of all those members of your family who aren't here now?" "Oh, Discord... it warms my heart every night, knowing that no matter how many bodies you steal or how many times you cheat death, the chipped fang that Mimic gave you will not leave your face!" Mimic? His fang? How much history am I missing? Discord blinked in mock confusion. "Mimic? Now who could that be? Oh, yes! The one I killed. That's a rare honor, surprisingly. You'd think that after a thousand year reign and the odd rampage or two, the count would be higher." "Surely you jest, and poorly at that! Is that what you call Galaxia?" "Self defense!" "The seaponies were almost a myth thanks to you!" Discord snorted. "It was an accident! Come now, it's not like they died! And if you want their descendants to be seaponies again..." He lifted his lion paw, fingers poised to snap. "That's easy too..." Why was he looking directly at Sweetie and myself when he said that? It made my skin crawl... "Nay!" shouted Luna. "You know full well that restoring them now would do greater harm than when you turned their sea into desert in the first place." Discord gawked at her, lowering his paw. "You actually think you can make demands of me? I'm free now. Free to do whatever I want! One little snap, and this entire mountain will be the world's largest chocolate fountain! Give up now, and perhaps I won't turn all your precious little champions chaotic again, one by one, right before your eyes." "You're bluffing," said Luna at once. "If you really had your full power, you would have shown it off already. Right now, I'd put you just BELOW the amount of power Nightmare Whisper had at her peak." Discord scowled. "Don't be so certain! Remember, the true extent of my power is cloaked by Tiara's magic!" Applejack trotted towards him, close enough to look the devil right in the eyes, and nopony stopped her. "Now, Ah'm startin' to see. The truth is... you don't want to do any of those things. Your heart's just not in it any more, is it?" Discord's jaw dropped. Dropped normally... it didn't fall off so he could pick it up and reattach it, or anything like that. "WHAT?!" All but Princess Celestia and Applejack echoed our enemy's response. That... that couldn't be true, but Applejack never lies... could she be wrong? Discord himself, not have his heart in it? Tiara said in a dull monotone, "You'll have to excuse Father... he still believes his own excuses. Father still can't admit that he created a monster worse than he is." Discord unclenched his fist with a great effort. "We're going to have a long talk about this later, young mare! After we laugh at the pathetic attempts of these ponies to divide us against each other, and put them in their places!" Discord put on a top hat and monocle, and gave himself a twirly mustache along with a large black cape and diamond topped cane. Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes as soon as his back was turned. Discord spread his arms grandly, shuffling a pack of cards in an arc from one hand to the other. "Come now Trixie, we all know this isn't the real you. We're both show-creatures. "You Rarity? And you Applejack? Forgiving without any retribution or apology at all on her part? And you say my antics don't make sense! Shouldn't you have told this selfish pony to run along home once she was cured? How utterly out of character for you both." "Out of character for a one-dimensional mockery of me, perhaps," I said, in a rather unladylike tone. Discord ignored me. Applejack didn't dignify him with an answer. Discord spun about. "And you Trixie, hanging around with ponies who make you look like less than the best around? Smaller? Weaker? Inferior? Since when has THAT ever been the real you!? Don't you see you've been made a puppet? With twin flashes, literal puppets appeared on Discord's hands... a smug-looking cloth and felt Twilight, and a Trixie puppet bowing before her. "This isn't you, Trixie. You don't let yourself be dragged down by others! You don't make friends! You most certainly don't have equals!" Now the Trixie puppet pulled out a golden cane and started bopping the Twilight puppet on the head. "You are a selfish, posturing, snooty liar, and proud of it!" "Trixie put that behind her! THIS is Trixie's true self! Empty boasting didn't make Trixie great or powerful! Actually having -friends- did that, for the first time in Trixie's life!" Discord pulled a script from behind his back, then stroked his goatee as he leafed through it. "This trick worked so much better before. I should complain to the producer!" Twilight leveled a hoof at him. "I outwitted your best trick before, Discord, and I'll do it again! And if I can't, Trixie will! She's twice the showmare you are." Discord loomed over Twilight suddenly, waggling his claws. "All of your friends had great revelations about themselves after my games. What did you learn? One pony saved, one friend made? Not much character development, if you ask me." "You're wrong Discord. I performed the most powerful transmutation spell in existence... making my rival into one of my best friends! There is no magic more powerful than that! And, and, and- And so there!" Discord sighed theatrically. "Well, that's all well and good, but there's a truth you haven't had to face. All good things end, even friendship, and some friendships can NEVER be mended!" Twilight scowled at him, her head held high, not afraid. Rainbow Dash flinched, then sighed, wings drooping. Discord said, oddly stern, "Well, at least one of you understands. But don't worry! I'm a completely unreasonable and unfair draconequus. I'll just show you all that truth and grind you into dust!" Trixie tossed her cape back, making it billow with a spot wind spell. "HA! Trixie didn't fall for that cheap dream invasion of yours, and she won't fall for any of your lies now!" "I beg your pardon?" Discord looked confused. "You know very well what I mean! You appeared in my dreams and tempted me with power again!" "We've had much more important things to focus on than you," said Diamond Tiara indifferently. AJ and Sweetie didn't object. Discord smirked. "That wasn't me at all, Trixie, not in the least. Don't blame me for what you secretly want." Trixie looked liked she'd been dunked in a winter river. "You should thank me! If not for me, you'd still be in that rat-nest apartment feeling sorry for yourself without a new show to your name for the rest of your life! You'd have died of old age before your Element of Magic awoke without me." "He's lyin'," AJ said with a frown like she would at a pest. "Thank you, Applejack," Trixie said. "He might be lying now," said Tiara, "but back then, it wasn't a lie." That made my head hurt. "You little ponies can be so ungrateful! Zap Apple Trees? That was all moi. The whole reason Ponyville even exists?! My creation! That's right, little ponies! The Apples and the Riches' fortunes, your precious little town, the only reason any of them exist is because of me!" Applejack didn't even flinch. "... Thank ya for that." Discord's double-take would have done any comic book character proud. "... What did you say?" "Thanks. On behalf of Granny Smith and the rest of my family... thanks for that one. Kinda sad really... ponies LOVE zap apples... maybe it ain't weird and chaotic things ponies can't stand... maybe it's just you." ".... I know." Discord's voice sounded like it came from the bottom of a gutter. "Don't you ponies see? You need me! Not that perfect sugar and spice world the Alicorns have forced on you! You should keep me around to traumatize you again and again so you can keep getting better and better from the ordeal!" Twilight Sparkle stood tall, looking our foe in the eye. "You brag about making us better ponies? WE made ourselves better. You just showed us our faults so we could fix them. Can you say the same?" Twilight lit her horn and conjured the image of an earth pony mare. She had pink fur, a yellow chartreuse mane, green eyes, and five sun-glasses for her cutie mark. I... I could scarcely believe my eyes. The phantom mare was hugging a child version of Discord, who hugged her back, as happy and adorable as any foal! "NO!" howled Discord. "TAKE IT AWAY! GET IT OUT OF MY SIGHT!!" Discord tore the illusion apart with his bare claws. "There's something else you should know, Discord!" declared Fluttershy, bolder than I'd ever seen her. "Paradise... is relative! The Three Tribes would have thought Equestria was impossible! I know that there's a better world waiting for us that looks impossible to us too! It won't happen in a day, but we can reach it, just like the Three Tribes came together and created our world!" Then she shifted completely to Fluttercruel, who looked Discord right in the eye. "Loser." For once, Discord was at a loss for words. > Offers You Should and Shouldn't Refuse > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coffee Swirl The Pegasus Sweetberry was looking out the cafe windows, hooves tapping skittishly. "Cotton Candy, I mean, Coffee Swirl, I think something's wrong with the sky!" "Eh?" I trotted over next to the earth pony mare. "Sweetberry, we've been over this. That's just called 'overcast.'" "I know what it's called." She blushed under her dark pink fur. "I just have a... not-good feeling about it." "Oh yeah, Fluttercruel came in earlier. She and her friends are dealing with it." Then Sweetberry hugged me and pressed her face into my barrel, shuddering. Her long purple and turquoise mane draped over my side. "We aren't going to disappear again... are we?" I took a moment to check that nopony else was looking. Like Fluttercruel, in case she jumped to conclusions. I politely hugged her back. "You aren't going to." She looked up at me like a scared filly. "Promise?" I hated making a promise I had no control over. "I trust her." "Consider yourselves lucky you have a chance to heal," said another voice. "Not all are as lucky who depart on reincarnation's wheel." Sweetberry smiled. "Hi, Kimono... I mean, Zecora!" I was surprised to see one of Fluttershy's fan-mares enter my shop. Thankfully she never pressed the issue. "Hey, what brings you here?" "Apple Bloom came to my home looking ready for war. If worse comes to Ponyville, I'll be a friend to my core." + Time ??? "Is everything ready?" Moon Dancer asked, downing a thermos of coffee. "Good work take good time! Pony not be so pushy!" Rover barked back, digging the tunnel according the plans the redhead unicorn's sister had given him. "We don't have time to be nuanced in throwing dirt around!" Lemon Hearts shouted. She had new scars on her body that looked months old. Minuette shook her head. "When you don't have much time, it's all the more important to spend it wisely." + Fluttershy's deepest, most private thoughts, do not read... wait come back! We were just kidding! I don't know who that mare in Twilight's picture was, but Discord must have loved her very much. So much of what Discord and Princess Luna said was so confusing, but I'm really happy that nopony is fighting yet. Maybe we won't have to fight at all? Fluttercruel had taken the reins of my body rather than using her own... Given how small she is, I don't blame her. Discord showed surprise. Then he shrank back a bit, his eyes never leaving us, never leaving Fluttercruel. Everything was so quiet, like everypony (and dragon) was holding their breath. Discord didn't look happy, though not in an angry way. Only Nightmare Diamond Tiara seemed indifferent. Discord snapped his fingers, and a fancy pants-less suit and tie appeared on him. "Hello... Cruelty," said Discord, his voice strained. "It's... not bad to meet you." "The name is FLUTTERcruel, and the feeling isn't mutual, bastard!" Discord winced. "Can I please, first... let me speak with you in your true form, just once, Cruelty." "No!" I felt Fluttercruel grind our hoof into the ground. "You don't deserve it." "I know. You did a nice job of raising her, Fluttershy, all in all." "Thank you," I said. "I'm truly sorry Discord, but I think I did a better job than you would have." Discord glanced towards Diamond Tiara, then... sighed. "I know that too." My friends stared, like they weren't sure if this was real or a dream, but Princess Celestia looked hopeful. She didn't want there to be a fight either. "Cruelty, I want you to know, I'm proud of you." After a moment's confusion, Fluttercruel snarled, "Why?! Because I turned mom evil where you couldn't?! Screw you! SCREW! YOU! As if I give a flying feather about whether you're proud of me or not!" "That's not what he's proud of," said Diamond Tiara, like she was correcting a mistake in a math problem. "Shut up," Discord said with a frown. "You should embrace my side of the family more, Fluttercruel. You could magically blast me in the face if you wanted, thousands of times, if you liked. I expected you to speak up as soon as you saw me." Another finger-snap conjured up a big dartboard with Discord's own leering face on it. "Vent all you like, dear. Go ahead, get it out of your system." "I didn't say anything because I have had nothing to say to you," shouted Fluttercruel, flaring her wings open. "But if you insist..." She didn't bother summoning knives, she just kicked the dartboard over and trampled on it until wood broke and splintered. "You made me and then you left me! Don't start pretending we're family now." Discord shied away like Fluttercruel had actually hit him. Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all had their mouths hanging open. "Actually, you know what? You did worse than abandon me! You replaced me!" I felt the tears Fluttercruel was trying not to shed. "Even when I didn't know I wasn't Fluttershy, I'd have been your little minion! I'd have helped you turn Equestria into Hell and loved every minute of it, so long as it was with you! I loved you once, you piece of filth!" "She has a point," said Diamond. "You didn't even visit her once. Even when the world was ours and you had nothing better to do." If I were the swearing type, I'd swear, I heard the contempt in Diamond Tiara's voice. "Wait!" Twilight asked, "'Ours?' When was this exactly?" Instead of answering, Discord stood up straight, and gave that laugh that had been in my nightmares. "To create true life from nothing is the realm of Alicorn Magic. You know what that means, Cruelty? You're a piece of my soul! You're why I've been off my game! You are Discord!" I felt my daughter waver, our heart shudder, horror and dismay rising like a flood. Our wings folded to our sides, shaking. Our friends all looked at us, everything looked at us, eyes closing in, crushing, watching, judging... We couldn't breathe. I swooped in, taking control. "Then that means you're NOT beyond redemption!" "What?" Discord blinked. "If your cruelty, all on its own can become an Element of Kindness, then I don't see why there couldn't be hope for the rest of you!" Discord growled. "Here's a truth that you're terrified of, Discord. There's no such thing as 'beyond redemption,' even for you! And it scares you buckless!" I realized what I just said, blushed like I'd never blushed before, and covered my mouth hoping to shove the bad words back in there. Discord tried to collect himself. "Well... I can't say she turned out as I expected." "She wasn't expected at all," Diamond Tiara said. Discord whipped around. "NO!" he pleaded. "Don't tell her that!" Diamond didn't even acknowledge him. "You were an accident, Fluttercruel. He had no idea you even existed." I felt my daughter draw in a breath. "He didn't even know you existed until the wedding," Tiara continued. "How... how can you say that you horrible filly!" I shouted, hugging myself, hugging Fluttercruel. "If I had a heart I'd be laughing my head off," she finished in an empty monotone. Discord slouched like a puppet with all but one string cut. "The best thing I ever made would be by accident. How chaotic, eh? I'm sorry Cruelty." "OH, SHUT UP!" snapped Fluttercruel. "Do you think ANYTHING you say means ANYTHING to me one way or another?! I couldn't care less, you piece of garbage! I want you gotten rid of!" Her thoughts were so loud, I could hear them plain as day, 'You still didn't visit me when you found out about me!' That's when I stepped in again, pushing my daughter back gently but firmly. "Fluttercruel, that is enough," She growled, but even she knew better than to challenge my most motherly mom voice. Discord floated back, still connected to Diamond Tiara like a genie to his bottle. He kept his head lowered, not looking us in the eyes. I took a step forward. I know a lot of ponies think I'm too reckless when I show kindness to dangerous beasts, but I have to be true to my nature. "Discord, like it or not, you're the father of my foal. Nopony is born evil. Even if you're a horrible, cruel, lying, sadistic meanie who's given me nightmares... I still feel sorry that none of your friends were able to save you from yourself." Discord rolled his eyes, still sulking. "What makes you think I ever had friends?" "The way you try to prove friendship is a lie. You've either never had friends, or you lost them. It's horrible not to have friends, isn't it? It doesn't have to be that way. You can be saved." Discord gave her a tired sort of look. "What rubbish. Clearly, I'm going to have to up my game! Princess, be a dear and give daddy and your potential new mommy some privacy." "As you wish, father." I braced myself. Everypony around me had their eyes on me or Discord and Tiara. Diamond Tiara spread out her wings forward, horn glowing white, and that black wind of hers swirled around Discord and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie's Recount Huh? Oh! It's my turn again! Wow, Fluttershy sure never got many interviews from you ponies, did she? And they never seemed to really last long. I mean, I guess that makes sense with how, well, shy she is. But still, you'd think you would write more stuff from her. Right, right, we can talk later. So I'm-Not-Diamond-Tiara did this black swirly thing around us, and I couldn't hear what the others were saying. Not that we'd been saying much anyway. I think we were all expecting to be doing the zapping and the ka-powing by now! With Sweetie Belle being linked to I'm-Not-Diamond-Tiara and Discord playing peek-a-boo, I think we were kinda stuck on how we were gonna get Discord back into his stone timeout corner. Discord looked really really sad about a lot of stuff. He kept flip-flopping between being all mean and happy and then all sad and mopey. I wonder if there's a Nice-Discord sealed off behind a glass wall in his heart like me and Pinkamena were. I saw the tip of Princess Celestia's horn glow a little, but I might have just imagined that part. The Flutters looked really confused. Everypony looked ready to barge in and help me, but Celestia held a wing out to stop them. I'm-Not-Diamond-Tiara frowned, she was outside the big wall of black wind too, but nopony fought each other. This must be the least battling ever in a big final super-battle! Hey, do you think there's time for me to hit the little filly's room before we get to the good part, because I really did drink a lot of coffee, and it's super no fun when I have to go and wind up missing a really cool part of the show, only I can't go right now cause I'm in this black whirlwind with Discord having a really big scene and where was I? Oh, right! I looked Discord right in the eyes and took a deep breath. "So, are you gonna zap me like you did Fluttershy and create Angry Pie, and give her candy and hugs and make evil plots together and take her to evil father and daughter day parties like you feel bad for not doing for Fluttercruel?" Discord reared back and blinked. "What? No! Nothing like that! What gave you that idea?" "Well, you did say 'new mommy' to I'm-Not-Diamond-Tiara, so it didn't seem that much a stretch," I said in my typical Pinkie Pie friendliness. "Well, um, I COULD do that if you want. I think, maybe... frankly, I'm not sure how I did it the first time." Discord sounded all awkward, like he'd goofed and brought pie to a cake party or cake to a pie party, or a Pie party, hehe! I waved my hoof, smiling. "Oh no, thank you though. Mom and Dad wouldn't want me having a foal with somepony out of wedlock, especially one unapproved by the Pairing Stone. Did you know it kept pointing at a plate of cheese sandwiches when my parents asked who I should marry? Go figure." "Pinkie Pie... I apologize," said Discord, all straightforward and stuff. "Say what?!" Did Discord just apologize for something? When does Discord apologize for anything? You're supposed to be the zany one here, mister! Discord put a paw over his chest, and a claw over his forehead and leaned back like Rarity often does. "It's true that I destroyed your connection to your Element of Laughter, but I did so with a heavy heart! You remind me so of a dear friend of mine! You have to beLIEve me." "Then why did you say be-LIE-ve me?" I asked, even more confused. "Are you hinting that you're lying and you actually took sadistic glee in it?" "That bit wasn't for you!" "Oh, sorry." "No, I'm the one who's sorry. As an apology, why don't you become my queen?" "HUH?!?!" Is what I know all my friends would say. Me? I already knew I was Discord's favorite, and this is the last battle, the bad guy always makes offers like this. Did I hear Celestia's teeth grinding or something? "And!" Discord twirled his claws like a used chariot salespony, not waiting for my answer. "I have the perfect engagement gift for you!" There was the white glow of Diamond Tiara's magic, and the crazy swirl of Discord's magic that spun together in Discord's claw like how a spider spins their web. A nasty looking dagger made for holding in a pony's mouth appeared, the blade was all spiky and curvy. What are those 'impossible shapes' called again? I think that thing scared some of the zany right out of me! "Uh, it's... pointy," I said, taking a step back, ready to bring out my party cannon at a moment's notice. "Oh this isn't for you either. I mean, this isn't to be USED on you. Sorry, sorry, that came out wrong. This is for you, to use. I already know those who were already incarnated or fused with somepony weren't given an extra life by Apple Bloom's debug mode, but there is a way around it." "Oh... really?" I smiled, my mouth twitching, my eyes darted about. "It's very simple. This blade doesn't cut flesh, it cuts pony souls. Cut out Minty's Light of Existence from Twilight the First's Shadow of Existence, and I shall provide Minty's shadow of existence to give it back to. Take back what you gave her! Minty can live again!" "You're lying!" I paused dramatically. "Oh right, Applejack can't hear us." "It's not a lie. I can make it work. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." What I told Discord hurt more than the balloon garden. "And you were doing so well." I sighed. "...Leave Minty alone, and go to Tartarus." Discord pocketed the dagger. "I... I don't understand!" He looked the way most ponies do whenever Twilight tried to explain astrophysics. He glanced over my shoulder, was he looking at Celestia? "If you could erase another being to bring back the being you cared about most then why WOULDN'T you do it?!" Discord didn't sound angry, if anything, he sounded desperate, but not in the 'join the dark side' sort of way. "Don't you CARE about her? I thought those times made you happy! A thousand years of friendship and more! All those happy times in a state of paradise! All those times together before. She got turned into a different pony before your eyes! Don't you want her back?! Don't you love her?!" "Yes I love her! I'll always love her!" I shouted, happy for the sound proofing. "I'll never love Twilight like that! It's impossible! But I won't sacrifice a friend or somepony else to bring her back! What about Twilight's family? How would I feel if somepony wanted to take apart Minty for Clover, Dandy, and Jr.? If I was selfish enough to do that, she'd never be my friend, and if she was selfish enough to have wanted that, I'd have never been her friend!" Discord actually knelt in mid-air, floating. "So that's why." "You done projecting yet, father?" The tip of Nightmare Diamond Tiara's horn was glowing white. Discord snapped at her. "Princess! This was supposed to be private!" She didn't even flinch. "There is nothing I hated more than replacement mothers. You should know." Nightmare Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes at me. "As for you, fine, let's hear the 'past is dead' speech." "The past isn't dead, you silly. The past is just now a moment ago, like layers in a great big cake! Want some?" "No." Aw! Even cake didn't make Not-Diamond-Tiara crack a smile? "Oh, and by the way! Thanks, Discord!" "You ponies certainly have an odd way of expressing all of this gratitude that you're supposedly bursting with. Thank me? Whatever for?" "You might be the meanest meanie-pants that ever pantsed meanly, but you're also the reason Minty didn't get erased. That's why I got to say goodbye to her at all, so thanks for that!" "At the risk of sounding like a broken record..." Discord turned his voice all full of static, pops, and hisses. "I did that completely for my own selfish and shallow reasons, thank you very much! ... much! ... much! ..." He finished the gag with a loud record-scratch. I shrugged. "Yeah, I figured." Discord turned away, mismatched arms folded and nose in the air. "You're welcome, by the way." "See? That wasn't so hard. I'd thank you for Twilight and Minty too, but it's not polite to thank or apologize for others. That'd be like if you told somepony they should break up with their coltfriend while they were out of town!" Discord pointed a claw at her. "Oh my! I understood that reference!" His face fell. "I just don't care. I could give Twilight a socks obsession and make her fall madly in love with you." "Wouldn't be the same, thanks for the offer though! You really have to give Fluttershy credit. I mean, a LOTTA credit, I mean, Kindergarden skipping to College credit for still wanting to get you off the meanie train!" "Yes, yes, I know!" "No, no, you don't!" I shouted, stepping away when nopony was looking and popping up right in Discord's face. "Fluttershy is so nice that she hasn't brought up even once what you did to her swarm when she was Zipzee. She can pretend all she wants, but if she remembers anything, it's gonna be that! Tra La La, Tiddlywink, they were her family! She still loves them!" Discord scratched his chin. "Oh, that thing with the poison joke and the turning half of her swarm into parasprites? To be honest, I'd forgotten all about that." "Because you've done so many horrible awful things that you can't possibly remember all of them?" I offered brightly. "What's that ungrammatical thing ponies say that annoys Twilight so much? 'My bad?' Yes, that seems appropriate." He trailed off. "Do you think she's forgiven me?" I wanted to pinch Discord's cheeks, but suddenly I got an twitchy-itchy-twitch in my left hoof and decided that maybe that wasn't a good idea! "I said she wants to help you get off the meanie train, didn't I? Just apologize already!" "Hmph! Even if I actually was sorry, doesn't she know that no good epic climax ever ended with the hero and the villain hugging?" I think Twilight got tired of waiting, and Applejack was watching Rainbow Dash, expecting her to be the one to try a sneaky sneak attack. Twilight fired a great big violet blast, and it went "woosh, fizz, crackle!" and frosted all the grass and totally made a giant ice cube out of Discord. She even blew the black wind away! Then Discord floated right through and out of the ice cube, still connected to Diamond Tiara. "Oh, did somepony remember that ice doesn't agree with me? Nice try, but I'm a spirit right now! Or maybe it's because that isn't my Princess' weakness. Or a trade-off for now not having extra lives. I think I'll leave you guessing which it is." Twilight's mouth didn't work for a bit. "That's... that's.... THERE ISN'T ENOUGH PAPER IN EQUESTRIA FOR ME TO WRITE A CHECKLIST LONG ENOUGH TO CHECK-OFF HOW MANY WAYS THAT ISN'T FAIR!!" Discord yawned theatrically. "Yes, it's disgustingly unfair. Now, are you actually going to do something about it, or just sit there and whine?" He pulled out a rubber duck and squeaked it a few times. "Yes," said Princess Celestia in a no-nonsense tone. "I am going to do something about it." Whoa! I don't think any of us expected Celestia to magically switch places with me, or for some glass walls to fall down from the sky, surrounding Discord and Princess Celestia. Not-Diamond-Tiara gave them a kick, and they didn't turn to dust. They didn't even crack! This wasn't part of any plan Twilight told me about. One look at Twilight's face told me that. Princess Luna frowned. "Sister, you're really going to do it?" "Do what?!" Twilight said, super worried! I was too! Was Princess Celestia gonna use some super powerful mega solar flare attack? "Hold fast, ponies... my sister wishes to play her trump card." I pressed my nose to the glass. "Hey, I can't hear what they're saying!" "Pinkie Pie what happened in there?" asked Twilight. "Oh, Discord just asked me to marry him. I forgot to give my answer." ++ "Now we shall have privacy," I said. Luna said this plan was reckless, but at least she didn't call it foolish. I would have found it foolish before. Now? Well, I had to at least try, or I'd never know if it would have worked. "So what's your game Celly?" Discord asked. "Normally I'm the one who makes the games, and I don't like having my spotlight stolen." I saw Discord's gaze flick to the mirrors, honestly puzzled... I held my breath. Then Discord mockingly checked for food between his teeth. "Was I supposed to behold my greatest failure or something? You think Mother would leave you in possession of an artifact that could be used as a weapon against her children? I hope that wasn't your whole plan." I kept my face calm and in control. "Once I knew you were free, Discord, and when and where you'd be, I knew I had to make preparations. Ones I should have made long ago, so long ago." My horn glowed golden as I teleported in the cache I'd been saving up since the Talpa Curse. All around us, several massive cakes appeared, with unpredictable frosting and filling combinations, many unknown and untested by ponykind, some the size of a cupcake, some towering even over us. A small table appeared between us, with paper plates and plastic forks. There were exactly forty cakes, just as I'd promised. Discord looked around, confused and bewildered. "We agreed that we would go out for cake after you and Luna helped me bring the windigos to Equus, remember?" "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!" Discord said in a good imitation of the Royal Canterlot Voice. I floated off my chamfron and barding. "Discord, do you think I don't take responsibility for what I did three thousand years ago? That it doesn't haunt me every day of my life that my actions caused untold suffering to ponies, war between our races, and you turning into the monster you've become?" I sighed deeply. "I won't lie, I think you're the single most despicable monster I've ever seen in my life. Even Morning Star sickens me less than you do, and I'm not sorry in the slightest for turning you to stone for two thousand years. You and I both know you deserved it... but I'm the one who helped make you that way. "It's not all my fault, you made your own choices and so did many others, but I've seen enough alternate worlds to know that if I'd made one or two choices differently, you and I would still be friends. There are worlds where the two of us rule together in peace... and it's partly my fault that this world is not one of them, so I'm going to say the words I should have said over three thousand years ago. I am sorry I abandoned you to face the wrath of my siblings, and I'm sorry for blaming you for the result when it was my own fault. I even brought those cakes you wanted us to have. Take them all if you want." Discord watched me, frowning, wary. "...This is a trick, Celly, I know you too well to expect anything else." "This is no trick. This is me clearing my conscience after thousands years of looking myself in these mirrors your Mother gave me, and reliving the moment I realized everything that happened with the Windigos was my fault and no one else's but mine." I gestured to the indestructible mirrors around us. I braced myself. I didn't know how Discord would react. I don't think Discord did either. "Uh, Celly, I'm in spirit form right now... I can't exactly eat anything." Discord extended his tongue and tried to wrap up all the cakes at once, but only left a layer of ectoplasm. "Typical Celly, saying she's sorry away from her ponies' prying eyes when it's over and done with so they don't lose their picture of perfection of her." "I told Twilight about the Windigos," I said as simply as possible. "What?!" "You seem fond of that word today, Discord." "You told... you really..." "Ask her yourself if you want. I told the filly who idealized me more than any other my truest and deepest sin." He sneered at me. "You couldn't bear the guilt anymore, hmm? Listening to her praise you when you knew you didn't deserve it!" "Actually, she came to me. Once she had an inkling of the truth, she insisted on knowing the whole story. She refused to accept anything less than the whole truth." "And how would she know if you told her the truth or not? Don't pretend you've never lied to your ponies. Ancient alien parasites, hah!" I began to wonder if there was anything I could say that Discord would not twist against me. "I could have lied, but in the end I trusted her. I told Twilight that she was free to do with the knowledge as she pleased with no consequences." "As if anypony would believe her, even if she did tell." "Shall I tell all of Equestria that Shady was your willing minion, Discord? After all, who would believe such a tale?" "No! Besides, I manipulated her feelings and gave her an Element of Chaos infected with dark magic!! I'd hardly call that willing... unlike when Lulu went Nightmare behind your back!" "I'm at fault for that as much as her! The weight of the kingdom that needed to be rebuilt from scratch was new to us both, and I couldn't see how it was dividing Lulu and I! But I've chosen to make myself a better pony and a better goddess for my mistakes, Discord! Why can't you?" Discord's eyes narrowed. "You think any sane pony would ever forgive me?" "Aren't you the one who believes we're all a little crazy? And forgiveness is given, redemption is earned, and you can -start- earning it right now!" I'd never seen Discord look so sad as I did then. "Oh, and then I suppose we'll all be the best of friends, just like the old days! As if!" "I still think of you as a friend, Dissy." He flinched as if I'd struck him. No, as if I'd skewered him with my horn. I took a step forward. "Lulu wanted to have Fluttercruel take a sledgehammer to you while you were trapped in stone. She's your blood relative, Discord. That would have been the end of you in this mortal realm, once and for all. Perhaps it was foalish, irresponsible even... but I couldn't approve of that. It would have meant putting you down while apparently helpless, and that I'd given up on ever saving you." Discord jabbed a claw, opened his mouth... and seemed at loss. "When your pitiful, former subjects are suffering another ten thousand years of my rule, I hope you have a lovely time explaining to them why. "Then again, if I'd been in your place, I wouldn't have taken the easy win either. What a dreadful anti-climax that would have been. None shall deny me my grand finale! You're all dooooomed!" I realized the real truth. "Discord," I asked gently, "why do you wish to die?" "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" "... You're lying to yourself more than ever. You don't want somepony else not to die... You haven't felt that in three thousand years." - "Celestia's assessment is inaccurate," said Wind Whistler, sitting next to Celly. "It has been at most 2000 years. You gave your mother and sister immortality after all." - "You're not real!" Discord snapped, firing red lasers from his eyes to the sound effect from Star Trot, vaporizing one of the cakes. "If you'd been in there for all this time you'd have said something in these few thousands of years!" Discord paused as if listening to somepony. "Yes, I'm sure of my conclusion, Windy! Agh! Now you've got me doing the redundant answer bit!" He pointed at nothing. "You know what, Windy?! I never liked you! All your reason and logic! Nya nya! How'd ya like that?!" "I thought that you and Dissy were separate beings," I said. "Come on! I faked being Dissy with mom all the time!" "That was to keep her on task. You never contradicted Galaxia when she said you'd devoured Dissy, even though she was trying to kill you." "Oh come off it! I was a selfish heartless prick as I humiliated her before sending her back to Your Mom!" "... 'Was' Discord?' Dissy cringed. "Let's not get wrapped up in semantics, Celestia." "Stop this Dissy! There are plenty more shows and performances waiting for you!" "... Not for this me." "Now YOU come off it! Since when does Chaos do anything because it has to?" Dissy's eyes darted about, and he wasn't smiling. There was a rumbling like that of a mountain, and one of Entropy's mirrors was pulled out of the ground, surrounded by a white aura that I could see but somehow not sense. "Can we stop with all the yammering and get on with it already?" asked Diamond Tiara's Nightmare in an empty monotone. She stomped her hoof, breaking the ground beneath her. Discord sighed heavily. "Yes, dear." "So she's the one with the deciding vote," I said, sadly understanding. "There must be a villain here to focus all the hate on, it might as well be me," Discord gestured at himself. "No. Me." Her dead voice for a moment took on a demonic tone. Then she blasted all the beautiful cakes! No! The mirrors reflected one spell bolt around us, obliterating the forty cakes! Frosting and filling splattered everywhere! The table and plasticware were no more. "Uh, thanks for the thought?" Discord said as the poor destroyed cakes flew through him. "A parent is supposed to discipline his children, Discord." Discord seemed genuinely shocked and offended. "And deny her what was denied me?" He asked in disgust. "Never!" "Just answer me one question Discord, why did you choose this road?" "I'm Chaos! And you ALL wanted to decide what Chaos' limits should be, FOR ME! Remember Celly, I came to Morning Star, I worked to get him to take me on as an apprentice. I was never his victim." "Never an unwilling victim." I slowly slipped my barding and chamfron back on. - Great and Really Great Discord at your disservice! Allow me to provide this little flashback before we continue. 'You know, if we weren't locked into one time slot, I'd suggest we wait a little longer, Princess.' "Why?" 'We could wait for either Twilight to get her wings or little Kifuko to grow up, then we could have our big showdown with four to five Alicorns plus the Bearers!' "Why does that matter?" 'I can beat three Alicorns, but four would actually be a big challenge! It'd be a great way to go out with a bang! And five? I might actually have to try! Maybe I should snap my fingers and age Kifuko up to an adult...' "Going to bring another filly into this mess as a toy, father?" '...' - The Glorious Words of Master Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike VII Back to me, huh? Cool! Seriously, back when AJ and Pinkie Pie were asking all those questions, they didn't even bother to chat with yours truly! They could have waited until I was done playing, I mean, hanging out with Silver Spoon and the others. When those glass walls came down, Princess Luna told us, "Interfere not, let sister have her try." Diamond Tiara... maybe she was annoyed, I had better luck reading rocks. But she didn't even try to attack us, her eyes on Princess Celestia and Discord too. After kicking the glass, Diamond Tiara looked at the Flutters. She spoke like a robot, "Cruelty, when I could feel, I hated family being replaced... but I think I'd feel sorry right now that we never got the chance to be sisters." Fluttercruel frowned. "I'm not!" I have no idea what they were saying, it was like the sound was just canceled out like the Crusaders Capes canceled out magic. I would never have expected Princess Celestia to summon a buncha cakes. "Hey, Twilight, you okay?" I asked, seeing her eyes widen. "What's going on?" "She's fulfilling a promise." Huh? Why'd the Princess take off her barding?! Of course Rarity and the other Crusaders all moved closer to Diamond Tiara, forming a semicircle around her. Applejack shouted, "Apple Bloom! Don't get so close!" "Don't worry, big sister, if she was gonna make a move, she'd have by now." "Darling," Rarity said, "Discord's distracted. Let us help you, your real parents want you back. I'm sure Twilight or the Princesses can exorcise Discord." "Why can't you understand? That Diamond Tiara no longer exists. I'm your enemy." That creepy black wind swirled around her, not letting them get closer. That didn't stop Silver Spoon from trying. Nobody tried to stop her. "No, you're not!" "Uh, we do have a plan for getting Discord out of Diamond Tiara, right?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight, who looked at Princess Luna, who looked away without a word. Twilight's ears wilted. "Hey 'Shy! You can just Stare Discord out of her right?" Rainbow asked. "Um, even the Stare has limits." Rainbow made a face. "Oh come on! You don't know unless you try!" "Hey Trixie," I said still on her back holding her cape. "Think you can just trick Discord out of her?" "Trixie is thinking but she doesn't have anything solid yet!" "Solidify faster!" "Nice word, Dashie," Pinkie said, shaking a little. "It's a weather thing!" Applejack hugged Pinkie Pie. Discord shouted something and eye-lasered one of the cakes. Silver Spoon was still pushing against Diamond Tiara's black wind, she'd wear a hole in the ground before she gave up. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle began to muscle, counter-wind, and magic Silver Spoon close to Diamond Tiara, but the moment she was gonna touch her, Tiara just teleported a few feet away, making Silver Spoon fall and taste raw grass. Poor girl. The other Cutie Mark Crusaders helped her up. "Tiara!" "Life cheats." Then she used her magic to pull one of the mirrors out of the ground. "Can we get on with it?" She said. I still couldn't hear whatever was said inside. "No. Me." Diamond Tiara's voice went all Nightmare Night for a split second. And she blew up all the cake. Princess Celestia did NOT look happy! She and Discord said something and she put her armor back on. I have no idea whose magic did it, but the mirrors then got blown away to who-knows-where! "NOW LET'S FINALLY GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!" Discord's voice was like an explosion. Yeow! My poor ears! "How about we start out with a duet of Sea Belles?!" Discord snapped his ghost fingers. I looked at my beautiful Rarity! And poor Sweetie Belle! And! AND-! Whoa... nothing? Really?! "Huh?" Discord looked at his fingers and snapped them a few more times, only becoming more puzzled. "Oh right! Can't have fish without an ocean!" He snapped his fingers yet again and... still nothing. I covered my mouth with both claws, trying hard not to burst into giggles. Discord shook a fist at the universe. "Now this isn't funny anymore! Air, become styrofoam!" Snap. Nothin'. "Bones to glass!" Nope. "Half become chocolate and the other half ant colonies!" Nada. Ziltch. "Turn to clay!" Zip. "Transport them to the depths of the ocean! Surrounded by Spider-sharks, trained in sky-fu and armed with ocean proof flamethrowers!" Zero. Nil. Null. "AGGGH!!!!" Discord's eyes crossed. "Ponies into fruit-flavored pudding cups!" Etcetera. Discord's eyes spun in opposite directions as he flapped his tongue against his upper lip. "BLBLBLBLBLLBL!" His eyes changed to fire as he grew several times his normal size. "How are you doing this to me?!" Okay, he was kinda scary, but I couldn't hold back grinning anymore. "Why should we tell ya?" Applejack snorted. Discord was seething. What I wouldn't give for a camera right now! "Oh I see... it's that stupid armor and Mother's capes, is it? Well then! The dragon into a garden hose!" I froze, but I didn't feel so much as a scale out of place. Whew! Discord zapped a rock, and it turned into a chocolate cupcake. Pinkie Pie ate it. "Ooh, yum! Tastes like haybacon!" "Wait, Pinkie!" I shouted. "What if he turns it back into a rock... oh, right. Never mind!" Diamond Tiara's horn glowed. Discord pulled out a pair of binoculars with green lenses and a little radar dish on top, and looked all around... left, right, up, and finally down. They echoed. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." - = 'Rain' - Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood = "Well, girls," Twinkle Shine was watching a crystal ball, with her horn shining incredibly bright. "I'd say the rune is a complete success!" She popped another of Bon Bon's mana restoring candies into her mouth. "We tell you Diamond Dogs do good job!" Rover said proudly. "I wish we could help more," Minuette said. The Gifted unicorns were standing in a pattern with their horns raised. Beyond the circle of five were more gifted unicorns, and another ring beyond that! Every horn shining like a Hearth's Warming parade. It was hard to find a Gifted unicorn from Twilight's school year who wasn't present! "This IS helping more!" Moon Dancer declared, stamping her hoof. It felt good to shake off those strange nightmares and be herself... no dumpy black sweater, awful mane-cut, or thick glasses instead of her contacts here! In her hooves she held the Elder Horn. "Oh yeah! Oh yeah!" Lyra did a little dance, her horn glowing as brightly as the others. "Keep them coming!" Lemon Hearts said to her lemon creature familiars as they continued to make sure the girls were fed, watered, and rested and making supply runs. - "You made a rune?!! UNDERGROUND?!" Discord's eyes bulged through the binoculars with a carriage horn sound. "Well! We'll see about that! Discord turned his head into a drill and buzzed down... only for an echoing, "YEOW!" To be heard and his spirit came back up, the drill now busted. Twilight smiled proudly. She deserved it. She already came up with an anti-chaos magic barrier a whole year ago, and now she got to put it to work for everypony to see! Not that I had any doubt it was gonna work! No really! How was my fake freak out? Bet Trixie thinks it was cool! Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "If it means that much to you, father." She became a shadow and seeped into cracks in the ground, only to cry out in pain, slithering back up and becoming solid again. Her forehooves were burned and blackened, making both Silver Spoon and Discord cringe. "How? No barrier can affect me." "The light of hopes and dreams can," said Apple Bloom. Thank Twinkle Shine and whatever freaky dream vision thing Apple Bloom explained to her. Twinkle Shine said something about the magic 'burning up' in her brain, and she wouldn't remember the magic for long or something, it's 'not from this world'. Discord began randomly using his magic, I think he figured out fast the air was super-charged with anti-chaos magic, while anything that was alive and sapient and anything directly touching it he couldn't affect at all. Maybe. He wasn't exactly writing a science paper like Twilight would, true to Discord, he was just throwing anything at the wall including the wall and seeing what stuck. "That's... this is... CHRYSALIS' RUNE?!?!?" Discord wailed. "Actually it's an anti-Nightmare rune that Chryssy prepared just in case Luna got so angry she turned back into Nightmare Moon, I think," Sweetie said. "Given Diamond Tiara is all about 'not being there', we were worried it might not work on her. But-" "Ye made thy magic far too accessible, when ye used it on nearly everypony and everything in Equestria!" Princess Luna boomed. "T'was plenty of sample data to modify its design!" "You've lost your 'instant win card'!" Scootaloo shouted! "CURSE HER AND HER STUPID ANTI-NIGHTMARE FLYTRAP!" "When Chrysalis proved the idea as physically possible, the rest was easy!" Yeah, easy, easy for you to say, Twilight. Remember who you ordered to send dragon mail every possible way and to every possible pony you knew to get this done? We're just lucky we'd already been studying this, and the Princesses were prepping for a time when we might have to use it anyway. Good thing Rarity has the diamond dogs on speed flame. Now it was being powered by all of Twilight's school mates! "T'was EASY to set up! If there is one constant across the universes: tis thy love for the sound of thy own voice, Discord!" "For a chaos god, your randomness sucks!" Scootaloo shouted. I think Discord was too busy contorting with rage to hear her since he didn't try to eat her. Discord's eyes crossed in rage. "DAMN THAT WITCH! I've never had such an ANNOYING nag who was already deader than dead!" "Isn't it nice Chryssy actually gave something good for the world?" Sweetie said with a smile that barely resisted turning into a smirk. "Yes Sweetie... it is," Rarity sighed giving her a hug. "Take that... you big bully." Silver Spoon smiled. "BOH-YA!" I couldn't stop myself from cheering. "Gotcha," Trixie said. "You think me a child Celestia?!" Discord snapped. "Yes." "Your precious bootleg of queen bug-butt's rune only extends as far as the statue garden! What is there to protect Canterlot?" Now it was Celestia's turn to stamp her hoof, and dang, did she look scary right then. Her armor was glowing, the grass around her hooves started smoking. "I NEVER INTENDED this battle to spill over into Canterlot proper! It was always intended to be limited to the statue garden! And that is what is going to be!" "This is a cheat! You cheating cheaters!" Discord stomped. 'Why does that sound familiar?' I rolled my eyes. "Complains the draconequus who has always twisted the rules and outcome to be whatever is best, for him!" Luna shouted. "Your mutant narwhals shouldn't be able to do this!" Discord hissed. "Maybe, if the planet's leylines hadn't shifted to be under the garden," Princess Celestia said. "What? Since when did- YOU!" For some reason, Discord's eyes zeroed in on Apple Bloom who just smiled. Applejack looked back at Apple Bloom, she looked proud, I have no clue about what. "Please give up now," Fluttershy said. "We'll have cake!" Pinkie Pie added. Fluttercruel didn't say anything. None of us wanted to risk reminding Discord that the rune might affect Fluttercruel too. Rainbow only had this to say. "You know what? I'm sick and tired of all powerful jerks like you playing with our lives! I don't care if Twilight has to bury your statue in the center of Equus! This is the end of your games, Discord!" Then Rainbow Dash did a mid-air strut and give Discord a great big raspberry. "WELL!" Discord snorted. "So much the better! My previous battles have always been over way too quickly anyway!" Discord crackled his knuckles. "Just because I can't change you all into tiny plastic miniatures doesn't mean you can't still be my playthings!" "You actually think we're gonna turn chicken for you?" Rainbow Dash boasted. Now that Discord couldn't zap us, Rainbow Dash wasn't afraid to use figures of speech. Not-Diamond-Tiara said. "There'll always be fears inside you ponies." Rainbow Dash didn't miss a beat. "Good! Ponies who aren't afraid of anything tend to be really stupid." Diamond narrowed her eyes. "Then we'll see if you really are smarter than you look." > Round 1, FIGHT! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Title: Phase 1? Round One Fight? Greetings, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I am a unicorn and I am -not- a goth. These are my natural colors. Yes I am the personal apprentice of Princess Celestia and holder of the central Element of Harmony 'Magic' and basically the leader of the Elemental Harmony Squad (Pinkie or Rainbow came up with that name, not me). We've come a long way, haven't we? But somehow, we're right back where we started, facing Discord again. The first time, we faced a mad god with a sick sense of humor who had stolen the Elements and was toying with us the whole time, corrupting us one by one, until Princess Celestia reminded me of all the lessons I'd learned together with my friends. I brought them back to reality and together we defeated Discord. Now, along at our side, we have the Princesses, little sisters, friends of little sisters, Spike, and Trixie too. It looks like we have the upper hoof, but at the same time it would be illogical NOT to notice how wrong all this seems. The Princesses themselves pointed out how Discord could have sucker punched us at any time or used our families against us, but didn't, and now we know that Discord and Diamond Tiara HELPED against Chrysalis from behind the scenes? Celestia then offers Discord cake (I remember that part of her tale.) Discord wanting to CONNECT with Fluttercruel? Asking Pinkie Pie to marry him? Celestia still has hope that her old friend Dissy is still there somewhere in Discord. It makes me wonder what's truly going on here. Some of my friends want to try and save Discord as much as we're here to also save Diamond Tiara. Princess Celestia said it best, it doesn't matter if she's a school bully or not, she's lost in the dark like Princess Luna and Fluttershy were, and it's our responsibility as the Bearers of the Elements to save her. Objectively, if we COULD save Discord from himself, he'd be an immense ally. Before and after Celestia told me about their history, I would have immediately dismissed this as a foalish pipe dream, but now I'm not so sure. Don't think I'm naive, I know that I'm dealing with a dangerous chaos spirit who has committed countless crimes against ponykind. There is a reformation spell I could use... don't give me that look! It ISN'T mind control, but it's bad enough that I couldn't bring myself to memorize it from the books I have it in. It forces the subject to experience every evil and slight they've done their entire lives from the point of view of their victims. It can be so traumatizing that it's reserved for the worst of the worst, like Discord, but it still requires there to be a shred of SOMETHING in the soul of the subject, or their heart would be too corrupted for it to have any effect. I didn't think there was, but maybe that's changed. I'm proud of Moon Dancer and the others for being able to pull off their part. Now we have to handle ours. Discord is bound to Diamond Tiara's Nightmare, and Sweetie Belle is connected to Diamond. If one is turned to stone, then the other two might turn to stone as well. Call me a fool all you want, but there's no way I'm sacrificing Sweetie Belle nor Diamond Tiara to stop Discord. We've always found a way before, and we will this time too. I sound like Rainbow Dash. Heh, now I know we're in trouble. I just need to figure out what that way is! I look at my friends and their friends: Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, the Flutters, Princesses Celestia and Luna, Trixie, Spike, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, there's fifteen of us here, enough to crowd out most sitting rooms. Between all of us, we'll think of something! Until then, we can take anything Discord or anypony else can dish out! Diamond Tiara raised her hoof at me. I readied myself to teleport, dodge, block, or deflect whatever magic she was about to cast. "Twilight Sparkle, are you sure your friends are your friends?" "Ugh! THIS routine again?" Rainbow Dash snorted. "Get some new material!" I felt indignant too. Diamond's face remained neutral. "Remember the memory spell you used to harmonize your friends? How do you know it didn't simply re-brainwash them? That you didn't just reprogram your friends into who you think they should be? How would they even know the difference? How would you? The day you fought Nightmare Moon... did you meet your perfect circle of friends... or did you create them on the day of Discord?" At first I was shocked at what she was saying. I glanced around at my friends, who looked varying degrees of disturbed. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked at me in concern. That beat of… what's this I feel? I'm... insulted. Really angry... "Don't lecture about magic you don't understand, Diamond Tiara. That isn't how the memory spell works at all!" I stamped my hoof. "All the memory spell can do is make the pony remember memories they already have! It works as an anti-brainwashing spell since it gets the pony to realize how out-of-character they're acting!" "And that's a swing and a miss!" said Pinkie Pie, tossing a pocket mirror over her shoulder. I pointed my hoof towards her. "If you think you're going to break us with words like Discord, you're going to have to try a lot harder than that! I have never, would never, and will never do that to my friends! They're not golems for me to program! If anything, I've become who I am because of them!" "Well spoken, Twili'!" Applejack cheered. "Awww, thank you, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie smiled. "You're welcome!" Rainbow smirked. "I'm happy to help," Fluttershy said. "It's been my honor darling!" "I can vouch for that!" Spike shouted. "Of course you mean me too, of course," Trixie proclaimed, of course. "Tiara, you're losing your touch!" Silver Spoon called out. "And I am thankful and proud of all of you for that," Princess Celestia said, warming my heart. "I will concede one thing," I continued. "The memory spell wasn't perfect... it helped my friends out of the darkness, but it didn't address what pulled them into it to begin with." I looked around. "We did all that on our own, together!" I reared back my hooves, feeling a little like I had 14,000 friends behind me. Diamond Tiara's Nightmare took a trot back. "Good try, princess," said Discord. He rolled up his arms like they were sleeves leaving his claws disembodied for a moment. "Now watch daddy at work and take notes. There'll be a quiz later!" Applejack snorted, pawing at the ground once. "Ya've done this song and dance already, Discord." Trixie scoffed. "A good showmare KNOWS not to repeat the same trick to the same audience!" Discord's eyes narrowed. "Did you all think you only had -one- mental problem your entire lives? Oh that's right, blame Discord for everything wrong with you. Much easier than accepting the blame yourselves, isn't it? Your inner demons were always there, I just invited them out!" The mirrors that Princess Celestia had used to fence in Discord reappeared, shuffling themselves around in midair like a giant card trick before crashing down and embedding themselves in the ground. Discord and Diamond's Nightmare teleported off to one side and flashed a spotlight on us. "Fear the light," said Diamond Tiara. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were out of the range of the light, but it was like Diamond and Discord didn't even try to aim for them. The CMC must have realized something bad was going to happen, as they hid under their enchanted capes, and used them to shadow Silver Spoon as well. Meanwhile, Trixie threw Spike off her back and used her own body to block the light from touching Spike. "Hey! I can take care of myself!" sweet little Spike insisted. "Protecting the young is what adults are SUPPOSED to do!" Trixie snapped back. Thank you Trixie. As for the seven (eight?) of us meanwhile, our shadows stretched until they touched the mirrors' surfaces. Then, our shadows stepped out. And we saw ourselves... seven ponies, discorded and gray. The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara said, "Ugh, no. We can do better than that." Her eyes and horn glowed ghostly white. And our 'shadows' twisted and changed. Trixie's 'shadow' lost her hat, and her cape became a solid black hooded cloak, the clasp was silver with wings and a unicorn head with a red jewel at the center. Rainbow Dash's shadow was now wearing a Shadowbolt's uniform with a 'knife in the back of a pony' cutie mark. Pinkie Pie's was wearing... wait, are those... cutie marks? Oh Celestia, I'm going to throw up! Please don't ask me to say any more! Fluttershy's shadow shifted about until half of her body was randomly replaced with parts that would have belonged on Discord. Rarity's shadow grew larger, its fur turning almost black. Its cutie mark became a series of sparkling stars with three noticeable blue ones. Her eyes becoming draconic, and her horn longer, her mane and tail were huge and flowing with stars in her mane like Princess Luna. Diamond-studded golden barding appeared on the shadow, grandiose in design, but I recognized the traditional Nightmare chamfron. It didn't have wings. Applejack's shadow was almost exactly the same, except for an Element of Harmony around her neck that actually looked bigger. Her colors appeared brighter and more intense! And... my Shadow... it... it grew to the size of Princess Celestia... dark coat, draconic eyes, a purple mane like flames, wings with flame shaped feathers, a color inverted cutie mark, and she was wearing white barding, with the chamfron covering half her face. = 'Justice Lords Theme' - Justice League Unlimited = (Unicorn's Notes: But, she is impossible... please Mother, no.) (Pegasus' Notes: NO!) (Earth Filly's Notes: I'm... I'm scared! I need to get away! Far away!) (Pegasus' Notes: YOU DON'T EXIST, YOU NAG!) (Unicorn's Notes: Please! Stop!) (Earth Filly's Notes: Make her go away!) Wait! Stop! Stop talking all at once! Too much noise! I can't think! Just looking at this... this thing that emerged from my reflection scared and confused me in ways I didn't even understand. Discord had an odd, almost childish curiosity looking at the thing. "Well now, that's new..." And then all Tartarus broke loose. "We've lost their trust," said the masked Nightmare, in a chilling echo of my own voice! "Ponies are afraid of us." It blasted me with a spell from its horn. I brought up a shield just in time, keeping the dark energy back, but the force of the impact still sent me hurtling backwards. "Smarty Pants, the wedding, how many 'slips ups' are we allowed?" She trotted forward, spreading her wings. She flew up, and came down with her four hooves. I teleported out of the way as she left craters where my skull was a second ago. "Power corrupts, after all, and who has more power than Twilight Sparkle?" "P- Plenty! There's Celestia, Luna, Discord..." My shadow flapped her wings, sending a tornado my way, I teleported out of the way again. "And how long until we surpass them?!" "Well, given the exponential growth of my magic, and- Hey!" A boulder was about to fall on my head; I caught it in my telekinesis and threw it to the side. Then came fireballs! I counter with ice magic, creating an explosion of steam, hiding us from each other. "As long as I LISTEN TO MY FRIENDS, instead of thinking I ALWAYS know best, then I'll never become you!" "And if your friends become corrupt?" Lightning! Summon lightning rods! "We won't let that happen to each other. And if we failed, Spike, our OTHER friends and family won't let that happen! And they'll be there to save us if we are! If they didn't, they wouldn't be our friends! I have faith in them!" I floated the soapbox from under me and threw it right at her. She blasted the box apart, and magically tossed the 'frozen on the outside, super heated on the inside' rock bomb that the soapbox had concealed into the air, where it exploded. Had she seen it coming? "And when our friends die? Or do you plan to die before all your friends? Or you'll all die at the exact same time? When you've surpassed death and they're still mortal, what then? Will you try to cheat death in every possible way? Bind their souls to your body? Give birth to their reincarnations? Transfer their spirits into golem bodies? Use the CMC as replacement vessels? How far would you go? After all, we'd do anything for our friends!" She created a forcefield shaped like a drill and spun it towards me like a rocket. I created a barrier behind a barrier, behind a barrier, renewing each one as the other fell, this really hurt! She broke each one faster than the last. "Yes... I would do anything for my friends... including let them go... it would hurt worse than anything... but I'd do what a friend is supposed to do, and honor their wishes. If they wanted to stay, I'd help them, if they wanted to be with their ancestors, I'd honor that too!" I teleported away. The forcefield-drill bore into the dirt; I appeared above and behind her, landing on her back like Spike at a rodeo. I blasted her from behind. She kicked, and I caught her wings in my telekinesis, but a pegasus' tactile-kinesis came up and blocked my magic. She flipped over and tried to crush me with her weight, but I teleported away again. "Friendships can die. Friendships can be destroyed. Friendships can end. Like life itself, friendship is beautiful, fragile, precious, and especially delicate, it has to be allowed to grow." I blinded her with a flash spell, and electrified my fur. Back when I was brainwashed, I made this spell to defend from Pinkie Pie's hugs, now I rushed in and hugged my shadow, it screeched out as lightning coursed through its body. Then I transmuted her barding into candy glass. I shattered the armor off her with a sonic musical blast, thank you, Cadence. "The fires of friendship can wink out. It can be completely extinguished. And only the most arrogant of ponies believe that what they hold dearest can't be taken from them, can't be lost, can't be broken." "Darkness beyond twilight-" I used a mute spell. There's a reason why spells complicated enough to need a verbal component are better used in rituals than a battlefield. This didn't stop her from using her horn, so I turned a bunch of leaves from the garden into feathers and used them to tickle her in her sensitive spots that were the same as mine. The Nightmare me began laughing mutely and twisting, her focus broken. "We ponies, our hearts swelled by pride, did not want to see that the friendships we hold can be destroyed from within far easier than from the outside. "I WOULDN'T ACCEPT THAT LESSON! I COULDN'T ACCEPT THAT LESSON! AND I PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR IT! I LOST MY FRIENDS! But I turned a blind eye to it! I told myself 'it was only because of Discord! If Discord vanished, or if there was never a Nightmare Moon, or never any changelings, then we ponies would live in a perfect world. BUT THAT IS A LIE! We ponies make choices, and that means sooner or later we'll make the wrong one! Celestia guides us through the dark times, but we ponies..." I panted for breath. "We're not perfect. We're not 'superior' to dragons, griffons, or diamond dogs, we've only had a very good teacher, and we got lucky before our own hate destroyed us. And if any of them are willing to listen to what Celestia has taught us ponies, then I know they'll find harmony within themselves too. I am not afraid! I'm free!" The Nightmare me cried out and shattered like glass, the mirror it had come from cracked and powerless. (Friend's Notes: (Pegasus): You beat her!) Well, of course! I'm not going to lose to Nightmare Library. (Friend's Notes: (Pegasus): Nightmare Library... Right.) Princess Celestia hugged me from behind and gave me an approving nuzzle. "I knew you could do it." + I, the Great and Powerful, I mean, the One and Only Trixie, found myself under attack from another Trixie! This Trixie had red glowing eyes, and she wore a black cloak and... that amulet from Trixie's nightmares! And she was dishing out an amazing assortment of spells, which, of course, trying to spell copy left me feeling like I was trying to grasp a reflection. Such lovely spells! Disintegration, petrification, death-ray (that poor caterpillar), and you can guess the rest from there. Trixie is happy that her duel with Twilight gave her plenty of experience teleporting. "You wanted control over your destiny, Trixie?" it snarled. "Well guess what? You do! Everything that's happened to you is your own fault!" "Trixie accepts this reality. Trixie is nopony's pawn of fate." "You exist but to make Twilight Sparkle look good!" "So, is everything Trixie’s fault, or isn’t it? Trixie thinks you must be very confused." That was when the plants around me glowed red and wrapped me up like a mummy and thorns dug into my hide. "Fraud! Fake! Weakling! Understudy! Coward! Hack! We have no place here among Equestria's true heroes!" Spike tried to tackle this fake me, but he just passed right through, tumbling to the ground. "Says you! I'll have you know that I intend to have a big throne at the big conference table, with my cutie mark carved on it!" I blasted her with mother's destruction magic. I won't forget the look of surprise and bewilderment as it was atomized. "It still searches-" It began, but then it was no more. I left a trail of obliteration behind her, and destroyed the mirror it had spawned from. "Nice job!" Spike praised, with a small leap of joy. However, Trixie's exertion did make Trixie rather dizzy, Trixie's mana pool had sadly remained relatively small compared to the likes of her mother and Twilight Sparkle. "Not doing that again anytime soon." +++ So here Ah am, facin' myself. Here we go again. "Ya know what the worst truth is, darlin'?" asked fake me. "Discord was right." "Bullpucky." "Oh, a Discord denialist." Fake me smiled. "Not the best thing from the Element of Honesty." "Call me a Discord skeptic instead," Ah said flatly, not smiling one bit. "Come on, darlin'. White lies that hurt less than the truth? Tellin' fillies granny's moved to a tropical island instead of dyin'? That their pet hamster ran away and joined the circus? Don't they hurt less? Bein' wrong 'bout which cousin's birthday party yer comin' to and havin' to re-label yer present just before ya get there? Not tellin' a friend who voted differently from you how they're a brainwashed robot? Don't pretend ya don't hate every last one of 'em." "Yer right. Ah do. Ponies should be straight up in what they mean. Not dance around it with substitute words and not admitin' to makin' mistakes, or pretendin' yer alright with everythin' a friend does." "And that's what makes ya heartless. Rarity has more heart than ya! Do Ah gotta spell it out? Nightmare Whisper's title was 'Kindest of Lies', Nightmare Mirror's was 'Cruelest of Truths?' Ain't it obvious?" "Ah ain't no monster. Ah just don't think ponies should bury their heads in the sand." "Even when the sun will burn 'em? Yer every heart beat cries out for a world where ponies have to adapt to a world where they can't deceive others no matter how it hurts them." "You shut up!" snapped Apple Bloom. "Mah big sister ain't some bully!" Ah smiled. "... Thank ya kindly, but don't worry, big sister's got this." "She's right, ya ain't no bully... yer a clown. Who else but a silly pony could embody honesty and promote truth when civilization runs on a million tiny lies? Ponies lie to themselves every day. Go join the circus with the rest of the fools." Ah breathed in deep. Ah'd be lyin' like nopony's business if Ah said what she said didn't hurt worse than a hot poker through the chest. Because Ah know it's true. "... Ah do want ponies to grow up, so we ain't lyin' day by day. It was easier when Ah just sucked at lyin', instead of havin' a gift for seein' the truth. But if Ah want ponykind to grow up, then Ah need to grow up too. Ah hate lies and Ah always will." Ah stamped my hoof. "Ah did find Nightmare Mirror's world pretty! ... Ah can't deny what Ah am. But Ah'd be lyin' if Ah didn't admit there's plenty of room for improvement. There's a time to play nice, or ya'll destroy everythin' yer tryin' to help. And there's a time to take off the kid gloves, or nothin' will change. Ah need to better learn the difference. Maybe holdin' onto truth when lies are all over the place is silly, maybe. But even if Ah'm silly, AH AIN'T NO CLOWN!" The fake Applejack shattered. The mirror remained. "Ya beat 'er, Applejack!" "No, Apple Bloom, Ah just rose above 'er." Princess Luna flew next to me and put a hoof on my shoulder. "And we art quite proud of you little pony." She leaned in and whispered. "You'll make a good Alicorn yet." +++ "You think anypony in Cloudsdale or Ponyville wouldn't despise us?" The fake me in the Shadowbolt's outfit snarled as our wingblades clashed. I might've well been fighting a mirror in the air, a really ugly mirror. The dark evil costume is cool and scary and everything, but I'll stick to wearing it on Nightmare Night! Oh yeah, I didn't dignify that taunt with an answer. "Oooh, Rainbow Dash not saying anything?" sneered fake me. "Stop the presses!" We switched to lobbing punches at each other with our hooves, using all four in the air. I had nothing to say to this thing. "Come on, me! We've always wanted to be in the center spotlight! To be the coolest, most radical pony there is! Best way to wipe away 'Rainbow Crash!' Isn't that right Rainbow Crash? We really hate being called Rainbow Crash, don't we, Rainbow Crash?" I gritted my teeth. Not getting to me. Not getting to me. At least I'm wearing holy armor and this thing isn't! So its kicks aren't hurting as much as mine are, I hope. "After all, first we were the big hero standing up for the filly who had been teased all through flight camp and we didn't do a thing while it was part of the crowd, but against the colts we had a grudge against, we rushed to defend her... Just like Gilda. And the moment Gilda wasn't part of the 'in' crowd anymore, we turned our back on her, it's so much easier to just cut ties than to TRY isn't it?" Okay, now I had stuff to say! "I defended Gilda and Fluttershy because it was the right thing to do, not because it made me cooler! I know what it's like to be laughed at. I stood up to Gilda because she was being a flank-hole to all my other friends! She left on her own!" "After you told her to go find some new friends." "The whole bucking reason I sent that letter was to let her know I still wanted to be friends!" "And you wouldn't be in that position in the first place if you hadn't-" I punched the fake in the mouth, then slashed with both blades, electrifying my wings while I was at it, and then I jack-hammered the fake's gut on top of that, slamming her into the ground hard enough to make a crater! "I admitted I made a mistake, and I sent that letter because I want to believe Gilda is a friend enough to know. And that I'm willing to forgive her for screwing up too." I floated down, keeping my guard up while I couldn't see her. I knew how super fast her the reflexes could be. But what came out of the dust, wasn't Shadowbolt me. It was Shadowbolt... "Fluttershy?!" my voice squeaked. I looked around, where was the real Fluttershy? She was facing her fake, right? The Shadowbolt Fluttershy fluttered up, making no move to attack. I drew back as she flew closer. In my guts, I felt like I was Superstallion facing glowing green rocks. She just smiled at me the way that Fluttershy would when handling one of her animals. "How silly is this, Dashie? You? Saving the world not once, but twice, three times, four? Becoming best friends with the Wonderbolts? Best friends with Princess Celestia's student? Offering Spitfire comfort in her time of doubt? Oh, Dashie, how do you know this isn't all just some delusion you're having? And the guilt of having killed me just made you snap?" "Because the Fluttershy I know would never try to guilt trip me, not in my mind, not in real life. And we already dealt with that!" "Fluttershy wouldn't." Then Shadowbolt Fluttershy unzipped the back of the uniform... and the uniform, and the long pink mane, and yellow face, all fell away with it... and... I was looking at Traitor Dash. "BUT I WOULD, YOU LITTLE BACKSTABBER!" I winced... I can't lie on that one... that hurt. I kept retreating as she kept advancing. "You always mess up and let everypony down, just like that time in the maze. Your best just isn't good enough!" "NO SHE HASN'T!" Scootaloo shouted, like white light through a bad dream. "She's come through for me! She's been there for me! She beat you once to protect me and she doesn't need to do it again to show how awesome she is!" I stopped retreating. I smiled. Pegasi live in flocks, we support each other. Traitor Dash hissed. "You know you're just gonna screw up again with the orange freak, Rainbow Crash, like Gilda, like Cloudsdale. All this 'loyalty' shtick? It's just you trying to make up for your own screw-ups!" Okay. This piece of garbage did not just say that about Scootaloo. I'm done playing around. "All that's a nice little explanation for MAYBE why I'm loyal to Fluttershy...but here's a question: if that WAS all it is, why was I loyal to everypony BEFORE becoming friends with the others? Because if that's the ONLY thing any of this was about, I'd have NO REASON to be loyal to anypony else because she'd be the only one I CARE about being loyal to! I'd fight the world for Scootaloo but I wouldn't set it on fire! I'd be SELFISH to be like that!...I'm loyal because my friends are my FRIENDS!" "Circular logic!" "Logic schmogic! Loyalty is part of friendship. And in spite of what you or anypony else says, the Dash is no fair weather friend! And... You're always scared you'll mess up. Always scared you won't live up to your friends. As much as the Dash loves to say how she's earned all she got by herself, if the Dash is only loyal to herself, what's the point of her? But it's always been when it was for somepony else the Dash was her strongest. I hate admitting it more than anything, but the Dash makes mistakes too." I took in a deep breath and said. "I forgive you, I forgive myself." There was nothing holding her together at this point, and Traitor Dash shattered, gone for good this time! And the mirror broke with her. Scootaloo circled around me and hugged me. I hugged her back. "You did it again Dash! I knew you could beat her again!" "Again?" "Oh! Nothing!" "Speaking of 'nothing'!" Old Ugly stretched out like taffy right in my face. He whispered, "How about I tell the rest of Equestria's pegasi about your dirty little secret?" The sicko grinned, kneading his paw and claw diabolically. "Starting with the orange horsefly, of course." In spite of everything, I couldn't stop from thinking how at least Scootaloo wasn't being called 'chicken.' Scootaloo looked confused at what we were saying. "Dash? What is she talking about?" Discord appeared in an instant. "Oh lookie! You made it just in time! I guess I can't go leaving everyone you know with wings homeless after all! Not to mention all those pegasi in the city hospital with broken wings who may or may not have been able to have been saved by others before they went SPLAT!" Discord chuckled at that. Bastard. - "BY EXCHANGING YOUR SAFETY WITH DOOMING THE REST OF THE WORLD!" They all gasped. There was silence as a giant spot light came from nowhere above me and my face appeared on a giant, floating screen behind me. - The noise went on for several seconds before Discord said casually, "Oh don't worry, they're all about to become too insane to care or remember what I just told them. That was all for your sake my dear." I breathed in deep. And wished Discord was solid so I could kick 'em in the face. "Go ahead." "... WHAT?!" "I'll face the consequences of my own actions! Like 'em or not, that's what it MEANS to live in a world with rules!" "WHAT?!" He looked even more upset with each word I spoke. "If yer gonna bring 'em up, then I'm not hiding from my mistakes. AJ already told me someday they'd need to know, maybe they do. I'd say 'they won't believe the king of lies over me', but I know how good you are, and I'd tell them the truth afterwards anyway. So go right ahead, save me the trouble." "But... but... you have an EGO! You're supposed to CARE what others think about you!" "I do. But if I had to choose between stopping you and helping my friends or my rep? It's a no brainer, I'm sticking with my friends. And as for Equestria? You can't very well threaten it if you're a statue, can you?" "Heroes aren't supposed to accept sadistic choices! They're supposed to shatter trying to find third options!" "Sorry, I stopped being a donkey trying to pick which pile of hay to eat a long time ago." "A couple of seasons to be exact!" Pinkie Pie of course had to pop in and give some random remark then pop right back out. Discord looked super confused, and I think a little scared, and he snapped back like a rubber band. "Dash? What was all that?" Scootaloo looked confused, and confused that she was confused! "Meh. Discordion mistook my reputation for my loyalty. I'll tell ya some other time, maybe." "Heh, I've SEEN how indestructible your loyalty is! I bet nothing can break it!" "... Thanks Scoots... " I nuzzle her. True too. The others were right, of all that jerk's mind games, he still needed to set my loyalty against itself to win, he couldn't convince me loyalty wasn't worth having if he tried! + Yeah, it's me, Fluttercruel. Finally getting around to speaking with me again? I bet Purple Scales has had more chats with you than me. Scared I'll give ya another broken nose? You know it's crazy, here I am finally my own pony as a person, yet I'd feel incomplete without 'Shy around. Huh? So it's like being married? Do I do WHAT in bed?! ... Psh. I didn't buck 'er that hard. Don't overact so much. I'm sure they'll wake up in a bit. Naw, see? The bleeding's already stopped on its own. Yeah I know my mother didn't get many talks with you either, but she isn't exactly the chatty type anyway! (Friends' Notes (Unicorn): Fluttercruel, I just want to say, all of us want to say, we're all very proud of the pony you've become, and you should be too.) Heh! Thanks! But I'm not done yet, I'm only a year old after all. (Friends' Notes (Earth Filly): That's okay, we were born a year ago too... but we talked a lot with Shiny before then, so does that make us two years old? But we skip around a lot, so maybe we're younger.) WHAT!? (Friends' Notes (Pegasus): Never mind her! Don't you have something important to talk to us about?!) Huh?! Oh right! Well, those mirrors came down in front of us, and then the bastard and his braindead stooge teleported behind us and made that big flash of light. I felt myself being pulled like taffy and I couldn't hear Mom's thoughts or feel Mom's feelings anymore! I felt alone and vulnerable, like a shell had been removed that I didn't even know was there! And I felt flat, being pressed into a pancake, then blown up again like a balloon. And I was staring at mom face to face. Except I wasn't looking through her eyes at the mirror. Was I using my own body? And I was eye-level with her, but I wasn't flapping my wings (so I can't levitate, sue me). I looked down at myself... I was all grown up... my avatar, I mean. It was an adult mare's, the same age as Mom. It also still had the yellow bat wing and other bits my Mom didn't have. I looked around, seeing the fakes pounce on our friends. I looked back at mom. "Fluttercruel, is that you?" Mom asked, unsure. "I think Dad accidentally manifested me when he was drawing out... your inner demon... Oh boy." "Well." Mom smiled. "Maybe this is good. Perhaps this shows you were born from Discord and me after all." I quickly put on a confident smirk. "Ha! As if I cared about that one way or another!" I took a pose Great and Powerful Blue would have been proud of. "Yes dear." Mom smiled and nodded. "You didn't care in the least," she said politely. Thanks mom. Geeze, make it stop before I start crying. "So, uh," stammered Mom, "does this mean you'll have your own adult-" Ya know... I could likely help out a lot more like this. I could be taken seriously by everypony. I could even eat meat without making Mom sick! I looked at the jerk who cursed my mother. I snorted. "I don't want to owe that bastard anything." My entire body glowed, and the extra bits all went all sparkly and floated away like star dust. Leaving me back in my one year old pony/draconequus form. "Are you sure, dear?" Mom asked... and did Discord just ask the same thing? I must have imagined it. "I'm sure," I lied. I flew back inside mom, my spirit form taking residence inside her again. Does this make me like the bastard, hiding in Diamond Tiara? It's NOTHING like that. Not at all! You hear me? +++ WHOA! And hello! Don't go! Don't fear Pinkie Pie is here! Now where was I? Oh right: the Pinkamena in front of me in the really 'not fun' Nightmare Night costume. She looks at me like I'm a cupcake. Yeah. I think everypony's heard this one by now. She really shouldn't point that candy cleaver around like that, she could poke her eye out. She's saying bad stuff at me. It's nothing important. "I already faced my deepest inner demon, thank you very much." I hug her, and back in me she goes, where she belongs. The ugly necklace, cloak and cleaver just shatter into nothing, along with the mirror. Sure, I get angry and sad without Pinkamena there to feel all the bad stuff for me, and I've got a lot to learn about those feelings still. But there's a big difference between being angry and sad, and doing bad stuff to my friends while acting all happy like, that's mean nonsense. Pinkie Diane is only in it for the fun nonsense. +++ Hello, dears. It feels like it's been forever. Rarity Belle at your service, more commonly known simply as Rarity. Business pony and expert dress maker! Oh and holder of the Element of Harmony known as Generosity. We've come so far, haven't we, darlings? The road so long, feeling like it twisted back on itself countless times, before coming back here. I'd be lying if I said that the pseudo-Nightmare version of myself in front of me wasn't stunningly beautiful. That statuesque figure, that grand flowing mane, that star cluster-like cutie mark. The gold and diamond barding could use some adjustments, but I always think that of nearly any clothing I wear. Even the ghostly purple and dark gray colors compliment each other rather well. The extra long horn feels like a vanity but aren't we all entitled to a little of that? Ugh! "Like what you see?" asked my inner shadow, with a glint in her draconic eyes, already knowing my answer. "I'll say!" Dear Spike couldn't seem to resist drooling at the sight of two of me. "Spike," I said, putting a light frost of disappointment into my words. "I hope you're not saying that you'd prefer me evil." That broke the spell on the little drake, and fast. "W- What? No way!" His scales blushed. "Not that she isn't... you know..." I keep a stiff upper lip. "I am able to appreciate beauty regardless of where it comes from." It was awkward to have my inner shadow looking down at me. She was the size of an Alicorn! "We can always count on Rarity and her vanity can't we?" I frowned. "I put blood, sweat, and tears into my appearance on a daily basis, it's not a sin to enjoy being appreciated for your own hard work." "Being generous, means being generous to yourself ALONG with others right?" She elegantly sneered. I rolled my eyes. "Yes darling. Ignoring your own needs is just being inconsiderate in a different way of those who love you. That doesn't mean caring only about yourself." I tapped one hoof against the Armor of Generosity I was wearing. "I had this discussion with myself already today." "Yes... You're all so supportive of Applejack, not treating her as any different. Not caring she's no Pinkie Pie, no Rainboom Maker, no Celestia's student, no Stare." "That's because she isn't any different. She's a friend and part of the team," I said with matter-of-fact annoyance. "Yes... but what about us, Rarity? You want to help, to give the most you can of what you have, but you're the one who actually has the least to give." "W-what?" I said, feeling shaken. "Applejack isn't the weak link in the Elements of Harmony, Rarity. You are. What do you bring to the table? Rainbow Dash is willing to do what has to be done as well. She's also a martial artist. Fluttershy and Applejack have the Stare and the Truth. Twilight can move multitudes of books around with her magic as precisely as we can, darling. Pinkie Pie can fold the laws of physics like paper. And now we have Trixie, who is better with illusions than we could ever hope to be. What's your contribution? Go on, tell me what mighty powers and abilities you bring to the group. Super dress-making?" I took a step back. "Well... that is to say..." What? What do you mean I'm not generous?! What do you mean I'm the weakest link in the chain of the Elements of Harmony? Get out! Sorry about that, some ponies can just be so shallow. "We've known it for ever so long, even when we denied it to ourselves." My pseudo-Nightmare looked bigger, and I felt smaller. Me? Not generous? The nerve! Just because I take pride in my appearance does not mean I'm not generous! "It's not being 'not generous' that makes her weak. It's having the inner strength of glass." My nightmarish shadow winked at Spike. "Honestly, dear, why would you devote yourself to a weak mare like her when I would be a prize far greater? Are you sure you wouldn't like to be my big, strong dragon, hmm?" I step between her and Spike at once. "You leave him alone!" She stepped closer, towering over me. "Discord didn't even have to show us the other side of our Element to break you, my dear. Did everypony here all know that?" She shouted out to the others. "Discord didn't even have to show this lovely pony that giving away everything you have leaves you empty and with nothing! All he needed to do was appeal to the greed already inside us! I guess that makes Rarity the weakling here, doesn't it, Rarity dear?" "Don't ever call yourself weak, Rarity!" shouted a filly's voice. "You didn't need spells or a trip to the center of yourself or a peek at the world's heart to free yourself! All you needed was somepony who needed your help! That makes you the strongest pony here!" Wait! What? I looked from Sweetie Belle, to what Diamond Tiara has become. And I realize I couldn't tell which one had spoken. Sweetie looked... surprised? "And I bet that scares you to pieces, Discord! The rest of us needed somepony to help us to escape the darkness. All Rarity needed was for somepony for HER TO HELP!" I knew one of my friends had said that, but in the bedlam I couldn't tell who. The fake Nightmare snorted. "Bah! You mean like Twilight Sparkle? Even our crawling out of the dark is just extra!" "I didn't magically enter another pony's mind, I just helped a little girl who I should have treated better instead of first treating her as an outlet for my misery." I looked at Diamond Tiara. "I don't believe I ever apologized for throwing you out of my store in the mud. You've done many naughty things, Diamond Tiara, but you were just another pony who wanted a dress made for somepony you cared about, regardless of your attitude. I was over the line." "Oh yes! And the way that you helped her worked out SO WELL! Just LOOK AT HER! Your help did SO MUCH GOOD!" "Actually," Discord pushed his claws together repeatedly, pointing them upwards like he was embarrassed. "Getting my little princess to hurt you wasn't easy. Why, she would have backed out and spoiled the whole plan, if I hadn't played her love for you and her mother against each other." A soft wind blew within me. "She didn't need to know that father. She already knows she tried her hardest for a filly who didn't deserve any of the love and attention she was giving her. Or that she has the heart of a saint. That part of me died when I ceased to be Diamond Tiara, remember?" "Bah, I say! Bah!" Shouted my fake Nightmare. "The rest of your friends didn't need help to fight their demons! You're STILL the weakest Element of Harmony! In spite of all our so-called 'growth!'" "There is no sin in accepting help from others!" I snorted back. This time I know it was Applejack who shouted, "Rarity! When Ah first got the truth eyes Ah first saw a lot of stuff that COULD have happened! And Ah haven't seen a single world where you become a Nightmare, Rarity! NOT. A. ONE! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! As Ma and Pa as my witnesses, that makes ya the strongest pony here!!!" I'll admit, I didn't grasp fully what Applejack meant, but I understood the core of it well enough! "I HAVE NO NIGHTMARE!" I shouted at the big black mare, standing tall. "I have desires that balance out my generosity! I'm not a slave to either extreme! It's one of my strengths! And you're one of my strengths too!" "WHAT?!" The fake Nightmare echoed. "I've been able to notice my own mistakes, on my own! I realized I was becoming a green eyed monster when Fluttershy became a model! Perhaps one of the reasons there's no possibility where I become a Nightmare! Maybe I'm the type who actually REALIZES when she's going too far!" "How do we know Applejack didn't just say that to make us feel better?!" "Maybe if Fluttershy said that! But Applejack doesn't lie! She'd hit us with a harsh truth and help us get through it! If she says there's no possibility out there where I fully and truly become a Nightmare, then there isn't one!" Applejack trotted alongside me. "That makes Rarity the one MOST worthy of her Element! She ain't the weakest! She's the strongest! That's what she brings! How do ya like THEM apples?" "Burnt to a crisp!" My fake Nightmare snarled, and a cone of flame shot out from her elongated horn. I moved in front of Applejack, and my Element in my armor shined brighter, and a barrier came up the color of my Element and my magic, that shielded us both. With a thought, my chaise longue zoomed in from behind my fake Nightmare, sending her spinning upwards like bowling pins before landing back down. She didn't have wings to so much as slow down her second impact. Unexpectedly, Spike stepped forward too! "Rarity could have defeated you by herself just fine. She just took longer because she had to listen to you talk and talk!" He rested a claw on my leg. "And, she had to save me from getting tempted by you. Thanks, Rarity." I smiled. "Anything, for such a noble gentledrake." I trotted up to my fake Nightmare, looking down on her. I said to her calmly, yet harshly, "You are not in style, and you never shall be!" She shattered, along with the mirror. I looked up at Discord. "You never had any place in Diamond Tiara's story. The story should have been about a broken little girl who meets a pony that helps her heal her heart, a friend that is always there for her, and a family giving their lost mother a rope to pull herself out of the fog. You've tarnished that happy ending enough already, now shut up and let this story end as it should have what feels like years ago!" Discord stared at us, going from face to face of my friends. We stood united. "Well, that worked out a lot better the first time." "You separated them the first time," said Diamond Tiara's Nightmare. "Which wouldn't have made a difference!" Twilight said boldly. "Well, for most of you," snarked Discord. No, I didn't feel any sting. After all, Discord did set me up against my harshest critic, myself. And I've been able to best her before, and I've bested her again, and I will best her once more! And truth be told, I welcome her, after all, how would any artist improve without actual feedback from an audience like her? But after all's said and done though, a true artist should never cling to a single pony's opinion. I did have to admit, Discord was much more subtle in his corruption the first time around. Was he being so brazen this time because he knew we'd be on guard, and thought it a waste of energy? Pinkie Pie grabbed the surviving mirror and stowed it in the place she keeps things. "I'll be expecting that back later dear," Princess Celestia said. Pinkie saluted. "No problem!" Celestia chuckled. "I am proud of all of you my little ponies." "We dare say, thy armor is as strong as thy hearts, and ye have proven its mettle!" Princess Luna praised. "I'm kinda disappointed we didn't get to fight our inner monsters too," Scootaloo would say. "I'm not sorry," Silver Spoon replied. "I'm happy that we didn't!" said Apple Bloom. "We did that already," little Sweetie Belle said. Why am I not surprised by that? "Back you go, Spike," Trixie said, levitating Spikey Wikey onto her backside again. I never imagined those two would become friends. "You girls all rock!" Spike cheered. "It's a good thing you beat that cheap trick," said Tiara's Nightmare mockingly. "We wouldn't want you all to go down too quickly." "Tiara! Just stop!" Silver Spoon called. She was still keeping Tiara's crown safe. "You don't need to prove anything! If I can be something besides a 'tag along' then you can be more than what ponies say you are!" "Don't let that bastard decide who you are, you stupid brat!" Fluttercruel shouted. "Discord, you can't seriously be alright with Diamond Tiara doing this, can you?" Fluttershy pleaded. Diamond Tiara's Nightmare snorted. "As if I care what Discord approves of or not." Discord lowered his head. "Ah never thought Ah'd see somepony with clogged ears as much as this!" Applejack said. I appreciate Rainbow Dash not shouting 'Is that All You've got?' Then Discord perked up, that wasn't a good sign. Discord raised up his upper limbs and wiggled his claws. Discordant colored lightning shot into the sky, then came crashing back down around us, not hitting any of us, not even close. Creaking and moaning came from everywhere. "Let's see if you're still patting yourselves on the back after this! Are you ready for round two?" > Battle of the Puppeteers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 'Information High' - Macross Plus = From the back line, Silver Spoon. Even though the creepy-colored lightning wasn't actually hitting any of us, I still flung myself to the ground and covered my head, like Miss Cheerilee says you're supposed to do during an out-of-control thunderstorm. Then it turned out that scaring us half to death with the lightning was just the start of what Discord had planned. The tremors began right after. The fact that the ground was shaking at all was certainly bad enough, but the way it was shaking was all wrong, like watching a puppet bend its legs the wrong way, or eating a hayburger made out of wax. When Discord unzipped everything before, I could feel the earth get all confused and discorded under my hooves. Now I didn't feel anything. It was almost as wrong as seeing Diamond Tiara's cutie mark twisted into that spiked circle. It almost made me wonder if I was asleep and this was a nightmare again. I looked at my cursed best friend again, remembering all the times we fantasized about being Alicorns, how all of Equestria would love and obey us. This wasn't what either of us wanted. And I couldn't tell what was even worse, how the patches monster rose from her body like a ghost, or how bored she looked. No, bored is at least a feeling! It was like her face was turned off. "Tiara, come home!" I begged. "I have no home." I opened my mouth, but Miss Twilight Sparkle shouted over me. "Elements, form a circle! Foals at the center, pegasi, above them! Princesses, form a triangle with me around everypony!" It was odd seeing Miss Twilight order the Princesses around, but everypony just did what she said without arguing. As the adults formed rings around us, I couldn't take it anymore. I did what I'd wanted to do for a year. "DIAMOND TIARA! I FORGIVE YOU! I STILL WANT TO BE FRIENDS!" I did our dance. "Bump! Bump! Sugar lump rump!" Tiara... didn't dance back. "If you could remember everything I've done, you wouldn't want to be my friend, Silver Spoon. You'd hate me. You'd be perfectly justified in doing so. And even if you still forgave me after that? Too little, too late." So if I did it sooner? NO! Don't think that Silver Spoon! Don't think that! But it's true isn't it? I... I'm crying. I feel my other friends hug me. Diamond Tiara's expression didn't change at all. Discord rolled his eyes. "Just listen to you, interrupting our--my festivities with all this blather about friendship and forgiveness. Is that the best you've got? You're lucky my princess told me to never ever harm you. She keeps me from committing my acts of unspeakable evil, you know!" "I never told you that." "She's such a liar isn't she? She gets it all from me." I don't get why Princess Celestia offered cake to this monster who made my dad attack me. "We considered recruiting dear old Kabuto for this, but I don't need some third stringer hogging my spotlight." The bad puzzle monster sounded like mom, criticizing the servants when they aren't around to hear it. "Old playthings, meet new playthings!" The Statues! They're moving! There are so many, all around the garden! The statue of three ponies on top of each other that symbolizes friendship, still fused to each other. The 'victory' statues hold their real flagpoles like lances. The statue with hearts and a bow aims its arrows threateningly. The queenly looking statue holding a scepter brandishes it like a club. The dancing statue made of two ponies, still connected, but moving as one. And the statues bearing the scrolls, now holding them like bludgeons, and many more. They all shamble towards us like the zombie ponies in that late-night movie I wasn't supposed to go to til I'm older. "Afraid to fight us yourself, you snake?!" Miss Rainbow Dash snarled. "Survive a couple more of my extra special surprises and MAYBE I'll indulge you!" The monster laughed. Spike asked, "Uh, none of these statues are ponies petrified waiting for when Equestria needs them again are they?" "NO!" Both Princesses said. "Just making sure." The stone ponies began to form a ring of their own around us. "How is he doing this?!" Trixie exclaimed. "I thought Moon Dancer and everypony was keeping him from using his magic!" Miss Twilight had the answer, of course. "They're keeping him from using his magic on us and what we're in contact with, like the air we're breathing. He can't turn the bacteria in your intestines into gun powder, but I hoped he wouldn't realize all the things he could still do." "Oh-ho-ho, Twilight, shouldn't you know better than to underestimate my creativity?" Discord crooned. Scootaloo flew above us, but below Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The statues lined up like soldiers in an army. The Princesses and Miss Twilight formed a triangle, while the non-flying adults formed a square, and the pegasi hovered over us foals like a roof. In spite of my fear, I'm grateful for Miss Twilight not just teleporting us away or something. "I'm starting to regret all those donations I made to the Equestrian Arts League," Miss Rarity remarked. I counted thirty-four statues, way more than just the few that had been around the hedge maze or next to Discord's statue. This was the statue garden's entire collection! The statues formed a ring of stone around us, with Diamond Tiara and the monster hanging back to watch. "Alright girls, be careful!" said Miss Twilight. "We don't want to risk damaging these works of art!" I frowned. Discord rolled his eyes. "I provide you enemies that don't even have brains, and you ponies still find an excuse to play nice. I give up, oh wait, no I don't!" "We can get more art," said Miss Rainbow Dash. "I say we shatter 'em!" "I... I don't like having to smash things," Miss Fluttershy said. Miss Twilight smiled. "Thank you, Fluttershy!" Then Futtershy turned into Fluttercruel. "But that's what I'm here for!" "I remember when the artists who did these statues were in diapers, and I attended their funerals," Princess Celestia said. "'Tis true," said Princess Luna. "Unique works of art can no more be replaced than ponies." Miss Twilight looked relieved. Then both Princess' eyes narrowed. "But that isn't going to stop us from protecting our ponies!" they declared together. "Calm down, Twilight! I mean, it's not like we're burning books!" Spike gasped and quickly covered his mouth. We were all expecting Discord to summon a giant book dragon. Maybe that's why none came. "I shall confess," Miss Rarity said, "I too am rather hesitant to damage beautiful works of art that have done no wrong other than being enslaved by Discord." Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle. "But my little sister is more important than any statue!" "Sorry, Twilight, Trixie is on their side for this." "Ah'm sure Aunt and Uncle Orange would understand." Miss Applejack cracked her fetlocks. "My family loves sculpting little figurines on Hearth Warming's Eve, so I really don't like doing this. But my family's really good at smashing rocks too!" Don't question Pinkie Pie, don't question Pinkie PIe. "My father was on the Canterlot garden committee," I shouted. "They always got the cheapest commissions they could from the art school anyway!" "And critics still love it, and it lets young artists establish themselves," Princess Celestia casually said. I felt my heart skip a beat at Princess Celestia speaking directly to me! "Sorry, Twilight dear, you're outvoted," Miss Rarity said. "UGH!" "Good! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find things you putridly pacifist ponies will actually fight without pulling your punches?!" that monster Discord declared, with a major eye-roll in Twilight's direction. "Then Ah think ya'll enjoy this!" Miss Applejack shouted. Apple Bloom and Sweetie stayed close to my sides, Scootaloo above me. Diamond Tiara's eyes never left me. The statues attacked all at once. It was all I could do just to keep my head down, but I never let my eyes stray from Diamond TIara. +++ (Half-Light Noon's Notes: Prepare for battle grid mode! Ha! I've always wanted to say that! Now let's watch our friends kick flank! = Transformers Devastation- Insecticon Battle = "Stay in formation!" Twilight shouted. The statues trampled the grass, and they didn't look like they'd hesitate to trample ponies too! As if our friends would let that happen! Twilight, still reluctant to destroy centuries-old art, grabbed one with her telekinesis and slammed it into the softer ground, burying it up to its neck, but the thing just broke free the moment her telekinesis had lifted and dug itself out. Then she trapped half of the closing in noose of statues in a giant half-circle of ice, but they just broke free of that too. I think that's when she realized she wasn't going win this by playing nice. At least she didn't try to do something like 'safely' teleport it to the bottom of the ocean or something and drain her mana. Even Twilight has her limits. As the first line of defense, the Princesses were taking no prisoners! A statue of Celestia leapt at Luna, but Luna heated up her horn and stabbed it in the chest, blowing it to pieces. 33 remained. "Didn't enjoy that." "I know, Lulu." Celestia conjured a golden war hammer and began smashing the statues as they got close or tried to simply rush past her. She moved with the brutal efficiency of a quarry worker. "Oh, Blueblood's great great grandfather. A pity about that one," she said sincerely. 29 now. An abstract wolf-hound hybrid leapt over Luna, or would have if she hadn't caught it in her magic. "And this one?" "A gift from King Diamondium the Fourth," said Celestia, making a sour face. She sliced it into stone tiles with four conjured broadswords. "Won't miss that one." 28. A thestral stallion statue again tried to fly over Luna but she simply caught it in her magic again. "Wait, Luna, you carved that one before you were banished! I kept it here in a place of honor all those centuries!" Shattering stone echoed. "I'll sculpt you a better one." That was 27. Pinkie Pie took pot shots with her party cannon at any statues that managed to slip past Twilight and the Princesses, sending them flying back into the three mages' kill zone, if not broken apart outright from being cannon-blasted at point blank range. 22. Two exaggeratedly skinny statues of Celestia came at Luna together, but Luna simply ducked and they shattered each other. 20. "I carved so many of you on the moon, but I am afraid I smashed them all. Erm, forget I said that." "It's alright, Lulu," said Celestia, forgivingly. Three more slipped by thanks to Twilight's delaying tactics, but Fluttercruel smashed their torsos, reducing them to stone limbs. Fluttercruel felt soreness in Fluttershy's limbs, but the magic she'd inherited from her father was coming in handy whether she liked it or not as she used it for 'punch stuff really hard'. 17. One statue riding atop another charged at Trixie and Spike, but Trixie froze them solid. Then Spike superheated them with his flame, demonstrating that he'd definitely been awake for Twilight's lecture on how thermal expansion could shatter stone. 15. "Rock farmer pride, HO!" Pinkie cried, kicking one and shattering it. 14. Four more were able to slip by but all four of Applejack's armored hooves found their mark, destroying each one with a single precise blow to its weakest point. Her body was like poetry in motion! 10. "Leave some for me darling." Rarity smiled. To this, Applejack laughed. "First come, first serve, sugarcube!" Silver Spoon gaped in awe. The fight had just started, and the enemies' numbers were dropping faster than a stock meltdown. "We're going to win this," she whispered to herself. A statue that was composed of three foals on top of each other leapt like a spring coil, and began to fall directly on us, but RD mini-Sonic Rainboomed the single statue into shards. 9. Twilight Sparkle meanwhile, finally got serious, and conjured drill spears that slammed into six of the statues surrounding her at once, cracking them all about. 3. Celestia whacked the last three statues together like a slapstick comedy act, hurling them clear across the garden. Our heroes looked right at Discord's ugly face! Now that his toys were gone, they were ready to come up with some interesting ways of hurting a spirit without hurting the host. Discord... never stopped grinning. "Celly, Lulu, you're going to wish you'd brought along your pet blizzard and pet fire-chicken again!" I wondered what he meant, but then the hedge sculptures of the garden came to life too... elephants, ponies, dragons, griffons, hippogriffs, seaponies and more, all uprooting themselves and turning menacingly towards our heroes. "HEY! How can he do that to the hedges?! Aren't they alive?!" Applejack shouted, sounding insulted. "The protection doesn't work on them since they're not trees," Twilight said without a glance. "Alright. Ah gotcha," Applejack said like that explained everything. Silver Spoon suddenly looked down, wondering if the very grass beneath their hooves would turn into knives! The hedge statues clumped into four uneven groups around the ponies. Our heroes weren't impressed, and neither was I. That was when the fragments of all the statues simply flew back together and reassembled themselves, like they'd never been damaged, and took formation for another go.) - (Rarity's Thoughts) And just like that, all our work was undone, and our number of enemies had doubled. The hedge sculptures fell in line with the statues. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the foals. Now they were scared, and I didn't blame them. "Nothing to say to this unfairness?" said poor Diamond Tiara with all the warmth of a Windigo. "Good, because we're far from done." Fluttercruel gave Discord an obscene gesture with both her wings. "Apple Bloom, are we gonna win this?" Scootaloo asked her. Sweetie and Apple Bloom hugged Silver Spoon, the filly looked so unsure of herself, like a shy foal pushed on stage, and unsure what her part in the script was. "Don't worry, dears!" I declared, putting on a bold front for their sakes. "We've only begun to fight!" "The One and Only Trixie most certainly has not given up!" Spikey-Wikey puffed his chest out and snorted flame. "Ah ain't tired, how 'bout ya. RD?" "Not in the least, AJ!" "Good thing I brought extra candy." "Just stick to it, girls, we'll figure out something!" Twilight assured us. Princess Luna then said in her Royal Canterlot voice, "Do not be afraid, little ponies! Lest ye forget who stands beside ye!" Princess Celestia only smiled to her sister. = 'The Ultimate Show' - Super Paper Mario OST = To call what came next bedlam would be too kind, and Diamond Tiara was right, this wasn't even the full ensemble. We were a castle of friendship being stormed by our enemy's puppet armies. They were relentless and tireless. Like a continual tidal wave trying to drown us. But we pushed back against the tsunami. Thankfully, our new suits of armor protected us from their rock solid blows. The stone cupids fired a volley of stone arrows, and… why , the nerve of that mare! Trixie snatched Spike in her magic and used him like a common shield! "Ow! Hey! That stings!" "Stop complaining, Trixie knows you can take it!" Twilight was not amused in the slightest. "Trixie!" "Oh! Right! Heh! Sorry!" The scroll statues began throwing the stars that had been part of their sculptures. Trixie stopped her nonsense and began using barrier magic to deflect their attacks. "Can't you mortals do more than play defense?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Hey!" shouted Pinkie. "Don't call us mortals like it's an insult. Nopony likes game bosses like that." Back in Ponyville, Button Mash sneezed. "I'll say whatever I like, insignificant bugs. What are a bunch of nags with one hoof in the grave going to do about it?" "Watch thy tongue!" growled Princess Luna. "We are no mortal." The hedge creatures let out snarls that reminded me uncomfortably of Timber Wolves, and their branches sprouted vines which zipped towards us like snakes! I arranged my jewels into a spiral shape and spun them like a weed wacker, turning the fast growing branches to mulch. The artistic abominations threw finely crafted stone spears into the air that dive bombed on top of us. Rainbow Dash moved like lightning, kicking each of them out of the way with a splintering crack! Fluttercruel let out a snarl that wasn't quite equine, smashing every hedge monster in reach to splinters. "Please, Fluttercruel! Kicking stuff really hard?! I know any foal of mine should be able to destroy her enemies with much more pizzazz than that!" Discord snapped his fingers, suddenly sporting a forehead protector with a tornado symbol. "Need a few pointers?" "SHUT UP!" Fluttercruel broke the stone wings off a statue of a griffon and began using them to slice and dice the air-born wicked bushes. "Beating them up with their own limbs? Better… somewhat." "I SAID SHUT UP!" I was happy to see Scootaloo not break ranks. I knew the filly's... martial talents were all at close range, she had no experience as a weather pony, but she stood close by Silver Spoon instead of trying to 'get some action.' Happy to see she's picked up Rainbow Dash's good traits as well. Sweetie Belle ... I think she wisely didn't try to shoot between us with her talents at the enemy. Apple Bloom was messing around with something in her saddlebags. And all poor Silver Spoon could do was keep her head down. In our own way, I'm as helpless as her. Pinkie Pie drew out a pickaxe from wherever it is she keeps things, and began shattering one statue after another. Applejack broke one with another armored hoof strike, then bucked its pieces to the four winds, but the pieces wasted no time pulling themselves right back together again like magnets! Pinkie Pie then threw pies that made the statues slip and fall, but the hedges' roots kept them stable as they marched. One of the pies missed and went through Discord's spirit. "Why must you torment me with treats I can't eat?" "Can't Diamond Tiara eat them for you?" "Don't wanna," shrugged the Nightmare filly. "See?" Discord complained. Princess Luna's entire body glowed, a globe of water formed in the air, and her mane flowed like fins underwater. Then the water shot out in a stream as thin as a razor's wire, bisecting the entire army! And the statues, simply floated back together, and the hedges REGREW! Thankfully they only regenerated instead of multiplying. Princess Luna followed up with a wave of ice, and Princess Celestia with a shockwave of heat intense enough to shatter them from the changes in temperature, but they just, pulled themselves back together! Dear Twilight, Trixie, and Spiky Wikey all got the idea at the same time to unleash a torrent of fire on the hedges. Twilight created giant fire owl constructs, and Trixie made fire peacocks that crashed and tore through the hedge sculptures, with brave little Spiky Wikey using his own fire breath. When the dust settled there was only ashes. "From death comes life." The Nightmare Diamond had become stomped her hoof, creating a shockwave. Tiny sprouts sprang up, and regrew into the hedge army. "Oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash shouted what we were all thinking. And the statues meanwhile didn't stop. "This is a lot less fun than in video games," Rainbow Dash grumbled. "In Legend of Cadence: Canterlot Warrior we'd at least be gaining rupees." Apple Bloom triumphantly held up a concoction of something, and threw it at the enemy. The resulting explosion was deafening, and the flames actually stuck to the enemy, burning as fast as they could regenerate. Twilight's eyes grew wide. "Oh my gosh! Apple Bloom, was that one of Zecora's potions?!" "Nope, poprocks and soda pop!" Twilight twitched. "But, that's not even… We're going to have a talk about this later!" She looked at each of us. "Everypony, close ranks!" she shouted, and we obeyed. Twilight summoned a crystal above her head and a ring of them around the first. Then she fired a spell beam into it, and that was refracted into the ring of crystals like a prism. And those beams were refracted again, like one of father's discoballs, and perfectly even and spread out beams spread out like bars of a cage, slicing the statues and hedge sculptures to pieces. The puppets simply regenerated. While we refused to fall. Stalemate. "These things can't beat us no matter how many times they get back up!" Fluttercruel declared. "They're not meant to, they're meant to wear us down," Princess Luna said. "Let's make it even more hopeless," Diamond Tiara coldly suggested. Oh no. A shadow grew underneath Diamond Tiara like a cancer, then sprang forward, arching over us, breaking apart like explosive rope. And laughing echoed from dozens of filly shaped shadows. "That's not good laughing," Pinkie Pie observed. Dozens of Diamond Tiara-shaped shadows floated and swarmed around us. Some giggling dementedly. Some laughing darkly. Others crackling. Still others chuckling. All of them like transparent liquid swirling with the colors of darkness. None of them happy. My heart sank at the sight of these things. One slapped Rainbow Dash in the rear, and slipped away. Another landed on Fluttercruel's back and pulled her hair. Some simply mooned Trixie. One flew past, poking Spiky-Wikey in the eye! Some spun around in a mad little ballet before suddenly head butting Applejack the moment our eyes were off them. A gaggle of them hugged my legs, neck, tail, body, trying to pull me down to the ground. Princess Luna created a cage of shadows to hold them, but one jumped on her horn, breaking her concentration. Another began playing an unwanted game of guess who with Princess Celestia! And they kept getting in the way of Twilight's magic, blocking her shots. "Hey! Get away!" Sweetie Belle shouted... oh dear. She'd conjured a shimmering pale green mallet and she was playing 'whack-a-diamond-dog' with them as they began popping out of the ground reaching for the fillies. Thankfully my little sister seemed to know just where they'd appear before they did. A shadow tried to latch onto Apple Bloom. "What's wrong, don't want to play?" It spoke. "Not like this!" Apple Bloom winced, bucking it away. "Too bad! I wanna I wanna I wanna I wanna I wanna!" And we were STILL defending ourselves from the statues and the hedge sculptures! We began to fall back. "There must be over a hundred puppets by now!" Trixie snapped. "Hundred and two actually," Tiara said. "Can't you even fight back against shadows of me? Idiots." "Not the problem!" Applejack let out a shout as the slippery shadows avoided her blows, then slipped right through her lasso. Then Applejack used her Truth, and the Shadow she was looking at froze in place. Sadly, Applejack was still defending herself from the statues and had to break eye contact. "Don't worry, a hug and a smile will make the bad feelings go away!" cheered Pinkie Pie. She managed to catch one in a hug, and it splattered like a paint ball. But then, in a 'reverse splat' it reconstituted. "Just because you make a feeling go away doesn't mean it won't ever come back," Diamond Tiara supplied. "And that doesn't mean we aren't prepared to deal with relapses!" Silver Spoon shouted, grabbing one in a hug too that tried to come up through the ground, it too splattered and reformed, but now it kept its distance from her. "Blanky!" my sister shouted for some reason. "I don't suppose you're out there, waiting to arrive at JUST the nick of time to help us are you?! … I guess not," she finished, as Blanky, whoever this was, failed to appear. Trixie began to conjure weapons, telekinetically tossing them up to Fluttercruel. They weren't very durable, but Trixie made more as they broke. Rainbow Dash then focused together a small storm cloud and zapped APPLEJACK, but the lightning just channeled into her hooves as she took out multiple statues at once. Princess Celestia sent out speeding balls of light the size of marbles at the shadows of Diamond Tiara, burning holes in them that instantly regenerated, but the shadows wailed like foals who had pricked the frog of their hooves. While they were distracted, Twilight summoned up a small whirlwind to knock them away, giving us a few moments of focus. A statue of a battle scared pegasus warrior was shattered by Rainbow Dash, only to pull itself back together and come again before its pieces hit the ground! "Sister! What was a statue of Thunderstorm doing here?!" "It's a long story, Lulu!" Princess Luna conjured a glowing blue construct around the foals, the most majestic unicorn I have ever seen, with an air of regal ferociousness. It grabbed the pegasus statue in her mouth and flung it so high into the air that I think it broke the atmosphere. "Diamond Tiara! There is no way you really want to ... want to... want to... want to make any of us not heard from again." Silver Spoon kept trying. "As long as I don't kill any of you, Nurse Red Heart and her family should be able to patch you back together. It's only logical." We saw Discord was now seated in a folding chair with a beret, megaphone, and a crank-camera. "More violence! More action! More witty comebacks! Spend all your energy!" Diamond Tiara said, "You'll never beat these puppets as long as the puppet master still stands. They will continue until you exhaust your mana. They will wear down your defenses. You won't run, and you can't destroy them. They regenerate and keep coming. You don't have any other options. Afraid to fight me?" Words of Her Nightjesty Princess Luna This is pointless. We are wasting our energy. Even if we somehow were able to win this, and the constructs ceased regenerating, we'd have exhausted ourselves to where we'd have no chance against Discord, and Moon Dancer and the rest can't last forever. ... We'd hoped to avoid playing this card, or at the very least, save for it later in this fight, but it seems 'later' had come now. "Fluttershy! Heir of Posey the Kind! Undo thy seal!" Naturally, most of the ponies here were confused by my words. The ones who were not were alarmed. Fluttershy herself was terrified. Shifting from Fluttercruel to Fluttershy, she began frantically dodging the enemies, no longer fighting back. "No! I mean... I didn't bring it! I have no idea what you're talking about!" "Now is NOT the time for your timidness!" we shouted, swatting away the emotion constructs as they tried to swarm our royal self. "Even… even if I did, what can I do that you can't?!" "Ye already knew it, even if ye changed your mind before ye used it!" Fluttershy dodged as, of course, two statues flew into each other trying to tackle her. "Well, I didn't bring it," she said defiantly, well, as defiantly as she gets. "We figured ye would not, and so we brought it in your stead." We reach into our mane, and pull out an unextraordinary-looking butterfly. It rises from our hoof, looking Fluttershy in the face with grim determination. "Pet-napper!" "He came of his own will," we said matter of factly. "Thy friends can not do this for ye, and we cannot MAKE ye. Ye must do it thyself." We saw the scared look in her eyes. Good. We'd be worried if she was eager. Father and Mother forgive me… but there is no more time, and words alone will not serve. I shape a dreamlet and thrust it upon Fluttershy. No, I did not show her Discord kicking puppies or Diamond Tiara pulling the wings off flies. I show her only herself and her friends and the foals, lying defeated before Discord and Tiara… helpless, exhausted, and broken. "Your friends love ye, Fluttershy! They will stand between ye and any peril, being brave and fierce and strong so ye need not, until they have no strength left to stand. Will ye let it come to this? Will YE not stand and support THEM?!" The butterfly dauntlessly flew towards Fluttershy's face. The way her face cringed, it was crystal clear she and Fluttercruel were having an inner shouting match. Finally, she reached for the butterfly. "Father, what is that?" The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara asked. "You're about to see, dear." = English} EXEC_SUSPEND/. = Many of Fluttershy's friends shouted confusion at what was going on. "I believe in you, Fluttershy," Rarity said lovingly. "I believe in you!" Fluttershy touched the butterfly. He turned to golden sparkles, and flew into her. "Allow me to tell you something Fluttershy. The power is never going to go away, you are the power. Now accept the responsibility." "You can not UN-become! The butterfly cannot return to the caterpillar! You will always be Princess Gaia!" "And I...can never again be Star-Catcher." With a flare of light and a surge of harmony like a new star igniting in the heavens, everypony bore witness... to Fluttershy's true form. She was still the size Fluttershy had been before. Her hair did not flow with mana itself. But a magnificent horn now grew from her forehead, the armor having formed a hole for it the moment she'd touched the butterfly. Her leggings had reshaped themselves in an instant to accommodate the new muscle mass. Her wings now held the same shine that all Alicorns do now, to symbolize the welcoming of the changelings and Flutterponies back into the greater herd. The puppets stopped mid-motion, and the shadows recoiled at the sight of her. Needless to say, nearly all of Fluttershy's friends were all bedazzled and bewildered. Rainbow Dash paled. "Princess Gaia?! But, Princess Gaia was really… Nightmare Whisper!" Her ears drooped. "No way! We have to fight two Nightmares now?!" "No worries, girls," said Applejack, grinning as she rested a firm hoof on Dash's shoulder. "This Gaia is the real deal." Whatever Truth she saw and was able to comprehend, Applejack was actually moved to tip her hat and bow. "Lookin' good there, princess!" Even as regal as she'd become, Fluttershy could still blush something fierce. "Um, please don't call me that." "Whoa---kay." Rainbow Dash said, with a dull stare on her face. "You look positively divine, Fluttershy," Rarity whispered. Only we ourself, we think, were able to hear the ghost of envy mixed with admiration and joy as Rarity fought back tears at the sight of Fluttershy's beauty. "Trixie feels a little left behind." "How did? When did... I don't understand!" Twilight Sparkle gasped. "You will soon, my faithful student, I promise," Sister said to our budding caterpillar. "Looks like I have extra parties to plan. Any objections? Didn't think so." "I did not see this coming," Spike admitted. "Can nopony let Diamond Tiara have her moment?" Silver Spoon asked calmly. "I feel funny," Sweetie Belle said, putting a hoof to her chest. Discord put on a pair of sunglasses, grinning. "This should be good." The Nightmare of Diamond Tiara whispered, "Oh no." "Without the Elder Horn, or the spirits of Dark Magic feeding thy power, thy Alicorn self shall be a mana guzzler. A fragile, transient thing. Tis because ye have not achieved enlightenment, but merely been healed by the Elements. There is a reason, besides the sheer inequinity of it that we'd not wish on our worst enemy, that we do not encourage Twilight or Trixie into becoming a Nightmare with the Elements ready to make them ascend properly. Nor have ye the eons of experience. Ye still have a mortal pony's mana pool," We explained to her. "Like battleships installed with a motorboat's engine to move it." "What's a motorboat again?" "...Never mind." "Much as Fluttercruel is a baby demigoddess, her power is finite. You are an unborn goddess, your power is even more so. Be sure to accomplish what you set out to do before you burn through what reserves your body naturally has." My sister added. "Just as a newborn pegasus can fly, but then has to learn again later in life, a newborn Alicorn can do things of the other tribes by instinct that must be relearned later." 'Alright then, Fluttercruel. It's okay, let mommy handle this.' = Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 - Hundred Puppets Blade Attack = "Diamond Tiara! Sorry!" Princess Gaia shouts as she stomps the earth. A giant minotaur fist made of earth punches through the ground, sending the Nightfilly flying. We don't miss the grin on the Nightfilly's face as she barely managed to right herself with her wings. "Hey! I'm the enemy here!" Discord shouts, his real anger transparent. "Sorry, but I need your coordination broken for a minute! GAIA'S JŌRURI PUPPETS!" Using simple summoner's magic, she called forth twelve puppets. Each one had an ethereal string attached to her. One to each hoof, one to her tail, one through her mouth, and three each to her wings. They were all Earth Pony mares, but each one was unique. One had a coat white as light, her mane the orange, magenta and violet of a sunset. Her cutie mark was two heart outlines within a larger one with dots on one side. Lightheart. She had a happy demeanor carved into her wooden features that Pinkie Pie would recognize as the mark of a Party Pony. The second was pink like a glorious morning, her mane purple, and she was a twinkle eye pony. Her cutie mark was four blue flowers and leaves. Morning Glory The Third. The third was a darker shade of rose, her pink mane having a streak of yellow, and her cutie mark was a stylized sun. Sundancer The Third. The fourth was another pinkette, with her cutie mark bearing a strong resemblance to Lightheart's, but with a coat of arms feel to it, and could be best described as two heart-shaped berries. Sweet Berry The First. The aqua green mare of the group, her mane a mix of pink and purple... her cutie mark was a pattern of green ivy. Fluttershy moved her with the grace and poise that Rarity would recognize as that of a fashion pony. These puppets were made in the image of the ponies of Friendship Garden, even more forgotten than Starlight The First and her friends, but also the most selfless and kind of ponies that have ever existed on Equus, being living symbols of harmony to Equus even after the disaster, til the end of their days. The other seven, I am sure you have already guessed. These puppets were made in the image of Starlight The First, Patch, Melody, Clover, St. Sweetheart, Bon Bon The First, and Bright Eyes. Buried and forgotten by so many, with what Fluttershy had learned while she was Nightmare Whisper, it only makes sense she'd create her puppets in their image in this Worldline. What happened next was both brutal, and a thing of beauty. I saw the gears turning in Twilight Sparkle's mind, taking mental notes of everything she saw. Always the scientist. The foals gasped suddenly like an audience at a fireworks show. Trixie and Spike's eyes were glued to the spectacle. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack looked ready to help, but their assistance for this was unnecessary. Pinkie Pie munched popcorn. Sister and myself stayed out of our little sister's way, making sure that none of the puppets or emotion constructs were able to flee. Princess Gaia's puppets tore through the enemy. Even though it was wood against wood, stone, and shadow, Fluttershy proved much better at coordinating her marionettes. While the puppets of Discord and Diamond Tiara's Nightmare were mostly simply thrown at us, marching like identical automatons meant purely to tire us out, not caring if the one next to it was destroyed, Gaia moved hers like a ballet, sending commands to her puppets, who supported each other and used teamwork to devastating effect. The Patch puppet was revealed to hold hidden swords and swung them in speeding arches, ripping stone, shadow and wood apart with equal force. The puppet of Melody opened its mouth and released a sound blast reducing them to splinters and rubble. The puppet of Bon Bon the First was hardier than the rest, constantly blocking for the others. The puppet of Bright Eyes stood back, sniping with explosive crossbows from behind. The puppet of Lightheart bounced almost randomly around the battlefield, knocking enemies off balance. The puppet of Ivy whirled a seemingly endless ribbon made of ethereal material that could wrap around the shadows, but they themselves could not break it. The St. Sweetheart puppet actually spat out enchanted resin, not meant to hold the enemy, but actually repairing and reconstructing Gaia's puppets as they took damage. The puppet of Clover had blades on the end of all its hooves like a figure skater, and spun as only a professional dancer could, covering the blind spots of the Patch puppet. The puppets of Sundance The Third, Morning Glory The Third, Sweet Berry The First, and Starlight The First, actually began to CORRAL the opposing puppet army, forcing them from their encirclement of us into a single group between us and the enemy puppeteers. And that was when Princess Gaia played her trump card. As Nightmare Whisper, she'd created this trick to 'keep ponies safe and happy' and maybe to give her puppets hearts. But she'd given up on the idea already by the time her friends found her, and so much the better for it. But those mechanisms still existed within them, and now it was time to put them to truly good use. The fighting puppets hammered, spliced, and tore the enemy puppets to pieces, and the four herding puppets opened up their chest cavities, revealing a black infinity. Then came the howling suction that pulled in the marble, granite, wood, leaf, and shadow, the dust and debris, all pulled inside with no way out. The storm of a vacuum claiming forever the possessed plant life, stone, and shadow. Some of the shadows tried to hold on, but her other puppets knocked them away from their grip, and they all fell into the eternity that was Princess Gaia's warm loving embrace within her puppets. Then the puppets sealed themselves up. Panting heavily, Princess Gaia dismissed them back to wherever she'd summoned them from. "There." "THAT. WAS. AWESOME, FLUTTERSHY!" Rainbow Dash cheered. The rest of her friends needed no further encouragement and applauded. "Wish I had some mana candy... Here have some regular candy," said Pinkie, still bouncing with excitement. "Say 'ahhhh.'" Sister and I smiled. Well done, little pony. Well done indeed. "Well... that wasn't how I expected things to go," Discord said taking off his sunglasses. "Cheater," Diamond Tiara's Nightmare hissed. "We do not recall agreeing to any rules of engagement, little Nightfilly," we informed her. "She has a point, dear Diamond, don't be a spoiled sport." Discord grinned at us. "Well... if you've shown me your big surprise, then I guess it's only fair I show you mine. I didn't think I'd have to call on them for help here. They've been waiting a very long time to meet you in unparticular, Twilight Sparkle." (Half-Light Dusk's Notes: Oh no, does he mean-) (Discord's Notes: They want, revenge.) To be continued. > Battlefield > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dame Cheerilee, Captain of Princess Gaia's Royal Guard Hello! It's been a long time since you interviewed me, hasn't it? You'll be leaving Ponyville for your own country soon? I understand, I hope you've had a wonderful time with all of us and our different stories. You won't believe what happened! Well, maybe you will, given that we're right in front of you. Miss Fluttershy reawakened as Princess Gaia! Yes, we already know, it's impossible for us to not know. She might have taken back her essence from Spike and the others, but she never took it from us, her faithful, and as long as it remains with us, there exists a bond between us and Miss Fluttershy that cannot be broken. = Butter-Fly - Digimon (English Cover by Sapphire) = Me, Zecora, and Cupcake... yes, I sensed them too, through Her. Our contracts reawakened, our barding reformed along with our platinum butterfly necklaces and the wondrous butterfly wings Her Kindnesty gave us. Well, Zecora had turned into a foal during the time of Nightmare Whisper, but her gift stayed with her. We even got back the power of those exploding glass daggers with the flashing red sphere as the pommel. I'll admit, as soon as I changed I shouted out, "I AM CAPTAIN OF PRINCESS GAIA'S KNIGHTS!" Heheh, let a mare have a little fun, won't you? And I could sense it, my Princess was in the thick of battle. "Don't waste your energy, we can fight them," I proclaimed, even though she probably couldn't hear me. I'll admit, more than a few ponies were freaked out at the sight of me. I heard some of them wonder aloud if Nightmare Whisper was back, but I didn't let any of that weaken my heart. I spread my trembling wings, raced into the sky and FLEW... and it truly felt like I'd woken from a dream! I indulged in some corkscrews, delighted in how the air rushed around my wings and fur. Pretty good for only my second time flying in my life! Except that the first time, I'd only used this power to fight Rarity, now I'd fight with my friends. I found our soon-to-be Royal Tutor Zecora outside Coffe Swirl's shop. "Tell Zipzee she's the best!" shouted Sweet Berry next to Coffee Swirl. I wish that mare would just kiss him already. "You have been a wonderful host, but I go to fight for my goddess and that's no idle boast," Zecora said. Cupcake arrived soon after, flying over from Ponyville's hospital. Her magical wings were the most majestic and beautiful I'd ever seen that didn't belong to an Alicorn. - "Be warned, Cupcake of Cloudsdale. Even with the Elder Wings, there is no promise you will accomplish anything great in battle." "That's fine, as long as I have a crack at the chimera freak someday, that's enough. I NEED IT to move on, whether I win or not! I can't find my freedom in a support role." "It won't help you, little pony. We've had battles we thought would free us of our past sufferings. But they didn't change our burden at all. You won't find it there." "Is this one of those 'freedom is found within' lessons?" "It is certainly not found within our enemies." I also had a bad feeling that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were involved in this mad affair. Those foals always seemed to find their way into trouble, but a serious life or death battle against Discord? Not while I was around! My teammates and I would protect and heal. This was Princess Gaia answering my prayers! I knew Fluttershy; she would NEVER let us just protect her, she'd want us to protect the foals and heal her friends. What kind of follower would I be if I didn't even know my own goddess? We could sense where our goddess was, she was a Romare Candle shining in the darkness. We'd have flown like mad to the statue garden. Not from obligation, and certainly not from brainwashing, she was our Princess, and we would absolutely protect her. But before we could leave Ponyville's airspace, we ran into an impassable roadblock. Queen Tiamat herself wouldn't have stopped us, but one little white rabbit on a roof could, precisely tossing three carrots like ninja daggers to bonk each of us precisely on the forehead. Angel. Yes, Angel, in his own special way, told us that there were already so many fighting the enemy that anypony more and it might become impossible for Gaia and her comrades to fight as a coordinated herd without everypony getting in each other's way. Our duty would be to protect Ponyville and New Friendship Gardens as long as we were able. This was what our goddess asked of us. - Insert By Princess Luna "We know how it is, Gaia, holding our loyal guards back from foes who are far too mighty for them. ‘Tis always painful." "I really wish you'd call me Fluttershy." "And Cadenza prefers Cadence. Thou art going to have to deal with it." "Not for long," Gaia said, and she was right, we could sense it already. Her puppet show had cost her meager reserves dearly, and all of Bon Bon's candies were going to the gifted unicorns to sustain the seal on Discord's power. Even if Princess Gaia's knights came to help lessen the burden, they'd only last so long before they became liabilities who needed to be protected, and we already had little Silver Spoon to worry about. - You have no idea how much I wanted to ignore Angel and have all three of us rush to the Statue Gardens ANYWAY to help, whether we crowded things or not! We could pretend we never heard what Angel told us. After all, we weren't formally part of Equestria's Guard, we weren't legally bound to obey orders. "It's not fair for you to be brushed aside, is it? I'll give you an enemy to fight." "... D-Diamond Tiara?" I gasped. Even after a year of absence, I recognized her voice coming from the filly-sized mass of darkness. It floated before us, in the shape of a small Alicorn with glowing white eyes. "Is... that you?" "No, merely one of her shadows. The real me is busy right now. You wanted to fight evil in Princess Gaia's name? Here I am. Take aim." "I didn't sign up to fight a little girl!" Cupcake shouted, then did a double-take at me. "Wait, you know her?" "She's one of my students." I answered. "Wielding Gaia's power gave me cause to rejoice, But fighting a filly would not be my choice." Angel pulled back a sharpened carrot on a rabbit sized bow, but I stopped him from firing with a wing. Zecora, Cupcake, and I nodded to each other, and flew in formation to confront the shadow directly. "Diamond Tiara... the year you were away, you became a Princess?! Your parents will be so proud of you! But first we're going to have a long talk about you running away like that," I said in my best 'the teacher is your friend' voice. "... I became a monster. The Diamond Tiara you hoped would become somepony better no longer exists. I helped destroy the world." Cupcake paused a moment, eyes shifting from side to side. "No offense, dear, but the world sure looks fine to me." "It got better." "I don't believe you," I said. "That it got better?" "That you destroyed it." "Why would I lie about that?" "Because," I said, "even at this distance, even through a reflection of you, I can tell you're hurting." "And you couldn't tell I was hurting before?" Her cold voice for a moment took on a darker tone, and her hooves shook. "... I'm sorry I didn't try to help you more, Diamond Tiara! But you tried so hard to push everypony else away from you. You didn't want to be helped! I'm sorry I couldn't think of SOMETHING!" "Cheerilee, I did nothing but make you miserable. Remember how much of a brat I was? Don't you want to give me a good spanking for it?" "Yes, I remember, and I forgive you." "You forgive me! This again?" My eyes narrowed as the shadow rolled hers. "Yes, this again, little filly! Now listen to your teacher! If we don't forgive you, how can we expect you to learn to forgive others?" "There is no mockery in her ruth, Dear Cheerilee speaks the truth." "Enough. I'm going to cause a lot of pain here in Ponyville unless you can destroy this shadow. Be the heroes you want to be and stop me." She... she spoke without any feeling. I couldn't tell if she was lying or not. "No, Diamond Tiara! Even if this is just an extension of you, I know enough about basic magic to know you'll feel everything that this you feels. No. You like to think you're the dark queen of the world, but at heart, you're just a little girl." "But then you'd just have to stand aside as I fought your teammates? At least you won't feel sorry to see me gone after this next part." Her shadow moved so fast it left a trail of afterimages. I turned, but it was already behind me. Then she whispered in my ear, so soft only I could hear it; a set of cold hard facts that I couldn't deny. My heart stopped as if stabbed by an ice dagger. My entire body went limp, I felt the air flap around me as the sky got further away. I landed suddenly, but unharmed on one of Ponyville's antiquated straw roofs. I saw and heard, but I couldn't bring myself to move. The horrible truth she'd whispered... Zecora flew besides me, keeping me safe. Angel was drawing his bow again. "Look up in the sky!" "What is that thing?" "I dunno but it's creepy-looking!" "I couldn't hear what it and Cheerilee were talking about!" "I think it said something about giving pain to Ponyville!" They couldn't tell this was the heir to the Rich estate, good. Cupcake faced Diamond Tiara's shadow alone. "You wanted to fight a foul evil and unleash your fury at a wasted year of your life? I am your evil." I began to black out, it would only be a few minutes before I woke up. Cupcake and Angel will have driven off Diamond Tiara's shadow by then. And Princess Gaia's Guard would be known as protectors against evil instead of pawns of a mad pony. Her words echoed in my mind even as the knowledge faded as I lost consciousness. Big Mac is destined to choose another mare, not you. +++ = Your Best Nightmare - Undertale = (Half-Light Dawn's Notes: Is it really- (Ha.) (Hahahah!) (EHEHEH!) (BWAHAHAH!) (Heheheheh!!!) (HO-HO-HO-HO-HO!) (Nyanyanyanya!) (Blblblblblb!) (Ha. HA!) (HA-HA-HA!) (Half-Light Noon's Notes: Mother of crud, this isn't good! Everypony-) (SHUT UP! SHUT YER PIE HOLE! HA!) (HAHAH! I COULD GO FOR SOME PIE!) (Or some FUN!) (Don't ever say that word again!) (Sad! Sad! Sad! Sad! Joy!) (Banana!) (Revenge!) (AHAHAHAHA!) (HEH-HEH-HEH!) (NE-ENE-NE-NE-NE-NE!) (Half-Light Dusk's Notes: Diamond Tiara, you have gone beyond insane, you can't have-) (BOR-RING!) (Ehahahaha! Ehahahahah!) (HAHA!) (Show time!) (Oh! Um. Hi? Nice to meet you.) (AT LAST!) (I can't believe our debut got delayed for so long!) (It's because of that stupid wedding!) (And because the idiot couldn't figure out how for the foals to fight each other and the adults to fight Master Discord at the same time or some nonsense he couldn't even figure out, moron.) (Nobody cares!!!) (Yeahyeahyeah-yeeeeeeah-yeah!) (Let me at 'er!) (I wanna see the look on her face first!) (I want her to cry and beg!) (I want her to go into a speech and break her jaw!) (Let's force-feed her cupcakes until she's a ball of lard!) (And then play soccer with her!) (Equestrian or Isle of Pony?) (Let's do both!) (Joy! Joy! JOY!) (Sound off, sisters!) (But aren't some of us parents too?) (Who says we can't be both!) (That works for me too!) (Forty-five!) (HAHAHAH! FORTY-SEVEN!) (I'm Forty-Eight, actually I'm negative six months!) (We all are! Forty-Nine!) (And that leaves Number Fiiiiiifty!!!!) (Interview's Notes (Earth Pony): Stop, please stop, you don't want to-) Oh shut up! I'm the Second Born, I'm the oldest present, so I guess I'll speak for my herd! The look on 0's face, and those of all her heartless and selfish friends, it was priceless! I bet none of them were expecting a wall of forty-nine us grinning back at them, all of us wearing one of our savior Nightmare !$*(!@(!('s feathers. What? You still haven't figure out what that 'jumble' says? You really are idiots. OH, DON'T GIVE US THAT LOOK! We know you got that reference! Oh wait, the bigger idiot messed it up, he's always been the biggest idiot, no wonder you weren't getting it before. It's Nightmare !$*(!@(!( not Nightmare !$*(!@(! Now figure that out. OH, WHATEVER! Hey, I told you I'd see you all again, REMEMBER? ~See You Again, Pinkie Promise, cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Wait a minute! That can't be! You guys were rescued by-) (Nightmare !$*(!@(!('s Notes: Did you idiots really think Puzzlemint would be scared of Alicorn Pinkie Pie?) As one, the shadows all looked one in the same direction at once, gasped, and fled as fast as shadows did before a light source. Puzzlemint looked up from the hole she was in, gasped, and covered her head, not moving an inch, her eyes closed. (Nightmare !$*(!@(!('s Notes: I recruited them from the beginning. We needed an army.) There was a battle still goin' on at the base of the tower, but Ah was so high up Ah couldn't tell a zebra from a buffalo. The saw Most Ah could make out was a buncha little pink dots zipping everywhere, but Ah couldn't tell what they were. From up here, Ah saw the dirty pink sky all up-close and personal. What do you think those pink blurs were that fought the changeling and bat-pony armies and kept them busy all that time, THE TOOTH BREEZIE?! We were called in after the changelings and bat ponies finished off the Random Monster Encounter army, and Nightmare !$*(!@(!( needed more time to finish her business with her playmates alone. She didn't want any armies getting in the tower. Master Discord told us we were supposed to be a 'secret weapon' or something. Nightmare !$*(!@(!( said he was worried us facing Mini-Rainbow Crash, Mini-Applesnack, and Mini-Blarity and Button Smash alone would make us want to give up. The 49 of us together took down that Hercules Beetle changeling. The pinkie Pegahorn asked calmly and casually, "Hello little ponies, . . . would you like a job? I need some messengers." (Nightmare !$*(!@(!('s Notes: Did you think that lowercase 'pinkie' was a typo?) (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): I... I did... ) (Nightmare !$*(!@(!('s Notes: You're like Rainbow Dash... an idiot all around.) (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): Don't you dare talk about my family, little Nightfilly.) EXCUSE ME! THIS IS MY HERD'S MOMENT! We got delayed and delayed, and now it's finally time for OUR show! THIS WAS PLANNED FROM THE FREAKIN' BEGINNING! BUT THAT STUPID CYCLOPS-OCTOPUS WANTED ALL THE FUN JOY WITH THAT NAG FOR HIMSELF! HE RUINED EVERYTHING!... We got delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, and delayed, AND DELAYED!!!! But it's okay now. Because now it's our turn! AND IT'S ABOUT TIME! YOU PROMISED! (Discord's Notes: My goodness, you girls are feisty. I only promised you a recognized existence outside of Mother's belly as my yokai. Revenge was only an 'if the opportunity presents itself' sort of thing. Speaking of which... don't you think maybe, after all, perhaps there's really no need for-) Not happening. This is the only way we can get the closure we want. (Discord's Notes: Now that I actually THINK about it, my little filly and I can introduce you to some versions of her who actually deserve-) Why go to whole other universes for a copy of what's right in front of us!? (Discord's Notes: Well! I... hope that Ratatoskr was a good host! How is my little squirrel doing? He's had nothing to do but dust the left-triangles and feed the green Smooze for a few thousand years, you know.) (Number #50's notes (we call her Dreamy Pie): Oh yeah, he was really fun!) 20, 32, and 45 take out cameras and take snapshots of the looks on the jerks' faces! We're gonna be treasuring those! They look ready to go crazy! They don't get AT ALL what's going on! Well, most of them don't! We see Mommy's eyes get larger and larger. She knows, oooh, she knows! That Nag still doesn't have a clue. A baby half pony/half chaos spirit appeared on the back of Super-Buttershy. Oh right, this was the real form of the mean brat who said all those awful things to her Daddy. "THIS IS YOUR TRUMP CARD, YOU BASTARD? A BUNCHA CHEAP COPIES OF YOUR STALKER CRUSH?! You didn't even do that good a job! I mean, who could mistake these things for the real Pink?! Did they pick all different mane styles themselves, or did you just play ‘hairdresser' with your ‘dollies,' sicko?" "Shut up! You should feel honored to be the filly of such a generous and honorable spirit!" Shouted #49 (We call her Sugar Pie). "Are you a sockpuppet or are you THAT brainwashed!?" "Maybe you're the one who's brainwashed!" "No, you!" "YOU!" "YOU!" "Girls, please stop," Super-Buttershy said super nice like. "Okay," said Sugar Pie and Mini-Buttershy together. Mini-Buttershy vanished. "Calm down, Fluttercruel," That Nag said, "These things probably aren't even alive. They're just constructs like the puppets from before." How dare she. How DARE she! "YOU GAVE THE LIVES OF PARASPRITES MORE RESPECT THAN US!" I roared. That wiped the smug look right off That Nag's face. "What? But..." "We were executed for the crime of living, what kind of justice is that?!" #3 (Spice Pie) added with as much acid on her tongue as she could manage, I wish she could add more. "Wha... no... how can... that isn't... this isn't... how can any of you even be here?!" 'Mother'/0 said with tears in her eyes. Now she feels sorry? Ooooh, hoooow noooble. "That stuff hasn't even happened!" "Your Equestria is REALLY behind the times compared to ours." "Wait a minute!" Barity stamped her hoof. "Are you saying you're Pinkie Pies from OTHER Equestrias?! Other universes!? That's science fiction nonsense!" "Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with Rarity on this one!" Rainbow Crash added. "That's comic book stuff!" Princess Sunlestia began the 'innocent whistling' routine. Princess Bluena coughed. Mini-Applesnack trotted past the other Mini-ponies and tried to get past the regular sized ponies, but regular sized Applesnack wouldn't let her. "Ah'm sorry... Ah couldn't fix anythin' outside my world... Ah'd have helped ya if Ah could've." "Apple Bloom, what are you even talking about?" The dragon asked, tilting his head. "She's apologizin' fer stuff that ain't her fault!" snapped regular-size Applesnack. "She does that sometimes! Ah can see the truth of ya. Ya ain't quite normal, even by Pinkie Pie standards, but Ah can tell yer no puppets or golems!" "Trixie is very very confused right now!" "Discord! How did you even do this?! How COULD you do this?!" Bluena shouted. "Please, hold your applause until the end! With my little Diamond's talent for not being noticed, and my charming personality, it wasn't impossible to sneak into Mother's stomach and recruit some used and tossed ponies that were gathering dust on the discard pile!" "Diamond, how can you bring others into this?" asked her Mini-Pony with glasses. "We're in this of our own free will!" said #40 (Rice Pie). "How sure about that are you?" asked Mini-Rainbow Crash. "Diamond Tiara and Discord are both very good at getting others to do what they want and have them think it's their own idea," added in Mini-Barity. #35 (Pinky Pie) broke from the group, letting the ponies see her special face, the one from the age of Dreams. Some reared back from the sight of her, others' eyes widened in shock. "Are you going to kill us for being different again?" she asked That Nag, not angry, poor girl, just scared. We gave 'er a hug. We didn't expect her to fight, we just wanted her here to get some closure. "I'VE NEVER KILLED ANYPONY!!!" The Nag lies at the top of her lungs in her copy of the Royal Banterlot Voice. #44 (Square Pie) stepped in front of Pinky Pie and waved her forelegs in the air. "ENOUGH with the subtlety horseapples!" Square Pie pointed at us. "We're from the Equestria which all Equestrias are copies of! You!" She pointed at Mother. "Wanted to be everywhere at once... you made us! But we were 'too much trouble.'" She air-quoted with her hooves, then pointed at That Nag. "So YOU banished us to nowhere! But Nightmare !$*(!@(!( and Master Discord saved us!" The Brat snorted, "'Master,' huh? What are they, your harem?" "What's a hair-rum?" Pinky Pie asked. "You will never suggest that again young lady!" Master Discord sounded... I think the word is, indignant? I told the Nag, "You could call us Nightmare !$*(!@(!('s Knights! But you can just say goodnight!" Twitch. Like an equine tidal wave, we all hopped one after the other, dodging Barity's magic couch as it went down the line. (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): It's a chaise longue.) Shut up. Twitch-Twitch-Twitch. As a herd, we pull out sunglasses and put them on just as Super-Buttershy Glared at us, somehow able to look at all of us at once in spite of having only two eyes. That Nag conjured up a storm cloud, and Rainbow Crash kicked it, making lightning go everywhere. Twitch-twitch. We danced and bopped around the spots the lightning would've struck us. Twitchy-snitch. We turned the little nob on our sunglasses, flipping a reflective layer on them as Applesnack looked at us. Our rescuer made them from a mirror in our rescuer's dream world she melted down after she had us get it for her. "That's... " That Nag wavered. That look on her face was sweeter than a million creamy candies. "That's not... how are... that isn't... you're just..." "Pinkie Sense," 0/Mother said. "Didn't ya hear what Ah just said, Twi?! These Pinkie Pies ain't dolls!" "But I haven't done anything like what they're accusing me of! I WOULDN'T do anything like that!" the Nag lied. Master Discord sighed, shaking his head sadly. "There's no limit to what one pony will do to another, if they don't believe that pony is even a real person." Rainbow Crash didn't look so cocky now. "Twilight, we can take on 49 Pinkie Pies, right?" Number 10 (Round Table) giggled. She was right behind Rainbow Crash, having snuck behind out of frame, poking her in the back with her hoof. "AHH!" "HA-HA-HA!" Round Table pulled back out of frame and slipped back into frame on our side. "See!? You couldn't do a thing to stop us, even if we didn't have these!" She hefted a gleaming black spear. All of my sisters were pulling their spears out... from their hair, from behind their backs, even from ‘off camera.' "These spears can make it so a pony was never even born!" "No..." whispers Blarity, horrified. Heh, that's funny. I thought they'd need more convincing. "Y-You're bluffing!" Rainbow Crash gasped out. "If you really are from another Equestria, there's only one of, I mean, that kinda thing doesn't exist!" "Ever bought some Wonderdolt junk, and only found out later that it was bootleg? Sometimes even a cheap knockoff will do as well as the original!" Rarity's Thoughts I would have laughed aloud. Pointy sticks that could make a pony never-born? Absurd. One might as well have been afraid of Pinkie brandishing a squirt gun and calling it a death ray. I would have laughed... last year that is. Princess Celestia herself once told myself and Rainbow of a weapon like this, and I very much doubt that she is in the habit of making up fairy tales! The weapon that caused Black Hearts and Hooves Day. One glance at the Princesses is enough to convince me that they are taking those black spears very seriously indeed. And when Princess Celestia looks back at me, I recall the reason why she summoned Rainbow Dash and I to that discussion, a short time after we healed Nightmare Whisper, and my blood runs cold. She told us that we are different. That we had resolved to... to kill in defense of our friends and homeland, and that we might one day do so again... I don't want to do that, darlings. Not to anyone, not even to Discord, however much he might deserve it, but a part of me can't help but wonder, now. How far would I go? Who would I try to make never-heard-from-again, if there was truly no other way? Discord? The clones, each one with the face of a dear friend? Diamond Tiara herself? No! I'll take that burden if I must but I am FAR from done exhausting my better options! - (Discord's Awesome Ideas: My little diamond, not that I'M concerned for ponies' well-being... but uh, aren't you concerned? About what those replica spears might do?) (Nightmare !$*(!@(!('s Word: We agreed to give them those.) (Discord's Radical Insights: Well, yes, but that was -BEFORE- I... ahem.) (Nightmare !$*(!@(!( Word: Pfft. You worry too much.) (Discord's Awesome Thought: ... There is something very wrong, my dear, when somepony is telling me that!) - (Pinkie Pie's Insert: So then I thought of mentioning how Discord offered for me to be his queen, which would technically make me their mom! Only not really, because I didn't actually say yes or no but I might be so they should listen to me anyway but... that wouldn't change what's happened to them.) - "We can't return to our Equestria ... so we'll have to settle for getting revenge on this Twilight Snapple instead!" "It's... It's Twilight Sparkle." "SHUT UP!" "... Hurting somepony over the crime of resembling somepony else? Aren't you being just as bad?" Super-Buttershy asked. "You shut up too!" I shouted, gripping my spear tighter. The Brat popped out again. "Don't tell my mother to shut you-" (Discord's Really Fun ... (Quartz Pie's Rebuke: DON'T USE THAT WORD!) (Discord's Slightly Apologetic Cool Notes: (SORRY! My goodness, things have gotten tense. I'm starting to think that maybe, it's just vaguely possible that I haven't entirely thought this part through. Well, not since before Bon Bon made me feel guilty! The girls are just a teensy bit overpowered and vengeance -crazed... I mean, who hasn't been at one time or another? Not my fault! Mostly not my fault? Half and half?) (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Do you take responsibility for ANYTHING?!) "WAIT! STOP! TIME-OUT! I'M THE ONE YOU WANT!" Mother cried. HUH?! Everypony, and I mean everypony just looked at her! Mother was in tears, but her mane didn't go super flat. She stood on her hind hooves, and had her forelegs wide apart. "Hit me as much as you want. I won't try to dodge or fight back or anything. If you need to hate somepony, please hate me! Just Pinkie Pie Promise you'll leave my friends alone. Twilight didn't know what she was doing. I made you. You're my responsibility." "WHAT?!" Master Discord grabbed his own head. "You can't!... Because... You're an important part of my scheme!" Completely startled, my sisters and I all erupted in debate. "I say we go for it!" "No, we can't!" "There's nothing satisfying about doing it to her!" "We can't hurt mother!" "She let us die!" "Maybe this was a mistake?" "I say do both!" All of Mother's friends formed a protective circle around her. Like that could stop us. "Pinkie Pie, have ya flipped yer lid again?!" Applesnack snapped. "It was my selfish choices that brought them into the world, and then those same selfish choices that took them out of it for no fault of their own. This is the only way they can find freedom." "That was a DIFFERENT Pinkie Pie! Not you!" "Pinkie Pie.... no," That Nag said, her ears drooping. "But if things hadn't changed, if we had stayed connected to the Heart World, I would have made those same selfish choices! I can't-" Applesnack put her hoof down. "BUT YA DIDN'T MAKE 'EM! Just like Ah refused to run away after all Ah got was third and second places in the Canterlot Rodeo! Ah made mah OWN choices! And so did ya!" "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you do this!" Rainbow Crash shouted. "Sister... if those are really replicas of that weapon..." Princess Bluena whispered to Princess Sunlestia. "And they have all of Lady Pinkamena Diane's abilities, then mercy can't be afforded." "... All the more reason that if we can avoid this fight, we must." "If you need somepony to be angry at why not just be angry at him!" Rainbow Crash pointed at Master Discord. My sisters all start talking at once. "No way!" "That's stupid!" "You're stupid!" "We'll be loyal and true!" I had to blow a whistle just to get a word in edgewise. "Why would we turn on the one who freed us from our eternal imprisonment of icy nothingness?" I suggested. Crash looks flustered. "Um... because Discord is super evil? You've GOTTA know he's just using you. Yep, he'll probably betray you any minute now! That's what always happens in Daring Do!" "Only when Daring faces a villain who's an equine and she can't in good consciousness put down, and so the ancient evil the villain unleashes does it for her," That Nag lectured, standing on a soapbox that wasn't there before. "Guess I don't count as equine then," said our Rescuer Princess, a dark aura flaring around her for a second. "Good." "Hey!" Mini-Blarity said, "Which one of you is the real Pinkie Pie?" "Um... Technically, that would be her!" I pointed at mother. My herd all started nodding. "What!? But, you're supposed to turn on each other, banishing each other until Pinkie Pie gets the jump on the last of you or the last two of you finish each other off." "Sweetie Belle! Is that something Chrysalis taught you?!" demanded Blarity. Sweetie shuffled her hooves awkwardly. "Actually, I read it in one of Scootaloo's comic books." "I should have known!" Spike raised a claw. "Maybe they have a limited lifespan, and they'll just go poof if we wait long enough?" Super-Buttershy gasped. "SPIKE! That's a horrible thing to say!" "Sorry! It was... just an idea?" "Well, it's a bad one!" #30, Thorny Pie, shouted, "Look! We get you don't see us as ponies! You don't even see us as alive! We've had to deal with that horseapples since the moment we were born... but will you stop talking about us like we aren't even here!? Number Zero? Thanks for the offer! But we're here for revenge! "Master was gonna give us all our own private pocket worlds where we could have lives, but still visit each other, but some selfish brats had to ruin it for everypony!" Three of Minis cringed, glancing at each other. "We have no world we belong to! This revenge is all we have left!" She stabbed the air with a hoof, pointing straight at the purple unicorn. "There's literally nothing you can do to stop us from getting our justice on That Nag!" "You'll have go through me first," Mother/0 said. "This... this is crazy... this... doesn't make sense... this... can't be real... " The Nag blathers. "Twili'! Calm down and get yer head together!" barked Applesnack, grabbing The Nag's face and forcing her to meet eyes with her. "We need ya!" "You know," our Savior Princess says, "my power is what's allowing them to exist in this world, so if any of you want to try and take me down to save your precious Twilight Sparkle, please go right ahead." She regarded That Nag and her ‘friends' indifferently. #31 (Root Pie) said, "Don't worry, Nightmare !$*(!@(!( . That won't happen! We'll protect you! You and Master saved us, we won't let you down!" "No need to get your hooves dirty ladies!" said Master Discord. "I think it's about time I step in." "Oh, don't worry about it!" I said with a smile and a wave. "You've done so much for us! We gotta pay ya back somehow! You can just sit back and watch! This won't take long." Applesnack looked at Princess Bluena, whispering to her like she expected nopony else to hear, we leaned in from the other side of the frame to hear her. "Luna... these Pinkie Pies... were they born the way... the way Majesty's fillies were?" "... In a manner of speaking, but my sister tells me it's been a long time since that was used." Why did Master slump like that meanwhile? "You're too kind Quartz Pie, Diane would be proud, I'm sure." "Welcome!" I said. (Apple Bloom's Insert: Ah can't remember if Ah had any plans for this or not! Ah was in charge of everything in this world, but these mares ain't from this world! Ah don't know if Ah even COULD plan for 'em!) Princess Bluena reared up and spread out her wings, her shadow getting bigger and bigger. "If thy weapons are what ye claim, then they are fearsome indeed," she shouted in the Royal Banterlot Voice. "While ye hold them with hostile intent, ye place us in dire peril, and that is why ye should be terrified of us!" "BRING IT ON!" I shouted. - Interview of Twilight Sparkle I... I don't know. I actually don't know. And not in a way that makes me excited to learn. Even with everything Her Momjesty, Princess Celestia told me, with everything I read in Bon Bon The First's diary? I don't know. And it's kinda scaring me. I thought I really understood the rules of magic, what worked, what didn't work, all the basic underlying principles, but, well... Imagine thinking yourself an expert in literature, and then being told there were letters in the alphabet you'd never even heard of. Part of the same language, yet separate. And soon before my discovery of Pinkie Pie's gift I ended up almost thinking curses were real instead of smoke and mirrors thanks to the Poison Joke in our first encounter with Zecora. So I hope you appreciate why I was being so skeptical about Pinkie Pie's ESP when I first encountered it, I didn't want to look like a fool twice by almost buying into something false again. Just because something applies to one situation, doesn't mean it applies to another. Just because I didn't understand the rules about something, doesn't mean what made sense to my friends was false. That's what I learned. And Pinkie Pie is able to sense future timelines. Oh, and it turns out curses are real too, there's even one that can slowly turn a pony's body into crystal (inanimate, it mentions that in particular for some reason) if not cured in time. Yes yes, the famous 'soap box curse' of the Sparkle family too, no need to go on about it! Yes, I'm trying to avoid thinking about what's going on right now! I know we're fighting ghost Discord allied with a Nightmare of Diamond Tiara, with Discord and Fluttershy's 'foal' on our side, but this beyond even that level of insane! Forty-nine (!) Pinkie Pies, all claiming to be from the same Equus, all armed with copies of a weapon they say can erase ponies from history?! Princess Celestia told me so much, and we read so much in Bon Bon The First's diary... and I've been plunged into a horrible whirlpool of not knowing, not understanding, and feeling my frame of reference completely skewered. They want to make me never-heard-from-again, because of what another Twilight Sparkle did to them? And they say they can't go home ever? So I'm just a replacement revenge, a target dummy for them to take their anger out on? And Pinkie Pie wants them to blame her instead because of something another Pinkie Pie did that she SOMEHOW knows about?! If those weapons do what they say they can do... it could be a bluff, but there's no way I can take that chance when Discord and a Nightmare with unknown powers are involved. If they used them I'd never even KNOW if I'd lost a friend! It's a circular argument, but I can't ignore it. And the looks on the Princesses' faces make it clear this is no joke. This is all insane! This is all beyond insane! It all makes no sense! There are too many pieces of the puzzle missing for me to make sense of any of it! I can't understand it! If they all have Pinkie Pie's abilities, and armed with weapons like that... I don't like the red glow in Princess Luna's eyes. Think Twilight! Think! It's what you're good at! More than anything! Observe the situation! Determine your objective. And consider your options! Think about what matters! ... I can't take this anymore. Every time I think I'm finally done with having to fight my own friends, after they've been mind-controlled, corrupted, tricked, there's another Rainbow Dash, another Rarity, another Pinkie Pie I have to battle, again and again. Chrysalis using the face of my sister-in-law-to-be to break me and turn me into her minion, me fighting those I love with a smile on my face. Death Stalker shape shifting into my friends as we fought. Made to play 'board games' of conquering Equestria with Nightmare Whisper until we had to fight her too. Discord's sick games. I know they just look like my Pinkie Pie. I know it sounds like they were just created 'from' Pinkie Pie or something. But I don't care. I'm sick of this. I'm done with this. I love my friends and I am sick of fighting them! No more! - = G Gundam Music - Saiyou no Shou ~ King of Heart = Word of Master Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike VII YEOWZA! WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?! Are you kidding?! You didn't see that!? It was like nothing I'd ever seen! Okay! Maybe a few things! I've seen a lot of things living in Ponyville and being right next to Twilight Sparkle most of my life! So it looked like we were zero point something seconds away from fighting an army of angry Pinkie Pies. I'm happy I never had a nightmare like this, one in-your-face perp-sweating Pinkie Pie was enough. A nightmare like this, forget changing the sheets, we'd have to burn them! And I couldn't decide if that was more scary than Twilight herself right now. For a moment I was worried she was going to 'go Nightmare Moon.' Her eyes glowed white, like when she used the elements. Her armor shined bright too. She lifted a bit off the ground. Yep, magic surge! But even this and hearing her speak in the Royal Canterlot Voice wasn't the freaky part. And it wasn't how Luna and Celestia were just, I dunno looking at her, nor how Fluttershy was acting like she'd forgotten to be the timid one and was just looking too! The others were crowding close to the foals to shield them. No, Trixie didn't use me as a buckler, if anything, she was mine. The freaky part was, when she spoke, it was, I dunno, maybe I just imagined it, a ghost, an afterimage, something, it's like there was an Alicorn version of her overlapping her. Princess Twilight Sparkle? Heh. Naw. Twilight wants to be a librarian and a scientist, not royalty. "Stop! I command it! There will be no battle here!" Her magic pulled the black spears right out of the hooves of the forty-nine Pinkie Pies, and twisted the spears into a ball! "I am Twilight Sparkle, Apprentice of the Sun, Magic incarnate, descendant of Twilight the First of Dream Castle, Clover the Fortunate of the Age of Wonders, and Clover The Clever, and reincarnation of Minty Of the Age of Dreams. And I decree, you shall not kill nor be killed! THERE WILL BE NO KILLING HERE!!! Nopony, NOBODY DIES HERE!" And the big black lump of twisted metal fell to the ground with a thud, leaving a perfect impression in the Crater That Has Existed Since the Dawn of Time... I'm just kidding! There's no such thing! Geeze, you guys thought I was serious? Stop being so freaked out, okay, okay, no need to shout, 'Don't joke about that!' okay, I got it. Twilight floated back down to the ground, and the big scary glow left her. She swayed on her hooves woozily. The Pinkie Pie army didn't seem to know what to make of that, but armed with evil retcon-spears or not, an army of Pinkie Pies was still an army of Pinkie Pies. The Pinkie Pie Discord called 'Quartz Pie' said, "You wanted to scare us? Fine! We're scared. Too bad we don't have anywhere to retreat to. We have no family, no place to go home, no past. This battle is all we have, so we're not going anywhere... but you are!" The army took a trot forward. Princess Celestia put a wing on Twilight's shoulder. "You've done well, my faithful student to... open a dialogue, but I believe your words alone are not enough. They do not trust you as I do." Celestia looked at the pink army. "Is there any among us at all whom you will accept parley from?" The Pinkie Pies glanced at each other, then huddled talked for a few seconds, a couple Pinkie Pies standing lookout. I sure hope you still have plenty of magic candies left Moon Dancer. Uh-oh. When the huddle broke, they all pointed at- +++ "You!" They pointed at me. "Huh?" Diamond Tiara blinked. "M-me?" I adjusted my glasses in case my eyes were playing tricks, but when I looked again, my friends and the adults and all the Pinkie Pie copies were still looking at me, cornering me with their stares. Silver Spoon's Diary "You're our rescuer's best friend," said Quartz Pie, "and you're the only one not here because of That Nag, or That Nag's friends. We'll only trust your word. If anypony just tells you what to say, we'll know and all bets are off! Yes, even you. You there, watching this right now." Why did she look over my shoulder at thin air when she said that? The Pinkie clones all lifted their hooves in unison, each pointing to her left eye, then her right. ‘We're watching you!' (#03 Quartz Pie's Warning: Yeah, and we meant you ponies reading these interviews right now too!) And what they said catches up with me. Best friend... I'm nervous, have butterflies in my stomach, and right now I wish I could teleport to Neighpon... but I actually felt hope snuggle inside me. Best friend. Diamond Tiara didn't object. They just said I'm still her best friend. "Very well," Princess Celestia said. Eep! "Silver Spoon's words shall be her own. She shall be nopony's mouthpiece." "Princess!" Miss Rarity said, followed by Miss Twilight, Sweetie Belle, Spike, Scootaloo, and I think just about everypony. "You can't be serious!" "A slim chance to avoid tragedy is better than none," the Princess said. Uh-oh. I tried to take a few steps forward, but my legs rebelled on me. I was magically lifted in a golden glow, carried through the air, and placed gently in front of my friends and their big sisters and friends. My Crusader friends were all too scared to say anything, no, not scared of them, scared for me! Princess Luna nuzzled me, "Believe in yourself, little filly. We have great confidence in you understanding their hearts." I swallowed, and with herculean effort I dragged my hooves closer to the army of Pinkie Pie replicas. None of them looked like they were here for fun. And behind them still stood my best friend turned into something awful, and the monster that tortured me and twisted my family for giggles. Quartz Pie pushed me into a wooden chair beneath a hot interrogation lamp. "So, you're ready to talk, huh?" Maybe there's still some humor left in them, even if it's grim humor. "Tell us exactly why we shouldn't fight the fight that's the only thing we have left?" I didn't dare look at my friends. "Well, how can you say it's all you have left?" "What else is there? Our lives? Sorry, but those aren't worth the cardboard and plastic from the bargain bin." "No... Each other." They startled. "From where I stand, each of you has forty-eight other reasons to move forward." = Mommy Still Loves You.. - Pony POV Series = "There is no 'forward!' Haven't you been listening?! What part of 'no home to go back to' didn't you hear?" "Can't you just make a new home?" "We did have a new home made for us! And it got ruined!" "Try again." "There is no 'again'!" "You're all still together aren't you?" "Almost all, Diane, the first of us, isn't here." "What happened?" "Our Equestria, she got away, we didn't." "I'm sorry." "We're not, she gets a life at least." "And you think she wouldn't want you to to?" "Of course she would! But we can't!" "You keep saying that." "Because it's true!" "Why?" "Because we don't belong! Literally! Without your best friend's magic, this world would notice we're a bad fit and boot us back to the cold nothing we were banished to!" "That's it? Having to rely on somepony?" "How'd you feel about...-" Quartz stopped, and began to chose her words carefully. She was making sure not to reveal something important she's worried we'll use against them. "-having to be super careful your whole life, knowing that one little slip-up means it's curtains for you? Freezing black forever-curtains!" I shivered. "... You're right, I don't know how that feels." I take off my glasses and the world becomes a mass of smudges. "But I do know how it is to always have something with you no matter what, whether you like it or not." "It's not the same." "No it isn't. But I can imagine... If I could never take my glasses off, because I needed them to see something that wanted to eat me? That's scary. I don't know if I could take it... But I'd at least TRY first!" I put my glasses back on. "If not for me, then for those who care about me!... You care about each other right?" "Of course we do!" "Then how can you say hurting somepony for having the same name and face as the pony who hurt you is all you have left?" "It's what Master Discord wants!" "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's having second thoughts about that!" I hear the others gasp behind me. I pointed at the thing that had corrupted my best friend. "He's been fidgeting this whole time, and even gave you an excuse not to do it." "Well, obviously I want you ponies for myself." "Whatever!" I barked. I looked at Quartz Pie. "Life isn't fair! You're angry, but hurting somepony who never hurt you is what bullies do!" "She will eventually! Like That Nag of our own Equestria! It's just a matter of time!" "No it isn't!" I don't know the first thing about this 'other Equestrias' nonsense. But I remember my nightmare, seeing me still the parrot of Diamond Tiara's bullying. "The future isn't set in stone! I made my own future. YOU CAN'T JUDGE PONIES on what they 'could have done!'" "SHE ALREADY SAID THAT WE 'AREN'T ALIVE!' She showed her true colors then and there! I bet she's thinking of blasting us all to oblivion right now!" "If that's all she wanted, she wouldn't have stopped you from fighting with the Princesses and everypony!" "She's just scared of us giving her what she deserves!" "Seriously? You think that entire display was just for show?!" I wasn't going to admit that I might have wet myself seeing Miss Twilight Sparkle like that! "You think bad guys can't make themselves look good for everypony?" "... If her only goal was to wipe you all way, why didn't she just stab you with your own spears when she grabbed them?" "Meh, she's not Blarity, I bet she couldn't have done that if she wanted." Think, Silver Spoon! How do you reason with them when they're this convinced that Miss Twilight Sparkle is a snarling she-Tirek? How do you do it, Silver Spoon? Is there a way? ... "You shouldn't let who hurt you control you like this. And revenge won't make you feel better. I hated Chrysalis for brainwashing Spike and Sweetie Belle... But when I saw her dying, all I could think about was how scared I was something like that could happen to Diamond Tiara." Diamond Tiara didn't flinch, on the outside. "This revenge won't make you feel better, it'll just be one more thing those who hurt you have control over." When this is over, I'll tell dad it's okay for him to go by Silver Axe again. I'm tired of being afraid of what that puzzle monster did. And he shouldn't let what that monster did to him control him. He can't control us anymore. "This is about making sure what That Nag did to us, this version of her can never do to anypony!" "Don't give me that. You admitted you were doing this because you need something to act out your anger on! And it won't make it go away!" "She already showed she'll do the same thing!" "What's in it for her? If she doesn't care about you that much, then WHY make a show of it? ... Did... did... " I shuddered. "Did anypony at all feel sorry for you in your Equestria?" "... Nopony." "That would include your Miss Twilight Sparkle's friends?" "Yes." "Then why would she put on a show for them if they were as bad she is? And if they're different, why can't you accept she's different?" "We told you already! She said it! 'these things aren't alive', they pulled their punches more against parasprites than us." "And she was wrong, that doesn't make her evil! I... " I slumped. "Because I just went along with all of Diamond Tiara's teasing, because I never objected to it, because I did it all with an obedient smile. After I made more friends, I liked telling myself I had been the worst Equestria had to offer, I was so ashamed. But it doesn't work like that. We just go along, thinking we're always in the right. I just smiled and nodded through everything, if I was told to it, then it was the right thing for me to do it. That's no excuse." "What are you getting at?" "I said it already! Twilight Sparkle was wrong about you! But being wrong and being evil aren't the same thing! And she realized she was wrong BEFORE something bad happened! Don't waste that! Or you're siding with your bullies! You want to show you're not just things? Prove it by living!" They looked at each other. "Girls, huddle!" They debated again for a few seconds before breaking. "Okay, we voted." Everypony tensed. "If Master Discord doesn't want us to fight you, and ... there's a chance that your Great Destroyer isn't bad... So... the majority vote is to wait and watch. So we'll withdraw back to Master Discord's Chaosville... BUT!" Quartz Pie made a 'don't you dare break a Pinkie Promise' face. "If we see you hurting any innocent clones..." She slipped her hoof across her neck. Then she made an 'I'll be watching you' gesture with her hoof to her eyes and then to Twilight. The monster almost let out a sigh of relief. "Tell Ratatoskr his Master says hello!" ( Thoughts of Nightmare !$*(!@(!( If you're undone, won't your domain and everything in it cease to exist too?) (My dear, that's if I'm erased. Dying is just having your spirit toss off the sausage suit and head off for the spirit realm.) "We'll be waiting for you, Master Discord!" "... Don't wait for me." "Stay strong Princess! We'll be cheering for you!" Said the one with the odd face. Diamond Tiara didn't react. Using whatever trick it was Pinkie Pie used to get from Point A to point B, the army of 49 Pinkie Pies was gone, and they took the giant black metal ball with them. "Bye girls... Come back and visit alternate-mommy after we save the world!" Pinkie Pie waved. "hope to see you again some day." She wiped a tear away. "WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED? TRIXIE DOESN'T GET IT AT ALL!" Spike said still on her back, "In Ponyville, if it's Pinkie Pie, it's better you don't think about it too hard." Trixie let out a long sigh. "Trixie should've known this by now." To which Spike patted her sympathetically, tension I didn't even notice was there going away. "Well, that didn't end in gratuitous violence," the monster muttered. "I'm not upset. How odd." Miss Rarity and Miss Rainbow Dash both gave a guarded sigh of relief. They'd looked scary for a bit there, like cornered Timber Wolves. "Ya alright, sugarcube?" Miss Applejack put a hoof on Miss Twilight's shoulder. "I... I will be." Princess Fluttershy nuzzled her. I let go of tension I'd gotten so wrapped up in that I'd almost gotten numb to it. I almost melted into the ground, I breathed through my mouth. I just now realize how much my heart had been hammering in my ears. I wipe the sweat from my fur. I think I just prevented a battle. Does that make me a diplomat or something? "Silver Spoon!" Miss Pinkie Pie suddenly hugged me! "I just want to say, thank you very much! You did a very good thing there! A very good thing!" "You're, you're welcome." My three filly friends rushed and gave me hugs as well. I hugged them back. None of us was sure what to say, just grateful that we'd dodged a cannonball, and I'd been in charge of steering. "You did well my little pony," Princess Celestia praised. Princess Celestia, the sun herself, just told me I did well. I feel stronger. "Getting ponies to let go of their pain is no easy feat little filly, you have accomplished what some mares can not." Princess Luna said too. I'd been praised by the sun and the moon. Just imagine what mom would say! If I can get an army of strangers to let go of their hurt... I looked at my best friend square in her dead eyes. "Diamond Tiara, you felt pity for those other Pinkie Pies." "We needed an army." "You already had one. You didn't NEED to help them, but you did." "I didn't need to destroy the world either." "Well it all looks fine to me now! So how about we let bygones be bygones?!" "Father,, don't you have a promise to keep?" "What? ... Oh right. ... so now, as promised..." Discord grinned darkly, kneading his paw and claw while storm clouds turned the sky dark. "You'll fight 'me.'" > Equestria Girls Special Mirror Magic, Pony POV Series > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walking away from the ice cream cafe and the humans they'd met within, Sunset Shimmer could tell that something was making Starlight Glimmer uncomfortable. Sunset could have just touched her to see what was wrong, but… no. She didn't need to be constantly invading other people's mental privacy, just because she could. So, Sunset went with the old-fashioned way: talking. "Hey, Starlight? Are you okay?" Starlight hesitated. "Was that really Sour Sweet? She seemed... less bipolar than Princess Twilight described her." "Apparently, Sour Sweet is taking her meds again." "Humans have medicine for things like that? There's a spell I could cast, if I could actually cast anything here. Ugh, there's got to be some way around that!" Sunset smirked, hands in her jacket pockets. "You think you can find a way, when I couldn't? Knock yourself out. Although, I don't know if easy access to magic would be a good thing for this world…" There were no laws about magic on Earth, since Earth was so ignorant of magic, which had made it doubtful they could arrest the Sirens even if they could find them. Assuming the Sirens were even still alive after their jewels were shattered and they'd lost their immortality. Still, a lot of things had changed for the better. For the sake of the reputation of Crystal Prep, Dean Cadence had asked Cinch to retire, rather than face the scandal and humiliation of being exposed and fired for her blackmail and allowing the bullying of Cadence's sister-in-law. Students like Suri were no longer scared to death of failure… she'd begun cheating not because she was lazy or stupid, but because she was just that scared of disappointing her parents and her teachers, who had drilled it into her head that ‘failing means that YOU are a failure.' Sunset stepped in front of Starlight, blocking her path. "Now tell me what's really the matter." "You learned that from Celestia, didn't you?" "It's like you read my mind," said Sunset dryly. "Alright. It was Trixie." "Trixie?" asked Sunset. "What about her? You shouldn't let someone like her bother you. Just ignore her." Starlight sighed. "I can't… It's a little disturbing, seeing Trixie how she used to be." "You're friends with the Trixie of your world? Oh wait, oh, OH!" Sunset slapped her forehead. "Right! Twilight told me how you, Trixie, King Thorax, and Discord saved Equestria." "And ponies finally stopped holding her past against her. I know the Trixie here isn't MY Trixie, but it makes me wonder. Why didn't she meet the human Starlight Glimmer and make a friend? What's the Starlight Glimmer of this world like?" Sunset Shimmer put a hand on Starlight's shoulder. "Eh, I wouldn't dwell on it. Our counterparts, wherever they are, aren't us, and they're not drop in replacements for us, or us the way we should have been." Starlight smiled knowingly. "You're still upset that Princess Twilight doesn't come to visit any more, aren't you? The dangers of her interacting with her human counterpart..." Sunset shook her head. "Twilight can be that way if she wants, but I'd never give up my life and my friends here, just because some stranger with my face showed up. I'm not some interchangable actress who can get replaced at the director's whim, I'm the star of this show! ... I'm starting to sound like Pinkie Pie, aren't I?" "... A bit." It was still weird how Starlight's first impression of Pinkie Pie had been of a mare who never smiled, only to learn later that Our Town had been the one exception, and she was legendary as the pony who ALWAYS smiled. Once, Starlight had asked Maud Pie WHY she'd been so casual about telling Starlight what she needed to help found Our Town. Maud Pie had spoken in a dark otherworldly voice, "I WANTED TO SEE HOW FAR YOU'D GO IN PURSUIT OF A SOCIETY THAT EMBRACED BEAUTIFUL ORDERLY NAUGHT AS ITS IDENTITY." Then Maud blinked and carried on talking blandly about enchanted rocks as if nothing had happened. Starlight shook herself, not wanting to remember that voice anymore. "So... Twilight's profile on you said your magic was teal. Want to tell me why it was red just now, back there in Twilight's castle? The last time Twilight met someone whose magic wasn't the same color as when they met... it turned out to be Chrysalis." "Was it really? I guess I had other things on my mind." Sunset gave it some thought. "Some magical artifacts can influence the wearer's magic aura. Maybe my geode did something. These geodes are pretty powerful… they might even be this world's version of the Elements of Harmony." She grinned and elbowed Starlight. "I'm definitely not a changeling, if that's what you're thinking." Neither of them noticed an ethereal winged girl with a jewel on her forehead shadowing them. ++ "Another villain who absorbed the power of all seven Elements?" Diamond Tiara's Nightmare, Nightmare !$*(i!@i!(, folded her arms, unimpressed. "This is beginning to feel like a cheat." 'That's how it goes, my dear. Instant petty villain, just add rainbows! … So! Are you going to rush straight in and fight another futile battle against an enemy empowered by feral versions of your greatest weakness? Or do you feel like not getting turned to stone for a third time?' Even if Diamond Tiara's Nightmare wasn't naturally unnoticed thanks to magically-induced obliviousness, she knew most of these humans wouldn't think twice if they saw a goth girl with vulture wings strolling around the mall. Not if Rainbow Dash carelessly letting everyone see her "ponied up" form was anything to go by. Not that anything about Diamond was natural. "Fighting isn't what I'm here for." 'Oh. Well, on the bright side, you're certainly building up quite the pain tolerance, just like mommy dearest. They say you learn more from defeats than victories, and you've had so very many!' "I defeated Venus' avatar." 'Hmm, yes. A blind with rage avatar that wasn't even meant for combat. Too bad that it's months on this side of the mirror to years in Equestria, instead of the other way around, or you could get some real practice in. Or was it supposed to be the other way around to explain how Sunset was Celestia's student decades ago and isn't middle aged now? It's so hard to keep track.' "We're slipping along the time stream anyway." 'I'm surprised Rota Fortuna hasn't had more to say about that. She despises time travel, you know. Something about effects coming before causes really just sticks in her craw.' "Considering that you tore her wing off, I'm pretty sure she'll hate your guts forever, regardless." 'Forever is a long time, missy! Not that I doubt you.' If Diamond Tiara still had feelings, she might have sighed. "It doesn't matter. That's not why we're here anyway." 'And just WHY are we here AGAIN?' "Just making sure some things... remain buried. After all, it's not like any of us can say no to Fate anyway." "Diamond? Diamond Tiara! What are you doing here? Didn't you say you were busy today?" Diamond Tiara stopped in her tracks. 'No. Way.' But there she was... the Silver Spoon of this human world. The purple dress and boots weren't the sort of clothes a rich pony would wear, but who else could it have been, standing there with gray skin, two-toned silver hair in pigtails, and a pendant shaped like her Silver's cutie mark? To her credit, the Nightfilly didn't ask 'You can see me?' Obviously, she could. Nightmare !$*(i@(i( spread her black wings ominously, overshadowing the other girl. Silver Spoon kept right on smiling at her "friend." 'Well, now isn't that peculiar? She can see Diamond Tiara, but not the Nightmare.' 'There is no Diamond Tiara anymore.' "I had a few things I needed to take care of," Nightmare !$*i!@is said. Silver Spoon grinned knowingly, seeming oblivious to the exceptionally cold attitude of her ‘best friend.' "Things like checking out the premiere of the Daring Do movie?" She reached for Diamond's hand. "Come on, we can go together! There's still time to get tickets…" Silver Spoon of CHS When I grasped Diamond Tiara's hand, it was like all the world's colors were sucked up by a vacuum cleaner behind my head, sweeping from far in the distance ahead of me to the edges of my sight. The sounds of the mall grew muffled, as if I was hearing them underwater. The delicious scents of the snack carts became a faint memory. People moved around us sluggishly, looking like blurred ghosts. My pulse should've been racing. It was, a little, but not like I knew it should be. This was the mall, and people focused on their own things, their own friends, not the crowd they waded through, but a sunglasses stand owner who had been eyeing me before suddenly seemed to completely lose interest. Unbelievable… two young girls as cute as us, holding hands, and no one gave us a glance? Diamond Tiara turned her head towards me, eyes narrowing slightly. I let go. Tiara snatched her hand back, and the world returned to normal. The sunglasses seller started to look my way again. "Diamond Tiara!" I let out a practiced gasp. "You can do magic?" The seller tilted his head, and thought better of whatever sales pitch he'd been about to make. + "Don't tell anyone," said Diamond. "You'll only make trouble for yourself." "But... I'm sure Sweetie's sister and her friends can help you with it." "It's not the same kind of magic as theirs." "Uh... You weren't going to use this inviso-power to sneak into the theater without paying, were you?" asked Silver Spoon uncomfortably. "No, I wasn't. And I'm not invisible, just unnoticeable." "Like the blue box in Doctor Whooves?" "... Yes, Silver Spoon. Like the blue box in Doctor Whooves." 'Why are you bothering to tell her this? You're only going to wipe her memory anyway.' "Cool!" "I'm sorry, Silvey, but I have something important to do that I can't delay... " "I'll come with you." "No, you won't." "Gee, I wonder if your 'unnoticed' power still works if I start pointing you out to everyone..." + She looked at me like she was giving serious thought to vaporizing me with her heat vision. She probably doesn't have heat vision... right? + Diamond could have simply gone about her business while Silver made a fool of herself. No. The commotion would get in the way, and she really didn't have much time. That was the reason why she was going to look out for Silver. Right. Of course it was. "... Don't ask questions," said Diamond. "Don't meddle with anything in my world, or something is likely to eat you." That was… not entirely a lie. 'Oh, for love of... Please tell me why you're doing this. Don't tell me you're feeling sentimental now.' 'I don't feel anything.' ‘It's not as if it'd be particularly difficult to get rid of our little dovetail. Why, I've thought of a dozen different plans already, and I'm not even trying hard! Not a one of them requires you to spend any time with an alternate version of your best friend.' 'I didn't ask you, and I don't have friends, I don't want friends, I want sycophants, remember?' + I took her hand and entered her world again. Even knowing what to expect, I should have been a lot more creeped out than I was. = The Final Battle Approaches - Lunar 2 Eternal Blue = There was another thing that should have scared me. The longer I held onto Diamond Tiara, the more I started to see... things. Former Principal Cinch stalked past with the collar of her coat turned up and movie premier tickets in hand, and her cold expression only grew frostier when the ghostly spirits that followed brushed against her. After Daisy picked one dress over another clockwork spiders wove elaborate threads reaching from her to others, as more spiders built more threads as people around them made more decisions, and clipped away other threads that lead nowhere. Apple Bloom's big brother stole a kiss from Miss Cheerilee, not seeing the ghostly arrows stuck in their chests, courtesy of the hovering pony-cherub-thing flapping along behind them. Even Trixie was here... I saw a book with a horse head and a red jewel on the cover on a shelf behind her, with black tentacles reaching out of the book towards her. Had these creatures always been around, just out of sight? I remembered The Lord of the Rings, how when you put on the One Ring, it didn't actually make you invisible. Instead, it pulled you partially into the spirit world, where you suddenly became MORE visible to beings like the Ringwraiths. Diamond Tiara paid no notice to any of those spirits, like they were all old news to her. A crowd to be pushed past. Her shadow, though... something was very wrong about it. For a moment, I was almost convinced that her shadow wasn't HER shadow at all, but something else entirely, stapled onto her. Diamond led me away from the parts of the mall that customers were allowed to go, right past security and into the control office! "Tiara..." "Quiet." The security guard on duty didn't even notice us come in, much less call someone to escort us out. But that could have been because of the spectacle on the security monitors. I saw a giant woman marching out of the theater with a mirror in her hand. Even in Tiara's dim gray world, this woman was in full color, in fact, she looked weirdly oversaturated. She wasn't a spirit, either… people were actually turning their heads, gawking, doing double-takes. Probably thinking she was some last-minute promotion for the Daring Do movie, considering the freaky green and purple dress she was wearing. Sure, she was super tall and had a nutty look on her face, but she just didn't seem like that big a deal, not after Nightmare Inferno, the Sirens, and Nightmare Midnight. She didn't even seem to be doing anything bad, so far. A teenage girl with stylishly ripped jeans and a wool cap came running out of the theater, chasing the giant woman. Her body language kinda reminded me of when Twilight Sparkle first showed up. The first Twilight, I mean. Unlike the other mall patrons, she actually looked worried. As the giant woman strode through the mall with a demented look on her face, the security guard stopped staring and made an urgent grab for the phone on his desk. Diamond Tiara touched his shoulder. "No need to call the police." The guard hesitated, then put the phone down, seeming satisfied that there wasn't any trouble here. "No need to call the police." As if things weren't strange enough, a winged, adult version of the teenage girl began popping up on the security monitors, slipping from person to person like a wisp, a jewel on her forehead sparkling. There should have been no audio, but I COULD HEAR HER whisper in the shoppers' ears, one word, over and over, one by one. "Run." "Run." "Run." "Run." "Run." The shoppers immediately did just that, going from finding the giant woman strange to terrifying, like a switch had been flipped. The winged woman was in color too, with light violet skin and purple hair with a turquoise streak in it. Diamond looked as puzzled to see her as I was. Diamond's eyes furrowed the way they always did when she was trying to figure out something that didn't go according to plan. "Shouldn't we do something to help?" I asked. "We could find Sweetie's sister and her friends. They always handle stuff like this." "I am helping... making sure that when this is over, she can have a normal life." That's when I noticed that Diamond Tiara was running her hand over the consoles. I knew just enough about computers to piece together what she was doing. "Are you… erasing the security footage?" "Yes." That's when the giant woman spotted the teenage girl who'd been following her, and grabbed her. Was she... was she trying to crush her?! The adult version of the teenage girl flew behind her and gave her a boost, letting her kick the mirror out of the giantess' hand. The winged woman helped her teenage wingless self down, and nudged the falling mirror into her hands. Neither the teenager nor the giantess seemed to notice any of this. Diamond frowned, ever so slightly. "Well... that's taken care of. Now I just need the distraction to come at the right time. Or would it have worked out better if that video hadn't started playing just then? Oh well, that's the way fate rolled her dice." The winged woman vanished from the monitors... and reappeared right in front of us! Up close, I could see she was wearing a pale, perfectly symmetrical dress and woven sandals. The entire design was kinda modest. The brooch on her collar was shaped like an equal sign with spiral mother-of-pearl colors. She wasn't skinny or pudgy. Her figure wasn't flat or busty, her hair wasn't long or short. She wasn't grotesquely hideous or insanely pretty. Everything about her seemed deliberately average. She seemed interested in the same controls Diamond Tiara had touched. Diamond narrowed her eyes. Her grip on me tightened, until I was worried it might bruise. = Battle Realms Soundtrack - D - Dragon Warrior_Combat = "You," Diamond Tiara said coldly. "What are you doing here?" Only then did the winged woman notice Diamond Tiara. I'm still not sure if she noticed me. "Dear, Rota Fortuna gave me this task as part of my penance," she said, gently admonishing. "The question is, what are you doing here?" Diamond Tiara was unmoved. "I have my own penance. And you have an overdeveloped sense of your own sins, as usual. At least you didn't know what you were doing." "I wonder if this is part of my own trial," the woman mused, stroking her chin. I really don't know what she meant. + Diamond Tiara's Nightmare spread her vulture wings, shrouding the whole room. "Ever since I gained my power, I've fought those with toys custom-made to be against me, or powers that naturally gave them an advantage to beat the hay out of me." The unfortunate security guard felt an incredible chill, finding himself questioning whether he'd really done anything worthwhile or memorable in his entire life, and wondering who would appreciate or know anything he'd done a hundred years after he was dead. "You believe in fairness don't you? Even Steven? Maybe beating someone in a fair fight would help me work out my frustrations." 'Dear, I'm not sure if this is the best use of our...' 'That's irrelevant.' The woman's wings seemed to glow with an equal amount of life that pushed against Diamond Tiara's void. "I didn't come here to fight, but if I can knock some sense into you…" The security guard began to think about his friends and family, and those whose hopes he shared, and the satisfaction of knowing of a job well done. Nightmare !$*(i@is took a step forward, raising a clenched fist. The adult version of Starlight Glimmer held her ground. "WAIT!" Silver Spoon said quickly, trying to get in between the two without letting go of Diamond Tiara's hand. "You came here because you wanted to HELP, right? Both of you had important stuff to do to help everyone, right?! Then... Then you shouldn't be fighting! It would be pointless!" "Everything is pointless," droned Diamond. "The only meaning anything has is what it's given." "NO IT ISN'T! And no it doesn't! Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon being friends doesn't have to be given meaning, it has its own meaning! So... So why do bad stuff? I mean, didn't we want to get away from hurting others who'd done nothing to us just to make ourselves feel better?" Diamond Tiara glared at Silver. ‘Shut up!' she wanted to say. ‘You're such a child, thinking it could ever be that simple. You don't understand and I hope you never have to understand…' Instead, she wordlessly folded her wings, letting the darkness recede. + Diamond Tiara glanced at the office clock suddenly, her eyes widening. So did the winged woman. Tiara was faster, and she rushed to the computer and... stopped short in confusion about what to do. Still holding my hand, but not so tightly now, she looked at me. "Silver Spoon." She tapped one of the monitors. "Would you kindly play this video on every screen in the mall?" I decided that I would play that video on every screen in the whole mall. I felt a pure and absolute calm as I got to work, pleased that I'd learned all about this in computer class and I could put it to good use here. Not that it was really hard or anything. The security guard was still logged, so the computer didn't even ask me for a password. I really didn't want to let go of Tiara, but she helpfully rested her hand on the back of my neck so I could use both hands and type faster. "I know how to do that too, you know," said the winged woman. "Sunset showed me." "You know Sunset?" Diamond nudged me. "Focus, Silvey." I got the video up and running. It was Dance Magic, the one that the Shadowbolts and our resident magical girls recorded together for that contest. One of the biggest screens in the mall started playing right behind the giantess, distracting her long enough to let the teenager get away. Again, I could actually hear the video and see it in full color. I actually started tapping my foot and swaying back and forth, humming along. "Don't be too impressed," Tiara said, grasping my hand again once more. "This world's Twilight Sparkle is into classical, not this JPop stuff. She lip-synched with Princess Twilight's singing." "Diamond, how do you know all that?" "You should know I always have my ways, Silvey." The winged woman waved her hand over the security monitor, and suddenly, I could hear what the teenager and the giantess were talking about. + "Is fame really what you're after, or are you looking for something else?" "Like what?!" the giantess snarled. "Like... a friend?" "Who would want to be my friend?" "I would." "Why?" "Because I understand you, Juniper. You think getting revenge is going to make you feel better, but it's not! Please, don't make a mistake that you'll end up regretting for the rest of your life." "I've already made too many mistakes. What I've done is... is... unforgivable." Huh? Why did that last part sound like it had an echo? "No, Juniper," the teenager pleaded. "I know they'll forgive you, but first you have to set them free!" That middle part sounded like it echoed too. "... Shut up," said Tiara, snapping me out of my trance.. I looked to her, not understanding. "Tiara?" "Shut up, it's beyond forgiveness." The air grew heavy and tense… a water glass shattered for no reason. A monitor screen cracked. A notepad sparked and caught fire. I should have been terrified, like the security guard… he was freaking out, trying to extinguish the flames.. "There's no saving or friendship. Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up." "Tiara... You're hurting me!" I cried, trying to wriggle my hand loose. Her grip loosened at once. Tiara looked at me, her face blank but not indifferent. I felt her quiver. She turned on a heel, still holding my hand, and before the winged woman could say anything, she leapt. Everything became a blur. "I... I wish I could make up for my mistakes," I faintly heard the giantess say. And suddenly we were back in the mall proper. Our local magical horse girls and the new girl were hugging and cheering in the mostly abandoned mall. The giantess was gone, but in her place stood a mousy girl with the same color hair and glasses, now together with the group. I'm not stupid. I put two and two together. I saw the remains of the mirror the giantess had held. Diamond Tiara reached down, plucking the last shard of glass off the floor and pocketing it. "What are you going to do with that?" I couldn't help but ask. "Don't worry, I'll put it to good use." She let go of my hand, and suddenly I was back in the living, breathing, bright-colored world. No more gray colors. No more unearthly creatures all around us, just as real, maybe more real than us. Diamond gently stroked over my hand, and it didn't hurt anymore. It didn't feel like it was healed, more like the damage to my hand was erased. "I'm sorry I hurt you... it seems that's all I'm good for." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Tiara... that's not all you're good for." "You're right, I'm very good at hurting everypony." "Tiara, stop beating yourself up. You can't change your past, but you can decide your future. You shouldn't just run away from your own hurt. Don't you have a Silver Spoon waiting for you?" Her eyes got big, and she turned her head like a doll, the rest of her body still. "When?" "Roughly three-seconds after I laid eyes on you," I said casually. "I had a feeling you didn't want to talk about it, so I didn't bring it up." - 'So are you going to entropy her memories away now? This is reeeeeeealllllly getting awkward and a little tedious. Or, I suppose you could go out for ice cream, do a little roller blading, buy expensive dresses you don't need, play at the video arcade, see the latest must-see movie... You know, all the things that bored little rich girls do with their besties! I bet you'd have simply LOADS of fun! Of course, I'd be bored out of my skull, but please go ahead, enjoy yourself!' Nightmare !$*i!@is raised her hand, reaching for Silver Spoon's forehead... and stopped. "I can't stay," I said. "I'm on a top secret mission from Princess Twilight, so you can't tell ANYONE about it, not even Sunset and her friends, or it could cause a lot of trouble. Think you can do that, Silvey?" "Okay, Tiara, I will." Silver Spoon nodded. "You can count on me!" - I put on my best 'okay, whatever you say, Tiara,' smile. She's lying, but I know she'd never lie to me unless she HAD TO. I don't want to hurt her feelings or make her think she's slipping. Diamond Tiara's always been a very good liar, I'm just very good at picking her tells. We're best friends after all. Isn't friendship supposed to pierce all barriers? "Your Silver Spoon is waiting for you, isn't she?" I say, not forceful, not harsh. "You should go back to her. She must be worried sick." "She's better off without me." "I don't believe that, and I'm sure neither does she." "I'm sorry I let you get involved in that mess..." "I did what I've always done, helped you when you needed it. You should let your Silver Spoon do the same." I moved to give her a hug. She flinched away from me like I was a cobra. Without another word, she took a step back and magically vanished. I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing her again. Maybe I'll never know the whole story of what's going on, but hopefully her own Silver Spoon can help her. Me? I don't regret that I met her. And I have my own Diamond Tiara I need to help too! - 'She won't give up, you know. Across time, across reality, she won't give up on you. She'll crawl through Tartarus for your sake.' 'She'll only get hurt if she hangs onto me. She has to let go. It's for her own good.' 'Her good? Or yours?' 'Come on, we have a final battle to fight.' > Dark and Light Miracle, (The TRUE Boss Rush Begins!) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Diamond Tiara!" Silver Spoon shouted, ignoring Discord completely. She trotted closer, but Diamond once again teleported away before she could reach her. Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You know, for somepony who's only been able to do unicorn magic for a few months, your teleportation is exceptional." Apple Bloom rubbed her back, wincing at a remembered pain. "Believe me, she's always been tougher than she looks.” "When you're stuck in bed recovering from having your chest petrified," said Diamond, as if this sort of thing was nothing noteworthy at all, "you have time to catch up." Twilight blinked. "Wait a minute… Those missing books! 'Teleportation For Dummies', 'Basics Of Magical Offense', they had gravel on the pages when I finally found them again. That was you, Diamond?" "Those books were the most boring thing I've read in my life. I'd rather have been stabbed by Chrysalis again." "You were… wait, what?!" "Trixie agrees with the Nightfilly." "Hey!" Twilight snapped. "Trixie is just being honest." Discord flipped through one of Twilight's textbooks, making a show of yawning and tossing it over his shoulder. "A bunch of D-rank drivel… but I suppose one has to start somewhere. The spells I taught her were far more interesting." He wiggled his claws mystically. "Pain, darkness, chaos! Hers to bring forth with a mere flick of her horn! I'm such a bad influence, aren't I?" "How do you even know HOW to teach a unicorn let alone a pony any kind of magic they can use?!" Rarity demanded. Unexpectedly, Discord snarled at a rock and aimed a giant bazooka from nowhere at it. Then he slipped the bazooka into an even bigger giant sling-shot and launched them both, blowing the rock to dust. "I told you, you're not real! I am NOT falling for the same garbage as Queen-Bug-Butt!" Discord brushed the soot stains off his arms. "But enough of that. It's time for my best trick. You'll be the first and last to ever lay eyes on upon it." "And I thought he was crazy before," Spike whispered. "Now where was I?! Oh yes! Epic battle time! Ahem!" Discord strapped the forehead protector back on. It was now marked with Diamond Tiara's symbol instead of a tornado, and made a whole series of nonsensical hand gestures. "Bunny! Turkey! Rabbit! Tortoise! Gopher! Turtle! Naked Mole Rat! Pony Running While Carrying Scissors!" Gaia-Fluttershy gasped in horror at the last one. Twilight brought up the strongest shield spell she knew, and Rarity layered a gem barrier over that. Luna and Celestia activated their own magical defenses. Applejack and Rainbow Dash braced themselves. Pinkie Pie was ready to react to whatever trick Discord pulled before it happened. Spike huddled close to Trixie. Trixie prepared the best barrier spell she'd copied and prayed she wouldn't need to use it too much, her mom's magic used to destroy the replica Trixie had eaten up a lot of mana. Fluttershy mustered all the divine power still within her. The CMC pulled Silver Spoon back over her protests. 'Fighting our replicas and that endless army of puppets took so much out of us,' Twilight thought. 'We'd better have enough power left to defeat Discord and subdue Diamond Tiara!' "Now step back my dear Nightfilly... Great Sundering Technique, insert flute noise here!" Discord exploded twice. Then over a half-dozen more times to boot. Their massed shields easily deflected the blasts, but with the air full of billowing clouds of multicolored smoke, they could see nothing of what had become of Discord. Thunder crashed, and stormclouds gathered high overhead. A slight drizzle began falling on all their heads. "I thought for so long on how to present this," said the voice of Discord, "but sometimes the direct approach is best. That is, unless you really want a riveting flashback to my tragic childhood that lasts longer than the whole battle up until now." Ominous laughter came from the clouds of smoke. Laughter from unfamiliar voices, none of them Diamond's or Discord's. Then the clouds dissipated, and Twilight's friends stared and the Princesses were left speechless. = "One-Winged Angel" orchestra version - FINAL FANTASY VII = Apple Bloom thought, 'If Discord's tryin' to scare us, we're scared.' They floated, hovered, and stood before the heroes... opaque and solid, most barely able to hold back their psychotic giggles. Behind them, still linked to Diamond Tiara, Discord floated, now dressed up like a circus ringmaster. He cracked a whip. "Now, let the real show begin!" "Trixie would like the army of Pinkie Pies back now, please!" Lightning flashed, showing their silhouettes. Eighteen yellow eyes with red pupils glared at the heroes from sneering faces. A young adult green dragon stood in the back, yet loomed over the rest of them. He had a long neck, a spiked tail, and leathery wings, with a familiar set of mismatched horns on its head and one fang missing. Spike gulped. Gaia-Fluttershy shuddered, her mouth dry, Fluttercruel manifested to hug her mother, glaring back at these new foes. A huge golden lion roared, so great it was almost deafening. It had a chaotic black mane flowing around its head. Sweetie Belle cringed and covered her ears, but she refused to cower or look away. A giant purple bat flapped in the air, screeching at the moment. Princess Luna growled in indignation at it. A large hybrid of a male lion and an eagle griffon pointed and sniggered down at them. "Oh, the looks on your faces!" Pinkie Pie felt her mane trying to stand on end, more than usual. "This is new." "Applejack, be a dear and tell me I'm not seeing what I'm seeing." Rarity said. "Sorry darlin', they're real." A tall gray billy goat stood on two legs, bleating menacingly and pawing at the ground. He had a grin that all but split his head in two, with one snaggletoothed fang and two copies of Discord's left horn on his head. Apple Bloom said, "Uh, nice Discord Goat?" "No! Not nice!" It continued to grin, stroking its beard. Apple Bloom gulped. A handsome light brown deer stag stood tall and proud, looking at all that lay before him with utter contempt. He had two copies of Discord's right horn for antlers. "Hmph!" Twilight Sparkle had no idea why, but just looking at the deer stag put her on edge. There was also a long red sea-serpent, effortlessly swimming through the air. It hissed with a forked tongue, one fang missing, and struck a pose. "Oh my!" Scootaloo's head practically went blank, unsure of what she was seeing or what to say, her body moving almost on instinct as she flew close over her friends' heads. Silver Spoon, for her part, felt almost relieved at the prospect of a straight-up battle against enemies that weren't immortal. She hoped. "We just need to beat them, and we can focus on saving Tiara, right?" "The greateth Wholeth Discordeth, sayeth that I shalt destroyeth ye alleth th-th! His wordeth, beeth doneth, th-th!" Rarity, Trixie, Luna, Celestia, and Twilight cringed with folded ears at the painfully bad Old Lower Equestrian. "This is a mockery even for you, Discord!" Princess Celestia yelled, glaring at the brown-furred serpent with blue-feathered wings who had spoken. It had a long rainbow colored streak down its back. "The Ogres and Oubliettes Monster Manual distinctly states that Quetzalcoatl are always Lawful Good!" Twilight blushed. "Um, not that I'd know anything about that!" "Hmph!" Discord crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air. "I'll have you know that when non-fallen angels in video games go 'we'll destroy you all for uh... um, erm, reasons and stuff,' nopony ever complains about it! So don't you go getting high and mighty now!" "... He's right," Sweetie Belle admitted sadly. "Hiiiiiii!" The sea serpent waved his white-furred tail excitedly. "Let's get down to the SHOW, ladies!" But Rainbow Dash wasn't paying attention to any of those. "Oh you have GOT to be KIDDING ME! There is just no way! Oh COME ON!" Because the last one... was a female version of Discord, without the beard, and with obvious feminine curves. She giggled. "You can call me Eris." Discord snapped his fingers, pointing at her. "Lookin' good, beautiful!" Eris snapped right back at him. "Right back at'cha, handsome!" Rainbow mimed gagging. Luna could only shake her head. "We always knew Discord was a narcissist but truly this is beyond the pale." Discord tugged on imaginary lapels. "Ah, but aren't they the most handsome and lovely demons you've ever seen?!" "And you're all ugly!" said the giant purple bat. "Allow me to introduce, Goatcord, Griffcord, nya-nya-nya-nya-nya Batcord! Then Quetzalcord, Dragocord, Deercord, Seacord, Lioncord, oh and of course Eris." "Aren't I the best?" Eris laughed. "And I'm the gosh-darn Batcord!" said Batcord, in a gravelly voice. Griffcord mimed drawing a claw across his throat. "Let's slice and dice these losers!" "Let's make 'em squeal and then paint funny faces on their flanks and make 'em walk upside down wearin' top hats on their tails!" Goatcord said. Dragocord growled. "Let's take all that pretty gold armor they're wearing first, but not that stupid purple cape and hat." "YOU WILL NOT INSULT THE LULAMOON FAMILY TRAPPINGS A SECOND TIME, YOU WALKING HAND BAG!" Trixie growled. "No offense Spike." "None taken." The lion roared again, claws digging deep furrows in the lawn. "KILL-CRUSH-DESTROY!" "But first I'll take the pink and yellow ones and make them my Drakainas!" "NOPONY CARES!" bellowed Fluttercruel. "GIVE IT A BUCKING REST ALREADY!" "But then afterwards I KILL-CRUSH-DESTROY! KILL-CRUSH-DESTROY!" "These insects shall fall before the divine might of chaos," Deercord snorted. "It is elementary, dear Eris." "Ooooooh this is gonna be so cool!" Seacord bopped up and down. "Let's get the cameras set up so we can record every minute of it!" Quetzalcord had gone to the trouble of magically sculpting the clouds, just so he could have divine sunbeams to pose in. "So sayeth the Whole'th of Discord! Thou doometh ‘tis uponeth ye alleth! As writteneth, somewhere I am sureth!" "For the love of all that is good and decent, will somepony pleeeeease shut that one up?!" begged Rarity. "These fiends are known as Detachments, my little ponies!" Princess Celestia warned them. "Each one is an aspect of Discord's whole self, with a portion of his power. Do not underestimate them, they are much stronger than mere Avatars!" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at Eris. "And... what part of Discord's personality did you come from, exactly?" "Don't ask. Oh, who am I kidding?! Ask away! I wanna share all the squishy details!" said Eris, striking a flaunty pose. Rainbow recoiled. "Blech, no thanks!" "To create so many Detachments at once," mused Princess Luna. "The amount of magic must have been incredible, even for you." "Not telling." Eris stuck her tongue out at Luna. "How, Discord?" Princess Celestia asked. "How, Dissy? How did you do this?" "Well, it wasn't easy." "You've never been able to make one, not with your ego. Not so long ago, Luna was astonished that you'd managed to create even one, and now this? Could it be… you've finally found someone that you value MORE than your own desires?" "Oh, please! Hello, evil overlord over here!" "Are you? You didn't even try to isolate my little ponies when you forced them to face their reflections." "Just an oversight on my part." "You don't MAKE oversights like that, Discord!" Discord growled and snorted. "Boys! And girl! Take-them-out!" The Detachments fanned out, surrounding the ponies. Princess Luna boomed, "They art but aspects of Discord's soul! Destroying their physical forms merely returns them to him! DO NOT HOLD BACK! CUT THEM DOWN!" "Wasn't planning on it!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I'll bet you weren't planning on this either," crowed Discord. "It's time to divide and conquer!" Diamond Tiara spread her wings and hovered into the air, eyes glowing white. She drew power into a dark vortex, then fired the gathered energy right into the heart of the ponies' formation. Walls of gusting black wind sprang up, flinging everyone back and fencing most of the Detachments in with a single pony each... = Wonderful 101 vs Prince Vorkken Final Battle = Lioncord slammed a forepaw down, turning a cobblestone garden path into a crater. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE! I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Twilight quickly realized that all her friends were walled off from her. "Not good." Her ears were still ringing from the bellowing shouts of the beast alone. "I ONLY LOST TO YOU STUPID TOYS BEFORE BECAUSE I WAS ARROGANT! BUT THAT ARROGANCE HAS NO PLACE IN THIS PART OF ME! I AM DESTRUCTION AND RAGE!" Twilight had to bring up a special magic barrier around her ears just to save herself from permanent hearing loss. Standing her ground against the force of his shouting was proving to be another difficulty. "I'll have you know rage is-" "KILL! CRUSH! DESTROY!" Twilight teleported away from another powerful smash and brought up a barrier… which shattered like candy glass when it was merely brushed by the beam of utter destruction that his tail tuft fired at her. - "I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batcord!" "NO! WE art the night! We art dreams and nightmares! We art Princess Luna Nyx Equestria! Tarot of the Moon! And we art insulted Discord thinks a mere shadow of himself can best us!" "What, are you dense? Are you stupid or something? Your response is exactly as I predicted. Ponies are a superstitious and cowardly lot! It is because I have less power than you that I'm your superior! You've never had to plan or strategize! Just stupidly brute force your way through everything! Fall before true cunning!" - "LUNA! Twilight!" Princess Celestia called. "Tis quite foolish, ye art doom-eth-ed, as it verily shalt have been written. Discord's word'th be'th doneth! Upon'eth our fang'ths and wing'ths ye art'th shall fall'th at last'th!" "Chrysalis beat you to it." "SHUT'TH UP'TH YOUR'TH MOUTH'TH! THE QUEEN OF DUNG BEETLES SHALL NOT BE SPOKEN OF IN DITH HOLITH PLACE'TH!" "If you think I'm scared of you, you're in for a rude awakening. Do you want to see how terrible the sun is when I don't have to hold back?" - Gaia-Fluttershy shook herself, getting her bearings. That hadn't been pleasant at all. It took her a moment to realize she was alone. 'No you're not, I'm still here,' her daughter's spirit reminded her. 'I'm grateful,' Fluttershy thought back. "Yo!" Gaia-Fluttershy looked up to see Griffcord hovering over her, talon-scaled arms folded over his feathered chest. "You know, there's a lot of parts of old Discord that couldn't bring themselves to hurt either of you." Fluttercruel took control for a moment to say, "Screw you." "Oh yeah?!" exploded Griffcord. "Well, screw you too! Times two!" "Now, let's all remain calm," said Fluttershy. "I'm glad that Discord can care about others, in spite of all the naughty-" Griffcord closed the gap between them in a breath and kicked Fluttershy-Gaia in the stomach, sending her flying. "Too bad for you, I'm not any of those parts!" - Pinkie Pie landed squarely on her hooves, her eyes spinning in opposite directions for a moment before she took a firm hold of her head. She expected her Pinkie Sense to warn her of being blindsided, but she didn’t feel its touch. It took her less than a second to see she was cut off from all her friends. "Howdy-hoo Pinkie Pie!" Seacord waved a fin. "Isn't this grand? A big epic battle with you and all your friends getting their own personal battle against Discord! Isn't this gonna be so cool!?" "Well... I think everypony was thinking we were gonna rush him all together, covering for each other, and showing how our teamwork and friendship trumped Discord and Diamond Tiara being selfish and mean." "Oh!" Seacord looped around, scratching his head with his tail sheepishly. "Yeah, that would have been pretty cool." "Sooo... can we do that instead?" "Sorry! It's fine with me, but I'm kinda outvoted." "... You're gonna try to make me never-heard-from-again aren't you?" "Well, I did wanna make you into a rubber bath toy that goes 'squeak!' But that magic seal kinda ruined that." "I thought you wanted to marry me," Pinkie Pie said, a stiff upper lip but her eyes brimming. "Oh, that bit's not me. Discord’s still hung onto that part of himself." "Shoulda known," pouted Pinkie Pie. Without missing a beat, she bounced out of the way on a rubber ball as Seacord shifted into a firefighter's outfit, shooting a firehose with enough force that the water broke through rock. - Trixie coughed, stumbling to her hooves. "Spike, you still with me? Because if you are, please let go of my cape, can't breathe!" "Sorry!" Spike let go, holding onto Trixie's neck instead. "I felt like I was gonna be blown to Oz!" "That's a relief. If anything happened to you, Twilight would kill me." "Oh, is that all?" Trixie smirked. "And Trixie would be sad as well." "Ahhh, I knew you cared!" Spike teased. "Never said I didn't!" Trixie smiled. "Stop patting yourselves on the back and get ready!" Applejack shouted, getting to her hooves, no worse for wear. "Those varmints could be anywhere!" Rarity also stood, her Element of Harmony on her armor glowing. Trixie and Spike realized they had been inside a pale blue bubble, which flickered out as Rarity's element dimmed. "Is everypony safe and accounted for?" asked Rarity. "I think... LOOK OUT!" Rarity's element glowed again, and another bubble formed around them. Rarity grunted as negative colored lightning struck it. 'This hurts more than it looks.' Rarity thought but kept to herself. "Ponies!" shouted Deercord, lightning arcing from his horns. "I'm not a pony!" "Silence! Your inane mercy and parlor tricks will do you no good AGAINST ME! I am the part of Discord that knows he is better than everyone! I have nothing holding me back! This is your end!" "Says you!" Spike shouted. "Diamond messed up! We stuck together! Which means we can fight together! You're the one who’s toast!" Spike breathed fire. Then Dragocord landed behind right behind Deercord, towering behind him like Deercord was a doll and spewing fire in every direction. "Mine!" "... And my partner," Deercord said formally. "This... is gonna be a challenge," AJ said. "Twilight, girls, be safe," Spike said, wide eyed and knees shaking. "Trixie has total confidence in our victory!" Trixie said, not looking AJ in the eye. - The fillies crash-landed in a pile, legs tangled together like some demented game of Twister. The charter members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders landed on their capes, which negated any force or damage their young fragile bodies would have taken from the impact as if it had never existed, and Silver Spoon landed on her friends. Silver Spoon couldn't help but think that Diamond Tiara would have found the result only proper. Then she'd have found something to complain about, not because it actually bothered her, but because both heiresses had been taught to not give an air of being satisfied, as it kept the poorer ponies on their tiptoes. "Nice landing," Silver Spoon let herself quip as the foals began franticly untangling themselves, Apple Bloom pulling her bags of various concoctions free. Somehow, Scootaloo's war paint wasn't smudged. "Uh, girls," Apple Bloom said, "Ah think we're alone." "OooOOOOOooooOOh you're FAR from ALL-LONESOME!" The four foals laid eyes on Goatcord. "You foals and I, are gonna have SO MUCH FUN!" The two legged goat bleated, his eyes twitching. "I need an adult," Sweetie Belle whimpered. "I am an adult!" "...No yer not!" Apple Bloom shouted, casting a look back at Silver Spoon. "Silver Spoon! Stay close behind us! Scootaloo, stay close above us. Sweetie Belle, flank besides me!" "Alright!" "Foals wanna play? GOOD! I wanna play too!" - Rainbow Dash rubbed her head. "Oh man, what was that, zombie wind? At least Everfree's wind felt alive! I wasn't feeling any air pressure but- WAIT! SCOOTALOO!" Rainbow Dash rapidly looked around, and saw her adopted filly on the other side of a wall of black wind. "Hold on, squirt!" Rainbow flew in an arc to go over the barrier. "Nuh-uh-uh!" Eris swung in like a pendulum, knocking the wind out of the pegasus with a kick to the gut, Rainbow righted herself before she could hit the ground. "You're fighting with me, Miss Colorful." "Screw you! I have Scootaloo to care about!" "Well too bad! You wanna come to her rescue? Take me on!" Eris snapped her fingers and an incredibly tall ceiling of random checker board patterns closed in around them. "You get the honor of taking on the best of Discord's Detachments! Come on, Rainbow Crash! Show me how good you really are!" - = Clara Dolls - Madoka Rebellion = 'Aw, most of them are feeling lonely fighting by themselves.' 'I envy how much excitement they're gonna have.' 'Get angry and fight already!' 'I hate how long this is taking!' 'I'm hungry. Wanna eat something?' 'I wanna play now!' 'I'm proud we're here for this.' I promise, all of you will have your playtime with me soon, but Father wants to have his first. It'll be the game to end all games. You'll never have one greater. - = ONE PUNCH MAN Opening = I teleported about, frantically and randomly, but the monster chaos lion pursued me relentlessly, his slashing claws causing blades of energy to fly out and cut through the space where I had been only a moment before. 'What I wouldn't give for one of those indestructible Crusader capes right now!' "Too bad Celestia isn't fighting ME instead, Twilight Sparkle! SHE MIGHT HAVE STOOD A CHANCE!" The golden lion rushed like a freight train and swung at the space where my head had been an instant before, slamming the ground instead. The individual atoms of the ground were obliterated, creating a bowl-shaped crater. "ALL I NEED IS ONE HIT!" The problem with randomly teleporting was that while he didn't know where I'd appear next, neither did I. I had a set range so I didn't teleport right where I started, but it was only a matter of time before dumb luck got me killed. "So that's what this version of you is all about? Sheer brute force?" The lion beast lunged at me! I managed to half-entomb him in a miniature iceberg I condensed out of the air, stopping the claws inches from my nose. The ice began to quake, and I teleported away again as it exploded, the lion roaring in rage. "Another you destroyed 49 clones of the pink one! You're pathetic!" "SHUT UP!" Mistake. Stupid. Should be dead. I let him get to me. That I could teleport the way other ponies breathed was the only way I was matching him with how fast he was. I teleported away with his claws millimeters from my eyes. I didn't know the story behind that Pinkie Pie army, and for once I simply didn’t want to know. = Transformers Devastation - Motormaster Battle Theme = "Does Twilight Sparkle understand that this is how she is going to DIE?!" That roar again, counter with barrier! "I don't think about dying! I'm gonna die about a hundred years from now, an old mare, in bed, surrounded by my best friends and favorite books!" "HA HA HA HA! That destiny is beyond you! Win or lose!" "You're not fate! And what happened to 'kill crush destroy?'" "I was distracting you to power up my attack slowly enough that you wouldn't notice." The ground underneath me exploded! I teleported away, instinctively materializing in the only space clear of flying debris, and Lioncord was already leaping at the spot he'd clearly purposely left open. I twisted out of the way of the laser blades that flew from his claws... it wasn't enough, and I felt like the atoms in my stomach were splitting apart. I landed on my back and looked down to see three glowing hot slash marks on my underbelly's armor. I teleported again just as Lioncord's jaws were about to close around my skull. "Thank Harmony, if you see her again! That armor is the only reason you're still alive!" I didn't try to process what he said. I should have known with something as old as Discord, even with everything I've learned, there’s still a mountain of stories yet untold. "Guess that means Harmony is stronger than you." "I'LL MELT YOUR FLESH AND THAT PRETTY GOLD ARMOR OF YOURS!" I don't know why I was surprised when the giant golden lion breathed an inferno of blue flames at me, I really don’t. Thankfully, with the armor I only felt like I was trapped in an oven instead of burning straight to ash. Sadly, the failsafe spell can't dispel a fireball in midair, or turn ashes back into a tree. I can't change the laws of magic. But I can and do create a closed force field in front of his face. The barrier breaks, but it still backwashes the flames all in his face, setting his own mane ablaze. He stops, drops, and rolls, letting out roars like an animal. Thanks, BBBFF. I blast away with the strongest, most brutal stun spells I know, the ones meant for disabling rampaging dragons. I lift my stunned opponent with my telekinesis and slam him into the ground again and again, until there's a deep impression of him! I conjure spears and stab them from above into his paws and tail. I pull together all the debris from the battle so far, condense it into a boulder, then raise it up and drop it on him like a meteor. I didn't think for a minute that finished him, so I wasn't too surprised when the dust hadn't even settled before the boulder, the spears, and the surrounding ground exploded. Lion-Discord was reaching entirely new levels of towering, incandescent rage. I braced myself as he rose up on his hind legs, his eyes pin pricks. His body crackled with red lightning, and his muscle mass doubled, then doubled again, and he wasn't exactly lanky to begin with! He was a miniature mountain of golden fur and muscle that a minotaur would weep in envy at. He took one step towards me, his paw cracking the ground just from touching it. My horn glows, and I send out a magical shockwave that deflates his muscles back to ‘normal’ the moment it touches him. His rage is dowsed with pure bewilderment. "Failsafe-spell." I smiled. My failsafe didn't work on Discord's chaos, but it worked just fine here! I ran towards him. Once I'd built up momentum, I teleported to close the distance faster, simultaneously conjuring my brother's horn drill! My spinning forcefield bored into the exposed chest of my enemy. I'm the one with the lower center of gravity, he's the one reared up and exposed. It felt like I was trying to drill into granite… well, too bad for the granite! Suddenly, I punched through something like a stone shell, cracks of white light spreading from where I was drilling towards his heart! He slashed a paw down towards me, but I teleported away and the momentum of his swing carried his fist straight into his own face. The shock wave sent dust flying from the ground. His face was bloody and his nose crushed, his missing fangs now matched. His other paw covered the hole I'd made in his chest. "NO MORE STUPID PONY GAMES!" he roared. The ground began to shake. Had to end this fast! Had to play a trump card I wanted to avoid using! "Stopza!" I know it's corny, but it's faster than saying 'Time, Be Still!' Yes, I’m sure there were a hundred times I could have used this before. Believe it or not, when you have a million spells in your head, you tend to overlook a few. Spike jokes that if my mind was a library, the books would be organized by the color of their covers and alphabetized according to the first letter of the first page. Ugh, the mana drain is making me dizzy. Minuette makes this look easy, with her cutie mark for time spells. It genuinely feels I'm trying to emulate the magic of another tribe rather than a unicorn spell! Or something that isn't even a pony! I move in to finish what I started, struggling to keep even a small bubble of distorted time in place. It's like I'm wrestling with a living thing. I conjure the drill again! Just a few more seconds! The white light shining from the cracks and hole in his chest turned red. "Claws off my vessel!" If I wasn't wearing the golden armor, his backhand would have broken my neck. My spells shattered instantly. "How could you be moving?!" I demanded. Lioncord growled at me hatefully. Then I realized, what had back handed me wasn't a lion's paw, it was a tentacle. Lioncord raised his other foreleg... except it was now a gorilla arm. A spiked mace with a long shaft appeared in the gorilla hand. Wait… Tentacle and gorilla arms... Princess Celestia's account of the war… No, it couldn’t be! = L'Impeto Oscuro - Dream Drop Distance = 'Lioncord's' eyes glowed red along with his mouth, his rear legs now exclusively bipedal. "Be gone!" I wasn't fighting any part of Discord anymore. He swung his mace like it weighed nothing, each motion a killing blow if I didn't keep teleporting, and he had been relentless before. The swing of his mace left a crimson trail behind, and a feeling of a vacuum like the air it swung through was being obliterated. "Hold on! Time out! Pause the game!" Discord swooped in through the wall of black wind, his spirit still stretching back to Diamond Tiara. 'Lioncord' punched Discord. Discord was a SPIRIT and he punched him! This would have felt more satisfying if the implications weren't terrifying! "I said CLAWS OFF, runt!" Discord's eyes widened, and his expression almost softened. "Is that really you…?" He didn't get to finish that thought. Red beams shot of 'Lioncord's' eyes, mouth, and some other openings. Discord shrieked and shrank back, twisting in anatomically impossible ways to dodge, and his ‘body’ still took several hits. Did his attacks just hurt a soul?! "I deserved that, but shouldn't you first tell your Yokai-" "Me deal with you later!" Those beams fired again, this time in my direction. I teleported out of the way, only for them to change course at right angles and continue to chase to my new position. I kept teleporting but space was quickly filling up. The beams split up to corner me faster! Think fast, Twilight! I teleport right onto his back. He roars with dark laughter, seeing the obvious repeat strategy. I shut my eyes and conjure a light bomb. If I've learned anything, it’s this: if he's in a physical body, he has to obey the rules of one. He instinctively closes his eyes, and screams at his own attack hitting the inside of his eyelids, cutting off two of the beams. Thank you, Twinkle Shine. I rolled off him and the remaining beams continued on their path right into his back, making him scream louder. "What is this pain!? I AM the fire, I can't burn myself!" "Except that body isn't made of your magic," the scientist in me says without thinking. A dove's wing and a lizard's crest burst out of his back. "I am going to ME you!" It took me a split second to translate what 'Lioncord' meant. The distraction meant the thrust of his spiked mace would have obliterated the front half of my head if I hadn't ducked down at the last possible moment, instead I was left with the worst splitting headache as my ears wouldn't stop ringing, my chanfron having taken the hit instead. "You know, if you really want that vessel that badly, consider it a birthday present!" said Discord's spirit, which still had burning holes in it. "Your turn comes AFTER I ME Magic!" "... Shouldn't you just hate me?" "After me finish war! Family be proud of me! Like they not proud of you." That's when the giant pink floating egg timers began to drift down from the sky. Literally, giant pink plastic eggs with the top half ticking so two triangles pointing towards each other would line up. "Allow me to help!" said Discord brightly, still conjuring bombs. "There's no possible way she can grab these and kick them back towards you just as they're about to explode!" "I show runt how much I love him, like he loved me!" it snarled at him. I didn't waste time wondering if this was a trick by Discord, and took the obvious hint, grabbing the egg bombs in my magic and lobbing them at 'Lioncord' just as they went off. The explosions required me to bring up another shield. "Idiot. Can't ME me." His arms and legs weren't damaged. Then he recoiled, noticing that the cracks in his chest were larger now. "What an oversight!" Discord swooned theatrically. “Who could have foreseen this!?” I leapt up as 'Lioncord's' laser breath blasted the remaining egg bombs and any more that Discord tried to summon. I took the chance to telekinetically grab his mace and slam it into the crack in his chest. He gasped out loud, and coughed up blood. The red glow became more intense as my magic was obliterated from just trying to touch the mace again. "Stop!" I shouted. "The war is over! You don't need to fight! You're free! We're on your side! Please stop!" "Don't wanna! TOO LONG! HAVE TO RELEASE! YOU GO BOOM!" His mace struck the ground, making the earth all around us collapse into a crater. Again, I think my armor is the only reason the shockwave didn't liquify my internal organs. I only hope Moon Dancer and the others are safe! My magic can't overpower him, so maybe I shouldn't try to. If I can't out-’him', him... then let's see if I can out-create him instead! = Hopes and Dreams (Epic Orchestral Arrangement) - Cloudjumper = I fling a tiny seed at his body, that he swatted aside without a thought, and so missed the other seed I shot into the ground during his swing. With the charge of magic in the seed, the lemon tree sprouted in seconds, two of the branches becoming arms and bear hugging him while other branches grew along his still lion paws. His arms and wings smolder like they were being pressed against hot coals as they touched the growing plant life. Thank you, Lemon Hearts. His strength ebbed like the tide, and the growing life wrapped more around him, tighter and tighter, becoming a tree to seal him in. The monster squirmed and wailed like a worm on a hook, branches growing as fast as his laser vision could cut them down. Roots, a trunk, branches, the monster's body becoming hidden behind the lemon tree's forming shape. "Don't worry, after we beat Discord, we'll help you!" I said. Yes, he had destroyed the Age of Wonders, but from what Celestia told me, his family had never let him have a choice in anything. Just as the branches closed shut around his eyes, I faintly heard, "Go boom." The tree exploded in a mass of splinters, I raised an armored hoof to deflect the debris as it ran straight into the walls of black wind that wavered and weakened. I saw Diamond Tiara's Nightmare stumble too, nearly falling over as the explosion hit. She trotted drunkenly for a few moments. "So much for that hope," Discord said dejectedly. "Before any creation must come ME!" the monster snarled. His face resembled a bovine skull now, the red light of destruction glowing from within. The ground around his paws turned to sand. I'd weakened him, but how much? = Saitama's Theme - One Punch Man = "Had... enough... of you!" he panted. Fire belched from his chest, eyes, ears, and mouth. He grew taller than he already was. His wings spread out behind his back, a ring within a ring of red light forming behind him. For a moment, it was like I was looking at an cut out in reality, and within was an ever changing view of burned-down forests, ruined cities, shattered moons, and stepped-on flowers. He levitated a few inches off the ground. "Me doubt even Momma remember your kind me ME'ed with best ME-move!" I was struck by a vision of an Arctic blue heart of force taking a single beat, its energy spreading through its vein in an infinite darkness. "I'll send everything with four hooves from here to the horizon to Hell!" The red light took on four giant wings in an x-shape behind him, and the vague shape of four more glowing red arms, each with a different tool in their hands. A glowing third eye split open in his forehead as his shape became more impossible the harder I looked but I couldn't look away! "LAST-DELETE-ALICORN-UNMAKER!!!" As he was shouting this, I teleported right in front of him. The monster closed his eyes and focused on his hearing in preparation for another light grenade. Instead, thank Lyra, I shook him with a high volume musical sound wave, disorienting him. "I'm sorry," I whispered. I dove in, conjuring hoof blades made of solid moonlight rather than physical matter. This one's yours, Moon Dancer! I stabbed them into the cracks along the hole I'd made, using all the strength I could muster to force it open wider. His tentacle snaked around my barrel, trying to crush the life out of me. My telekinesis held it back, but my horn felt it was going to shatter! Huh?! You three are giving me a hug?! NOW?! (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dawn): You really really look like you could use one!) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Noon): Him being here was unexpected, so were we! You don't mind a little cheat do you?) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dusk): Take what we can give, Twilight.) But my body’s processing this magic like it’s my own. How are you... (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Noon): Less analyzing, more saving the day!) With my new strength I push the monster's limb back behind me, and break the breach wide open, not daring to look into the heart of the light of destruction. I summon a book by an ancient philosopher; a book on how the written word kills knowledge. I throw it in. Having a strange sensation of phantom limbs again on my back, I blast the book, and it turns into a clutch of eggs that instantly hatch into baby chicks. It's like a magazine of grenades went off inside him. The blast from within knocked me off and onto my back again, but I rolled with it and got back onto my four hooves with one motion. (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dawn): I really need a nap.) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Moon): I think... I emptied the tank.) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dusk): Don't worry, the chicks are safe at Fluttershy's chicken coop. They say, 'we hope the creator will be okay.' ) I barely noticed my blush. Smoke billowed from the monster's blasted open chest cavity, eyes, ears, and mouth, filling the air above us. His arms hung lifelessly at his sides, his legs buckled and on the ground. His left gorilla hand limply let go of the mace, it dissolved into nothing before it hit the ground. His head pointed up at the sky like a broken puppet. He fell to his knees, causing a slight tremor. The arms and face turned back into those of a lion, even as his body began to turn splotches of random color, crumbling away into sparkles that drifted back to Discord. "... Unbelievable..." It garbled out as he fell apart. "It's because of friends I didn't even appreciate I had that I beat you! Even when I wasn't their friend, they were mine!" Moon Dancer. Twinkle Shine. Minuette. Lemon Hearts. Lyra Heartstrings. None of you are 'failed' Elements of Magic, I choose to believe in you, that if I hadn’t passed my magic exam, you girls could have risen to the challenge to protect Equestria instead! "Yeeeea! Go T. Sparkle!" Discord waved pompoms around in a cheerleader costume. "I mean! Curses! Foiled again!" Lioncord's body completely dissolved. The smoke forcefully parted to reveal a draconequus shaped mass of red light glaring down at me, more buff than Discord with a wild, shaggy mane. One arm a tentacle, another a gorilla’s, a feathered wing and a lizard's crest. A monkey's tail. And two hooved legs. And a pair of HUGE horns, one curved to a point above his head, the other pointing outwards. "You took my vessel... ME TAKE YOURS!" The red energy billowed towards me, and my entire body felt paralyzed. "No. That's against the rules now," Discord said. One of Discord's arms turned into a noisy machine and sucked up the red energy in a second. Discord’s transformed arm began to punch him in the head repeatedly, but he disconnected the attached bag and swallowed it whole. "You can stay in there a little while longer." "I hope you're happy,” said Diamond Tiara’s Nightmare, from the other side of the black wind wall. “You just saved Discord's life, idiot.” "Which is why I helped her, obviously," Discord said quickly. "You could have created one of your brother's force fields to seal his attack in with just me and Discord, and that would have been the end of your problems," she said coldly. With my armor dirty, dented, and scratched from having fought a god, I stood straight. "I'm not an executioner." "Of course you are, that's why you're here. You just found out the most real you obliterated a group of clones for the crime of existing. And didn't you just put him down to save yourself, your friends, the princesses, the three stooges, and everypony in central Equestria?" "And to save you." "An unwanted bonus." "And Silver Spoon." "Like I care. You've just shown that you have it in you to do what needs to be done." "He was already a spirit." "Excusing yourself on a technicality?" "Twilight Sparkle," Discord interrupted, getting between us. "Thank you for stopping him. What he was about to do... it certainly would have moved him to my zoning for 'most evil Draconequus’... something that couldn't be forgiven, and he could never undo it. Something he'd have to live with forever. I can't go having posers and wannabes stealing my street cred at my grand performance!" "... You're welcome, Discord," I sighed as the barrier of black wind dissolved. > Alicorns > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Battle Log of Her Kindesty, Princess Gaia): Oh, no no! Just Fluttershy Breeze, please! (Interviewer's Note: (Unicorn) Huh?! Oh, alright.) (Battle Log, Fluttershy Breeze): Much better. (Interviewer's Note (Pegasus): Any object to 'battle?') Uh, no, but maybe you could think up a different term than "log," the trees might find that- (Interviewer's Note: (Pegasus): ...Offensive? Seriously?! Oh for the love of Mom… FINE!) (Battle Record, Fluttershy Breeze): Wait wait wait! I was joking! Twilight says that joking during a fight can help make things less tense! I was just trying to help! Please don't be angry! (Interviewer's Note: (Pegasus): ...Sometimes it's hard to tell with you.) It is? I'm sorry. You don't need to bend over backwards for me. I'll admit I was trying to learn from Rainbow Dash, I guess I didn't learn so well. (Interviewer's Note: (Pegasus): Oh... It's alright 'Shy.) 'Mom! Get yer head back in the fight before you lose it!' Oh dear! My harmony armor took the hit from Griffcord, so I'm not actually hurt. Griffcord swooped down on me, claws extended. The same way Gilda's ancestors used to prey on my people, in ancient times. I felt fear, but I was used to that. Fear was familiar. I could deal with fear. Was Gilda angry all the time because anger is the only thing she knows? 'MOM!' EEP! Fold my wings and use my armor? Grow plants as a shield? Summon a puppet as a blocker?! Which should I do?! 'Agh!' Fluttercruel manifested on top of me. Even though she was still just a foal, my baby leapt straight up and bucked Griffcord with divine strength, using his own momentum to gut-punch him harder. He wheezed and swore, quickly flapping back up. "YOU LITTLE BRAT!" He wildly clawed at her. Miraculously, she managed to dodge the flurry of talons. "RESPECT YOUR FATHER/BROTHER/COUSIN/THING!" "Buck you!" I managed to conjure a mass of pink flowers in Griffcord's face with my horn, a sweet harp chord playing as the flowers hit. I also summoned a bar of soap and stuffed it in my foal's mouth. I used up most of my power to time-out the bad puppets and shadows, but I can still fight! "Get back inside mommy at once, young mare!" That's a phrase I don't think any parent outside of a kangaroo ever thought they'd say. Fluttercruel and the bar of soap vanished. Griffcord clawed the flowers to shreds. Performing magic was a lot easier with the Elder Horn. "Face it, dweeb! You're a wimp and-" "And my friends accept me for who I am." Discord hadn't been able to turn me against my friends without cheating before, and a part of him couldn't do so now. Am I proud of that? To a certain extent, yes. But it's just the way I am, and I'm happy to have friends who DO accept me without judgement. What I'm truly proud of already punched him in the stomach. Griffcord hissed like a cat. "At least TRY to make this fun, loser!" "You're trying to hurt me and my filly," I said in my best 'stern mother' voice. "You call that fun? You should be ashamed of yourself." Griffcord roared in my face. I won't pretend that it didn't make me think of Gilda's terrible fury. I'm forced to dance backward as his beak, claws, tail, and wings all come down on me. Claws reaching for my eyes, beak snapping at my flesh, tail whipping at my side, wings striking like hammer blows... I have to pirouette through all of them. "Pfft, what was that? A goddess in divine armor, and you still fight like a foal. Yer worse than weak or helpless; yer pathetic!" The world warped around him, making him seem bigger, looming over me. "Your friends aren't here to fight your battles for you, loser. Heck, since you're 'the nice one,' maybe you should do something super-nice and just curl up and die." "I won't give up! My friends need me!" "And I'm here too, jackass!" My foal took control of our body, and in the middle of the storm she struck him hard in the chest, sending him skidding back so hard, his claws dug furrows in the ground. "First I'm gonna make you eat those words, and then I'm gonna make you eat your beak!" Griffcord clutched his chest and rolled his eyes. "She's using you, kiddo. Your mom's a coward that needs other people to fight her battles for her, her own foal no less! A real mom would do as the bears do and fight me herself… oh wait, she can't! She doesn't believe in violence!" "You think you can guilt trip Mom into throwing away my help?! I chose to help!" "Fluttercruel, let Mommy handle this." "Mom! Don't let him play you!" "I can feel the armor itch when you're wearing it, dear. You might be having an allergic reaction. I wouldn't be a good mother if I let you continue." "Mom! He just wants you to use up what mana you have left so you won't have any to fight the real Discord! I have plenty of fight left in me!" "If that's how you feel, kiddo. Come on, brat! Charge me! I'm the part of Discord that doesn't care about your mother or you! Let all that rage out! All that hate! My little spirit of tribalism, of 'us vs them'! Release the beast! Come at me without a hint of guilt!" "I don't feel guilty about punching out ANY part of you!" Fluttercruel snarled. She begins to leap at him to tear him and his grinning beak to shreds, but I force her back. "Come on!" he crowed. "Use what the old man gave you and let's really throw down! Or are ya chicken!?" "Dear. Don't. Now you're the one he's playing. He wants you to act reckless. Mommy will think of something. Mommy has plenty of experience with bullies." "Yes," he sniggered. "You've always had the perfect strategy: 'When bullied, hide behind Rainbow Dash.' Too bad she's preoccupied! Oh, and here's a thought… she probably wouldn't even if she could! I mean, how much does she really trust you, if she thought you could have become Nightmare Whisper again? Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong, princess. Let's hear about loyalty and friendship and all that crap." ... I'll admit, that did hurt a little. My friends should have known I wasn't Nightmare Whisper, if only because my cutie mark colors weren't inverted. "BUT AT LEAST WHEN YOU WERE NIGHTMARE WHISPER YOU ACTUALLY HAD THE GUTS TO FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVED IN! YOU'RE MORE PATHETIC THAN POSEY, BRIGHT-EYES, AND ZIPZEE PUT TOGETHER! THEY NEVER HAD OTHERS DO THEIR FIGHTING FOR THEM! YOU HAVE SUCH HIGH BELIEFS BUT AREN'T WILLING TO GET YOUR HOOVES DIRTY! TYPICAL PONY HYPOCRISY!" The entire closed in space echoed his words, his spittle flying. I steeled myself. I'd be lying if I claimed everything he said wasn't like one knife in my body after another, but I knew better than to let a bully know he was getting to me. "I stopped pushing away Flutterage a long time ago. I learned that I don't need to keep her separate from me. And I learned that I don't need to be a bully to stand up to bullies like you." "Ooh, great plan! Turn the other cheek so bullies can slap that one too. The problem with pacifism is, all it does is encourage evil. Ask your brat. Go ahead Cruelty, tell me I'm wrong. I'll even let you sucker punch me and win this fight right now if you don't agree with me, Fluttercruel." My baby said nothing. "There are ways to resist evil that don't involve violence," I said with my best calm voice. "Pfft! Typical pony 'I'll find the third option!' You should know better than anypony that if you chase two rabbits, you'll lose both! Even your puppets are just you passing the buck on fighting duties. Most cowards are at least honest with themselves." He began to prowl around us, moving like a big cat, tall grass growing wherever he put down his paws. He eyed me like I was a field mouse. I kept my breathing even, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart. "I wouldn't have unsealed the Alicorn if I wasn't going to do anything." "You were just more scared of feeling guilty than of having your toys do the fighting for you." "I was afraid of my friends dying, because I could have helped them but chose not to! They're not just shields for me to hide behind!" I said, letting him get to me. "Could've fooled me! Ponies say friends give you strength. Greatest strength, greatest weakness!" Wait, that voice was… directly behind me! He sprang out of the tall grass. I dove to the side. His pounce missed me, but his tail whipped me in the face. He spun around, claws and beak bared, and leapt at my throat! I ducked and rolled again, and he sailed over me, back into the tall grass. I stood up, my ears flicking about, my nostrils trying to catch his scent, my eyes scanning every direction. I started trotting, trying not to be an easy target again. "I can't hide what I am. I had a crisis and I took the easy way out, and now I have to live with that. I'm Kindness, so it's my duty to stand up to bullies. That's what I believe. I must protect the peace so ponies can continue to be kind to one another. Kindness doesn't rush in to solve violence with violence." "You have so many fears, I guess you must be SO GRATEFUL that it wasn't Dragocord you ended up fighting. Now instead Spike'll get stomped into paste by one of his own kind. Won't that be a kick?! Ha ha!" I came to a stop, smiling as I lit my horn. "You made a mistake filling this spot with so much tall grass." Instantly, the grass came alive. One patch snared a griffon-shaped mass. The more he struggled, the tighter the grass wrapped around him, until he looked like a green mummy, tucked in nice and tight like a bug in a rug. A lion's roar shook me to my bones. Normally, I had no problem with wild beasts roaring. Griffcord's beak was wrapped up like the rest of him, but he managed to mutter, "Hear that, you namby pamby excuse for a princess? Even Twilight's having a hard time. The rest of your pals are gonna get creamed. Nobody's coming to save you." And that broke my concentration, just for a moment, but that was all he needed to break free and lunge at me again. I turned my head, and the claws came down on the piece of my chamfron where my Element of Kindness was embedded. Griffcord sprang away when his claw tips touched it, his talons smoking like they'd been lit on fire. "Yeeowch!" he hissed, poor thing scuffing his claws in the mud. "Must feel real good, eh, nag? Getting to pay back a griffon?" "I've never wanted revenge on Gilda, and I don't hate all griffons. She shouted at me. I'm not so naive or thin-skinned as to think that makes her the worst meanie in the world." "Mom... all this talking and playing games with us... he's trying to make us run out the spell keeping Discord's magic sealed... We can't waste time." "So we'd best spend it carefully instead of squandering it recklessly." "... So the plants are on your side, huh? Let's see how you like Ponigypt's scorching sands instead!" I felt bewildered for a moment. "Um... You're a griffon, not a sphinx. And most of Discord's magic is sealed." A spiral of hot sand began rise up from underneath Grifcord. He smirked. "So? Griffons and sphinxes share a blood history." He flew suddenly, launched into the air by a tidal wave of sand. I was swept away, tumbling in every direction, and then all was still and black. '... m.....' '.... om.... M....' 'Mom.... mom ... -ear me... can you... ' 'Mom! Mom! Can you hear me?' "Fluttercruel?" I tried to say, but gagged in the darkness. Grains of sand packed in my mouth. Waking up, I felt the crushing weight of sand on top of me, feeling like it wanted nothing more but to mash me into paste if not for my armor's polite objections. I'm a goddess right now, do I still need to breathe? I don't wanna find out! 'Fluttercruel,' I thought hard back at her. 'I'm awake! I don't think anything is broken. How long was I out?' 'Not long! But I can't manifest, I was about to take over.' "Fluttershy? Ohhhh Fluttershy?" I heard Griffcord's muffled voice from above as he stomped along on the surface, the Earth Pony in me feeling everything. "Where are you? I don't see your pathetic mug anywhere. What a great chance for you to ambush me!" he cooed. I felt Fluttercruel tense. "Nah, I'm totally pulling your leg! HAHAH! I can smell your blood! Stay right there, and I'll dig you out just enough so I can peel back that canned meat, and we can have a dinner date! Or dig yourself out, I won't pass up an easy meal! So which way, Fluttershy? Fast or slow? Haha! Choosy Woozy, Flutter-butter!" My throat tightened, my heart raced. The sense of helplessness was horrible. I was a rabbit cornered by wolves. I was like Daring Do in one of Rainbow Dash's books, except there was no convenient flaw for me to use to escape. Daring Do… Those books are a little scary, so I don't read them nearly as often as Rainbow Dash does, but I remember Rainbow talked about 'dry quicksand' in one book. Fine sand, combined with air, creates sand that'll make anything heavy on top fall right through. But did I even have enough air to pull that off? And I can't move my wings, and I've never been that good with pegasus magic... I really, really wish I had the Elder Horn right now. 'And I wish we had a ray-gun to vaporize this jerk into a puff of soot, mom, but we don't! Focus on what we can do!' 'Alright dear... here goes everything.' My horn glowed. Just beneath the surface, the grains of sand began to swirl with the color of my magic. = Sentou Danji ~Kitae yo Katsu Tame ni~ - G-Gundam = Suddenly, the confidently strutting Griffcord yelped and sank into the sand, flapping his wings madly to get out, while I flew up out of the sand, gasping for air and flapping as high as the walls of black wind would let me go. Griffcord pulled himself free and flew at me, claws bared and screeching. I lock eyes on him, staring into the place where his heart should be. "DID YOU REALLY THINK THE STARE WOULD WORK ON ME?!" I duck and let myself fall as he flew at me, missing me by inches. "Sorry! It was worth a shot." He banked and dove after me. "I'm not the part of Discord that can feel sorry!" "So there is one?" "Shuddup!" I pulled out of my own dive and flew low over the sand. I could only focus on flying well when I had to protect somepony else, and I'd had a year of experience flying for two! Griffcord landed hard, screeching. He flapped his wings in a blur, and I was blinded by a sandstorm. "Fear the unseen much, Fluttershy?" mocked Griffcord. His voice came from everywhere at once in the sandy winds. "Oh right, of course you are. You're scared of everything!" I braced myself for another charge, but he dropped on me from above instead! I felt his claws digging into the unprotected parts of my wings. His weight pushed me down into the ground, the sand now acting like hard ground. "I take back what I said before! Go ahead! Let Cruelty out! Maybe I'll gobble her up instead and let you go! You're running on fumes, 'goddess.' You must have used up, what, over half of your magic to do that trick with your toys! You're a such sorry excuse for a deity, I pity those swearing by you!" He shoved me harder into the ground. "I've only got a tenth of Discord's power, and that's still plenty enough to crush you!" To my sides, two giant stone minotaur hands slammed together, rising from the sand like a basalt mousetrap, looking like they were praying. Griffcord was sandwiched in the middle, and I was in the little arch. "Looks like you're the one who got crushed," Fluttercruel said through my mouth. "No, it's not over yet," I said. The stone hands began to tremble, cracking, then exploding as Griffcord forced his way out. His fur and feathers were quite ruffled. He also looked like he really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, disliked me. "GAUGH! I'm going to rip away that veneer of love and gentleness, and show you the panicking sobbing wreck inside who doesn't know how to fight back!" The shrieking thing stood on all fours, fur and feathers flaring up, bigger and bigger, his shadow falling over me. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can hardly fly!" I could make out eyes and faces in the sandy wind. That mocking, jeering laughter. 'Don't buy it, Mom! It's just cheap tricks!' "No no no! Anything but that! Please anything but that again! Please! No more flight school! Mommy, I wanna leave this horrible place! PROTECT ME, DASHIE!" I shouted tearfully. Trotting backward, I folded my wings against me tight, hiding my face behind my mane. Griffcord stomped closer, his beak grinning. "That's it, you stupid nag, you're not in charge here, I am. You don't call the shots, I do. You don't decide what happens next, I do. You're not the boss, I AM!" 'Mom! Let me take control! Let me help! You can't let him do this! Please! You're stronger than this!' "I-I'm s-sorry, Fluttercruel, I-I'm no good as a goddess, and ... and I can't protect you from him, I'm sorry!" The last word came out as just a pitiful squeak. Griffcord laughed. I smelled gumballs and sawdust on his breath. "Too bad sorry ain't gonna cut it!" Sand swirled around his claws, forming into a jagged spear with four edges like a compass. "But don't worry, you're not gonna have to worry about a thing ever again!" He reared up... I flapped my wings hard, throwing sand right in his face. Two vines shot out of the ground, wrapping around the spear and tearing it from his claws. With my horn glowing hot, I slammed it down on his head, breaking the sand spear in two, and it dissolved. 'Whoa!! Way to go, Mom!' I stood as tall and regal as I could, and spoke as a princess should, "My friends and family call me Fluttershy. Everypony else calls me Fluttershy Breeze. You shall call me Princess Gaia." = 'It Has to Be This Way' - Metal Gear Rising Revengeance = "Ah screw it, just disappear!" In a flash, Griffcord conjured up a pair of repeater crossbows and fired them with abandon, the ammunition being replaced as fast as he spent it. Again I danced, the bolts whizzing past me. "Will you friggin' die already?!" I moved with the wind, putting more and more distance between me and Griffcord, but the walls of black wind made it impossible for me to keep backing up forever, and Griffcord began closing in, never ceasing his fire. My horn glowed. Fog began to rise from the sand. I formed a flock of flying turtle constructs, yellow with pink shells and empty blue eyes. The bolts were embedded or flicked off. I felt everything they felt. "Cowards! Stop hiding and die!" "It's true what they say, isn't it, Griffcord?" I formed a yellow bull construct with pink hooves, which bellowed and charged. "Violence breeds violence." He flew up over it. "MORON! WINGS, REMEMBER?" I'll admit, I was thinking in ground terms. Still wasn't used to flying a lot. I conjured more flying turtles, and formed four rabbit constructs, making them hop from turtle to turtle towards Griffcord. He shot my rabbits down, and I groaned and clutched my chest, feeling their pain. Still, I recalled the magic that made them, and the bull too when it fell. I had to conserve every scrap of magic I could. I flew around him, my turtles blocking his shots and his view, so he didn't notice me shape a teenage drakaina out of the growing fog... not until she tackled and bear hugged him from behind, dragging him back into the fog with her. - Galaxy, Twilight The First, Mimic, Surprise, Firefly, Wind Whistler, Posey, Applejack, Shady, and little Lulu and Little Celly formed from the fog, smiling at him. "Come on, Dissy! Let's play!" Celly quipped. The construct of little Celestia was hit with a bolt between the eyes, along with the other constructs who dissolved back into fog. - "Buck you, and buck all that cutesy crap! I AM NOT THAT PART OF DISCORD!" I wondered what he had seen in my fog. He then grew and grew and grew until he barely fit inside the confines of the barrier. He snatched the teenage drakaina construct and pinned her to the ground. "You want it like that, huh?" He ground her into the sand beneath a massive paw. "Suffer!" I recalled the magic the construct was made of. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" I summoned a giant construct of Angel Bunny, who took up what space was left in our confines. Griffcord was gobsmacked, then pointing and laughing his head off. "A rabbit? Hahaha! You're gonna fight me with a rabbit?!" "Maybe now you'll understand that kindness isn't weak!" I shouted as dramatically as I could. 'Angel' began pummeling the giant griffin, forcing him back and kicking him and again and again. Then my Angel construct punched the giant Griffcord, but he caught the punch, then snarled and punched back, slamming the giant rabbit up against the wall. "No you don't! What did I tell you? I'm in charge here!" I quickly recalled the magic, and summoned a giant Zecora instead. "Does this mean I get to trash more of your pals and make you watch? Fine by me!" The giant yellow and pink Zecora leapt at him with Capoeira-style fighting moves, but Griffcord laughed in her face, catching her attacks and systematically breaking her bones with barely any effort. In the real world, my daughter stared at a normal-sized griffon, half-buried in a pile of colorful animal friends. 'Mom... why is he laughing while all your constructs are hugging him like that?' I could feel her smirk as she began to understand. ‘Moooom? What did you do?' 'He's just having the time of his life, dear,' I said, looking at his swirling colorful eyes. There was clapping behind us. "Well done Fluttershy... well done," said Discord in a praising voice that was not insincere. "More than anyone else, I was certain you'd come out on top." I kept one eye on Griffcord and the other on Discord. "He could have seriously hurt me and Fluttercruel, Discord. Don't you care?" He actually seemed confused. "What? I had complete confidence in you! Do you really think I'd put Cruelty in that kind of danger if I thought she'd be never heard from again?" "Yes!" She hissed. "Well, I wouldn't!" He stuck up his nose. "And you should think better of your father, dear!" "If anything, I think worse of you now, and I didn't even know I could!" "Seriously, I say that I knew that the two of you would be able to defeat a powerful aspect of me, and all I get is a brow beat? What do I need to do to get a positive reaction?" "How about destroy yourself?" "Wouldn't you rather do the deed yourself?" "Mom wouldn't let me." "And I wouldn't let you destroy yourself, Discord! You don't get to run away from your problems." "Fluttershy, I always get what I want." "No, he doesn't." Diamond Tiara interrupted. "That's the problem." "At any rate... congratulations, Fluttershy. You were able to beat my games without even trying before, and you've managed to beat the part of me that enjoys seeing mortals squirm." "You don't need to take him back," I said. "Actually, I do. He's part of me and he needs to go back where he belongs. Isn't that what Celly told her little ponies, after all the naughty things you did with such good intentions?" I appreciate him not bringing it up directly. Griffcord began to turn random patches of color, then became a mass of sparkles that flew and were reabsorbed by Discord. My animal constructs fell in a heap. I recalled the magic that made them up and dismissed the fog. I was... I was very drained. I wasn't sure if I had even one tenth of my mana reserves left. Discord snapped his fingers. Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, her horn glowed, and the barrier of black wind around me in particular vanished. "I say again, Fluttershy, I knew you could do it, congratulations." +++ Her Dayjesty, Princess Celestia's word. I'm here to protect you, my little ponies. But the Nightfilly's barrier has trapped me with Discord's 'Quetzalcord' Detachment. I'd brute force my way through, but even in my ancient war barding, I dare not turn my back on a foe like Quetzalcord. "Ye'th, art'th bluffin'th, ye'th wouldn't'th unleash'ith the power'th of art sun'th, with thine pets and playthings nearby." It's right. But I don't give it the satisfaction of answering. I dare not use my full power with my ponies nearby, since I don't know how much of the blast the Nightfilly's barrier would absorb. It's not right of how I see my little ponies. My pet is protecting Canterlot. "The Greatest and So-Much-Better-Looking Discord wish'th to sayth that ye must be relieved that thine lie of Nightmare Whisper has'th been'th revealed'th, so'th none'th now'th blame'th ye for'th her'th sins... but what be of ye own'th sins? Strange'th how thin sycophants' yapping changed'th not'th with this reveal'th." Because I am such a practiced princess, I am able to just roll my eyes at all his ‘-th'-ing, instead of expressing my ire verbally and physically. Also, was Discord really this out of new material that he was going to try this again? Or did he simply miss that I'd overcome that, and accepted that I was feared and loved. "Forgive me if we skip the formalities, and finish this farce," I said coldly. I wanted to save Dissy, but this wasn't Dissy, this was a vile mockery of my family begotten from Discord's essence. The mock-Quetzalcoatl stretched out its wings and tail, and was engulfed in flames. "As thou wish'th!" The blazing Detachment grew in size and mass, its shape changing into something equine with wings and a horn. What I came face to face with was something I was very familiar with indeed. She was me... her coat with a hot orange tint, her barding far more ornamental and intricate than my own, her eyes like draconic burning coals. Her mane and tail a bright golden blaze and her teeth sharp like a siren's. Her cutie mark was yellow rays around an orange sun. "I am the shadow, the true self!" I snorted and pawed the ground, spreading out my wings and floating upwards, ready to annihilate this thing. "Is that the best you can do? I've had to look you in the face every night, since I remembered my divine life." I'm bluffing. The sight of her disturbs me greatly. I'm always afraid I'm one horrible loss away from becoming Nightmare Daybreaker. Fear is healthy, and this is one fear I've learned to live with. "That so?" She turned to flames again, becoming another blazing Nightmare like my own but very different: more consuming, more wild, her barding more risqué. I did not know its title... but I know who she is. "What legacy have you made for yourself… Mother?" I cringe. I know it's a performance by a piece of Discord, but it's unpleasant all the same. I shake my head. "I know I failed you, Sunset! That pain isn't going to go away with one brave speech in the middle of a battle, but I will not fail myself, not here and not ever again!" I blasted the imitation, heat radiating from my body. The faux Quetzalcoatl didn't expect me to go on the offensive with the psychological stage of our fight still ongoing. My beam burned a hole through the fake, which then screamed, "Mother, why!?" I hide any reaction I have from the vision taken from my worst fears. It turned to flames again to survive as I swung upward to bisect it. I could have absorbed the flames, but I didn't want to risk infecting myself somehow with Discord's essence. Fire still needs air to burn, though, and I conjured up flames of my own, eating up the precious oxygen around it. The thing turned solid again... and this time I couldn't hide my gasp or my stammer. It was my precious Twilight Sparkle as the Alicorn I knew she could become, but dark and twisted. I saw the draconic eyes ringed with flame, the inverted cutie mark of Twilight Sparkle's Nightmare. I won't lie and say it didn't hurt more to see a vision of Twilight like this. Maybe because a part of me has reached a sad acceptance of the road Sunset was on when she left, knowing that she probably still resents me even now. I put on my bravest and most confident 'Invincible Sun' face. "A poor attempt! I've already seen, this very hour, my student defeat this possibility! I trust in her and her friends!" Then the thing shifted into a half-and-half bisected fusion of the Nightmares of both my students, a split image glued together. "This is your legacy, Mother! All you do is create Nightmares! You're like any god who tries to help, all you do, all you will do, all you can possibly do, is make things worse! You should just bury yourself inside an asteroid some-!" I blasted the thing again, this time square in the face. "You're not the only one weary of the same old rambling, Dissy," I said matter-of-factly as it turned into flames once more, returning to the faux Quetzalcoatl. "My love for my students surpasses my shame." I formed gold chains around the faux Quetzalcoatl and began punching it in the face with a conjured white and gold gauntlet. "My sins will never vanish, but the light and warmth I've given to countless civilizations and the inspiration and love I've given my ponies surpasses them all." Quetzalcord shed his skin and slithered out of the chains. "I admit, we were a lot alike in the early days; a pair of rebellious teenager deities. But I grew up." I brought the hoof-gauntlet down on the snake's head in a mighty stomp. "Blasphemy! Ye shall pay'th for-" "The only blasphemy here is you." "Ye dare interrupt-" "I'll interrupt you as I please. This my home. My kingdom. My herd." Quetzalcord grew to twice the size he was before, his tail splitting into a bouquet of snake heads with a rainbow mane and blue feathery wings. His wings multiplied, shimmering. "For'th thine crimes'th! Thine only'th redemption'th is'th-" "To live the best life I can, helping others, day by day." (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Celestia, Princess, will you be alright?) Absolutely. Do not worry, dears, please focus on my sister and little ponies... this won't take long. This is no boast, this is fact. (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Alright, Princess, I trust you.) = Sorairo Days - Gurren Lagann = I dissolve into a mass of light, transforming into a large white snake with feathery pearl wings, and a mane with the flowing colors that are uniquely my own. "Ye mock our light!" As a proper Quetzalcoatl, I speak, "The gods' light guides, our light guards, our light enlightens. It doesn't mislead or enslave, and most certainly does not blind. You're a mockery invented by an impertinent child." "Ye're'th the'th child'th!" I smirk. "Come, Discord, since when have either of us ever been afraid of being childish?" "Taste'th our'th wrath'th'th'th!!!" It lisped furiously. Lasers shot out of the nest of snakes' mouths and the main head. I slithered and twisted among the net even as they tried to close it in around me, moving like lightning. "No, taste Mine!" I condensed the light around me into a buzzsaw shape and send it spinning, cutting off several heads at once. Naturally, several grew back to take their place. Or would have, if I hadn't blasted and cauterized the stumps with good old reliable fireballs. It summoned six giant swords, one behind each wing like giant feathers. The swords tried to cut me to ribbons from multiple angles, but they were so huge in comparison to me they merely got in each other's way, clanging and throwing sparks. They then began to spin like propellers, lining up to grind me like a sausage. I merely flew up parallel to them, conjuring six golden sword hilts of my own with violet flames for blades, which sliced through Quetzalcord's swords like hot knives through wax. The broken pieces dissolved into light. The fake Quetzalcoatl snarled, conjuring forty-nine floating crystal balls around me in a great spherical formation. They glowed, and less than a moment later, laser beams shot directly at me from 49 different angles at once. I simply teleported out of the center. The spheres quickly spun, tracking me, but now they were no longer coming at me from all angles. I summoned The Mirror. The beams didn't damage it at all, and the concentrated reflected laser fire made short work of Quetzalcord's crystal balls, the leftover force striking him hard! The deed done, I dismissed The Mirror. I doubt Discord's Mother would appreciate me using her 'gift' as a weapon against her own. Quetzalcord let out a frustrated hiss. Our arena practically filled with replicating crystal balls this time, too many to count, but I had a strange hunch there were 490 of them. I don't let any of the worry or fear I'm feeling show on my face. I reach inside, thinking of what Discord has done, and all that he could do to my beloved ponies, and the friend I lost. I grasp that anger, shape and mold it like iron in a forge, to protect those I loved. My eyes turn molten red with green pupils and yellow flames streaming from the corners. White crystals burst from the ground around me like a sprung trap, just in time to catch the apocalyptic laser barrage. The beams hit, were reflected and refracted about inside the crystal dome surrounding me, and flew back out to strike the orbs again in a mad shower of light, shattering them again. 'Thank you for playing with us, miss.' A ghostly mass of hands in the shape of a foal says. 'You're welcome, dear,' I think. Finally realizing that this strategy wasn't going to work, the fake Quetzalcoatl conjured a clear crystal bell and rang it. A visible wave of death spread out from it, the sphere of force killing grass, flowers, insects, and bacteria as it went. I focused my magic through the one purple gem that was a part of my normal barding. A transparent and beautiful, (if I do say so myself), shining white sea pony floated up from my Quetzalcoatl form. She spread out her fins as if they were wings, and let out a wordless uplifting tune full of life that pushed back the tone of death, all the way back to the bell, which imploded. I recalled the seapony vision into myself. "My turn. Lady of Noonday's Fist." I conjured a sphere of burning white hot flames above my head, and from it shot a pillar of burning plasma. Quetzalcord hissed out as the brutal destructive force hit him dead on, piledriving him into the side of the black wind wall and shaking the entirety of our cage and the ground underneath us. He was almost annihilated by the attack, but began to regenerate. "Light'th magic'th versions of'th Sombra's, Adagio's, and'th Tirek's... how'th?" "Spell-Copy," I said. "I held the Element of Magic, once." Sadly, that last spell was meant to be loud, destructive, and terrifying, not collateral damage-friendly. I couldn't risk it twice. "There is nothing so ugly in this world, that proper application of light cannot make it beautiful!" "Praise'th mine name'th! Witness'th, bathed'th in the glory'th of mine countenance'th! Praise'th my name'th!" It fired a beam of light out of its mouth, drilling right towards my heart. "A true god needs only speak something once." I fired a orange beam of my own against a drill that could dig through anything... and my beam split apart into several before it made contact, then snaked into the grooves of the drill... and right into his mouth and down his throat. The light drill broke apart and dissolved just as it touched my scales. The fake Quetzalcoatl coughed up golden blood, twitching and squirming on the ground. "Huawk!" The thing coughed. "How'th, agagh!" "I got an up close and personal demonstration of that spell at point blank range, thanks to Chrysalis." "How can a witch that is deader than dead, possibly be such a constant thorn in my side?!" it said, dropping its bad early form of Equestrian. I smirked. "Maybe she was just a better villain than you. After all, unlike her, you have a conscience." "I SOLD MY CONSCIENCE!" bellowed Quetzalcoatl, his voice closer to Discord's than his own. "But did Dissy sell his?" Quetzalcord tried to fire his breath beam again, and coughed up blood instead. The internal damage was greater than I thought. Then again, what did I expect from a combat spell made by a sadist? "Return to Discord, or I'll force you back. I don't want to be a party to suffering." HIs response was to shed his skin, over and over and over, creating a glowing spear aimed right at my heart. I sighed. "Burn." (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Celestia, I'm back: Is everything still... Celestia, I mean Princess, why is the ground covered with ash instead of grass? And why does it smell like roasted blasphemous snake?) Many have asked what the difference is between myself and Galaxia. I will admit this much, if you do not ask again: Galaxia is Light, mine is the Fire. Quetzalcord finished dissolving back into chaos magic and returned to Discord from whence he came. I changed into my 'normal' Alicorn shape. It's fortunate that I had shifted shape at the time. I'd rather not have this barding melted into slag. I call out, "I am ashamed for you, Discord. There's no way you could have thought Quetzalcord would stand a chance against me. He was a distraction to keep me busy and a thorn to borrow under my skin. You shouldn't treat your Detachments so frivolously." "Come now, Celly," his voice called back. "Are we still doing the lecture thing? You know I have no respect for myself." "Only when it suits you, as usual." "Maybe I should just keep you in there. This could be more fun and interesting if it's just the little ponies for this big bang and not the big horsies too." "You know I can brute force this barrier open if I wanted to." "But you don't, because you don't want to accidentally damage your ponies." "And the Diamond Dogs who have helped Moon Dancer. Don't mistake my love for my ponies for indifference for everything else that thinks and feels. That's something you failed to grasp, Discord, but you have as Dissy. Now open this barrier, or else." "Or else what?" He really should have known better. I began to sing a lullaby. "What? No! Shut up! I said shut up! You want to hog the spotlight with your little ponies that much?! Fine! Princess!" The barrier dissolved, and I stopped singing Dissy's favorite lullaby that Shady had sung to him. ( Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): "Could... could you have done that at any time, princess?) I wasn't sure if it would work, and it's hard to sing a lullaby while fighting for your life. +++ Her Nightjesty's Princess Luna Nyx Equestria's War Chronicle "We suppose a rematch with Dracocord was too much to ask," we said. Having fought Discord's dragon Detachment through our avatar Selena, we'd have enjoyed an advantage of having seen how that one fought. But since when have things been easy or simple for us: Princess Luna of the Night? We were surprised to find ourselves facing what we'd come to know was Discord's cunning given a body of its own. Though cunning was not what we would call it. There was none of Discord's typical taunts, or reminders of our flaws, failures, and vices. No slideshow of our sins, or psychological games. Or maybe this was Discord's cunning unfiltered by his other traits, for while his games had worked on me once before, in our last encounter they'd been a stepping stone of his undoing. Or put simply: his cunning without his ego blocking his view saw that his silver tongue had been repeatedly been beaten dull in this battle. And more to our point, we didn't intend to give him any chance to play such games. Unlike most here, I had no interest in what this piece of Discord had to say. Bedecked in our full war armor, we'd remind Discord why we were Princess of both dreams and nightmares. We know everything about bats... and have very sensitive hearing. Our Royal Canterlot Voice sadly didn't provide an echo against the walls of animated Mu, but it was more than enough to shatter eardrums. Batcord wailed and twisted on the ground, covering his ears. We summoned a dragon slayer's sword, and shot it straight at his head. Batcord instantly stopped squirming, sat up, rolled out of the way, and in fluid motion grabbed the sword and threw it back towards us. We are ashamed to say that our weapon managed to cut through our mane. It bounced off the barrier, and We dismissed it. We were relieved that even Discord's cunning by itself couldn't resist explaining how clever it was. "Surgically-implanted earplugs that only activate at a certain volume. I saw it coming, because I'm Batcord." "Thank you." We tried to grab the contraptions within and crush them, but our telekinesis couldn't seem to grip him. "Anti-Telekinesis personalized forcefield, of course I deduced your strategy, because I'm Batcord!" We frowned, vexed. "You anticipated nothing, knave! You conjured your defenses in a moment of chaos, as you always do." "I deny your slander. Also, I knew you'd say that!" With none watching, we decided to up the ante, and released 'Triangle Crown,' the Tantabus, our personalized spirit of nightmare. She flew from our head, a sparkling mass of purple darkness right for Discord's detachment. Batcord whipped out a proton pack from nowhere and fired on our creation, then threw out a shoebox sized ghost trap, which opened and sucked her inside. "As if there was anyway I wouldn't have seen that coming!" We'd free our dutiful creation later. We blasted him dead-on with what Celly calls our Instant-Sleepy-Zap-Ray, except he didn't fall asleep where he stood. "Before this battle I drank a highly concentrated concoction of herbs, caffeine, sugars, and other chemicals. I can't fall asleep!" - "Hey, where'd that All-Night-Party mix that Pinkie Pie ordered go?" Coffee Swirl asked, perplexed. - We teleported right behind the braggart, and skewered him on our horn. He sparked and exploded. We were thrown back by the explosion, electronics and machinery scattering everywhere. Getting back up, we saw the crater left behind. The smoke parted, and Batcord stood. "Let us guess, you had a 'bat-decoy' planted from the beginning of the fight?" "Oh no, that would be absurd. I used ninjutsu to swap places with the replica at the last possible moment." That manega has so much to answer for, for its muddying the waters of how ninjas actually work. = The Dark Knight Triumphant/ End titles - The Dark Knight Returns OST - Christopher Drake = Batcord pushed a button on a belt I had not noticed before. Thick black armor unfolded and clamped around him, perfectly shaped to his body. Glowing yellow sunstones adorned the armor's 'gauntlets.' We knew where this was going. He wiped out a sonic gun that wouldn't actually be invented in Equestria for a hundred years or so. "It's a sound cannon!" He shouted as sonic vibrations covered the entire enclosed space we were in. My armor rattled, ready to fly apart, my horn ached, my ears and nose might have bled, I was in too much pain in notice. But the seapony tribe is still a part of me, and I used their magic combined with the Canterlot Voice to create an opposing soundwave that canceled out his. Tossing that weapon aside, he pulled from somewhere a wire coiled lightning rod. In spite of the Mu barrier sealing us off from the outside world, the weapon came to monstrous life with electricity. He threw the make-shift spear, but the lightning within arched towards my metal armor before I would have teleported out of the way. "All the lightning in Cloudsdale into one attack!" - "What's going on?! The Weather Factory's entire lightning reserves are gone!" Rainbow Shine shouted to Medley. - It was very painful, the lightning coursed through me in an endless circuit. But pegasi do more than fly and sit on clouds, I bent the lightning to my will, channeling it into my hooves, tighter, and tighter, creating my own version of balled lightning, and threw it straight at Batcord, who covered himself. As the brief lightning show ended, the ground around him was scorched, but he was unharmed. "Anti-electrical coating!" Batcord boasted. "Why wouldn't I have thought of that?!" He leapt into the air, impossibly light with the weight he was carrying, and began to fall towards me. This time I easily dodged, but a panel opened exposing his mouth, and he spat a wad of chewing gum with yellow sparkling bits on my horn. Disgusting. I felt my horn quickly grow numb. "Sunstone-mixed Anti-Magic Chewing Gum!" He pummeled me with his sunstone gauntlets, each strike like fire to my ice, the burning sensation going through my own armor like it wasn't even there. The strikes came hard, fast, and relentlessly. Discord hasn't lost his sense of irony, with us being beaten senseless by his aspect in the shape of one of our own creations. "I told you! Because I have to make due with less than you do! That's what makes me better than you! I wasn't born with your insanely huge amount of power, but I do have my mind, my will! Something a brute-force baboon like you could never hope to match as long as you huddle along on that crutch you call your 'gifts'!" - = Okami Soundtrack - Reset (Thank you) = "Wow, that's a big storm they have brewing over Canterlot," Pipsqueak said in his backyard looking at Canterlot Mountain. "Are you worried about Princess Luna?" Moonlight asked. Pipsqueak was happy she'd come for a visit. Earlier, Pipsqueak had asked her what those letters she'd given Featherweight and Button Mash were, and she'd told him, "They're special instructions from Princess Luna, in case the Princesses and their friends need to go away for a while and need others to help look after everypony, but don't tell anypony, Privateer Fleet Rear Admiral!" Pipsqueak had saluted, "I'll never breach security with Her Nightjesty!" "No I'm not worried for her Nightjesty," Pipsqueak in the present answered, getting a surprised reaction from Moonlight. "Because I believe in her. I know she'll come out on top. She's smart, she's loyal, honest, generous, she's scary but fun, she's generous, and she's really pretty too. She's best princess after all." Moonlight stood on her rear legs, and held her front hooves together in a prayer pose, "Yes, she is." - Pipsqueak. ... = Superman Theme - John Williams = If all you have is a hammer, use the curved end like a screwdriver. "... Like you rely on all the contraptions and resources your creator has provided you?" We asked as the punches fell like rain. "Your creator gave you all that knowledge, he gave you resources to create all the tools you're using. All your 'wits' and 'cunning' wouldn't be anything without the material you've been given to work with." "I'd beat you with a paper bag if I had to!" The attacks kept coming, my armor dented and warped. "Sweetie Belle informed me Queen Chrysalis defeated a giant with nothing but a stick and bag of three potatoes." "She was obviously lying!" "Was she? She was so much lesser than you, are you saying you couldn't accomplish a similar feat?" "I don't need to!" "But you're Batcord. Certainly you could. Unless you've been cheating this whole time. And all your 'cleverness' has been nothing but cheap tricks and retcons: like a child's fantasy." Now the giant armored bat lost his temper and his attack began to hit harder, but at the same time more spaced out and more simplistic. "I. Am. Not. A. Child!" "How do I know you're not? You could be making all this up to make yourself look smart." I gave him a raspberry. "I. AM. SMART!" Bits of our armor began to crack. We laughed in his face. "Prove it." "I DON'T NEED TO!!!" "You sure say that a lot. It's like you're scared to prove it," I said slyly. I'm happy my fur covered all the bruises. Batcord's armor exploded off him, pieces flying everywhere, including the sunstone gauntlets, I hadn't noticed he was so muscular before. "Direct physical combat? No magic. No gliding, flying, or non-ground based locomotion of any kind," I said. "You'll just break the rules when you feel like it!" "My servants never disobey their princess' commands, even when I wish it were not so, you know this to be true if you have Discord's memories. Therefore." We magically conjured Olo The Owlbear into this reality. A body of magical construct energy. "Olo! You Princess Commands you, enforce those agreed upon rules for this single particular duel upon us both! Ignore my commands to ignore my previous commands!" Olo hooted in understanding. We removed our armor. It was now a duel, after all, duels had rules. I worried for Moon Dancer and her friends, but Celly had faith in them. Olo also took the chance to free his little sister, and Triangle Crown returned to my dream realm. = Mortal Kombat - Movie Theme = We bowed to each other, and then we attacked. We moved like lightning, each strike moved like liquid into the next. We circled each other like steps in a dance. Each strike we made was blocked, and each strike he made we blocked, and each block and strike was but an opening for another strike. He swept my legs. I landed on my front hooves with joints a mundane horse of Earth just didn't have. I wrapped my tail around one of his feet and pulled, making him topple over backwards, but he turned it into a summersault and landed perfectly. I used being on my front hooves to buck him as he landed, he grabbed my legs and used the impact to his body from my own attack to flip me hard into the ground, but my jointed legs saved me again. I spun around like a corkscrew, and he was forced to let go. He was not incompetent, and We could appreciate the wild brazenness of his style, but we did not have time to spare. He made to strike me, and We blocked it with one of our wings, and proceeded to pummel in him in the gut. That made him momentarily lean over, and We kneed him in the jaw sending him upwards. "Cheater!" "We did agree, no flying, but you never said we couldn't use our wings at all." Batcord tried to claw our face. We forced our way forward instead of trying to block or get distance. We struck the sides of his head, blocked from loud sounds or not, it still played havoc with his inner ear. We kicked him in the chest. "You think I spent eternity sitting on my cosmic flank eating bonbons, Batcord? This is several thousand years experience of hoof-to-hoof combat!" = G Gundam- Shining Gundam/Finger Theme = Batcord pulled a gun out and took aim at us slowly and dramatically, while the barrel rotated and extended and lights began to flash in sequence with a ominous rising tone... which gave us plenty of time to seize it and shove it to one side before he could fire, breaking two of his wing fingers in the process. We emptied out the sunstone bullets that Olo put into an onyx box. I crushed the gun into a ball with my bare hooves, and ate it. Swallowing, I said, "I do not play god. I've been playing pony." I swiftly break his wings and other limbs, his jaw, finishing it with a strike to his spine that left him twitching on the ground on his back. We command, "The fight is over. Go back to Discord. You lose." His body dissolves back into chaos magic and is assimilated back into Discord. "Hoot hoot!" "Thank you, Olo, but this is not the end of the battle. You served me well, we'll speak later my old friend." "Hoot Hoot!" The magical construct body We'd given him dissolved, and he returned to the realm of the unconscious. We applied our magic and healed the damage to our body, and did as quick a job as We dared repairing the damage to my armor as well while placing it back on myself without the help of a squire. The Mu barrier around me dissolved. "Nothing to say, Discord?" We called. "I thought not." "Your sister won without getting nearly as hurt as you," said the Nightfilly. "In fact, I don't think she got hurt at all." "Good for her." "Not jealous?" "Jealousy has earned me nothing. Did it earn you anything, little filly?" She didn't respond. > The Funny and the Fabulous > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hiya! It's Pinkie Diane's BIIIIIIIG solo fight! Wait, don't go! Never fear, Pinkie Diane is here! It sure took us a long while to get to where we are now, so let's not waste anymore of everypony's time, right? Right! I was all alone with Discord-sea-serpent-that-floats-in-the-sky-instead-of-water's tail, but I wasn't scared. HEH! And even if I was scared I'd be smiling anyway! Giggle at the ghosties, remember? I have plenty to be scared of, but this guy isn't one of them! Did the gloomy gusts make it dark so all I could see was his outline? Nope! And anyway, sadness doesn't make the day any less sunny! So with the meanie magic wall all around us, there was only one thing to do! I waved and said, "Howdy!" Seacord waved a long skinny arm excitedly. "Howdy yourself!" "Wait a moment... Weren't you shooting a water cannon at me a minute ago?" Seacord looped around and scratched the side of the head with his tail fin, seeming honestly perplexed. "Was I?" A studio monitor dropped down from someplace, and he clicked a remote control, rewinding the video to a scene of me bouncing on a ball while he tried to wash me out, dressed like a firefighter. "Ohhh, that! That was just to set up tension while the interviewers were busy gabbing with your friends." I rushed to point a hoof at him, standing on my hind legs. "Is that so!?" Then I gave a shrug, dropping to all fours again. "I guess now we're at the part where you say a lot of things I should be ashamed of and tell me I should just give up, and I say a lot of brave stuff about friendship and you get angry and attack?" "I was hoping we could skip that part and get right to the fun stuff!" answered Seacord with a grin. "Say, maybe I could fill this whole place with water, and you could magically pull SCUBA gear from out of frame, and we could have an epic undersea fight!" "Ooh! What an inspired idea!" I nodded. "You and me are a lot alike!" "We are? Wait a sec, I'm the bad guy! Aren't I supposed to say that?" "But we are a lot alike!" I repeated, beaming at him. "We both love a good prank, we both love to have fun, we both have lots of wacky stuff we do that most ponies don't get!" In a flash, Seacord was wearing a waterproof tux and holding a bouquet of sea lilies, while a few bars of ‘Here Comes the Bride' played. "Does that mean you'll say yes to marrying all of me?" I folded my arms, waggling a hoof. "Well, I can't really say yes without getting a blessing from the Pairing Stone back home! It's tradition." The wedding gear poofed away, and his coils drooped. "So, that's ‘no', then?" "I didn't say that." I smiled and nodded coyly. "But we're different in that I know some things are more important than a quick laugh." "Let me take a stab in the dark." He threw a dart at a lovely old-fashioned wood and felt dartboard, which happened to have every single space labelled ‘Friendship.' "Oh my! Is it... friendship?" "Not JUST friendship, silly!" I giggled. "It's about making OTHERS happy, not USING others to make yourself happy! Why do you think I always customize my parties to suit the guest of honor? What makes me most happy is others being happy!" "I'm just being true to myself too," he said, as if breaking ponies for fun was no worse than stealing cookies from the cookie jar. "Is hurting others really being true to yourself?" I asked sincerely. "How can I be the happiest being in existence if there aren't other people who are less happy than me?" "But if you keep hurting others to have fun, sooner or later you won't have anypony else to have fun with. I'm a pony, it feels good to be part of a herd! We don't put each other down, we stick together and lift each other up!" "I'd like to keep my uniqueness, thank you!" "You don't need to give up what makes you special to have friends. You just need to find some common ground. Vinyl and Octy are like night and day on the surface, but they have a common ground in that they both like music, even if it isn't the same music." "So we can be friends if we both like pranks?" I actually hesitated for a teeny tiny bit there. Just a bit! "Technically, we could, but I'm not sure it'd work out. Like Dashie said about Gilda, you can't really stay friends with one friend if they're hurting your other friends." "I guess we're stuck, then. Oh well, I guess we'd best get started battling!" "Can we have a goof-off instead of a fight?" "Sorry. Whole-me and Not-Diamond are the only judges we'd have, and he's biased, and we'd be here forever trying to make her smile." "Couldn't we use one of my friends?" Pinkie proposed. "They'd be biased in favor of you." "Oh, okay." I was sad, but I didn't let it show. "Count of three work for you?" "Okie doki loki. On three." "THREE!" We shouted at the exact same time. = 'Overworld Theme' - Super Mario World = / = 'Ready, Go!' - G-Gundam = We threw tasty pies at each other super-duper fast! YA-TA-TA-TA-TA! Our pies collided falling to the ground and splattering everywhere! A wall of thrown pies, reaching up into the sky as they kept hitting each other! Until the ground between us was a massacre of uneaten pies. Oh, the tasty cherry filling-anity! Then Seacord wriggled up to me, his arms turned into extendo-fist boxing gloves that continued to spring forward and pull back at me as I backpedaled. I skipped over a hovering landmine hidden behind me, so Seacord set it off instead. Unlike in the movies, it just went off instead of going 'click' first. Steamers exploded around him, wrapping him up like a stunt pony after a go-kart wreck. "Oh yeah, how could I forget, Pinkie Sense!" Seacord laughed and zapped the ribbons into harmless friendly snakes with feathers that try to tickle me, but I wrapped them up in a pretty bow and they turned back again. Seacord pulled out a giant gunpowder pie. I shielded myself with one of my family's giant rock candy pies! Then he threw a giant poison joke pie! I quickly borrowed one of the funnels Apple Bloom had built, and the funnel sent the poison joke pie back at him! He pulled out a giant fan to blow the pie right back at me, but luckily I had a mirror pie which, as everypony knows, reflects other pies back where they came from! You're smart, so of course you know what mirror pies are and how they work, so I don't need to explain anything. Seacord reached into a sack that of course he'd been carrying since the beginning, and shook out a parasprite, which promptly ate the poison joke pie in one bite. Instead of spitting out another parasprite, it began to grow bigger and bigger instead! Soon It was taller than Seacord and still growing! "WHOOPS!" said Seacord. "I made a teensy little boo-boo!" We both began to back up as the parasprite continued to blow up like a balloon! "More like a great big boo-boo!" I don't wanna be a pancake! "Wait! I got it!" I pulled out my weight-watchers party mix and threw several parties' worth of celery right in the giant parasprite's mouth. Then it froze... and got smaller... and smaller and smaller until the happy mindless soulless bug shrank to nothing and poofed out of existence. Seacord blinked. "Wow, that was kinda clever. How'd you know it would work?" "Easy peasy! Everypony knows that celery has negative calories." (Interviewer's Notes: (Pegasus): Geeze, you're going all out here, Pinks.) I make no apologies! I've gotta do this to have a hope of winning. (Interviewer's Notes: (Unicorn): Ugh! This whole thing feels like a game of Calvinball.) Oooh! Calvinball's my all-time favorite sport! What did you think was gonna happen when it's Pinkie Pie versus a part of Discord? (Interviewer's Notes: (Unicorn): This could get messy. Perhaps we should observe from a safer distance!) Seacord rolled his eyes at them. "You're no fun. Now, where were we? Oh, right!" He reached behind his back and pulled out a star-studded robe, instantly donning it to become a wizard from Pontasia. Colorful neon lightning flew from his fingertips right at me in the shapes of the words 'Happy First Birthday!' Thankfully I just put on a suit of... oh wait, I'm ALREADY wearing a suit of magical armor! Silly me! Okay, then, my magically suited self just drew a foam rubber sword that may or may not have come from Tiddly Wink's toy store, caught the lightning on the blade, and flung it right back at him! He jerked into a buncha different poses with his skeleton showing! Then he stood blackened and twitching with the word 'TILT!' flashing on his beeping nose. (Interviewer's Notes: (Unicorn): This is all nonsense!) And I wouldn't have it any-other-way! Seacord picked himself up. Then he snapped his fingers to make his twin go away, and started bouncing like a giant spring. "So! How about we fight so hard that it breaks us into the second layer of reality where the creators leave their descriptions of the universes as road signs to Those-Who-Watch, and then fight so hard we break into the THIRD layer of reality where Those-Who-Watch leave remarks about our reality?" I bounced up and down right along with him! "I like that idea, I really REALLY like that idea! I absolutely love it!" I sighed. "But a lot of my friends think I've only been making ponies laugh by breaking the walls of the universe lately. I don't wanna hurt the wall-fixers' feelings." "What does a comedian like you care about hurt feelings? All comedy is just misery left out in the sun too long." "That doesn't mean you should make the misery in the first place." "Who needs to 'make' misery, imaginary-friend-from-a-universe-that-never-was? Ya know, there are gods who considered your manufactured paradise to be so stupid that visiting it was a punishment. I mean, how is that not hilarious?" He said all this without a hint of meanness or bullying. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. = ' The Halberd Vs. Star Dream Phase 1 ' - Kirby Planet Robobot = I took out a red strip of cloth, tied it around my forehead, and stood on my rear hooves. I hefted my party cannon onto my shoulder. "Adorable! Trying to make up for not being able to save your beloved Minty-" Never dignify bad jokes with a response. I let him have it with rapid fire. How did I do that? I asked Pinkie to reload it. What? No! I was aiming it. Pinkie was reloading it! Pinkie Pie meanwhile was firing for us. I thought that was obvious. Bright pink party-balls hammered into him, each exploding with pretty sparkles. I never let up, hitting him with a congo-line of party bombs. He was barely flinching? Let's see what a bajillion 'barely flinchings' add up to! I had enough for Star-Catcher and Luna's birthdays and then some! I wasn't giving up, not now and not ever, not on my friends. He swirled on a magician's cloak, and from beneath it came four anti-party missiles stuffed with algebra tests, tax documents, and health food! I shot them all down before they got close! (Dusk's Notes: But how do you know what was in-) (Dawn's Notes: Shhh! This is getting good!) He tried to shield himself with grammar test blackboards, but I blew them away! He threw two bundles of dental floss at me, but I Pinkie sensed where they were gonna be before they were there! He reached into the sky and unzipped it, and a buncha giant yodeling building blocks with random symbols on their sides came tumbling down towards me like they were on an invisible slide. My party cannon blew them all into fireworks before any of them could get close. I drew a 'reverse' button on my party cannon, sucked up all the fireworks, and blasted them in Seacord's face, toppling him over. He snapped his fingers, unimpressed, and became a drum major, twirling his baton and shouting 'Oomp-pa! Oomp-pa!' Saxophones, tubas, trumpets, trombones, and sousaphones marched out behind him, and began flaring colorful pink sound rings at me! I whipped out a guitar and played it loud, and I mean super loud, cancelling the sound rings out. Lucky thing I'd had a lot of coffee before coming here, huh? "Look deep into the pretty spiral! Maybe there's cake at the center!" He reached behind his back and pulled out a lollipop that spun like a hypno-screen! Lucky thing I put on my mirror anti-hypnosis glasses! I still had Twilight's anti-magical-brainwashing enchantments, but better safe than sorry. "Don't like that? How about this!" He pulled out an old-timey future laser-gun with the words 'Maidification Ray' on the side. Thankfully I used my sunglasses as a shield, and deflected the beam back at him! When the dust settled, he was wearing a pretty plaid and purple maid outfit and holding a silver tray. "Would you like tea with your sugar?" He was compelled to say, before screaming, ripping the costume off, and drinking the tea. "Hey, no fair! I wouldn't have been able to do that if you zapped me!" "Well duh, but that's a good climax for this, isn't it? Taste the power of Ponythulu's cookies! The tasty sugary impossible treats that will literally blow your mind!!" He revealed a tray of delicious smelling cookies with green chocolate chips and with frosting with colour out of space! Give yourself a brownie if you get that one! (Interviewer's Notes: (Earth Pony): I do!) (Interviewer's Notes: (Unicorn): You're too young to read those!) The smell was so mouthwatering, I found myself being drawn to them against my will! Yes! Yes! Eat the cookie! Become one with He Who Sleeps And Dreams of Freshly Baked Cookies! Become one of the Deep Ponies with the cute little face tentacles that drove ponies mad! "NO!" I pulled out a vanilla-vanilla cake with chocolate powder. "AWAY, DELICIOUS COOKIES! THE POWER OF CAKE COMPELS YOU! CELESTIA'S CAKE BE MY GUIDE!" And the cookies burst into flames and were no more. "Dangit. Okay, how about this one?" He unrolled an endless red carpet that chased me everywhere until I jumped over the roll. I landed on a giant square of flypaper. Predictably, he pulled out a giant flyswatter and slammed down on my substitute-pink-pony-piñata, spraying candy everywhere. "Hey! No fair!" "Really?" I said, standing a little ways away, "You're really gonna say that, Mr. Seacord McBaddiespawn?" "Objection!" he shouted, suddenly sporting slicked-back hair. "You said it first." A tape recorder in his other hand rewound itself and played, "Hey, no fair!" in my voice. "Oh yeah?" I shouted, wearing a red jacket with a fancy cravat. "Well, I object to your objection!" "You know this is pointless, don't you, Pinkie? We can both keep coming up with crazy tricks, but you don't have a way to finish me off, while I've got plenty of ways to give you a permanent time out!" Using one of my rear hooves, I extended one of my own extendo-fist boxing gloves out of sight, and back into view beside him, smacking him in the face and making him see stars like The Countess and Sapphire Shores! "Seriously, though, this fight will go on for eternity if we let it. I have eternity to live. You don't. And neither do your friends." He put on a top hat and snapped his fingers. Merry-go-round music played, and a spiral gold pole rose of his hat. Connected to it were merry-go-round horses of my first friends with faces that would make Derpy cringe. Riding them were clones of Seacord all dressed up like cow-ponies! They began to fire their six shooters with real bullets one after another as they orbited, closing in on me! Red spurted out of my chest as I fell backwards without fanfare. My party cannon clattered to the ground beside me. "NO!" Seacord gasped, literally turning white as a sheet. "No no no no!" The cow-pony Seacords, the merry-go-round, everything vanished. He rushed over to my side, hanging over me. "This wasn't supposed to happen, and certainly not in such a horribly anticlimactic way!" I sprang up, and hit him in the face with a pie made of glue. Can I squirt ketchup with the best of them, or what? Seacord pulled the pie off... and his own face right along with it. The face on the pie looked all around, surprised and bewildered. "Why, you pink pest! I'm so frustrated I could just rip a portal open to another universe to throw you in, and get accidentally tossed into myself!" "Really?!" I leaned forward, smelling an adventure! "No, not really." "Rats." Seacord smashed the pie into his face again, and this time he only peeled off the pie. "You might have four-thousand or so years of experience at this game, Pinkie Pie, but I've got you beat by billions of years." He waggled a finger. "You can't win." We'll just have to see about that! I kept blasting away, firing party cannonballs at Seacord! He put on a straw hat, and slipped on a purple spandex suit that didn't leave ANYTHING to the imagination, with an incredible exclamation mark across the chest. It's a good thing the twitchy-twitch from my Pinkie Sense warned me, cause instead of exploding, the cannonballs bounced right off him and back at me, like they were made of rubber! I rolled out of the way of my own attack as they exploded into party favors behind me! "I am rubber!" he proclaimed. "And you... are toast!" He stretched out his arms super-fast, trying to punch me. He was going so fast it looked like he'd grown an extra bajillion arms! Pinkie Sense, don't fail me now! Left! Right! Right again! Bend over backwards! Shoot self up with party cannon, shoot self down with party cannon, skip halfway out of frame to other side of frame, do a split split, do a corkscrew roll! Pirouette!! Cartwheel! Back! Dive forward! Up up! Down down! Left right, left right! Butt stomp! Air jump! I had to turn myself over totally to my Pinkie Sense to keep from getting clobbered. Since that wasn't working either, he stuck a fin in his mouth and blew, causing one of his arms to grow huge and black with glowing lines. He swung that just once, but once would have been enough! Pinkie Sense warned me to dodge just in time, and he hit the ground instead, turning our whole ‘battle arena' into a smashed up jigsaw puzzle. "I told you already, you have nothing in your arsenal that can beat me. You couldn't beat one of us when you had the power of Wishes itself at your command. Even one-tenth of a Concept is more than you can hope to overcome, so why don't you just become Discord's wife, and you can sit out the right of the fight." He did a super stretchy leg kick that I didn't see but my Pinkie Sense did, so I backflipped to avoid it. "I'd never abandon my friends." "Why? You're not Loyalty." "That doesn't mean Laughter is all I am! Do you think I'm just one virtue?!" He stretched into a rubber Ferrari, and ran me over, breaking me apart and spilling my insides, and by 'me' I mean one of my Pinkie Pie Piñatas filled with glue, sticking him place. "Using the same trick twice in one fight?! That's boring!" "This one won't be," I said happily as he stared down the very long business end of my newest toy. "I thought you dismantled that thing!" he screamed, trying to get free of the glue. "That was the L118 Happy Howitzer MK II," I casually explained. "This baby is the L118 Happy Howitzer MK III!" I fired the long-range siege party cannon at point blank range. Good thing I'm a party pony, cause being that close to a sparkles-balloons-and-flying-doves mushroom cloud might do strange things to normal ponies! The placed was filled with glitter and balloons now. I put on a life jacket and stood atop an inflatable party raft, party cannon at my side. The gloomy walls were now sparkly red (Diamond Tiara's favorite color) with black kitty stickers with blue collars on them. Dang. She still wouldn't smile? Then Seacord exploded from the sea of balloons. "I told you! Nothing you can do will work! Ex-imaginary friend or not, you're just a mere mortal! I am a god. For you, I. am. Un-beat-able!" He really sounded frustrated now, like he was trying to convince somepony to stop trying to dig a hole through a mountain by ramming their head into it but they were too dumb to listen, ... hey wait a minute! ]:( (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Did you just speak a emoticon?) Yeah, so? (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Never mind.) He rose above me, twice as big and buff as he'd been before, and trading the costume for a pair of boxing gloves. A storm raged all around us, shooting lightning and churning the 'ocean,' tossing and spinning my raft. I thought about everything he'd said, and replied, "I guess it's a good thing I didn't make all of this a Pinkie Promise before." "Huh?" "I guess what I'm saying is-" I waved at him from the other side of the wall of black magic. "-bye-bye." "WHAT?! HOW! YOU! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! GET BACK IN HERE!" He looked around at where I'd been, and where I was, looking every possible direction too. "Nope." "YOU HAVE TO! WE HAVEN'T HAD OUR CLIMACTIC FINAL FIGHT! This was it! I had the storm ready and everything! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!! How can you have gotten out? It's impossible! HOW'D YOU DO THIS ANYWAY?!!?!?" I wasn't supposed to exist in this universe, you think I don't know where all the folds in the paper are? Come on! You've seen me go from in front of to behind somepony, how many times? "Not telling." "OH COME ON! There's no fun in that! Please!" "No." "WHY?!?!?! We were having fun!! Everything was set up for the big final clash!!" "You kept saying that I couldn't beat you." "I wanted to sound cool. You weren't supposed to take me seriously! Come on, get back in here!" he begged. "Pretty please with a rubber chicken suit on top?! I'll even fight with one fin tied behind my back!" "... Nope." "PINKIE PIE! You can't screw me over like this! It's against the rules!" "What rules?" I asked, innocent and bright eyed. "THE rules! You can't end this on an anticlimax! You-you can't! Pleeeeeease! You wouldn't end a party like this would you?!" "No. I wouldn't." I smile and nodded. He grinned. I hate to see it go away. "But this isn't a party." But I have to anyway. "PINKIE PIE! THIS IS MAKING ME UNHAPPY! You said you got happy from making others happy!" "... I did. And you get happy from making others unhappy. I'm sorry. I'm not fighting to show which of us is better at putting on a show, I was fighting to stop you from hurting everypony. I don't like fighting anyway, and you gotta admit, it does make for a good joke right?" "Maybe... Oh, fine! Maybe it does ... Congratulations, Pinkie Pie... that was... a good show..." He turned into a buncha pretty colors and sparkles that passed through the wall, and into ghost Discord who was still floating out of Nightmare Diamond Tiara who was now right behind me. The wall of bad magic disappeared, spilling the party balloons and sparkles everywhere. "Allow me to get that." Discord pulled a vacuum cleaner out of his ear this time, and began sweeping up all the party fallout. I trotted right up to the Nightfilly. "Hey there, 'I'm Not Diamond Tiara'. Sorry we missed your birthday. Maybe I should give you a party right now while we wait, but that wouldn't be very fun without your friends-" "I don't have friends." "Don't be silly! Alula, Tootsie, Silver Spoon, and Neatly Spell all want to have your birthday with you." "How do you know about Alula and Tootsie?" she demanded. "You remember, don't you? How I turned Equestria into Hell? How I almost made you and Apple Bloom murderers? How I almost murdered Silver Spoon? And you want to have a party with ME? Are all of your friends completely insane, or is it just you?" "I've been sane for a year, you know that," I rolled my eyes. "And yeah, I remember every little icky, black, gooey, unhappy detail! What you did was bad, super-duper ultra bad! You helped really bad guys do really bad things, and did really bad things yourself." "Then why the Pony Hell did you offer me a make-up birthday party?" "Language, little filly!" "There's nothing innocent about me any more. Answer the question." "Not until you say please!" Please wasn't really something Diamond Tiara was really used to saying. I'm proud she was able to get the sounds out. "Ple...Ple-eh-eaze." "There, that was hard, but you'll get better with practice. Maybe evil you does deserve a really big spanking. But my job is to clean up the evil nightmare gunk inside you, and then later help you be happy after. And I know you can be happy without hurting anypony." "All I ever do is hurt ponies. I poison everything I touch." "And first thing we'll need to do is help you work through that attitude." "Maybe father and I will crush you while you're separated from your friends." "Nah, I don't think so. If you really wanted to do that, we wouldn't be chatting right now." "She might not! But maybe I will! BWAHAHAH!" Discord laughed evilly. "So... when are you going to marry Fluttershy?" I asked. "... Excuse me." Discord drank glass of water, then spat out fruit punch. "WHAT?!" "You're the father of her foal aren't you? My parents always told me that that's the only honorable thing to do." "I'm evil incarnate! I'm the opposite of honorable!" "Yeah... you were... but a blind pony can see you want to make up for it." "Oh shut up! Shouldn't you be worried about your friends and rushing to help them?!" "I'm not worried one bit, because I know they're not gonna lose!" I said with a proud smile on my face. +++ Spike VII's Account Picture this... I was on Trixie's back looking around as she tried her hardest not to shake. Me, Rarity, Applejack, and Trixie stared up at Dragocord, looming over us. "Ahem." A sourceless spotlight snapped on, making us squint and shade our eyes. It swung over to brilliantly illuminate Deercord and that smug grin of his. "There, that's more like it." What? No, Discord's greed being a dragon didn't offend me. That's our thing, you know? Besides, you shouldn't worry so much about offending others and being offended. It's a horrible habit for everypony involved. Though, I'm wondering why he glanced at Celestia behind the walls of creepiness. Through the nasty wall I saw all of my friends' silhouettes, trying their hardest to fight off their detachments. I hope Twilight, Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle, and the others make it out of this okay. "So," Rarity said with perfect poise. "Are either of you the part of Discord that manipulated Diamond Tiara?" Deercord turned his nose up at her. "No, that would be Batcord." "Oh. Well, I suppose defeating you two ruffians will still be a meaningful victory. Perhaps." "Speak for yourself," growled Dragocord. Geeze, he reminds me of that one green dragon in the Everfree that wanted to eat me for snacking on his gems. "I said I wanted to face the pink and yellow ones, so I could turn them into my personal dragonesses, think how beautiful our hatchlings will be!" He licked his chops, and a drop of his drool burned the ground like acid. Blech. "I ask for one thing, just one, and the whole-of-me couldn't even deliver on that! I've been cheated!" "It seems random chaos is finally in our favor for once," Rarity said sharply. I really didn't want to think about what Dragon Discord said. "Hey!" I blurted out, suddenly inspired. "You guys are Discord and Discord is evil, right? So why doesn't one of you eat the other and absorb their power to get even more powerful?" And give us only one baddie to worry about. "You know you're just going to do it anyway once we wear down one of you to where you can't defend yourself!" I egged them on. Deer Discord got even more snooty with us, somehow. "As if I'd ever taint my perfection by absorbing that oaf!" "Hey, that's a great idea!" rumbled Dragocord. "Thanks, little dragon!" "Nope! You're not doing that!" Discord's voice boomed. "Bad Dragon-me, bad! No eating your brother!" Dragocord lashed out, slashing deep furrows into the lawn. "Darn it!" Deercord wouldn't even glance at Dragocord. "So, darling," said Rarity, with a smile that could've made me do anything. "No doubt you're going to fight us one at a time, since surely a big strong dragon such as yourself wouldn't want a puny deer to steal any of your glory. And a proud, mighty deer such as yourself would never need help. Am I right?" Dragocord loomed closer. "Darn it, I really wanted the pink and yellow ones..." He grinned suddenly, razor-sharp fangs gleaming. "But there's no reason why I can't take you first! Now, become my hot obedient little dragonesses!" He breathed purple fire on Rarity and Applejack. "NO!" I shouted, actually leaping off Trixie to race towards Rarity. Except... the flames cleared, and both of them were alright! The blue barrier around Rarity's armor had appeared again, and Applejack's armor was shimmering red. Rarity and Applejack both glared at Dragocord. "Generosity beats your greed, it seems!" "The truth of who Ah am beat the lie of what you want ta force me to be!" "Bravo," Trixie whispered. I clapped. "NOT FAIR!" Dragocord stomped the ground repeatedly. "I never get what I want!" Rarity rolled her beautiful eyes. Now the big antlered jerk sniffed disdainfully at Applejack. "Truth? Truth?! You're 'Honest' when you feel like it, cheater, but that doesn't mean what you say is true. My words of wisdom would be wasted on a country hick who shouted 'Liar' to every point I made. You'll just make up whatever so-called 'truth' you please, which will of course be conveniently on your side, not mine." Applejack snorted, pawing at the ground. "It ain't cheatin', and it ain't so-called! And ya just admitted that all it takes is a quick honest look to see right through whatever buncha hooey you can spout!" Dragocord eyed Trixie and me. Uh-oh! "You don't have magic armor!" He breathed that purple fire at us. Trixie's horn glowed, and a copy of Shining Armor's shield appeared, just big enough to hold both of us. "Oh, no you don't!" He poured it on, making his purple flame bigger and hotter! Trixie cringed, and the barrier shrank until Trixie was kneeling and I was huddled against her. Then the glow of Trixie's horn overlapped with the glow of Rarity's magic... huh?! Rarity's Element and the tracers on her armor were glowing! Not taking her eyes off us, Rarity levitated a needle the size of a crossbow bolt and shot it with her telekinesis... straight into one of his big, mean, and green nostrils! "AAGH!" He stopped breathing fire and clawed at his own snout. "Get it out, get it out!" A pony shouldn't take pleasure in the suffering of an evil jerk, even if he did try to turn us into his playthings. Good thing I'm not a pony. "Excellent, good show!" shouted Deercord, clapping his hooves. "Well done. You have a right to be proud of yourselves!" "HEY!" yelled Dragocord, snorting through one nostril as Rarity smiled. "Well, a lady doesn't refuse praise." Deercord's eyes grew multicolored and swirly. "Now, let your pride consume you! Become one with your arrogance! Through that one crack in your soul, I shall enter. Become one with me, become my vessel! Through me, know only me, know only pride!" "Yeeeesssss masterrrrr," Rarity stiffened and robotically trotted up to Deercord. I held my breath. Rarity then switched to a fighting stance and swept his legs, dumping him to the ground. I know, there's a bajillion different types of mind control magic out there, but there's only one Discord, and Twilight has his magic down pat! She gave us mind protection enchantments before we even came here! Never bet against Rarity's acting! Deercord sprang right back up, clenching a hoof so hard, it shook. "You... deceiving wench!" "Did I make you angry?" Rarity smirked. Deercord breathed in so sharply it was likely a whistle. "I'm never angry. I am pride." The fake dragon growled. "Ugh, enough with the games! Let's just eat 'em already!" "I don't take orders from you," Deercord said snottily. Then both of them got shocked by a double whammy of lightning from Trixie. The smoldering monsters turned their attention right towards her, and so did our friends. "Trixie!" Rarity scolded. "What? Is this about me being unsporting?" Lightning leaped from the deer's antlers and red fire shot out of Dragocord's mouth, right towards Trixie. I jumped in the way of the fire, heh, didn't feel a thing, and Rarity stacked her big needles together, planting the bottom one in the earth to make a lightning rod. In a low and unhappy voice, Rarity said, "If we had stayed out of their way a little longer, they might have turned on each other!" "...Oh, sorry about that!" Deercord laughed at Rarity like a noblepony at a garden soiree. "As though I would ever fall for such an obvious deceit." = Captain Claw soundtrack - 'level 3' = Dragocord unfurled his wings and began flapping so hard, we nearly all went flying. I dug my claws into the dirt, while Applejack used herself as a windbreak for the others. Before we could figure out a plan, Dragocord spun around and swept his tail across the ground. I was knocked away like a baseball, but Rarity caught me in her magic. Rarity and Applejack's armor kept their bones from being broken, and Applejack made a diving save for Trixie. Dragocord breathed fire again, and the barrier from Rarity's armor blocked it off. Then he crouched down and jumped, slamming a paw down on the barrier with all his weight. Rarity's legs buckled, and now we were in a bowl-shaped crater, but the shield held. - I won't lie, darlings. It felt like my horn was going to crack. - Deercord's antlers glowed again. I don't think real deer can do that, except Harmony maybe. The ground rumbled, and boulders burst out of the ground, surrounded by the same random glow as Deercord's horns! He hurled them right at us. Applejack didn't miss a beat. She ran TOWARDS them, smashing them all with one buck each! Even the pebbles flew away from us, and Applejack's armored hooves weren't even dented. The glow of Deercord's magic appeared around Rarity and Applejack's necks, but the chaos magic shattered as soon as it was appeared, unraveled by their armor. Then the glow appeared around my own neck and I felt an invisible iron vise tightening. Being a dragon, an iron vise wasn't that big a deal, but the force was squeezing tighter and tighter the longer it was there! Trixie, meanwhile, was choking like an exhausted dog on a leash! Deercord grinned smugly. "A cheapskate's Element of Magic could never hope to match my- AGH!" Rarity had fired some of her gems with the speed and force of a cannon. They ricocheted everywhere off Deercord's seventeen point antlers, messing up his concentration. That was a relief on my neck. "WAY TO GO, RARITY! Trixie, you okay?" "Trixie... will live." "No you won't!" Deercord snapped, and his horns glowed again. This time, tree branches shaped like his horns speared out of the ground like an instant forest! But that included underneath Dragocord. He yelped in pain as the forest of horns stabbed him in the feet and underneath his tail! Brrrr! He toppled onto his side, causing an earthquake and getting stabbed with more of the branches. He smashed them like toothpicks, and the backlash broke Deercord's concentration again. Applejack didn't waste a second, and began shattering each branch with a single hit, as if she could see all their weak spots at glance. Trixie began setting them on fire for good measure, and Rarity formed her gems into something like a buzzsaw and cut down the rest. "IDIOT!" snarled Deercord. "NO, YOU'RE THE IDIOT!" bellowed Dragocord right back at him. "We should coordinate. You can start by doing everything my superior mind comes up with." "No, we should team up and you do everything I want!" At least they're too greedy and too snobby to work as a team. = Transformers Devastation Soundtrack- Menasor Theme V1 = Dragocord cracked his knuckles, claws starting to glow. "Just crushing you ponies with my dragon strength wouldn't be satisfying enough now. I want more... I want to blow you to atoms!" He conjured a giant weapon out of nothing, some kind of dragon-sized cannon with a crossbow trigger. (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): A combat rifle?! Is that allowed?) He aimed it right at us and pulled the trigger. Thunderous roar, the blur of the cannonball! I couldn't dive to protect her in time! No! Wait, Rarity caught the cannonball in her telekinesis!! YES!!! = The Wonderful 101 - JERGINGHA - PLANET DESTRUCTION = Her eyes were like a tiger's... I don't mean she now had cat eyes, but the sheer LOOK she was giving! She flipped the weirdly-shaped cannonball around, then released it, and it flew right back up Dragocord's ‘rifle,' blowing it to scrap! Dragocord snarled. "More bullets!!" He pulled out a pair of giant... what the heck? (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Tommy guns!) Well whatever they are, Dragocord had one with each of his foreclaws, and it rained giant bullets! Ratatatatatatatatat!!! I tried to use myself as a shield for Trixie, but in that moment, Applejack put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder, and... whoa, just whoa. As each bullet flew at us, it froze in place, glowing in Rarity's magic. Rarity and Applejack's stern expressions didn't change at all as they glared at Dragocord. Not a single strand of Rarity's beautiful hair was out of place. Ten. Twenty. Thirty. Rarity didn't flinch as Applejack just held her shoulder. The red glow of Applejack's armor flowing into Rarity's. Sixty. Eighty. Dragocord wildly moved his weapons but it was like Rarity could see the truth of where every last one of those things was gonna hit before they were even fired. A hundred! And... the bullets ran out of Dragocord's weapons as all that came was 'Click! Click! He looked at the hundred giant bullets in the air. Rarity let out a battle cry, and it was like time rolled back in reverse, and they all flew right back at Dragocord! Hitting him almost all at once! - I wasn't as surprised as you'd probably think, darlings. Generosity is nothing if it can't inspire others to do the same. - Dragon scales can take almost anything, but you can bet that Dragocord felt all of those hits, and his two big weapons went boom too, he was covered in cannonball welts! "This isn't fair!" he whined. Sheesh, even I sounded more mature than that. I sounded more mature back when I was super-little and Twilight wouldn't buy me the latest Power Pony action figure. "I'm the oldest Detachment! That makes me the strongest, I should get what I want!" "I must say darling, as somepony who knows greed the way light knows shadow, as a spirit of greed you're very lacking. Dragons are greedy? Is that all you have?" Deercord made a show of yawning. "She has you there, brother. ‘More explosions?' You're just cribbing off of Lioncord now. "I FOUGHT AN AVATAR OF LUNA TO A STAND STILL! I SHOULD BE ABLE TO JUST CRUSH THOSE BUGS! THEY'RE ALL CHEATERS!" "You're embarrassing the both of us. Fine, just this once, I'll help you and... " Deercord paused. "What's this?" Trixie had thrown smoke bombs all around him, shrouding them in blue smoke. "Such amusing antics, little prestidigitator, but your infantile carnival tricks can't save you!" Trixie began to randomly teleport around and vanished. "It's not the smoke you should be worried about... but what's inside!" That was when it was Deercord's turn to be blown away, by a deafening burst of colorful fireworks exploding right in his face! As the smoke cleared, I could see one of his eyes wide open, glaring, and the other one twitching angrily, his face, fur, and horns covered in black soot. These definitely weren't the usual family-friendly pyrotechnics from her magic shows! "THIS IS IDIOTIC!" A storm bigger and nastier looking than anything I'd seen Cloudsdale put together formed above our heads. "I'll put an end to you!" Trixie's horn glowed bright, and the storm dissolved. "WHAT?!" Deercord looked ready to pop a blood vessel. "Most unicorns can't even do weather magic." Trixie smiled. "So don't ever call Trixie 'not special'." "WAY TO GO, GIRLS!" I cheered, hopping up and down and swinging my fists. "TROUNCE THESE... losers." Dragocord loomed over me, thoroughly ticked off. "Uh, Trixie?" I stammered. "I don't suppose you copied Twilight's age spell." Trixie was busy diverting thunderbolts. "It never came up!" If I wanted to fight Dragocord dragon-to-dragon, I'd have to get greedy on my own... but did I have it in me? "I want to save my friends!" Dragocord snarled and lifted a huge forepaw directly over me. I squeezed my eyes shut and kept shouting, "I want to save my friends, I WANT to save my friends-I-want-to... hey!" Applejack's lasso closed around me and yanked back hard, saving me from getting stomped into a dragon pancake. Dragocord tisked, sneering down at me. "What a pathetic excuse for a dragon you are!" "Oh yeah? Well I'm still more of a dragon than you are, you fake dracon-whatever-you-are!" "Why don't you come up here and say that to my face, pipsqueak? Maybe you can get one of your pony friends to float you up." "Spike-Wikey doesn't need your approval, you bully!" "Actually the bullying part of Discord is the griffon, stupid pony." "Don't you call Rarity stupid!" "Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" He glared at Rarity. "Maybe you need a reminder of what a real dragon is like." His burning gaze shifted back to me, and orange flames leapt from his eyes into mine. "Feel your inner dragon wake up! Feel all the greed you've been holding back! Let's break open that dam and see how greedy you really are!" My heartbeat roared in my ears. Flaming claws seemed to reach inside my chest, stoking the ever-burning spark of my dragon flame. My vision sharpened and focused, tinted the same livid orange as Dragocord's flame. Dragocord leered triumphantly. "Just give in, Spike... YOU WANT IT ALL!" I felt him melt away the chains, break the locks. I felt him smash the concrete walls and rip the door right off the vault. Everything I wanted, everything I never got, I wanted more. More respect, more love, more comic books, more jewels, more time with Rarity, more space of my own, more fame, more praise, more O&O merchandise, more, more, MORE! And I grew, from wyrmling to drake to truly a dragon, bigger and bigger until I stood shoulder to shoulder with Dragocord, and the ponies seemed so small, just colorful dolls before my paws. I felt the weight of ... wings on my back? That was new. Spike liked them at once, stretching them out. Spike knew them like Spike knew his own claws. "Oh dear, not again," my Rarity whispered. "Get ready," my Applejack said. "Spike, it's us... " my Trixie pleaded. "We're your friends, remember?" "Friends?!" Dragocord was beside himself with laughter. "Dragons don't need friends," he purred in Spike's ear. "What dragons want, they take! Well, what are you waiting for? Take that shiny golden armor for your new hoard. Take the prissy white pony and make her your very own dragoness, to please you however you want. Of course, I'm older and bigger and tougher than you, so the lion's share of the loot will be mine, but make sure you get yours!" Spike could see it... a perfect, beautiful drakaina with ivory scales and amethyst fins. My Rarity, all MINE. Spike rear back and punch Dragocord in face. He go 'bong' against wall of bad feelings, show other side of face, Spike punch that one too. Pony or dragon, Rarity would be Spike's... and Spike would be all hers! "You definitely not Discord's brain! What Spike is greedy for most, is Spike's friends. You're trying to take friends from Spike!" = 'Voltron' 1980s Theme Instrumental = "That's not supposed to happen," stupid Deer Discord say. Discord-Dragon grab Spike by shoulders, he breathe orange flames in face, Spike breathe green flames back. Orange flames disappear and reappear, hit Discord-Dragon in face again. "AGH-AGH-AGH!" Spike bear hug Discord-Dragon, fly high as he can. Piledrive Discord-Dragon into dirt, bury him upside down with legs sticking out. Dirt go up everywhere. My Ponies? They fine. Spike pull Discord-Dragon out by tail, slam him into bad feelings wall over and over, then into ceiling, then into ground. Discord-Dragon whip around Spike by tail, Spike forced to let go. Spike spread wings to land softly, Spike make sure not to step on His Ponies. Discord-Dragon swung punch, Spike punch back, my punch breaks his punch. Discord-Dragon's bones go smash! "I am part of a Concept! How am I not winning?!" "Maybe more dragon has, more dragon has to lose, stronger dragon is!" Spike explain to stupid-head! Spike punch his stomach. - Lady Rarity Belle My Spikey-Wikey... My word, he's so strong and handsome like that. Erm, please strike that from the record, darling! I'm so proud of Spike. I'll confess, darlings, seeing once again the rampaging dragon that kidnapped me did give me a moment of fear, but my heart soared when Spike struck that green-scaled ruffian! Spike proved once again that he's better than his nature, he's better than what his instincts have hardwired him to be. And even in his fury, even as he threw punches that could break mountains, we never had to dodge any of his steps as collateral damage. Even trapped under an orange sea of greed, he wasn't forgetting about us. I wish I had my opera glasses. I could watch Spike's physical perfection all day. And he showed that he was a better dragon by far than that piece of Discord! Do I have a thing for dragons? No. Do I have a thing for Spike? Perhaps I do. Be a dear and don't tell him, though. If I ever become an Alicorn, I'll tell him myself. We were all in awe of the display of draconic might. We were broken out of our wonder as an idealized ice sculpture of Trixie in the 'Birth of Cadence' pose was smashed into Deercord's face. Applejack and I only smiled. "Agh! What happened to your pride as honest and sporting warriors of justice?! Tell her what a loser she is!" "This isn't exactly a martial arts tournament, darling," I said. "Ah don't like it, but Ah know ya had it comin'!" "Girls, Trixie is going to give Spike a little help! Cover her!" Trixie let loose one of her smoke bombs. "Oh no you don't!" Deercord snarled, his horns glowing as he let off a blossom of spell bolts at Trixie. "Oh yes she does!" Applejack and myself said, simultaneously kicking him in the antlers. - Trixie isn't quite used to running towards danger, but performers are adaptable! - Dragocord let out a deafening roar, loud enough to rattle my teeth. Even Spike clapped his paws over his ears, but he still moved his body to block the worst of the shock-wave from reaching us. The walls of black wind thankfully absorbed the sound rather than echo it back at us. Meanwhile, Trixie was still moving at a full gallop. For a moment I worried that the stress had caused poor Trixie to have taken leave of her senses, darling. How Trixie intended to get into range for what she had planned I'd never know, for Dragocord ceased his roaring and began to breathe in instead, sucking in everything not nailed down. I imagine that Trixie would have loved to spin a dramatic tale of striking at the beast from the inside... later, on a nice safe show stage. Wisely, Trixie screamed for help instead. My ever dutiful Spike caught her before she could be sucked into Dragocord's maul. As for ourselves, Deercord unleashed a lightshow of death upon us, slinging dazzling spirals and multicolored patterns of magic. I had no intention of finding out whether my armor would hold up against all of that or not. Neither Applejack nor I have Pinkie Pie's sixth sense, and I could not touch Applejack while dodging this rainbow display of obliteration, but I did have an eye for detail, and an eye for patterns, and Applejack saw the truth of it. Between the two of us, without even speaking a word to each other, we were able to slip through the net. Then Deercord closed the pattern in around us like a mouse trap with no way out... except I brought out a cache of jewels and threw them, blowing up enough of the projectiles to make a gap for our escape. Deercord conjured an expanding sphere of wild magic around himself, but before it completely enveloped him, I brought out my chaise longue and used it to bowl him over from behind. "Rarity!? Where do ya keep that thing?!" "... Around," I answered Applejack, a little shifty-eyed. Spike and Trixie had switched roles, with Trixie now riding atop Spike rather than the other way around, but Dragocord's muscles seemed to increase in size every moment. "You can't win! Victory will be mine! Mine! Mine!" He roared and pummeled Spike, nostrils flaring. And that last part was just fine by Trixie, as she summoned the most impressive thundercloud I've ever seen her conjure... it released but one lightning bolt... but that arched straight into that brute's nose and connected with the giant needle which I had lodged there earlier. Dragocord's entire body shook like a plate of jelly in an earthquake. I actually saw electricity arch across his eyes and out his ears. He gave a fractured cry of pain. I imagine darlings, dragon scales are nigh indestructible, but their brains are soft as anypony else's, and Trixie had just short-circuited his. Smoke poured out of Dragocord's ears, nose, and mouth. He swayed back and forth on his feet, wings twitching and tail dragging on the ground, but the orange fire in his eyes still burned bright. I expected Spike to unleash some devastating final attack, and he did, but not the kind I imagined. "What Discord want?" "Uuuuuh?" "What does Discord want? Dragons get big from greed, greed is from wanting more than dragon have. What does Discord want? The world? To be king? Have most toys? What?!" And right before my eyes... Dragocord shrank! "Discord... he not know what he want, does he?" "He.... I... he wants... he wants.... He wants her to.... Love... he wants... " He was reaching for something, but it was like he couldn't quite grasp it. "Celly... he wants... m... ma... he wants..." The needle finally fell out of Dragocord's nose, and not a moment too soon for him, for he continued to shrink smaller and smaller until he was no bigger than a stallion. He looked up and UP at Spike. Spike snorted some green flames. Dragocord yelped, claws scrabbling on the lawn, and ran away. He ran until he smacked into the barrier of black magic, and then he kept clawing at that, trying to dig under it. He looked back at us and I saw a spark in his eyes. "Discord wants her to lov-" "That's quite enough out of you." Discord snapped his fingers, and Dragocord instantly dissolved into chaos magic, flowing back into him. With Dragocord's magic gone, Spike let loose one last earthshaking roar, then shrank back into the adorable baby dragon I know and love. We raced to help our friends, but Trixie proved not to be as spent as we thought. She conjured a small hill of feathers to soften their landing. "SPIKE, YOU WERE MAGNIFICENT!" I hugged him, using three of my needles to deflect Deercord's cheapshot lightning bolts behind my back. "Aw, thanks Rarity." My handsome little drake blushed. "Hey, Trix', great show." "Trixie thanks you, Applejack... but the show isn't over yet." "Took you long enough," sneered Deercord. "Now that you're even further worn down, and the useless deadweight is out of the way, I can finish you off at my leisure." I gracefully turned around, still holding Spike. Magical beams shot from his eyes, but I reflected them back with the floating screen of gems that I'd already prepared. The villain cursed, flinching back. "No. Now that there are four of us, and one of you, you are the one who is going to lose. Surrender." = 'The Royal Menagerie Phase 2 Theme Shinryu' - FFXIV = "How is that remotely humble?! How is anything you're doing even remotely humble?! I thought you ponies were obsessed with proving your points!" "We're working together, not all trying to be the one champion, if that makes you happy." "I will be happy when you are on your knees before my hooves, your horns sawed off, lobotomized, the only thoughts in your empty heads being to please my carnal-" Trixie gave him some electric therapy followed by some ice packing treatment right between the legs! "Be silent, cur. My little sister might hear you." "Buck you and buck your..." He nimbly dodged being rolled over by Tom, back from Froggy Bottom. "Don't you know pride is the one so-called sin that can never be truly defeated? Therefore, you can never defeat me." "Now yer just graspin' at straws!" Applejack shouted. "No I'm not! You're all stubborn! Egotistical! Self-centered-" "Blah blah! I know these ponies!" Spike shouted heroically. I let him stand on his own two feet. "That's not them at all!" "I'll have you know, being humble is not having no confidence or self love. It's about giving and accepting credit where it's due, no more, and no less. And that is all I have to say to you." "Geeze Rare', ya beat me to it!" Applejack said. "Sorry, darling." I laughed. "You took the words out of Trixie's mouth. She will bill you later!" "We're certain you'll have your turn darling." "I thought it was great Rarity!" "You would Spike." I smiled. "DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!" A fireball formed over Deercord's head, expanding to the size of a building. "Pride comes before a fall." Applejack said, she jumped and slammed all four hooves into the ground. A fissure raced like lightning to the deer's hooves, and he faltered, along with his attack. Both went up in a pillar of flames. "It amazes Trixie how often that works." "It's what happens dear when you're more concerned with how impressive doing something is instead of actually doing it." "I. HAVE. HAD. ENOUGH!" Deercord rose up, his eyes glowing white, his body a black silhouette against his flaming aura. "I am the the strongest, purest, and most central of all parts of Discord's Whole! Since you didn't want to be Dragocord's trophy mates, you can instead be crushed into witless pleasure beasts! When I'm done here, I will twist your precious Elements to my desires! You greatest ponies will be brain-dead slaves! The horror of it all will break even the strongest! Equestria will stink of nothing but-" I shouted over him, "You call that horror? It's bad comedy!" = Kingdom Hearts - Simple And Clean -Ray of Hope MIX- = Deercord fired a single violet blast. We scattered to dodge it. "GO!" I shouted, and we all charged, with Trixie magically scooping up Spike and dropping him on her back. Applejack charged straight on. I came at him from the left, and Trixie came from the right with Spike breathing fire as he went. Deercord reared up defiantly. Beams of light shot down from the sky, twisting and arcing wildly. Spike blocked for Trixie, I dodged, and Applejack simply tanked them, bucking Deercord in the face. Deercord responded by headbutting Applejack hard enough to knock her flying. Applejack managed to throw a lasso around one of his legs, but he slashed the rope before it pulled tight, and she bounced off the shadowy border of the arena before skidding to a stop. Trixie used another smoke bomb. It only concealed her for a few moments before Deercord called down a gale to blow it away, but a moment was all Trixie needed. She charged out of the fog, got shot dead center by a laser from his mouth, and turned into a smoke cloud. The real Trixie leapt out from behind the illusion to kick him in the jaw. I levitated Applejack back to her hooves and started checking for injuries. I didn't get the chance, she was already charging at him again. Deercord sprang and stomped Applejack into the ground, making another crater. I tried the gem buzzsaw again. Deercord merely smirked and jumped over that too, leaving it headed right at Applejack. I gracefully split the buzz saw in two, avoiding her and slinging it back towards Deercord from two directions. When the two halves met, it shattered to pieces... but so did one of Deercord's horns. Deercord looked more shocked than alarmed seeing the pieces fall everywhere. "But... that's impossible!" Trixie used her cape as a glider, casting that wind spell of hers to give herself a boost, and drop Spike right on Deercord's back. Spike didn't hesitate to claw, bite, scorch for all he was worth. Deercord bucked and kicked to get him off, and finally flipped on his back trying to crush Spike but to no avail, Spike held on. A magic surge from Trixie created an ice pillar right under Deercord that flung him skyward. Spike rolled off just as he launched. Trixie fainted, panting for breath... that was the last of her mana. = Tables turn - Wonderful 101 = I placed a hoof gently on Applejack's side. My armor glowed dimmer, hers glowed brighter and brighter, and the red light then swam to her hooves. "You're finished!" I shouted at Deercord. As Deercord fell, Applejack leapt from the ground like a home run ball. "Prepare ta lose it all!" Applejack's buck struck Deercord right in the center of his being. The shockwave rippled through his body. "Discord, you bastard..." hissed Deercord, chaos magic streaming from his broken form. "You knew this would happen... didn't you?!" "He's pathetic," said Diamond Tiara's Nightmare. "But you? You're contemptible." "HI-YA!" I leapt into the air myself, and with one spin kick... I shattered him. His shards scattered. Applejack landed on four hooves. I gracefully landed on two. "It's over!" I shouted. Deercord's fragments burst into multicolored plaid smoke, flowing back into Discord like Dragocord before him. I trotted over to Trixie, and touched my horn to hers. I felt dizzy for a moment, but Trixie blinked her eyes open and pushed herself back to her hooves, her horn glowing again. "Did... we win?" I gave her a nuzzle. "Yes dear... most definitely yes." "Not quite yet. We've still got the old snake himself to deal with, don't forget!" Applejack said. Then she smiled too. "But did we kick over-sized-antlers' behind? Eeyup, Ah reckon we did!" "YES!" cheered Spike. "We were so cool!!" "Yes... yes you were, " Discord grudgingly admitted. "Yeah, how do ya like THEM apples?" AJ shouted. "I could have done better. Of course, I'm me, and you're not! A pity you didn't have a larger audience, Miss Lulamoon, but even if it's for an audience of just one, the show must go on." "Trixie does not need a hack such as yourself to tutor her on proper showcraft." "You wound my pride, miss! Again, even!" Discord chuckled, surprisingly. Spike sighed, looking over his shoulder. "I really want my own wings now." "Don't worry dear," I assured him. "I'm sure you'll grow them in time, and they shall be magnificent." The wall of black magic around us faded away. "Surprised we beat 'em?" Applejack asked. Discord didn't say anything. "I just stood here and watched you fight for your life, Miss Rarity," said Diamond Tiara's Nightfilly. "I didn't fret. I didn't smile. You and your friends could have died. I didn't lift a hoof to help, and I wouldn't have shed a single tear. Are you going to stop this nonsense of trying to 'save me' now?" "You don't know Rarity very well do you?" I've never been so happy to see Pinkie Pie randomly hop into my field of view from nowhere. "Pinkie Pie! Yer a sight for sore eyes!" Applejack said. "Guess what, I just finished talking with the Princesses and Twilight and they already beat their bits of Discord and so did I and..." "What about Sweetie Belle?" "And Apple Bloom?" "And Silver Spoon?" Spike asked. "Sorry, the fillies and Dashie aren't quite done yet I think." Pinkie's left ear and tail twitched. "Maybe! Things feel kinda weird." "Maybe you're talking to a shadow right now," Diamond Tiara said. "Maybe my black magic is messing with your sense of time. If you destroy me, you destroy Discord's only link to this world, and all his detachments with him." I stood my ground. "I said I'd save you without putting Sweetie Belle at risk, and I still fully intend to do so!" "You'd better find a way quickly, then," said Discord. He wasn't smiling. "If you bore me, little ponies, I might knock Canterlot right off this mountain, anti-Chaos spell and all." "Yer lyin' about the last part." Discord fumed, blowing a tea kettle whistle on top of his head. "Sorry, I keep forgetting you're here. Buzzkill. Of course, once all my Detachments are beaten, I'll just crush you myself with all their powers combined and more. Clock's ticking!" "Liar." "You know that's really ruining my show!" "Yer welcome." > Rainboom Crusade! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Spoon/Silver Tray's Interview I never lost Diamond Tiara's crown. I never stopped holding onto it. I never let go of it. I never abandoned it. Even after her black magic tornado, I didn't lose it. Had I lose it, she'd never let me hear the end of it after we saved her. Apple Bloom was in front of me. Sweetie Belle was beside us and Scootaloo above. In front of us stood a big white bipedal billy goat. He had Discord's eyes, a sharp fang that didn't match all the other teeth in his jaw, and of course, his goatee. His eyes were like deep pits we could fall in and never escape. Even with the majority of his teeth flat as a pony's, he managed to grin like a shark. "Hello, fillies!" His manic grin slipped. "Playing with foals is so boring. I'm going to give you a sporting chance, and change you all into adults!" He started to snap his fingers, then wiggled them mockingly instead. "I'm joking, of course. Let's play!" "We don't need any cheats!" Scootaloo shouted. "We've beaten monsters like you before!" Goatcord's neck extended like a rock'em sock'em robot, head-butting Scootaloo and knocking her to the ground. "Scootaloo!" We rushed to our friend's side. Goatcord's head sprang back into place, and he cracked his neck smugly. "That was when life was a video game! I don't have to give you any chances to win here!" What? "Girls, what is he talking about?" I heard Diamond Tiara, cold as ice. "Discord and I made a deal to change all reality into an evil, awful place. I got new friends who I made into royalty, but you were left far away, in a miserable place. You don't remember because Apple Bloom and her friends stopped me." I looked at Apple Bloom and the others, shocked, and none of them would look me in the face. They really saved the world, and they hadn't tell anypony? I couldn't see where Diamond Tiara was, but I knew she'd hear me. "If that really happened, then I'm better off not knowing. I'm happy I don't remember!" "HEY!" Goatcord bleated. "THIS IS MY PLAY TIME! Wait your turn, Amethyst Crown!" "Stop being so blind, Silvey. You're supposed to get fed up with me and abandon me." "That's not the Silver Spoon I choose to be! I want to forgive you!" "Only because you've been brainwashed into thinking that ponies always make up and hug and forgive. Some things CAN'T be forgiven." This was crazy. I could get an army of angry strangers who had made hating Miss Twilight Sparkle their reason for living to not attack her, but I couldn't reach my best friend? So this is how Princess Celestia felt? Scootaloo used this time to get up, bruised but nothing broken. "Wait!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "My sister and her friends didn't use the Elements against Discord because our link might have turned both of us to stone! If Discord's monster hurts ME, won't that hurt you and Discord too?" Diamond Tiara finally stepped forward, appearing behind the wall of black magic. Even if she was a new Nightmare Moon or something, I still thought she looked kinda pretty as an Alicorn. "You were in danger many times during my evil plan, yes? Clearly, the feedback doesn't work both ways." "She's lying," I said. "You're not the Element of Honesty, Silvey." "No, but you taught me how to read ponies, remember Tiara? I know all your tells!" - That seems to be a universal constant among Silver Spoons. "There's nothing inside me for you to read. I am empty." - "ENOUGH!" Goatcord threw up neon-bright slime on the ground. Magenta, cyan, and yellow checkerboard patterns oozed across the walls of black magic. The goo spread over the ground too, forming a gameboard; a giant-sized Monopoly game but with squares like 'Go To Hospital, Sue For 10 Million bits', and 'Find Out Nopony At Work Actually Likes You, Never-Be-Heard-From-Again.' I was worried about being infected by Goatcord's vomit, but the spreading goo went underneath my friends' hooves like they were standing on a glass sheet, while Sweetie Belle wrapped her cape around me until the 'wave' passed. The goo even covered the ceiling, sealing us in with a 'sky' that turned a different color every time I looked at it, with clouds made of little white cubes or floating 2-D crayon scrawls that could have been drawn by a traumatized three-year-old. "You're in my world now!" the goat monster cackled, waving his arms like wet noodles. "We're not trapped in here with you," I growled, trying to sound all tough like Raw Shark the comic book masked vigilante. "You're trapped in here with us! We're going to clobber you for what you did to Diamond Tiara!" "I'm not really sure what I did to Diamond Tiara. Batcord did most of the stringing-along and Griffcord helped grind her heart into dust. I might have taught her a few things, or was that Quazicord-or-whatever-his-name-is, or was that Deercord… oh, never mind! I'm not sure whose idea the 'adopted daughter' thing was. That's crazy, but not my kind of crazy!" "Dodging responsibility for your actions? How typical of a villain." "HA! I'd take every bit of credit for seeing that filly snap if I could!" - Discord conjured a diamond-tipped power drill and ground away at the checkerboard wall, but the drill bit spat sparks and shattered. Discord pulled up his one-piece workman's goggles, gaping at the ruined drill. "I thought diamonds were supposed to be unbreakable." "Isn't that what you did with me?" the Nightfilly deadpanned. "This is your own fault, Dissy, manifesting so many volatile aspects of your psyche simultaneously. You cannot control your actions when you are a whole being. What made you think you could control yourself subdivided?" "Go away, Wind Whistler. You're not real. You're all in my head!" "Father, who are you talking to?" 'I can see inside. They're Lonely, separated from the rest of the herd.' 'They're Angry at their enemy!' 'They Hate what was done to her, to each other, and to themselves!' 'Are they Scared they don't stand a chance?' 'She's Sad she hasn't been able to help her friend.' '''''Call us to us.''''' - "Actually, perhaps I helped her with our pet Cockatrice, two insane Timberwolves, and the parasprites. Perhaps you can help me!" His tongue grew long and licked his lips. "I'm feeling a bit-" His grin NOW actually has shark teeth. "-peckish!" I shivered. = Aquatic Terror - Viewtiful Joe = / = Cosmic Wall Zone - Sonic Adventure 2 = Everything went black, then blue neon lights flickered on as gravity went sideways, and we were standing on a bunch of glowing round-edged squares. Cheap blue ghost costumes fell onto each of us, but they dissolved as soon as they touched my friends' capes. I took off the blue costume only to find I was now dressed like a lettuce leaf. I yanked that one off too and found a third costume underneath, a disgusting 'face-in-mouth' centipede. Sweetie Belle wrapped her cape around me again and the costume dissolved. "WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA-WAKA!" Goatcord moved with his legs together and his arms at his sides, bending his body at impossible angles as he snaked among the glowing blue cubes, chomping his jaws open and closed tirelessly. We soon realized that the blue squares had directional gravity, meaning ‘down' was whatever side we were standing on, but there wasn't any time to explore, he was chomping right for us! We galloped away, crying out in fear. Without even thinking about it, we scattered down different neon-blue paths, and that's how I found out Goatcord was chasing after me and only me, chomping away! "This isn't how the game goes!" Sweetie protested. "We're supposed to chase him after ten seconds!" "Ah think that's the point!" shouted Apple Bloom. "Do we die if we touch him, or go back to a box like in the game?!" Scootaloo asked. As for me... I was running for my life while my friends debated about game rules that didn't exist. Goatcord's jaws kept chomping down. He followed me like I was blazing a trail for him. Wait a minute! I ran around a glowing blue square, with him hot on my hooves. I ran faster and harder than I can remember ever running before! With his jaws snapping at my tail, I saw his rear hooves in front of me! I leapt over his body, doing a cannonball, sprang off his back and flipped onto the next floating square over. Goatcord's never-stopping jaws ate himself like an ouroboros, and he popped out of existence. "WHOA, WAY TO GO, SILVER SPOON!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "Awesome!" "Ya did it!" Apple Bloom shouted. The entire maze shook like an earthquake. "Oh no she didn't, Pear Flower!" The blackness ripped like cloth. The goat monster came through, and gravity yanked us in one direction while the blue boxes fell in another, tumbling out of sight. The backness was whipped away like a blanket and we were back with red, blue, and green splattered walls, all heaving like lava lamps, and the ground was randomly torn-out-and-pasted-together comic book pages. The 'sky' above us was an upside-down view high over a dinosaur-filled jungle. Then our perception went... strange. It was like Goatcord got super-close up, growing larger the closer he got, taller than Discord. He dug hoof-like claws into the ground, and pulled it apart, revealing a lake of fire beneath the "ground." Fast as a whip cracking, he pulled out marionette crosses. Puppet strings wrapped around our necks, tails, and legs and swung us dangling over the fire like a griffon's roast! "It's been two-thousand and two years since the last time I've done this!" He laughed as he made us dance. I'm sure the girls were okay in their magic capes, but I could feel the blistering heat… the fire was no illusion! = Intertwined - Wonderful 101 = Scootaloo twirled, slashing her puppet strings with the wing blade spell. Pumping her wings, she charged Goatcord, growing to his size as she closed in... against all logic. "Scootaloo Rising Corkscrew!" she howled, clobbering him in the jaw. Goatcord's head spun in a blur until it actually 'unscrewed' and fell straight off his neck, leaving a light bulb socket where his head had been, and went back to his normal size, just like Scootaloo. The fire went 'poof' and was instantly out, but I fell down, gasping and flailing my hooves, as soon as the strings and marionette crosses vanished. Luckily, the pit snapped shut and we landed safely on the ground. Killer bees flew out of the hole in Goatcord's neck, making Scootaloo retreat. Spider legs grew out of the screw end of Goatcord's head and propped him upright, making him look like some kind of nasty cartoon virus in a doctor's office poster. A cannon barrel pushed its way out of his mouth. = 'Star Scream Theme' - Transformers Devastation = / = Transformers Devastation Soundtrack- Soundwave Theme = Apple Bloom shook a potion from her pack and uncorked it. The bottle spewed thick smoke that made the killer bees drop like stones. "Killing innocent killer bees?!" said the headless Goatcord… somehow. "Tut tut! Whatever would your mentor say?" "That Ah'm a good farmer!" The mouth of Goatcord's head shot at us while our attention was on his body, Scootaloo acted fast, shielding herself with her cape. It was like Scootaloo wasn't even hit with anything! Goatcord's head giggled and fired again and again. Scootaloo waved her cape like a bullfighter to keep blocking for us, and then some of the cannonballs began changing course mid-flight. Scootaloo was forced to react faster to intercept them! Meanwhile... a swarm of singing flyders came out of Goatcord's neck, cracking sparks of fire and electricity... all of them swarming hungrily towards us. Apple Bloom reached for another potion but Sweetie stopped her with a hoof gesture. Her horn glowed dark green, and a flash of black magic disintegrated the flyders. "And using black magic?! Your sister would be so ashamed!" "Hāmau!" Scootaloo shouted. Was that Haineighian? Sweetie didn't even answer him. Me? I was just trying to not get killed. "Goatcord! Two plus two equal four! One equals one!" I shouted. His body belly laughed. "You think that if you chant enough of those so called 'facts,' it'll weaken little old me? Oh that's adorable! Wait long enough, and I can make math equate to anything I please!" Apple Bloom threw another potion grenade. This one flew right into Goatcord's neck orifice. A ball of goo that expanded out from it until it blew up! When the smoke cleared, Goatcord's body staggered around and flopped over like a cartoon character, even holding up a bouquet of daisies, which promptly wilted. Scootaloo had spent all this time still blocking one cannonball after another, but now the cannon in Goatcord's mouth retracted. "You had one job here, Grey Fork, and you've sucked at it!" the head said. "Don't listen to him, you stopped a battle Silvey, that's no failure!" said Sweetie. "He's just trying to make you give up without a fight." "What? It's not as if she could harm me in the first place! I just think it's FUN to crush the innocent, empower the jerks, and drive the well-adjusted mad!" The head laughed and giggled as its legs retracted too, and his neck's base grew a giant drill. His head spun super-fast, and somehow plunged the drill in the ground, throwing out the dirt everywhere. We all got ready for him to pop up from anywhere... Except, 'anywhere' didn't say anything about a giant black drill hole in the sky! "HAHAHAHH!" he laughed, like a comic-book villain who'd just summoned a giant monster. His head-drill zipped right towards us, whirring like a dentist from Tartarus, and he laughed all the way. We scrambled out of the way in time, and he drilled into the ground again. Then he drilled his way out of one of the walls, which was now showing animated clowns with wobbly noodle limbs. We threw ourselves to the floor. He shot straight through yet another wall and over our heads, and then he finally attacked, coming up underneath me. Sweetie pushed me out of the way with her magic just in time. After that, Goatcord tried to second-guess us by coming down the same hole he just went out of... and he didn't stop laughing! We could all tell this was gonna go on forever until he skewered one of us. Sweetie ran over to where Goatcord's body was, her eyes blazing green and purple. "Gift Of Pain!" she screamed. Green lightning blasted from her horn into Goatcord's body. It convulsed and contorted so much that it made me cringe. We heard screams coming from one of the holes. His head popped out of one of the holes head first instead of drill first, and flew around everywhere but near us, writing out naughty words in the sky in crayon. It made no sense, so of course it made perfect sense… but Sweetie's magic suddenly gave out, leaving her shaky and gasping for breath. Goatcord's body levitated into the air and grabbed his out of control head, screwing itself back on. With one twist, his eyes showed a scene from a cop drama. With another twist, it was showing a soap opera. With another twist still, an infomercial. "S-sorry," Sweetie Belle panted. "That spells only lasts if you want to cause pain for causing pain's sake... " "No prob' here with that, which makes me better than you Sugary Chime!" The goat monster giggled. "It makes her better than you! Even Diamond Tiara didn't hurt others just for the fun of it!" I shouted. "Oh, you liar!" The monster giggled. "You both loved being rotten little bullies!" "It's not true!" "Silly filly, you only wish it weren't true." "Heleʻoe e pale!" said Scootaloo. "Such language!" Goatcord grabbed the ground and whipped it like a carpet. All at once, we were flung into outer space then standing on a moving reel of film, not 'landing', we literally just appeared on it. We had to keep moving or we'd get eaten by the projector! The frames whipping past showed us as zombies, as demons, as buff armored bullies with way too much shadowing and more, each vision worse than the last! Goatcord turned inside out and was dressed like a cowpony with a ten-gallon hat and very tight pants. "Yeehaw! Ya think yer a buffalo with that them there war-paint on yer face, Rover-High? Then let me be the cowpony!" Then he drew a pair of revolvers (I think they're called) with a pencil and started shooting them. Scootaloo again had to shield us with her cape. "Nā kauā a me nā po'e'Āina! He mau kēmu ka pāʻani!" Scootaloo shouted. "'Games have rules?' HEH! Silly bilingual varmint! Too bad ya didn't get any USEFUL talents when you fused with Toddler-Jamaica's ghost!" With all the deadly insanity around me, hearing more Crusader insanity didn't even register. "Too bad you can't magically summon your scooter. I'd love to turn that into a piano and drop it out of a fourth story window on your head!" Sweetie Belle fired more black magic spells at him, but he just twisted into pretzel shapes to avoid them. Apple Bloom threw another explosion potion, but Goatcord's head became a tennis racket that served it right back. Apple Bloom had to dive and roll to avoid her own bomb. Goatcord melted and reformed, now wearing a tuxedo made of patches of different-colored cloth. He was also wearing patchwork shoes, and pudgy white gloves, but not any pants. The film projector exploded and we were on the moon, except it was made of mustard flavored rice cake. = 'Master of Your Fate' - Teen Titans = "Five six seven eight!" A band started playing from nowhere, and Goatcord burst into song. "Don't bother getting up, you're in my control No way for you to fuss and fight You've lost all your powers - so, lucky you You will be my toys tonight" Giant light bulbs fell from the sky, and my friends huddled around, shielding me. The light bulbs exploded, destroying the moon. We fell and landed on an upside-down ship in a turtle-shaped spiral tunnel of light! "You think you can defeat me - oh, how very droll! Well, ponies, one thing you should know: I am the one with chaos powers around here, I am the one who runs the show!!!" Giant drawing compasses fell and jabbed the hull of the ship, which began leaking packing foam. Then the other arms of the compasses moved like snakes, trying to stab us. I couldn't keep track of what was happening to who. "I am the master of ceremonies, So let me set you straight: With just a twitch of my floppy magic ears, I'm... Master of your fate!" The ship sank (rose?), leaving us FLOATING in the now turkey-shaped tunnel ... giant weathervanes dropped out of nowhere and began shooting arrows at us! Scootaloo managed to grab all of us, and flew BETWEEN them, tricking them into shooting each other. "With just some hocus-pocus and sleight of hand, You all are under my command! Put them in their cages, Keep them all apart! Places, everybody - the show's about to start!" Cages popped around us... they touched my friends' capes, breaking them apart, and Scootaloo's wing blade sliced up mine... good thing too, because gravity had changed so it was pulling back the way we came, and a giant pony-eating furnace was scrambling behind us, metal teeth crunching! I'm sick of things trying to eat me! Sweetie fired a dark magic beam that snuffed out the flames. Apple Bloom smacked it with another potion grenade... don't ask me how she's keeping them all straight or how many she has in there. Vines grew like crazy and tore the furnace apart. " He is the master of ceremonies, So let him set you straight: With just a slurp of his magic tongue, he's... Master of your fate! (Master of your fate!) Master of your fate! (Master of your fate!)" Gravity flipped again, but Scootaloo kept flying. Can't imagine how much adrenaline she's got pumping through her veins to be carrying us all! Maybe we're all super-light, like on the moon? We landed on a giant stained glass window, which depicted all of us dressed up as maids with swirly eyes. Goatcord, riding a coffee table, waved his hands like a conductor. A giant letter 'Q' flew at us, but we jumped through the hole in the middle. I'm surprised the stained glass pictures of us didn't come to life and try to assimilate us. I guess that was too predictable for chaos. Goatcord took off his gloves over and over. The discarded gloves grew to pony size, hopping over to try and grab us. The others took down the gloves before they even got near us, lighting them on fire, and slicing them to ribbons. I know those girls have been on all kinds of Cutie Mark Crusader adventures together, but it's kinda scary, seeing how well they fight as a team. What did Discord do to them in that other mixed-up world Diamond was talking about? "Now for the greatest grand finale, And the reason why you're here: I will make these fillies... Forever disappear!" Scootaloo shouted, "Nuh-uh, jerk-face! It's your turn to disappear!" "YOU'RE JUST TOYS! DO AS I SAY!" Goatcord kept waving his arms like a madpony, tossing more giant letters at us. "I!" But no matter how he tried. "H!" No matter how scared we got. "I!" None of his attacks hit us. "N!" "S!" And we- "L!" -pulled through! The creepy stained glass shattered, and we plummeted... just a few inches, landing on a nice green meadow. The walls were serene paintings of a beautiful valley under a rainbow and a fantastic pink mansion and castle. The 'ceiling' was made up of rows of pony dolls in a toy store, most of which I didn't recognize, but they seemed to be based off the fairy tales and myths we all heard as foals. There was a display in the center of the dolls, like a frozen moment in some epic battle long ago: Tirek the Destroyer with a sword, fighting a white unicorn that I didn't recognize. She was really pretty, though… She had a blue mane and a blue flowers cutie mark, and she wore golden horseshoes and a bow on her tail. The backdrop behind them was a scary castle on fire, its top blown right off, and right behind her was a baby dragon who looked a lot like Spike. Goatcord glided down and hovered before us, no longer in costume. He grinned madly, drool dripping from his exposed gums. "When I'm started with you Butt-Stamp-Riders, you'll be my adorable empty-headed dolls!" Sweetie Belle didn't even flinch. "No," she said, firmly and bravely, like she was telling her sister's cat that the cat didn't own Sweetie's bed. "I said yes..." "And I said no!" "And now you're boring." Lasers shot out of his nose, but Sweetie hid behind her cape in the nick of time. "She said no!" Scootaloo's fur bristled, her teeth clenched and her eyes narrowed. Then I remembered... Sweetie Belle was Scootaloo's first friend. Goatcord's eyes glowed red. "Toys that don't play along should be gotten rid of!" A fancy dress from the era of the Three Tribes landed on top of me, and a guillotine rose out of the ground. Those things haven't been used in 2,100 years! The guillotine marched towards us, blade rising up and slamming down by itself, because of course it did! Scootaloo zipped past Goatcord in a blur and kicked him from behind, at the same time Sweetie grabbed his fur in her telekinesis and yanked him forward, and Apple Bloom leapt and bucked the guillotine, which winced as it took a few steps backward. Goatcord toppled into the guillotine, the blade came down... and his head rolled. The guillotine broke apart. He picked up his head and nonchalantly screwed it back on his shoulders. "Oh please, did you think that would work? EVERYTHING here is me!" It was a fair point. And we'd already taken his head off before. "Hey, Gray Knife, how about I turn you into a kitten with cancer? I'm sure Nightmare N*(!@(!( will care about you again then! Not that she ever loved you to begin with." He was baiting me and it was stupid and crazy but I didn't care anymore. "You… you take that back!" I ran up to Goatcord and began kicking and stomping and headbutting him, screaming and crying. "Give me back Diamond Tiara! You took her! You stole her! You made her a demon! Give her back! You big bully! Give her back! Give me my best friend back!" I could barely see through my tears, and my hooves hurt like I'd been hitting a metal statue. He just laughed in my face. "You can't hurt me unless I want you to! Understand?" His roar sent me tumbling over backwards, but I didn't care, I got back up and kept hitting him. I was still holding Diamond Tiara's crown... in my fury, it scratched him. "Huh?" He stared at the bloody scratch, not laughing any more. He teleported away from me, up in the air again. "Well! I'd say we've had enough fun, and by 'we' I mean 'me' and by 'fun' I mean 'you,' of course. You three toys are about to be rebooted, with completely different personalities and species and basically being yourselves only in name. Nudge-a-toilet?" Scootaloo glared at him. "I didn't get to play with you before, so to make up to it, this time I'll make you a chicken... and your friends into timber wolves! Perhaps I'll turn Pewter Spork to platinum and melt her into a necklace for Nightmare N*(!@(!(. Won't that be a great gift from you to her?" "YOU!" I rose up, hefting Tiara's crown to throw it at him without even thinking. Apple Bloom stopped me. Then Sweetie Belle was at my side too, and so was Scootaloo. "He's bluffing!" Sweetie Belle smiled, nuzzling me. "If he could do any of that to any of us, he'd have done it by now." "This here is all stage props and painted backgrounds. He said so himself, everything here is him, remember?" Apple Bloom smiled too. "Silver Spoon... " Scootaloo said with a wing around my shoulder. "I'll do my best to make sure you get your real chance to save Diamond Tiara. Just sit tight... I'll take this guy down." "One orange horsefly half-breed freak against a god? That's wonderfully crazy! Oh wait, no... It's stupid, you're stupid, but please continue to show everypony how wonderfully stupid you are!" "Do you trust me, Silver Spoon?" Scootaloo asked. "I think you just showed me how to win." SCOOTALOO got an idea? It was Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle or me who got ideas! ... But that... that kind look in her eyes. The way she smiled. And it hit me... She knew what it was like. How could she not? After what Queen Chrysalis did to Sweetie Belle, of course we both knew what it was like. Your first friend stolen from you. I smiled and nodded. I offered her Tiara's crown. "Naw, I got it covered." = 'Be The One' - Kamen Rider Build = I put on Diamond Tiara's crown... and the old-fashioned dress dissolved into nothing. I heard my friends gasp. Except for Sweetie Belle, who smiled. She understood. Some part of Tiara still loved me, I'm sure of it! Scootaloo took off her cape and wrapped it around her hoof. Goatcord laughed and laughed at us, right up until Scootaloo flew and punched him in the face with her clothed hoof. His head snapped back and around… he slowly touched the filly hoof-sized fracture on his face. His eyes grew wide, pupils shrinking. "W-what? I-don't... t-this isn't..." Scootaloo punched him in the stomach. Goatcord reeled, screeching like claws on a blackboard. "NO!!! GET AWAY!!! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" All around Goatcord appeared an uncountable number of dragon heads on long necks from nowhere. All of them tried to eat Scootaloo while Goatcord teleported away. Scootaloo didn't dodge those dragon heads, she danced around them like a filly at ballet! Her braid only added to the image. As for the goat monster, he appeared at the edge of our arena, banging a hoof on the wall. "LET ME OUT!!!" I know exactly what Scootaloo is thinking. I told him so myself… we're not trapped with him, he's trapped in here with us! He flailed his arms like a chicken with its head cut off. Things made up of geometric shapes connected to long red cords from nowhere swarmed at us from every direction. I wasn't scared. I took Tiara's crown and used it like a brass hoofblade. It burned away whatever I jabbed with it. The goat monster started randomly popping in and out, near, far, upside-down and sideways… "YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME! NO PONY CAN TOUCH ME!" Scootaloo took a deep breath, closing her eyes and spreading her wings. Then she dove towards a seemingly random spot and caught Goatcord just as he popped in, breaking one of his horns off. - Rainbow Dash told me once, when unicorns teleport, they push away the air from where they're going just before they reappear. Even most unicorns don't know that, but we're pegasi, we're one with the wind. - Scootaloo punched him again, knocking him into the closest wall and breaking the other horn. The broken pieces of horn blackened and imploded, covered by a million dark spiderwebs. Scootaloo's next punch knocked him to the ground. "NO!!! STOP IT!!!" Scootaloo dive-bombed him, hoof raised. I looked at Tiara's crown, and then at Goatcord. - As Maud Pie read over her geology books, she suddenly paused, not understanding why. "IT IS DONE." She blinked, then went back to reading, thinking nothing more of what she'd just said. - My Own Notes, Nightmare N*(!@(!( My adopted father hadn't stopped trying to get inside the ever changing splash colored wedge that my barrier had been corrupted into. Did I worry about Silver Spoon? Of course I didn't. Did I wish I could be in there to help her? Of course not. Did I worry that I didn't know what was going on there? I don't have feelings, remember? Was I scared I'd never see her again? What did I just say? Did I want to be able to protect her somehow, someway no matter how small? Don't be absurd. Due to none of our efforts, Goatcord's barrier... fell apart... blackening, like it was covered in cancer cells, which were then pulled into themselves, into nothing. Crumbling sand sculptures left in the wind, then swallowed by the tide. When the dust cleared... there was only the green grass and Silver Spoon, who was unhurt. And the foals who had replaced me. Sweetie Belle was hugging Silvey and Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom was hugging them. Oh. I forgot to mention one little detail. My adopted father suddenly clutched his head and screamed, flailing his whole ‘body' like a severed lizard's tail. Odd. Since when did his detachments being destroyed hurt him? Or did it, and he wasn't showing it before? How can a spirit with no body feel pain in the first place? He'd become slightly less hysterical by the time I could see that Silvey was fine, not that I cared about that. Father still held his ghostly head as if a mere a pin drop would shatter it. He got up slowly, like he didn't know how his own body worked any more. What was that look on his face? Oh right, shock and alarm. "You... " Discord said haltingly. "Where did he... you... you UNMADE him!" The four of them didn't answer, standing close together, my arch-enemy's ears wilted. Father clutched his head harder, looking ready to crush it himself. "My insanity! It's GONE! It's... it's all clear! Hideous! M-Mom was right all along... you ponies COULD destroy the universe somewhere down the line if you wanted." He trailed off, looking for all the world like a mortal pony staring Ponythulu in the face. The Crusaders and Silvey just kept hugging each other. "You did what you had to do," I said. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to torture yourselves for. Father lost control of him. He tried everything he could to get inside, while I did nothing." They kept hugging each other. "SWEETIE BELLE!" "APPLE BLOOM!" "SILVER SPOON!" And Spike and their big sisters came at a gallop, and so did Trixie and Pinkie Pie. My shadows showed me that Twilight Sparkle had finished talking with the Princesses, and Twilight was looking at the wedge of ash where Celestia's 'fight' had taken place. I wonder if she's scared of her own teacher now? No. The time for dark feelings was over. The time for black doubts and shadowy mistrust and fear was done. And therefore, so was I. - Princess Luna Tis as they say, foals are the most ruthless of all creatures. Even we had not considered this 'step' to 'fixing' Discord. - "Oh Sweetie Belle, you were so brave through all that!" "Ah'm just happy yer fine Apple Bloom... sorry ya had ta do all that by yerselves again." "Silver Spoon, Scootaloo, you gonna be okay?" Spike asked. Silver Spoon looked at Diamond Tiara's crown. "I'm sure I will." There was only one barrier left. "I'm sure I will be, as Dash finishes kicking the flank of Discord's last spare part!" - Scootaloo I'm not going to say which of us did it. But ... It wasn't for ourselves. It was for everypony everywhere that Discord hurt. Did I like doing that? Making a part of Discord Never-Heard-From-Again? ... If it was THAT part... Maybe. I know it's bad ponies who enjoy hurting somepony because they're the bad guys. But I think it has more to do with knowing ponies aren't going to be hurt by that... by that monster again. We've got a lot of catching up to do and hugs to give around and... I've got some thinking to do. Isn't this the part where you watch Dash go beat that wicked witch? +++ "Wicked witch? I'm at least a demon sorceress!" Eris snapped. I tilted my head. "Um… Who are you talking to?" (Rainbow Dash's Most Radical Adventure So Far!) (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Don't worry about it, darling. Scootaloo will emerge from her battle victorious. You believe in her, do you not?) Well yeah, but she's still just a filly in all this, and so are her friends. She's my responsibility. (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): And that, darling, is why you'll make wonderful family for her. She has complete faith in you too, you know.) Oh yeah, she does! I'm gonna trash Discord's ode-to-himself in ten minutes flat! "Don't lump me together with those losers! I'm Discord, only sexier!" (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Excuse me, Not-So-Darling, but you aren't privy to this colloquy.) "Hey! Who blocked me from the chat?!" Wait a minute, you're not the regular unicorn who does these things. (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn?): No dear, I'm not. My name is... oh yes, Prism Rush. The normal girls are all busy with your friends, so I felt I should chip in.) Huh. Well, nice to meet ya! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): And a pleasure to meet you, dear. I just want to say, you're a wonderful pony who is always loyal and true to her friends.) Heh, thanks! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): You should also thank you friends for coming for you even after you chose Cloudsdale over them, once they were free of Discord's evil. I know you had to make a choice, dear, but from their point of view- Yeah yeah, don't worry, we've all gotten past that. We're friends to the end, no matter how many jerks try to smash us apart. The only way it's ending is-! Hey... are you crying? (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): It's nothing, dear. Just that you're everything a loyal pony like you should be.) Heh, thanks again! Of course, even the Dash knows there's always room for improvement. It'd be, like, super boring if there wasn't. Just you watch… if there's a way to be even more awesome, I'll find it! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Maybe. It's the nature of ponykind to reach for perfection. I met a wonderful Earth pony stallion that way, Professor of Electromagnetic Phenomena at Cartbridge University.) Electo-what Phenoma-who? I've never heard of anyplace like that. (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): It's... not around anymore. Things happened, and I lost track of him. By the time I remembered... sadly, it was all over.) Oh. Sorry. (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Don't you worry about me, Rainbow. It was a very long time ago, and don't you have some 'kicking evil flank' to do?) HEH! Don't worry! I got THAT covered! Eris teleported in front of me, wearing a nightcap and yawning profusely on a fancy couch. "Are you going to stand there congratulating yourself all day? You should get in touch with your feminine side, just like I have… Dashie!" She snapped her fingers, and a giant bolt of pink cloth rolled me up and dumped me onto the lawn...wearing a girly dress with so many ruffles it was hard to tell what color it was. (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Well, I know colors, and I must say, dear, those colors aren't you.) I knew that already! Out come my wingblades and ka-rip it goes, ladies and gents! "I don't have time for your games lady!" I shouted, shaking a hoof at her. "I have family to make sure are okay!" "Well, too bad! This is my first time out, and I aim to show off everything I've got!" She jiggled her hips. "Too bad for you!" I zoomed at her. She whipped out a giant trampoline for a shield, but I corkscrewed around it and bucked her head on, knocking her for a loop with the hardest sub-Sonic Rainboom force I could muster! She clutched at her chest, coughing, and then... she grinned at me. "Aw, what's the matter, Dashie? I had such a splendid sleepover and a tea party planned for just the two of us. Did I strike a nerve, Miss Rainbow Dash?" Just the thought of having a tea party with Discord made me cringe, but before I could tell her off, she teleported and reappeared right in my face. "Do I make you ANGRY, Dash? Hateful? Wanna rip me to shreds? Are you shaking in your hoofprints, just thinking about everything Goatcord might be doing to your pet horsefly right this very instant, while we're playing around? Huh, do you, huh, do you, do you!?" Eris clenched a fist dramatically. "Can you feel it? Feel your emotions contorting inside you, twisting your insides, making your blood burn! Show me the demon!" She giggled. "That is, unless you're chicken! Or maybe you don't love Scootaloo after all! Maybe 'keeping the moral high ground' is more important than she is! I mean, she could be DEAD now, and what would you say? ‘Sorry, Scoots, I guess I just wasn't willing to do whatever it takes.'" And I heard them, voices that aren't voices, feelings that are mine, but at the same time fly about on their own. Innocent like a fire. "Come on, Dash, you want to save Scoots, don't you? Can you really say you tried your best if you lose here? She's your responsibility. Do what needs to be done! Pay the price!" "Play with us again, for real this time." "We know you want to!" I snorted... then slowly took a deep breath and let it out. "No." "What?! Why not?!" Eris blinked. "Huh?!" (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Bravo, little pony!) "Don't you want to play with us?!" Not happening again, not sorry. It didn't help me before, it didn't help Fluttershy before, and it didn't help Princess Luna before. "So get bent, Eris!" "We thought you loved Scootaloo!" I do, and that's why the answer is no! I've seen what happened to Fluttershy! I'll never betray Scootaloo by becoming a monster and destroying the mare she looks up to. Not if I have the smallest say about it, not ever! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): ... You are so strong.) Hey. Heh. Doin' what ya gotta do. (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): To spite evil?) No. Because loyalty isn't just to friends and family, but to who they are! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): ... It's my honor to be in your presence, dear.) "Oh come on!" Eris threw her bag of popcorn away. "I. Want. An. Epic. Battle! I should be fighting the Goddess, or the Nightmare, or even the Traitor… at least she had some epic moves! But oh no, I have to fight you!" (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): You shouldn't think too hard about her babbling, dear.) "Hah!" shouted Dash. "Already in one ear and out the other. Eris definitely has Discord's crazy down pat." "Says the skittles pegasus who only barks because she's insecure of her own bite!" "Stop pretending you understand how I tick, lady." I crossed my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her. "You're not hard to figure out!" "Then ya oughta know this! You want a long, drawn-out super fight, lady?" "Undead-Time-Fruit! Armor Transformation!" She snapped a fancy belt on and pressed the big button on the buckle. Or would have, if I hadn't snatched it away and dismantled it on the spot. "Well, too bad! This fight is gonna be over in a flash, because that's the way this pony rolls!" Eris narrowed her eyes. Darkness wavered around her and her eyes glowed red. Wailing pony faces appeared in the dark. An entire arsenal of weapons appeared, gripped in her paw and claw, and she bared her teeth at me. "It will be… it'll be over for you!" "You want a battle of 'show-off-kung-fu?' Get ready to face the master!" = Neon (feat. Casey Lee Williams) - RWBY = Whoa. This feeling, it's kinda nice! Hey, did you just hijack my heart song? (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Allow me dear, I think this number is more my octave. Just focus on showing this brat how it's done, and send her back to Discord.) You got it! Thanks! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): I know how much doing this on your own means to-) Does this look like The Best Young Fliers Competition? This is the final battle against Discord! All help is welcome! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Thank you. Let's do this fast!) You know it! She wants an epic fight? Then I'm gonna show her how powerful I really am! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Never miss a beat!) Eris drew more weapons than there are pages in the Cloudsdale directory! A double-ended light saber and a giant nail-spiked baseball bat gripped in her tail, several scythes, a water gun with flames coming out of it, a chainsaw, a laser whip, a giant hammer, floating kunai connected by string, a extendo whip sword, more and more in every limb and... what the hay are those? (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Missile launcher and Gatling gun, dear!) Yeah! Well let me tell you! With this armor, I felt like I could go ten rounds with Celestia! Don't quote me on that! (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): Less description, more action, dear!) Got it! Eris fired cannonballs, rockets, flames, blades, and stuff I didn't even know the names of at me! While chasing me, limbs whirling like an insane eggbeater! I dodged and weaved through her barrage like I was playing hopscotch! "We're all born with a dream We wanna make come true" I flew around one direction. Eris turned to follow, but I turned on a bit and rammed my hind legs into one of her arms, causing her to smash her weapons into each other. KA-BOOM! Pieces of hot metal went flying everywhere. I introduced her bat to a wing blade! "The best will climb to the top like me The rest will end up like you" "SAND STORM!" The dust in the air turned to sand and billowed towards me with enough force to batter me senseless! I fly around her fast enough to make a micro-tornado, and she ended up looking like a big sand sculpture of herself! I briefly bring my wings to the side of my head, wiggling them while sticking my tongue out at her! I bet it's hard to live with Knowing that you'll never be this fine "Light!" A bunch of floating glass balls formed out of the light around me. Glowing rays like sunbeams shone from them, focusing on me and shining brighter and hotter, but I'm a pegasus, I know light (darling), and I zoom back and forth, kicking and punching each one like I was herding balled lightning, and the sunbeams blast Eris instead! Don't be distraught, don't be sad You gave it your best try Her arms turned into a dragon head and a lion head. Purple fire spewed out of the dragon's mouth, a roaring shockwave came from the lion's mouth, and acid sprayed out of her own mouth. I performed a cold start Sonic Rainbow Boom that was gonna hurt in the morning. The shockwave sent her attacks back at her and sent her cartwheeling! Listen, girlfriend, can't you see? I'm all of the things that you'll never be She recovered and snapped her fingers, instantly dressing herself in the ugliest 'Dark Knight Vs Superstallion' armor I'd ever seen! She swooped in and reared back for a giant punch. "Mini-Rainboom Punch!" I shouted, as I met her punch with my own. Thank goodness for the armor! My armor was better, and hers crumpled and fell apart as the bolts popped loose. I'm cool like the rain and I'm hot like the sun I'm a neon rainbow and you're no fun Lightning leapt from her horns. "Um, hello? Weather Team Captain!" I still was surprised when the armor of my wings actually assimilated the lightning from her attack without any effort from me! Next she summoned a swarm of Fly-ders... I introduced them to Mother Nature's oldest bug zapper! May be time to retreat You need a diva review Eris changed her body into rubber. She stretched out her arms and legs like Pinkie's silly strings, trying to pummel me and keeping the rest of herself far away. And she still couldn't hit me. I was just too fast for her! Okay, maybe my armor did take a few hits! But rubber's lightning-proof, not wing blade-proof! "OW!" Eris regenerated her limbs and snapped back to normal. "You are so going to pay for that!" You can see I never miss a beat Your makeover's long overdue I zigzagged around, making her twist her head around until she couldn't tell which way was up! I flew with a wing blade out right at the base of- "AGGH! My tail!" Then she laughed. "SUCKER!" Her severed tail turned into a female version of Seacord! "I just flew in from Aquastria, and my fins are so tired!" A drum set somewhere played a rimshot. "Ooh, have you heard the one about the pegasus who said ‘nope?'" "Nope!" I channeled lightning from the storm clouds through my harmony armor and hit her with a lightning bolt that would have made Derpy wince! "Aw, but I haven't done anything yet!" And she went -poof!- Just try to understand this It's not that I am trying to outshine "Looks like a copy of the copy isn't so sharp!" I heckled. An angry Eris took a swing, a swipe, a clawing, and a bite at me, but her moves were all over the place with no discipline. My armor took more of the hits, and I gave her one solid punch square in the kisser, or three! She teleported a ways away. = Neon - interrupted! = "Giga-Terrazord Final Boost Mode Command Now!!" "HEY! No hijacking my song!" = Combattler V opening megamix with Vultus V (Voltes V) - Tribute video 2017 = Stars twinkled in the sky. I heard an annoyed sigh, and the whole ‘arena' expanded, until it seemed like half of Ponyville could have fit in here with us! Holes opened up in the dark barrier for an instant, letting an army of giant robots through, and then the giant robots started combining into even bigger robots. The dinosaur robots combined into a blocky warrior robot, some magic creatures combined into a super samurai bot, more robot animals and two saltshakers became a gold and blue robot, and on and on! A giant racer robot, a shogun robot, and a colossal green dragon robot with a matching white tiger. Then THEY all combined into one ginormous ultimate super robot! Eris somersaulted into the head-cockpit, wearing a pink flight suit with a crossed out pony symbol on the chest. I noticed there were empty seats around her. "This cockpit is kinda empty with Tempt--ion, K-rma, and Ch-nce, whoever-they-were, gone," she muttered. "Who?" "Casualties of war." The giant hand of giant hands reached up. "Let's do it! Omi-power-sword!" A sword the size of Canterlot Castle formed from a blazing nova in its hand. "Omi-power activate! You're through!" And the weapon swept out in a horizontal slice! But Eris was working controls meant for a team, and I saw it coming a mile away! A slashing beam shot out from the blade that actually cut through the dark barrier (or maybe it opened up for it). It zoomed off into the distance, so no harm done. Meanwhile In Canterlot's highest building "My roof!" "My hat!" - "Infinite Missiles Barrage Victory!" Hatches popped open on all the sides of the thing, and rockets launched, zooming at me from everywhere! There were so many they blocked out the sun! Okay, maybe this was gonna be trouble? (Prism Rush's Promise: Don't be scared, dear. Let me help, let's finish this together.) Yeah! Guess I'll just have to be awesome in the shade! Like I said, this'll be over in a flash! = Neon - RESUMED! = "Storm!"/"Storm!" I gathered every drop of moisture in the air, my armor glowing rainbows so bright it was blinding. This wasn't about me, this was about my friends, what they meant to me, and what I meant to me! The ground and grass turned dry and brittle. A black storm cloud formed around me in a breath. You've got your inner beauty We can't all be divine The missiles were struck by lightning as they got close, the explosions deafening, but the storm cloud didn't dissipate. I felt the lightning coursing through me! The armor protected my insides from the shock waves as my teeth rattled. I actually laughed. Listen, girlfriend, can't you see? I'm all of the things that you'll never be I zoomed right at the Giga-Terra-Whatever-Zord. It pointed its hand at me and giant swords big enough for a regular giant robot shot out like throwing knives! I weaved and bobbed through them, spinning up the arm in a corkscrew pattern. I ripped out connection joints as I went, just trusting my instincts! I'm cool like the rain and I'm hot like the sun I'm a neon rainbow and you're no fun The Giga-Terrazord's elbow exploded, and it lost a forearm. Way too many lasers shot from the head's million eyes. A tie-dye colored forcefield appeared around the head! I tanked the lasers feeling like every cell in my body was being told, 'Cease to exist!' but my armor held together! Barely! I actually felt it starting to bend under the force and my Element quivering. My body screamed at the strain, but I didn't give up! No one likes a girl who wears a silly frown Just wear a smile and you'll turn it all around I tilted my head down. "SONIC… RAINBOOOOOM!!!!" KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM! The forcefield held, but the parts connecting the head to the rest of the body didn't. The rainbow shockwave blew the robot's head right off its shoulders, and crashed into the dead-wind barrier with a crazy huge explosion. Just think of happy things, you'll see in no time I hovered unsteadily, gasping for air. Everything ached. Even my armor felt heavy. Just need a minute to catch my breath. I think I bruised my everything. The remaining arm with the sword spun around and tried to cut me in two! I went flying like a leaf in the wind. A panel slid open on its torso. Eris had switched to a second cockpit in the chest! Fun every day, the clouds roll away Try it, you'll see, just be more like me Okay... I... I can still do this... I'm... I'm not spent yet! (Let me give you some of my strength, dear. Don't second guess yourself, just act. Lightning is your blade dear, your blazing sword. Let's end this cycle of evil.) "Lightning Blade!"/"Lightning Blade!" WHOA!!!!! What's this feeling! I feel like I downed a hundred sodas at once! Still hurts but I can keep moving! Yeah! Listen, girlfriend, can't you see? I'm all of the things that you'll never be The lightning came, from where I wasn't sure, but it was rainbow colored, and the sword that formed... it was big, and it had a crown like trident on the end. It was too big for me to swing, so I rode the edge like a cloudboard! (Eris! Enough! You! Bucking! Selfish! Bully!) I'm cool like the rain and I'm hot like the sun I'm a neon rainbow and you're no fun The mega-giant robot tried to leap out of the way, but the arena didn't give it enough room for the clumsy movements Eris ordered, and down through the big machine it went! - From Discord I came, to Discord I return. No hopes or dreams before or after, only the end. - Then... I think it blew up, I think... I don't remember much for the next couple seconds. Everything went white. The robots separated and then separated again. I'm not sure what happened to them after that. When it was done, through... Geeze did that take a lot of me. My body felt like my armor was keeping my atoms together. (Prism Rush's Notes): You'll be fine, dear. You're Rainbow Dash, after all! I just want to say... that armor? It DOES look good on you, and I know the Wonderbolts uniform will look even better!) Heh... thanks. --- (Prism Rush's Private Notes): Why didn't Eris teleport away? Rainbow is too rattled to think of it, but you aren't. Maybe she didn't think of it? Or maybe it happened too fast for her to try? Or maybe she did and she's faking? Come now, you're much too intelligent for that. Eris showed she could create subparts, but she still tried to pilot that robot by herself. This has all been a 'final performance' Discord's been putting on. Celestia said so herself remember? She asked why Discord wanted to be never-be-heard-from-again. Eris told her not to compare her to the other detachments... maybe she was the only one who knew the real reason why she was created.) -- The barrier is gone. It went poof when Eris did. Then... it's like different rolls of movie film were lined up on top of each other. The black barriers were all gone. The gloomy faint drizzle was still going on, and... I'm with all my friends again. They were blown apart when Diamond Tiara's magic hit, but now we're all together again. Wait, does this mean that my battle took the longest? No way! Eris must have messed with time or something! Yeah, that's it. Princess Celestia is nuzzling Twilight. Spike is hugging Silver Spoon. Princess Luna is hugging Fluttershy, who still has a horn. Applejack is hugging Apple Bloom. Rarity is hugging Sweetie Belle. Pinkie Pie is hugging Trixie, probably so Trixie won't feel left out. And then something small and orange tackled me. "Scootaloo!" I gave my favorite little filly a hug. "Squirt, you okay?" "... Good question." She hugged back. I looked her in the eye. "... Scoots, if you want to talk about it, I'm right here. The Dash will never think less of you for opening up." "Thanks, Dash." She nuzzled close, and her smile faltered. "Me and my friends, we... had to do what we had to do." I held her shoulders. "Squirt, I want you to remember this and remember this hard: If it's 'what ya had to do', always, always make sure it is what ya gotta do. Not just what's easy." Then I realized that might not have been the best thing to tell a filly right now. "Scootaloo, I'm proud of you! You and your friends are standing here, and the bad guy isn't. You held on, you didn't give up, you didn't give in. That's definitely something to be proud of!" Scoots found her smile again, and hugged me tighter. "Thanks, Dash." Me and the rest of my friends didn't have time exactly to stand around and compare notes, because Discord tapped on a microphone. There was a wail of feedback, even though there were no speakers and the mic wasn't even plugged into anything. "Excuse me, evil god of chaos and brainwashed innocent minion, still standing right here! I'm shocked, simply shocked! Why, I never expected that you might actually defeat them all." Nightfilly Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. No pony there expected who spoke next, or what she had to say. "Well, Discord?" asked Princess Celestia, gently but firmly. "Are you satisfied?" > The Name of the Nightmare > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Title: The Name of the Nightmare (Diamond Tiara's Nightmare's Interview): They don't understand how my magic works. Even I don't fully understand how my magic works. After all, not every pegasus is a Wonderbolt, and just because pegasi can fly, that doesn't mean they can explain aerodynamics backwards and forwards. What's more, I'm no goddess whose job it is to know all there is to know about their nature. Everything comes down to figuring it out for yourself. (Interviewer's (Lonely) Notes: When ponies play with us a lot, and they want something done, we figure out how to do it for them.) I figured. I understand that with a whisper or a touch, I can make somepony, something, anything from a dragon to a house, see how everything's all going to be for nothing, and they'll just give up and wither away. I won't pretend to understand how exactly my magic can't be sensed, and how it can mask the magic of others. Maybe it's the emptiness inside me? My lack of feelings? Maybe since I'm something that wasn't supposed to be able to exist, there's no 'registry number' for my magic in the universe's index book? It might explain why barriers and seals don't affect me, and why I don't leave traces behind. My very existence is wrong, like the mortal world itself is trying to pretend I'm not here. Father tells me how there was once an evil spirit that was so hideous, reality itself shrouded her in a veil-like form. Maybe it's the same with me. Or given my ability to see things that others can't see, and being seen by things that ponies are normally invisible to, maybe it's a matter of me being somewhat… displaced. Not that it matters. Would anything actually change if I knew? Ponies, humans, centaurs… they're all driven by a need to know the 'whys' and 'how comes' of everything. Knowing doesn't change a thing. Like when father Discord made me remember how much I had truly failed my mother. Even though Apple Bloom changed how much mother was going to punish me for it, it didn't change how much I'd truly failed her. And what I turned her into. How I had to make a deal with a devil to fix her. Even back then, I was already empty inside. As far as these adults and fillies are concerned, they've already won. I'm just an awkward moment between their victory. Their happy ending. It doesn't change things. "Well, Discord?" asked Celestia. "Are you satisfied?" Discord's jaw dropped. My eyes narrowed. "Now hold on there, Princess!" my 'arch enemy's' big sister began to spout. "Ya can't really still be tryin' ta-" The sharp flick of Celestia's wing was a more powerful command to silence than any magical geass. My predecessor looks like she wants to get this over with even more than I do. Destroy me and imprison father, for the good of Equestria. It's the obvious answer, but she just grits her teeth. "I ask again, Discord. Was this to your satisfaction?" She looked at my replacements. "These brave foals have struck you a terrible blow indeed. Now that you can see it all clearly, was this a satisfying grand performance for you? Are you ready to finally move on from this miserable nonsense? Tell me, Dissy, how does it feel to be able to remember our good times without the taint of your madness?" I saw the look on the faces of Sweetie Belle's and Scootaloo's big sisters, along with some of the others. The idea that Celestia had good times with my adopted father is up there, I'm told, with Celestia calling the defeated Nightmare Moon "sister." Speaking of the former Nightmare Moon, she was watching father and Celestia closely, but she no longer had that expression of contempt and pity, the face of a mare who knew I was beyond saving, but felt she had to humor her sister. Instead, she looked almost like she was holding her breath. This isn't good. And father's eyes were darting around at nothing. +++ Discord's Folded Cubeboard Feathers Wind Whistler was back. Maybe if I drank barrels of hard cider the pink elephants could stomp on her, or maybe if I ate some bad mushrooms she could get squashed by that frog's stairway to heaven. "This conflict is effectively over in my favor, Discord," she taunted, with a sneer I know the real Wind Whistler would never have worn. "You have been permanently deprived of the primary attribute of your character that was instrumental in restraining me for thousands of years." "Will you give it a rest already?! There's no way you're Wind Whistler! If you were, somepony would have tried to rescue you by now, that's how it works. Oh wait, Lulu and Celly DID try to see if you were still inside your, ahem, my body, but I made certain that they could NEVER be certain. How miserable- I mean, what fun that was!" "If that is indeed the case, then logically I can only be an integral part of you, instead of a foreign entity. As I was not among your former detachments, by process of elimination I must be none other than the embodiment of your reasoning." "That's stupid and you're stupid!" I informed them with all my natural elegance and charm. "I'm Chaos itself! What the hades do I need reason or sanity for?!" "Why don't you enlighten me? Unless you propose to continue asserting that I am merely a hallucination, incapable of knowing anything that you yourself do not. Despite your insanity's existence having been unmade. Maybe I should explain how imaginary numbers work, Dissy?" "NO! NOT AGAIN!" I screamed, tugging on my ears. "How can something that doesn't make sense be so dreadfully boring?!" I crumpled up her chart of the Mandeltrot Set and tossed it into the Dimension of Lost Socks. "None of this would be happening, if it wasn't for those little brats! Oh, they were bad enough when my erstwhile relatives used them to ruin the close family urban redevelopment project that made my little filly so happy. But now? I hate them! They destroyed my insanity! Damaged me! Violated me! I can't really be sure I'm me anymore! They destroyed a part of me forever!" Wind Whistler's hooves stamped down in front of me, big enough to crush a house. I might have screamed... just a tiny bit! I could see my handsome self reflected in her eyes as she lowered her head to the ground to glare at me. "Yes, having your very self violated, feeling who you are twisted about against your will, being made into something that isn't even really you? Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Not a pleasant experience, is it, suddenly having to think about what you did to countless innocent ponies and other creatures?" +++ (Diamond Tiara's Nightmare's Notes): I didn't like that look in Discord's eyes, no, not at all. He looked like one of the colts in my class when Miss Cheerilee told them they'd really messed up and they didn't know how to fix it. He hadn't even tried to answer Celestia's question before he was talking to himself again. I thought his insanity was gone. Maybe he only thought it was? That would be a relief. Best to get this derailed train back on the right track. ++++ Diamond Tiara's Nightmare approached Fluttershy. "Hey, Cruelty," she said, emotionless as ever. "Discord adopted me. That makes us sisters now. Wanna come out and play?" Fluttercruel did manifest, appearing once again in her hybrid foal form, just to shout, "Screw you, you little intruder!" At this, Discord sprang up like a released spring. Tears streamed from his eyes as he clasped his paw and claw, a wiggly smile on his face. "You really do care! You're jealous of your adopted sister!" "What… NO I'M NOT!" She stammered out. "Now dear," said Fluttershy. "Just because your evil father adopted another foal is no reason to be angry with her." "But, mooooooom!" "No wonder father never noticed you existed," droned Diamond. "As if he'd take notice of a whiny crybaby like you." "Shut it, you brat!" "Go sit in your high chair, you one-year-old." "I'm still more mature than you!" Discord had a pained expression. "Please, dears! Your mother and I don't want you to fight." "Yes, I... I agree with Discord," said Fluttershy. "Please don't fight." Rainbow Dash twitched her wings awkwardly. "Okay... I think we've found a whole new level of weird." "Ya can say that again," AJ said. "You and me both," Spike added from Trixie's back. Fluttercruel stamped a hoof. "This is the final battle! We're supposed to fight!" "She's right," droned the Nightfilly. "I don't need you agreeing with me!" Diamond narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, the way Maud Pie might have. "So you don't want to fight?" "I want to pound Discord's filthy face in! You're just another pony being used by him!" "You really think that." The Nightfilly said snootily. "I repeat. Everything I've done was me." Fluttershy pleaded, "If that's true, if you really want to do such hurtful things to others, then you're sick, like Luna and I were sick. You need help!" "Isn't that adorable?" Discord said, sounding like he'd been run over with a truck. "She... she loves to say that she's totally in control of herself in spite of me being her evil sadistic puppetmaster." The Nightfilly rolled her eyes. "He wants to pretend he still holds control over me." Her tone changed, sounding more like Diamond Tiara the schoolyard bully. Despite of herself, Silver Spoon felt a sense of longing. "His parents and his foster family couldn't control him! Whatever made him think he could control his own kids? Isn't that right, Cruelty?" "For the last time, it's Fluttercruel! And we're not sisters, so drop it already!" The Nightfilly sneered at her. "What's wrong? Afraid? Afraid you can't beat me? Afraid you can't beat one little filly? Scared I'll crush you? Scared a quasi-goddess of evil is more than enough to crush an accidental demi-demon?" "Is 'quasi' worth more or less than 'demi?'..." Pinkie Pie wondered aloud to herself. Then she grabbed a book and looked it up for herself. "Oooh... Never mind!" "Please," the Nightfilly continued, "You're a mistake, a misprint, a gratuitous presence! You've done NOTHING but make your mother's life that much harder! Everything everywhere would have turned out exactly the same except maybe a little less complicated if you had never existed!" A hoof connected with a filly's face. Blood came down from Diamond's nostrils. Fluttercruel looked shocked at what she'd just done. The Nightfilly wiped the blood with her hoof, examined it, then grinned. "Is that all you've got?" Discord rose and expanded like a storm cloud. "Young mare! If you hurt her again, so help me, I'll take back what I gave you!" "You gave me nothing!" Fluttercruel shouted, reacting without thinking. Fluttershy shoved her way in between the ghostly draconequus and her foal. "Discord! Don't... you... dare!!" Discord wilted, shrinking back down. "Yes, dear." "Spineless," said the Nightfilly. "See, Silvey? This is why you should never fall in love." Fluttershy hesitated, eyes widening. "Love? You don't mean… Discord? Are you saying that Discord loves…" "I'm saying nothing. Father only loves himself, of course. Don't you want to destroy him? Hasn't he done enough? Destroy me, and you destroy Discord. Or maybe you'd rather let me run wild until I free everypony of the mockery called life." "Well, Discord?" Celestia said again, this time much more stern. "Dissy? Are you satisfied yet?! You've endangered my ponies, you've pulled away resources meant to protect Equestria, you've forced the Bearers to wield power they weren't ready for yet, all for your set piece performance! Not to mention, you placed the filly you corrupted and adopted into your family in mortal danger! Are you satisfied?" And Princess Luna, in a moment of moments, was inspired. She cleared her throat, calling upon every ounce of royal self control and restraint she'd ever had, and she spoke with critical honesty. "Thy opening was sufficiently spectacular, along with an eerie prelude. Ye were able provoke us into an equally spectacular set up for the Elements to ready themselves for ye. "We shall not soon forgive ye for spurning our sister's offer of long promised cake, and the dialogue might have been concluded rather more swiftly. However, our ponies' fight against their worst traits was a good twist on thy previous work, and allowed our ponies to show how they've grown. The battle against thy puppets gave Princess Gaia a chance to show her power and demonstrate she was capable of using it responsibly. We imagine that young Silver Spoon reasoning thy true army into being neutral for this battle was not something ye anticipated, yet ye recovered admirably." "Well, of course," said Discord, not seeming to know what to do with his hands. "Any good artist learns to roll with the punches." "Indeed. And finally, showing ye had gained the sense of empathy needed to create detachments was a worthy conclusion, though naturally we would have prefered to combine our efforts and rush ye all at once." "Since when do I enjoy the predictable?"   "Indeed. So Discord, we shall say as both a fellow artist and a patron of the arts, we give thy stage performance our royal approval. Certainly one worthy of the history books." Like he'd been shot, Discord's ghostly form fell down to his knees, his arms limp at his side. He looked at the ground, and raised his head up to Celestia. "I'm the one always asked to change for others. When's the last time anypony changed for me?!" "Well, we could talk about all the ponies you forced to change for you..." Spike muttered, though he was ignored. Celestia didn't even hesitate. "Shady did. She became a mother for you. She became brave for you. She became the best she could be for you… and you still wanted her to change more. You wanted a sadistic monster like yourself. Did you ever consider playing your games on the genuinely wicked and unrepentant while leaving the innocent and just alone? That would have been enough for her… but it wasn't for you. "A mother to a chimeric creature she'd become pregnant with out of nowhere… and she treated you no different. And Baby Shady? She became a sister for you in this new world. You know everything that happened was your choices and her choices, nopony else's." "It was merely pony instinct that made them care for me. Simple biology." "Is biology why Surprise The First chose to become your friend too? The pranks you pulled together? The ones you pulled on each other? When you had to wear the cheerleader costume… and she chose to wear one too for you? Or did you think she was going to wear that anyway? "We are not robots!… There's more to forgiveness AND redeeming yourself than trying to do something horrible — no matter the reason! — being stopped, and suddenly saying you're sorry. And there's STILL MORE to it than just paying back those you hurt, it's about admitting you were wrong. First and foremost to yourself." Many of the ponies present had no idea what they were talking about, and those that did had little expectation of success, for good reason. - Celestia I considered asking, 'Since when is Chaos itself scared of change?' But Discord has spent eons angry and defensive towards anypony he felt wanted to control how to be himself. Any lecture on that would've just caused the walls to go up again. I also thought of bringing up how Discord had turned Surprise into the first rock farmer, but felt it was not needed. The look on his face, the slump of a puppet whose strings had been cut... Discord couldn't hide from himself anymore. I could offer Discord cake again. I prepared a backup set… but Discord hates repetition. "Discord," Lulu said, "Ye are always saying that the god of chaos will not change for others. Wilt thou not change for thine own sake?" Discord's spirit gave a start. In Discord's eyes, I saw images flickering like the movies of that long forgotten age. Mother Shady, Baby Shady, Surprise The First, the seaponies of the age of myths, the Flutterponies, Wind Whistler, Destruction, Morning Star, Diamond Tiara, Screwball, Galaxy, Twilight The First, Spike VII's grandfather, and great-grandfather, Firefly, Posey, Applejack the First, Star Maker, and so many others… including Mimic. Finally, young Dissy himself. = Rain - Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood = Discord snapped back to his normal suave self like a mousetrap. "Well! I think that's all the time we have, folks! I think we all know how this is going to turn out, and since I despise pigeons with every fiber of my being, we'll just be going now! Princess Nightmare, dear, let's fall back on that plan where we go to a planet where everypony is forced to live mindlessly happy, soullessly ordinary lives and we can be worshipped as saviors! I know just the place… it's on the other side of the galaxy from here! Doesn't that sound nice?" I imagine all my little ponies would have something to say to Discord's plan, and none of it positive at the thought of losing their chance to purify Diamond Tiara. "No." Her voice was colder than an Arctic grave. "A little out-of-the-way for your tastes? Well, we could just go to Neighpon! Ponies don't even really remember me over there! I could set up a shrine and they'd be worshipping me by the time they throw their next comic convention. And I hear they're really into the whole 'seemingly emotionless filly' vibe. You'll find yourself a coltfriend in no time!" The joke is that Discord was completely correct. "We're not done here." Her level voice echoed slightly. "Well, if you insist, why not have a climactic final battle with Sweetie Belle there, just the two of you?" Discord framed the scene with his hands. "Two fillies bound by chaos and fate, your magic versus hers! My student against Queen Bug-Butt's! Poetic, wouldn't you agree?" I saw Rarity move closer to Sweetie Belle, while Sweetie Belle herself took a step forward. I could see the gears in the little filly's head already turning, towards how this could help restore Diamond Tiara to her old self. I knew Twilight was already set to counter-offer that only non-lethal magic be used, and I knew Discord would accept after a token show of resisting. Half of my ponies seemed ready to accept this deal with conditions, though the other half surely thought it madness. The Nightfilly put her hoof down. "This doesn't end until the enemy is no more. I'm tired of fathers who don't know how to keep their promises." Discord shrank back from the filly his spirit was tied to. "But… I did keep my promise!" I did not like where this was going. My ponies were looking confused and wary as a horrible truth dawned on them. Twilight's mind worked faster as it always did, her eyes widening. Discord coughed. "Laying the dark and ominous routine on a bit thick, aren't we, princess? Don't forget that you're the brainwashed enslaved minion, and I'm the heartless evil manipulator–" "Who was it that actually did things when we ruined the world? And who played house pretending he had a happy family?" Discord flinched. For a moment, I actually saw pity for him in Applejack's eyes. "You cured my mother, I freed you. We were even from the start. Do you think I listened to you because I'd just do whatever I was told? My first father couldn't manage that. What made you think you could?" "… We were kindred spirits," Discord said, like a foal who'd just learned that the popular colts had only let him tag along to make fun of him. "Yes, we are, which is why you should understand." Discord's lip quivered. "Trixie never imagined she'd see the day where Discord had less spine than Fluttershy!" Twilight winced. "Trixie!" (Interviewer's Notes (Prism Rush): It's a universal constant. Discord never could control his own kids.) Wait! Are you– "We're staying. And we're playing this out to the bitter end." The worst part was, the fear in Discord's voice was not for himself. "No... Diamond Tiara, please!" "That is not my name." "Discord!" Twilight shouted. "Get out of Diamond Tiara's body!" It wasn't a command to an evildoer, it was a plea from one pony to another trying to stop a disaster. "I can't!" snapped Discord, not sounding happy about it. "Mother never bothered to include a way to do that! How do you think I was stuck as a statue for two thousand years?!" (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Tell Moon Dancer and friends to stop blocking Dissy's magic! Maybe he can help!) We can't do that either… we told them to keep casting the spell and not stop no matter what, until they sensed that Discord was petrified and Diamond Tiara was cured. We couldn't risk Discord impersonating one of us to fool them into stopping. (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Aw, horseapples.) (Interviewer's Notes (Sad): Our best friend has a message to pass along: 'know despair.') Silver Spoon extended a hoof. "Diamond, Alula is waiting for you too. Don't you think you've kept her waiting long enough? Let's all go have a pool party at your place!" Truly, if Scootaloo does not become the next Element of Loyalty, then Silver Spoon will be right behind her. The Nightfilly magically slapped the offered hoof away. "Maybe you didn't hear me. She's better off without me." Silver Spoon recoiled, cradling her hoof as if a bee had stung it. The resolve on Silver Spoon's face would have made her father proud. "Then maybe I should join you! If you'll leave everypony else alone, maybe I can become a Nightfilly like you too! Go ahead! Diamond, you always said you were going places and I was going with you! Well, here I am! Change me! Transform me!" Spike and the Crusaders gasped in horror. The old Discord would have put on his best snake-oil salespony smile and immediately snapped his fingers to seal the deal. The Nightfilly cringed. - (Interviewer's Notes (Greedy): Ooooh! New friend to play with! I like her, she won't lose what's hers, no matter what.) She is not for you. Not now. Not ever. Don't you dare so much speak of it again. (Interviewer's Notes (Scared): Hey, are you feeling afraid for somepony just now?) I don't feel. (Interviewer's Notes (Lonely): She wants to be with you forever.) "Don't ever say something stupid like that again," I spoke. "You could never become a Nightmare, Silvey. You just don't have what it takes to boss others around." "Are you saying I never learned anything from you?" "You're just not evil empress material." "Since when have you been?" "Always. Or haven't you been paying attention?" "Right, taunting foals on the playground, that's really proof that you want to conquer the world!" - Rarity = Hisou no Tatakai ("Tragic Battle", extended version) - Sailor Moon Crystal = "Rarity, everypony!" said Sweetie Belle in a hushed voice. "Zap me with the Elements! Diamond will dodge and teleport away, but I won't! If we're really linked, then it should stop her too!" "Young mare, that is not happening!" I said quickly. "But Rarity...!" "No means no! I won't sacrifice my baby sister to stop an evil we've beaten and beaten again!" "You don't know…" "Neither do you!" I glare at my friends, waiting for any of them to challenge me on this. "Do you have a better idea?" Sweetie Belle asked defiantly. "We have an idea," said Princess Luna. "But ye shan't like it. Ye have to push Diamond Tiara's Nightfilly to the limit, We mean the utmost limit, the point where her body, mind, or soul can withstand no more. "At that point, Discord's spirit should flee her body in self-preservation, whether he wills it or not. Discord's last host had their body forcibly turned into his and their spirit either banished or subsumed, but that is not the case here. The Elements won't possibly petrify them with Discord gone. " "Ya sure that's gonna work?" AJ asked. "No." "Will this hurt Sweetie Belle?" I asked. "No. But she will begin to feel all of it, the closer Diamond gets to her limit." Sweetie kept a stiff upper lip that didn't belong on any foal's face. Her friends hugged her. Silver Spoon's spoken opinion of this 'plan' was unprintable in even the most uncensored medium. - … I'd rather die a villain than be redeemed, only to be thrown away into nothingness. - The Nightfilly snorted violently. Her scab opened, and blood trickled down her muzzle again. "You and Father have had your fun. Now it's my turn. You can only sense Father's power, not mine. How do you think we were able to safely recruit denizens of Nothingness without Father's Mother noticing?" Rainbow Dash frowned, "Nightmare Moon, Nightmare Whisper, Nightmare whatever… we'll magically unscramble your brain too, kid!" "You've never fought a Nightmare like me." Dash groaned. "Ya know, I never liked how the first thing every bad guy does in the comics is to trash talk the previous bad guys. It really disses all the stuff the hero did before! Whatever you got, we can take it!" "I'll show you despair." Twilight Sparkle responded by placing a replica of her brother's forcefield around her. "You need a time-out!" The Nightfilly stepped through the barrier like it wasn't there. "Not happening." Trixie zapped her legs, horn and wings in rapid succession, encasing them in ice. The ice didn't melt, it crumbled to powder. Rarity's horn glowed, and cloth spun from spider threads knotted around the Nightfilly. Apple Bloom tossed in a potion bomb, covering her in gunk that quickly solidified when it came in contact with the air. Plants sprouted from Fluttershy / Gaia's magic, growing and wrapping her up tight. Twilight's horn glowed again and added yet another layer, conjured chains that locked the filly in place. Then a lightning cage from Rainbow Dash on top of all that, followed by one of Pinkie Pie's biggest birthday present boxes, wrapping her all up in a bow with anti-teleport runes on the ribbons. The Nightfilly's empty expression never changed as she disappeared from view. Discord floated above the whole thing, wringing his hands. "Please stay there, princess. Please, just stop." The gift box aged and fell apart, the lightning sputtered out, the cloth frayed and unravelled, the plants withered and died, the chains rusted and broke apart, and the resin disintegrated. "I've never seen aging magic like this," Twilight Sparkle admitted. "I don't age them. I make them realize there's no point in going on. Also, I wouldn't really call it magic. Silvey knows how persuasive I am. Imagine everything you love, passing away. Realize the great lie, the futility of living. You can't contain me. You can't stop me. Your only option is to destroy me." Rainbow Dash shouted, frustrated: "I am NOT beating up a filly! Let alone killing her!" "I tormented your precious Scootaloo." "Yeah, and you got your just desserts for that every time." "I nearly destroyed the world. Beat me to a bloody pulp! Smash my face in. Strangle the life out of me." "Do it yourself!" shouted Dash. "We're all still here. You're a stupid brat who made stupid mistakes, but our only wish is to stop you from hurting anypony here, including yourself." "Then stop this." A ghostly white ball grew above Diamond's horn, rose above her head, then detonated into a million pieces of magical shrapnel. The Bearers of Harmony dove for cover. The shards of Blank Diamond's magic bounced against the harmony armors like physical arrows. The Crusaders covered Silver, huddled beneath their capes, the shards ceasing to be when they touched them. The Princesses protected Trixie and Spike, their royal armor being stabbed by the unspeakable magic, feeling little needles poke at the uppermost layer of their skin. "Come on. I'm just an awkward moment for you to dispose of so you can get to your happy ending. You don't really care about me. None of you 'important ponies' did." "I CARED!" Rarity shouted. "I care for all my ponies!" Celestia added. "Then where were you when my family broke apart?" 'When I failed her.' "ENOUGH!" boomed Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice. Her glowing white eyes narrowed. "Our sister has suffered enough! Ye accuse her of being a tyrant, but then ye accuse her of not meddling enough in thy life?! Make up thy mind!" "All I'm hearing is a thousand-years-out-of-date windbag. Can't the former great and terrible Nightmare Moon back up her words with real action?" "Dream the Night away!" Princess Luna fired her custom triple-strength nighty-night spell. Luna doubted it could work on a spirit, and she did not know if it would affect a Detachment, but she saw no reason why a filly whose magic was based on depression and disconnection from reality should be immune. Neither did the Nightfilly, apparently. She teleported to one side and the sleep bolt missed. Luna didn't hesitate… she kept firing, but the Nightfilly kept dodging, never teleporting to the same place twice. Twilight Sparkle gaped at her. "Did you… you did! That's my technique! You were watching when I fought Lioncord!" The Nightfilly paused long enough to say, "You're going to complain about somepony copying your magic, now?" before skipping away from Luna's next spell. Applejack managed to snag the Nightfilly with her lasso, but Blank Diamond didn't even bother decaying it, since her next teleport severed the rope anyway. "Slippery varmint!" muttered AJ. Trixie and Twilight glanced at each other, getting the same idea almost simultaneously. "Spell Copy!" Twilight fired shot after shot trying to catch Blank Diamond in the crossfire, each sleep spell as potent as Luna's own. Ironically, Trixie had to skip the flash and dazzle and pick her shots with much more care, since she was running purely on Rarity's mana gift. "Sleepy warm summer's day," said Princess Celestia serenely. Most of the ponies present didn't even appreciate the significance of Celestia copying Luna's magic. Perhaps they took it for granted, after a thousand years of Celestia raising and lowering her sister's moon. A golden bolt lashed out... But since the Nightfilly had watched all of the heroes battle, both with her own eyes and that of her shadows, even this didn't surprise her long enough for the sleep spells to hit their mark! "Keep it up!" Luna urged them, concentrating harder. "She cannot dodge all four of us indefinitely!" Discord's spirit meanwhile, basically along for the ride, loudly shouted, "DIAMOND TIARA! DODGE!" "Don't call me–" She froze, realizing that this was one distraction too many. With no time to teleport, she turned to shadow instead and the spells flew through her like rocks through smoke, disrupting her shadow's form. All four casters hesitated, worried they might have permanently damaged the mad foal. Blank Diamond could have been playing lame duck, but they couldn't take that chance. "Princess," Discord chided her, trying to get back into his game, "you're stealing my spotlight. What have I told you about upstaging your father?" "I haven't even started yet." "This isn't what we planned!" "This is exactly what we planned, before you lost your nerve.  Coward." "You actually think you can CONTROL a Nightmare, Discord?" asked Princess Luna, incredulously. "Not so much control, as help along, ugh! I mean of course! Haven't you been paying attention? I've been controlling her every move!" "Liar," AJ said at once. "Oh will you shut up?!" Discord pressed his middle fingers together awkwardly. "After all, I manipulated her into accepting me as an adopted father." Luna's first reaction was to call Discord sick and evil, but instead she said, "She already has a family." "A father who tried to buy her love, a mother who hurt her." "And you somehow think you're better?" "I considered sanity an arbitrary burden to liberate others from." "And yet, Discord, if everypony were mad, none would appreciate your games." "... I know. Now." +++ Rarity Belle This close, looking at Diamond Tiara was like looking at a statue of her, or a pony wearing a mask of her own face. I knew all the tricks used by the high society elites to conceal their emotions, of course, but this was nothing like that. It was truly like there was something broken inside her, underneath the wings, barding, darker colors, and draconic eyes. To say I was confused at what was going with Discord would be an understatement. Somehow, the battle with Sweetie Belle and her friends had shaken Discord far more than the defeat of his other pieces? And Princess Celestia was striking while the iron was hot? But Diamond was continuing her habit of not listening to fathers. I kept Sweetie Belle close by my side, but otherwise I was focused entirely on Diamond Tiara, hoping for some way, any way to help her. I didn't care for Princess Luna's plan, and Sweetie Belle's frankly terrified me, but we were running out of options. "What did I tell you, father?" Diamond Tiara said in that lifeless tone, still in shadow form. "You failed. It's my turn now." The mass of shadows began to swell. "And if you won't take this fight seriously, I will." Then white lightning began to crackle along her coat, spiraling up her horn. "What? No..." The shadows writhed, deeper and darker, lightning flashing almost constantly. "Can't control it... The dark magic! It's too much… taking me… can't..." The mass of shadows swallowed every last trace of light. "HELP ME!" Then the shadows exploded! = Zophar's Revival - Lunar 2 Eternal Blue = It was the size of an Ursa Minor. The garden trembled as it moved. Twisted dragon claws dragged along the ground, tearing up the earth as it went. Tattered and bony wings like the rigging of a ghost ship hung from its back. Its coat was a twisted mess of black and gray scars, topped with a cutie mark of a twisted and shattered crown. Its great mane billowed and fluttered like dying smoke from a fire, skulls visible for a moment in the floating ash. It was musclebound like a manticore. Its pupil-less white eyes were feral and wild. Its basic shape was still that of a pony, but its neck moved brokenly, unable to bear the weight of the horn that skewed from its forehead. Heavy, barbed armor dug into its flesh. Wounds opened and closed on its body, revealing glowing eyes within. She moved like every breath, every motion was pain. Her body was covered in sweat, like every breath was knives into her, every heartbeat fire through her veins. A horrified Discord still floated above it, bound to it like a genie to his bottle. It let out an utterly mindless roar, devoid of any thought except pain. I swayed on my hooves, almost calling for my chaise longue, but the horror pushed me back into awareness. I couldn't faint, not now. I hugged Sweetie Belle closer. I heard my friends shout around me. Screaming in fear, in dismay, some shouting orders, other crying out to Diamond Tiara. The dark beast looked at us without recognition, like nothing of her mind remained. My blood turned to water. Mr. and Mrs. Rich, Silver Spoon, I'm so sorry… Then a voice shouted, stern, calm, powerful, like a rock in the middle of the ocean during a storm. "Ya done playin' Nightmare Night tricks, young filly?" Applejack! The thing burst into white flames and burned away, leaving only Diamond Tiara the Nightfilly, hovering where its head had been and glaring down at Applejack. I never thought I could feel relief at seeing her like that! I swear I heard Silver Spoon's heart start beating again. "Those eyes of yours are so annoying." "Ah was able ta see though changelings changin' shape," said Applejack, in the same tone she might have used to scold Apple Bloom and her friends for blowing up the barn again. "What made ya think you could fool me?" "I knew something didn't feel right!" whispered Sweetie beside me. The Nightfilly landed and trotted towards Applejack menacingly. "Some truths shouldn't be told." Applejack hesitated. "So I've learned." "Have you? Look at me. Take a good, long look." Diamond Tiara spread her wings slowly, leaving herself wide open. "Your Truth lets you see through possibilities, doesn't it? So look into me, into the heart of me… the depth of me. What is there? If Nightmares are unfinished Alicorns, then what incomplete Concept am I?" Applejack's eyes took on a silvery sheen as she narrowed them, staring intently. Whatever she saw, it made her shudder and take a step back. "There's… just a wound…" "Exactly, I am no concept. I shouldn't exist, but I do, and yet the Wolf doesn't come for me. I am more than a virus, I am a wound in reality. I was giving you all a way to put me out of my misery with a clean conscience, but you insist on doing everything the hard way." As Diamond spoke, Fluttershy's fog silently rose from the ground behind Diamond, and as quick as a blink, engulfed her. I slumped with relief. "Thank you, Fluttershy." But Diamond Tiara simply flew out of it. Fluttershy looked on in confusion and shock as my heart sank. "But- but how?" "Your fog shows ponies what makes them happy, I'm never happy." And I swear by Celestia I hear Silver Spoon's heart break. Apple Bloom shouted, "STOP IT, DIAMOND TIARA! Ya already lost to me, Button and Featherweight. What makes ya think ya can take on my big sister and her friends?! Ya can't win this!" Diamond Tiara gave Apple Bloom that look reserved for only the most truly stupid of ponies. "'Can't win this?' No matter what, you say? Then the filth can all join me in Oblivion when I fall." Discord hung his head, saying nothing, his eyes closed. She rose and hovered again, looking down at us all. "Do any of you know why the name of Night- exists? Nightfilly, Nightstallion, Nightdrake… because it's at night, in the dark, that we discover what we're really like. Nightmares are the shadow, the true self." The Princesses and my friends start charging up their sleep spells again. "Don't bother. You forced me to do this. This is your fault. I gave you a way out, but you wouldn't take it. I didn't want innocent ponies in danger for this, but you forced me. Now I see that I can't just pretend to be a threat. On your heads be it." - Come, friends, it's time to begin the best game you'll ever play. - = Clara Dolls Theme - Madoka Rebellion = A mass of black threads bloomed around Diamond Tiara, each thread ending in a stubby hand. They writhed and swarmed, reaching, swaying, like a sundew, ready to ensnare anything in their grasp. - Princess Celestia I saw the little swarm of breezies fly around my fallen pony: white as ghosts, all wearing tiny black clothes, each with wings of a different color, but their smiles all the same. I had hoped I would never have to lay eyes on them again. - Princess Gaia Oh dear! I never thought I'd see those baby animals again. The lion cub, the black widow spiderling, the sad little bluebird, the yellow rabbit, the polar bear cub, the piglet, the baby peacock, and little green snake in her shadow. The way they all smiled and swayed around Diamond Tiara didn't make me feel better, not one bit. I knew they were more dangerous than a pack of timber wolves. - Princess Luna It feels like an age since we've seen them. Thestral foals, each dressed in mourning garb of a style a thousand years gone. Each wearing a unique, brightly colored token, save one. Each with a different expression. Never did the foals stray too far from each other, either unwilling or unable to be apart. We've walked the gray world they inhabit, a whisper removed from this one. Imagine if all the world was inhabited by ghosts except thyself. - Rainbow Dash Whoa, what the heck? What are those creepy shapes around Diamond Tiara? I can't make them out, but they give me chills. They almost feel familiar, and not in a good way! - Applejack Ugh! What are they? Whatever they are, they make my eyes hurt. Tryin' ta make out any detail is like tryin' to remember a bad dream! The more Ah see the less Ah want to! It's like tryin' to see somethin' really far away, but ya know it's horrible all the same. They're spinning a web of black threads with tiny claws, but there's somethin' worse beyond that, and Ah don't like it. - Trixie ... Those cords of blackness, they make Trixie feel sick. The worst part is, Trixie can almost make out a shape in there. It reminds Trixie of when she was alone in her own mind for so very long. - Silver Spoon What are those black ribbons with stubby things on the end? They don't make me feel good. - Twilight Sparkle That mass of black threads… I can sense… ugh, it's like sensing chaos magic around Discord. My mind doesn't want to see it! (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): Those are some extremely troublesome spirits, ones that I hope you never have to meet.) (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): Except, yer kinda gonna have ta. Soon. With the crystal.) Princess Luna and Fluttershy look horrified! Applejack looks like she can't keep her eyes focused on them. Princess Celestia, is she shivering? "Be gone!" Princess Luna suddenly shouted. "Diamond Tiara doesn't wish to play with ye!" "Oh, but I do." said Diamond Tiara, a smirk twitching on her face for just a second. After seeing her without any expression most of this time, it's actually a little bit more disturbing to see an expression now! "I want to play with them more than anypony ever has before." "Please, please go play somewhere else!" shouted Fluttershy, as if the twisting black threads were unruly foals. "Haven't you played with Diamond Tiara enough?" (Interviewer's Notes (Lonely): Hello, sisters.) Wait! This feeling! It's so familiar, like when I was in that fake sanitarium in Trixie's mind. So alone! Who, what are you? (Interviewer's Notes (Lonely): We are they who were born orphans.) "That doesn't make sense!" I felt compelled to point out. - (Nightmare !$*(!@(!( ) "In attendance, we the neglected," said the only foal not wearing any piece of clothing. "I'm angry!" huffed a colt with a little red stuffed tie, crossing his forelegs and standing on two rear hooves. "I'm lonely," sighed a filly in a black poncho with a purple scarf, polarized like a magnet she couldn't get near the others. "I'm sad," sniffled a filly wearing a blue ribbon, hiding her eyes. "I'm scared!" whispered the filly with a yellow flower in her black sun hat, hiding behind the angry foal. "I'm hateful," wailed the colorless foal who had spoken first, never looking at his family. "I'm greedy," said the filly with an orange sash who kept glancing at the bits of color her siblings wore. "And I'm quite vain, and my twin is very envious." The filly wearing a pink brooch stood tall and proud among the others. In her shadow lurked a nearly identical filly with a green brooch, who growled and watched her with jealous longing. Thank you for gathering here with me. "I'm sorry that your gift for making us new friends didn't work," said the sad filly. "I know you put a lot of work into it." "Did you not learn your lesson the first time!?" shouted Luna, sounding worried, desperate even. "Be away from those fiends at once! Don't take the chance that they can do you even further harm!" I noticed the sad filly cringe. "Diamond Tiara, the Princess and I know what you're going through," Gaia-Fluttershy pleaded. "You're suffering horribly, but this isn't the way to make the pain go away!" "I disagree," I said. "So what game do you want us to play?" asked the lonely filly. Just hold very still. - = EV31 Giga-Microwave - Wonderful 101 OST = (Prism Rush's Notes) Darlings! Diamond Tiara's Nightfilly spread her wings, and ghostly white chains shot from her horn, snaring the eerie foals and pulling them towards her! The foals squirmed and cried out, but they were caught fast! - Rarity Belle Oh sweet Celestia! Diamond Tiara conjured chains out of her magic, wrapped them around the blob of black threads, and began absorbing it like a sponge. Whatever is she planning to do? And… why could I faintly hear the sound of foals crying? - Backstabber's Notes Come now! This'll be the biggest, best, and last game you'll ever play. "I thought we were friends!" said the lonely filly, like a deer caught in the headlights as her spirit was absorbed into my body. Who say I'm not? You who were born orphans, I'll end your pain permanently along with mine. "Why are you doing this?" cried the sad filly. In only a year's time, two more Nightmares? Almost three? Four? Getting rid of you is the only way to ensure more Nightmare Moons and Nightmare Whispers don't appear. Nothing personal. 'Dear, I KNOW this wasn't part of our plan!' I'm making a new plan. Princess Cadence should thank me. What she tried to do with a sledgehammer, I'll do with a scalpel. - Silver Spoon I think I'm going to be sick! Diamond Tiara inhaled the black cords like they were smoke. And the way they were wiggling, it was like they were desperately trying to escape from her. - Princess Luna I watch the foals being sucked into the blind pit where Diamond Tiara's heart should have been. I don't think, I act. It makes my skin crawl to even think of letting those creatures touch me again, but I grab hold of them with my magic all the same, trying to pull them free and avert this catastrophe. Celly gapes, and then she joins in, trying to save them from being drawn into Diamond Tiara. The others couldn't even truly see what we were doing, let alone help. Princess Gaia TRIES to help, but she barely has the mana left to sustain her Alicorn form. But all we were doing was delaying the inevitable. "Diamond Tiara, stop! This is madness!" "I'm a Nightmare. I said the Spirits of Dark Magic and I shared a common pain. Now I'm going to end their pain along with mine. Foals who have never known a mother's love, isn't it more equine to simply get rid of them?" It was Rarity who spoke, "No. That's all the more reason to help them." "This is helping them." "No! You said yourself, this is 'getting rid of' a problem so you don't have to deal with it." Instead of answering, the Nightfilly looked at Pinkie Diane. "You should thank me, Pinkie Pie. I'm going to give you the chance to take back the kind of world you lost, where the spirits of dark magic don't exist. If I didn't know you were all too gutless to take it! So I'll help you make it! Come at me or lose everything!" "I hurts! I don't want it!" shouted the greedy foal. "You jerk!" the hateful foal snarled. "You big bully!" shouted the angry foal. "You can't do this to me!" shouted the vain foal. Stop whining, you stupid brats. With you destroyed, there won't be any more Nightmares in this world. My magic can't actually hurt you, but theirs can. We'll die together. Who else would ever want to be your friends? Losers. The Alicorns are trying to stop me, but they can't. It's not a matter of power. They rejected you. They forsook you. I'm the only one willing to accept you, to embrace you, to take you. The envious twin snapped, "You don't want us, you want to use us!" Oh, I know exactly how you feel. Isn't that right? Discord? 'I never pretended otherwise, remember? Not at first. I... didn't expect to care about you... I'm sorry I did this to you.' Too little, too late. And the Alicorns just lost their tug of war. All of your spirits are mine. = kiri no mukou ni tsunagaru sekai (atelier iris 3 full op) = (Prism Rush's Notes) The aura of dark magic flared around Diamond Tiara's Nightmare. Her eyes widened, she gritted her teeth, her muscles all tensed like she'd swallowed hot coals. Her body pulsed. The struggles of the dark spirits only bound them tighter, like insects in a web. Discord was pulled into her too, like a slurped-up noodle. For a moment, I feared the spirits of dark magic would conjoin inside her as one creature that would rip the poor foolish child to shreds from the inside, leaving Discord to fade into the spirit world with no mortal anchor, leaving Dash and her friends to fight for their lives. Diamond Tiara was already a Nightmare, there was no cocoon of threads of black magic. I imagine Tirek would be scandalized that he never thought of this. A surge of fear, hate, anger, want, isolation, envy, hubris, and sorrow hit me all at once, leaving my brain scrambled. It felt like time slowed to a crawl for everypony else but her. Cold light like snow blindness shone against the empty darkness, leaving only her silhouette visible. Wings grew, legs lengthened, a muzzle no longer so stubby, a long mane and tail flowing behind her. This was no shape shifting. Her body trembled. Then her image shattered. - Far away, in Everfree Forest, feeding on the innate magic of the beasts within the forest of death, a pathetically scrawny and emaciated centaur turned his head. - (Rarity Belle) As Diamond Tiara… changed, Sweetie Belle began convulsing. I hugged her as tightly as I could, and she hugged me back, crying. She opened her mouth as if she was trying to scream but no sound came out. Her spasms stopped, but she looked up into my eyes horrified. "I could feel all of it," Sweetie whispered. None of my friends were hurt by what had happened. It'd felt less like an explosion and more an implosion. Light, warmth, feelings, all being sucked into the center. Silver Spoon stood still as a statue, staring at what had happened. I swear, the ever-stoic Princess Luna, the fur on the back of her neck around her mane stood on end. I nearly needed my chaise longue again. The children, the princesses, and my friends: we didn't gasp, we were too stunned. Diamond Tiara was still an Alicorn pony. Her barding was still dark gray with pink accents, devoid of elaborate detail, covering most of her body. Her champron was still the one all Nightmares seemed to wear. She still had a white diamond on her peytral as the only decoration. Her cutie mark was still twisted into that eight point circle. Her cornflower blue eyes were still like those of a dragon. Her coat was still that gray under-toned grim purple, the color parts of her mane almost black. Her magic, her presence, was still like she wasn't there even though I could see her with my own eyes! None of that had changed. There was only one visible change at all… "Finally! I was so tired of being a filly." The Nightmare rose to her new height, grinning as she stretched her muscles and vulture-like wings. Discord's spirit had shrunk to the size of a doll, sitting on her right shoulder. He wasn't smiling at all. The Nightmare zeroed in on Silver Spoon and the tiara she wore. The adult looked down at the foal. "Silvey?" Her horn burned white, and a grim black sword formed in the grip of her magic. "It's me. Your best friend," Diamond said, the last part almost laughing. Sweetie Belle touched her own chest, letting out a small gasp. For a moment, Diamond's face became something horrible, a jagged mouth and pupil-less eyes, a red light glowing from within like a jack-o-lantern. And in that brief moment she said, "Nightmare Nhilis!" Swan Song's Siren ------ Nightmare !$*(!@(!( !$*(!@(!( !-$-*-(-!-@-(-!-( 1-4-8-9-1-2-9-1-9 !$-*-(-!@-(-!( 14-8-9-12-9-19 N-h-i-l-i-s Nhilis > Princess Luna's History Lesson (Shadow Play Tie-In) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My Little Pony, Shadow Play Tie-In. Spoilers, duh. In light of having to face Discord once again, and a Nightmare at the same time, I, Princess Luna Nyx Equestria, have chosen to write down some honest revelations about Equestria's past heroes. My sister would prefer ponies learn the truth in their own way at their own pace, but I feel these revelations do nothing to lessen the actions of these ponies. If Celly and I corrected every mistake in the history books, we'd be left with no time to rule Equestria (maybe when Celly retires she can do that between writing her mystery novels). Ponies as a rule generalize events, it’s their nature. It's how mortals keep sane in an infinitely complex world. They invent tales for that which they do not understand. (Sadly, the counterpart to this is that as ponies understand more and more, they grow to think 'If I do not understand this, then it does not exist.' So it was with my sister's student.) And unlike myself and my sister, neither their lives nor memories are infinite, and stories survive by being passed on, allowing them to mutate over time. As such, ponies who lived decades and thousands of miles apart are crammed together into neat little locations and periods, because it makes for a better story. Perhaps that is why 'a thousand years ago' has become such an overwhelmingly popular term for ponies to use for anything that happened before our banishment. I shall reveal this to you: There has been more than one Starswirl the Bearded, as there was in fact more than one Merlin, Man of the Woods, on Megan's Earth. The one who was the tutor of Clover the Clever was stern and pragmatic. The one who once traveled to other shadows of Equus with my sister was lively and imaginative. Another well known story holds that Mist Mane showed me the plight of the innocent animals of Everfree, who wished only to prevent their homes from being taken away by the building of the Castle of the Two Sisters, and taught me how I might keep spaces open for them, so that ponies and wildlife could share the forest in harmony. First and foremost, Mist Mane lived in Neighpon. There is more to Equus than Equestria. And the animals in Everfree are wild. They are not known for engaging in coordinated commando strikes. I believe this tale came about from realistic concerns that if Everfree was gone, Equestria's monster population would seek out new habitats. Ponies, by their very nature, seek to preserve the natural world whenever they can, modern Equestrians having grown up and matured in a land where nature needs them to function. Why do you think Everfree is so terrifying to them? If the entire planet was so except for Equestria, ponies would not be so terrified of just being near the place. The idea of traveling abroad would leave ponies paralyzed in fear. For the record, I did meet with Mist Mane after her sacrifice, but that meeting took place somewhere else entirely, and for very different reasons. If I had known her better, mayhap I would have appreciated those who could see the beauty in my night. Perhaps I would have become less vain myself, knowing one who would sacrifice beauty for which most mares would give anything, for the sake of one who did not deserve it. Is it any wonder Miss Rarity loves her legend? Also, contrary to popular belief, Mage Meadowbrook was a unicorn, but during an age of unification, it was deemed 'politically incorrect' for half of the 'six pillars' to be from a tribe that, at the time, many stereotyped as considering themselves 'superior' to the other tribes. While a 'balanced' team of heroes sent a message of unity. And Mage Meadowbrook was actually from Neighpon. She was a magical crafts pony, not an alchemist. But history muddled this, as a masked Earth Pony doctor who was an incredibly brilliant alchemist used her name. Both are worthy of great praise and responsible for great good, but they are not the same, their legends merely faded into one as time passed. Let this be known, Somnambula the Pegasus came after the infamous human witch Somnambula, long after the wicked witch had met her demise. The two never met. I think it was done explicitly on purpose to muddle events and wipe the witch from history, as humans became less than myths. While I do not believe evil should be rewarded, I feel that this accidentally covers-up the bravery of the ponies who were preyed upon by the witch and freed her abused familiar. After all, the Ponies of Paradise estate would never fight with the pegasus wise mare, so that story 'obviously' must be false. Also, that sphinx kept her word and didn't return, but asked her relatives to take revenge in blood in her stead. The resulting battle has been buried by the history books. The truth that Somnambula the Pegasus was a mare who would, even reluctantly, take the lives of other creatures in defense of her homeland does not mesh well with modern ponies' definitions of 'good' and 'evil'. Her scythe sword with Sphinx blood upon it has been called one of the few causalities of that conflict (their losses being so minimal due to Somnambula's suggestions, the myth is correct that she was brilliant despite her eccentricities). The tale of Rockhoof is mostly accurate, except he also did not live in Equestria. The caribou who were his honorable comrades have been forgotten by ponies, even though they made up a good chunk of the population of Rockhoof's home, including the very guard he sought to join, with ponies as the MINORITY. At least, the tale of his incredible strength was no exaggeration. He may very well be the single mightiest Earth Pony to ever live. It is difficult to tell, as he is not around to test his strength with Pinkie Pie's sister Maud... and she may not be exactly normal either. Pegasi are known for exaggerating their accomplishments, and Flash Magnus' accounts suffered for this. Of all ironies of ironies, Flash Magnus' tales, if anything, has been watered down by historians! Ponies were more willing to say 'I have no idea what happened!' than accept Flash Magnus' version. And... many ponies like to pretend that the long-ago days when griffons hunted ponies for food never happened. First and foremost remember: Flash Magnus was a soldier in the most elite of Pegasi forces. That meant he was trained to kill, and could do so effectively. Flash Magnus was no Rockhoof. Rockhoof in fact was actually the one among the six heroes of legend who was the most against killing. Flash Magnus HAD killed griffons, but he never hated them. I said Flash Magnus was a capable and accomplished killer, I never said he enjoyed it. And that made him a far greater soldier than any blood loving psychopath. He understood the griffons weren't evil, and he went through blood, sweat and tears to establish a precious safe zone of trust between griffons and pegasi. Flash Magnus is one of the few ponies to have killed a dragon, something that was brushed off as impossible by later ponies. And something that to this day earns him and his blood line the ire of the Dragonlands. The dragon hoard he claimed was spread out among the families of comrades he had not been able to save, and towards ironically enough, helping the pegasi move away from a purely military economy. I said Flash Magnus was a soldier, I never said he was a war monger. Heh, he even once dared to take on the Sirens single-hoofedly, using stuffing in his ears. I truly believe he would have been able to destroy at least one if they had not been immortal. He roadblocked them for as long as he endured, however. One falsehood of legend is that his shield was only fireproof. It was primarily fireproof, but as mighty as they were even the Sirens could not harm him through it and he knew how to wield it like an expert. The only thing that might have been able to pierce it isn't from this plane of reality. Thankfully his friends (also with stuffing in their ears) were able to carry him away from the battle over the desert he chose to face them where none would be harmed... the desert sands buried his shield after that battle and he never recovered it (somepony else might have, however). But this did NOTHING to deter his courage. He had chosen the desert explicitly so nopony would be harmed, knowing full well it would lessen his own pegasi magic with less moisture in the air to work with. And at last, Stygian the unicorn, so easily forgotten, the lone survivor of the land where the sirens began their campaign in earnest and began sweeping across Equestria. The one who recorded so many of the deeds of the six heroes, and had so much of his word dismissed or distorted by later generations. He was the pony with no power, no strength, no chosen status, no magical unique object. He was no warrior, no alchemist, in spite of his burning desire to be a hero. All he could do was record the heroics of others and be a strategist gathering whatever information he could for his allies. Some insist he divided up his own soul to create a race of dark ponies, but I personally find this idea absurd, as it was not in his nature nor desires. Whatever became of him, at least he did not have to live to see his life's work trivialized. And so you have it... The six were heroes to be sure, but history has a way of distorting things, all generations try to superimpose the beliefs of the present on the ponies of the past. They were brave, they were selfless, they did their hardest to change the world for the better. And that is something to be admired, but please remember the world was a very different place back then, and do not judge them by today's standards and today's culture... I speak from experience. > All Bets Are Off > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just have one more try -- it's dead easy to die, It's the keeping-on- living that's hard. - Robert William Service Chapter Title: All Bets Are Off For Neatly Spell, fresh air and exercise were literally just what the doctor ordered. Her physical therapy was going well. After months of being unable to move, she needed to rebuild her muscles. While she had been stuck in that... dark place, she had apparently missed Canterlot being invaded by bug ponies. She'd thought they were scary at first, but her mother explained that Cave Trolls looked scary too, and many never moved out of their parents’ cavern, but they were actually friendly when you got to know them. But today, she got to see a really fun parade of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the Elements of Harmony, their pet dragon, and Princess Celestia's student! She'd even seen foals marching in the parade with them! She wished she could have marched too, but apparently it was reserved for them, and her parents didn't want her pushing herself anyway. There was even this really fast golden ZOOM! that flew overhead after the parade was done, heading for Ponyville! But then it zoomed to Cloudsdale, and back to Canterlot again. Neatly Spell wondered what it was. +++ "W-Where am I?" Goatcord sat up and beheld a landscape of decayed stone houses and frozen ashes, beneath an empty black sky. "Seriously? Well, horseapples. At least I don't have to share the driver's seat any more!" Then he spotted something that made his day: A filly, all alone. Orange mane, magenta coat, apple with a cherry blossom for a cutie mark. She was playing on the dusty ground, arranging rocks in a meaningless pattern. Goatcord reached behind his back and transformed one of his arms into a pair of jagged blades capable of turning the filly’s blood into dog-milk cheese, while she sang the musical Cats backwards against her will. He also conjured a pretty-looking gumball that would make anypony who consumed it tap dance until their hooves were bloody. He briefly stretched one of his eyeballs to sneak a look at her expression of pure naivete, foolish and innocent enough to ask a grizzly bear if it wanted to be friends, no doubt. Why, he couldn't wait to share the joys of pure absolute insanity with the little darling! His grin grew wider than his actual face. Those meddling Crusaders had gotten off easy. Goatcord knew he could have driven Twilight Sparkle raving mad in a sentence and a half, if the rest of him hadn’t been so inconveniently holding him back! Goatcord crept up behind her, silent as death... except to one for whom death is loud as a marching band. A slate-colored earth pony mare with a gray diamond on her flank quietly came into existence… and coldly stabbed Goatcord with her hoof. "YOU. JUST BLEW IT.” There was no pleasure in her expression, no anger, no sorrow, no pity, not even cold satisfaction. “BE NO MORE." Goatcord tried to scream, but no sound came out. His essence shattered. The half that had come from Her was reabsorbed on the spot, losing all sense of identity and self, and the other half flowed back to Her Husband. The gray mare vanished as simply as she had appeared, and the filly continued to play with the black stones, unaware. +++ "Wake up, Miss Cheerilee." Dame Cheerilee fluttered her eyes open and saw a pink Flyder with blue eyes. "Gah!" Cheerilee scrambled back, wondering what one of those nasty things was doing so far away from Everfree. The whole point of the forest, so far as Cheerilee could tell, was to give monsters someplace else to be, far away from civilized ponies, and especially far away from her. Cupcake and Zecora were still fighting Diamond's shadow. Cheerilee still felt her Gaia Guard wings on her back, but Gaia's power seemed to be fading. The Flyder spoke in a high pitched version of Diamond Tiara's voice. "Sorry. I wanted you unconscious until the fighting was over, but I've been told that Ponyville's ponies will think you’re just a big joke, since you went down so quickly without a chance to show off your borrowed gifts." Cheerilee rose, sore muscles protesting. "I told your father you had a knack for social engineering. But... that's fine. I wasn't given this gift just to show off how 'powerful' or 'badflank' I am. I'm still a teacher. I don't want to fight you, dear." "You won't have to, but since I owe you something, I’ve herded a pack of rabid timber wolves towards Sweet Apple Acres." Cheerilee gasped. "Diamond Tiara! Rabid timber wolves can't be driven off or calmed down! The only way to stop them is-" "You better get to putting them down then, don’t you think?" The pink Flyder dissolved. Cheerilee groaned. Where was the Royal Guard when you needed them? She flew upward as best she could, and spotted the magical beasts just where Diamond had said they’d be. Their eyes were burning red, and she could sense the termites eating their wooden bodies from within, driving them mad. Cheerilee's eyes narrowed as she faced them. The Nightmare's shadow smiled. Cheerilee would win, there was no doubt about that. Granny Smith would bear witness, and that would be that. ++++ = Ignus Theme - Planescape Torment = Nightmare Nhilis Silver Spoon cried out and took a step back. Yes, yes, that's the look! Finally. Spike was lifted by Trixie onto her back again. I'm surprised neither Rarity nor Spike objected. I guess Trixie truly did fear punishment from Twilight if she failed to keep Spike from harm. Great way for Twilight to divert guilt from herself for caving in and letting the baby come in the first place. I wonder who my archenemy and her friends' big sisters will blame so the adults won't have to feel guilty if something happens to their little sisters. Gaia-Fluttershy forces her foal's spirit back inside away from me. I bet there are many overprotective mothers who wish they could do that on command. I wonder who the clown blames for her world being destroyed. The gods? The ponies who created it in the first place and didn't think it would need upkeep? Never mind her own outlandish wishes that added to the mess. I wonder who the princesses will blame if something happens to any of the mortals here, so they don't have to feel guilty for failing to protect them. It's all their fault anyway, forcing me to go this far. I wanted it done quickly; they're the ones drawing this fight out. They just had to make this harder than it has to be. Maybe they'll pretend they have brains, now I've given them an out on a silver platter. After all, everypony knows that the evil filly turns into an evil mare when it’s time for the final battle, so the heroes don’t have to feel bad about hurting a filly. I didn't want to put them in real danger, but you just had to ruin my playacting, Applejack. This is all your fault. +++ (Rarity Belle) We all unconsciously moved into formation, the princesses, er, elder princesses flanking us. Spiky-Wikey stayed with Trixie. As lovely as it would have been to keep him close, Trixie was a distance fighter, which put them both in less danger. The Crusaders surrounded Silver Spoon protectively. My precious Sweetie Belle looked ill. - (Insert By Sweetie Belle) If not for Chryssy teaching me how to control black magic, I think I'd have sprouted black wings just now. The Song That Doesn’t End is right on the tip of my tongue, and Diamond Tiara is a screeching off-key note that has no place in it, not now or ever! All I have to do is Let It Go, and… Wait, can I even fall into Nightmare when Diamond has all the evil spirits bottled up inside her? I don’t want to find out! Besides, big sister has enough to worry about. And I think it would've given... Nightmare Nhilis what she wanted. Big sister couldn't look at me as I backed up to join my friends. I… I could never do that to Rarity. I don't think she could let go of me. - Fluttershy was always dainty, but I'd be blind not to see the weight of exhaustion on her, as though she carried the weight of the world on her lovely new horn. She works herself to the bone caring for her animals, just as I do creating my dresses. Pinkie Diane is keeping up her happy face, but I notice the way she squints her eyes, trying not to cry. I can relate. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stay focused and determined, but while Applejack looks stern, Rainbow Dash looks sickened at what's about to happen. We wouldn't be ponies if we weren't. Spike's pupils are narrowed, his legs shaking. He's never fought a Nightmare before, never felt that sheer aura of wrongness about them that sets your fur on end. He should be proud of not giving into instinct and running. Trixie is a better actress than most give her credit for, but she can hide her own exhaustion behind that bravado facade only so far. The Princesses... I can't read their poker faces. The nobles of Canterlot are infants by comparison. They stand as embodiments of the power of sun and moon, two towers ready to protect all within them. And of course, Twilight Sparkle. What more is there to say? I can see her still hoping against impossible hope that we can simply end this without more violence. Her belief that everypony here can walk away in one piece, her protectiveness of us, that mind of hers is running at full speed even now in the face of such a dreadful degree of danger. Facing evil, fighting monsters, protecting Equestria from doom... I pray to Celestia I never get used to this. I pray to Celestia I never become accustomed to this. I pray to Celestia that I never come to see this as routine, because that is when I shall know I have lost something I can never get back again. I've never seen poor Silver Spoon more shaken than she is now. Scootaloo is like an orange guardian angel above her. Little Sweetie is trying to not look as sick as she must be feeling. Apple Bloom stands up to her bully, like she always does. I look at the dark inversion of the mare I actually hope to see Diamond Tiara become. 'This is a shortcut to being taken seriously,' I thought. 'There are few things as unpredictable as a hurt foal who wants to be taken seriously.' Like a foal holding one of Mage Meadowbrook's creations. On her shoulder, Discord's spirit was trying not to make eye-contact with anypony. "This is all your fault, Apple Bloom,” said Diamond Tiara... Nightmare Nhilis. “You just had to force it this far, you couldn't just let it go." Applejack shouted, "Yer the one not lettin' stuff go!" - Nightmare Nhilis I endangered all of Equestria to undo what I'd done to my mother, what I turned her into. She didn't deserve to have a daughter like me. I belonged with monsters. Then I saw the puppet strings, and with emotionless logic thought if the world was made ugly enough, it would drive away the puppeteers. Even if the chain to the Heart World was gone in name, we were still feeling the ripples from it. I thought I could wait for them to just go away. Then I selfishly decided I didn't want to be alone. Ponies wanted to be my friends, but I wasn't a pony, I was a Nightmare. Then I tried to sacrifice the Princesses to break us free. And thanks to one bow-wearing bumpkin and her sidekicks, it all failed, it was all ruined. It was all for nothing. I was all for nothing. Everything was meaningless. There was no point. These ponies, they're all blind. But that blindness is what makes this Equestria, isn't it? Too blind to see that maybe the end of everything is kinder than continuing at any cost. Too caught up in the lie that life is always worth living. I'll dive into the maelstrom. No more pretenses. This is the only path to freedom I have: obliteration. (Fearful's Question: W-What are you going to do to them?) The brow beatings, the broken bones... the icy prickle of stone consuming my flesh, not once but twice... the lantern's light eating at my existence, the smug look on the face of my nemesis... the sheer humiliation! I want them to suffer. Heroes can find a middle ground with moral traps... but humiliation, they'll obliterate everything in their path to pay it back. Then they'll finally do what they should have done at the start. "It's funny, if I can feel afraid, that means I can fear that none of you will throw the first punch." I took aim at Fix-It-Flank's Big Sister and fired directly at her heart. They could talk a lot of nonsense about 'the truth of hope' but that wouldn’t stop the pain. But their Pink Fortune Teller snagged her cousin with party streamers and yanked her out of the way. My beam hit a flower behind them instead, causing it to crumble to ash. I never saw the princesses move so fast. They flew across each other in front of the rest of my incompetent cry-baby executioners. Trailing behind Luna was a wall of starry shadows, and forming behind Celestia was a wall of flames so precise that they didn't set fire to the grass around them. = Naruto Ninja Storm 2 - Boss Theme 'Susanoo' = "Barriers can't block my magic." "Tis not to protect them from ye." Oh right, their plan to force Discord out of me by pushing me to my limits. The ponies and the dragon are all shouting things that don't matter. "Be careful not to hurt her too bad!" "We believe in you!" "Show her what you're made of!" "Please let us help!" Pointless bleating. Father whispers, "Don't worry, dear. They couldn’t hurt you if they tried." I resist rolling my eyes at the obvious lie. "Finally going to take this seriously?" I asked. "I've taken every moment of this seriously," Celestia told me. Her magic grew, taking on the shape of an armed and armored ancient centaur warrior. What was his name? Oh right, Orion, the first centaur to slay a dragon, using brains instead of brute force. Princess Luna's magic aura grew until it took the shape of an eight headed hydra. Orochi, the most powerful Hydra who ever lived, and another of Tiamat's bastard spawn. Even Mist Mane feared him when he was alive. The aura forms were both taller than me. - Twilight Sparkle’s Interjection I tried to figure out how the glowing shapes beyond the barriers were magically put together, but the more I studied them, the fuzzier my thoughts grew. - Yes, of course the brilliant Trixie tried to Spell Copy it, but she only got a headache for her trouble! Trixie wonders if that was pony magic at all, or something else entirely! - I felt the intense heat from one, and the biting cold of the other. I can't understand how this particular magic works at all. Is it incompatible with my Nightmare power? I won’t be able to counterspell it. Dammit! Fighting one of these one-on-one would have been dangerous for any Nightmare. Fighting both at once would've been suicidal before. Why did they have to wait til now?! (Fearful's question: Maybe because they know you can take it now?) I didn't ask for your opinion! The Princesses struck together, hitting me with the combined might of both these spell-forms. I didn't even try to dodge. With a sound like a hundred dragons roaring all at once, the ground around me became a flash-frozen inferno. A trail of destruction stretched behind me. Discord's spirit was blown away, then snapped back to me like a rubber band. "Ow!" He twitched. "Hey, I felt pain and you didn't." I know. Too bad. Me? I wasn't harmed. Their combined magic just washed over me. What a bucking waste! If Celestia and Luna were shocked at seeing me shrug off their trump cards, their expressions didn't show it at all. "You should have done that before I absorbed the spirits of Dark Magic. They know your magic inside and out... Nightmare Moon, Star-Catcher. As long as they’re part of me, they’ll defend me whether they like it or not. You should have killed me while I was a filly!" "Tis always foals who try to appear the most adult," said Luna matter-of-factly. “Some things never change.” I remember when Silvey and I used to play 'Princess Celestia vs Nightmare Moon' Of course, I'd play Nightmare Moon sometimes, because bad guys are cooler, but I'd always be the Super Powerful Queen of Nightmares or some junk. (Vanity's question: Heh, what’s wrong with that?) It's boring. "Come on, show some shock and awe. I just no-selled your fancy new toys. Call me a cheater, get angry!" "Cheating? Pray tell, to what rules have we agreed? I recall none!" "Well, that’s a load of-" I didn't see Luna's punch coming. She dismissed Orochi, and in the space of a single flap of her wings, her horseshoe made my chanfron ring in my ears, sending me plowing backwards through the bare scorched earth. Luna massaged her hooves. "If magic is not the answer, then we shall pummel ye into repentance!" She followed up with a punch directly above my head, sending me into the ground so hard I made a hole shaped like my body. I spat out a mouthful of dirt. "Ah, ah, ah! Remember who's below us?" Luna snorted. "We'll simply have to spank ye into orbit, then!" I flew out of the pit to see Celestia taking aim with Orion's spear again. "Have you forgotten, Star-Catcher? That applies to you too-" Celestia did a forward flip and caught me by the neck with her rear hooves, pirouetted with her front hooves, and slammed me into the ground again. That’s when two ear-fulls of the Royal Canterlot Voice deafened and sent me reeling. How!? I'm immune to their magic! Father blew soap bubbles on a miniature pipe. Even at a time like this, he couldn’t resist a few of his usual ludicrous antics. 'Well my Princess, the R.C.V. is magically enhanced, but once unleashed it’s only sound, after all.' Wait a minute! Is that a horn seal Luna's holding? When did she get that?! Would that work on my magic? I don't know! "I WON'T BE TRIVIALIZED AGAIN!" = Megalovania - Undertale = I brought my horn to a full charge as quick as I could and split the beam in two when I fired, hitting both princesses and shoving them away from me! They struggled against the beams as warps and cracks began to appear in their royal barding. Applejack and adult Fluttercruel came at me left and right, I raised my wings to block both their melee strikes. Rainbow Dash came at me from above and I caught her in my telekinesis, but I forgot Pegasi had a counter for that and she slammed into my back. I hissed through clenched teeth. The princesses dropped their barriers and teleported away to regroup. My beams had dug a perfect V-shape into the ground in front of me. Discord shouted, "Fluttercruel, dear, are you okay?!" Fluttercruel hissed, "Just die already!" Discord frowned. "I WAS TRYING MY HARDEST to honor your wishes, dear!!" Ugh, Twilight Sparkle just teleported behind me and back blasted me. Feels like it was her drill spell, she actually managed to dent my barding! That's what I get for being distracted by Father's antics! "Shooting somepony in the back, Twilight? What if the foals imitate such behavior?" "I'll teach them what big brother taught me, that sometimes you need to play fair and be sporting, but this isn't one of those times!"” "If that’s how you want it..." I grabbed her legs with my magic and slammed her into the ground. Her armor saved her bones from being broken. Rarity's chaise longue charged me from behind. I stopped it dead in its tracks with one rear hoof while continuing to slam Twilight, but the recoil hadn't even settled before Trixie teleported in and launched a fireworks spell right at my face from the side… and while I was shielding my face with a wing Spike had teleport-sky-dived onto my chanfron and set my mane on fire! I lost my concentration and bucked and twisted about, before one of Cheerilee’s old fire safety lectures kicked in and I rolled to put the fire out, squashing the dragon into the dirt in the process. "Do you think fixing this mane is easy, little dragon?!" I snapped. Trixie blinked. "You're joking, right? If Trixie can easily regrow a mane, then how hard could it be for you? Clearly, you’ve been taking advice from somepony with stock in the mane care industry." Getting up, Twilight shook out the cobwebs. "But, but... mane magic is nearly impossible! That’s what every gifted unicorn is... taught." We looked at each other, realizing nopony had taught Trixie that. How much stock did mom have in that business again? Whatever! The world has enough conspiracies! +++ "Dolls!" Fifteen dolls of Diamond Tiara the filly materialized into being around Nightmare Nhilis, each with a plastic crown and a heavy mace-scepter gripped in its left forehoof. "Join us, Sweetie! Join our dance! Join us, Sweetie!" They mindlessly repeated and marched outwards in perfect sync, swinging their left forelegs like fan blades. "These are spawned from me, by the way. Destroying them only returns their essence to me, so I can respawn them over and over, but I'm pretty sure they can feel pain so feel free to-" Before Applejack could call her a liar, Scootaloo darted towards Nightmare Nhilis, cutting through the dolls with bursts of speed like short range teleports and leaving only carved-up pieces behind. Then she banked and shot towards the Nightmare, the tips of her wingblades pointed directly at Nhilis' eye! Nightmare Nhilis teleported out of reach, alarmed. "What is wrong with you?!” Scootaloo panted, crouching low to the ground. "What's wrong?” She stood and levelled an accusing hoof at Nhilis. “You keep talking about wanting to be never-heard-from-again, so what's stopping you from doing it yourself?! That's not good enough, is it? You want somepony else's hooves bloodied for you, you want somepony else to carry that weight forever! To have somepony tell you, yes, you deserve to die! Coward!" "Winds of Oblivion," said Nightmare Nhilis shakily, as she swept a wing at Scootaloo, creating a slashing black wind. Scootaloo gasped and ducked under her cloak, but the wind blasting around the invulnerable cloak still swept her away. Dash swooped down and caught Scootaloo in a rainbow blur, saving her from tumbling along the ground and probably breaking something. "You okay, Scoots?!" "I'll will be... Look out!" "I see it!" Rainbow backhoofed a doll in the gut, destroying it. - Rarity Belle Sweetie Belle was sweating at the sight of the dolls. I know she's worked hard this last year to get past what was done to her, but I imagine this is a bit too close to home. As some of the mindless toys marched towards myself and the other foals, I took in a deep breath and said, "Silver, darlings, please advert your eyes." A moment later I telekinetically connected jewels of mine together like a whip chain, and slashed through the dolls. They collapsed to the ground in pieces, apart from their animation and weapons, they were indeed just dolls. Silver Spoon and Sweetie had indeed looked away. Dear Apple Bloom, on the other hoof, had gone on the offensive. I really need to get that filly a duplicate earring. Wearing just one makes her look more gypsy than Zebra-ish, which I don't think is the look she's going for. Sorry, darlings. I fear my thoughts are focusing on irrelevancies, rather than confronting the fact that I’m watching Apple Bloom buck dolls of Diamond Tiara apart, holding back none of her earth pony strength. Having her new mark to tell her exactly how the dolls’ joints are put together probably doesn’t hurt either. "Did that feel goood, Paint Flank?” taunted Nhilis. “Don't tell me it didn't!" Bloom scowled. "Ya think this is still all about yer stupid bullyin'?!" "No, I think this is about me destroying the world." "Sweetie Belle," Silver Spoon whispered. "If you ever find a spell or magic rock that makes ponies remember the bad stuff Diamond did that happened but then didn't happen... don't use it on me." "... I promise I won't." Applejack made no objections. (Insert By The One and Only Trixie: If there is one thing a stage magician knows, it's misdirection, and Trixie can tell these toys aren't meant to wear us down like the last batch of minions. They're to distract us from coordinating.) = Fusion Dragon theme - Golden Sun = Pinkie Pie popped up from out of the range of my vision right in front of Nightmare Nhilis, Party cannon in hoof. “Say cheese!” She fired at point blank range, covering Nhilis' chanfron in soot and pushing her magical mane straight back. Nightmare Nhilis blinked. "The comic relief trickster heroes who DON'T rely on raw power are always the first to go!" Her horn glowed that ghastly white, and mirrors rose on all sides of Pinkie Pie, obscuring her from our view. Then the box shattered, and Pinkie Pie was gone! "What did you do?!" Rainbow Dash demanded. “Where is she?” "I'm honestly not all that sure. Maybe now you'll take this-" "SURPRISE!" A giant yellow metal thing came out of nowhere and fell right on top of Nightmare Nhilis, burying her like the Wicked Witch of the West! Then Pinkie Pie popped out of the hatch of... My word, is that a submarine? I thought they only existed in those undersea adventure novels by Mules Fern! Twilight shouted, "Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?!" "Don't worry, Diamond Tiara's tough, she can take it," said Pinkie Pie, hopping aside and patting the submarine... before a white beam of magic vaporized it from underneath. Pinkie Pie kept on smiling. "See?" Nightmare Nhilis conjured an endless supply of chittering ghostly purple pony skulls that seemed to home in on Pinkie Pie's position. "What are you even fighting for, cotton-candy-brains? This reality has strayed so far from the Heart World that every second it doesn't unravel is a wonder!" With pinpoint accuracy, Pinkie Pie's party cannon blew up skull after skull, even getting in some shots at Nightmare Nhilis, who teleported away and conjured more of the ghastly things. "It hasn't strayed in spirit!" "Spirit?! Take one look at me and try that joke again!" "It's no joke." "Then you're the joke!" Nhilis conjured a pony skull the size of a house with four glowing eyeholes. "We're still getting a happy ending, just you watch!" Pinkie Pie pulled out- egad! Is that the Happy Howitzer?! She swore she had dismantled it! MK 2?! My word! An eruption of confetti and good cheer obliterated the giant skull. = Wrapped in Black (CD version) - Sonic Rush = Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense continued to serve her well as she dodged Nhilis’ attacks before she could even made them. Pinkie switched from launching party cannon shots to making silly faces. This gave Rainbow all the distraction she needed for another attack. Nhilis spotted her in the corner of one eye and grabbed her with her telekinesis again, and this time when Rainbow slipped free, Nhilis fired a beam right through Rainbow's flight path. Rainbow zigzaged around it and double-bucked Nhilis in the sides anyway, staggering her. Twilight took the opening to teleport in and fire at Nhilis’ horn, but the Nightmare intercepted the laser with a beam of her own. Their crossfire grew more and more intense, each of them struggling to overcome the other’s attack. Rainbow shouted, staying clear of the crossfire, "What is with you Discord!? You were supposed to betray her so she turns good, not the other way around!" Discord gave Rainbow a defiant look. "Well, excuse me for not following expectations Rainbow Dash." "You could have at least been trapped in a ruby or something when she turned on you! She turns Super-Evil, she banishes you, we turn her good, neat happy ending. IT'S NOT THAT HARD!" "I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN DAD-DAMMIT!" "What is this, debate club?!" hissed Nhilis. "SILENCE!" A visible shockwave pulsed from Nhilis' horn. I felt my bones rattle and my body ripple as it passed through me. Then all was completely silent. I spoke, and nothing came out. Pinkie Pie blew on a noisemaker, and nothing. Princess Luna drew in a deep breath and unleashed her Royal Canterlot Voice, but I heard nothing. Dear Celestia, had she made us all deaf?! Nhilis smirked as she and Twilight continued to clash, the surprise of the mute spell making Twilight falter. Nhilis increased the brute strength of her attack, sending Twilight back and forcing her to teleport away. Trixie looked horrified as she opened and closed her mouth and nothing came out. Silver cried out, and silence. Fluttercruel mouthed a slew of words that I’m certain Fluttershy never would have let her say aloud. Discord's spirit fired a cannon, and it was as quiet as a picture. Then Pinkie Pie brought out a flashing neon sign saying: 'GIVE YOURSELF ANOTHER CHANCE!' Nhilis let out a silent scream and blasted the sign to pieces in the quietest explosion ever. Princess Luna silently teleported above Nightmare Nhilis, silently shape shifted into a dragon made of the same stuff as an Ursa Minor, and silently fell on Nightmare Nhilis, silently smashing her once again into the ground. It was then I think that Diamond Tiara... Nightmare Nhilis realized that the mute spell was more trouble than it was worth, as the noise of the impact came back in an instant. "THANK GOODNESS, THAT WAS HORRIBLE!" Trixie shouted. "TELL ME ABOUT IT!" Pinkie Pie agreed. "Now Diamond Tiara," Twilight began, the soapbox appearing beneath her. "You must see that we're not going to stop trying to help you. All you're doing is dragging this out. Now, once we've safely removed Discord from you, we can-" A black blob shot out from the dust cloud, landed squarely in Twilight's open mouth, and began to wiggle its way inside! A grayish pink dragon with scale platting along its back and underside appeared beneath the starscape dragon, and the two began to wrestle, tumbling on top of each other. Everypony scrambled out of the way. Celestia teleported to Twilight's side, and Fluttershy and I rushed to join her. Our other friends were scattered by the dueling dragons. Twilight wasn't coughing, that wasn't good at all. The black blob covering her face seemed to be shrinking. The look of alarm and fear in Twilight’s eyes was horrible. Fluttershy's eyes and horn glowed. "It's going down her windpipe!" Twilight, myself, Fluttershy, and Celestia all magically pulled at the black slime, but it stretched like taffy. And Fluttershy and Celestia's magic was like they were trying to grab smoke. "Get Spike to send it away with his flame!" I shouted. "Twilight’s mouth and throat would be horribly burned!" Fluttershy protested. "Better than suffocating!" The more time we argued the less time Twilight had. "Let me absorb the malady!" "I have another idea!" Princess Celestia said, teleporting away and teleporting back with a surprised Apple Bloom besides her. "Such things tend to have resistance to magic, but not alchemy! Apple Bloom! Do you have ANYTHING to help Twilight?!" Even though she was startled, Apple Bloom quickly pieced together what was happening, her eyes taking in every detail. She reached into her bag, combined the contents of several vials with the talent of an artist mixing paints, and poured her brew down Twilight's throat. I never thought I'd be relieved to hear Twilight cough and gasp for air. The foul Nightmare stuff dissolved into nothing even as Twilight spat it out. "T-Thank you, Apple Bloom! You saved my life!" Twilight hugged her. "Indeed, thank you, young Apple Bloom!" Princess Celestia said. "Well, Ah knew some home remedies on clearin' throats, and Zecora taught me hers, so Ah knew how to handle that magic snot!" "Wait, that was..." Twilight looked a little green. I can't say I felt well about it myself. Twilight, Fluttershy and myself all brought up a layer of shield magic as the dragons almost rolled into us! That ended that conversation! All of her dolls, being mindless puppets with no self preservation, looked to have all been crushed beneath the dragons' brawl. With her back against our own shields, Nightmare Nhilis pushed Princess Luna off her. Luna clawed her in the face, and Nhilis grinned and breathed fire at Princess Luna, who shifted back to an Alicorn to dodge the attack. Nhilis landed on her four claws and turned to face us all, shifting back into an adult Nightmare. "If you don't kill me, I'll make you regret that you didn't. You can’t afford to worry about me, little ponies. Worry about how you’re going to save Equestria!" > Diamond Tiara's Pandemonium Performance > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity Belle = I May Fall - RWBY = Nhilis' eyes glowed white. She conjured fourteen crank-machines that reminded me of Dracocord's weapons. I’m sorry I don't have time for details, darlings: they shot giant needles like a typewriter in a hurry! Each one swept at me or one of my friends, leaving a trail of pocked earth behind as the needles vanished after they hit. Sweetie Belle! A needle that would have impaled her struck her enchanted cape and snapped in two! Thank Celestia! We all ran for it, the rain of needles following right behind us! I tried to catch them with my magic, but there was nothing solid to grasp, they felt like bits of raw magical force. As long as we kept moving, none of us would be hit. Nightmare Nhillis just hovered in the center of the ring of floating weapons, looking down at us with contempt. "Trixie doesn't like this game!" "No one cares what Trixie likes," Nhilis said. "Rainbow Dash! Fly in a circle around them!" Twilight shouted. "Got it!" Rainbow did as Twilight instructed, and the needle shooter targeting Rainbow followed her trail, piercing the other machines with its shoots. Nightmare Nhilis teleported out of the way without missing a beat. I didn't hesitate to send a needle of my own into the last one. Nightmare Nhilis dismissed the machines and conjured a small metal ring with three giant swords pointing outwards fused to the base. She spun it with her magic like a buzzsaw. "I'm sure Nurse Red Heart can reattach a leg or two!" It hit the ground running and sliced along, spraying chunks of earth and grass in its wake. It didn't follow any of us, instead it zipped along, bouncing against an invisible perimeter in a blur! Our winged friends took to the air, grabbing any land-bound friends that were nearby! Don't ask where Pinkie Pie found the balloons. She held onto Trixie with her forelegs and Spike with her rear legs. The Princesses grabbed the rest of us in their telekinesis to make up the difference, and Fluttershy carried Apple Bloom. I used my own telekinesis to lift Sweetie Belle. Nightmare Nhilis conjured up some more of her dolls, but these had working sewn-on wings. Not bad for a cloth-and-stitch reconfiguration rush-spell! The dolls were carrying axes bigger than they were! Celestia pulled up a broken branch with her magic, set it on fire, and clubbed the dolls with them; they quickly caught fire! Fluttershy gasped. "But, how? Your magic can't affect hers!" Celestia smiled briefly. "I might have made this with instantaneous magic, but now it’s truly physical fire and blunt force.” Nightmare Nhilis added three more blade rings below us, and started shooting more of the giant white needles directly from her horn. I applaud the agility of our Princesses and Pegasi in dodging her attacks… and I will not question how Pinkie Pie’s balloons were able to dodge as well. "Better take me out before you get too tired, or are you planning to run like a bunch of cowards? The wheels will follow wherever you go!" "Applejack, do you think you could break those things out?!" Twilight asked. "Ya know Ah can!" "Pinkie Pie! Tell Rainbow when to drop Applejack! Everypony else, cover them!" Twilight and I were reduced to glorified equine shields, since our barriers couldn't stop Nhilis' magic, but out armor could. It was a balancing act of keeping us non-fliers safe in the air while guarding our friends. If only I could have flown once more! Pinkie squinted, measuring with an outstretched hoof. "Move just a teensy bit to the right, no left! Back a bit... Okay, AJ, buck as soon as your hooves touch the ground, then land a double side punch with your front hooves right after, and... NOW!" Rainbow dropped her, and Applejack made a perfect four-point landing. In two fluid motions, she broke the first two with one buck, and the other two with a double kick from her armored front hooves. The quadruple shock wave blew them to scrap and shattered Nhilis' telekinetic grip. Before the rest of us without wings were back on the ground again, Rainbow swooped behind Applejack and hurled her at Nhilis. Applejack did a double buck on the Nightfilly's skull without missing a beat, ringing her champron like a gong. Nhilis whinnied and flapped for a moment before teleporting a pony's length away. "That was a good one!" Sweetie Belle cheered, wincing. "Is that still your plan? Knock me out? I'll die before that happens!" "If ya were a normal pony maybe," Applejack said. She wasn't worried as she fell, she trusted Twilight or Rainbow to catch her. Normally, they wouldn’t disappoint, but Nhilis was quicker, catching Applejack in her OWN telekinesis and pulling her close. = Bleach - Soul Resurreccion vs. Aizen = "Are you really Applejack?" spat Nightmare Nhilis. "What's that supposed to mean?" Nhilis glared at her, dragon-eyes burning. "If you really are her, then I'm disappointed. I sense none of the power that defeated Nyarlathotrot.” She shook AJ about in her telekinetic grip. “You became perfect and whole, like I’ll never be able to, and you gave it all away!?” Applejack glared right back at her, then sighed. “That power wasn’t mine to keep, sugarcube. Not when Ah haven’t earned it yet. Don’t you see? Trying to hold on to power that yer not ready for just makes a world of hurt, for you and everypony around you!” Nightmare Nhilis screeched in frustration. “What I see is a foolish little pony who’s chosen to step back rather than forward. Now you'll be broken by a stronger being who embraces what she’s become!" Instead of her white needles, she blasted Applejack with a wild torrent of destructive magic that sent her flying. Nhilis teleported behind her and bucked her in the back! "This is the will of the Watchers!" She teleported above Applejack, but so did Twilight. "Hello." She aimed a blast at Nightmare Nhilis’ face, but Nhilis teleport away. Twilight teleported back to us, while Rainbow finally caught Applejack. Apple Bloom rushed over to them. "Sis, are ya alright?!" “Yeah.” Applejack coughed. "Ah'm just a little shaken up!" The Nightmare trotted towards them ominously. "Do you hate me now, Brush Flank? Or do I need to make your sister lose her leg again?" 'Again?' I wondered. ‘Is this something to do with the 'broken world' she keeps mentioning?’ Twilight teleported off to one side and fired the sleep spell from before, but Nhilis blocked it with her wings like a wall. "Do you really think that spell would work on me now?" "Apparently, you do!" said Twilight. "Maybe I just don't want to be woozy." Nhilis summoned the violet pony skulls from before and sicced them on Twilight, who yelped and teleported out of the way. I’d only shifted my eyes away for a moment, but when I glanced back at Nhilis, there Pinkie was, tickling her with a giant feather. Nhilis looked outraged, but she couldn’t stop giggling. She blasted at Pinkie Pie, but missed over and over, always looking everywhere except where Pinkie was. A sphere of black brambles sprouted around Nhilis, spreading like an explosion and forcing Pinkie away! Gaia-Fluttershy's horn glowed, growing green brambles that choked Nhilis’. The green briars sprouted pink flowers that released a yellow pollen. I never got to see what Fluttershy was planning, as Nightmare Nhilis grew into an enormous hydra, trampling both her plants and Fluttershy's. Fluttershy did not look well. The hydra heads began shouting all at once. "I have no reason to exist!” shouted a reptilian head covered in faded pink scales. “This battle, this world, you, NONE OF IT MEANS ANYTHING!!!" Another head snarled, "Nothing exists except empty space, and all of you are but outdated thoughts." "The Heart World has passed us all by!" "None of us here have any reason to continue existing!" "We're our own world," said Pinkie Pie defiantly. She tried to tie the hydra's necks in knots, only for her party ribbons to fall apart. Apparently, Nhilis didn’t need to be in pony form to project her aura of despair. "Pretty words. Heard them before. From self-absorbed creatures with self-absorbed visions." Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense let her dodge the Hydra Head's snapping jaws. "Why so tense?” yelled several heads at once, trying to disorient her. “Why so serious?" "You know I'm not allowed to beat you." "I only exist so you can beat me up and be the hero again." “I’m just another stained glass window they’ll put up in the palace for you!” Pinkie Pie dangled from one of Nhilis’ ear fins. "Everypony is the hero of their own story, Diamond Tiara! Make yours a happy ending!" Fluttercruel snapped, taking control of Fluttershy's body so she could launch herself into the air and pummel one of the hydra heads. "There's no such thing as happy endings!" Another hydra head lunged at Fluttercruel, who flew out of the way at the last moment, causing Nhilis to bite another of her own heads. "AGH!" "Is that so?” yelled Fluttercruel. “Or are you just too scared of failing to try?" "ASK PINKIE PIE! Why else are your interviews of when Discord broke you still the favorite OUT OF ALL YOUR INTERVIEWS SINCE THEN?! Uncle Nythy was right! Creatures LOVE hurt and suffering, so long as it’s not happening to them!" Fireworks exploded in the hydra's faces. "Trixie doesn't know what you mean and she doesn't care!" "EXACTLY! NO ONE CARES!" "That isn't what Trixie meant!" Powerful bolts of black magic shot the hydra heads between the eyes in rapid succession. I turned to see Sweetie Belle, her horn still glowing. "You feel alienated, isolated, and hurt. You feel like there's nothing left, but you're not alone!" The hydra changed back into a Nightmare to make herself a smaller target, dodging a party cannon barrage and a tackle from the princesses in mid-transformation. I was relieved that Scootaloo was taking her task of keeping Silver Spoon safe seriously, and not trying to attack Nhilis again. "I'll crush you flat." A blue portal opened at Nhilis’ feet. She stepped into the blue ring, and a giant armored hoof emerged from a orange portal over our heads, falling right on top of Applejack! But instead of being crushed, Applejack caught the giant hoof, and even started to force it back! Pinkie Pie rushed in to help, and together they hurled the giant hoof back through the portal, smacking Nhilis with her own foreleg! "Impossible." Applejack threw a punch of her own through the portal. The orange hoof that came out of the blue portal and jabbed Nhilis’ leg was tiny, but it still made the Nightmare wince in pain, even knocking her back from the force of the impact. Thankfully, Applejack pulled her hoof back before the portal closed! = 'Ruby Delusions' - Sonic Mania = I'd never seen a pony teleport so much, Nhilis flapped her wings and soared. Her black wind cut through the clouds above us... "She's got a view of all of Ponyville!" Rainbow Dash shouted. A giant crackling red ball of magic grew above Nhilis' horn. "DIAMOND!” shouted Silver, looking up helplessly. “MOM! DAD! NO!" Nhilis hovered, fixing her with a look. "Don't worry, Silvey. Don't you know only unimportant ponies die?" The worst part was how casually she said it. She fired the blast. +++ DO NOT FEAR! THE ONE AND ONLY TRIXIE SHALL SAVE THE DAY! Just because the One and Only Trixie was already tired from using her mother's destruction magic to destroy her evil replica, and used up the rest fighting two aspects of a god, and was now running on what little mana Rarity could spare, that does not mean Trixie cannot do this!!! And just because Trixie is feeling a little woozy and can't quite remember what spells she'd actually copied or not, doesn't mean she can't use Captain Shining Armor's shield spell assuming she did, in fact, copy it! Oh thank Celestia, Twilight thought ahead of me! No! Our shields aren’t holding the blast back! Twilight! I get the feeling this battle is far far from over, and yet we're already exhausted! If... if this is a destruction spell... and something that big and ugly... no telling how much damage it could do to Ponyville... destruction... that's it... Trixie just needs to do a counter-spell! FEAST YOUR EYES ON A FEAT LIKE NO OTHER, TRIXIE’S GREATEST TRICK YET! The spell begins to take shape. A spark of darkness ignites, floating over Trixie’s horn, and grows into a seething dark sphere. Trixie's vision is blurred, her mouth is parched, it feels like her horn has been thrust into a pile of hot coals, but she is not done yet! The spell needs more power, much more! All these dancing lights in front of her eyes are cheering her on! TRIXIE IS SAVING PONYVILLE! TRIXIE IS SAVING PONYVILLE! Trixie is so happy, she feels like her brain is melting! But Trixie... Trixie does it! Trixie screams hoarsely, and her spell flies free, overtaking the Nightmare's big red ball of destruction magic… and cancelling it out completely! Mom, I used your magic to protect others. Isn't it great? Trixie giggles... I feel like I'm walking on air. Trixie crosses her eyes. Trixie's horn is sizzling. Trixie knew her magic was hot. Owie. "Trixie, your horn!" Trixie hears Twilight say. Hehe. I look up at the Nightmare. "The spare always sacrifices herself heroically at the final battle." Nhilis ignites her horn, ready to cast the same spell again. “All for nothing.” "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!" Did Rainbow Dash have to shout so loud? Trixie's ears were already ringing. And Spike is so heavy… what’s he been eating? "This is not! Some stupid! Play!" Trixie gets to see Rainbow Dashie vibrate her hoof at Sonic Rainboom speed, it's so pretty. She punched Nightmare Nhilis, knocking her flat with a prismatic shockwave. I think Rainbow herself isn't sure how she did that. I guess that magic armor is keeping Rainbow from feeling that in the morning. Wish I had magic armor. "THIS IS OUR LIVES! I DON'T BUCKING CARE WHAT YOU BUCKING SAY HAS TO HAPPEN OR DOESN'T! JUST GIVE THE BUCK UP SO WE CAN GO BACK TO OUR BUCKING LIVES!" The Nightmare coughed up bile. "Finally got you mad... took long enough." "Twilight!" stammered Princess Fluttershy. "PLEASE tell me that you can calculate that attack would have missed and just hit a harmless empty field in Everfree or something!" Twilight said nothing. Trixie lifted a hoof shakily. "Uh, Rainbow Dash... Trixie is the one who spoke about theater conventions." The ground is having trouble staying put, but Twilight Sparkle is there. How nice of Twilight to always support Trixie. "Oh, right. Well, she did try to blow up Ponyville," Rainbow said awkwardly. The Nightmare spoke, "And yet it didn't blow up. Because it wouldn't. Trixie is a 'friend' now, so you can't browbeat her for saying something that upsets you. That's what I'm for." Rarity I had no idea what to say, nor what to think. It had happened so fast. It was so unreal. Ponyville almost destroyed in an instant? I felt faint. I had trouble wrapping my mind around it, like this was all some horrible nightmare! ... (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): Rarity was shaken into silence when she realized what she'd thought.) +++ Scootaloo shouted, "Diamond Tiara! Have you gone crazy?!" "Yes." Princess Luna stamped a hoof. "Mad foal! Doth somepony need to perish before ye will stop?" "Yes," she said emptily. “Plenty of someponies.” "RARITY, GET AWAY!" shouted Discord, sounding uncharacteristically afraid. A pair of gem encrusted scissors big enough to snip a pony in two materialized and shot straight at Rarity like a spear. Sweetie Belle fired a bolt of black magic, knocking them to the ground. Rarity didn’t budge. The Nightmare narrowed her eyes, and created an identical pair of giant scissors. “Young mare, that is entirely uncalled for!” Discord darted in front of Nhilis' face, waving his arms and wagging his tongue at her. Then Discord remembered he was a spirit, and pouted. “How am I meant to be Chaos when ponies can see right through me?” A second Discord played a rimshot on a tiny drum set. Nhilis ignored him and fired the second pair of scissors at Rarity. Again, Rarity didn't budge, but Spike leapt off Trixie's back and spat green teleportation fire at the scissors, making them reappear in the air and stab the ground next to Twilight with a TWANG! Twilight yelped! Nhilis just created a third pair and fired that one too. This time it was Silver Spoon who used herself as a shield for Rarity, with Scootaloo guiding her hoof, and Apple Bloom using her cape to cover them both just in case. Silver barely managed to hit the scissors with Diamond Tiara's crown, still gripped in her hoof, shattering the scissors upon contact. "I don't feel any guilt for doing this, Rarity. Ask the Pony 'Instant Win The Argument Button' if I'm lying." She made a fourth pair. "Rarity, don't just stand there!" Sweetie Belle cried. "Twilight saved Trixie, and I'll save you too, Diamond Tiara!" Pinkie Pie swung a big wooden mallet, but Rarity's telekinesis pushed Pinkie Pie away! The fourth pair of scissors went through Rarity’s harmony armor, not deep, but just enough to draw blood. They had gotten into her left hip. "RARITY, HAVE YA LOST YER MIND?!" AJ snapped. "Exactly what I was thinking," said Nightmare Nhilis. "Diamond Tiara... it's alright already... I forgive you... You were scared, desperate, and you thought you were alone. You can stop carrying that weight." The blades slipped out of Rarity's wound... Her Element pulsed, the wound closed, and the damage to her armor was mended. "Forgiveness heals." "Do you have ANY idea how CHEAP the words 'I forgive' are?" "And yet, so difficult to offer sincerely." The Nightmare dropped to the ground. "I'm the last of the corruption. You want your happy ending? Destroy me." She rose up vertically, curled her wings close to herself, then snapped them out. "Void Winds!" A sphere of her black winds went off in all directions! The Cutie Mark Crusaders were protected by their cloaks, while the crown in Silver Spoon's hoof seemed to slice right through the wind. The Harmony Armor shielded the bearers, or automatically undid the effect, it was hard to tell. But this left the Royal Sisters, Trixie, and Spike all vulnerable. “Why did I even come here?” groaned Spike, draped over Trixie’s back like a wet blanket. “I was an awesome grown-up dragon for like five minutes, and now I’m useless again.” Trixie sat down, sighing. “Great and Powerful? More like Pathetic and Powerless. Ugh, I remember this feeling. I didn’t like it the first several times either.” Of course, even Spike and Trixie knew that this sudden feeling of being down in the dumps was Nhilis’ magic and not real at all, but sadly knowing a feeling was artificial didn’t make it go away. Celestia blinked. "Luna, no! Not the black eyeliner! Shouldn't you be able to handle this curse better?" "It's jealousy, envy, pettiness, spite, rage, and sorrow that I have dealt with before, sister." Luna sighed. "Give me a minute to write some poetry." "I, on the other hoof... dealt with this emotion for centuries while you were gone. After I lost him. Smiling. Sipping tea. Leaving more and more of my failures hidden away for somepony else to fix, someday." Celestia teleported on top of Nhilis and began double-jackhammering Nhilis in the barrel. Then Celestia applied weight to pin Nhilis until the Nightmare teleported away again. "And I still endure," Celestia said defiantly. Twilight teleported over to Celestia, touching her horn to the princess’. “Please, please don’t be so hard on yourself! Remember all the good you’ve done too!” Twilight cast the memory spell, then popped over to the others in rapid succession, applying the memory spell to each like clockwork. Trixie blinked rapidly, snapping out of it. "Trixie REALLY hates feeling that way!" "Blech!" said Spike, shaking his head. "Remind me to read a stack of Power Pony comics when we get home!" The Princesses were restored just as quickly, giving each other a firm, sisterly hug. "Don't use that attack again, Diamond!" Silver Spoon snarled. "Or what? That was an area-of-effect spell. Shall we see if your armor protects you from a direct contact with my horn? There's no end to my bag of tricks now! You can't win." "Liar," Applejack and Sweetie Belle chorused. The Nightmare rolled her eyes. "Twilight," Trixie whispered. "I couldn't copy that spell." "I can't sense her magic either, Trixie, remember?" "It's more than that... even with mom's destruction magic, I feel something. Depression isn't feeling sad, Twilight. It's feeling empty." "The Element of Hope would come in handy for you about now," Nhilis interrupted. Twilight blinked. "The WHAT?!" "I would have had to make a suit of Hope-proof armor first," said the Nightmare, teleporting behind them and slamming their heads together. "Thank you, by the way. I think I understand my own magic a bit better now." Then Spike came running and lit her on fire again. (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk) To Celestia): Shouldn't you have been immune? You've seen Entropy herself, after all.) (Celestia's Notes: I’m loathe to admit it, but I didn’t feel that kind of crushing despair with Her. There's a sense of inevitability in Entropy’s presence, of final peace and rest. Did you know that there’s a whole order of monks in Equestria who strive to spiritually enter the void? I’ve never told them the true nature of what they seek. I doubt they’d thank me.) While fending off Spike, the Nightmare took a whole slew of cream pies to the face, courtesy of Pinkie’s spring-loaded pie launcher. Then Rainbow Dash tackled her and engaged her in hoof-to-hoof combat, every punch leaving sharp rainbow trails in its wake. (Noon's Notes: Incredible, isn't it? At this rate Rainbow will continue to grow as fast as Twilight!) (Dusk Notes: Maybe... but this doesn't feel right.) "Even with that armor you shouldn't be able to pull this off... who's helping you, Rainbow Dash?" The Nightmare darted back as Rainbow continued to attack her relentlessly. "Only myself!" "... So it seems. I thought you weren't going to beat up a little girl." "THIS IS CALLED A SPANKING!" "Well, is this as hard as you can hit? Seriously? Are you sure you're Wonderbolt material? Don't you want to make me feel punished? I think you’ll look better in Rarity's frilly dresses than a Wonderbolt uniform!" Rainbow Dash attacked harder. (Interviewer's Notes: (Prism Rush): Rainbow! Calm down, she's baiting you!) 'What's wrong with that?! Remember Luna's entire plan is for us to beat Discord out of her!' (Interviewer's Notes: (Prism Rush): So why is she going along with it?!) '... Maybe she wants to lose?' (Interviewer's Notes: (Prism Rush): Dear, your definition of winning and hers are very different. She's making you lose control.) "Wasn't Scootaloo more endearing when she couldn't fly? Now imagine how relatable she'll be once I ground her. Forever." Rainbow saw red. (Interviewer's Notes: (Prism Rush): She wants you so angry-) 'That I'll make a mistake?' (Interviewer's Notes: (Prism Rush): So she can turn one of your hard hits into a killing blow! Look at her, Rainbow! She's not even blocking you right now!) Rainbow stopped... The Nightmare didn't take the opportunity to attack, instead she looked surprised, and narrowed her eyes. "You're only making this harder." "Since when has the Dash ever taken the easy road?" "You will." "Not today. The Dash is no thug." 'Thank goodness,' Twilight thought. 'Rainbow was being so intense that none of us could get in close or try any distance moves without risking friendly fire!' Nightmare Nhilis got right in Rainbow’s face. "I thought ‘the Dash’ wanted to be a hero. A mare who can shoulder the burdens that would break…” She glanced significantly at Rarity. “... more sensitive ponies.” Rainbow recoiled. "Whoa, whoa… You already tried messing with her, and it didn’t work! I’m your opponent now, Nhilis!” She lunged, but the Nightmare teleported away, leaving Dash grasping at thin air. "You want to get a hero angry?” echoed the Nightmare’s voice from nowhere and everywhere. “Aim for those she loves." She faded into view right behind the Crusaders, snatched Sweetie Belle up in a bear hug, and teleported again before anypony could react. "SWEETIE!" Her friends and sister cried out. But Apple Bloom's rules said the Nightmare couldn't run, and sure enough Nhilis reappeared with Sweetie a short distance away. A wall of black wind snapped into place around them. Naturally the heroes immediately began whaling on the barrier, doing their hardest to brute force their way through. But Twilight quickly found that teleporting through was impossible. Princess Luna exchanged glances with Celestia. “Thankfully, she is more interested in forcing our hooves than killing us, or I'd have the children and Trixie flee for their lives.” Sweetie Belle shook her head clear and looked up at the adult bully. "Ready to forgive this, Rarity?" The Nightmare smirked. "Diamond Tiara, no!" "Nightmare Nhilis, yes." She turned her attention to Sweetie. "Part of my soul is inside you, and part of yours is in me, thanks to father's games. I'm sure your parts will go back to you when I'm destroyed… but why wait?” She patted Sweetie on the head mockingly. “It’s time I made the rest of me match. Don't worry, I'm sure your big sister can fix you later. Existential induced catatonia isn't so bad, just ask Doctor Hoof Wave." "I wish I'd never taught you that spell," said Discord, but he was ignored. "Hoof Wave got the fast and dirty version. Let's see how Sweetie handles the full incantation." Rarity's heart started thumping like a jackhammer. The other Crusaders were twisting their brains into knots trying to think of a way through. A black square formed underneath Sweetie, so lightless it was like a hole in existence. She looked for a way to escape, but it covered all of the ground within the barrier. "Infinite Black Ocean Of Chaos," chanted Nhilis. Sweetie Belle shuddered, then drew in a deep breath and spoke, "Darkness beyond dusk, light beyond dawn Madness beyond fear, reason beyond reality," "No!" boomed Princess Luna with the Canterlot Voice. "Sweetie Belle, you must not!" Discord clutched his head. "STOP, YOU IDIOTS! Amateurs, with those spells?" "Frozen World of Naught." "By you who both sits upon and are the Throne of Naught," "Make but a single error in the casting of that spell, and Discord's Mother will claim your soul!" Luna continued to shout. But it was like Sweetie Belle's mind had gone into automatic mode, as if completing the incantation before Nightmare Nhilis finished hers had became the only thought in her head. "Call from Sleepless Dream." "With my hate that freezes, my anger that burns, my desire that grasps!" Sweetie's eyes flickered yellow and purple. Diamond Tiara wasn't even listening as the outlines of the black box formed around Sweetie. (Princess Luna's Notes: You must understand! One spell lets loose shades of existence to ravage the victim, the other channels Entropy Herself. If they should clash... nay, tis best not to find out! Even if Sweetie succeeds, the damage to her underdeveloped horn could be irreparable! That's presuming she has enough mana and skill to even cast it properly!) "Endless Subjects of the Unmother's Womb." "I offer myself in this moment as your gateway." Pinkie Diane hoof-shrugged. "Welp, somepony’s definitely going to feel this in the morning, but... desperate times!" Rarity Belle Pinkie Pie grabbed me from behind, and somehow I was… propelled into the space between Sweetie and Diamond without ever touching the barrier. It wasn’t like teleporting with Twilight, oh no, not even remotely! For a moment, I could have sworn that I was both inside AND outside the barrier, as if it was all one continuous space that only happened to physically be in two different... You know what, darlings? It’s a lot harder to say 'It's just Pinkie Pie' when you’re the one 'Pinkie Pie' is happening to! My friends were as shocked as I was, and the Princesses looked positively alarmed! The two fillies didn't react at all. "Lightless Shades: Coil. Entrap. Fill The Whole Ones." "Together we shine the light of destruction equally upon them." "HUG HER!" Pinkie Pie shouted, shoving me towards Sweetie. I didn’t need to be told twice! +++ Clay Sky Dice Discord Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! Even if Rarity got Sweetie Belle to snap out of it, that wouldn’t stop Nhilis! No doubt, under normal circumstances, Pinkie Pie could have snatched Sweetie Belle right from under her nose, but I seriously doubt my princess is about to give her that chance! This spell distorts time and space. Pinkie probably has no idea how unlikely it was that she could get anypony in, much less out. What to do, what to do?! When the Big Marshmallow hugged little Miss Marshmallow Junior… well, Rarity might as well have been hugging a stuffed toy at first. Sweetie's eyes were still Mother's. But I could see Rarity's goodie-goodie vibes of love disrupting Sweetie's spell, soothing away all that pent up anger and hopelessness that the spell needs to work. I knew exactly how this was going to go. Sweetie Belle will blink a few times, her eyes will go back to normal, and pfft, no more spell! She'll hug her sister back, probably cry a little. That’s fillies for you. Twilight will be all, "You’re a genius, Pinkie Pie! How did you know that would work?" And Pinkie will say, "When do hugs not work?!." But in the meantime, my dear is still charging up! What to do, what to... Oh. Of course! "DIAMOND TIARA, I LOVE YOU!" I gave her a ghost hug! My princess just snorted and kept chanting. "Nightmare Nhilis, I love you?" She didn't even look at me. I shake a fist at Pinkie Pie. This, this is when hugs don’t work! Now what am I supposed to do?! (Wind Whistler's Notes: You know what you have to do, Discord. You've already figured it out, you're not unintelligent. You know what should be a sufficient psychological shock to disrupt her focus.) Wind Whistler doesn't talk in riddles! (Wind Whistler's Notes: Nothing that I said was a riddle. As a lover of them, you should know that. What I said would seem vague to an outsider with no context, while you on the other hoof know precisely what I am speaking of. No! I can't! It hurts too much! I can't do it! (Wind Whistler's Notes: Do you prefer to suffer the guilt of another filly's emotional corruption, now that you are sane enough to appreciate it? Or are you so stuck in your hypengyophobia that even THAT is too much responsibility for you to take?) "Caress their light. So they may know their own triteness:" "WHAT I DID TO SHADY WAS NOT GOOD!" Shadow Coffin Nightmare Nhilis looked right at me, her eyes wide and her pupils just pinpricks. "THE HELL?!" "I told Surprise to go farm rocks to keep my best friend out of the crossfire! What I did to my mother was selfish! She kept telling me what I was doing was wrong and I never listened to a word she was saying as I hurt those she cared about! That was a bad thing!" The black wind barrier dissolved, the Black Coffin spell broke apart. My princess was now in a state of shock. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were shining like a pretty light of love to my spirit senses. Why The Pony Hell do I feel lighter? I'm a spirit, I don't have mass right now! Blech! Now Celly is looking at me with happy tears in her eyes! UGH! There goes my entire hope of salvaging my dastardly reputation! Oh well... Such is life. At least I get shocked and bewildered expressions on everypony else's faces out of it. Lulu's jaw is hanging open. Dear Cruelty looks like she's gone cross-eyed. The tomboys look like they've forgotten how to speak, AJ in particular. Hah, I told the truth! Let’s see you call me a liar now! Spike and the foals look like they couldn't be more confused if they'd landed in Wonderland. Trixie is twitching. Oy! Of course, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are smiling, and my dear sweet Twilight Sparkle has a odd calmness about her, an acceptance? Geeze. What is going to take to get that mare to accept her inner crazy and be happy? (Wind Whistler's Notes: She is happy, Discord.) She could be happier! (Wind Whistler's Notes: Please do not ruin the moment with egocentric remarks. Instead Dissy... I wish you to know that I'm proud of you.) Wind Whistler puts a wing on my shoulder... how many eons has it been since she's done that? "No. Father, not you too." Nightmare Nhilis was looking at me like she'd stepped into Invasion of the Pony Snatchers. "You gave up. You surrendered. You let yourself become him. You said you'd never turn into that, Discord. You said you wouldn't let yourself be rewritten by Those Who Make…” She was starting to hyperventilate. “You're dead. You betrayed me. I. Am. Alone!" The last part was spoken with the Royal Canterlot Voice. Oh my. Oh. Dear. "No dearie, that... that isn't so-" "Shut up,” she snapped, cold as ice. “I have nothing to say to you." What was that cracking sound in my chest? "You're not alone, Diamond!” shouted Silver Spoon, trying for the millionth time to reason with the unreasonable. “I've been saying it this whole time!" "... You'll never give up on me, will you, Silvey? Which is why this is the only way I can set you free." She narrowed her eyes at the Bearers. "Those suits of armor you’re wearing... I'm betting they've bonded with you pretty close, meaning they can't just be given to back up Elements. Which means that I only have to take out one of you, and you'll LOSE your precious 'zap the villain into being nice' option. Luckily, I do have spares of those I need!" Twilight struck a confident pose. “I’m afraid you’re sadly misinformed! In past times of crisis, my friends and I were able to use the power of the Elements without even having them physically present. I’m sure that Trixie, Spike, or any of the Crusaders could step in, if they need to!” “Twilight…” Celestia slipped closer, leaning to whisper. “My faithful student, you should not rely on that.” “W- What?” Twilight's nervous grin would've been delicious before. “Princess, what are you saying?” "Twilight, you were standing on a perfect crisscross of leylines when that happened. It's how Nightmare Whisper was able to cover Equestria in her fog! Don’t forget that the Elder Horn was present as well.” "Well... we're standing in a leyline crossroads now too!" Twilight said, actually giddy with worry. She hissed, “Princess, we’re trying to convince Nhilis not to use extreme measures, and this isn’t helping!” Celestia sighed. "There’s more, Twilight. Futtercruel was uniquely well suited to substitute for Fluttershy because she was born of Fluttershy’s soul. The fact all six of you were able to harmonize with each other so quickly was a miracle." "But..." Twilight whispered. "We can use the Elements without Trust being physically present." "And they are usable, but not at the full power they were before." Celestia hesitated. “My student, I’m not saying that another miracle cannot occur, but to make such a miracle your whole strategy...” The other ponies are still stunned by my ... oh, what's that word? (Wind Whistler's Notes: The word you are looking for is repentance.) Yes, that! But there’s no more freebies coming, and now Nhilis knows it too! Oh. I know that expression on little Twilight's face, not as alluring as her crazy face, and a lot more annoying. (Wind Whistler's Notes: To me it would seem the emotion she is displaying is courage.) That's precisely what I mean. (Wind Whistler's Notes: And perhaps hope... but identifying the subtlety of mixed emotions is not my expertise.) Hope is worse! Oh wait! Hope is good now! Hope is a force of chaos! Let’s hear it for hope! Ah, it brings a tear to my eye. Or maybe I’m just sad about the million years it’s going to take me to crazy-glue that Element back together. > 'False Friend'? Or True Friend? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bounteously Exultant Point of View of Four Roof Glove Discord, long may he commiserate ‘Hope is worse!' I pouted. ‘Oh wait! Hope is good now! Hope is a force of chaos! Let's hear it for hope! Ah, it brings a tear to my eye. Or maybe I'm just sad about the million years it's going to take me to crazy-glue that Element back together... What, nothing to say? Shouldn't this be the part where you tell me that hope is illogical?' (Wind Whistler's Notes: On the contrary, to believe such a thing would be a shallow worldview indeed. Hope is believing that the troubles of the present can be resolved in a favorable outcome. Given any mortal creature's limited perception of reality, the multitude of possible futures, and the fact that as long as one is alive, one can still act to bring about positive change... hope is not illogical. Queen Majesty, for one, never lost hope, not even on her darkest day.) Nightmare Nhilis' gaze slowly moved along the ponies that were lined up to oppose her, staring at them one by one. "Eenie, meenie, minie... moe." My poor misguided princess seized Rainbow Dash and teleported her across the field, throwing up another black wind barrier with a swish of her wings. Rainbow's chanfron, criniere, and flanchard were all one highly flexible but interconnected form-fitting piece, so she couldn't just slip out of it. Did it hurt Nhilis? Probably, but I seriously doubt she cared. It certainly did no serious damage. "Pfft, this again?!" Rainbow Dash reared up, her wings and hooves unrestrained by Nhilis' grab. "If you think I'm gonna just stand here while you chant another one of those creepy spells at me... whoa!" With her magic, Nhilis hauled Rainbow Dash close, wings pinned to her sides, and then she lunged with her horn. For a heartstopping moment, it looked like she meant to stab Dash in the eye, but instead she slipped her horn under the headpiece to touch Dash's forehead... +++ Rainbow Dash "You know now that there are other worlds," The voice of Nightmare Nhilis boomed inside my head, so loud that I wanted to fold my ears and clap my hooves over them. "You've seen this, but here's a truth you haven't seen." The rest of the world had turned gray and ghostly. Beneath Nightmare Nhilis' barding, things pushing out from underneath her skin, ew, gross! My friends looked like ghosts, moving their mouths but sounding far away, and the creepy shapes flying around looked solid and real. Even DISCORD looked solid! Wait, over there... Is that another Apple Bloom, solid looking, putting up a 'Battle Does Not Go Beyond This Point' sign? UGH! Ignore it! "I don't care what kind of crazy haunted hayride you've cooked up," I shouted. "I'm not making you never-heard-from-again! I'll have enough to apologize to your parents! I'll stop whatever you've got planned, and then I'll stop you!" Nhilis lit her horn again, and gravity decided to work overtime. My whole body, magic armor and all, suddenly felt ten times heavier! Even the ground around me began to sink into a bowl shape. I'm pretty sure this wasn't gonna give me super strength like in Dragon Egg Z, though. Oh my gosh, Pinkie Pie! Yes, she got into the barrier to help me like she did for Sweetie! But... she can't seem to notice me or Nhilis! She pulled out a compass and a dowsing rod, but they're just spinning in circles! Nhilis moved to block my view of her. "There are many different Equestrias, just like in your favorite comics where the heroes go to alternate worlds, but only one of them, the Heart World, is the true Equestria. The others are just cheap knockoffs. And the Heart World isn't this one." She grabbed my chin with her hoof, forcing me to look at her. "That's right, blue streak. This Equestria: FAKE!" A shockwave of stronger gravity hit me. "You, me? FAKE. Your friends and everypony you know? FAKE!" Again! "That happy little foster family life you have with Scootaloo? FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! FAKE!" UGH, it hurts! Too heavy! Can't move! "None of it is real! IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO EXIST! We're all a bucking mistake! An over extension of a misinterpretation of a miscommunication! So just GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE and chew on that nastiness for a while!" I... I wonder if my armor is supporting my bones right now... If she squeezes much harder, I won't even be able to breathe. And... what she says... it echoes in my head over and over and over. I try to just throw it off, but it won't stop. Since when the buck do I care about this metaphysical egghead talk? Then I see images flashing in my head. Like those... those nightmares I was having before... The ones were I was a traitor working for Discord, and fighting a grown up Scootaloo. Did Nhilis... Did she put those pictures in my head too? (Prism Rush's Notes: No, Rainbow... it wasn't her.) These are worse. They're not awful or scary... What makes them worse is how normal they all are! My friends being my friends, me being me. Just living our lives and fixing up our weekly problems in half an hour. I even see myself as a Wonderbolt. Heh, I always knew I'd make it. But... Me and Scoots... we're not together. She looks up to me... she believes in me... We hang out together, but we're not family. We're not under the same roof. Scootaloo doesn't come to me when she has a nightmare. I don't get her notes from school. I don't have to deal with all the parental headaches and troubles of looking after a filly. And Scootaloo has loving ponies who look after her in this version of Equestria, even if they aren't her parents. And she can't fly. Scootaloo never had to save a brainwashed Sweetie Belle from Queen Leech. She and her friends stayed safe out of the crossfire, and Chrysalis got kicked out of Canterlot in an afternoon... living to cause grief for Equestria another day. Scootaloo and her friends get to just be fillies, never getting caught up in us having to save the world and... I'm a jerk, blowing up the Weather Factory's winter wing just so I don't have to not see Tank for three months. Am I really that alone? +++ Rainbow Dash's eyes were as wide and round as dinner plates, tears running freely. Her head, wings and tail were all touching the ground. "None of this, none of us were ever meant to happen," finished Nightmare Nhilis coldly. Rainbow Dash's Element of Loyalty began to shine brightly, and the ruby glow spread along the lines engraved in her barding. She rose, almost like she was wearing an exoskeleton to move a crippled body, each high-gravity hoofstep making another small crater. Rainbow raised her face to the Nightmare, defiant, even streaked with tears. "Ugh." Nightmare Nhilis rolled her eyes. "Do I have to spell it out more clearly? You're loyal to fakes. You love is fake. You're fighting for a fake. Your feelings are fake. The Element you wear means nothing. It's all a pretty lie! Are you that blind? Or are you being fed more pep-talks by the meddlers?" Rainbow Dash breathed in and out shakily, haunted yet determined. "No. It's just me." "Fine. Go on, let's have the trite 'No you're wrong!' punch." "... It's true, I'm not the Heart World's Rainbow Dash... and I have NO regrets! She didn't get to know Scoots like I have, but we're still the same pony where it counts. Here, there, Equestria is still a place you can trust griffons, zebras, ponies, donkeys, and the rest to be treated as equals. Where you can count on the Royal Guards to be decent creatures who don't exploit people for 'protection money.' Where my friends have problems, but we aren't psychos. I'm THIS Rainbow Dash, this is MY Equestria, MY friends, MY WORLD, MY FAMILY! And I wouldn't have it any other way!!!!" (Prism Rush's Notes: Fake, is she? She's real enough to avoid repeating my mistakes, you pint-sized Nightmare Eclipse.) (Nightmare Nhilis' Notes: 'What the Hell? Who are you?!') "Dashie, there you are!" And that was when Nightmare Nhilis realized she'd let go of Rainbow Dash. = Intertwined - Wonderful 101 = The sound of noise makers and exploding confetti filled the air as Nhilis took a hit square in the face from Pinkie's party cannon. Rainbow Dash drew on her harmony armor and accelerated impossibly quickly, shoulder-tackling Nhilis right into her own barrier. The barrier exploded into dissolving fragments as they blasted through. While Nhilis was still righting herself in the air, Apple Bloom threw a potion filled with a blue liquid. Nhilis caught it with her telekinesis, but magic-sensitive runes on the bottle glowed and shattered the glass, releasing a blue cloud. Nhilis inhaled it before she could think to hold her breath, and suddenly began violently sneezing out diamonds, her muzzle covered in blue polka-dots. Apple Bloom had a little voice in the back of her head, one of the left over memories of when she rewrote the world, warning her that poison joke WOULDN'T work on Discord or his pieces, but a Nightmare was fair game! Apple Bloom would have thrown together a potion of Ponyville General's best antidepressants and Pinkie Pie's laughing gas to break through Nightmare Nhilis' despair, but she had a feeling that magically enforced depression wouldn't be cured so easily. Even if it had worked, it wouldn't have been its end. With no help from Discord, Nightmare frantically began purging the curse from her body, but Applejack took the opportunity to lasso her, using the force of Rainbow's throw to spin her around and toss her again... right at Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Nhilis readied herself for another black magic attack, but instead the sisters both let out a vocal performance as undeniable and beautiful as King Leo's oceans, and for the first time, Nhilis felt herself disrupted! She crashed into a wall of soapboxes, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle. Behind it, Trixie conjured a 21-rocket salute of fireworks that Spike lit on fire and launched straight into the Nightmare. Nhilis snapped her wings in front of her like a shield, blocking the fireballs, but not the deafening boom. The Royal Sisters criss-crossed past her, twin wingblade spells forcing her wings open and weaving a gust that pinned her in midair. Princess Gaia glided towards her, mirrors floating in her magic all around her, and every one of them reflecting the Stare. Behind her, Scootaloo was carrying Silver Spoon, who held Diamond Tiara's crown, the jewels within shining with rainbow light of a familiar magic. With Sweetie and Rarity's hymn still echoing in her mind, Nhilis came within a hair's breadth of just letting whatever would happen... happen. The Nightmare narrowed her eyes, her expression suddenly hardening. She forced her eyes closed and lashed out, bucking Princess Gaia right in the forehead. The force of the kick made Princess Gaia feel like her brain was splitting in two... she'd never experienced a strike to the horn before. She flew backwards, bowling over Scootaloo and Silver Spoon, who weren't able to get out of the way in time, and all three skidded across the ground and went down in a tangle of limbs. The magic in the crown faded away. Fortunately, Scootaloo had caught Silver Spoon, and her cape had negated the worst of it. Fluttershy, however... felt all sensation in her horn fade away... and the earth pony muscle mass and connection with all life was silenced along her sense of the mana around her. Those around her saw her horn turn to blue light and dissolve into ghostly butterflies before she even hit the ground, a blue butterfly weakly fluttering away. "... That was it..." Fluttershy got to her hooves shakily. "I'm so sorry, everypony... that was my limit. I couldn't hold it any more." (Princess Luna's Notes: It's no use. Fluttershy's like a foal doing feats meant for grown mares... it's incredible she lasted as long as she did.) +++ The rabid Timber Wolves re-assembled themselves again and again, every time Dame Cheerilee blew them up, but with their brains being eaten by termites, they started coming back together wrong: a head where a paw should be, the legs backwards, a tail on the belly. Finally, Cheerilee smashed their heads and set the poor creatures on fire. The termites cooked along with their hapless hosts. As Cheerilee watched the rabid animals burn to ash, she felt Princess Gaia's presence fade, and with it, her blessing. Cheerilee's wings and armor dissolved into ghostly blue butterflies, who hovered around her just long enough to bear her safely to the ground, before flitting away in every direction. Granny Smith hobbled out of the Apple family home at once to help the exhausted teacher inside. Meanwhile, Zecora and Cupcake had successfully destroyed Nightmare Nhilis' shade. The two had been pushed to their limits when the shade suddenly grew bigger and far more aggressive. It had been a close call, but with tag team tactics and Angel providing distractions, they'd kept the shade from hurting anypony in Ponyville. 'Oh, to have saved our town, for gorgon venom to've put it down, what I wouldn't give. At least we live.' Zecora sighed. If only she'd thought to bring a few petrification grenades, they could have defeated the foul spirit much quicker, perhaps even captured it until a purification ritual could be prepared. They were simple to make, if one did not bungle the handling of the rare gorgon venom and turn oneself into a statue. The zebras considered them perfectly equine, a fine way to capture enemies without killing or poisoning them, since any petrified victim could be restored using phoenix tears with no ill effects, assuming the statue didn't break, or a freak wind didn't send the gas back in your direction. For some reason, ponies thought of them as inherently vile weapons. 'I wish I'd thought to give Apple Bloom a jar or two, but my pony friends would not like that if I am to speak true. Even in hooves as mature as that young filly's, it would not be wise to bestow such a weapon willy-nilly.' Just like Cheerilee, as Gaia's power faded, the blue butterflies brought them safely to the ground before fading away completely. The ponies of Ponyville came out of hiding by ones and twos, and then they cheered and stamped their hooves, galloping out to greet the heroes of the hour. 'I admit, at their cheers I cannot help but grin, considering that as an outcast in this town I did begin.' +++ The ponies, being ponies, rushed to make sure their friend was alright. Nightmare Nhilis cleared the poison joke's curse from her system, forcing it to see that its pranks weren't funny. Discord cringed at this act towards his creation. "What are you waiting for?" The Nightmare stood tall, spreading her wings intimidatingly. "Play your next trump card. I will crush them one by one until only despair remains." "I'm sorry, everypony," Fluttershy said. With the sudden loss of her earth pony strength, her legs were so wobbly that she couldn't even stand. "It's my fault. Everypony did their part except me." Princess Luna put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Do not be so downcast, Princess Gaia, you did as well as could be done. 'Tis possible to make no mistakes and still be thwarted. Some things are simply beyond one's control." "An excuse to make weak, useless ponies feel better about themselves," Nightmare Nhilis said, but nopony bothered to taunt her back. "You just rest, Fluttershy," said Twilight Sparkle. "Fluttercruel, look after her, please?" "Got it." - Twilight Sparkle What none of us wanted to admit was that we could all use a rest. I briefly considered asking Nightmare Nhilis for a time out. After all, if we were too exhausted to fight, we were of no use to her, right? But I knew what her response would be. The more tired we were, the more frustrated we'd get, and more likely we'd be to cross that line and make her never-heard-from-again. In spite of, or perhaps because of our relentless attempts to do this without tragedy, we'd been fighting almost constantly. The copies, the armies, the Detachments, and trying so many different ways to contain or subdue Nightmare Nhilis. And the more desperate the situation got, the more desperate our tactics were going to get, and Nightmare Nhilis knew it. My next idea was for us to just retreat... but I didn't want to think about what Nightmare Nhilis would do to the rest of Equestria if she got impatient. The Princesses stood as our stone wall between us and Nightmare Nhilis, but would they even last, if Nhilis stopped playing around? The Crusaders had regrouped in the rear, and the rest of my friends had formed up on me. I wanted to take in all their faces, all their feelings, every variable and detail to calculate where we all stood, physically and mentally. But I was starting to feel like I'd been awake for three nights straight, around the time that Spike starts seriously considering secretly switching me to decaf. I just couldn't put the pieces together. Not good, not good at all. Nightmare Nhilis began to leisurely trot towards us. +++ A shadow flew past overhead, and a shrill cry echoed off the towers of Canterlot. Just a hawk out hunting, Twilight thought... until the shadow banked and came back around for another pass. A golden brown blur zoomed out of the sky, broad wings pumping hard to pull out of her power dive... and then the griffon made a perfect touchdown in front of the ponies. "Yo," said Gilda. She started towards them, then paused, taking in her surroundings... the magical armor, Nightmare Nhilis, the warzone that the park had become... "Um, did Nightmare Night come early this year?" The ponies watched with mixed emotions. Pinkie Pie gasped. Twilight lifted a hoof, curious. Rarity sniffed and turned away disdainfully. Fluttercruel growled, grinding her teeth. The foals, Spike, and Trixie just looked at each other, shrugging and shaking their heads. "No way..." breathed Rainbow. Then her hopeful expression crashed. "Ugh, now Nhilis is making fakes to pretend to be our friends? Like I haven't seen that one before!" But Applejack looked more amazed than she had when Discord had confessed to doing wrong. "No, Rainbow! You've got it all wrong. Ah swear, that's really her!" = Mumen Rider Theme 'Cyclist of Justice' - One Punch Man = "Hey Dash, I got yer letter," said the griffon nonchalantly, as if the letter had been mailed only yesterday, with a worn smirk that was not unfriendly. 'Gilda. If you're ever willing to accept my other friends instead of ditching them, I know that we can still be friends too. We had plenty of good times and I want to think they meant something to you too like they do me. Waiting for you too. Rainbow Dash.' (Prism Rush's Personal Notes: Gilda... you're awesome.) "Heard you and your pals took care of a little bug infestation," said Gilda smugly. Then she froze with a muffled squawk... she'd just realized that the two particularly tall folks in front were really the rulers of Equestria, and not costumed ponies on stilts. "Uh, hi! Your Pony Majesties! Lovely day we're having! Nice kingdom you got here!" "Well, duh! You don't pull off an impossible stunt without getting noticed! Ponies were talking about me becoming the youngest Wonderbolt in history! ...Then I couldn't do it again. At all. And they began to call it a fluke. An accident, that the rainboom happened on its own, and I just happened to fly inside it. Then suddenly, nopony had time for a one-trick pony." - "Well, Fluttershy is, well, Fluttershy. And all it did for Gilda was earn her a few new enemies and marks on her permanent record after she clawed some ponies who claimed I faked the whole thing." "She always kinda had an edge to her, but she wasn't always a sadistic bully." - "Treasure the Gilda who was your friend, find her again if you can, but protect your other friends from the Gilda that isn't if you must." 'So... This is the false friend that Twilight mentioned in her report,' Princess Celestia thought. And not having ruled Equestria foolishly for the last thousand years, she chose not to bring up the subject in front of the griffon in question. Princess Celestia put on her best 'I am not going to banish you to the moon' smile. Princess Luna meanwhile, kept a stern but unhostile expression. 'I've seen their dreams,' thought Princess Luna. ‘Gilda's and Rainbow Dash's. In some, they reconcile. In others, a friend grovels, begging for forgiveness. Or the argument never happened, or it was an evil clone or changeling imposter. In a surprising number, they blow up a towering shallow 'evil' monster version of their friend to justify their bad blood and their own moral high-ground. Now, we'll see which way reality goes.' Gilda scratched her crest awkwardly, eyeing Nightmare Nhilis warily. "I'm... guessing you're kind of in the middle of something. It's okay, I'll just come back later and..." Nightmare Nhilis cleared her throat. "Yes, if you don't mind..." Pinkie Pie cleared the gap between her and Gilda in a single bounce, throwing a forelimb around the startled griffon. "Aw, you can't leave now, silly! We've only just met again!" Surprisingly, for Pinkie Pie, she was just holding Gilda, rather than squeezing the stuffing out of her like a younger Pinkie would have. Her head pivoted towards Dash like a creepy puppet's. "Dashie! What postage did you send that letter?!" "What? It was first class, I swear!" shouted a flustered Dash. "I made sure Derpy didn't bake it into a muffin or something!" Gilda casually disentangled herself from Pinkie Pie and shoved her back a pace. "Can we not do the hugging thing?" She blinked. "Hey, you, you look ... is something different about you?" "Oh it's nothing, Gildie! I just wear my mane differently to reflect the fusion of my split personalities." "... I have no idea what to say to that, and don't call me Gildie! Now then..." Gilda fixed a piercing glare on Fluttershy, and her feathers ruffled. Every muscle in Gilda's body tensed. "You." ‘Oh dear,' Fluttershy thought. 'Maybe it's a good thing I lost my horn before she showed up.' "Um... H-hello, Gilda... It's been a long time since flight camp, hasn't it?" 'Mom, can I come out and beat her up for making you cry?' 'No!' Fluttershy thought sternly. 'But mom-!' whined Fluttercruel. 'No means no! If ponies can forgive Nightmare Whisper, I can forgive Gilda! I touched Gilda's heart as Nightmare Whisper: I could've been her.' 'Like she could've been a rock salesgriff?' 'This ISN'T nonsense, young mare! She was unsure, unconfident, and shy! Sound familiar? Rainbow stood up for us, to the same bullies After flight camp I found where I belonged, but Gilda faced MORE bullies at home! Can you say I wouldn't've become a meanie too?! There's enough refusing to let go here.' "Uh, hello?" Gilda asked, waving her claws in front of Fluttershy. "You makin' faces at me?" "What? Oh! Of course not!" Fluttershy smiled twitchily, trying to keep her hooves from shaking. "I'm just... thinking! About how nice is it to see you again, Gilda. I mean, who doesn't like to meet up with old camp-mates?!" Applejack quietly face-hoofed. 'Cut the buffalo crap, Flutters,' thought Gilda. 'I don't know what's more embarrassing, you turning me into a chick, or me enjoying it. It's just too bad that, you know... Dash couldn't have been there too, so we could have been kids and had fun together... Yeah, it's too bad, cause I'm never doing that again! Ever. Cause I'd never accept if you offered me. Cause I'm totally chill with how my fledgelinghood was, totally.' "A-hem!! The One and Only Trixie demands an explanation. What the buck is going on here? Who is this griffon, and why is she stealing Trixie's spotlight?" Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle looked relieved that somepony else had asked first. Scootaloo started whispering in their ears, since she'd heard her guardian mention Gilda a few times, while Apple Bloom could have sworn she remembered SOMETHING about a griffon named Gilda, something she'd rewritten, but couldn't for the life of her remember what! It certainly had nothing to do with Gilda showing up here and now! (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Trust me dear, sometimes these things just happen.) Gilda gave Trixie a sidelong glance. "Well, you can tell The One and Only Trixie that the name's Gilda, and I'm Rainbow Dash's best friend. What's it to you?" "-I- am the One and Only Trixie! And I thought Pinkie Pie was Rainbow Dash's best friend." Gilda growled at that last part. "Nuh uh!" said Pinkie Pie quickly. "She's MY best friend, but doesn't mean I'm HER best friend!" +++ Rarity Why weren't any of us telling Gilda to turn around and leave for her own safety and parlay with her at a better time? Well, for one thing darling, seeing Gilda here was almost more surreal than anything Discord had done today. It felt like an age had passed since Rainbow Dash had sent that letter, rather than a year at best. I must confess, I'd forgotten all about it, and I dare say most of the others had as well. It was like Gilda had stepped out of a time portal from a distant era... back when our major concerns were just helping each other recover from trauma rather than having to save the world again. Gilda had been a thug before: was this the Gilda Rainbow Dash was friends with? Well! Just because we were caught up in a battle with a dark magic powered up Nightmare with the mind of an emotionally unstable filly was no reason to be rude! Especially to Rainbow Dash's old friend, looking for a fresh start. Assuming, of course, that we could stop Gilda and Trixie from biting each other's heads off, before ponies exchanged words they'd regret... again! "Well, if yer the One and Only Trixie, why do you talk like she's somebody else? Ya got split personalities or somethin'? And One-and-Only? Seriously? Yer parents named you that?!" "'The One And Only' isn't a name, you philistine, it's a title! All the world's a stage for the Showpony Supreme, the One and Only Trixie Midsummer-Night of Lulamoon!" She posed dramatically, covering half of her face with her fluttering cape. "Pfft! Bet you can't say that three times fast." "At least I can say it without sounding like I swallowed a gravel pit!" "Now, girls! Play nice!" said Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash dropped in from above, nudging Twilight to one side. "Trixie, this is Gilda, my old friend from flight camp. Things went south last time she came to Ponyville, but I decided to give her a second chance! Sound like anypony you know?" She spun to face Gilda next. "Gilda, this is Trixie! She's not your replacement! Twilight's the one who's super-buddy-buddy with her! We're just friends!" "Oh... " Gilda and Trixie said at the same time. They blinked at each other suspiciously, then snorted and turned turned their heads away from each other. (Interviewer's Notes: (Unicorn?): I just know those two will become the best of friends... if they don't kill each other first.) Gilda finally brought her attention to Sweetie and her friends. "So, who're the pipsqueaks, Dash?" She smirked. "Any of ‘em yours?" My sister and her little friends frowned at the 'pipsqueak' comment, but either Gilda was oblivious, or she didn't care. Dash grinned, glancing away. "Kinda no... and yes! This one is Scootaloo. I look after her now! And these two are AJ's sister Apple Bloom and Rarity's sister Sweetie Belle. The other one is Silver Spoon. She's... well, she's a friend we're helping out." Spikey-Wikey, who had been bouncing back and forth, frustrated at not being able to get a word in edgewise, chose this moment to jab a claw towards Gilda and shout, "And you couldn't have shown up at a worse possible time!" Gilda glared right back at him. "Hey lizard breath! I was gonna come right away after reading Dash's letter!" +++ Gilda Which is like, totally true. I was gonna zip straight to Ponyville, right after I opened that letter and read Dash's apology. I would have flown so fast I would've set the friggin' world record! What? Don't say I chickened out! Don't ever say that to a griffon! Even if, well, it's kinda true... Didn't opened Dash's letter until after Daydream-Flutters tried to put Equestria in diapers. Maybe it reminded me of good times with Dash, or it was kinda a 'near never-heard-from-again experience', but I got the courage to read it. Makes me wish I could've stuck around Cloudsdale longer instead of home to Griffonstone. No matter the place, living takes bits. Thankfully, unopened letters aren't worth anything to thieves. "Oh really, now?" the lizard said. "Then what have you been doing all this time?" I struck a cool pose and raked my claws through my crest, but I could tell some of the ponies were getting tired of my squawk. "Oh, you know, just cool adventures and stuff, but you don't want to hear about all that." "On the contrary, good griffon!" said Princess Luna, jumping in out of the blue. She had a strangely forced smile, and she kept glancing at something behind my back. "We simply must know what misadventures befell you, after you opened Dash's fateful missive!" "Seriously?" I scratched the side of my face, leaning a bit to the side. "You sure? Most griffons fly away just when I'm getting to the good part. Guess they can't handle the sheer concentrated awesome!" I cleared my throat and waved my claws dramatically. "So there I was, flying straight back to Ponyville so Dash and I could make up and be besties again. At least, that was the plan! "Ya see, I might have run into some lousy weather and had to make a quick pit stop at this spot in the mountains. Some crazy sphinx was like, ‘Riddle me this, if the ponies moved out of Ponygypt, would it belong to the sphinxes or the griffons?' Trick question, I said... sphinxes had it first, but us griffons had it last before the ponies did. Of course, the sphinx didn't see it that way, so we had to discuss the matter." I grinned, making a fist with my claws. "Griffon style." Yeah, yeah. The implosion of the Old 'Gryphon' Kingdom was so specular it remains the stuff of legends. Bite me! "The local fuzz didn't have much of a sense of humor about us roughing up the place. Typical! I was still trying to explain when I got thrown way off course by this huge migration of super lame-o butterflies. "I got so turned around that I had to stop in another bar for directions, and this crazy griff says he's really Boreas in disguise, and he won't let me leave until he's told me his secret life story. "Next thing I know, I've agreed to talk sense into this griffon chick. Turns out, she was gonna bring that jerk Arimaspi back to life, so he could cure her dad's curse! Pfft, like that was gonna go well." "Boreas?" wondered Scootaloo aloud. "Arima-who now?" "The god of the griffons and the jerk who stole his magic idol thing," said Rainbow Dash, munching popcorn from one of the paper buckets that Pinkie Pie was hoofing out. "Whoa, did I just answer an egghead question before Twilight?" Fluttershy smiled sheepishly. "That was... a really educational summer flight camp." Gilda was still going strong. "... and all of that other stuff was before I flew into this weird magic storm and got thrown into an alternate universe where this old goat ruled the world and the former hero ponies were his slave-minions. That adventure just wouldn't end! I thought I'd never make it back to my Guard unit. What, I didn't mention I was in the Royal Griffonstone Guard? Eh, I'll tell ya that one later. That's a whole other story." No need to tell ‘em I got conscripted because I could cook! "After all that, I was due for some leave time, and I was just about to fly to Ponyville too, when this some crazy hen said she was Astra in disguise. Blah, blah, epic fetch quest, only I could journey to the Theater of the Broken Wall and recover some ancient book written by some gal named Rasa about the rise of the first griffon tribes. I didn't think I could get many bits for it, so I gave it to a Daring Do cosplayer. "Later, my squad buddies and me worked security for a royal wedding in Saddle Arabia. Thought about signing on for another tour of duty, but eh, I never quite fitted in." They never did appreciate my cooking! (Interviewer's Public Notes (Pegasus): Let me guess, the groom was replaced by an evil imposter?) "Hey! How'd you know? We got 'em though. Let me tell you, so many griffs and other creatures got involved in that, I never could keep them all straight! And after that... hey, what's with the looks?" +++ As Gilda blinked, wondering why the ponies were all backing away, a dark shadow rose higher and higher behind her. When the shadow blotted out the sun, Gilda cocked her head, then turned around and peered upwards. "Oh, right... you. What are you supposed to be? Nightmare Moon the Third?" A towering Alicorn made of seething black shadows glared murderously down at her. "I am Nightmare Nhilis!" she roared. "And you will know despair!" The griffon blinked once. "Go buck yourself." The monster's lantern-like eyes shrank to little white points of light. Gilda either didn't notice or didn't care about the hollow aura of 'wrongness' that so greatly disturbed the ponies. Maybe her senses weren't honed enough to notice the inconsistencies. Or maybe she was just that thick. The shadowy dark Alicorn grew even larger, big enough to crush the griffon under one hoof. Gilda just raised an eyebrow. The 'shoulder conscience' sized Discord popped up and quickly got in between them. "You really should hurry and support your friend over there. You know, by her side? Behind the invincible princesses? You wouldn't want to make her look bad, would you?" Gilda caught sight of the transparent miniature draconequus... and made a strangled high-pitched squawk, shaking like a leaf. Discord winced, idly scratching his cheek. "Oops. Excuse me, I forget, how did I crush your soul again? There's been so many. That aside, you should clear some distance before-" The memories flashed through Gilda again. Thoughts composed of only 'Fight or flee?' ‘Food or threat?' A brain that valued a living pony only its next meal, driven only by blind instinct and surrounded by its natural prey. "This is payback you bastard!" Gilda let out an ancient Gryphon Empire war screech and began wildly slashing at Discord, so fast her claws were a blur. Of course, Discord was an immaterial spirit, but Nightmare Nhilis behind him was not. The flesh and blood griffon tore through the shadowy illusion, her claws raking across Nhilis' chamfron. Gilda screeched and flapped her wings, slashing with her hind claws too and pecking savagely with her beak. (Wind Whistler's Notes: Dissy, that was an insensitive, and dare I say, idiotic inquiry.) 'Sorry?' (Wind Whistler's Notes: I am not the one to whom apologies for that transgression should be directed towards!) 'I should have given those two fiends better instructions on their contract to keep trouble out.' = The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time- Ganondorf's Theme = "That's your best? Disappointing." Nightmare Nhilis backhoofed Gilda. The force of earth pony strength knocked her out of the air, but the half-lion landed on all fours, growling. Gilda shook herself out of the berserker frenzy, and was disappointed to see that she hadn't damaged Discord OR Nhilis much. Her claws had cut deep along the chinks in Nhilis' armor, but not deep enough. Nhilis casually healed a tiny cut on her cheek. "I'd hoped that you, not bound by pony hypocrisy, were here to do what had to be done, but you just don't have the stopping power." Gilda jerked a thumb-claw towards herself. "I've stopped plenty!" "If only you'd come armed with your service crossbow or claw extensions. Too bad you just brought yourself." "I came here for Dash, not for you, loser! I don't know you from Griffgamesh, but if yer that Super-freak's pal, then you better watch out!" "Discord's along for the ride, I'm my own master now. If it's any consolation, when I die, I'll drag Discord down with me, and we'll both get everything we deserve." The Nightmare transformed into a grayish pink griffon: bigger, meaner-looking, and burlier than Gilda, covered in dark magic runes. She assumed a menacing pose, spreading her wings and raising her tail. "You have no reason to stay here and fight a battle that you can't possibly win. Go away." Gilda narrowed her eyes. "Rainbow Dash is fighting you... why? What'd you do to her?" "I made her think I was going to chop off Scootaloo's wings. What about it?" "Then I got reasons! That filly is part of Dash's flock!" Gilda leapt at the giant griffon, clawing and snapping at her neck, but Nhilis brute forced her into the ground, tanking Gilda's attacks. "Oh I'm sorry! Didn't you hear? Introducing new characters at the finale is in bad taste!" The giant griffon grabbed Gilda by the head, and with her flailing, slammed her beak first into the ground. "GILDA!" Rainbow cried out. (Prism Rush's Notes: GILDA!) +++ Discord Lamp Frame Switch Celly... Lulu... I can see it in your eyes. All those years we grew up together. Those eons we spent hanging out before. The times we fought after. You think I can't figure it out? You know this beatdown on Gilda is the first real chance your ponies have gotten to rest. The more tired, worn out, and frustrated they get, the more my princess is in control, and the more likely they'll do something they'll regret. You know they need this time to rest. Oh right, we're dealing with ponies who can't stand seeing another creature get beaten to a pulp without it overriding their common sense. Too bad you lost Sunbutt Junior. At least she'd have the guts to sacrifice a pawn, if that's what it took to stay in the game. But you, you just can't do it, can you, Celly? Not you, not Miss 'I love all my ponies and every creature great and small Element of Kindness Celestia.' You don't complain when tabloids write horrible things about you, and some of your micro-brained subjects actually believe that amusing drivel. But these ponies who have gotten to know you? Who have spoken to you face to face? It'd break their little hearts if they saw you being less than perfect. You can't let somepony get hurt for your sake, even if it's the sensible solution. That's why you didn't wait until somepony else had Chrysalis's attention and then blew her head off when she wasn't looking, nor did you blow her to ashes with your full power even if it meant giving some of your subjects a permanent sun tan. Morning Star always said you were truly Your Mother's daughter, just like Strife truly is My Mother's, and he was right. And you, Lulu, Element of Loyalty. You know better than Celly that unless you have an insanely huge advantage, there's no such thing as victory in battle without sacrifice. Even if the winner isn't making the sacrifice. Asking the Element of Loyalty to just stand by and watch her friend get pummeled? You're willing to do it, it's the higher loyalty to the greater good, and you know these ponies will hate you for it. Your sister will be forced to make a show of detesting you for such 'cold heartedness' when you know the alternative is for them to heroically rush to the outcome my princess wants. You'll do it so your sister won't have to. I wish watching you two squirm was fun like it used to be. Instead I'm saddled with feeling sorry for you, and with a nagging voice in my head telling me right from wrong! It's like I've forgotten Teacher Morning Star's creed: 'Never feel sorry for anyone!' "I would not describe my observations as 'nagging,' and you clearly can remember that creed. You are simply no longer emotionally comfortable following it." Shut up, ghost of Wind Whistler! The cavalry is late, as usual. Sadly, that means I'm going to have to step up and seize the moment. Ahem. 'Do pardon me for interrupting, but shouldn't you put a barrier up, dear? You wouldn't want those meddling fillies to rescue their friend before you've had your way with her!'' She didn't even respond. I guess we're not on speaking terms right now. Too bad Goatcord, my inner crazy, was how I did a lot of my large scale chaos magic, and now I've lost him! So how much agency do I have over my own power still? ... Only that much? That's not encouraging. So, it's come to this... Fencing Square Ziggurat Discord must ... repeat a trick! How will I ever forgive myself? Lightning struck, and even my surprise looked surprised. The ponies weren't about to stop for my summon however, so using what I could still do without my beloved insanity, I managed to whistle up a barrier around my princess and our feathery guest star: a simple job of some ever shifting checkerboard patterns layered on top of each other, neatly censoring the violence within. Typical ponies, their first instinct was to crash into the problem head first, but this gave Celly the excuse she needed. "My ponies, stop!" And figuring that my barrier had some hidden peril they couldn't see, Celly's little ponies obeyed their goddess without question. This also saved Eris from getting trampled by the stampede. I managed to stretch out from my princess, pop out the other side, and get back to my typical size, just for show. "You again!" Rainbow Dash growled at Eris. Eris ignored her, busying gawking at herself. "Heeeey, what's with these clothes?!" She tugged at her bright blue vest with white-gloved claws, then yanked on her matching blue boots, but none of it would come off. "What am I, some kind of pixelated rodent?" Then her eyes bulged in horror. "Black shorts with white trim?! THIS IS PURE EVIL!" I massaged my temple, feeling a pan-dimensional headache coming on. "What are you complaining about? The focus group said they look wonderful on you." "I'm a nudist, you jerk, and proud of my nudism! THIS IS OPPRESSION!" The ponies nodded at each other in silent agreement, it was their Celestia-given right to go around naked. Even Rarity had to support that, though she did fume and shake her head a bit. "Have you all forgotten that Gilda is in danger, every moment we delay?!" "That's right!" I declared, hamming it up. "And the only way you're getting through the barrier is to pass Eris' challenge!" "Like blue blazes we are!" AJ snapped. "We're done with your games!" shouted Spike. Twilight sighed heavily. "I'm disappointed in you, Discord. I thought you were done with all this." I whipped out a Griffcord hand-puppet and threw my voice to it. "Ah, but I still have my sadistic side, remember?! BWAAHAHA!" I didn't know what was worse, the disappointed look on Fluttershy's face, or the look of grim confirmation on Fluttercruel's. "If we have to break through, we will!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "I already took out cross-dresser-you all by myself!" The unicorns' horns all lit up. "Ah, ah, ah! You COULD break through it, but you'd not be able to save Gilda ANYWAY because you'd use up too much energy. Like it or not, if you want to get to her you'll simply have to play along." "We'll FIND THE STRENGTH INSIDE! WE ALWAYS DO!" Twilight Sparkle shouted heroically. AJ had a sick look on her face. "Twilight, NO WE WON'T." Twilight looked at Applejack, shocked, as did their friends. The Princesses stayed nice and quiet, playing their parts. "W-What?" "...Discord AIN'T LYING this time. Ah HATE tah say it, but it's the truth. We're on our last legs here, Twi. If we brute force this, we're done." Ugh, I hate those eyes of hers, staring into my soul like this! Alas, they leave me no other way. Heh, manipulation through Honesty herself, at least that's a little change of pace. "B-But the Princesses could..." "Blow the whole garden away? Look, Ah'm the LAST one who wants tah say it... but Discord is tellin' the truth and we're wastin' time arguin' instead of gettin' through this cockamamie jig of his!" Rainbow Dash looked angry and hurt and scared... and I didn't feel the least bit like smiling when I saw it. Thankfully I'm a good actor. "SO WHAT IS THY GAME, DISCORD?!" Lulu demanded, waving her forehoof. A snap of my fingers turned the puppet into a sitar, which I strummed mystically. A rainbow anchored by an animated sun and moon descended, bearing a boombox that joined me in playing peaceful trance techno music. = Medusa Bay (Lonesome Search) - Ecco The Dolphin Sega CD = A plastic balance board and pillow appeared underneath and in front of Eris. Matching items appeared before each of the ponies. "Can you match my moves?" The foals prepared themselves for a game of Prance Prance Revolution. "First, assume the Upavistha Konasana pose." Eris hugged the pillow, laid her head on the side, and split her legs apart. "WHAT DA HAY IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE?!" Applejack exclaimed. "Yoga?" blurted out Rarity. She glanced at her friends and only got bewildered looks in return. "Exercises for relaxing the mind and body, darlings. Some minotaurs on a mountaintop came up with it, and now it's all the rage in Canterlot." "Precisely!" crowed Eris. "There's only one way to decide the ultimate fate of our battle. I challenge you to a peaceful, restful yoga pose-off!" "You gotta be kidding me!" said Pinkie Pie, trying to copy Eris. "I mean, even my spine doesn't bend that way!" "She has you there," I said. "Why don't you show them..." I snapped my fingers, grinning wickedly. "Pony style." Poomf! "I hate you so much right now," snarled Eris the pony. The hurricane cutie mark on her flank gave me the stink eye. "Cease your bellyaching! I took the clothes away, didn't I?" "Fine!" She glared at the ponies, like she was taunting them to a duel to the death. "Match me if you can!" Rarity snorted and perfectly assumed the pony version of the pose that Eris had named. Slowly and begrudgingly, the others followed. ++++ = One Punch Man Emotional Soundtrack re created『ワンパンマン 』BGM Sad theme JACKONTC RE CREATION 10You = Gilda's talons were pinned, but not her paws, and she kicked both of them into the giant griffon's face. Nhilis' head snapped back... and that was all. Gilda's attack had only annoyed her. "Get rid of that barrier. This is pointless if they aren't watching." Discord wrung his claw and paw. "My princess, have you forgotten everything I taught you? The things the audience can't see can often leave the strongest impact." He neglected to mention that he had muffled the sound too. "Hey, lady!" Gilda started ramming her paws repeatedly into the bigger griffon, like she was laying into a punching bag. "I thought... you said... you didn't have a reason for fighting me!" "You would have made Mimic proud," Discord remarked. Nobody listened. "They care," said Nhilis. "That's enough. Not that it means much. I forgot that I could threaten to step on a caterpillar, and they'd rush to stop me." "Like I said, you messed with Dash. Plus, you're THAT THING'S buddy, so that's two reasons I have to pound your stupid face in!" "He is not my buddy." Discord cringed. The Nightmare griffon lunged, snapping with her beak. Gilda darted left and right as best as she could, escaping the giant bite marks left on the ground behind her. "And now yer trying to mess me up, so yer nuts if you think I'm gonna lay here and take it!" "That's it?" the Nightmare asked, in the mild confusion of someone seeing an insect act in an odd way. "You don't care why I'm trying to hurt you, just to trigger your old friend?" "No! I don't give a flying feather about yer reasons! What matters is what yer doing! What do you think I am! A pony?!" Gilda clawed her way through the soft earth and finally broke free, launching herself into the air. The giant griffon followed, but before she could get oriented, Gilda leapt onto her back, scratching and biting. The giant griffon turned into a pinkish gray dragon and whipped around, throwing Gilda off. Then she slammed Gilda with her tail, sending her tumbling away. Nhilis pointed a talon accusingly. "You shouldn't have come here. You've served your purpose. You came to Ponyville just so Rainbow Dash could see what a REAL friend Pinkie Pie is, while you were a false friend." "THAT'S A LIE!!!" Gilda screeched, seeing red. She zig-zagged towards the dragon to get at her unguarded underbelly. "Those who have served their purpose should be disposed of." "I'LL DECIDE WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO!" At near Rainboom speeds, Gilda rammed the dragon's underside, prying at the larger bulkier scales. "Jealous of cutie marks?" the dragon sneered. "AS IF!" "Now who's the liar?" The dragon shrank down back to a Nightmare, who blasted Gilda with her magic, knocking her back. The Nightmare teleported behind her, shifted into a dragon again, and wrapped her claws around Gilda, slowly crushing her. "You're not curious about where 'Nightmare Moon the Third' came from?" "NOT ONE BIT! I've seen some crazy droppings this year! Doesn't change a thing!" Gilda pressed back against the mountain of draconic strength. The drakaina gradually dug her claws into Gilda. "This adventure has no further need of you. Just stop. Go crawl into a corner and pray I don't notice you again." "You know what makes griffons a bunch of losers?" remarked Discord. "They chose to reject their natural born instincts!" "Who asked you?" Gilda savagely bit into the drakaina's left index claw, right where the scales met at the joint, only stopping when she burned her tongue on hot dragon's blood. Nightmare Nhilis involuntarily let go of Gilda and whipped her claw about. "How could you injure me in this form!? Dragons can skinny dip in lava. I don't believe this!" "Believe it or not, it's still there!" Gilda snapped back. The drakaina breathed an inferno at her. The former Junior Speedster managed to get out of the way with only her tail set on fire. Still in the air and with no time to think, Gilda whipped her tail into her talons and smothered the flames, enduring the pain. "You know I'm toying with you, right? I could disintegrate you in a second!" "Then why HAVEN'T you, gluepot?!" Gilda angled her wings and dove along the drakaina's spine, hoping to claw Nhilis' eyes before she could shape shift again. "Because our world's ridiculous rules won't let me!" roared the drakaina with a weird echo. "THEN YOU CAN'T!" Gilda came up to the dragon's face from behind, claws extended and talons ready. "But maybe we can have a nice uplifting story about you becoming a helpless invalid!" Gilda just managed to give Nhillis a poke in the eye, only to get swatted away like a bug before she could do any real damage. Gilda wondered if that broke any bones, or maybe she'd imagined that cracking noise. Gilda hit the ground, bouncing and skidding to a stop. The drakaina shank back down, shifting into an Alicorn as she landed. "I could break your spirit with a touch, but for some reason I'd rather watch you squirm. I guess I'm just a worthless bully after all. It's kind of a relief, actually." Gilda coughed. "Been there already. I got better. What's your excuse?" "I'm an emotionless abomination with a slew of emotional dark spirits inside me." "Sucks to be you!" Gilda threw a talon full of dirt in the Nightmare's eyes and tackled her head on. The ground gave way, skidding beneath Gilda's paws, but the Nightmare herself took the hit without even bracing her hooves. "Silly kitty-birdy. Don't you know the final enemy is always unbeatable, except to the A-list heroes? Harden." The soft garden dirt beneath them turned into a patch of flat stone. At the same moment, Nhilis shape-changed into a towering minotauress, her breasts covered in dull pink fur and her horn nibs a lifeless gray. She grabbed one of Gilda's forelimbs and hefted her into the air. Standing at her full height, Nhilis repeatedly slammed Gilda into the cold hard ground, with all the passion and malice of a working water pump. "Want to start counting off how many of those hollow bones of yours I'm breaking? Sorry, but you just aren't interesting or all that important in the grand scheme of things. Prove me wrong if you can. Villains of the week should dissolve back into the nothingness that spawned them once their job is done. You'll come back into being when the important ponies have need of you again." "Typical... pony... ego," croaked Gilda, with a bloody smirk. Nhilis idly wondered how Gilda could smirk with a beak, then shrugged and continued to slam Gilda like a rug needing a beating. "There is a hierarchy in the world. Be grateful you're above the Royal Guard who steps on a landmine to let the important ponies know they're in danger." "Go... buck... yourself!" "You should thank me!" The minotauress got bored of the sound of griffon against flat rock and threw Gilda across the enclosure, which by Discord logic was as big on the inside as it needed to be. Gilda landed in a heap. "If I decided to break your soul with a word, you'd wind up all emotionally vulnerable. By the time Rainbow Dash finished helping you discover your new, caring, goody-goody self, you'd be a pony with a beak and claws." Nhilis shifted to her pony shape, teleported on top of Gilda, and began stomping her in the back. "Of course, they could just use the Elements and fix you right up, but they always seem to forget about those for broken creatures who aren't main characters!" Gilda wrapped her tail around one of the Nightmare's armored legs, and managed to pull her hoof out from under her. Nhilis instinctively spread her wings out to catch herself, and Gilda took that chance to leap up, grabbing the wing and twisting it. Nhilis simply grabbed Gilda with her telekinesis and smashed her into the barrier Discord had set up. The Nightmare shoulder-slammed her from behind before Gilda could aerokinetically escape. Gilda got her face knocked into the barrier over and over until she felt her beak crack. "You know, I'm going to beat you to a pulp no matter what you do. I'd ask you to just lie down and take it so there'll be less pain, but you and Rainbow Dash would both rather suffer for some stupid abstract idea about 'not giving up' or 'not giving me the satisfaction'-" "Abstract, huh? What do you call that horseapples you're spouting?" "What?" "All your squawking about some creatures being important and others trash, how's that any better? Maybe I never wanted to be a Guard, but when I was? I did stuff that mattered!" So what if most of it had nothing to do with being a Guard? "I'm plenty important!" The Nightmare let go of her, and Gilda slid to the ground. "Everyone thinks they're important, the hero of their own sad little story, but cold hard reality says otherwise. Most live in blissful ignorance, and think they're on top because of their own merits, or that everypony has a fair shot." Gilda rolled her eyes. Even that hurt. "Oh yeah, life's not fair, boo-hoo! I've known that since I hatched! Some are born with all the luck and the rest of us have to struggle to get by! You actually think I don't know that, you idiot?!" (Wind Whistler's Notes: Actually her actions are perfectly logical. As Nightmare Nhilis is extremely unlikely to show any mercy at this stage, inconveniencing her for as long as possible to better the odds of those who come after is a better use of one's time than laying down and dying.) Nightmare Nhilis kicked Gilda in the gut, leaving blood on her sharp hoof. Gilda coughed and sputtered. "Lion/eagle griffons are descended from royalty. You could have been Princess Grizelda, one of the last Royal Gryphons, carrying that legacy passed down from King Grover I, to King Guto XIV, to you on your maternal grandmother's side. Too bad you're a failure from a family of failures of a kingdom of failures of a species of failures born of the most cataclysmic failure in history. Maybe if Boreas and Astra were around to lead you like the dragons have Tiamat and the ponies have Celestia, your civilization wouldn't be a pathetic joke." Instead of asking how Nhilis knew Gilda's family tree... she struggled and got to her feet. It was harder than it should have been. Some of her joints weren't moving the right way. "Screw you. Boreas and Astra know we don't need our talons held! Unlike you ponies who need a bajillion goddesses around just to hatchling-sit you!" "They're not here to babysit," said Discord. "They stay here because they want to be among their friends, in the flesh." He gasped and covered his mouth in shock at his own words. Gilda and Nhilis both looked at Discord, stunned... they'd forgotten he was even there. (Prism Rush: Don't just stand there! Go, go!) Gilda moved first, punching the Nightmare so hard she heard bones crack and turned the Nightmare's head. Blood covered the grass Gilda had been laying on. She spread out her wings like they were rusted gears and flapped once, lifting her lion claws to kick Nhilis in the face again. Keeping up her momentum, Gilda grabbed Nhilis' head and slammed the Nightmare's muzzle into her knee. Again, there was sound of bones cracking. A beam of white magic shot out from the Nightmare's horn, but Gilda dodged it with quick reflexes, only feeling a slight sting in her side, and she kicked the Nightmare in the ribs. Nhilis transformed back into a teenage drakaina, but Gilda grabbed her claw, flapped her wings for a burst of extra speed, and threw her into the ground so hard it made an imprint. Gilda panted and wheezed. Her head swayed dizzily. The teenage drakaina burst into flames, and rushed Gilda while still transforming. Gilda felt something stab her, but that was okay, the flames would cauterize the wound. Gilda noticed blood on the barding, and she wasn't sure it belonged to Nightmare Nhilis. Well, Gilda had a lot of blood on her, so it must have evened out, right? The Nightmare back hoofed Gilda again, spinning her and knocking her to the ground. Stupid body was being lazy, not moving the way Gilda was telling it to. "You should go back to baking scones, Grizelda." Gilda grimaced. "Ix-nay on the one-scay!" Then there was a wet crackling sound, and Gilda found her legs frozen in a dumb block of ice. Some stupid black thorny vines wrapped around her wings. Squawking Nightmare! She'd show her, just as soon as the ice melted. Then the brambles wrapped around her tail, pinning it down, and briars wrapped around her beak. Ghostly purple skeleton-ponies lifted her wrapped-up-self, moving like puppets. Dang, their touch was colder than the ice... or did it burn like ice? Either way, they turned her around so she was face to face with Nhilis. The Nightmare's eyes narrowed, seeing Gilda's smug grinning face. "I know it's going to be something idiotic, but tell me what you're smiling about anyway." The plunder vines around Gilda's beak parted so she could speak. Instead of answering, Gilda chanted as loud as she could, even if it felt like knives were stabbing her chest when she breathed. Junior Speedsters are our lives, Sky-bound soars and daring dives Junior Speedsters, it's our quest, To some day be the very best! "The buck? You hate that cheer." "Yeah, but I know Dash loves it." Nhilis stared at Gilda for a long moment, her expression devoid of emotion. "I'm done with you." (Prism Rush's Notes: No. Not Gilda... Not again!) > Battle Of Gods > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Within the black wind barrier, Nightmare Nhilis stared at Gilda for a long moment, her expression devoid of emotion. "I'm done with you." "Prism Flash!!!" Nightmare Nhilis jerked her head up sharply. "What kind of stupid name for an attack is-" Seven different colored beams of light struck Nightmare Nhilis from seven different directions, shutting her up. The Nightmare recovered her balance, shading her face with a wing and trying to blink the spots from her eyes. She saw a blue unicorn mare with a rainbow colored mane done up in a bun, two loose strands framing her face. Her eyes were dark blue, and her cutie mark was a rainbow escaping a crystal. A silver chain set with a jewel shard hung around her neck. "THE HELL!? WHO ARE YOU!?" shouted Nightmare Nhilis. “I was rather wondering that myself!” said Discord. The unicorn snorted. "You asked me that already, darling." Then she looked at Gilda, sighing softly, and teleported to her. "It's okay, dear,” she told Gilda in a motherly tone. “Everything is going to be alright.” Conjuring a burst of rainbow light, she set about unwinding Nightmare Nhilis’ restraints, dispersing the faux skeletons and melting the ice while carefully cutting and removing the brambles with her magic. “If only light magic and healing magic were the same thing, like in those earth pony video games,” she added, wistfully apologetic. “I could do a better job of fixing you up.” Discord yanked on his eyebrows. “I have so many questions… but I refuse to imitate Pinkie Pie! How did you get in here?" "I was in here when you put up the barrier," said the unicorn nonchalantly, not even looking at him. She manipulated a rainbow arch like a physical ribbon, wound it round and round Gilda to bandage her. "There, that should hold you together until Rarity or one of the others can help you." Gilda opened her eyes slowly, her gaze unfocused. "Dash? ... When did you get a horn?" "Actually, dear, I was born with it,” said the unicorn, her voice warm and welcoming while keeping a slight air of formality. “My name is Prism Rush, but I am very good friends with Rainbow Dash and her friends. They are good ponies." "What are you?” sneered Nightmare Nhilis. “Some relative of Rainbow Dash, conjured up out of nothing for this?" The unicorn looked at the Nightmare disdainfully. "As a matter of fact, young mare, I am unfortunately not related directly by blood to Rainbow Dash. At least not where I'm from. I never got the chance to have foals of my own during my career, in spite of finding a wonderful stallion that I wanted to share my life with, and when I retired after my life's work, the dream community I was part of didn't really have foals... except one." "Oh come on!" Discord said indignantly, waving his arms. "Do you think you’re clever, speaking in riddles, when I invented that game? All of us here know perfectly well what you’re talking about. Well, the griffon doesn't." "Just trying to avoid attracting unwanted animals. Once they start chewing up the newspaper and shedding on the rug, you can do a whole day’s work and it’s like you’ve accomplished nothing at all.” Prism sighed. “Though I suppose that'll be impossible here, so I’d best make the most of the time I have.” Prism Rush struck a pose, facing the Nightmare squarely. “I could scarcely stand to watch any versions of my friends being hurt so, but what you did just now was more than I could bear! This cannot undo my mistakes with my friends, but I shall not see Gilda harmed any further!" Nightmare Nhilis rolled her eyes. "Actually, moron, I was done with her. It's not my fault she insisted on making it worse for herself. She stalled me as long as she could, but it's clear she's used up." "I warn you, young mare,” said Prism coldly, “do not speak of a sapient beings as if they were mere objects to me. I happen to be very cross with such attitudes." "Whatever. After the scrapped griffon princess, I'm done with this nonsense. You hold even less use for me than she did. I'm not interested in beating a dead horse." The unicorn sighed. "As painful as it is for a part of me to admit, as I am now, and as you are now, I could not hope to contend with you." "Then turn around and walk away,” said Nightmare Nhilis sternly. “I'm sure Father will be willing to lower the barrier now." "I said 'as I am now,' darling. I'll simply have to fight as all of me." (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): How is it possible that you are even here?) 'The same way you are, darlings. Gilda bought Twilight and the others all the time she could. I owe it to her to help.' Prism held the jewel shard aloft, and it began to shine. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," growled Nightmare Nhilis through gritted teeth as she and Discord sensed the power being unsealed, or rather, revealed at last. The unicorn grew in size, taking on the swan-like shape of the Alicorn princesses. Her pupils flashed, becoming a perfect ruby red. Her coat gleamed like the blue sky. Her mane fell out of its bun, and flowed long behind her, shimming like a literal rainbow. A pair of beautiful wings flashed out from her back, glowing with their own silver lining. A full set of golden Roam-Mare barding appeared in a whirlwind and snapped onto her body piece by piece... solid metal hoofshoes shaped like ankle wrappings with a lightning bolt pattern, a peytral with a prism jewel at its center and a circle on of tinier stones on either side, golden wingguards, and a winged golden crown set with no less than seven lightning bolt jewels, each a different color. Blinding light rippled across her flanks, and her cutie mark changed into a single lightning bolt with no clouds, composed of the seven different parts of the rainbow. The Alicorn struck a war pose, and an arch of fireworks exploded behind her, just because. Princess Fidelitas Moksha Equestria… had returned. "Oh you are not just bucking with me, this is stupid," Nightmare Nhilis hissed. "Seriously?" Fidelitas waved a forehoof casually. "I was hoping I could just help Rainbow Dash and that would be enough, without risking the furry undo-button sniffing around, but it looks like I'm out of options." "... So that was you. I knew I felt something else in my world besides the trio dancing around in Rainbow Dash's shadow. I suspected it was something like you." (Interviewers Notes (Noon): Omigosh! Welcome back! I should have known!) 'Nice to see you girls again. You knew I wasn't gonna stay away.' (Interviewers Notes (Dusk): And you knew we wouldn't, dearie. We all have too much invested here to just walk away. But taking physical form is a gamble. The Beast will find you eventually.) ‘Pfft, I’ve got plenty of time! I’ll put Nightmare Nhilis down for the count in ten seconds flat… is what I’d like to say, but I won’t lie, this could be a tough one.' Fidelitas sized the Nightmare up, putting on a more serious expression. 'Hopefully Discord's barrier will confuse it a little, and maybe Nightmare Nhilis will confuse it more. Maybe that's all just wishful thinking, but you know ponies like us. We never could just stand by and do nothing. Not anymore.' (Interviewers Notes (Noon): So how are the foals doing?) 'Veritas loves her oranges, and Midnight enjoys origami. They're definitely their own ponies.' (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): I don't understand. Your magic could hurt Diamond Tiara, but the spirits of black magic are supposed to make her immune to the magic of ponies who’ve been Nightmares.) 'First, this world's Rainbow Dash never completely transformed, and thank Sane Reality for that. Second, it was another universe's Spirits of Dark Magic that transformed me.' (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): Ah, okay, that makes sense. I guess?) A hexagon-shaped metal weight big enough to crush Fidelias like a bug materialized inches above her head without any magical trace. Only the gust of displaced air warned Fidel' to teleport above it before it crashed into the ground, causing tremors with its impact. "Hey! I thought you loved to talk! What's the deal?" Her answer came in the conjuring of a balefire megaspell bomb, one that has never been seen by this universe. Fidel', not having time to teleport the bomb somewhere safe, hugged the bomb close to her body, shape shifting into a dragon and clapping her claws tightly around the bomb as it went off. The goddess opened her scorched claws and shifted back to her Alicorn shape. "Okay, now that wasn't funny! Do you have any idea what-" A laser shot out of Nightmare Nhilis' horn, thin as a razor’s edge, splitting the atoms of the air it pierced. It passed through Fidel's shocked face right between the eyes, or rather her after image. Next to where she'd been standing an eye-blink ago, she said, "Oh come on! Don't you want to hear my life story? It's got tragedy, action, friendship, drama, and lots and lots of violence-" Line art of an ornate gate filled in behind Fidelitas, until the double doors became real and physical, red steel with brass bolts, in a twisted black metal frame with ghoulish lanterns hanging from the sides. The doors swung inward, revealing an infinite starless soulless void beyond. A whistling gale of air began to pour into the hole in the world. A low yet terrible sound came from that deep abyss, like the growl of some monstrously huge creature. A ring cluster of seven slitted crimson eyes opened as one, and a monstrous hand like darkness, yet darker, began to reach for the opening of the gate and the tempting Alicorn just beyond it. Without missing a beat, Princess Fidelitas turned around and fired a beam of multicolored magic into the gate. A vast and deep moan was heard, and the hand and eyes(?) fell away from view, followed by a thud inside great enough to flatten kingdoms. The gate sealed itself and vanished. "Now seriously, I think-" Fidelitas teleported out of the way as Nightmare Nhilis tried to skewer her from behind with a black flaming horn. "Now I know you like that move but-" Nightmare Nhilis teleported and tried again. "But seriously, what is your deal?! Capper steal your tongue? Oh right you don't know that phrase!" Four afterimages tried to stab Fidelitas from four different directions, and Fidelitas ducked the fifth, invisible true strike. “You haven’t even asked who I am.” “I don’t really care who you are,” said Nightmare Nhilis, in deadly earnest. “Allow me to explain,” piped up Discord, as the two Alicorns continued to play a deadly game of tag. "As far as my princess is concerned, this is her show. You’re an unwanted guest, and you know how my princess gets about somepony trying to upstage her. “Now, if it was just me, I'd love to hear all the gory details of your backstory, but I doubt my princess is in the mood for an epic six episode flashback. Ironic, really, considering how long it took to set our original plan in motion! You might want to stick with the abridged version." Nightmare Nhilis transformed back into a hulking four-headed hydra. “Better yet, you could shut up and die!” Fidelitas grinned cockily. “Okay, I guess we’re recapping on the run!” The first hydra head began spewing black flames, which Fidelitas blocked with a shield. “So... picture the scene about a year ago, except you win and rule Equestria, and we get to be your crazy brainwashed minions for a thousand years.” She paused to deflect a volley of light-eating shadowstone bullets from the second head, taking care to avoid hitting Gilda. Discord didn’t seem to know whether to be delighted or guilty. “Oh, so my evil plan was a success?” Fidelitas focused several heat beams with a crystal into one, nullifying the freeze ray from the third hydra head, and then she made an umbrella construct for the acid spew from the fourth. “Um, no? Your plan was a disaster! By the time we finally rebelled and beat you, you weren’t even the real enemy. Twilight was! I mean, not our Twilight, a different, way more crazy Twilight. Seriously, stop trying to let out Twilight's inner crazy. It just makes her a crazy control freak. I mean, that’s not even chaotic!" "I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it," muttered Discord. “You’re doing it wrong,” growled Nightmare Nhilis. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to make a fatal mistake because you were showboating too much, so others can learn from your bad example?” The hydra grew a fifth head which immediately opened wide, releasing ghostly red bloodthirsty bloodhounds out of its throat, wailing as they chased after Fidelitas, nipping at her hooves. Fidelitas sliced one wolf in two and narrowly dodged the others’ attacks, which blasted each other instead. "So basically, somewhere, some timeline, you played your sick games with Twilight until you turned her into a Nightmare. A Nightmare that turned me into a Nightmare, and collected more Nightmares like hoofball cards, and turned back time a few hundred thousand times just so she could punish you more, and all of us got to suffer right along with you. Great job.” Discord squinted at her, clearly skeptical. “Funny, you don’t look like a Nightmare to me. You certainly don’t seem like a mare who’s had her spirit broken and ground to dust by a near-eternity of torment. I think I’d feel rather bad about that now, if it was me and not some other me. I feel bad enough already about the ‘not good’ things I actually did do!” Discord sighed. “Sorry, where were we?” “That’s basically the whole story,” said Fidelitas. “Except for the part where meddlers make one loop go all wonky, and me and my Nightmare buds finally lose to ponies who don’t want to be erased. And then somehow Twilight gets purified first and thinks we died, so she goes and heroically sacrifices herself to make a better world. And I wasn't crazy anymore but I still had issues and kind of tried to sacrifice her kids to resurrect her.” Discord stuck a claw in his ear, trying to clean it out with squeaky pipe noises. “Are you sure you’re supposed to be Loyalty?” “What can I say? Loyalty’s complicated.” Fidelitas summoned an expanding barrier to push back all of the attacks at once so she could catch her breath, only to have Nightmare Nhilis herself try to trample her. “I came to my senses before I did something, you know, not good, which it turns out was my ordeal for becoming a Concept, but I still wanted to see the universe she sacrificed herself to create.” “And now that things aren’t going the way you wanted, you’re stepping in to make double-sure my princess doesn’t win?” Discord glanced towards Gilda’s fallen form. “Or is this all about revenge now?” "Eh, did the revenge thing for millions of years already. No thanks." Fidelitas teleported directly underneath the hydra and began pummeling her in the stomach. The hydra tried to crush her with a belly flop, but Fidelitas simply teleported away again. A sphere of hard light surrounded her, and she pinballed between the hydra heads, making them crash into each other. The collapsed hydra burst into shadows, which swarmed together and rose again as Nightmare Nhilis in her Nightmare form. “You don’t belong here any more than the griffon did. Your entire existence is one born of contrary spite, much like this entire worldline. You should thank me for putting you down. Do you even care about anyone outside this barrier?" She swung, teleported halfway through the punch, and slammed her hoof into Fidel's face a millisecond later. Fidelitas pointedly ignored her. "I grew up,” she told Discord, “and realized that trying to bully ponies into doing the right thing didn’t make it right! I've lived with mortal ponies, I've seen their stories, what they've endured, how they've grown, how could I NOT care about them?” Now she did look at Nightmare Nhilis. “Even you!" "Rot." Rust spread from the spot on Fidel’s champron where Nightmare Nhilis had struck her. Fidelitas reversed the spread of the rust with nothing more than a stern glare. "All I did for millions of years was give up. I am done with that!" She tried to punch Nightmare Nhilis back. Nightmare Nhilis emotionlessly slapped Fidel’s hoof away. "Do you have any idea how Alicorn awful it is to have a super power that should be incredibly versatile and effective, except everypony in existence is immune to it? It turns you into a generic flying brick." Fidelitas smirked. "If you’re a one trick pony, learn to work AROUND your weaknesses!" "Giving advice to the enemy?” Nightmare Nhilis launched a frenzy of attacks, kicking, biting, and stabbing with her horn. “You are so stupid!" Nightmare Nhilis was quick, but Fidelitas was faster, able to block every strike and return the favor. "And I thought you didn't care how 'fancy' this fight was!" Nightmare Nhilis simply tanked Fidel’s attacks, appearing to even feel them! “I suppose this is karma for all those villains who found cheap workarounds for the Elements of Harmony." "Not my department, kiddo!” “Hmph.” Nightmare Nhilis buried Fidelitas in the ground with a quick hundred-times gravity spell, but when she reared up to stomp Fidel’s face, Fidelitas hit her with a point blank tornado gust, flinging her skyward and bouncing her off the roof of Discord’s barrier. Fidelitas teleported out of the hole and brushed a few flecks of dirt from her coat. “You're naive. With all you've done? I still carry more sins than you ever could. I'm not watching another pony go down that road." A whole paparazzi press corps’ worth of lights flashed in front of Nightmare Nhilis' eyes, blinding her. "Go down it?” shouted Nightmare Nhilis. “I'm out of the castle, down the road, and over the horizon. Adagio's Death Scream!" In the time it took Nightmare Nhilis to name the attack, Fidelitas teleported to Gilda and spread her wings, raising a vacuum shell. The deadly shockwave of siren magic passed over both of them harmlessly. “Careful! That could have killed her!” "I'm the villain, remember? I called out the attack's name first, what more do you want?" Nightmare Nhilis didn’t bother to explain that she’d had to put a temporary deafness curse on herself, since Adagio, being immortal, hadn't had a reason to make the caster immune to the spell. Nightmare Nhilis began teleporting at random. Her horn burned coldly, and afterimages began to break free from her and solidify, also teleporting randomly. Bolts of decay magic started flying at Fidelitas from every direction at once. Fidelitas found that since she couldn't sense Nightmare Nhilis' presence, she couldn't tell the avatars from the original, except... She teleported and kicked all four hooves into the real Nightmare, sending her sailing back and landing sideways on the barrier. "You forgot to copy Discord. Truth is kid, I don't hate you. I know what it's like for Discord to twist you around into something that's just a funhouse mockery of everything you are." "I was already a mockery." Nightmare Nhilis began to randomly teleport and attack again with her avatars, this time including an illusion of Discord, the magic of the real Discord shielded by Nightmare Nhilis' magic. Fidel's horn glowed, and a prison's worth of chains materialized and wrapped around Nightmare Nhilis' and all of her avatars at once. "Discord manipulated you into becoming a Nightmare... Nightmare Moon, Whisper, Eclipse, nopony did that to them on purpose. You really wanna say that you're more beyond saving?" The chains rusted away. "Guess my power isn't completely negated after all," Nightmare Nhilis and the avatars said together. Discord scratched his head. "Well as Gilda said, funny story, really. Concepts are supposed to have perfect memories, but even I can't remember how much was according to plan." Fidelitas realized in an instant that only one Discord had spoken. It could have been a trick, but Fidelitas couldn’t imagine Nightmare Nhilis making one of her illusions of Discord say that. Fidelitas conjured a strongly fortified bird cage around Gilda, then teleported behind the real Nightmare Nhilis and bear-hugged her, having to actively resist the decay force that she gave off like radiation. “Gotcha!” “Do you?” Nightmare Nhilis slipped out of the hold with an apprentice's 'slipperiness' spell, and she and every one of the avatars turned themselves invisible. “Crap!” Fidelitas froze, reaching out with all her Alicorns senses, and… nothing. Not a trace of magic, not even the faintest gust of wind. “Where are you?” she muttered, sweating a bit, as she peeked into adjacent planes of reality one after another… Something jabbed her in the barrel. Fidelitas yelped and pulled away before the horn could stab too deep, and another avatar jabbed her opposite shoulder. “Ironskin!” she shouted, trying to dodge around unpredictably while healing the wounds as quickly as she could. Then Discord, bless him, started rambling on again. "I know getting to care about her wasn't part of the plan. Happy at the idea of having a family like me definitely wasn't. I'm pretty sure I was just going to use her as a host, or maybe that's evil wishful thinking nostalgia talking." Fidelitas homed in on the sound of Discord’s voice to punch her invisible foe, then blast her magically. The avatars weren’t smart enough to throw themselves in the way and sacrifice themselves for Nightmare Nhilis… having been slapped together on the fly, their programming was rudimentary. "Maybe I wanted her thoroughly and utterly broken so she wouldn't resist... except that doesn't make an ice-cream-lick of sense since my current hosts never gave me trouble before." Too bad Nightmare Nhilis left no mundane presence, or Fidelitas could have filled the area with dragon smoke and aimed for the holes. Fidelitas turned to vapor and flew up above at high speed and back to the ground, then conjured a wall of spinning blades behind her. Nightmare Nhilis' squad of invisible avatars weren't able to stop in time and weren't complex enough to think to teleport. Fidelitas was happy they were invisible. "Pretty sure we were going to combine our magics and tag team the world as a perfect union of Alicorn and Draconequus. Just as soon as I was free and we were no longer bound by the rules of the Heart World, of course..." With Discord not shutting up, Nightmare Nhilis realized the invisibility spell was pointless and dismissed it. Fidelitas promptly dropped a house on her. Nightmare Nhilis kicked the front door open, hurled a set of ruby hoof-slippers away, and blasted them to bits, unamused. An army of rats armed to the teeth came boiling out of the house from behind her. "Infest! Pillage! Spread the plague!" Fidelitas summoned an army of giant cats who made delicious work of the rat army, then returned from wherever it was they came. Discord was leafing through a tiny diary filled with crayon scrawls and musical pop-up figures. "Or was my ultimate scheme to fuse with the Discord of another universe and achieve ultimate power? I suppose it doesn’t matter now. Plans change. I can't even remember which of us came up with the Rumors Curse." Fidelitas tried a spell that Granfalloon had taught her. "Irresistible Dance!" Nightmare Nhilis instantly began to do ballet that would have made her mother boast, but that didn’t stop her from gracefully dancing over to Fidelitas and touching her with a hoof. "Zebra Queen Parabola's Curse of the Mummy." Fidel's body began to dry out, and silk bandages that smelled of spices quickly wrapped her up. Fidelitas removed the curse on sheer reaction. "Attack first, THEN fancy name!" Nightmare Nhilis punched Fidelitas in the face. "Pot calling the kettle black!" "Give Prism Rush a break, her knowledge of fighting came from illusion-shows! Didn't know you knew this many spells." "I don't, but they do." Nightmare Nhilis’ voice echoed again as she conjured up seven horrific runes all at once, surrounding the Alicorn of Loyalty. "Symbol of Pain. Symbol of Sleep. Symbol of Fear! Symbol of Stunning. Symbol of Weakness. Symbol of Death. SyMboL oF iNsanItY!" Fidelitas was pretty sure those hadn't been invented in this worldline. Or maybe they simply hadn't been invented yet. Or maybe they had... she wasn't the Alicorn of Magic. She had just enough time to pull a stone wall out of the ground, with her and the symbols inside and Gilda outside, and then the symbols detonated. The Symbol of Death stopped Fidel's 'heart', before her Element rebooted her life functions. It also managed to unscramble the neurons in her brain mangled by the Symbol of Insanity. The Symbol of Fear left her frantically wondering, 'Is Gilda going to get killed if this fight continues with her trapped in here with us?! Have Twilight and the rest rested enough yet?! Will the Wolf wipe away everything I've done here, make it all for nothing?! Will my friends be punished for my actions?!' The Symbols of Stunning, Sleep, and Weakness left her unable to stand. The Symbol of Pain left her unable to focus. She’d hoped that Pain and Sleep would cancel each other out, but no such luck. Outside the stone wall, Nightmare Nhilis panted. Those runes were meant to be used on groups, not individual targets. It was like dropping a curse on all of Canterlot to petrify four Alicorns. She teleported, hovering above the stone circle, and aimed down. "Firestorm! Disintegrate! Implosion! Big Horn's Giant Fist!" A tornado of flames was barely contained within the stone walls, scorching them pitch black, followed by a green beam meant to break down its target by the component atoms’ bonds, and a resonance that caused the victim to collapse into itself like a dwarf star, finished off by a giant transparent minotaur hand that curled into a fist and slammed down inside the stone wall, surely grinding whatever remained into less than dust. Nightmare Nhilis slowly landed. Discord covered his mouth, eyes big as saucers. The Nightmare slowly breathed in, and slowly breathed out. She looked over at Gilda, who was still blissfully out of it. "Now what to do about you?" Nightmare Nhilis startled as the ground shook and small stones began to float into the air. The world seemed to turn upside-down… she ‘fell’ towards the roof of the barrier and had to conjure a giant spider web to catch herself. Only Gilda and her cage stayed put. Princess Fidelitas zoomed upwards like a ballistic missile. She had to… her muscles were only just now growing back, followed a moment later by her skin, fur, and feathers. Rebuilding her protective barding was actually harder, with the beating it had just taken for her. It wasn’t as tough as before, being a rush job, but it looked just as formidable, and she wasn't about to admit otherwise. Finding an impending Sonic Rainboom staring her in the face, and still disoriented from the gravity inversion, Nightmare Nhilis filled the air with dense acid fog. Fidelitas responded by spinning like a drill bit... +++ Outside Discord's barrier, the heroes had gone through an entire litany of relaxing poses. Eris had also provided soothing jazz music. The heroes’ rest ended when rainbow colors blazed out of the checkerboard-colored barrier like a searchlight, and something forcefully blew the top of the barrier right off. Eris and the heroes were all shocked to see a Rainboom explode out from the destroyed barrier, sending them all skidding or tumbling back. Two combatants somersaulted out of the dissolving barrier in different directions. Each landed on all four hooves, crouched and staring the other down. "How are you still here?" demanded Nightmare Nhilis, not even looking at the ponies. Fidelitas stretched out, popping a few joints. "Don't feel like tellin' ya." (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Don't worry, we took care of the Runes. You don't need to worry about some innocent pony getting hurt by them!) 'Thanks,' thought Fidel. ‘Knew I could count on you!’ Twilight and her friends weren't sure how many more shocking sights they could take in one day! Instead of Gilda, now an Alicorn version of Rainbow Dash in gold barding was fighting Nightmare Nhilis! The last remnants of the barrier fell away, revealing a bandaged-up Gilda in a bird cage, looking like she'd taken the beating of her life. Rainbow Dash could have spent all afternoon gaping in awe at herself as a goddess, but now there was no hesitation… she zoomed to the birdcage in a rainbow blur and opened it up, finding it wasn't locked. In fact, the cage vanished the moment she got it open. "Gilda! Can you hear me?! Say something! C’mon, you’ve gotta be okay!" "Dash?” Gilda couldn’t do much more than lay there, groaning pitifully. “You didn't tell me you could turn into a Princess Pony... " "That isn't me!" Applejack felt one mighty headache coming on, just looking at Fidelitas and Rainbow both. "Actually, she is and she ain’t. Ugh..." Celestia scooped up Apple Bloom in her magic as Luna did the same with Rarity, and they all teleported to the griffon's side. The princesses glanced at each other, nodding firmly, and then they began applying what healing magic they'd learned in their thousands of years alive. Apple Bloom examined the rainbow bandages and applied her healing salves, and Rarity absorbed what injuries she could from Gilda, Rarity's Element repairing Rarity's own body at the same time. Luna then magically drew Gilda into a deep slumber. Rarity fretted, seeing that. "Princess, is that wise? She could have a concussion." Princess Luna shook her head. "Tis' not the same as in thine operas, Miss Rarity. Rest for the brain is in fact just what is required for such an injury." Nightmare Nhilis made no move to attack as they were busy treating the griffon. With Gilda in capable hooves, Celestia looked to Fidelitas. "Your help is appreciated, and you have my gratitude, but your efforts can all be simply undone. This isn’t worth the risk." Fidelitas flashed a confident grin. "Don’t sweat it, Celestia. If that happens, at least you’ll be no worse off than you were before." Rainbow Dash had been holding Gilda’s claw, as if she could will her friend back to good health like Rarity had, but now she glanced over excitedly, thinking of her comic books. "So you’re me from the future? When do I become a Wonderbolt?!" Fidelitas winked. "It'll be worth the wait. And seriously, you see me with a horn, and that's what you ask?" "Well…” Dash fidgeted her hooves. “I don’t find out that Celestia was secretly my mom all along, do I?” "What? No!" "Whew! Just checking!" "I think you look pretty, I mean pretty awesome like that, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said. She traced a circle in the dirt with a forehoof, looking down bashfully. “And I’m afraid I wasn’t doing nearly as well being an Alicorn as you are now.” "... Aw, thanks 'Shy," was the polite reply. “But, uh… don’t sell yourself short!” "Ooh, ooh!” squealed Pinkie Pie, going higher with each bounce. “I’d better starting planning Princess Dashie’s 'Welcome to being a princess’ party right away!" "Well, I don't think she's from the future!" said Scootaloo. "I bet she's probably part of some inter-reality super squad sent to help us save the day." "Uh, yeah," said Fidelitas, suddenly shifty-eyed. "That combination of words you just said makes perfect sense, Scootaloo." “Oh my gosh, she spoke to me!” squealed Scootaloo. “She knows my name!! YOU LOOK TOTALLY AWESOME, PRINCESS RAINBOW DASH!" “Ah guess some things are the same no matter what the universe,” mused Applejack. Fidelitas beamed. "Thanks, kid." "Uh, Trixie? Are you okay?" asked Spike, tugging on her armor. "Trixie is not jealous!" "Uh, that’s good to know! Not that I asked." "Oh." "Besides,” said Rarity, “I'd have to redesign my entire wardrobe if I got wings!" "Sis, nopony even asked you," said Sweetie Belle. Rarity blushed. Applejack patted her shoulder. "It ain't nothin' to be ashamed of, Rares." Silently, she added, ‘Ah guess Shy and me ain't gonna be the only Ponyville ponies keepin' Twi company when she starts goin' ta Princess Poker Night.’ Fidelitas actually blushed from all the attention, just a little. "Do me a favor, would you? DON'T make a big deal out of this later, okay? I’m kinda trying to keep a low profile, so let’s not make things more complicated than they need to be, ya know?!" "Yes, don't," said Nightmare Nhilis icily. "Let me spell this out for you. Just like the griffon, you’re only here so I can show off how powerful and evil I am. You're expendable. You're not important." (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): One would think, Nightmare Nhilis, that you would have learned by now that those words are cursed in this worldline.) Fidel's fur bristled. "I told you kid, don't treat ponies like disposable objects around me." Twilight thought, 'It's a testament to how insane today has been that we're just accepting a reality jumping, time traveling Alicorn Rainbow Dash.' Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash hadn’t moved an inch from Gilda. Red Heart’s healing touch could mend Gilda in an instant, but Twilight couldn’t teleport Gilda all the way to Ponyville without traveling with her. And considering how chaotic the battle had become, Twilight didn’t want to risk leaving the battlefield for even a moment. "Fluttershy, you and Fluttercruel are both going to have to keep an eye on Gilda," Twilight said, knowing Rainbow would trust Fluttershy with the job and focus on the fight. Fluttershy nodded firmly. "You can count on us!" “Funny,” said Nightmare Nhilis. “It’s supposed to be the villain that won’t shut up and let the heroes begin the final battle already. I’ve met outer fiends with a hundred babbling mouths that talk less than you.” She trotted closer, staring down Fidelitas. “In a way, though, I'm actually glad you’re here. You're like me, a meddler, an infection, a leftover of a mistake. This world doesn’t need two Rainbow Dashes. That means… I can actually kill you, and now that we're out in the open, I can fight you at one hundred percent." A dark purple aura of wailing pony faces flared around the Nightmare. Fidel's teeth clenched. "I already told you, ponies aren't replacement parts!" She looked at the Princesses and the assembled heroes. "All of you, stay out of this, please! You have talents OUTSIDE of fighting that’ll leave a mark on the world. You have families waiting for you and families to come. Me? Fighting is all I was good for, for a good long time." "In other words, you’re telling the lowly NPCs that they’d only get in your way,” said Nightmare Nhilis snidely, transferring magical force to her wings and muscles and overclocking her reaction time. “No!” said Princess Fidelitas fiercely. "Those ‘little ponies’ are important, every one of them! They have lives, friends, loved ones… No one should have to go through what I did, to learn how to fight the way we can!” She sighed. “One of my best friends gave up everything so this world could exist. It would be SAD if the ponies here dedicated themselves THAT MUCH to fighting. They have bloody more IMPORTANT things to do with their time!" Eris slow-clapped. "Nice speech,” she drawled, clearly fed up with being ignored, and even more fed up with her focus-tested clothes, which had returned the moment she became a draconequus again. “How long have you been waiting to say that?" "Too long.” To Nightmare Nhilis, she said, “Hey kid, I thought you just wanted to disappear. Sounds like you're actually going to enjoy yourself." Nightmare Nhilis smiled ominously. "I want you gone from meddling in something that isn't even your business." "Trust me, this is very much my business," Fidelitas said darkly. "My little ponies, do as your friend asks,” said Princess Luna. “She knows much that you do not. If you trust in your Rainbow Dash, then trust in her." "Sister, are you sure?" Celestia asked. "As sure as we can be in this matter." Eris tore off the hated black shorts, and snapped her fingers. The pillows and balance boards vanished, replaced with a serious deity-level transparent shield barrier. In a flurry of pops and flashes, her magic teleported all the mortals safely inside, dropping them into comfy ringside seats. Eris’ boombox started playing the hoofball “Charge!” fanfare for good measure. Nightmare Nhilis didn't politely wait for a cry of 'Round 2'. She started forward, trotting faster and faster until she broke into a full gallop. Fidelitas met her head on. = FLOW - HERO: Song of Hope (Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods ED) = The impact of two high speed Alicorns created a shockwave that shook the very earth… even inside the protective barrier, the heroes could feel it. The two of them slammed into each other again, and then a third time, neither getting past the other’s defense. Nightmare Nhilis finally managed to kick Fidelitas in the stomach, blasting her skywards. The blue Alicorn twisted about and used the momentum to jump start her flight upwards. The Nightmare followed right behind, leaving a blast zone in the ground from her cold-start launch. Nightmare Nhilis caught up as Fidelitas reached the cloud layer, and they once again exchanged blows. Their fore hooves pounded like battering rams, their rear hooves swung like war hammers against shields. The resulting shockwaves caused the clouds to part, opening up the bright blue sky to the heroes below. Nightmare Nhilis did a reverse hammer blow below Fidel's chin, making her spin back. Fidelitas shot missile style straight at Nightmare Nhilis' head, striking her with her rear hooves together, sending the Nightmare careering across the sky. "I get it now,” shouted Nightmare Nhilis. “The Nightmare Mirror who died banishing Uncle Nythy, that was your Applejack?" Fidelitas streaked after her. "Not exactly, but she was a very close friend of mine!" "Then if I kill you, Rainbow Dash will absorb your magic too, and end this." "NOT PLANNING ON DYING TODAY!" There was no up or down anymore, the fliers fought so relentlessly that gravity didn't make a difference any more. Their strikes lit up the clouds like the mightiest thunderstorm that ever rolled out of the Everfree, spreading panic across Canterlot and clear to Ponyville. (Silver Spoon's Diary: I couldn't help but think, in spite of how she scared me before, just how cool Diamond Tiara looked fighting Princess Rainbow Dash.) Like a pair of swords sending sparks in every direction, the two clashed, broke apart, and clashed again, hitting and running, each trying to score a hard and fast strike through the other's defenses. "Too painful to live, but ya don't wanna die. Sucks being stuck in that limbo doesn’t it?" Fidelitas gave her one in the solar-plexus. "I am so sick of being psychoanalyzed!" Nightmare Nhilis grappled with Fidelitas and kneed her right at the base of her horn. The two separated and maneuvered for advantage again, rainbow and dull silver contrails streaking through the clouds, then closed and jousted with their horns... both managing to score a strike through their chamfron's eye arch. Each kicked the other away, half blind, but both alive and regenerating so fast it would've shocked the Royal Sisters. Without missing a beat, they immediately clashed again. "Regenerating? I thought you wanted to die!" "I won’t be disabled and helpless in their hooves! Need a killing blow." The blue and purple stars tore across the heavens, staying momentary still before moving like lightning, fireworks going off as they crossed paths. The two of them continued to rise. Magical energy took over for their life functions as their lungs found less air to work with. Down below, Scootaloo squinted her eyes, "So fast! Apple Bloom, are you following any of this?" "Nope, totally lost." What Twilight Sparkle could pick up with her magical senses had her gaping in awe, speechless. The two dueling Alicorns barely noticed that they were seeing stars in the middle of the day. Nightmare Nhilis readied 'Death Cycle' and cast it instantly, skipping the incantation. A ring of swords appeared around Fidelitas and skewered her from all directions at once. "Ow! Hey, I thought we were done with the parlor tricks!" "Who said that? Me?" Neither felt like asking how they were speaking in the exosphere. Nightmare Nhilis readied 'Electric Funeral' next, and black magic infused lightning formed a coffin around Fidelitas, shrinking fast. "Bad choice, brat!” boasted Fidel. “If there's two things I can handle, it's lightning and black magic." The lightning, however, traveled down the swords stuck in her, along the blades and into her metal barding, shocking her harder. Nightmare Nhilis conjured a purple pony ghost skull the size of a building, launching it at Fidel. As Fidelitas was still pulling out the black lightning charged swords, the skull chomped down on her, swamping her with intense sheer futility, crushing in from all sides! With her opponent doubly distracted, Nightmare Nhilis cast 'Premature Burial', conjuring layers of earth and stone and using gravity magic to crush them into Princess Fidelitas, until she'd created a miniature moon. Nightmare Nhilis watched, waiting for Fidelitas to blast out of it. The explosion would rain debris on Equestria, forcing the Alicorn to burn through her magic, destroying the meteorites before they landed. Instead Fidelitas simply teleported out, dusting herself off. Her barding had cracks in several places. Nightmare Nhilis scowled. "Princess-Buster!" Discord had the unpleasant feeling of being fed on. "Gee, how long did it take you come up with that one?" Fidelitas asked, not even trying to dodge as the unstable mixing of Nature's Fury coated in layers of darkness and decay enveloped her. Nothing would regenerate from that. “Idiot. Why didn’t she…” Nhilis blinked. “No… a decoy!” "It's called bait and switch, kid!" Nightmare Nhilis readied herself, but instead of attacking Fidelitas zoomed away at high speed over the horizon of the planet. "Since when does a Rainbow Dash run away?" she asked herself. The answer came when Fidelitas slammed into her from behind and kept right on going, zooming away at hyperspeed. Nightmare Nhilis readied herself to skewer Fidelitas the moment another fly-by attack came. Instead a teleport from directly below rammed her in the gut, knocking the wind out of Nhilis. Watching among the distant stars, she saw a rainbow streak flash into existence, zip in a straight line, then pop out of existence only to pop into existence elsewhere, skipping in and out of reality like a stone on a pond. "Oh no." The resulting impact was like a meteor to the face. Again, and again and again. She had no time to move, or even teleport. The hits keep coming right for her head, until she felt like she would black out from the pain. 'That's-' BOOM! '-what-' BOOM! '-she-' BOOM! '-wants!' Her solution was to dump out a splurge of different breeds of dark and black magic all at once with drops of Nature's Fury thrown in, thinking of how absurd and futile this worldline she was a part of was. The black spiral that spewed out may have had the shapes of anguished faces and beasts, or other things within it. There was no big bang, no explosion. It was like time itself blinked. "Pitch Black Pity," said Nightmare Nhilis, panting, after she completed the incomprehensible spell. Her ears were still ringing, her head still throbbing…. Fidelitas righted herself, the cracks on her barding obvious now. Her champron broke apart and the pieces floated away, letting her rainbow mane flow freely behind her. The circular dark markings on her body faded away as her cells rebuilt themselves. Fidelitas took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, more out of habit than from any need for air. She began to slowly walk towards Nightmare Nhilis, as if she were standing on solid ground. = 'Hopes and Dreams Will Save The World' - CONTINUE? = Fidelitas snapped her wings open, then flapped them with enough speed and force to create a pair of Sonic Rainbooms, animated by magic to make up for the lack of air, something few other gods could have pulled off. Caught off guard, Nightmare Nhilis brought up her own wings as a shield, but they were blown open by the force of the attack, knocking her back. The goddess of loyalty and breaking cycles conjured a cloud above the planet and kicked it. The cloud divided and divided again until there were thirty two of them. Another kick released a blast of red lightning from the one closest to her, chaining into the others, and a full thirty-two lightning bolts struck the Nightmare at once. Nightmare Nhilis mustered enough weather manipulation to absorb the storm harmlessly. "Now you’re using lightning against a Alicorn? We’re both part pegasus, idiot." "It was worth a short! Even water rats can drown, you know!" "Mark Of-" "Free Will." The Rune shattered before it could fully form. Nightmare Nhilis teleported, only for Fidelitas to teleport at almost the same time, keeping the same distance and continuing her steady 'trot.' Nightmare Nhilis summoned a flaming sword with runes and a skull hilt. It was struck by a spear of lightning with a throw no mortal could have made, obliterating it and giving Nightmare Nhilis a nasty horn-numbing shock. Princess Fidelitas flapped her wings again. Loose feathers shot at Nightmare Nhilis like darts, bursting into flame and striking the right through the weak points of her barding to lodge in her vulnerable wings. The Nightmare tore the burning feathers out with her mouth, then conjured a giant spider made of shadows that lurched toward her foe. “So it comes down to this? Which of us knows more tricks?” Fidelitas only smirked, and summoned a scythe made of lightning, cleaving the spider in two and dismissing the weapon in a single stroke. She flapped her wings again, firing more feather darts with lightning arcing between them. This time, Nightmare Nhilis was prepared and blasted the feathers before she could get electrocuted again. She retaliated by conjuring a swarm of floating purple spheres, then flinging them at Fidelitas all at once like a hail of bullets. Princess Fidelitas flickered all over the place, continuing her steady trot, but the visible shockwaves of mini-rainbooms showed she wasn't teleporting, she was dodging. Fidelitas created a squad of afterimages, flying in formation behind her. 'Shadow Mirage.' The ghostly images rose and flocked towards Nhillis, each one creating a swarm of lightning construct knives from feathers that regenerated as fast they could shed them. They formed a dense sphere around Nightmare Nhilis, every crackling red blade pointed inward. 'Bullet Time!' 'Black Wave.' A pulse of utter darkness flew out from the Nightmare in every direction, engulfing the feather blades and causing them to reverse course and stab the afterimages instead, dispelling them. 'Round trip!' Only for the red lightning of the constructs to leap together, forming a smaller number of sword constructs that spun towards Nightmare Nhilis. The Nightmare punched, bucked, slashed with a double wing blade spell, blasted with her horn and breathed fire, and still some of the blades struck her chamfron. In that time, Fidelitas had closed the distance between them. 'Eleventh Hour Farewell.' Her busted and cracked golden barding crackled with red lightning. Her entire forehoof stored electricity as she began to vibrate it violently. "Turn to ash!" The beam shot from Nightmare Nhilis' horn, too close for even Fidelitas to dodge. “Crap!” Fidelitas vibrated at hyperspeed, and the attack only vaporized a horn-width hole through her, instead of her whole body. Luckily, her Element was undamaged. With her hoof still blazing with stored power, she began a cold start Sonic Rainboom, twisting her body like a drill, forehoof first rather than her horn. At the same time however… "True Black Dark Magic: Seven Point-" A violet spell circle formed around Nightmare Nhilis, the runes on the edges terrible indeed, some related to the Draconequi, others inversions of the holy runes of the Alicorns. Six dragon heads emerged out of it, each a different color, and they fired beams of impossible colors into a seventh dragon head that added them to its own beam that was not completely in the visible spectrum. Fidelitas shouted “Night Bird’s Song!” at the same moment Nightmare Nhilis called out, “-Alicorn Buster!”’ +++ The ponies yelped and jumped in their seats, shielding their eyes. Even Spike squinted, with eyes that could stare unflinching at lava. “Well, that was something,” observed Eris in the eerie quiet that followed, tossing away a pair of designer shades. "I think they saw that explosion all the way in Appleloosa." She snapped her fingers, and the comfy seats and the barrier disappeared. "I think those have served their purpose. And by definition, so have I. We probably won’t meet again… Eh, who am I kidding? Wherever you see Discord, you’ll see me, so no real loss.” She blew the ponies a kiss. “See ya around!" Eris waved and turned to pure chaos magic, flying at high speed into the sky, to rejoin with Discord. "That was nice of her," Fluttershy said. The others awkwardly pretended they hadn’t heard that, but Fluttershy couldn't help but appreciate that she definitely felt more rested than she had before Gilda and Princess Rainbow Dash had arrived. Eris' yoga poses had really helped. "Get ready, everypony," Twilight said. Nopony asked what for as they resumed their formation, with the princesses flanking them and the Crusaders behind them protecting Silver Spoon. The Flutters stayed next to the unconscious Gilda as Twilight had instructed. Nightmare Nhilis floated down, looking no worse for wear. Hovering in her pale white telekinesis was the unmistakable sight of an Element of Loyalty, though the color was darker than Rainbow Dash’s. Nightmare Nhilis casually inspected the Element, like it was a new trinket Filthy Rich had bought her. "Where is she-?!" Scootaloo demanded. Nightmare Nhilis turned the trinket over in her magic. “I’m sorry, did somepony say something? Or was that just a horsefly buzzing?” Scootaloo looked ready to lunge at the Nightmare all by herself. (Interviewer's Notes: (Pegasus): EVERYPONY WHO'S A GOOD-GUY, LISTEN UP! NOPONY LOSE THEIR HEADS! YOU'RE ALL ABSOLUTELY SURE SHE'S OKAY!) 'There’s no way any Rainbow Dash could lose to Diamond Tiara,' Scootaloo thought. “She only just pretended to lose. It’s all part of her big plan. I’m sure of it!” Fluttershy thought, 'I was really worried there for a second, but I’m sure she must be okay.' 'Good thing she's okay,' Twilight thought. ‘We need to focus, this is no time for reckless moves.’ 'Yep, Pinkie Sense checks out! She’s 100% A-okay!' Sweetie Belle gulped. ‘I know Princess Rainbow Dash survived that somehow, even if I can’t figure out how she could have survived. I guess I shouldn’t think too hard about that.’ 'She's totally okay,’ thought Rainbow Dash. ‘Future Me is way too awesome to never-be-heard-from-again. Wish I could ask her how I pulled off those totally awesome moves taking out Eris' Mega-Mega-Whatever-Zord, though.' In her mindscape, Princess Luna gave the Interviewers a stern glare. ‘The Voice of the Absolute? You’re quite skilled, to be able to get past Twilight’s mental barriers, but please have care.’ (Interviewer's Note (Unicorn): We both know that was to prevent disaster. We're all doing our best to stop Nightmare Nhilis and Discord, and save Diamond Tiara and Dissy.) 'I understand,' came Celestia’s thought. Nightmare Nhilis continued to look at her trophy. "Pst. Don't they know their self sacrifice is never about actually defeating the villain? It's about knocking themselves off so Fate doesn't have to bother with them anymore?" As if waiting for just such a remark, Nightmare Nhilis' champron shattered, along with half her barding. "Huh?" Startled, Nhilis forgot about the Element and it fell to the ground. The Element seemed to phase right into the soil. "Sorry dear,” said Discord casually. “I don't feel like helping you fix it." "Wasn't counting on your help anyway." Nightmare Nhilis tried to recreate the missing parts of her barding, but there was just one problem... her champron continued to have a lightning bolt shaped hole in it. Twilight looked at the temping hole, but quickly remembered what happened the LAST TIME she tried to use the memory spell on a Nightmare. Nightmare Nhilis dismissed the hole with a forced laugh. "Is this some kind of joke? The last, lamest prank of Rainbow Dash? Did she actually think it was worth it? Nothing is worth living for, nothing is worth dying for, nothing is worth anything. Why can't you understand that?!" +++ Apple Bloom And that's when it finally hit me... Ya know how when ya look at a paintin'... sometimes, even when the artist weren't TRYIN', ya can see some of what they were feelin' inside when they made it? It ain't the artist lyin' and tryin' ta hide it...there ain't no lie cause even they thought it was truth. Even if the artist didn’t even know they were sad or happy or lonely deep down, sometimes that works its way into a picture too, and you can tell. The artist weren't hidin' it. They weren't trying to disguise it, they just didn't KNOW they put it in there. Sometimes, what a pony makes of themselves reveals as much as any piece of art. A truth all its own. Ah know, cause with Toola Roola's eyes… Ah can see it plain as day. Like Applejack on Mother's Day, or Mitta about Ruby. Before, figuring out Diamond Tiara was like tryin' to read a contraption, or a statue. But now she's got tells. Maybe it's because of Sweetie being close by, maybe it’s them spirits, or just maybe there's a heart in there somewhere after all. Nightmare Nhilis' ain’t showin' it... but that fight with Princess Rainbow Dash took a whole lot more out of her than she's lettin' on! Ah don't think any of the others have noticed it. Not even Applejack or Sweetie's sister, Ah think! Heh, so Diamond Tiara, have Ah become more like a Nightmare, or have ya become more like a pony? Silver... we can win this... for real! We'll get Diamond Tiara back ta ya! But Ah can't tell the others! Not out loud! Nightmare Nhilis will just get more desperate if she knows we know, but there's more than one way ta talk to yer friends. Ah start tappin' on Scootaloo's leg with mah leg. She's smart and stays quiet. Usin' her wings, she taps it on to Sweetie, who taps it on to Spike. Ah tap it with mah tail to Applejack, and she begins to tap it to Miss Twilight! (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): When did you learn Horse Code?) Cutie Mark Crusaders Code Breakers, naturally! (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Seriously? Is there anything you haven't tried?) You bet! We figured after we got these fancy shields on our cutie marks that maybe we oughta keep on tryin’ even more different things, to figure all the things we can do when we hang out. (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): How does Applejack know it?) She was in the Filly Scouts, of course she knows it, duh. > First Family > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity I wish I could say that my next move was all according to plan. That I had timed it down to this precise moment. Sadly, the truth is that with the endless parade of bizarre revelations, surprise guests, mind breaking twists and turns, and of course the small matter of us being in constant mortal peril... it had simply slipped my mind until just now. I think I might have mentioned it to you before, but I honestly can’t remember. This entire adventure is already one great blur in my mind. I hate to admit it, darlings, but I fear I'd have lost my wits by now if Gilda and Princess Rainbow hadn’t bought us time to rest. Yes of course, my bold move… I am referring to Diamond Tiara's dress, the one that she’d been unknowingly creating for herself in the course of her sewing lessons. Quite ironically, Nightmare Nhilis’ own words recalled it to my memory. "Nothing is worth living for, nothing is worth dying for, nothing is worth anything. Why can't you understand that?" Do not ask me how my saddle bags fit with my armor, because I do not know. They are simply there when I have need of them, and gone when I do not. I reach into them now, removing the almost finished dress from its resting place, and with my telekinesis I present it to Nightmare Nhilis. I didn't need to ask if she recognized it. The way her cold eyes widened in fear, just for a moment, was all I needed to see. "Recognize it, Diamond Tiara? Is this, too, worth nothing? In a thousand years this dress will have worn down to nothing, but tell me with a straight face it has no value." A purple beam lanced out from Nightmare Nhilis' horn, striking the dress... but the beam reflected off it like a mirror, plowing a ditch in the ground besides us. (Princess Celestia's Memoirs: I always wanted to dig a new irrigation system for the park, but I could never find the excuse to put it in the budget. What a helpful filly.) My friends gasped, ready to leap to my defense, but I hadn't been touched. Acts of love and compassion have always been more effective weapons against suffering than any brute force. Twilight sprang to my side, horn lit. "Rarity! What IS that dress?!" I smiled at her. "Just a dress, Twilight... but nothing is really 'just' a dress, is it? Imagination, hard work, dedication, effort, love. For a dress to come into being, there's always a whole chain of actions that lead to it becoming a dress in the first place. Things can be of no use for a given situation, certainly, but to say that a thing has no value… well, that just isn’t so!" The dress itself? It is clearly powerful armor against this opponent, but I don't put it on, and not just because it's foal size. This dress doesn't belong to me. I won’t betray a client’s trust. "You’ve become so adept at transforming yourself, dear. Why don't you become your real age, so you can try it on?" I asked. "She's right, Diamond,” Silver Spoon helpfully added. “I think it would look really elegant on you." = 'Skeleton of a Town' - Icewind Dale 2 soundtrack = “Do you think that by accepting the dress and your compliment I would be saved?” said Nightmare Nhilis harshly. "I can't be saved. You can't be saved. Nopony can be saved because nothing matters. This world is just one of billions, and we're just one version of countless possibilities. Even if things change, nothing has really changed. There's no point, and it's best to accept that and choose not to care. We are meaningless, insignificant little ponies, and I don't care." "And Ah don't care that YOU don't care!” Apple Bloom shouted at the top of her lungs, “‘cause everypony CAN be saved! ‘Cause ya DO have meaning! ‘Cause ya DO matter!" Dear Fluttershy stroked the still unconscious Gilda's back. While I still questioned the wisdom of putting a creature to sleep on the battlefield, if Princess Luna felt Gilda needed to rest as a matter of life and death, then I wasn't in a position to argue. If what I’ve seen is any guide, that griffon is worse than Rainbow for having more courage than sense. If she woke, I fear she’d leap right back into the battle, no matter her condition. Sadly for everypony involved, this battle was about to become even more of a confusing and convoluted mess, with so many pieces on the board that any sense of organization and coordination was about to go out the window. Even Twilight has her limits. "Tarnished Rich? My baby filly, is that really you?" The mare's voice was tender and concerned. Perhaps it’s not so surprising that somepony could arrive unnoticed, what with the light show of two Alicorns fighting, and the card I played just now. But for Diamond Tiara’s mother to show up here, now! In its own way, this was more unexpected than an Alicorn Rainbow Dash had been, and all truths be told darling, I wasn't certain if her arrival was a good or bad thing! At any other time, I would have been delighted to see her. Now she was yet another pony to worry about. Yes, I remember how she fought in the changeling battle, but this is not the changeling battle. Take one good look at what happened to Gilda! I don't know if whether to be relieved or not that her husband wasn't with her. Surely he wouldn’t have her come here alone willingly. +++ It seems like only yesterday that Trixie was fighting side by side with that mare against the changelings' ultimate living weapon. Now it looks like we’re giving an encore performance. When Trixie signed up to risk her life in the final battle to save the world, she was hoping for a little more time in the spotlight! Sweetie Belle Seeing her... my heart is fluttering. I’m not sure how to feel… confused? Happy? Scared? Silver Spoon No! Why did you have to come? Why? Do you really think this is going to make things better? Pinkie Diane About time she showed up! Fluttershy I'm so sorry... I wish you didn't have to be here. I wish we could have done a better job, or we'd have already saved her by now. Fluttercruel Looks like we've got ourselves another set of hooves to help us win this. Apple Bloom Ah sure as heck know Ah didn't plan this! She shouldn't be here! It’s like... like chaos runs in 'er blood. Spike I… I kinda feel bad for her. If I ever meet the dragoness who laid my egg, I wouldn't want the first thing of me she sees to be Spikezilla. Then again, if my dragon mom had been there, maybe she would have known how to stop me a lot sooner? I sure hope Mrs. Rich knows what she’s doing! Scootaloo Wow, I did not expect to see this lady here. And... I know Sweetie Belle wouldn't want her parents to have seen her when she was Queen Leech's pet. If something like that happened to me, I wouldn't want my parents to see me that way neither… I wonder how Diamond Tiara feels right now... Rainbow Dash "Uh, hi!” I said awkwardly. “We, uh... found yer filly?" Sure it had taken me a year, but hey... better late than never, right? Whoo-boy, I'm not sure any of us have the heart to give Nightmare Nhilis a spanking now. Gilda Hey... she looks just like Nightmare Queen Lame-o over there... without a horn and wings and stuff. Ugh, my head… anygriffon get the number of that manticore? ... I’m gonna finish my nap now. Princess Luna Ye would have to be blind to miss the tears shimmering in yonder lady's eyes. Neither of them had ever dreamed of this reunion happening this way, and they had dreamed it in so many different ways. Applejack Well, horseapples. If this doesn't work, Ah honestly don't know what cards we've got left to play. Princess Celestia This was the mare who 'went sane' in my castle ballroom. The one whose sickness of the mind Filthy Rich begged me to cure, and I could not. I readied myself to leap to her defense. I didn’t want to think that Nightmare Nhilis might harm her, but in such a volatile state, who knew what the Nightmare might do? Twilight Sparkle I remember the madmare from the times I visited the Ponyville mental hospital, and the determined warrior at the final battle here in Canterlot. I doubt anybody could have missed her presence. In fact, she was a more chaotic factor in this situation than Discord! Golden Tiara They’re all here. The Princesses and the Elements of Harmony, armored for war. Apple Bloom and her friends, Princess Cadence's flower fillies back then, and even Miss Trixie. The unconscious griffon was a mystery, but there's no way I wouldn't recognize Silver Spoon, my baby's best friend. I look up at the dark Alicorn mare before me. She looks so much like me, I want to believe she's 'me' from another world, like the world that strange blank-flank colt showed me after we defeated the Beldam, the me with a dark pink coat, yellow chartreuse mane, and green eyes. It never occurred to me before how the colt had the same coloring as the mare in one of our earliest ancestral paintings. There had never been a colt in our family tree with those colors, the closest was a reference to a colt named ‘Dissy,” who was said to have died young. I saw the cold expression, the aloof stance that I'd taught her. The wings of a vulture, settled against her flanks. That spiral horn, rising from her forehead. The gray barding that covered most of her body, decorated only with a single diamond on the peytral. Cornflower blue eyes shaped like a dragon's, shaded by a dark purple flowing mane with white streaks. Her familiar cutie mark twisted into a spiked ring, on a coat darkened to a dusty pink color that terrified me for reasons I couldn’t understand. I wished I could deny what I saw, but at the same time I didn't want to. I wanted to run away, and at the same time I wanted to run up and hug her. This was the Diamond Tiara I'd envisioned ... She was everything I’d wanted in my daughter, everything I’d raised her to be. I felt a hole in the pit of my stomach. For a moment, I’m overwhelmed by memories. A year of searching... the last time we ever saw each other, the beautiful dress... Princess Gaia's day of innocence... breaking out of the mental hospital, fighting my way past the mad animals and into Canterlot Castle... my mind suddenly returning. Remembering what I had done! Being reunited with Filthy. Fighting the changelings. Meeting the Half-Lights. Attending the Canterlot wedding! And never once forgetting even for a second what my ultimate goal was, what my purpose was for leaving that mental hospital. Who I'd done all this for, who I'd endured everything for. Fighting and fighting until I’d even had dreams of fighting my way through endless creatures of nightmare, and then fighting even more today, all for my baby’s sake. And here we were... together again... Our positions reversed. I can almost hear fate laughing at me. I saw Lord Tube Light Discord, reduced to a ghostly doll riding on her shoulder. He didn't look like the jovial god of chaos I'd seen on “The Day Everything Made Sense Again,” who'd let me rampage to my crazy little heart's content, flying around Ponyville with my beanie and leaving my doctors to his non-existent mercy. Instead, he looked like poor Filthy when I'd gotten my way and raised Diamond Tiara to behave exactly like I used to. The silence had grown awkwardly, awfully long when I finally managed to speak up again. "I'm... sorry your father can't be here, dear. Please don't hold that against him. Your father is doing what he's always done... working himself to the bone for our sakes." "NOW HOLD ON!" Princess Celestia's apprentice shouted. "Golden Tiara, what are you doing here?! How are you even here!? We have a perimeter of Royal Guardponies watching every way in!" "Yes, and they were very insistent on not letting me and my husband through," I said with as much self control as I could. "But I was also very insistent on coming through to see our filly." Twilight shuddered, no doubt recalling my Ponyville breakouts. "Mrs. Tiara, PLEASE tell me you didn't hurt them! Attacking Royal Guards is a serious crime!" I kept a smile on my face. "Don't worry, Miss Sparkle, I'm very certain none of the Royal Guards will be pressing charges. We were ultimately able to settle things peacefully, once I made it clear who I was." I looked at my baby. "And why I was here. A couple of them in particular were kind enough to escort us... " (Princess Celestia's Memoirs: I made a mental note to write up a pardon for those Guards.) I was surprised when it was Discord of all creatures who asked the obvious question first, while my baby's face remained like stone. "Are they and your husband in one piece? You don't look terribly broken up about it so I assume so, but... well, I might have hired a bit of extra security. Not very bright, but they take their jobs very seriously." "I know," I said curtly. +++ "Blimey, Roy, I'm bored!" said one fiend to another, in what sounded suspiciously like a thick Isle of Pony accent. He twitched his scaly wings impatiently. “Right, I’ll just pop off someplace and have a bit o’ fun.” "Now see here, we’ll have none of that!” said Roy, jabbing Bill’s armored chest with a clawed finger. “We’re getting well paid to make sure no more of them horsie things get past this point, so we're gonna sit tight and do just that!" “What, can’t I just splatter a few of them, Roy?” pouted Bill. “Nope! There’s to be no splattering! Mister Discord’s orders!” “What about poking, then? Did he say no poking?” “No poking, neither!” “Can we snap ‘em, then?” “No!” “Roast ‘em?” “Roasting’s right out!” “Surely we can whack one or two, can't we? Nobody will miss ‘em, and I’m ever so bored!” Roy groaned, thumping his forehead against a tree trunk. “I don’t reckon yer quite getting the concept here, Bill! How’s whacking ‘em any different from splattering ‘em?" "Those are totally different!” insisted Bill. “There’s an art to it.” "Cut yer yappin'. See, here’s a few of ‘em coming this way now, so get yer game face on!” “Yes sir! My flaming swords and whip are at the ready, sir!" Bill tried to salute and nearly clocked himself in the head with his own weapons, though to be fair, that would have damaged the weapons more than the fiend’s skull. "These horsie things ain't gonna know what whacked 'em!" == "How's THAT for 'doomed to never be with your princess', you big... stupid... flaming... jerk!" Flash Sentry punctuated each word with another good swift kick, then slumped with exhaustion, having used the monster’s own sword to pin its body to the ground. "Just one more year,” he panted, “and I can introduce myself!" "This is right embarassin'," said the monster's head, having stopped rolling upside down. "We’ll be the laughing stock of all the boys back home, I shouldn’t wonder." "Heh... don't sweat it... I took on Nyarlathotrot... " "Not Great-Uncle Nythy!" said the fiend's head. “No fooling? Well, that’s not so bad then, is it? Losin’ to a bloody hero of the realm.” "We’ll just say he was ten feet tall, with a bloomin’ magic sword or some such," said the other defeated monster, hog-tied by the two whips. "Plenty of time to get our story straight before the contract expires and we up and vanish from this plane." Sitting on top of the other fiend was Death Stalker, dressing Filthy Rich's wounds. His carapace was leaking green fluid from many places. "Thanks for saving me back there, Flash." "Hey... we're both Guards, why wouldn't I?" "I'm a changeling. You think I can't smell envy?" Flash winced. "Let's just say, there's some stuff I can't talk about without the universe exploding." "Ahh. National security?" "Something like that." Death Stalked prodded him, chittering with amusement. "So, you have a crush on one of the Princesses?" "Nnnnnn... Yes and no..." Filthy Rich groaned, too weak to stand, much less get up and trot anywhere. "Please be okay, Golden..." Golden Tiara "And Filthy figured at least one of us should try to see our baby.” I could help but smile just a bit. “He always did sacrifice everything for us. He would have become a milk farmer, if I'd asked him." (Rarity's Notes: Mrs. Rich... I apologize to you and your family for ever thinking you were nothing better than lazy ponies who only fed off the labors of others.) "Well, those boys can forget about their bonus!" Discord remarked. "Hopefully this doesn't ruin their reputation. They’re strangely endearing, in their own way. Wouldn’t want them losing all their mercenary jobs to the Merciless Bluenose Baboons." I ignored him and looked imploringly at my baby. I’d fought so hard to banish Spoiled Rich from my dreams, and here was my baby with that same cold face... My lip quivered. "Well, I always expected you to move up in the world, dear. I did joke with Silver Platter, how your crown must mean you were destined to become a princess. Well... look at you now." "... I... I... I did not want you to see me like this!" My baby spread her wings and reared up on her back hooves, her face for a moment becoming something unpony like. "Your daughter is dead!” She stomped her hooves down. "I didn't want you to see her corpse! What are you even here for?! To give me the spanking I so richly deserve?!" "... I couldn't lift a hoof to you, dear... not again. Never again. Maybe if Filthy was here, he could. If I pushed you too hard, I’m afraid he never pushed you enough, but I think he’d be willing to punish you now. Ironic, isn’t it?" I actually get out a laugh. "He might, if he could possibly fit you on his lap." (Gilda's Scratchings: Why are you ponies always too chicken to give your chicks a good swat in the tail feathers?) "Did you come here thinking you’d be immune to this pain, too?" I hung my head. "I didn't care that it might hurt. A parent is expected to endure for her foal." I think back to my battles during the invasion of Canterlot, of how I'd rather be called by my crazy nickname than accept the name of the pony Filthy fell for, the name of the mare who gave birth to Tarnished. I think of Spoiled Rich and Screwball, and what examples they'd set for my baby... what kind of example was I setting now? "Diamond… you're beating yourself up too, aren't you? This whole thing is you feeling that you can’t be forgiven, that you shouldn’t be forgiven. I’ve been there, I know what it’s like! “I won't lie, I'll never forget what I did to you... I don't want to forget. It will always hurt, but… if I never move on from it, we'll both be stuck there, won't we? Stuck in that awful moment. I'm sorry for what happened, Diamond! I forgive you for stealing my things… please forgive me, and forgive yourself." My baby looked at me, eyes widening, then blinking in confusion. "Is that what you think this is all about?" Her voice softened. "Mother... I forgive you. I always have." I'm not 'Mrs. Rich' until… until she's forgiven me. Funny the things we remember, isn't it? "I'm doing this for you!" my baby shouted. "You don't understand, and it's best you don't understand! There always needs to be somepony to blame, somepony to hate. None of them want it all to be just a misunderstanding. If the villain is forgiven, the blame has to shift to somepony else, or they'll never accept it! “It doesn't matter if they're the Ones-Who-Make or Those-Who-Watch! They'd rather have that pony sent to Hell than simply forgive them! They don't want somepony to be talked down from doing something awful! They have to see that pony suffer! Unless there's somepony else that they can shift all that hate and blame to! I've seen it, mother! Across all the threads of the world! I have to protect you! I'll be the devil and take all the hate and blame with me!" I swear my baby wasn't seeing what was in front of her when she said her next words. "Why couldn't daddy give you a second chance?! As soon as you made one mistake, he threw you away!" I reached a hoof out to her, pleading. "It wasn’t like that at all, Tarnished! It wasn't about forgiveness or second chances. I had a sickness that made me keep hurting the ponies around me. Filthy made the best choice he could when there were no good ones.” My heart felt heavy. I don't know how my daughter became a new Nightmare Moon. I don't know what Discord is doing with her. She's saying some things I don't quite understand ... but I don't care. What I care about is right in front of me. "Dear, your father had something he wanted to tell you. Alula is wondering how you were doing. He promised he'd tell you, but I have to tell you in his stead." "I know that. Just like I know that she, Tootsie, and Silvey are all better off without me." "Princess! Mommy and daddy are back together now!" "I already know that too. You should go back to him. Forget about me!" "What makes you think I'll EVER do that?!" As it turned out, Trixie, Silver Spoon, the Apples, and the rest hadn't been just sitting on their flanks and twiddling their hooves as I spoke with my baby. Trixie barged in front of me with Twilight Sparkle's pet dragon still on her back. = The Hot Wind Blowing - Metal Gear Revengence = "TRIXIE IS SICK AND TIRED OF NOT HAVING THE SPOTLIGHT!” Trixie tried to remove Spike with her telekinesis, causing him to latch harder onto her. “NOW YOU'LL SEE MY TRUE POWER!" "Trixie, don't!” shouted Twilight Sparkle. “It's suicide!" "TRIXIE DOESN'T CARE!" “Whoa!” hollered the dragon, after getting thrown off Trixie’s back. "Somebody stop her!" "Feel the wrath of Trixie’s Great and Powerful Lightning Blast!" Trixie conjured a small storm cloud above her, and lightning shot right at Diamond Tiara, arcing across her barding. "Have you gone insane?!" I shouted, my maternal instincts kicking in. Not thinking rationally, I rushed towards her. Trixie looked at me, alarmed. Suddenly, I was caught in Princess Celestia's magic and pulled back. "LET ME GO!" Trixie teleported evasively, blasting Diamond Tiara with more bolts of magic, then a fireball... I should have realized how much Diamond Tiara could apparently take as the new Nightmare. Her barding wasn’t even marked, much less damaged, but my instincts weren't registering this as I struggled to break free of the grip of the sun. Nightmare Nhilis curled her lips into a schoolyard bully sneer. “Is this all you can do? You must be trying to bore me to death! If you have this much energy left, then let's see your mother's destruction magic. Unless you can’t even do that right." "What's the matter, afraid to fight back? Scared to show your mother what a lousy shot you are?!" Trixie, what were you thinking?! Diamond Tiara reacted exactly how I knew she would... White hot needles of magic shot from Diamond's horn. Trixie brought up a barrier, but the needles went through the barrier like it wasn't even there. Trixie teleported again as one of the needles struck her, but the spark had set something off. "Oh no! My fireworks!" Trixie had just enough time to say, and then they exploded. The... the barding forced most of the explosion inward, into Trixie. Trixie didn't scream, I didn’t know if her lungs were still working. = Heart-shaped Tears - Lunar Eternal Blue = Trixie's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fell, her hat tumbling off her and settling on the ground. She wasn't breathing. A trail of smoke rose from her, and the sick smell of gunpowder and cooked meat filled the air. A dark hole lay in the center of Trixie's chest where the barding had been breached from the inside. "No!" I heard Twilight Sparkle scream, and Discord too? I must have imagined it. Rarity fainted on her couch. The Princesses bowed their heads. Apple Bloom’s and Spike's eyes filled with tears, along with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Silver Spoon looked away, trembling. Applejack took off her hat. Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane. Pinkie Pie whimpered. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. My baby's horn glowed, and a guillotine materialized above Trixie's body (they used those for chopping cabbage right?), and the blade fell! The others all gasped in shock and alarm. Trixie's body sprang up and rolled out of the way. The others all seemed relieved instead of shocked, seeing Trixie suddenly coming back to life. Silver Spoon looked back, gasping. The children's tears dried up on the spot, and the reality of the situation dawned on me. The image of the burned hole in Trixie's body shattered like glass, the tell tale sign of an illusion spell ending. Trixie kicked some metal sheets off her hooves that had been hidden by the illusion as well, and I could feel her presence on the earth again. She removed a cloth mask that she'd been wearing under the illusion as well, and the smell of cooked meat and blasting powder vanished instantly. I watched... angry, confused, but most of all relieved that my baby hadn't actually killed another pony right before my eyes. Trixie levitated her hat back onto her head before looking my baby in bewilderment. "Trixie has to know, where was the failing in her show?" My baby spoke in a formal tone decades above her level. "Oh no, there was no failing. Your performance was flawless. By all the evidence of my senses, you were dead for real.” She glanced dismissively at the rest of the gathered ponies around me. “Your friends reacted quite convincingly too. The reaper spirit really sold it… I suppose that was Princess Luna’s doing? It must have felt like death itself was on your back." I must have missed that last part. "I was completely fooled..." "Even I was none the wiser!" Discord added, looking shaken, and looking shaken that he was shaken, if that made sense. "I'm guessing Sweetie Belle thought of not being able to redeem Chrysalis, yes?” My baby looked at Silver Spoon. "Looking away was a good choice Silvey, you never could get the sad face good enough to fool me. I guess the Shield Flanks didn't feel like teaching you the puppy dog eyes." "Then how? Why?" screamed Trixie. "I attacked your 'corpse' because I knew what I saw was impossible,” said Nightmare Nhilis without emotion. “It’s that simple. Reality itself would have cracked from the strain of a 'favorite' pony dying. If you had gone for 'crippled for life' or something like that, I'd have swallowed it hook line and sinker. “And now that I've said that-" Nightmare Nhilis rolled her eyes. "-there's bound to already be a worldline where that happened. But since we're not in a time loop, that information isn't going to do you any good!" "Trixie is a favorite?" Trixie's face twitched into a grin. "A no-face traveling blowhard birthday magician becomes friends with Equestria's protectors, gains a similar power to its Chosen One, and takes part in battles to save Equestria? You have to ask?" "Trixie wouldn't have been able to do any of that if she wasn't up to the challenge!" "Trixie!” I said, exasperated. “I know Diamond Tiara is clearly not herself right now, but what made you think that was going to help anything?!" "I thought of it." Twilight Sparkle said solemnly. "She thinks that she can be as brutal as she wants because none of us are 'fated' to die. If she did see one of us 'die,' I thought it might shock her into reconsidering what she's doing." "Why don't you just use the Elements of Harmony to help her?!" Twilight Sparkle looked down. "As long as Discord's spirit is trapped inside her, it'll turn her to stone, and possibly Sweetie Belle as well." Trapped? My baby roughly shook her head, her beautiful dark mane swaying in a nonexistent wind. "I kept giving you, and giving you, and giving you heroic ways to end this, but you wouldn't take any of them. And now my mother has to be here to see this, and you morons endangered her with your stupid trick! You're all so selfish, putting everypony in danger just to hang onto your sense of moral superiority!" (Apple Bloom's Addendum: Ah should have realized Nightmare Nhilis might be fixin’ to do something desperate. She had to know she’d already used up a lot of power.) Diamond Tiara touched the jewel on her peytral, and it changed shape. It became a circular gem, with jewels arranged around it like flower petals with sharp points, like a drawing of the sun's corona. The ‘petals’ flashed pale pink and the gem dark purple, and inside, I saw a storm of some sort raging. = Zophar's Revival - Lunar 2: Eternal Blue = She looked at all of us. "Now listen carefully. If I lose consciousness in any way, if this is removed from me, or comes into contact with your combined Harmony magic or anypony else's teleportation, it explodes. I didn't include an 'off' switch, but I can set it off at any time. I have no idea how big the explosion will be, it might be just a firecracker or it could take out Ponyville from here. The only way it doesn't go off is if I'm destroyed." So many gasps from the ponies and one dragon around me... shocked, alarmed, angry, confused, scared, horrified... I wonder what mine was. Tiara... no... my daughter, why are you doing this to yourself? Saving me? Don't you think I'd happily become Screwball again, or even Spoiled Rich if it meant you could have a full and happy life? If I’d stayed perfectly sane, and raised you just as I’d planned, if I’d taught you to be just as mean and superior as I was back then… maybe you wouldn’t have run away from home and become a Nightmare, but would you be happy? And if Discord could actually turn back time like that… would he? Could I trust Discord… the old, cruel Lord Pizza Sour Gumdrops Discord, to make a bargain like that and not cheat me, let me doom myself and have his fun anyway? I just don’t know! Oh, my sweet baby filly, all we can do is deal with the world as it is, with the world we have. IF WE WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD, WE HAVE TO WORK FOR IT, DIAMOND TIARA! Your mother, your father, our predecessors had to WORK for what we have, and we have to work to KEEP what we have! "Diamond! Stop this nonsense! If you want a sacrifice that badly then take me!" Diamond shook her head. "I hold the spirits of dark magic inside me now, mother! If I'm destroyed, they're destroyed too. Doesn't that sound like a bargain? No more Nightmares? No more dark magic? Just for one selfish filly. You all just have your heads stuck too far up your flanks to admit it’s for the best.” "DO NOT USE THAT LANGUAGE, YOUNG LADY!" I said automatically. "It doesn't matter anymore, mom. Nothing matters, nothing ever did. You, me, the whole world, we're nothing. We’re not even a pointless accident, at least that would be at least an excuse. We're just a big mess up, but I'm taking all the mistakes with me." She touched the jewel again. A set of numbers appeared, and it began to count down. Oh no. "Three minutes, one hundred and eighty seconds, but that was six seconds ago. I suggest you hurry up and destroy me." I had never seen so many ponies look so helpless, and I felt exactly the same. Rarity closed her eyes, and breathed in slowly, her whole body shuddering. She put her hooves together in silent prayer for a few seconds. Then Rarity touched both Fluttershy and Trixie, took hold of one of her large sewing needles... and it transformed into a golden sword. The blade was a uniform segment of blue crystal, fused to a golden spine on one side. The pattern matched the design on Fluttershy's armor, but the glow was like Trixie's magic. Rarity did a few quick practice swings with the weapon. "RARITY, NO!" Sweetie Belle shouted. Rarity didn't meet her gaze. "Please look away, Sweetie Belle." I gritted my teeth, every muscle tense. I could feel Princess Luna's eyes on me. "Rarity! I can't let you!" Twilight Sparkle shouted. "You have one minute and fifty-nine seconds to think of a better way, Twilight," Rarity said. She didn't sound happy in the least. She sounded... defeated. I wished I was Screwball. She would have attacked that mare without hesitation or mercy. +++ Trixie hates this. I never thought I'd wish I’d stayed on that rock farm, or never left home, just to be away from this insanity. I never thought I'd be this angry at being pulled along like a puppet, and now being used. I fought back tears... I haven't felt this helpless since I was trapped in loneliness by Discord. Trixie... might be afraid of what's about to happen. And... sorrow at the foals having to see this, of Mrs. Tiara having to see this! No, this isn’t fair! Take Trixie instead!! AGH, come on! Let me transform into Nightmare-Whatever and stop this filly, so the others can use the Elements to fix me! Give it to me! AAAGH! OW! What the… ?! My chest feels like it's on fire! +++ "EVERYPONY, LOOK!!" Apple Bloom shouted, as if the sun's light had shattered the deepest darkness like a buck from the hooves of God. "THE TIMER! IT'S GOIN' BACKWARDS! FORWARDS! IT AIN'T COUNTIN' DOWN!" Nightmare Nhilis looked down, eyes widening in shock. She drew in a breath. "THE HELL?!?!?!" Her voice echoed off the mountain top. = The Grubby Dark Blue - Thunder Force III = "THIS IS HORSEAPPLES! I DEVOURED YOU! YOU SHOULD'VE CEASED TO EXIST!" she bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. (Vain Notes: Except for one detail. You let go of your heart, your feelings... How could you possibly become the new goddess of black magic?) The ponies didn't hear the response, but her words alone made them realize what happened. "Did the spirits of dark magic just... help us?" said Twilight, in a breathless whisper. "Do ye truly find it inconceivable that darkness might aid ye?" Princess Luna asked gently. “They are not called ‘the spirits of evil magic,’ after all.” Nightmare Nhilis found her awareness dragged away from the material world, down into a dim void where filly-sized shadows surrounded her on all sides, all of them chained together. 'I remember... being so alone... I didn't even know how long I'd been alone... or why I was alone, or what it was to feel anything other than lonely. I remember... five smiling faces... turned gray... the same faces, but not feeling the same anymore.' 'I remember being silenced... bound and gagged, not allowed to speak a word. Not being allowed to say how I was afraid of being wrong, afraid of not living up somepony else's expectations... Afraid of hurting others, afraid of it all being for nothing, afraid of becoming a monster.' 'I remember... being chained like this before. Being eaten... being absorbed... ceasing to be me... I felt so sad... but I wasn't sad for me. I was sad for all my friends... all my family... our home... my blue best friend... being used to hurt her, by a monster with my face.' 'I remember being so angry... at the monster with my face... when they called my brother a fake... saying he was just imaginary... that he didn't have a real name... saying he was even less real than everything else... that he'd been a villain before big sister Cadence turned him into a hero. And she ate him first...' 'I wanted to know more, always learn more, to see more, to understand more, to have more friends.' 'I remember how perfect my teacher was... so kind, so wise, so smart, so pretty... I envied everything about her. I knew I had to become like her.' 'I was a diligent student that she trusted completely.' 'I hated... how wrong everything was... but I hated the idea of everything we worked for being simply wiped away even more.' (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dusk): I don't believe it.) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dawn): I super don't believe it.) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half Light Noon): Well it's my job to ask the sharp questions! Mom was the goddess of ALL magic. Where do you think these spirits came from, the supermarket?!) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dusk): I never would have imagined… ) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half Light Noon): Well, our coming into existence wasn't 100% planned. I get the feeling theirs was even less... ) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dawn): ... Born orphans. Like us.) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half Light Noon): So smarty pants... are they Nightmare Eclipse broken up into little pieces? Just making sure we're not gonna have our worst Nightmare to deal with.) (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dusk): I'll ignore the pun... Remember, everything that was Nightmare Eclipse became part of Amicitia... including all those innocent Twilight Sparkles who were absorbed by her. I think they were born the same time as us, but... they've been confused and all alone... ) +++ (Greed: You could have had what you really wanted the whole time! The whole reason you did everything! This isn't selfish, it's stupid!) (Envy: You had parents to love you... to look after you... and you just threw them away? You’re crazy!) (Hateful: You think your mom doesn't hate seeing you like this?) Of course I know she does! (Hateful: And you think she's going to somehow hate you dying less?) (Vanity: How can you treat your life like it doesn't have ANY value?) (Sadness: Please stop! Can't you see how much this is hurting them and will hurt them?!) What the Pony Hell would sadness itself care? (Sadness: Don't you think I can't feel sad FOR others?) SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! IF ANY OF YOU COULD DO ANY MORE THAN THIS AGAINST MY WILL YOU WOULD HAVE DONE IT ALREADY! JUST STAY PUT LIKE GOOD LITTLE BATTERIES! IT'S TIME FOR ALL OF US TO GO TO THE AFTERLIFE! Nothing’s changed, I still have all of them between a rock and a hard place! We’re a plague on this world, and it’s time for us to be scrubbed out of existence! (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Dusk): You said it yourself, Nightmare Nhilis, they're like you. They empowered you to become a Nightmare because you were kindred spirits. They wanted to be with their mother, but they couldn't find her... ) YOU SHUT UP!... Stillness... Silence... Darkness... Stillness, Silence, Darkness... Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to? You're all trying to keep me angry so I'll do something foolish and dimwitted. How painfully predictable! (Interviewer's Notes: (Half-Light Noon): I feel sad for ya, kid. You've spent so much time among manipulative adults, you don't know how to recognize when somepony is being straight with ya.) +++ "Dissy!” shouted Wind Whistler, right in Discord’s face. “You cannot allow Diamond Tiara's current course of action!" 'You think I don't know that, teacher?' "Then do something about it. Aid her in coming to her senses! If you really love her, you shall!" Discord sighed. 'As cliche as it is… I have been. If I'm too overt she'll notice.' Wind Whistler frowned. "You think she hasn't noticed already?" 'Of course she’s noticed! She just hasn’t realized that I know that she knows, so she doesn't think I WILL do anything directly with her.' Wind Whistler sighed. "While I would normally consider that line of thought over analyzation, in this instance it is logical." 'Don't rub it in. Eeww, what are you doing? Cut it out with the nuzzling!' Wind Whistler gave one of her incredibly rare smiles. "I'm just proud of you, little Dissy." Discord looked down. 'It’s a shame you're not the real thing, and all of these mental gymnastics are just me trying to be at peace with myself.' "Didn't you ever notice how you fell into patterns after that battle? Sadly it wasn't enough to curb all of the War Avatar's influence, or Destruction's." Discord was so startled that he didn’t even object when Wind Whistler hugged him, wrapping him in her wings, in spite of their size difference. "I am certain that you will be able to think of something to aid in this situation having a positive outcome that doesn't involve the loss of life. After all... you were always so creative." Wind Whistler turned around, glancing back at him, and faded as she trotted away. > Rarity, Element of Generosity, Gives All > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER Title: Rarity, Element of Generosity, Gives All "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. " - Elie Wiesel Trixie didn't know what that strange ache in her chest was, but it seemed to be gone now. Rarity swept her sword in an elegant arc, transforming it back into a large sewing needle. "No!" Diamond hissed. "I'm Nightmare Nhilis! I'm taking all the grime and filth of this world with me to Tartarus where it belongs. Every time you refuse me, you’re only making things worse." Unlike Scootaloo, Rarity knew the last thing you wanted to say to a suicidal pony was 'Why don't you do it yourself?' "Maybe the spirits of dark magic aren't so bad after all. They're helping us save you." "They're only saving themselves!" roared Nhilis, firing a blast of raw black magic. Rarity flung herself to one side and rolled out of the way, but the blast left yet another smoking crater in the lawn where she was just standing. 'Hay Seed is going to be working overtime after this,' Rarity thought. "Diamond Tiara, dear,” asked Rarity politely, even as she kept moving, firing her needles one by one. “If you're so certain that 'important ponies' can't die here, then what makes you think we can kill you even if we wanted to?" A wall of black flames sprang up, melting the needles well short of Nightmare Nhilis’ armor. "Because I've betrayed Discord. I'm the true villain now. That means you can feel sorry for him and pretend all his crimes never happened, and focus all the hate, anger, and fear you felt towards him on me. If he had just come to his senses and surrendered, you would have spent forever thinking of ways to pay him back a thousand times over for all he'd done." Discord flinched, looking at Nightmare Nhilis. "Young filly, that is not the pony way!" Golden Tiara had not neglected keeping her body in shape, and she closed the distance between herself and her now grown-up foal with a single lunge. She alternated between trying to give Diamond a hug and strike her nerve points. Nhilis flickered in and out, teleporting away from every attempt. "Sure, keep telling yourselves that." +++ Rarity Belle As I said before, darlings, the battle was quickly devolving into complete anarchy. There were no more coordinated attacks, no more flanking maneuvers, no more combination techniques. Wemaintained enough horse sense to avoid hitting each other with friendly fire, but that was about it. The Flutters continued to stand watch over the unconscious Gilda, as Twilight had asked. Princess Gaia’s power might have been depleted, but Fluttershy had her Stare ready, and Fluttercruel had raised a windscreen. Even though an Alicorn version of Rainbow Dash had tried and failed to stop Nhilis, our own Rainbow Dash didn’t seem the least bit discouraged. She zipped around like lightning, darting in to strike wherever she saw an opening. Perhaps she's hoping to paralyze Nhilis' magic center with a well aimed head-blow, and thus prevent the bomb from detonating. I’ve only ever heard of master martial artists accomplishing that feat, but if any of us could do it, Rainbow would be the one. Applejack used the Truth to fight Nightmare Nhilis hoof-to-hoof, hoping to keep her preoccupied from realizing another scheme to make things worse, but Nhillis kept teleporting, forcing Applejack into a game of keep away. "I am suicide's siren call!" "Yer self-pity dressed up fancy." Golden Tiara didn’t even seem to care whenever she was struck with collateral damage.She and Silver Spoon both now kept pounding away at the iron walls of the fortress around Diamond Tiara's heart. Princess Luna, Princess Celestia... I truly and sincerely wish we could just once face a villain who would listen to reason. With Celestia as my witness, I vow I'd become that villain’s friend on the spot if she was persuaded to peacefully change her ways. Pinkie Pie unleashed every party trick in her arsenal. I actually had to look away, lest my sanity crack from seeing my friend make balloon animals out of the laws of physics. Colorful wrapped presents exploded left and right, releasing grump-seeking missiles jam-packed with tickle-feathers. Pinkie herself seemed to be in two or even three places at once... swinging on a rope attached to nothing and firing that special bazooka of hers, while somehow also using her forehooves to toss pies in Nightmare Nhilis' face. Nhilis caught the pies in her magic, only to have them explode, covering her in Diamond Tiara's favorite filling. I hope to never witness Pinkie Pie drinking coffee again! The first two times were bad enough! Trixie tried to confuse Nightmare Nhilis with illusionary clones and quick teleports, repeatedly getting close, only to be driven back by shadows and puppets. Spike was on Trixie's back the whole time, chomping at Nightmare Nhilis' peytral whenever he got close. Was Spike hoping to eat the gem? Dragons were tough, but I never want to find if dragons are that tough on the inside! Princess Luna kept turning into a shadowy cloud, trying to sneak up on her and slip into her head, but Nhilis kept spotting her and firing white hot needles and magical flash grenades, forcing Luna to retreat and try again. Even now, Luna seemed completely unable to work her magic on Nightmare Nhilis directly. Princess Celestia’s magic was likewise being negated with the unwilling aid of the spirits of dark magic. I realized that she was systematically trying everything in her magical repertoire… unicorn spells, lightning strikes, harmony spells spun from pure rainbows, beams of powerfully focused sunlight, bolts of darkness, eerie golden flames akin to Chrysalis’ magic, and even strange water-based spells that I didn’t recognize at all... all for naught. Restraining Nightmare Nhilis now was dangerous, but Celestia still used the most powerful and precise Earth pony magic I'd ever seen to guide plant life to wrap around the Nightmare's legs, and pegasus magic more powerful than I’d imagined possible to try and keep Nightmare Nhilis grounded. Twilight Sparkle was trying something with different rune combinations that all went sailing over my head, metaphorically speaking. Something to do with… restraint? Attempting to stop Nightmare Nhilis from teleporting, perhaps? But no ward, no barrier, could prevent the passage of decay. "Become a filly!" Twilight blasted Nightmare Nhilis with a surge of magic that looked impressive even by her standards, and still nothing happened. "Ugh! It's like trying to counter seven different casters all at the same time!” Nightmare Nhilis gave my friend an offended look and fired back with the same magic, only reversed, reducing Twilight to a broken old mare. Twilight hastily restored herself to her rightful age before her body could fail on her. The Cutie Mark Crusaders fought as one pony. Credit where it is due, they never once seemed to enjoy ganging up on their former schoolyard tormenter. Braided Scootaloo swept in from the air, with Sweetie Belle blasting her peytral with magic from the front, and earring-wearing Apple Bloom lobbing what concoctions she had left from Zecora or was able to mix-up on the spot. Amazingly, her formulas did seem to ever so slightly lessen Nightmare Nhilis' strength and reaction time for however long they lasted. Nightmare Nhilis conjured snakes with snakes for tongues, all scales and bones and not much else. They swam through the air like sharks, randomly splitting up like the heads of a hydra as they went. Twilight actually screamed and conjured a table to stand on in fright, before she came to her senses and started frying them with her magic. Nhilis created hornets of black flames, too. I squished them with my gems before they got too close, but my gems were burned to cinders in the process. Then the edges of her wings and her horn began to “glow” with blackness, as if they were devouring light instead of casting it. She charged like an angry bull, leaving a trail of dead grass and ash behind her. The Flutters pulled Gilda out of the way just in time, and Trixie and Twilight teleported the others to safety along with the foals. Nightmare Nhilis hadn't yet threatened to set off the bomb if no one would execute her. Was she bluffing about the deadpony switch? Applejack hadn’t alerted us to any such deception. Diamond was still trying to make eliminating her seem like a heroic deed, but how long could that last? Princess Luna's original plan...liberate Discord’s spirit by pushing Nightmare Nhilis to the edge of death... had all been called into question by the bomb around her throat. Worse, removing Discord might not even weaken Nhilis much, at this point. Disabling the countdown had bought us a little time to think of another way, but that was all. If Nhilis could still set off the bomb any time she wished, then we could no longer simply contain her, and the rest of the trigger conditions ruled out any obvious solution. Even if we wanted to risk Sweetie Belle being turned to stone, we didn't dare use the Elements now. This battle couldn’t be allowed to drag on any longer, or Celestia knew what kind of weight Diamond would add to her ultimatum next! Brute force wasn't going to work here. I suppose that ought to have been obvious from the start. "It's time for me to be more generous than I've ever been," I said to myself. Did I have a plan? Oh yes. A good plan? Debatable. Utterly insane? Oh, most assuredly. Would I go with this course of action if there had been any other available in existence? Most assuredly not! Was I scared? OUT OF MY BUCKING MIND! I hadn’t gone insane though, at least, I sincerely hoped not. I hoped I wouldn’t regret this. Do I feel ashamed that I couldn't think of something better? A little, but I don’t blame Twilight or the Princesses for not being able to think of something better. I pray they understand. Is it fair? No, it is not. Not at all. Make sure Sweetie Belle, my parents, and Opal all know how much I love them. Oh, and tell Spikey-Wikey that I wish him to live and be happy! (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): You have my word.) Now, to communicate my plan to the others... I doubted that any soundproof barrier would have been effective against Nightmare Nhilis, and I couldn’t think of any way to prevent her from sending shadows to spy on us, either. Fortunately, she was distracted, and Discord would likely not lift a claw to help her. Another piece of good news: While Alicorns like Princess Celestia were said to have many miraculous powers, hearing the faintest whisper from far away like a comic book hero was not one of them. Nor did Fluttershy ever tell us of suddenly gaining super-hearing or the ability to read lips. And with the spirits of dark magic rebelling against Nightmare Nhilis, it’d be fruitless for her to ask them for a lip-reading spell. Huh? You have to know how to cast it? That’s a relief. My only hope is that after being undetectable for such a long time, she got so used to it that she didn’t bother to learn that spell from one of Twilight’s books. My foolish plan was going to be hard enough to pull off in this maelstrom, but explaining it in enough detail without being overheard by the enemy was absolutely vital, and that was going to be a daunting challenge unto itself. And convincing my friends to go along with it? I might have greater success attempting to pull Canterlot Mountain along with my teeth. All things considered, enacting my mad scheme was actually likely to be the simplest part!Celestia be praised, I am not Applejack, I'm good at hiding things when I need to. I backed up a few paces, slipping away from the battle. Nightmare Nhilis was so besides herself with frustration at this point, she wasn't likely to notice me putting some distance between us at first. If only I had a cake to ruin, or a book to rip the page out of, I knew that would get the attention of the co-conspirators I needed. Wait a minute! You're right! Maybe I do! My chaise longue isn’t the only essential accessory that I’ve learned to summon! I pull out my fashion trunk, and open it to find a French dress design book, along with some tasty sweetened scones. I’d stashed them there earlier. In case I ever became faint with hunger during an all-night fashion emergency, you understand. (Interviewer's Notes: (Pegasus): Yes you did, and nopony can prove otherwise.) I rip a page out of the book, and stamp a sweetened scone with my hoof. As surely as gravity pulls things to the ground and flowers bloom in the spring, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie's ears both twitch. Pinkie Pie pops up beside me a moment before Twilight's teleportation brings her to my opposite side. "RARITY… ?!" "RARITY, HOW COULD YOU!" Acting skills, don't fail me now! “MY EYES HAVE BEEN OPENED, DARLINGS! WE’LL ONLY BE GETTING OURSELVES KILLED IF WE DON'T HAVE THE RESOLVE TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND I WOULD BE REMISS IN MY DUTY AS YOUR FRIEND IF I FAILED TO CONVINCE YOU OF THAT!" If something is too good to be true, it probably is, but be it Alicorn Princess or demon mare-foal, everypony believes what they want to believe. Hopefully, Rainbow doesn't do the deed to spare Twilight and Pinkie Pie before I'm done! (Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Don't worry! I've gotcha covered!) Thank you, darling. Now to tell my friends my real intention before they draw more attention. I don't suppose you could tell them. (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Sorry, that’d be against the rules.) I understand, dear. At a speed I dare any pony in Equestria to match, I sewed 'Hush! Listen!' onto a piece of cloth, showed it to my friends, and ate it. Then I whispered, "Pinkie Pie, we need your Pinkie Sense and the most precise prediction you've ever given with it. Twilight, I'm afraid you're going to have to break some rules." After Twilight told me that lip-reading spells aren’t for magical offense but magical strategy, I explained my plan as concisely and quietly as I could. My friends had their hooves rooted to the ground as their eyes grew larger and larger, leaning back from me ever so slightly as I laid everything out. Behind us, Nightmare Nhilis turned into a Chineighese dragon, except she was breathing fire. Didn't she know her dragon biology? The others began dogpiling her, dragging her long serpentine body down into a dust cloud raised by their struggles. Pinkie Pie breathed in deep, puffing like a balloon. "Rarity... ARE YOU-" I closed Pinkie Pie's mouth with my bare hooves, and she struggled, but that slippery eel wasn't going to get away from this unicorn! "Maybe I am!" I shouted quietly, do not ask. "But just as you're Laughter, I am Generosity, and I'll give what I need to give!" Twilight pulled out some sheets of paper. "Actually, Rarity, I've already written up a twelve-point lecture on how the stress of the situation has clearly caused you to suffer a critical lapse of judgement and-" I snatched her lecture notes, tore them up, and ate them too. Pinkie Pie slipped from my grasp. "HEY! Eating all kinds of stuff is my thing! Well mine and Spike’s, but Spike just eats gems so-" And then I had her in my grip again. Meanwhile, Nightmare Nhilis had turned into a towering armored Neighponese ogre/minotaur hybrid, brandishing a sword and spear. Princess Luna offered Applejack a conjured katana, but Applejack just looked at her funny. Even in a true battle, Applejack fought with her hooves. "Rarity, I'm not helping you do this!" hissed Twilight. "Would you rather have half of Canterlot blown up because of one suicidal filly?" I admit, I could appreciate the theatrics of us having a foalish debate over something this dire as our friends pushed back and forth with our enemy behind us. Pinkie Pie's eyes widened, and she gestured for a time-out with her hooves. I arched an eyebrow, giving her the benefit of the doubt. "Okay... I think I might have an idea to... well, help things not go so bad... but it means trusting somepony neither of you is gonna wanna trust, and I'm pretty sure I'm crazy too for wanting to trust.” She hung her head, pink curls drooping. “But... I'm super sick of all this fighting. I want to get on with the 'we saved the world again' party and the victory group-hug." "So you'll do your part?" I asked. Pinkie Pie nodded slowly, and lunged, hugging me tightly. "I can’t promise my idea is gonna work 100%... it... might not fix things perfectly... but it's better than not fixed at all!" I didn't ask for details. I didn't have time. I simply trusted my friend. "Pinkie Pie!” pleaded Twilight. “For something this important, you can't expect me to-" "I expect you to, Twilight Sparkle." I stamped my hoof. "I think it's a good plan," said a filly’s voice calmly. We all startled. Looking up at us was Silver Spoon. Behind us, Nightmare Nhilis became a monstrous spider, but Luna and Trixie cloaked everypony with invisibility spells. Nhilis summoned nine shadow ponies wearing uninspired black cloaks who could apparently see them anyway, and Celestia and Luna barred their path with swords made of flaming white light. "Except for one detail. I do Miss Rarity's part instead," said Silver Spoon with a straight face. "How did you-" "I'm a filly of the elite. I'm good at being unnoticed and hearing things I'm not supposed to. You should be happy Diamond's too tied up to notice." The giant octopus monster Nightmare Nhilis had meanwhile become now had its tentacles tied up thanks to Rainbow Dash and Applejack, before she untangled herself by changing to her dragon form again. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stepped up, using their cloaks to block a blast of decay magic fire-breath. Trixie tossed one of her smoke bombs, followed by one of Apple Bloom's remaining potion grenades, freezing the inside of the dragon's mouth. Gilda had regained barely enough consciousness to see what was going on, but not enough to move. I wouldn’t blame her if she thought she was having a fever dream. "You’re lucky Sweetie Belle isn't nearly as good as me, or she'd be offering to take Miss Rarity's place too. She does have part of Diamond Tiara's heart... she might be the better choice, actually. Dad always taught me how elites have to be like Guard captains and make tough calls sometimes." It was disturbing how cold Silver Spoon sounded. "It's only logical." "THAT ISN'T-! I MEAN-!" Twilight struggled to say something to that, her mind twisting in knots. "Sorry about this, but I'm more expendable than you or Sweetie Belle, Miss Rarity." Silver Spoon made a strike at my horn... good for a filly who had to live through the changeling invasion, but she was no black belt. I caught her in my magic. "I’m sorry, Silver Spoon. If you're trying for the 'tap on the horn’ trick, you'll find that only works in theater for knocking unicorns out. You're a foal, you have more to lose… and Diamond Tiara is going to need your help more than mine when this is over!" Silver Spoon shuddered, eyes wide and mouth open. She nodded silently. I touch my Element of Harmony, and in a sprinkling of glittering rainbow sparkles, my suit of armor once again became a necklace. I took it off with my magic and gave it to Silver Spoon. "Be a dear and give this to Spike. Tell him it's for safe keeping." "I will," Silver Spoon said quietly, not looking me in the eye. I gave her a gentle push and on her way she went. "Now, hold on!” said Twilight. “I still haven’t agreed to this. I don't know for sure if I can even do it!" "Of course you can, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said, uncharacteristically forcefully. She got in Twilight's face, her eyeballs pushing back on Twilight's. "After all, you copy any magic you see right? And you've seen this done before!" It was a little disturbing how Pinkie Pie said that. "Pinkie Pie that isn't quite how it-" "It'll work!" "... For the record, I did this under protest, and two of my friends pressured me into it." I gave her a hug. "We love you too, Twilight." Twilight sighed. "However... there's one tactical flaw in your plan, Rarity... and we’re going to need one more pony." Without even asking for opinions on the matter, Twilight teleported in a fourth member for our scheme. She blinked, bewildered and demanding to know what was going on. Forgive me for omitting vital details, darling, but I'm certain you can appreciate the need for secrecy. I had no doubt that Twilight would be able to persuade her, she had experience with that after all. As for myself, I took advantage of those few moments to pen a brief letter. 'Dear Princess Celestia, Once, not so long ago, you informed myself and Rainbow Dash that one day we might be forced to make terrible sacrifices in order to keep blood from staining the hooves of our friends. You were right. I don't like this. I never liked this, and I am certain Rainbow Dash feels the same. It is not my one purpose in life, but it is the responsibility which I must now carry on my shoulders. 'I do not regret becoming friends with Twilight Sparkle. I do not regret becoming the Element of Generosity, or choosing to help Diamond Tiara. Perhaps I regret the things that this responsibility has denied me, and the time it has denied me with those I love, but I would not make any other carry the burden. Thanks to these two years, I have grown as a pony. Not to say I was some selfish 'favor-broker' before, but I do believe I have a greater understanding of myself than I did before. 'I can only hope at this point that I have and shall continue to inspire others, and that regardless of what trials and ordeals await my friends, they never have to face such a terrible decision again. The Element of Generosity brought me here, but if I wasn't already generous, I wouldn't have become Generosity in the first place. Like any lady, I have become more refined. This is true beauty. Your faithful subject, -Miss Rarity Belle,' I turned to Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and our latecomer, who had just completed her own preparations. "Twilight, do it." Twilight gulped, then closed her eyes and touched her horn to mine. I felt her Element of Magic reach out and grasp my own; as I suspected, I was the only one here that could do this. The Element that Silver Spoon had given to my confused Spikey-Wikey glowed intensely, and then its light abruptly faded away. +++ Twilight fired a signal flare that exploded with a loud bang! This got nearly everypony's attention, but what kept it was what they saw. Pinkie Pie looked like she had a horrible headache from too much coffee, or maybe like she’d been given a brutal tongue lashing by the concept of Fate itself. On her back was Rarity, gray, lifeless, her eyes seeing nothing. Her face had nothing to express. Rarity's body was an empty collection of flesh and bone draped over the former rock farmer's back. It was not Discording, not in the least. Her cutie mark was missing. Twilight and Trixie stood beside her, neither looking happy. Trixie was crying. Many of the ponies' hearts skipped a beat. Their minds went blank and had to reboot… It felt like the world itself had been turned upside down. Unconsciously, there was a terrible sense of wrongness, like some unknown, unspoken, fundamental law of creation itself had been broken. Luna narrowed her eyes, and Celestia felt a pang of fear. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo simply couldn't believe what they were seeing, and had no words. Applejack rubbed her eyes in disbelief, confused and horrified at seeing this was no illusion. Fluttercruel was shocked and bewildered. Fluttershy was on the edge of fainting, the world becoming a dim blur. Gilda dimly wondered what the crazy ponies had done now. Golden Tiara felt a chill at the sight, as perfect sanity left her no illusions as to what had been done. Rainbow Dash vainly struggled to make sense out of what she was seeing, to make any sense, to find the slightest rhyme or reason, and failing. Discord's chaos felt more rational. Spike inhaled sharply, then growled, fangs showing and eyes narrowed to slits. Beside him, Sweetie Belle was hyperventilating, dark mists starting to gather around the sickly green glow of her eyes and horn. Both were startled out of it when Silver Spoon gave them a surprise dual hug from behind. "She wouldn't let anypony else be the one," Silver Spoon whispered, her eyes misting over. Twilight raised a hoof to her chest. "Rarity chose to give everything she was to me... so I could finally knock some sense into you!” Twilight lit her horn like a beacon, gathering a storm of magic over their heads. The clouds flashed, and thunder boomed! “She gave me the power! She did it all for you, Nightmare Nhilis! Are you happy now? You said this wasn't over until somepony was never-heard-from-again... Rarity's called your bluff! Are we finally going to stop now?" Nightmare Nhilis gave a mechanical, soulless laugh. "Oh no. My ambition has cost the life of another. Please.” She stamped a hoof, scattering the storm clouds. “Did you really think I'd fall for this trick when it didn't even fool me the first time?" Discord cringed and gulped, adjusting an imaginary collar with a claw. "Princess, that's no trick." "As if I'd believe anything you have to say." Trixie teleported and got right up in Nightmare Nhilis' face, jabbing her chest with a hoof. "You might have grown up, but Trixie sees that you’re still an ill-mannered heckling brat! Rarity sacrificed everything so that we could create a miracle!" "She sacrificed herself for nothing. Miracles don't exist!" Nhilis blasted Trixie at point blank range, sending her flying backwards. Before Trixie even had time to hit the ground, she was surrounded by walls of black wind, as Nightmare Nhilis summoned a spiked drill that worked at lightning speed to dig a bottomless pit for Trixie to plummet into. “Don’t worry,” said Nhilis in a bored tone. "She's no more dead than Rarity. Everypony knows that heroes always survive falling down a steep cliff, isn't that right mother? And don't go getting all excited, father. I took care not to damage any of the magic-suppressing rune tunnels with that hole. Your magic is still limited." "... How very considerate of you." “YOUNG MARE!” bellowed Golden Tiara. "THAT THING IS NOT YOUR FATHER!" "I know, mother, I'm not stupid. Discord was so lonely and starved for family that 'understood' him that he insisted on 'adopting' me." = Live-A-Live: Giant Robot Bonanza R:TS MIx = "FOR THE ONE AND ONLY TRIXIE!" shouted Twilight at the top of her lungs. She galloped towards Nightmare Nhilis, teleported out of the way when Nhilis tried to blast her, and actually slid like a hoofball player through grass and mud, ducking beneath a black wind wall that Nhilis slammed down. Twilight landed solid hits on the Nightmare’s shins and chamfron, seeming to kick and dodge instantly with precise teleports. Like a dam had burst, the rest of the heroes rushed to join her, but a bouncy pink barricade pushed each of them back, even the princesses, as if Pinkie Pie was in fourteen places at once. Only Spike and Sweetie Belle stayed where they were, but that was because of Silver Spoon holding them back. "WAIT!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "Everybody, stay back! Twilight hasn't had a chance to learn to control her new power!" "But, what about Trixie?!" asked Spike. Rarity's body, meanwhile, had been placed alongside Gilda's, sharing her body heat. "The power of love and friendship shall win over all, Nightmare Nhilis!" declared Twilight. Nightmare Nhilis scowled. “Are you for real? Can’t you go five minutes without another corny speech?!” Discord added, “She does have a point. You know what they say about repeating the same action and expecting different results!” Twilight conjured twin snakes made of fire and sent them rushing in to attack. Nightmare Nhilis created a dragon made of black flames that swallowed them whole. Twilight hit the dragon with a freezing fog that became billowing steam instantly on contact. Immediately, she summoned a whirlwind to knock the Nightmare over and clear the fog, but Nhilis had braced herself with a net of black vines. Nightmare Nhilis conjured spear sized versions of her white hot needles. Twilight summoned an enchanted mirror and hastily ducked behind it... only to have the needles shoot right through the mirror like it wasn’t even there, but when the shattered pieces of the mirror flew apart, Twilight was nowhere in sight. Twilight reappeared in a teleport flash, firing a barrage of her strongest stun spells before instantly teleporting away. Some of the spells made it past Nhilis’ barding. Nightmare Nhilis snorted. "Stun magic? I warned you. Multi-Negation Defense" Black spheres formed in front of, behind, and to the sides of Nightmare Nhilis, zipping this way and that to absorb a second wave of stun spells. “You can't dodge forever. Spear-Flower!" Black lances of dark magic shot from the Nightmare's horn, flying in every direction like an exploding pincushion. Twilight's teleports dodged most of them, but one lance grazed her shoulder like a knife through a roast, and blood dripped down her leg. Twilight responded with a powerful fireball spell, but Nightmare Nhilis didn't even move the black orbs to intercept it. Nhilis took the fireball right in the face, ignoring singed fur and smiling at the pain. Transparent black pony skulls swarmed from her horn like watercolors on glass, coming at Twilight from all sides. Twilight fired a boomerang-shaped wedge of pure Destruction magic which wiped out the skulls and homed in on the black orbs, negating their existence. Nightmare Nhilis flapped into the air and slashed down with her horn, pouring her empty magic into the shape of a giant sword that Twilight was barely able to avoid, rolling out of the way before it carved a deep gash in the ground. As Twilight rolled however, lasers shot from Nightmare Nhilis' eyes. The beams struck Twilight's leg, transmuting it into blue crystal. Twilight gasped, but was brought up short by Nightmare Nhilis' telekinesis around her throat. "I despise having to resort to something so tasteless and trite, but maybe this will finally get somepony to do what they should have done the moment they laid eyes on me." Nightmare Nhilis yanked Twilight towards her and impaled her through the stomach with her horn... except instead of blood, more blue crystal erupted from the point of entry, spreading across Twilight’s coat. Twilight struggled like a worm on a hook. "You needn’t be concerned, Twilight. I’m sure they'll be able to glue you back together. Eventually, after your friends go on a quest to find all your pieces." Her face briefly became demonic. "Which will never be followed up on or mentioned ever again." = Naruto - "The Raising Fighting Spirit" = An egg timer dinged. Pinkie Pie pulled it out her mane and smiled and waved. "Okay! That'll do!" The image of the crystallizing Twilight shattered, revealing a crystallizing Trixie without her hat and cape. Nightmare Nhilis and Discord both gaped at her in absolute and utter confusion. The heroes displayed an entire dining table’s worth of bewildered dinner-plate-sized eyes. "That's one boast the world's never taking from me," Trixie said with a pained grin. "A performance that fooled a Nightmare AND a Draconequus… Tell Trixie that isn't getting her in the history books as the greatest showmare of all time." Nightmare Nhilis snorted and flung Trixie free of her horn. Thankfully, the crystal parts didn't shatter, but the crystal still continued to spread. +++ Verily, is this the end of the One and Only Trixie? To sacrifice herself upon this field of battle for the good of all Equestria? Surely statues will be placed in her memorial. Ponies will line the streets in mourning. Her friends will give the most tearful and heartfelt eulogies in her honor. Ponies will praise her final performance as the greatest Equestria has or will ever know! Princess Luna, ye have come to pay thine last respects? Deliver me to the warm bosom of Elysium! Princess Luna's horn touched the parts of Trixie's body that had turned to crystal, and-Hey! "We art fairly certain Father does not have a bosom." Princess Luna most impolitely de-crystallized Trixie's body and restored her to perfect health! Grand theft martyrdom! "No fair! Didn't you read the script? This… this was supposed to be Trixie’s heroic death scene!" Luna smiled, seeming amused, yet understanding. "Apologies, my little pony. Ye don't to get become an overnight legend that way. Ye art not getting off that easy. Ye must live up to and honor the friendships ye have made. Living is the hard part. We sentence Trixie the Unicorn to meet her end in old age, in thy bed asleep, surrounded by thy loving friends and family. As Princess of the Night, we sentence ye to LIVE." She lovingly nuzzled Trixie. Trixie must confess, she wanted to wear Twilight's harmony armor with the disguise as well, and Twilight was willing to lend it, but it fought against her. It hurt. Trixie may have been compatible with the other Elements, but Twilight's kept rejecting me, like a magnet forced into place with the wrong poles aligned. Trixie feared it would be so. On the day that Trixie stood in for Twilight and healed Neatly Spell with the other Elements, she was so happy that she didn’t even mind the pain. +++ "Come on, Rarity, you have to get up!” pleaded Sweetie Belle, gently shaking Rarity’s body. “It’s over, you can stop pretending now. Rarity? Rarity, please!" "Ah’m so sorry, Sweetie Belle," Applejack said solemnly. “Rarity… well, she’s not there.” +++ "NIGHTMARE NHILIS!” boomed the voice of the real Twilight Sparkle, echoing from everywhere and nowhere. “You say that miracles don’t exist, but I say you don't know what a miracle is!" = Final Move On Star Dream Music - Kirby Planet Robobot = Nightmare Nhilis spun about, looking left and right, so of course Twilight teleported high in the sky above her. Trixie's hat and cape flew off, and Twilight fell at terminal speed, her horn pointed straight down. Nightmare Nhilis sneered and charged her horn, but chains exploded out of the ground, wrapping around nearly every part of her body. “What the...” She tried to teleport, and the familiar flash and pop of teleportation failed to move her anywhere! The chains dragged a second Rainbow Dash out of the ground, no longer Celestia-sized and missing her barding, but definitely still an Alicorn, grinning at Nightmare Nhilis."Let these chains bind the sinners! That's a pretty cool line, don’t you think?" "I killed you!" Nightmare Nhilis snarled, immobile and distracted. "I'm immortal, brat!" 'Just enough mana left in this body to pull this off. Good luck, Rarity.' "Nothing binds me!" The chains began to rust. "Don't have to for long!" Nhilis gasped, remembering Twilight, and brought up a barrier between them, Twilight used her brother's 'horn drill' spell to bore right through it. Nhilis brought up a second barrier, and then a third, but Twilight drilled through those too! She fired a bolt that should have cut right through the shields and blown Twilight to atoms, and Twilight just teleported around it! At the same time... "Silver Spoon!" Pinkie Pie picked up the filly. "GOOOOO!" Pinkie threw her like a hoof-ball, right into Sweetie Belle, causing the fillies to tumble with Silver Spoon giving Sweetie the mother of all hugs. Then Silver did her dance and chanted "Bump-Bump-Sugar-Lump-Rump!", and Sweetie Belle instinctively danced and chanted with her. The feedback traveled like a shockwave along Sweetie Belle's link to Nightmare Nhilis, paralyzing the Nightmare in shock. Discord, with his own link to Nightmare Nhilis, wiped a tear from his eye. And Twilight Sparkle, using her momentum, thrusted her horn through the lightning bolt-shaped hole in Nhilis' champron. Her horn flashed, glowing brilliantly. Golden Tiara gasped in shock. The Nightmare rolled her eyes up, not seeming to be in any pain at all. "There’s simpler ways to kill me." "I’m not killing you, Diamond! I’m helping you, like I helped my friends with Discord's corruption!" Nightmare Nhilis smirked, despite being wounded. "Did you forget what happens when you cast a memory spell on a Nightmare?" "No! I Haven't!" Nightmare Nhilis' eyes widened... as she realized that Twilight wasn't taking her memories and forcing her to relive them, she was giving her memories! No! More than memories! She was- she was-! Just as she finished the transfer, Twilight was blown away from Nightmare Nhilis. Threads of black magic stitched the wound closed in an instant, but the “gift” had already been delivered. Discord glanced around and withdrew back inside Nightmare Nhilis' mind, but not before he dropped the dagger he'd offered Pinkie Pie at Nightmare Nhilis' hooves. > Dark World Forgotten Chapter, "DD's" story. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pony POV Series Dark World Forgotten Chapter Optional Canon. Oh hello, I don't exactly get many visitors here. Call me DD. There's plenty of company in Oblivion, but nobody has their heart in anything, literally. And you can't just magically grow one again from nothing, it doesn't work that way. I guess I do look strange, even compared to all the strange things in this place. I bear a stronger resemblance to my half-brother, Distortion, who also never existed and was in another time line, than to my half-sister. That is, I more closely resemble dad's side of the family. Though I do mostly have mom's color scheme. My name? It's... it's been so long I've actually forgotten it, sorry. Doesn't really matter anyway, I mean, the name of somepony who never existed? How more meaningless can you get? What brings you all the way here? You want to hear my story? It doesn't really change anything, heh, but if that's what you want, it would be really rude for me to say no when you came all the way here. There's not much to tell, but I'll share what there is. Get comfy. Dad always wanted to bring out Mom's 'inner crazy', but he never seemed to do it right. She'd end up acting like a robot, treating chaos like something to organize and categorize, or she'd just turn super powerful. They say doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a big sign of insanity, and dad was crazy. But ponies are complex, really complex. You can never be quite sure what tiny factor is gonna blossom into a completely different outcome! And Dad had, if nothing else, a lot of tries on his hands, even if the final outcome was rigged. Mortals and gods all know the final absolute outcome is always set in stone. Everything begins with Other Grandma, and everything ends with Dad's Mom. She's all around us you know, every rock, every shard of frost, every drop of the ocean of chaos, everything here is actually her. That gray earth pony form, or that giant quasi-draconequus rising out of the ocean appearance? They're both just sock puppets. She is everything here. Sorry about getting off track. But yeah, since I'm here, you can guess that in one timeline, dad did it right, once. Yeah, I heard how Nightmare Mirror and Nightmare Manacle were vexed that Discord never married their mortal selves but in one cycle married Smarty-Pants! But even when Dad finally got out Mom's inner crazy like he wanted, she wasn't, ya know, lightning-flashes evil laugh evil. More like crazy-eyed, huge grinning, hair frazzled. She could still spawn some random changes to reality though... That those parts of her brain had finally rebelled and dethroned the ruling class that had oppressed them for so long! Dad had chosen to focus completely on Mom that time, the only other he really gave any focus to was my half-sister. Then Mom made up the difference on her friends. You never did see so close a group of giggling lunatics. There was no sense to the world anymore, so why should they bother being sensible themselves anymore? Choices were silly to fret over when stepping out your front door could led you underwater on the other side of the planet as likely as your back lawn! Grayed out colors were out, painfully bright neon-colors were in! Big half-sister was JELLY of me when I hatched. Of course I kept turning her knifes, clubs, and flails into rubber and foam. Death is very permanent and predictable, which dad hates, I never understood in the least why that should ever happen around him! Not-Mom said it had to do with him being careless, thoughtless, and sloppy. Despite being totally insane, Mom was Mom, and she was excited to see me improve. This was the world I'd been born into after all, as far as I knew, dad had liberated ponykind from the shackles of sanity and order, and had restored Equestria to its true natural chaotic state. I didn't understand why all the fuddy-duddies like Queens Tiamat and Cadence were resistant to freedom and happiness. Then there was Uncle Spike... he took soooo long to turn around. Dad insisted he was the 'straight man.' But I got him to embrace chaos eventually, after several hundred years... and he couldn't have been more grateful... Auntie Rarity and Uncle Spike practically bounced around the solar system making dragon-pony hybrid babies. They might have gotten attention, because then the Imperium showed up to 'purge' the entire planet... And us and the fuddy-duddies teamed up to show them that we weren't about to be pushed around by a buncha self-important bullies! By the time I was done with them their space marines were giggling, their rifles firing pies, fish, cottage cheese, foam balls, rubber balls, plush wombats, and face paint. And their 'exterminatus' missiles were exploding happy faces on planets instead of blowing up the planets! And dad... acted weird... he kept insisting that I spend time with him, a lot, he looked scared whenever I told him I had 'somewhere else to be.' And when I wasn't with him... he refused to tell me what he'd been doing. The changelings (shiny white bug ponies with sapphire eyes) attacked me on sight. Why? I mean, they've done that before, but it was more outta principle. Now they sure were angry about something! But they called me mean names for daring to ask what it was, how rude! And Mom... she told me that she kept hearing little voices in her head, she was used to that by now, she was crazy after all, but this voice was different somehow. Like it kept flipping between being your bestest best friend ever, a domineering mommy, and a self-righteous bully. The Valeyard... Oh him. I really thought he was nice. Thought. Looks can be deceiving. He was always so nice around me. He asked me so many questions, he wanted to know everything about my magic, how it worked, what the limits were, how it differed from my big-sister and Dad and Mom. Then he used some kinda fancy-smancy mind control artifact on me. He had me attack my auntie, uncle Spike, Mom, Dad... All I could do was what he wanted me to do and nothing else, I was his puppet, his slave. Like I was his plaything. What kinda monster does that to ponies? The Valeyard was going to make everything all orderly and calm and neat and clean and boring and stuff! The horror! The horror! Oh yeah and, "Oh nothing much, I'm going to use you to conquer the universe, no big deal!" I had to do everything he wanted, whether I liked it or not. "There's something unique about you, something I can't pin down: I hate that. But your hybrid magic lets you perform tricks that neither of these 'gods' can do on their own. I am curious why it manifested in you, and not in that yellow mental patient." I wanted to tell him to never call my sister that, but he hadn't told me to, so I couldn't. Mom, Dad, Big Sister, Fuddie-Duddies Tiamat and Bahamut, were all together to save me. Where was Fuddie-Duddie Cadenza? I... I really really really really really really really really really don't want to talk a whole lot about it! The Valeyard played me like a video game. He'd just hide out in his TARDIS that nothing could get through and have me attack my friends and family. He might as well have been controlling me from another universe. He used my magic in ways I never imagined, and I hated it. "Ha! Power is always wasted on idiots who dress themselves up and call themselves gods! It's about time it was given to someone who deserves it!" Mom was tough, but she was out of her league, Uncle Spike got her out of there. Fuddy-duddy Tiamat... together with Bahamut they were able to overpower me with brute force, but that wasn't all. Tiamat, she's got five brains, all working towards the same goal, for a fuddy-duddy she was more clever than she looked! All together, they were able to keep me, or rather the Valeyard using my magic and my body hard pressed, but this was causing things to get bigger and bigger. More powerful spells, bigger fireballs, at the rate we were going, we were gonna blow up the world! "Not that I'm not enjoying seeing you wear yourselves out on my account, but I believe this requires my personal touch, after all. I taught her everything she knows." The Valeyard sneered through me, "IDIOT! Too bad I'm using her powers with everything I KNOW!" "Yes yes, beautiful semantics, but seriously Valley, we're both partial to Equus, wouldn't we both rather NOT have it blown up if we could help it? I mean, putting a planet and all its life back together is suuuuuuuuuch hard work!" Dad finished in his best lazy voice. "Oh please, you're ASKING to fight me by yourself WITHOUT help from the two power houses? You keep finding new ways to show me how stupid you are!" "So what's your complaint? Isn't it dumb for you to point out how dumb I'm being?" "Because, stupid, I know you're too stupid to EVER back out of a scheme even when somepony points out how stupid it is!" "Excuse me, but you forget our say in this!" Bahamut said breathing a tornado of ice at me at the edge of the planet's atmosphere. I twisted space around so the attack came right back at him, but he just ate it. "Come now, after we're done with each other, the survivor is BOUND to be weakened, perfect chance for you two to strike at full strength and end this right?" Dad said. The fuddy-duddies looked at each other, and withdrew. "Be safe Tea-a-Mat," Dad whispered. "Too bad you never taught her any mind magic, or she might have been able to turn this little trinket around me... scared she'd use it on you?" "No, I was scared she'd turn out like me." Why would Dad say that? Then the Valeyard began having me zap tommy gun style, zapping with one hand's pointer claw, and rearing back and zapping with the other in an endless 'old one-two' barrage. Each one a different type of energy, wave-length, the whole electromagnetic spectrum and then sideways! Along with types of magic I'm pretty sure haven't been invented yet! Zapzapzapzapzapzap! "....HAHAHAAHHAA! Isn't it late in the game to be feeling sorry!?" "Much too late," Dad sighed as the Valeyard used my magic to zap the different parts of dad's body in every element on the periodic table one at a time! Then the six lights of the Elements of Chaos zoomed up from the surface and hit Dad and restored him to his prime. "TADA!" Dad struck a pose, and got hit by the petrification barrage again, and exploded into confetti, being just a balloon decoy. Real Dad then popped up behind a piece of cloth painted like that part of the universe. The Valeyard cackled. "You think your adorable little parlor tricks have ever scared me? Then color me impressed, because it proves you're an even bigger idiot than I ever imagined possible!!!" Dad's frowned. "... 'Parlor tricks' you say? ... " Dad cracked his knuckles. "What do you think this is? Las Pegasus? If you think I'm some birthday magician, then you have your head buried deeper in the sand than I ever imagined." I actually felt the Valeyard change color at those words, his teeth gritting. Words gurgled in his throat he was so angry. The spells the Valeyard threw at my dad didn't even have names, because I think he was creating them as he went along, 'Destroy Discord' spell, 'Seek Out Discord's life and snuff it out' spell, 'Discord pukes out his guts that then beat him up' spell, all of them made explicitly to affect Dad!! Dad threw out every performance he knew, twisting time and space which the Valeyard made me twist right back. Discord playing 'tag!' with me as he pranced along through the cosmos, and me following right behind him! The deer Fuddy-Duddies on the moon gave us all nice waves as we passed. We ran among plant creatures with jewels for eyes, octopus people with spikes everywhere, and lizard people who insisted on wearing clothes even though their naughty bits were internal (I think), I mean, how silly is that? Then we ran along the surface of a very angry distant star. The Valeyard blew it up for telling him off. Poor star. Then came these giant metal planets with skulls for faces that the Valeyard bisected for getting in his way, and by him, I mean he used my body and my magic to do it for him. "Is this your whole plan Discord? Just play keep away until she wears out? I'll just take her back, wait a million years for her to recharge, travel back in time to this moment, and then we start all over again! Since you're so concerned about Equus, maybe I will just blow it up! It was the Doctor who was sympathetic for it, NOT ME!" 'Oh no!' I thought in horror, thinking of my family and friends. What I didn't know, and so the Valeyard didn't know: In the third level basement of Sugar-Tesseract Curve (you should really try their tub-cakes!), Auntie Pinkie Pie began spraying the Valeyard's blue box with pink paint using a splatter gun with a paint tank on her back. Why was she doing that? = Fly Octo Fly/Ebb & Flow [Final Boss] by Off The Hook - Splatoon 2 = Auntie Happy Pie says she can 'speak pink' meaning she can speak to anything as long as it's pink, so Auntie painted the Valeyard's blue box pink so she could speak to it! Valeyard's blue box had a gizmo that made it teleport somewhere else whenever it was attacked, but painting wasn't an attack right? Vandalism? What's that? If Auntie Happy Pie wants something to be pink, then it's pink, them's the rules! Well, the closest to rules as we get! So Auntie Happy Pie began telling the box all about everything she knew about the color pink, and stuff that was pink, that wasn't attacking right? She knew lots and lots of stuff about that... Auntie Happy Pie talked and talked! It didn't hurt the box, but she sure did confuse it so it couldn't just teleport away! "You morons actually think you have muscle to damage her?! Tirek himself couldn't pound these doors in!" "I'm not going to damage the box, I'm going to step inside!" "Idiot. You'd need a transmat beam 50 million times stronger than anything ever constructed to even have a snowball's chance of getting in here!" "... Oh me, oh my, where could I hope to find power to augment a teleportation spell by 50 million?" Dad said flatly with narrowed eyes. What was that thing that manifested right behind him for a moment? I couldn't tell. "Moron, do you think I'd just sit there and have my toy do nothing? You really are an idiot." "Get a load of this!" Dad pulled out a wide screen TV, playing one of Uncle Ponythulu's unreleased snack-ercize (snack-exercise) VHS, showing Uncle Ponythulu in a magenta speedo making bodybuilder poses to 'one-two! One two!' while taking a bite out of a cookie every few poses with this face tentacles. "It's-it's, too absurd!" The Valeyard stammered, unable to take his eyes off the outer concept. "Credit to the Doc', he was better at handling absurdity than you." The Valeyard pushed a button, "Too bad for you I'm always prepared!" Outer-Concept Filter Glasses appeared over his eyes. He made me punch through the TV and grab Dad, and began... forcing me to rip his existence to pieces, causing his body to dissolve into little bits of chaos magic. "Goodbye Discord!" 'Dad' pulled at a zipper on him, and he split open to reveal... Dad as a girl? "Actually, the name's Eris, but thanks for the praise." Valeyard hollered. "A DETACHMENT?! You've never-!" "Guess I'm able to comprehend something besides me has inherent value, what a concept, HAHA!" Real Dad said, hiding behind a mundane cardboard mountain photo of space, (did Dad just repeat a trick... for me? I've never seen him do that.). Having powered up the teleportation spell by 50 million, he teleported inside the TARDIS. Eris said as she dissolved, "Well, it was fun while it lasted... live life what ya can." And she broke down into chaos magic. Inside the TARDIS, Dad appeared in front of the Valeyard, who was still holding the old Atari joystick. "I wonder how much of your loser father's power you burned up with that trick," Valeyard sneered. Dad has a dad? Whao. (Sure I know that NOW but not back then!) "Too bad I'm not telling," Dad said. "By the way, fun fact, as long as we're in the TARDIS, neither of us can harm the other, you went through all that trouble for nothing, nya-nya!" "Do you have any idea how inconsistent that rule is?" Dad rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk about inconsistency!" "Yeah... but that's kinda my job. If squids in salt-shakers can get around that rule, then so can the master of breaking rules!" "And you forgot I have infinite regenerations of myself now." "... You never get it do you boyo? I'm a concept, my blessings are mine to take back if you betray my mission statement... " "That would scare me if you had one. As if you haven't hurt those close to you for fun!" "... You're right, and I'd be a hypocrite, except," and there was the sound of crunching. "I am very hypocritical." - Things were fine and dandy for a few centuries after that (if you don't count that epic war with Grogar we had for a bit, I don't), but I'm told happy times don't make for interesting stories. But then, things started to get weird, not Dad's fun weird, but 'what's going on?' weird. Mom, Uncle Spike, and my Aunties, all began to act weird. Dad sent me and big sister to live with Auntie Screwball and cousin Mad Tiara. But then we heard from Kitsune-News how there were new Fuddy-Duddies who were gonna destroy the world once and for all and they were gonna start with Dad! Me and Big Sister don't agree on a lot, but loving Dad is definitely one of them! "Sorry Dears, Master Discord gave orders, you two are to stay out of harm's way no matter what," Auntie Screwball said sadly as she was holding a baseball bat and Mad Tiara was holding a mace. "Please just stay here until it's over." She begged us. Going through Auntie Screwball and Cousin Mad Tiara when all they were doing was keeping us from fighting the bad guys because Dad told them to... It wasn't fun. Not at all. They only stopped when they couldn't move anymore. "I promise, we'll fix you back up after we beat the Fuddy-Duddies and save Dad!" The castle was trashed, its legs were blown off. The the dirt maids were all beat up, so were all the monsters, so was the Legion of Spare Minions. They all looked like they hadn't really fought back. But... I hadn't... I couldn't have... I didn't... I never would have imagined, the new Fuddy-Duddies... was Mom and the others... and the funny little gray pegasus always going around outside the castle. Big Sister flew to the rescue, Uncle Spike smashed her into a wall. I couldn't fight my family! Even if she's gone Bad Crazy! So I did the only thing I could, I got between them and Dad. "Out of the way _________ Sparkle!" Tears were in my eyes. "Mom, I won't let you hurt Dad!" I used myself as a shield, what did you think I was going to do? Attack her? "What's wrong with all of you? Auntie Pearjack?" "THAT AIN'T MAH NAME!" My vision got misty. Then I realized, it was so obvious. "You're those evil clones Cadenza made aren't you?! What have you done with my real family?!" "They weren't evil. And neither are these ponies." "Dad?" I asked, confused. "Those clones weren't evil. And these are the real ponies." "You're saying mom was a clone?!" "I AM NOT A CLONE!" ... The purple pony, Mom, said. "And this monster killed Cadence!" That was what happened to her? But why would Mom be upset about that? "SHE WAS TRYING TO KILL HIM!" "He attacked her when she was trying to talk to me!" "SHE'D HAVE DONE THE SAME!" (What are you waiting for, get rid of that thing.) Huh? What was that? I didn't know it at the time, but as a demi-draconequus (like demi-Alicorns) I could sense both the physical and spiritual planes at once. Which meant that say, if a spirit said something rude to Fluttercruel, she could punch them in the face. "... What do you mean 'get rid of'?" Mom whispered. (What do you THINK I MEAN?! Just Love and Harmony blast through that mistake!) What mistake? What thing? What was that weird voice? It sounded like Mom's, but not. "________! That's enough!" Dad said. "Cadenza... she was trying to save her friend. Twilight Sparkle," Who was that? Mom? "I surrender." Dad teleported in front of me. "Just turn me to stone and get this over with." "DADDY STOP!" Big Sister still struggled from where Uncle Spike had her pinned... This wasn't the good kind of insane. I was so confused! My closest family were all acting like horrible strangers to me! "This ain't a trick," Auntie Pearjack said confused. "Formation girls!" Mom, Aunties, and the gray mare all together, and symbols started to glow on their bodies and they floated, and laser beams connected between them forming a six pointed star and Mom's eyes glowed white. A beam of rainbow light shot out from my family and made a beeline right for Dad! I tried to pull Dad away, to teleport him away, but he wouldn't let me. Dad, why? So I did the only thing I could. I wasn't able to cover Dad completely, he kept pushing me away. "_________ NO!" He shouted. But I was able to cover him partially with one arm as the tornado of rainbow light struck us. Petrification rose up starting with Dad's legs and up his body and down his arms, and it reached my right arm over his head, and I saw it turn to stone. It was like burning and freezing at the same time, an absolute sense of wrongness that tidal waved against my inner chaos. The stone spread until it reached my shoulder, when the tornado of rainbows dissipated like a burst balloon. My family and the gray mare looked at me stunned and bewildered. Big Sister Fluttercruel, that Uncle Spike had still been holding down with one of his giant claws... her torso was stone... She opened and closed her mouth but her lungs were stone, her Element of Chaos was keeping her alive (or maybe the petrification's natural transitions into the parts still flesh and blood, I don't know). She tried to claw, to move, to shout, but her entire body weighted her down, all she could do was cry. What kind of evil magic was this? "BIG SISTER!" I tried to go to her... but I tripped and fell, I heard the huge "SLAM!" behind me, I saw my arm, still in its clutching pose, weighted me down, heavier than heavy, it was like I was dragging along a house. My family and the gray pony in particular looked shocked... at what I'd done, what had happened to me, what had happened to my sister, it was all too overwhelming I think. But more than that, they were looking behind me. Dad petrified... except of his head. "Well, this is relatively new," Dad said looking down at his petrified body as best he could, of course he'd be able to speak. "Oh! Fluttercruel! ________! Twilight! I'm your enemy! Not them! How could you?!" "It was an accident!" Mom said dismayed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," the gray one side. "We did what we had ta," Auntie Rainbow Zap said, not looking anypony in the eye. "Maybe we can use the Chaos Elements to heal her?" Rari-Plenty said. "Do we even still have those anymore?" Rainbow Zap asked. "MOM! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO DAD?!" I shouted, wishing I could stand tall, but my stone arm made that impossible. "BECAUSE HE'S AN EVIL VILLAIN AND MADE US ALL CRAZY!" "YOU'RE THE ONES WHO ARE ACTING CRAZY NOW!" "_______, I know this is hard for you to accept, but I really do deserve this, and worse," Dad said. "I've tormented and manipulated everypony here, and their friends and family, and their friends and family, ad infinitum." "I don't believe you. You're nothing like that!" Tears flowed. "Can't you all see that you're not acting like yourselves?!" "I know how you feel dear," Auntie Happy Pie said sadly. "But this is who we are without your dad's magic messing with our heads." I snorted. "Then I'd say you're better with it!" "You don't know what you're talking about young lady!" Auntie Rari-Plenty said. I felt smaller under her steel gaze, not her 'GIVE! GIVE! GIVE!' attitude that had always made her fun to be around. Balloon races with Happy Pie (we raced by jumping from one balloon to the next). Rainbow Zap's anti-gravity stunt shows and staring contests with Uncle Ponythulu. All of Pearjack's delicious pear dishes (she says she got the recipes from her mom's cookbook). The ribbon Auntie Apple Bloom gave me she said belonged to her mom. Uncle Spike's nonsense poems he learned from Zecora the Friendly Witch when she was still alive (and the time he stretched all around the world). Mom's magic lessons. And Rari-Plenty taking with her on the visit to Dragon Lord Garble, so her and Spike's foals could learn more about their heritage. Apparently they were visiting Fuddy-Duddy Tiamat as a 'trust exchange' thing or something. All of this, looking at these mares, it was like all those happy times happened with somepony else. With no warning or reason (finally something normal again), Dad's throne slid out of place, and a stone pedestal rose up, holding a scroll. "What's that?" Happy Pie asked. "Something to destroy the world," Dad warned. "Why do you have something like that Dad?!" I asked. "I didn't say it was mine." Mom didn't listen and lifted the scroll in her magic and opened it up, reading it. "This is a spell for reversing time... right when Discord's rampage started! Girls! We can undo everything! None of this has to have happened! Nothing has to... " Mom's eyes slowly focused on me. "... have happened." The others were now all looking at me too. It was actually more scary than when they were all angry. Were they looking at me like a sick dog that had to be put down? Like somepony trapped on a burning ship they couldn't rescue? I wasn't sure... Instead, my eyes locked on Mom's. She stared at me like our eyes were physically glued together. (Twilight? What are you waiting for? Undo this whole mess. This is what we've wanted from the beginning.) "This... isn't just my decision... this is an entire world... So many hippogriffs, Zebracorns, the Jewel Dogs, the White Hive, none of them would exist... " (CADENCE WILL BE ALIVE!) "Twilight, who are you talking to?" Rari-Plenty asked, but Mom didn't answer her. Dad looked ... Dad, tired, sad, worn out. "But... she wouldn't want lots of ponies erased just for her... She... She wouldn't want ... She never hated ________. (I don't hate it either, because there's nothing to hate. That thing is a mistake to be corrected, nothing more, nothing less. Don't ruin your chance at a life and happiness over it. It's just a blob of chaos magic and half your DNA. Why should YOU have to look after THAT MONSTER'S spawn?) "... She's never hurt or bullied an innocent creature... She kept Fluttercruel from doing horrible things, she gave Fluttercruel a friend... Discord's insanity didn't MAKE ME love her..." (Oh please! The only reason you remember anything you did while brainwashed is to give you more motivation in destroying the bastard!) Mom's eyes widened, and asked in rising awe. "What did you say?" (Twilight, erase the damn overgrown tumor!) Mom dropped the scroll. "I can't." The voice like Mom's, but not Mom's said, (Oh I was so selfish back then, refusing the greater good for my own desires.) Pearjack shook her head like she was coming out of a daze. "Twili', Discord wasn't lyin' when he said that scroll there is for destroyin' the world!" "I guess he meant his world?" Happy Pie suggested. "No, I mean all of you," Dad said. (Well, this is stupid, and annoying. Sorry Twilight, that was rude of me. I should have known better, it's my fault, not yours. I should've known that given all the corruption on this time your thinking would be addled like this, I'm so sorry.) That was when Nightmare-Mom appeared. It wasn't like teleportation. A portal gate appeared, a buncha rocks appeared, like the side of a mountain, with a wooden door with a iron pull handle that swung open. And out came, a Alicorn who looked like mom... covered in white armor, with a flaming mane and tail. She didn't even look at us, like we didn't exist, she only looked at Dad and Mom. My Uncle, Aunts, and the gray mare were just like me... wondering what the flipping Tartarus was going on around here!!!!! Dad chuckled. "Having to appear in your own body this time Nightmare Eclipse? No corpse possession for you? I guess that's what happens when you have a bloodless revolution." Nightmare-Mom said flatly. "Enjoy that, because it's not happening again, I'll make sure of it." She shook her head in that 'fake pity' sort of way. "Though Really Discord, creating another spawn? Did you think using a failed scheme twice would save you?" Dad sighed. "She was never part of any scheme." "And still with the lies. I thought you'd have learned your lesson when I got rid of that thing, Proportion?" Dad frowned. "His name was Distortion." Who was that? "Whatever, but that was foolish of me, I should have known you wouldn't learn anything. Write this down Spike: 'Dear Princess Celestia, admitting your own follies is part of becoming a better pony.'" "Why would I put that down?" Uncle Spike said. "I wasn't speaking to you," she said like she was talking to a fax machine. Dad said to Nightmare-Mom, "She can be useful to you, please, spare her." "You have got to be kidding!" I shouted. "Dear, I'm the evil villain of this story and I've done evil things. Go with your mother." "GO with me?! Where?! What are you talking about?!" Mom shouted. "And who and what are you?!" Mom asked Nightmare-Mom. Nightmare sighed and held a hoof to her forehead. "What a mess. Remember Twilight, mistakes are always bound to happen one way or another, keep calm, you can still do this, you've done it before and you can do it again," she said to herself. She then looked kindly at Mom. "Okay, let's try again. Twilight, I know I look scary, but this is to scare the bad guys. You need to understand that none of this is real except you, me, and Discord. The rest of this? Just a replay of events to punish Discord for everything he's done. I defeated Discord, and created this replay of events to punish him for everything he's done. Normally everything goes how it did, but on occasions, every hundred or so cycles, little bugs creep in that I need to fix. You never married Discord, you never had a foal with him. That didn't happen. Everything else here is just pre-recorded events being played back, none of it is real." I was so stunned at what I was hearing I couldn't even speak, this monster who looked like my mom... telling me I wasn't real? Mom's friends... all reacted the way anypony would react at hearing what they just heard. They spoke all at once, it was a clashing chorus of shouts of defiance and incredulousness. The gray mare looked heart broken. Big Sister was trying to scream something. Dad just looked away, and instead looked at me... I'd never seen him look so sad. "Then who is she based on?" Mom asked. "Excuse me?" Nightmare-Mom tilted her head. "________, who is she based on? You said before this is all just a pre-recording, like an enchanted comic. You said ________ didn't exist when this all really happened, and her existence is just a glitch so her actions have to be based on somepony else's." "Well, it's trying to fill a void with nothing to work with, so it likely pulled random things from everywhere." "... That would make sense if her actions were completely erratic, but they aren't." "It's just going by the basic frame word of 'child love mommy' that isn't hard to program, magical pet games do it all the time." "_________! Listen carefully, answer everything I ask truthfully. Why do you think I'm your mother?" "Uh... Because you are?" "No, seriously, objectively, what proof do you have at this very moment to testify or witness?" I shuddered at Mom's words... was she disowning me? "... Because for starters, that's what you, Dad, Uncle Spike, and Aunties have told me my whole life... I have your eye colors, well, yours and dad's... I have your mane pattern even if it's different colors... My cutie mark has stars like yours... My magic I guess acts like a mix of yours and Dad's you said... I remember you and Dad raising me... Is that enough?" "Why did you shudder just then?" "... I'm scared you're asking because you want to disown me. You suddenly hate Dad... You... YOU DID THAT TO HIM!" I pointed at Dad petrified from the neck down. "You did that to Fluttercruel!" I pointed at Fluttercruel, helpless with her torso petrified, why didn't she just smash it and regenerate or something? I didn't mention my petrified arm... I knew it was an accident. "...And why does that scare you? Why are you so terrified of me disowning you? Not because of what happened, but why does that IDEA scare you?" "... Because if you disown me, then Dad might, all my family might... And I'd be all alone, with nowhere to go..." "And you don't want to be alone?" "No!" "Why?" "Because it hurts! Because it's scary, not having anypony to lean on, nopony to trust... Like how Dad says he was lonely before he met all of you..." Everypony but Dad, big sister, and Nightmare Mom looked shocked at that. "How old are you?" "Nine hundred, and sixty-nine years... " "When is your birthday?" "The 12th of Waffles." "How old are you?" "I just told you Mom, nine hundred, and sixty-nine!" "Was checking to see if you'd have a different answer." Mom looked at Nightmare-Mom. "A glitch wouldn't be consistent, a glitch wouldn't be able to give coherent answers, let alone explain their answers, and then explain the feelings behind those answers." Nightmare-Mom sighed, and looked at Mom with pure pity. "I'm sorry Twilight, this thing has completely twisted your thinking, I know you'll be upset, but please understand it's for your own good." "HEY!" The gray mare said, "Discord is evil, but his fillies haven't done anything wrong! You shouldn't punish them too!" Nightmare-Mom acted like she didn't even hear her. I'm sorry if this all sounds confusing, it was confusing, none of us had any real idea what was going on. "Don't be so quick Twilight," said a voice like Fluttercruel's, but softer, kinder, more nice. A yellow shadow with a pink mane grew out from Nightmare Mom's shadow, with a horn and butterfly wings with platinum barding. "Fluttershy?" Rainbow Zap gasped in shock. Rari-Plenty repeated confused and worried. I can read lips, I saw Fluttercruel silently mouth 'Mommy?' Nightmare Whisper said, "Twilight, we have Flutternice, wouldn't she like a sister? We could help her reject her evil nature too." I saw Fluttercruel's heart break and she mouthed, 'Who's Flutternice?' Dad covered his mouth (with his ears) as if he just realized something horrible when he heard that. He looked at me, scared for me. In his eyes, I actually saw a puppy with my colorings, being given to mad scientist ponies, next to a dark pink and yellow puppy with scars all over her. "NO PLEASE! There's no need for that! She'll behave! She's a good girl!" Dad said suddenly. "Like Tartarus I am going with a mean version of Mom saying me and my family are all illusions!" Nightmare-Mom rolled her eyes. "This is pointless. One, Fluttershy, you got to Flutternice young. Two, this thing is obviously one of Discord's little braindead stooges, like Fluttercruel, or the Tiaras. Third, I'd be insane to let that disgusting parasitic mass of cancer cells into my stable!" "Oh! Oh! I'm sorry Twilight, it was stupid of me." "Don't say that about yourself Fluttershy, you're the nicest pony I know," she hugged the shadow. The shadow of Fluttercruel's mom just slipped back inside her... WHAT THE HECK?!?!!??! Are we missing half the movie? "THIS IS INSANE!" Mom shouted. "I want to punish Discord, not _______! You can't just pop in here and expect everypony to do what you want! I won't erase ________!" "Sorry Twilight, it's clear you've gone insane. I'm sorry I didn't see it before. I could have helped you. But once you become one with me again, you'll be fixed." "MY MOM LOVING ME IS NOT CRAZY!" I snapped. "YER SAYING WE'VE ALL GONE THROUGH THIS OVER AND OVER, EVERYPONY'S GONE THROUGH THIS OVER AND OVER, JUST TO SPITE DISCORD?!" Pearjack roared, getting her thoughts together. "Not quite like this, this is the closest I've gotten to a no kill run... I didn't expect the Valeyard to make a move on _________." "AND CADENCE?!" Twilight snarled. "I did that... several cycles ago, doesn't change that I did it, Eclipse copies and pastes it." Mom's eyes widened in horror. "You shut up. You're supposed to be all stone now." An anti-chaos muzzle appeared on Dad's mouth. Nightmare Mommy said, looking down on me with the contempt reserved for the stupidest creatures, "You're like dragon eggs that haven't hatched yet, that's just common sense. That's the difference between you and my friends. They HAVE been hatched. You? This whole timeline is nothing but a mass of potential and flux, how can anything here be said to have hatched? You're just looking for justification to your own emotional state. Typical anti-intellectual swill." Nightmare Mom sighed. "If I just kill you you'll just possess somepony. And sadly Discord and Fluttercruel don't look to be in positions to be used as weapons to destroy you. "So I'm going to do the time honored Equestrian tradition, I'm going to dump you in another universe and you'll become somepony else's problem." Another portal gate appeared behind me, seemingly made out of high tech weapons. I took one step forward, then I got blasted in the gut, and went flying into the gate. - The world I got 'dumped' in was horrible. I've had nightmares that were nicer. An Equestria locked in a futile war. King Sombra was alive turning ponies (like Cadenza, and a white unicorn and Alicorn I didn't know) into crystalized 'willing' slaves. A creature called Nightmare Moon had apparently sealed off Equestria from the rest of Equus to keep the horrible things from spreading, and ponies had become brutal, ruthless, violent, and merciless just to survive and had formed an alliance with the changelings. That was not old Auntie Apple Bloom. And... there was an evil version of Dad too, turning ponies into fallen draconequi, or to use the proper term 'demons.' Including... including Mom and my Aunties... They'd be turned all gray and dull, then pushed into a lava pit, and come out now transformed into fallen draconequi, with parts of their soul missing, the good parts. You think I'd fit right in, even if the ponies would attack me on sight... But it didn't take the demons very long in the least to realize I wasn't one of them, it was like a body recognizing a virus. I may have been a draconequus, but my chaos magic was very different from theirs. In fact, they sort of stank like a cross between Great-Cousin Ponythulu's family, and the Pain Fiends (don't ask). It took them even less time to decide to rip me to shreds and toss me into their flaming lava demon blender, I didn't know what was down there, but I knew that whatever came out wouldn't be me anymore. What kind of monster does that to people? I put up a fight, or I like to think I did, but it was seven against one, even if... if I had more experience than my 'aunts' in this timeline, I was still no match for this mockery of my father. I'd fought my dad before, but now I think he'd been always holding back. It didn't help that I was fighting weighed down by one stone arm. And out of the corner of my eye, I saw existence fade out like an old photograph, and I saw a shape like a murky shadow covered bat with glow white eyes... and a sadistic grin on its face that was impossible to not see. And nopony could see it but me. It sat back, and seemed to enjoy watching me be hurt. I was going to lose. But chaos is random, chaos is unpredictable, chaos does things when you least expect it, and Dad taught me that chaos is the underlying force of the universe. So I wasn't thinking 'that's random' when another version of Auntie Pearjack showed up. She appeared out of a portal and slammed into the demons. She had both wings and horn, and draconic green eyes. She wore barding polished like mirrors, covered in emerald jewels carved like eyes. Her metallic wings folded open and a blinding light shined, the demons screamed, covering their eyes, some were crying. The shadowy bat shape snarled and screeched, and flew right at Nightmare-Pearjack, fangs and claws all pointed right at her. Those eyes weren't just for show I think, as Nightmare-Pearjack didn't have to even turn around. She teleported out of the way, and the bat flew right into the fake of my dad. The bat's fangs and claws actually pierced his flesh, fake dad was in shock. The bat's smoke and shadow fell away like ripped cloth, showing a white bat with red eyes, more reptile than mammal. Nightmare-Pearjack folded her metal wings so the light from them all hit the bat all at once, piercing right through it, the force knocking it over the horizon. "Pst. The Blank Wolf wouldn't have fallen for that." It was the most pointless, and completely useless question in the world, but I blurted out, "What was that?" "Bar-Bat-os... A sadistic bully. Meant to clean up messes, but instead likes watching wounds fester." Most of the demons were still in pain over what Nightmare-Pearjack had shown them. Except the one that used to be this world's Pearjack. - 'Nightmare-Pearjack' (As she calls me) Let me take over for a bit here. "Time ta show ya why the Four-Eyed-Pony was a loser Batmare villain!" Demon of Lies Me stabbed at the gem eyes on my barding... she scratched them... but Ah didn't go, 'AAAAAAH! MY EYES!' like she was countin' on me to. Good thing Ah've had plenty of time to cover my weaknesses. She's right, having a buncha eyeballs on yer body would give ya a whole buncha weak spots. At least with their focus on me, they weren't focused on 'DD'. "You think you're clever?! YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!" She summoned a horde of Cockatrices from every direction, staring straight at me from every angle... And nothing. "WHY!? YOU CHEAT!" "Don't go callin' me a cheater! Ah told ya, Ah'm a Nightmare of TRUTH... that means ya can't go twistin' mah TRUE form." That half-soul spliced and diced mishmash that used to be a version of me let out a stream of cusses that would've had sailors blushin'. "Ah've spent millions of years fightin' Draconqui, ya got a few decades of experience, ya thought ya could take me on?!" Truth be told, if Ah had to take'em all on in a straight up fight, Ah wouldn't be able to boast this much. Ah got lucky, best possible type of match up Ah could face. The Gallery and me, we always fought as a herd, and we always had numbers on our side. If Ah stay, Ah lose. Fightin' an army of fallen draconequi was a great way to have a really bad day. Ah had to end this fast and get out of here before they got their act together! Ah show Lies Me the truthful reflection of what she is... pieces of Applejack, most of 'em missin', and then glued back together into this mass of chaos and bad memories in the shape of a fallen draconequus. She screams. 'Ah know yer watchin',' Ah send out all magic like. 'The thing that made all these fallen draconequi, and the boss of this world's Discord... Ah WILL mess ya up someday... even if it's the last Ah do, and Ah don't lie.' Before these twisted messes can rush us all at once, Ah grab 'DD', and using a portal made just to take just the two of us (no way was Ah lettin' ANYTHIN' from this place spread into the larger multiverse), Ah get'er and myself out of there, she blacks out. - "DD" Ah woke up, hearing Nightmare-Mom shouting, so much for it all being a bad dream. "WHY DID YOU BRING HER BACK HERE APPLEJACK?!" "... Lemme ask ya Twili', what if them monsters went and learned from her how to pass into other world lines? What if she survived on that world, and came back later as a super invincible badass? Wouldn't it be better to take care of her now?" Looking back, what she said wasn't a statement, it was a question, it didn't have to be probable or factual. "Did you forget that when you're hurt I'm hurt too? How could you be so selfish?" "Don't worry Twili', Ah used my real body, Ah'm not stupid." "Oh, sorry Applejack, that was rude of me!" Opening my eyes, and seeing that thing with my mother's face, all I could say was, "I am so sick of looking at evil versions of my family." When I focused on everything else, my heart became a black void. Equestria was ... destroyed, nothing else to it. In place of chaos was a blasted landscape and ruins as far as I could see. I didn't see Sky Ocean anywhere! Where were the sea ponies? Why would anypony want to hurt them? Nothing out there was moving, the castle had been blown to pieces, I was in the throne room again, with no ceilings or walls. I saw a small purple "mountain" nearby... It was really Uncle Spike, I'd never seen him so big, but he wasn't moving. There was a motionless white and purple draconic 'mountain' next to him... There were shapes scattered about the throne room and the castle ruins, not moving: a gray and blond shape, an orange and blond shape, and a blue and rainbow shape. "Ya sure were busy while Ah was gone," Nightmare-Pearjack said. Nightmare-Mom smiled. "Don't worry Applejack, we pulled through!" She looked at... was that Fluttercruel's mom? She had wings and a horn, and was big as the happy gold and silver statues in the gallery (how'd I know the statues are happy? They told me so!). Her cutie mark was one big butterfly. She was wearing pretty barding... she was laying on the floor, she wasn't moving. "She appeared right out of Fluttercruel's shadow, don't ask me what that was about... She sure put up a fight to protect that... thing. She actually forgave everything he did," Nightmare-Mom snorted, "As if she had the right to forgive all he'd done to others!" Dad sighed, "She was always too kind." My heart skipped a beat, DAD WAS ALIVE! "I wasn't asking you," she hissed. Nightmare-Mom kicked Princess Fluttershy's shape. "Stop!" Dad begged, so Nightmare-Mom just kicked Princess Fluttershy's shape again, harder. "Dad!" I dared run over and hug him with my good arm. He was still stone from the neck down. "__________, you shouldn't have come back! Get away! Leave this worldline and don't look back!" "No!" "I order you!" "I won't obey!" Dad... tried to hypnotize me into abandoning him... But I'd taken lessons in resisting that sort of thing since the Valeyard. "Ha! I knew you didn't care about her! Not really! Why else would you try to brainwash her!" "Shut up!" I said to Fake Mom. "I'm going to beat you and I'm going to fix everyone!" "So you'll make it so they can't have kittens? Okay," Fake-Mom sneered. = Wild Arms 4 - That is Where the Spirit Becomes Certain = I had a moment of inspiration, and I used Auntie Rari-Plenty's golem creation spell to animate my stoned arm, it began to glow with purple runes, lines, and symbols like blueprints. I made a fist. = The Beast - Evangelion = I punched her in the face, sending her sailing into the ruins of chaos capital Ponyville. I teleported in front of her and punched her in the face again, sending her skidding into the ruins of Sweet Rock Acres. She conjured a fire golem the size of a mountain, I dumped forty days and forty nights worth of rain on it in four seconds! With her all wet I called down the lightning! There was one shape I hadn't seen though. "Where's Mom?!" "Right here," Fake-Mom tapped her own head. "My REAL mom!" "Also right here. Time should have reset already but there seemed to be a glitch. Time for debugging!" I turned into pixels, and I saw a buncha Pac-Mares coming at me from every direction on a cubed plane... thankfully I redirected the delete commands to a dummy file of me, and restored myself to normal. I conjured a box within a box within a box, etc, crushing down on Fake-Mom, distorting space so she couldn't just teleport out. "Failsafe Spell," she said simply, shattering my boxes, and letting gravity do the rest on the boulders I'd placed on top. She looked up in time to blast the boulders to shards, which distracted her from me ramming her in the head with my body briefly turned to solid metal with the magnetic propulsion of a freight train. I thought that was the end as her body fell on its side, not moving. But then a skull, brain, muscles, skin, fur, horn, all grew back on the spot... Like mom could. She stomped a hoof even as she got up... and the ground I'd landed up shot up like a rocket, so did another tower of ground a bit besides me, but it shot up into a portal... that open up bright above me, I was crushed flat. If I had slipped into the spirit world in time. Fun fact, as a demigod, I can freely move between the physical and spiritual planes, though I did have to be TAUGHT how to do it (big sister didn't put much effort into learning how). Doesn't help much when fighting beings that exist on both planes at the same time... like fallen draconequi or Angels who can shift what plane they're on, but it still made for a good quick escape. Then I was blasted on all sides by floating magic wands designed to cross into the spiritual plane... these wands weren't cheap or simple to make... I'd never seen so many before. I was forced back into the physical universe... the streams crossed... resulting in a very very very big 'ka-boom' that might have ruined Uncle Ponythulu's good china. I summoned a sword in every limb with a different magic (including a 'magic-eater' sword Sis kept locked in her trunk she got as a trophy from war with Tambelon), and charged before the fallout had even finished falling. Mom taught me everything she knows, I know how she fights, and I won't lose to her stupid counterfeit! Our whole fight? Forget it. I'm not giving Nightmare-Mom anymore note that I have to! She kept erasing stuff again and again, I'm not making more stuff to be read about her. I don't really care much for the epic battle stuff anymore, you can only do those so many times before they get boring. But suffice to say, we eventually ended up back at the throne room with Dad... "_________! Don't try to just outfight her! She'll just reverse time each time! But she normally possesses a body rather than appearing in person for a reason! She-" "Enough." And the anti-chaos muzzle appeared on Dad's face again (I don't know who got it off the first time). Which meant Dad was going to tell me something she didn't want to know. Don't outfight her? I had been fighting this as an epic battle... And I don't care about epic battles. - 'Misterioso' Madoka Magica Rebellion - Think. If she's like Mom, then she has an Element of Chaos inside her that's the real seat of her soul. She said... she said Mom was inside her... Which means Mom's spirit in there... she said this had happened time and time again to hurt Dad... so all the versions of Mom from before are in there too? I shifted to the spirit world, and I teleported randomly around Fake-Mom. I cast a divination spell on the spiritual plane, 'Find My Mother!' and a light shined inside Fake-Mom. Bingo! I conjure a horde of Smarty Pants dolls that all tackle her at once, they don't stand a chance, but they'll distract her for a split second, and that's all I need as a spirit to get behind her! Why did she go to the trouble of possessing someone instead of coming herself? Why would she not want me to know that? She was vulnerable somehow. She wouldn't have a body to escape to, maybe she couldn't cheat death by reversing time if her real body died. "Mom! Hold on! I'm going to get you out!" I reached into the villain, I felt lost in there, but I found Mom! Right away! I began to pull her out, it was like pulling somepony out of tar, but I was like an industrial crane! And, having pieces of her assimilated soul torn out was not doing Nightmare Eclipse's concentration any favors! "No! Stop it! Help!" I'm sorry to say, I really did enjoy hearing this monster afraid. "SORRY I'M LATE!! She was really troublesome!" I hear Fluttercruel's voice and look up, and see her, my heart leaps with joy to know my sister is alive! "FLUTTERCRUEL!" I shout. I'm so happy that I don't think about the giant double ended black sword she has, Sis' has always had a thing for blade weapons even though I never let her use them on innocent ponies until she got a clue in our early days. Then she stabbed me. "Nope, not me, I smashed her to pieces!" Then I notice, her cutie mark is a heart made of curved swords. "I SAVED YOU AUNTIE!" She cheered. "Good job Flutternice... You're a very very good filly. This shows you can better yourselves even if you are an evil pony at heart." "Yes Auntie!" She smiled and nodded. "__________!!!!!!" I saw dad tried to mouth with the muzzle. Meanwhile, me? I felt it for the first time, well, the only time, since it's never gone away. The emptiness, the hollowing, the disconnection from everything and everyone. The feeling of being a stranger to your own memories and your own feelings. Feeling it growing like a cancer inside me. And seeing the black hands reaching out from the stab wound. "Let's go Flutternice," Fake Mom said, "Now that that thing is being erased, Twilight would have had no reason not to reset events earlier... So it's best we go, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash must be wanting to add to their collection already." "Yes Auntie!" "And Flutternice... thank you... you saved me." She hugged Flutternice with her wings. This pony who had just murdered me with my sister's face. Who could do that? She looked back at Dad. "I guess you get to remember two extra children who never existed that you can remember dying before your eyes over and over again forever. ENJOY IT!" She hissed with more venom than those two words should have ever been able to hold. "It's nothing less than what you've done to countless others, now you can experience it countless times..." The two didn't even LOOK at me as they left through another portal gate. I tried to follow, but the hands/claws/tentacles wrapping themselves around me made me fall... I felt them pulling at my soul, my existence... I was being torn from EVERYWHERE... I felt like I was LEAKING MYSELF! Leaving only an empty shadow. I KNEW I didn't have much time... I felt myself becoming colder, more empty, and as I did, I remember what Fake-Mom said, once I vanished, Mom would have destroyed the world... I don't want to believe that... But I wouldn't be there to find out. I'd heard what Fake-Mom said... Dad had had another kid another time around that no one remembers but him... hurting forever... Maybe it wasn't the right thing, maybe it was the stupid and selfish thing... but I didn't want my legacy to be adding to Dad's torment... Like I said... after the Valeyard... I took lessons... Dad taught me everything, Mom taught me everything, I heard everything I could... about mind magic... Dad's mind was a chaotic storm, it should have been impossible to affect... unless you were part of the storm, unless you'd been born from it. Before I was pulled away into nothingness completely... I touched dad's head, and I used my swirlie eyes... "My memories that'll only cause you pain? From your brain, I now drain." And my light broke apart... and my shadow, what remained of me, was pulled into grandma like gravity pulls rocks to the ground. - And... you know the rest I think at this point. You were there after all... maybe it was a hundred cycles later, maybe a hundred million cycles later, I can't tell, time has no meaning in Oblivion. Remember the big fight between Tirek and Nightmare Eclipse? The rainbow of darkness took the shape of a centaur colt. I saw a look on Tirek's face I'd never seen before, and he hugged the rainbow of darkness. Then there was an explosion of inverted colors, and there stood Tirek and the Rainbow of Darkness, now one entity. This combined being was as tall as a mountain, their aura glowing the colors of the Rainbow of Darkness, with the Concept Killing Spear the size of a train in one hand. I'd never seen Nightmare Eclipse SCARED like that before. Wasn't her longest fight, but it was definitely the most intense one Nightmare Eclipse ever had! Another version of Mom got wise, thanks to herself, only able to appear in that cycle because it was the last one... so many crazy things happened in that last cycle... And what it was that took down Nightmare Eclipse... was six pony herds, most from across time, space, and reality, combining their magic... But what REALLY defeated her... was her parents, AS HOUSE PLANTS, restraining her for one moment... and her parents daring to stand against her... shook her long enough for her to be blown away, and her to get what she did to my mother. Wish I could feel some satisfaction, joy, or pleasure, or something at that poetic justice. It's strange, those foals, the ones in funeral garb with a bright colored something or other each? I know they're the part of magic that grants ponies the power of black magic, dark magic, whatever you want to call it, I could never keep them straight anyway. But they were around before the cycles started... they were around before Princess Amicitia's sacrifice created a better timeline without erasing the other one... Which means, even if the spirits of dark magic that exist RIGHT NOW in that reharmonized timeline came from her... they DIDN'T come from her in THIS ... dark world, well, light world now thanks to Queen Libra, Auntie Rari-Plenty should have picked a more straightforward Alicorn Name if you ask me. Which means, even if the spirits of dark magic came from Amicitia in THAT branch of time... they must have come from SOMEWHERE ELSE in this world line, since Luna becoming Nightmare Moon is still part of our history BEFORE the cycles... This making you insane with confusion yet? I guess it's just a mystery for the ages then. So I gotta ask... why did you come here? Why did you ask all this? I'm pretty sure you knew most of it already. (Daymare Mirror's Notes: Ah think that... well, even if ya can't feel happy 'bout it, that at least it'll give ya SOME kinda comfort, maybe make you feel a little less empty, to know that somepony remembers, and it matters to them... ) Don't tell Dad please... he has enough regrets, enough pains, enough guilt. I don't want to add to the pile. Besides... being the empty husk of a demigod's existence... I get to work with grandma a lot... A guide for lost souls looking for the nearest rock farm where they can find her avatar... In this ghostly, empty frozen place. And... thank you for the visit. (Daymare Mirror's Notes: Yer welcome... if ya'll excuse me... Ah've got a little sister to infect with my essence to turn into a new Nightmare Mirror.) Good luck. Another Possible Time So I take it that scheme didn't work out? Still... you're not her, not really... You don't owe her anything, not after what she did to your sister... so why come here? (Princess Veritas Equestria: Because darlin', forgotten or not, empty shadow or not... Ah'm rememberin' for a friend who isn't here to remember... that's the key to friends, family, and memories, to pass them before we go on our way.) Thank you. = Nanaka 6/17 Ending Credits Music = > Whole > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity Belle After having my mind, my soul, my spirit, my very being squeezed from Twilight Sparkle's brain into Nightmare Nhilis' like pastry squeezed through the eye of a needle, what I “saw” next was not at all what I had expected. Twilight had warned me that Diamond Tiara's mind might try to ensnare me in an imaginary place where Diamond was dead and we were all better off for it, or some other vision of utter despair. I was prepared to look for things that were out of place on Twilight’s instruction. Instead, I found myself in pitch darkness. I could see myself, illuminated as if by daylight, but nothing else, not even the ground on which I stood. There had to be something beneath my hooves, for I was neither falling nor floating, but I couldn't feel anything. = Faded Memories - Promyvion - Final Fantasy XI Online: Chains of Promathia = "What did you expect from a heart that was shattered into nothing?" The silence in this place and the utter lack of acoustics seemed to drain all life from the voice. Where before there had been nothing, now a blank flank colt with a dark pink coat stood in front of me. He had yellow eyes and a yellow chartreuse mane and tail. Between one blink and the next, he became a teenage pegasus with a tornado wearing sunglasses for a cutie mark. Then a brown unicorn with a black mane and a tornado mark without glasses, his eyes red within yellow. Lastly, he flickered and became Discord himself. The monster looked sullen, his arms folded across his chest and his snaky body leaning backwards against nothing. "I suppose you’re here to ‘finish me off’ in my weakened state, as it were... with just one Element, no less. I hope you’re not planning to pull another five potential aspects of yourself out of your sofa cushions, because it’s been done.” He sighed. “Just give me a moment to set up the dancing weasels, and we can get this over with." I turned my nose up at him. "Frankly, Discord, I couldn't care less about you right now." "WHAT?!” Discord attempted to unclog his ears by sticking a claw in one ear and out the other. “I’m certain I must have misheard. No one ever uses that phrase correctly..." "I'm not here for you. I'm here to save your victim." "But... I'm Chaos! I'm your worst enemy!" I rolled my eyes. "Please. Don't tell me you're still obsessed with your 'grand finale.'" "Fine, I won't tell you." Discord turned his back, nose in the air. "So you've figured out a way to ‘free’ Diamond Tiara of my corruptive influence, and together you'll vanquish me? Is that it?" "Oh, will you give it a rest? You sound like Diamond Tiara does right now. I wonder who got it from whom." "She got it from me, obviously!" "Normally I'd accept that, except you said it, and you were the one who wanted to back out of your little suicide pact," I said, disgusted. "We'll deal with you later in whatever way the princesses deem fit. Now, are you going to help me save Diamond Tiara, or do you intend to go on sulking like a child?" Discord narrowed his eyes. "Do you expect me to simply hand her over? She might have betrayed me... and I might have destroyed nearly every trait in her that ever made me feel kinship with her in the first place... But she's still the only family I have that doesn't judge me!" "THEN ACT LIKE FAMILY AND HELP HER!" Discord shrank back from me. I calmed myself as much as I could and said, "If you really consider her family, if you truly love her somewhere deep down in your withered husk of a heart... if you have even the slightest flicker of compassion, then help me save her." Discord sighed, and a puff of smoke later, I was looking at a child version of him. "Hi, I'm Dissy! I can lead you to Diamond Tiara and all the other stuff hidden by the empty dark." Before I could react to this strange happenstance, Dissy took my hoof. There was no transition, no flying through the void while an orchestra played ominous music and a dark choir wailed. He took my hoof, and I don't know if I came to a new spot in the infinite dark, or if things that had been invisible before simply appeared around me. We encountered no guards, no monsters, no weapons or traps. I wasn't sure if that was reassuring or disturbing. "That's it?" I asked. "I was expecting more... obstacles." Dissy held up an ID badge, twirling it on one finger. "There were, but she forgot to revoke my backstage pass." = Hyrule Castle Tower - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess = I felt as though I’d stumbled upon a half-built stage with a few sparse props and a black backdrop. The sort of thing that a theater company says is meant to be very artistic, when they’ve actually just run out of money. Everywhere I looked, I saw layers upon layers of neglect and decay. The first layer was the Rich mansion, built like a foal's playset with everything to scale and compressed into a small space, but it had been torn away, as if the wallpaper, ceiling tiles, carpet, paintings, and candle holders had only been bits of a single painted backdrop that only had the illusion of depth. Prop furniture lay in broken pieces on the floor, or suspended in midair. Behind the torn backdrop, gray cubes actually made up most of the mansion. There was no personality or style to them, just lifeless gray blocks perfectly stacked in a flawless grid pattern, with the mansion set piece built on top. The gray cubes had decayed too, looking like they'd suffered eons of deterioration, leaving gaps where cubes had crumbled to nothing and exposed the blackness beyond. Again, I noticed that there was some sort of ground in this place that I could neither see nor feel. I stood straight and level, even though my forehooves rested on the visible decaying blocks and carpet, and my hind hooves apparently stood on nothing at all. I'm in a child's damaged mental landscape, being guided by a tiny, surprisingly helpful Discord, and Discord was probably the least strange aspect of this place. In the very center of the ruined theater set lay Diamond Tiara herself... a filly, but gray as ash and still sporting wings and a horn. She wore a rusted brass collar adorned with a colorless, shapeless jewel. She was sitting on what might have been her bed, but it had been torn up like everything else, with the gray blocks rearranged into a foal-sized building block throne, which clung together even though it looked like the decayed blocks in the base shouldn’t have been able to support the weight of the rest. At her side was a black cat plushie which had clearly seen better days. Behind her was a wide gaping hole in the wall, as if a monstrous claw had grasped the edge of the mansion and sheared it right off. = The Lego Movie - Requiem for Cuckooland = Behind the scenes were eight foals cruelly wrapped in chains. The chains binding the shackles on their hooves reached towards the infinite above and below, and the ones attached to their collars linked them to Diamond Tiara's throne. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but for a moment they appeared to be wearing centuries-old black formal garb, each with a different-colored piece of jewelry. On closer inspection, that image faded, and they turned out to be rather plain in appearance. They actually reminded me somewhat of, well, you three... which was really quite odd, since I'd never really given much thought to what you looked like before, which really wasn’t like me at all! Their mane styles reminded me of the ones that Cadence and the Sparkle family used. Black swirls like scorch marks covered their backs, legs, and foreheads, and each had eyes of a different color. "So, that's what they really look like," Dissy remarked. “I can’t say I’m impressed. The insides of other people’s heads are so dull, when you’re lived inside of mine.” "I’ll hazard a guess that those are the Spirits of Dark Magic?" "Tirek’s Bane, Doom of the Umbrum, Source of All Nightmare… Oh yes, that's them all right." So, it all came to this. All the searching, all the waiting, all the worrying, all the ordeals remembered and forgotten, all the tenderness, all the harshness. From when I was still suffering from the trauma of Discord twisting my love of jewels into greed... and this filly walked in my door wanting a dress made, and I tossed her out by her behind into the mud. To teaching her how to sew. To guiding her father and mother through their own swamps of regrets. To having sacrificed everything to be here, to finally end this lingering pain and misery. Was I overwhelmed? Of course I was. Was I scared? Only slightly less than before. Was I uncertain? Yes, but I couldn't afford for it to influence me. I've learned the world is a complex place, with layers upon layers of events that I only have the slightest awareness and understanding of. But I still understood the stakes… what I was here for, what I'd given up, and that I couldn’t afford to fail. I knew I had to be the one to do this after Applejack told me what she saw with her Truth, that in countless possibilities, I was the only one who never became a Nightmare. I bent, but I did not break. I dabbled in dark magic, but did not fall wholly to temptation. I became possessed by forces that were truly not myself, but chose my friends over power. I never went all the way, and was able to pull myself from darkness by my own hooves before it could fully consume me. Twilight reasoned that it was like sending a doctor immune to a disease to treat a highly infectious and very sick patient. "It’s not very ladylike to enter somepony's home uninvited," said Nightmare Nhilis, and it was all I could do not to shriek in surprise. I had thought her awareness was elsewhere, but she was certainly awake and glaring down at me now. I kept my head held high, and made a elegant pose. "I do apologize for letting myself in dear, but I am here on official Elements of Harmony business. Therefore, as rude as it may be, I am within my Celestia-given duty." “You sure gave up a lot to get here.” Nhilis rolled her eyes. “I bet you still think you can talk me down. What a waste. Mom, the Crusader-Flanks, and Silvey all blew their bagpipes full of empty words at me. What made you think this is going to be different?" "Because I'm past the iron walls of your heart, darling. It's time for a literal heart to heart. This is the one place you HAVE TO listen, Tarnished Rich." "YOU WILL NOT CALL ME THAT AGAIN! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" Her eyes and breath were like fire. "... If nothing else, I'm happy that you’re feeling strongly on subjects again." Nightmare Nhilis ran a hoof along one of the chains that tethered the foals to her throne. "It's these spirits that I'm taking with me to Tartarus. Rotten side effect, they're making me feel things. Thankfully, they're bound by cold hard logic." "You actually call what you're doing logical?" "I have ‘Father’ bound to my soul… what do you think? It makes perfect sense, because it makes no sense. This is all a performance, and we're just characters playing our roles." Something about those words struck a deep chord. They were just so... callous! Righteous indignation bristled through me. "If we were just players on a stage, I should remind the audience that it's the characters that make the roles! The roles don't make the characters!" Dissy seemed as shocked by my words as Diamond Tiara. "You don't have to be the villain," I said simply. She stood up from her little throne. "You think there's just one little linchpin you need to pull, and my entire world view and motive will come crashing down? All things evolve, including me. I've been broken and remade, just to be broken again, and again and again! You really think some pretty words are going to make everything go back to the way it was before?!" "... No... they won't. Nothing can. Even when we heal, the scars remain. We don't just 'get over it.' We can't just push a button, and poof, it's all gone." Nightmare Nhilis sneered. "You don’t know anything. It’s too bad Apple Bloom isn’t here. Then she could confess that she had the power to remake the world, the power to end me with a pen stroke. Everything that you’ve suffered and sacrificed today, none of that had to happen!" I took a deep, steadying breath. Or at least, I imagined myself taking one. "If you really did break the world... and if Apple Bloom did somehow fix it... Then I'm not going to complain. Just like I didn't complain when the Elements washed away Discord's world of chaos, or poor Fluttershy's army of familiars. Some things can be cleansed by cosmic power, or the magic of friendship, or what have you… but the things we can remember, the scars left on our minds from those memories… even if only our soul remembers? Those need to heal the old-fashioned way. Even after we used the Elements, we still struggled and did selfish and foolish things trying to hide our pain. We needed to work for that healing, work through that pain. And if Apple Bloom really could have fixed everything so easily, then why are you still here? Why are Applejack's parents still gone?" "Because it would disrupt too much of this movie set you call existing. There wouldn't be a conflict for Those Who Watch to obsess over... not that there are many left at this point, in this groaning corpse of a world line that doesn't even realize it's dead. And dead parents are just a footnote in a backstory these days, not a real burden." "... I've always been impressed by Applejack, actually. A mare who detests the games of the upper class so much, and yet she's so good at hiding her emotions. That overwhelming pressure. The sense that everything depends on her. And yet she hasn’t crumbled beneath it, that's Applejack's strength." Nightmare Nhilis sighed, rolling her eyes. "As usual, the pony has her head too up her flank to care that her reality is a failed mess." "Even if that was the case, which I sincerely doubt mind you, I still have my hopes and dreams, and those of my friends and my family. I trust in Celestia, I'll trust in Luna, I'll trust in Princess Cadence. They wouldn't still be here if we were a 'failed mess.'" "That you think on a scale so limited to think that's what I meant is so adorable. Wait, no, it's just pathetic." "Watch how you address your elders, dear! While I've always thought that ponies who don't reflect beyond their own line of sight are wasting the gifts the princesses gave us, being far sighted is as much a weakness as being near sighted. You're so wrapped up in us being fleas on an Ursa Major's back, you aren't seeing all the ponies around you who want to help you. Those fleas can have quite amazing stories, if you stop and listen. I've heard so many. Each wonderful and exciting in their own way, especially the ones that end happily." The endless dark around us seemed to seethe and roil. "I don't need help!” roared Nightmare Nhilis. “I don't want help! I can't be helped! If I was helped, THEN WHAT? I'm just another tick mark on your list of accomplishments! My story is done! I’m finished! Me, Silvey, my parents? Poof! You heroes go on and we just fade into the ether!" I stood my ground. "Even if it was so, would that be so awful? I’ve often found it comforting in a way, turning the final page in a novel and reaching ‘The End.’ It meant that the characters were free of 'interesting times.' Their lives were no longer so dangerous and so unfortunate that they were worth peering in on. They were allowed to live happily ever after." I saw I'd finally struck a chord as Diamond Tiara flinched. I trotted forward. "You are a very intelligent filly dear, even if you've misused it. You've cared about your appearance, which means you care about the impression you leave on others. As a lady, I know about the patience that takes. You were an excellent sewing student, and believe it or not, I could see that like any young lady, you wanted to be your own pony. “You chose to visit your mother, even when your father didn't want you near her. You chose to honor her birthday. You could be a splendid designer like me with that eye for detail, you could be a great mayor or governor. You could even serve in the courts of the Princesses themselves with that great mind of yours. You have far more potential to do good than you think you do." I whipped my head around towards Dissy. "And as for you! You are very intelligent, and as Princess Luna herself has summarized: incredibly CREATIVE when you WANT to be. You can be genuinely funny when you're not dangling ponies over a fire with puppet strings! Goodness knows, the nobility could use someone with a sense of humor, a knack for psychology, and a pinch of chaos to get them to pull their noses down from the sky and think for themselves! When you TRY to be something other than a foal with an anthill and a magnifying glass, you can add to the world instead of just breaking it! With that sheer power of yours and enough creativity, the sky is literally the limit for the wonders you could bring forth if you wanted to! You wouldn't be here if you didn't care about something other than yourself!" Hearing that, I think, struck a bigger blow to the both of them than listing off their flaws and failures ever could. They were reeling, and I pressed my advantage. "My friends and I learned something very important through all our time together, Diamond. There's no such thing as a person who can NEVER be redeemed. Only those who REFUSE to be. The entire changeling race, Gilda coming here, Nightmare Moon, Fluttercruel, Trixie, Silver Spoon and even dear Fluttershy after her fall to darkness are living proof of that." "Like Chrysalis?" she struck back. "She's the one who MADE herself incapable of redemption because she didn't WANT redemption. She wasn't BORN irredeemable. There's a difference between CHOOSING to never be redeemed and being irredeemable." "BAH!" She snorted derisively. "If could you remember Abandon and the rest of Discord's cousins, then you'd know plenty of irredeemable beings." "Actually," Dissy spoke up now, surprisingly. "While they're dangerous, even I know better than to call anyone on that branch of the family tree 'good' or 'evil.' Except for dear old Nythy, of course. Each of them has a sense of right and wrong so alien that they don't even get each other, let alone ponies. Would you believe, some pieces of Nythy actually work alongside perfectly good and decent versions of Fluttershy?" Nightmare Nhilis growled at him. It's safe to say she didn't want me to know that. "And Diamond?" I asked, getting her eyes back on me. "If Chrysalis was irredeemable, how was there enough light left in her wicked soul to be reborn as a beautiful, sweet little foal? Cadence and Celestia made no secrets about what happened, and if there had been only darkness, then with it burned away there would have been nothing left but an empty shell, no better than a corpse! I would know that given my body's current state without my soul inside, wouldn't I, darling?" Diamond didn't seem to have a satisfactory answer for that. At least, not one she could muster fast enough to prevent me from continuing. "Darling, your greatest mistake wasn't being fooled by a tyrant. It wasn't being a bully. It wasn't any of those things. It was assuming that there's such a thing as a person who can't change." Dissy floated into the air, lounging with claws clasped behind his head. "Do you know how Diamond became a bully? She saw her mother’s competitive spirit, and decided that the way to be happy was being number one no matter what. When she mocked other ponies’ insecurities, she didn’t have to think about her own, like not being sure what her own cutie mark even meant. No matter how much she spoiled herself with expensive clothes and toys and servants doing anything she wanted, it didn’t make her happy, not while her mother was locked away, and her father was so busy with work. "WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO TELL HER ALL THAT!?" Nightmare Nhilis snarled at Dissy, black flame bellowing from every opening on her face. "Since when have I asked for permission for anything?" Dissy stuck his tongue out at her. I looked at Diamond Tiara's twisted cutie mark, and many things suddenly made a lot more sense. Wait, did Discord just help something make more sense? Well, if I can be selfish from time to time... "Little filly... once upon a time, there was a scared pony who built a giant monster around himself to protect him from being hurt, but he died of loneliness inside the monster and the monster just went on hurting others without him. Sometimes we keep on doing horrible things, and forget why we were doing them in the first place." "You think I don't know that?! What part of 'broken and remade over and over' didn't you hear?!” Diamond shook, clenching her jaw. “I broke when I hurt you! I broke a little more when I… when I hurt a f-filly who just wanted to be my friend! I broke worse when Discord made me remember what I made my mother almost do! And when Discord showed me the true face of the worlds, and when all my hopes and schemes were for nothing thanks to the Shield Flanks! There’s nothing left of me that isn’t broken!!" I don't think she noticed she was crying. "I thought a bully and villain was the only thing I COULD BE! It's what fate decided! I knew even then that I wasn’t a good pony, but I had no idea just how far I could fall, until our pretentious meddling Shadow-Who-Makes turned me into an even worse monster! “But then! BUT THEN! In the Heart World, Diamond Tiara went from 'irredeemable little monster' to 'oh look she's reformed' purely on the whims of Those-Who-Create, rather than any planned natural growing up! AND HOW DID SHE DO IT!? How did it happen in the Heart World?! By making it all my mother’s fault for teaching me to be a bad pony! It was all pointless! When that other me got better, there wasn't one less bad pony in the world, there was just a replacement! "You know what really sucks? I can’t even pity her, because I’m the same. A little monster who became the pawn of a bigger monster, who taught me just how bad I could really be." Dissy looked down. "I was made into an abomination that shouldn't exist, because it was 'interesting.' Not because it happened naturally! Great way to get everypony to feel sorry for me! And oh, look where we are! You, feeling sorry for me! “‘I don’t have to be the villain?’ I exist to be the villain! IF I HAD REALIZED WHAT A BRAT I WAS AND BEEN A GOOD PONY FROM THEN ON, YOU ALL WOULD HAVE STILL TREATED ME LIKE TRASH! Ponies don't want the villain to be redeemed, they want a scapegoat, a punching bag to take all their hate and scorn so they have somepony to feel superior to. It was my job to be the punching bag, and then it became my mother's job in the Heart World. I won't let that happen here!" "It really was all for her, wasn’t it?” I said breathlessly. “From the beginning, every step of the way. Discord promised to help her, didn't he? And you stabbing me, freeing Discord, stopping Chrysalis, breaking the world... Every step was for her. A Nightmare only becomes a Nightmare when they want to turn the world upside down for something and have the magic to do it! Discord turned the world mad... into the kind of place only a mad pony would be happy..." "... She never deserved a daughter like me... one that would do that to her..." "You didn't do anything." "I made her go crazy! I did it! I tried on her jewelry and didn't put it back right! That's what made her go mad!" I wished that I could have gone to Diamond Tiara and hugged her right then and there, but I doubt she would have taken it well. "Dear, if that was all it took... then I'd dare say she was suffering horribly before any of that! She was already at the brink and you had the horrible misfortune to be the last nudge when a servant misplacing her tiara could've done the same thing! Anything could have triggered it!" "Except it wasn't anything, it was me! I snuck into her jewelry room without permission! I tried on her things! It was my idea! I ruined everything, and I’ll keep on ruining everything! But if I'm destroyed while I'm the center of hatred, while I'm the one everypony's ire is focused on, my mother won’t have to suffer that again! Besides... I could never be that reformed Diamond Tiara anyway, not now. She stayed a schoolyard bully... I became a wound in the world. "HMPH! Scootaloo was right! Why don't I? Why don't I just do it myself?! If all you're going to do is throw words around, maybe I should make the only choice that actually matters! The only choice anypony can ever make and know beyond a shadow of doubt that they were actually serious! A quick barrier to make sure only my targets are taken with me to Tartarus, and JOB FINISHED! ENOUGH OF THIS WASTE OF TIME!" She rose up, the whole world shaking. I managed to keep my wits together as I dared to trot closer to her. "If that was really the answer... you wouldn't have been trying to force us to do it for you. You don't think you can be the hero, let alone the tragic hero who drags the forces of darkness into the underworld with her. You wanted us to be the heroes, to vanquish your darkness... but we weren't playing to script, and not just because of Discord... "Think! You're an expert manipulator, Nightmare Nhilis. If you wanted us to destroy you, why haven't we yet? ... I'm rather reminded of Nightmare Moon, personally... She was trying to stop us, she stole the Elements and took Twilight from us... but at the same time, the danger she put in our way served to show Twilight we were worthy of the Elements, and to fire-forge our bond. If she had really wanted to destroy us, I doubt we'd have ever made it out of Everfree alive. "Discord could have turned us to dust with a snap of his fingers, but I believe Twilight was right, he really did want to prove friendship was weak. After all, how else could he justify throwing away his?" Dissy bowed his head sadly. "You want all this darkness and misery to end... You think that you being never-heard-from-again is the only way it can happen, but you’re wrong!" Nhilis just looked more grimly determined. "I want my darkness and misery to end. I’ve already cleaned up enough of your messes for you. Forget me and start worrying about the threats you’re actually supposed to face, like Princess Pitcher Plant, and the bill that’s about to come due up north. The Princesses have made a long list of enemies from their policy of sealing them away rather than ending them." “WHAT ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR FAMILY, THE PONIES WHO LOVE YOU?!” I shouted in her face. “THE SADNESS IT’LL CAUSE THEM IF YOU DIE! Is that something they’re just supposed to face too?! They’ll be going through the rest of their lives, blaming themselves for your death... you KNOW they will, Diamond! They're parents, good ones, even if they lost their way… and no good parent can lose a child without asking themselves every day 'What could I have done to prevent it?'" "I told you, I can't be that Diamond Tiara! Even if I could, my mother would just take my place!" "Then don't be! Be the Diamond Tiara YOU want to be! This ISN'T the Heart World! Whatever happens, will happen! Your mother already became something terrible, and she worked through it and grew from it! Wouldn't it be rather dull and trite if that happened to her again?!" "You've fought three Nightmares in two years! How is THAT not dull and trite?!" I resisted the urge to groan in frustration. "You’re not some cliched monster of the week, dear. Luna, Fluttershy, you... You were all hurting in different ways, wanting to 'fix' the world in different ways. That's called a theme, not triteness." Dissy butted in. "Pinkie Pie was scared half to death when this world started to break away from the Heart World, but Celly got her to see that it just meant we're not straightjacketed by it... " "SAVE YOUR BREATH! YOU WERE MORE SCARED OF BECOMING WHAT YOU'VE BECOME THAN I WAS! YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE REDEEMED, BEFORE THE HEART WORLD TWISTED EVERYTHING LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES!" Dissy turned his nose up. "Well, at least it will happen on my terms, not the Heart World's. I mean, could you even imagine this me, sitting down for tea at Fluttershy’s with a rabbit and a bear?" I'd have to be deaf not to hear the wistfulness in those last few words. The world was still shaking ominously. How much time was left? All of this was happening at the speed of thought, wasn't it? “What is it with you ponies, feeling so obligated to try and try to redeem every single sinner right down to Pony Satan, until I’d rather just get it over with and die?!" And that was my cue. I stepped onto the dais around the bed. "Obligated, you say? Perhaps we are. Whenever there is a heart so lost in the darkness that it becomes the darkness, for the average pony it is so much simpler, easier, and safer for themselves and their loved ones to write that lost pony off. But there is no such thing in real life as a heart with no light, any more than a heart without darkness. Remember how that little spark inside Chrysalis grew into a whole new, pure soul? As others reject the ideal of perfect good, I choose to reject the ideal of perfect evil. We might not always have the power or the ability in ourselves to save them, as we're forced to choose instead to save others from them… But they themselves being pure and absolute in their inability to reform? No. A hundred thousand times no. Not until the stars above themselves wink out, and if another world comes when this one is no more, I’ll reject it in that one too!" The rumbling lessened somewhat. "Is that so?" Nightmare Nhilis said matter-of-factly. "Well then," she stabbed a hoof towards Dissy. "DO YOU FORGIVE DISCORD?! ALL THE EVIL HE'S DONE? ALL THE PONIES HE'S DRIVEN INSANE? TORTURED FOR HIS OWN AMUSEMENT?! CAN YOU FORGIVE HIM FOR EVERY TIME HE’S WATCHED A PONY BREAK WITH A WICKED GRIN ON HIS FACE?! Or do you think he's some misunderstood prankster who didn't understand what was he was doing?!" Dissy hung his head, ashamed. I fixed my gaze on Dissy, weighing my words. "I don't believe he was ever misunderstood. He was a bully, not a prankster. He wouldn't have been able to turn us against the heart of ourselves so easily if he didn't understand what he was doing. I hate him. Celestia help me, I do. I hate him for what he did to me, to Sweetie Belle, my family, my friends, to you, to Equestria... To say nothing of the mortal danger my friends are in at this very moment, because of what he’s done." His head sank lower and lower. "We all thought the solution was to get him away from you. Blast him straight back to stone." I snapped my head back towards Nightmare Nhilis. "BUT IF HE WANTS TO CHANGE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE, I WON'T SLAM THE DOOR IN HIS FACE!" Dissy's head shot up in amazement. I hear two things in the dark. One was like a lion's roar, if it came out of the jaws of a dragon mixed with the bellows of a gorilla. The second, much larger... it was like the noise of every creature that had ever made me stay up at a night with the light on, distilled into one vile disturbing sound that my brain mind was unable to process. "Don't mind them, those are mine," said Dissy, though he hugged himself, shivering. = Elemental Combat - Temple of Elemental Evil = Nightmare Nhilis narrowed her eyes at me. "Do you know what it was? The straw that broke the camel's back? How he broke me the first time? He said that if I didn't stab you, then I didn't truly love my mother!" I cringed, remember the feeling of the scissors in my flank. "And what he did to make me finally become what I am now? ... He asked me... Who did I love more? You, who had been like a new mother to me, or the mother I'd been fighting for tooth and nail, to make sure daddy never dared replace her? “I didn’t know. I couldn’t answer him! THAT is what broke me, Rarity! THAT IS WHAT GAVE BIRTH TO NIGHTMARE NHILIS!" she boomed, wings flared and eyes searing red. I felt micro-fractures form on my heart. Not the physical heart that I no longer possessed… the very heart of my being. "So you've been doing all of this... to prove that you didn't betray your mother's love, like you thought your father had? Because like him... you weren’t willing to keep your heart locked up in a drawer?" Dissy and Nightmare Nhilis both startled at my words. The shaking came to an abrupt and jagged stop. "WHAT?” bellowed Nhilis. “No! It's much more complicated than that!" "Is it?" "OF COURSE IT IS!" "... I wonder, if things had been otherwise, would Sweetie Belle be fighting just as hard to prove to mother and father that I hadn’t replaced them in her heart..." "I'd say that's absurd, but so is this mockery of a life I’ve been living. It's time for it to end!" "I should say so, dear! So how about you come home to your family, the family that loves you, that’s desperate to have you back?" "HAVE YOU LISTENED TO A SINGLE BUCKING WORD I'VE BEEN SAYING?!" "Yes... every last word. I swear to the bottom of my heart, I've listened to everything you have to say. First doing awful things so your family could be back together, then observing other versions of yourself and coming to believe that being a bully was your destiny. Then you saw… the First Diamond Tiara? Diamond Tiara Prime? … become a good pony, only for all the animus to fall on her mother instead. So you thought that had to be the case for you too." "Don't you feel the least amount of despair at what I've just told you?!" "I feel your pain, yes," I said truthfully. "I've seen and heard Discord turn even the most beautiful things ugly, including myself, but a very wise pony once said that nothing is so ugly in this world that the proper application of light can't make it beautiful. I added to the darkness around you once, Diamond Tiara. Never again! It's time to shine a light on all of this, no matter the cost." The emptiness around us seemed to grow even more vast and desolate, if that was possible. "It... doesn't... matter!” shouted Nhilis. She scowled, looking away. “None of it matters. You're just shouting into the void. No matter how much you pour into the depths of despair, they'll never fill up. Everything you've been doing is a waste of time. I was hoping you'd at least understand that, so you'd feel no regret over my end. After all,” she added mockingly, “who cares if you succeed or not, so long as you tried your best?" "Nopony wants their best to fail, dear, we both know that. And if you were truly incapable of emotions, how am I, being just thoughts in your head, able to feel them?" “Your emotions are coming from your soul, idiot! Your intact, healthy soul that isn’t a burned out wreck like mine! Or did you seriously believe that you were nothing more than the meat between your ears and a few sparks of magic?” "I wouldn't be here if I did, would I? I'm guessing you thought with no feelings, you'd have no trouble keeping the Spirits of Dark Magic in line,” I probed. “That wasn't the case with Nightmare Moon and Nightmare Whisper, was it?" I think this was the moment I finally understood what I needed to do. I'd laid the logical foundation, now was the time to set it off. "They thought I was their friend, not just another ‘playmate’ accepting their power. Their mistake. They let their guard down around me because we're kindred spirits, and I was a foal too. They've never communed with anypony like me before, somepony who exists in the same world as them, and as an infinite nothingness, I can take in as much as I want." I found myself wishing I was Applejack, so I could know how much of that was true. Or Twilight, so I could know if there were any magical holes in that explanation. "So, they manipulated you as much as Discord did? Did they manipulate Princess Luna and Fluttershy as well?" "Manipulated? Are you crazy?” said an unfamiliar voice. “We come when called... we don't make anypony call." We all looked, Nightmare Nhilis the most shocked of all... at the Spirit of Dark Magic with the green eyes. None of them had said anything this entire time, until now. I’d thought they were too weak. "So," I said, understanding it all. "I've seen that Nightmares are creatures of extremes. I suppose it's no surprise those who gave you your powers are the same way. They're acting out like any foal desperate for attention." Nightmare Nhilis gritted her teeth. “Oh, for… None of that matters anymore! Have all the insights you want, they won’t change anything! The only thing you’re going to accomplish here is going to Tartarus with me when I go! Get… out!" I turned my nose up. "I don't think so." "What you think is meaningless!" she shot back. "Don't be so sure of that." "I'm sure that I’m SICK OF THIS EMPTY PRATTLE!" “On that point, we agree. It's time to end this." I put aside my fears, and hoped that Pinkie Pie's plan would work out. Not that I'll ever know... I found myself remembering how I made a replacement for the hat that once belonged to Applejack's father, after the battle with Nightmare Whisper. The time I learned that Rainbow Dash studied martial arts, just as I did. The inopportune sleepover at Twilight's. The play dates with Fluttershy. That positively touching moment between Spikey-Wikey and myself, as we plunged to our deaths after he proved stronger than his instincts. Explaining bravely to mother and father that I didn't want to be an athlete. Hugging my dear little sister, horrified that the circlet I’d hurled in anger and frustration had come so close to striking her. And of course, teaching Diamond Tiara how to sew. This would truly be a challenge, sewing back together a heart that was never whole to begin with. Thankfully I have some good material with me, if I dare say so myself. An irony? What irony? What irony did you just realize? … Pinkie Pie and myself only seem to bond over shared adversity? Heh... Yes, I suppose I can see the irony, thank you… Would that our shared hardship in this world could have been as mild as being forgotten, and left to push a cart back to civilization from the middle of a desert! I actually feel a little bit wiser. Ordeals and trials... they're not just stumbling blocks on the road of life are they? They help us learn and grow, and overcoming them is part of what makes us who we are. I suppose there’s no point putting this off any longer. Goodbye. = Digimon Adventure 01 - Brave Heart = I pawed the intangible ground, plucking up my courage, and charged! There were no walls to stop me, and if I could fall and tumble into the darkness, I'd surely have done that already. Nightmare Nhilis thought I was racing towards her to give her a hug, and braced herself to repel me. Her thoughts tripped over themselves as I galloped right past her. I raced towards the Spirits of Dark Magic. I didn't need to be told what they are, nor which one was which. Why should I? I'd met each and every one of them... everypony has, me, you, your best friend, your neighbor. What? No, of course I don't mean that I've had visions, or used Dark Magic! I mean, haven't we all walked alongside them at one point or another? We ponies… our families and friendships, our entire culture since the Windigos has been about shutting out those eight and every creature like them. Is it any wonder they've been going to such extremes to get attention? If you've foalsat before, you know what lengths foals will go to for attention, and with mother and father's… absence, I've seen that more than most. "You can't break those chains!" Nightmare Nhilis shouted. Neither she nor Discord understood what I was doing, or what I was up to. I approached the oldest looking filly first, and why shouldn't she be? She's been with Ponykind since the very beginning. "Hello, little filly... " She looked confused, not sure what to say. After all, if what Nightmare Nhilis said was true, when was the last time anypony actually chose to speak with them? "I want to say, I'm sorry if you feel that I've ignored you. My teachers always taught me that I should understand you. I have a gift for each of you. I hope that I can give you what you've been missing. None of you are meant to exist on your own!" "Fear: you've warned me of danger, reminded me of my limits, protected me from carelessness. You've misinformed me before, like when I first met Zecora, but you've never been malicious. But most important, you've given me the gift of being afraid of doing the wrong thing, of crossing lines I can't uncross. That hesitation has saved lives, and you have my eternal gratitude for it. You don't have to be afraid that no one appreciates you anymore. I do." I reached inside myself, sensing my Element of Generosity. I had a feeling that I was only able to do what I planned because of where I was, what state I was in, whom this gift was meant for, and my own unique nature that made Rarity Belle 'Rarity Belle.' Even if I'd ever be in a place to try this again, I couldn’t imagine pulling it off twice. I gave what any pony can give, themselves. I gave a part of what makes Rarity, Rarity. Did I give her courage? Don't be silly, you don't temper love with hate after all. I gave her my Reason. "Have reason to be afraid, don't let fear mongering and anxiety rule you." My Reason Fear's Reason beats inside her, and a yellow light shines within. She actually looks content. I approached the second foal, and a tiny thread trailed behind me, leading back to Fear. Discord and Nightmare Nhilis were in even greater shock now, seeing a hole in my soul. I put a comforting hoof on the blue eyed filly’s shoulder. "You, dear, you let others know when I needed help. You encouraged me to gorge on ice-cream... but you're also the only reason my friends knew how much I was hurting to begin with, when their custom dresses sank my reputation. Seeing you in me inspired them to help me build it back up. You've let me know when Sweetie Belle needed her big sister many times. "Letting others know you're sad isn't selfish. Not listening when they respond is; that isn't sadness, that's self-pity. And If I didn't feel sad about some of the selfish things I've done, I'd be a monster." I took a moment to hug her close, and gave her something that likely no creature in all her existence had ever offered her: a shoulder to cry on. "And just as importantly, you helped me see when others were hurting. You helped me see how much I scared and hurt my little sister when I threw that tiara at her... Thank you. This is my gift." I reached inside again, and another hole appeared in my image. She hugged her gift to her chest, and a blue light shone from within her. Nhilis backed away from that one like it was fire and she was made of straw. "My gift is my Faith. Have hope, believe that things will get better, believe in yourself, believe in others, and help let out the pain." Two threads reached out from me to the foals now. The second foal managed the smallest of smiles. "This is all just another bluff!" Nightmare Nhilis shouted. I came to the pudgy colt with orange eyes. "Ah yes, you. You inspired my ancestors to fight with other herds over food and water, dear. But without you, Ponykind would still be eating grass and sleeping outside in the cold. "If not for you, the Riches might have never helped make Ponyville a reality. I've seen every ugly thing the nobles do because of you. I’ve seen Flim and Flam's greed turn them from selling things ponies want, to luring a family into losing their home. I've seen thieves take what isn't theirs. "I've been with Spikey-Wikey and the Diamond Dogs long enough to know everything good and bad about you. I've seen both sides. And I've watched Spikey-Wikey grow up enough to harness his greed, protecting what's precious to him. What's dear to us. Our friends, our families, each other. I took back from Chrysalis what was mine." I gave the colt his gift... a shining orange light. Three threads now. "Empathy, compassion... channel yourself towards what is most precious: friendship and life. Those are the things that can truly satisfy you." For once, he looks content. "What are you doing?!" demanded Nhilis. "They don't DESERVE this! They deserve Tartarus!" "That isn’t your call to make," said Discord, sounding oddly serious. “And believe me, Dad gets really, really testy with those who think it is." I came to one of the twins, the one with green eyes. "I wish I could say we've never met, but I’ve known both of you from such a young age. Every time I got a ribbon that wasn’t first place, every time I had a silver medal around my neck, we danced the day away. I remember when we first met, the day my beautiful racing kart was passed over for Derpy's slapped together mess of plywood. I wonder... how well do you know Gilda?" "I know her very well. When she came to Ponyville... " "I feared as much. Something beautiful was broken that day because of you... but you've inspired me too. Encouraged me to keep getting better." A image flashed through my mind, memories that aren't my own. Of a friend whose stage fright was nothing compared to the sense of being rubbish in comparison to her 'oh so perfect' big sister... only to find out her sister had her own insecurities. She was inspired to keep getting better, and being considered a discount version of her sister by the media became not a burden, but a challenge to overcome. Clover and Meadowlark. Ugh!... Is it because I was doing meatball surgery on my own soul that I was seeing this? "I remember how you tore me up inside when Fluttershy became a model. Overcompensating and pretending you weren't there just made things worse for everypony. I've seen how much you ripped poor Trixie to shreds over Twilight." I smiled at the twin filly. "And you know what? Only the greatest of friends can make you jealous and inspire you to be better. With Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack, I'm so wonderfully jealous. You're as special and beneficial to the world as your siblings." "You know Diamond Tiara very well, don't you?” I asked gently. “Over what my sister and her friends have?" The filly nodded. "And it's not fame, it's not wins, what she wants more than anything and they have?" The filly shook her head. "It's something I want too..." "Shut up!" Nightmare Nhilis hissed. Even now she wouldn't admit it. I'm sure you have some guesses. I reached inside... Did it hurt? Oh darlings, did you have to ask? I'd hoped to fully omit that detail. It was absolutely positively AGONY! I felt like I was bleeding myself even though nothing was spilling out! But... it... actually hurt less each time... My gift to envy... was Vision. No, I don't mean I'm blind! Vision as in your dreams. No, I don't mean when Princess Luna visits! Vision as in imagining the future, and all the great things you can do in the future instead of dwelling on the past! 'I shall be greater than all who have come before me!' It is these words that have inspired artists, scientists, and all ponies throughout time! And a green light shone. She actually looked kind of happy for once. The fifth foal I spoke to was the colt with red eyes. Even now he looked furious, struggling against his prison. "I won't bother asking, young colt, if you know Gilda very well. I'd say all of Ponyville knows. I won't pretend that I don't know you too. "You sound the battle cry when things are unfair. I've seen you make things worse many, many times, but I've needed you when I had to be decisive. You help me find my courage. I've seen you cloud our thoughts and reason. You helped Fluttershy find her courage and determination many many times! You're how Fluttershy saved us from a dragon. And I've seen what you turned Fluttershy into when Fluttercruel thought she needed those self-confidence lessons from Iron Will. "You aren't meant to be thunder and fury signifying nothing... I tore up my design room over that and nearly blinded my little sister when it was... And it's only had any meaning when I've focused it somewhere. I've seen when Fluttershy did nothing but repress you, and how much it damaged her. My gift will help you find your way and focus yourself rather than lash out against everything." More pain, a fifth thread, more holes inside the image of myself my soul projects. A crimson light. "I give you my Morality... let justice temper you." He actually seemed more… not peaceful, that would require him no longer being angry, which is against all he is… Tranquil was a better word. Next was the other twin... who stuck up her nose up at me and turned her head away. I sighed. "What is there to say about you that hasn't been said many times before? It's a fair argument that you're the root of all our troubles that come from within. Refusing help, thinking we're entitled to take something that isn't ours, treating others like objects because 'I'm better than them,' blinding us to our own flaws, and stopping us from ever improving. What an absolutely horrible filly you are!" I gave a small laugh. "But that's just it, isn't it? That's the joke, as Pinkie Pie would say. You can prevent us from loving others, after all, if we're better than everypony, what do we need anypony else for? But... you remind me to take care of myself. And as much as I'm sickened to admit it... How can anypony love somepony who can't even love themselves? Goodness knows, Fluttershy needs a little more of you! "You've been my enemy and my friend for so long. You demand that others acknowledge your features and accomplishments… but what you really want is to be special and loved." The filly startled at this, looking shocked and in awe at me. I gave her my Heart. Remember what I said before? I was wrong, this was the most painful self-spiritual-vivisection I've done so far! I feel crippled! Empty! Hollow! A pink light shines from her. "Be the self-confidence everypony needs you to be..." I said. "... Finally..." she said gratefully. I stumbled a bit. Getting hard to see. Six threads reaching out from them to them. They're straining. Dizzy. Not cold… numb. "HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY?!" shouted Dissy. I guess it took this long for them to realize I was serious. I turned my eyes towards him. "That's a bad thing for you?" "STOP THIS!" Nightmare Nhilis screamed. Which meant she couldn't stop me. Here, in the place where she should have been god. "I didn't come here with an escape clause, dear. I knew from the start I wasn't coming back from this." "But, why?! You don't even know them! If you did, you'd HATE them!" "Greed? Loneliness? Sorrow? Hate? Anger? Envy? Fear? Vanity? I'm sad to say I know each of them quite well." A cage of stone blocks suddenly began to stack up around me. It seems I was wrong about her not being able to do anything. I quickly turned to Dissy. "Help me." "You can't be serious! I can't be serious! I don’t do serious!" "Help me save her." "YOU THINK THIS HAPPENING TO YOU IS SOMEHOW THE BETTER SOLUTION!?" Dissy shouted. "... No, I don't think my friends and family crying over me is somehow any better than them crying over Diamond Tiara. I don't think her falling into Tartarus is better than this for me." "THEN WHY!?!?" they both shouted. I laughed grimly, managing a smile. "Mostly because I couldn't think of a better solution, and none of my friends wanted to become a killer of a fellow pony. I realized Nightmare Nhilis was only going to become more desperate and ruthless, and sooner than later, something or somepony would be broken that couldn’t be fixed. I may not be a Royal Guard, I may have never taken an oath to give my life to protect Equestria... I may just be a fashionista... But I'm Generosity, and this is the GREATEST thing I can give! I'm the one with the means to end this, and I have to be the one to do this for the outcome with the least amount of suffering. Isn't that what you wanted, Diamond Tiara?" Nightmare Nhilis was struck dumb. Pinkie Pie, for the sake of my friends and family, I hope you know what you're doing. Too bad 'I' won't be able to appreciate it. Good luck, Rarity, I know you'll go far, and I know you'll do well. "Discord... help me save her, and them... before Nightmare Nhilis blows up half of Canterlot..." Dissy looked away, then turned back to me. He reached out, his hand shaking, and snapped his fingers. An army of cymbal monkeys appeared and tore the cube cage apart. "NO!" Nightmare Nhilis screamed. Dissy appeared between us. No barrier could stop Nightmare Nhilis' magic, and this was her own mind, where she could do whatever she wanted... but Discord could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, however he wanted. I saw him unleash such a pure storm of nonsense at her that a glance threatened to drive me mad, and her decay tore through it as fast as he could create it. He wouldn't last long. "Heh...Is this what you felt like, Auntie Mimic?" I heard Dissy ask. I heard those two horrible sounds again, louder this time, closer. Those terrible sounds fueled me with an urgency all its own! I still couldn't see anything in the darkness beyond. I stumbled to the last colt. The icy glare he gave me went all the way back around and became a flaming inferno. "And we come to you. In a perfect world you wouldn't be needed, but I fear this is far from a perfect world. I don't have much to say to you either, but I appreciate your position. After all, you're what we called the Windigos down on ourselves with. "And yet... it's not wrong to hate evil. It's not wrong to hate an unjust situation or evil deeds. You want to see justice done, but how often has that justice become a new injustice? How many times have humility and virtue been blinded and twisted by you. “Rainbow Dash hates pies. Is that wrong of her? No, she's just different. Is it wrong for me to hate all the evil Discord has done? That Chrysalis did? "... I give you this gift... Knowledge... The Knowledge that those you hate are sapient creatures too. Know that they feel pain, just as you do. Know that they have their own reasons for doing things. Know that you are not perfect, you’re as flawed as everyone else. You don't know what goes on inside their heads, and there’s always the possibility that you could be wrong. I believe Princess Celestia would say: hate the sin, not the sinner." Seven threads. Seven lights. I should have fallen apart where I 'stood,' but this was merely an image of my soul, an interpretation. As long as I retained the will to move and act, I would. Thank goodness I didn't visualize myself with internal organs, bone, or muscles. I'd rather that not be the last thing I see. "So... that's why," Hate whispered. One to go. = SAVE The World - Undertale = I approached the last filly. The last foal. The one with violet eyes. In a way, she was more horrifying and terrible than hate! All consuming, all devouring, breaker of so many souls. But how could I not know what she wanted? What she needed? "Won't your friends be lonely without you?" she asks, trying to shrink back in the chains. "Maybe, maybe not... but you look like you could use a friend, dear." "I don't deserve friends... but... I selfishly want them anyway." "There is nothing wrong or selfish with wanting friends, dear. It's about how we go about getting them. But you wanted something more didn't you? All of you... you wanted family, didn't you?" Dissy retreated as his storm of chaos began to fizzle out. Everypony, I love you all so very much! Never forget that. "Lonely little filly... We are MEANT to be alone sometimes. We don't have to be around others ALL the time. It's what we NEED to sort out the answers sometimes. Dear, I give you my cutie mark. I give you my beauty, I give you my freedom of will, I give you my sense of individuality... This is my last and greatest act of generosity! I give you myself!" Nhilis knocks Dissy aside and flies towards me. She’s stopped by a ghostly newborn foal of Sweetie Belle, who holds her back like a dam against a tidal wave. She looks at me, tears in her eyes, but with a smile. Oh yes... Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle still had pieces of each other's souls. "I'm so happy I could see you one last time dear! I love you!" I only wish I have time to say more. "Wuv you too, big sis!" Goodbye, everypony. I hug the lonely filly of dark magic. The seven threads snap... The two parts of us, the part that was the soul of a unicorn, and the other a lost little spirit, become one. Our light travels along the chains into the darkness, and into Nightmare Nhilis. (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Those were Rarity's last thoughts.) > New Tarot > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I= One Piece OST - To Victory = Royal Canterlot Gardens Twilight Sparkle was blown away from Nightmare Nhilis, landing with a groan. The chains summoned by Princess Fidelitas rusted through and crumbled away. A dark barrier sprang up around Nightmare Nhilis as she reared back on her hind legs... and closed her eyes. The death jewel on her neck began to vibrate, the storm within churning faster and faster, and Twilight could only watch in horror. Suddenly, the barrier popped like a soap bubble. Nightmare Nhilis stood frozen, gaping at something only she could see, and then she screamed. Cracks appeared along her body, bright rainbow colored light shining from within. The cracks grew and connected with each other. The Nightmare was like a statue that had been struck in just the right place! The cracks spread to the jewel, and it was simply unmade from existence. Sweetie Belle stood as stiff as a board, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar, her insides feeling like soup. Before anypony could react to any of this... Nightmare Nhilis exploded. A whirlwind of rainbow colored light enveloped her, and at last... Nightmare Nhilis shattered. The light grew so blinding that everything faded to white... ??? Celestia squinted, shading her eyes with a hoof, then slowly peeked her eyes open and beheld a vast and deep starry expanse. She wore no armor or regalia. In this place, she was simply herself... all of herself, if only for the moment. "Um, what just happened?" said Fidelitas, hovering beside her. She twitched her wings and flickered, slightly out of phase with her surroundings. Gaia was here too, still weak but with a ghostly horn on her forehead. "Oh my..." She looked around, eyes darting to her Alicorn sisters, and then she gasped, seeing the ones who had called her awareness to this place. "Oh my goodness!" Luna nuzzled Gaia soothingly. "Do not fear, sister." She glared sternly at the eight young stallions and mares arrayed ominously before them, each a unicorn with a deep purple coat, each with eyes of a different color. "It is difficult not to hold a grudge, but you know as well as I that the Spirits of Dark Magic only grant power to those who call to them willingly." She narrowed her eyes. "Unless that has also changed..." The Spirits exchanged troubled glances, some scowling, some bowing their heads. We've... wronged you. We're so, so sorry that we made everyone sad. I'm not crying! I'm mad at myself for messing up! We should be better than this! We want to do better! "You did wrong us," said Celestia sternly. "You caused a great deal of pain to a great many creatures." She took a deep breath. "But, admitting you did wrong is often the first step to making things right." Gaia looked to Luna for reassurance, then stepped forward. "I'll forgive you... if you promise not to play those games with any more creatures. No more Nightmares." One of spirits, a tall mare with an especially long and sharp horn and glittering stars in the elegant curl of her mane, glided out of the dark herd to meet Gaia. Of course, that's exactly what we intend, darling. She looked to Fidelitas. I don't believe we've met, but you've been touched by others like us, in another world. Can you... would you help them as well, so they won't have to be alone anymore? Fidelitas smiled, blinking back tears. "Sure, I'll spread the word, but I can't do what Rarity did for you..." She blinked. "But if you come back here in, oh, about a year, I bet there'll be somepony who can show all your cousins the right way, and she WILL be the best pony for the job!" Royal Canterlot Gardens Twilight instinctively teleported safely away from the rainbow explosion, but the shockwave sent Princess Fidelitas flying! Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Fluttershy caught her before she crashed into anyone. "There you go, Princess," Fluttershy said warmly. Fidelitas was no bigger than Rainbow Dash beside her. "Thanks 'Shy," she said, coughing. Eight darkly gleaming lights rose into the sky. Free! Thank you. The lights flew away, scattering in all directions. (Interviewer's Notes: (Dawn): Huh? Where'd they go?!) (Interviewer's Notes: (Dusk): That is their own business now.) As the dust settled, Pinkie Pie picked up the ghostly dagger that Discord had dropped, reaching her hoof behind her back, and somehow snatching the dagger from the opposite corner of Celestia's vision, relative to where Pinkie Pie stood. Practically no one noticed. If there was a record for group gasps for the Elements of Harmony Squad, this next one was definitely in the top ten! Diamond Tiara lay limp on her side, just a small little filly. Her eyes were closed and her chest slowly rose and fell. She had a little stubby horn and the little wings of a young pegasus. On her flanks, the barbed circle was gone, replaced by a cutie mark in the familiar shape of a crown. Silver Spoon didn't hesitate to run and gently slip her best friend's namesake back onto her head before hugging her tightly, tears in her eyes. For the first time in what felt like forever, she had her best friend in her hooves again. "Without the Spirits of Dark Magic, she couldn't retain that form," observed Princess Celestia. "Welcome to the world... Tarot of the Eight of Swords," Princess Luna said, still standing next to Trixie. Luna teleported next to Diamond, examining her more closely. "There is nothing to fear, my little ponies! She is no longer a threat to anything..." She turned towards Celestia. "That said, sister, I think it would be best if we take precautions." Celestia sighed. "Only for the sake of her recovery." Celestia teleported as well, standing over Diamond Tiara, side by side with Luna. Silver Spoon clutched her friend harder. "Do not worry, Silver Spoon," Princess Luna said. "We swear, we mean no harm of any kind to her." Princess Celestia's horn glowed like the noonday sun, and Princess Luna's horn glowed like a brilliant full moon. They bowed their heads and touched Diamond Tiara's horn together. Diamond Tiara's horn and wings became white light, which became sparkles, which all flew into the jewels inside Diamond Tiara's crown... leaving behind a sleeping, deceptively normal looking Earth Pony filly. "It is done," said Luna. "Alicornification can never truly be reversed... but for the sake of herself and those around her, it is best to give her time to grow into her power, and learn empathy, compassion, restraint, and maturity in the meantime... " "Celestia didn't do that to you," Silver Spoon said, only slightly accusingly. "I was an Alicorn BEFORE I was driven to madness and the Elements cured me," Princess Luna explained patiently. "Believe me, we've been filly Alicorns and our mother from this plane of existence still struggled despite being one of the most powerful unicorns you could ever meet. Oh dear... Mother, watch over Cadence when Kifuko reaches the terrible twos." "Trust me, this is the best thing for her right now," said Fluttershy. "MY BABY!" cried Golden Tiara. She leapt across half the field, landing perfectly on all fours before hugging and nuzzling her most precious treasure in all the world for all she was worth! "But where's Discord?" Twilight asked, looking around in confusion and concern. Spike and Sweetie Belle weren't paying attention to any of that, though. "It's done, Rarity!" Spike said, worry ripping through him. "You can come back to your body now!" Sweetie Belle chimed in, "Come on Rarity... time for the happy ending... please? You aren't really leaving are you? ... You... You wouldn't really do that, not after all this?!" Stepping through folds in the fabric of space that only she could really see and understand, Pinkie Pie slipped away behind a hedge that had somehow survived. Using just her hoof like it had a magnet in it, she held up the wicked-looking, ghostly blade. Discord had offered it to her way back at the start of the battle, saying that it could recreate Minty by carving her soul out of Twilight's. = Taben's Peak - Lunar 3 Eternal Blue = Pinkie Pie took in a deep breath and looked all around to make sure none of her friends were watching. "Oh boy, is THIS gonna hurt!" Pinkie Pie stuffed her mouth with an extra chewy cupcake to keep from shattering her own teeth. "One, two... two and a half... two and three quarters THREE!" Pinkie Pie stabbed herself right in the heart! The dagger seemed to pass through her flesh like it wasn't even there, but it was the worst absolute pain Pinkie Pie had ever experienced in her life! She wouldn't wish this on her worst enemy. She'd sooner cannon ball into the waiting jaws of a Quarray Eel before doing this again! She was surprised when Princess Luna herself appeared, teleporting beside her. "Fool! Let an expert do this, before ye permanently damage thy soul." Princess Luna's magic took hold of the dagger, carving an invisible but very real to Pinkie Diane path through Pinkie Diane. "We'd ask ye if ye art sure of this, but we're well past that point. For the greater good then...If only because our possible sister made to do this doesn't exist yet." Pinkie Diane never screamed, or maybe the cupcake muffled it, who can tell? Just when Pinkie Pie was sure she was about to pop like a balloon from the pain... it stopped. There wasn't even the slightest residue of the pain ever having been there, and Pinkie was as healthy as the day she was born. Princess Luna kept the dagger. That was fine by Pinkie Pie, because Pinkie took the real prize... a glowing fragment of light. When she listened carefully, she could hear a little filly's laughter, and the sound of roller skates crashing into stuff without a care in the world. Pinkie Pie cradled it with a smile. "Been holdin' onto you since before I was born. Time for you to go home!" Luna shook her head. "Of every scheme you have ever had thus far, Pinkamena Diane Pie, this is by far your most insane." "Hey, the first part was Rarity's plan! I just figured out the second part to keep stuff from being worse." "You do realize, the friend that you knew is gone, and nothing can bring that Rarity back again? Is it truly worth it to you, to sacrifice so much for this?” Princess Luna seemed resigned, as if she was asking more as a formality than anything. “While you'll retain your optimism and good cheer to be the Element of Laughter, the childlike joy of the world that has always been yours will be lost to you forever." "A little of my happiness, for a whole lot of everypony else’s happiness?" Pinkie Pie grinned and shrugged. “Meh, fair trade!” She whipped out a dinner bell, ringing it vigorously. "Ohhh, Rarity! Come and get it!" An empty shadow of existence rose out of the ground. The faded white unicorn looked at the light of existence with naked hunger. A spark of a memory existed in the shadow... her friend Pinkie Pie with crayon wings and horn, telling her it was okay since the Twilight with the flaming mane said Rarity didn't really exist, and it was all a joke, and she wouldn't feel anything, that last part had been horribly true. "That's right, Rarity!" sang Pinkie Pie, like she was luring a pet to take a bath. "Here it is... " Pinkie Pie slowly trotted backwards as the shadow of existence followed like a moth to the flame. "Now... FETCH!" Pinkie Pie lobbed the light of existence at the grayed out form of Rarity's husk. The shadow leapt after it, snatching the light just as they both entered Rarity's body. None of the other ponies seemed aware of any of this, but everypony noticed when the color returned to Rarity's body! Rarity blinked open her eyes. She drew in a deep breath, and her cutie mark faded back into view! "... Wha... who... " = Ending Theme - Final Fight Soundtrack = With Silver Spoon and Golden Tiara still hugging Diamond Tiara, the others swarmed in and dogpiled Rarity: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy... Sweetie Belle and Spike were crowding each other over the best hugging position, and even Trixie joined them. Celestia kept an eye on Diamond Tiara, while Luna politely kept her distance watching over Rarity. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were split on who needed emotional support and who needed space. Ultimately, they stayed near the Tiaras in case they needed some help. (Apple Bloom's Insert: Ah can't say Ah didn't feel a mite left out. Cheated, in a way. Like it was our responsibility, me and other the Crusaders, to finish what we started in the broken world and get Diamond Tiara to see the light. But Rarity had gone inside Diamond Tiara's heart and fixed her up herself. Ah guess not everythin' can go the way ya think it should... and at this point Ah guess maybe we should just all be happy that Nightmare Nhilis is gone for good. Ah have a feelin' Diamond Tiara's gonna need a lot of friendship.) Twilight Sparkle stood back, however, feeling relieved but also uncertain, and maybe a little uncomfortable. Princess Fidelitas had a kind of radiant serenity about her, but her smile also seemed hesitant. Then Pinkie Pie stepped out from behind them somehow and nudged the two of them forward. "Come on! You know you wanna!" Princess Fidelitas and Twilight glanced at each other sheepishly, and finally joined the others, with Fidelitas taking wing and Twilight teleporting to Rarity's side. Pinkie Pie touched a hoof to her chest, feeling a phantom ache, then glanced away, smiling. 'So, this is what it's like to not have joy as a constant default state. Heh, I'm gonna have to put some extra effort into being happy from now on!' Rarity's friends talked over each other all at once. "Dagnabbit, Ah thought ya were a goner!" "Please, please, please don't do that again, even if you really want to!" "I have no clue what you just did, but that was awesome!" "... I'm just happy you're here, Rarity," Twilight whispered. And Princess Fidelitas said, "Welcome to the party, Rares." Spike cried hot dragon tears. "RAAAARIIIITY!" "Big sister! You're okay! You're okay!" Sweetie Belle hesitated. "You are okay, aren't you? What happened? How did you make Nightmare Nhilis explode like that?" "I... I don't remember." Rarity seemed genuinely distraught for a moment, before recovering her poise. "I remember planning everything with Twilight, letting her take me inside her, but..." 'At the same time I was still here, and nothing mattered. I had no idea who I was, or what I was... I didn't care about myself or anything or anypony. I felt... hollow. I saw everything happening, but I couldn't have cared less. But now I'm myself again, so Pinkie Pie's plan must have worked,' "But I'm afraid I don't remember anything of what happened in Diamond Tiara's mind." 'Because the Rarity that went in didn't come back out again,' thought Pinkie Pie, and then she had to think of kitties and puppies to keep her mane from going all sad. "Well, that's peculiar," said Trixie. "When Twilight Sparkle went inside Trixie's head, Twilight remembered every detail afterwards." "I didn't actually leave my body," said Twilight, honestly and quickly. "Our minds were linked. And the environment was much more...controlled." Fidelitas hoof-shrugged. "Maybe when those 'dark spirits' got freed, your spirit was freed too!" 'It's amazing what you can say when you stick 'maybe' in front,' the Princess of Loyalty thought to herself. Rarity gave her friends a big warm hug, smiling and nuzzling each of them in turn, and especially lingering on Spike and Sweetie Belle... but her throat was dry. Rarity reached for a glass of water without thinking about it, and was surprised when she found one just outside her line of sight! All her friends were too busy hugging to notice, except one. 'That light of existence was inside me for a while...' thought Pinkie Pie before she whispered in Rarity's ear. "But maybe... just don't count on that happening for serious stuff. It might not work!" "What about grabbing sewing supplies out of nowhere?"' Rarity whispered back, with an almost filly-like excitement in her tone. (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): Whoa! So that's how she can cannonball all over the place in Manehatten in the future?) (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): Shhhhh! Spoilers!) "Oh! Hey, Rarity!" Spike reached up to his neck, unclasped the Element of Generosity, and held it out to her. "I completely forgot! Here's your Element back!" Rarity accepted her necklace from the drake as if it was a gift from Celestia herself. She looked a little out of place now, compared to her friends who were still wearing their golden armor. The Element glowed its violet light around her neck. "Why, thank you, Spike! Thank you for looking after it for me. I must say, it looked good on you as well." "Heh, thanks!" Spike smiled at her, blushing. Princess Celestia's Notes Forgive me, dears. There is a difficult thing to say, but it must be said. One of my little ponies has given up not only her life, but her very soul to defeat a dangerous Nightmare. She may have even reformed one of the greatest and most enduring threats to Equestria, nay, to all creatures in this world. Pinkie Pie and my sister have managed to provide a successor. A mare with the same body, and the same memories save for after the original Rarity abandoned her vessel. She holds the light of existence from herself in a former life, freely given by Pinkie Pie, and the shadow of a Rarity lost when reality itself was unfairly erased from existence by a mad goddess. (I know no more than that.) The Element of Generosity recognizes its own, and she recognizes her predecessor's friends as her own, and they recognize her as their friend. But being a goddess, I can see that this Rarity Belle was just born. Don't you dare say 'imposter' or 'replacement.' Imposter implies deceit or manipulation. Everything she remembers happened. Everything she knows is hers. Everything she believes she can do, she can. Everypony who loves her, she loves them back. This is no stranger given false memories, or a pony forced into a role not her own, and she knows it. If you must call her anything, call her a reincarnation. It is not entirely inaccurate. Rarity herself knew this would happen, and she approved. She knew this Rarity would continue on. In a way, Nightmare Nhilis got what she wanted, a sacrifice with the least pain and suffering. But just because she has a successor, doesn't mean nothing has been lost. We will hold a ceremony for her in the Tower of the Tribes, the sacred chamber accessible only by teleport, where we honor those who are lost and should not be forgotten. I think Rarity would appreciate a private eulogy. She didn't want Spike, Sweetie, her parents, and the others to know, and I will honor her request. She made her co-conspirator Pinkie Pie swear to keep silent for at least a thousand years. Lulu and myself will preside over the eulogy. Our invitees will be Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara if she is able, Dissy if he is available, Pinkie Pie of course, Twilight Sparkle... and Miss Rarity Belle. If any has a right to speak on her predecessor's behalf, it will be her. May the part of you that is now in the emotions those eight personify be at peace, Rarity Belle... you succeeded. +++ Rarity Belle II To say I was enjoying the hugs from my friends and little sister would be an understatement, to say nothing of the fact they were overjoyed to see me alive and well was an even greater one. I don't believe little Sweetie Belle has been this happy since she realized I'd been in the race with her at the Sisterhooves Social from the very start. We shall most certainly be doing that again this year! But, all good things must end, and there still many more things to do. I looked upon the form I hadn't seen Diamond Tiara in since she'd stabbed me with my own scissors. I reluctantly slipped out of the pony-pile of hugs and made my way over to Diamond Tiara, where the sleeping filly was in the midst of a smaller but no less heartfelt group hug of her own. I took out the dress she'd made for herself under my tutelage, and draped it across her back. Not the most refined way of wearing it, but it felt proper for this moment. Silver Spoon and Golden Tiara looked at me, not letting go of Diamond. I decide to join them with as reassuring a smile as possible, something that I must admit came quite naturally to me now. +++ "... sugar, baking powder, and salt," purred Gilda, in a dreamy daze. Slowly, her half-lidded eyes began to focus. "Stir into flour mixture... eh?" Gilda's eyes snapped fully open. In a flash, she was back on her feet, feathers ruffled and tail lashing. "WHERE'S THAT NAG?!" she roared. "I'VE GOT ANOTHER SHOT RESERVED JUST FOR HER!" Everypony present turned their heads towards Gilda, frozen in whatever poses they'd been in. "Oh, um... hello Gilda!" said Fluttershy, awkwardly polite. "Are you feeling better?" "YOU BET I AM! WHERE'S THAT WITCH?! I'M GONNA SHOW HER WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH A GRIFFON!" "Well, she's over there, but..." "YOU READY, NAG?! HERE'S ROUND TWO!" Gilda charged, claws and beak ready to rip and tear... and she skidded to a halt right in front of the little herd of ponies, all giving her death glares. All except for one filly peacefully sleeping in the warm embrace of her mother and friends. Gilda blinked in confusion. "What the hay, Flutters?! Is this supposed to be a joke? Come on, where is she really?!" "Well..." Princess Fidelitas flapped over to her friend, followed closely by Rainbow Dash, who didn't seem to know whether to feel inspired, humbled, or just plain freaked out, standing next to herself as an Alicorn. "Ya know how the Elements of Harmony turned that super evil Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna? And Nightmare Whisper back into Fluttershy? Well... kinda the same thing happened with Nightmare Nhilis, and she's back to being an emotionally maladjusted filly who's gonna need loads of therapy." "That's seriously her?! I ain't buying it!" "SHHHHHH!!!!" Golden Tiara shushed the griffon harshly. "My baby is sleeping." "But... but... I gotta clean somebody's clock! My honor as a warrior hen demands it!" "Then come to our estate, and Shiny Star will provide you a maid's uniform!" Golden Tiara snapped. Rainbow Dash looked at her skeptically. "Since when have you ever cared about griffon honor, Gilda?" Gilda grimaced. "Well, never, but it's the principle of the... Wait, what?" Gilda looked at Dash, then turned her head sharply to gawk at Fidelitas, then back and forth several more times. "There's a regular you AND a Princess You? Am I still dreaming?" Fidelitas patted Gilda's shoulder smugly. "Just pretend I'm not here. Seriously, my existence depends on it." Gilda drew back from her, squinting. "How do I know you're not a changeling?" 'Leaving aside the fact that I can shapeshift,' Fidelitas thought just before she sprang into the air and hovered before Gilda, grinning. "Would a changeling do... this?!" "Junior Speedsters are our lives, Sky-bound soars and daring dives! Junior Speedsters, it's our quest, To some day be the very best!" It was a once in a lifetime sight, watching an an Alicorn repeat the Junior Speedsters motto, complete with poses. Gilda just stared, beak hanging open. "Welp, I'm convinced. Only Dash could get excited about that stupid motto." "HEY!" shouted both Rainbows. They gave her a synchronized stink-eye. Gilda winced, already imagining her renewed friendship with Dash going down in flames. She thought, 'What was it that ponies always said?' "Not that there's anything wrong with that!" Dash still looked kinda peeved, so Gilda fell back on Griffon tradition: When in doubt, rant and shout! "Sure, great, be the very best. That's fine for you, princess, but I don't have much to brag about here. I just lost a fight with a pony, and then it turned out she was a little filly the whole time!" (Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Should we tell Gilda she could have used Rainbow's letter as a weapon against Nightmare Nhilis?) (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): That won't help!) The two Rainbow Dashes glanced at each other. "I'm thinking it's all about how you sell it!" said Fidelitas brightly. "Did you get beaten up by a filly? Or... did you fight Discord and a Nightmare at the same time solo and walk away? Name the last time anypony other than a Princess did that!" "She does have a point," said Rainbow. "I've seen three different Nightmares now, and I wouldn't even think of fighting one without my Element of Harmony and all my friends backing me up." Never mind that was exactly what Rainbow did against Nightmare Moon. "You fought Nightmare Nhilis with nothing but griffon toughness and a whole lotta guts!" Gilda blinked. "Huh. I guess when you put it like that... Thanks, Dash." "It's pretty awesome that you were willing to do that for a friend," said Fidelitas. "Trust me, I know from experience how tough that can be." "Thanks... other Rainbow Dash?" "...And Gilda?" Rainbow asked. "What?" "I really AM glad to have you back." Gilda looked at the smiling faces warily. Things were getting dangerously sappy around here! Dash was way too cool to try hugging her or something like that, but Gilda still felt more comfortable after she took a few steps back just to be safe. Princess Fidelitas politely backed off as well. She'd just heard a faint howl in the distance that made the fur rise on the back of her neck. 'The sooner I'm out of here the better,' she thought. "Uh, don't think anything of it." Gilda assumed her aloof tough-girl pose. "I just came back 'cause you sent me that letter. You can't trust mail from Griffonstone to get anywhere without paying a ton for it, and I don't have that kinda money to burn over a stupid letter. Coming here myself was the cheaper way to go, see? Don't go reading into it!" Pinkie Pie sprang out of nowhere right behind Gilda. "I get it! Don't read into it, because it's a letter! You can be really funny when you want to, Gildie!" Gilda pushed back Pinkie Pie's head with her rear paw. "Ugh, I did not miss you!" "So does that mean you did miss me?" Rainbow Dash asked uncharacteristically gently, trotting a bit closer. Gilda backed off a little more, instinctively spreading her wings out and raising herself up to make herself look bigger. "I... I uh..." She cleared her throat loudly. "Ya mind tellin' me why the buck there's TWO of you and why the other you has a horn on her head?!" "I'm pretty sure she's me from the future! She confirmed that I'm gonna be a Wonderbolt and everything! Isn't that awesome?" Gilda gave Rainbow a flat stare. "You find out you're gonna be a princess and that's what you're concerned about?" "Heh, she said the same thing!" "Hey!" shouted Scootaloo, trotting right over and glaring up at the griffon, bold as brass. "You never said you were sorry for any of that stuff in Ponyville last year! Are you gonna apologize to Dash or not?!" Apple Bloom shoved a hoof in Scootaloo's mouth before she could dig herself any deeper. Gilda scowled at Scootaloo. So this was the filly Dash was taking care of now? It took a moment for Gilda to realize she was cornered. The filly had trapped her. She had no means of escape! She looked at Rainbow Dash's face awkwardly, her wings fidgeting. Gilda's salvation came from an unexpected source. Diamond Tiara woke up. The little filly stirred in the loving arms of her mother, her best friend, and her mentor, with the second dress she'd made under Miss Rarity covering her like a blanket. Her eyes darted left and right. 'Uh-oh,' Fluttercruel thought, 'this isn't going to be pretty.' 'Oh don't worry, dear,' Fluttershy thought back with a smile. 'She won't remember a thing! She's going to be confused, and ask what happened, and we'll have to spend a few minutes explaining everything to her, and she can then get on with her life. Please be okay, please be okay...' "Tarnished, it's okay, mommy's here," Golden said, nuzzling her. "Diamond, it's me, Silvey! Everything's okay now." Princess Luna thought, 'Three, two, one...' "What have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" screamed Diamond Tiara, crying rivers and shaking. Tightness gripped her chest so hard that she thought her heart might stop. Revulsion shuddered through her as if she'd been dipped in raw sewage. The weight of everything she'd done felt like it would crush her, but there was no shirking, no denying it now. Princess Luna watched with a heavy heart, knowing that all of Diamond's disgust was directed at Diamond Tiara herself. 'The first moments are the worst by far, seeing all ye have wrought, reliving each act of destructive selfishness with crystal clear memory and sanity restored. No longer able to say, 'Even the most heinous deed is justified, for I am making the world fair.' It is pure and absolute AGONY. 'Tis' why we were so harsh with ye, Princess Gaia... ye didn't feel that agony and stubbornly stuck to what you had been doing after being restored.' 'Mom, you were a Nightmare! Did you really think she'd just forget?!' Fluttercruel asked. Fluttershy hung her head. 'No... but I was hoping so, for her sake.' Diamond Tiara wailed, clinging to her mother like the earth would open and swallow her if she dared let go. 'Do I have the heart to tell Golden Tiara that a Nightmare desires what they desired before?' wondered Princess Luna. 'Stripped of everything else: empathy, guilt, remorse, conscience, compassion, sympathy, pity, honor, depending on the Nightmare... Ironically, what they can feel is regret... That is why it hurts so when they return: the realization that it was all them, even if insanity clouded their judgement. The monster they became was a monster they themselves created...' As the other heroes edged closer, Princess Celestia stopped them with a look. She silently turned to the crying child. 'Let it all out, my little pony, let it all out.' = Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - 'Let It Out' = Silver Spoon It's been so long. That horrible argument... being separated before we could make up. Facing her in a nightmare, spending a year wondering where she could have gone. Now here she is, back to herself, and all I can do is hug her. I thought of a million things I wanted to say to her once I had her back, but they all fell apart in my mind like a tower of wooden blocks. I feel her heartbeat, listen to her sobbing. I should say something, anything, but there are no words. What are you supposed to say to your best friend when she tried to tear the world apart, and now she's finally herself again? Diamond Tiara was always the speaker, the planner. I just supported her. Apple Bloom and the others taught me about standing up for myself. Spike spoke to me as an equal, not a servant. Diamond, what are the two of us supposed to do now? "I'm still your best friend, Diamond Tiara, I promise." Golden Tiara The doctors used to say that I don't feel pain. I know that's not true, because my heart aches, but at the same time I'm so happy. My only regret is that Filthy isn't here to see this moment. I suppose we really should get back to him and tell him the good news. Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis will want to hear the story too. Did I send a message to Randolph and Shiny Star to get the house ready? Oh wait, silly me, they've been keeping the house ready for Diamond Tiara's return this whole time! I rock my baby as she cries; sometimes the oldest methods are the best. I'm not stupid... I may not know everything about what just happened, but I know my baby tried to force Equestria's protectors to destroy her, or else she'd destroy much more than just herself. Yes, I fully intend to defend her legally if it comes to that, she is my child after all. I know insanity better than most, and if that didn't count as 'not guilty by reason of insanity' then I don't know what does! Yes, I realize the irony. I'm being paranoid, but I have a right to be, after my baby was missing for so long. My baby was sick like I was, but now the infection is gone, and she can start healing too. "Mommy isn't going anywhere this time, dear. Mommy will stay with you, she'll help you become a wonderful mare. She'll be there for you, she promises." "... Don't become bad mommy, please." "... I won't, I promise. We can both be good. Bad mommy is gone and she's never coming back..." 'And the other bad mommy will never exist.' Gilda All eyes are off me, and I'm actually grateful for once. I don't have a clue about what's going on. It's like I stumbled into a show in the middle of the last act. I do get that the evil monster Princess got ka-zapped back to normal or something. That's gotta suck, right? Going from ultimate badflank to a little girl crying her eyes out? We griffons aren't weak like you ponies. No real griffon would cry over her kid or her mom or anything. My mother? I was raised by my grandpa, and that's all you're getting out of me about that! Ugh, ponies are so lame sometimes... Always having to rely on each other, and share and care, cause they don't know to watch their own backs like a griffon would. Not treating every interaction like a chance to use each other, accepting each other... even when there's nothing in it for them... Forgiving each other... Wha? No! I'm not crying! Trixie This is why the Great and Powerful Trixie never employed assistants or familiars if she could help it. It's so much easier for all eyes to be on you when you're a solo act. Huh, maybe that's why Trixie was alone for so long. She didn't want to share the spotlight, the credit, the recognition, she wanted everything to be her own. Not like my sisters, who were happy to share everything together. But, as any good storyteller knows, any decently long epic requires you to develop your supporting cast, or you'll eventually bore your audience to tears. Trixie kept her stories short and sweet, easier for the crowds in the street to assimilate... though it's not like Trixie had many chances to perform a true epic in a proper venue. Trixie never knew this filly before. She never saw her before today, not even once... so Trixie doesn't have the same sense of a grand finale that many of her friends here do. I wonder... is this how Twilight Sparkle and the others felt when they defeated Nightmare Moon, and found Princess Luna in her place? Do not think Trixie heartless, though! Seeing a foal reunited with her mother? How could Trixie's heartstrings not be pulled by such a scene? And shame on any who do not feel the same! As a pony who loves her own parents very much, how could Trixie NOT appreciate this moment? ...Especially seeing a mother be overjoyed that her little girl has finally come home. Princess Celestia Here we are again. I'm actually relieved, when I consider how much worse this could have been. Diamond Tiara won't have to endure nearly as much public scrutiny as Fluttershy and Luna did. Few ponies saw her as Nightmare Nhilis, and the damage she did was on a much smaller scale... at least as far as ponies can remember. Those who do remember everything have already forgiven her. Hopefully, when this is over, she can leave it all behind her and just be an ordinary filly for a time. Being an Alicorn and Princess can wait until she becomes a mare. There are many times I wish I could just seal my power away, and disappear among my ponies and live a normal, simple life. For that reason, I'll be damned before I deny this little girl the chance to live the life that has been denied me. She still has her parents. She still has her friends. She has those willing to help her. Learning to be a better person should come before learning any spell or magic. I'm sorry I had it backwards, Sunset. I pray that she should be so blessed as to never need to undo that seal. At least, not before the time when her new nature simply cannot be hidden. Not to mention... an Alicorn created from a Nightmare whose nature was despair and nihilism? What could her magic even be? Don't think me paranoid or prejudiced, only cautious. All the more reason to proceed slowly, and give her chance just to grow up and live. Still... if she can become a leader, as the true mark on her flank indicates, maybe someday the future will be bright for her and everypony around her. I am the optimist, it is in my nature to hope for the best, and Luna's to plan for the worst. Princess Luna So this is what it looks like from the outside, seeing a little pony pathetically crying her eyes out in shame and guilt over what she's done. The Elements of Harmony removed the insanity, and her ability to act out that insanity for the most part, but that is only the beginning of the true healing process. At least Diamond Tiara is the last, and there will be no Nightmares ever again. I shall dare to hope that is true. I shall be checking on her dreams on a regular basis for a long time to come, I think. Perhaps if I'd been able to visit her there sooner, this would not have happened, but it solves nothing, dwelling on what might have been. The worst part is... not everything Nightmare Nhilis said was entirely wrong. Ponies are driven to find a villain to blame, somepony to focus all their frustration and wrong upon, if only so they can be assured that if that bad apple is removed, their lives will be happy. And when there is no villain to be found, or worst of all, when the bad apple awakens to their own follies on their own and seeks to make amends without being 'defeated,' the results can be ugly indeed. Some things never change. You knew that too, didn't you, Discord? All that time. You knew they'd need a villain to blame, and who better for a villain than you? It's what you wanted more than anything, wasn't it? To be the great evil, so that none would pass judgement on Diamond Tiara, leaving her to heal in peace. Mayhap you and Celly are more alike than I ever realized. Sweetie Belle I wish I could say my link with Diamond Tiara is gone, that all the loose ends were tied up nice and neat when Nightmare Nhilis was beaten. But with how much I'm crying right now... I know that isn't the case. My friends hug me, knowing that by proxy they're hugging Diamond Tiara too. Oh boy, what's going to happen between us now? Is Diamond Tiara going to find herself liking Button Mash whether she wants to or not? What if Diamond Tiara finds a colt she really likes? This is sure gonna be complicated. No fairy tale I've ever read had a solution for something like this. Can we really live separate lives, with both of us feeling what the other feels? Now that Diamond Tiara has her heart back for real, will both of us marry Button Mash? Will it have to be a four way wedding if Diamond Tiara meets somepony?! I have NOT been reading Rarity's soap operas! She'd spank me until Daisy-Jo came home if I did that! Maybe I should ask Princess Cadence. She probably knows all about this stuff. Even without pieces of our souls being inside each other, I've been in Diamond's shoes, only it's worse for her. Mom, dad, they never saw me being Chrysalis' apprentice. After the Rumors, I got to tell them on my terms with Rarity's help. Diamond Tiara's mom had to see her like that, and her dad's gonna hear the whole story too. And I got to show mom and dad that I could use what Chrysalis taught me for good, but Diamond can't do that either... I never thought the day would come when I would feel bad for Diamond Tiara, but I feel as sorry for her as feeling sorry can be. Her friends have got their work cut out for them... Here's hoping we can help, in this new world Apple Bloom created, with different shades instead of everything being a neat solid color. Spike I wish I could help Silver Spoon with this, but this is her territory, her battle, her friend. Diamond Tiara might be a friend of a friend, but I'm no Pinkie Pie. Heck, I never even met her before she ran off. Me and Silver Spoon, we're so much alike, always supporting others. Makes me wonder how I would have turned out if Twilight had been a not so nice pony. Would I have been like Silver Spoon? Going along with whatever she wanted no matter how awful? I'm happy I'll never find out. I wonder how much I've changed. I came here to support my friends, and my family, and those I really care about. I came here for Trixie, for Rarity, for Silver Spoon, for Sweetie Belle, for the Crusaders, for the Elements of Harmony, for the Princesses, for Moon Dancer. Heh, maybe it's not such a bad thing to have so many ponies who know they can depend on you. Makes me wonder if my ancestors who've been protecting ponies since the beginning of time are proud of me for that. After all, if Rarity has shown me anything, it's that there's no shame in being helpful. You can't say I wasn't useful on this adventure! Punching Discord's greed in the face as a giant dragon was totally awesome, even I don't know how much I'll be able to tell anypony about it. I wonder if this is how Sweetie and the others feel about that adventure Nightmare Nhilis said nopony remembers but them... Was I cool? Seriously, I want to know! I saved Twilight from a horde of evil twin versions of herself inside her? And another me defeated a relative of Discord's to save Rarity?! Whoa, cool! Thanks! Scootaloo So here's our worst enemy, reduced to a crying mess. Did she really become a super-mega-villain like something out of Daring Do, all because she thought if she ever turned good her mom would turn evil? If... if I became a rotten filly, and I thought Dash would turn rotten if I ever turned good, would I have acted any different? Dangit... All the times we thwarted Diamond Tiara's stupid little schemes, and it finally ends like this. Her crying in her mom's arms because she's sorry for everything. I guess I shouldn't complain. It sure was one awesome adventure. I feel like we missed out on a great crusade for a lost mark, but eh, it's okay! We got to look cool and really kick some flank, even if we weren't the ultimate heroes. Alula, Tootsie, we got Diamond Tiara back. I expect to see you two at her side when we get back to Ponyville if you were really her friends. And Diamond Tiara, don't you dare think you'll be able to shut everypony out. Your friends are going to help you whether you like it or not, and dangit, Silver Spoon is our friend too, and we all want to see you get better. No, we DIDN'T steal Silver Spoon... friendship doesn't work like that. I don't think we could have taken her from you if we tried. That filly is one of the most determined ponies I've ever seen. Just like if mom and dad ever come around, I'll welcome them with open forelegs, but Dash is my family too. Apple Bloom What comes next? Ah haven't the foggiest. Ah think this is as far as Ah wrote. Us, all comin' together fer the big battle. Ah didn't write the outcome, and Ah didn't plan past this, so Ah guess we're flyin' blind from now on. But that's life for ya. It's hard to believe this all started with us three getting teased by a school bully fer not having our marks. After everythin', all the danger, all the fightin', all the adventures... Here we are, together again. Princess Celestia stands in front of Diamond to keep everypony from crowding her too much, but Ah trot right on ahead. Ah've known Diamond Tiara longer than most ponies realize. Our families were friends before either of us were born. Heck, we've known each other since we were in diapers. At least, Ah think we have. Ah guess that's the problem with patching up time and space. At some point ya gotta just shrug yer shoulders and move on. Especially since Ah don't have some super library of knowledge in mah head anymore. What's more... in that world where Ah'm like her and she's like meh... maybe it was meh who was the Nightmare today and not her. Ah trot past Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and they don't stop me. Wish Ah could say Ah was jealous of ya Diamond Tiara, of still havin' yer parents. But even though Ah never got a chance to know mine, Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith were like parents to me. Ah never really even thought about it. It's not the same sting that Scootaloo's got, not at all. Ah'd be happy if they'd been here, and Ah know Ah'll be happy to see 'em in the here after, but Ah can't say Ah've ever felt all alone. But that sure as heck doesn't mean that Ah can't be happy for you, or yer Ma, finally bein' back together where ya belong! Ah trot up ta Diamond Tiara, with Rarity, Silvery Spoon, and Mrs. Rich huggin' her. Without a word, Ah join in. Nopony protests. "Part of mah special talent is fixin' stuff, Diamond. Ah promise, Ah'll help fix ya up as much as ya need, and as a Crusader Ah promise to help ya find yer cutie mark's light. It's the least Ah can do for a filly as special as you, right?" Ah smile. What, Ah can't just decide Ah'm gonna be nice to her now? (No, it ain't cause Ah've seen worse.) She needs help, and Ah'm one of the ponies who can help 'er...and Ah think she's finally ready to accept help. Diamond Tiara "I just wanted you better, mommy." "I know, sweetie... I know... shhh, you just rest now, everypony is here, you're safe, everything is fine now, you can just rest." I. Remember. Everything. "I'm sorry..." "I know." Fighting with Silvey. Stabbing Miss Rarity. Canterlot. Neatly Spell. That pegasus butler. Remembering what mommy did. Shattering, breaking... Broken. The emptiness, the horrible emptiness even with Discord inside. My 'adoption.' Meeting Discord's cousins. The wedding. What I did to Alula and Tootsie. What I tried to do to Silvey. Breaking the world. Trying to break everything, everywhere, everywhen. The shield flanks and their friends ruining everything. Nothing left. Helping here and there even though nopony would ever know... human me, Camp Everfree, time travel and that stupid rock. Seeing so many different versions of me and knowing I was the worst one of all. Apple Bloom's writing making me have to be here. Knowing Fate wouldn't let me kill anypony, so I'd just cripple them for life or worse... What it cost to save me, in the end. Who it cost. I remember everything. And the only one who kept it going on for so long... was me. Princess Fidelitas Sucks, doesn't it kiddo? Seeing it all with a clear head, the shame, the guilt, and all that horseapples. Wish I could hang around to help you out, but I've overstayed my welcome already, and the Blank Beast is hot on my trail. Heck, he should have been here already! Maybe he doesn't want to erase this outcome? I know he won't hold off forever, though. Besides, each Nightmare is different. We each went Nightmare for different things, so it's hard to tell how much help I'd even be. You've got Luna and Flutters, if you need somepony who's been where you are now. And don't forget, you've got an army of ponies all set and ready to help you, and hopefully you'll be a lot more eager to listen than I was. Just let it go kid. Whatever it is, it won't be worth it. The grudges, the fixations, they won't do you or anypony else good in the end. At least you don't have the blood of worlds on your hooves, be grateful that you were saved from that. You have no idea. You can go back to your life now. You have something to go back to. You didn't have to start from scratch like I have. Just be happy. Fluttercruel I was sure that this was gonna end with me stabbing Discord, and him trying to suck me back into himself to power himself up somehow, and absorbing me, and me ruining everything for him from the inside. And his last act of evil would be returning me to nothing, and mom would get some mega-rage power up and blow Discord away with the power she never knew she had. Why would I dream up something like that? Heh, maybe my imagination ran away with me just a bit! Instead, I have to live. I have to see what this world's got in store. I've got to figure out what I'm going to do with myself eventually. I can't live at mom's forever... right? And we've now got another little girl demon who's super sad over all the bad stuff she did. Can't say I don't relate just a little, ya know? Mom stopped me before I could do anything super-evil, too. And what the hay, living isn't so bad. Maybe the former demon and former devil can find out what life has in store for us together. Sometime, maybe. Girl's got buncha complicated stuff ahead of her, no need to make it even crazier just yet. Still, one other thing we've got in common: our moms aren't giving up on us being better. Fluttershy Is that so? Well, if Discord had tried to reabsorb Fluttercruel, I wouldn't be the only one inside our soul to stop that from happening. It would be me, me as a filly, me as a stallion, Flutterrage, and all the other pieces of me that make up me. We'd all have done our hardest to save her, and we would have succeeded! You know why? Because my love for my little filly is stronger than any claim Discord could have. I know better than most how powerful bonds can be, and I know ours is stronger than that. Diamond Tiara, she's like Princess Luna, not like me. She wasn't trying to convince anypony to make her never-heard-from-again even after losing all her dark magic. Instead she's just... sorry for everything she did. She wants to make it right. Or at least, or that's how I see it. Maybe things will be better for her than they were for me after Nightmare Whisper? I can hope, can't I? Her mother, her father, her best friend, I think they've all suffered enough. Nightmares should fade with the dawn. Applejack She's back to normal, and that's no lie. Ah can tell ya that much. Ah know it seems silly to say that now, but with all the bait-and-switches we've had bad guys throw at us again and again and again, Ah had to check. So yeah, with her Alicorn magic sealed in that jewelry, all Ah see when Ah look at 'er is just a normal little filly. A sad little filly who needs her ma more than anythin' right now. Even after me and the other Applejacks beat Nightmare Mirror and fixed 'er with the Elements... she still had to be convinced what she was doin' was wrong, like Nightmare Whisper. But this filly... it hit her like a ton of bricks that she messed up and messed up bad. Guess different Nightmares take it different ways. Would Ah take the 'get turned into a Nightmare and get zapped by the Elements' quick way of becomin' an Alicorn? Not in a bajillion years. Ah'll take the long hard road, thank yah very much. So good luck there, Diamond Tiara. At least ya got yer ma and pa both there for ya to help ya through it. They're still there to love ya, to tell ya everythin' is gonna be alright. They're there for ya again to keep the monsters away. Ya may not realize it yet, but at least ya got yer happy endin', and ya can bet Ah'll be there for ya too if ya need me. Our families are friends, like the Hearts and Apples if not as long, but since when has that mattered to friendship? Ah wasn't able to help ya like Ah should have... when Ah was able to ta help all of Ponyville start to get their heads back on straight. And ya know what? Better late than never! Ah march right on over ta mah sister, daring the Princesses ta stop me. They don't even try... they understand. We're part of this too. The Apples an' the Riches have always been tied at the hip, and it's about time to finally sew us back together! Ah don't hug 'er. That ain't what Ah'm here for, and it's not what she needs from me. Ah reach over and tap mah Element of Harmony, makin' the armor turn back into mah necklace in a pretty show of sparkles, so Ah can sit down and look 'er in the eyes. "Let me spell out some things for ya, little filly. Yer Ma, yer Pa? Yer friends? They all love ya. And if ya went away, they wouldn't just feel sad about it for a little while and have another foal and forget ya were ever around. That pain stays with ya! That hole in the world never fills up! It ain't just yer life! It's the life of their daughter, their friend! Ya goin' away won't make things better. If ya really feel sorry 'bout somethin', make it right if ya can, but don't go thinkin' ya have to destroy yerself to do it, livin' is a lot harder than the other way. "Yer responsible for what ya do! And yer Ma is responsible for what she does!" Ah lean and whisper. "And if ya see a bajillion Diamond Tiaras who are jerks, be the bajillionth-and-one who's the exception. If other ponies need somepony to blame for bad stuff happenin'... Ah don't. Bad things happen so we can get stronger for it. Ah accept there ain't usually a bad guy to blame, and if Ah can, then ya can too, and so can yer Ma. Parents make mistakes, but that don't mean they HAVE to be awful. Let'em help ya, and ya won't have'ta be afraid!" Diamond looks at meh, eyes still so full of pain, but she manages to smile, even if it's just a lil' bit. Ah smile too, so does her ma, her friend, 'Bloom, and Rarity. What's that, ya say? Ah just got closer tah bein' the Alicorn of Honesty than Mirror ever did?...Thank yah kindly, but this ain't about meh. It's about the little filly who's got a lot tah think about. Ah just gave her a truth she needed tah hear. Rarity Belle II Well done, Applejack! I suspect you've been waiting a year to say that. While I've often felt your way of sharing things lacks subtlety, I can admit there are times where that is exactly what's needed, and you are simply better than me in that regard. I'm proud to be your friend. Rarity... thank you for giving Diamond Tiara this happy ending. Thank you for giving her family this happy ending. Thank you for giving her friends this happy ending, and her friends of friends, friends of family, family of friends, thank you for all of them. And lest I forget, thank you for giving me this happy ending. I promise, I shall not waste it. Diamond Tiara, you're more than welcome to continue your sewing lessons with me, once you're feeling up to it. If I dare say so myself, if anypony can teach you how to be a proper lady without losing your heart or joy, it is I. Then again, you have another teacher ready to show you. Hmm... and given what I've heard, perhaps now that she is sane again your mother and I can teach you a little about the fun side of competition. Perhaps we could all take roller skating lessons together! It's time you started making fun memories, good memories, darling. What a happy day this is! Pinkie Pie Hi there! Excuse me, I'm busy planning the 'save the world' party, the 'welcome back to your family' party, the 'friends back together' party, the 'we saved Equestria' party, the 'welcome to the redeemed villains' party, the 'welcome to redeemed jerks' party (they are two very different things you know) all at once! And I've still got the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Cute-ceaneras, and the 'revealing you're still an Alicorn' party, and oh my! I've got so many to plan, even I might need some help! Do you think those other Pinkie Pies can come back and lend a hoof? Might disrupt the space-time continuum? Oh, prunes. I don't want to interrupt hugging time just yet, but I can't wait to wheel out my favorite party cannon and start blasting away, because yippee, we won! Maybe now we can get a good long break before we need to fix stuff up again! Nightmare Nhilis is gone and Diamond's all better and- hey wait a minute! Rainbow Dash And the day is saved, thanks to yours truly and my totally amazing friends! Whew, I could really use a nap now. All this awesome actually managed to tire me out. I'm proud to see a filly like Silver Spoon stay true to her best friend, even in the darkest of times. Now there's a pony who knows that loyalty is more than just doing what you're told. I always thought I'd pass the Element of Loyalty on to Scootaloo when I retire, but she might have a partner like Twilight has Trixie, if Silver is up to it. And Diamond Tiara... loyal to her mom in the darkest of times, and not just doing what she was told either. Both doin' what was best for the one they were loyal to, even if it wasn't what was best for themselves. Dangit. Maybe there's more to loyalty than I thought. A year later and all I know is that there's plenty I don't know. I hope I can figure it all out. I've got a lot to teach Scootaloo, after all. I've still got a bajillion questions to ask Princess Me. Gilda kinda had a point... how does somepony like me even become a princess? I can't say I don't look cool, though! At least I know I turn out awesome, right? What, were you expecting a big speech? We saved the day, and nopony got hurt, all around win for me. But I can't help but feel like we're forgetting something... Twilight Sparkle To be perfectly honest, this isn't how I expected things to turn out. The Elements of Harmony didn't deliver an impressive rainbow finish like the previous three times, but the armor helped a whole lot, and I'm pretty sure it saved our lives more times than I could count during this battle. We all had parts to play, and we all overcame what was thrown at us. And here we are again, a Nightmare cured of her corruption and crying into the withers of those she loves, ready to start healing. Funny how things repeat themselves isn't it? Maybe it's just all in a day's work for a "chosen hero." Spike, Trixie, I'm so proud of you both. Rarity, thank you for everything! I promise not to forget. Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, this was an honor! I can only hope I made you proud! Gilda... I was so wrong about you, you aren't a false friend at all. I AM writing an addendum to that friendship report as soon as we get home. Fluttershy... I am certain you'll grow into a wonderful Princess. Fluttercruel... we have GOT to get you a babysitter. Bringing a baby into battle just isn't responsible. Yes yes, I know, Spike and the Crusaders. That wasn't okay either! And yet, we did need everyone's help. Rainbow Dash... I know you're the kind to swoop in and save the day, but I'm proud of you for remembering what we as Mare-Do-Well showed you: 'Save lives first, showboat second.' Scootaloo is in good hooves with you. Cutie Mark Crusaders, well done! You pulled your own weight and you may have in fact been the entire key to this battle turning out as well as it did! And you can bet I'll be taking as many security precautions as needed to make sure you DON'T tag along on our future world saving adventures, as they are apparently not something we'll be getting away from for a while, and I'd rather have you girls as a backup, in case something happens to us. Never lose your hearts, and remember that brutality and ruthlessness is not the pony way. I just can't believe none of us thought to get you some helmets. I'm happy for you, Silver Spoon, and impressed too. You managed to stop an entire army with nothing but your own wit and heart. Take pride in that, you've earned it. Applejack, if there was ever a battle where you were needed, it was this one. Pinkie Pie... thank you. I may not understand everything about you, but I suppose that's part of your charm, isn't it? For the record, I'd still like to figure you out, just not dismiss something I don't understand as impossible. Golden Tiara... I can't say I'm HAPPY to have you rush in here... you're definitely needed now, and I know you'll do a good job. Mothers know how to heal their children better than anypony. Diamond Tiara? ... Just rest and heal. ... Something isn't right. Just then, Spike got a dragon mail. He read the scroll and looked up at us. "Moon Dancer says that they can't keep the barrier up much longer. She wants to know if it's over." "Almost," said Princess Celestia, with a surprisingly calm face. If the world had a musical score, this is where it would all stop. And it all clicked into place. The one item on my checklist that wasn't checked off yet. With two dozen ponies around to coordinate, shocking reveals of every kind, and victory finally within our grasp, perhaps I could be forgiven for forgetting about a mad demigod. Discord... Was that Discord? It looked like a child version of him... what did you call a young god of chaos?! The foal-sized spirit was still tethered to Diamond Tiara via his tail. "DISSY!" shouted Celestia, galloping towards him. Discord waved his claws frantically, shouting like a pony running from a house on fire. "Celly! STAY BACK! They're coming! I..." He clutched his head. "Between Diamond, Goatcord, and Rarity, I've changed too much! I can't contain them any more! THEY HATE YOU! THEY'LL DESTROY YOU ALL! CELLY, LULU! GET BACK!" Princess Luna teleported in, grabbed hold of her sister, and teleported both of them farther away. I felt a chill right down to my bones, a feeling of sick terror churning inside me. (Interviewer's Private Notes (Earth Pony): But... but this NEVER happened in the loops, not once!) (Interviewer's Private Notes (Unicorn): Yes it did... remember the last loop? When Fluttercruel became a Draconequus? After she was hit by the Elements as a spirit? This time it's worse because Rancor never ripped Destruction out of Discord.) Diamond Tiara wiped her tears, looking at Discord in alarm, and then all of us. "EVERYPONY! THIS ISN'T A JOKE! YOU HAVE TO SEND US TO THE SPIRIT WORLD RIGHT NOW!" Little Discord cringed, forcing himself to snap his fingers, almost like his own body was fighting him. A door painted with clashing spots and stripes flashed into existence, then swung open and upwards to reveal fields of checkerboard grass and a sky full of floating upside-down buildings. I saw a squirrel, the Pinkie Pie Army, and a green blob with a bowtie waiting on the other side. Diamond struggled to get up and reach the portal, but her alarmed friends and family held her down. I knew that it wasn't angst that drove Diamond Tiara now. I also knew how serious this was. That didn't stop me from shouting "No!" I slammed the door shut and it vanished. "We'll defeat them here and end this!" "You can't win!" she shouted, looking honestly horrified by what I'd just done. None of her friends let go of her. I stamped my hoof. "Cadence's Harmony beat them once! Our Harmony will beat them again!" Rarity didn't sacrifice her soul for nothing, darn it! "TRIXIE DEMANDS WE STOP PLAYING THE PRONOUN GAME!" "Discord wasn't always so powerful!" I told her. Hidden truths be darned. "Part of his powers came from his brother and the worst side of his father-" Discord clutched at his own head again, tugging on his horns. "I betrayed their natures by helping to save Diamond Tiara, and now they're going WILD!" Whatever dam Discord had been frantically patching, it finally broke. A ghostly hand reached for Dissy: a bony hand with six fingers and suction cups on the inside, shaped like a dragon's claw, but with carapace like that of an insect. Then it was made out of six snakes webbed like bat wings, with eyes like wasps! Then- Princess Celestia flared her horn, blinding us, and Princess Luna seemed to tap everypony present with her horn, all at once. The horrible headache that I hadn't even registered yet faded. Celestia had described Discord's Father in one of those tales months ago, I suddenly recalled. To see Him completely, as he truly was, would drive any mortal pony insane from sheer terror, leaving them with nightmares that even Princess Luna couldn't cure. Apparently, even this avatar was just as dangerous, or dangerous enough that it made no difference to us. What I saw now through the filter of Luna's magic... was something like a bigger, meaner looking, symmetrical version of Discord, with a longer body and extra limbs. Maybe. It was like a ghost. It seized Discord and pulled a torrent of red energy out of him, which formed into a constantly shifting red sphere engulfing Discord. The thing emitted such a pure, primal roar that I'm sure only Celestia and Luna's magic kept me sane, and then it shot free of Diamond Tiara, no longer tethered at all. It streaked into the sky, flying away from Canterlot Mountain. "Oh no you don't!" I shouted. "You're not getting away!" "Twilight, this is my-" Princess Celestia began to say. I dared interrupted my goddess, princess, and teacher. "You and Luna are out of practice with the Elements! We aren't and we both know they're the only way to stop that thing! We'll finish this, I promise! We don't have time before it gets away!" Celestia... smiled at me. "You defied me when it was wise to, Twilight. I'm so proud of you." I didn't have time to enjoy her praise, so I'm sad to say, it fell on deaf ears for a long while. Diamond Tiara, twitching on the ground, but otherwise fine, looked up with desperate, pleading eyes. "Please, you have to help him. He's reformed... he helped save me-" "GIRLS! FORMATION! NOW! Spike-!" "Nuh uh, no way I'm staying behind this time!" "WASN'T ASKING YOU TO! EVERYPONY ELSE, STAY HERE IN CASE IT DOUBLES BACK! I can only cast this spell a few times anyway, and you'll be needing everything you can get! NO ARGUING FROM ANYONE! THAT MEANS YOU TRIXIE!" My better judgement stopped me from threatening that anypony who protested would sit this out as a potted plant. Trixie gulped and nodded. Gilda definitely looked like she wanted to argue, but Princess Fidelitas whispered something in her ear that made the griffon sit back down soberly. My friends heard the commanding urgency in my voice and formed up. Rarity and Applejack reformed their harmony armor as they ran into place. There was no time or chatter or arguments here, and I had no time to think of a better plan before Havoc's avatar did who knew how much damage. = Sonic Rush Music: Metamorphosis = My horn flared like a purple beacon, definitely a magic surge. I thought I felt somepony's horn on my shoulder, but I might have imagined it. I cast a familiar spell on myself, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, a spell that a year ago I could barely cast once. Even with a magic surge this shouldn't be possible, but it works all the same. I'd be shocked if I cared right now. As much as it pains me, research can come later. The result? Four sets of gossamer wings, one for each of us who isn't a pegasus already. Each with its own unique pattern. I wish I could say I'd gone crazy, but this was the best I could think of. (Princess Luna's Insert: Sadly, even with our 'moment of time' conversation spell, we could not think of a much better plan than Twilight Sparkle's.) Without missing a beat, I turned and fired a spell at Spike. His body grew rapidly, gaining the size and bulk of a teenage dragon. To cap it off, a pair of leathery wings sprouted from his back. Spike's surprise burned away like flash paper in a furnace to a toothy grin, and he struck some bodybuilder poses and flapped the wings I'm sure he never expected to have a second time today. "Don't get used to it," I said quickly. Rarity looked a bit uncomfortable, but she didn't waste time we didn't have with angst. She knew better than to blame a spell that had no effect on the mind for her old behavior. "Darling, I do imagine that the Crusaders would enjoy at least one dragon ride on Spike's back while they're still foals and can enjoy it to the fullest... after this nightmare is over, that is." Pinkie Pie flapped off the ground with a smile, like she had a lifetime of practice. Me? It might have only been in Trixie's mind, but I had practice. AJ looked at her new appendages awkwardly, though, moving them clumsily. "Don't think about it dear," Rarity said, always willing to help. "It's no different from walking. Just do what comes naturally." "Easy fer you ta say!" "It's not like walking," Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy said together. While Fluttershy blushed, Rainbow continued, "Seriously Rare' do I tell you 'do what comes natural' with your horn?" "I begin to see your point, darling." "Now, if you want some real advice," said Rainbow Dash, "keep your head and legs forwards. Angle your wings like this when you want to fly faster." She nudged Applejack's wings into the correct position. "Angle like this when you want to hover, and like this when you want to turn right, left, up, and down," she continued, continuing to demonstrate the proper wing position. "Sharper the angle, faster the turn. Otherwise just flap evenly, don't panic and beat 'em like a hummingbird." Applejack blinked, trying to follow. "What if Ah wanna stop?!" "Don't. Hover if you just want to stop and talk to us, but if you need to stop fast, TURN sharply. Stopping will make you a sitting duck. In a dog fight NEVER just stop. Speed is your FRIEND." Applejack tried to imitate what she was told, doing better but still clumsy and not quite getting it. "Applejack, are ye not forgetting something?" asked Luna. "What's that, Princess?" Applejack asked. "Thy dream, of course. The one where ye fought the bald stallion from Ponygypt." Applejack... blushed. "Oh, right... Heh, forgot about that..." She focused and seemed to become a little more comfortable with her wings... almost too comfortable. I'm not questioning it. "Sorry about that." "Still, just in case and because those wings are fragile... Fluttershy, stay close to Applejack!" I ordered. Rainbow might've been the better stunt flier, but when her friends are in danger, her cowardice simply shuts off. "Fluttercruel, guard your mother!" "You need to ask?" she answered, manifesting. "Spike! Cover us! Girls! Follow me in formation!" Gilda gave Rainbow a claws-up. "I'm leaving this to you, Dash. Kick its ass." Rainbow Dash grinned slyly. "Hey, Princess Me from the future is here. That means we can't possibly lose." Fidelitas winced. "It's... uh... more complicated than that! Time could be rewritten and stuff." "Then I'd better make sure we win! Heh, it's not like I was planning on losing anyway!" I sparked my horn to grab everyone's attention, "We need to go, NOW!" And off we flew. > True Pony Potential (true final boss) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo looked at each other, exchanging determined nods... until the the shadow of Golden Tiara fell over them. "Don't even think about it, young ladies," said Golden Tiara in a tone that left no room for argument. Most of the ponies left behind in the Canterlot Gardens had no bloody clue what was going on. They knew Diamond Tiara was free of being a Nightmare, and that Discord had been expelled from her body, but his powers had gone completely out of whack, even for Discord. And apparently Discord had a brother and a father. That last part was the kind of thing that could stand a pony's whole world on end. Whatever was going on, Twilight and her friends were the only ones who could stop it. They'd all come this far together, but now the Bearers would have to finish the journey alone. - Twilight Sparkle We pursued the monster that had taken Discord higher and higher, flying through roiling and churning storm clouds. It was like there was no Equus below and no sky above, only two planes of storms with lightning arcing between the two. Was the very presence of that thing turning the weather against us? = Sonic Heroes - 'What I'm Made Of!' = The monstrous avatar didn't turn around so much as it morphed back to front. The sphere containing Discord shone like an angry red jewel in its forehead... and then it was grasped in a claw, then at the tip of a tail, shifting whenever I tried to focus on any detail. "Long time no see!" Its voice had a distorted echo, like it was close by and far away at the same time, two or three creatures speaking just out of synch. Little ponies! The termites of the cosmos!" For once, I couldn't think of what to say. Rainbow was quicker. "You're the termite, you big ugly!" Its chest opened to reveal a minotaur skull, which spat a hailstorm of red crystals at us. Before I could shout a warning, Rainbow Dash was already smashing through them like clock work. "Ignorant animal. None of this would have happened if you hadn't destroyed the windigos. The windigos wouldn't have come if you hadn't surrendered to hate. You wouldn't have given into hate if you hadn't treated reality itself as a toy and nearly destroyed everything that was and is. This is your end! You have none to blame but yourselves." Three of its claws slashed, leaving giant glowing slash marks in the air. We all dodged without missing a beat. I finally chose to speak... this was no time for secrets. "You can stop with the games, Avatar of Havoc! I know you're just a piece of Discord's father! You're nothing but a mad puppet!" "A puppet indeed! My creator never thought to give me a name. I was merely an extension of his will. Once the chaos of the war freed me, I gave myself one: Fear of peace! I am every soldier ever bred and groomed into a killer, then discarded as soon as his war was over, demonized for the crime of doing what he was made to do. I am Paxphobia." Then came the eye lasers, as if we hadn't been dodging those all day already, except they contorted in impossible angles from a million eyes... a maze of death stretching as far as we could see, ready to cut us to shreds. "I'LL TAKE THE LEAD!" Pinkie Pie cheered, and we fell in line behind her, following her example as she darted in and around the lasers without getting so much as singed. Each time we slipped through his attacks, we got closer and closer! Fluttercruel emerged from Fluttershy, shouting to be heard over the wind. "I don't give a buck what you are or what you call yourself! Give up or else!" "Half-mortal, half-god mongrel, fight for your grandfather!" A pair of its eyes flashed red. Fluttercruel's eyes dimmed to glowing red embers, and her mouth became a mess of fangs. "Yes, grandfather." Before Fluttercruel could do anything, Fluttershy hugged her daughter in midair, returning her to normal. "We've had enough of that, thank you very much!" said Fluttershy defiantly. "CURSE YOU!" Four of the avatar's arms grabbed some passing storm clouds, turning them to solid stone in a surge of chaos before hurling them straight at us. "SHIFT, BUCK, YEAH!" Applejack shouted as she took point, her legs bucking the giant stone clouds. Each kick propelled her to the next cloud, until all of them were pulverized. Applejack had never been this strong before... was our proximity powering us up somehow? "Devil Blade Serpents!" I saw what I'd only read about. From one of its claw tips came a rusted metal pipe as wide as a carriage. Swords, scythes, knives, and razor blades stuck out at chaotic angles in every direction, and multiplied like branches on a tree. Its wires and blades spreaded like twigs at us, but all of them stayed the same size and density instead of getting smaller. "That's Strife's technique!" I automatically shouted. "Idiot. Havoc taught her!" Rarity zipped ahead, flying before us. "Allow me darling!" She launched more gems than I knew she had with her, and combined them into a set of spinning saw blades. She whirled the blades with her telekinesis so fast they left after images, following every twist and turn of the attack with uncanny precision, cutting the Devil Blade Serpents to pieces before they came anywhere near us. After all, she'd seen this attack before in her former life. "I can help!" shouted Spike, his voice an octave deeper than I was used to. His powered-up fire breath melted the pieces of the Devil Blade Serpents together, turning them into a mass of twitching metal. "Hang on, Spike!" I couldn't tell what was below us, but I wasn't risking somepony getting crushed by metal raining from the sky! I took the half-molten mass in my telekinesis, straining my magic, and smacked Paxphobia in what might have been his face. "Agh! One of Tiamat's spawn, you're as conceited as your creator." "YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!" roared Spike, as if he was instinctively angry at the jab at the Dragon Queen. "BE AFRAID!" All of his eyes swiveled creepily and focused directly on us. Suddenly I froze, knowing only that I couldn't move, couldn't even breathe, or the vicious pony-eating predator would seize and devour me! "Destroy!" A gorilla head emerged from its stomach, charging up a red beam of true Destruction. "ALL STAND TOGETHER!" Fluttercruel shouted, and just like that, the spell was broken. We were a herd, a tribe, and unlike our ancestors, we don't leave a herdmate to die before the wolves! I shoved the remains of the metal serpent spell into the gorilla's mouth to violently block the attack. While Paxphobia was reeling from that, I spell copied the beam that Celestia had used to overwhelm Queen Chrysalis, pouring much more mana into it than Celestia had dared use in the palace. It shot right through Paxphobia as Destruction's spell detonated. "AGH!" He bellowed like a dozen angry hydras. "We're ponies!" I shouted. "We survive! We survived Tirek! We survived the Spell Plague, we survived the windigos, we survived Discord, and we'll survive a mockery of his Father! And we'll do it all-" My friends shouted with me. "TOGETHER!" I don't know why I was surprised when the Fires of Friendship themselves appeared, and in a spiral reached for Paxphobia and set him ablaze. He roared. And the fire wasn't so much put out as it was forced away, and back towards us. We weren't burned either... the Fires engulfed us and faded away, as if we'd reabsorbed them. "HA! Did you think my creator was THAT STUPID that he wouldn't take precautions against the crime done to his lovely bride?! YOU THINK ME THE WINDIGOS? They were mindless automatons made for dealing with you ponies! I was made to stand against my own kind!!" 'Twilight Sparkle!' Discord? His voice came from everywhere, yet nowhere. 'Can you hear me!? Normal attacks won't be able to finish him!' "That just means we have to hit you extra hard!" I shouted to Paxphobia. Our Elements of Harmony were already glowing. Had they brightened up as we each helped? I hadn't noticed or cared. I already knew my friends would be with me to the end! We didn't need to think about it... glowing white lines joined us together, forming into a six pointed star in the sky, and the rainbow crashed down on the avatar. "AGGGGH!" Paxphobia screamed, and then with two of his fists it pushed the fading rainbow AWAY. "You thought you could harm me with the Rainbow of Light? Have you forgotten that harmony's power was born from my family as well?!" My friends shivered. 'Twilight! He's bluffing! I can feel it! It hurt him! KEEP IT UP!' "I'll skewer you!" Claws launched from one of its giant paws like missiles. Applejack started to buck one off course, but the moment she made contact the claw shattered on its own, trapping Applejack in a giant red ruby like an insect in amber. Pinkie Pie gasped. "You big meanie! You said..." "I lied." Applejack must have had no other way to react. Or could not even Applejack pierce his lies? Rarity began shooting the talons at a distance with her jewels, setting them off early. Rainbow dove and caught Applejack, but then the red crystal multiplied on contact, trapping her in a second jewel. "DON'T LET ANY OF THEM TOUCH THE GROUND!" I caught all the red crystals in my magic, then gasped in alarm when the crystallization infected the flow of my magic, travelling back towards me like poison in a blood vessel. I magically moved them further and further away from me, delaying what would happen. Before I could reach the limit of my telekinesis range, Spike swooped in and ate all the smaller rubies before chomping on the ones containing Applejack and Rainbow Dash. With a tongue like a chameleon, he struck, breaking them free and munching up every last crystal shard. For a moment I feared that they'd grow from inside Spike, but the dragon digestive system proved stronger. 'Do a barrel roll! Do the hula! Do something... Twilight, Destruction's essence and mine are diluting Paxphobia's true power, but he'll realize he's better off without us sooner than later! You might want to stop him before that happens!' "AGAIN! ZAP HIM AGAIN!" I shouted. It felt odd that what had been the crowning moment of our friendship was now reduced to a cannon to pummel our enemy, but there we were! For that matter, it's a wonder we didn't faint from using the Elements of Harmony twice in just a few minutes, but we couldn't afford to hold back now. Maybe the armor was feeding us the strength we needed. This time, Paxphobia dodged the rainbow beam, only to be tracked down and blasted from behind by the attack instead. He bellowed like a wounded Ursa, but he wasn't finished yet. Paxphobia slashed the air with its claws again, but this time with five of his limbs. We started dodging in between the slashes just like before, but at the same time he flapped five of his wings. Black whirlpools formed in midair, sucking in everything... light, air, sound, and then the eight of us! Then Rainbow Dash showed why she wasn't worried about having a smaller team to work with for 'Hurricane Fluttershy.' She spun about and created a twister going the opposite direction, cancelling out the whirlpools and negating them from existence! Paxphobia shuddered, shaking off solid bits of leathery flesh like fleas. Lamprey mouths with teeth-like buzz saws opened up, and they buzzed towards us like a swarm of parasprites, moving along the trails of emptiness that had always been in the sky since history began. 'Some of Mother's pet time-eaters, eh? Fluttershy, Fluttercruel, give them what for!' Fluttercruel flew in first, and the time-eaters hesitated. Maybe they could sense something of Fluttercruel's grandmother in her too? Then Fluttershy darted in front. They might not have had eyes, but they must have had something because Fluttershy's Stare made them fly erratically, bumping into each other, snapping and swallowing each other and... Streaks of nothingness in the sky? Why would there have ever been those? Had there been more than one time-eater here? It imploded. Paxphobia was open. "AGAIN! Use the Elements again!" Our six-pointed star of light bloomed in the sky once more, and Paxphobia held back the rainbow with one limb, then three, then with everything it could, but the light finally punched through, whooping it in what I'm pretty sure was its jaw. After that... it did everything at once. The homing claw spears, the laser eyes, the energy slashes, the black whirlpools, releasing even more time eaters, the red-crystal-breathing minotaur skull, the destruction beam gorilla head, the Devil Blade Serpents, while hurling chaos clouds made of solid lava, or diamond, or steel at us, never the same thing twice. Where that wasn't enough, it simply grew extra limbs and eyes. All of them, all at the same time. In some distant corner of my mind, I wondered why it hadn't tried to use the fear-eyes or take control of Fluttercruel again. It also opened its mouth and limbs to breathe violet flames at us, all the way around like a wall. The attacks were coordinated so perfectly that none got in the way of the others. I moved to the forefront, focusing my magic. "ANTI-CHAOS BARRIER! FAILSAFE SPELL! Pinkie, take care of the rest! " My Failsafe Spell had utterly failed to ever affect any of Discord's magic, but the Anti-Chaos Barrier could, and Failsafe had worked on Destruction's magic. Casting both spells at once, without the rune to power it up, and directing both spells so they struck the enemy and not Fluttercruel or any of us... I actually blacked out for a moment... but Spike swooped in and caught me in his strong arms before I could fall. I felt so proud of him just then. So many times, it had been me catching Spike... In the meantime, my cloudy vision saw Pinkie Pie at the edge of my sight, constructing her own air force of automated whirly-copter party cannon drones in mere seconds. They swarmed every which way, and intercepted the attacks my two spells hadn't unmade with cream pies. They quickly overheated and exploded into masses of confetti, but they got all of Paxphobia's attacks. I'd never seen Pinkie Pie look so exhausted. "ALL TOGETHER AGAIN!" I shouted over my ringing ears, even if our target to me was a big evil blur right now. Our big beautiful holy blur of light formed, filling me with joy as I thought about all my friends, and the rainbow flew straight down the evil blur's throat as my vision cleared and the bells stopped. 'AGGGH!!!! THAT'S IT, TWILIGHT! AGH! KEEP GOING! OWOWOW! YOU'VE ALMOST GOT HIM!' 'Discord, what about you?' I heard myself think. 'DON'T START CARING ABOUT ME NOW!' Paxphobia drew in a mighty breath, and spoke in a voice that sent a shockwave through all of us, rushing like a tidal wave through our minds. "Hear My Voice and Know The Truth That You Most Fear: Four Times, Your Species Has Damaged Reality Itself. Why Should The Gods Give Ponies A Fifth Chance To Destroy The Universe?" Time slowed. Like a second stretched to forever. Like the world itself was winding down like a clock. I shuddered. Not wanting to, I thought of Kimono's and Bon Bon's journals, entire galaxies unmade because of the disaster of the Wish Spell. The damage done to reality when Smart Cookie, Pansy, and Clover The Clever saved us all from the Windigos. The evil that Nightmare Nhilis claimed to have committed, but I couldn't remember. And... a vision I barely understood: A pegasus filly with a heart as black as pitch, impaling a colt with a spear as dark as she was, and so many beautiful things never having ever been. (Interviewer's Private Notes (Half-Light Dusk): I saw it all ... every worldline destroyed by Nightmare Eclipse... a reality made and unmade over and over just to satisfy her endless insane need for revenge. All those planets and civilizations out there, suffering and never knowing why, for the grudges of a pony they'd never even meet.) It was like my life was words on a page, written by some monstrous hand, then dragged down into darkness. I struggled for an answer, any answer... but every thought that came to mind felt selfish, egocentric, or shallow. Ponykind... in our brief time as a sapient species, how much destruction had we wrought on reality, either accidentally or intentionally? If we'd done this much in just a few Ages, what would we do in hundreds of thousands of years? Fourth chances? Seventieth chances? Where did it end? If I gave an aquarium of sea monkeys self-awareness, and they nearly blew up Equestria four times, including one that was barely stopped by a time travel spell ... would I really just let them continue on doing whatever they pleased? Would I tolerate even one such disaster? How could I argue for their safety over the safety of everything else that lived? How many science-fiction stories had I read where a robot destroyed Ponykind for reasons that only made sense to it? Did we have a right to continue to exist, if one well meaning but idiotic stunt, one pony having a bad day, could destroy everything? If even innocent galaxies in the far corners of the universe could suffer from our messing with the laws of reality? Had the draconequi been right all along? Was it better to smother us in our crib? In all the possibilities out there, all the different versions of Equus out there... were we just a bad batch? Was it kinder to just... get rid of us? "It's true, we've messed up. We've messed up bad, more than once!" Applejack? "We've messed up with help and without help! But we've also fixed up stuff, and fixed it up better than before! We're just foals learning to crawl! Some of yer kin gave us crossbows, and of course that ended about like you'd expect! Should all of yer kin be 'gotten rid of' because of those jerks? Ya've cleaned up our messes that were only our own fault yeah, have we never cleaned up any of yer kin's?" (Interviewer's Private Notes (Half-Light Dawn): Big brother Shining Armor, he's the reason why the Blank Wolf was ever able to catch Nameless at all! He saved us!) "We're a part of yer lives as much as yer a part of ours!" Applejack finished. I smiled. Leave it to good old down-to-earth Applejack. Time moved forward, as if Applejack had given the world itself the courage it needed to keep going forward! Applejack, you wonderful silly pony! What needs to be elaborated on? Applejack said it! If you remove a 'good' or 'bad' pony from the world, you can't say things will be 'all better' or 'all worse,' life's too complex for that. Good ponies have to make hard decisions, and bad ponies can stop other bad ponies from causing trouble. Neither can you remove the 'not important' ponies like Carrot Top and think nothing will change. All of our lives contribute, it's not just the six of us that matter! And right now, I see today's happy ending just one last Harmony Blast away! "Focus everypony, this is it!" The Elements charged for the final blow! This was for everything! "That is far enough." It dimly occurred to me, too late: by now we were most definitely outside the range of the seal Moon Dancer and the others had been sustaining. "I will not be defeated by the likes of you! I am Paxphobia, the Sword of Fear! Back in town." Energy rushed into what might have been the avatar's outstretched hand. "And I'm stronger than you!" He snapped his fingers. 'Hey! That was my old idea...' I heard Discord say in dismay. A shockwave of invisible power buffeted us. I felt my Harmony Armor absorb the impact, using what power it could to shield me before reverting back to a crown. I saw the same thing happen to all my friends. Should we have flown closer together, concentrating our energy to resist something like this? Should we have spread wide apart to not be an easy target? Too late to wonder now. Spike shrank down to a baby dragon, his wings gone. We didn't have time to think, because in the same moment, the gossamer wings vanished... along with Fluttercruel, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's normal wings. Rarity's horn disappeared, and so did mine. We hung in the sky for one heartstopping moment, just long enough to realize what Paxphobia had done. Then we fell. I couldn't help but recall the hedge maze, when we first saw Discord face to face, and he stripped us of our body parts so we couldn't 'cheat.' This was worse. I'd learned since then that earth ponies were more than just ponies without wings or horns, and Paxphobia had taken Pinkie Pie and Applejack's earth pony strength as well. Something about their hooves was no longer the same. "I'll try to teleport us down!" shouted Spike. Crazy, but we didn't have a lot of options. Spike breathed in and out and... nothing. "My... my flame! It's gone!" "Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said, waving her legs at the edge of my vision and not appearing on the other side. "I can't feel my Pinkie Sense! I can't get my emergency stuff! And I can't move out of the Frame or anything!" Applejack blinked her eyes in confusion, looking around like her vision had gone strange. None of us had to say anything, because we all knew the answer... We'd been cut off from ALL magic. "FORMATION!" We could hope for the magic floating effect to save us, and if not, at least we'd save Equestria from him. Except... the Elements didn't respond at all. He hadn't done anything to them, he'd done something to us. There was no sympathetic symphony to our fall, only the rustling of the winds. Havoc's Avatar didn't even look at us anymore, we were already dead to him. We fell through the storm clouds, and the ground became visible below, not that it mattered. Ground or ocean, from this height our bodies would be obliterated on impact. I was proud of my friends. Nopony was panicking or screaming... they knew there was no point, nopony to cry for help to. Not here. Not this time. We all knew we were going to die. My heart lifted, and I smiled when I saw Gilda, Scootaloo, the Princesses, and a strangely familiar orange and blue pegasus guard flying towards us as fast as they could... only to bang head first into an invisible wall. Once upon a time, Scootaloo's ancient pegasus warcry and Gilda's enraged shriek would have been on opposite sides of a battlefield. Today, they fought together, bucking and slashing, actually seeming to tear into the barrier for a moment before it rebounded and hurled them away. I saw the Princesses blast the barrier with everything they had, knowing that they wouldn't break through in time. Celestia teleported, only to reappear as a white dot on the horizon miles further away. It really had thought of everything, hadn't it? I imagined Cheerilee and Zecora and Cupcake looking up in horror, wanting to do something, anything, as they spotted our tiny shapes falling to the distant ground. Pegasi from Ponyville and maybe Cloudsdale would be flying up to try and catch us, only to get hit by another invisible wall, or perhaps the storm clouds pushing down on them, and our neighbors using everything they had to try and get through to help us. It wouldn't be enough. I saw the look on Rarity's face. Maybe she was thinking of when she last fell to her death, only for Rainbow Dash to save her after her panicking knocked out the Wonderbolts trying to catch her. She was using all her willpower to hold her screams at bay. Fluttershy is biting her lip as tears begin to flow. My vision begins to blur too. I blink the tears back; I want a clear view of my friends right to the end! Poor Spike is digging his claws into his palm to keep from screaming. Could dragons survive a fall at terminal velocity? Probably? But their legendary toughness came from their magic... no hope there. 'Twilight!' I could only faintly hear Discord now. 'I... I can't do anything! They won't let me! I'm... I'm sorry!' ...There was nothing we could do but talk. Maybe Paxphobia wanted us to die terrified. If all we could do was rob him of that, then that's what we'd do. After all, there was still hope, if not for us, then Equestria. Cadence beat him once, the Elements would survive... there was hope... we just wouldn't be it. Applejack... laughed? "So, uh... this is what it's like to be as weak in the muscles as the rest of ya." "We make it up with horn muscle," I said with a smile. "Hey, mom?" said Fluttercruel. "For what it's worth, life with you... It was one hay of a ride to the end!" 'Fluttershy, Fluttercruel, I'm so sorry for everything.' "It's alright dear," Fluttershy said maturely. "Hey!" exclaimed Fluttercruel, brightening up a bit. "Maybe those grandfathered rules apply to me too, so I can cohabit a new body and carry on the fight!" Fluttershy beamed. "That's nice dear. Be sure to ask for permission first." Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Ya know, I wouldn't have changed anything, but next time I'll call- eh, who am I kidding? You can still call me." "Twilight, I don't regret following you into Everfree," said Fluttershy, sniffing. "Not for a moment." My friends all nodded. I allowed myself a few tears. "Poor Apple Bloom's gonna be a wreck, having to take care of the farm without me. She'll figure out somethin', though, she's a smart filly. Big Mac will be there for her." "Dangit Scoots, your mom and dad better be there for you, or I'll haunt them! Be Superstallion, not Batmare!" "Sweetie Belle..." "Well, they do say anti-climaxes make for good comedy, right?" Pinkie Pie leaned back and put her forehooves behind her head like a pillow. "I get one last good punchline with you girls." "Spike." Rarity hugged him. "Rarity!" He hugged her back tightly. "Trixie, take care of yourself," I said softly. "Cadence, I believe in you. Big Brother, kick his ass." Mom, Dad, Teacher, I hope I did you all proud. We all managed to drift closer to each other, and formed into a group hug as the ground reached up to greet us. +++ = 'vs. Nega-Wisp Armor - Phase 2 (Reach for the Stars - Orchestral Version)' - Sonic Colors = Princess Luna No time to talk. No time to think. No time to plan or discuss, only act. I teleported above the Royal Entryway, just outside the wards that prevent direct teleportation into Canterlot Castle from outside. I used up one irreplaceable moment to ensure there were no sapient creatures in my way. Celly had built the security around the Well of Truth explicitly against me, or rather, against Nightmare Moon, and so it took more than one Alicorn to use it. Too bad for the security. With my sister's sun in the sky, no pony could see more than a vague outline of my moon appear as I moved it overhead to channel every ounce of power within my domain. I'll compensate the ponies who suffer damages from the sudden changes in tides later! In less than a breath, I raised the strongest barrier I could before me. Then I did a cold start Sonic Moonboom. The ripple of moonlight and shadow blew out all the windows except the enchanted shatterproof stained glass, and made a hole through the expendable roof and the heavy stone slabs of the floor, and then through the much tougher hidden runes that distorted time and space around the precious treasure. I felt my horn burn and my wings break. Compared to that, smashing through the spiral stone staircase was but an irritation. The succession of impacts reduced stone to dust, a consequence of Earth Pony and Unicorn might combined with super sonic speeds. Rainbow Dash WILL do this herself one day! I will not allow anything else! 'I seek the truth!' I think as I blow through layer after layer, destroying all between me and what I MUST reach. 'I will sacrifice what I must to share it with those who need it for everypony's sake.' The temporal-spatial distortion unfolded, snapping everything into normal space-time at the mental key. I angled my ballistic descent towards my door to the Well, which would respond to me only if I wasn't corrupted. Normally I was to insert my horn and it would sense my magic and unlock itself, and undo the barrier all around the well that prevents creatures from simply digging to it. I didn't have time for that, so I simply rammed it off its hinges. The door went flying with such force that it embedded itself in the opposite chamber wall. Alarms went off, explosive runes began to charge. I ignored them. Inside the chamber was the mechanical spiral shutter for the Well of Truth, along with cogs, gears and the mechanism meant for two Alicorns to open it and stop the mightiest of creatures' attempts to pry it open - Not even adult dragons could do it. Every shadow in the room surged into me, granting me all the strength they could. I overclocked my physical body and tore the shutter open with my bare hooves, cracking the walls and threatening to make the chamber collapse. That could be dealt with later. I heard tendons and bones snap in my legs. The silvery smooth surface of the Well of Truth lay exposed, liquid and yet not. I know this will not be without cost. The pool likely won't survive this use, but mother and grandmother would both have gladly made this sacrifice. It took two Alicorns to awaken it. My Father was no Alicorn, but half our power came from him. I tapped into the fraction of that power he'd given me so long ago, the essence of My Father. I'm using it, to end the last remnant of a war. I hope he'll be proud. I dove in as fast as I could, creating a water crown, and plunged into the Well of Truth. It's taken me this long to explain it, but in reality it took but a few moments. I dove deep into the dark, and I saw a thousand lights, sparkling like rainbow jewels. I became my shadowy stardust form and spread myself further than I ever have or will ever dare again, reaching out to touch those stars all at once. I beheld possibilities so limitless that they'd drive any mortal mad, and across the hearts and minds of those stars I travel! +++ Your Chaotically Handsome Sounding Narrator A spark ran through ponies near and far... in Cloudsdale, in Canterlot, but particularly in Ponyville. Back in the days when Granny Smith had been young, Princess Celestia had guided the founding of that town to create a breeding ground for those worthy of the Elements of Harmony, just as the School for Gifted Unicorns had been a training ground for potential Elements of Magic. The awakening didn't happen to ponies one by one, it was effectively simultaneous! Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann OST - Ten wo Tsuke What everypony saw and thought and felt would take another six years to describe in full, and it would not affect the end results. While their experiences in the physical world during the event remained crystal clear, what their mind's eye saw was like a dream, and for most, the dream faded afterwards. Just to mention and describe every equine and creature touched by Princess Luna was a monumental task. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends had been the first with the courage and wit to rise to the challenge, but that didn't mean they were the only ponies in Equestria to embody Harmony's virtues. It's doubtful that even Princess Luna has a complete list, she worked so fast and frantically. Many of the ponies of Equestria, consciously or unconsciously, chose to mentally sweep it under the rug like so many other epic events, preferring their chosen peaceful lives. With how dull and every-day-the-same things get around here, you'd think they would've appreciated a little chaos in their lives! Dame Cheerilee was recovering in the Apple family home, with Big Mac close at hoof. Granny Smith (rest her soul) was drawn to the window by some intuition, and she spotted a group of falling creatures despite of her poor vision. Her gasp brought the couple two other ponies to the window, and they all saw who it was. But they'd only had time to form one or two thoughts in their adorably limited little pony brains before their eyes glowed white. Thankfully, all the ponies touched by Princess Luna's desperate gamble retained enough awareness of their surroundings not to crash into buildings or drop any sharp objects. A glowing orange outline of Big Mac's cutie mark appeared on his throat, and an orange outline of Granny Smith's cutie mark appeared on her forehead. A pink outline of one of Cheerilee's cutie mark flowers appeared on the back of her right ear. - Aloe and Lotus stood side by side, outside the spa they'd chosen to maintain in Ponyville, when they could have become wealthier by setting up shop in a larger city. Purple outlines of their matching flower cutie marks appeared on opposite hooves. - The blue earth filly wished she could shoot the big monsters out of the sky. Her name was Archer, once named Blue-Luck before she got her cutie mark. A striking red outline of it formed around her left eye. - The Doctor, meanwhile, was shocked to see a pink outline of his hourglass cutie mark form over his second heart! - Thinking of Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom, Twist stuck out her tongue and giggled, seeing a glowing purple outline of her sugar cane cutie mark on it. Next to her, Truffle wasn't that surprised to discover a pink outline of his cutie mark on his belly. - The charter Cutie Mark Crusaders were not surprised at all when they saw glowing shields appear on their coats, in the same places their sisters wore their Elements in the Harmony armor, but only Scootaloo wasn't surprised by the color. Screwball Golden Tiara touched a hoof to the purple glow over her heart. "Yeah!" cheered Princess Fidelitas, grinning from ear to ear. "I knew you girls had this!" No mark appeared on her... she wasn't supposed to be here, after all. Silver Spoon, seeing what was going on, wasn't surprised in the least when she looked over her shoulder and found the red outline of a spoon shining on her back. For beautiful Diamond Tiara, there was only a malformed white scribble that barely flickered purple, hidden on the back of her neck. - Next to her beloved Bon Bon, in the tunnel under the park with the other Gifted Unicorns, Lyra squinted at a sudden flood of light. "Whoa! Bon Bon, you're glowing!" she exclaimed, pointing at the pink candy mark shining on the inside of Bon Bon's ear. "Well, you are too!" said Bon Bon, pointing at the glowing blue harp in Lyra's ear. The rest of the Gifted Unicorns looked to each other. Moon Dancer found a glowing moon in the same place and color as Twilight's, Minuette a purple hourglass around her mouth, Twinkle Shine a red star at the base of her horn, and Lemon Hearts an orange heart over one of her hooves, which her lemon familiars flocked around. "What do you know..." mused Minuette, her strange nature giving her more insight to what was happening than most. She imagined the look on her original self's face if he could see this. - Photo Finish - Blinky Pie to her family, not to be confused with her sister Limestone Pie - wasn't known for her good cheer. She knew that part of the model business was telling beautiful lies, and she wasn't known for being gentle to her clients. While she'd give anypony a chance if she thought them worthy, she gave nothing away for free. She'd even bluntly told Fluttercruel, daughter of one of her sister's dear friends, said friend also being her previous star model, to reapply to be a model when she was more mature. If she'd inspired one thing among her entourage, though, it was loyalty. She might have been demanding, but she never asked from them more than they could give. And even if she didn't show it, if her sisters ever needed her, she would be there for them. A star camera outline appeared underneath her dress at the base of her tail, a hint of her own early days as a model. - Even at his worst, as any noblefilly in Canterlot could attest to, Prince Blueblood had stayed loyal to his Auntie. His servants, when questioned, grudgingly admitted he did not mistreat them. Even when word of Nightmare Moon being very real and Princess Celestia being gone came to him, the idea of changing sides had never once entered his beautiful, if somewhat empty, head. A glowing red compass rose appeared on his cheek. Some had joked that Prince Blueblood was Princess Celestia's second pet, and if her 'second pet' would be this loyal... was it that much of a surprise that her 'first' pet would be much the same? A glowing feather symbol appeared on the forehead of Philomena the Phoenix. Arcane Spell found a glowing orange outline over one of her eyes, while her little sister Neatly Spell giggled at the blue one forming on her own throat. - Octavia looked down to see an orange treble clef appear on her front right hoof, while a glowing blue note appeared on Vinyl Scratch's front left hoof. - Outside the post office, Derpy lifted up her front right hoof, showing a glowing red bubble pattern underneath. - Amethyst Star blinked, finding an orange jewel symbol on her neck. She looked over to her little uncle Derby Hooves, who was visiting Ponyville at the time, and saw a blue glowing pattern of lines appear over one eye. - Many would have been surprised, and many more would have appreciated the irony when a glowing orange outline of Mayor Mare's scroll cutie mark appeared around her muzzle. Not least of all Mary Mare herself. Matching symbols appeared on her husband, their daughter Fair Ruling, and their son in law. The red symbol on Raven's back startled several of the palace staff when it appeared, but the color surprised nopony at all. - Carrot Top was one of the few ponies who crossed her glowing eyes to see a glowing red carrot symbol in her mane! Beside her, Noi had a blue glowing blob in her beautiful little locks of hair. - Snails casually noted the blue glowing snail on his nose. Most ponies, if they'd imagined him as a Bearer at all, would have assumed he'd get Laughter, since he had a reputation for being a dimwitted laughing stock. They would have been dead wrong. Do not underestimate the enlightened fool. Snips... well, if anything could be said, at least he would never ever abandon Snails. - Lovestruck, still getting used to her new existence as a Demi-Goddess, had purposely avoided getting involved in the conflict, so she was caught off guard when a glowing pink bow and arrow appeared over her heart. Her little Heart Throb giggled happily and poked at a tiny glowing heart in the same place, while the filly's father Grand Slam found a glowing pink baseball on his foreleg. - Nurse Redheart paused in the middle of checking on patients to examine the glowing pink cross on the bottom of one of her hooves, wondering if some exotic new Cutie Pox was going around. Her little sister Tender Heart had the same colored glow where hers was, and Little Nursery Rhyme had a glowing blue cross in the same spot. - Button Mash, who uncharacteristically had not been playing his games, but rather staring anxiously and worriedly at Canterlot for reasons he couldn't explain, blinked and found the inner side of his hoof glowing brilliantly blue. "Cool..." A few rooms over, his mother found a glowing pink baby bottle on her stomach. - "Of course." Coffee Swirl rolled his eyes, seeing a purple glowing outline of his cutie mark in the middle of his chest. - "Dear Kamadhenu!" Daisy-Jo the cow oooh'ed as a purple 'pair of horns' symbol glowed on her udders. - "Sweet Jesus!" Flash Sentry exclaimed, seeing the glowing red outline of his shield and lightning bolt mark reflected in his helmet, unaware it was the same spot as Twilight Sparkle's. Red and purple glows shone from Death Stalker and Filthy Rich nearby. - Sapphire Shores had gotten a commission from Celestia to perform a free concert in Canterlot on that very same day on the opposite end of the city from the Statue Gardens. Unknown to her, the concert was meant to be loud and flashy, distracting everypony's attention from whatever might happen during the battle, and even if she had known, she would have sung anyway. Despite her surprise at finding the glowing purple outline of a clam shell on her throat, she signalled that the show would go on. In the audience, her body double Jewel Tide found a glowing blue outline of a theater mask on her face. More and more ponies in the audience lit up with glowing symbols, outshining even the usual magical sparklers and wands of her dedicated fans, but Sapphire never stopped singing. - The 'crew' of the Moon Pearl paused during their game of pretend, feeling something strange in the air. Pipsqueak gasped, finding a glowing blue blob over his eye like an eyepatch. "What the bloomin'... I mean, avast! What be this, mateys?!" Alula waved her wing, showing them the glowing pink feather at the tip. "I don't know, captain, but I have one too!" "And me!" Tootsie had a glowing blue horseshoe in the same place as Bon Bon's. "And me!!" Dinky's blob was over her horn. Moonlight gave them a small smile. Moth, watching them, had a sudden urge to return to her true form. When the blue flames faded, she found a pink moth glowing on her wing, in the same place as Alula's. - Zecora looked up at the falling ponies with alarm... then gasped as a glow formed over her heart: a pink spiral shaped just like her tribal cutie mark. The Zebra instantly knelt, giving thanks to the goddess she'd chosen to serve. Cupcake found a glowing red cupcake on one of her new wings and joined Zecora in prayer. - Outside Sugarcube Corner, the Wuv Cats paused in their busy-busy-busy work preparing for the Crusaders' cute-ceaneras, and collectively lifted their gaze to the sky. "Oooh..." Blue outlines began to shine from them, one after another. "Ahhh!!" The Potential Chief Priest of the Thalia took off his official party hat, showing everyone the glowing cat smiley-face on his forehead. '...Fight on, potential goddess!' he cheered, and all the cats yowled their agreement. - Shady Daze stood in Ponyville with his little sister and her best friend. The big brother blinked, finding a glowing orange blob outline on his throat. He might not have always gotten everything right, but at least he always spoke what he believed to be true. Peachy blinked too, finding a glowing blue peach outline over her muzzle, while her friend Sunny Daze found an orange sun over her eye. - Shiny Star looked towards the site of the battle... and found a red outline of her Cutie Mark over one hoof. Nurse Tender-Loving Care found a glowing pink outline on one hoof. "My word!" mused Randolph. He rushed to a mirror and found that he had a new mark too, glowing pink. - Silver Axe had been staring out a window, waiting tensely for any word from his daughter in Canterlot, when he discovered a pink outline of an ax, glowing on his bicep. His wife found a red tray outline on her cheek, looking almost like a blush. - Just as Twilight Sparkle had predicted, a number of pegasi were flying at top speed out of Ponyville, trying to reach the falling ponies in time. Rainbow Shine was startled by a flash of light, an orange outline of a rainbow on her right wing. Her best friend Sprinkle Medley found a glowing red outline of a cloud on her left wing, and Wonderbolt member Surprise the Nth's symbol glowed blue. - Spitfire flew from Cloudsdale with more of the 'Bolts, desperate to save Rainbow Dash and her friends from their fate... when suddenly they each lit up with a different colored outline. An orange flame on her wing, a blue lightning bolt on Soarin's, and a red tornado on Misty Fly's. More of them had marks hidden by their flight suits, but the glow was there nonetheless. - Twilight Velvet was with her husband, still recovering from the damage inflicted by Chrysalis. The Heart family couldn't be everywhere with their miraculous healing hooves, unfortunately. At least, she could still work on her secret edits for A. K. Yearling while she was laid up. Suddenly, a blue star appeared on Velvet's head in the same place as her daughter's Element, and Night Vale found a glowing pink crescent moon over his heart. Velvet gasped. "Our daughter needs us, honey! I can feel it..." "Then let's be there for her," replied Vale, nuzzling his wife, as both ponies thought of their daughter and glowed even brighter. - Right in the middle of his myths and legends fan club, Lickety-Split trailed off and checked a mirror, blinking at the glowing blue outline of an ice cream sundae on his ear. - The ponies of Pinkie Pie's park all paused in mid-step, looking to one another to find glowing outlines appearing in all different colors, different symbols. Deep down in their souls, whether their minds knew it or not, they were filled with a resolve to not see another world die, and they glowed brighter, turning the park into a wonderland of rainbow lights, almost like Hearth's Warming... no, Christmas! From the edge of the forest, Ruby looked up at the sky. A glowing purple magnifying glass formed on her right wrist, looking almost like a manacle. - Cherry Coke, Caramel, Noteworthy, and Banjo stood guard in Canterlot... each wearing a different glowing symbol. - A.K. Yearling, once just a fanfilly, now the author and embodiment of Equestria's legendary secret protector Daring Do, dropped her feather quill in shock when she found a glowing purple compass, in the same place that Rainbow Dash wore her Element. - Celestia gasped, crossing her eyes trying to see her forehead, where a glowing sun outline shimmered with magenta, blue, and pink afterimages. She slowly smiled, looking up at her falling student. "Don't worry, Twilight, we're with you. We're ALL with you. Take our power and end this!" - Gilda, for her part, was both disappointed and relieved when she checked herself all over and found no glowing symbol. Of course she couldn't find one. Her true calling was to bear an Element of Chaos, like Trixie! - Featherweight's Aunt Mayflower and his older brother Nambi Pambi... who only Featherweight recalled not living with them before... looked in amazement at the glowing blue symbol at the base of his tail. - Lulu Princess Luna, sacrificing so much in this brief moment, managed to channel the awakened Elements of Harmony from every possibility she saw within the Well of Truth, through her ponies. That didn't mean that just any one of them could pick up an Element and use it afterwards... You couldn't channel a whole alternate life and instantly become Worthy yourself... but there was a risk of ponies snapping under the spiritual strain. I'm impressed that none did. Did you think I'd already named all of them? Far from it! I haven't even mentioned Thunderlane and Rumble! Post Haste/Speedy Delivery! Moon Pearl crewmate and Cheerilee's niece Ruby Pinch, and her mother Berry Punch! Jade Singer. Jade the Pegasus. Glitterglide at the hospital. Fleece the Sheep. Link and Saria, the Pegasi hugging each other on the edge of Cloudsdale. June Bug, Cloud Kicker, the Flower Trio, Sunny Days... Dramatic gasp for breath and... Button Mash's father 8-Bit, Gizmo, Gaffer! Mouse Squeak and Quick Squeak, Pipsqueak's parents. Rarity's parents! The Cakes, four in all... that was as many as two two's, and it was wonderful! Lickety Split's mother and grandmother! Flash Sentry's little brother First Base! The Mare who dreamed of Daring Do saving her from vampire ponies a short time ago. 'Thor' and Silver Spanner, the generous couple Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis and their maid Straight Lace! Loyal Cranky, Matilda, Steven Magnet, and even Jet Set and Upper Crust and Vendetta Mask! It might as well have been a thousand lights. Maybe it was. I sure didn't count. That much Harmony would have give me an instant stone suntan if I'd been corporeal! Beams of light shot from the ponies' hearts: blue, pink, purple, red, orange, and one or two magentas. Some phased through glass windows and solid ground, others zipped around other ponies and solid objects, all heading for the same destination. +++ = Wildfire Swords - Sou En Zan [Stardust Eyes] ~ Osamu Totsuka = The One And Only Trixie What Trixie saw in the sky... she found herself momentarily at a loss for words! Her keen, razor-sharp mind was blank. Her inability to help her friends nearly drove her mad, and Trixie... Trixie cursed her weakness from the bottom of her heart! All Trixie had done, all Trixie had grown, all Trixie had endured, and all of it was completely worthless in saving her friends from certain doom? Trixie... Trixie didn't want to be alone again! When the lights began to shine from ponies near and far, I wondered why none appeared on me. Was Trixie not worthy!? Hadn't my inner Element fought and struggled to join with the Elements of my friends when we defeated Nightmare Whisper? Hadn't Trixie nearly broke herself from her own fear of losing her individuality in the oneness called Harmony, only to fall wretchedly ill when she finally joined her friends in Harmony? Oh, and perhaps the inexplicable time-traveling Alicorn didn't have a symbol either, but Trixie had greater concerns to worry about. I'm not certain what Moon Dancer and her friends were up to down in the Anti-Chaos Ritual burrow, but a full-fledged complete harmony beam passed through the ground like it wasn't even there, shooting into the sky! (Moon Dancer later told me that her friends' lights had all first shot into her, while Diamond Dogs and Lemon Familiars were yipping and barking in awe and alarm.) Meanwhile, Trixie saw little stars. Twinkling rainbow lights rose into the sky from the ponies around her... from Ponyville, from Cloudsdale, and if Trixie had looked behind her, Trixie is certain she'd have seen them rising from Canterlot too. It was the single most breathtaking thing she'd ever seen in her life. Three lights rose from Princess Celestia. Why was Trixie not surprised? One tried to rise from Diamond Tiara, but it flickered out and fell back into her. A thousand glorious lights filled the sky, and then they all began to fall... straight towards Trixie?! Faster and faster they descended, leaving streaks of color in a show that would have made Sapphire Shores envious! If Twilight were present, Trixie imagines she'd have called it a meteor shower. Trixie didn't have time to pick one or the other, as Moon Dancer's rainbow beam looped back around and struck Trixie in the heart! And the far-too-many-for-Trixie-to-count stars zoomed into her not an eyeblink later! Just like when she channeled the Elements to cure Neatly Spell, Trixie felt a sense of profound discomfort, as if she wielded a power not quite in tune with her own. (Not that Trixie would ever admit she'd nearly puked her guts out after first channeling the Elements in front of a filly). Trixie wondered why it amused Fate to once again place Trixie in such a position, but Trixie never ever turned down a chance at a starring role, and she was not planning on doing so today! Trixie's channeling of the Elements before had felt insultingly low key, this was anything but! So I did not fight it! So many lights, so many stars, so many ponies. All of their heartfelt wishes filled Trixie to the bursting point. Trixie's magic and body did not like it, but Trixie pressed forward. Nopony said the leading role would be easy!!! It was frightening! It was unimaginable! It was maddening! ... It was beautiful. It was, UNLIMITED HARMONY! TRUST! HONESTY! LOYALTY! GENEROSITY! KINDNESS! LAUGHTER! MAGIC! And for that horrible wonderful moment, Trixie became the most powerful unicorn to ever live. Trixie had boasted of being such in a hundred performances, but now she truly was. Twilight Sparkle was an infant compared to Trixie's might. Trixie's dream was complete. (Celestia's word: Trixie was correct. Starswirl, Majesty, Twilight... for that one faction of a second, Trixie was the greatest of them all.) In hindsight, Trixie is surprised that ruling the world did not once cross her mind. But all good things come to an end, and for Trixie this was a split second. There was nothing Trixie could not do, but she didn't have infinity to do it. And oh, did it hurt! I aimed my horn at my falling friends, my eyes and insides all glowing like a solar flare brought to earth... and fired. Trixie was knocked on her flank from the power of her own magic as it left her, leaving her half buried in a recoil crater... and a miracle happened. +++ == Japanese Instrumental Digimon Savers Opening 1 == A blazing white comet intercepted the falling ponies and lifted them all the way back up to Paxphobia, before detonating in a nova of pearly sparkles. Paxphobia's jaws dropped. Flying before it was six ponies and a dragon, every one of them burning with determination. Fluttercruel briefly back inside Fluttershy. Each pony bore an Alicorn's horn and wings, made from ghostly sparkles. Spike was a wingless baby dragon, riding on Twilight Sparkle's back like he so often did, but now he was clad as a knight in shining armor. The armor was bright silver with golden trim, a spiral-pattern lance in one claw. The other claw clutched reigns tied to the harness that Twilight Sparkle wore. Without letting go, Spike reached up and slid down his helmet's visor, glaring at the monster before him through vertical slits. He aimed the lance at Paxphobia's heart and all the corrupt love within. None of them wore harmony armor, but the Element necklaces and crown shone, each a beacon of purest light: purple, blue, red, pink, blue, and magenta! "You... YOU! You horrid little horses!" The ponies and the dragon shouted as one, "That's little ponies!" They charged! There was no time for Paxphobia to react. Time stretched out for them and crushed into a moment for him. The attacking ponies and dragon formed a white aura shaped like a comet that briefly became a stampeding equine and then a ryujin, before becoming a spear that harpooned straight through the avatar. From the point of impact, thunderous explosions spread underneath Paxphobia's hide in a chain reaction, before at last, pearlescent light shined through and his entire form was consumed in light, and he exploded three times! As everything went white, Twilight Sparkle heard Discord's voice say, "Now that was a grand finale." > Epilogue Part 1, Happy Day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Wind Whistler's Notes): Are you still intent on going through with your plan, Discord?) This is a special occasion, so I'll give you a straight answer just this once... Yes. I'm not the Discord of the Heart World and I'm never going to be. I have to do this my own way. (Wind Whistler's Notes): There are many who will consider this cheating.) Since when has any Discord in any universe ever played by other people's rules? I knew it would come to this. (Wind Whistler's Notes): Considering everything that's happened, I find that most improbable.) Perhaps there were a few things I didn't see coming. Nightmare Nhilis going through her teenage rebellious stage, my brother's essence by some unholy miracle regaining some sense of will, losing Goatcord, Dad's avatar going berserk... hmm, I suppose that is more than just a few. But I knew that somehow, someway, this would end in the ponies' favor. Nightmare Nhilis wasn't wrong about that. I just wasn't angsting about it. I knew Dissy was going to return the favor... I didn't realize he already had and I just never noticed. Think of it, my dear! Ponies will be talking about this for ages, or at least our heroes are going to be telling their grandfoals and their grandfoals will be telling their grandfoals about this big banging finale! (Wind Whistler's Notes): Are you expecting congratulations?) From you? Hardly. The ponies saved the world, but I got what I wanted. Chalk it up to the Age of Dreams! I, my princess, and the ponies all got what we wanted! (Wind Whistler's Notes): And you are still going through with your final step?) Final step? You make it sound as if I had some kind of plan. I saw an opportunity and I'm taking it! (Wind Whistler's Notes): So events come full circle. Your sense of theater betrays you Discord.) So what? I think it makes for a splendid wrap up. No doubt it's going to make a lot of ponies hopping mad, but I consider that a bonus! Besides, maybe I can pick up where I left off... Let it never be said that Discord doesn't pay his debts. (Wind Whistler's Notes): So be it. Goodbye, Discord. I'd say 'may you find peace,' but I do not wish ill towards you.) You always did know me better than I gave you credit for. (Wind Whistler's Notes): You were part of our herd. How could I not?) I suppose... Huh, I could have sworn I felt a hoof on my arm just now. Was that you? (Wind Whistler's Notes): No...) I see... Well, then! I suppose all I can say is...goodbye, mother. You really were too good for me. +++ As the light faded, Twilight Sparkle blinked her eyes, and found herself and her friends gently floating down in bubbles the color of their Elements. For some reason, she didn't feel all that surprised. Maybe she'd just run out of surprise for the day. Paxphobia's barrier was gone. The storm was gone. All that surrounded them was beautiful blue sky with a rainbow stretching across it. Relief washed over Twilight when she saw that her horn was back where it belonged, and each of her friends had their respective body parts restored. None of them appeared to have anything 'extra', and a quick spell confirmed that she herself was not now an Alicorn in disguise. Presumably, the same was true for her friends, aside from Fluttershy. Twilight felt an odd sense of relief at that as well; her day had been harrowing and dramatic enough, and she didn't need another big change. Thankfully, they had burned through everything today had to throw at them, right? Right? The rest of Twilight's friends came around, and they all smiled at each other. Paxphobia was gone, Nightmare Nhilis was defeated. They'd saved the world... again. Twilight Sparkle found herself thinking of one of Lickety Split's stories, how when Tirek was defeated, the ponies he'd captured floated down from the sky, safe and sound. The bubbles faded, but instead of falling, Twilight and her friends continued a gentle feathery decent, like gravity itself was being gentle with them. Six ponies, Fluttercruel, and Spike softly landed on a beautiful grassy field. Twilight noted it that was the one between Ponyville and Pinkie Pie's Dream Park. Was this where they were before? Or had they teleported when they weren't looking? Did it matter? Everypony leapt into a group hug, laughing. "WE WIN!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "DARN TOOTIN' WE DO!" "Take THAT grandpa!" "You were all beautiful, darlings!" Uncharacteristically, Pinkie Pie simply gave her friends a warm smile. Spike grinned. "I can't wait to see the stained glass window for this one!... Uh, Rarity..." "Don't worry about it, Spikey-Wikey." "I'm just so happy that everypony is okay!" exclaimed Fluttershy, not able to stop her wings from fluttering in her good mood. "And it's thanks to each and every one of you!" Twilight Sparkle smiled. "We each did our part and supported each other. That's the magic of friendship!" The others would probably have a million questions about their miracle: how it happened, why it happened, and who they had to thank, but that could all wait until later. Twilight Sparkle felt her heart leap for joy and she couldn't help herself... she began to sing! "When I was young I was too busy to make any friends. Such silliness did not seem worth the effort it expends. But my little ponies, you opened up my eyes And now the truth is crystal clear, as splendid summer skies. And it's such a wonderful surprise." "When danger makes me wanna hide, you'll Rainbow Dash to my side, Kindness is never in short supply, once smitten twice Fluttershy. For honesty no pony can deny, you are the Applejack of my eye, A heart that shines so beautiful, a Rarity to come by And you all make fun and laughter as easy as Pinkie Pie!" "Our friendship's magic and it's growing all the time. A new adventure waits for us each day is yours and mine. We'll make it special every time!" The ponies fell on their backs, rolling over and over in the grass as they laughed their heads off, a happy blue sky above and their hearts as light as the clouds! After all the ordeals and twists and turns, they'd finally come out of the tunnel to find the light on the other side! Fluttershy raised a hoof. "Um, Twilight? I have just one question." Twilight was surprised she only had one. "Do you have any idea what happened to Discord?" "Oh, don't worry about him!" said Pinkie Diane, sitting up from the grass. "When we plowed through Mr. Evil-Pants, I grabbed him on our way through!" Pinkie Pie rubbed her belly. "He's right here." Her friends all stared at her. "You ate him?" Fluttershy asked, recoiling. "Huh?! No, silly! I'm pregnant with him!" "YOU'RE WHAT?!" everypony and dragon shouted. "Yeah! He felt really sorry about a lot of the stuff he did, and he wanted a do-over. And I was the only one he trusted to raise him to be nice while still having fun and doing chaos stuff! ... Hey girls, don't give me that look! We all want to help Discord's victims, right? Well, I'm helping one of his victims, himself! He said he really messed up the first time after he was born and he became the spirit of chaos, and he wanted to give the nicer Discord-his-mom-loved-before-that a chance this time." The girls and Spike all looked at each other. Spike tossed up his claws up, exasperated. "Fine! Let's go with that! Pinkie Pie is pregnant with Discord and is gonna be his new mommy! Why not! No less crazy than anything else today!" "... I guess... it's not like we haven't done this kind of thing before," Rainbow Dash pointed out, thinking of Kifuko. Rarity nodded. "If Sweetie Belle was here darling, she'd say ,Chryssy gave us all the idea of how to beat Discord without making anypony 'never-heard-from-again.'" "Pinkie Pie, are you sure about this?" asked Twilight, not sure how to feel about her friend being pregnant with their worst enemy. "This is... a big responsibility. Maybe we should have consulted Princess Celestia first." Pinkie grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Well, it kinda happened in a fraction of a fraction of a second, and Paxphobia was sort of exploding at the time, and I felt everypony deserves a chance to be happy, even Discord! This time he knows that he can have fun without being mean." "UGH!" Fluttercruel snorted. "You're kidding right?! That's it?! After everything he did? He doesn't get thrown in the dungeon, he doesn't get sent to Tartarus, or turned into a statue again!? He gets to be raised by Pinkie Pie?!" Pinkie Diane gave Fluttercruel a stern look. "Dissy isn't just getting a new body, Fluttercruel... Discord is getting a new Discord. He... " Pinkie Diane shuddered. "He knew this was gonna mean Discord, the Discord who helped us save Diamond Tiara... was gonna be gone for good. Poof. He doesn't exist anymore. He got reset." "Well... GOOD RIDDANCE TO THE SCUMBAG!" Pinkie sighed. "That's what he said too." Fluttercruel was struck dumb, any tirade she'd been about to launch vanishing into the ether. "I'll be happy to help, Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy offered. Fluttercruel snorted. "Actually he said that might lead to some weird feelings on his part." Fluttershy's face fell, but she nodded. "Oh... I understand." "I'm sure you'll be an excellent mother, Pinkie Pie," Rarity said with a smile. "Yeah, well..." Rainbow Dash began awkwardly. "Of all the crazy stuff you've done, Pinkie Pie, this is definitely the craziest!" "Ah can't say Ah don't agree with Rainbow Dash... but if anypony can steer Discord right from the crib... Ah'll take my bets that ya can be the one, Pinkie Pie." "Thanks AJ!" Pinkie Diane gave her a happy hug. A few seconds later, Pinkie's stomach gurgled loudly. Everypony tensed. "Oh! Excuse me for just one teeny tiny second!" said Pinkie Diane, her smile never wavering for an instant. At Pinkie speed, she zipped away from her friends and sat down happily on all fours. Then she opened her mouth wide and let out the longest, loudest bleach they'd ever heard, putting even Applejack and Spike to shame! And out of Pinkie Pie's mouth came a cloud of angry red smoke! It formed into the vague shape of a draconequus, more muscular and with different parts than Discord. Before Rainbow Dash could shout 'Oh come on, not again!', a little portal opened up, and a child draconequus with feminine poise popped out, holding a black spear that was obviously too big for her. She breathed in deep, sucking up all the red smoke like a vacuum cleaner. Then she gave Rarity a sassy grin and a victory gesture, and jumped back into the portal, which quickly closed behind her. Rainbow Dash was still trying to pick her jaw up off the ground. "Okay, what the Tartarus just happened, and do I care?" (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Don't worry, it won't be a problem.) +++ "Aw, but I wanted to fight the stupid filly and stab big brother!" whined little Rancor, stamping her foot. "Why wouldn't you let me!" An earth pony stallion shook his head at her. He was green-eyed and yellowish-gray coated, with a moderate and grayish gamboge mane. His cutie mark was a stick in the mud. "Because, missy, Rota Fortuna saw that you'd let your recklessness and thrill seeking get the better of you! You would have left yourself open, and the twin might of Discordance and Nightmare Nhilis would have crushed you." "But..." "She also saw that if I'd told you, you would have rushed into battle even more recklessly. I'm not having my baby girl get humiliated in her debut appearance!" "You should have let her," said 'Maud Pie,' somehow sounding stern with seemingly no inflection in her voice. "It would have been a good learning experience." "Moooom!" protested Rancor. "Things were drawn out enough in that mess," said the stallion crossly. "Now hold still, dear, while mommy extracts your brother's essence from you." His expression softened into a fatherly grin. "Look, I have the bandage and lollypop right here!" he said, holding up a green candy and a giant cross band-aid. "Now you just need to gamble on Wishes And Miracles ascending in this timeline, and you'll get a brother your own age to play with." "Whatever!" pouted Rancor. "I wish you'd at least let me get Melody's autograph!" "No. Their lives are complicated enough without all of them knowing about their former ones." "... Fear... Fear... Fear... Fear... Fear... Fear..." Behind the stallion was a ghostly image, more like a line drawing than something physical and transparent, like a red sketch on reality. It was serpentine, with countless limbs and horns and ever changing eyes, mighty and frightening. At least it would have been if it wasn't also as small to a breezie as a breezie was to an earth pony, and wasn't locked tight in a tiny cage that the stallion lifted up with his tail. "And as for you... " "I did what you created me to do!" it said, in a voice like a fly buzzing. The stallion scowled. "I made you to carry out my will. Did you heed me when I commanded you to stop?" "I did it for love!" "Does She look like she loved it?" said the stallion, briefly glancing at 'Maud Pie' and then back to his creation. "I just wanted to be free!" "Free to do what? Destroy more?" "I did it to protect the universe!" "When did zebras, dragons, and griffons endanger reality, that you should destroy them as well?" "Everything connected to the ponies has to be wiped out! None can be allowed to pick up where they left off!" "And now I know how the Alicorns felt." The stallion facehoofed, then looked at his creation... disappointed. "Celly's avatar saved the world of her own free will when she became her own entity. My Beautiful Void's avatar is a wonderful sister who enriched the lives of her mortal family when she became an Incarnation... You?" He leveled a hoof at the cage. "You never grew beyond your days as my sword in the war! You did the OPPOSITE! You became a shallow, one-note caricature! You had your chance to become something more than just my hand when you gained your own will, and instead you became less. It's time to come home." The gates of Tartarus that were himself opened, and the little red sketch in the cage was pulled inside, screaming and writhing as it returned from whence it came. +++ Someplace Else "Hi, Wind Whistler! What kept you?" "Greeting, Sundance. I delayed my arrival to recruit a pony who understands Dissy better than I. She should do an adequate job of raising Dissy in Shady's absence." +++ = 'Wonderful Victory' - Lunar 2 Complete: Eternal Blue = Fluttercruel, still in her separate manifestation, looked herself over. "Is something wrong?" asked Fluttershy. "Dad's gone for good," said Fluttercruel thoughtfully. "The dad I was the Cruelty of, anyway. I'm still here, which means..." She gave them a small smile. "It looks like I really am separate from him now. If I was just his Cruelty, I'd disappear with him." Her mother put a hoof around her, drawing her into a hug. "You're right, dear. Isn't it wonderful?" "Yes. Yes it is!" Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked to each other. They didn't have to say anything, they merely shared a smile, knowing they were now closer in some ways than ever before. "Okay, so let's count 'em up for this year," said Rainbow Dash, counting items off on her primary feathers. "We kicked Discord's flank, saved Fluttershy from herself, Applejack did some weird Truth thing, we kicked a whole lot of Changeling flank and reformed them too, we beat Discord AGAIN, then saved Diamond from herself while she was a supercharged Nightmare, and just in case all that wasn't quite awesome enough, we blew a crazy piece of Discord's dad to Kingdom Come." Applejack and Twilight decided not to bring up the times they'd saved the world that most of them didn't even remember. "Time to celebrate?" suggested Pinkie Diane. She gasped. "Omigosh, now I have to plan my own foal shower too!" "Time for a well deserved rest," said Rarity. Fluttershy nodded. "Mmm hmm!" "Anypony thinking what I'm thinking?" Rainbow asked. "...That Ah hope another bad guy doesn't show up for at least a year?" asked Applejack. Rainbow grinned. "Aw, yeah!" "In all honesty," said Fluttershy. "I think the thing that matters most to me about the past year was getting Fluttercruel." Her daughter blushed. "For me it was saving Trixie and helping her become a better pony," said Twilight. "And helping with Cadence and BBBFF's REAL wedding." "Seein' Apple Bloom with her Cutie Mark ranks high on mah end," replied Applejack, with a proud smile. "Same with Scoot's Cutie Mark," said Rainbow replied, grinning. 'And bringing her in in the first place.' "And Sweetie Belle's," added Rarity. Her expression turned a little somber. "And let's not forget about saving Diamond. Both times." "Building my friendship park is high on my list," was Pinkie Pie's answer. "Ooh, and reuniting Cranky with his lost love!" "Who cares about mushy stuff like that?" said Fluttercruel. "I fought my way out of nothingness to save mom from herself AND blew up evil grandpa!" "What about meeting Coffee Swirl?" Fluttershy asked. Fluttercruel blushed. "... That too." "Joining the Crusaders and becoming Silver Spoon's friend is definitely in my top ten," said Spike. "And yeah, I'm with Fluttercruel. Blowing up Paxphobia was bucking awesome!" He kicked back, claws clasped behind his head. "I'm probably gonna get my mouth scrubbed out for that, but eh, it was worth it." Twilight hugged Spike. The eight laid on their backs, looking up at the sky as they waited for the world to find them again... "Speaking of soap," mused Twilight, smiling, "I found out the soap box curse was because my ancestor stood up to Discord and beat him to save somepony." "I merged my split personalities back together," said Pinkie Pie. "Oh! So did I," Fluttershy replied. "I had to learn that anger wasn't something to push aside and ignore, like I'd been doing for too long..." "Ah found out that even if Ah'd stayed in Manehatten, Ah'd still be meh, and takin' the truth too seriously can be bad," said AJ, smiling along with her friends. "I finally made up with Derpy over a big screw up I made years ago," said Rainbow, grinning from ear to ear. 'And I became friends with Spitfire!' "I grew closer to my darling little sister," said Rarity. Even she was grinning like a foal in a candy store today. Spike chuckled. "Well, I learned my that ancestors are part of a long line of guardians of Equestria, dating back eons!" "...I was born," said Fluttercruel bluntly, before the group broke out laughing, herself included. "Alright alright... I became a good pony... draconequus... thing. I was born rotten, but thanks to mom I didn't stay that way." "...We've grown a lot, haven't we?" Twilight asked, the group collectively nodding. And with that... they rested a while, talking about the growth and change this last insane year had brought with it, letting themselves just be ponies and not world-saving heroes, for a few minutes at least. It was a beautiful day. > Epilogue Part 2, Diamonds, Gilda, and Gods > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Chapter title Epilogue) Two hours later = Denouement - Hyrule Warriors = Filthy Rich hadn't stopped crying and hugging his baby girl. His cries of joy and thanks might have been heard across Canterlot. He was disappointed that he hadn't arrived in time to help, but he'd been overjoyed to see both of his princesses alive and well... no disrespect to Celestia and Luna. Laying eyes on Diamond Tiara had been a trigger, and a Want-It-Need-It spell couldn't have drawn him to her more swiftly. Meanwhile, Flash Sentry and Death Stalker had braced themselves to face the consequences of their actions, but there was no royal summons, and their COs didn't even ask why they'd abandoned their post. This was a relief, and frankly confusing, but this being Equestria, they concluded that the Princesses were just happy everything had worked out in the end. And yet, each of them could have sworn they briefly heard Princess Luna nearby, as if she was only just out of sight. "Permit civilians into a battle without orders again, and there will be a court-martial." The two monsters that they'd fought and defeated outside the statue garden had disappeared without a trace. According to Filthy Rich, they'd vanished in a burst of flame when the Elements of Harmony blasted that monstrous shadow out of the sky, leaving only an echoing whisper that their contract was now finished, and they'd be seeing a squirrel about their hazard fee. Contracts were something that Filthy Rich understood and approved of. He was nothing if not pragmatic, and he'd actually offered the monsters a generous bribe to go away and let Filthy and his friends through. But apparently a contract was a contract even with mercenary soldiers from beyond their world, and so the battle had been joined. Eventually though, Filthy had to ask, and so the dreaded question came. "What happened to you, princess? Where did you go?" Diamond Tiara didn't have the strength to spin some elegant lie... it seemed like a lifetime ago that she'd been the kind of pony who did it so casually... so as her understudy in that regard, Silver Spoon trotted forward to do so. It was an ingrained reaction; she slipped into the duty without even giving it thought. She'd covered for Diamond Tiara so many times, what was once more? "Do you really want to do that?" Silver Spoon was startled to hear Princess Luna's voice, but she didn't let it show. "Have there not been enough secrets in this family?" 'Secrets are what brought Diamond Tiara and me together.' Silver Spoon thought of that Hearth's Warming Eve Party, how they tossed aside the fancy dresses they hated, then deceived their parents after unwittingly trading clothes when putting them back on and declaring the dresses to be gifts to one another in front of everypony. "And you think keeping this a secret will make things better?" 'I don't want Diamond Tiara's dad to be scared of her!' "After everything Filthy Rich has endured and how deeply he desired her return, do you really believe the truth will make him love her any less?" Silver Spoon hesitated. "I can answer that, Mr. Rich," said Twilight Sparkle. -- Twilight Sparkle's Notes: Everypony had things we needed to check up on, and for myself and Rarity, Diamond Tiara was one of them. I briefly considered not telling Filthy Rich that his daughter was now a Sealed Alicorn, but Golden Tiara already knew, and I couldn't ask her to conceal something like this from her own husband. "HA! I knew it!" Filthy Rich struck a dramatic pose. "I know, I know... every filly is a princess to her daddy, but somehow I knew my Diamond was the one, that she really was destined for royalty!" Rarity and I shared worried glances. Now came the bad part. I told Filthy Rich what I'd been able to piece together from what I knew, and everything that Nightmare Nhilis had said. There'd been plenty of that; truly, it felt like the entire ordeal of the final battle had lasted for months and months, not a single afternoon. Sadly, that included the knowledge that Discord had manipulated Diamond Tiara into willingly becoming his vessel, allowing him to escape the prison of his petrified body. "WHERE IS HE?!" swore Filthy Rich with flames in his eyes. "I'LL DESTROY THE BASTARD!" I kept my calm, resting a sympathetic hoof on his shoulder. "He's already gone, Mr. Rich. To help us save Diamond Tiara, he was reset. The Discord who did those things doesn't exist anymore." That wasn't a lie. Paxphobia would have spared nothing that went on four hooves. "What?! WHY?!" Rarity sighed, even if she barely understood any of it herself. "In the end, even Discord himself realized what an awful thing he'd done. Discord wanted a family, so he did what you're supposed to do for family, I think... It's a shame that it took him until the end of his existence to finally make that choice." I knew more than most, so I didn't have to pretend to feel sad. If Discord had made that choice thousands of years ago, things would be so much different now. (Rarity II's Notes: I too hated Discord with the fury of a thousand suns after seeing what he'd done to Diamond Tiara... But hating him after his sacrifice feels foalish.) Explaining what Diamond Tiara herself had explained had been even harder. Diamond Tiara herself said nothing during all this. She only hung her head and hugged her parents tighter. "So I did curse my baby with my sickness," Golden Tiara said, unexpectedly. "Everything that's happened to her is my fault." "DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT AGAIN!" Filthy Rich implored her, cradling his wife's chin in his hoof. "We hired the finest doctors in Equestria, and they found no sickness in your blood, nothing that could have been passed on to our foal." "Mr. and Mrs. Rich, if we could further discuss one more matter," said Rarity diplomatically. "Twilight Sparkle and I have discussed this, and we agreed it was only fair to offer it to you, as Diamond Tiara's parents. Just as the Princesses sealed away the Alicorn magic in Diamond Tiara until she's mature enough to wield it, Twilight Sparkle can seal away her memories of being manipulated by Discord and becoming a Nightmare until she's grown up enough to handle them." "Wait... So you'd make it so she doesn't remember our fight?" asked Silver Spoon, clearly tempted. Even if from what Rarity told me, it had been Diamond Tiara doing the 'fighting.' "No dear," Rarity said. "It would be from the time when..." Rarity glanced at her own flank. "When Discord began making her do evil." -- Rarity Belle II's Words "Ye did not do this with Fluttershy, nor did our sister do such a thing to our own self." For a moment, I wondered where Princess Luna was, and why she was speaking directly to my thoughts instead of coming here herself. Some other urgent matter must have demanded her presence elsewhere, I decided. Yes, of course that must be it! It was probably for the best if I didn't think about it too strenuously. 'Fluttershy might have been a fragile thing, but she is an adult, whether she likes it or not, and so are you.' "You never urged Fluttershy to spare Fluttercruel such memories." 'With all due respect, you're comparing apples and oranges, your highness. Fluttercruel learned the consequences of thoughtlessness and unbridled cruelty when she accidentally created Nightmare Whisper, and the battle to restore her mother taught her that her life had meaning and purpose. Her experiences made her a better pony, not a more troubled one. 'Diamond's situation is completely different! From what Nightmare Nhilis, Silver Spoon, and the Crusaders told us, she now bears the guilt for terrible acts, surpassing even what Nightmare Moon would have done had she triumphed! 'Furthermore, I'm not the pony that you need to convince, Princess Luna! Diamond Tiara's parents will make the decision, not I.'' I could have sworn I actually felt Princess Luna's thunderstruck reaction. -- Golden Tiara said "We can't..." at the same time that Filthy Rich said "We'll do it!" "Filthy?!" Golden looked at her husband, surprised. Mr. Rich hesitated, but he stood his ground. "Golden... dearest... I'm sick of my family suffering. I'm hurting, you're hurting... at least we can spare Diamond that. If I can protect my princess from being tortured by the things she did when she wasn't even herself, I will." Golden stamped a hoof. "I spent a year with my worst sin buried in the farthest depths of my mind, and what good did it do? I couldn't face what I did. I couldn't face my monsters. It only delayed the pain. Waiting only made things worse. What makes you think that helping Diamond Tiara put this off is going to work out any better?" "Diamond Tiara is a LITTLE FILLY. When she was some kind of Nightmare Moon she apparently helped the devil do something so horrible that it had be stopped with time travel... or something? I don't even want to know, but Diamond knows everything she did while she was sick... she knows every detail! From what you've said, she wanted to make herself never-heard-from-again over it! What if she starts feeling the same way again, just without a mountain of black magic behind her? They did say that they just want to hold it off until she matures." "We can't just steal pieces of her life from her, Filthy! Even we don't have that right! She's a person, not a book to be edited!" "This ISN'T about us chopping off pieces of her I happen to disapprove of! It's about saving her from agony that she was a victim of to begin with! What's the point of her remembering besides her hurting more?!" "What about Diamond Tiara's say in this?" "We're her parents. Like it or not, it's our job to make the responsible decision. Look me in the eye and say you think she can rationally make this choice." Golden Tiara could not. "I apologize for intruding, but there is more you should know before making this choice." The ponies looked around in confusion, hearing Luna's voice. "I speak not only as your princess, but also as... one with experience. One who has also made mistakes and paid for it in pain and sorrow... but also one who was forgiven. "Emotions... don't vanish with memories. Even if you don't remember what happened, an emotional injury is the same as any other. Not remembering what happened just hides it beneath the surface. "Diamond Tiara was already suffering from emotional damage, long before she ever heard Discord's voice in her thoughts. Her depression allowed Discord to corrupt her with naught but words, and that depression will not vanish with the memories. The pain of what she did as Nightmare Nhilis won't vanish either. Suppressing the memories will only make her unable to understand why she is in pain. "The injuries that we can't see are the ones that take the longest to heal. Some ponies, given a clean slate, gain perspective and clarity... but the Elements of Harmony already gave Diamond Tiara the clarity that she lacked before. "We've been in her horseshoes. We know of what we speak. We can't tell ye how to raise thy own child. All of that, we freely concede, but we can tell ye... Some pains can only fade with time, and meddling only agitates them and prevents healing. Other kinds of pain take root, and not meddling only allow them to fester and devour ye. "I think that we've all seen what kind of pain Diamond Tiara suffers from." "Tell us, Silver Spoon, do ye think it will help Diamond Tiara's recovery to forget the action of her best friend? That even after all that passed between you, ye never forsook her, not even for a moment?" "Twilight Sparkle, ye know that spells for erasing long term memories are never completely reliable. Anything could trigger them to come undone early. Isn't it better for her to deal with her memories now, in a controlled environment?" Everypony felt dizzy as Luna's disembodied voice shifted between them, each of them wondering where the Night Princess was, but unable to bring themselves to voice their confusion, even if all were thinking the same thing. "Better to pull a thorn out than to let it fester, indeed." Rarity sighed, looking heartbroken. "That is one of the big lessons we've learned, isn't it?" Twilight said. Filthy Rich sighed. "But is this really a lesson for a little girl?" "Perhaps not, but it is a fit lesson for a goddess. The butterfly can never return to being a caterpillar. She WILL remain an Alicorn, that cannot be undone... and the lesson she learned is one important to any deity. Bad experiences for a FOAL, yes, but not a bad lesson for a god to learn from... Trust us, we speak from experience." (Silver Spoon's Notes: If Diamond Tiara had become a Princess before any of this, she'd have made me her majordomo on the spot, and spent all day thinking of ways to rub it in Apple Bloom's face. Heh, I wonder if any of the Crusaders ever wet the bed dreaming about that happening! I know that would have made Diamond laugh. But now? ...) "So that's it..." Twilight sighed. "First Fluttershy, now Diamond Tiara... Nopony seems to get a choice in becoming an Alicorn, do they?" "Becoming an Alicorn the right way is a reward, Twilight Sparkle. Becoming one as a purified Nightmare is a PUNISHMENT. Do not mistake one for the other." Twilight trembled, bowing her head. "Y-yes, Princess!" Filthy Rich noticed Rarity's reaction to this change of events. "Miss Rarity," he said, clearing his throat. "I may or may not have said this already, but... I forgive you for keeping from us what Diamond Tiara did to you, for as long as you did. I have my baby back, I'm done with grudges. I haven't been the best role model for her, and I want to make the most of this second chance I've been given. Thank you... for saving my Diamond Tiara. Thank you. I'm forever in your debt." He bowed. Golden Tiara hugged her husband and bowed too. Rarity nodded. "It wasn't just my efforts, but that of all my friends, our little sisters, their friends, Silver Spoon, and even the Princesses themselves. We all fought to save your filly from herself and Discord. I graciously accept your gratitude, however, for my own personal efforts in helping Diamond Tiara find herself." Rarity placed her hoof over her chest and bowed her head. Twilight Sparkle kept her face even and her expression warm, looking at her friend. 'Rarity, you gave up more than most will ever know or can even understand... Thank you.' +++ Rainbow Dash Meanwhile, I'd taken Gilda to Ponyville General Hospital for the Hearts' healing touch. Princess Celestia had to rush off to go help Princess Luna or something, she didn't give a lotta details. I guess that's fair. I mean, of course she'll be worried about her sister if she's hurt, just like I need to take care of my friend. "Dang it Dash, I'm fine now, see?! I showed up to save your blue butt after Super-Discord clipped your wings, didn't I?" "Yeah, but better safe than sorry! I've heard of stunt fliers getting brain hemorrhages they didn't even realize they had, until they dropped like a rock days later." "Dash..." I wish Princess Me had at least teleported us to the hospital, but she just kept saying that she wasn't even supposed to be there, and she'd meddled too much already. "Dash, I really, really, REALLY need to ask ya, DON'T go around tellin' the 'Bolts or anypony else how you met your Princess self 'from the future' or stuff. There are those whose job it is to 'clean up' the 'happens before it happens' junk, and it'll undo all the help I COULD give, for Gilda, for Scoots, for everypony. Just Pinkie Pie Swear you won't!" "Ugh, fine... Cross My Heart, Hope To Fly, Stick A Cupcake In My Eye. So... when are you going?" "As soon as I can Dash. I've been here too long as it is, and I can see trouble out of the corner of my eye every time you blink. The sooner I'm out of here the better. I have friends waiting for me." "Oh, you mean-" "Can't say, remember?" "Gotcha. Ya know, it's almost a relief. When you and Nightmare Nhilis fought and only Nhilis came back, I thought... well, I knew you weren't dead! We're way too awesome for that, but somehow I imagined that you were super weakened, or banished to another dimension or something, and you'd have to heroically give your powers to Gilda." That actually got a giggle out of Princess Future Me. "Your life is gonna get complicated enough without THAT being a thing, Dash... and I'm not sure it even works that way." "Alright, just a weird thought that popped into my head." "I'll admit it's epic, but living is a lot harder than dying." "Right, gotcha, so how soon is 'as soon as possible?' Can ya stay for the victory party and the Crusaders' cute-ceañera? You know Pinkie Pie's gonna go all out!" "No way! This is your happy ending. Enjoy it! This place is crazy enough without me around! I... I'm just happy everything's worked out for you guys." "Hey, it's no big deal. You knew how this would all turn out, right?" "Right... Be proud of your Twilight Sparkle, she's going places. Keep her on the straight and narrow. And treasure your friends! Look after Scootaloo and-and-and- dangit! Just do your best and all that horseapples. Yer gonna do great!" "Well, heh, far be it from me to contradict a princess on something so obviously true!" "You got that right!" She glanced over my shoulder. "Hey Firefly!" "What? Where-! I don't see..." I spun around again, and Princess Me was nowhere in sight. "Oh, I am such a cheeky nag!" Back at the hospital, Nurse Redheart said Gilda was in good hooves and just needed rest. So I decided to kill some time doing the job I have as part of Ponyville's weather team according to the town charter... surveying damages. Yeah, apparently Nightmare Nhilis sent some monsters to attack Ponyville while we were away, just to keep Fluttershy's knights occupied... I still can't believe that Fluttershy had knights. Technically, they weren't storm damages, but somepony still had to write it all up for the Ponyville Disaster Relief Fund, and I hate paperwork so much, and the sooner that was out of the way, the better! By the time I plowed through all that, I was ready to finally spend some time actually talking with Gilda. You know, without a deadly Nightmare attacking or the world being about to end. Not my strong suit, but we had to start somewhere. I just wanted the mess between us cleared up! I could have flown up to Gilda's window and climbed right on in to say hi, but Nurse Redheart hates it when I do that, so I used the front door and trotted up the regular old boring stairs. When I opened the door to Gilda's room, however, there was no sign of her... just a rumpled, unmade bed with a couple of her shed feathers, and a letter on top addressed to me. I took in all of this in a single glance, and immediately facehoofed. "Seriously!? I psyched myself up for this, and you flew out of the coop on me?" I threw the window open, zoomed outside, and circled the building twice, but I couldn't see her anywhere. Then I streaked back into the hospital, risking Nurse Redheart's wrath again, but she forgot to be mad at me when I told her she had a patient missing. "No, Miss Gilda hasn't checked out, and nopony in the lobby saw her," said Nurse Redheart, shaking her head. "You don't need to worry about her health, though. She responded well to the magical healing. There's nothing else wrong with her that a good rest won't cure." I flew up high to check the skyline one more time, but she could have been halfway back to Griffonstone by now. There was nothing else to do but read her letter. 'Hey Dash, Look, we both know we're no good at this feely mushy nonsense. You look like you've got a lotta stuff on yer plate to work out right now, and so do I. A lot happened on my way to Ponyville, and I mean a lot, just like I told ya. I didn't think about what I was going to say to ya in all that time. Heck, I didn't think once what you might have to say to me. 'Okay, okay, maybe I did a little, I did read your letter after all. Point is... Ugh, I'm not really sure I have a point! Maybe I was just scared... Do NOT say that to ANYPONY got it?! Ugh, this is so lame. I looked death in the eye today and told her where she could shove it, but us two sitting down and talking about our feelings is what gives me the shivers? 'Look... what you said in yer letter.' (This part looked a little tear stained.) 'I... don't hate ya, Dash. Maybe I did for a while, but I don't anymore. You looked out for me when I had nogriff else to turn to. That means a lot, and nogriff wants to owe another griffon a debt. 'I guess getting the stuffing beaten out of me by fake Nightmare Moon technically makes us even... But you ponies are weird. You'll pay off a debt a bajillion times and more, and you'll act like there isn't even a debt when ya chat with those who owe you! Ugh, I just don't get you ponies at all. 'Free word of advice, Dash... royalty is nothing but trouble, and destiny is overrated. I know you ponies love those butt tattoos of yours and... eh, what the Tartarus, maybe they aren't all bad? You ponies get a fancy sign when you've 'found yourself' or whatever. We griffons? We've gotta do it the hard way. But I meant what I wrote, Dash! Don't let anybody tell ya what to do just cause they tell ya what to do! 'See ya around, Dash... 'P.S. Don't go rushing off to Griffonstone for me right now. I need some time to think.' Gilda, heh, you featherbrain! Excuse me I... I got something in my eye. Thanks for the hug. (Prism Rush's Notes: No problem darling, and don't give up on Gilda. You will meet again... give or take a few years... and I'm certain the two of you WILL patch things up! But it's best you don't think about this when you see her again. You wouldn't want to mess it up by rushing things, after all.) Yeah, I should let this go for now and not overthink things. I wouldn't want to mess everything up by rushing her. But... ugh, I just wish I could fix everything up right NOW and be done with it. (Prism Rush's Notes: Trust me darling, that isn't just you. We all wish things could be that simple.) +++ Gilda the Gryphon Griffon Fun fact, I've always been better than Dash at hide and seek. I know what you're thinking... 'Some big loudmouth griffon? How's that gonna sneak up on anything?' We're predators, duh! Of course we're gonna be good at hiding from prey and getting the drop on them. Plus, I still know Dash well enough to know that the best hiding place is right under her nose, like up here on the hospital roof. So yeah, time to get moving. It's a long flight to Griffonstone. Hopefully I don't get mixed up in another stupid convoluted epic adventure on the way home. (Prism Rush's Notes: Don't worry, darling, you've just been on an adventure, and the 'interesting times' are rarely on the way back from those. So... you're still not telling Rainbow about your whole 'descended from royalty' thing, Princess Grizelda? It's been, oh, nearly a thousand years since the reign of King Guto XIV. It always seems to be a thousand years. Fate really needs to accept that there are other numbers in the universe.) UGH! I DON'T CARE about all that royalty junk! It's ancient history! I'm myself, and that's enough. Plus there's probably some giant debt that our, I mean Guto's family left unpaid, and if I stepped in, you better believe the vultures would swoop in and hit me with the bill! (Prism Rush's Notes: Your people need somegriff to look up to, somegriff who can lead them out of chaos and despair. It's been so long since the glory days that most of them have given up even trying. They need a hero... and that hero could be you, Gilda.) Pfft, yeah, typical pony attitude, telling every other creature what's good for them. (Prism Rush's Notes: A pony I may once have been, Gilda, but now... you might as well call this hospital a pony. This is about Loyalty.) Um, do I look like Dash to you, lady? Did I sprout some magic jewelry when I wasn't looking? Nope, didn't think so! It's NOT my problem! Griffonstone may have been where I was born, and it might be where I live, and it might be where gramps lives... but that doesn't make it home. Why do you think so many griffons want out of that dump? (Prism Rush's Notes: And yet you keep coming back to it.) Yeah, whatever. I've got a long flight ahead of me, can't spend all this time chatting. (Prism Rush's Notes: Yes, you do indeed have a long journey ahead of you. Good luck, Gilda.) Luck? Luck is for ponies. Griffons make their own luck! +++ Princess Fidelitas Moksha Equestria's Memories So yeah, that's that. Nightmare Eclipse's cycle of suffering is finished. So ends Morning Star and Discord's chain of passing on their evil. With Paxphobia dead, the Alicorn-Draconequi War is finally over... why else would he only go berserk when Discord was about to make peace with them? So that's another cycle of misery broken. The rest is up to this Equus' people to overcome. I find myself thinking of the last circle of friends who appeared from beyond time and space to defeat Nightmare Eclipse and the rest of us... the ones who looked just like us, if we'd never been corrupted. Did they come from this very world, the world that exists because Nightmare Eclipse was defeated? Is that even possible? Truth be told, I don't know. I looked through your notes, but after everything that happened, I can't remember if I found anything. I know from Bon Bon's diary that Starlight The First and her friends dreamed of being summoned across time to kick our flanks. Maybe I'm wrong, and it was the Heart World's Twilight and her friends... but that just raises more questions! Does it matter, though? What's done is done, and we're finally free to move on. I flew all over Equestria, invisible and intangible, but time was short, and there was still so much I needed to see! I teleported all over Equus, all over the solar system, the galaxy, the universe, taking one last good look at it all. We had to build everything just right in our brand new universe, everything that we as the Chaos Six had helped Discord ruin forever back in our own world, everything we'd helped Nightmare Eclipse destroy again and again, and Ponyville would be the place where it all began! Now that Discord's mess is finally cleaned up, Rota Fortuna's probably gonna seal this worldline off, so me and you guys can get out, but not back in again. Just like Megan, after she cleaned up Morning Star's mess. After that whole thing with those moths eating this world full of holes, I wouldn't blame her one bit. No more invaders from pre-established timelines! (Will Starlight Glimmer even be allowed to do her thing and accidentally give birth to six new worldlines, and possibly unmake them too? Or will she have an unfortunate brush with destiny? Those two never got along well, but Starlight Glimmer never did let Fate hold her back.) So, this'll be my last time visiting here. I'm going to have my own bloody universe to look after, thank you very much, and the TRUE golden world that Twilight Sparkle gave up her existence for is looking just fine now... So what if I'm crying? Maybe in a thousand years, my tears will become some holy relic, like those elves and their silly gold horseshoes. So yeah, I'm not crying cause I'm sad! I'm crying because it's all so beautiful now, and I can finally stop fighting for a minute or two to appreciate it all. Any scumbags left are this own reality's invention, and this reality's own responsibility to clean up, and with old Nythy banished until Heat Death, he won't be throwing any more in. I give Scootaloo, Twilight, Trixie, and all the rest of them a kiss on the forehead! Pinkie Pie's gonna be Discord's new mom eh? Even I can't see how that's gonna turn out! Will history repeat itself? Nope, and that's a promise! I expect to see you girls back home later, got it? (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): Are you SURE you can't stay for the party?) I'm sure, and sure you shouldn't either, this is their happy ending, not ours. Just let them have it. (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): Be that as it may, there are still ponies we've spent all this time with that we owe a proper goodbye. Or at least one.) (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): Besides, this universe is our sibling in a way! We have to see it off right!) Alright, I gotcha. Guess I'd do the same in your horseshoes. See ya around! (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): Be awesome Dash.) You know it! So zip, zap, zoom, and away I go! Past the great barrier, past the veil! Basically, I go so fast I slip right through the fifth dimension of reality and bada-boom, I'm in my adopted home worldline, back where I began. I don't stop to chat just yet... Instead, I take a hop, skip, and a jump through the sixth dimension of reality, and return to... myself. Literally, my state of being and my consciousness are one and the same. I am both a domain and the entity inhabiting that domain, a pillar of the universe, a living force of nature that mortals try to understand by giving it names like Loyalty and Alicorn and Fidelitas. Did I make your brain implode yet? Heh, sorry! If it makes you feel any better, we feel the same way about our Parents when we try to understand how they work. If you could listen to them in their true forms, you'd hear their voices echo backwards and forwards in TIME as well as space. That's every bit as confusing as it sounds. Time to begin my own work. But first... "MAMA!" Baby Veritas squealed happily and flew into my arms for a great big hug! Well, that's sort of what happened, except she was a baby concept of reality expressing her love and joy to a fully developed one. "Welcome back to Yourself, my Goddess," ever dutiful and tough as nails Scootaloo #1313 said with a theatrical bow. I could always count on her to look after Baby Veritas when I can't. "It's good to see you too, Scoots!" I grinned as I hugged Veritas. Daymare Granfalloon gasped hard enough to suck up a whole weather team, and maybe a tornado or two. "DASHIE!!! OH MY GOSH, IT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU!" She bounced around wildly, doing metaphysical cartwheels. "I WAS WORRIED YOU WERE GONNA PULL SOME HEROIC SACRIFICE AND YOUR POWER WAS GONNA GO TO SOMEPONY ELSE LIKE APPLEJACK'S DID! BUT YOU DIDN'T AND HERE YOU ARE AND I'M JUST SO HAPPY!!!!" She was everywhere around me... well, the part of me that went to Amicitia's Equestria and back again. It's complicated. "You're home!" Daymare Whisper fluttered around me, holding Flutternice in her hooves. "It's great to have all of you home, my Goddess." Scootaloo #1 bowed along with the rest of the Scootaloo Alliance of Awesome. One plus side of being a goddess? I can tell all 171,014 of them apart. "And it's great to see all of you!" I hug them all at once as only a goddess can! It doesn't take long for Daydrake Banneret to show up too, with baby Half-Light Midnight riding on his back. "Hey! Did we miss anything?" "So many babies," giggled Pinkie. "I'm an Auntie! Tee-hee!" "I'm not a baby!" Flutternice protested. Fluttershy just snuggled her more. Too bad I can't introduce her to the Fluttercruel of Amicitia's Equestria. They'd get along like a house on fire. I had all my friends inside me. Yeah, I said that. No apologies! "Not all of 'em yet!" Princess Praegressus Machinas Equestria, AKA, Apple Bloom! Oh yeah! She appeared in a rainbow flash from her own timeline, along with her Discord's pet squirrel Ratatoskr. They helped me to fix up the Yggdrasil of yet another worldline that was trapped in endless loops. Go read up on that adventure, it's epic! "Nice of you to finally come back to yourself," said Anasi slyly. Only she could hide her presence from me like this. Well, so far as I know! "Godlike speed, and you still manage to keep us all waiting!" "We're timeless," said an amused Cadence, popping into me as well. "Does that even make sense?" Sure, come on in, looks I'm having open house! "Nice to see ALL OF YOU GUYS!" I laughed, and got an epic divine group hug right back. "What about us?" asked our Starlight the First and company, just now arriving. "After all we went through to rescue you guys, you think we wouldn't show up?" asked Patch with a smile. I returned it in kind. "Well, isn't this cozy?" Discord... our Discord... popped in, wearing a hardhat. "I hope you're getting nice and well rested, because we've still got a whole universe to build and a staggeringly large number of lost souls waiting to be relocated, so if we're quite finished galavanting around the multiverse... Oh! And I suppose congratulations are in order for thwarting evil me, saving that world's Diamond Tiara..." Discord kept ticking items off on more and more claws from nowhere. "... protecting Amicitia's final sacrifice, coming to your senses about the whole 'resurrect my best friend by unmaking four innocent ponies' thing, helping along the defeat of Paxphobia, AND bringing balance to the spirits of dark magic in Amicitia's universe!" He clapped his claw and paw together. "Who wants cake?" "I do!" cheered our Razzaroo... or rather, Princess Jiniri now, popping in with her new horn, wings, and regalia. "Yes yes yes!" I wonder how Rarity would react to the Saddle Arabian look. Can't say I'm not a little jealous... she actually EARNED this. Yeah, she ascended while we were gone. She was already in her cocoon when I left, and I only have myself to blame for missing it. "Oh, and one more thing!" said Jiniri, taking some golden sand from the swirling gold of her mane. "Somepony had a wish!" She blew the sand into the air... We saw the universe where me and my friends got rainbowed back to our senses before us, and gradually it assumed the likeness of a familiar Alicorn. "Welcome back, darling! I do hope you've brought us some stories of Twilight's golden world." Yeah, remember how Libra is the Mortal Universe? That's entirely literal, she IS the mortal universe, as much as any concept is their domain. Which kinda makes going to other universes off the table for her, about like going into your friend's body is off the table for you. That said, she can at least chat with other universes to pass the time. This was as close to 'being here' as she could get. I chuckled. "Like Pinkie would say, this story is a doozy! I think you'll be proud of their Rarity..." +++ "So It's Agreed," said a colt who looked like A living slice cut out of the universe, Sane Reality. "Four Votes In Favor With One Abstaining... No More Avatars Unless Directly Summoned For Equus And Pony Civilization. Only Those Born By Mortal Means May Continue." "Yes, But I'm Surprised You Voted Yes On This, Sister-Law," said a brown colt with a Jack-O-Lantern Cutie Mark, Phobia. "I Mean, There's Still Starlight Glimmer, Sombra, Tirek, The Sirens, The Pony Of Shadows... Aren't You Afraid That Mortals Will Never Survive Without Godly Avatars Popping In To Help?" "NO CREATURE LIKES A DEUS EX MACHINA, HUSBAND OF MINE," said 'Maud Pie' calmly injected for Fauna Luster. "Except Those The Deus Ex Machina Helps," Phobia pointed out. "But Tell Me Fauna Luster, Why Did You Vote For This Restriction?" Fauna Luster explained, "PAXPHOBIA AND DESTRUCTION ARE NO LONGER A THREAT, AND DISCORD IS NOW LIKE CELESTIA, LUNA, AND CADENCE, A TRUE INCARNATION," said Empathy itself. "TIREK NO LONGER HAS THE RAINBOW OF DARKNESS. SOMBRA IS A MORTAL-BORN CREATURE EVEN IF AN INCARNATION OF NYARLATHOTROT ENABLED HIS BIRTH, AND RABIA HAS BEEN SEVERED FROM THE COLLECTIVE. STARLIGHT GLIMMER IS NAUGHT BUT A MORTAL PONY REGARDLESS OF HER BLOODLINES. THE SIRENS ARE BLESSED BY MORNING STAR, BUT WE HAVE BLESSED MANY PONIES. THEY ARE MORTAL EVILS, AND THUS MUST BE OVERCOME BY MORTAL HOOVES. "I HATE SEEING MY CHILDREN SUFFER THROUGH SUCH ORDEALS, I DESPISE IT... BUT GROWTH ONLY COMES FROM ORDEALS AND CHALLENGES. IF THE PONIES OF THE AGE OF DREAMS HAD ALLOWED THEMSELVES TO GROW, PERHAPS THEY WOULD NOT HAVE DAMAGED THEIR WORLDLINE ALMOST BEYOND REPAIR. PERHAPS THEY COULD HAVE FOUND A WAY TO CORRECT IT IN TIME. IF OUR CHILDREN NEED US, WE ARE STILL ABLE TO GUIDE AND HELP FROM BEYOND THE VEIL, BUT WE CANNOT SIMPLY HOLD THEIR HOOVES." "We've Been Too Loud, Too Obvious... We Should Leave That Job To Celestia, Luna, And Discord, Those Born There. The Mortal World Is For Mortals. They Must Make Of It What They Shall," said Sanity itself. "We Shall Return To Guiding And Granting Aid From Behind The Scenes." "I have already informed my new daughter that while she may visit and talk to me, she is not to be my errand pony," said Love, standing before Her Parents. "She is her own Demi-Goddess. She will find her own place in the world, and spread Love as she sees fit, as is her concept." "If We Do Our Job Right, They Won't Know We Did Anything At All," Fear itself turned and glared at Imagination. "And That Means No More Bloody Undisguised Visits To Shining Armor, Pandora! Concepts Cannot Play Favorites!" "Oh, fiddlesticks!" pouted the girl dragonequus. > Omake Side Drabble "On a horn and a prayer" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perception was not layers, there were things we were aware of, things we were not aware of, and things the containers that determined the shape of our souls called our brains interpreted, but reality did not work on 'I can't see them, so they can't see me.' So while the Alicorn Abbatissa's (part of Celestia's extended family) domain/true-self looked to some as a mail room, and others would see her atop a mountain listening to countless voices below that she would shout up at the 'heaven's, and others as a giant telephone operator's switchboard, nothing existed as separate planes of perception: all-was-one, and one-was-all. Abbatissa's task of delivering prayers, that is, herself, from mortals to the concepts of reality (also called gods), was endless. Entitled Mortals demanding things be handed to them, desperate mortals asking for any kind of help for things beyond their control, others who asked for forgiveness for sins they PLANNED to commit, misunderstanding the timeless nature of the concepts (those last ones got thrown out). And those who sought guidance towards enlightenment and knew better than to presume a mirror held all their spiritual answers. And other transient souls who thought they could 'buy' their god's favor. "Prayers are not currency," Abbatissa would often say. Even among spiritual beings she'd seen herself be misunderstood again and again. Far too many evil spirits who had masqueraded a benign gods, and thought prayers made of love, compassion, mercy, charity, would somehow feed them: thinking mortal prayers were merely energy to empower divine beings. And confused when they grew weaker! Abbatissa told them, "I give strength to mortals, I don't give strength to the pantheons." "I always make sure prayers go to the deity they are truly meant for." And due to her oath and nature, this painfully meant both ways. Prayers given in name of her Father, or Mother, but were prayers to slaughter their enemies, were delivered to Rancor, the concept of violence. And prayers addressed to Morning Star for freedom and forging one’s own path, were given to Rota Fortuna (she was the concept of Free Will after all). Another interpretation of her realm/herself would have Abbatissa standing in the center of a room, directing different colored fireflies to the correctly colored star in the distance. And she didn't stop her task even as a 'door' opened and she had a visitor. A shiny onyx-stone pegasus stallion covered in Ponygypt regalia, his face completely blank. But the blank face moving slightly as if the was some thing shifting underneath. "ABBY! You've stolen my being! Prayers to the outer-concept go through me! Not you!" Abby didn't miss a beat as she gave him the bare minimum respecting glance. "You've been banned from this thread of reality for 8 billion years. I'm merely standing in for you until then." - In his pink robe and bunny slippers, Ponythulu said happily, "Thank you Abby!" "Welcome Ponythulu!" Abbatissa said delivering his 'mail' while delivering herself to the various other concepts all at the same time. Sitting down at his couch patterned with circles for which Pi equalled exactly three, he read through them. "Fan mail, fan mail, request for 'how to channel my will through your puny mortal brain in three easy steps' done, drowning request for any kind of help, well Leo hasn't responded to that one yet, so welcome to the Deep-Ponies! Dagon is sure to thank me. "A request for the recipe for cookies with the number of chocolate chips equal to the integer between three and four? Certainly! "You are humbly invited to manifest at the peak of Mount Loco-Inda-Coco at the house between 12 PM and 12 AM, by the destruction of a rock-candy-cake in your honor? Sounds like fun! "'Eat my stupid noisy cousin'? Do I look like your personal garbage disposal?" - "Miss Rota Fortuna, forwarded from Ponythulu, 'Please tell me the winning lotto numbers in exchange for my soul?' ... I miss Ch---e." - "Well! At least I can take sweet sweet pleasure in the news I've heard. Have you heard of it, Abby? Your family is done with this worldline. Ooooh poooor Abby, all out of a job? No reason for you to exist anymore. What's the point of speaking to those who do nothing? Oh boo-hoo!" Said the Crawling-Chaos to the The Second Tarot, The High Priestess. "... You disappoint me Nythy. You hear what you want to hear. I thought you were beyond that. Or did you just not want to be alone along with most of your family in being barred a second time from a worldline of Equus? The Elders said that we've been too visible, too tactile, too loud... Not that we should give up our responsibilities and go against ourselves. 'Divine intervention' is just what mortals call it when they can SEE US working. Oh, just now I helped Derpy." - Derpy, determined mailmare, flew through the wild storm over the body of water and dangerous creatures below, a lightning bolt just going slightly off course and missing her. Saving Dinky from becoming an orphan. - "She is after all, one of my most devoted followers, you really think I'd abandon her?" Abby said. "She doesn't even worship you!" "... I'm disappointed in you Nythy. As a fellow messenger god, I know you understand. Worship is what you do, not who you give lip service to. Derpy delivers messages between loved ones regardless of obstacles. Every flap of her wings is tribute to me." - In his dreams, Shining Armor desperately looked everywhere for a working bathroom, he went through one door, and ended up in an alien spaceship. He did admit the ship design was really cool and would make a good description for later. "Greeting Equus Pony!" "Do you know where the bathroom is?" Luna observed Shining Armor slipping from her realm into Pandora's, something ponies often did. 'I admit, this should have clued me in eons ago that Discord's sister was still alive. Then again, nopony ever said imagination itself was good or evil; it simply is.' - Yowie the Yeti worked tirelessly at his design table, alongside several other Yetis at their desk. Different Storm King merchandise dotted their workspaces to try and give a sense of individuality. The design room was on board of one of the flying factories of the Storm King Armada. The entire Storm Empire was air-borne and mobile, from the treasuries to the living quarters for the crew's mates and young. Engineers were just as valuable, if not more valuable than soldiers. Off in his personal chambers the Storm King was inspired to write (yet another) book, 'How to Indoctrinate Rowdy Teenagers To Your Cause Without Using Mind Control Magic'. "It's sure to be a hot-seller!" He said to himself, just as confident about his autobiography 'I Am So Great!' selling well. Yowie the Yeti himself became Valedictorian in his weapon design class, ever since he and the former Valedictorian gave each other a first-hand demonstration of their final projects. He was still sad his last idea of fireproof armor was turned down for mass production since they had no intention of invading the Dragon Lands (yet). "Mass production? That's it!" Inspiration struck him, and he began to design a flying airship factory that ATE-UP enemy airships and used them as raw material to build automated Storm Empire airships! Tempest Shadow herself made a random inspection tour. And the moment she said “random inspection tour”, she had to painfully convince her own guards that she wasn't a spy. Galaxia, Alicorn of Healing and Renewal as well as the stars, was pushed back from Tempest Shadow again and again. Galaxia knocked against the fortress around the maimed unicorn's soul with her replacement starlight limb, but Tempest Shadow would allow none inside to heal her heart. And Rota Fortuna sadly held a broken a thread of fate/herself of Tempest Shadow becoming Celestia's student before even Sunset Shimmer or Starlight Glimmer had thrown away their chances (maybe)... it didn't break when Tempest Shadow lost her horn, and it certainly hadn't broken when she'd run away. What DID break it was the day she swore loyalty to the Storm King. Just like the countless other strings that broke as Tempest Shadow threw away a chance to be saved again and again. Rota Fortuna unconsciously folded her metal wing around herself. Tempest Shadow, oblivious to those desperately trying to help her even now, focused a critical eye on a small figurine held up by another of the Yetis, assigned to merchandise design. "Creatures will resist taxes, but they'll pay for cheaply-made overpriced merchandise every time," her King had told her. Tempest Shadow took the toy in her hooves, fiddling with it. She regretted that the real-life counterpart of the cool-looking personalized one-pony airship that the toy came with was still in the testing phase. The little ash piles of buried test pilots with a two-rank promotion wasn’t making it any easier to find new ones. After examining the action figure of herself for a minute she snorted and ordered, "The armor can't be removable." The designer understood Equestrian, but didn't speak it so well and responded in his native tongue of Yetish, which to an untrained Equestrian sounded like something like, "Ogaboga-ga!" And a couple drum beats. "I don't care if that would undermine our ability to sell new armor accessories. I don't want outsiders to know my cutie mark!" "Ogaboga-ga!" "Them thinking I'm a blank flank would be even worse!" The Yeti napped his fingers. "Ogaboga-ga!" He presented her quickly with a new doll of herself, with unremovable storm king brand underwear. "It'll work," Tempest deadpanned. "HEY! My figurine only has posable arms!" Grubber complained. "Ogaboga-ga!" "'I'm categorized as an accessory to Tempest?!'" Tempest rolled her eyes. + Pensilis, invisible, flew alongside Gilda, as he had for a year. + Puerilis, at the same time, whispered a joke in the ear of Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie, inspiring both, but the ponies taking the idea in different directions. + Mortis spoke, "Come my little pony, your pain is over." + King Leo sat on his throne in the depth of Aquastria with his merponies, holding a picture of Queen Novo. + With every word that Moon Dancer added to her notes for her project on reviving the history of "The Forgotten Queen of Ponyland", it appeared within Eremo's books as well, restoring them at long last. For the Alicorn Prince of Knowledge, The Hermit, Moon Dancer had been one of his devoted; perhaps, in her own way, even more than Twilight Sparkle. + Turris created barriers, divides, borders, this also meant he enabled singular entities with differences to exist in the first place. He admitted this put him at odds with Mother Deer who forever sought to find the similarities in things. Turris walked along Equus' borders, a divide not just on paper, but from cultural identity as well. But even he admitted Griffins had failed to live up to an ideal of true individuality. Each of them a kingdom unto themselves, caring about themselves in only the most shallow and banal ways, most never seeking to IMPROVE themselves, improve their kingdoms of one. He hoped Gilda would provide some inspiration, Astra and Boreas weren't the only concepts with interest in their wayward griffin princess. +++ "So as you see Nythy, just because you've been barred, and we've decided that avatars are no longer needed for this world, it doesn't mean we've abandoned our creations." "You think Equus is the only planet I had avatars on, Abby? I have them scattered all over the universe." "Better be frugal with them, they need to last you eight billion years." Nythy snorted and stomped out. Abby directed the fireflies to the stars. > Episode 433 'Real Penultimate' > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Canterlot, a licensed seller of rare and exotic magical artifacts had been amazed at the battle and light show in the sky. He wasn't a bad pony, but just sitting on unsold merchandise didn't pay the bills, and he was too old to open another shop or find another job. Thus he was willing to look the other way if the payment was good enough on some of his more tricky artifacts. Maybe if he'd not been so distracted by the epic battle, he'd have noticed one of his treasures glowing. It was ancient, it was powerful, he knew its name, and he knew it granted great power but could be unruly. He had no idea it sought the bloodline of one pony in particular. And now... it was awakened, sensing her great power. It called out to her. It might have taken months, but Trixie would unwittingly come for it. A descendent of Magic Star would wield the Alicorn Amulet once again. +++ Princess Celestia = Persona 4 - 'I'll face myself - 2nd Version' (Piano) = Luna had already been an Alicorn, and Fluttershy had been an adult, but Diamond Tiara was a foal, the youngest mortal creature known to be purified from Nightmarification. It had not left her full of vitality. But there was still something that needed doing, and with everything that had happened and would happen, it was best to have it done sooner than later. The parents of Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle had both agreed to this procedure after it had been explained to them, and had already agreed this was for the best. "My sister was supposed to do this." I grasped the soul dagger in my magic, frowning. I’d found it in the smashed and burned out remains of the Well of Truth with Luna, but Luna... was currently in no shape to use it. “If Discord was here, he could turn you both into something that would make the transfer painless, but this can’t wait until he grows up." Not everypony knew Pinkie Pie was pregnant with Discord, but the Crusaders had a knack for finding things out they weren't supposed to, and it seemed best to tell Diamond Tiara sooner rather than later. Her seeing the newborn Dissy without warning could be catastrophic. Diamond Tiara turned over, staring at a wall. "So he managed to reset himself after all, and I have to go on living," she said glumly. "Yes, ye do,” Luna’s voice had told her. “There have been enough attempted tragedies today. Sweetie Belle lay in a bed next to Diamond Tiara, looking like she was in a waiting room at the dentist’s office, instead of a guest room at Canterlot Castle. "Couldn't you give us pain numbing magic or something?" "I would if I could, my little pony,” I said apologetically, “but this is surgery of the soul, not of the body.” Even my potential sister who performed this surgery on Applejack in the corrupted world could not have managed that, so I had no hope of doing so. "Uh, maybe we don't need to do this? It has come in pretty handy!" Sweetie Belle scooted a little further away. "It did help you thwart evil, yes,” I said patiently, “but that evil is now vanquished. You both need to live your own lives. And forgive me for speaking of things beyond your years, but what would happen if one of you fell in love with a colt, and wished for him to be your special somepony?" I saw the look in Sweetie Belle's eyes, she'd thought the same herself already. "Such heartfelt emotions would pass through the bond, and you and Diamond would both love him, as if it was your own love. You would forever doubt yourself, wondering if your feelings were truly your own. As much as this has helped you up until now, it would hinder you in the future as you seek the world's simpler joys. Even Discord did not intend for this to happen... it needs to be undone.” Thankfully, but unfortunately in this instance, there were not exactly many ponies in Equestria who were experts in manipulating and weaving souls. With my sister indisposed, the surgery would be performed by me or nopony. At least I had Lulu with me in spirit to guide my horn. I dared no distractions for this procedure. Sadly, this meant Sweetie and Diamond's parents could not be there in person, but thankfully they still had absolute faith in me. They’d read about me gorging myself with cake like any other pony with a sweet tooth... They’d heard of me shot in the back by Chrysalis with seeming ease and held captive and helpless, and even that had done little to shake their faith. While Cadence was the Princess they held in highest regard, I sensed that I still held their respect. Filthy Rich may have finally forgiven me for not being able to cure his wife's madness. I doubt he would have trusted me with his daughter otherwise. I'd considered whether Sweetie Belle having that part of her soul returned would result in her becoming aware of Rarity's sacrifice, but the original soul exchange had not swapped any memories, so there was little reason to believe it would happen now. I used palace-grade privacy spells to soundproof the walls, of course. Nopony thought for a moment that I might be up to something inappropriate; I’m grateful to Apple Bloom for scrubbing the most vile of those tabloid rumors out of existence. In any case, Nurse Redheart from Ponyville was here with me, purely because I did not feel right tying down two of my littlest ponies, and putting small medicine balls in their mouths to keep them from cracking their teeth. Just before that, Sweetie Belle fidgeted her hooves and looked up at me. “Excuse me, Princess? If I get back the part of my soul that was in Diamond when she became an Alicorn, will it happen to me too?” I chuckled, and gave her an honest, warm smile. “I don’t think we need to worry about that happening, my little pony. Rest now... this will all be over soon.” And so it was. The two foals squirmed and twisted from the unavoidable pain, as I lifted up the pieces of their souls they had exchanged while transformed into living dolls during Discord's Day of Chaos, and more gently than silent falling snow, placed them back where they belonged. One more flick of the soul dagger severed the thread that had connected them. The small parts of soul resisted coming home for a moment, unsure, scared of their larger whole... but the little pieces of their souls finally embraced the whole, while the whole embraced them. It’s a little like how my siblings describe passing on, when their mortal selves rejoin their cosmic whole. In their feverish pain, each filly had a vision of hugging a toddler version of themselves. Just as quickly as the procedure had begun, it was over, the pain vanishing as if it had never been. Each of them fell straight into slumber for a much needed rest, whole entities unto themselves for the first time in a year. Rarity, your force of will was beyond imagining. To do this to yourself to the extent that Diamond remembers, and maintaining the presence of mind to see it through to the end, is proof of that. You truly were an amazing mare. As for the soul dagger, I tried to unmake it and found that I could not. Perhaps only its creator could, or perhaps some of the essence of Discord’s Father had gone into it. I placed the dagger in the same vault where I'd stored the various captured weapons from the war with Tambelon. May it never see sunlight again. But now, Diamond Tiara could have her more emotional and heartfelt moments in privacy, without Sweetie's unwillingly eavesdropping. +++ Diamond Tiara Now I'm truly alone. After a year of Discord always chattering away in the back of my head, after getting lectured within my own mind by Rarity, the Spirits of Dark Magic, and even a shred of Sweetie Belle's soul... For the first time in a year, I'm now completely alone inside. Not that you could tell from how I was always acting. But now it's all over. The heroes have saved the day, and I didn’t die after all. Fate must be patting herself on the back. Time for the villain to politely fade away, while the heroes go on with their next journey. The first time I woke up after my 'surgery,' I found mama sitting next to me. = 'You Have To Forgive Yourself' - Pony POV Series OST = She stroked my mane, smiling. She looked ready to hug me to death, but held back like I was made of glass. "And how is my sweet innocent filly doing?" Me? An innocent little filly? That's a good one. You don't get to call yourself 'innocent' after everything I've seen and done. Even before that, calling me 'innocent' was a stretch. I'd seen the other worldlines... I was a little beast with or without what happened to my mother. "How can you call me that? All the cruel things I did... I misinterpreted everything you told me." "And I should have taught you better," said the flawed mortal pony. "I should have told you that 'reach for the stars' didn't mean 'build a tower out of other ponies to get there.'" "No," I said, my vision blurred. "I didn't want to know what you really meant. I had everything. I could have had anything. I wanted to believe I deserved it all! I enjoyed the feeling of stepping on other ponies to get the crown at the top!" "... You don't mean that." "Yes I do!" Mama sighed. "Diamond, you forgave me, and I forgive you... I truly do! But you need to forgive yourself." "But..." My tears flowed. I'd heard more 'I forgive yous' than I can count throughout this whole thing, but... but... Now I'm sane enough to appreciate it, and wonder if I deserve it. "It's not easy, is it?" I bit back another wave of tears. "Yes mama..." She drew me closer. "I know the feeling, my little princ-" Lightning struck from within, involuntary, unwanted, unintended, unannounced. Flashes of me showing Alula and Tootsie their fantasy selves and stringing them along. “Diamond!” I heard myself shout. "Call me Diamond, please! Not Princess! I never want to be called Princess again!" I was as shocked and confused as my mom. The loving name my parents had always called me... now it only filled me with shame? Father had always called me and mom his princesses. Discord had called me princess too, trying his hardest to be like a father to me after my transformation and my cold rejections. Those had been the few points of warmth in the cold world I had existed in, but now... I could tell what mom was thinking as clearly as if I could read her thoughts. 'This is going to be awkward to explain to Filthy.' Of course, Pinkie Pie would choose that very moment to slip into the room, carrying a cheer flag that proclaimed 'Welcome to Princesshood!', as she pushed along a cart with a triple layer cake and snacks that only would have tasted like ash to me right now, humming happily. Mom turned around and glared, making urgent 'shoo before she sees you!' gestures. Without missing a beat, Pinkie Pie did an about face and walked everything right back out again. (Pinkie Diane's Notes: Lemme just check something here. Put on the brainy specs and... ahem! 'Diamond Tiara will freak out in a 'PLEASE ANYTHING BUT THAT!' way at being called 'Princess', due to the trauma of Discord calling her that. Plus, she corrupted Alula and Tootsie with the idea of being Princesses, so now it has MAJOR bad mojo to her. This IS a scar that Diamond will likely carry for a LONG time.' ... (Sorry, but I’m gonna have to say... NO WAY JOSE! Look, I know I'm not supposed to do this anymore! I really really really am sorry, but no way! (This isn't because Princesshood is now glued into her future whether she likes it or not. And this isn't about how awkward it could make her eventual coronation either! (Here's the thing... 'Princess' was the super loving nickname that her parents called her, and they used it during the good, precious times she had with both of them! It brought them together as a family! And... you know, isn't the whole point of our adventures how just having one really bad thing connected to something you love isn't supposed to be a reason to throw away that thing you love? Doesn’t that kinda go against the whole lesson Rarity learned? And the lesson Button Mash learned? The lesson everypony’s been trying to teach? (So sorry, nope! As soon as her mommy gets her to love herself again, I'm getting her started on Pinkie Diane's Learn To Love Being A Princess Program! Just try and stop me, mister! Heh, I didn't think I'd have to pull this one out for another year at least! I might have given Rarity back her light, but I'm still Pinkie Pie! I still make ponies smile!) Mama looked a little upset, but she finally nodded. "...Alright, Diamond. If that’s what you want. I know the feeling... that feeling of asking yourself 'How could anyone ever forgive me?'" "I destroyed the world. No one SHOULD forgive me." I didn't shout it, I just stated it as a fact. "And you were insane when you did it." Mama hugged me. I hugged her back without hesitation. "So were you when you... when you..." She smiled and nudged my muzzle with a hoof, shushing me. "Diamond... How about we stop blaming ourselves for what we did, and work towards redeeming ourselves, together?" I shuddered. Everything for mom. Okay. So be it. I was just so, so tired. If mama wanted to walk this road, maybe I'd do the same. "O-Okay mama..." We held that hug until I fell asleep again. = "Awakening Will" - Megaman Zero 2 = Somehow, I wasn't too surprised to find Princess Luna standing in front of my bed when I next woke up. I couldn’t see anypony else, and the castle halls were silent. My bed faced away from the windows, the light outside casting a long shadow behind her. "You're expecting a punishment?" Princess Luna said cooly. I nodded. Luna stamped her hoof on the marble floor. "Then let this be your punishment: There are dozens of universes where you chose RIGHT. In many instances, you merely kept your end of the bargain and got your mother back without helping Discord further. There is even one where you went beyond the Nightmare state, becoming a true Alicorn and saving your mother yourself. You always had a choice, Diamond Tiara. Living with the choice you made is your punishment... Just as living with MY choices is mine and living with THEIR choices is the Changelings’." "Sounds like a slap on the wrist for a favored pony. You think 'feeling sorry' for something means somepony shouldn't be punished?" "Other punishments would serve no purpose here. Your family has suffered enough, and your victims seek no such closure." I looked away, sighing. "I'm sorry,” I said, for all the good it was worth. "And that is also part of living with our bad choices: seeking to atone for them. Go and sin no more." "WHY do purified Nightmares become Alicorns?” I blurted out. “I don't understand. It feels like winning for losing.” Princess Luna spread her wings and struck a pose. "Once you set a hoof down that path, there is no turning back. But more than that, to be an Alicorn REQUIRES having a heart... and no regrets. An Alicorn sees all through crystal clear sanity and is incapable of apathy. Even a Fallen Alicorn cares for creation in some fashion, but they can never regret. When a Nightmare becomes an Alicorn, she knows that she hurt others, that she bears the responsibility. There is no 'if only I had,' only 'I did'. The Alicorn can never hide from the mistakes the Nightmare committed." I sighed. "So it's a curse." The Princess narrowed her eyes. "No, what you DO with it decides if it is a curse or a blessing. Just like a convict in prison can either wallow in suffering and blaming others, or take that time to rethink her actions, to grow and emerge a better person than she was before." Princess Luna trotted over to me. I cringed, but her expression softened, and she sat down on the bed close by, putting a wing around me. I'll admit, after having wings and a horn for so long, I felt... a little incomplete without them, whether I liked it or not. As much as I was horrified at what I'd done and tried to do, I couldn't help but feel pieces of me were missing. Princess Luna leaned close to me, but not in a big scary sort of way. Somehow, like a comfort in the dark, a reassurance, like a full moon. "Let me tell you something, my little pony. I did not say this before, because I knew you would not listen, not until you were cured. "You said you saw the other worlds... but you journeyed among them with DISCORD as your guide. Rota Fortuna NEVER crafts ONLY dark and evil paths for ponies. There are lines of fate where you and Apple Bloom are BEST FRIENDS. Others where you never even met. Still others where she was your right hoof instead of Silver Spoon, and they were ALL open to you BOTH from the day you were born. "If one day you desire redemption? You must accept this simple fact: the falsehood of the words 'fate made me do it' or 'the devil made me do it' or a million other excuses. The truth is, unless you were mind-controlled to do something, your choices were your own. I know this is a bitter pill to swallow, believe me I know that. But in the end, accepting that fact is the ONLY way that one can ever become better than they are now." "I KNOW THAT ALREADY!" I shouted. The whole room shook, and the light from outside turned ominously red. "I saw it all! You think Discord only showed me worlds where I was a bully? He showed me a world where I was the farm filly and Apple Bloom was the spoiled brat BEFORE I became a Nightmare! It didn’t even matter... one of us had to play the role. I saw worlds that your sister is hiding from you. I know everything that happened is my own fault! “I even saw the Heart World. The true world! I know our world is a pale imitation of another! I saw that other me go from little monster to innocent victim in the space of one heart song! It wasn’t her fault at all, suddenly it was always her mom! Somepony to blame! That's what it always comes back to! Even your sister knows this, why else do you think she spread that rot about the 'Nightmare Forces?' Because ponies NEED somepony else to blame if they're ever going to forgive anypony!" I fell back into the bedcovers, panting, and the tension gradually left the room again. "I see,” said Luna. “Consider this, then: There are worlds where your mother was pulled back from the brink and remained herself, while you were reformed or never became the bully you were in the first place, and no one 'took their place'. Whether Discord lied to you, or you deceived yourself, this idea that either you or your mother must be a villain is simply not true.” I... I admit, that one left me speechless. The soothing light that illuminated the room faded to blue. Princess Luna nodded towards the window behind my bed. "There is a world where neither I NOR my sister fell, and today that Equestria's Bearers are myself, Celestia, Cadence, Twilight Sparkle... my sister's student who lost her way, and a sixth mare I can never see clearly, all of us Alicorns. There was never a Nightmare Moon or a Nightmare Daybreaker in that world. The choices that we made averted that fate." "I know how painful that realization is,” Luna continued, seeming... sad. “To realize that things never HAD to be the way they were... to realize that you have nopony to blame but yourself. I don't blame you for not seeing that world. In your state, you would have never looked for it, because you had convinced yourself it was impossible. “To truly heal, you must face a harsh reality: the actions you took would have never achieved the ends you desired. At least, not without such a cost that could never have been worth it. It is the nature of a Nightmare to say 'it will be worth it in the end' and then turn a blind eye to every proof to the contrary, even the two I've seen succeed in the Truth realized they had no place in their 'new world.' And there is only one 'Nightmare' I know of who realized that themselves, and turned back of her own free will." I had a pretty good idea who she must be talking about. "Miss Rarity?" Luna nodded. "Indeed. In one world I spied within the Truth, she became Nightmare Charity, but part of her soul refused and would not complete the transformation. She struggled against the darkness, ultimately piercing it and emerging into the light as an Alicorn without the Elements." The lights outside outside my window sparkled like diamonds. "Know this, little pony: the universe is NOT uncaring. It is not cold. My Mother IS the Empathy of Existence, and she would WEEP to see a pony who feels the universe cares nothing for them. Yes, even for YOU, after everything you and Discord did! She loves you. She CAN'T hate. And our Father CANNOT refuse to forgive a truly repentant soul. He waits for every soul with open hooves, when the time to pass on into Him comes. They ARE Existence, so Existence is INCAPABLE of being uncaring. "I will not blame you for thinking the world is unfair and finite, for it surely is. We've seen truly 'fair' and 'eternal' mortal worlds and they are terrible to behold. Let this be a comfort to you: If no one else in this entire world loves ye, My Parents do and ALWAYS shall." I can't resist the feeling of comfort and peace that gave me, there was no fighting it now. So I just surrendered. Maybe I was sick and tired of my own doom and gloom and wanted to give happiness a try again? I thought of Silver Spoon and mama... goodness knows they want me to. "No one expects you to come to terms with your actions in a single night, nor to adjust to the pain of having a heart again. Hearts are oftentimes troublesome things, sometimes happy and sometimes not. "But know this, you above all Nightmares should be grateful. Your attack was contained and next to no one actually saw you in all your horrific glory, and few indeed remember what you and your adopted relatives did." (Princess Luna's Diary: When we think about it, in spite of being now an Alicorn, Diamond Tiara is still an adopted part of Discord's family, not ours. Discord never disowned her, and the decree of a god is reality. Her true form is that of Nature's Law, but she is technically part of the pantheon of Nature's Fury. Leave it to Discord to leave one last thorny knot of chaos to remember him by.) "Remember these wise words from another universe that My Father has engraved in eternity: forgiveness is never earned, it is given, that's why it is called forgiveness. While you give the apology, it is their decision to give forgiveness in return. Unlike me and Fluttershy, you do not have a COUNTRY to apologize to. But you still have SOME ponies to whom you owe an apology." That was when I woke up for real. Should have seen that coming. The sounds of Canterlot filtered in through the windows, and it was a bright and golden day outside. There was no sign of Sweetie or mom. I didn't have long to dwell on this though, as just I got my wits back together, the door to my room burst open, and four fillies and one colt came tumbling into my room. = We're All In This Together - High School Musical = They raced for the bed like a pack of wolves. My brain went blank at all the smiling faces, dumbfounded by so much love and happiness being directed my way. What could I say after all I'd done to them? All the ways I'd wronged them? And yet here they were anyway, for nopony's sake but mine. The personal visit from the Moon Goddess Herself was less shocking! I got more hugs all at once than at any moment before in my life! "Okay okay, give her a little room to breath." The gray, silver-maned filly gently but firmly nudged the others back a bit. "Silvey?" "Did you really think anything was going to keep me away?" "Alula?" "Sorry you had to give up your wings and horn for a while, Diamond." "I-I think I'm better off without them for a little while. Tootsie?" "It's Liza!" "R-Right, Liza! FEATHERWEIGHT?!" He took a quick photograph, and gave me the picture, bowing. "To remember this by," he whispered. And finally... "N... Neatly... Spell?" "Princess Celestia said you banished the monster who cursed you, Diamonds, and you became a Princess! Yippie!" She hopped and hugged me again... Regardless of the shame I still felt about being called a princess, I can't say that it didn't make me happy to see Neatly Spell being every bit as excitable as always. Maybe it wasn't so bad when she said it. "Princess Celestia said we were the best medicine you could have," Silvey said, still smiling. What? You thought I was talking about the Shield Flanks and Mr. Video Game Junkie? I was too tired to say that I wasn't their friend, that I didn't deserve to be their friend, and from the looks on their faces, none of them would have taken 'no' for an answer anyway. I did everything I possibly could to make Silver abandon me while I was able to rewrite reality. What hope did I have when I could barely move? "Why are you here?" I asked Featherweight. "Looking out for you... as always," he whispered. Funny how the last time we saw each other, I tried to kill him. Ponies are such silly creatures, aren't they? I have no idea how anypony found out about my connection to Neatly Spell, let alone her connection to 'Diamonds.' It’s not like Neatly would ever ‘tattle' on me. I think they only found out after I was already cured. Maybe it traveled along the royal grapevine: 'Rich Pony's Daughter Last Seen In Canterlot Finally Found!' I bet Fancy Pants found out, and it spread from there. I'm just happy that she didn’t get mixed up in the 'final battle' somehow. I'd rather see her keep her innocence, and just be a carefree foal who happens to work on the side as a server, but that's splitting hairs. I never did ask Discord for the details of what I did for her and... and I don't want to know and I’m not going to ask. The Elements of Harmony fixed her up good as new, that’s enough for me. I have no intention of telling her anything about Nightmare Nhilis until we're a lot older. Call me a hypocrite all you want. Neatly has something I didn't have even before Discord twisted me, innocence, and I WON’T spoil her happy world! "It's good to see your crown back where it belongs, Tiara," Silver said with a smile. "Huh?" I reached up. "Oh! Right! Um, thanks for holding onto it?" "My pleasure." I glanced around the guest bedroom, and sure enough, there was a dresser with a mirror. I leaned towards it and saw myself, surrounded by... all these ponies... my friends? Wearing my tiara. After a year of not wearing it, I guess it really did feel good to have that back. I don't think it would get in the way of my horn... I breathed in deep, and looked at them. "Girls, and you too Featherweight... I just want to say, I apologize for all the trouble I caused you. I was a selfish jerk." "Everything worked out for the best,” said Featherweight softly. “No reason to hold onto grudges. I forgive you, Diamond Tiara." He gave me a nuzzle. "Of COURSE I forgive you, Diamond Tiara!" Silver hugged me. "Me too!" Neatly Spell cheered. "Me three!" said Tootsie/Liza. "Me four!" Alula Kicker said. "I never stopped believing you'd come home!" "Hey, Diamonds?" asked Neatly. "Do you think you could be my co-flower filly for Big Sister and Prince Blueblood's wedding?" Oh, right. I'd seen them falling in love while I was helping foil the Changing Invasion, one of the few things I did that I’m actually proud of. Given that I was Nightmare Nhilis at the time, I tried to avoid thinking about it. So yeah, Prince Blueblood isn't a jerk anymore. Wait... Dang it, I'm not supposed to know about that. Think, Diamond! "I... I think I'm going to have to turn that down,” I said. “I'm not sure I feel up to it." "Aww! Well, there’s time! Maybe you'll change your mind!" said Neatly Spell, never losing hope. I knew it was crazy, turning down a chance to make more high-society connections like that, but after everything, I think I’m done with big fancy events for a while. That said... "Silver, why don’t you do it instead?" Silver's eyes went wide. "Me?!" I gave her a tired smile. "You've been a better friend than I have. I owe you one." "Any friend of Diamonds is a friend of mine!” said Neatly. “I'm fine with that! Unless Diamonds changes her mind..." "O-Okay, I'll think about it." On that note, I looked to Neatly. "Congratulations on your sister getting to be a P-P-Princess." I managed to force myself to say the word. She at least earned it. "Thank you! She said Blueblood was a 'fixer-upper,' whatever that means." It means that Blueblood and I are a lot alike. Well, at least that's one pony in Canterlot we can get along with. Too bad big events don't seem to be done with me. "Diamond Tiara? Is it truly you?" said a new voice from the door. "Shiny Star!" Without thinking, I hopped out of bed to greet my my maid... and my legs instantly gave out, pitching me to the carpet. Ow. “Miss Tiara! Let me help you. Oh, the Princess said something like this might happen." A moment later, Shiny Star was helping me into a wheelchair. I didn't complain. "Shiny Star... thank you," I said. Shiny Star startled a little but said with a smirk, "Always a pleasure, Miss Tiara." She had helped me so many times before, visiting mom in the mental hospital, so she knew this side of me. "Your mother says you've already heard the news, that she's cured now." "Yes... yes, I know," I whispered. For all the evil we'd done... that was one thing I owed Discord for. "She's already moved back into the house,” said Shiny Star. “Everypony is waiting for you." I smiled. "Miss Tiara!" Randolph too?! He came in pulling in a flat cart loaded down with a very large stack of gifts that had trouble fitting through the door. "Here are your Hearth Warming Eve presents, your birthday gifts, and a 'Welcome Home!' package from Miss Pie!" I am so asking daddy to give them both a big raise... "Whoa," gasped Alula. Featherweight gaped at the pile of gifts, and took another picture, as if by reflex. "Better late than never," Silver Spoon remarked, craning her neck. "Ooh, can I help you open them?" Liza/Tootsie said with a grin. Shiny Star beamed. "Now we can stop baking that 'Welcome Home Both My Princesses!' cake every few days." I know I'm skipping ahead here, but I think I'll just leave this part out so I can get some rest later. Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis VISITED MY HOUSE as part of my 'welcome home!' party! They also gave me a replacement of the dress I'd taken from their house before. "You liked it so much dear, we're sorry to hear you lost it," Fleur de Lis said. Ponies can be crazy sometimes. They offered to be my godparents, but the position was already taken by the Apples. Hey, it was a family tradition between the Riches and the Apples that dated all the way back to the founding of Ponyville! No, I didn't know that before, or maybe I knew and didn't care... Now I wish I’d taken time to see my actual godparents in another world before... We also had Nurse TLC there for my homecoming party, the mare who fought mom to keep her locked up in the hospital. They’re good friends now, go figure. Anyway, back to what was happening now! "Randolph, I just want to say... thank you for everything, and I'm sorry I never thanked you for anything before." "Oh my! Is your condition worse than we thought miss?" Randolph instantly had a thermometer in my mouth, checking me for a fever. "Shiny Star, are we certain she isn't a changeling?" I rolled my ears, glancing at Silver Spoon. "I'm going to be hearing that a lot aren't I?" "Yep!" I’d bet half of my old allowance that I’m going to be homeschooled for a while. Surrounded by bodyguards. I was going to need the time... It’s funny how I’m a sealed Alicorn, but I’ve never had an Element of Harmony when so many other ponies in Ponyville did in some world or another. I wondered, was that because my heart was just that weak? The closest thing I’ve seen was a world where I held the Element of Cruelty. Heck, once I saw a version of me that became Discord’s Yokai. Maybe Chaos really is more my style? I was gonna need more time to figure this out. I sure as heck was going to be spending a lot of time apologizing to the Crusaders, but you know exactly how that’s going to turn out, the same way you know that apples fall down not up, so there's no need for me to bore you with that now, is there? Heh. +++ = .hack//SIGN - Ending Theme, Yasashii Yoake (instrumental version) = Princess Celestia stood deep in the realm of the collective unconscious - the domain of dreams - the realm of Princess Luna and one of the things that decidedly separated her from Galaxia. "Hello little sister," said Princess Celestia. "Nice of you to visit in person, Celly," echoed a voice on the wind. "Did you actually think I wouldn’t, Lulu?" The realm around them appeared as a moss covered island in a lake being fed by a small waterfall. The lake was surrounded by neon-colored luminous plants and fungi. The full moon hung directly overhead, a larger and more perfect silver-blue moon than had ever existed in the waking world. With constellations in the sky from vantage points across countless galaxies. A giant glowing pink lily arched in the center of the lake, like a bed canopy. But Celestia wasn't paying attention to the beauty that can only exist within dreams themselves. Instead she was focused on the blue mass of shadows and sparkling stardust before her. It MIGHT have been in the shape of a Alicorn mare... but there was a lot missing, like a chalk drawing giving only a vague impression. Sparkles trailing shadows slowly came from every direction, adding themselves to the mass. "No sister... I did not," the mass of sparkles and shadow spoke. "So how long do you think it'll take you to reconstitute your physical form?" The wind gusted, sounding like an impatient sigh. "Celly, I spread myself out across three cities worth of ponies' minds and almost as many timelines... Reforming my physical body will take at least a year." Luna almost felt like she was back to being a cosmic entity. Almost. Celestia frowned, bowing her head. "A year with your company only in my dreams... You will still able to create avatars in the waking world, won't you? I'd rather not give the tabloids any more fuel for the fire. Remember how many thought I'd locked you away in the dungeons when you spent a year out of sight, recovering and learning about the modern world?" "Do you fear to tell them the truth, sister?" "I imagine whatever nonsense they come up with for themselves will be far more believable than the truth, no matter how I spin it. And I imagine some wouldn't be entirely happy to learn part of you dwells in their minds right now... more than it usually does, anyway." "You know very well that I am not truly in any individual pony's mind right now. My spirit is anchored to the vast expanse of the collective unconscious, able to slip around as I normally do... but I suppose most ponies wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Tell me Celly, has your skill with illusion magic improved since I saw it last?" "Please tell me that was a rhetorical question." "I could 'speak' while you puppeteer." "Shouldn't we be free of all this convoluted nonsense? And didn't we already have enough trouble with heretics claiming our physical bodies were illusions?" "Celly, I'm trying to reconstitute my entire physical body molecule by molecule. If I had the power to create a puppet body in the physical world, don't you think I could just inhabit that and be done with it?" "... Perhaps I can make an Avatar for you?" The mass of stars and shadows shuddered. The idea of her consciousness trying to fit into the puppet body made by another goddess, in particular her sister's, did not fill her with confidence. It was not done for a reason, most of them humiliating on the part of the one trying to control an avatar that was not even theirs. Plus, the two of them were opposite concepts. Their essence mixing in such a way could be... unpleasant. "Thank you, Celly, but no." "I just don't like the idea of you being all alone AGAIN, Lulu." "Don't worry creator/mother/goddess... you shall not be alone," whispered the 'breezie' Triangle Crown, camouflaged perfectly with the rest of Luna's realm. Spotting it would have been like trying to notice a drop of water in an ocean. 'This doesn't count as sleeping.' "Understood creator/mother/goddess... Fear not, I shall always be there to remind you of your sins whenever you forget." "I'll manage. I have Olo the imaginary Owlbear in my dream world, and then there's Tiberius." "Who?" "Oh right, with preparing for Discord I forgot to mention. Apple Bloom noticed my pet Windigo kept fading out of existence, and the retcons that reality patched in to allow their continued presence were growing increasingly porous. So instead, they sacrificed themselves during our battle with Discord, and their spirit eventually inhabited the body of a possum I'd found and named." Celestia smiled. "It seems that even with Discord gone, our lives will always be a convoluted web." "True, but it does at least make things interesting." "Love you, Lulu." "Love you too, Celly." +++ = Sanctuary (After Battle Version) - Kingdom Hearts II = “Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle wrote with a quill held in her own magic, in the Golden Oaks Library, surrounded on all sides by little mountains of crumpled up paper that Spike was busy recycling. “After trying to sum up our final adventure regarding Discord, and the last year of our lives that feels more like seven, and everything my friends and I have learned... I've come to a conclusion! Life is too complex to condense down to a single letter. We're too complex to be summed up in one report, and what we learn and what we come to understand is too nuanced to be broken down in one easily digestible chunk. I’m not sure a whole book would be enough. “I've seen ponies mock the idea of there being a greater reason for things, while others insist the reason has to always be about them. But at the end of the day, everything we know is just one tiny flash of a much bigger picture. Just because we don't understand it all, doesn't make it nonsense. In fact, it's beautiful. “Speaking of which, I was going to include a collection of photos of everypony who’s been a part our journey this year, and helped us get this far. But Spike counted them up and said that was way too many, and you'd probably have to put the photos away and go back to Day Court business, and that kind of took the magic out of it. “Life is always going to have new challenges, new changes, new dangers, but that's what enables us to keep on growing. I'm not scared of whatever comes next. Unless it's a test I haven’t studied for, but what are the chances of that? “Not everything on this list is in chronological order... and that nearly gave me a stroke, but Pinkie Pie and Rarity insisted that emotional build up was more important here and they're the artistic ones. Some of this you already know, but I included it for completeness sake. “I'm sure you've also heard of the headaches ponies around Ponyville, Canterlot and Cloudsdale had after the battle... everypony’s been talking. At least we can tell them to take an aspirin for it, even if we can’t always explain why. The injuries we can't see take the longest to heal, and even then they'll leave scars, but there's more to life than pain and loss. Pain shared is lessened, joy shared is multiplied. Here we are. Alive. In spite of all the trials and ordeals, here we are, thanks to all the ponies who came before us. Here we are! We’ve made it through the blood, sweat and tears and even made new friends along the way. HERE. WE. ARE. "Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” Whew... “Okay! Mail it, Spike!" Spike raised an eyebrow. "You sure this time?" "I'm sure I'm sure!" "Okay then!" And dragon mail away it went. "So what's next?" Twilight hugged Spike. "That's the fun part, isn't it?" ++ "Did you ever have the feeling that you were born just to spite somepony?" Coffee Swirl asked, looking over some dusty notes with odd runes. "SO WHAT?!" Sweet Berry said, hugging him with a smile. "Maybe I was born just for a joke of a pile of cakes falling on somepony who wanted a joke to happen! WHO CARES?! What matters is that you're here! And you've got friends who care about you! And you still make the best coffee in Ponyville, Cotton Candy!" "You know that isn't my name... now." She kissed him. "Ask me if I care." Coffee Swirl... ACTUALLY SMILED, and accepted the moment of happiness. Outside, 'Baby Zipzee' as Sweet Berry insisted on calling Fluttercruel, was having a mini-temper-tantrum at the sight through the window. "Now now dear, she was there first... " said Fluttershy, or 'Zipzee' as Sweet Berry would call her. 'REALLY there first,' Fluttershy thought. Tiddlywink, Ponyville's resident toy shop owner, stepped into Coffee Swirl's shop for a mug of coffee and some of Sweet Berry's little coffee cakes. Fluttershy smiled, watching. 'May you find happiness, my dearest.' +++ On another occasion, Fluttershy sat in her cottage with Cupcake, Zecora, and Cheerilee. Angel was given the daunting task of keeping Fluttercruel occupied as her mother talked with her 'followers.' After a few minutes of savoring the tea, Fluttershy felt bold enough to set aside her teacup and get down to business. "I have no plans of being formally crowned a Princess of Equestria for a long long time, if ever... " Cupcake flapped the new Wings given to her by Princess Luna, which had done nothing to bring her a bad fate, unlike its previous owners. "I don't care. I’m here for you because I made a promise, not because of Nightmare Whisper's mind control magic." "We're here for you Fluttershy, whether you're crowned or not," Cheerilee affirmed. "I'll be your knight whenever you need me." Zecora smiled apologetically. "Princess Gaia, it has been an honor to serve for a future bright, But at least for now, I must resign as your knight." "Oh! I'm happy to hear that you’ve decided that! But, um, what do you mean, for now?" Fluttershy blinked, very confused. "It’s been a pleasure to serve, it is true, But one cannot serve masters two." Zecora pushed a letter to Fluttershy. Fluttershy picked it up with her wings and read it, with growing amazement. "You've been recommended to Shining Armor and Cadence for teaching Kifuko zebra culture?" "If Queen Parabola's legacy does return, Then she does indeed have much to learn." "But Zecora... teaching Kifuko? Are you really um... going to do it?" Fluttershy was still Fluttershy and didn't want to even utter even a single syllable to imply she doubted the alchemist's credentials to teach the finer details of her culture's heritage and court protocols. "There are not many Zebras they know, So the number of options they have are low. "A stranger might only be a bust, They want somepony they trust." "But Zecora... Are you sure? Is this right? We've finally made friends with you after all these years." Zecora smiled. "Do not think our visits will diminish to naught, I go only as far as Canterlot." "But... Shining Armor, I mean... Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence have to travel all over Equestria, and even to other lands. Can't you recommend a Zebra that you trust?" "Sadly, my princess, that puts me in a bind, It has been too long since I last saw my own kind." "Oh..." Cheerilee, being an actual teacher, tapped her chin. "There may be a few other factors to consider." The group looked to her. "For starters, Kifuko is a newborn,” Cheerilee continued. “That may not sound important, but it is. Logically Equestrian would be her first language, as her family is that, which means Zebrafrican would be her second language. Zecora would need to be there to teach it in person... but teaching a pony a second language is not something you can do at that age. Two to three is the best time for that. Teaching her zebra culture will be important too, but that may not require you to move to Canterlot, at least not yet. Perhaps you could start by sending them Zebrafrican toys and games to play with Kifuko, bedtime stories and the like." Zecora gave that some thought and nodded. "That is a valid point I had not considered, my friend, but for this issue it is not the end." Cheerilee nodded. "I know, but I'm also saying that if you're having any second thoughts at present, you don't need to rush off to a choice." +++ If not for the medical restraints, Trixie would have planted her face into a pillow with a groan and a sigh. Princess Celestia herself stood over her... wearing a Nurse's uniform for some reason as she patiently waved the golden glow of her horn over Trixie's own horn. "Not that Trixie is not honored to be graced with the personal attention of Princess Celestia herself... but couldn't Trixie just be healed in a flash by Nurse Red Heart's magic touch?" "Even the Hearts' gift has its limits,” said Princess Celestia patiently. “You performed magic far beyond your limits, magic that surpassed that of any of your ancestors. Be thankful that your horn is intact, and the magic center of your brain wasn’t burned out, or even I wouldn't be able to help you." Trixie's relaxed poise and casual tone was surprisingly nonchalant over this narrowly avoided fate. "It would have made good for a final spell for the One and Only Trixie." Celestia smiled, shaking her head. "Honestly, Luna should be doing this, but she is... indisposed... Now please hold still, Trixie, or I shall tighten the restraints." Trixie fell silent, suddenly thoughtful. "Why Princess Luna? She's better at healing magic than you?" "... No, quite the opposite really. But Luna has... a stronger affinity for your magic." Trixie blinked. She couldn’t turn to look at her cutie mark, but Trixie knew very well what she’d see there if she could. 'Princess... Why does Trixie’s cutie mark have a crescent moon?' 'Oh Trixie,' Luna thought to herself. 'If I had not been banished to the moon, or if we had met earlier in your adult years, or even met personally a year ago, you would have been my faithful student, on your way to succeed me as Twilight grows closer to ascending. Maybe if the invasion of Canterlot had not happened and Discord had struck earlier, that fate would have been ours to share... but it would seem that door is closed to us now. Such is Fate. She never did care much for those who think the doors will remain open forever.' - Applejack flicked her ears, hearing a knock on her door. “Now, who could that be?” She trotted over and opened it up to find Derpy with a box on her back. "Delivery pour you!" Derpy called with a smile. "Thank ya kinda, Derpy!" AJ hauled the box inside, and waved to the mare as she departed. She then blinked at the return address on the fairly large package. "Princess Luna?" she asked, then opened it to find a stack of books. "Huh? Did Ah get a shipment for the library by mistake?” There was note to go with it. 'Greetings Applejack, It is our fond hope that these will help you on the path ye have chosen, as we discussed before. We've included a schedule drafted by our sister, that you may work them into your day at your leisure. For privacy’s sake I shall not go into details, but we shall remind ye that this path will put a divide between those ye love and thyself. Only you can decide if it is worth it. Remember, Twilight Sparkle has studied all her life. While experiences are great teachers, some things can only be learned the hard way. Nopony said this would be easy.' Applejack started reckoning just how many books were in the box, and how thick each volume was, and how many of her daily hours were already committed to farm chores, which she certainly couldn’t slack on. "Well... can't say Ah should be surprised by that..." 'P.S. We've also included an account of our actions and misadventure during Discord's Day of Chaos. Tis yours to read it or not, as is your choice to reveal anything you learn of our actions that day. You have our royal blessing and protection to say all or nothing.' "Well if that don't beat all." - Twilight Sparkle 'Well, it's about time this happened,' Twilight Sparkle thought. "I swear I just saw Vinyl Scratch wearing an artist's hat!" Rainbow declared, looking back and rubbing her eyes. "Don't be silly, darling,” said Rarity. “This is Hoofington. Vinyl Scratch is back in Ponyville... and it's called a 'beret.'" "Ah reckon' that house looks exactly the same as the one in Ponyville!" Applejack swore. "Maybe they had the same architect?" Fluttershy suggested. "Architect nothing,” said Fluttercruel. “Did you see those three fillies who look just like the Crusaders with different colors?!" I wisely decided not to share my theory that Hoofington was a backup Ponyville. Pinkie Pie gasped. "Do you think if we look hard enough, we'll find a bakery run by Upside Down Cake that Surprise works at in the off season?!" "If we see a baby dragon, I say we test for changelings!" Spike remarked. "Well, we're here," I said, looking at the house I'd visited so long ago, it seemed now. This time, it wasn't a house call in the dead of night. It was to visit the family of a friend. “What, that house?” said Spike, pointing. "That’s where Trixie grew up? I don't know if I'm relieved or underwhelmed.” "It is somewhat anticlimactic,” mused Rarity, “but for one like Trixie who seeks to be the center of attention, having such an extremely ordinary home is perhaps to be expected." "And it ain't like any of us grew up in big fancy houses neither," replied Applejack. Except for me, living in the royal palace... but I let that pass and simply knocked on Trixie’s door. The door swung inwards almost at once, revealing a darkened interior. "Come in," spoke an over-the-top dark and foreboding voice that no self-respecting evil overlord would take seriously. Pinkie Pie hopped along. AJ and Rainbow shrugged, then entered boldly, while Rarity followed behind me with Spike. Sealed Alicorn or not, Fluttershy is still Fluttershy, and had to be 'nudged' along inside by her own daughter. = Midsummer Night Sisters Introductions - Pony POV Series OST = The door flew closed behind us, and magical multi-colored spotlights snapped on, half blinding us. They leaped and spun around five Trixies dancing in synch. "Oh my! Are they illusions?" asked Fluttershy. Spike got poked in the belly by one of them. "Hey!" "Enope," said AJ. The middle dancer laughed and bowed with a flourish. "Come now! Surely you remember my sisters!" "Trixie?" I exclaimed. She threw off her cape and hat, pointing towards the leftmost dancer. "Presenting Mixie, the Eldest!" Her cutie mark was a pale moon with the outline of a witch flying against it. And one by one, the mares threw off their purple hats and capes. "Pixie! The Second Eldest!" Her cutie mark was a pan flute. "Nyxie! The Second Youngest!" A blue unicorn with a cutie mark of a book with fairy wings. "Lexy! The Youngest!" Hers was a comedy and tragedy mask. "And introducing," said the middle unicorn, before she vanished in a burst of smoke. "The One and Only... Trixie!" She popped up behind us, fireworks flying and crackling! "The Mid-Summernight sisters!" cried the four, striking a group pose. "You just had to steal the show didn't you, Trix'?" said Lexy, as she opened the window shades. "Would I be Trixie if I didn't?" Trixie beamed. "It's wonderful to see you all! Come along! My brothers Puck and Robin are in the next room, along with our parents." "Hey Trixie...” Spike gave her a claws-up. “Nice trick!" "Thank you, Spike!" "So you really acted like Trixie's 'sister,' huh?" Mixie asked, giving me that look. "The more the merrier, right?" I grinned politely. "Huh, I like you!" Mixie said. "And in case I never said so... thank you for bringing my sister back to us." "You're welcome... but I couldn't have done it unless Trixie herself wanted to come back." Mixie smiled. "Thank you for unlocking the door for her then." "It was my pleasure." "I apologize in advance if I mistake you for each other... I'm probably going to," said Rainbow Dash. “Just saying!” "It's part of the game for us," Lexy said with a smirk. "Heh! Well, the Dash doesn't lose!" "We'll just see about that." I'll leave it to your imagination how that competition went... but I'll say Rainbow is a lot more perceptive than she gives herself credit for. +++ The middle-aged white stallion swept his hoof dramatically, then stroked his moustache. "And that's the story of how I stopped feeling sorry for myself and I became a teacher and a coach, after the doctors told me I could never play hoofball again!" said Rarity's father. "You told it very well dear," said Rarity's mother, putting a foreleg around him. "And that's how Rarity got her birth name." (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Thank you, dears. It was an honor to interview the ponies who raised such a generous and selfless daughter. You should know, during her latest epic battle, Rarity asked us to remind you that she's always loved you.) "Never had any doubt," her father said. "Why do you think we trusted her with Sweetie Belle so much?" +++ Rarity II On this particular subject, my memories are crystal clear. Rarity didn't want anypony who didn't know already about her unmaking and my creation. She didn't want to make my new life any more complicated than it needed to be. It was my responsibility to honor my own request, and the fewer who know a secret the better. Unfortunately, Diamond Tiara herself knows, and she will have to live with that guilt, but at least she will not also suffer the blame and accusations of others. I wasn't afraid of some villain using this secret against us. Surely, only the most contrived and poorly written villain could easily discover a heroine’s secret so obscure that there is no physical evidence of it ever happening. Not a single Shadow Spade novel resorted to such contrivances! For the record, I have no memories from whatever former incarnation Pinkie Pie provided, along with cutting a 'spare' out of herself, and I think it’s best I don't. Life is complicated enough. For all I know, I hold the soul of a Rarity who pushed Sweetie Belle out of the way of a wild lightning bolt. Since I have no recollection of my actual former life, I honestly don't know if I'm lying if I say 'I did this with you in the past,' so there is no deception. Nothing for Applejack lie-detecting talent to notice. (Rarity II’s Additional Notes: I hold that she made a wise choice with what she knew at the time, to refrain from using it constantly before the wedding, lest she begin accusing ponies who had cheated on their diets of being spies. None of us could have predicted the changelings. I also hold that parentheses are a vital part of writing and should be respected as such!) Applejack has faced loss in her life, and doesn't believe in hiding from that loss. I know what her answer would be on the subject. Indeed, I'd be a poor friend if I didn't. Dragging her to the spa one day, I said, "Applejack, I know that you had 'spares' of your father's hat before we fought Nightmare Whisper." Applejack coughed, glancing away. "Eyup... Ah never go anyplace without a hat, so folks just assumed Ah loved hats, and they kept giving me more for my birthdays. Ah had to mark Pa's just to tell it apart from all the others." "But when you finally lost that precious keepsake, I couldn’t help but notice you chose the hat I made over all the others.” I smiled warmly. “I know my own work, and I’ve never seen you wearing any other, since I gave it to you. Why mine?" "Because it was from you, Rarity. Yer a friend. Ah want ya to know, Ah appreciate it. It might not be Pa's hat, but it's still a hat from somepony dear, and that makes it precious all the same." "Thank you, Applejack." "Yer welcome!" And now I had another important meeting to keep! +++ "It's been far too long since we've done this, darling," Rarity said, as she and Fluttershy relaxed, enjoying their 'weekly' spa-date for the first time in months. Fluttercruel was busy being given the foals' treatment, so the friends could have some alone time. The Spa Sisters had retroactively had plenty of time to get used to caring for a Demi-Draconequus avatar by now, even if ponies had been less than comfortable around her at first. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to make it the past few weeks, Rarity. I'm just so sorry." "Please think nothing of it, Fluttershy! I haven't exactly been able to make time like I should have either. Saving the world can do that to a mare. I’ve had to write letters to over a dozen ponies, apologizing for late commissions." Rarity looked around at everything in the spa... the paintings, the patterns in the wood, the plants, the imaginary forms in the steam, her... hooves beginning to prune? Oh right... Maybe she and Sweetie were part seapony after all. Could Alicorns breathe underwater? She wasn't too keen on requesting a test on that subject. Fluttershy was giving her a concerned look. "Rarity, since the final battle... um, sometimes you act like normal things for us are first time experiences. Is there... anything else that’s still bothering you?" "Well, thank you for not accusing me of being a changeling, dear." "Oh, of course you aren’t. A changeling wouldn't get your personality so right, and then act so excited over tiny little things." Rarity blushed. "I suppose that after a near-death experience on a level nopony else to my knowledge has had, all the world can look new. One learns to appreciate all the things one took for granted before." Fluttershy smiled. "The world is a beautiful place, isn't it?" I floated as best I could in the hot tube and looked at the ceiling. "A wise pony said, 'Nothing is so ugly in this world that the proper application of light can't make it beautiful.'" "I think Princess Celestia likes that saying too." "For a mare of my profession, it bears repeating." +++ = Gundam Wing - Just Communicate = After having her horn fully healed and getting the all clear from her doctor, Trixie had a promise to keep. "Welcome to our park, Abra-ca-dabra!" said the mare who greeted her at the front entrance. She had an orange coat with a purple, orange, and yellow mane, and a sleeping cat in front of a crescent moon Cutie Mark. “I’m Pumpkin Tart!” Trixie couldn’t help but think that the mare felt strangely familiar. "Huh?" "Oh! Just a park thing!" replied Pinkie Pie, casually springing out from behind a lamppost. "We give some ponies a name you use in the park! It's like roleplaying!" Trixie blinked... but her family DID love roleplaying. "Very well, then!" she said, before Pumpkin Tart introduced her to two other ponies named Fun Fairy and Lovely Ladybug, who likewise felt strangely familiar. "Hey, mind coming back for Nightmare Night?" asked Pumpkin Tart. "The three of us are gonna be in charge of it, and you seem like somepony who'd be all about that." Trixie had the oddest feeling she was being invited to a reunion that she’d missed the original meetup for. Regardless, she smiled. "Hmm... I’ll have to check my calendar, but it does sound up Trixi... Abra-ca-dabra's alley!" Trixie didn't notice Lovestruck and her husband (or Always and Forever and Yours Truly according to their name tags) having a similar discussion with a group of primarily pink and white ponies about Hearts and Hooves Day. Or for that matter, a collection of Hearth's Warming themed ponies discussing their plans for that particular day but calling it 'Christmas', whatever that was. "Okay, we are totally bringing Diamond Tiara here," said Silver Spoon of all ponies. She was mostly here so Diamond's parents could have some alone time with her. "Really?" asked Sweetie Belle. Her Dream Park name tag said ‘Star Song Melody,' and she was waiting in line for the Ferris Wheel with the rest of her friends. "Like, I didn't start having fun again until you dragged me to the Gaia Festival,” said Silver, dead serious. “Diamond needs a lot of things right now, but that can wait. What she really needs is to be a kid again." "We all kinda need that after this whole mess," Scootaloo replied. Her name tag said 'Honolulu.' "Ain't that the truth!" Apple Bloom replied, wearing a 'Toola Roola' name tag. Button Mash smirked, holding the stuffed bear that he’d won for Sweetie Belle as they got on board the Ferris Wheel. “Well, I’m not sure, since some fillies didn’t invite me to the active party for a certain adventure the other day...” Sweetie giggled, nosing him apologetically. "It was over your level cap." “Then you have to bring me along next time, right?” said Button eagerly. “So I don’t fall too far behind!” “Button! I don’t even want there to be a next time!” Scootaloo grinned, lowering the visor on her Dream Park hoofball cap. “Not until we’re older, anyway!” "Come one, come all!” Trixie announced, setting off fireworks in the center of the park. The Crusaders oohed and ahhed. “Gather around and witness the One and Only... Abra-ca-dabra, as she brings you amazement and wonder!" Pinkie Diane watched all this from the side with a smile that was bittersweet, especially for her. Yes, more of her friends had been returned, yes this park was a memorial... but it wasn't their world. Their history was gone, and this was as close as she could get to having it back... and she'd already gone through this enough to accept she could settle for it... but settling for something didn't mean you couldn't pay tribute to it too. "Ready girls?" she asked a group of ponies all wearing ladybug costumes. "Ready!" they called, preparing to go on after Trixie. 'Who said a tribute had to be sad?' Pinkie Diane thought. It was why one of the houses set up here was designated as 'Minty's house,' painted the greenest green that had ever greened, and gifted visitors complimentary socks. "Hey Pinkie, where'd Fizzypop end up?" Fiesta Flare asked. "I dunno, but she’s not here." - "Here's your delivery, lady.” The exceptionally grouchy griffon strapped on a pair of smoked-glass goggles, and rudely thrust another pair at his client before opening the sealed shipping container for her inspection. “Sheesh, what does this Storm King character need all those cockatrices for?" "You're not paid to ask questions," hissed Tempest Shadow, her broken horn sparking. The delivery-griffon cringed, feathers and fur fluffing. "Yes ma'am!" With her failure to capture the Merpony King Leo's old pearly gift to Hippogriff Queen Novo, and remove any chance the queen had to 'visit' him anytime she wanted, she now needed to go after a more difficult target, one that would take long term preparations, not sudden and swift conquest. At least the Storm King had been understanding of her failure. The furious Queen Novo had trapped her in a watery prison when she’d seized the pearl back again. If her yeti soldiers had been a little slower, the hippogriff Queen's golden crown and water drop cutie mark might have been the last thing Tempest saw above the waves. - "Rumble?” asked Thunderlane. “Hey bro, what are you reading?" "Just some book I found," said the young pegasus, showing him the front cover of 'Equality Manifesto.' Pinkie Diane After everything that happened, I realized I really needed to start writing some letters to my family still on the rock farm, not just my foster family in Ponyville and my sisters in Canterlot. Before... well, before we broke off from the Heart World completely, I didn't think about how the three of us, me and my sisters, had no interest in continuing the rock farm when our parents kicked the bucket (which might have had to do with me only combining back with Pinkamena not so long ago). What had been in the family since forever would all be on Maud Pie's shoulders alone. But then, Nightmare Nhilis' evil plan happened, Apple Bloom turned a whole buncha stuff around, and all of a sudden Maud Pie was our oldest sister all along! Then came my other sisters Inky and Blinky, (you know, Octy and Photo!), and the triplets after that: Limestone, me, and Marble (we came out in that order). Talk about one big happy family! So now mom and dad are super happy that our family's legacy will continue! I think it’s great having two twin sisters, even if Limestone is angry a lot and Marble is even shier than Fluttershy! Huh, it’s almost like my split personalities got born as separate ponies. You don’t think... nah! Of course, there was one big, and I mean really, really big thing that I couldn’t explain in a letter, and I wanted the whole family there for me to tell them all at once. Dragging Octy and Photo back to the rock farm sure wasn't easy! Maud Pie had to give some 'big sister nudging' to get them to come... you know, like physically delivering them to the house. Yada yada yada, you know the drill by now. Half my sisters acted like they were meeting the other half for the first time, even though we definitely absolutely positively all grew up together. I was the only one who knew why, and I wasn't about to spoil that cause everypony ... well, it was nice to have the family together. But I could tell Photo thought I could have just sent her a postcard. Hehe, didn't stop her from taking some nice pictures though! We had an old family favorite, rock soup and rock pie! Maud, Limestone and Marble aren't faking it when they say they love it. Yeah I know, when I described the rock farm to the Crusaders, I might have made it sound a little like the worst place in Equestria that I just couldn't get away from fast enough. Maybe a little filly sees things a little differently? I did kinda bottle up my feelings until they became a separate personality, four separate alternate personalities actually. Good thing I'm all better now! So after dessert I said, "Oh by the way everypony, the reason I wanted you all here is to tell you I'm pregnant with Discord!" Mom and dad didn't ask if I was joking, they got out the exorcism rocks right away. They’re soaked in stuff that ghosts hate, salt! Or maybe it was root beer, I forget. Hmm, I wonder if this is what Fluttershy felt like when ponies kept being scared of Fluttercruel or Bon Bon when the same thing happened to Moth... Huh? What!? Don’t be silly, using the exorcism rocks doesn’t mean hitting me with them! Why would you even think that? Buuuut... I wasn’t excused from the table until I explain the whole adventure and how I wound up that way to my family... with a few teensy-weensy bits snipped out of course, so Diamond Tiara doesn't have Ex-Nightmare troubles. Maud looked the same as ever, but I could tell from the tiny flick of her ear and that little twitch of her cheek that she was intensely intrigued with my story from start to finish. Marble Pie looked dizzy, while Octy stared at me with saucer eyes. She'd seen the crazy stuff in the sky, but not all the details. Limestone just kept her eyes narrowed while Blinky hid her feelings behind her glasses. Mom and dad looked at me with their jaws hanging lower and lower, and their eyes getting bigger and bigger. "And then we all had a group hug and laid on the grass, the end!" And the first thing dad said was, "So... you haven't met your Special Somepony foretold by the Pairing Stone after all?" "Sorry dad, not yet. According to Princess Celestia, that’s how this kinda thing goes: hers, Luna's, and Discord's original moms were all single when they were born too. Cadence was the first one who had two parents!" Mom gave me the 'I want grandfoals!' look. "You will bring him here for the traditional family blessings right?" "Like, duh!" Here's hoping Baby Dissy doesn't turn all the rocks into cheese or secretly change Holder's Boulder into a dragon egg, heh! Then Limestone could be a mom too! Am I worried my Pairing Stone Special Somepony will think I'm taken because of Baby Discord? ... If he's as crazy as I was when I was paired, then if anypony understands, it'll be him! > 434 Drabble, "little exchange" (not a chapter) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Miss Tiara, you have a visitor," Star Shine called. "I'll see them," she said in her room. She knew Star Shine wouldn't let anypony through Diamond didn't want to see. She looked up at the clop of hooves. "Howdy, Diamond Tiara," said Applejack to the wheelchair-bound filly. "Ah thought ya outta know somethin'. Ya know that world where Apple Bloom was the lonely spoiled filly Discord took advantage of instead of you?" "How'd you know about that?" Tiara hissed. "Pinkie Pie and Ah remember the world gettin' messed up by you and Discord's cousins. And ya think Apple Bloom WOULDN'T tell me all she went through if she could? In case yah forgot, last she saw meh, Ah held off old Grim and Dark so she and her friends could save yah… Ah didn't even know if she figured out Ah won until after." "And you still fought so hard to save me from myself." "Ah've seen myself as a Nightmare, and my friend turned into one; not lettin' anypony suffer through that. And the Riches are us Apples' friends, 'course Ah was gonna fight tah save their youngin'! And Apple Bloom wanted ta save ya, so of course Ah was gonna help her. And because it was the right thing to do! And Ah wouldn't be able tah look mahself in the mirror knowin' Ah didn't do the right thing then! But that ain't the point right now. The point is... Apple Bloom lost her piece of Truth. Ah didn't. Ah took a look in the mirror, and Ah saw... they saved their Apple Bloom, the Elements of Harmony of that world saved'er too!" "Of course they did. There's also a world where they failed too! A world for every possibility, remember?" "And we decided which one we live in! Every choice we make is the one WE made. Ah chose tah come home tah Ponyville, Orangejack chose tah stay in Manehatten, that don't mean it didn't matter... It means it matters MORE. Every choice we make decides where this world heads, even the little ones. Even if the thing that MAKE us choose ain't something we have a say in, how we choose after IS ours. Ah'm sure somewhere in the multiverse there's a meh who went down a bad path when ma and pa passed... and it's MAH choice that ain't me. Just like it's our choice yer still here and their choice Apple Bloom is. Ain't it a good thing tah know? That a happy endin' ain't impossible?" I let out a breath. "... I guess it is." > Pony Pov Series episode 435 (actual final chapter, "I wish you all to fair well my friends.") > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farewell my friends. Shining Armor I had the strangest dream once. Yeah, strange even for me. It was after we got back to Canterlot but before Chrysalis brainwashed me, I think. It started with Nameless as some kind of post-apocalyptic road warrior reject, straight out of “The End of Equestria” or “After the Megaspells Fell.” Yes, that Nameless, the reality-warping bane of my existence for years, except that it never happened. Long story. So, Nameless was travelling around a world of chaos and ruin. No, he wasn’t pulling a caravan. Nameless rode around on a ‘super awesome’ smoke-belching two-wheeled machine, because why wouldn’t he? He dreamed up all kinds of evil bad guys and heroically defeated them all, until one day, he picked a fight with Discord. I honestly wasn’t sure who to cheer for at that point, but Discord won and turned Nameless into a mindless blank slate, like he was when Pandora first imagined him, I guess. Here’s where things got weird. Cadence was in my dream too, surviving in that ruined world, and she led a world war against Discord. She wished for a knight in shining armor to come save her, and Nameless… he turned into me! Cadence acted like she didn’t even know me at first, but we fell in love all over again and then she and everypony 'remembered' me. I fought as hard as I could for her… but I’m no Alicorn. Discord turned me into a literal empty suit of armor with one little finger-snap. Then Cadence and Trixie saved the world and they turned Discord nice somehow. Rarity almost turned evil to make everything pretty and preserved and unmoving forever, but… she changed her mind, I guess? Then an evil Nightmare clone of my sister showed up and said we were all fakes, and I was the worst fake of all, and she absorbed me and my sister too, and then the evil Twilight went around gobbling up more and more good Twilights until one good Twilight told her 'No!' and evil Twilight exploded twice and I got spat out. What? I said it was weird. The whole dream was so vivid, I started writing it down, but then I realized I’d written a fifty-two page novella about me and my worst enemy secretly being the same pony traveling through time, and I wised up and burned it before Cadence found it. ... So why am I bringing this up now? Because my dream looked logical and brief compared to the news I got after Cadence and I got back from our honeymoon with Kifuko. (Yes, the evil witch who brainwashed me, my sister and who knows how many others and impersonated my wife while doing so, is now my adopted foal. Funny how things work out.) Cadence was with Digger Wasp and Hercules, gathering the latest intelligence from the changeling network, while Princess Celestia met me in my private office and casually mentioned that there might have been a small situation while I was away, already handled, everything just fine now. A small matter involving my sister, the other Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, a gaggle of foals, and the Princesses themselves, duking it out with a missing filly turned Nightmare AND Discord, free of his stone prison. "You did WHAT while we were on our honeymoon!?!?" I exclaimed, exasperated. I didn't know whether to be angry at being left out or happy we'd gotten to take our honeymoon in peace. Princess Celestia thrust a warm coat and a pair of saddlebags at me. "No time for that, soldier! IT has returned! Briefing papers, on the train, go, go, go!" And that's how Cadence, Kifuko, and I found ourselves on a train that had been built leading out to the middle of a frozen Alicorn-forsaken nowhere, for no apparent reason, with ancient texts from a forgotten civilization for us to pass the time. Oh, and there's a bunch of ponies who need a protective shield put up ASAP, or they might die from the cold. Okay... that's a good reason to hurry. = Enchanted - 'Ever Ever After' = Diamond Tiara I was surprised when I was given one last welcome home gift, well, I kept getting them, but this was soon after I got home. A box with holes in it... I heard barking inside... and open the box... to find a kitten instead. "They say that pets can help with recovery Miss Tiara..." Star Shine explained. I'd seen this ... in other worlds, and smirked. "Nice to meet you," I said to the kitten. Twilight Sparkle's Final Interview Oh, nice to see you again! Here's hoping we don't have any more epic battles with mad gods for the fate of the world for a while. At least a month or two. Maybe we can get back to friendship problems that pop up about once a week and just take an afternoon to clean up, so we’ll all have plenty of time to laugh about them later. It has been one exciting year, hasn't it? Hopefully next year won't be so intense, like say, half as many crazy adventures with my friends. Just once in my life, can fate give me at least that much for saving the world again…? Huh? You've been telling everypony in Ponyville thanks and goodbye? You're leaving town for good? I'm the last pony on your list to say goodbye to?! Wait, wait… I get that your task of interviewing all of us about our experiences with Discord is definitely wrapped up after this... but won't you come back later on to check out Pinkie Pie being a mother? Or hear Kifuko's first words? ... You really do have to go? Your work visa is expired? Seriously? Can't we just ask Princess Celestia to renew it for you? It's not that simple? But… why? You have family and friends and responsibilities, yes, I understand, but why can't you visit again? I won't accept any evasive answers, not this time! You've been here with us, and you're our friends, and I want to know where you’re going and why. I KNOW some secrets are meant to stay secret, as physically ill as it makes me to say that! This isn't some stupid gossip we’re sharing about a neighbor’s private life! You're my friends. It affects me. I have a right to know, I'm not a foal. I already know things that have made me question reality and existence! Remember when you gave me Kimono's diary!? Her last account of a world vanishing? I asked how you got her journal, and who you are really? 'You will know soon enough, Twilight Sparkle. You will know soon enough.' That’s what you said! That journal inspired me to ask Princess Celestia to tell me the truth. It’s what started me down the road of discovering more with Zecora, Pinkie Pie, and Princess Luna… of learning about the Alicorns, the Draconequi, ancient wars, the windigos… I would have been ignorant of all those things forever, if you hadn't given me that book. Did you mean it when you said I'd find out 'soon enough?’ Or is this one of those things I'm expected to wait until I'm dead to find out? Well!? OH! I AM SO SORRY! You WERE just about to tell me, and that's why you chose to see me off last! Excuse me while I blush… but it really is frustrating how often you say 'soon enough' and it feels like years later when "soon enough" comes! Granted, that might also be because of the 'barrage of super-villains' as Rainbow Dash put it. Oh, and you were saying goodbye because you KNOW that we're all friends! Sorry! Forgiveness hug? Can you at least tell me WHY you gave me the journal to begin with? It's 'B Follows A' that I was going to go straight to Princess Celestia for answers. So why? You didn't like things being 'swept under the rug' either, and you wanted Minty and Starlight Angel and all their friends to be remembered? I guess I did become the spark that got everything moving after that. (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): A promise is a promise, and I do suppose that foreshadowing is a storyteller’s promise to her audience. To make a promise like that with no plan to pay it off would be poor storytelling indeed, and this is quite the story of you and your friends that we've written down.) So... you would have told me sooner if not for Chrysalis' invasion, or the thing Nightmare Nhilis did that none of us remember, or what happened when we read Bon Bon The First's diary... WHAT?! YOU WERE BUSY INTERVIEWING MY BROTHER?! For two whole years, while he travelled around the world? How could you do that and be here in Ponyville too?! You have a lot of explaining to do! (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and as promised, we will give you your answers.) It’s funny, I only just now realized... the ponies that Kimono said were erased? They’re all working in Pinkie Pie's Park now! No, not just now... they’ve always been here. I saw them around Ponyville, as far back as the earliest days I was living here, but... I remember being so sad to read about them all getting erased... Ugh! My head hurts! What is this?! (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): And that you're even able to NOTICE THAT is proof that you've grown in ways that are not just intellectual. You're already growing in ways that Starswirl the Bearded was never able to.) Please... no more riddles. (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): I meant that as sincere praise. You really are something special, Twilight Sparkle, the way your mind and spirit have grown. Even not able to remember a thing, you realized something was odd from sheer logic of deduction. You see, when the broken world made by Nightmare Nhilis was repaired, the Age of Dreams ponies were slipped in to fill the cracks. Apple Bloom saw it as an unfairness that deserved to be addressed, and none disagreed. Not even Entropy.) Huh... you think I'd be jumping for joy from hearing that, but... I guess I've just been overwhelmed with everything I've learned, everything I've seen, everything I've discovered lately. I hope I can still enjoy the plot twists in the latest Daring Do book. I guess I just feel relieved. I imagine Pinkie Pie must be so happy... It's wonderful that they were able to find a new home... Maybe I'll visit when they do their next stage show this month. (Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): And now we have a promise to fulfill. We will tell you who we are really.) One Revelation Later HAHAHAHAHH! HA-HA-HA-HA!! HAHAHAH! HAHAHAAAAAAAH! Excuse me while I wipe the tears from my eyes! HEHEHEHH! (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): Do you think she's going to stop rolling around the floor on her back any time soon?) (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): Give her time.) HAHAHAAHA!... That... Okay, okay. I'm ready now. You can tell me your real identities now. I mean, the whole 'you from the future' thing, I mean, I MET myself from the future once, so I know that can happen. But... Seriously, that's-that's just too much, hehehehe. (Interviewer's Private Notes (Noon): Should we have told her about Shining Armor?) (Interviewer's Private Notes (Dusk): She asked who we are. She didn't ask a thing about her brother, and nothing we said was untrue. Besides, she technically already knows that Shining Armor is our brother too.) You're my foals from the future in another universe? Making sure that our universe turns out okay, because Discord was supposed to win and start another thousand year reign of chaos, but your mom sacrificed herself to prevent it? Heh, good one! You really had me going there... Okay, I'm ready to hear your real origin now! ... Why are you looking at me like that? ... You... you were.... you were actually... Seriously?! THUMP! (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): She fainted... ) (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): The more things change, the more things stay the same!) (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): Do we let her wake up and think it was all a dream?) (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): NO!) (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): Okay… ) One short nap later, followed by some nice relaxing tea... Okay... okay, I'm better now... I'm okay... you... really came here to help... Give me a minute more to stop shaking. You... you said you had magic to travel up and down events while not being truly physically there... but somehow you still got brainwashed by Princess Gaia and Queen Chrysalis? (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): Only Dusk got caught by Chrysalis.) (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): I underestimated her. Since she didn't have the Elder Horn or the overwhelming dark magic of a Nightmare, I thought I'd be safe... I was wrong.) (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): I’ve got scars from Discord's spirit clawing me when I tried to talk more with Diamond Tiara to get her to stop from releasing him.) (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): Don’t forget, Fluttercruel broke my nose. We're real enough to those we're interacting with.) I... I see. So, Pinkie Pie's forty-nine clones... I remember being told they came from the Heart World? We saw them on the other side of that portal, the one Discord made. Are they okay? (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): Yes, they are, I promise. They were never harmed.) That's a relief... It's scary, thinking about what Discord said back then. I’m starting to think he was right. There's no limit to what you'll do to somepony if you don't think they're a person. (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): Don't worry. Lots of stuff happens because it went past the point of no return a long time ago, but there's plenty of other stuff that happens because of a turn of the needle. That probably doesn't make much sense, does it? Look, just… don’t stress over it. Worrying only makes it worse. That's a lesson you might have skipped thanks to how things have gone... but seriously, don't worry. Your life still has plenty of stuff for you to think about ahead.) Heh, why am I not surprised? … Can you at least tell me, what was she like? The me that was your mother, I mean? (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): She sacrificed herself to ensure a world where everypony could find a happier ending. Do you even have to ask?) I guess not… That’s a version of me that I can be proud of. (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): She really was.) I hope I can be half the pony she was. So, you really can't come back to this world? (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): We may have slightly skirted the rules in one or two places by coming here in the first place. So yeah... Crossing into other worlds is serious business. Remember that.) I will remember that. And... I'll miss you. (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): I'll miss you too... Mama.) You’ve got me blushing again. So do you really have to leave right now? (Interviewer's Notes (Noon): We actually should have left quite a while ago... So yeah.) Alright. I wish we could have had more time together. (Interviewer's Notes (Dusk): We've already had more time together than was ever intended, Twilight Sparkle, more than you can possibly conceive. It's time for this chapter to close, and for you to move forward. Besides, we have a baby sister waiting for us!) Well... give Half-Light Midnight my love, then! (Interviewer's Notes (Dawn): We will! Goodbye! And good luck!) Thank you... and good luck to... you? - Twilight Sparkle realized she was alone in the library. "Hey, Twilight,” said Spike, coming in through the front door. “It's party time! You ready?" Twilight hugged Spike tightly. "Twilight? Um, are you okay?" Twilight didn't answer at first. "Just... thinking about everything that's happened lately, and how many times we came close to losing everything." "HEY! Enough with looking backwards! Let's look forwards! And that means less talk, more party!" "... You're right, Spike. Come on, a day of fun sounds like just what the doctor ordered." +++ Scootaloo had earned her cutie mark when she learned to fly, rescued Sweetie Belle, and carried her friend to safety, outmaneuvering both the changeling guards and Chrysalis herself. Sweetie Belle had earned hers by singing at the reception for the royal wedding, thanks to a conspiracy by Silver Spoon and Spike. And Apple Bloom had apparently earned hers in her sleep after getting an earring from Zecora. It wasn’t unheard of… Many a pony had come to some life-changing realization in a dream, especially when Princess Luna lent a helping hoof. Somehow, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had gotten matching red and green shields in their own cutie marks at the same time Apple Bloom got hers. That was more worrisome, but after a few weeks of careful observation, Miss Cheerilee had recommended that it officially be considered harmless, and not a sign of mental instability. And that meant there was only one thing left to do! ”SQUEEEEE!” Pinkie Pie leapt for joy, clapping her forehooves. "Cat Tribe, I think I'll need your help for that party. Mind coming back when Apple Bloom earns her Cutie Mark?" The little cats saluted their future goddess with a nod. "Mew mew!" 'Gladly!' Triple cute-ceañera! The preparations had taken a while. In fact, they lasted exactly as long as it took for the final battle with Discord and Nightmare Nhilis to happen and the dust to settle! Twilight Sparkle couldn't shake the feeling... not that things had been rushed, but more like years worth of adventures and growth had been squeezed into one year and things had snapped forward like a taut rubber band. Truly, it was a wonder they didn't all go crazy. Oh right, she’d said it herself… all of the ponies in this town were crazy. Guess that meant her too, now! On second thought, nopony in Ponyville was insane... weird, strange, odd, bizarre nudists, granted, but not crazy. They'd beaten back the crazy! In some cases literally, as her battle with Loneliness, Pinkie's with Angry Pie, and the Crusaders' with Discord's insanity could attest! This wasn't just a celebration for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, this was for Ponyville itself. The scale of the celebration probably would have tested even Pinkie Diane’s ability to pull party supplies out of thin air. Fortunately for her and all her extra little furry helpers, the 'Cutie Mark Celebration Charity' had mysteriously refounded itself to give an even bigger donation to her party fund than it had before! Dr. Whooves had provided more ice cream too; he still had a hangar or two left of the stuff from his visit to the Planet of Ice Cream, after all. Ponies were even more surprised when DIAMOND TIARA finally returned home, in fragile condition but alive and well, and requested her father make his own generous donation to the festivities. Thankfully, given Filthy's reputation, it wasn't seen as a publicity stunt. The rumors around Diamond Tiara were all over the place, with some ponies claiming that she’d been foalnapped by minotaurs, or Manehatten gangsters, or griffon outlaws, or an evil wizard… the tale seemed to grow more outlandish each time it was told. Others had claimed that she had fallen into another world and lived a whole other life having strange adventures, only to return not a day older. Most of the rumors could be safely ignored, but that mysterious dark shadow of her attacking Ponyville, which had been fought off by Zecora and Cupcake, took a little more explanation. Thankfully most had not recognized her, though some attending changelings had to verify she wasn't a changeling herself when she told everyone loudly and plainly that she was just happy to be home and didn’t want any special attention. The army of cute little kitties wearing hard hats and overalls had been a sight to see throughout Ponyville for a while now, and after tireless construction and preparations, the cute-ceañera was finally ready! The kitties themselves would have taken part happily if they hadn't been exhausted and sprawled everywhere taking cat naps! Pinkie Diane assured all ponies allergic to cats that they had worn gloves (or at least they had now, thanks to Apple Bloom), and hadn't licked anything. Pinkie made a mental note that if she ever became their potential Goddess, she’d make sure they were hypoallergenic. Her potential high priest had explained that the majority of the cat tribes still living in Abyssinia worshipped the goddess Bastet as their creator, with the Wuv Cats considered an 'offshoot.' The list of guests was huge, since the three fillies had made many friends, and that wasn't counting their families! They'd even gotten a permit from city hall to redirect hoof traffic to make room for this epic occasion. While, in light of recent events, some might have requested extra security for such an event, Pinkie pointed out how many present had previously been involved in world saving (or world conquering, in the case of the changelings) and the party planners had been the cavalry against an invading army. They didn't need extra security, they WERE the security. While Rarity was no longer babying Sweetie Belle, she still insisted Sweetie keep something that would help her detect changelings, since any unreformed changelings in hiding would surely want revenge on her. The openly attending changelings did not object; in fact, they declared that Sweetie had been kind to them even while under Chrysalis’s mentoring, and Princess Pitcher Plant's loyalists would have to go through them to get at her if she ever crept out of that old castle of her mother's. = Wizard Of A Day - Wizard of Oz (1982) = Trixie had naturally exploded on stage, showcasing her extraordinary talent for fireworks and colored smoke and her over-the-top illusions. Trixie gave this show her all, not in small part because she had been given a generous commission. (What? It was how Trixie paid for her groceries, after all.) But that aside, Trixie had to swallow her pride, since her magic show was only a part of the celebration, and not the main attraction. Many of the partygoers were more interested in each other, or the food, or grooving to the music. At events like these, Trixie reminded herself that she was in good company. If the original Shakesponian actors could endure being a mere sideshow, then so could Trixie! If nothing else, Trixie was proud of how much she had improved as a performer since her first show in Ponyville, unfortunate public spats with the town’s local heroes aside. Her number one and number two fans (and source of her first humiliation) still applauded enthusiastically when she was done. Against all odds, Snips and Snails paid perfect attention through her whole magic act. Marcie Pan and Fawn Doo, meanwhile, were surprised. They had NEVER been commissioned before. True, one of the conditions was that they were NOT to sell any of their signature super-addictive Phenomnomenons treats at the event, but money was money, and being part of the catering for this celebration with so many VIPs was sure to build up their reputation. Bon Bon was less than pleased that out-of-towners had been commissioned to supply some of the treats for this party… she wouldn’t have minded so much, losing to Sugarcube Corner. At least this meant that she and her family could enjoy the celebration instead! June Bug and Moth were the most drunk-off-love changelings there. While the Apples and Belles had never been enemies, they had never been exactly close the way the Apples had been with the Hearts and the Riches, but that didn't mean the current generation wasn't going to change that! Pinkie Pie had made extra sure that no hard cider or salt licks were anywhere near this celebration. It was for foals after all, and while an epic drunken brawl between the Apples and Belles might have been amusing slapstick for some, it wasn't appropriate for this happy day. Berry Punch was proud of herself for being dry, and Cheerilee and Ruby Pinch were even more proud of her for it. That said, the other changelings in attendance had to actively try not to get drunk from the amount of love present. Speaking of which, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were going through systematic hugs and well-wishes from their families, with Rarity, Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Daisy Belle/Cookie Crumble and her husband, all eager to show their appreciation. True, it had happened days ago now for Apple Bloom, and longer ago for Sweetie and Scootaloo, but this was the time to celebrate! "Apple Bloom, my little friend," Zecora said, smiling down at the filly who had gone out of her way to befriend the zebra when Ponyville feared Zecora. "While this is a new beginning and not an end, I feel like thinking back on it is in order. You have come so far since you first crossed Everfree's border. From the filly who helped make an antidote in my hut, to the one who closed a dark chapter of this world’s history shut. You have come such a long way, and your friend I am proud to stay. This I say true: I am so proud of you." Apple Bloom didn't hesitate to hug her, and Zecora happily returned the hug of her alchemy student. * * * * * "You going to ask Zecora for the other earring?" Sweetie Belle casually asked Apple Bloom, a wee bit later. "Not really, Ah like it as is." "You know, that earring makes you looks like a gypsy." "And what's wrong with that?" Apple Bloom smirked. "If Ah started wearing, say, neck-rings, Zecora would know Ah was doing it 'cause Ah admire her!" “What about you, Sweetie?” said Scootaloo, smirking. "You ever gonna do something different with your look?" Sweetie glanced at Apple Bloom's earring and Scootaloo's braid. "Nope! I like how I look now, thank you very much." Both of her best friends hugged her at once. Speaking of changes of appearance, the trio noticed that Carrot Top's mane was still back to its original green when Noi came up to congratulate them. Derpy accompanied Dinky and Derby over for her congratulations… and the mother took a moment to smile down at Apple Bloom. "Bank you for saving… blue know…" Apple Bloom blinked… then recalled something she'd done while omnipotent involving a group of duplicates in need of a new universe. "... Yer welcome, Miss Derpy. It was just the right thing to do." "And pour… blue know…" They looked over at Derpy's baby brother, and Apple Bloom grinned. "Yer welcome." Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at that. "Something else you did while you were a god?" Apple Bloom hushed her friend, then leaned closer, voice lowered. "One, Ah weren't a god. And two... yeah. Ah'd tell yah more, but even Ah don't remember all of it." She smiled. "Let's just say, there's some ponies who got a chance tah have their own lives and she got a bigger family outta it." Scootaloo blinked. "Um, how does Derpy remember that?" "That's a long story, but not important right now," said Dr. Whooves cheerfully, as he joined Derpy and her family. "You girls have come a long way since I caught you stealing Flux Capacitors from my junk heap and breaking the laws of time. You were fantastic, keep it up. The world-saving, not the other thing!" The Crusaders shared knowing grins. "Thanks, Doc!" Meanwhile, Sparkler/Amethyst Star was just enjoying the free food and seeing her sister and uncle happy. She'd had enough space and time nonsense from her time with Doc, and living in Ponyville hadn’t helped her get away from potential world-ending catastrophes at all. She just wanted to relax and have fun for one afternoon. A surprising number of other ponies were in the same boat. Shady Daze, his little sister, and her best friend all gave their congratulations as well, as did all their classmates… especially Twist, who made sure to give a big hug, whilst being accompanied by Truffle right alongside her. There wasn’t a single foal in Ponyville who wasn’t having fun at the celebration somewhere! First Base and Archer got into a cupcake-eating contest with each other. Ruby Pinch was mixing the various soda pops into any number of enticing combinations, eager to test them all herself. Lickety-Split was trying to outdo her with creating the perfect sundae. Rumble was happy to be the taste tester. Cloud Kicker and Thunderlane enjoyed the party together, just being friends. No world is perfect, but at least between the two of them, they could have comfort in knowing the other didn't think they were 'loose'. Speedy Delivery/Post Haste? He was just happy that he could attend, instead of rushing off to his next delivery! (Pinkie Pie had sent him a whole mailbag full of apology notes for not remembering his birthday.) "Sweetie Belle, darling,” said Rarity, wearing a vapid and empty smile. “That nice young colt is here to see you again. You remember Prince Love Blood, don't you?" A pale bat-pony colt with piercing red and silver eyes, obvious fangs, and a slicked-back mane approached. His cutie mark was a smiling heart with fangs. "It's been too long since we had a moment to ourselves, my beloved Sweetie,” he purred. “We worked so hard to save the world together, after all." Sweetie Belle gasped, her heart racing. “Love Blood, you came back! After you were disintegrated into another dimension, I thought I’d never see you again!” She sprang into a gallop, ready to charge into her coltfriend’s embrace... Without warning, an ominous snarl filled the air, seeming to leech away the very colors around them. “What?!” cried Love Blood, looking all around in a panic. “No, you can’t… NO!” He turned to flee… Something huge and dark and furry sprang, rushing past Sweetie Belle… Rarity paused in mid-stride, wondering what she’d been doing just now, but she quickly shrugged it off and left to refill her punch glass. Sweetie blinked at the party, which was lively and colorful once again. "Blanky?" she whispered. She looked left and right and all around, but she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Still, she smiled. “Thank you!” = Legend of Zelda Ocarina Of Time - Staff Roll Credits (party scene) = With or without hard cider, Mjolnir shouted, holding her tankard aloft. "Victory be ours, friends! Eat, drink, and be merry!" "Do you actually know anypony here?" Silver Spanner asked, appreciating the multi-colored lighting equipment she'd worked on. "Verily, I know thee!" "Should have seen that one coming." "Besides, this be Ponyville! Has that ever been a problem before?" "Eh, point taken." Mjolnir took a long draught from her tankard, then slammed it down on the table. "Another! Whilst I wait, let me tell you about the time I aided yonder fillies in battling an army of darkness from the beyond!" "... Sure you did." At her DJ station, Vinyl Scratch flipped a record off the turntable and spun it on her hoof while reaching for the next album. "Disappointed I got this jig, Tavi'?" "Not in the least,” Octavia said, sipping a cup of punch. “There's a time and place for all music, and your music is just the thing for this occasion with little foals." In spite of being a gifted unicorn with a talent for music, Lyra had likewise agreed, DJ PON-3 was definitely the right choice of musician here. Aloe and Lotus couldn't attend, since they needed to keep the spa open for messy ponies coming through, but Pinkie Pie and Rarity had promised to bring them cake later. There were many movers and shakers in Ponyville and Canterlot who could have attended, Mayor Mare included, but they refrained, not wanting to overshadow three fillies who had worked so hard for this special day, their moment in the sun. They made sure to send cards, however. Cranky would have cheerfully stayed home, if not for Matilda dragging him to the party for the sake of some socialization. A triple cute-ceañera was like nothing that either donkey had seen in their long lives. "Apple Bloom…" Apple Bloom blinked, her gaze wandering towards the forest and finding a familiar pair of eyes looking back at her from the edge, like she was looking through binoculars. "Ruby?" Apple Bloom whispered. "...You deserve to have a happy day today," the ghost said, and somehow Apple Bloom could hear her clearly despite the distance. She showed no sign of envy for Apple Bloom, despite how her own 'special day' had gone. Ruby of Sunnytown only gave her a smile. The young farmpony gasped as she saw another figure at Ruby's side. "Mitta? But… but how?" "The one who put the curse on us originally decided to make an exception on the 'can't leave the area' rule, just this once…" Mitta replied, a smile on her face as well. Of course, since it was the middle of the day, the undead ponies looked perfectly normal. "Congratulations, Apple Bloom… have a good day." Apple Bloom smiled back. "Thank yah…" she whispered. She wondered if maybe that talent for fixing anything including hearts might be able to fix a certain town. "And thank you." Apple Bloom turned around to see a jade-haired pegasus filly, who was coincidentally also named Jade. "If not for you, I wouldn't be here either." Apple Bloom was startled to remember that this filly (like Apple Byte) hadn’t existed before… she’d only been part of the rumors and legends surrounding Sunny Town. Pipsqueak was enjoying the festivities with his “crew,” a temporary wooden stage built for the party substituting for their “mighty pirate ship” in Pip's backyard. "Great party, isn't it, Moonlight?" "Indeed…" said Moonlight with a smile, looking to the Crusaders. She leaned and whispered something in her “captain's” ear. "Blimey, that’s a great idea!" exclaimed Pipsqueak. He spotted the ones this party was for in the crowd. "Hey! Cutie Mark Crusaders!" "Yeah, Pip?" asked Scootaloo. Pipsqueak suddenly pretended to be at the helm of a ship. "Since this is your special day, how would you like to be honorary temporary crewmates of the MoonPearl, just for today?" The Crusaders blinked, looked to each other... and instantly rushed over and climbed aboard. They all remembered voyaging on the MoonPearl... being rescued from the villains' booby trap only because of her and her crew, being on her decks, sleeping, chatting, fighting monsters, blasting the mother of all monsters, watching Diamond Tiara protect Tootsie, and finally having to abandon ship as the MoonPearl fell apart and sank. It was a little haunting to be on the imaginary privateer ship after seeing the real one destroyed. Wait, the MoonPearl was imaginary, so didn't that make the pretend one the real one? This made their heads hurt. Button Mash watched for a moment... and slowly put his Gamecolt down and joined them, much to his mother's delight. Sweetie Belle giggled and hugged Button before the two went adventuring in Pipsqueak's imaginary roleplaying world, scrambling to load and aim the ship’s cannons and fire off spells to repel a giant sea monster. His beanie’s propeller spun as if in a mighty sea breeze, as tireless as its owner! 8-Bit was likewise proud of his son, already feeling inspiration for his next game design. "I got it! It's here!" shouted an earth pony who resembled an older, teenaged Button Mash. 16-bit, like the 16-bit character sprite that was his cutie mark, unloaded a shiny new arcade game from a cart: 'Ogres and Oubliettes: Mysteria Reborn!' Astonishingly, Button Mash didn’t immediately abandon ship to be the first to play the new game. Instead, Archer, Rumble, First Base, and another orange colt with a purple mane surrounded the video game, jamming their bits into the coin slot and grabbing the four joysticks to begin their epic quest to defeat the lich squidizzard. The fourth foal tenderly tapped his rear hooves as he played. If Apple Bloom had bothered to look in his direction, she might have thought it was cute. "Well, I'll be,” mused 16-bit, watching his little brother having fun in a fantasy world that didn't need electronics. “Way to go, Button!” Maybe Button would finally play with his old train set again too! "Hey, shield flanks!" came a familiar voice, but this time the Crusaders didn't cringe at the sound. "Diamond Tiara!" the foals of the hour said together, rushing to greet the filly, still confined to her wheelchair. (She could stand, but walking was another matter.) Scootaloo grinned. "Welcome to the party!" "Happy to see you!" Sweetie Belle said with a nuzzle. "Glad ya could make it." "It's my pleasure." Diamond Tiara smirked. "Hey, girls," Silver Spoon said from behind them. She’d been pushing Diamond Tiara's wheelchair herself, when either of them could have summoned a servant pony to do it. "Hey, Silver!" called the trio, waving to their fellow Crusader. Alula and Tootsie flanked Diamond Tiara on either side, having let their families go on ahead, so they could show up when Diamond Tiara did to keep her company. It didn't feel right to leave her in the dust. Neatly Spell could have attended... but she didn't know the Crusaders, and it felt wrong for Diamond Tiara to crowd this place with HER friends. She knew what it was like to be upstaged on your special day. A camera flash announced Featherweight's ninja-like arrival. That colt was going to need it explained to him sooner or later that a lot of ponies didn't like their picture being taken without permission, but at least they didn’t have to worry about his pictures showing up in a tabloid. Button and Featherweight shared a look, then smiled and gave each other a hoof bump. Diamond looked away from them for a moment... before both looked to her with a smile. Diamond had seen it enough times to know what it meant by now: 'We forgive you, let's just be friends.' She just returned the smile. Silver didn't understand any of what just happened, but she was glad Diamond seemed to be off to a better start making friends this time. "Um, Diamond?" asked Silver. "You know, about that thing…" Featherweight and Button both looked to her. "We know… long story," Button said, while Featherweight just nodded. "We don't, but we know where she's going with this," said Alula, trying to just roll with it. "Oh… Well, from when you were in my dreams…" Diamond sighed. "Yeah…" she said, and then she looked to the Crusaders. "...T-Thank y-you." The trio's jaws dropped. "Silver would've been by my side no matter what... but you made sure she was there in a way that... didn't get her in trouble... T-Thank y-you…" "Yeah, thanks… seriously," Silver replied. "I wouldn't have been able to help her otherwise." The trio flashed big grins at her. "Welcome!" "Now come on, that’s enough serious stuff!” said Scootaloo. “I think it's about time for us to just be FOALS!" Sweetie Belle kissed Button Mash on the muzzle. His beanie spun up so fast it lifted off his head and flew until it hit the ceiling. 'It's funny,” Apple Bloom mused to herself, “we've been so distracted since we all got our cutie marks... but now we gotta actually figure out what to do with 'em. Ah wonder how many ponies there are that need help findin' or acceptin' their true selves... Eh, Ah'll chat with the girls 'bout it later. Play time!' "So, Diamond Tiara..." asked ‘Acting Student Pony President’ Alula with a smile. "You going to run for class president again?" Diamond Tiara gave her a grin. "You know it!" A while later, Scootaloo was nudging her way through the crowd towards Miss Cheerilee. Her teacher seemed distracted. Now that Dash was officially her guardian, Scootaloo no longer had to fear somepony discovering her absent parents and hoofing her over to foal services. Dash had even promised to come to her family appreciation day at school next year! She wasn't the only family Scootaloo had that wasn't related by blood, though. "Miss Cheerilee?" "Hmm? Oh! Yes, Scootaloo?" "There’s something I want you to know. You know, in case I said it before and forgot, or in case you ever forget... that if I could do everything over... I would have loved having you for a big sister too." Cheerilee blushed. "Scootaloo, that's very... I’m flattered, dear. If you need somewhere to be, sometime, or somepony to listen, I promise I'll be there." Barely understanding why herself, Cheerilee hugged the little filly in a way that was deeper than teacher and student. She would be surprised when the Dream Park Ponies would also refer to them as sisters once she visited the place with Scootaloo some days later, convincing herself that they were just being playful. But still... she didn't mind it. After all, she and her sisters were too close in age for either to be her little sister, even if Cheerilee felt like her twin Cherry Blossom played the bossy older sister sometimes. She had no intention of going back to those silly pigtails she wore when she was younger, that the dream park ponies somehow also seemed to know about... But she could appreciate letting herself just pretend for one afternoon. And... why did being Scootaloo's protector for a day feel so… right? 'Family isn't just about blood, it's about the heart too,' Cheerilee thought. Apple Bloom didn't want to break up the heartfelt moment, but there was something she needed to do. Something she had to do. Diamond Tiara had told her about it. Apple Bloom had shivered at what Nightmare Nhilis had done, but Diamond Tiara was right, they were past apologies and saying how sorry they were for this and that now. It was time to do something about it. For one moment, Apple Bloom felt... her own presence? No, that was impossible. She'd not been able to affect anything in the future, beyond the time of the final battle. If she did anything, it would be her own choice, and no pony else's. But Apple Bloom DID faintly remember possibilities, ways that the future could go. Did she dare disrupt the world? After what Nightmare Nhilis did, Apple Bloom had a responsibility. But did she have a right to fix what wasn't broken? Apple Bloom breathed in deep and slowly let it out. 'Whatever happens, this is the future we made.' She waited for that one moment, where Big Mac looked like he was thinking about leaving the party early to avoid awkward conversation, and Cheerilee happened to glance at him. Apple Bloom tapped her teacher on the leg, and Cheerilee looked down at her. "Diamond Tiara told me about that mean thing Nightmare Nhilis said when you faced her, and well, Ah’ve got something to say about that! Ah reckon you should make yer own fate, Miss Cheerilee. Success and failure ain't written in stone, and that’s the Truth." Apple Bloom said these words with a sincerity that surprised even her teacher. Cheerilee looked at Big Mac again, and seemed to make a decision. She trotted over to Big Mac and tapped him politely on the shoulder. He smiled, starting to greet her, and she surprised him by kissing him on the lips. For a few moments, there was genuine surprise in his eyes, doubt, fear... but then Big Mac took his own chance, and kissed her back. Lovestruck watched from the spirit world. Someday, little Fluttercruel would figure out that part of being a Demi-Goddess, but for now she mostly had the spirit world to herself around Ponyville besides the normal 'things'. She lowered the hoof holding her bow and happily unrolled the scroll with her list of names. "Well, that settles that!" she said, putting a check mark next to the pair of Big Macintosh and Cheerilee. She crossed out the pairing of Big Mac and Sugar Belle, well at least as his 'first love' at least, and Fluttershy and Big Mac (Cheerilee's boldness had won out and Fluttershy would never make a move after that, if she'd ever been attracted at all)... but she stopped at the next pairing, merely putting a question mark. "For now, anyway…" Far away, Marble Pie saw the pairing stone quiver as she touched it on an unconscious urge. She knew what this meant, even if she'd never seen it... 'Whoever you are,’ she thought with a determined smile, ‘if you haven't married him by the time I meet him, I promise, I won't lose without a fight, and good luck to us both, mmm-hmm!' = We'll Make Our Mark - My Little Pony G4 = Scootaloo casually hovered nearby, almost wishing she had a little heart bow or something to wave at the new couple. 'Then again, maybe a nudge doesn't mean rammed by steam train,' she thought to herself. She hoped that she and her friends hadn't lost all their love of risk-taking and trying new things now that they had their cutie marks. New experiences were always fun! Scootaloo smiled. Rainbow Dash landed next to her and put a wing over her shoulder, not quite getting what was on between the filly and her teacher, but knew that Scootaloo was happy for her. Rainbow Dash wondered how AJ was going to react to this! 'All in all,' Scootaloo thought, 'this turned out to be a super fun and super great and super cool and super wonderful cute-ceañera. I actually can't think of anything that would make it any more awesome.' "I'm free." The doors to Sugar Cube Corner squeaked open behind her. Scootaloo didn't really pay it any mind. It was Sugar Cube Corner during a huge party, hardly unexpected for somepony to come in. "Scootaloo?" said a stallion's voice. Scootaloo's heart skipped a beat. "My little horsefly, is that really you?" said a mare's voice. Scootaloo's body didn't so much as twitch, but shock, surprise, and joy exploded inside her still form. She felt Rainbow Dash's wing close tighter around her, but she didn't notice. With an open, pure smile, and her eyes sparkling, Scootaloo turned around. "Mom? Dad?" +++ = Reharmonized Soundtrack: We'll Make It Through (Elements Of Harmony) = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eYj8LOQ8cE&feature=youtu.be PINKIE PIE: For us! TWILIGHT SPARKLE: For the Princesses! ALL EIGHT: FOR EQUESTRIA! ALL EIGHT: My Little Pony! TWILIGHT SPARKLE: Everything was broken, that was true! ALL EIGHT: My Littly Pony! TWILIGHT SPARKLE: But in the end our bonds saw us through! APPLEJACK: They stitched the world along the seems, nightmares faded back into dreams! PINKIE PIE: Long friendships can't be kept apart! So long as they burn in our hearts RARITY: Thanks for staying until the end! Seeing our world restored again! FLUTTERSHY: Those fractured dreams we all did mend! Friendships don't break, they merely bend! FLUTTERCRUEL: We got through all the worst together and came out even better than ever! RAINBOW DASH: The baddies' taint not more remains, burned away by our friendship's flame TRIXIE: We kept those fires blazing bright! Guided every pony to the light! TWILIGHT SPARKLE: The sun rises on a new day! Our friendship is here to stay! You have... ALL EIGHT: My Little Pony! TWILIGHT SPARKLE: Do you know we're still the very best friends? True Epilogue One Thousand Years Later (Or it might have been longer... there are more numbers in the universe than a thousand, after all) "And that's where it ends,” announced Discord, casually levitating an insanely huge four-hundred and thirty-four chapter book. “I hope somepony else wrote the rest down somewhere." He closed the book with a flick of his claw. The front cover read 'Point of View of Ponies of Ponyville Series, as chronicled by the Half-Light Sisters,' and it was a wonder that the whole thing fit indoors, to say nothing of the reference and side-story volumes. “‘Bout time,” said Princess Veritas. "Reading that took dang forever, figuratively speaking of course." "Yes, but it was most definitely worth it, darling," Princess Lucia said, nuzzling the great purple and green-scaled ryujin who was bigger than her and her chaise longue together, at his most humble size. They wore matching golden bands, her on her forehoof, and him on a foreclaw. Master Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike snorted, but returned the nuzzle, rumbling warmly. "If you ask me, a lot of it was gratuitous.” His ryujin name was Avaritius Volo Asgorath, and he was on equal standing with the other ruling ryujin… Dragon Queen Alexandra (not to be confused with Queen Mother Tiamat), Dragon Lord Ember, and Dragon Protectorate Mina... but that was a story for another day. “And that squeaky voice Discord used for my parts didn’t sound anything like me!” "Well, I think you did a wonderful job reading it, sweetie," said Princess Thalia. She still had a few scratch scars on her body from her first encounter with Bastet. "Why, thank you, mother!" Discord said, with a politeness that barely contained the wild theatrical soul within. "It was nice to just sit back and just listen to all of it beginning to end, wasn't it?" Princess Gaia said to her... mother-in-law. They were especially happy to have Princess Gaia present, given that she was often in space terraforming planets and only just returned from a joint project with the Celestial Ponies. Princess Fidelitas yawned profusely, stretching her wings. "Ugh, did we have to take so many breaks? I prefer reading this stuff all in one go!" “Not everyone wants to rush straight to the end,” said Princess Amicitia, chiding her mildly. "This way, we could all stay on the same page and appreciate it together!” The equilibrium of Alicorns was sitting in the great hall of the Crystal Friendship Castle. They could have used Princess Gaia's castle (formerly the castle of the Two Sisters, but she hardly spent any time there) or Applejack's humble 'castle' (more often called the House of Truths, since her sister and brother held court there as well) but this castle held many good memories. "Eh, I'll stick with the Enchanted Comics version!" said Fluttercruel, twisting her floating body in a figure eight symbol. Besides the Alicorn Princesses, and one Dragon God and demi-draconequus, the hall held thousands of other rare books even though it wasn’t the main castle library, each one shelved precisely in its proper place… all except for an old worn volume laying on a coffee table, titled 'How To Fake Old Age and Your Own Funeral.' Had they ever made use of the advice found in its pages? Who knew? While they were still technically princesses, Alicornification had become more commonplace, and with ponies spreading far and wide and even reaching out to the stars, the title of Princess had become almost a formality, no more extraordinary than ‘doctor’ or ‘mayor.’ Just like having the surname ‘Equestria.’ Draconequi remained a much more exclusive club, but there had been a few new ones. Flim and Flam had become Kitsun and Reynard, the twin draconequi of temptation, nicknamed 'the two faced god'. They were the first and only mortals known to ever con their way into Discord's family, claiming the abandoned concept for themselves and succeeding the original Temptation, who met her end in that ancient war. The number of new Alicorns over the eons was actually so large that Princess Amicitia suspected many of them of being mortal Alicorns who took whatever outlandish title they could think of that wasn’t claimed yet, not true pillars of creation. Regardless, all of them had a role to play in this civilization, both mortal and divine. Button Mash was now Isthmia, Alicorn Prince of Games. As Neighponese Animane could tell you, that was not a position to be taken lightly. His wife was Princess Euterpe, Concept of Music or at least Song. There was a bit of a gray area, especially given Sweetie Belle's spiritual heritage. Scootaloo had become Princess Faventia, the Divine Longma (existing as a bridge between Celestia and Tiamat's families), Concept of Grace and goddess of the Tianma. How that happened was another story unto itself. Apple Bloom, after being a late bloomer and then a reality-mending Architect, had become Princess Praegressus, Concept of Progress and Invention. She had been the most happy when the curse had finally been lifted from the last of the Sunny Town ponies, allowing Ruby to finally rest in peace as well. She'd been vital to Equus’ defense during the war with the Earthbound Kings. Diamond Tiara's Alicorn name was currently 'sealed', but Amicitia thought that had more to do with her wanting to stand out from the crowd and seem mysterious. Then again, she was part of Discord's pantheon, not Celestia's. She'd fought a sociopathic filly named Cozy Glow whose soul held a dark secret. Much like what Rarity had done to Morning Star's concept of beauty, Cozy Glow had usurped Diamond Tiara's sealed magic and maybe divine essence, and maybe her Alicorn name, until Diamond Tiara finally embraced her magic as part of herself at last, taking back what was hers, and herself. Then there was Princess Amicitia's husband... formerly Flash Sentry, now Prince Philippides Prostátis, the Concept of help coming at the moment it is needed most, or if one wanted to be more precise, he was the Concept of Heroes... which meant he was the concept of heroes both for good and bad sides in conflicts. He also had a scar along his side from an encounter with one of Nythy's last remaining avatars, a dark being called Alfred Hitchhoof. By their very nature, heroes were forever linked to tragedies, from Batmare to Superstallion. Doctor Whooves, much to his own surprise, had become Khronos, Alicorn Prince of Time. Also called Prince Medicum Esse Gallopfrey. Perhaps ‘surprise’ wasn't quite the right word. At least he and Rota Fortuna got along better now. "Come now, if I was going to be any Alicorn, what else would I have been Alicorn of?!" Derpy had become Princess Patientia, the goddess of mothers, perseverance… and also Mailmares, which turned out to make her rival King Leo in being an unstoppable force. Leo’s wife Novo and daughter Skystar were happy to be together at last, even if none could ever truly tame the sea that was his and himself. Vinyl Scratch and Octavia shared a portfolio with Princess Euterpe, as the Alicorns Princess Meret and... well, Octavia claimed her Alicorn name was 'Princess Euterpe' too... so it led to some confusion for the gods of different aspects of music. There were only so many fancy-sounding words for music in Old Ponish. Zecora was now Princess Alchimia, the Zebralicorn (or Virgalicorn) of Alchemy. She tended to exact a ruthless, but ultimately fair cost for any who sought knowledge or power from her. Kifuko, Flurry Heart, and Skyla, the daughters of Cadenza, had become their own cloister of goddesses. Their father was Prince Fortis Castellum... but he was still Big Brother Shining Armor to Amicitia. There was a rumor going around that he had died first before coming back as an Alicorn, since Fate had decreed Cadence would outlive 'Shining Armor.' Fizzlepop Berrytwist had achieved the dream she believed impossible due to her injury, and was now Princess Gilia, the Alicorn of Overcoming Disabilities. Iron Will had become the minotaur god Cerus... don't ask. Garble, of all creatures, was now Calidus Complector, the ryujin of hugs. Again, don't ask. It’s said that even to this day, he refuses to explain why. Gilda… at least, the Gilda of their branch of reality… was not with them, but Patientia occasionally delivered a postcard from the domain of Lord Boreas and Lady Astra, where heroic griffons went to their eternal roost. Princess Fidelitas treasured each one, and would only smile and say that her old friend had no regrets. As Gilda put it, 'You’re crazy, Dash. I'm not giving up my eternal retirement for a job I can never quit!' Trixie was now Princess Anasi, who had also become the leader of the Elements of Chaos following a year long quest to find and recruit them following Twilight's epic battle with Tirek. Starlight Glimmer, a foe of Princess Twilight who later became a friend and ally, was now Princess Libertas Renovatio Equestria, the goddess of fairness, balance, and equality. This time, she represented the true ideal, not a false, misguided one. Fancy Pants, to no one's surprise, had become Prince Plutus, the god of wealth and prosperity. To EVERYONE'S surprise, Blueblood had become Prince Aluluei, god of navigation. Filthy Rich had become Prince Juno, God of Economics. Golden Tiara, determined that none should ever suffer the fate that she had suffered, had become Princess Beiwe, the Goddess of Mental Healing. She was dreaded among any Nightmare that came into existence... If any had of course. Had they? The Apple Family had become their own small pantheon of gods of truth: Princess Veritas, the Honest Truth (the immovable object to Trixie/Princess Anasi's irresistible force) Princess Praegressus, the Empirical Truth Price Axiom (Big Mac), the Plain and Simple Truth And more Bearers of Honesty from the Apple family (and maybe other worlds) had joined them: Red Gala Belle, the Beauty of Truth Nightmare Mirror, the Cruelest of Truths Epiphany, the Moment of Truth Deconstruction, the Truth that Changes Everything As for Granny Smith... she'd just wanted to be reunited with her husband and son in the afterlife, thank you very much! Moon Dancer herself had become Princess Codex Custos Prudentiae, the keeper of all books and records past and present. There was a bit of chafing between her and the Hermit Tarot that would need to be resolved... Moth was now Siamka, the Alicorn Princess of families that went beyond genetics. Mayor Mare… Mary Mare, Ivory Scroll... she’d used all those names over the years… stood now as Princess Res Publica, goddess of freedom and democracy. Cheese Sandwich, Princess Thalia's husband, was the Concept of Laughter of the Fourth Wall Breaking Variety or Something (and Polka)... Prince Ridiculum Albertus. As if he could have been anything else! And Minty... yes, that Minty... that was yet another story for another time... She was now Ashima... Princess of… socks? Christmas? The color green? She had become the Alicorn of accepting and moving on from one's past. She and Princess Fidelitas worked closely together. It had been Princess Ashima's idea to read the book from start to finish to begin with. She’d said, "It's needed for this world to finally and truly be free." The Six Princesses hadn't understood at the time, but maybe now they did. "We've come a long way, haven't we?" Princess Veritas/Applejack said with a smile. "And we earned every step," Princess Fidelitas/Rainbow Dash declared. "The world has grown so beautiful," Princess Gaia/Fluttershy Breeze-Pie added. "And I was happy to experience it with each and every one of you!" Princess Thalia/Pinkie Diane Pie cheered. "It's not quite perfect yet darling... but it's getting closer every day," Princess Lucia/Rarity Belle said, doing the one thing the Concept she replaced could never bring himself to do: let the world grow. "Even if we had to pull out a lot of thorns and stitch up a lot of wounds," Odyne Typhon/Fluttercruel Breeze added with a smirk. "And have to protect it to keep it that way," Avaritius/Spike finished. "I'm happy you all enjoyed the show!" Discord said. "It wasn't easy, it wasn't simple, and if I knew how long this was going to take, I'd have never started in the first place!" "And we appreciate it, Discord... " Princess Amicitia said with a smile, before transforming into her meek unicorn guise, and giving the Draconequus a big hug. "This is the only right way to end it. We went through a lot of tests and trials, but we all became friends through them, and through our dreams, hopes and wishes, through what we had in common and what we could understand about each other... including you." The other five goddesses, the dragon god, and the demigoddess closed in around Discord and joined in the hug. Discord felt an extra invisible hug, and smirked knowingly… Princess Anasi, the one and only Trixie, had been present and watching this whole time, likely sending back all she experienced to Princess Liberalis and Princess Solara (Sunset Shimmer). After a moment of hesitation, Discord hugged them all back. He felt so... happy. He sighed, wiping a happy tear from his eye. "I'm free..." = Undertale the Musical - Special Thanks (Lyrics Version) = ~ Fin (Let the characters enjoy this happy ending.) (?????'s Notes: Thank you for reading with me my friends. Final work of art CLICK HERE!!!!!, goodbye my friends. )