> The Discordian's Daughter
>  by Pumpkin Patch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Part 1, Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        She was awakened by a loud thud. It was followed by another, and then another. As the sounds continued, the time between each sound decreased and the volume grew louder.
        While the noise was very alarming, the pony soon discovered that it was the least of her worries. She was certain that her eyes were now open, but she saw nothing. She turned her head left and right, hoping to get her bearings. Nothing. 
Her heart began racing. She quickly escalated from turning her head to moving her entire body. No part of her was restrained, but that did little to relax her because she also noticed there was no floor. She was floating, though she couldn't tell in what exactly. When trying to move her body, she felt resistance, as though she were swimming in water, but this couldn't have been water. If it was, how was she breathing? 
The pony was too terrified to care. Whatever it was she was floating in, she wanted out of it. She pushed forward in an effort to swim out, but this effort was quickly halted. Only a few inches in front of her, her head collided with a wall. She desperately moved her hooves up and down this newfound surface, hoping to find either an ending point or a place where she could break through. Nothing. The wall had no openings or obvious weak points. It was smooth and completely solid. She concluded it was made of glass, but it was very thick and resisting her efforts with ease. 
She spun herself around hoping that the area behind her would be different, but it wasn't. Moving forward in this direction yielded the same result: a run-in with a thick piece of glass. Her panic level rose even higher. She turned herself to the left and to the right, pushed herself upward and downward. It was useless. There was glass in every direction, only inches from her starting point. These were not merely glass walls. They were part of a giant glass container, and she was on the inside. 
The pony was no longer able to think rationally. She pushed forward and pounded on the front glass as hard as she could and screamed with all the force her lungs could muster. Her screaming made no sound, however. It felt like whatever she was swimming in was muffling her voice, but she kept trying anyway, all the while pounding and pounding on the glass. The noise she was making was almost drowning out the thudding sound that was still coming from overhead, whatever it was...

“This is the worst whack-a-mole game I’ve ever played!” declared Pinkie Pie. 
“That’s because it’s a butter churn, Pinkie,” said Spike.
        “Excuse me, Pinkie, but could you not fool with anything in here? Some of these things are really old,” a concerned Mrs. Cake asked politely.
“Okey dokey!” replied Pinkie as she took her hooves off her whack-a-mole game’s churning staff. “I won anyway.”
“‘Finally!” yelled Rainbow Dash. “You’ve been pounding on that thing for five minutes! I’ve never had a headache this bad!”
“Oh it wasn't that long,” said Twilight. “I think you’re just grumpy.”
“Grumpy? I’m not grumpy! Why would I be grumpy?” said a very grumpy Rainbow Dash.
Twilight laughed. “It’s okay. I understand. I know that touring the home of one of Equestria’s greatest alchemists is not your cup of tea. Of course, neither was it my cup of tea when I went to your Stunt Flyer’s award ceremony last week.”
“How could you have not liked that? It was awesome!” Rainbow Dash asked. 
“Well, there was no flying and there were no stunts, just some ponies I’ve never heard of walking up to a podium and getting awards that I never head of before.” Twilight answered bluntly. 
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue back, but then instead sighed and conceded. “I know.” She paused, and then smiled. “I’m still glad you went with me though.”
Twilight returned her smile. “No problem. And since you agreed to come see Professor Voidsdale’s house with me, I’d say we’re even.”
“A deal’s a deal,” Rainbow agreed.
Twilight couldn’t believe how hard it was to get ponies to go with her to see Professor Voidsdale’s home after Mrs. Cake invited her. She could only get Rainbow Dash to come along by playing the you-owe-me card. Pinkie only agreed to come because her boss, Mrs. Cake, was to be their tour guide. Rarity said she couldn't go because she had to get ready for an upcoming fashion trade show, a trade show that Twilight was pretty sure had happened last week. Fluttershy said that Angel was sick with faux pox, an illness that Twilight had never heard of before and in fact sounded made up. Then there was Applejack, the keeper of the Element of Honesty, which Twilight noticed never stopped her from dodging questions. 
All of this made her grateful for Spike, who agreed to come with her without any hesitation. He was truly the most loyal assistant — and friend — she could have hoped for. 
Still, now that she was actually in the house she realized almost any pony not in love with history like herself would be bored with it. Nothing in the room was very eye-catching. The walls were an empty white with patches of dull brown bricks here and there. The floor was plain, gray stone. There was an old stove sitting behind the counter at the front of the room they were in, but it was very worn, rusted, and dull as was the rest of the kitchenware around it. The only other object in the room besides the butter churn was a wooden china cabinet that stood along the wall at the back of the room. Inside the cabinet there was some gold - or at least gold-painted -  china, but it had long since lost its luster. Alchemists were known for having a fascination with gold and, since Professor Voidsdale was a wealthy pony, Twilight thought that his estate would be covered in it. This wasn’t even remotely the case. 
Sadly, the most visually interesting thing in the room was the painting of the Professor himself hung on the left-hand wall and even that was faded and depressing. The painter hadn’t picked a very exciting pose for his subject. It was just a plain view of the professor from the shoulders up. He was old and gray with a blonde mane that was starting to fade. He wore bifocals in front of his big yellow eyes and what looked to be a red sweater vest on his torso. His smile was small and a little crooked, as if he wasn’t sure if he should be smiling. 
        Regardless, Twilight decided that she herself should be smiling. It was nice of Mrs. Cake to give her and her friends their own personal private tour of the Professor’s estate prior to it being open to the public. 
Twilight turned to her party’s host. “Thanks for giving us this pre-tour, um, tour, Mrs. Cake. I think it’s great that you volunteered to be a guide here."
“Thank you, Twilight, and you’re welcome,” Mrs. Cake replied. “You were the first pony I thought of when I signed up for this. I know you’re a big fan of Professor Voidsdale just like me so I knew you’d love this. And management said it would be okay so you’re not imposing or anything.”
“Well, I don’t know if I’m specifically a fan of Professor Voidsdale, but I love Equestrian history and alchemy and he’s a big part of both,” said Twilight. “My guess is that you’re more of a fan of him as a baker and not as an alchemist.”
Mrs. Cake laughed. “Oh not necessarily. I actually enjoy learning about alchemy. It’s not that different from cooking really. I mean it’s no wonder so many alchemists were also chefs or bakers.”
“Hmmm. I suppose not,” Twilight agreed. 
“So, what was it that this professor did that was so important, anyway?” interrupted Rainbow Dash.
Twilight smirked. “I guess this was yet another history class you slept through, Rainbow?”
“Um, maybe,” said Rainbow Dash while scratching the back of her neck.
Mrs. Cake laughed. “Well, to get you up to speed, Rainbow Dash, why don’t I give you the introductory speech I have planned for the tour?”
“Hmm, I’d like to hear that,” said Twilight.
“Oo! Me too!” said Pinkie Pie.
“Sure. Why not?” said Spike
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Fine.”
Mrs. Cake turned around and walked behind the counter at the front of the room, then faced her audience and cleared her throat.
“First of all, welcome, everypony, to the estate of Professor Nolan Voidsdale. The professor lived in this home during the latter part of his distinguished career, around the time our Princesses Celestia and Luna began their reign. It was in this very place that he discovered many of the formulae alchemists still use to this day, including his most famous discovery, geenidye...”
Rainbow Dash nudged Spike and whispered “Hey, what’s geenidye?”
“No idea,” whispered Spike.
“Unfortunately,” Mrs. Cake continued, “when the professor passed away, he left his home in a very poor state and Princess Celestia had it condemned. However, she decided not to have it demolished for the sake of preserving Equestria's history. Then, just a year ago, the Equestria Historical Society finally convinced her majesty to allow this home be restored to a structurally-sound state and open it up for everypony to see. Thanks to their efforts, we are now able to give you a better glimpse into the life of one the most brilliant minds in pony history.”
Mrs. Cake paused. “How was that?” 
“Yay!” said Pinkie Pie as she started clapping. “Go Mrs. C.!”
“Hmm. You’re a pretty awesome speaker, Mrs. Cake!” said Rainbow Dash. 
“I agree!” said Twilight. “It got me excited all over again about what we’re going to see in this place.”

The pony pulled her hooves away from the wall of her prison, and ceased her shouting so she could catch her breath. Her body and her throat were both sore, and her mind began slipping from panic into despair. She was trapped, possibly forever.  Her body began trembling and she could feel tears trying to form, but the chemical she was submerged in wouldn't allow it. They dissolved instantly.
Silent and motionless, she floated in her cell for several moments, neither knowing what to do nor having the strength to do it. Her mind was making the reluctant, painful journey towards accepting her fate.
Then she heard something. It was faint, but it sounded like a short crackle, like the sound of...glass breaking.
Instantly snapping back to attention, she reached out with her hooves once again and touched the glass in front of her. Moving her limbs around, it only took seconds to find a small break in the wall, right around when she had been pounding on it. Quickly she centered herself around the crack and with a burst of adrenaline pounded on it repeatedly even harder than before. Soon there was another cracking sound, then another, and another. The sounds gave her all the encouragement she needed to continue pounding. 
Then, at long last, a piece of the glass broke free and a hole stood in its place. She could feel the chemical inside the chamber escaping through it. There was no light coming from the opening and everything was still pitch black, but she didn't care. She aimed her legs directly below the hole, hoping to make it bigger. She succeeded. She then moved to the right of it and expanded the opening that way as well. The cloud-like substance was escaping rapidly now and natural gravity began to take over. She was sinking to the bottom of the container, but that didn't deter her. She continued striking at whatever area was in front of her, knocking out the glass piece by piece until the chemical completely escaped and her rear hooves reached the bottom of the chamber, this time supporting her on their own. With the strange mist now completely gone, she could breathe the real air coming from wherever she was. It was cold and stale, but given the circumstances, she thought it was wonderful. 
Now that her hooves were on solid ground, she decided to change up her plan of attack on the remaining glass. Backing up as far as she could in the chamber, she tilted her head and charged at it. The glass shattered as soon as the headbutt made contact and she burst through the wall as if it were paper. For that short moment, it felt glorious.
She was very quickly thrust back into reality, though. The container she was in was, apparently, not at floor level and she tripped and collapsed onto the ground in front of it. She was already sore from pounding and headbutting glass and this unexpected meeting with a stone floor didn't help. She groaned out loud. The groan did little to relieve the pain, but she was happy about one thing: she could hear the groan.

"What is all that noise?” Pinkie asked after she and the others heard a series of alarming shattering sounds followed by a very disturbing groan. 
“I-I don’t know,” stammered Mrs. Cake. 
“Is there still some restoration going on, Mrs. Cake?” Twilight asked.
“No. The workers were done last week,” she replied. She paused for a moment, then raised a question. “Did-did that groaning just now sound like a pony to you?”
“I thought it sounded like a Ghostie!” said Pinkie Pike.
Everypony’s eyes widened, Spike’s especially. “Please don’t say things like that, Pinkie!”
“Oh don’t be such a scaredy-dragon,” said Pinkie Pie. “Ghosties don’t have to be scary.” Pinkie’s voice turned singsong “When I was a little filly and the sun was going do—”
“—Don’t. Even. Start,” interrupted Rainbow Dash as she covered Pinkie Pie’s mouth. 

Pulling herself off the floor wasn't easy. She felt like she had just been in a fight, a fight that she had lost. Every part of her body was telling her to stay on the floor and rest, but her mind knew better. Falling asleep in an unknown place that you can’t see is never a good idea. She had hoped that once she broke out of the glass, she would be able to at least see the room around it, but such was not the case. It was pitch black in every direction, and she was forced to rely on her other senses. 
From her collision with the ground, she had learned the hard way that it was unquestionably stone. Once she was on her feet, the sound of her hooves making contact with the surface beneath her confirmed this. 
She didn’t detect any striking smells, but the air flowing through her nostrils was dusty and dry. Wherever this place was, it was very old. 
Her ears didn't hear anything, either. Other than the sounds she had been making herself, the room was uncomfortably silent. She did notice, however, that no sound she made had an echo of any sort. Not only was this place old, but it was small and enclosed. 
The pony began walking forward, which was just as difficult as standing up in the first place. It’s true that she was sore from breaking out of her glass chamber, but there was something else, too. Her legs were wobbly and difficult to balance on, as if they were long out-of-practice. Also, she kept stepping on something, something thin and thread-like. After feeling several tugs on her head, she concluded it was her own hair. 
        Moving very slowly, she made her way forward, completely blind. She was surprised when, after several paces, she didn't run into anything. The path seemed to be clear. Not only was this room old, small and confined, but it was also, so far, empty. 
        “Oof!" She exclaimed after she walked head-on into a large, wooden object. It wasn't quite enough of a hit to knock her down, but it was nonetheless jolting. What was more shocking, however, was the eerie squeaking sound it made, that and the sound was soon followed by the feeling of a giant wooden object collapsing on top of her. 

        “Whoah! That one was even louder!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash..
        “I can’t tell where it’s coming from, either,” said Mrs. Cake while looking around the room for the sound’s source. “It sounds like the noises are coming from all around us!”
        “Really?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Because that last one definitely sounded like it was coming from below us to me.”
        Mrs. Cake raised an eyebrow, “Below us? Are you sure?”
        “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash confirmed. “Maybe it’s coming from the basement or something.”
        “Rainbow Dash,” Mrs. Cake said, both of her eyebrows now raised, “this house has no basement.”
        
        The pony could now confirm that the heavy wooden object that had fell on her was in fact a bookshelf, though it was mostly empty. She felt a few books lying on the ground to either side of her, but none had actually hit her during the collapse. Of course, this didn’t make the shelf itself any less painful on impact.
        She was growing amazed at her own resilience. Despite everything that she had been through up until this point and all of the aches, scars and sore spots she had accumulated, she could still move, and she still had the will to do so. Her forelegs had very little wiggle room, but with what little space she had she managed to get her hooves on the top of one of the shelf’s ledges near her head. Using that grip, she pulled herself up. After sliding upward as far as she could go, she felt an open space above her head. She was near the top of the shelf. With great difficulty, she re-positioned her hooves onto the new ledge that was now at head-level, and pulled again. Slowly, the pressure from the large piece of furniture dropped passed her face and she knew she was going to escape. 
        Continuing to slide forward, the pony eventually freed her head completely, followed by her forelegs. The wood scraped against her body as she used her hind legs to kick the rest of herself out. Finally only her rear hooves remained pinned down. Quickly, she yanked them out simultaneously and heard the bookshelf hit the ground. 
        Even though it was painful beyond belief, she rolled herself over to lay down in a more natural position for a pony. She breathed heavily while she tried to recover her strength, but it was difficult. That bookshelf had now made her chest sore as well. Every bone and muscle in her body was aching unbearably. Just the thought of standing up made her hurt even more. Still, she knew she couldn’t just lay here. With every last bit of willpower in her, she reached out with her forelegs and slowly began to crawl. 
        Her belly rubbing against the stone floor didn’t exactly feel comfortable, but she was glad to be feeling that instead of the pressure from a heavy bookshelf. And while she couldn’t tell if she was making any progress inching her way forward like this, at least she wasn’t running into anything
        After crawling for what seem like an eternity, though, her front hooves made contact with another ledge of some sort. She flinched at first, desperately hoping it was not another shelf, but then she very carefully touched it again. It wasn’t wood. It was stone, much like the floor. She moved her hoof above it and found another ledge, but it was indented far back from the first one. Her excitement and her hope began to renew themselves. It was a staircase! Quickly she hoisted herself onto what felt like the first step, then the next. Then she was further encouraged to find that there was another step after that one, and after she cleared that one, another. She gained more hope with each new step she found as she made her ascension. That is, until she hit her head on something.
        “Ouch!” She said out loud as she grabbed her head with her hoof. After that particular pain subsided, she reached above her head to feel what she had run into. It was a flat, hard surface that stretched out of legs’ reach in every direction. Her heart sank once again. The stairs apparently only lead straight to the ceiling. It was another dead end. She had escaped from two traps, only the find she was still confined.
        But then she heard something coming from beyond the ceiling. It was faint and muffled, but it was very real. It sounded like voices. 
        She threw her front hooves upward and began pounding the ceiling just as hard as she had pounded the glass earlier. “Hey!” she screamed. “Somepony help me! Help!”

        Everypony froze in place when they heard the horrible screams coming from below them.  It was too muffled to make out what the voice was saying, but it definitely sounded like speech. 
        “It...it is a pony!” exclaimed Mrs. Cake.
        “It’s coming from over there!” Rainbow Dash said pointing at the large china cabinet along the wall behind where they were. 
        Everypony walked over to the cabinet. The sound grew louder as they approached. Once they were right in front of it, the shouting sounded like it was coming from directly below them. 
        The group was in a state of stunned silence, but Twilight eventually took it upon herself to speak up. “Hello! Can you hear us?” She shouted at the floor. 
        The shouting went silent for a brief moment, but then started up again. The voice was still muffled and difficult to decipher, but Twilight noticed two words: “Help me..”
        “She needs help!” shouted Twilight. She turned to Mrs. Cake. “Are you sure there’s no basement? Is there any way to get down to her?” 
        “I didn’t know about any basement until now. It’s not in any of the floor plans!” She replied. 
        Twilight was struggling to think, but it was difficult. The muffled screaming was keeping the tension high. Something had to be done and done now. There had to be a way to get down there...
        “What does this do?” Pinkie Pie said as she walked over to the cabinet. Nopony was really sure what she was referring to at first, but then Pinkie walked over to a very specific piece of china. It was a golden teapot, and the only one on its shelf that was still upright. She stared at it for a moment, but then decided to pull the spout of the teapot like a lever. After pulling it towards herself a few degrees, there was a loud click. 
        A rumbling began to shake the floor just below everypony’s hooves. They instantly backed up and watched in shock as a large square piece of the stone floor started sliding back into the wall with a loud grinding noise. It revealed a black opening, a staircase...and one terrified pony. 
        Her body was an aqua, similar to Rainbow Dash, and she looked just about as young. Unlike Rainbow Dash, though, she had no cutie mark — unusual for a pony of her apparent age — and her mane was a solid green. The color was not the first thing Twilight and the others noticed about her mane, however. In addition to being very unkempt, it was long, very long, and spreading in every direction like vines. She layed there on the staircase, staring up at Twilight and the others with wide open yellow eyes, and huffing and puffing like she had just been saved from drowning. Her onlookers were too startled to say anything. All they could do was return her gaze. She continued breathing heavily for several seconds. Then, after one particularly long, exhausted exhale, her eyes closed and her face fell to the floor. After that, she stopped moving. 
        Shaking off the initial shock, Twilight rushed over to her. “Are-are you okay?” There was no response. She timidly touched the pony’s back, then turned to others. “She’s still breathing. I think she just fainted. Could somepony help me get her up?”
Without saying anything, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and floated over to the unconscious mare. Putting her two front hooves under the pony’s forelegs, she got a grip and lifted her off the ground, carrying her to the counter at the front of the room where Mrs. Cake had given her speech. The pony’s long, disheveled hair dragged along the ground for the duration of her flight.
Rainbow Dash gently laid the pony on the counter face-up while letting her hair hang off the sides of it like icicles. The others gathered around her. The counter was too high for Spike to see over so he jumped on Twilight’s back to get a better look. “Wow! she’s a mess!” he observed. 
“No kidding,” said Rainbow Dash. “I’ve never seen this many bruises and scars on one pony before.”
“I hope she’s okay,” said Twilight. 
“Is there anything we can do for her?” Asked Pinkie Pie, turning to Mrs. Cake. 
“Well, we have a first aid kit here of course, but I’m afraid she may be a little past that.” She thought for a moment, then continued. “Oh! But there’s a hospital just down the street from here. They should be able to help.”
“Rainbow, how, uh, heavy is she?” Twilight asked. “Do you think you could carry her all the way there?”
“Sure. No problem,” Rainbow Dash answered. 
“Thank you,” replied Twilight looking directly into Rainbow Dash's eyes. “You’re doing her a big favor.”
Again without saying a word, Rainbow Dash gripped the pony and lifted her up, this time carrying her towards the door. Mrs Cake walked over to open it for her. 
Twilight was about to follow her Pegasus friend out, but then her eye caught another glimpse of the hole the strange pony had crawled out of. She called out to Rainbow Dash. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit. Somepony needs to make sure there’s nopony else down there.”
“Okay. Go ahead,” said Rainbow Dash as she was about to exit the doorway. “I can get her checked in.”
“Thank you,” said Twilight once again.
“I should go with you too,” said Mrs. Cake. “After all, I work here and my bosses are going to be asking questions. And besides, there was something... familiar about that pony and maybe what’s down there will help me jog my memory.”
“I’ll go too!” said Pinkie Pie.
“Are you sure, Pinkie? I don’t know what’s down there,” said Twilight.
“Oh come on!” said Pinkie Pie, smiling. “You know I’ve gone with you through worse.”
Twilight smiled. “Yes you have. Thank you.”
Twilight turned head to take a look at the little dragon on her back. “How about you, Spike?”
“I’m on your back so I’m going wherever you’re going,” said Spike.
Twilight’s smile grew. Nopony knew what to expect down there but everypony was willing to take the risk with her. She turned her head back toward their destination. “Thanks everypony. Let’s go!”
> Part 1, Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The staircase was only wide enough to fit one pony at a time so Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake traversed it single-file with Twilight leading the way. The opening didn’t leave much head room and all of them had to lower their heads to proceed. Spike was forced to dismount Twilight and join the others on the ground.
Their view quickly darkened as they descended. The light from the main floor only went so far and most of this lower room, whatever it was, was black as night. Twilight used her magic to illuminate it. Her horn worked better than any candle and soon everypony was able to see a majority of the room, though the back portion remained dark. 
It was a small room, but nonetheless odd. The floor, the ceiling, and everything in between was coated in bright, clashing colors. Part of one of the walls was red, the next part orange, and the part beyond that pink. The stone floor was painted seemingly at random with streaks of blue, magenta, peach, neon green and various other shades. There was no clear pattern for anything. Colors simply started and stopped at whatever point they wished as if the room’s painter did his job blindfolded.
“Whoah!” said Spike as he took the sight in. “What is this place?”
Twilight looked around. The room was rectangular in shape, with bookshelves lining both of the longer walls. One of the bookshelves was toppled over. A few books were scattered around it on the floor. There were also small end tables placed beside each of the shelves. On these end tables were beakers, vials, and even burners. The shelves themselves also housed a few beakers in addition to their sparse population of books. Some of beakers even still had liquids in them.
“I think this was a lab,” Twilight said out loud.
“A lab?” said Mrs. Cake. “But Professor Voidsdale’s lab is upstairs just beyond the kitchen. It was the next part of the house I was going to show you.”
        Twilight walked over to one of the books next to the collapsed shelf to examine it, but as she moved forward and the back of the room became illuminated by her horn, something else caught her attention, as well as Pinkie Pie’s.
“What is that?” shouted Pinkie.
Twilight didn’t have an immediate answer. On the back of the wall was large glass tube, twice as tall and wide as her. There was a large hole in it and shards of glass littered the surrounding floor.
“Was-was this where she came from?" Twilight questioned aloud. "She was trapped in a glass tube in the basement?”
“How horrible!” said Mrs. Cake. “Who would do something like that?”
Twilight turned to her former tour guide. “Mrs. Cake, do you know anything about the ponies who restored this house? Were they, you know, on-the-level?”
“They were approved by Princess Celestia herself,” answered Mrs. Cake, “and they were done very quickly. I don’t think they would’ve had time to build something like this.”
Spike started tugging on Twilight’s leg. “Um...Twilight?”
“What is it, Spike?” She asked him.
Spike pointed to a portrait hanging on the wall to the right of the fallen bookshelf and directly above one of the end tables a few hooves behind Mrs. Cake. Twilight’s eyes widened as she gasped. She had noticed the portrait when she first observed the room from the staircase, but she hadn’t paid attention to what it was a portrait of. Now, with her light shining directly on it, she couldn’t believe that she had missed it.
Despite it being a painting, it more resembled the artwork from the stained glass windows in the royal palace, in particular the window with that depicted a certain familiar creature. That same certain creature was portrayed here in the same caricatured style. It had the head of a pony, one antler of a ram and another antler of a deer, and a body made up of all sorts of other things.
And the onlookers knew this creature’s name all too well: Discord.
“I-I don’t believe it...” stammered Mrs. Cake.
“Professor Voidsdale was a Discordian!” exclaimed Twilight. Her astonishment was palpable. Everything she had learned about the professor suddenly felt irrelevant. Until now she had only thought of him as a genius and important figure in alchemy. She didn’t know what to think anymore.
“What’s a Disco-Dan?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“Discordian,” Spike said, correcting Pinkie. “He was a Discord worshiper!”
Pinkie covered her mouth with her hoof, trying to contain a gasp.
Twilight approached the picture. As she crept closer, she could see there was a small sign below it. It read:


There are no rules. Anywhere.


        Her eyes lowered off the painting itself to see what was on the table below it. There were two items on it: a thick, heavily-worn book and a small framed picture. And as soon as she laid eyes on this smaller picture, she gasped again.
“What is it, Twilight?” said Spike, who was right beside her, but too short to see what she was seeing.
“But that’s not possible!” Twilight said as she picked up the picture and handed it to Spike.
Spike took the picture from Twilight and looked at it. There were two figures in the picture. One of them was Professor Nolan Voidsdale, looking very much like he did in the larger picture in the kitchen, though his timid smile was a little wider and more confident. In this picture, however, there was somepony else beside him. Standing next to the professor was a much younger female pony. Her body was aqua, her eyes were yellow, and her green, unkempt hair was streaming down both sides of her face.
“That’s her!” Spike exclaimed.
Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake walked closer to look at the picture. As soon as she saw it, Mrs. Cake’s eyes widened. “Oh my. It-it all makes sense now! That’s why she looked familiar!”
“What do you mean, Mrs. Cake?” asked Twilight.
“Her name is Willow,” Mrs. Cake answered, “Willow Merrymane Voidsdale. She was, er, she is the Professor’s daughter.”
“The one that disappeared?” Twilight asked.
“Yes,” replied Mrs. Cake. “I’ve never seen a picture of her before, but I read a book a long time ago that described what she looked like. She matches the description perfectly!”
“But...wouldn’t she be a really really really old mare by now?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“She certainly would,” Twilight said as she turned and focused her horn’s light once again on the shattered glass tube. “But I think this might explain why she isn’t. I think he sealed her in there, probably with some chemical he made to keep her preserved all this time.”
“Ooo! You mean like this one?” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
Twilight turned to Pinkie and saw she was holding a syringe with a strange blue liquid inside it. “Where did you get that?”
“From the chest next to the tubey thing!” Pinkie answered.
Twilight looked at the tube once again. Sitting open on the floor next to it was a small wooden chest. Placed next to the larger, much more prominent glass chamber, Twilight hadn’t noticed it until now.
She walked up to the chest and looked inside. The chest contained many more syringes like the one Pinkie Pie was holding, all of them with the same liquid inside them. It looked like a filly’s crayon box, except that all the crayons were blue and sharpened to a skin-piercing point.
Spike was looking in the box as well. “So he just took his own daughter, stuck her with a bunch of needles, stuffed her in a tube and just left her down here?” he huffed. 
“I know, Spike," said Twilight flatly, "It makes me mad too. I really don’t know what to think of the Professor now. Why did he do this to her? What was going on down here?”
Twilight’s own words made her remember that there was a book on the table where she got the picture of Willow that might have been able to answer her question. She turned around and returned to the table, blew the dust off the old book and opened it. Flipping through the pages, she saw that the entire book was hoof-written. Every page was filled from beginning to end with writing and there were crude pictures and mathematical formulae scattered throughout. Several pages had dates listed on them. She decided to turn back to the first page and look at it more closely. She was able to confirm her suspicions on the very first line:

This is the journal of Professor Nolan Voidsdale, Alchemist and humble servant to the Lord of Chaos.. 

        “Well,” Twilight said out loud, “it looks like we’ll be able to find out what he was up to. This is his journal.”
She turned to Mrs. Cake. “Would it be okay if I took this book and the picture home to do some research?”
“Well, once I tell management about this room,  I’m sure they will want Equestria’s best scholars to study everything in it,” Mrs. Cake said. Then she smiled. “So I think you’re the perfect pony to start with! I’ll let them know. I’m sure they won’t mind if Twilight Sparkle takes a few things for research.”
Twilight blushed a little. “Thanks, Mrs. Cake.”
“You’re welcome. Is there anything else you think you should take?” she asked.
Twilight looked around the room a little, then answered “The box of syringes.”
“Why do you want those?” asked Spike.
“Well, I don’t know exactly what they’re for,” Twilight explained, “but the fact that the box they were in was right next to the tube Willow came out of and in such large supply makes me think that maybe they’re something that she needs.”
“You might be right,” said Mrs. Cake. “Anything else you need?”
Twilight looked around again briefly and concluded, “I think that’ll be all for no—”
“Take this too!” Pinkie interrupted Twilight while shoving another book in her face.
“What is this, Pinkie?” said Twilight as she took the book from Pinkie. She looked at the cover. The title read Cooking with Chaos: Discordian Delicacies.
Twilight sighed. “A cookbook, Pinkie?”
“Yup!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “It’s got tons of neat dessert recipes, like this one!” She yanked the book away from Twilight, flipped to a very specific page and showed it to her friend.
Twilight looked at the recipe on the page. “Discordian Pie?”
“It’s a pie that changes flavor every time you bite into it! So, like, the first bite may taste like cherries but then the second bite could be like pumpkin, and then the third bite like key lime! Oo! and then what if the next one was pecan, and the next one—”
“I see,” Twilight interrupted as politely as she could.
“Hmm...that does sound interesting, actually,” said Mrs. Cake. “Tell you what, I don’t want to take anything out of here if we don’t need to, but if you could copy down that recipe maybe we could—”
“Done!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she produced a piece of paper with the entire recipe meticulously copied onto it and showed it to a very surprised Mrs. Cake.
“Well I guess that’s settled,” said Twilight. “Anyway, now that we have everything I think we should catch up to Rainbow Dash at the hospital.” Her tone became more serious. “I hope Willow is alright.”
> Part 1, Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        “How’s she doing, Rainbow?” Twilight asked as soon as she, Pinkie Pie, and Spike entered the waiting room at the hospital.
        It was a rather plain room, with beige walls and blue carpeting. Chairs were complemented by a water cooler next to each wall along with a magazine rack. Rainbow Dash was sitting in the seat closest to the check-in window on the far side of the room. She was reading a magazine when the rest of the group walked in. 
“I don’t know,” she replied, “but they’re sure taking their sweet time.”
        “Well, she was hurt pretty badly,” Twilight reminded her, “I’m sure whatever the doctors need to do is going to take a while.”
        “Yeah. I know,” sighed Rainbow Dash as she lowered her reading material to look at her friends. She quickly noticed that one was missing. “Hey, where’s Mrs. Cake?”
        “She stayed behind to tell her managers about this situation,” explained Twilight, “There weren’t any other ponies in that basement but the room itself was quite, um, interesting.”
        “How do you mean?” asked Rainbow Dash.
        Pinkie Pie quickly jumped into the conversation. “The room was painted all these weird colors and there was a big broken glass tube in the back and there were needles and this super yummy pie recipe and oh there was this journal and it says that Professor Voidsdale’s an accordian!”
        Rainbow Dash stared at Pinkie with a raised eyebrow.
        “Uh, Discordian, Pinkie,” Spike said correcting her once again.
        Rainbow Dash blinked but otherwise her expression didn’t change. “Still confused.”
        “Professor Voidsdale was one of Discord’s followers!” Twilight clarified.
        “What!?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash..
        “I know! I’m just as surprised as you,” said Twilight. She then continued to explain what she and others found down there, how the room was a second lab apparently dedicated to the Professor’s Discordian activities, how they found a shattered glass tube in the back that the pony they met on the staircase had escaped from, and how that pony, Willow, was Professor Voidsdale’s daughter. 
        “Wow!” is all Rainbow Dash could say. She went silent for a moment. At last, she said “So...if she’s the daughter of a Discordian, isn’t that, you know, gonna be a problem? I mean, what if she’s still on Discord’s side?”
        “I thought about that, too,” said Twilight, “But just because her Dad was a Discordian doesn’t mean she is. Besides, he did apparently stuff her into a big glass tube and left her in his basement.”
        “True. I’m sure she loves him for that.” said Rainbow Dash sarcastically. 
        “Still, we won’t really know anything about that until the hospital releases her and we ask her ourselves,” Twilight said.
        “Yeah. I guess not,” Rainbow Dash agreed, “Well, I guess it’s time to get back to the waiting game.”
        She picked up the magazine she had been looking at and resumed reading. Twilight decided to sit in the seat across from her. Almost instinctively, Spike took the seat next to her. Pinkie Pie decided to sit to sit right next to Rainbow Dash. 
        In nearly synchronous motion, Spike and Pinkie each grabbed a nearby magazine to pass the time. Twilight, on the other hand, decided to use her horn to levitate Professor Voidsdale’s journal out of her satchel. 
        She started from the very beginning, at the sentence she had read before.

This is the journal of Professor Nolan Voidsdale, Alchemist and humble servant to the Lord of Chaos. 
Wow. It feels good finally being able to write that again. I’ve had to keep my mouth shut about that for so long I about had an identity crisis. They’ve been hunting us down like timberwolves since the master was turned to stone by those contemptible alicorns. So far, I’ve managed to stay out of sight. Granted, I had to take a few drastic measures. I had to move far away from Las Capellas. The alicorns’ soldiers were swarming like parasprites there. Still, I really miss that town. If things could go back to the way they were, I would return to that city in a heartbeat.
I decided to move to the northeast. That may sound like a stupid idea since that’s the region where the alicorns have decided to reign from, but it’s actually ingenious, just like everything I do. They think this place is safe and secured. Therefore, they won’t be on a witch hunt for people like me. I just don’t tell them who my master is and they don’t ask. Ah, the ol’ hiding-in-plain-sight trick never fails. I mean, I’m not even trying to keep a low profile. In the last few months I’ve been here I’ve proudly and openly practiced my baking and even my alchemy. So many ponies have complemented my cakes and pies that I’m thinking about setting up a bakery and a group of alchemists up here who are trying to put together a society for ponies of the trade want me to be among its founding members!
That’s all well and good, but my true goals here are altogether different. Of course, if I told the citizens what those goals were I would be imprisoned for sure, so I have to keep my ambitions buried, literally. I arranged to have this second laboratory built underneath my home. I told the workers and anypony else who asked that I was just putting in a storage cellar, another stroke of genius by yours truly. Nopony batted an eye at it and nopony asked about it. As far as they’re concerned, it’s just a boring, dusty cellar.
My guests didn’t even ask where the door to it was after it was finished. Just to make sure, though, I did a little construction work of my own and made the entrance to it look like any other part of the floor and wired the opening mechanism to an inconspicuous teapot in china cabinet. A teapot! You would have to be the most random thinker in the world to even consider unlocking a door with a teapot! 
Anyway, now that this “cellar” is set up and secured, I can get to my real business...

“Excuse me, Ms. Dash?” a nurse called out from the doorway leading to to the doctor’s office. 
“Ugh. I hate it when they call me that,” Rainbow Dash mumbled to herself. She put the magazine down and walked over to the nurse. “What’s up?”
“Well, uh, your friend is ready to be released,” she began timidly, “but, well, there are a few things the doctor would like to discuss with you before you see her.”
"That doesn't sound good," Twilight said aloud as she and the others put down their diversions and walked over to Rainbow Dash and the nurse. 
“Um, I’m sorry. What are you here for?” the nurse asked Twilight.
“Oh. they’re all with me,” said Rainbow Dash, “They should probably hear whatever the doctor has to say too.”
“Oh, um, very well,” the nurse agreed. 
        The group followed the nurse into a typical doctor’s office, complete with a counter, a sink, a stock of medical supplies, a second door leading to other parts of the hospital and of course an examination table. The doctor was standing by the counter. Willow was nowhere in sight, however. 
        The doctor was looking very intently at a clipboard when the ponies walked in. It was a few seconds before he even acknowledged their presence. “Hello, Ms. Dash,” he said, not looking up. 
        Rainbow Dash had just been called “Ms. Dash” again, but this time she brushed it off. “Hello, sir. Um, the nurse said you had something to say to me about my friend.” she answered.
        The doctor exhaled slowly, as if bracing himself for something. He placed the clipboard he was holding on the counter and turned to look at her. He started slightly when he saw two other ponies and a small dragon standing next to her.
        Rainbow Dash noticed his surprise. “Oh. They’re all with me,” she repeated. 
        “Oh. Quite alright.” he said, then took another deep breath. 
        At long last, he spoke. “Well, first off let me say that your friend is going to be okay...physically. She's waiting in the next room. She had several minor injuries, but nothing at all serious. We had to put a few patches on her, but those spots should be healed by tomorrow. Her body’s also very fatigued, but again she should be fine after a good night’s rest.”
        Nopony gave a reaction to this, save for Rainbow Dash who asked "Um, what do you mean that she's okay 'physically'?" 
        “Well,” the doctor continued, “Your friend also appears to be suffering from some form of...amnesia.”
Everypony’s eyes widened. “You mean...she doesn’t remember anything?” Rainbow Dash asked. 
“I asked her a series of standard questions.” explained the doctor.”She doesn’t remember who she is, where she lives or — I’m sad to say — you, Ms. Dash.”
The ponies and spike all lowered their heads and frowned. 
“If I may ask, Ms. Dash, what kind of accident was this pony in?” inquired the doctor. “It would have to be pretty serious to cause head trauma like that.”
Pinkie Pie spoke up. “Well, she was locked in a bas—”
“—a bookshelf fell on her.” Twilight said cutting Pinkie off.
“Hmmm...I suppose that would do it if the shelf was heavy enough,” the doctor speculated.
“Oh very heavy,” Twilight assured him, albeit with a sub-par acting performance. “So, what do you think we should do, doctor?”
“Well,  I suggest that after she gets rested up that you try to jog her memory any way you can,” the doctor recommended. “Perhaps you could do some of the activities that you normally do with her, or maybe have her meet some people who know her well.”
“Ooo!” Pinkie Pie interjected. “Maybe we can throw her a party!” 
“Well, I suppose that would be one way of doing it, yes,” said the doctor with some hesitation.
“Woo-hoo!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she jumped up in the air. Her landing was followed by a few sprinkles of confetti of unknown origin slowly floating to the ground. 
Nopony gave a reaction to this either, although Twilight did have to blow a piece of confetti away from her mouth. After doing so, she continued talking to the doctor, “So, how long do you think it will be before she gets her memory back?”
“Very hard to say,” said the doctor plainly. “It could happen right away or it could take a very long time.”
Twilight paused for a moment before responding. “We understand. Thank you for letting us know. May we see her now?”
“Of course,” said the doctor. He then turned and walked out the only other door in the office. 
Once he was out of earshot, Pinkie nudged Twilight. “Um, why did you stop me from telling him how we found her?”
“I just think it’s best that nopony knows about that for now unless they have to,” Twilight explained, “It’s a very unusual circumstance and I think people would be afraid of her if they knew.” 
“Yeah, I’m with Twilight on this one,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Me too,” said Spike. “It wouldn’t be a very warm Ponyville welcoming if everypony treated her like a weirdo.”
“Exactly,” agreed Twilight as she turned her head down to look at Spike. “We’ll just tell everypony that she’s a friend from out of town and they won’t see anything weird about her at a—”
“Hey mare!” a voice said interrupting Twilight. She turned her head back to find the source and was met with the gaze of two large yellow eyes staring at her, only inches from her face. 
Twilight gasped and fell backwards onto the floor.
“Oh, um, I’m sorry,” said the voice, which Twilight could now see was coming from an aqua-colored pony with long, disheveled green hair. “Didn’t mean to shake ya’ up.” 
“Oh,” Twilight replied, laughing slightly as she got back on her hooves. “I’m just glad you’re alright, Willow.”
“Willow? Is-is that what they call me?” the pony asked sheepishly. 
“Of course, silly!” said Pinkie Pie. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”
“Um...is it?”, the pony said.
“Wow. You don’t even remember your name?” asked Rainbow Dash.
The pony shook her head. “The doc was askin’ me all sorts of mumbo-jumbo ‘bout me. I-I didn’t know jack.” She frowned.
“Aw, you don’t have to be sad about it,” said Pinkie Pie consolingly, “I don’t know who Jack is either.”
Spike sighed, “I...don’t think that’s what’ she meant, Pinkie.”
“Oh hey there!” said the pony, her tone lightening when noticed Spike. “I didn’t see ya down there, little guy. You’re a dragon, huh?”
Spike’s chest stuck out a bit in pride as he confidently answered “Why yes, I am!”
Noticing how close Spike was standing to Twilight, the pony turned to her. “It’s pretty cool that you have a pet dragon!”
“Hey! I’m not a pet!” said an offended Spike.
Twilight laughed, “No, he’s my assistant, and my friend.”
“Oh really? That’s-that’s pretty groovy too, I guess.” the pony replied.
Rainbow Dash laughed. “Groovy? Wow, you have been gone a long time.”
“Uh, been gone?” the pony asked, puzzled. “Where was I before?”
“Well, it’s a long story and honestly we’re a little fuzzy on some of the details,” Twilight explained, “but if you would come back with us to Ponyville, we can tell you what we know along the way and who knows, maybe we’ll be able to jog your memory and you can fill in the gaps.”
The pony paused for a moment before answering. “Well, seeing as I got nuthin’ else to go on — nuthin' I remember anyway — I guess I can wrap with ya.” 
Twilight smiled along with the others. “Great! Well, let’s get you checked out and we’ll be on our way!”
“Sweet,” said the pony. “Oh and that name you called me before, uh, Willow? Yeah we can stick to that. I kinda dig it.”
After the ponies checked Willow out of the hospital, Twilight lead them in the direction of the train station. Halfway through the short journey, Rainbow Dash, who had been hovering above the rest of the group, flew down alongside Twilight and nudged her. 
“Hey,” she whispered, “Do you think it’s a good idea to bring her to Ponyville so soon?”
“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.
“Well, ya know, we don’t know what her crazy dad did to her yet and I was thinking maybe we should take her to the Princess first.”
“I would, Rainbow,” answered Twilight, “but Princess Celestia is in Coltropolis right now for that festival. She hasn’t answered my letters in days. I’ll definitely write her another one as soon as I can about this, but until she gets back I don’t have much choice but to keep an eye on her myself for a while.” 
Twilight lowered her head. “Besides, I just feel bad for her. Her own Dad locked her up in a glass jar in the basement and left her there and now it looks as though he erased her memory too. I want to do what I can to help her, and I want to find out what was going on in that lab.”
> Part 1, Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        “Well, this is it!” Twilight said as her and Willow stood just a short distance away from the Golden Oaks library.
        Willows eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She stopped breathing and froze in place.
        “Um...are you okay?” Twilight asked.
        “Mare...you live in a tree?” Willow asked.
        “Oh. Well, yes. Yes I do,” Twilight answered. She had almost forgotten herself. Since this was the home she had lived in for so long, she had almost taken for granted that it was made out of a large oak.
        “That. Is. So. Far Out!” Willow exclaimed. She dashed towards the library like a filly who had just spotted an ice cream stand. She didn’t make it far, though. Halfway through her gallop, a clump of her long green hair slipped under her hoof. She tripped and fell forwards, her jaw digging into the grass.
        “Whoah there!” Twilight said as she caught up with her new friend. “Take it easy. You don’t want to add any more injuries to the list. So, you like trees?”
        Willow spat some grass out of her mouth as she lifted herself off the ground. “I love everythin’ green, mare. Trees, grass, plants, I dig 'em all!”
        "I thought you didn't remember anything." said Twilight. 
"I don't," Willow confirmed, "but I know what I like when I see it."
Twilight laughed. "Well, it's a start."
        The train ride home from the hospital had consisted predominantly of Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash asking Willow questions and Willow answering nearly all of them with variants of “no” and “I don’t know”. Her mind was completely void of any significant memories prior to her awaking in that glass chamber. Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike described to her the room that chamber was in, the one that had been completely dark to her when she escaped. Willow said the description didn’t sound familiar at all. Twilight told her about Discord and his followers, the Discordians, and how her father was one of them. None of it registered. Twilight even showed her the picture of her standing next to her father. She didn’t even recognize him.
        Still, Willow was able to keep the conversation going with the others for the duration of the trip. By the time the train arrived at the station, everypony had given her life story as well as the dragon. They continued to talk even after they got off. Likely, the conversation would have gone even longer had not the darkening sky reminded everypony how late it was. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie broke themselves away from the group to their homes and turn in for the night, leaving Spike and Twilight with Willow.
Willow, however, was currently making an all-new friend out of Twilight's abode. Right after she arose from her initial stumble, Willow resumed quickly — albeit more carefully —  making her way to the front of Golden Oaks. Instead of going to the door, though, she made a right a began walking around the tree, while never taking her eyes off it. A small but giddy grin could be seen across her face the entire time. Occasionally, she would lift up one of her hooves and place it on the bark, as if she couldn’t believe it was there.
        By the time Willow completed her circuit around the tree, Twilight had made it to the front door. Willow almost ran into her. “This is just too solid, mare!” said the pony who was green in more ways than one. “And you said I get to sleep here tonight?”
        Twilight smiled. “Of course. I’ve got plenty of extra room. I’m glad you like it.”
        Willow pointed to a small window to the left of them higher up on the tree. “Can I sleep in there?”
        Twilight turned her head to look at the window. “Sure!”
        “Sweet!” Willow said excitedly. “I wanna check out the leaves!”
        “It’s kind of strange that you don’t have a cutie mark yet,” remarked Twilight as she opened the door, “It’s pretty obvious what your passion is.”
        Spike was in the main library finishing a light dusting of the area when Twilight and Willow entered. Twilight had been so busy talking with Willow since they parted with the others that she didn’t even realize that he had gotten so far ahead of them. It made her glad, though, to see that he was also thinking ahead of them and tidying up.
        Willow’s look of awe and wonder at the library’s interior rivaled that of her reaction to its exterior. “Whoah. There’s a whole lot of dead trees inside this live one.” she commented. 
        “What? Oh, you mean the books,” replied Twilight. “Well, like I told you on the train, I'm an egghead.”
        “You weren’t trippin’, mare,” said Willow.
        Twilight turned to her assistant. “Spike, I’m going to show Willow upstairs. She wants to sleep in the west wing study.”
        “Your home has another study besides this one?” asked Willow in disbelief.
        “Well, this is a library, too. Technically all of the rooms are studies,” Twilight answered.
        “Uh, you may want to hold off on that,” said Spike, “I haven’t cleaned it yet.”
“Spike, we haven’t used that room since we cleaned it the last time. I’m sure it’s fine,” Twilight assured him.
“That was weeks ago,” Spike argued, “It’s probably dusty by now.”
“Hey, it’s all copasetic,” said Willow, “I just got out of a giant glass tube. I can wrap with a little dust.”
        Spike shrugged. “Well, I guess as long as it’s, uh, copasetic with you it’s copasetic with me,” he said, unsure if he was using the word correctly.
        Willow bared her small-mouthed smile to him and turned to Twilight, who placed her satchel on the ground and lead her up the stairs.
        After they had climbed the steps, they made a left and went to the nearest room on that side of the floor. Twilight opened the door. She saw the room was still mostly clean, though with a few dust spots. It was a small room, containing only a half-sized bookshelf, an end table, and a couch. Above the couch was a small round window, showing a view partly of the night sky, but mostly of the leaves on the branches around the room.
        Almost as soon as she walked into the room and saw the window she went over to it and felt around it with her hooves until she figured out how to open it. After she slid it open and the slight breeze began drifting in from the outside, Willow got up on the couch and stuck her head out the window. When she brought her head back in, she was holding a plucked leaf in her teeth by the stem. She walked over to the end table and placed it down.
        “Uh, hey mare, since this is going to be my pad for a while,” said Willow to Twilight, “you don’t mind if I spruce up the place a bit, do ya? I was thinking of pinning this leaf on the wall for starters.”
        “Oh. Not at all,” said Twilight graciously, “Make yourself a home. Wait here. I’ll get you a pin so you can hang that up.”
        Twilight walked out of the room and into the adjacent one where she had some household supplies — perfectly organized, of course. It took her no time at all to collect a few pins and return to Willow’s new living space. Willow was staring out the window with her back to the door when Twilight came in.
        “Here you go!” she said as she entered the room and placed the pins next to the leaf on the table.
        But as soon as she let go of the pins, Twilight was pushed to the floor with a force like ten stallions. It was so sudden that it nearly knocked the wind out of her. After her body hit the floor, Twilight could feel a presence standing over her, a presence that enveloped her like a cage. She looked up to see that she was surrounded by solid green hair and staring down from the middle of it all was Willow. But where her usual tiny smile once was, there was a wide, toothy, malicious grin and in place of her big yellow eyes were even bigger white ones, with no pupils.
        Twilight wasn’t paralyzed when she was knocked to the ground, but now she was paralyzed by fear. Her mouth was open wide with fright, but yet she couldn’t let out a gasp, let alone scream.
        However, Willow — if the thing standing over Twilight was still in fact Wilow — could speak very clearly. “What’s the matter? Too scared to wiggle, you pathetic bookworm!?” it yelled down at her. Its voice was as terrifying to Twilight as its appearance. It certainly wasn’t Willow’s voice. It was sharp and high-pitched, yet at the same time thundering and loud. Twilight thought her ears would bleed.
        However, she quickly learned that bleeding ears was not the injury she should be worried about as the creature lifted its front-left hoof and aimed it directly at Twilight’s head. Twilight rolled out from under it through the opening the lifted hoof had left, pushing past the curtain of hair in the way. The creature’s hoof slammed to the ground with the sound of splintering wood. Twilight immediately rose to her hooves, and bolted out the door and onto the staircase.
        “Get your worthless flank back here!” screamed the creature as it gave chase to its prey.
        Halfway down the stairs, Twilight nearly collided with Spike coming up from the main floor. “Twilight! I heard some noises. Is everything alri—whoah!” he said stopping himself as he saw the deranged-looking thing that was charging after her.
        Without even stopping, Twilight grabbed Spike and threw him on her back as she charged down the rest of the stairs. As she was nearing the first floor, her flight reflex was begging her to go out the front door and keep running, but she knew she couldn’t do that. This thing, whatever it was, was too dangerous to let loose into Ponyville. Instead, immediately after the stairs ended she turned towards the main bookshelf. As soon as there was no more room to run, she lifted Spike off her back and onto the floor, then turned to face her attacker.
        Almost as soon as the main room was in the creature’s view, it leapt off the stairs, landing with an earth-shaking thud only a short distance from Twilight and Spike. Its hair was now covering its face, but that didn’t stop it from facing its prey.
        Twilight’s horn lit up as she quickly cast a forcefield around herself and Spike. The creature charged. Twilight strengthened the forcefield as much as she could and braced for impact. But the type of impact she received was not the one she expected.
        The creature plowed through the forcefield like it wasn’t even there and once again pushed Twilight to ground. This time, the creature pinned her legs. Shocked and panicked, Twilight twisted back and forth trying to get out of the creature’s hold.
        “Ah! Now that squirm’s more like it!” it said with demented joy.
        Twilight screamed. “Spike! Spike!”
        Spike’s eyes were wide with terror as he saw and heard Twilight helpless against the monstrosity towering over her. Trying his best to calm himself, Spike weighed his options. He couldn’t breath fire on the creature because he would risk burning Twilight and there would be no way he could fight this thing hand-to-hoof. His only choice was to find a weapon.
        His eyes quickly surveyed the room looking for something, anything he could use. Twilight’s home wasn’t exactly an armory and Spike could see nothing that would be useful against something that strong. But then his eyes spotted something sitting at the bottom of the stairs. It was Twilight’s satchel, a satchel filled with those syringes they had found in the professor's lab.
        As fast as he could, Spike ran over to the satchel, pulled it open and yanked out the first syringe he saw, almost pricking himself on it in the process. Then he turned around to eye his target. It was still trying to subdue the flailing Twilight beneath it. The thing seemed to be completely focused on that task, and its back was exposed.
        Clenching his free fist and gripping the syringe tightly in the other, Spike rushed towards Twilight’s attacker and with all his might jammed the syringe into the creature’s upper thigh.
        Almost as soon as Spike had made his move, Twilight felt the thing’s body tighten like it had just received an electric shock. She looked up too see its face frozen with a stunned expression. Then, before Twilight could move, the creature’s eyes closed and it collapsed on top of her.



> Part 1, Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        I really need to get some sleep, but I’m so excited that I don’t think I could. I have all the materials I need and I’m ready to begin. I would start working right now, but I have a really busy day planned tomorrow and I need my rest. I figured writing in this journal for a few minutes would help me wind down.
        It’s going to be so glorious once my plan is put into motion. Our master, the Lord of Chaos himself, will be returned to the throne and the alicorn sisters will be eliminated. They think they’ve defeated him — defeated us — but they’ll soon learn that the Discordians are still here, and we still believe.
        I’ll give them credit, they turned our master into stone and forced us into hiding. Many of our members left us entirely. My wife was among them. She thought I was foolish for staying, but she’ll soon see that I was right. 
Discord is not defeated. He is testing us, just like he always has. This is no different than the time he turned me into a raccoon or made my stove run away. He’s teaching us how to live and delight in the insanity of life. Life isn’t supposed to be lived “in Harmony”.
 That’s where the alicorns are wrong and it shows! Life is boring now that the master isn’t here. Everyday it’s the same old thing. How does anypony live like this?
Well, they soon won’t have to anymore because we, the remaining servants of Discord, are going to storm the castle, overthrow those stuck-up princesses and take those six detestable little toys of theirs. We’ll use those so-called Elements of Harmony to free our magnificent lord from his prison. Then, there we be a wonderful celebration where we’ll crush those tacky trinkets into dust. 
So how are we going to storm the castle and defeat the alicorns when they’re so powerful and there’s so few of us left? Well, that’s where the plan comes in. You see, we can’t go around seeking new members or building an army. The princesses have eyes everywhere and it would attract too much attention. But with my alchemy and my genius, I have come up with a better solution...

“Twilight! She’s waking up!” yelled Rainbow Dash. 
Twilight immediately closed Professor Voidsdale’s journal, turned around and faced the now-moving pony lying on the floor. “Stand back, Rainbow!” she shouted as she rushed towards the awaking pony, horn illuminated.
Immediately after Willow — or whatever was controlling her — was subdued, Twilight asked Spike to go out and fetch Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Mrs. Cake while she watched over Willow’s motionless body, a satchel full of needles by her side. 
Rainbow Dash arrived first, but Spike was still out gathering the other two. Even so, Twilight couldn’t exactly postpone explaining why Willow was lying unconscious on the floor until they arrived. After she described to Rainbow Dash what had just happened, Rainbow decided to keep watch over Willow for her while Twilight searched the journal for clues to the green-haired pony’s condition. 
Willow let out a long moan that sounded like she had just recovered from a severe blow to the head. However, the moan was, at least, in her own voice. 
“Whoah...that was one strange trip,” she said after finally managing to stand up all the way. 
She shook her head slowly to get her hair out of her face. Once she could clearly see, she realized that two ponies were staring at her and neither of them looked particularly happy.
“Uh...hi?” she greeted them cautiously.
“Why did you attack Twilight last night!?” yelled Rainbow Dash.
“Whoah! Whoah, mare! What're ya'll talkin' about?" answered Willow in a panicky voice.
“Oh! Let me guess,” said Rainbow Dash with a sarcastic tone, “You don’t remember, is that it?”
Willow began to tremble and her speech became stammered. “N-no! No! You-you gotta believe me. I didn't do nuthin'!”
“Well, I don’t!” Rainbow Dash declared. “I’m not buyin’ this whole amnesia thing. You’ve been leading us on this whole time, just waitin’ to get the jump on Twilight!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled at Willow's accuser.
Rainbow Dash didn’t respond to Twilight. She kept her eyes focused on Willow and began to step forward towards her. Willow, trembling, began walking backwards, trying to keep her distance. 
“Twilight’s my friend! And when ponies mess with my friends, I mess with them!”
Willow had backed all the way to the wall in an attempt to stay away from her accuser. Out of room and shaking like the leaf she had plucked from the tree the night before, she fell to the floor, put her forelegs over her face and cried out “Stop!”
The scream was desperate and genuine, so much so that Rainbow Dash obeyed and stopped approaching the trembling pony. 
“I-I dunno what you’re talkin’ about! What’s-what’s happening?” Willow asked. her voice sounding like it was on the brink of sobbing and she was breathing heavily, as if she had just been strangled. 
Rainbow Dash stood there silently for a moment. Gradually, her stance loosened and she lowered her head. At long last she timidly spoke to the green pony before her. “Hey. I’m sorry.”
At Rainbow Dash’s apology, Willow's breathing slowed back to its normal pace and her shaking eventually diminished. She calmly stood back up. “It’s all good, mare. We’re cool,” she said as she walked toward the pony she had previously backed away from. Once she was in range, she lifted her forelegs and gave Rainbow Dash a warm embrace. Rainbow Dash smiled and gently patted her back. 
Willow backed down from the hug and turned to look at Twilight. “Uh, I seriously don’t know what's goin' on. You all right?”
Twilight nodded.
“I'm okay,” said Twilight. “Well, I'm not okay, but I don’t think you’re to blame for it. So... what is the last thing you remember?” 
Willow thought for a moment, then offered “The last thing...was you leavin’ to get a pin. Then I went to go check out the leaves some more and then there was funky green haze in my eyes and all I could hear was noise. Couldn’t feel nothin’ either. Then it all faded out and when I woke up ya’ll were givin’ me the freaky faces.”
Twilight explained to Willow what happened in the missing pieces of her memory, how she — or at least the thing that possessed her body — had pounced on her, chased her down the stairs, and pinned her to the floor. Twilight then told her how Spike subdued the creature by using a syringe they had found next to her glass prison. 
 Willow’s face nearly turned pale. She quickly approached Twilight and embraced her even more tightly than she had Rainbow Dash. “I-I dunno what to say. I would never do that, mare. Never!”
Twilight returned the hug. “I don’t know what’s happening to you, Willow, but we’re going to find out and we’re going to fix it!” 
Willow let go of Twilight. “Well mare, I’m glad to be out of my old man’s shack, but I’m not glad to hear that I got some bad juju in me,” She frowned. “Every silver lining’s got a touch of gray, I guess.”
“Well, I think the touch of gray in this case is your father,” said Twilight. 
“Yeah,” Willow agreed, “I don’t remember him, but it sounds like I don’t want to. Whatever happened to him, anyway?”
“He exploded,” Twilight said casually.
“Ah,” Willow replied. Then, she started. “Wait, wha?”
“He was a very talented alchemist, but he was also a bit of a klutz. And it didn’t help that he liked to experiment with the, uh, explode-y kind of alchemy. That’s why his home was condemned for so long. He had made so many things go boom in his house that it damaged the foundation. Anyway, one day he took it a little too far and blew himself up.”
Willow looked at Twilight with a blank, stunned expression. “Huh...heavy.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Wait, so he was a gray pony with a yellow mane and he was clumsy? Wow. That really reminds me of —” Rainbow Dash stopped herself and her face straightened, “You know what, I’m not even going there.”
“I wanna go there!” said an enthusiastic Pinkie Pie as she burst through the door right next to them. “Wait, where are you not going?”
“Hey there, funny mare!” Willow greeted Pinkie. 
        Mrs. Cake and Spike came in shortly after Pinkie Pie, and much less flamboyantly. “I’m so sorry we didn’t get here sooner, Twilight,” said Mrs. Cake. “I was already asleep and Spike and Pinkie had to wake me up. So is something wrong?”
        Twilight explained to them what had happened the same way she explained it Rainbow Dash, though adding that Willow had awoken with no memory of the incident. 
        She ended her explanation with “...so I think whatever Professor Voidsdale was doing to her did something to her mind and he made the chemical that’s in these syringes to keep it in check.”
        Mrs. Cake put her hoof on Willow’s shoulder. “You poor thing,” she said consolingly. Then she turned to Twilight. “So...what are we going to do?”
        Twilight thought for a moment, then said in a very serious tone. “Willow, I think it’s best that you don’t go outside at all until we have this figured out.”
        Willow frowned. “Bummer. I’m mean, I guess you’re right n’ all, but it’s just kind of a drag. I wanna be free for once, ya know?.”
        “I know,” said Twilight, “but I have the professor’s journal and an entire library of research. With any luck, it won’t be long.”
       	“Does this mean that we can’t have a welcoming party?” Pinkie suddenly blurted out. 
        “I think that’s out of the question, Pinkie,” said Spike.
        Pinkie immediately bursted into tears. “But I already sent the invites!” she sobbed.
        “You did what!?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “You only got off the train two hours ago!”
        “Huh,” said Mrs. Cake, “And where, pray tell, was this party going to take place?”
        Pinkie wiped her eyes and she sniffled. “Sugarcube Corner."
        “Naturally.” said Mrs. Cake sarcastically. “Thank you for letting me know.”
        "Ugh," groaned Willow, “Double bummer. I was lookin’ forward to groovin’ with some new ponies.”
        “I’m sorry, Willow,” said Twilight, “but we just can’t let our guard down like that.”
        “Guard! That’s it! We can still do it!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she instantly jumped up and down excitedly. 
        “Um, how?” asked Spike.
        “We can give her a bodyguard!” suggested Pinkie. “Well, not really a bodyguard because we’re not protecting her from other ponies and instead are protecting other ponies from her, but still! We’ll just have somepony follow her around with a bunch of needles and if she starts acting funny, we poke her!”
        “Ouch,” said Willow.
        “That’s still too risky,” said Twilight. “Whatever attacked me last night was really powerful.”
        “Hmmm...when’s the party?” asked Willow.
        “Two days from now!” Pinkie happily answered.
        “Okay then. Twilight, how ‘bout this,” said Willow looking at her host. “We figure out how to handle, um, me in the next two days. I’ll stay in your pad the whole time. If it’s all good by then, then we party! How’s that sound?”
        Twilight thought again for a moment, then said “Well, it’s not a lot of time, but I think it’s enough for me to at least find a temporary way of keeping that monster from coming out. Okay. I agree. We’ll try to get you fixed up in two days so you’ll be ready for your big Ponyville welcome!”
        “Sweet! Thanks, mare!” said Willow, her smile finally returning.
        “Yay!” shouted Pinkie Pie, once again jumping up in the air and coming back down with confetti in tow. 
        “Wonderful,” said Mrs. Cake, “Willow, Twilight, let me know if you need anything. In the meantime, I’m going home. I have to get some rest tonight because I, apparently, have to get ready for a big party soon.”
        “Thank you, Mrs. Cake,” said Twilight. “Have a good night!”
        Mrs. Cake turned and began to walk toward the door. Upon seeing her leaving, Willow asked Twilight. “Hey mare, since I’m going to be cooped up for a while, do you mind if I step outside now and get one last breath of fresh air?”
        “Well, as long as you keep it short and we’re out there with you, I guess it’s okay,” said Twilight.
        “That’s cool with me,” agreed Willow.
        Her, Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash stepped outside. They waved at Mrs. Cake who was now a distance away from the library. 
Willow took a deep breath, inhaling the night air as if she was trying to store it up for her impending incarceration. Her eyes also wandered back and forth as if she was trying to memorize every detail of the view.
        “Such a solid place ya’ll got here. Really wish I could go out and take it all in,” she said.
        “You will,” Twilight encouraged her. “We just have to —”
        “Um, Twilight?” said Spike, tugging at her leg and pointing to her left.
        Twilight turned and looked in the direction he was pointing. Far away, she could see a white object rushing towards them. At this distance, it resembled a marshmallow. 
        “Oh no,” is all she could say.
        Rainbow Dash now turned to look as well. Her eyes widened. “Not good.”
        “Incoming!” yelled Pinkie Pie as she ran and hid behind the Golden Oaks Library’s trunk. 
        As if it had just then dawned on her that something was amiss, Willow slowly turned to look at the incoming white blur. “Wha—?”
        She was too late. As soon as she laid eyes on it, it was right on top of her, grabbing her and pinning her against the tree.
        “What happened to your hair!? It’s absolutely dreadful!” screamed Rarity right into Willow’s face as she held her against the tree. 
        It took Willow a few seconds to shake off the shock of the surprise impact. After her vision corrected itself and she could clearly see the heavily-makeuped, meticulously-groomed white pony before her, her face turned grim. “Lay off, mare!” she said, pushing Rarity’s hooves off her. “You don’t even know me and you’re already trashin’ my style!?”
        Rarity’s expression became as cross as Willow’s. “What style? You obviously have never combed that hair in your life! And it’s so long that it’s dragging on the ground! Did you even know that your mane exists?”
        “Rarity! What are you doing!?” yelled Rainbow Dash. 
        Twilight was gritting her teeth. “Don’t make her angry...” she muttered.
        “It’s called natural, princess!” Willow yelled at her second accuser of the night. “Some ponies actually like lookin’ the way we’re meant to look. You know, the look where you’re not drownin’ your mane in toxins?”
        “You don’t have to be so hot and bothered just because you’re jealous!” Rarity rebutted. 
        Willow’s eyes sharpened, “I would never be jealous of somepony like you, prissy!”
        For one tense moment, the two stared at each other loathingly, then finally Rarity stuck her nose up at Willow. “Fine! If you want to be a slob the rest of your life that’s your choice!”. She then turned around and stomped away, passing up Twilight and the others like they were part of the scenery. 
        Everypony was silent. Twilight, however, attempted to break the silence on a positive note. “Well, at least we know you don’t transform when you get angry.”
        Willow shrugged. “I wasn’t mad when it happened last time, either. And I wouldn’t be mad now if it weren’t for whats-her-name over there gettin’ all high an’ mighty on me.”
        “I’m sorry about that,” said Twilight sincerely. “Her name is Rarity. She’s actually a very nice pony. It’s just that fashion is her specialty and beauty is important to her.”
        “A little too important sometimes.” added Rainbow Dash. 
        “I see that, mare.” said Willow. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Bowing her head, she declared “Ya know, I don’t like fightin’. I love everypony, even if they don’t love me back.” 
        She slowly walked towards Rarity, who was now a distance away from the group. When she finally got in range, she called out to her. “Hey mare, wait up!”
        Rarity reluctantly stopped at Willow’s call and waited for the unkempt pony to catch up. “What?” she huffed. 
        “Look,” said Willow, “I think we got off on the wrong hoof, mare. I-I actually think you’re pretty. I just didn’t dig the tone is all. Pinning me to a tree didn’t help either.”
        Rarity looked a little surprised by the apology. “Oh, um, well, I, uh, I’m sorry about that.” Her face flushed and she hung her head. “I really don’t know what came over me. I guess I’ve had a rather stressful day. I don’t even know who you are.”
        Willow’s tiny smile emerged. “Well, now you do! I’m Willow. I’m Twilight’s, uh, guest.”
        Rarity returned the smile. “Willow. What a lovely name. My name is Rarity.”
        “Nice to meet you proper this time,” said Willow.
        “I’m sorry for what I said about your hair,” said Rarity, “It’s just, well, it’s just not a style I’m used to.”
        “Hey, different strokes for different folks,” said Willow. Then, she got an idea. “Hey, I tell ya what, why don’t we hang some time and I’ll let you style my hair however you want.”
        Rarity instantly bubbled up with excitement. “You would let me do that?”
        “Sure! I can’t promise I’ll keep what you give me, but it’d be a great way to wrap together, ya know?”
        “Absolutely!” said Rarity. “How long are you going to be in town, dear? Would tomorrow night be okay?”
        “Uh, sure!” said Willow hesitantly. “I just, uh, have to make sure it’s cool with Twilight.”
        “Of course. I understand,” said Rarity as she turned to begin walking away. “Well, let’s plan for tomorrow night and you just let me know before then if you can’t make it. Have a good evening, Willow!”
        “Same to too, Rarity!” said Willow as she watched Rarity walk away. 
        Willow returned to Twilight and the others. “What happened?” asked Rainbow Dash.
        “It’s all good,” said Willow. “She wants to hang out and give me a new do tomorrow night!”
        “Uh...you really think that’s a good idea?” asked Spike.
        “I don’t think it is,” said Rainbow Dash bluntly.
        “Sorry Willow, but I agree with Rainbow,” said Twilight. “I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to fix your problem in that amount of time. The two days we just planned on is already stretching it.”
        “Hey wait!” said Spike as if he was suddenly inspired. “This could be a great way to test out Pinkie’s bodyguard idea! I, er, one of us should go with Willow to Rarity’s place and see if I’m, uh, they’re able to keep the monster from coming out!”
        “Hmm. I can dig that.” said Willow.
        Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I think you’re just looking for an excuse to go to Rarity’s.”
        “I am not!” said Spike indignantly. “I just want to protect her. Uh, Willow I mean, you know, from herself.”
        “I see,” said Twilight with a smirk. 
        “C’mon! I stopped that thing once already! I can do it again!” argued Spike.
        Twilight sighed, “Yes. Yes you did. Okay. Willow, you can go see Rarity tomorrow night.”
        “Groovy!” said Willow..
        Twilight then turned to Spike and gave him a very stern look. “But I need you to stay focused, Spike. This is very serious.”
        “I know, Twilight,” said Spike sincerely. “I won’t let you down.”
        Twilight smiled. “I know you won’t.”
        Pinkie stuck her head out from behind the tree. “Is she gone yet?”
        
        
        
        
        
	
	
	

> Part 1, Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Alright, smarty mare. I’m headin’ out!” Willow announced to her host.
Twilight turned to Spike. “Are you all set?”
        The question was almost rhetorical. Spike was standing by the door with the bag of syringes slung over his shoulder and looking like he was going to a fancy dinner. He had spent the last hour scrubbing his scales, rinsing his mouth, and meticulously straightening his spines. Twilight could also smell a heavy amount of cologne.  
        “I am fully prepared, ma’am,” said Spike in a voice that was deeper and smoother than his real one.
        Twilight smirked, “Well, then I guess Willow is free to go.” She turned back to look at the pony she just referred to. “You may need to keep an eye on him while he keeps an eye on you.”
        Willow chuckled. “Well, I’ll try, but you know sometimes my hair gets in my eyes.”
Twilight giggled at first, but then her face straightened. “If you start to feel strange at all, let Spike know. And if it gets too bad, get out of there as fast as you can.”
“I dig, mare,” said Willow, nodding. She then went to the front door, opened it, and exited the library. Spike followed, sticking closer to her than a royal guard to Princess Celestia.
Twilight stood at the door watching them until they were out of sight, then took a deep breath to calm her nerves and closed the door. 
        There had been no incidents with Willow since the initial one on the night before. She, Spike, and Twilight all slept surprisingly soundly that night and Willow remained herself throughout the course of the day. Still, that fact alone did little to ease Twilight’s fears.
        She had spent most of the day examining her new houseguest. She studied every aspect of Willow’s body that she knew how to, looking for anything unusual that could give her further understanding of the long-haired pony’s condition. However, everything was normal and the only results were several moments of uncomfortable physical contact. Willow was, at least, a good patient though. She welcomed Twilight’s tests and the two even exchanged jokes during the more awkward procedures. 
        Twilight had also tried combing the formulae in Professor Voidsdale’s journal for answers, but she soon learned that it was a waste of time. Discordian alchemy was very different than traditional alchemy. Traditional alchemy was based on order and harmony, but this alchemy was completely based on chaos. Twilight couldn’t understand any of it. The symbols used in the equations were completely foreign to her, the units of measure didn’t resemble any that she knew, and the ingredients made absolutely no sense. It was like trying to read something written in a different language.
        The only thing in the journal that she could understand were the sections that the professor used as a personal diary. Most of the book was filled with dizzying Discordian equations, but every now and then the professor would simply write about his day or gloat to himself about how amazing his plan was. 
        Unable to think of anything else, Twilight walked back to the journal and flipped through it until she found the next passage she could comprehend...
        
       I’m so close now that I can almost see our glorious victory over the alicorns unfold! It’s been months of trial and error, but I finally have discovered an exact formula! It’s truly my best work, far better than any of the works the public knows of, and that’s no small order.
I call it Ataxium. It’s amazing. With the proper dosage it could double any pony’s strength and at the same time make its body completely impervious to magic. If I could create enough of it, a small band of Discordians would be more than enough to overthrow the two sisters and their army. The princesses’ magic would be futile against us and any soldier that stood in our way would be crushed!
Ataxium may add another benefit as well. You see, in order to make a pony resistant to magic, I had to make a formula that was very magic-like in nature. So in addition to protecting a pony from magic, it may also grant them some “magic” power of its own. Exactly how that power would manifest is anypony’s guess. In fact, it may be different for each pony that the Ataxium is given to. It will be very interesting to see. 
So does this formula actually work? Of course it does! I made it, didn’t I? 
Well, even so I suppose it is untested and if I tried it on myself and something went wrong, it may leave me incapacitated. This formula changes a pony at the core level of its being after all so using it is a little risky. I will need to find a test subject...

        “Oh! Good evening Willow!” said Rarity greeting her guest at the front door. 
        “Hey there, fancy mare!” Willow replied. 
        “You came just in time!” Rarity said. “I just finished setting up for our little makeover this evening.” 
Rarity pointed her hoof at one of the many salons in the main room. In addition to hair spray and a curling iron, there was blush, mascara, eye shadow, and powder. Also on either side of the solon were hat racks fully stocked with various head and neck wear. 
“Uh, I thought you were just going to give me a new do,” said Willow.
Rarity laughed. “Oh dear, it’s quite obvious that you don’t know me.”
“I know you,” said Spike looking up longingly at her.
Rarity started slightly. “Oh, why, hello Spike. I didn’t see you there. What brings you here?”
“He wants a makeover too,” said Willow. 
“I do not!” Spike objected. “I’m here to watch Willow because she, uh, has fleas.”
“Hey! I don’t have fleas!” Willow rebutted.
Spike squinted his eyes. “And I don’t want a makeover.”
Willow slowly nodded. “Touché, little guy.”
Rarity sighed. “Oh well, you’re always welcome here, just try not to get in the way, okay?”
“I would never get in the way of your work, madam,” said Spike, sounding like he was her butler.
Rarity and Willow made their way over to the salon with Rarity wearing a face of confidence and pride as though she were about to perform her greatest work yet. Willow, however, looked like she was being escorted to the gallows. 
“So...what did you have in mind, fancy mare?” Willow asked nervously. 
“Oh I had a few different ideas,” Rarity replied as she lifted a pair of scissors with her horn’s magic, “but all of them start the same. We really need to trim down that mane of yours.”
Willow swallowed. “Well, I said I would let you.” She timidly lifted up one side of her hair with hoof and offered it to Rarity. 
Rarity’s magic grabbed hold of the hair while simultaneously opening the scissors and moving them into position near the bottom. The ends of Willow’s hair were frayed and dirty from being dragged on the ground and occasionally getting stepped on. Needless to say, Ponyville’s fashion queen was eager to remove them. Once the scissors were at the right spot, Rarity closed the blades.
Unexpectedly, this resulted in a loud cracking sound. Rarity looked down at the scissors and saw large cuts going in every direction on the blades. Then, before her eyes, the blades shattered into little shards of metal and fell to the ground.
Rarity looked up at Willow to see that she was just as startled as her. They stared at each other in stunned silence for a moment, then finally Willow asked, “Uh, how old were those scissors, mare?”
“Not old at all!” said Rarity, as if insulted by the question. “What did you put in your hair?”
“I didn’t think I put anything in it. Like I told ya’, my mane’s all-natural,” answered Willow plainly. 
Rarity reached out and felt around Willow’s hair. She stopped after finding that it felt perfectly normal. “Hmmm,” she said, looking at the broken-off handles that once supported scissor blades,  “maybe these poor scissors just couldn’t take anymore work. Pity. They were my favorite pair.”  
“I’m sorry, mare,” apologized Willow.
“Oh quite alright. I doubt you had anything to do with it,” said Rarity. “Stay here. I’ll go upstairs and see if I can find another pair.”
Spike had been watching the situation very intently. Most of the time his gaze was fixed solely on Rarity, but the moment that the scissors broke his eyes snapped instantly onto Willow while he gripped the bag of needles tightly in his hand. As soon as Rarity turned and began walking towards the staircase, he approached the pony he was asked to guard.
“What happened?” asked Spike.
“I-I don’t know,” answered Willow. She grabbed a part of her hair and felt around it. “My hair feels fine. It’s just gotta be old scissors.”
“Hmmm, I’ve never seen scissors act like that, even when they're old,” said Spike. “Let me try something.”
Spike grabbed the clump of hair that Willow was holding, opened his mouth, and bit down on it with his razor-sharp teeth. 
“Ow!” he said almost immediately as he dropped the hair and clasped his mouth. He stood there covering his jaws for a moment, then his eyes turned to the floor where he saw a small white pebble-like object.
“It broke my tooth!” he exclaimed.
“Whoah. So, like, my hair’s as hard as a rock?” asked Willow.
“I’m a dragon. I eat gems. And I can tell you that’s a lot harder than a rock!” said Spike. 
“Heavy," is all Willow said.
“Yeah. Well, I guess you’re off the hook then,” said Spike, laughing a little. “Rarity doesn’t have anything that’s going to cut that hair!”
        When Willow didn’t respond to this comment, Spike looked up at her face. Her eyes had changed. They were now the glowing, blank eyes he had come to fear. 
        “Holy cow!” Spike yelled as he jumped back. Panic set in and he started to shake, but then he noticed something. Willow — or whatever was stealing her body from her — was standing completely still and staring at absolutely nothing. Quickly, he reached into the bag, pulled out a needle and thrusted it into Willow’s leg. Her eyes closed and she gently collapsed onto the floor. 
Spike breathed a sigh of relief, but then there was a sound that heralded an altogether different problem. Rarity was descending the staircase. He put the needle he was holding back in the bag.  
“Finally! I found some scissors that are up to the task!” Rarity said loudly as she neared the final step with the new pair magically suspended above her head. When she turned to enter the main room though, she dropped them to the floor and gasped.
“Spike! What happened!” she screamed.
“Uh...”, Spike stalled, “She-she was so nervous about getting a full makeover that she just fainted!”
“Oh dear!” exclaimed Rarity. “I saw that she was nervous but I never dreamed it was this nervous!”
Frantically, Rarity walked over to Willow’s motionless body and turned it over. She put her ear over the unconscious pony’s chest. She heard Willow's heartbeat and felt the heaving of her breaths. With her right hoof, she began lightly slapping Willow’s face. “Wake up, Willow! I will not have one of my clients taken out in an ambulance again!”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Again?”
After a few slaps, Willow let out a long groan and slowly opened her eyes. After they focused and she could see Rarity looking down on her with worrisome, almost teary eyes she finally spoke. “Did...you not find any more scissors?”
Rarity let out a long exhale, then smiled. “I did find some, but don’t worry. I won’t use them on you, I promise.”
“Heh. Okay. Guess that’s a relief,” said Willow as she got up from under her host and stood on her own hooves. 
“Why didn’t you tell me you were tonsurephobic?” asked Rarity rhetorically.
“Tonsur-a-whatta?” said Willow.
“You’re afraid of getting your hair cut! I am so sorry. If I had known I would have never pressured you!”
“Well, I was a little nervous but I don’t think—” Willow stopped her speech when she felt Spike nudging her. She quickly glanced at him and he gave her a wink. She shifted her eyes back to Rarity. “I mean, uh, I never had my mane cut before, so, uh, I guess I didn’t know, uh, ya know?”
“Well, it’s perfectly alright,” said Rarity reassuringly, “We each have our own little fears.”
“Yeah, uh, ain’t that the truth?” said Willow, a little surprised that Rarity bought her acting.
Rarity smiled. “Well, perhaps I have given you enough nightmares for one evening. I think maybe you should go home and recover. We can do a makeover some other time, sans scissors of course.”
“Yeah. Yeah I think I better split. My head’s still kinda trippin’,” said Willow as she held her hoof up to her forehead. 
        Rarity put her hoof on Willow’s shoulder and gently lead her and Spike to the front door. They said their goodbyes to each other — with Spike’s goodbye being curiously formal —  and Rarity’s two visitors left in the direction of the Golden Oaks Library. 
        Once they were out of earshot of Rarity, Willow talked to Spike. “So, what really happened back there, little dude?”
        “Your eyes went blank. I put another needle in you and you passed out again,” Spike explained.
“I didn’t hurt you er nuthin’, did I?” asked Willow.
“No and that’s the thing. You just stood there, like you were in some kind of trance,” said Spike.
“Heavy,” said Willow. “That must’ve been when I saw that green haze again.”
“Could be. It was weird, but you know it’s actually a good thing,” suggested Spike. “That means that I got plenty of time use the syringe before that whatever-it-is takes you over.”
“Hmm, good point, little guy!” said Willow as her small smile reappeared. 
“Thanks!” said Spike. “I think that means your welcoming party tomorrow night is a go! All we have to do is keep watching your eyes.”
	

> Part 1, Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I don’t understand it! I spent months and months developing Ataxium, accounting for every potentially negative side effect it could possibly have on its user. I thought I was wasting my time when I decided to create that counteragent for it. Ataxium was going to work so what was the point? 
However, just moments ago, that counteragent saved my life.
Initially, the subject showed positive results once injected with the formula. The Ataxium strengthened the pony’s body exponentially. I placed various objects in front of the subject one at a time and asked the subject to break them. Each object was made out of stronger material than the last one, but it didn’t matter. None of them were even a contest. The subject’s hooves broke through metal just as easily as they broke through wood. Even the diamond I presented was pulverized into dust right before my eyes. The teeth were just as powerful. I have seen dragons in my day that had a more difficult time devouring gems than this enhanced pony did.
I didn’t have anything magical at the ready for testing the subject’s resistance to spells and such. I am an Earth Pony, after all. However, fire has similar properties to magic so for a preliminary test I decided to try igniting the subject’s hair with a torch. It didn't even singe. I was truly excited at that point. The subject’s body was transformed in the exact way I had predicted. I thought my project was a complete success. My brothers and I were only days away from going to war against the alicorns. 
But just a few moments ago, the subject attacked me. 
It all happened so quickly that my recollection is still foggy, but even now as I look around at the devastation in this room, I can see how terrible the attack was. Two of my shelves are now in splinters. My alchemy equipment is scattered all over the floor and most of it is broken as well. I can even see cracks in the walls, and these walls are made of stone. 
My memory is gradually starting to return to me now, but the more it does the more I wish it wouldn’t. I keep seeing flashes of that creature, that monster the subject became. Its eyes were white and empty, its teeth were sharper than knives, and that voice...that voice was like a banshee’s. 
It lunged at me and only narrowly missed. I ran for the door but the creature got ahead of me and blocked the way. I ran in the other direction and it stopped me that way too. I kept running around, practically doing laps around the room as the monster gave chase. Once or twice I tripped and it almost got me. It even got close enough once to tear my vest. And all the while it was taunting me, telling me how miserable I was and calling me every name in the book in that terrible screeching voice. 
What I realize now that I have time to think is that the creature’s insults were very specific to me. For example, it mockingly repeated some of the things I had said to the subject earlier today. This must mean that the subject’s memory was retained during the transformation. Sill, the pony’s disposition certainly wasn’t. The monster had the exact opposite personality of the subject. The pony I chose for testing was a very passive and friendly individual. The thing that attacked me on the other hand, was aggressive and — to say the least — abusive. This was far from the spirit of all-accepting chaos our master would have us have. This was hate, pure unbridled hate. 
And it almost took me. It was fortunate that right when it had me cornered, I happened to be near where the counteragent had fallen from its shelf. The creature pounced, I pointed the syringe outward at the last possible second and it sank into its chest. The creature fell on top of me, unconscious.
It’s still lying on the floor right now as I’m writing this. I’m not sure when it will get back up, but I have to stay here in case it does. I can’t let that thing leave this room! Of course, if the counteragent does what it’s supposed to do, the subject should return to normal upon awakening. 
Even if that’s the case though, I'm not sure if the counteragent’s effects are permanent. The subject may eventually transform again and I will once again have to subdue the creature. I may have to make more of this concoction — a lot more — to keep that thing from resurfacing until I can find a more permanent solution. And to think, before this incident I didn’t even care enough about the counteragent to give it a name. It’s the antidote to Ataxium, so...Antaxium, I guess.
        Still, I can’t believe I need such a thing. I’m certain all of my calculations were correct for the Ataxium formula. I thoroughly researched everything. I just don’t know what went wrong!

That was the last entry in Professor Voidsdale’s journal Twilight read before she decided to head out to Willow’s welcoming party at Sugarcube Corner. Her mind was still mulling over the details, and not just of the chilling account of the creature’s first attack. Twilight's mind kept going back to the way the Professor kept referring to Willow as “the subject” or “the pony”. It was the same in every previous entry as well. This was his own daughter he was experimenting on, and yet he refused to even mention her name. 
It also didn’t help her mood that it had been another long frustrating day of getting nowhere in her search for a cure to her new friend’s condition. Just like the day before, her attempts to interpret the Discordian alchemy in the journal were fruitless. She also combed the vast library of Golden Oaks looking for anything that would at least give her a starting point. Nothing. Discordian alchemy had been lost to the ages and very few books even mentioned its existence.  
At least there existed a way to keep Willow from fully transforming in the first place. Spike's report on the incident at Rarity's place made Twilight confident enough to let Willow go with Spike ahead of her to the party. 
And now that Twilight was approaching Sugarcube Corner herself, she could see that the party was quite lively. She could hear upbeat music mixed in the voices of many ponies in conversation with one another and the bright lights coming from inside almost made the night sky look like mid-day. 
One curious thing Twilight noticed though was that Mrs. Cake and Pinkie Pie were standing outside to the left of the entrance behind what looked like a hastily-constructed concessions stand. There was a big wooden sign suspended by poles over it that read “Discordian Pies”. 
“Oh! Hi Twilight!” Pinkie shouted while waving to the Unicorn approaching the stand.
“Hi Pinkie!” said Twilight returning the greeting with a smile. “So how are the, uh, Discordian Pies doing?”
“They’re an amazing success!” said Mrs. Cake excitedly. “Pinkie and I baked a few the day after we got back from Canterlot. I put a few slices on the sample tray for ponies to try and they just couldn’t stay away from them!”
“Wow. That’s great!” said Twilight. “I’m glad everypony likes them.”
“Yes. I was worried when the recipe said each bite would be a different flavor,” said Mrs. Cake, “but no matter what flavor you get it’s delicious! And besides, sharing what flavor you get with the ponies you’re with is a great way to break the ice!”
“Hmm, I never thought of that.” Twilight said.
“The whole thing almost didn’t happen, though. Some of the symbols and ingredients in that recipe we found in Professor Voidale’s lab were...strange. I had never seen anything like them before, but Pinkie Pie figured them out.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “Uh, Pinkie, you understood the Professor’s directions!?”
“Yup.” said Pinkie nonchalantly.
Twilight sighed, remembering who she was talking to. “Well, after this party is over I have a job for you.”
“There you are, Twilight!” said a voice coming from just out of Twilight’s view, a voice with a familiar southern accent.
“Oh hi there, Applejack!” said Twilight as she turned to greet her friend. 
“What took ya so long?” asked Applejack. “I thought you’d be the first pony here since the guest of honor is a friend of your family an’ all.” 
“She is? Er, I mean yes, she is!” said Twilight trying to play along with the lie that Willow had evidently told her friend. “Well, I had just a little bit of, um, studying I wanted to finish up before I got here. So where’s Willow now?”
“Over at that table in the corner,” said Applejack, pointing at a table in the far back and barely visible from the outside of the building. “She’s been there talkin’ to Fluttershy for a while now. I think those two are really gettin’ along.”
“Really?” said Twilight.
“Yeah. Well, you got yourself two hardcore nature lovers there so I think they got a lot to talk about,” said Applejack.
“Did you get to talk to her yourself at all?” Twilight asked.
“Of course!” said Applejack smiling. “She’s a friendly gal, if a bit weird.”
“Yeah that about sums her up,” laughed Twilight. Then she changed the subject. “Is Spike still with her?”
“Yup. He’s been stickin’ to her like glue the whole time we’ve been here. I think Rarity may finally have some competition,” joked Applejack. 
“Oh I’m sure Rarity has nothing to worry about,” said Twilight giggling. “Well, I better see what he’s up to.”
“Have at it. I’m gonna pick me up another one of these pies!” said Applejack as she walked to the front of the concession stand. 
Twilight entered Sugarcube Corner and quickly discovered that the party was just as lively as it looked from outside. She had expected to see some of her closer friends in attendance like Rarity and Rainbow Dash and while she did see them among the crowd it looked like half of Ponyville was there too.
It was obvious, however, that most hadn’t come to see Willow specifically. There was at least one slice of a certain newly-discovered dessert on everypony’s plate. 
Willow herself had a half-eaten Discordian Pie on her dish, as did her current conversation partner, Fluttershy. They were sitting across from each other at the same table, their eyes fixed on an open napkin with some crude drawings on it as they talked to each other excitedly. 
“Ooo! And maybe we could have a tropical exhibit over here with some pretty fishies or maybe some toucans!” said Fluttershy ecstatically as she pointed to a corner of the napkin art. 
“Hmmm, that’d be pretty groovy!” Willow agreed. “I dig palm trees!”
“Hey there! What’re you two doing?” asked Twilight. 
“Oh, um, hi Twilight,” said Fluttershy. “We’re thinking about maybe building an indoor Rainforest together!”
“Oh really?” said Twilight.
“Yup. She’s got the critters and I’ve got the green! Well, the green plants anyway,” explained Willow. 
“Wow! That’s a great way to put your passions together!” Twilight said happily.
Suddenly, a yawn came out from somewhere between the two ponies at the table, followed by a half-hearted “Yeah...it’s great.”
Spike had been sitting at the table on a stool too short for him. He had to pull himself up onto the tabletop before Twilight could see he was there. He was still carrying the new satchel Twilight gave him to tote the syringes less conspicuously, but he was rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up.
        “Hey there, little guy,” said Willow. “Get your nap in?”
        “Spike!” said Twilight indignantly. “You were napping?”
        Willow chuckled a little. “Not everypony digs the whole flora-fauna scene. I think me an’ critter mare here put ‘em out. It's all good.”
        “No, it isn’t ‘all good’!” said Twilight angrily. 
        “Oh, um, I’m sorry,” said Fluttershy in her usual timid voice. “Were we supposed to keep him awake?”
        “No! It’s just that—” Twilight stopped herself before she said anything further. Her eyes lined up with Spike’s. “Spike, we need to talk.”
Spike instantly looked guilty. He sighed as he conceded “Okay.” 
He hopped down from the table and followed Twilight to an empty corner in the room. Once they were isolated, Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then she said very sternly “You realize how bad that could have been, right?”
“I do!” exclaimed Spike. “I-I’m so sorry! I was trying to stay awake! Really! I don’t know what happened!”
“Well, we’re lucky nothing did happen,” declared Twilight. 
Spike hung his head and stared at the ground to avoid her gaze. But then he felt a hoof rest gently on his shoulder. He turned his eyes back up to Twilight’s face. Her expression hadn’t changed, but yet it now looked somehow more forgiving. “I know you’re trying, but you just need to try a little harder, okay?” she said softly. “All these ponies here may not realize it, but they’re counting on you. I am too.”
Twilight gave her closest friend a hug. Spike then turned and walked back to the table where Willow and Fluttershy were sitting and returned to his own diminutive seat. 
“Are-are you in trouble, Spike?” asked Fluttershy, concerned. 
“No, It’s okay,” Spike assured her, “It’s just that Twilight really needs me to keep an eye on Willow.”
“Oh,” said Fluttershy, not expecting that answer, “Um, I’m not sure if it’s my business, but why do you need to watch her?”
“Uh...well..” Spike began as his eyes shifted a few times, “because...she has fainting spells.”
“Oh my!” said Fluttershy in the world’s most timid alarm. She turned to look at Willow, whose hair had now draped over her face. “Is that true?”
There was no answer.
After going a few seconds without a response, Fluttershy tried to get her attention again. “Um, Willow?”
There was still no answer. Spike quickly reached into his satchel for a syringe. But as soon he got the bag open, a hoof kicked his stool out from under him and he fell to the floor face first. 
Then he heard that voice again, a voice that roared like a lion and screeched like a bat at the same time. 
It said “I’ll show you a fainting spell!”


        






        
	
	
> Part 1, Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Twilight had been so upset with Spike that she had allowed her judgment to lapse. Still, she had little time to think about that now.
        The creature shook its hair out of its face revealing its glaring white eyes and demonic grin to the Pegasus across the table. Fluttershy shrieked and fell backwards in her chair onto the floor. Her face stayed fixed in mortal terror on the monster as she crawled backwards into the corner. The monster leapt up from the seat where Willow had been sitting and landed on the table itself, collapsing it instantly as the creature marched forward unphased. 
        The entire establishment broke out in panic. Screaming and shouting completely blurred out the still-playing music as everypony rushed to the door, trampling each other on the way out. The commotion distracted the creature from its prey.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going? The party’s just starting!” it screeched at the herd of ponies pushing towards the exit. 
        The creature whipped its head around and grabbed the barely conscious Spike lying on the floor next to her hooves with her teeth. He screamed as the monster tossed him into the air and then turned around and kicked him in mid-fall with its powerful hind legs. Spike was sent flying towards the chaotic crowd trying to escape. He missed them, instead crashing through the nearest window.
        “Spike!” Twilight screamed. 
        “Hmmm, that was fun! I guess I’ll have to go fetch the ball,” said the monster deviously. It charged to the front of the establishment, but not towards the door. Instead it darted for the section of the wall nearest the window and tore through it like it was paper. 
        Twilight was shifting in place. She instinctively wanted to chase after the creature and protect Spike, but she knew from their last encounter that she was powerless against it.  Ultimately though, she decided that she had to try all the same. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and began her gallop towards the now-broken wall. 
        But before she even took two steps, a foreleg stretched out in front of her pushed her back. 
        “Step aside, Twilight!” demanded Fluttershy. 
        Twilight stopped immediately, allowing Fluttershy to walk ahead of her. She wanted to tell Fluttershy to stop and that it was too dangerous, but one glance at Fluttershy’s eyes as she passed told Twilight that it would be useless. Fluttershy was in one of those moods again...
        
Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake were standing outside watching the mass exodus from the party when Spike came shattering through a window, flying through the air, breaking through their sign, and then hitting the pie stand itself head-first before finally dropping to the ground in front of them. 
        “Oh my!” shrieked Mrs. Cake.
“Spike!” Pinkie shouted as the young dragon laid on the ground groaning. She picked him up with her forelegs and held him like a newborn in front of her face. “I told you not to use my party cannon!”
Spike was barely able to move let alone speak, but he managed to respond, “...I...didn’t...”
Suddenly, the wall of Sugarcube Corner right next to them burst open with a thundering crash. The dust of the impact cleared, and Mrs. Cake and Pinkie Pie gaped at the grinning, blank-eyed pony that emerged from the new opening. The monster glared directly back at them.
“It’s not nice to stare, you know!” It growled. 
        Pinkie threw Spike onto her back as she and Mrs. Cake turned and galloped away as fast as they could. Not more than a few hooves in front of them, though, they were stopped dead in their tracks as the creature leaped out in front of them.
“Too slow!” it yelled. 
The two ponies turned and ran for their lives in the opposite direction, heading back towards Sugarcube Corner. They were within range of the concession stand when suddenly they each felt a foreleg of the monster slam into their backs, driving them hard onto the ground. Spike flew off Pinkie Pie’s back upon the impact and landed a few hooves in front of them while she and Mrs. Cake were pinned to the ground by the creature, its hooves dug into them as if they were its new shoes.
The ponies squirmed and struggled with all their might trying to escape the hold of the creature’s hooves. The creature laughed maniacally at their vain attempts, its laughter infinitely more piercing than its voice.
“What’s the matter?” It mocked. “Maybe you should have laid off all those sweets!”
Mrs. Cake’s voice trembled as she continued to struggle. “Who-who are you?”
The creature looked up from its captives and its eyes quickly found the damaged sign above the concession stand. The middle part of the sign had broken off when Spike flew into it. The piece with the letters C-O-R-D-I-A-N was missing. 
The monster grinned. “I like it!”
It lowered its head and grabbed Mrs. Cake’s hair with its teeth, forcing her to lift her head up. “Read it!” it demanded in a muffled growl.
Mrs. Cake could barely utter it. “Dis-dis-dis....pies...?”
The creature whipped the two ponies around and pinned them again so fast that they couldn’t react. Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake were now gazing upward straight into the monster’s cold eyes. 
It bared its toothy, malicious smile again as it declared, “I am Despise. And I. Hate. You!” 
“Hi-ya!” Fluttershy cried as swooped down and dove at Despise’s side with her forelegs straight out. Quickly the pony ducked and Fluttershy swished passed it. She had missed, but her attack wasn’t a complete failure. The monstrous mare’s attention instantly shifted completely to Fluttershy and it released its two would-be victims. 
Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake quickly rose to their hooves and made a break for Sugarcube Corner, with Pinkie Pie scooping Spike back up as they passed him. 
Twilight saw them approaching from the new hole in the wall of the bakery. As soon as she saw Spike on Pinkie Pie’s back, she headed straight for her.
“Spike! are you okay?”
Mrs. Cake and Pinkie Pie stopped before they collided with Twilight. 
Spike let out a groan. “Twilight...is that you?”
Twilight’s eyes filled with worry as her horn lit up and she levitated Spike off of Pinkie’s back and floated him over to her own.
“It’s okay, Spike. I’ll get you home,” She reassured him. Then she faced his two rescuers. “Are you two okay?”
Both Mrs. Cake and Pinkie Pie were out of breath..
“We’re-we’re fine for now,” was all Mrs. Cake managed to get out between huffing.
“Yup,” added Pinkie Pie while panting just as heavily, “Fluttershy saved us.”
“Fluttershy!?” Twilight repeated. She looked over Mrs. Cake and Pinkie and saw the Pegasus they referred to circling Despise in the air, constantly swooping past her face as if trying to pester her like a gnat. 
And Despise was indeed getting irritated. She started snapping her jaws at the Pegasus like a dog trying to grab a bird. Several unsuccessful grabs later, she screamed at her agitator, “Face me on hoof, chicken-horse!” 
Fluttershy stopped and hovered in one spot above the pony’s head just out of its reach. She looked Despise right in the eye.“If that’s what the big bully wants!”
“Fluttershy, no!” Twilight cried out. 
She was too late. Fluttershy landed, closed her wings, and charged her opponent. At the last minute, Despise side-stepped her and grabbed her hair with its teeth as she ran by. Then she yanked her head and spun Fluttershy around in the air like a lasso. Fluttershy screamed, but her scream was cut short. At the apex of one of the swings, Despise whipped her downward and slammed her into the ground. 
Everypony gasped when Fluttershy hit the earth. Despise stood over her while she laid motionless. Within seconds, Fluttershy let out a groan and lifted up her eyes to see her adversary. Her adversary grinned and slowly uttered a single word —
“...Run...”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened and with a burst of adrenaline she rose up, expanded her wings and dashed through the air in the opposite direction. 
Despise galloped after her, cackling like the demented madpony she was.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight screamed in horror as saw the monster give chase, a chase that was headed straight into Ponyville.
“Oh dear! This is awful!” said Mrs. Cake. “What are we going to do now?” 
“We fight back!” said a voice coming from behind.
Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Mrs. Cake turned around. Standing behind them were Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. All were unharmed and their expressions were resolute. 
Twilight smiled. “I’m so glad to you’re all still here!”
“Honestly, did you really think we would just run home with the rest of the crowd?” asked Rarity rhetorically. 
“Yeah! We were just hiding so we could study the enemy and know how to take it down!” said a confident Rainbow Dash.
“Really?” said Pinkie Pie naively. “That’s fantabulous! I thought for sure you were just hiding because you were scared that Despise was going to mash you into pudding!” 
The three stood silent and stared blankly at Pinkie Pie for a moment. Finally, Applejack timidly admitted, “Well, uh, yeah that may have had a little bit to do with it, but, uh, it was mostly the whole studying-the-enemy thing.” 
“Well, did you figure out how to take it down?” asked Twilight.
Applejack looked at the Rainbow Dash and then Rarity. When neither of them spoke up, she scratched her head with her hoof.
“Um,no. No we didn’t.”
The disappointment emitting from Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Mrs. Cake was palpable. 
Applejack quickly turned around the subject. “So what is that thing, Twilight?” 
“I don’t have time to explain now,” Twilight answered while illuminating her horn. Her magic grabbed the satchel wrapped around Spike and gently slipped it off. She levitated it to the top of her horn and balanced it there. “But this satchel contains some syringes with the antidote in them. If we can get them into Willow’s — er, Despise’s — body, she’ll pass out and when she wakes up she’ll be Willow again.”
Rarity gasped. “Is that what happened when I was giving her a makeover!?”
“Mrs. Cake,” said Twilight as her horn lit up once more and she levitated Spike off her back, “could you take Spike home and make sure he’s okay?”
“I absolutely can, Twilight,” said Mrs. Cake sincerely. She walked underneath Spike and Twilight lowered him gently onto her back. 
“Thank you so much,” said Twilight very gratefully. 
Mrs. Cake immediately took off in the direction of the Golden Oaks library. Twilight turned to the remaining ponies. 
“Sounds like we’re going to need somepony to distract her while somepony else goes in with the needle,” said Applejack.
“Well, that won’t be too hard!” said Rainbow Dash. “Did you see the way she was acting? Her attention span is worse than Pinkie Pie’s!”
“That cloud looks like a pumpkin!” said Pinkie Pie looking up at the sky. 
“Hmmm, good observation, Rainbow!” said Twilight. “Okay. I have an idea...”

> Part 1, Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ataxium may add another benefit as well. You see, in order to make a pony resistant to magic, I had to make a formula that was very magic-like in nature. So in addition to protecting a pony from magic, it may also grant them some “magic” power of its own. Exactly how that power would manifest is anypony’s guess. In fact, it may be different for each pony that the Ataxium is given to. It will be very interesting to see...

Fluttershy made a right and flew down yet another street in her effort to get away, but this one was her last. As soon as she made the corner, she slammed head-first into and shop sign. She was sent spinning through the air, ultimately landing on the ground hard, her body splayed. 
Despise stopped in front of Fluttershy and pressed her hoof down firmly onto Fluttershy’s hair, pinning her in place. “That was fun,” Despise snarled, “but I want to play a different game now. I call this one ‘Splatter-shy’!”
“Ooo! Can I play?” a perky voice spoke up just ahead of them. 
Despise looked up to see who was speaking, but then she got hit in the face with a pie. 
“Go for it, Twilight!” Pinkie shouted.
Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack pulled around the shop behind Despise and Twilight quickly levitated a syringe and fired it towards Despise’s exposed backside. 
But right before it the syringe made contact with the stunned mad pony, there was a loud snapping sound like the crack of a whip. Despise’s tail had twitched at the last minute and deflected the incoming needle, sending it flying out of sight. The tail’s response to the projectile was instantaneous, almost as if it had acted on its own.
Despise angrily shook the pie’s contents off her face and turned around. “Nice try, nerd!” 
As soon as Despise turned around something about her began to change, something that made Twilight and her friends jump back. The pony’s long green hair began floating, as if Despise was underwater. It lifted up and scattered around her head like branches of a tree and began to sway in a non-existent wind. 
Then Twlight’s eyes shifted down as she saw something forming on Despise’s rear thigh. She gasped. It was Despise’s cutie mark — a wreath of thorns. 
Suddenly, before anypony could react, strands of Despise’s hair shot out all directions and wrapped themselves around each of the six ponies, hoisting them off the ground and pulling them towards the maniacal pony’s face. Each of the six struggled to escape the grasp of the lock of hair holding her, but it was useless. It may have looked and felt like hair, but it was stronger than steel. 
“Let us go!” yelled Rainbow Dash staring defiantly into Despise’s eyes as she wrestled to get her wings free. 
“Oh I’m going to let you go,” said Despise deviously. “I just wanted all of you where I can see you. Now that I do see you though, I think you would look better over here!”
Despise turned around and her hair whipped back and threw its six captives down the street and towards the center of town faster than a slingshot. All six of them almost collided with the west side of city hall, but at the last second Twilight put up a barrier to catch them. The ponies made contact with the much softer magical wall, then fell to the ground. 
Hitting the solid ground was better than smashing through city hall, but the hit was still heavy. Twilight groaned as she tried to get back on her hooves after the impact. “Is-is everypony okay?”
“C’mon Twilight!” said Applejack in a surprisingly casual tone. Twilight turned to her and saw her get up without any trouble. “I work on a farm. I’ve had a lot worse hits than that!”
“Yeah! And I’ve flown into things way faster!” said Rainbow Dash confidently as she got up. However, she soon put her hoof to her forehead. “Ugh. Still doesn’t make it hurt less. How’re you doing, Fluttershy?”
“Oh, um, I’m fine,” Fluttershy said as she tried to join the other three on-hoof. After struggling with her balance for a second or two though, she collapsed back onto the ground. 
“I lost an eyelash!” Rarity screamed, not even trying to stand up.
“Is this it?” asked a completely unphased Pinkie Pie next to her. She was sporting a new mustache that looked curiously like Rarity’s lost eyelash.
Twilight’s ears perked up. There was an ominous sound, like a heavy object being hurled through the air. 
She turned around and saw a lamp post heading straight towards them. Quickly, she used her magic to cover all six of them in a barrier as the post came crashing down. It bounced off the barrier and landed with a loud thud a few hooves in front of them. 
They looked up to see the projectile’s source. Despise was staring at them in the distance. Ponies on the street were running scared in every direction that didn’t lead to her. Her empty eyes and malicious grin looked like they were glowing in the dark. The hair from her mane and her tail was still floating all around her, like the waves of a flame.
“You don’t frighten us, you horrid creature!” said Rarity boldly as she stood up and quickly fixed her eyelash. She stepped out in front of the others and lit up her horn. It produced a large ball of light that she immediately fired at their enemy. A strand of Despise’s hair deflected it, inches away from the mad pony’s face. Rarity stepped closer and fired another one. The hair blocked it again. Rarity continued to march forward, delivering an onslaught of light projectiles as she went. Despise blocked one after the other. It didn’t matter how fast they were going or how close Rarity was getting. Nothing went through, but Rarity persevered. 
“Rarity! Stop! Magic doesn’t work!” Twilight cried out, but Rarity continued her assault, firing one light ball after another like a pitching machine. As Rarity closed in, Despise’s hair kept deflecting her attacks with ease. A twinge of fear began to show in Rarity’s eyes as she got closer to her target. 
But then, when she so was close to Despise that she could feel the wind generated by the flailing strands of hair, a single ball of light made it past the barricade, hitting Despise in the lower leg. The pony let out a short but screeching scream and her hair quickly covered the area of impact. 
Twilight gaped in shock. Rarity managed to hit her, and with magic noless. How? Twilight’s mind went back to the first night the creature had appeared, when it charged straight through her magic barrier with no resistance. She tried to remember anything that was different about that situation, anything at all. Then, a revelation suddenly came to her: Despise’s hair was covering her face when she charged. 
After so many failed attempts, Rarity was just as stunned as Twilight when one of her attacks actually succeeded. However, her surprise broke her focus and interrupted her barrage of magic. And that was just enough time for Despise’s hair to counter. A lock of hair shot out at Rarity and wrapped around her like a snake. It hoisted her off the ground, whipped her around and threw her back towards her friends. 
Rarity screamed as the hair released her, but her scream was cut short by a sudden, unexpected, and strangely soft impact. 
“Gotchya!” said Rainbow Dash as she intercepted Rarity’s flight by catching her with her forelegs. Then she circled around and followed Twilight, Applejack and the others from the air. The group was falling back.
Fluttershy and the two Earth Ponies ran across a nearby bridge and down a hill towards a small set of cottages while Rainbow Dash followed them in the sky carrying Rarity. The group darted around to the farthest side of the largest cottage and out of Despise’s view. Rainbow Dash landed and placed Rarity back on the group. 
“Are you okay, Rarity?” asked Twilight.
“I’m alright, dear,” said Rarity in a trembling voice that said she wasn’t. She cleared her throat and attempted to resume a braver, more dignified tone. “I think the important thing is that I managed to hurt her.”
“Well, she almost did worse to you there,” said Applejack. 
“I know,” Rarity admitted, “but I was just so angry at seeing that horrible brute terrifying those townsfolk that I lost my reason.”
“I think you were just mad because she made you lose an eyelash,” said Pinkie Pie.
“Well at least you’re okay now,” said Twilight. “And like you said, you were finally able to find a weakness.”
“Yes. It’s only her hair that’s invincible,” confirmed Rarity.
“That makes sense. Otherwise those needles wouldn’t work,” said Applejack.
 “Um, but how do we get past her hair?” asked Fluttershy.
“That is a tall order,” said Applejack. “It’s like it’s got a mind of its own.”
“Well, you saw how Rarity did it, right?” said Rainbow Dash. “We just have to keep the hair busy. If one pony can do it by herself, then all of us together could do it no problem! The five of us will just keep attacking it over and over and that’ll leave her body open so Twilight can stick her with that needle!”
Twilight thought for a moment, then conceded “It’s risky, but it’s all we’ve got. We don’t have any more time.”
“That’s right!” said a chilling voice coming from nearby. “You don’t!”
The ponies turned around and saw Despise. The hair of her mane was wrapped around the branch of a tall nearby tree and she was hanging from it like a demented monkey. She stared down at them, her wide grin almost literally glowing. 
All of the ponies jumped back in surprise, but Rainbow Dash quickly overcame her initial shock. “That just makes it easier! Let’s get ‘er!” she shouted as she took off and flew straight towards their adversary. 
An unprepared Twilight began to cry out “Rainbow, wai—”
But she was too late. While still hanging by her mane, Despise’s tail stretched out and in the blink of an eye formed into a thin wall. Rainbow Dash hit it at speed head-on and the collision sent her crashing back to the ground. 
Despise swung herself back and forth to gain momentum. Once she had enough, she released herself, flipped in mid-air, and began to descend hooves-first straight onto Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash still had enough will in her to get back into air and out of the way faster than Despise could land. Despise fell past her, landing on the open ground which shook with the impact.
Twilight, Rarity, and the Earth Ponies backed away from their opponent, but kept their eyes fixed. Fluttershy took to the air to join Rainbow Dash. 
Rainbow Dash looked down at Despise. “Ha!” she yelled. “You missed m—”
Her gloating was cut off when a strand of Despise’s hair lashed out at her, wrapped around her neck and yanked her to the ground. Rainbow Dash had already blacked out, but Despise still pushed her hooves into the Pegasus's torso. She smiled. “No. I didn’t.”
Rainbow Dash’s defeat drove the rest of the ponies to attack at once. 
“You. Leave. Her. Alone!” screamed Fluttershy angrily as she dived toward the evil pony that had incapacitated her friend. Before her assault got anywhere near Despise, though, a large part of the pony’s mane split down the middle and formed two propellers, propellers that spun faster than the wheels of a wagon rolling downhill. The transformation was so instantaneous that Fluttershy couldn’t react. Like a bird that didn’t see the windmill, she dove straight into the vortex. The spinning hair trapped her and forced her to take a hit from each and every one of its rotations. Her body tumbled through the tornado, taking blow after blow from the blades until finally one revolution knocked her downward. She hit the ground hard and joined Rainbow Dash in unconsciousness. 
“Somepony needs a good kick in the behind!” declared Applejack as she circled around Despise. Once she reached the mad pony’s backside, she got into position to give Despise the hardest mule kick she could muster. But as soon as she extended her legs, Despise’s tail wrapped around her hooves, picked her up and slammed her on the ground. Then it lifted the stunned pony again and slammed her down a second time. It did this over and over again, putting more force into it each time. Applejack had already blacked out by the time the hair stopped pounding her into the ground and threw her into a nearby tree. 
“Yoo-hoo!” Pinkie Pie called out to Despise. The monstrous mare’s eyes shifted over to her where they saw another pie heading straight towards them. Despise’s left bang split in two. One lock of hair shot out directly underneath the airborne dessert, then reached up and grabbed it by the pan, stopping it inches from Despise’s face. The other strand stretched out even further and wrapped itself around Pinkie Pie like a cobra. 
“The joke’s old,” said Despise as the part of her hair holding the pie turned it around and drove it into Pinkie Pie’s face. The lock holding Pinkie then turned her around and tossed her into the wall of the nearest cottage. Pinkie hit the wall so hard that it cracked. She toppled backwards onto the ground unconscious, the pie and its pan still covering her face.
“Are you ready for round two?” said Rarity as her horn lit up to deliver yet another onslaught of light. 
“This time, yes!” said Despise as she removed her eyes from Pinkie Pie and focused them on the attacking unicorn. Her right bang shot out and wrapped around Rarity’s horn right before she could fire the first shot. With nowhere to go, the light magic exploded on Rarity’s horn, sending searing pain tearing through her head. She screamed as Despise’s hair released her and she collapsed on the ground, her hooves holding her head in agony. 
Within the short amount of time it took Twilight to levitate a needle out of the satchel she was carrying and get it into position to fire into Despise’s body, the demented pony had taken down each and every one of her friends with relative ease. With all of her other rivals defeated, Despise turned her menacing stare over to Twilight. Twilight kept her eyes fixed on her while keeping the syringe she intended to use hovering in the air, trying to appear unafraid of the pony in front of her. However, her body was visibly trembling.
Before Twilight could even flinch, a strand of hair darted out and snatched the blue needle from the air and held it in front of Twilight’s face. “Out!” Despise screamed and her hair flung the antidote backwards and out of sight. 
The hair immediately followed up by reaching around Twilight’s neck and ripping the satchel off of her like a poorly-sewn patch. ‘And you don’t need these either!” 
The force of the hair’s grab yanked Twilight forward, almost causing her to lose her balance. Once her hooves stabilized, she looked up and saw the strand of hair that had grabbed her satchel swinging it around like it had done with Fluttershy earlier. It whipped back and sent the bag of syringes flying back towards the center of town, near where Twilight and the others were before falling back to this area. 
Twilight’s friends laid all around her and her enemy and that enemy’s only known weakness was just sent soaring into the distance. Twilight had stood against this pony before on her own and failed. There was only one choice left. Quickly turning to face the direction that the satchel was thrown in, Twilight galloped away and didn’t look back. 
“You ponies sure love to run!” said Despise mockingly. “Well, that’s fine by me.” The hair of Despise’s mane and her tail each split into two parts that looked like large bent blades. Each of them stuck their tips into the ground and instantly grew longer, hoisting Despise’s body into the air. Then the front-right blade lifted itself out of the ground and took a step forward, followed by the front-left blade, then the two rears. The motions repeated, creating a complete walk cycle. They were like giant spider’s legs, crawling towards their prey at a frightening pace while Despise herself dangled at the top of them like a ragdoll. Each step shook the ground and crushed anything that happened to be beneath it.
Twilight turned her head just enough to see the monstrous form that was chasing her. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Quickly she whipped her head back faced forward again, as if hoping that not looking at Despise would somehow make her vanish. 
The sounds kept getting louder and louder to Twilight. Despise was closing in, but the satchel was in sight now. As soon as she was in range, Twilight lit her horn and began to levitate the bag of needles, but her magic was interrupted. One of the giant legs came bearing down on the satchel, landing between the strap and the bag with a heavy thud. 
Twilight was startled, but not stopped. She began to change her course to move around the giant blade of hair to get to the bag of the satchel itself. This was futile. Just as she was about to go past it, the hairs of the blade spread themselves out in both directions, forming a curved wall that Twilight hit head-on. Twilight grunted as collision with the wall knocked her to the ground. Quickly she rolled over and got back on her hooves. She saw that she was surrounded in every direction by green hair. Each of the four legs had spread itself out like the one she had collided with. She was now inside a dome. And dangling from the top of the dome and glaring at her much like she was in the tree before, was Despise. 
“Welcome to the big top!” Despise quipped. “I can’t wait to see what act you’ll do for me next!”
Twilight’s eyes shifted back and forth, looking for a way out or something to aid her. They found none. She could see the strap of the satchel still wrapped around the hair that had pinned it, but unfortunately the bag itself was outside of the dome. 
Twilight began to tremble as she looked up at her captor. “Wha-what do you want from us?”
“I want you to suffer!” Despise exclaimed.
“Wh-why?” asked Twilight anxiously. 
“I hate you. I hate your friends. I hate every pony I’ve met, and every one that ever will exist.”
“..but why—” Twilight tried to ask.
“—because I do!” screamed Despise. “I live for your pain. The sound of ponies suffering is the greatest gift they can give me. It’s music to my ears.”
Twilight was shivering with fear at the words said by Despise’s screeching voice. Willow seemingly found something to love about everypony, but Despise was her opposite and therefore only found things to hate. It was that simple. There was no negotiating and no way to change her mind. Twilight’s eyes started to water as she began to accept her fate.
But then her ears perked up. She heard something coming from outside the dome. It sounded like scratching, like somepony trying to get in. More curiously, the sound’s source kept rising. Was someone climbing Despise’s hair? The entire dome started to twitch and vibrate, but it quickly returned to its hardened state. It was as if the hair itself was trying to react to whatever was climbing it, but its master didn’t allow it. 
“Anyway,” continued Despise. “Like I said, this is the circus and it’s time to tame the lio—”
        Despise suddenly cut her speech off and began to scream. It echoed throughout the dome she had created and Twilight feared going deaf. As she covered her ears with her hooves though, the scream faded and she looked up to see Despise slowly being lowered to the ground by her own hair. Her eyes were shut and she hung motionlessly until her body softly landed on terra firma. 
        The dome of hair was loosening and began to deflate like a balloon. Soon it gently landed on Twilight, covering her completely. Twilight shook it off and found that she was outside once again. 
Despise’s hair was not only flattening, but receding, retracting to its original dimensions. Twilight looked towards the center of the hair at the pony’s body. It was then that she saw what had saved her. In the pony’s back was a syringe containing a familiar blue liquid. It was planted firmly in a very narrow part in the middle of her mane.  Even for a needle it would have been a small target, but outside of the dome the pony had created it would have been the only part of her exposed at the time.
More importantly though, lying on the pony’s back just below the syringe was the one who had administered the Antaxium. 
        “Spike!” Twilight said excitedly as she made her way over to him. As soon as she was within reach she wrapped her forelegs around him and held him tight against herself. 
        “Ow-ow-ow!” Spike exclaimed. “Watch it. I’m still a little sore.”
        “Oh, I’m sorry,” said Twilight letting go of him. 
        “I took him back to your place but refused to stay,” said Mrs. Cake as she emerged from behind the building where she had apparently been hiding. “He demanded over and over that I bring him back to you. I finally gave in.”
        “Well, I wasn’t going to get much rest anyway,” said Spike in a weak voice that said he still wasn’t in good shape. “Too many screaming villagers. Besides, it was my job to keep Willow in check, right?”
        “Yeah, well, you’re very late,” said Twilight sternly. But then, she smiled and gently placed her hoof on his shoulder. “But at least you’re here now.”
        Spike returned her smile. “I’ll always be here, Twilight.”
        “That’s very sweet, you two,” said Mrs. Cake sincerely, “but, um, what do you suppose we should do about Willow?”
> Part 1, Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	When Willow’s eyes opened, she was looking up at a very plain, beige ceiling. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see that the walls of this place were just as unremarkable, save for a simple brown wooden door here and there. The only thing noteworthy was that the walls and ceiling were moving, or rather she was moving in relation to them. 
Furthermore, she quickly discovered that she couldn’t move her body at all. Squirming was about the best she could do. She was being held down by something — or rather several somethings — wrapped around her body. They were straps and while she couldn’t discern the material they were made of, she had already declared them inescapable in her mind. She felt weak, and these straps would be a challenge even at her full strength. 
Her ears picked up the sounds of several small wheels turning below her, one of which squeaked every so often. Also every so often she could very faintly hear ponies talking among themselves, especially when she passed by the wooden doors, though she couldn’t make out any specific words. 
These weren’t the most troubling sounds, though. The noises that had Willow worried were the clopping of hooves coming from every direction. They sounded heavy, like the marching of several powerful stallions. 
Willow’s strength began to return gradually, and with it her vision and mental focus sharpened. She surveyed her surroundings again. In addition to the doors, she could also see the occasional poster or chart hung up. She couldn’t read them at this distance, but she could see enough to tell that they were all health- or medicine-related. These observations, along with the sound of the wheels beneath her and the state of being on her back, allowed her to confirm her location — she was in the hallway of a hospital laying on a gurney that was being pulled to a destination unknown to her.
As for who was pulling her, the answer came just as quickly. Following behind her were two large stallions, both wearing heavy, regal-looking armor. They followed Willow’s gurney expressionless, with their eyes focused firmly on the path ahead and the sounds of their powerful hooves hitting the ground as they walked were a match for what Willow’s ear had picked up. Willow lifted her head back. She could see yet another stallion in front of her. This was the one the gurney was hitched to, the one carrying her to wherever they were going.
Willow cleared her throat and tried to speak to her apparent escorts. It was strangely difficult. It felt like she hadn’t spoken in a very long time.
“Hey, uh, colts! Um, what’s with the entourage?” she asked. She was trying to sound casual and unassuming. Her tone, however, made her fear known.
None of the armored ponies responded and the two that Willow could make eye contact with made no effort to do so. For a moment, there was nothing but eerie silence. 
Then, an unexpectedly effeminate voice spoke up. “You are going to where you cannot harm anypony again.” 
Willow looked to her right. A tall white mare who had apparently been ahead of the group had now slowed down to walk alongside the traveling bed. She bore both the wings of a Pegasus and the horn of a Unicorn. Her mane and tail were long and comprised of many beautiful colors. She wore an elegant golden collar and an equally exquisite tiara, both with glistening purple gems at their centers. And the mare’s cutie mark was that of the very sun itself.
“Whoah!” said Willow in amazement. “Somepony must be important. What’s your bag, mare?”
Even when she first spoke, the white mare’s tone was cold and indifferent. This didn’t change in her response. “You may address me as your majesty!” she demanded. Much like the stallions around them, she kept her eyes looking straight into the distance and avoided even looking in Willow’s direction. “And my duty to the people right now is to keep you away from them!”
The white mare’s voice was powerful and authoritative. Willow’s worries extended from voice to her facial expression. “Wha-what did I do?” she asked as her lips began to tremble.
“I think you know,” said the mare sternly. 
“I-I don’t!” pleaded Willow. “I swear, ma— er, your highness! Did-that thing come out of me again? That-that thing just takes me over and I can’t do nuthin’. Seriously, nuthin’!”
“You just terrorized a village in my kingdom, damaged its property, and injured several of its citizens,” said the regal pony. “So, until the researchers find a way to remove your powers, you will stay at this hospital where you will be watched day and night by the mightiest of my guards. We have already reinforced the room where you will be staying. No matter how strong you are, you will not be escaping.”
“It ain’t me!” Willow cried in desperation. “I want it gone too! I didn’t mean to hurt nobody! Did-did you talk to Twilight? She’s knows I ain’t bad!”
Her captor’s callous tone was unwavered. “Twilight Sparkle has told me enough. She informed me that you are the daughter of an insurrectionist. She told me how he made you into a weapon designed to destroy me and my sister. She told me how you transformed into a monster capable of nothing but violence.”
Willow now realized who she was being held captive by. This was Princess Celestia, one of the two alicorns her father had tried to overthrow. Now his daughter was in the hands of his mortal enemy, and that enemy had no reason to show her mercy. 
Overcome with fear, she could no longer answer her accuser. Her eyes were filled with tears as the guard pulling her gurney turned around a corner at the end of the long hallway. Around that corner was another hallway, but this one was dark and only barely illuminated by red emergency lights, as if no one had ever used it. The group escorted Willow down this hallway only a little ways before they stopped in front of a pair of gigantic double doors sealing by a large, heavy-looking beam. 
Willow shivered in misery. This was to be her life now. She had freed herself from that chamber only to become a shut-in at Twilight’s place, and she got out of there only to be locked away in some dark corner of a hospital. All she was doing was going from one prison to another and to another. Fear and frustration cycled through her mind as all hope faded.
Celestia lit her large horn and levitated the beam off of the double doors. She leaned it against the wall as the two guards who had been following the gurney stepped out front and opened the doors themselves. The guard pulling Willow’s gurney moved her into the room. The others followed him and shut the doors behind them.
Willow’s eyes were closed as tears continued to stream from them and the sounds of the doors opening and closing felt like somepony pounding on her heart. However, upon entering the room Willow saw through her eyelids that the room was curiously bright. Even more odd was the smell. Her nostrils could pick up multiple scents, none of which she associated with a hospital, let alone a prison. It made her just curious enough to change her mind about keeping her eyes closed.
When she opened them, the sights they took in made her gasp. This wasn’t cramped cell or dull hospital room. It was as wide open as a warehouse and its floor was covered in...grass? Yes, it was grass, fresh and green as if planted by a diligent farmer during the best of seasons. And almost covering that grass were trees, trees of all sizes and all kinds from evergreen to palm. They were also all accompanied by a wonderful variety of bushes and shrubs. Finally, as if to enhance its beauty even further, one of the walls was transparent, and it showed an incredible view of the clean countryside outside of the hospital. 
Willow’s eyes widened as her emotions completely inverted. It was like an oasis, an incredible indoor garden made just for her. She was swaying her head back in forth, trying to take it all in and wishing that she wasn’t still strapped to the gurney. Then all of sudden, she felt the straps that had been holding her in place begin to loosen, including one that had been tying her hair down which hadn’t noticed until now. She looked down and saw all of them being unbuckled by no one, by magic.
She turned to the Alicorn beside her. The Princess’s horn was lit and her scowling expression turned warm and welcoming as she told Willow, “Twilight also informed me that you like plants.”
As soon as the last strap was unfastened, Willow sprung from the gurney and darted for the palm tree nearest her. She placed her front hooves on it, trying to confirm if it was real. Satisfied that it was, she bounced over the nearest bushes, then to another tree, then a few more bushes, then another tree. It was like watching a filly’s first day at Sugarcube Corner and Willow tripping over her own hair every so often only made the sight more amusing.
After all but hugging an evergreen at the far end of the room, Willow followed a trail of shrubs on her way back to the pony who had brought her here. “How-how’d ya pull a gnarly dig like this!?” she asked her in disbelief. 
“Oh, it wasn’t that difficult,” said the Princess. “We had time. We’ve kept you sedated for about a week.”
“A week!?” exclaimed Willow.
“Well, um, yes,” said Celestia. “We...couldn’t risk another one of that creature’s attacks, so—”
“You did all this in a week!?” Willow interrupted. “Mare alive, I guess you know how to work that horn.”
The Princess laughed. “Well, I am an Alicorn, after all. I’m also a Princess, so I was able to get help from a few of my very talented subjects.”
Willow was still turning her head back and forth to look at her surroundings while Celestia was talking. However, as soon as Celestia mentioned her subjects, Willow’s gaze returned to the Princess.
“How-how is Twilight?” she asked timidly.
“She’s perfectly fine,” Princess Celestia assured her. “Although, she’s very busy at the moment.”
“What with?” asked Willow.
Celestia paused for a moment before replying. “Twilight feels responsible for your — I mean, Despise’s — attack since she let you into Ponyville, so she decided to help in repairing the damages to Sugarcube Corner and make amends with townsponies. In the meantime, I decided to construct this place so you would be safe and comfortable while we study your condition.”
“I dig,” said Willow. “Do-do you know what’s goin’ down with me?
Celestia shook her head. “I examined you with my magic while you were unconscious and I could certainly sense that there was something very wrong, but I regret to say that I do not know how to treat it.”
Willow frowned at the Princess’s answer. Her eyes turned to the ground.
Celestia walked closer to Willow and put her hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I have sent Equestria’s best researchers in alchemy, magic, and medicine to this hospital. They will find a way to undo what your father did.”
“Did-did you know my old man?” asked Willow looking back up at her.
Celestia lifted her hoof off of Willow’s shoulder and turned to look at the wall-sized window viewing the countryside. “I didn’t know him personally,” she explained. “Luna and I were certainly aware of his reputation, but our kingdom was still very young then and we were too occupied with getting things in order to visit local celebrities. It never occurred to us that he was a Discordian.”
        Willow joined Celestia in gazing out the clear wall. “So when I disappeared, that didn’t ring a bell?”
        Celestia shook her head again. “Your father was the one who reported you missing. He sent the local forces looking for you. Of course, they never found you. It was just a rabbit trail. His brother was a suspected of kidnapping you for a while, but he was found innocent. I suppose we now know why.”
        “His brother? So, like, I had an uncle?” asked Willow looking back at the Princess.
        “You certainly did,” confirmed Princess Celestia. “And actually, because of him you may have some still-living relatives as well. Your father never married again and you were his only foal, but his brother had several fillies and colts. I remember that because he was an Earth Pony that married a Pegasus. That was so unusual at the time that all of Equestria was gossiping about it.”
        “Far out,” said Willow.
        “Your Majesty,” called out one of the guards standing by the double doors. One of the doors was opened slightly, and he looked like he had been talking to some on the outside.
        “What is it?” asked Princess Celestia.
        “She has visitors,” said the guard.
        Willow looked at Celestia. “Do...I get to have visitors?”
        The Princess smiled. “Of course.” She called back to the guard. “Send them in!”
        The guards opened the doors and Willow galloped towards them, eager to see who was coming to see her. 
        Right outside of the doors were five ponies Willow knew well. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were all there to greet her. 
        Willow shouted excitedly, “Critter mare! Fancy mare! Country mare! Funny mare! Awesome mare! How’s it hangi—”
        She cut herself off as soon as her eyes caught up with her brain. All five of the ponies were bearing a similar facial expression, featuring a timid smile and curiously lifted eyebrows. They looked as if they weren’t sure whether to be happy or scared out of their minds. Willow quickly concluded this was for the same reason that each of them were dotted with bruises and bandages and the reason that they were all in wheelchairs. The Princess did mention that Despise injured several townsponies.
        Willow put her left hoof behind her head. “Uh, well, this is awkward...”
	
	

> Part 1, Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        It had been a week since Willow began her incarceration at the hospital and, while she still wanted to be free, she was not uncomfortable. In addition to having the most amazing hospital room of all time, she was waited on as if she were the very Princess who had ordered her to be contained. Meals were delivered routinely and workers would come by periodically to keep the Greenhouse — as it came to be known — beautiful and healthy. 
        That isn’t to say that there were no negatives, however. There was a reason why she was being kept there, after all. The monster, Despise, frequently tried to resume control of her body. This was the only thing that made Willow grateful for being constantly watched. It was certainly unnerving having almost no privacy, but at least whenever she felt her consciousness fading and saw that ominous green haze fill her eyes there was always somepony there with the Antaxium to stop Despise from emerging. 
        Still, there was the endless testing, too. Alchemists, Unicorn Wizards, and Doctors were always coming in to try this cure or that remedy, none of which were ever successful. She had also already been examined by more types of specialists than she knew existed. None of them ever told her what the results of the studies were, and she had the feeling that was because they found nothing at all.
        The beautiful indoor garden prepared for her and the incredible view through her large window had both proven to be double-edged swords. She thought they were wonderful, but sometimes they just intensified her yearning to be free, to explore the real world instead of this mare-made imitation. 
        At least the Princess had kept her word about allowing visitors. Ponies came in all the time, even outside of the ones that were trying to study her. Of course, most of the visits were from Rainbow Dash and the others that she saw on her first day since they were being treated at the same hospital. The latest she had heard though was that all of them were going to be released soon as their wounds were healing. 
        Willow did get to see Twilight Sparkle herself more than once, but she was busy and her visits were always very brief. She did mention to Willow though that she was trying her best to decipher her father’s journal any time she got the chance. This filled Willow with a great amount of hope. If anypony was going to find the cure, she was certain it would be Twilight.
        It was getting late and Willow sat and looked out the clear wall to watch the sun go down. This was becoming her routine. To her it was a rather spiritual experience. Watching the big ball in the sky sinking into the horizon to the sound of silence made her feel more at peace with her situation 
        Well, at least it was usually silent. This evening, however, Willow’s witnessing of the sunset was interrupted by a loud bang coming from the other side of the double doors. It sounded like somepony ran into it at full speed.
        A little startled, Willow whipped her head around to look at the doors. At first, nothing happened after the initial thud, but then she heard a sound she had grown quite accustomed to — the sound of the door’s beam being lifted. 
        Soon after she heard that sound, the right-hand door was opened by one of the guards. He was talking to somepony she couldn’t see. 
“Are you okay? Good. Uh, next time wait for us to actually open the door, okay?” Willow heard him say to whoever was in the hallway.
Once the door was completely opened, Willow’s guest entered the room. She was a Pegasus, a Pegasus with a gray body and a blonde mane. She was carrying what looked to be a mailbag. Willow also noticed that there was something odd about the pony’s eyes. It looked as if they weren’t positioned in their sockets correctly. Willow assumed that this was because the strange Pegasus had just apparently ran — or rather, flew — straight into a very thick door. The pony was still holding her hoof up to her head as she hovered over to the room’s only other occupant.
“Hi! Are you Window?” the Pegasus blurted out to Willow as if she was clear across the room, even though they were now almost uncomfortably close. 
“Uh...the window’s over there, mare,” said Willow trying not to laugh at her guest’s butchering of her name. “If you’re lookin’ for Willow, though, that’s me, uh, most of the time.”
The gray pony reached into her mailbag, pulled out an envelope, and looked at the front of it. Willow could see now that the pony’s usual eyes had nothing to do with the blow to the head she received, at least not the most recent one. Those were genuinely her eyes. This realization only made Willow wonder how the pony was able to read the envelope at all, since each eye was looking in a different direction.
“Oh yeah! It is Widow!” exclaimed the Pegasus as she handed the Earth Pony her mail. 
“Well, I ain’t never even been hitched, but close enough,” joked Willow as she accepted the envelope. She looked at the front to determine who the sender was. “Hey! It’s from Smarty Mare!”
“It’s actually from Twilight,” said the delivery pony. “I think she said it’s something from your Dad.”
“Wha...?” Willow said, confused. “I’m — Dad ain’t gonna be sending me nuthin’. I mean, unless he left it with some relative or —”
Willow stopped herself. A revelation came rushing to her. She remembered the picture of her and her father that Twilight showed her. He was gray and had a blonde mane. She also remembered Twilight telling her that he was very clumsy. Also, didn’t Princess Celestia say that his brother married a Pegasus? 
Willow lowered the enveloped and looked up at the strange pony hovering in front of her. Her eyes widened. Could it be...
She struggled to find her words. “Uh, um, hey you, um wouldn’t happen to be related to the Voidsdales, uh, would ya?”
Willow stared at the pony.
The pony stared at Willow.
Willow stared at the pony
The pony stared at Willow.
Willow stared at the pony.
The pony stared at Willow.
Willow stared at the pony.
Then the wall-eyed Pegasus smiled as she blurted out, “I have no idea! Well, gotta run!”. She then turned around and flew straight out of the open door, narrowly missing both it and its guard.
Willow stood frozen for a moment as her mind tried to grasp what just happened. Her mind having no luck with that, she shrugged and returned to the piece of mail in her hand. 
Upon opening it, she found two slips of paper, one short and one long. The shorter one was on top so she decided to start there. 

Dear Willow,
I’m so sorry that I couldn’t give this to you in person, but I’m still very busy. 
I’m even more sorry though that you have to go through all of this, but it really is the only way the Princess and I could think of. I’m working closely with all of the ponies who are studying you and we’ve found a few possibilities, but all of them are going to take time. I discovered that Pinkie Pie has a natural talent for deciphering your father’s Discordian Alchemy formulas and that's helped some, but not as much as I hoped. It’s one thing to understand how he did this to you, but it’s another thing to undo it. 
Still, there is some good news. Some of the researchers think they’ve found a way to keep Despise from taking you over for a longer period of time, as in maybe weeks! If they can do that, you may be able to come back to Ponyville! I’ll keep you posted!
Anyway, the main reason why I sent you this is that I found a journal entry in your father’s book that I think you should read. I didn’t want to tear the page out (I treat my books better than that!), so I copied it for you down to the letter. 
I’ll be seeing you again soon!
Sincerely, 
Twilight.

        Willow put Twilight’s letter aside and looked at the larger piece of paper. She quickly learned that Twilight was not kidding about copying the journal entry “to the letter”. She even accurately imitated her father’s hoofwriting. Fortunately, her father’s writing was legible.
        
        The test subject for my experiments was my own daughter, Willow. I didn’t want to mention it in this journal in case it were ever discovered. If anypony found the lab and consequently this journal, I could still deny that Willow had any part in my experiments. That way, even if I were captured, she could still be free, free to do what ponies her age do without having to worry about her father’s crazy ideas.
        But there’s no point in hiding it now. If the authorities discover the lab and this journal, they will see her too. I placed in her in what I call a suspension chamber. It’s a very large tube-shaped container and it would be obvious to anypony who comes down here. Unfortunately, it’s the only solution I could think of: keep her in suspended animation until I can undo the damage I’ve done to her.
        That might be the true reason why I’m allowing myself to write about her now. I can’t believe what I’ve done, but I also can’t confess my crime to anypony. I turned my own daughter, a kind, peaceful pony that I loved very much into a monster.
Willow never cared about my faith in the God of Chaos. She knew about it of course, but she was never interested. Before Discord was imprisoned, I tried many times to bring her to my point of view, but she cared more about being with her friends as well as all those accursed plants of hers for some reason.
But then I came up with my plan to overthrow the Alicorns and I needed a test subject. I didn’t know anyone in the town who I could trust to keep my secrets safe, no one except her. 
Willow hates all war and violence, so it definitely took some convincing, but ultimately I prevailed. After many weeks and who knows how many conversations, I finally got her to agree to be my test subject.
I convinced her as I had convinced myself  that we had a noble cause to fight for. We were doing what my Master would have wanted. We were going to liberate the ponies of this land from the tyranny of the Alicorns. I know now though that it was all lies and self-delusion. I was angry that my side lost the battle and I wanted to strike back. It was revenge, plain and simple, and I dragged my daughter into a half-baked scheme for retaliation.
How that scheme went so horribly wrong is still beyond my comprehension. I expected her to gain strength and potentially even special powers, but how making those changes to her being resulted in the creation of a second personality that was the inverse of her own is baffling. 
The Antaxium I created is able to return her to her usual self, but it doesn’t last and when/where she transforms again is so unpredictable that I can’t just let her roam freely. Also, when the other personality emerges, it’s difficult to inject her with it. I have scars that prove this.
Therefore, the suspension chamber. It will keep her safe and alive until I can find a permanent fix. That doesn’t mean I don’t have to worry about time, though. If she stays in there too long, she will lose her memory.
I just can’t bare the thought of that happening. I don’t want her to forget me, forget our relationship, forget everything we’ve been through. I want her to have a youth to look back upon, and I want her to remember me fondly, just as I think of her fondly each and every day.
I placed a picture of us next to this journal to remind me of what I am now working towards. It’s no longer about my ridiculous notions of vengeance. It’s just about getting things back to the way they were. It’s about bringing her back.  
Willow’s transformation erased her cutie mark, and eventually even replaced it. I promise, one day everypony will see her true mark again. It wasn’t a circle of thorns. It was a leaf. 

        
        
	


> Part 2, Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	There was an eerie silence in the hospital as Twilight Sparkle made her way through it. It was very late in the evening. A majority of the staff had gone home and any inpatients were asleep behind locked doors. Thus, the hallways of the entire building were left mostly empty with nothing to see, let alone hear.
The hallway lights were still on, however, and Twilight had no trouble finding her way. Besides, the path she was on was one she had navigated many times now. She stayed on the first floor, making her way to the far back of the building. 
Her destination was a small corridor that few ponies travel down. It was situated at the very end and to the left of another, much longer hallway and it often went completely unnoticed by patients and visitors alike. The doctors and other hospital staff members, however, knew this pathway very well, as well as the room it lead to. 
Making a left at the end of the longer first hallway, Twilight came upon a set of large double doors that she was just as familiar with, doors shut and blocked by a solid steel beam. And, like every night, two of Princess Celestia’s soldiers stood by them, one on each side of the sealed entryway. 
Twilight approached the guards. “Hi, Sharpeye! Hi, Javelin!” she greeted them.
Javelin, the guard on the righthand side of the door, widened his eyes. “Well hello, Ms. Sparkle!” he said pleasantly returning her greeting. 
“Not used to seeing you here this late. What’s up?” asked Sharpeye.
“Oh this can’t wait any longer,” said Twilight. She tilted her head and directed the guards’ attention to the satchel she was carrying. “It’s ready,” she whispered excitedly. 
“You don’t say!” exclaimed Javelin. He turned to his partner, “Let’s get these doors open!”
“You said it!” said Sharpeye. 
“Would you two be able to follow me in just in case, you know, something happens?” asked Twilight humbly. 
“Absolutely, Ms. Sparkle,” Javelin assured her as he and Sharpeye turned to face the doors they were guarding. “Trove and Whitehoof are on the other side as well.” He turned his head and looked Twilight in the eyes.  “You’re in good hands. You’ll be safe.”
Twilight returned his gaze. “That’s good to know. Thank you.”
Slowly and synchronously, the two guards lifted the heavy steel beam off of the ominous doors and set it aside. They then very cautiously pushed the doors open. 
On the other side, the aforementioned other two guards, Trove and Whitehoof, were waiting. 
“Oh, hello Twilight!” greeted Trove.
“Good Evening!” said Whitehoof. “What brings you to the Greenhouse at this hour?”
Behind Trove and Whitehoof was the room itself. It was enormous, closer to the size of a warehouse than a hospital unit. Perhaps more unusual, though, was the decor. The floor was coated with a green, well-maintained grass — yes, grass —and a plethora of trees and plants of all types were scattered throughout. It was the great outdoors captured inside four walls, and since one of those walls was transparent and showing a view of the beautiful countryside bordering the hospital, it was difficult to tell that this area was even indoors at all. That is why the hospital staff as well as the guards gave this curious room the nickname The Greenhouse.
Such an unusual room would likely have been a major attraction and source of notoriety for the hospital. However, there was one glaring problem with this place, a problem that made the hospital all but deny the room’s very existence: it’s occupant. 
“That you, Smarty Mare?” a pony called out to Twilight, her head popping up from a bush a short distance away from the Greenhouse’s entrance. Even with her head fully exposed, she was still barely visible to her guest. Her body was a light green and her hair a darker green, perfectly blending in with the Greenhouse’s foliage. The darkness of the evening sky seeped through the room’s transparent wall and cloaked the pony even further. The only thing that gave her position away was the pair of large yellow eyes that were fixed on Twilight and the others.
        When Twilight’s eyes finally met the camouflaged pony’s, she jumped. However, she quickly regained her composure upon realizing who it was. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Willow, I really wish you would stop doing that.”
        Willow laughed as she emerged from the bush and approached her visitor, her long green hair dragging on the ground as she walked. “Mare, I would but that look on your face is always so priceless.” 
        Twilight didn’t respond, but her facial expression was one of mild scowling. 
        Willow cleared her throat. “So, you’re hangin’ here a little later than usual. What’s up?”
        Twilight’s scowl transformed into a smile. She lifted open the flap of the satchel that she was carrying. She then pulled out a small black box from the bag. “This is what’s up!” She answered enthusiastically as she levitated the black box over to Willow, stopping just shy of her face. She commanded the box to open in front of Willow’s eyes and reveal its sole contents.
It was a large collar, golden in color but otherwise very plain. It was sized just right for putting around a pony’s neck, a very specific pony’s neck.
“Mare, is-is this it?” Willow asked excitedly, “Is this what you’ve been workin’ on — the thing I’ve been waitin’ for?”
Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yup. This is it!”
Willow stared at it for a moment, then looked back up at Twilight with one eyebrow raised. “Looks tacky.”
        Twilight looked like she had just won second place at the science fair. “Oh no! Is it really!?” Quickly, she levitated the collar over out of the box and yanked back it towards herself, letting the box itself drop to the floor. She stared at it with wide open eyes while rotating it in the air anxiously in every direction possible. “I-I tried! I’m so sorry! Maybe I should have had Rarity touch it up a bit..”
        Willow put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Chill, mare. It’s all good,” she said while chuckling. “After all this time, I wanna know more about its function than its fashion.”
        Twilight continued to stare at the evidently tacky piece of jewelry floating in front of her, but at least the rotations had slowed. “Well, I wish I could say that I know it’ll work, but I’ve never made anything like this before. I don’t think anypony has.”
        Willow’s mouth bared its tiny smile. “If anypony can do it it’s you, smarty mare,”
        Twilight returned Willow’s smile. “Thanks. And yes, let’s stay positive. If this does work, you’ll be yourself as long as you have it on. You’ll be able to leave the hospital, to finally live a normal life!”
        “I can dig that,” said Willow. She shook her head and let out a small giggle,  “Mare, can I ever dig that!”
        “I know it’s been hard for you, Willow,” said Twilight consolingly. “You’ve been in here a very long time.”
Willow nodded. She paused, then blurted out, “Well, what’re we waitin’ for!?” As quickly as Twilight had ever seen her move, Willow reached out and snatched the collar out of the air. She shook her head to get her hair out of the way and began to wrap the golden piece of jewelry around her neck. 
As it neared her throat, the collar lit up like a faint glowstick and sparks of magical power could be seen dancing around it. Twilight smiled. The collar’s magic was reacting. 
But suddenly, there was a loud, screeching voice yelling “No!” and the green pony thrusted the collar into the air. It landed somewhere out of sight amongst the Greenhouse’s brush. 
The guards tightened their stances and Twilight jumped as her jaw dropped at the Willow’s unexpected behavior. Her eyes tried to follow the collar in the air, but soon lost sight of it among the trees and plants. They quickly turned their attention back to the pony that had thrown it. She gasped. 
The pony’s eyes had turned a hot white and the pupils had vanished. The color of both her mane and body had darkened. Her teeth had changed from flat to jagged and were being displayed inside a wide, malicious grin.  
“Nice. Try. Nerd!” the pony taunted in a sharp, piercing voice. It was as loud as it was screechy. 
Twilight backed up against the nearest wall. “D-Despise!” she cried, trembling.
“Time to finish my circus act!” Despise quipped. Then she charged towards the cornered unicorn.
The guards returned the demented pony’s charge. Javelin moved directly in front of her to protect Twilight, but Despise drove through him like a battering ram. However, the impact with the guard slowed her down just enough for the other three. Quickly, each guard grabbed the leg of Despise closest to him and held onto it with all his strength. Javelin, springing to his hooves joined them and grabbed the final flailing limb. Despise let out one glass-shattering scream after another as four of Celestia’s finest wrestled her to the ground. 
Javelin turned his head towards Twilight, who was still pinning herself to the wall nearest the double doors. “Ms. Sparkle! Go! Now!” he shouted.
Twilight didn’t move at first. She stood frozen in her defensive position, her teeth clenched and her eyes shifting back and forth. Then suddenly, the look of fear on her face began to give way. Her eyebrows lowered and her trembling settled. She pulled herself away from the wall and marched deliberately to the double doors. 
Javelin’s eyes stayed fixed on Twilight as he continued to help the others hold Despise down. As soon as Twilight turned to face the double doors from where they had entered, the soldier’s face showed a small hint of relief.
        But then Twilight’s horn lit up and the two doors flew back into position, slamming themselves shut. The sound of a large metal object being placed on doors’ hooks could be heard coming from the other side. 
        “Ms. Sparkle! What are you doing? Get out of here!” Javelin pleaded to the now locked-in unicorn.
        Twilight turned around and looked the guard calling out to her in the eyes. “No! This ends now!”
        Twilight’s horn lit up and a long purple beam shot out of it, pointing at the far left corner of the room. Then it started moving, creeping over the Greenhouse’s flora like a shadow. It passed over Despise still struggling to free herself of the guards and continued on to the opposite side of the room. When it had almost reached the far wall, the beam of lavender light stopped and aligned itself with one particular bush. 
        “There you are,” said Twilight to herself. 
        She raised her head and forced the beam coming from her horn upward. The bush it had settled on shaked and rustled as if something inside it was trying to escape. Then, once the ray of magic light had cleared the bush, that something was revealed. It was the collar. Twilight wrapped the magic beam around the shining object and began to pull it towards herself.
        But then Despise let out an even louder, more blood-curdling scream and Twilight’s focus was broken as Whitehoof’s body flew past her line of vision in the air and landed on the ground like a thrown rock. With her concentration shattered, the beam of light from her horn disappeared and the collar fell back to the ground, landing right beside the bush Twilight had just pulled it from.
Almost simultaneously she heard the sounds of three other large ponies being slammed into the dirt. Twilight nervously turned her eyes back to the spot where the guards first were, and where Despise still was. Her eyes widened. Despise was free and standing upright now, her glaring eyes and vicious grin aimed directly at Twilight. However, even that demonic face could not compare to the horror that was hovering above it. 
The hairs of Despise’s mane were floating above her head, as though she were underwater. The hairs grew longer and longer as they swayed like the waves of a flame. The hairs of her tail joined those of her mane in the swaying. Despise’s long, dark green hair was dancing in the air, almost as if it were...living.
Twilight began to shiver as Despise at last spoke a single word, “Run…”
A strand of the floating hair formed itself into a spike and launched at Twilight, stretching itself to cover the distance. Twilight jumped out of the way at the last the second. The hair stabbed the wall behind her which shook with the impact. Then another strand shot out, forcing Twilight to dodge again. Despise’s hair continued the assault, firing strand after strand like a barrage of arrows. The blades cut through any plant life that stood in its path, including the trees. Twilight was managing to stay unscathed, but it wasn’t easy.
Several seconds and countless dodges later, Twilight’s legs could take no more. Her movements slowed and one strand of hair finally made contact. Nicking her on the shoulder while in mid-jump with a powerful force, the sharp extension sent Twilight flying through the air. Her body flipped twice before hitting the ground with a loud thud.
 Struggling to get back to her feet after the hit, Twilight lifted her head and looked in Despise’s direction. Her eyes widened as she saw one last piece of hair coming straight towards her face. Instinctively she closed her eyes, as if that would somehow soften the blow.
But the blow never came. Less than a hoof’s length in front of Twilight, Whitehoof jumped in front of the projectile and blocked it. The collision dented his armor and sent him flying towards the ground once again. 
“Run, Ms. Sparkle!” a voice yelled from across the room. Twilight’s eyes shifted and she saw the three other guards back on their hooves and closing in on Despise’s position. The very second she laid eyes on them though, Despise’s tail stretched out and wrapped itself around Sharpeye and hoisted him into the air. 
        There wasn’t much time. With all the strength left in her, Twilight dashed straight towards the collar, which was still lying next to the bush she had found it in. Despise screamed as three more strands shot out in Twilight’s direction at once. They missed, but only just and Twilight was not about to stop running. As soon as she was in range of the collar she lowered her neck and scooped it up in her mouth, all while never ceasing to move her hooves.
        Despise whipped her tail with the captured guard still in it and sent him flying into the furthest wall, which he hit with the force of a cannon ball. Trove tried to grab her hind legs while the tail was distracted, but he only got kicked in the face and was immediately knocked down. Javelin made a leap aimed at tackling Despise from the torso, but Despise turned her head towards him and opened her mouth, catching him by his head with her teeth. The razor-sharp teeth sank into his helmet puncturing it and crushing it at the same time. Then she spat him out like an unsavory carrot and sent him to join Javelin on the farthest wall. 
        The distractions gone, Despise leaped into the air and came down directly in front of Twilight. Twilight collided with Despise’s right leg and fell back onto the ground. The collar fell out of her mouth and landed about a hoof’s length to her left. She tried to reach for it, but a large wall of green hair came crashing down right in front of the collar and blocked it off. 
        Twilight turned her head back to see Despise grinning down at her. “That collar is tacky,” she sneered, “and so. are. you!” She fashioned a strand of hair from each of her bangs into two enormous needles and aimed both of them at Twilight's head. She reared them back. Twilight began to tremble.
        “Stop!” yelled a voice from across the room. Despise paused her attack and looked up. It was Javelin. He was standing upright, albeit with shaky legs, near the doorway, his helmet still half-crushed. His eyes were locked onto Despise, with a look that was void of fear. 
        Despise laughed with a cackle as piercing as metal scraping glass. “What did you just say?” she taunted. 
        Twilight got up, turned around and headed straight towards the guard challenging the demented pony. While her pace was quick, she kept her head low and her hoofsteps soft, attempting to avoid regaining the attention of the now distracted creature. 
        As she approached the guard, she noticed something that she hadn’t before. On the ground, near the doors and right where Javelin was standing was a small round button. It could easily have passed for a pebble to the casual observer. 
        The guard lifted his hoof. “In the name of Princess Celestia, I command you to stop!” he declared. He moved his hoof into position over the button and then forced it down. 
        A loud whirring sound could be heard, like working of a large machine. Despise’s eyes suddenly widened and her head twitched back and forth, “No! No! Noooo!” she screamed. 
        As Despise cried out, Twilight noticed two cone-shaped metal devices lower from the ceiling, one on each corner of the wall to her right. She looked to the left and saw two identical objects appear on the opposite wall as well. Before Despise could even stop screaming, they lit up like light bulbs.
        Suddenly, the hairs of Despise’s mane and tail were split down the middle and pulled in two different directions as if fillies were using them for tug-of-war. Despise started screaming. Her hairs were then all stretched until they became straight. Finally, the different parts of her hair were lifted upward, taking their host with them. Despise was now hovering a few hooves off the ground. She continued her blood-curdling screams as she writhed in the air, trying to escape from the nonexistent strings that hung her. 
        Twilight stared in amazement at the incapacitated creature while Javelin continued to look on with resolve. Eventually, the two turned their heads to face each other. The guard smiled. “She’s all yours, Ms. Sparkle.”
        With no further hesitation, Twilight lit up her horn and her magic connected once again with the collar. She levitated it over and upward, aligning it with the neck of the struggling Despise. She looked into Despise’s eyes, “The show’s over,” she said.  And with that she fired the collar straight at Despise faster than any of the projectiles Despise had shot at her. In the blink of an eye the collar was wrapped around the wailing monster’s neck and Twilight sent one final command with her magic that closed the collar and locked it in place.
        There was a nearly blinding flash of white light as Despise let out one last primal scream, a scream that still echoed well after it had been silenced. Once the flash cleared, Twilight and the guard could see that the pony suspended in the room was now completely still and quiet. Her eyes were closed and her hooves were dangling like wind chimes, though her hair was still stretched. 
        Twilight and Javelin waited several seconds, but eventually Javelin pressed the button on the floor again and the four cone-shaped devices all went dim. The green pony’s body fell to the floor as the cones retracted into the ceiling. The pony’s long green hair covered her like a deflated parachute.
        Twilight started to make a step toward the large mass of vine-like hair, but then hesitated. “Is-is everypony else alright?” she asked aloud. 
        Slowly and staggeringly, Sharpeye, Trove, and Whitehoof each arose one by one. All of them appeared to be fine, save for the limp in their walk as they approached Twilight. Trove was holding his head.
        Once the five of them regrouped, they slowly crept towards and then gathered around the green mound now splayed on the floor. Everypony stared down at it in silence. 
        Twilight ignited her horn and its magic began to slowly sift through the hair on the floor. She parted it very delicately, like Rarity on the mane of a very important client. Eventually though, Twilight did uncover the head of the pony the hair was attached to. 
        The collar was still around the green pony’s neck and still snapped together firmly. The pony’s eyes were closed and she looked to be sleeping peacefully. There was no sign of malice anymore.
        Twilight decided to get a little closer. She walked forward, stepping onto part of the scattered hair now in order to get nearer to the face that was now jutting out of it. Once she was right next to it, she bowed her head down and squinted her eyes to examine it better.
        Then the eyes opened and the head yanked up. “Ah! What happened!?” Willow screamed 
        Willow raising her head caused the hair that Twilight was standing on to lift up with it. Twilight tumbled backwards as if a rug had been pulled out from under her. Her backside collided with the Greenhouse’s floor. “Willow!” Twilight shouted angrily once she caught her breath.
        “Woah, oops!” exclaimed Willow, “I swear that one wasn’t on purpose, Smarty Mare.”
        Twilight got back up onto her hooves and dusted herself off.
        Willow looked around and saw the four guards surrounding her. She saw that all of them were injured, and staring very contemptuously at her.
        Willow’s eyes widened, “Oh, oh no. It happened again, didn’t it?”
        “Yes,” said Twilight emphatically, “it did.”
        Willow’s lower lip began to curl. She lowered her head and her eyes met the collar around her neck. “So..it-it didn’t work…?”
        Twilight smiled, “Are you kidding? It worked great!” 
        Willow’s expression suddenly flipped. “Wha...!?”
        “Well, Despise really didn’t want us to put it on, but once we got it on, she was finished!” 
        The Greenhouse’s sole resident jittered as her draw dropped. “This-this is-far...out!” Willow shouted joyously. 
Quickly, she turned around and ran to the nearest bush and plucked a leaf out of it. Then, she went over to a palm tree and yanked off a second leaf from it with her teeth. After that, she ran over to the maple tree and snapped a leaf off of it as well.
Twilight raised one eyebrow, “Uh, Willow, what are you doing?”
Willow, now some distance from Twilight gently laid the leaves that were in her mouth on the ground and turned to look at her inquirer. “I’m nabbin’ all my favorite greens. After that, I. Am. Out, mare!”
“Whoah, slow down there,” commanded Twilight. 
“Why? What’s up?” asked Willow.
“Well, whether or not this means you get to leave the Greenhouse isn’t my decision, it’s Princess Celestia’s. We have to get her permission before we can release you.”
The guards all nodded in agreement.
Willow stood frozen for a moment at this news, then slowly lowered her head. “Mare, you really know how to kill a pony’s buzz, ya know?”
“I’m just telling you the truth,” said Twilight plainly as she walked over to the now-gloomy pony. She put her hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll check out with the Princess. Besides, she can probably be here tomorrow so you won’t have to wait long.”
Willow sighed. “Okay,” she consented. Then, her spirits audibly lifted, “Okay! I’ll chill in this pad for one more night, then I’m hittin’ the road!”
“That’s the spirit!” encouraged Twilight. 
After some talk, Twilight mentioned that it was getting late and she should be leaving. A proud Twilight and a hopeful Willow said their goodbyes and the four guards escorted Twilight out of the Greenhouse. 
Once they were outside, Twilight and Willow waved goodbye to each other as two of the guards shut the doors between them. Twilight could vaguely hear Willow saying something to the effect of “No hard feelings?” to the two remaining guards. 
As soon as they were closed and the steel bar replaced, Twilight turned to her escorts.
“So I gather that’s the ‘anti-Despise’ security system you two were telling me about?”
“Yup,” said Sharpeye, “Pretty cool, huh?”
        “It sure is,” agreed Twilight.
        “I just wish we could’ve used it from the beginning,” said Javelin. “but it takes all of the hospital’s power while it’s on. Our orders are to not use it unless there’s no other choice.”
“I see,” said Twilight before she changed the subject. “Have-have you ever seen Despise suddenly appear like that?” 
“No, Ms. Sparkle,” said Javelin in a tone that conveyed his own astonishment. “Willow normally goes into that trance state first.”
“That’s what I thought,” said Twilight. “That has me really concerned.”
Sharpeye shrugged. “Well, I think it may be a good sign.”
“What do you mean?” asked Twilight. 
“Well, Despise came out faster because she knew that collar meant trouble. She was scared to death of it. I think that thing was her Achilles’ Hoof and she knew it.” 
“I hope you’re right,” said Twilight.
        

	

> Part 2, Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	That night Willow got even less sleep than the guards assigned to watch her. As the Moon made its way across the sky, Willow bounced all over the room, tidying up each and every plant and clearing the walkways of any and all dust or debris. She adjusted nearly every branch of every tree, as if each individual leaf was a fancy bowtie that had to be just so.
Willow’s unusual amount of energy served as a source of amusement for Trove and Whitehoof all the way until their relief came early the next morning. The daytime guards traded places with Whitehoof and Trove as well as Javelin and Sharpeye who were keeping watch on the outside. The four night guards bid Willow good night and wished her the best of luck with Princess Celestia, should she ever show.
Willow stopped her Spring cleaning of her very Spring-like accommodations only enough to bid them farewell and then she immediately resumed her self-assigned chores. Eventually, the only thing that looked messy in the entire room was the pony cleaning it up. 
It had been so long since Willow had combed her mane that whether or not she would even remember how was debatable. Her tail and body were in even worse shape. Frayed hairs and knots abounded in addition to the dirty ends that had been dragging on the ground. There were also more than a few locks that were strained from being stepped on or tripped over by their owner. Such acts of clumsiness were very common to Willow, especially throughout this night. 
Every once in a while in her panicked effort to beautify the already aesthetically-pleasing Greenhouse, Willow would stop and try to fix up some of her mane’s imperfections. However, these moments were always cut off immediately when her wandering eyes spotted yet another plant that bothered her in some way. At such a sight, she would instantly drop whatever beauty ritual she was attempting to start and rush towards the offending flora. 
These many halted attempts at self-grooming in addition to running around the room like Pinkie Pie on expresso resulted in the Greenhouse looking more and more beautiful and its caretaker looking less and less so. 
It wasn’t until well after the Sun became clearly visible through the transparent wall that Willow began grooming herself in earnest. She pulled at every knot, straightened every lock, and cleaned off every end. Granted, she had more success with some parts than others. 
One knot in particular though, located halfway down her elongated right bang, became a particular obsession. She yanked at it with her teeth as hard as she could and pulled it in every direction possible, but it just wouldn’t budge. After countless vain attempts and several amused giggles from the onlooking guards, Willow assumed a battle-ready stance and took a deep breath. She stared intently and at the knot dangling just below her face like it was a mortal enemy. Then, like a cat pouncing on a mouse, she lunged at it and locked the knot in a death grip between her jaws. 
Unfortunately, locking on to her own hair with such force while lowering her head so quickly caused her rear hooves to lift off the ground. Her body flipped into the air and sent her crashing down onto her back, her hair enveloping her. Willow now laid on the floor covered in hair, looking very much like a poorly-wound ball of yarn. She couldn’t see which guard was laughing. 
However, the laughing stopped abruptly and it was instantly replaced with some very different noises coming from outside the doors. The Greenhouse’s watchmen stepped away in opposite directions in anticipation of the incoming party. Once the two external guards had finished pushing the doors open, the two internal ones faced the entrance and kneeled. 
Princess Celestia held her head upright and her face straight as she gracefully stepped over the threshold. Once she was completely in the Greenhouse, the guards returned to their hooves. The Princess’s eyes scoured the room. 
Not seeing what she expected, the Princess inquired aloud “Where...is Willow?”
“Um, I think she’s that wad of hair on the ground,” said another voice. 
A single yellow eye popped out of the green mess. As soon as it confirmed the source of the second voice, Willow sprang to her hooves and shook the hair out of her face. “Smarty mare! You’re here!”
Twilight was standing right behind the Princess. “Long time, no see, huh Willow?” she joked. 
        “Yeah,” said Willow, chuckling.
        “Well, I see you’ve been, um, active,” observed Twilight.
        “Huh? Oh yeah!” said Willow eagerly. “I was just, uh, ya know, tidyin’ up ma’ pad,”
        Twilight smirked, “Looks like it was a lot of work for you.”
        Willow’s eyes widened. She quickly reached up and felt her hair. There were still knots all over the place, and they were now joined with new hairs that were now standing up when they weren’t supposed to. 
        “Uh, um, yeah. This is, uh, my new groove. Ya dig it?” Willow asked with an ill-confident expression as some loose hairs visibly bobbed up and down. 
        The Princess chuckled, “It’s alright, Willow. This isn’t the Grand Galloping Gala,” said the regal and well-groomed alicorn. 
        Willow jumped back, as if just now noticing that Celestia was there.
        “And what a relief that is. I’m in no shape for it!” declared yet another voice. 
Rarity came into view in the entryway. At first glance, she looked like her usual well-maintained self, but closer examination revealed that a great deal of haste had been applied to her appearance. Her makeup job lacked its usual precision and some parts of her routine had obviously been skipped entirely. Then there were her eyes, which were struggling to stay half opened.
        “Oh, uh, hey there, Fancy mare!” greeted Willow with some hesitation. “You, uh, have a busy night too?”
Rarity was slow to respond. “Pardon? Oh, well, not at all, dear. It’s just that one isn’t usually awoken at this ghastly hour by a Princess and a purple Unicorn.” Her sentence was punctuated by a long, loud yawn. “I am glad to see you again, though.”
Willow smiled. “Me too, mare. Sorry, I didn’t mean for Smarty mare to drag you out of bed.”
Twilight laughed, “No, that’s all me. I just thought it would be nice if all of us were here. This could be a big day for you.”
“Uh, all of us?” inquired Willow. 
“You heard ‘er right!” said another pony, this one with a familiar accent. 
Entering the room just behind Rarity was Applejack, trotting at a pace that made the former pony’s stride look like a full gallop. She bared a smile at Willow as their eyes made contact, but she was having difficulties holding it up.
But while Applejack was busy holding up her face, Willow heard repeated grunts and groans coming from the hallway that sounded like somepony trying to hold up something much heavier. 
The heaving revealed itself to be coming from Rainbow Dash as she very slowly and awkwardly hovered into Willow’s view. Her eyes and teeth were clenched and her entire body was strained. She was carrying a heavy object in her forelegs and she was nearly at her limit for doing so. 
        That object was Fluttershy, who was fast asleep. 
        As soon as the others made room, Rainbow Dash placed Fluttershy on the ground. Or rather, she just let the unconscious Pegasus slip out of her hooves.
        Flutteshy hit the floor with a thud. The impact woke her up, but much more gradually than expected. She took her time getting up, stretching and yawning in the process, as though she was simply continuing where she left off from her bed that morning.
        When her eyes finally opened, they quickly widened, “Oh, Willow!  Um, aren’t you supposed to be at the Hospital?”
        “We are at the hospital!” said Rainbow Dash loudly, “I’ve been carrying you since the train station!”
        “Oh, um, that wasn’t a dream?” asked Fluttershy timidly. 
        The confident smile on Twilight’s face had been slowly eroding as her friends entered the room. Finally, she released it completely and sighed. “I’m sorry Willow. I thought everypony would be more excited.” 
        “We are, Twilight, we are,” said Applejack right before letting out another yawn. “We’re just still wakin’ up is all.”
        “And I didn’t even try Spike,” added Twilight. 
        Willow laughed, “Well, I don’t know what y’all’s deal is. I’ve been up all night and I’m still groovy!”
        “Me too!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she lunged at Willow out of complete nowhere and hugged her to the ground. 
        “Ow!” exclaimed Willow while laughing at the same time. “Hey there, Funny mare!” Pinkie’s embrace tightened. Willow let out a suffocating cough, “Uh, you can leggo now.” Pinkie quickly obliged and Willow returned to her hooves.
        Stepping back, Willow saw how many ponies had come out to see her. She smiled. “Thanks, everypony, for real. Thanks fer comin’ out. It really helps with ma’ vibes.”
        “Hey! Now what did I tell you about talking like that?” Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically. 
        “Heh, sorry Awesome mare, er, Rainbow,” Willow said correcting herself. Rainbow Dash had been meeting with her on occasion to discuss how to talk like “the cool ponies.” The pony from another era still wasn’t quite in the habit. 
        Willow turned to Princess Celestia. “So...whattaya think of the new necklace, uh, yer highness?” she asked as she stuck her neck out to make the collar more visible.
        “...It looks fashionable at least,” replied the Princess hesitantly. 
        “You don’t have to lie,” said Twilight. 
        Celestia laughed. “Well what’s important is that it does what it is meant to do.” The Princess glanced behind at the doorway, “Where is Luna?”
        “I am here, sister,” Princess Luna called out as she came into everypony’s view. She had been dragging her hooves even more so than the others. Granted, she looked more regal doing it. “Forgive me, I am not accustomed to staying awake this late.”
        “Whoah, I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” said Willow greeting her latest guest.
        “This is Princess Luna. She watches over the night as I the day,” explained Princess Celestia.
        “Far out,” remarked Willow.
        Luna suddenly let out a groan. “‘Far out?’ It is true what my sister has told me, then. You are certainly one of them.” 
        “Uh, one of who?” asked Willow. 
        “You were a Discordian before, were you not?” said Luna. She sighed, “They all spoke like that, very uncouth they were.”
        “Sister!” Celestia shouted indignantly.
        Luna closed her eyes and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry — Willow, is it? — I meant no offense.”
        “None taken, Spooky mare,” said Willow accepting the dark Alicorn’s apology. Luna might have subtly rolled her eyes.
        Princess Celestia turned to her sister. “Well, shall we begin?”
        “Yes,” Luna confirmed.
        “Uh, begin wha?” asked Willow with a raised eyebrow.
        “We are going to perform a little test on you, Willow,” Celestia explained, “Don’t worry, you don’t have to do anything and it won’t hurt.” The Princess turned to the other ponies in the room. “We need all of you to stand back,” she declared. 
        The six ponies obeyed, albeit some more quickly than others.
        Princess Luna stepped forward and stood next to her sister. Willow’s eyes closed, her head sank and her teeth clenched as she prepared for a test she knew nothing about. The Princesses closed their eyes and each of their horns lit. 
        Within seconds, beams of light shot out of the horns, a blue light from Celestia’s and a purple from Luna’s. As soon as the lights connected with Willow’s head, a white canopy of magic spread out from the point of contact and engulfed the green pony’s entire body. 
        The two sisters held their lights steadily for several seconds. Eventually, Willow opened her eyes. Her body began to loosen. Princess Celestia hadn’t lied to her. There was no pain. 
        The Princesses focused their magic onto Willow for only a minute or two longer before their horns went dark and Willow was freed from their aura. Celestia and Luna opened their eyes and looked at each other. A strange silence followed, as if neither was sure if she should speak. 
        Willow, very cautiously broke that silence, “Uh...so what’s the story?”
        Princess Celestia turned her head to Willow, then turned it to the others. “Could you please give us a moment in private?” Without waiting for a response. she and Luna separated from the other seven ponies and walked towards the other side of the Greenhouse. They stopped only after they were out of earshot of everypony else.
        Willow and others could no longer hear the two royal ponies speak, but all of their eyes were fixed on the sisters’ lip movements. Not everypony can read lips, though. 
        “Uh, whattaya make of it, Smarty mare?” Willow whispered to Twilight. 
        “I-I can’t tell from here,” Twilight admitted. 
        “Do-do you think it’s bad?” asked Willow.
        “Don’t worry, Willow,” Twilight assured the shaky pony, “It’s just a serious decision and they need to make sure they get it right.”
        Twilight and Willow fell silent again and rejoined the others in watching Celestia and Luna. Neither Alicorn’s face showed any emotion. They were focused and serious, as if strategizing for an important battle. However, while certain ponies may have thought that the conversation lasted a lifetime, the Princesses’ discussion was in reality very brief.
        After Princess Luna and Princess Celestia finished their private talk, they returned to the other ponies. The six other guests backed up towards the doorway to make room for them while Willow backed up in the opposite direction. The two Alicorns walked directly in front of Willow and slowly turned to face her. 
        Willow didn’t speak to them, although her gaping mouth suggested that she wanted to. She was frozen in place, her eyes wide open and gazing at her judges. 
        Those judges briefly looked at each other, nonverbally asking each other to start, but then switched back to facing the subject of their discussion.
        “Willow,’ began Princess Celestia, “We have decided that you will not be released this day.”
        Heavy gasps could be heard coming from all ponies in the room.
        Willow looked like she was melting. Her body instantly sank, her head bowed and the disheveled hair on her head dripped to the ground. 
        Twilight spoke up, “What’s wrong?” she asked Princess Celestia. “Is the collar not strong enough?”
        “I don’t know, Twilight.” said Princess Celestia plainly. 
        “And that’s precisely why we cannot authorize her release,” Princess Luna added. 
        “Our test was inconclusive,” Celestia continued, “Neither of us detected any dark power per se, but her life energy is still...very strange, volatile.”
        “I have never sensed anything like it before,” commented Luna.
        Willow’s shoulders were visibly twitching and while her head was obscured by her vine-like hair, the sounds of her sniffling made clear her feelings.
        Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack gathered around her. Rarity and Fluttershy each put a hoof on one of Willow’s shoulders. Twilight stood in front of her with her head bowed.
        “I’m so sorry, Willow,” Twilight offered, “I know how much you were looking forward to this.”
        “Don’t ya’ll fret none, though,” added Applejack, “this ain’t the end. Princess Celestia just needs more time.” She looked up at the two sisters, “...that right?”
        “That is correct,” Luna acknowledged.
        “Yes. I simply don’t feel comfortable enough letting her go at this time,” said Princess Celestia. “She only received the collar last night and I’m unable to tell if it solves her problem completely. I feel —,” she paused, then continued, “— I feel that she should stay confined a while longer, this time with the collar on. If there are no further incidents, then I will deem it safe to release her.”
        “Um, how long were you thinking, Princess Celestia?” asked Fluttershy gently.
        Celestia and Luna looked at each other briefly, then turned back to their inquirer. “30 days,” said Luna.
        “Did you hear that, darling?” asked Rarity, her hoof still on Willow’s shoulder. “You only have to wait 30 more days. You’ve already been cooped up here far longer. You could handle that little more, couldn’t you?”
        The sniffling coming from underneath Willow’s green hair slowed. “I...guess so..,” she stammered. 
        “That’s the spirit!” encouraged Twilight. “That’s no time at all! It’ll be over before you know it.”
        “Ooo! Can we make it 27 days?” blurted out Pinkie Pie at the two Alicorns.
        “Why 27, Pinkie Pie?” asked Celestia. 
        “Because that’s the day of the Canterlot Garden Gallop!” Pinkie exclaimed. “It would be a super-awesome way to celebrate her coming-out-of-the-Greenhouse!”
        Princess Celestia smiled. “I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose it would. Very well, 27 days!”
        “Woo-hoo!” shouted Pinkie Pie as bounced in place repeatedly
        “Wait wait..” said Willow as she regained her composure and shook the hair out of her face, “the Garden Gallow? That don’t sound too groovy.”
        “Willow!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
        “Uh, cool,” said Willow, correcting herself once again.
        “No! the Garden Gallop, silly!” said Pinkie to Willow while still bouncing up and down on a nonexistent trampoline.
        “It’s a mighty nice parade,” explained Applejack, “All of the Canterlot gardenin’ and flower shops make floats outta their stock and show ‘em off to everypony. The Apple family is helpin’ out with the Fruit House’s float, uh, naturally I guess.”
        “Am I’m tending to the float for Lady Flora’s Flower Boutique.” added Rarity.
        “I’m working on the float for Graceful’s Greenery,” declared Fluttershy.
        “You don’t say,” said Willow, “That sounds like somethin’ I could wrap with you on!”
        “Oh, um, I don’t know…” Fluttershy stammered, “Have you ever arranged greenery before?”
        Willow smirked, “You trippin’, Critter mare? Did you notice the Greenhouse this morn’?”
        Fluttershy looked around the room. “It’s...very pretty here,” she admitted.
        “That’s ‘cuz I was up all night dressin’ ‘er up!” Willow boasted.
        “Oh my! Well, I guess that’ll do,” conceded Fluttershy. She smiled at Willow, but then, she backpedaled, “Oh, but how are you going to work on it while you’re stuck here?”
        Willow thought for a moment, then turned to Princess Celestia, “Is there any way Critter mare and I can set up shop here, at least during the day or somethin’?”
        The Princess pondered for a moment herself, then answered “I suppose that could work as long as the guards were here.”
        “Far out!” said Willow. She turned back to Fluttershy and winked. “Maybe it’ll give us more time to work on our Rain Forest idea.”
        Fluttershy smiled and nodded.
        “That’s great!” said Twilight to Willow, “Maybe this way 27 days won’t seem so long since you’ll have something to do.”
        “That’s what I figured,” said Willow, “Hey, speakin’ of which, whatta ya’ll doin’ for the parade?”
        “Well, I’m a little too busy to work on a float,” Twilight explained, “but I am helping plan the parade route.”
        “And I’m doing what Pegusi do best,” said Rainbow Dash, “keeping the skies clear!”
        “Groov—er, uh, awesome!” said Willow, catching herself once again almost uttering one of Rainbow Dash’s forbidden words.
        Then, out of the corner of her eye, Willow spotted another pony that had been strangely quiet this whole time. She turned her head and looked at Pinkie Pie.“Uh, do I wanna ask what you’re workin’ on for the parade?”
        “Chocolate!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she pulled a chocolate figurine of a pony out of thin air. “I’m doing the float for Merry’s Marvelous Malts!” 
        Willow raised an eyebrow, “Uh, don’t sound like it jives with the theme. I thought the parade was about flowers n’ plants ‘n stuff.”
        “Coco’s a plant!” declared Pinkie Pie.
        “Hmmm, touché, Funny mare,” Willow conceded.
        The ponies continued in conversation for some time, but eventually the talk came to a lull and each pony realized that she had matters to attend to. They all said their goodbyes to Willow and Fluttershy told her that she would talk to her later about the details of their project. 
        Soon, the party of eight ponies exited the room and the guards shut the double doors behind them. While the six citizens of Ponyville lead the way towards the hospital’s exit, Princesses Luna and Celestia trailed a few steps behind. 
        “What if she knows?” asked Princess Luna.
        “What do you mean?” Princesss Celestia asked in reply.
        “What if Despise is still inside Willow and is aware of what you just told her?” said Luna. “She could simply wait 27 days and then overtake Willow as soon as we release her.”
        “According to everypony who’s dealt with Despise,” explained Celestia, “she’s nothing but a mindless brute. I don’t think she would be clever enough to plan something like that. I believe that Despise will emerge the moment she is able.”
        “If she’s even still inside Willow at all,” added Luna.
        “Indeed,” said Celestia. “Hopefully, Twilight’s collar has performed its task and Despise is only a bad dream now.”
        As they neared the exit of the hospital, Princess Luna looked contemplative. “A bad dream…” she muttered. 
        
        

> Part 2, Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nothing in the room was very eye-catching. The walls were an empty white and the floor was plain, gray stone. There was an old stove sitting behind the counter at the front of the room, but it was colorless and dull as was the rest of the kitchenware around it. The only other object in the room was a butter churn. 
At least, that was the only other object Willow could see. Her eyes had been scouring the room for some time now, but they were no closer to their goal of getting their owner’s bearings.
The fact that it was so dark was of no assistance. What little Willow could see was thanks only to the faint bluish moonlight that was leaking in from the outside through various tiny cracks in the walls and ceiling. 
“Uh, hello?” she called out, hoping to get assistance from some unseen pony nearby. The only response, however, was silence. This place, wherever it was, was so quiet that making any sound at all felt disrespectful. 
Willow’s eyes eventually landed on a portrait hanging on the wall to her left. Starved for information on her own whereabouts, she walked towards it to get a better look. Once there, she noticed that the painter hadn’t picked a very exciting pose for his subject. It was just a plain view of an old gray pony from the shoulders up. He had a blonde mane that was starting to fade and he wore bifocals in front of his big yellow eyes. A red sweater vest covered his torso. His smile was small and a little crooked, as if he wasn’t sure if he should be smiling.
Upon seeing this, Willow’s own facial expression was more one of bewilderment. The portrait gave her no concrete answers as to where she was, but at the same time there was a certain…familiarity to it. And soon, that sense familiarity spread to her thoughts of the room itself as well. Had she been here before?
Willow turned her head to the left to observe the side of the room previously out of her vision. It was just as plain. However, one piece of furniture caught her eye: right behind the point where she started was a wooden china cabinet. Inside the cabinet there was some gold — or at least gold-painted — china. Willow felt drawn to it, as if it were a road sign made to guide her. 
She walked over to her latest discovery, her eyes never blinking. Her sense of deja vu gradually narrowed as she approached. At first, the cabinet in general seemed familiar. Then, a specific shelf stuck out to her. Finally, her senses locked on to one particular teapot on that same shelf. 
Willow stared at the teapot. Before long, she felt an instinctive urge to pull the spout of the teapot like a lever. After pulling it towards herself a few degrees, there was a loud click.
The floor immediately began to shake and Willow quickly backed away. She stopped her backtracking only after she saw the source of the rumbling. A large square piece of the stone floor started sliding back into the wall with a loud grinding noise. After it had opened as far as it could go, the vibrations ceased, ending with another loud click. 
Willow had no way of knowing if the strange process had actually stopped or merely paused. She stood frozen in place for what seemed like minutes. Nothing else happened. The eerie silence had resumed. 
Cautiously, Willow crept up to the opening in the floor that the sliding stone had left behind and peered down it. It had revealed a staircase, a staircase which lead down into another room. Willow couldn’t see much of this room from where she was standing, but she could see that it was faintly lit by something other than moonlight, possibly a candle. 
Her common sense was warning her about going even deeper to a place only vaguely familiar, but then there was that continuing sense of deja vu that had only grown stronger since she touched the teapot. Ignoring caution, Willow stepped forward and made her way down the stairs. 
The room it lead to was a small but nonetheless odd. The floor, the ceiling, and everything in between was coated in bright, clashing colors. Part of one of the walls was red, the next part orange, and the part beyond that pink. The stone floor was painted seemingly at random with streaks of blue, magenta, peach, neon green and various other shades. There was no clear pattern for anything. Colors simply started and stopped at whatever point they wished as if the room’s painter did his job blindfolded.
Willow’s senses were just as much of a mess. On one hoof, this room was bizarre and ominous to her. On the other, it also felt like...home.
Willow decided to move forward and survey the room. It was rectangular in shape, with bookshelves lining both of the longer walls. Small end tables were placed beside each of the shelves. On these end tables were beakers, vials, and burners, many of which were filled with unknown fluids.
        However, all of that seemed to vanish once Willow caught a glimpse of the object on the far back wall. It was a large glass tube, twice as tall and wide as her. The tube was mounted in between two pedestals, one on the ceiling and one on the floor. It was filled with a murky light blue substance which moved unlike anything Willow had seen ever before, at least to her recollection. It didn’t flow like liquid, but it didn’t puff like vapor. It was somewhere in between.
        Willow crept closer to the strange container. Her eyes squinted, as if that would somehow clarify what she was looking at. Once she was right next to it, she decided that sight alone wasn’t enough. With a trembling hoof, she reached out and touched the glass.
        The instant her hoof made contact, a dark purple fog came swirling out from the middle of the tube. It grew larger and larger, swiftly consuming the blue chemical around it. Within seconds, it was the only thing inside the container.
        Startled, Willow backed away from the tube while keeping her eyes fixed on it. However, it wasn’t long before she broke her gaze entirely, turned around and galloped for her life. 
        In the middle of the glass chamber, two glowing white eyes appeared along with a wide mischievous grin, all attached to a nonexistent face in the purple cloud. 
        That cloud leaked from the tube as cracks rapidly produced on its glass surface. The sound of each crack sent a jolt through Willow’s heard and made her double her efforts to get to the staircase. Once there, she began her ascent back to the main floor. 
        But all she found was a ceiling. The way back was blocked. Willow’s eyes widened and she instinctively began pounding on the ceiling. It was no use, though.
        Then Willow froze as a bloodcurdling, high-pitched cackle came from the back of the room. It was followed immediately by the sound of the tube’s glass completely giving way, shattering into a thousand pieces. 
        Willow turned around and saw the demonic face charging straight at her, carried by the dark purple mist from which it had emerged. Unable to run any further, Willow dove down under it. The cloud was only a few hooves in length and she cleared it quickly, but her hair still had time to feel its ice cold mass as she passed. 
        Once she was through, Willow rose to her hooves and ran in the opposite direction of her attacker. However, she only made it a short distance before she once again tripped over her own hair and was forced back onto the ground. 
        Willow turned around to face her adversary. It didn’t charge at her this time. The evil face was still hovering in its purple fog near the staircase. However, the dark cloud was contorting, trying to change its shape. 
        Within seconds, the shape it was trying to create was made clear. Four pillars of smoke stretched out from the center, forming four pony legs. Some mist pushed the grinning face forward and formed into a pony’s neck and head. Then, some of the fog shot out on the opposite side, forming a tail. And finally, extensions shot out from the top of the newly-formed neck and head, forming a semblance of a mane. The mane and the tail splintered themselves into multiple strands of smokey hair that all swayed wildly like flags caught in a storm. The rest of the body convulsed as well, as if the cloud was struggling to maintain this new form.
        The phantom pony leered down at Willow. “Nice to finally meet you, Willow,” it mockingly greeted its prey with its screechy voice. 
Willow immediately returned to her hooves and resumed running. She dashed away as fast as she could and went as far as she could. But since the only way out of the room was blocked and in the opposite direction, that wasn’t very far. She ended up at the corner of the room furthest from her pursuer.  The flight option not available, her fight reflex took over. Instinctively, she turned around and assumed the stance of a cornered cat. However, her noticeable trembling and the look of sheer terror on her face rendered her primitive intimidation tactic ineffective. 
        The trembling of her body extended to her voice, “Wha-wha-whaddaya want with me, mare?” 
        “Nothing much,” said the apparition, “just your body...All.To.Myself!”
        Several extensions of the creature’s ghostly hair stretched out and shot at Willow like harpoons. Reflexively, Willow covered her head with her hooves. Her hair drifted into place, covering her completely, as if desperately trying to protect its owner. 
        She braced for impact... but the impact never came. Right when it should have hit, Willow heard a loud, bellowing sound, like a powerful gust of wind. The sound traveled in the opposite direction, towards her attacker. The creature let out a short but piercing scream of pain.
        Willow released her head from her hooves and pushed the hair out of her face. Her eyes widened as she saw in front of her a tall, dark mare facing away from her. She bore both the wings of a Pegasus and the horn of a Unicorn. Her mane was long, blue, and sparkled with the stars of the night. Her cutie mark was that of the very moon itself.
        Willow recognized her immediately. “Spooky mare!”
        “My name is Luna,” said the Princess sternly.
        “You stay out of this!” screamed the apparition. 
        “No! You stay out of her!” Luna commanded.
        The ghostly creature grinned, “...make me!”
        The creature shot it’s faux hair extensions out at Luna faster than any arrow. Luna lit up her horn and whipped her head from side to side. A beam of light followed her swaying horn and cut through the monster’s projectiles like a sword. The apparition jumped back, stunned. Luna then fired a beam of light directly at the center of the creature’s cloudy mass. There was a small explosion and the ghostly mass shrieked as it’s pony-shaped body unraveled. It was once again nothing but a cloud of smoke attached to an angry face. 
        That face gritted its pseudo teeth, narrowed its eyes, then charged itself head-on at Luna. The Princess lit up her horn once again and it emitted a blue light, not dissimilar from the one she had used on Willow at the Greenhouse. It captured and enveloped the evil mist right before it made contact with its owner, forming a magical shell around the dark cloud and suspending it in the air. The creature screamed and is struggled to break free. 
        Luna called out to Willow. “Child, go, now!” 
        “But the exit is blocked,” said Willow.
        “Not anymore,” declared Luna.
        Willow looked over to at the stairway. She could see a faint light at the top where there once was only the shadow of the ceiling. 
        She asked no further questions. As fast as she could Willow rose to her hooves and bolted towards the top of the stairs. Her head had cleared the stairway when she heard a shattering sound coming from the room below, but this time it was definitely not glass.
Willow looked down the stairs she had just walked up and saw Luna running towards her. 
“Go! Now!” she was yelling. 
        Behind Luna, Willow could see the room slowly being filled up by a very familiar purple smoke. She once again obeyed Luna’s command and ran.
        As soon as she was clear of the stairs, Willow made a right towards the first door she saw . She pushed it open without breaking stride and made her way to outside.
        Willow had been so focused on escaping that it took her a few moments to notice that she was now running on...nothing. Outside of the mysterious place she had just escaped from, there was nothing but a black empty abyss. There was no ground, no sky, no nothing. Behind her stood the door she had opened to escape, but it wasn’t attached to anything. It was just a solitary door standing upright in the middle of the darkness. 
        Soon, however, Willow heard a shout coming from that door. 
“Halt, Willow!” cried Luna.
        The shout broke Willow’s concentration and she tripped over her hair again. She fell to the ground, or at least the empty space directly below her. Quickly recovering and standing up again, Willow turned around and faced the only other visible object in this space.        
Luna was flying out of the door and heading straight towards her. She could see dark smoke filling up the doorway. The place behind the door was slowly growing as black as the place outside of it. 
        Luna flew passed Willow, then turned and landed right next to her. The Princess’s horn lit up and just as the darkness was crossing the threshold, her magic connected with the door and slammed it shut. Then the magic coursing through Luna’s horn changed color and the door was instantly covered in countless white sparks. The sparks grew larger and larger until they all exploded in unison. The door disintegrated. 
        Now there was literally nothing besides the two ponies in this black, featureless void. The tall, dark one turned her head towards the shorter, greener one. 
        “Are you all right, Willow?” Luna asked calmly. 
        Willow was still recovering from the chase. “You tell me!” she managed to reply in between bouts of heavy breathing. “I think I’m trippin’,” she added.
        “You have tripped several times, yes,” said Luna.
        “Not what I meant, mare,” said Willow. “I mean, like, where are we?”
        “I suppose the most accurate answer is your mind,” Luna explained, “This is a dream.”
        Willow’s heavy breathing slowed, “So I am trippin’ then. Far out. Well, I feel way better now. So, uh, are you like a figment of my imagination or somethin’?”
        “Not quite,” said Luna, “I am very real. It is my duty to watch over the dreams of all ponies in Equestria.”
        “For real, mare?” said Willow with raised eyebrows, “No offense, but that’s...kinda freaky.”
        “You have no idea,” said Luna flatly. 
        Willow laughed, “I guess it ain’t all sunshine and flowers for you, either.” 
        “Absolutely not. I see the good dreams,” said Luna as her eyes focused on the spot where the door used to be, “and the bad ones as well.”
        “I guess I oughtta thank you for rescuing me from that whatever-it-was,” Willow said sincerely. 
        “What you saw was Despise,” explained Luna.
        “That’s the thing that came outta me!?” exclaimed Willow.
        “Well, that was its spirit, yes,” said Luna. 
        “Whoah,” Willow said as she hung her head, “I can see why ponies were scared.”
        “You needn’t feel guilty,” said Luna, her tone remaining as dry as it had been. “This creature was not of your making.”
        Willow’s head remained hung, but she nodded slowly. She stood silent for a moment, then asked “So..is it splitsville now?”
        “No, it’s still a dream,” replied Luna.
        Willow sighed, “Is that...that thing gone?”
        “No,” answered Luna.”I have managed to weaken it, but I still sense its presence.” She turned her body to face Willow completely.Willow followed suit. “Which is why, I am sad to say, I will have to tell my sister that the collar Twilight made  is not sufficient.”
        Willow started, “But-but...this is just a dream, right? I mean, it-it can’t get out...can it?”
        Luna spoke as calmly as she could, “I do not know, Willow. Despise is weak now, but in time her strength could return.”
        “But what if it don’t? Am-am I just gonna stay held up forever? I-I can’t live like this!” Willow moved in so close to Luna that their noses were nearly touching. “Can...can you just let this one slide? Ya know, not tell your sister?”
        “You know I cannot do that,” said Luna firmly. 
        “Please!” Willow begged, “I can’t take this anymore, mare! We’ll-we’ll just keep it on the low and if something else happens, you can tell her then!”
        Luna stood silent for a moment. She stared Willow directly in the eyes. The desperate pony’s eyes were soaked in water and even her eyebrows were shaking. Luna bowed her head and the silence continued. Then, at long last the Princess spoke, “Very well. I will not inform my sister this time.”
        Willow’s exhale was so long that she may have been in danger of deflating. “Thank you Spooky mare! Thank you!” she exclaimed with palpable relief.
        Luna’s gaze was still fixed unwaveringly at Willow’s eyes. “Know this, though,” she said sternly, “I will be keeping a very close eye on your dreams. If Despise emerges again, I must inform Celestia…”
        
        

> Part 2, Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Luna’s words echoed in Willow’s head every single night. If Despise ever appeared again in Willow’s dreams, Luna would know and she would be forced to inform her sister of the potential threat. That would likely mean Willow having to stay imprisoned in the Greenhouse for a much longer time, perhaps indefinitely. 
        And even if Luna was not aware if and when Despise re-emerged, Willow would be forced to deal with the spiteful mare’s ghost on her own. 
It was unclear which scenario was worse, but it didn’t matter now. Either way, sleeping for Willow was very difficult. There were some nights where the troubled pony couldn’t sleep at all and on the nights when she could her slumber was light and short at best. 
The sound of the doors to the Greenhouse opening previously filled Willow with an eagerness to see what visitor would walk through them. In her current state, however, it was just irritating. 
Fortunately, the sound she heard immediately after the doors open was far more pleasant. "Um, are you there, Willow?" said the most gentle of voices.
Willow looked like she had been snapped out of a trance. Her mouth was curling upwards as she answered the soft calling, "Right over here, Critter mare!" 
Fluttershy turned her head left and right, but couldn't seem to find the pony she was looking for. "Um...over where?"
Now that she was fully alert again, Willow realized that she had been staring blankly at the view outside the Greenhouse's transparent wall. This meant that her back was facing the entrance, a back that was covered in vine-like green hair. Quickly, Willow whipped her head around. "Over here!" she declared.
Fluttershy started a little as a lump of disheveled greenery turned around and looked her right in the eyes, but she quickly shook it off and walked over to her camouflaged companion.
"So, we ready to jam?" asked Willow.
"Yes we are!" said Fluttershy with an usual confidence. 
There was a pause as Willow tilted her head to the left and to the right, trying to see around her visitor. Her expression turned curious when she saw that Fluttershy had just brought herself and nothing else.
"Uh... Aren't we gonna need some, ya know, stuff to cut plants with or something to dress up plants, er...?"
Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, that's coming."
And ss soon as her current guest said so, Willow heard a familiar pattern of grunts and groans coming from the hallway. She looked towards the door. There, slowly and awkwardly coming into view was Rainbow Dash, carrying yet another object too heavy for her. At least this time, however, it wasn't another pony. Instead it was a very large but otherwise nondescript wooden crate. 
It was clearly taking the same toll on its carrier as a certain pony did, however. Rainbow Dash looked like she may pull a muscle. She was descending rapidly to the ground as she crossed the threshold, eager to the place the box on the ground.
"Halt!" the guard to the left of the door yelled out suddenly. "What do you bring with you? You may not set it down here!" he said insistently. 
Rainbow Dash, now hovering mere inches off the ground and still clinging to her cargo, made an attempt to answer the guard. Unfortunately, she was too strained to think or speak and all that came out of her mouth was "hhhnnnnnggggg..."
Fluttershy perked up and turned around. "Oh! It's okay," she said to the guard as she walked over to the barely-hovering box, I have a note from the Princess right he— " She cut her own statement short once she reached the box and didn't see what she was looking for pinned to the side of it that she thought it was on. She then moved to another side of the box. It was bare also. Her eyebrows raised slightly. "Um, Rainbow, is Princess Celestia's letter on top there with you?"
"Hhhhhnnnnggggg....," replied Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy circled around to a third side of the box and once again came up empty. However, on the final side she checked, the one facing the guard, she found what she was after. It was a small piece of parchment with hoofwriting on it so tiny that it was nearly invisible from even a short distance away. What was clearly visible on it, however, was a large hoofprint firmly pressed into the lower-right corner.
Fluttershy unpinned the note from the box and brought it over to the guard. The room was silent as the guard read the note, save of course for the groans of agony coming from Rainbow Dash.
Eventually though, the guard nodded his head, "Well, this is her Majesty's writing and her seal." He looked up at Fluttershy's one-pony delivery team, "You may lower the crate."
Rainbow Dash disobeyed slightly, choosing instead to drop the box like an anvil and collapse on top of it. Her gasping made her sound like she was just rescued from drowning.
The guard handed the Princess's letter of approval back to Fluttershy, who then walked back towards Willow. Willow met her halfway and took the princess's letter from her. 
Willow briefly skimmed the document. "Didn't know this was all official n' stuff," she commented.
"Oh, it's not really," said Fluttershy, "I just asked the Princess for permission to make sure it wouldn't be a problem."
Rainbow Dash let out a louder, much longer groan that drew everypony's attention. 
"I...I guess it's a good thing I did," said Fluttershy looking at the very winded Pegasus resting on top of the wooden box.
"Why did you have Awesome mare do all the liftin'?" asked Willow. 
"Well, um...she volunteered," answered Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash rolled off the box and toppled onto the floor, landing on her back. In between several heavy breaths she managed to raise one hoof into the air, cry "No problem!" and then let her hoof collapse back onto the ground. 



 
        

> Part 2, Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Once again it was dark, but Willow could still see clearly all the way down the cobblestone road in front of her. The street was lit by several lampposts evenly placed along each side of it. Also, many of the surrounding buildings had windows facing the road and some of them had the amber glow of candles shining out from them. The collective result was a dark street softly illuminated by warm, gentle light. 
        Also gentle was the breeze flowing through Willow’s hair. It was cool yet not frigid, windy yet not blustering. The air carried on it the scent of autumn, as if colored leaves had littered the ground just earlier that day and were gingerly swept away by a good-natured groundskeeper. 
        Willow decided that she would walk down this road, despite having no clear objective for doing so. The further along she went, the more sounds she could hear coming from the buildings on either side. Most of them were faint and muffled by the walls that separated their sources from the road, but Willow could clearly make out the crackling of lit fireplaces and the clanking of kitchenware. 
Every once in a while, Willow could hear voices as well. She could never make out what they were saying, but the tones ranged from nonchalant to friendly and upbeat. Willow could even hear laughter in some cases. 
Still, there was no indication that any of these unseen ponies were aware of Willow’s presence and there was nopony on the street itself either. It was empty for as far as Willow could see. 
With nopony else in sight, she was left to her own thoughts. Those thoughts latched themselves onto the peculiar designs of the buildings in this town. While each of them looked charming and cozy in its own right, each they also seemed antiquated and primitive. Everything was made of wood and most of that wood was less-than-expertly crafted. Each construction had more than a few splintered pieces and some were so crooked that it was miraculous they were still standing. It was as if the ponies living or working in each structure had built it themselves, whether they had cutie marks for carpentry or not. 
In any case, they were clearly confident enough in their own works that they chose to stay inside them this night. To Willow that seemed a poor choice. The temperature was comfortable and the breeze was refreshing. Additionally, there was the beautiful sight that Willows eyes had just connected with. The moon was hanging overhead, its reflected light natural and assuring.
However, Willow’s eyes also spotted something strange in front of the moon. It was a tiny black dot, or at least it started that way. It grew rapidly, until it was a large dark shadow. Soon, it was obvious that it wasn’t growing physically, but rather growing closer. It started to take a more descript shape and Willow could see the legs, body and face of a pony. This pony had a horn on its head, as well as two very large wings. As it drew nearer, its colors shown, though they were not much brighter than the darkness they had emerged from.
The pony was close enough now that Willow could confirm it was Luna. The Alicorn glided towards Willow, descending closer to the ground as she went. Finally, the Princess of the Night flew just over Willow’s head, turned around behind her and then gently landed by her side. She so gracefully switched between flying and walking when her hooves touched the ground that Willow didn’t even notice that it happened. 
“Are you aware that you are dreaming again?” Luna asked the traveling pony.
Willow started slightly, “I...I guess I am now.”
“It is all right,” said Luna, “Most ponies do not realize when they are dreaming.”
“I guess seeing you should’ve been my first clue,” said Willow.
Luna’s mouth curled upward slightly, “I suppose so.”
The two continued down the road in silence. Neither of them looked at each other. Occasionally Willow’s walk staggered a little and Luna’s march forward was far too rigid to be comfortable. 
At long last, Luna made an attempt to break the ice. “So...do you recognize this place?” she asked her long-haired companion. 
“Nope,” said Willow plainly, “Never seen any digs like these.”
“Strange,” said Luna, “Typically, ponies’ dreams are made up of their memories.”
“I ain’t got no memories,” Willow reminded the Princess, “At least nuthin’ from before I got out of that tube thingy.”
“Hmmm, well this quaint little town would certainly have been an earlier memory than that,” remarked Luna.
“Whattaya mean?” asked Willow. “Ya know this place?”
“I cannot identify the exact town but it looks like one of the original Equestrian settlements. There were many places like this when my sister and I first began our rule.” recalled Princess Luna.
“Far out,” said Willow.
“What is far out?” asked Luna, “I see nothing in the distance.”
Willow sighed, “Never mind.”
“I apologize,” said Luna. “Is this ‘far out’ another one of your Discordian idioms?” 
Willow shrugged, “Beats me. That’s just how I wrap.”
“What are you wrapping?” asked Luna.
Willow groaned.
Luna started, “Oh my. I did it again. I am sorry. I was raised to speak in the traditional Canterlot voice. I am not well-versed in these lower forms of speech.”
“Lower, huh?” said Willow grimly. 
Luna started again, “Oh, well, that is to say, er, commoner speech.”
“Not much better,” Willow remarked plainly. 
Luna hung her head. Willow said no more. The awkward silence resumed. Eventually, however, it was broken again, this time by Willow.
“So...any clue why I’m dreamin’ ‘bout really old places?” she asked her traveling partner.
“I am not sure, but—” Luna stopped her sentence and her eyes widened. “Willow! Look out!”
The Princess shoved Willow out of the way as a streak of purple smoke shot past them like a flaming arrow. Willow, caught completely off-guard by Luna’s shove, was still lying in a heap of hair on the road when she felt the projectile narrowly scrape the top of her head. It did her no harm, but it certainly grabbed her attention. 
“Whoah! What was that!?” she exclaimed as she yanked herself off the ground, trying desperately to get her hair out of her eyes. Before she could complete that task, however, Luna pinned her down once again. She heard the whoosh of another streak of smoke passing above her and Luna. 
“Stand still, you coward!” Luna demanded as her horn lit up and she arose from protecting her companion. 
From the far opposite side of the street, the purple mist came shooting back towards Willow and Luna. This time, though, it stopped directly in front of them. Now that it was still, its glowing disembodied eyes were leering at the two ponies. The unnaturally wide mouth was smiling with demented glee. 
“Okay, now what!?” Despise snapped rhetorically, “C’mon. What’re you gonna do?”
As soon as the phantom pony uttered the last word of her sentence, Luna fired a beam of light from her horn. Her aim was accurate, but the living cloud sidestepped it at the last second. Luna corrected her aim and fired again. The mist sidestepped it again. Luna aimed one more time, this time emitting a succession of three light blasts. Suddenly, Despise split her ghostly form into two pieces, each one with a copy of her malicious-looking face. Luna’s barrage of magic sailed between them, missing completely. 
Then each of the two copies of Despise’s cloudy form split again, making four. Willow, now standing upright with her eyes cleared of hair, saw her multiplied attacker and gaped. Instinctively, she turned and ran in the opposite direction. 
“Willow! Come back!” yelled Luna as she chased her. 
Once Willow’s back was turned, the four dark purple clouds shot out into four separate directions, each going through a different alleyway among the nearest buildings. 
Unaware of this, Willow made a right and turned down a different alley. She was galloping as fast as she could, but she was too panicked to avoid her unfortunate habit of tripping over her own hair. She landed face-first on the ground at the end of the alley, right before it met with another alley that led behind the buildings. 
Willow struggled to get to her feet, an action that was quickened by screeching sound of Despise’s scream. It was coming from the back alley she was facing. As soon as she was stable, Willow took off in the opposite direction, the one she had just came from. 
As she approached the main street again, though, she was met by another Despise turning the corner and heading straight for her. In a repeat performance from her previous nightmare, Willow dove and slid underneath the charging phantom. She resumed running as soon as she was clear of it. 
She chose to turn right again and resume galloping down the main road. However, out from an alleyway a few hooves in front of her and to her left, another streak of dark purple wearing an evil grin darted out, made a sharp right turn and headed straight for her. Willow pushed her hooves forward in an attempted to stop herself, but she saw it was too late. The collision was imminent. 
As soon as she closed her eyes and braced herself, though, she heard a loud clang in front of her along with a grunt from her approaching adversary. She looked up and saw a strange blue light spanning her view. It was transparent and through it she could see her misty attacker falling backwards, as if she had been deflected. 
Willow whipped her head around and saw Luna approaching her swiftly with her horn lit. “Stay close to me, Willow!” commanded the Princess.
Willow obeyed without hesitation. She rushed towards Luna and got as close to her side as she could get, almost literally under her wing. She turned back to face the street she had attempted to run down. Now she could see that the blue transparent light she saw was part of a wall of magic the Princess had set up to protect her. 
It wouldn’t be enough, though. Willow’s ears picked up the sounds of another living projectile coming from the opposite direction. Almost as soon as she heard it, Luna turned around and formed another wall of magic behind her and Despise’s prey. It formed so quickly that the self-aware missile had no time to react. It too collided with the barrier. 
But then another came from the side. Luna put up another shield. Then, one came from above, raining down like a meteor. Luna sent yet another magical wall — or rather, ceiling — in to the air. 
Her timing was perfect. Willow’s final two attackers couldn’t keep from bouncing off the barriers like misguided birds off a clean window. But then, each of the four apparitions doubled back and launched themselves again. Right in the middle of their charges, each of them split in two. The number assailants was now eight.
Quickly, Luna canceled the four barriers she had put in place and shot a beam of magic straight above her and Willow. It rapidly opened up and spread around them, forming a dome that touched the ground. All eight of Despise’s copies collided with the magical bubble and deflected upwards to the sky. 
“Dang!” exclaimed Willow. “You’re pretty good at this, Spooky mare!”
“It has less to do with my skill,” said Luna, “and more to do with the incompetence of the enemy.” 
Willow looked up at the sky beyond the transparent shield and spotted the eight ghostly projectiles, still traveling upward. Each of their trajectories was angled and they eventually collided with each other. The collision produced a loud crashing sound like the clap of thunder and flash of light more blinding than any streak of lightning. It forced Willow’s eyes to close. 
While her eyes were shut, Willow’s ears were still at attention. However, they picked up nothing. The noise of the collision above her had dissipated and all that was left was silence. Her body relaxed as she opened her eyes once again. She returned her gaze to the sky and saw no sign of her attacker. The green pony bowed her head and let out a long exhale. 
But then a new sound emerged from the point of impact. It started as a low rumble, but quickly grew into a earth-shaking roar. Willow looked up once again. She gasped. A single, dark purple cloud wearing that same old demented face was firing itself straight down at her and Luna. It was larger than any of the previous eight, as if they had all combined and compounded into one. 
Luna clearly saw it as well and despite still being protected by her own magical shield ducked. Willow followed suit. 
As soon as the cloudy meteor hit the shield, there was another explosion. Luna and Willow were both blown clear as the barrier of blue light shattered like glass. 
Both ponies landed hard on the cobblestone several hooves away. Willow tried to get up, but she struggled. Luna, on the other hand, stood up immediately. She turned her head and saw Despise’s latest form still very much active. In fact, it was barreling straight towards them at full speed.
Quickly, Luna levitated Willow onto her back, spread her wings and took flight. Willow wrapped her forelegs around Luna’s neck and held tightly. It wasn’t long before they were soaring through the air, passing the lampposts and eventually the buildings themselves. As they ascended, Willow could see the bay area just outside of this evidently coastal town. It wasn’t long before Luna was directly over the water and Willow could see a reflexion of the moon itself in it. The sight made her tilt her head upward to look at the moon directly. It was closer and larger than she had ever seen it before. 
A scream coming from behind drew Willow’s attention away from the scenery. She turned her head around and saw Despise still giving chase, launching herself into the air like a firework. Luna was maintaining her distance, but the malicious creature was picking up speed. 
“Hold tight, Willow!” commanded Luna. 
Willow clenched her legs around the Princess’ neck as Luna made a tight right turn, eventually turning her and her passenger completely around to face the town they had just escaped. Luna stopped and hovered in the air, her eyes fixed on the incoming enemy.
Despise continued to charge into the sky directly at her and Willow. Luna lit up her horn. The spark at its tip grew bigger and bigger as the Alicorn channeled more magic into it. It kept growing and growing as Despise flew closer and closer. Soon the spark on Luna’s head was a large as a boulder and Despise was so close that she could have easily swallowed both Luna and Willow. She was screaming with a wail so piercing that Willow felt like she was being scratched with bear claws. She buried her head in Luna’s back and braced herself. 
        Right before Luna and Despise made physical contact, Luna released the enormous spark of magic from her horn. The spark hit Despise right in the middle of her demonic face. There was a deafening explosion punctuated by Despise’s cry of agony and huge burst of white light covered the entire field of vision. And despite not being on the ground, Willow was certain that she felt an earthquake. 
        However, within a few seconds, all was silent again. Willow cautiously lifted her head up from Luna’s back. She saw absolutely nothing — no town, no Despise, no water. There was nothing save for Luna a very familiar empty blackness. She also noticed that Luna was no longer flying, but standing on a nonexistent ground. 
        It took a few seconds for everything to register, but eventually Willow grasped Luna’s neck once again, this time in a hug. 
        “Thank you, Spooky mare!” shouted Willow to Luna as she were across the room. 
        Luna bowed her head and produced a timid smile. “You are quite welcome, my child.”
        Willow slid off of the Alicorn’s back and joined her on-hoof. “So...ya think we got her this time?”
        Luna briefly stood still and closed her eyes before answering. “I no longer sense her presence.”
        “Far. Out!” Willow said ecstatically. “So am I free? Can I go now?”
        “Not quite,” said Luna, “I still want to observe you for the remainder of the 27-day period that was discussed.”
        “Aw, mare!” pouted Willow.
        “Despise was clearly much stronger in this dream than she was in your previous one,” explained Luna, “and just because I no longer sense her does not mean that she is destroyed. She could simply have been severely weakened.”
        Luna then put her hoof on the clearly disappointed pony’s shoulder. “However, I feel far more confident this time that Despise is finished. I have decided that I will once again not inform my sister.” 
        Willow smiled at her rescuer. “You know, you’re actually pretty groovy for a Princess.”
        Luna smiled for an unprecedented third time. “Why,er, thank you. I am...glad that you believe I am full of grooves.”
        Willow groaned. 
	
	

> Part 2, Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“So...do-do you think it looks okay?” asked Fluttershy timidly.
        “Oh, you need to stop being so modest,” said Rarity, “It looks absolutely marvelous!”
        “Yeah, um, it looks very...green!” Spike remarked while scratching his head.
        “Really, Spike?” said Applejack through a raised eyebrow “Is that all you can say about it? I only wish my family’s float for the Fruit House was comin’ along this nice!”
        Fluttershy had mentioned to her friends earlier this day that she thought the float her and Willow were working on for Graceful’s Greenery was “almost done, um, I guess,” and that was enough to make them want to go to the Greenhouse to see it for themselves. Fluttershy may have protested, but if she did it was too quietly so for the other ponies to hear. 
        Still, any hesitation on Fluttershy’s part was proving unwarranted. Applejack and Rarity’s mouths were both gaping at the sight of the parade float. Spike’s expression was much less dramatic, but it was far from a scowl. 
        The float was comprised mostly of a beige foam. However, the foam had been sculpted to resemble the clay used in flower pots, and very expertly so. It even had imitation cracks and chips in it. 
        The base of it was a simple flat platform, but stacked on top of it was a smaller platform pushed into the middle, giving the impression of a stair step. A pot was placed in each corner of the base and in each pot was planted a different type of bush or small tree. The smaller upper platform had two additional potted plants placed on the back of it, distanced from their lower-level kin just enough to make them stand out. 
        However, the biggest attraction was in the absolute middle of the second platform. It was a gigantic pot, taller than a pony even if that pony were standing next to it. Planted inside this pot were two large bushes and those bushes were trimmed into two larger-than-life pony sculptures. The green leafy statues were waving in opposite directions with clearly visible smiles cut into their faces. 
        “I certainly agree with Applejack,” Rarity remarked, “How in Equestria did you and Willow make this all by yourselves, and without magic no less?”
        “Um, well, Willow did most of the work, actually” said Fluttershy as she pointed her hoof at the green pony standing on the lower platform that looked almost like an additional decoration. 
        “Nah, critter mare did plenty,” rebutted Willow in a noticeably louder voice. She then pointed at the two pony sculptures behind her. “Of course, I did do these two by myself!”
        “Whoah, that’s...pretty cool, actually!” said Spike. 
        “No kiddin!” said Applejack. “Have the Graceful’s seen this yet?” 
        “Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Graceful were here just yesterday.” Fluttershy explained.
        “And? What did they say, darling?” asked Rarity.
        It took a few seconds for Fluttershy to answer “Um, well, they said that—”
        “— We totally blew their minds, mare,” Willow interrupted confidently. 
        “Yeah, something like that,” Fluttershy quietly agreed.
        Applejack chuckled, “You’re somethin’ else, Fluttershy.”
        “Indeed,” said Rarity. “It’s a good thing Rainbow Dash isn’t here, or you would get another earful on self-confidence.”
        “Yeah, and then I would say something ‘not cool’ and get an earful too,” Willow added. “Where is awesome mare, anyway?”
        “Her and Twilight are at the parade committee together,” Spike explained, “I think they’re finalizing the parade route.”
        “It’s almost time, ain’t it?” said Willow. 
        “Sure is,” said Applejack. “And that means Celestia’s almost ready to let you outta this fancy jail cell, ain’t it?”
        “Uh, right,” said Willow hesitantly. 
        Her hesitation was not unnoticed by Rarity. “Is something wrong, dear? I would think you would be more excited about that prospect.”
        “Uh, er, I am fancy mare,” answered Willow as she reached up and touched the collar around her neck, “I’m just, uh, a little beat after this workin’. Yeah...that’s it…”
        Suddenly, Pinkie Pie bursted into the room wearing a giant malt ball carton with Merry’s Marvelous Malts written on it and screaming “I. Love. Chocolate!”

> Part 2, Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        It was once again night. Stars were all Willow could see when looked up at the black sky. She lowered her gaze to view the ground and she saw only grass. There was no empty house or cobblestone path this time. It was simply a large, grassy plain that stretched indefinitely in all directions with only a few small hills scattered throughout.
        The wind was once again cool and calm. It gently brushed through Willow’s excessive mane, allowing it to sway in unison with the grass on which she stood. She was tempted not to move at all and instead simply lie down and let her mind drift with the breeze. 
        However, there was one curiosity that kept her from giving in to this environment’s seduction. There was a scent that traveled this gentle wind and it was a scent that felt very out-of-place to Willow. It was the smell of smoke and fire. It was faint to be sure, but potent enough in Willow’s mind to warrant investigation. 
        Willow followed her nose try find the source of the burning odor. She walked around in circles, trying to narrow down a direction. She circled several times, each time widening the radius of her search. Then finally, she found the point where the odor was stronger in one direction than any other. She followed it to the East. 
        Willow’s sense of smell lead her to climb a small nearby hill. As she climbed it, another of her senses was stimulated: her ears. They picked up a few vaguely melodic noises produced by unknown instruments, like a band tuning up before a concert. More curious though, were the occasional voices of ponies.  
Once Willow reached the top and she could see the other side of it, she no longer had to rely on her nose or her ears. The sources of both sight and smell were right before her eyes.
        There, in a small valley a short distance from the hill, was a campfire. It was still burning bright and releasing billows of smoke into the air. Willow, even at her distance, could still faintly feel its inviting warmth. 
        However, there were five other ponies here who were much closer to the fire. Four logs surrounded the flame and on each one sat at least one pony, with one log supporting two. The two ponies that were sharing a log, one a stallion and another a mare, were engaged in a casual conversation with another that was sitting by himself. The remaining two ponies chimed in on occasion, but for the most part they were busy fiddling with their instruments — one of them had a guitar while the other a harmonica. 
        From where Willow was standing, the scene looked very quaint and friendly. Still she remained cautious as she crept closer. There was still no way of telling how this group of campers would react to her presence. 
        That is, if they reacted at all. The one male pony who was facing Willow’s direction kept turning his head and several times his eyes passed right by her. Yet he had no response. It was true that Willow’s body and hair were both as green as the hills around her, but the light from the campfire gave her a shadow and her presence should have been obvious. However, the group of camping ponies didn’t even acknowledge that she was there. 
        Willow’s eyebrows raised. She stopped moving forward and decided to see if the ponies before her were not as deaf as they were blind. “Uh, Yo, everypony?” she blurted out. While her greeting was awkward and somewhat timid, she was certain it was loud enough to be heard. 
        But once again, there was no reaction. The ponies carried on chatting and fiddling with their instruments as if Willow was nothing but another gentle wind blowing against the fire. 
        She decided to get a little bolder. She walked straight up to the nearest pony, the one with the guitar who was facing away from her, and tapped him repeatedly on the back. Nothing. 
        However, Willow did notice something through her attempts to touch the pony. It felt as though her hoof wasn’t actually making contact with him. In fact, she could have sworn that it had actually passed through him slightly. She was so sure of it that it made her inspect her hoof. There was nothing out of ordinary about it, so the difference must have been the pony himself. 
        There was only one way to confirm it. Willow aligned herself with the back of the unsuspecting pony, reared back, and lunged at him full force. And at the point of impact...there was no impact. Willow’s body passed through him and landed head-first into the fire in front of him. Before she could scream in horror, though, she noticed that neither the flames nor the coals and wood they were emerging from burned her. The fire felt the same as the wind, gentle and painless. 
        Willow stood up in the middle of the bonfire and looked around. Once again, there was no reaction from the crowd. The ponies’ evening carried on uninterrupted. Willow’s face resumed carrying a bewildered expression, but only momentarily. It was soon wiped clean by a shrug of the shoulders. Deciding to simply surrender to the madness around her, Willow brushed her hair out of her face and made her way to the log where the stallion and mare were sitting together. 
        Having given up on her quest to make sense of anything, Willow's mind was now free to fully analyze the five other ponies around her. She noticed that two features were common among them: a laid-back, lazy demeanor and a long, disheveled mane. 
        Other than that, each pony was unique. The one strumming randomly on his guitar was orange with a dark brown mane. His partner on harmonica was red and his mane a solid purple. The single across the bonfire from Willow was yellow, had an orange mane, and was noticeably more heavyset than the others. 
        Then there was the couple that Willow shared a seat with. The mare's body was a familiar aqua-green color, though it was accompanied by a less familiar blue hair with white streaks running through it. She was clearly comfortable sitting very close to the stallion next to her, a stallion who was gray, had a blonde mane, and sported a pair of tiny, purple tinted spectacles. 
        "So anyway, that's what I think it all means," said the heavyset pony sitting across from the couple, "You wrap with me, sister?"
        The mare of the couple closed her eyes, "Hmmm...dunno, that's not the vibe I'm getting sugar."
        "Really?" said the yellow pony in a raspy voice, "How 'bout you, doc?"
        "I sorta get your jive, but this ain't really my bag," said the stallion of the couple, "You'd best lend her your ear, brother."
        "Yeah, he's just the Doc," said the mare as she stroked the gray pony's mane, "He just makes the potions. I make the predictions. And I think you're groovin' in the wrong direction with this..."
        The strange ponies' conversation had Willow's attention, though it might have been mostly from their vocabulary. To date, she knew of no other pony besides herself who spoke that way. She wondered how frustrated Rainbow Dash would be if she were present. 
        “Well, lay it on me,” insisted the pony across the bonfire.
        The supposedly insightful mare smirked. “I think he’s saying that you worry too much.”
        “Huh?” said this evening’s subject. “How do ya figure that?”
        “Well, you said they were all runnin’ back ‘n forth in your pad, right?” asked the blue-haired pony. “I bet the scene looked mighty busy. Your pad’s, like, a reflexion of your mind and you got way too much goin’ up there. Ya need to chill a little more.”
        The yellow pony’s eyes widened. “Whoah. That’s real deep right there.” He turned his eyes towards the ground. They shifted slightly as gathered his thoughts. “I-I guess I have had a lot on my mind lately. Dag. Maybe I do need slow the stage coach down a bit. Still, how’s a poor pony like me supposed to figure that all out. I mean, I respect him and all, but sometimes I wonder why he don’t just tell it like is, ya know? You’d think that’d be easier than floodin’ a pony’s pad with weasels.”
        The conversation went on, but Willow’s attention was starting to drift away from it. It was comfortable here. Her head was lifted towards the sky and it swayed left and right as her legs rocked back and forth. She let the campfire warm her body a her mane enjoyed the breeze and her ears tuned in to the sounds of nature and friendly conversation.
        ‘Yeah,” said the stallion sitting on the same log as Willow, “and besides, that’s just not his vibe. You know that, mare.”
        “And how,” said the yellow pony. “Ah well, he’s the master I gue—”
        The conversation suddenly stopped. Willow was so relaxed that she hardly noticed at first, but soon the lack of talking became too obvious. She lowered her head to look at her spectral friends. 
She gasped. They were all staring directly at her, all with completely vacant expressions. Their gaze was stabbing and Willow found herself frozen, as if their eyes had physically pinned her in place. She couldn’t even force her own eyes closed.
And the next sight only made her wish even more that she could close them. Gradually, each of her onlookers’ mouths slowly formed into an unnaturally-wide grin and their eyes melted into a horrifyingly familiar hot white. 
Then there came something else Willow knew unfortunately well. The ponies started cackling maniacally, but not in their own voices. All of them were laughing in that same awful screeching sound. As they continued to laugh and laugh, the laughing grew louder and louder until it was nearly deafening. 
The cackling continued as Willow watched each of the ponies’ bodies distort, becoming wavy, transparent clouds of mist. And, like mist, they all drifted towards the sky, their laughing echoing over the prairie.
Dark clouds were moving in overhead from all directions, meeting in the middle and forming the eye of an impending storm. The nearly shapeless masses that once were ponies joined the clouds as if they were one in the same.
Just as quickly as the eye of the storm formed, it started closing, growing small and smaller until it disappeared entirely. Then, with a loud thunderous bang it reopened, this time in the shape of two large white eyes and a psychotic grin. Despise’s face stretched across the sky, larger than the moon itself.
...and she was staring directly at Willow.
Willow’s mouth was gaped in fear as her hair flailed violently. The wind was picking up speed, so much so that she felt her body about to tip over from the force. 
Then she heard Despise scream down at her from the heavens, “Run…”
Void of any other option but to obey, Willow took off in the opposite direction. However, her gallop was broken at best. Between tripping over her own hair and being hit by the powerful gusts of wind, Willow spend most of her time being tossed back and forth across the ground. She had no more control over her direction than a tumbleweed.
After trying fruitlessly many times to get back on her feet, Willow gave in and simply allowed the violent gales to carry her. It actually proved less painful. She switched her strategy to trying to find something cling on to as she was rolled among the hills and valleys. The only thing she could see, though, was grass. She tried gripping her teeth on to a patch or two, but of course the common green plant was too weak to keep her fastened to the earth. Willow began whipping her head in all directions as she continued being tossed about looking for something else to help her, anything else. 
And her eyes eventually did spot something else, but it wasn’t something that would provide aid. In fact, it provided the opposite. Shortly after Willow heard a loud rumbling in the sky, she saw an almost blinding flash of light as a streak of lightning hit the ground, just a few hooves’ length ahead of her. It barely missed her as she passed. She then felt a lightning bolt striking the ground near her in the opposite direction, or at least it was the opposite direction until the wind shifted her back towards it. Her eyes caught the tail end of the strike as she narrowly passed. The wind spun her around again and again, and in each direction she was tossed she narrowly escaped electrocution. Her vision was covered in spots from the constant barrage of bright flashes.
        Then suddenly, the wind weakened enough that it could no longer carry her. Willow hit the ground hard, but at least this time she stayed. However, she didn’t have time to feel any sort of relief. As soon as she shook the hair out her face and looked up at Despise’s visage still suspended in the sky, that horridly-wide mouth formed itself into a circle. Then, spewing from that mouth, came a funnel cloud. 
        As soon as the tornado touched down, it immediately charged for Willow. Before she could get up to run, the winds picked up again and sucked Willow towards it. She entered the spinning winds of the funnel within seconds and her body was sent spiraling upwards. It was as though Despise was sucking her up through a straw. Willow’s body reflexively fought the wind, desperate get back to ground, but of course this was useless and she knew it. She had no means of escape and no one to help her. This was the end. 
        But as these horrible thoughts spun through her mind like her body was spinning through the tornado, Willow felt an unexpected impact. It was sudden and painful, but she immediately noticed that she was no longer spinning in the air. In fact, after the collision she felt something solid underneath her, something furry. 
        Within seconds she realized she realized that she was once again on Luna’s back. The Princess of the Night carried her out of the funnel and into the open air. As soon as they were clear, the Alicorn turned and faced the face in the sky. The eyes of Despise’s face twitched and the tornado immediately dissipated, although the wind was still strong.
        ‘You!” screamed the visage in the clouds. Its voice was as loud as a thousand thunderclaps at once.
        “Covering the dream with clouds to prevent my gaze,” said Luna. “Clever, but you have not stopped me!”
        From the mouth of the face came a deafening scream as the lightning strikes resumed. Luna dodged the first bolt and the next and the next as she made her way closer to Despise. Willow was barely able to hang on through the repeated shifting of directions. The strikes increased in number and speed as Luna flew closer. Despise was clearly panicking. and not without reason. After swerving past countless lightning bolts, Luna was a mere few hooves away from her visage, particularly her left eye. Then, with one final burst of speed, Luna darted forward and pierced through Despise’s eye. The impact was like the shattering of glass. 
        Despise’s shriek was somehow louder than before, and it was accompanying by a low, rumbling sound. It was as if the sky was somehow experiencing an earthquake. Willow looked down and saw that Despise’s face was deforming and the dark clouds were breaking apart. As they broke into smaller and smaller pieces, the rumbling and screaming dissipated with them. 
        Soon, there was nothing below Luna and Willow other than the pleasant prairie Willow had started in. Willow was relieved to see it, though it bothered her that even at the height she was at she could see no end to it. 
        Luna began her descent and in a much gentler way that she had been taken up to the sky, Willow was now being taken to the ground. Once there, Luna bent her legs to provide Willow with an easy dismount.
        Willow, now finally on her own hooves once again, stumbled her way to the front of Luna and faced her rescuer. Before she could say thanks, though, Willow noticed a look of sincere pity on Luna’s face. 
        “Uh, what’s wrong, spooky mare?” asked Willow.
        Luna didn’t answer and her expression didn’t change.
        Willow scratched the back of her head, “Um, thanks for saving me again. You...you think she’s gone for good this time?”
        Luna remained silent as she turned around and spread her wings. 
        Willow began to worry, “Wait, we’re ya’ll goin’?” she yelled. 
        Again Luna said nothing and her wings began to flap. It wasn’t long before she was airborne. She took off into the night sky, leaving Willow behind in the prairie. 
        “Wait!” Willow kept calling out. “Waaaiiiittt!!!!”
	
	
	

> Part 2, Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next time Willow saw Luna, the look on her face was even less reassuring. The Princess now stood before her in the Greenhouse alongside her sister, Twilight Sparkle, and the others with an expression so sad that it seemed to have infected everypony else in the room. It felt as if the room was frozen in time and the silence of all its current occupants did little to help. 
At long last, the Princess of the Moon spoke "Willow, I am truly sorry, but after your last...incident in the dream world— "
Willow's heart immediately sank. The very fact that Luna would mention her dreams in front of Celestia all but confirmed the verdict.
"I felt I had no choice but make my sister aware," Luna continued, "At this point, I cannot in good conscience recommend you for release."
Willow's head had already been sinking, but now it had completely dropped. Beyond that, however, she had no response. 
"I know this is not the news you wanted, Willow," said Princess Celestia, "I know how desperate you are to get out of here. I need you to understand that as the rulers of this land we have to guarantee the safety of our citizens and as of now I do not believe that collar is enough to do that."
Willow remained silent, her face obscured by her drooping hair. Eventually, however, her head did produce a slow, reluctant nod. 
Suddenly, she felt a hoof gently grace her shoulder. "I'm so sorry that this happened, Willow," said Twilight, "If you had told me about the dreams, I may have been able to do some more research, maybe improve the collar's design." 
The pony bearing the collar Twilight referred to finally lifted her head. Her eyes were practically liquid and her lips were curled. The fact that Willow could now see her friends — Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy — surrounding her did little to change this. 
"I'm sorry," said Willow in a trembling voice. "I-I just wanted it to work so bad...I-I wanted to get out in time for the parade. I wanted to be there with all of you. I wanted to see our floats go down the streets..."
Fluttershy reached out and embraced Willow. "You'll be there in spirit."
"Maybe we could put a big plaque on the float you and Fluttershy made," said another, slightly more masculine voice. Willow hadn't even noticed that Spike was present, let alone standing right next to her leg. “And have it say something about how you helped make it and how awesome you are.”
"A dedication. That's a great idea, Spike," said Twilight, “The float’s already at the warehouse. We should have access to it before the parade.”
Each of the ponies expressed their condolences, even Luna and Celestia. Willow was hugged more times than she thought possible in such a short period. But in the end, nothing had changed. Everypony would be showing up at that parade except for her. She was stuck at the Greenhouse, sealed away for an amount of time nopony knew. 
All of the guards were asked to wait outside by the Princesses when she and the other ponies arrived. After everypony had left, the guards assumed their regular positions with two guarding the outside and two keeping watch over Willow inside. 
One guard decided to strike up a conversation about Willow's recent company. "So, what was that about?" he asked.
"If the Princesses didn't want us in the room, it probably wasn't any of our concern," said the other guard. 
Willow's head was bowed and her hair was once again obscuring her face. However, after the guard asked his question, she began walking over to them, only pausing briefly in front of one specific bush. Once she was at a comfortable distance from her inquirer, she lifted her head up and shook away her hair. 
"Actually," she said, "It's totally of your concern, bra". 
She lifted her hoof and handed to him a scroll, a scroll with Celestia's seal on it. 
The guard picked it up and read it. His eyes widened. "You're released?" 
"That's right!" said Willow smiling, albeit a little sheepishly. 
"B-but why didn't the Princess tell us herself?" said the guard, asking the obvious question.
"Uh, she wanted me to be the one to blow yer mind," explained Willow. 
The guard chuckled and shook his head. "That certainly is our Princess. She likes her surprises."
The other guard walked over and examined the parchment. His eyes focused tightly and he took his time. It was as if he was scrutinizing each and every molecule. At long last, he gave his verdict. "This is her majesty's handwriting to be sure. I remember that signature from my acceptance letter.”
“But, if she’s released, what are we supposed to do?” the opposite guard pointed out.
        “I’m not sure,” said his partner. It simply says to ‘await further instructions’.”
"Sounds about right," said Willow. "Well, I better catch up with her!"
        "Certainly," said the first guard. "She's probably at the hospital entrance by now."
        Willow said her goodbyes to the two guards in the Greenhouse as well as the two outside after their comrades explained to them the situation. She then made a right and began her journey down that long hallway she hadn't seen in so long.
        And that is where she released the biggest breath that could ever remember exhaling. She couldn't believe it had worked. Ever since Rainbow Dash gave her that approval letter from Celestia for Fluttershy’s supplies, Willow had spent every spare second trying to duplicate the Princess's writing down to the letter. She had mastered the Princess' grammar as well, a feat that for her was far more difficult. After that, however, it was just a matter of removing the seal from Rainbow Dash's letter and attaching it seamlessly to a new one, the materials for which were readily available among her and Fluttershy’s cache. 
        Willow continued her trek through the hospital, following the signs on the walls and ceiling to help navigate herself to the building's entrance — her exit. As soon as the doors were in sight, however, Willow quickly ducked into the nearest room to stay out of their view. Celestia, Twilight and the others were just on their way out. 
        This reminded her of the caveat to this Plan B of hers: she wouldn't be able to see them again. If they so much as laid eyes on her outside of the Greenhouse, she would be recommitted there or worse. She was on her own now. 
        This saddened her greatly. She had desperately held onto the hope that the Princesses would simply approve of her release. She loved them all. She wanted to start her life in Equestria with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Twilight especially surrounding her as they just had at the Greenhouse. 
        But now Willow saw no alternative. If it were left up to them — up to the Princesses at least — she would be imprisoned forever. This was the only chance she could see. 
        After the Alicorns and the other ponies vanished from sight, Willow took a deep breath, and marched towards the doors.
	

> Part 2, Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        For many a pony, the idea of sleeping outside in the woods would probably sound uncomfortable and depressing. To Willow, however, it was just like home. The Greenhouse practically was the outdoors after all. Even beyond that, however, Willow's love of nature wouldn't have had it any other way. 
        Still, her rest in the nearest patch of forest she could find wasn't entirely peaceful. Her nerves constantly got the better of her. Everything little noise sounded to her like a predator or, perhaps worse, somepony looking for an escaped hospital patient.
        However, as nervous as she was at the prospective of being caught, her agenda for this day was to join a large crowd of ponies, namely the ones that would be attending the Canterlot Garden Gallop. She had worked hard on that float with Fluttershy and even besides that, she had been longing to see this parade ever since Twilight and the others told her about it. 
        Of course, this posed a dilemma: Twilight and her friends would also be at the parade, and many of them in the spotlight at that. And as much as Willow wanted to simply wave at Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack as their floats passed, she knew she couldn't be seen by them, at least not in a way that they recognized. 
        In fact, Willow concluded that it was probably best that absolutely nopony saw her in her usual state. Despise's attack on Ponyville was well-reported on and there was a good chance somepony would recognize her from her description in the news. 
        As unashamed as Willow usually was of her appearance, she felt that this time she needed a disguise. Unfortunately, having no money and the need to avoid being seen limited her options in this pursuit. Canterlot had so many clothing stores it blew Willow's mind, but she couldn't use any of them. It was like the key to her jail cell was right outside the bars, but just out of reach.  
        What was in reach, however, was a piece of cloth that she found in one of the many alleyways she found herself ducking into to avoid detection. She wasn't sure where it originally came from, but judging by its condition it was likely used as a tarp or for some other industrial purpose. Even if it wasn't dirty and tattered, it was still a dull, lifeless grey.   
Still, it was large enough to cover her and stuff away her bountiful hair. She tied it around her neck and just let the rest of drip over her head and body, making it into a makeshift cloak and hood. It was a new look for her, but it somehow still felt very cliche. And besides that, her current appearance would have left Rarity traumatized. 
But at least now Willow felt free to explore Canterlot with slightly less paranoia. The parade wasn't for an hour or two yet and Willow decided to give herself a tour. She gave her newfound robe a few last minute adjustments, tightened the knot holding it together around her neck and then set off.
While tightening that knot, however, there was a small snap. It was a very brief and subtle noise that went completely unnoticed by the Willow as she busied herself with her disguise. Also evading her senses was a certain piece of neck jewelry which fell out from underneath the makeshift robe and quietly landed on the ground. Willow stepped over it completely unaware as she made her way into the heart of the city...  
Up until now her memories consisted solely of the Greenhouse and her brief time at Ponyville, so Canterlot to her was nothing short of overwhelming. It was the complete opposite of that town she saw in her dream that one night. The building were all immaculate and expertly constructed, some of them reaching high into the sky. The city was loud and full of life, with ponies going to and fro from the seemingly endless establishments that guided the roads. 
Those same roads guided her now from place to place. She managed to get some free samples from the several of the restaurants, but all the stores and boutiques made her wish that she even had a single bit to her name. Still, the city had so many of them and in such variety that window shopping itself was an experience Willow would've gladly paid for. 
In fact, it was so much fun that she had lost track of time, until stumbling upon one place in particular that reminded her. After a long day of exploring, Willow had found herself looking at the entrance to Graceful's Greenery, the same place she and Fluttershy had designed the parade float for. It was a Greenhouse, naturally, but a far cry from the Greenhouse that Willow had called home mere hours ago. This was entirely made of glass and she could see the wide variety of beautiful decorative plants within it. 
Willow was conflicted. On one hand, she would like nothing more to tour the greenery, but at the same time she feared that the Gracefuls would be in there and recognize her from their previous visit to the Greenhouse. Worse yet, Fluttershy could be there with them preparing for the Canterlot Garden Gallop. 
The Gallop...
Willow quickly realized that there would be no time to scour Graceful's Greenery even if she wanted to. Beyond the Greenhouse she could see large groups of ponies beginning to flock in one direction. 
Willow turned and followed the crowds. It was about to start.

        As amazing as Canterlot itself was to Willow, it was a rock quarry compared to the Canterlot Garden Gallop. Ponies in band uniform marched in formation down the street, blaring their instruments and twirling batons in expert form. Crowds of onlookers flooded both sides of the road, whistling, cheering and waving flags. So much confetti and glitter was raining down on the scene that it would even put Pinkie Pie's parties to shame. 
        Pinkie was never one to let herself be outdone, however, and Willow soon saw that today was no exception: the float for Merry’s Marvelous Malts was among the first show off to Canterlot and showed off it did. It was formed into a giant chocolate cake with the top platform covered in sprinkles. Circling around the top of giant desert on wheels was a series of pony-sized candles and in the center of them an enormous cherry. Right next to cherry was Pinkie Pie herself. She waved her hooves in the air at crowds to her left and to her right, jumped up and down, cartwheeled, and anything else she could to raise their excitement. Then, as soon as she got the crowd about to burst, she pulled the stem of the cherry and streams of powdered candy erupted from all of the candles at once. Everypony cheered. Willow never saw so many tongues hanging out at a single moment. 
That was a tough act to follow, but the other presenters did their best. A few more sections of marching band went by as well as a few floats of places Willow didn’t recognize, but eventually a display rolled by of a giant barrel of cider and Willow didn't need to guess who's that was. 
The oversized keg had a giant marquee on it that read “The Fruit House”. The lid was lifted up and Applejack could be clearly seen floating in a giant pool of what looked to be rich, brown cider, her left foreleg securing her to the rim as the right one waved. Other ponies were swimming around casually in the beverage while scores and scores of fruit — though mostly apples — bobbed up and down around them. Willow presumed they were Applejack's family, though she had never met them before. She liked the little red bow the younger one wore on her head. 
Of course, that bow pailed in comparison to the countless ribbons on the following float from Lady Flora’s Flower Boutique. They were long, lavish, and colorful. Rarity used them to tie up the countless bouquets floral arrangements, all of which were even more beautiful. The flowers ranged from red to yellow to blue, but they were all arranged with obvious precision. The patterns made the platform look like it was a natural wonder. In fact, the platform itself could barely be seen. Had Rarity herself not been trotting back and forth to wave at the crowds, Willow would not have known it was anything more than a bed of flowers. 
As Rarity's float made its way down the street and out of Willow's view, the hooded pony turned her head in the opposite direction to see what was coming next. Her eyes were met with more marching bands and more floats. Some sections were more impressive than others, but they weren't what held her gaze. What held it was pure anticipation. There was only one float left that she was looking forward to.
And eventually, her patience paid off. The crowd cheered once more as the Graceful's Greenery float came into view. It was just as Willow remembered it, pony-shaped hedges and all. 
It was hauled out of the Greenhouse a few days before Willow hauled out of there herself. Willow had worried that it would have been damaged in transit, but now she could see that Fluttershy had it all under control. 
What Fluttershy didn't have under control, though, was the crowd of cheering ponies around her. In fact, it seemed more like the inverse. She would constantly lift her hoof, as if about to wave to them, but would quickly put it back down. This was usually followed by her walking backward and attempting to hide herself behind the float's decorations. She would then realize this was futile as there was no way to cover herself from all angles and then attempt to return to her starting position in the limelight. Then, she would get scared again and the process repeated. This happened several times within the span of the one minute Willow had Fluttershy and their float in view. 
Despite the awkward performance, the crowd seemed to love the Graceful Greenery display. Willow overheard several of the ponies surrounding her discussing the amazing design, many of them wondering how its makers pulled it off. This made Willow feel proud, especially after seeing the large plaque on the side of the float that read “Co-Created By and Dedicated to Willow Voidsdale,” the same one that Twilight and Spike had promised her. 
Satisfied and touched that her contribution to the parade went without a hitch, Willow decided to sneak out of the crowd before she risked being exposed any longer.
Willow pushed her way to through the countless ponies still fixed on the parade, keeping her hood pulled down over her head as she went. It took a lot of effort, but she expected that it would get easier as she made her way to the back, where the crowd was thinner.
However, it never got any easier. As she continued her escape from the parade's onlookers, Willow's legs felt heavier and heavier. It felt like she was trudging through a swamp. Then, her lungs slowed and her breathing became labored. This brought on some lightheadedness, which begat blurred vision. Willow felt like she was going to faint soon, but she was still determined not to draw attention to herself. Slowly and painfully, she marched on.  As much as her impaired vision would allow, she scoured the street, looking for an alleyway or alcove to duck into. But soon her vision became unusable, gradually being covered in a horrifyingly-familiar bright green haze. 

> Part 2, Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Lookin' good. Keep up the good work," Rainbow Dash whispered to her fellow Pegasi as they hovered above the front of the parade. 
She had to keep her voice down so as not to distract the spectators below from the festivities, but her enthusiasm shone through her face. She was pleased with the work her assistants had done to keep the skies clear of clouds for the Canterlot Garden Gallop. 
Each of them gave their salute to Rainbow Dash as she turned away from them and flew towards the back of the street. She kept her eyes peeled along the way for stay clouds or anything else peculiar. Her eyes picked up nothing, but her ears did.
About halfway up the parade route, there was a bloodcurdling scream, followed by another and another. The screaming cascaded. It started just off to the right of the street, but quickly spread into the parade itself. Several members of the closest marching section stopped playing their instruments and the music rapidly dissolved. 
Rainbow Dash looked down at the commotion. The Gallop was in chaos. Ponies were spreading out in all directions, trampling over each other in the name of escape. Some of the floats tipped over and collapsed from the weight of the panicking herd. Those who had wings used them. Before Rainbow Dash could ask what they were trying to get away from, the answer revealed itself, in the form of multiple green tentacle-like strands of hair floating up from the epicenter of the pandemonium. 
Soon, the head that hair was attached to reared itself. The hot white eyes glowed even through the sunlight. The mouth opened wide bearing its unnaturally-jagged teeth. It roared as loud as a lion and as screechy as a bat. 
Indiscriminately, Despise wrapped anypony that came near in her living hair. She hurled citizen after citizen at whatever target she felt like hitting. Some were crashing into the parade floats, some into the nearby buildings, and some were simply tossed straight upwards into the air. The monster was ripping ponies from the ground like she was pulling weeds from a garden. 
Then, Despise suddenly stopped and her ears perked up. She had heard a voice. She turned around and put her back to the parade route to see its origin. In the far distance, there was a mother with her colt. The small family had obviously not been attending the Canterlot Garden Gallop and just now stopped by to see the cause of the commotion. 
As soon as the flood of escaping ponies cleared his vision, the little colt had a clear view of Despise, complete with her living hair that floated as if it were underwater. “Look, ma!” he shouted, “It’s the Mane-iac!” 
The monstrous pony he referred to likely had no knowledge of what a “mane-iac” was, but there was one thing it did know: The little colt wasn’t screaming. 
He soon was. Despise bellowed out another one of her ear-piercing roars and chased the pony family down the street. 
As soon as Rainbow Dash had spotted Despise, she had joined her fellow Pegusi in fleeing by air. However, she didn't head in the same direction as them. She flew straight to the head of the parade, hoping to warn her assistants. This posed a problem as she had to constantly dodge and swerve around in the escapees. She had two or three close calls before one pony crashed straight into her from below. The impact knocked Rainbow Dash back, but she managed to keep airborne. 
She recovered to see the pony that she ran into was, at least, a familiar one. "Oh! I'm sorry!" squealed a terrified Fluttershy. 
"No time for apologies!" said Rainbow Dash as she resumed her flightpath. She gently tapped Fluttershy on the shoulder as she passed her in an unspoken “come on.”
"Did-did you see that?" said Fluttershy fearfully as she flew alongside her friend.
"Yeah, and I don't believe it!" answered Rainbow Dash. "What is she— that thing doing out here?"
Fluttershy didn't reply. They were now in range of the other Pegasi parade volunteers. The crowd below them had only started to join the pandemonium. They rushed to Rainbow Dash "What's going on?" one of them asked urgently.
"Bad news!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "We need to help everypony escape!"
"Escape from what?" asked another volunteer.
Rainbow Dash turned around and pointed with her hoof. "That!"
There in the distance where Rainbow Dash was pointing, she and the others could see the Despise mowing down everypony around her, before finally taking off down one of the adjacent streets.
The weather-watching volunteers collectively gasped then immediately dove down towards the panicked mess below and did their best to organize it, corralling the ponies like, well, ponies.
"What're we going to do?" ask Fluttershy  as soon as she and Rainbow were alone in the sky. 
"Uh...let's group with the others!" Rainbow Dash decided hastily. "Where's Applejack?"
"Well, I didn't see her before I ran into you," said Fluttershy, "but, um, I was sort of preoccupied with fleeing for my life."
"Where's her float?" said Rainbow Dash while her eyes she scanned the street. They quickly located the conspicuously large barrel not far from her position. One of the wheels of the Fruit House float had broken off and the oversized cider keg was leaning at an angle. Rainbow Dash quickly looked it over from a few angles before deciding that she didn't have time for a thorough search. 
"Uh, Applejack?" she called out.
There was still some liquid left in the oversized barrel, and it stirred slightly. Soon Applejack's head emerged from the cider. She was shivering as if the liquid was freezing cold "Is-is it gone?"
"No! We gotta stop! Now! It’s attacking the city!" urged Rainbow Dash as she scooped her friend out of her sugary pool and placed her on solid ground. 
"You're sticky." Rainbow Dash remarked.
"Shaddup," said Applejack. 
"Where's the rest of your family?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"They high-tailed it outta here like everypony else," explained Applejack. "I thought I'd stay behind an' face that thing, but, uh, I forgot how scary it was. I got cold hooves and ducked back in under the cider."
"I don't blame you," said Fluttershy as she caught up with them. 
"Have ya'll seen Rarity?" asked Applejack. 
"Um, no," said Rainbow Dash, "I was hoping you would—"
Their conversation was cut off by the cry of unseen pony. It was painful just to listen to it, a whale of complete agony. 
"Come on," said Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy, nodding her head in the direction of the voice.         They scoured the remnants of the parade, which now looked more like a wasteland. It was littered with broken wagon wheels, damaged marching band instruments and endless puddles of discarded confections.  Still, now that the pedestrians had made their exit, it was as quiet as a ghost town and following the unknown pony's cries was easy. Up ahead of the crew was an overturned float. The noise was coming from the other side, its source obscured by the massive underside of the wagon. 
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy joined Applejack on-hoof as they approached the felled display. The three of them crept around the side of the float, hoping not to further upset the suffering pony. Fluttershy was the first to peer around the deserted attraction and get a look at their potential rescuee. The only thing she managed to say was "Um, Rarity?"
Rarity was wallowing in a bed of flowers while clenching a few in her hooves like a frightened filly squeezing a teddy bear. "It's ruined! It was sooooo beautiful..." she wailed between her sobbs. 
When Rainbow Dash and Applejack came into view of their allegedly helpless victim, they joined Fluttershy in a collective groan. The two Pegusi turned their heads towards Applejack in an unspoken request for her to do the honors. The still-sticky country pony casually walked up to Rarity and gave her a lovingly violent slap to the face. "Snap out of it!" she commanded.
The slap was effective and Rarity quickly rose to her hooves. "Uh...er, thank you, Applejack," she said trying her hardest to regain her composure.  
"You seen Twilight anywhere, Rarity?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Not since she wished me luck before my float went out," Rarity explained, "She and Spike may still be at the starting point of the parade. That is, if she isn't running for her life, of course."
"I guess we'll start heading that way," said Rainbow Dash, "Maybe she'll have a plan."
"Um," Fluttershy interjected, "but where is Pinkie Pi—"
"Right here!" screamed Pinkie Pie, who was suddenly standing right behind Fluttershy. The startled Pegasus nearly launched herself into the air on reflex. 
Pinkie Pie went over to Applejack and sniffed her. “Ooo! Cider!” 
She leaned in towards Applejack’s shoulder and stuck her tongue out. The tasty pony pushed Pinkie's face back with her hoof. "Don't. Even. Think about it."
"Alright," said Rainbow Dash, "We're all together. Let's find Twilight and fast!"
The two Pegasi took to the air and soared as fast as they could over what remained of the Canterlot Garden Gallop. Their on-hoof friends struggled to keep up as the hurdled over the debris, though Pinkie Pie's habit of bouncing put her in a slight lead. Fortunately, the race was cut off prematurely. Twilight Sparkle was already heading towards her friends with Spike riding on her back. The group was reunited halfway. 
"Thank Celestia you're all okay!" said Twilight. 
"What're we going to do, Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash urgently. 
"I don't know," Twilight reluctantly replied. "The Greenhouse clearly can't contain Despise and it looks like my collar doesn't work either."
"Wouldn't be too sure of that," Applejack rebutted, "I got a good look at 'er before I, uh—"
"Ran away screaming in mortal terror?" interjected Pinkie Pie.
  "Yeah, that," Applejack continued, "She didn't have the collar on at all."
"Hmmm," grunted Twilight contemplatively. She closed her eyes and her horn illuminated. A light shot out from the side of the tip and spun around the horn like the beacon of a lighthouse. After a few rotations, it disappeared and Twilight quickly opened her eyes. "I found it!" she exclaimed, "It's lying on the ground a few streets down!"  
"You must to teach me that locating spell sometime, Twilight," said Rarity, "I still can't find my curlers."
"Uh, wouldn't that mean that Willow escaped on her own and didn't become Despise until after she got here?" speculated Pinkie Pie.
The rest of the ponies looked at each other in silence, then in simultaneous realization they all lowered their heads. The silence only lasted a moment, however, before Rainbow Dash shook her head and raised it back up. "We can't worry about that right now," she declared firmly, "We need to stop Despise!"
"And how are we going to do that?" questioned Applejack, "She’s nearly invincible!"
Spike suddenly slid off of Twilight's back and onto the ground and spoke up. “Maybe these could help!" 
Spike had been carrying a small satchel over his shoulder. He opened it up and showed the ponies a set of five syringes containing a familiar blue liquid.
"Are those what I think they are?" exclaimed Rarity.
"Yup. Fresh antaxium!” the always-helpful dragon declared. “When we last talked to Willow with the Princesses, she looked really desperate. I had the feeling she would try something stupid so I grabbed a few of these from the hospital on the way out."
"Great thinking, Spike!" said Twilight patting her dragon friend's head. She then turned and face the others. "Okay everypony, in this case I have a plan. There’s five syringes. You five each take one and try your best to stick her with it. Spike and I will hunt down the collar." 
"Right!" affirmed Rainbow Dash. She, and the others each took a syringe and split off from Twilight and Spike, heading nearly opposite directions. The plan had commenced. 




 

> Part 2, Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        There was a gleam of guilt in Twilight's eyes as she followed her magic to the lost collar. She was moving farther away from Despise’s rampage with the full knowledge that she just told her friends to head straight into it. She had to keep thinking to herself that they were okay. They were strong. They were brave.
But then there were the citizens, screaming, flailing and panicking even as far away from Despise as she was. The buildings were filling up, some beyond capacity, with ponies trying to get themselves off the streets, as if they were somehow safer indoors. Others decided to flee the city, making straight lines towards for its limits. Many of them had families and the wailing cries of little fillies and colts acted as a natural siren to everypony else. Twilight pushed and shoved her way through the chaos. She was almost knocked down more than once, but her adrenaline was high and her determination wouldn't allow her to go down. 
She only stopped when her magic alerted her that she was in the vicinity. She searched the immediate area, maneuvering her way around any panicked passing ponies. Nothing. Her magic couldn't be mistaken, but the collar was nowhere to be found. Twilight concentrated harder on her magic, hoping that it she could narrow down the exact point but no matter how insistent her magic was that the collar was right in front of her, she couldn’t see it.
Then, her heart sank when she realized that should could, in fact, see it. All around her the ground was littered with debris, and some of that debris was golden in color. The chaotic crowd had unknowingly found Willow's collar first, and trampled it to shards and dust. 
It didn't take Spike's long to come to the same realization. "What are we going to do now, Twilight?" he asked in a defeated tone.
Twilight took her time answering as she lowered her head. "I...I don't know Spike."
"But we can't give up," Spike reminded her, "not while Despise's still breathing."
Twilight suddenly jerked her head up. "That's it!" She lit up her horn once more. The shattered fragments of Willow's former collar simultaneously lifted into the air. They then floated towards one another, converging in front of Twilight. Celestia's most gifted student forced the pieces into a little ball and grinded them against one another. In mere seconds, she had a fine, golden powder. 
"Put this in your satchel, Spike!" she asked her companion as she hovered the ball of dust over him. Spike opened his bag, and Twilight dropped the former piece of jewelry into it. She then turned around and straightened her pose. "Let's go!" she shouted as she dashed forward. Spike barely had enough time to grip onto her back. 
Now her goal was to find Despise, but unlike the collar this required no locating magic. All Twilight had to do was follow the sounds of destruction. The guilt she felt from leaving her friends to the monster was replaced by the fear of having to stand before it herself, but she refused to allow this to deter her.
As she drew nearer to Despise, the horrific noises of the creature's rampage were joined by flying debris. Twilight was quickly collecting scrapes and bruises from the broken shards of who-knows-what, but she pushed through them all. That is, she pushed through them until she collided with one particularly large object that sent her and Spike tumbling backward. Spike flew off Twilight's back and landed a short distance away. Twilight herself was pinned down by whatever had hit them. She looked up to see what it was. 
"Rainbow Dash?" she asked the mound of Pegasus laying on her chest. 
Rainbow Dash gazed back at Twilight with a wide-eyed stare as her shivering reverberated through Twilight's body. All she could say to her friend was "Run!"
With her oft-touted quick reflexes, Rainbow Dash took to the sky. Twilight rose to her hooves, but immediately had to dodge yet another flying object. 
It was entire stage coach. Twilight was nearly knocked down just from the wind as it shot over her head like a cannonball. It crashed into the building behind her less than a story upwards. The building shook with the impact and after the vehicle had dislodged from whole that it made that broke a critical support, began to topple over. It was a small building, but to Twilight it might as well have been a skyscraper. She was frozen with fear as the shadow of its collapsing structure eclipsed hers. 
Spike reached out and grabbed her tail to pull her away. The yank snapped her out of her shock and she immediately joined her companion in darting in the opposite direction. The two narrowly escaped the crash as the building hit the ground. They were briefly blinded by the rising dust from the impact and were forced to halt running any further. Both of them coughed heavily as they tried to wave the thick cloud out of their faces. After it cleared, however, the view only got worse. 
Standing over the rubble was a wide-grinned pony with hot white eyes whose hair waved around like an octopus's tentacles. Despise was staring directly at Twilight and Spike. "Long time, no see," she screeched, "Each of you owe me a favor, one for the needle and one for the collar. So, who wants to be made a play thing first!?"
Spike immediately bared his teeth and marched forward, gripping his satchel like a bow. Twilight cried out for him to stop, but it was too late. One of Despise's hair strands reached out and coiled itself around him. Despise pulled him up to her face. "You never learn, do you?" she growled. Her hair tossed tossed Spike into the air. He came back down behind Despise. She kicked him with her hind legs like a soccer ball and sent him flying across the street. 
Before Twilight could scream Spike's name, Despise's hair scooped her up as well and launched her in the opposite direction. She shot through the air faster than a Wonderbolt, and just as high. At the peak of her trajectory, she could see the rooftops of Canterlot stretching to limit of her vision. The sight would have been amazing in any other situation, but now Twilight could only scream as gravity quickly pulled her downward, aiming her directly into the nearest building. 
Right before impact, though, she felt a different, unexpected impact from the side. Her body had collided once again with Rainbow Dash, who caught her before certain doom. As soon as Twilight got her bearings and caught her breath, she asked her rescuer "Where's Spike?"
 "I don't know," said Rainbow Dash, "I only saw you!"
"Over there somewhere!" said Twilight pointing to the street behind Despise. As soon as she did so, she saw Despise lunge forward in Rainbow Dash's direction. However, the monstrous pony was still on the ground and her Pegasus friend was flying high over the city and away from her. Twilight almost sighed in relief.
But then Despise's hair strands grabbed hold of the building in front of her in several places, digging into the brick. They carried her up the building like legs of an insect. She reached the roof in no time. Her hair then reformed itself into the legs of a wild cat and she barrelled across the rooftops, closing in on Rainbow Dash. 
Rainbow Dash clenched her grip on Twilight and dove to the right, passing the street below and headed for Spike's presumed location. Despise jumped from the nearest rooftop and leapt across the street, landing on the parallel roof. The chase continued. 
Twilight spotted Spike lying on the ground. He appeared unconscious, but uninjured. Rainbow Dash dove towards him and once he was in range Twilight used her magic to levitate him in to her lap. Rainbow Dash dropped suddenly with the additional weight. 
"I don't think I can keep up the pace carrying both you," Rainbow Dash advised. 
Twilight looked behind her. Despise had dropped to the ground when Rainbow Dash reduced altitude to pick up Spike. There was a circular crack in the road around where she landed. She herself was galloping towards them, this time on her real legs. That didn't mean she was slower, though. In fact, she was gaining. Her living hair was spread in all directions, but standing stiff against the wind, ready to launch itself at Rainbow and her passengers at any moment. 
  Unable to maintain altitude, Rainbow Dash ducked in between the nearest set of buildings, trying to give Despise an obstacle course to slow her down. As soon as Despise was out of view, Twilight could relax herself enough to ask a question, "Where are the others?"
"They're down a few blocks," answered Rainbow Dash, "They're not in good shape, though."
No sooner that she said that, Despise rounded the corner. Her tendril-like hairs stretched out to the left and right of her, gripping on to the buildings on either side. They propelled their owner forward down the street this way while she dangled in the middle like a sadistic ragdoll. 
Rainbow Dash made a right at the buildings' ends and hovered above the adjacent street. She was slowing down and sweat was visible on her forehead. Twilight could feel her rescuer's grip weakening. 
Quickly, Rainbow lowered herself and dropped Twilight and Spike safely on the ground. "I can't keep this up," she said to her friend while panting heavily, "Go down the street and meet up with the others. I'll keep her distract—"
Despise cleared the buildings before Rainbow Dash could finish. Twilight had no time to argue. She put Spike on her back and darted down the street. Rainbow, now free of the excess weight took to the air, making sure to fly right past Despise's face. Despise took the bait. Rainbow Dash flew over the nearest building on the opposite side of the street and the mad pony used her hair to vault herself up the building and give chase. 
Twilight galloped down the road as fast as she could with Spike on her back. The street was mostly clear of civilians now, save for a few daring — or perhaps stupid — ponies determined to watch the unfolding chaos. However, the street itself was still an obstacle. Twilight had to weave her way around Despise's handiwork, endless piles of debris comprised of rock, wood, and metal. She had never been in a warzone, but she was certain this was what one would look like. Furthermore, she was certain she would find her friends at the epicenter of the destruction. 
Only a few blocks down, Twilight heard Pinkie Pie shouting from a nearby alley between two half-destroyed structures, "Twilight! Over here!"
Twilight turned into the alley. There was Pinkie Pie along with Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie herself seemed untarnished, but she was the only one standing upright. The others were lying on the ground nursing their wounds. Rarity was rubbing her right foreleg with her left, Applejack's left eye was black and blue, Fluttershy's right wing was bent, and all of them were covered in dirt and bruises. Twilight was relieved to have found them, but frowned regardless. There was no point asking how they were doing. 
Before greeting them, though, Twilight levitated Spike off of her back and gingerly placed him on the ground. 
She put her hoof on his chest and gently pushed against him. “Spike! Spike! Are you okay!?”
After a few pushes, Spike eyes slowly opened. “Ugh,” he groaned as he held his head and painfully pushed himself up on to his feet. “Well,” he said while coughing, “that hurt.” He then turned his head and looked at the others. “Looks like the antaxium didn’t work, huh?”
"Never got a chance to use it," said Applejack. 
"I'm afraid that brute Despise is just too quick," added Rarity. 
Twilight sighed, "I'm so sorry I sent you guys straight into this."
"Oh, um, it's okay," Fluttershy timidly reassured her. 
"Yeah," said Applejack, "I can't say we had any better ideas."
 "But...what are we going to do now?" said an unusually worried Pinkie. 
"Leave the city!" a voice boomed from above the broken group. All of them looked up to the sky and saw Princess Luna descending from the sky. 
Princess Celestia was behind her, hovering the air. "You have all acted nobly today, but my sister and I can take care of the creature for now. I suggest all of you to flee Canterlot and get to safety." 
Twilight began to open her mouth to object, but the Princess then observed her subjects more carefully and quickly spoke up again "Where is Rainbow Dash?" 
"Here!" a loud screechy voice cried out from behind the group. A blue Pegasus shot out from the other end of the alleyway, spinning like a cannonball through the air. She once again collided with Twilight and the two toppled over onto the ground. 
"Ugh," grumbled Rainbow Dash as she tried to get off of Twilight and back on to her own hooves, "Twilight, you have any idea how hard you are!?"
Despise galloped down the the alley, her living hair scraping the sides of the buildings and scattering dust and debris in all directions. She stopped directly in front of the ponies who were in no shape to fight. The monster grinned at them with delight. The injured ponies trembled. 
But then, Despise looked up and saw her two new guests. Her hot white eyes narrowed at the site of Luna. "You!" 
Luna didn't so much as flinch. She narrowed her own eyes and stared right back at the creature. "You could not defeat me in Willow's dreams," she said to Despise coldly, "You will have no more luck here!"
"Stupid high-and-mighty Alicorn," scolded Despise. "I was made to defeat you!" 
Without hesitation, Luna fired an enormous beam of light from her horn. With almost precognitive reaction time, Despise's hair wrapped around its owner's body to shield it. The wall of hair absorbed the shot, but the force of the impact blew Despise backwards, pushing her back the way she came. 
Luna and Celestia both flew down the street after her. "We will handle this!" Celestia shouted to her seven most loyal subjects, "Get to safety!"
Twilight called out "But Princess—!" but it was too late. Luna and Celestia had now rounded the corner at the far end of the alley and Despise took off after them. 
"We've got to catch up with them, Spike!" said Twilight desperately. 
"Uh, why?" asked Applejack. 
Twilight told her and the others about Willow's collar, about how it was now crumbled into a pile of dust in Spike's satchel. However, she also explained why it was still useful.
"Well, it sounds like it would help the Princesses subdue that horrible beast." said Rarity. 
"And it don't feel right just leavin' the fight to them," said Applejack. 
"Exactly," said Twilight, "which is why Spike and I need to catch up with them."
"Why just 'Spike and I'?" said Pinkie. "Why not Spike and we?"
Twilight explained, "I don't know how you managed to stay uninjured, Pinkie—"
"Ninja skills!" Pinkie interrupted.
"..right," Twilight continued, "but everypony else here is in bad shape. Fluttershy probably can't even fly with that wing."
"I...I can walk," said Fluttershy in as determined of a voice as she could muster. 
"As can I," Rarity declared.
"This black eye don't affect my legs none!" said Applejack.
"My wings are pretty worn out right now so I think I'll join you all on-hoof," said Rainbow Dash.
Twilight nodded, then smiled. "Thank you, everypony. Now let's go. It's time to end this!"
   

> Part 2, Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia and Luna kept flying higher and higher as Despise gave chase. This was not without purpose. It was forcing Despise to scale taller and taller buildings to keep up with them. Not only would this keep her away from the majority of Canterlot's citizens on the ground, but most of the city's taller buildings were thin towers with rounded or pointed tops. Despise couldn't fight if she couldn't keep her balance.
The two royal sisters decided on one tower in particular, whose roof was teardrop-shaped with a needle shooting skyward from its tip. They circled in the air high above the needle's point, taunting the enemy. It wasn't long before one of Despise's long, vine-like hair strands fired upward and wrapped itself around the needle, hoisting Despise up to it like a grapple. As soon as she reached the top, though, she attempted grip her hooves on the roof of the tower. She failed. Her hooves slipped and her face slammed in the upper part of the roof. Her body dangled from the needle like a torn flag.
"Now, sister!" Luna cried out. 
Both Alicorns fired beams of magic from their horns. Luna's made contact with Despise first. The monster screached in agony as the beam hit her in the back and she reflexively turned herself around. Inadvertently, this opened her stomach up to Celestia's magic, which hit it so hard that it sent Despise spinning around the roof. 
A small smile was forming on Celestia's face. The monster almost looked like a tetherball as she swung around and around the needle, suspended to it by a single strand of hair. But then the Princess realized that this wasn't all the result of her attack. Despise's hair had rebounded. It was wrapping itself tighter and tighter around the tower's top. Then more hair started shooting out from Despise's back and clinging to the pole. Once there was a solid enough grip, the hair locks lifted their master upwards. Despise wrapped her hooves around the point of the needle and she perched herself on it like a an oversized bird of prey. Despite all the strands of hair required to stay wrapped around the pole to hold her up, Despise had countless more available. Several of them danced around her head like the tips of a flame.    
She grinned at her attackers. "Nice try!"
Two strands fired out at the two Princesses. Both of whom narrowly dodged them. Two more strands fired, then more, and more. The Princesses evaded all of them by the skin of their teeth. It was a struggle stay in the air. Finally, once the two Alicons' bodies were aligned horizontally, Despise formed multiple strands into one very large, very long extension. She then cracked it and whipped Celestia with it right in her midsection. The white Princess's body was thrusted into Luna's and the two were sent flying into a neighboring tower. The top of it broke off with the impact, sending it collapsing to the ground along with the Alicorns. 
Despise dismounted from the top of the tower and her hair swung her in the direction of the damaged building. She landed on the ground with a powerful boom that damaged the ground even further than the splintered tower already had. Her hooves marched forward and stood before the large pile of rubble that was her handiwork. A wide grin spread over her face as she spotted the two Alicorns amongst the debris. 
Both Princesses were half buried in the fallen tower and only partially visible. Upon Despise’s approach, however, Luna burst out of the broken stone and fired a beam of magic at the monster. This time, instead of striking Despise, the magical light wrapped around the mad pony, encasing her in a bubble. Luna lifted her off the ground. 
Despise’s eyes widened as she shifted back and forth inside the bubble. Her hair was in chaos, poking at the inside of the sphere from every direction in an effort to break it. Her intolerable screaming could only be faintly heard through the magical shell. 
Luna narrowed her eyes as she stared at her opponent. “Let us see how you enjoy being thrown!” 
The dark Princess raised the captured creature in the air and fired her into the distance like a rocket. The bubble dissipated upon launch, but Despise’s screaming could only be heard briefly before she was out of earshot. 
Princess Celestia had now risen from rubble. “That was very quick thinking, sister. However, I think your aim might have been slightly off.”
Luna’s eyes were still fixed on her airborne adversary and it was quickly apparent what her sister was saying. Despise’s trajectory sent her straight into the top of the royal palace. Crashing through one of the stained glass windows outside the throne room. 
The night Princess’s face turned uncharacteristically sheepish. “I...intended her to hit the mountains…”
“Looks like we still have a fight on our hands,” said the day Princess as she spread her wings. “Come, we must get to her before she can do any more damage.”

Six palace guards rushed into the throne room upon hearing one of the stained glass windows shatter. Three of them flinched in surprise at the sight of the cause. Despise rose from the floor and shook off her landing as if it had been a mere stumble. Four of the guards gaped when her hair started moving on its own. Once she turned her malicious gaze over to them, all started shivering. 
Finally, the two farthest away turned around to flee. Two locks of hair shot out. Each grabbed one by the neck and yanked them back. The hair strands pulled them through the first four soldiers, knocking them on their faces. Finally, Despise, flung her two captives through the window next to the one she entered from, the ponies’ bodies making the same shattering sound she made on impact. 
The four guards Despise had toppled with their own comrades had now risen to their feet and spread out, attempting to surround her. Their eyes were still full of fear. Despise had no trouble surprising them with four more strands of hair firing in each of their directions. Each strand wrapped around its target like a cobra. The guards’ fear manifested in full-on screaming as the hair locks waved them around in the air. 
From the large open door to the throne room, Despise could see many more soldiers approaching, too numerous for her to count in fact. Even so, the monster showed no sign of worry. One by one, her hair lowered her captives to the ground and thrusted them forward. They rolled towards their brethren like bowling balls, knocking several down like pins. The sight of the impact made many of the other soldiers hesitate to approach any further, but still there were those who persevered, waded through the fallen ones and charged into the chamber. 
In a rare moment of grace, Despise allowed the guards to enter the room and surround her. She simply stood silent and bared her mischievous grin until the room was filled with Canterlot’s finest. Finally though, one guard charged at her from the side and a strand of hair shot out at him, slamming directly into his face like a battering ram. The guard flew backward and hit the wall behind him with a crash that sounded just as painful as it looked. 
What happened next could only be described as pandemonium. The guards charged at once from all sides. None of them could lay a hoof on the monster. Despise’s impenetrable mane saw to that. It grabbed two on the left by their necks and slammed them into four ponies on the right. Her tail fired one out of the window after the other. Even more joined the first one in getting slammed into the walls. It wasn’t long until only three guards remained standing in front of the unstoppable brute. That’s when Despise’s hair reached out, grabbed Princess Celestia’s throne itself and ripped it off its foundation. 
She raised it upside down and backwards over her head. “Time for some royal pancakes!” she screeched. 
The guards screamed as the enormous chair began its rapid descent onto them. There was a loud crash, but not the one the guards anticipated. At the last second, a blast of magic came through the window and hit Despise in the side. Her hair released the chair which fell to the ground right next to the monster herself. 
Princesses Celestia and Luna flew through one of the several now broken windows. “Pancakes? Why, it’s far past breakfast!” Luna scowled. 
Celestia turned to the rescued guards. “Leave us,” she commanded them plainly. The three relieved soldiers obeyed without hesitation, as did the few injured ones that were still somehow conscious. 
No sooner did they make their exit that Despise arose. Her hair once again grabbed the broken-off throne. Faster than Luna could blink, Despise broke Celestia’s own chair across the her sister’s face. Celestia moaned in pain and stumbled in place. In an instant of rage, Luna lunged at the monster, but more hair broke off of the mane and ran straight into her neck. It then pushed her back and pinned her to the nearest wall. The locks of hair that had used a chair as a weapon not a moment ago wrapped around Celestia’s horn, picked the Alicorn up by it, turned her upside down, then slammed her into the ground. The Princess’s body bounced slightly on impact, but was then motionless.
“Sister!” Luna screamed before another strand of hair slapped her across the mouth. 
Despise approached the pinned Alicorn. “Now, you and I have some unfinished business!”
“So do we!” shouted a voice from behind. 
Despise turned around to Spike riding on top of Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy were right behind them, carrying the antaxium needles in their mouths. 
“Why you—”
Before Despise could even finish her quip, Spike pitched his satchel right into the creature’s face. A strand of Despise’s hair blocked it, but that only released the bag’s contents. The monstrous pony’s face was engulfed in a haze of glittering powder. Despise let out a violent sneeze. 
As soon as she sneezed, Despise’s hair released Luna and the Princess dropped to the floor. The monster convulsed and stumbled over the room. She was wheezing and gasping for breath. 
Twilight looked behind her. “Quick, girls, the needles!” she shouted
Her friends all reared back, ready to charge, but then Luna cried out “Wait! Look, Twilight!”
Her friends halted their charge as Twilight turned back around and looked at Despise. While she was writhing in pain, something peculiar was happening to her body. It was flickering, changing colors back and forth. Every other second, it would switch from its usual green color to a very flat grey and then back again. After seeing a few flashes of the grey color, it started looking strangely familiar to Twilight. 
“Hang on, everypony! I know what to do!” said Twilight as her horn lit up. 
“Wait!” Luna called out again. As Twilight held her magic in her horn, Luna rose to her hooves and release a stream of magic from her own horn. The stream wrapped around Despise’s head and the monster screamed briefly before resuming her coughing fit. 
“Now, Twilight!” Luna commanded. 
Finally, Twilight released the magic from her horn. It completely engulfed Despise. Everypony else was blinded by a flash of white light. 

 

> Part 2, Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Willow felt a slight spark on the top of her head, as if somepony had just gingerly patted her. However, when she turned around to see who it was no one was there. 
Chalking it up to a phantom sensation, Willow got back to work and placed her new potted cactus on her dresser. At first she put at the edge of the right hand side of one of her room’s only two pieces of furniture. It was a small room and very plain as well. The walls were a bland white and those two lonely objects, her bed and her dresser, were both dull, unpainted constructions of wood. If it weren’t for her wide collection of potted plants and hanging leaf decorations, Willow’s bedroom may possibly have been the least interesting room in the world.
Perhaps that was why she took placing this new decoration so seriously. She tilted her head back and forth, unsure if this was the perfect angle. The hair that kept sliding in front of her eyes as her head tilted wasn’t helping much. Still, she ultimately decided to move it to the other edge of her dresser.
That’s when the slip-up happened. When she pushed the pot over to the opposing side, she pressed just a tad too hard. The pot crashed open on the floor spreading dirt and cactus needles all over it. 
Willow started a bit at its landing, but other than that had no reaction. This was hardly the first time she had dropped a plant. She was used to cleaning up dirt, even in — or perhaps especially in — her own room. Still, this time there was the added issue of the cactus needles, made worse by the fact that part of her long hair had been dragging on the floor and several of these needles had found their way into it. They didn’t hurt, of course. It was only her hair, but Willow rolled her eyes at the prospect of having to carefully pull out each and every one. 
Reluctantly, she leaned over, clenched one of the needles with her teeth, and pulled it out. She spat out the needle into the nearest corner, then leaned down to pick out another one…
Then, out of nowhere, she heard a voice clearing its throat.
Willow jumped, that jump made her trip, which made her fall on her own hair, which embedded several needles into her leg. After springing up and yelping in pain for a few seconds, Willow opened her eyes and saw the source of the unexpected voice. 
“I beg your pardon. Could you tell me if you just saw a Draconequus pass by?” said Discord. He was staring at Willow from outside a solitary window next her dresser, a window she was pretty sure wasn’t there before. 
“Oh, uh, hey there, uh, master...I guess?” Willow greeted him nervously. 
“Oh, the whole ‘master’ thing is unnecessary. It sounds far too orderly for my taste. ‘Discord’ will do just fine.”
“I dig,” said Willow.
“It looks like you do,” said Discord as he looked at the dirt and needles on the floor. 
“Oh that?” asked Willow rhetorically. “Nah, just had a little trip up, that’s all.”
“Well, we can fix that,” Discord assured her. 
Suddenly, the needles popped out of Willow’s hair and body, returning to their original places on the cactus. The dirt receded into the pot. Finally, the pot itself reassembled, and then floated back to its intended place on the dresser. Willow watched in amazement. It was like time had reversed before her eyes.
“Far out!” exclaimed Willow. “Thanks, dude.”
“Oh don’t mention it,” said Discord kindly, perhaps overly so. He then reached over and patted Willow on the head, a pat that gave Willow a strange sense of deja vu. “It’s the least I can do for the oh-so-carefree daughter of the Doctor.”
Discord stared at her for an uncomfortably long amount of time. After seeing that Willow’s eyes began shifting and her teeth were bared in a sheepish grin, he spoke up again, “Er, so tell me. How are you...feeling right now?”
This did nothing to ease Willow’s nervous composure. “Uh, just groovy I guess..?”
Discord looked disappointed. “Well then,” he said sharply, “Have a good day!” 
As quick as he said that, Discord disappeared in a small, unceremonious puff of smoke and, a second or two after him, so did the window. 
Willow continued to stare blankly into the empty part of the wall where a view of the outside world was not a moment ago with a raised eyebrow. All she could say was “Huh…”


Then there was another sensation that Willow felt, this time on her chest. It felt like somepony’s hoof. It poked at her gently. 
“Willow...Willow, wake up,” she heard a familiar voice say. 
        It was only now that she realized that she couldn’t see anything but blackness. It took a few seconds more before she further realized that her eyes were closed. 
        When she opened them up, she found herself lying on her back and staring at a tiled ceiling. Off to the corners of her eyes, she could see portions of medical charts and diagrams that lined the walls of this small room. She was in a hospital again. 
        This time, however, there were more ponies surrounding her, more than she thought a room this size could hold in fact. On the right side of the bed she was lying in was Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. To her right was Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Finally, at the foot of the bed, stood the two Princesses, Celestia and Luna. 
        Most of the facial expressions in the room showed unease or even outright fear. Twilight and Celestia were the only ones who seemed relieved by Willow’s awakening. 
        It took Willow a few moments to compute what must have happened that put her in this position, but once it synced in, she panicked. “Oh...oh no. It-it happened, didn’t it? I-I’m so sorry! I thought for sure it wasn’t going to—”
        Twilight placed a familiar-feeling hoof on Willow’s chest. “Relax. You’re okay. It’s over now.”
        “Wha? Whattaya mean?” Willow asked, still very much terrified. 
        “Despise is gone, Willow,” Luna explained, “My sister and I no longer sense her presence within you.”
        Princess Celestia nodded in confirmation.
        Willow’s fears washed away as a tidal wave of relief rushed over her. She trembled with the emotional change. “That...that is...so...far out!” she shouted as she pounded the bed with her hooves.
        “Take an easy there, darlin’,” said Applejack as reached out to push her back down against the pillow. “You’re head’s been through a lot since yesterday.”
        Willow exhaled slowly. “I’ve been out a full day?”
        “Just about, dearie,” said Rarity. 
        “After the...incident we put you under a sleeping spell, just in case,” explained Princess Celestia. 
        “We brought you here so the doctors could ensure that our, er, cure had no side effects,” added Princess Luna.
        “Yeah,” chuckled Willow, “Just like my old man, ‘no side effects’, he said.”
        There was timid, nervous laughter among the some of the ponies in the room before Rainbow Dash blurted out “Hey, I thought you couldn’t remember anything.”
        The moment her observant Pegasus friend had said it, Willow’s eyes widened. “I...I guess I can now!” she said to her own amazement. 
        “Her memory’s back! Her memory’s back!” chanted Pinkie Pie as she jumped up and down.
        Willow grabbed her head again. “Ugh. Well, sort of.”
        “What do you mean ‘sort of’?” asked Rainbow Dash suspiciously. 
        “It’s like, I can remember stuff now, but it’s...it’s all weird,” Willow tried to explain. “I can remember what happened, but not, like, how I felt or anything. It’s like watchin’ a show or somethin’.”
        There was a short pause as Willow held her head in silence. Then her head suddenly jerked up and her eyes were wide open “Holy mushrooms! I-I remember past the green haze!” she exclaimed. She looked at the two Princesses at the foot of her bed. “I remember attacking you!” She then turned to the ponies on her right hand side “and you!” Then she flipped her head to look at the other side “and you too!”. Finally, Willow moved her head slightly and her eyes met directly with Twilight’s and she said with trembling lips “...and you.” Willow burst into tears and lunged at Twilight, embracing her. “I’m so sorry, mare!” she sobbed. 
        Twilight returned her hug. “It’s alright. It wasn’t you…”
        The rest of the room was silent. Many ponies bowed their heads. Luna bowed the lowest. The silence, punctuated only by Willow’s sniffling, continued for several minutes. Once Willow had finally calmed down and let go of Twilight, she noticed that Luna’s face was more sombre than anypony else. 
        “Do-do you know somethin’ you’re not sayin’, Spooky mare?” Willow inquired. 
        Luna paused briefly before explaining, “Willow, your memories were completely erased while you were in your father’s preservation chamber. However, remember when I was in your dreams?”
Willow nodded.
 You told me that you did not recognize the locations you dreamt of,” Luna continued, “But, as I told you then, almost all of the dreams that ponies dream are made up of their memories. Very rarely do dreams conjure up completely imaginary places. It puzzled me at first, but I soon realized that the house you were in, the village street, and that wide open prairie, were all made from real memories, just not your memories.”
Willow’s eyes widened, “You mean...they were Despise’s?”
“That is correct, Willow” confirmed Luna.
Willow slid back in her bed. Everypony’s eyes were on her. “Far out…” is all she could say in her amazement.
“Despise remembered everything,” Luna further explained, “both when she was in control of you and when she was not. Right before we finally defeated her, I locked her memories in place so they would be preserved.”
“Is that what that last burst of magic was about, Princess Luna?” asked Twilight.
Luna nodded at her, then her eyes returned to Willow “I know it’s not as...pleasant as having your own memories back, but at least now you can recall more of what has transpired in your life.”
Willow blew another long, slow exhale. “I sure can. Whoah…” Then, she suddenly sat up in the bed again, “Hey. Wait up. I can remember things from, like, way back there. Like, a long time before Daddy made Despise.” How’s that work?” 
Willow thought she could faintly hear Spike mutter “Here comes surprise number two...”
“It is simple,” said Princess Luna. “Your father didn’t create Despise.”
“Wha?” said Willow with her mouth gaping. 
Pinkie Pie also joined her, screaming “What!?”
Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all dropped their jaws as well. Twilight, Spike, Celestia and of course Luna herself looked far less surprised. 
“It was actually Discord himself,” explained Twilight.
“How do ya figure that, Smarty mare?” asked Willow, still trying to process this revelation.
“Willow, are you able to tell the order of your, er, Despise’s memories?”
“Uh, I think so,” said Willow, “can’t really say I’m sure of anything now.”
“What is the first even you can recall?” asked Luna.
Willow thought for a moment, then answered “I think it was the dream ahead right before Smarty mare woke me up just now.” She went on to explain her vision of Discord appearing to her in her bedroom through the window he created, down to the detail of him patting her and the head then abruptly leaving.
“Bingo!” said Spike.
“Wait, I don’t get it,” said Applejack. 
Twilight turned to her fellow ponies in the room. “Do all of you remember when we faced Discord and he turned us into opposites of ourselves?”
Everypony looked down at the floor.
“Um, yes,” Fluttershy muttered bashfully. 
“Unfortunately,” said Rarity.
“Oh yeah!” said Pinkie Pie excitedly. “The creepy flippy flop!”
“Well, it’s a spell of his called antithesis, but yes, that’s correct.” said Princess Celestia. “You six were far from the first ponies Discord played that trick on. In fact, during his reign, it was one of his more common ‘jokes’. It works by creating a second, mirror-opposite spirit within the pony’s body, which then takes it over. The pony’s true spirit is then locked away deep inside the pony’s own mind until the spell is reversed.”
“However,” said Luna continuing Celestia’s thought, “the spell is very unreliable and sometimes when he attempted to use it, it failed. This frustrated him to no end and to my knowledge he was never able figure out why. Your situation I think gives us a clue, though. Evidently Discord was able to create a mirror copy of your spirit, but that spirit was too weak to overtake your true self. Thus, it simply laid dormant in the back of your mind and stayed there for several years. However, when your father injected you with his formula, the concoction attached itself to this spirit instead of your true one. Thus, Despise emerged.”
Willow briefly stared at Luna and Celestia blankly until she was able to process all of this. Then, she chuckled. “No wonder Daddy couldn’t figure out what was up.”
“Exactly,” said Twilight. “He did everything right. He just picked the wrong pony.”
“No kiddin’” agreed Willow, “especially after all that time he spent gettin’ me into help him out.”
“So now that your memories are back are you still gonna try to help him out?” asked Rainbow Dash pointedly. 
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight scolded.
“It’s cool, Smarty mare,” Willow assured Twilight. She then looked directly at Rainbow Dash with her large yellow eyes. “The answer is ‘no way, José’. 
A few ponies in the room smiled at this response, but Rainbow Dash’s eyebrow was still raised. “How come?”
“I’m done hurtin’ ponies, Awesome mare,” Willow said flatly. “Now that I can see what was happenin’ when Despise took over…”, she paused and closed her eyes, then shook her head, “I don’t want anythin’ to do with fightin’ again. Can’t believe Daddy duped me into it in the first place.”
“Don’t suppose the fact that his master put a mean spirit in you and ruined yer life helps much either,” Applejack added.
“It sure don’t,” agreed Willow. 
“Discord never treated the Discordians any different from any other pony under his rule,” said Princess Luna. “The fact that they worshiped him only made them easier targets.”
“Lookin’ back — now that I actually can look back — that makes a whole lotta sense,” Willow concluded. Then, she smiled, “It was still good times, though. My people were all real cool and mellow. Lots of parties, campfires, singin’, and baskin’ in Mother Nature. Not like the stiffs from the big towns back then. You could talk like how you want, dress like how you want, and it was all groovy. Even Daddy wore colored shades and tie dye shirts.”
Twilight Sparkled laughed, “Really? Professor Voidsdale used to dress like that!?” 
“Yup,” chuckled Willow, “At least he did before Discord got stoned.” Her smile faded after saying that. “Daddy changed a lot after that. Got real paranoid, ya know? Started dressin’ like all the stiffs, talkin’ like ‘em too. He was always worried that you Princesses were going to find out what he used to be and throw ‘im in the can. He kept tryin’ to make me like everypony else too, like I would blow his cover or somethin’. I kept sayin’ ‘no’ n’ I never saw nopony bat an eye.”
        The room fell silent again after this, though this time with far less tension. Willow could see everypony’s muscles loosening. To her, it felt like a simple gathering of friends now. 
        “So,” Willow said breaking the silence, “What happens now?”
        Unexpectedly, everypony’s heads turned to Fluttershy. She flinched a little when she noticed this, but then spoke up as if she had received her lines. “Um, Graceful’s Greenery was wondering if you would like to work for them.”
        “Really!?” said Willow excitedly. 
        “Yes,” said Princess Celestia, “It appears they were very impressed by the work you and Fluttershy did on the parade float.”
         “I can’t do it because I have to look after my critters,” said Fluttershy, “But, um, I told them you may be able to help.”
        Willow’s tiny smile reappeared, “Sure thing. Anytime, anywhere.”
        Princess Celestia returned her smile, “That’s good to hear. Speaking of which, there is another thing we have to discuss once everypony else leaves.”
        “Uh...sure,” said Willow, unsure how to feel about speaking with the Princess one-on-one again.
        The group carried on for a quite a while, talking about everything from the parade to everypony’s future plans. Gradually, each pony said their goodbyes and left the room until only Princess Celestia was left. The atmosphere returned to feeling tense and uncertain. 
        “So...what’s up?” asked Willow timidly.
        The Princess’s tone was very serious. “Willow, I have to address the matter of your escape from the Greenhouse.”
        Willows heart immediately sank. 
        “Now, I understand that you were desperate,” the Princess assured her, “but you lied to Canterlot officials, forged my seal on a document, and disobeyed my authority. As of result, Despise caused untold amounts of damage to Canterlot and injuries, some of them severe, to its citizens, including my own person.” She stared Willow directly in the eyes. “Do you understand the position this puts me in, Willow?”
        Willow bowed her head in silence with her eyes closed. Eventually she made a very small nod and prepared herself for her next prison sentence. 
        “Very well,” said the Princess. “Now, with your situation I feel that confinement is no longer a suitable punishment —”
        As soon as she said this, Willow pulled her head back up.
        “So I have decided that, when you are not working at Graceful’s Greenery, you will be serving Canterlot by assisting in the city’s repair.”
        “So...no more holdin’ cells?” asked Willow as she sat up in her bed.
        “None,” said Princess Celestia, smiling. “How do you feel about that?”
        Willow began to scream “Far ou—”, but stopped herself. “Wait,” she said cautiously, “Does that mean, like, construction ‘n stuff?”
        “It does indeed,” said Princess Celestia. 
        Willow shook her head, “I dunno, mare,” Don’t do much heavy liftin’, ya know?”
        “Oh you don’t?” said Celestia. There was a hint of slyness in her voice. “Let me ask you, do you feel strong enough to get out of that bed?”
        Willow raised an eyebrow, but replied, “Uh, sure.” She then obeyed the Princess’ implied command and hopped out of the hospital bed to the left hand side. The ends of her hair spread out over the floor like an oversized dress. 
        “Now,” said the Princess, “Pick up the bed.”
        No sooner had Willow turned to Celestia to say “What?” that she felt her hair move on its own. The ends that were on the floor stretched out, shooting underneath the bed. The strands grabbed the bed from below and lifted it clear off the ground, holding it steady several hooves into the air. 
        And Willow’s jaw nearly dropped several hooves in the opposite direction. She stood there, gaping and wide-eyed as the rest of her hair rose up and danced around her head as it had once done for her alter ego.
        “It’s...it’s…,” Willow stammered. 
        “It’s just as I suspected,” said Princess Celestia. “By saving Despise’s memories, Luna left just enough of her in you that you can now use her power.”
        “Now,” said Willow as she placed the bed down, “this,” she said as she used her newfound hair ability to lift herself into the air, “is,” she continued as she waltzed around the room on hairy legs that did not end in hooves, “far out!” she cried as she loosened two hair locks on Celestia which dragged the Princess over to her where she embraced her in a hug with her own legs. 
        “Thank you, mare,” said the now empowered pony sincerely. 
        Princess Celestia laughed “Well, I had little to do with it.” She then disconnected their embrace, but still kept smiling in Willow’s direction. “What’s say we get you out of this hospital?”
        Willow put herself down on her own hooves and followed Celestia out of the room and down the hallway. Not wanting to accidentally damage anything with her new, livelier hair, she tried to make it settle down to its usual self, minus the tripping her up every other step. This proved difficult, however. The hair had a tendency to float around by itself and, while it didn’t hit anything as she and the Princess made their way to the front of the hospital, it definitely caused some unwanted stares from several members of the staff. 
        At long last, the Princess checked Willow out at the front desk and they exited the hospital together. It was now nearly sundown and Willow was greeted by a beautifully-colored sky as the fresh breeze wrapped around her. 
        Oddly enough though, it was Celestia that breathed the first sigh of relief. “This hospital was swarming with press when we brought you in,” she explained to the discharged patient next to her. Then she laughed, “I suppose my sister scared them off like she always does.”
        Willow laughed, but then asked a serious question. “So, where’m I goin’ from here?”
        “I have arranged for you to stay at a hotel near Graceful’s Greenery while you pay your debt to society. Come. I will escort you there.” 
Princess Celestia then stepped forward and, unexpectedly, spread her wings. She turned back to look at Willow, “If you can keep up, that is.”
Willow smiled. Her hair spread out in all directions. The Princess took to the sky and veered to the right to follow the nearby street. Willow’s hair stretched out and grabbed the nearest lamp post. It pulled Willow towards it. Then it grabbed the next nearest post and yanked Willow towards that. It repeated this with every lamp post down the street as she followed after Princess Celestia to her new living space, and to her new life. 


 
	

> Appendix A: Deleted Chapter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note: I wrote this chapter with the intent of it being a Prologue to Part 1. However, after writing it, I decided that it revealed too much of the backstory far too early. Still, I was very proud of it and wanted to include it in the story somewhere. At this point, I was planning on making it the Epilogue to Part 2 since I thought it would make a touching conclusion. After I finished writing Part 2, however, I decided that I wanted the story to end on a happy note and this chapter went too far in the opposite direction. So, I reluctantly cut it out of the main story entirely and put it here as a bonus. 


Her eyelids were heavy, but she forced them open anyway. At first, all she saw was a collage of blurry colors, but slowly her eyes adjusted, bringing the sight before her into focus. She was laying on a dark stone floor. Sitting and on the floor near her was a syringe with remnants of a blue liquid in it and standing next to that was familiar set of gray hooves. She tried to lift her head up to look at their owner, but her head was even heavier than her eyelids. The most that she could do was move her eyes upward.
        She saw that standing over her was a pony donning the remains of what had been a red sweater vest. The vest was now torn and tattered, as if its wearer had just wrestled with a bear. And its wearer’s facial expression supported that possibility. His eyes were widened to their limit and his jaw hung open as he breathed heavily. He was an older pony as his crooked bifocals and fading blonde mane indicated. Now, however, he had even more wrinkles on his face than usual. 
        It took every ounce of effort in her to speak. “Da...Daddy?” is all she could get out. 
        After she spoke, the old mare’s breathing began to normalize and his face slowly retracted from absolute terror to calm but genuine concern. “Are...are you...back?” He asked. 
        She was regaining her strength, though not as quickly as she wanted. Now able to move, she began gradually adjusting herself with the intention of standing up. “Yeah..yeah I am.” She confirmed. “How bad was it this time?”
        Her father didn’t answer, but as she slowly made her way to standing up, her eyes were given a chance to better survey their surroundings and those surroundings spoke for themselves. The laboratory looked like it had been condemned for years. All of the wooden shelves were splintered and broken, with most lying on the ground in disarray. Books and papers were scattered throughout and many of them were not in one piece either. The debris was all coated with the shattered glass from beakers and bottles and painted with the splattering of the chemicals that were in them. 
        She had been struggling to regain her energy, but now the site of all this had shocked her back to normal. There had been some incidents before, but not like this. What was worse, though, was that it dawned on her why her father’s vest was so disheveled . 
        She quickly turned back to him. “Daddy! Daddy...I didn’t hurt you again, did I?”
        Her father closed his eyes and took a deep breath before calmly stating “I’m fine, child. And don’t worry about the lab. I should have prepared better. It’s been worsening each time it happens.”
        This did little to calm her fears. “What are we going to do? If it gets any worse, it’s going to make it outside!”
        “I know.” Her father replied plainly. 
        This was followed by an uncomfortable silence, a silence that only grew more painful as the moments went by. Exactly how much time was passing she couldn’t say. Her mind was too occupied, and her heart too broken. She knew what her father was thinking. He was thinking about a solution to their problem that they had discussed before. However, both of them had hoped it would never have to be discussed again. 
        The old mare stepped forward, getting as close to her as he physically could, and then opened his eyes to face his daughter. 
        She lifted up her eyes to look straight into his. They were glazed with the water of tears waiting to form, and she could feel that hers were too. 
        Her father’s lips stammered as he tried to let out the words he didn’t want to say. “We...have no choice.”
        The tears broke free from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. “I know.” She began to tremble. She knew what this meant for her. It meant pain and isolation, but that wasn’t even the worst of it. The worst part was that it meant potentially losing her memory. Everything and everypony that was precious to her could evaporate, including the memory of the loved one standing before her now.
        She began to tremble. She couldn’t take it anymore. She lunged herself at her father, embracing him with every ounce of energy in her being. “I don’t want to forget you, Daddy! I love you, Daddy!”
        Her father didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. He returned her embrace twofold, clinging to her as if they were competing for the tightest squeeze. His tears were flowing now, too, and dripping onto his child. 
        They held onto each for a seemingly eternal moment, then the old mare finally had enough will to speak. “It...it’s only potentially. And I promise..I swear..that I will find a solution, and get you out of there before it has a chance to do that. 
        The silent hug continued only briefly, before it was canceled out by her father’s remorseful sobbing. “I am so sorry I brought you into this...Willow..”

> Appendix B: Partial Original Draft
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note: This was my first attempt at writing this story. I wrote a Prologue and five chapters before I decided to start over with a different approach. The reasons for ditching this version of the events are 1.) I received criticisms that some of the ponies, particularly Twilight, were acting very out-of-character, and 2.) I discovered a few significant plot holes.


Prologue

There are points in a pony’s life when he or she must make choices. Some choices are easier to make than others, but since nopony can tell the future every choice comes with at least a small amount of risk. Every decision a pony makes has a consequence. The consequence could be something small or something big and that something could be good, or bad. 
And sometimes making a decision to join the Equestrian Royal Guard has a consequence of being assigned to the night shift at the Canterlot Archives. 
Trove hated the night shift, as his heavy eyelids constantly reminded him. He was tempted to give in and just let them close. There was nothing to see anyway and frankly he had barely slept since last night’s shift. His friends told him he would get used to sleeping during the day, but he had been on this hellish schedule for month now and he still couldn’t adjust.
Still, he knew that keeping his eyes open was his only hope of salvation. Everypony who enlists in Equestria’s Royal Guard gets nightly guard duty as a first assignment and they only got out of it after they “proved their worth”.
“How in the world are you supposed to ‘prove your worth’ when you have a job where nothing happens?”,  Trove thought to himself, and not for the first time. He was assigned to the Canterlot Archives, the most uneventful place possible. All there was to do was patrol the empty hallways, look for intruders that were never there and listen to the endless crackling of torches. It was boring, even maddening.
He had never thought to ask his higher-ranking friends what got them relieved from this miserable shift and now that he worked nights and they worked during the day, he was unable to. He assumed nightly guard duty would be easy and he would find his own way to impress his superiors. Never did he imagine how much torture it would be each and every night. And each and every night, he would ponder how to convince the powers that be that he was ready for another assignment.
He thought of perhaps cleaning the place a bit, especially the area he was in. It was the oldest wing on the archives and it had seen better days. However, there was already a cleaning crew, and he feared assisting them would result in his superiors assigning him to the janitorial staff - not exactly a great career move.
Trove concluded that he was only going to get out of this job if he actually caught somepony breaking into the archives, but that didn’t look very likely. While there were actually some very valuable items in the archives that would be worth stealing - rare and top secret scrolls, some expensive marble podiums and pedestals, state-of-the-art science equipment, a few rare art pieces hanging on the walls - no one was going to try to take anything. The heavy penalties for stealing from her majesty along with the intimidating reputation of the Equestrain Royal Guard, exaggerated as it may have been, was enough to keep any thief from setting hoof on the Princess’s property. Why would they risk it when there were other, less-secure places in Equestria that had just as much wealth?
Trove sighed and thought to himself, “Oh well, time to do another patrol”. He made his way slowly down the long, dark hallway, half of him asleep and the other half simply apathetic. After all, nothing was happening, neither in the Archives, nor in his life. If only something would give, anything at this point. He wished for once he would see a moving shadow, smell something out-of-place, or...
...hear something?
Trove stopped in his tracks at one of the doors that lined the hallway. He could hear sounds coming from the other side, sounds of movement.
“An intruder!” Trove thought. “I don’t believe it! I finally got a break!”. He assumed a tall, straight soldier stance and boldy knocked on the door. “Halt! Who goes there?” Trove had been wanting to say that his whole life, and soon he would apprehend this invader, bring him to justice and then he would be in a job where he’d be saying it much, much more.
But the fidgeting sounds from in the room continued as if their source had not heard Trove’s voice at all. Trove knocked even harder. “Sir! I demand that you come out this instant!”. Still no change. “Okay”, he thought, “time to play hardball”. Trove turned around and used his hind legs to kick the door wide open, then flipped back around to face his target - a dark, sinister, lurking...
...raccoon?
Trove’s heart sank. His “intruder” was a tiny, mangy raccoon that had sneaked its way in hoping to find food. It was standing on one of the shelves in the room, staring at Trove like he was an imbecile, which was about what he felt like. He was so eager to catch a thief that he hadn’t considered what form the “thief” would have.
Then something occurred to him: It was better than nothing.
Trove lunged at the raccoon hoping to grab it in one fell swoop, but all he managed to do is hit his head on the shelf. The raccoon had jumped off right before the impact and was now scampering his way out the door and into the hallway.
“Oh no you don’t!”, Trove as he dashed out into the hallway in pursuit of the woodland perpetrator. As fast as he could gallop, however, all he could manage to do was keep the raccoon in his field of vision. He was not gaining any ground.
By the time the raccoon had reached the last turn in the hallway before the front entrance to the wing, Trove had lost hope. He followed the critter around the corner, but then stopped and watched in dismay as it ran out the front door and soon out of his sight.
Now Trove was irritated. That could have been it. He was so close to proving his worth, so close to freedom from this dead-end assignment. He turned around and resumed his patrol of the now empty hallways of the archives, sulking.
His irritation only grew more intense as he continued to dwell on the matter. “It was right there! I could have had it! How much longer is it going to be before another thing like that gets in here, let alone a real thief!” His irritation slowly became rage, and Trove found himself looking for a way to relieve the stress. He stopped in the middle of the hallway, clinched his teeth and, with all his might, slammed his left hoof into the ground.
That did little to ease his frustration, but at the moment he did it something else managed to catch his ear. The impact of his hoof hitting the ground did not sound like it should have. It had a strange echo to it. Was the floor hollow?
He hit the floor hard again with his right hoof. Again, it sounded like the floor was hollow. To make sure he was not simply losing his sanity, he back up a few hooves and knocked on the ground there as well. There the floor sounded solid.
“Is there something under here?” He stomped heavily up and down the surrounding area trying to find out where the hollow sounds started and where they stopped. After some time, he was able to trace the sounds to a large rectangular piece of the floor. If he stepped outside that area, the floor immediately resumed its normal sound.
Trove also noticed something else: one end of the rectangle stopped at a point precisely in-line with a torch on the wall. He looked at the torch. It looked just like any other torch that lined this hallway, save for one small detail that Trove had just then noticed: The bolt that fastened the torch’s mount to the wall was slightly larger and more pronounced than the bolts that fastened the other mounts. It was a small, barely-noticeable difference to be sure, but now that Trove was examining it so closely, it was obvious.  He walked up to the torch and touched the bolt. It pressed in. It was a button.
Suddenly, there was a rumbling beneath Trove’s hooves. He turned and looked that space next to him, the same space he discovered was hollow seconds ago. His eyes widened as that part of the stone floor started moving, slowly opening up. 
Trove stood there for a moment in surprise at what it revealed: a staircase. No one had told him about any secret passageways in the Archives and Equestrian soldiers asked to guard any Royal property were typically informed of such things, even if they were asked not to discuss them with civilians. Swallowing his shock, Trove decided to grab the torch off the wall, and descend slowly down the stairs.
        What he saw at the bottom, he did not quite understand and he certainly did not know how to feel about it. It was wondrous and ominous at the same time and as puzzling as it was amazing. Regardless, it was obviously not designed by Celestia, Luna, or anypony else he could imagine. The more he stared at it, the more he was convinced that nopony could have known about it. It was a true discovery.
And he was the one who discovered it. Reginald Trove Canthide grinned and thought to himself, “Goodbye, night shift!”


	

Chapter 1


My Dearest Twilight,

I have a special assignment for you. A strange room has been discovered beneath the Antiquine Wing of the Canterlot Archives. But unfortunately, I am currently visiting Las Capellas and I will not return for at least a few more days. I would like you to investigate it as soon as possible and find out what you can about it. I have asked the guards to cooperate in any way they can.

I appreciate your help as always, Twilight. I know I can always count on you.

Regards,
Princess Celestia

This was now the fifth time Twilight had read the letter she had only received that morning. It was just so exciting. The Princess had put her on a mission to investigate a mysterious room hidden in the Archives. It made her feel like she was an archaeologist or a secret agent. Her thoughts went back to one of her favorite fictional characters, Daring Do, discovering exploring some ancient temple, or traversing a hostile jungle. It was an adventure and she just couldn’t wait to get there.
Unfortunately, there was another reason why she had read this letter over and over. She was on the train to Canterlot and there was not much else to do. She had taken this train trip on many occasions, but she had always been with her friends who helped her pass the time. This time she was alone. Well, alone save for Spike, but he was asleep in the seat next to her. The ride between Ponyville and Canterlot was not particularly long, but the quiet, lonely boxcar she was in certainly made it feel like it was taking an eternity.
Twilight was surprised by how fast Spike fell asleep as they had only been seated on the train for a few minutes. Then again, that letter from the Princess came awfully early that morning and since it came by way of Spike’s mouth, it gave him a rather rude awakening. It also seemed like he was really straining himself while loading the luggage onto the train, which confused Twilight. Sure there were three suitcases, but they were only for transporting anything of interest at the site back to her home in Ponyville. They should have been empty at that time and light as a feather.
Nevertheless, this minor curiosity did not diminish Twilight’s enthusiasm for the task ahead. When the train came to a complete stop, she quickly began poking Spike to wake him up. “Spike! Spike! We’re here!” she shouted to him as if he were clear across the room.
“Alright already I’m up!” Spike reluctantly exclaimed after a few pokes. He sat up, yawned, and then hopped onto floor and proceeded towards their luggage. Twilight walked quickly to the exit, eager to get off the train and on with her assignment.
The Canterlot Archives were not very far from the train station so Twilight had planned on just walking the rest of the way. However, seeing the trouble Spike was having with the luggage made her feel guilty about that decision. Spike followed behind her as closely as he could with one travel case in his mouth gripped by his teeth and one additional case in each hand. The case in his left hand seemed to be the main problem as he was dragging it on the ground like a sack of potatoes. “I’m sure there’s nothing in that case. Maybe it’s just the material it’s made of. It was pretty expensive after all.”, Twilight thought.
Finally arriving at the entrance to the Antiquine branch of the Archives, Twilight showed the two guards at the entrance her letter from Princess Celestia and they began to escort her and Spike to the point of interest in the building.
Princess Celestia was usually adamant about keeping buildings like the Archives presentable, but this was the oldest section of the building, and it definitely showed. It was dusty, drab, and void of any decorations, unless one counted the various cracks, dents, and other blemishes that covered the stone walls, floors, and ceiling. Off to each side of the hallway were several wooden doors that were so worn Twilight was getting splinters just looking at them. She didn’t even want to think about the condition of the shelves, books, and scrolls that were likely behind each of those doors. Twilight also couldn’t help but notice how dark it was in this section. Why did the torches still have to be lit while it was broad daylight outside? Why were there no windows? “Perhaps Luna was in charge of this wing.” , Twilight thought to herself.
The guards lead Twilight and Spike around the corner and about halfway down past that to a roped off section of the hallway next to a torch, where they stopped.
Twilight looked at the section of floor blocked by the ropes. She didn’t see anything remarkable. Confused, she turned to the guard on her left. “Um...I’m not sure this qualifies as a secret room” she said to him in a playful tone to soften her sarcasm.
The guard didn’t respond verbally, but raised his left hoof and reached behind the torch on the wall. He pressed what Twilight thought was just a bolt holding the torch’s mount in place. It was soon clear though that it was a button.
A low rumbling sound came from under Twilight’s hooves, like when stone rubbed against stone. She looked down and watched as the piece of the floor inside the ropes slid open from the left side revealing a large opening in the floor.  Surprised and startled, she approached the vacant space in the floor and peered down it. It was clearly made intentionally as it was cut in a perfect rectangle that spanned several hooves down the length of the hallway. Its width was a different story, however. It was just wide enough to fit one pony through it at a time.
Then there was what was actually inside the opening. There was a short staircase that descended into a room that could only be described as a complete mess. Books, scrolls papers, and littered the floor along with a myriad of items that looked completely out-of-place. Twilight spotted a spatula, parts of a croquet set, a nail filer, garden shears, some toy dolls, a few empty cologne bottles, a toilet brush, a couple cooking pans and a wiffle bat just to name a few. As Twilight lowered her head she could see that the room was much larger than the staircase that lead to it. There were several rows of shelves separating the room into aisleways like a library as well as more shelves and cabinets along the walls. Going by that alone, it would have looked like it was simply an additional archive room that had been poorly kept, but then there were all those random objects and, even more perplexing, the colors. The floor, the ceiling and everything in between was coated in bright, clashing colors. Part of one of the walls was red, the next part orange, and the part beyond that pink. The stone floor was painted seemingly at random with streaks of blue, magenta, peach, neon green and various other colors for which Twilight did not even know the name. There was no clear pattern for anything. Colors simply started and stopped at whatever point they wished as if the room’s painter did his job blindfolded.
Spike, having fallen behind due to the apparent extra weight he was carrying, had just caught up with Twilight and the guards. He placed the luggage on the ground next to them, then paused to catch his breath. After much heavy gasping, he turned and walked towards Twilight, completely missing the roped off opening in the floor she was staring at.
“So, where’s this secret room?” he asked in a tone that suggested that it had better be worth the trip. Twilight didn’t answer immediately and continued to stare at the discovery before her. Spike turned his head to see what she was so captivated by. His eyes widened, “Holy Cow!”.
“Have any of you gone down there yet?” Twilight asked the guard who had opened the trapdoor.
The guard shook his head. “Our orders were not to go in until you arrived.” He grabbed the torch from the wall while the other guard removed the rope from in front of Twilight. They proceeded down the stairs single file with the torch-wielding guard in front, followed by Twilight, then the second guard. Spike begrudgingly gathered up the suitcases and followed them down.


	

Chapter 2

At the bottom of the stairs, there was unlit torch on the wall. The first guard used his torch to light it. Once the room illuminated, he noticed other torches further down along the same wall. He proceeded down the hall lighting each one while occasionally stepping on or stumbling over the assorted odds and ends scattered all over the floor.
Twilight, Spike, and the guards could now see more of the room, but it was still just as perplexing.
“Wow. Where do I start?”, Twilight said as the group looked around the room. It was even more of a disaster than how it looked at the top of the stairs and the room’s loud, mismatching colors almost hurt her eyes.
The amount of debris that cluttered the aisleways between and around the shelves was astounding. Now Twilight could see crazy straws, a cowboy hat, a rubix cube, some salt and pepper shakers, and a pair of roller skates in the corner under a table. There were other small tables as well, some upright and some knocked over.
Some of the upright tables had objects on them that gave Twilight her first clue as to the room’s use: beakers, many of them showing signs of heavy use. Was this a lab?
Twilight walked over to the shelf nearest her and examined the spines of the books placed on it. Some were for cooking, some for medicine, some for magic, some for history, and none were in any particular order. There was one category though that had many more books dedicated to it than the others: alchemy.
“Well, it’s a start” she said out loud to herself. “Spike, could you bring the suitcases over here?”
Spike had just finished getting the presumably empty luggage down the stairs and had to take another breath before obeying Twilight’s latest command. He put the cases down at his feet, wiped the sweat from his forehead, picked them up, carried them the remaining distance between him and Twilight and set them down next to her while breathing a sigh of relief.
Twilight levitated one of the books, Abstract Experiments in Alchemy, off the shelf with her horn’s magic and opened it. Flipping through the pages revealed all sorts of bizarre theories and trials in the potion-making arts, but nothing was as shocking as what was scribbled on the back of the front cover, which Twilight read aloud.
“Property of Professor Nolan Voidsdale”.
“Uh...who?” Spike asked.
“He was an alchemy professor Celestia appointed shortly after her and Luna took over Equestria. This must have been a secret lab of his.”
“But if Celestia hired him, why did the lab have to be a secret?”
“Well..” Twilight answered “he was also...a Discordian.”
“Uh..so is that a somepony who plays an accordion at a disco?” Spike asked, half-joking.
“Not quite.” said Twilight, unamused. “Discordians are ponies that were followers of Discord”.
“That guy? Why would anypony want to follow him?”, asked Spike as if the notion were preposterous.
Twilight shrugged “Some ponies believed that chaos was the answer, that life wasn’t meant to be orderly. They thought Discord was the bringer of truth and freedom.”
Spike sneered. “Sounds to me like they got too many hooves to the head.”
“Not at all.” Twilight rebutted, “Some of these ponies were very smart, like the professor here.”
Shifting the subject slightly, Spike asked “So what happened to all them?”
“Well, not surprisingly, many of them had a prompt change of heart when Discord was turned to stone.” Twilight explained. “There were some though, like Voidsdale, who still believed in Discord’s ‘philosophy’ and felt it was their job to continue spreading chaos in his absence.”
“Spreading chaos..well, that explains this room.”. Spike replied while re-scanning his surroundings.
“Exactly! Although, the really weird part about it is that nopony ever discovered it until now. Celestia had the professor arrested when she found out what his true intentions were, but no one ever found out about this room. What was he up to down here?”
Twilight began using the magic in her horn to levitate the books so she could place them in the suitcases that were brought to her. “Could you open that one?” Twilight said to Spike pointing to the “heavy” one that Spike had been dragging this whole trip. This was intentional of course as she wanted to make sure nothing was in it.
Spike unfastened the buckles on the suitcase...
And out popped Pinkie Pie with a big “Surprise!”
Twilight lost control of her levitation and dropped the books as both her and Spike fell to the ground in surprise.
The guard at the door took immediate notice and rushed toward Pinkie as she sat upright in the suitcase. The other guard, who was had just finished lighting all the torches, came charging from the other direction. “No no it’s okay” Twilight told the guards when she saw their reaction. The guards paused, then slowly backed off.
She then turned to their unexpected stowaway. “Pinkie what are you doing here?”
“Well, I went to your house this morning and saw you were leaving but I didn’t know you were leaving today and you didn’t tell anypony you were leaving today and I was like ‘hmmm, why’s she leaving today?’ so I snuck aboard to find why you were leaving today and didn’t tell anypony”.
“Umm...why didn’t you just walk up and ask?” Twilight asked, confused and a bit irritated.
“Yeah..” Spike added with a raised voice. “Instead of making me drag your flank all the way over here!”
Pinkie’s beaming expression remained unchanged. “Well..it’s the weekend and I don’t have to work and I always wanted to know what it felt like to be luggage.”
This was met by an uncomfortable silence from the other two, as well as angry glares.
But Twilight sighed and conceded “Well, I guess you’re here now either way. Sorry for leaving without telling anyone, but the Princess gave me an assignment that I was really excited about and I guess I got carried away”.
“Ooo! A secret mission! What is it?” Pinkie asked excitedly.
Twilight told Pinkie about the letter she got from the Princess and how they were now in a secret room in the Canterlot Archives. She explained about Nolan Voidsdale, which lead her into the explanation of the Discordians.
During the entire speech, Pinkie’s eyes were roaming around the room. Their survey of the area ended on a particular set of objects in the corner.
Twilight continued “...so I’m going to look around here a bit, see what I can find out and maybe bring a few things back with me for further examin - “
“Ooo! Roller skates!” Pinkie exclaimed cutting Twilight off mid-sentence. Pinkie ran over to the roller skates, slipped them on faster than Twilight thought physicall possible, and took off down the aisleway next to the wall.
“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted. “Stop! You’ll break something!” Her and Spike gave chase and pursued Pinkie down the aisleway. To her credit, Pinkie was managing to dodge every object in the room as they went along, and do so with style. She swerved around one table and ducked under the next, did the splits to avoid a pile of thumbtacks in the middle of the floor, then lifted her legs and skated on one hoof while still managing to dodge every shard of the broken pottery that came next. Then, putting all hooves back on the ground, picked up speed weaved around a bowling ball, a toy boat, three wooden spoons, two large boxes of baking soda, and a cattle prod. Finally, she came upon a large globe on a stand in the middle of the aisleway. In a stunning display, she leaped over it and managed to spin three times in the air before hitting the before she hit the ground and sped on undeterred.
While angry and panicked, Twilight and Spike were impressed, especially when they tried to maneuver through the same mess she just did. Every little object pushed them further and further behind her, and Spike got a few thumbtacks in his foot to prove it.
Pinkie’s amazing performance was cut short, however, when she reached the end of the aisleway and made a sharp right to avoid hitting the far wall. As soon as she finished the turn, she was taken by surprise. The two guards who had been following the chase from the next aisleway over, sprung out to cut her off. Pinkie quickly tried to swerve to avoid them and, while successful, began spinning out of control immediately thereafter. She spun all the way to other side of the room, crashing into a small shelf at the end, which fell on her with a loud crash and a huge cloud of dust.
Twilight, Spike, and the guards hurried over to the crash site and Twilight stopped at the edge of the collapsed shelf. “Um...Pinkie?” Twilight called out to the rubble, half-worried, half-frustrated.
Pinkie broke a hole through the back of the fallen shelf and stuck her head out, with the same expression she had when she popped out of the suitcase just moments ago. “Yup?” She responded.
Twilight groaned at Pinkie’s apparent obliviousness to the situation “Okay. You’re my friend, Pinkie, but honestly you’re aggravating me. You just up and decide to hop into one of my bags, have Spike carry you all the way here, and then you just up and decide to put on roller skates and turn this library or whatever it is into your personal skating rink. I’m here to dis..cov...er...”
The dust from the old collapsed shelf had finally cleared, revealing something that made Twilight cease her rant immediately. On the wall where the shelf had been standing...was a door.
Pinkie turned around to see what Twilight was so surprised to see. She immediately sprang the rest of her body out of the fallen shelf and jumped up and down excitedly  “Ooo! It’s another secret room! I wonder if there’s another secret room inside it, and another one inside that, and then another one! Oh it’s like a matryoshka room!”
Twilight and the others observed the door in a quieter, but no less fascinated fashion. It looked more like to the door to a dungeon cell than a door to an archive or lab. There was a large steel lock over the handle and a small window at about head level with iron bars on it. From the window, Twilight could see there was a light inside the room, a white glow with a blue hue to it...
Twilight stared at it for a moment while she was thinking, then she made up her mind. Her horn lit up as her magic connected with the large lock on the door and snapped it off. “Hmmm....obviously not built to keep out a unicorn.” She thought. “I’m going in.” She said to the guards behind her. “Be prepared for anything.”
Twilight once again used magic to open the wooden door. Despite how large and ominous-looking it was, it flew open like it was cardboard, hitting the inside wall. Dust again clouded the air upon the impact. Blowing the dust out of the way as she went, Twilight entered the room, followed closely by Spike and a hopping Pinky Pie. The guards followed after Pinkie Pie, but at this point the dust had cleared, and it was obvious that the room was very small and unable to hold any more occupants. The guards stopped and stood at the ready right outside the doorway.
In complete contrast to the main area, this new, smaller room was very plain. The stone on the walls, floors and ceiling were free of the horrific paint job of the main room. There were no shelves nor any debris on the ground either, though there were several small chests here and there. The door had made this look like it was a prison cell, but it felt more like a janitor closet.
But it was a prison cell. That was clear from the moment Twilight cleared the dust from her vision, because now she could plainly see the source of that strange light she saw from the outside. There on the back wall was what could only be described as a large tube. On the floor was a small, cylindrical pedestal with a matching pedestal attached to the ceiling directly above it. Between the two was either a glass chamber or a magic forcefield, emitting a bluish-white glow.
And floating in the middle of the tube was...a pony.
Twilight, Spike and Pinkie let out a collective gasp. It was true they had the guards with them in case they encountered any trouble, but none of them had actually expected to run into any life in this dark hidden recess of the Archives.
“What, or who, is that?” Spike said in an astonished tone.
“I...I don’t know..” Twilight replied, her eyes wide open and staring at their new discovery.
“Do...do you think it can hear us?” asked Pinkie Pie, her giddiness now dissolved by surprise.
Spike put his hands to the sides of his mouth and shouted a long “Hellllooooo!”. They all paused for a few seconds. Nothing happened.
“I guess not.” said Twilight, now starting to catch her breath. Timidly, she crept closer to the cylinder, unsure of what - if anything - was going to happen. Now right along side it, she carefully placed her hoof over the middle of the tube. It was definitely glass, and the glowing light was apparently due to some sort of gas inside the chamber. She could see its mist floating around the pony inside and occasionally little sparks of electricity would circle around the its body.
She looked closely at the pony. It was obviously female. Her body was an aqua-blue, similar to Rainbow Dash, and she looked about the same age. Unlike Rainbow Dash though, she had no cutie mark and her mane was a solid green. The color was not the first thing Twilight noticed about her mane, however. It was the length. Both the hairs on her head and the hairs of her tail were long, much longer than normal. Together they took up two-thirds of the chamber.
Twilight tilted her head up slightly to examine the pony’s face. It was beautiful, but void of any expression and her eyes were closed. She looked like she was asleep, but sleeping peacefully.
Twilight decided to gently tap the glass to see if there was any reaction. There was none.
After several moments of silence, Spike spoke up. “What are we going to do, Twilight?”
Twilight thought for a few seconds more. She was never a risk-taker, quite the opposite in fact. She believed in being prepared, informed, and cautious and she realized there must be a reason why the pony was in there. Still, she just couldn’t leave somepony stuck in a tube inside a dark dungeon like this. She might be able to find some clue in the main room as to why she was here, but then again that could take a long time and she may search every book and object in the room and still come up empty...
“Pinkie...Spike..backup!” Twilight commanded. “Guards...get ready!” she yelled to the two standing outside the doorway. “I’m going to break the glass!”



	

Chapter 3

Twilight’s horn began to glow as the others followed her command and backed away from her. She levitated one of the small metal chests from the left side of the room and aimed for the space in the glass below the pony’s hooves. Then, as if hurling a floating baseball, threw it at the glass with all her magical might.
With a loud and piercing crash, the box passed straight through the tube, shattering it instantly. Quickly Twilight put up a forcefield to protect herself from the flying shards. Now only upper portion of the tube remained, still suspended by the cylinder on the ceiling, and pony fell out the bottom, hit the pedestal below, then plopped onto the ground.
The pony laid there motionless, surrounded by a sea of hair reached to the shore of shattered glass around it while the myst of the chemical from the tube filled the room before slowly dissipating. Sparks of electricity lit up here and there as the substance faded, and any creature in the room with fur felt the effects of static.
After a few seconds, the smoke cleared and everyone’s eyes focused on the pony on the floor. No one knew what to expect, if anything. The room was now silent and the pony was still not moving. The thought crossed Twilight, and likely the others as well, that perhaps nothing was going to happen and they were all overreacting.
Then suddenly a cough broke the silence, a cough that obviously didn’t come from any of the onlookers. It was followed by another, and then another. Each cough got louder and longer.
...and then, that mess of green pony hair on the floor started to move.
Everyone somehow manage to freeze themselves more than they already had as the the tangled mass on the floor began to rise, sliding its legs inward and getting ready to stand up, its long hair obscuring its face. The coughing continued until the pony was fully upright, at which point there was one final, disgustingly throaty hack of a cough, followed by slow deliberate inhaling of air.
The pony exhaled a slow, satisfying breath and spoke. “Mare alive! That was a long, strange trip!”
The pony’s audience, while still startled, began to feel more curious than frightened. The volume and pitch of the pony’s voice suggested she was young, but its raspiness made her almost sound like Granny Smith.
She shook her head, trying to get the hair out of her face. Once it was cleared, it revealed to the others in the room with her a pair of yellow eyes and a small, smiling mouth. After a few seconds, perhaps after her eyes focused, she jerked her head back slightly at the sight before her. “Woh! Who are you groovy chicks?”
“Hey! I’m not a chick!.” replied Spike, mildly upset at being confused for a girl.
The pony turned to look at Spike. “Oh hey little buddy! Didn’t see you there! Wow you’re like a little dragon or something. Far out!”
Pinkie Pie giggled. “‘Far out?’ ‘Groovy?’ How long have you been in there?”
The pony looked up at Pinkie, her smile now flattened. “Um...from where?”
“We found you in that giant test tube over there.” Twilight interjected.  
The pony turned around to look at her old chamber. “Test tube? Why would I be in there? How’d I get in there?” Her voice was gradually showing signs of nervousness, maybe even panic. She quickly whipped back around to face Twilight ‘How long have I been in there? Who put me in there? Did you put me in there?”
“Well,” answered Twilight, starting to become nervous herself “First of all, no I didn’t put you in there. We found you down here. We’re not going to hurt you. Now as far as how long you’ve been down here, I don’t really know. What’s the last thing you remember?”
The pony only grew more panicked. Her eyes started twitching back and forth, then after a few moments of silence, widened in sheer terror. “I don’t know! I don’t remember anything! Who am I? What is this place? Oh I’m freaking out now, mare. This is really weird. I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all!” The now horrified, trembling pony rushed toward Twilight and pressed her face against hers. “What happened to me?”
“Hey!” said Spike sternly, as he pushed the pony away from Twilight. “No one gets in Twilight’s face like that!”
“No. It’s okay.” Twilight said, a response intended to settle down both Spike and the new acquaintance. The pony’s eyes were still wide open with fear and staring straight at Twilight. Twilight was staring back at her, but her eyes were instead showing pity and empathy.
“Look,” Twilight began in a serious tone “I don’t know any more than you do right now and I know it must be scary not being able to remember anything, but we’ll figure it out, together.” Twilight placed her hoof on the pony’s shoulder. “We’re all here for you. Now I want you to take a deep breath and calm down.”
Still trembling, the pony obeyed. She closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath not unlike the one she took when she first awoke. Her shaking began to slow. She took a few additional deep breaths, then paused as if in deep thought. Her trembling had now stopped completely and after a few moments, she opened her eyes and met with those of her comforter.
“Wow. Thanks a lot, mare. What did the little guy call you again, Twilight?”
“Yup. I’m Twilight Sparkle. The, uh, little guy is my friend and assistant, Spike. And over there is Pinkie Pie.”
“Hi there!” Pinkie Pie interjected in her usual, bubbly fashion.
“Oh and don’t mind the two scary-looking guys behind us. They’re just looking after us.”
The pony let out a short, soft laugh. “Well, nice to meet you all. Sorry about my little freak-out. Um..I would tell you who I am, but um...well I still don’t remember anything.”
“Hmmm..” Twilight said with a contemplative look “I guess until we figure out what your real name is, we’re going to have to make one up.”
“Bushy Hooves!” Pinkie shouted out, obviously referring to her long, unkempt hair.
“Really?” replied Spike “I was thinking ‘Shaggy’”.
The pony remained silent, with a look on her face that implied a certain level of dislike.
Twilight looked at her and thought for a moment. “I know! Your long, green hair kind of makes you look like willow tree. Why don’t we call you..Willow?”
The pony’s mouth slowly reformed its small smile. “I can dig that. Sure.”
Then without warning she launched herself at Twilight and gave her a big, almost suffocating hug. “My name is Willow, and I love you!”
“Um...thanks.” Twilight said while gently pushing her away so she could resume breathing. 
“Oh. Sorry,” Willow apologized while stepping back from Twilight, realizing the stranglehold of her hug. “I got a little carried away there. I don’t remember anything about what happened before this, but I do remember that I’m all about peace, love and freedom. That’s what it’s all about, mare!”
Twilight let out a short laugh “Well, you’d fit right in in Ponyville then. We’re all about friendship and harmony.”
“Hmmm...that does sound pretty groovy. Is it far from here?”
“Not at all! After I’m done investigating this room, I would love for you to come with us if you want.”
“Well..I don’t know where I came from..but Ponyville sounds like a place I wanna go.”
“Great! And who knows, we may find something in this room that gives us a clue about your past.”
“Yeah...maybe” Willow said hopefully. “Well, let’s do it!”
Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike all cheered, Pinkie’s cheer of course being the loudest and punctuated by her jumping up and down.
They proceeded out the door of Willow’s small prison and into the main room, happy to have found a new friend in such an unlikely place. Twilight turned her head to one of the guards at the doorway. “The new one is Willow. She’s with us!”
Just as she said that, though, she heard a scream from behind her. She and the others turned around quickly to see the Willow shaking violently, her head facing down to the ground, her teeth clenched, and her entire mane standing up straight into the air like gigantic porcupine quills while rings of electricity flowed down from them.
Everybody stepped back while not taking her eyes off her. The guards’ eyes were especially focused, studying her for any opening they could use to subdue her.
Bolts of electricity poured down Willow like a waterfall of lightning. She continued to shake, and the look on her face indicated that she was in severe pain...
...then, all of sudden, it stopped.
Willow’s hair loosened fell back to a normal position, though now it was dry, frizzy and even more unkempt than before.
The others surrounded her, silently, with eyes open and jaws dropped. Finally, Willow let out a long gasp and Twilight spoke up.
“Uh...Willow?” Is all she could manage to get out as startled as she was.
“I...I’m cool.” Willow answered while still breathing heavily.
“What was that?” Pinkie Pie shouted.
“...not cool. That’s all I know.” answered Willow. Her tone was surprisingly calm considering what just happened, though there was no mistaking her displeasure.
“Are you going to be okay?” Twilight asked.
Willow took one more deep breath “Yeah. I’ll be alright. The bad vibes are gone.”
Twilight was so proud of herself for taking the risk of freeing Willow despite not knowing why she was in there. Now, however, she was beginning to wonder if she made the right choice. Perhaps there was something dangerous about her. She thought for a moment, and decided to think positively. After all, jumping to conclusions had gotten her in serious trouble in the past.
“...Maybe that was just a side effect of being in that tube with that chemical so long.” she offered as an explanation.
“Yeah...” Willow responded, “maybe...”.



	

        Chapter 4

The moment quickly diluted from terrifying to merely awkward, but the group’s gaze was focused on Willow and it was clear that everypony was still nervous. The guards’ facial expressions signaled to Twilight that they still viewed her newfound friend as a threat. Willow, however, looked more embarrassed than anything else. 
        In an attempt to get past this unpleasantness, Twilight timidly spoke up “Well, if you really think whatever that was is past now, would you like to help me investigate this room? I could definitely use some assistance.” 
        Willow slowly looked around the room. “Mare alive. Looks like you got your work cut out for you. This is one crazy room.” She paused, then continued “You know something though, mare? It feels like I’ve been here before.”
“It does? Great!”, Twilight replied hopefully, “Like I said maybe we’ll find more things in this place that will jog your memory.”
“That would be very cool.”, said Willow, obviously excited but still not leaving her mellow demeanor. 
Twilight turned to the others. “It’s a big place and I need all the help I can get. I could use all of your help, too.”
        This request was first met with silence, but it was quickly broken by a loud “Okey dokey!” from Pinkie Pie, who was now acting as if absolutely nothing unsettling just happened. 
        “Sure thing, Twilight”, Spike answered, perhaps less enthusiastically than Pinkie Pie but nonetheless genuine. “Uh...what do you want us to do?”
        “Hmmm...”, Twilight began, “Why don’t we split up and go down separate isles? Spike and I brought three suitcases so let’s split into three groups and each group take a suitcase. Take any object or book that looks like it could give us a clue about what this room is and what it was used for.”
        “Sounds good. So..who’s going with who?” Spike asked. 
It didn’t take long for Twilight to form the teams in her mind, “Why don’t you go with Pinkie down the aisle we got here from, Spike. The guards can take the aisle on the opposite wall, and Willow and I will start in the aisles in between.” 
        “Excuse me, Ms. Sparkle”, one of the guards spoke up, “but I think maybe Willow should stay with us. We’re not sure if she’s going to have another..outburst.”
        Just when Twilight thought she had gotten everypony’s mind off that incident, the guard brought it up again. It made her upset, but she realized that the guard had a point. Nopony knew what that “outburst” was about but it certainly seemed like it could be something very dangerous to everypony - or at the very least painful to Willow - if it happened again.
        Twilight sighed as she turned her head to face her. “Would you be okay with going with the guards instead, Willow? I just think it may be safer since...well, you know..”
        She was expecting resistance or at least disappointment, but Willow’s face slowly formed its tiny smile again “Not a problem, mare. I can handle these two cats.” 
        “Silly. Those are ponies, not cats!” Pinkie Pie interjected. 
        Surprised yet relieved by Willow’s attitude, Twilight announced her new arrangement “Great, then Willow will go with the guards. Spike, you’ll come with me.”
“Then what’s Pinkie going to do?” Spike asked.
“Pinkie, could you-” 
Twilight stopped herself mid-sentence as she turned her head and realized Pinkie was gone, as was one of the suitcases. Within seconds, she could hear various banging and shuffling noises coming from the aisle her and Spike had chased Pinkie down earlier, followed by the familiar sound of roller skates grinding against a stone floor. 
“I...guess she’s fine on her own.” said Twilight with some hesitation. 
“Well, I guess we better get truckin’, then.” Willow said as she picked up one of the two remaining suitcases with her teeth. 
“Okay. Good luck!” Twilight replied happily as her new long-haired friend and the guards turned and headed for other side of the room. 
        Spike was already picking up last suitcase as Twilight turned to him. “Ready?” 
        “Yup.”, Spike confirmed, “Let’s go!”
        Each of the groups went their separate ways, and as time went on it became obvious that each group was also using separate methods. Twilight’s method was quite ordinary, at least for her. Between flipping through the books on the shelves and sifting through the random junk on the floor, she felt like she was back at home studying while cleaning at the same time, something she did routinely. Spike apparently was in that routine as well and the two worked together like partners in a well-rehearsed ballet. They knew their roles inside-out and no communication was necessary. Consequently, their search through the mysterious room was orderly and quiet. 
        The same could not be said of the other two groups. Pinkie Pie was making so much noise that a blind pony would have mistaken the room for a fully operational factory. Between the grinding of her newfound roller skates, the clashing and banging of all the random odds and ends, and the rapid opening and closing of hardback books, Twilight was beginning to wonder whether Pinkie Pie was actually investigating the room or tuning up makeshift instruments for an impromptu musical number. Considering the fact that this was Pinkie Pie, the latter seemed much more likely.
        Twilight did not want to dwell for too long on what Pinkie Pie was up to, though. Past experience had taught her that it only makes a pony’s head hurt. What she was beginning to dwell on, though, were the sounds coming from the other side of the room where Willow and guards were. There was a lot of talking among them. Twilight could not make out what they were saying, but it sounded like a relaxed conversation, punctuated by occasional laughter. She was encouraged by this. Willow was being escorted by two hardened, indifferent soldiers who obviously saw her as a potential threat and Twilight had feared this would make for a very uncomfortable and tense situation. She was happy to hear them apparently getting along. 
        All the same, she hoped that their socializing would not distract them from the task at hand. If their side of the room was anything like the aisle she was in, however, it would not make much of a difference. For a room filled with so many books and so much junk, there was strangely little that was noteworthy. Most of the books were reference journals and how-to guides on various subjects, though much like the shelf she checked when she first entered the room, there was a strong emphasis on alchemy. Still Twilight did put a few books into the suitcase, particularly the ones that had writing in the margins. She figured that any writing the Professor himself made could help uncover what his plans were.
        A majority of the junk scattered everywhere appeared to be just that: junk. At this point, Twilight was convinced that most of it had the same purpose - or lack thereof - as the room’s bizarre paint job. Professor Voidsdale was a Discordian. He loved chaos, so he littered the floors with assorted garbage to make the room appear as random as possible. It was a tribute to the philosophy he followed, nothing more. Since he was an alchemist, though, Twilight suspected that the beakers may have had a more practical purpose, and she put a few of them in the suitcase, namely the ones that still had chemical residue on them.
        Eventually she and Spike made it to the end of their aisle and turned to walk down the adjacent one when they almost collided with Willow and the guards about to do the same. Twilight had noticed that their voices were growing louder and clearer, but she did not think they were that close to her position. “Oh, uh, hey! How’s the search going, guys?”, Twilight asked. 
        Willow and the guards had been laughing casually together about something. Willow stopped to address Twilight. “Woo-wee, what a long, strange trip it’s been. Have you seen some of this crazy stuff? I’ve seen everything here from toothpaste to barbwire. Like, was this a flee market or somethin’? We’ve mostly been gatherin’ toys. Sharpeye has a little one, ya’ know?”
“Uh...Sharpeye?” Twilight asked, confused.
“Oh,” Willow answered, “That’s this cat right here”, she explained as she pointed to the guard on her right. Sharpeye smiled and nodded. “Cat Number Two,” Willow continued now pointing at the other guard, “calls himself Javelin.” Javelin too acknowledged with a smile and a nod. Willow laughed, “I had a hard time looking they were cracking me up so good.” 
“Oh as if you weren’t cutting up too, little lady.” Javelin said in a playful tone.
“Yeah”, Sharpeye added, “I think I was the only one really working.”
“You’re a terrible liar.” rebutted Javelin.
Twilight had not even asked for the guards’ names let alone converse with she first met them. Seeing Willow warming up to them so quickly made her feel a little guilty, but not enough that she was not happy to see them laughing and smiling together. 
        She laughed at Javelin’s comment as she asked “Well, other than free toys for Sharpeye’s baby, did you guys find anything?”
        “I did”, Willow replied, “Check this out.” 
She pulled out of her suitcase what looked to be another large reference book, this one with a blue cover. When Twilight looked more closely at it though, she could see that it was well-worn, much more so than the other books she had collected. It looked like it had been used very heavily. More curious, though, was that the book had no title, neither on the cover nor the binding. Twilight used her horn to float the book over to herself and open it. The pages were all hoof-written, with a lot of scribbling in the margins and crudely-drawn diagrams. Twilight also noticed that every few pages there was a date written in the upper-left corner. 
“This-this looks like a journal!”, Twilight exclaimed excitedly, “Wow. That’s exactly what I was looking for! Great job, guys!”
The two guards suddenly assumed their formal, upright positions.
        “We are proud to serve.”, said Javelin.
        “You honor us with your praise.”, said Sharpeye
        “Uh...thanks?” said a confused Willow.
        “Well,” a delighted Twilight continued, “I guess we should each take a side of this aisle and get it done faster so can help Pinki-”
        “All done!”, shouted Pinkie Pie, who was suddenly right behind Twilight. 
        Everyone jumped, with Twilight almost being knocked to the ground again. Recovering from that initial shock, she was about to ask Pinkie how she managed to sneak up on them, but decided it may be best not to know. Instead, she inquired, “You..did your entire side already?”
        “Oh no. I did my entire side, the next row over and this aisle! We’re all done!”, Pinkie answered excitedly. 
        Twilight was skeptical, “This room has a total of five aisles. You mean you thoroughly went through three of them while the five of us only did two?”
        “Of course! I have roller skates!”. Pinkie Pie stood on one hoof and posed gymnast-style to show off her hoofwear. 
        While she had a good point, Twilight was unsatisfied with this explanation. “Well then, what did you find?”
        As Pinkie Pie started opening the suitcase that was on the floor next to her, Twilight’s imagination went wild thinking about what sort of items Pinkie Pie would take from a room like this. Would there be a rubber chicken, large novelty glasses, bunny ears, or perhaps a sock puppet or two? “Likely all of the above and more”, Twilight thought.
        However, when the suitcase was opened it was revealed to contain only two items: a thick, well-worn book and a large bottle filled with a mysterious liquid. Twilight maintained her composure but was secretly astonished at how... un-Pinkie these items were. She levitated the book over to herself for a closer look. She blew some of the dust off so she could better read the title on the cover. When she read it, her heart sank. Pinkie Pie had not disappointed after all. 
        It read “Cooking with Chaos: Discordian Delicacies”.
        Twilight sighed, “Pinkie, this looks like a cookbook.” 
        “Yup!”, Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “I’m going to show it to Mr. and Mrs. Cake. It’s got tons of dessert recipes, like this one!” She pulled the book out of the air, opened it to the page she wanted to show Twilight and put it back, all so swiftly that Twilight’s horn continued to levitate the book as if it had never moved. 
        Twilight looked at the recipe on the page. “Discordian Pie?”
        “It’s a pie that changes flavor every time you bite into it! So, like, the first bite may taste like cherries but then the second bite could be like pumpkin, and then the third bite like key lime! Oo! and then what if the next one was pecan, and the next one-”
        “I see”, Twilight interrupted as politely as she could. She quickly flipped through the rest of the book. She noticed that, much like the books she chose to put in her suitcase, the cookbook Pinkie found showed signs of heavy use and even had notes scribbled here and there on some of the pages. Perhaps this was not as useless of a find as Twilight first thought. Then there was that bottle with the strange substance in it...
        “So..what’s in there?”, Twilight asked Pinkie while looking at the object in question. 
        “Oh! A lot of the recipes said they needed something called turm oil.”, Pinkie explained, “I never heard of it before and I got worried that Mrs. Cake wouldn’t be able to make all these yummy treats if she didn’t have it so I went digging all around the place and finally I found this bottle under a pile of hacky sacks. It was right next to this one weird broomstick that had a stuffed pony head on it. I think it was supposed to be a toy, but it just looks creepy-”
        “I see.”, Twilight said, once again halting Pinkie’s excited ramble. “Honestly, though, I’ve never heard of turm oil either and I’m not sure what it does. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be putting in pony food.” 
        “But these desserts sound so amazing! And besides the Discoducks were using it!”, Pink Pie argued, possibly referring to the Discordians. “What if I taste-tested it first? I can be the guinea pink!” 
This suggestion was followed by a short pause where Twilight’s facial expression failed to change. Pinkie, in desperation, got on her knees and assumed a begging position at Twilight’s hooves. She then proceeded to look up at her with puppy-like eyes and cry “Pleeeeaaasssee....?”
Twilight sighed. She already had taken a serious risk earlier by releasing Willow. Did she really want to compound that by allowing Pinkie Pie to use this unknown chemical as a food ingredient? Then again, Willow so far had not been a problem, save for that strange incident she had earlier, and that happened before they had left the room so nopony was hurt.
“Wait.”, Twilight thought, “That’s it!”
She peered down at her groveling friend. “Okay. you can bring it with us on one condition.”
Pinkie quickly sprang up from her lowly position, nearly hitting Twilight in the jaw on her way up. “Hooray!”, She shouted like a philly on its way to an amusement park. Her enthusiasm was short-lived, however, as the second part of Twilight’s sentence settled into her brain. She became more sheepish as she asked “Um...what’s the condition?”
Twilight placed the book down and levitated the bottle of turm oil over to Pinkie. “You have to take a sip of it right now.”


	

Chapter 5

Spike, Willow, Javelin and Sharpeye, who had been watching this debate between Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle pan out from the sidelines, were now staring at Twilight in stunned silence. Spike looked especially shocked at her request. “Uh...Twilight?”, he asked timidly..
“We’re not sure what this turm oil stuff does”, Twilight explained, partially to Spike but more directly to Pinkie who she continued to fix her eyes on, “so if you’re going to try it out, I’d rather you do it here and now. That way the only ponies that can get hurt are us. “There’s a lot of strange chemicals in Equestria, especially in alchemy labs. You could end up breathing fire or shooting lightning out of your eyes or something.” 
Twilight meant what she said and was genuinely concerned about what effects turm oil could have on the pony that used it, or any nearby pony. Her real goal in insisting that Pinkie drink the substance immediately, however, had to do with giving Pinkie second thoughts about using an unknown chemical as a food ingredient. It was clearly an unwise idea but at the same time Twilight did not want to upset Pinkie by just saying “no”. She was hoping that by confronting Pinkie Pie she would simply change her mind. 
It appeared to be working, too. Pinkie seemed to be listening to Twilight’s argument intently and after she was done speaking, there was a long pause as if Pinkie was digesting what she had just been told. 
But then she broke the silence with a loud “Okay!”, and pulled the bottle out of the suitcase and popped the cork. 
Twilight, Spike and the guards gasped, backed away from Pinkie as quickly as possible. Willow attempted to follow suit, but only made it half as far as the others before she tripped over her own hair and fell to the ground. Even she joined the others, though, in staring back at Pinkie in horror as she lifted the bottle to her mouth.
Pinkie opened her mouth and took a big swig of the turm oil like it was a glass of the Apple family’s cider with a loud, thunderous gulp.
And then there was silence, a long anxious pause that neither Twilight nor the others were able to break. They were too scared. Pinkie was silent as well, but her eyes were closed, as if she was meditating on something.
Then suddenly, the silence was broken as Pinkie Pie opened her eyes, licked her lips and declared, “Mmm! Cherry!”. She rushed over to Twilight and shoved the bottle in her face. “You gotta try this! It’s delicious!”
Twilight flinched at this offer. She was relieved that nothing happened to Pinkie Pie - at least not immediately - but she wasn’t convinced turm oil was safe for consumption and she was definitely upset over Pinkie’s reckless behavior. Still, her fear and shock had subsided enough that she had the nerve to push back. Her horn lit up and her magic swiped the bottle from Pinkie. Twilight placed the bottle behind herself as she stood up to look Pinkie Pie in the eyes. “Pinkie, just because something tastes good doesn’t mean it’s good for you.”, she said to her sternly, “You may have just made yourself sick.”
“But.. I feel fine.”, rebutted Pinkie plainly. 
“That doesn’t mean it won’t make you feel bad later.”, Twilight argued, “You may not feel the effects for a while. And even if nothing happens to you, that doesn’t mean it won’t do something bad to another pony. We don’t know what’s in that stuff.”
“Yes we do!” Pinkie argued back. She reached for the cookbook, turned to one of the first pages, and held it up to Twilight’s face. 
Twilight’s horn picked up the book and repositioned it slightly. The page explained the recipe for making turm oil, including all its ingredients. To Twilight’s surprise, she recognized all of them. There were no foreign chemicals or unknown elements. All of the ingredients were common, over-the-counter products that could be easily bought from any grocery store at the Ponyville marketplace.
“This-this is a completely normal drink!” Twilight said in astonishment. She closed the book and gave it back to Pinkie, though with a suspicious look on her face. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
Pinkie paused for a moment, then said, “Hmm...I don’t know!”, and smiled.
Twilight put her hoof to her head in disgust. 
“Well, since it’s safe,” Javelin spoke up, “mind if I try some?”
“Sure!”, agreed Pinkie, “Just leave enough that I can show Mrs. Cake!”
Javelin walked over, picked up the bottle and took a short drink. After drinking so, however, he seemed more confused than delighted. “Um...that’s not cherry, that’s orange-flavor.” 
“Really?”, asked Pinkie, “Let me try again.”. Javelin handed her the bottle and she took another sip. “Well, it’s looks like I was mistaken. That’s actually grape.”
“Hey wait a minute.”, Spike interjected. “Let me try some.”
Spike took the bottle and drank some. He shrugged, “It tastes like Strawberry to me.”
Without saying speaking, Sharpeye walked over and gestured to Spike to hand him the bottle. Spike obliged and Sharpeye tried the drink for himself. His expression after doing so looked more confused than Javelin’s “...Chocolate?”
Twilight’s curiosity was beginning to get the better of her. She motioned to Sharpeye to give her the bottle next. Doing what moments ago she had no intention of doing, she took a sip of the strange concoction. It was definitely an oil, viscous and thick, but the flavor itself was more reminiscent of a certain normal beverage, “Lemonade.” Twilight said surprised, “Wow. That’s actually pretty amazing! Who knew something with such basic ingredients could actually change flavor like that?”
“Now don’t you think it would make a really fun dessert?” Pinkie asked Twilight.
“Yeah,” Twilight said smiling for the first time in a while, “Yeah I think so!”
“Hey!”, a raspy voice interjected, “What does the new chick have to do to get a swig of the wonder juice?” 
“Oh, sorry Willow,”, Twilight apologized, “Here!”
“Just not too much, okay? It’s already getting low.”, Pinkie advised.
“No problem, funny mare.” Willow replied as she took the bottle from Twilight. 
Willow lifted the bottle and tried to take a sip, but as soon as the liquid reached her tongue, she spat it out, and violently. She continued to spit and cough as if she had just tried to drink the entire bottle in one gulp. The others backed away from her to avoid the spray. Even after she finished spitting, she still panted heavily and hung her tongue out like a dog. 
“Mare, that wath not funny.”, Willow said with a lisp that suggested her tongue was now incapacitated. 
“What happened, Willow? Did your flavor taste bad?” asked a concerned Twilight. 
“Yeth I did”, Willow replied disgruntled, “Thince when ith it a nithe thing to pway a twick on thomepony you juth met?” 
Spike was covering his mouth, obviously trying not to burst out laughing at Willow’s new impediment.  
The other were amused as well and even Twilight herself was having trouble keeping a straight face, but she managed to maintain her composure. “No one was trying to trick you, Willow. We seriously all tasted something different.”
“I can confirm there was joke intended, miss Willow”. Javelin said confidently. 
“Copy that.” said Sharpeye.
“Maybe you just got a bad flavor.” Pinkie Pie suggested. “Wanna try it again?”
Willows tongue slowly retracted back in mouth and she swallowed. “No way, mare. I’m done with that stuff.”
“Hmmm...maybe you’re allergic or something.”, Twilight proposed.
“Yeah...” Willow responded, “maybe...”.