While hiding from her sister's latest attempt to smarten her up, Sweetie Belle joins Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo at Ponyville's local river to have fun in the cool water. Together, they come up with a silly story explaining the origin of the infamous "Beauty Curse", a blight Rarity apparently suffers from.

Even chaos had to spawn from somewhere.

Preread by RTStephens.

This story is a sequel to Passion and Reason

There comes a point in your life when you finally become aware of the road you're walking down, and where that road takes you. Where you realize the whole way's been mapped out for you in advance, and you never questioned it before. The moment where you first have to ask if you're okay with that.

Spike and Applebloom just want to pull over for a bit and get wasted.

I have lived my entire life among the ice at the top of the world with my pod. I knew little of the world outside of the ways of We of the Sea, and as a filly, that suited me just fine. But one day, the steel whales came, and on their backs, they carried creatures not unlike myself, yet wholly different. For while I swam in the sea, they walked on the land and flew through the air. Yet they reminded me of my kind, so curious, so tragic, and so infinitely precious. Where they did not understand, they sought to learn with a foolish stubbornness. Where they wandered far from home, they extended their hooves in friendship.

Where they waged their wars, they fought with a violent savagery that was frightening to me.

As I held a dear friend close, the breath fleeing from his body, I only wanted to know one thing.

Why?

Cover art and inspiration by JhonnyRebel. Pre-reading provided by djthomp.

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Russian translation of this story can be found here, courtesy of NovemberDragon!

Pinkie Pie preemptively apologizes to Twilight: she's going to ruin their friendship.

Twilight agrees.

Pinkie suits her better as a girlfriend anyway.