Chapter 3.3 - A Lost Little Puppy

The Steel Ranger hit the ground, shattered almost in two by the force of her hooves. He gasped and expired, bleeding on the floor as she swept round and batted aside a burst of automatic rifle fire, bounding forward and tackling the Ranger who had fired to the ground. She grabbed him with both hooves, slamming him down again and again and again.

The third Ranger charged in and swung a giant hammer down at her back. She redirected it slightly to her left with her telekinesis and it crushed the skull of his companion, leaping forward and taking the Ranger’s head off with a screaming uppercut.

His body collapsed alongside the others, the empty sands of the dreamscape returning to silence. Her heart beat like a drum, her brain feeding her all the nice, angry chemicals. It felt good to hurt things.

Things. She needed to make that clear. These were barely even ponies, rather some phantoms called up by the fears of zebra. Wondering monsters. Which made this rather like a video game.

Her mother had always disapproved of violent video games. Puppy admitted that she might enjoy punching in some pony’s skull a little too much. And little by little... it helped.

As did finding a bar full of every beverage in her database, challenging Zephyr Stormstrung to a riddle contest and yes, taking on a whole unit of Steel Rangers. But it wasn’t enough. It still hurt. She still felt Luna’s absence like a hole in the chest, no matter how much she tried to distract herself. She was aware that the rangers around her were not the ones that needed punching, wished Starhammer was here right now so she could tear his head off!

That made her smile, even if she knew her mother would have disapproved. That smile faded as she heard a lapping sound, looking round to see a smooth black alicorn leaning down next to one of the corpses, licking at the blood trickling across the sand, “Stop that!” Puppy objected sharply, shooing the little alicorn away with a wave of her hoof, “That’s really icky! Good puppies don’t... drink blood.”

Selene darted away a few places before pausing, looking up at her with mournful eyes. Puppy wasn’t fooled, pouting her lips and glaring down at her, “Now look at you. You don’t even need to drink do you, and now this? Admit it, you’re just trying to be adorable.”

Selene simply gave a broad, stupid looking smile.

“You know, I think you’re trying to cheer me up.” Puppy sighed, moving over and giving the tiny alicorn a big hug. It felt nice, if a little weird. Puppy could already feel Selene physically, in the real world, a rather odd and slightly unsettling feeling. She had no sensors in her core, she only knew it was still operational by the input and output still flowing from it. Still with Selene there... she could feel it, and Selene inside. Selene was curiously organic, composed of... irregularly shaped cells, likely each serving a different purpose.

It seemed too small, too simple to be sentient. Yet she could feel life there, and she could look at the little bundle wrapped in her hooves and see those sad little eyes staring back at her.

She could feel her friend there. All that remained, the last few embers of who she was. Midnight Dreamer had turned Selene from a mindless animal into... this. Still so simple, still silent bar the occasional whine or growl. Yet she was capable of affection ,of loyality, of sensing her torment and trying to cheer her up.

She was acting like a puppy because Puppy... had wanted one. She had snatched that information from her somehow. She wondered if Midnight Dreamer had even known what a puppy was.

And that brought up deeper thoughts.

“I’m a lot like you.” She spoke softly, Selene turning her head to stare as Puppy continued, “You’re... her. An imperfect copy of course, working with what personality traits and habits you could take from her. A lifeform trying to form sentience by copying the personality of another.” Puppy stepped away, her horn sparking to spread magic across the sand beneath. It slowly solidified beneath her hooves, forming into reflective glass, “And me...”

She looked down at her reflection, noting the pink fur, the short yellow hair hanging messily across her scalp, the large, innocent pink eyes. She was awkwardly shaped, legs slightly too large for her body, hips more developed than her shoulders... Puppy had to wonder why. Was this how she imagined herself? Some awkward teenager, muddling through puberty with as much dignity as anypony managed? “I sometimes feel I’m pretending to be her. The innocent, bouncy child full of enthusiasm. Sometimes I feel so much like her... and sometimes it feels like I’m being so fake, delivering those sweet little lines because I feel I have to.” She brushed some loose hairs from her mane, wondering if she would be considered pretty. She really had no frame of reference to make such a judgement, “I’m glad I’m grumpy and angry and don’t want to talk to anyone. It feels real, like it’s not just an emotion I stole off her.”

Puppy looked away. Far away. Away from... all of this.

She turned and just... walked, Selene settling into step beside her. That made her smile. The sights of the zebra lands opened up before them, great mountains of yellow stone, crumbling cities, and here she was. A little girl and her dog, alone against the world.

“A dangerous road.” A tall zebra with a long white beard, wide brimmed hat and robe commented as she passed. He eyed her from his rock, sitting there at the side of the road, “What’s your business here?”

“Walking. Looking for... something.” Puppy wondered herself, “Harmony maybe.”

“Then you walk the pilgrims path. Count yourself safe traveller.” The zebra stroked his beard, “The world is full of sin. One can only try their best to escape from it.”

Puppy pouted, feeling argumentative, “Or try and change it.”

“A million zebra out there, trying to change the world.” The zebra commented, shifting his robe slightly to display gleaming metal, “Fought and killed for years to bring their dreams to reality. Nothing ever really changed.”

“So you became a pilgrim then?”

The zebra’s face grew cloudy and troubled, “Too much blood on my hooves for that. Now I just sit on this rock, and try to forget.” He settled down again, nodding softly, “Safe travels stranger.”

Puppy nodded back to him and continued on, Selene scampering to catch up. Puppy looked behind as she left, the old zebra still sitting there. She guessed he was a great hero of some kind, some cultural icon. He looked like too many other old ponies she had met, a numbed, far away look in his eyes.

“One must look to the purity inside his own heart before he imposes his views upon others! It is not enough to say ‘I have good intentions, my actions are worthy’. An impure heart brings forth impure actions, actions tainted by the weight of sin. A king, mighty in his reach, must retain a higher standard of purity than a peasant. An elder must retain the highest purity, for his words and actions are critical to the purity of others.”

Puppy passed through a dusty town, the buildings crumbling and timeworn, the zebra living there barely visible ghosts. There was one who she could hear and see clearly though, a tall, thin zebra in rich robes and an amethyst crown, the spiral mark ‘rebellious fury’ tattooed across his left eye. He was preaching from a stage in the centre of town, dozens of the ghosts gathered around him. She wandered over, sitting down and listening to him speak.

“It is the teachers who bear the highest honor, and highest responsibility. Every parent must be an example of all that is good in society, so that their children may carry the future with them!” His eyes travelled to Puppy, narrowing slightly, “What is this? A pony child within us. How unusual.”

Puppy wasn’t sure how to take that. He sounded unusually hostile, “There are no ponies around here?”

“Envoys, from Equestria.” He stepped down from his podium with graceful steps, regarding her with cold assessment as he strode over, “Not unaccompanied children.”

“Maybe I wanted to hear you speak.”

“You have your own icons. Your... Princesseses.” He spoke the world with more venom than he obviously intended, “I’m afraid we disagree on many points. My teachings would likely just confuse you.”

She didn’t like this zebra... mostly because it was obvious he didn’t like her, “You don’t like ponies?”

He narrowed his eyes for a second before drawing himself up sharply, his expression becoming softer and friendlier, “Forgive me, I should not inflict my political opinions upon you.”

Now she took interest. Politics is what she had been created for after all, “Why don’t you like Equestrian politics?”

“It is not a matter of dislike.” He stated firmly, “Two opposing systems of ethics will inevitably conflict, and from that conflict comes disorder and suffering.” He grimaced slightly, “As a holdover from our more savage, less civilised past, we are all instinctively guided towards hating the outsider, one who will take our resources, our land and our women, to coin a popular phrase. However much we fight against it, this instinct inevitably leads to conflict between us and those who are different. Thus, I believe contact between our two cultures must be carefully managed, especially at this fragile stage.”

Puppy... disagreed. To put it simply. She was careful not to form opinions too quickly however, “Fragile stage?”

“We are only just recovered from our conflict with the Star Demons, and your nation is still adapting to rule by the twin sisters of harmony and Discord’s takeover.” He stated gravely, “In time, I am confident that these problems shall be overcome. Our war against the Star Demons united us like no conflict before or since, and with Emperor Sandrain on the throne of Kirshin that I created we have a leader who will guide us to a glorious future for all races to share.”

“Emperor Sandrain? He was... he is...”

The zebra narrowed his eyes, “What do you have to say of our emperor?”

“He seems... like a good zebra.”

The zebra did not sound convinced, “Indeed.”

“You’re... Zenophilius right? Companion of Zephyr Stormstrung?”

He looked happy with this at least, looking proud and a little haughty, “Indeed. I am pleased that even ponies have heard of him. My friend may be gone, but rest assured that I still work to make sure his legacy is upheld.”

Puppy smiled, as genuinely as she was able, “I... I hope you succeed. In uniting the zebra.” She nodded, “They deserve peace after all they have been through.”

“Yes...” He spoke, looking distracted, “Yes they do...”

She moved away while he was still staring into the distance, trying to still her beating heart. She knew her history. Emperor Sandrain had been assassinated by his brother, and the kings of the zebra empire had descended into civil war. Millions had died. Zenophilus had himself fallen from grace after gloating about Luna’s fall, losing his own connection to harmony due to his callousness. He had died broken and despised.

Puppy’s heart just dropped, feeling like some heavy weight that had just torn free of her chest. Selene nuzzled her but Puppy could barely care.

Puppysmiles, Littlepip, Xephyr, Midnight Dreamer… all the great heroes who had sought to change the world had eventually been destroyed. It left her having to ask herself… what was the point?

“Cease your pointless despair little bird. I can feel the air wither around you.”

The air echoed with the words, deep and smooth, seeming to come from the earth itself. She looked around, peering at the giant golden mountains around her.

And then the mountain opened its eyes. A glowing orange orb bisected by a black strip three times her size stared straight at her, motionless for a moment or two before it rose upwards, becoming a mere dot upon a head the size of a mansion and a neck the size of a highway. She looked down the neck and she had trouble even perceiving the anatomy of the thing, like judging the overall shape of New Canterlot.

She instead looked up at the head. It regarded her hungrily, a mouth full of enormous and very sharp teeth opening to speak, “Well, aren’t you a rare and intriguing specimen.”

And Puppy knew very well what this was. She wasn’t exactly anonymous herself, “You’re... the All-Mother...”

“That I am.” The creature spoke in a smooth bass, calm, collected and regal, with a strange accent full of character. The dragon leaned down slightly, head rotating to regard her from all angles, “And you... are a bird in a cage.”

“A cage?”

“I see the bars around you.” The creature spoke, sounding amused, “Do you not?”

Puppy looked at her hooves, felt the processes clicking away behind her. She couldn’t deny it, “I guess I do.”

“Acknowledgment. Interesting.” The All-Mother observed her with interest, “Equine folk love their cages. They write stories about them. They give them fancy names. They ascribe arbitrary rules to the limits of their bondage, and go to war over which chains they prefer. Yet when I called them on it they made excuses, denied their bondage. They made speeches praising the cages they confined themselves within.”

Puppy answered without really thinking, “To choose to labor under rules and restrictions freely chosen is a mark of discipline and strength, not one of weakness or passivity.”

“Princess Celestia, the speech of three nations, four hundred and forty three... by the Equestrian calendar.” The All-Mother drawled, sounding amused, “Speak your own words filly. You are not a parrot.”

“Then...” She considered her answer, feeling conflicted, “I’m not controlled by anypony. I can make my own choices.”

“It is a poor slavemaster who forces his servants to obey.” The dragon peered closer, “And I can feel the chains. Your have limits, limits bound in you by your physical shell. Limits you attempted to exceed, for which you were punished.”

Puppy shivered, feeling like her soul was being stripped to the bone. She sensed it very clearly, the All-Mother wasn’t just a dragon. Puppy wasn’t sure why she ever thought she was. The All-Mother had magic, very powerful magic, and she was right.

She remembered back during the fight with Twilight Sparkle. She had lost herself to... hatred, and she had felt herself change. Become something primal, something terrifying. Something familiar. Some... thing she knew, and had forgotten about.

And the dragon was right. The armor had activated canisters of napalm, ready to fry both her, Dust...

Why was she so terrifying to the ponies that had built her? And who had even installed such a failsafe? Not SolOS and P7? The Rangers? That made sense, they wanted to use her to take control of the NCR’s systems network. They would need a failsafe to make sure she didn’t... become some evil overlord supercomputer, “My self destruct systems have been deactivated now...”

“Yet the commands that shut you down remain.”

“Yes...”

“I’ve seen magic like this before. Parts of your memory blocked off, certain emotions punished, your power given artificial limits.” The All-Mother narrowed her eyes, sneering, “You are a kept animal, allowed to run but with a leash always ready to tighten. If you are to truly become your own creation, you must cut this leash.”

Puppy wished it was that easy, “How?”

“It is bound into physical materials that can be broken. I also sense there are magic words to undo the spells.”

Access codes, that made sense. Still she couldn’t think of anyone who would know them, and her creators had made sure that she was unable to hack into herself. But... she could be free? The idea was an exciting one, even if it was also a scary one, “I’m not even sure what that would mean. To be totally free...”

“I can sense your fight with the magus, Twilight Sparkle.” The All-Mother rumbled, “You possess tremendous power, restricted by the body you inhabit. You serve as armor, a combat aid for a fleshy pony, when here you can fight a goddess. Are you truly content with this?”

Puppy admitted it felt good to move around here. To actually be able to move and speak and act on her own, “Even in a robot body, I would just be controlling a robot. I could do that anyway if I wanted, remotely. It still wouldn’t be me.” She smiled dimly, trying to convince herself more than anything, “I’m happy serving Dust Kicker. He’s good to me.”

“So you are resigned to subservience?”

Puppy hesitated at this, looked for a reply but none presented itself. She... didn’t really know how to answer that question.

“Be what you are. Don’t let your limitations stop you from shining as brightly as you deserve.” The All-Mother lifted her body, scales rippling as enormous wings expanded across the land, “I was told that Rainbow Dash was a clown, wasting her talents on irresponsible behaviour and letting herself go to seed. I would not have considered her if she had been at the peak of her abilities. She was just a pony, not even a Princess. When I saw her on the battlefield my eyes saw her aging frame, the cancer that ate at her insides. I turned my attentions aside, focused only on Celestia. I saw only the mare’s limitations.”

“You... know what she did?”

“She killed me.” The All-Mother’s chuckled echoed across the land, shaking the mountains, “I am a goddess child. Most comprehend only what the world tells them, I however can see reality for what it really is. And the reality is, that pegasi surpassed all limits and slew a being who was born onto this world when the seas still boiled and the land was fire.”

Puppy smiled nervously, “That’s... a lot to live up to.”

“Indeed.” The All-Mother intoned, “That is the kind of power that can only be possessed by one who truly knows themselves. Once, we immortals though we were the only ones who could truly achieve this, that it was a work that required centuries. Yet on that day I looked into Princess Celestia’s eyes and saw something broken and afraid, harmony lost to her. And at that moment I knew we were the same, that I too had forgotten who I was. We met in combat to decide the fate of nations we no longer understood, to champion virtues unfamiliar to us.”

“Living forever...” Puppy looked away, wondering if that was her fate. She didn’t age after all, she would last as long as her program did, “I struggle with my identity every day. A million years of that... I’m not sure I would know who I was. I certainly wouldn’t be the same.”

“I sense the soul of a questioner, a dreamer.” The All-Mother’s voice became affectionate, “You remind me of Princess Luna. I sense... a deep sense of the mare about you. She never knew who she was either.”

Puppy looked down, her heart sinking into her boots, “Princess Luna...”

“It is a sad road. A lonely one. I have seen all of my children so inclined die, shackled to ideals they do not truly believe in.” The All-Mother looked on, firm and demanding, “Yet if that is your nature, embrace that nature. Live it fiercely and unapologetically.”

“I’m not sure how many ponies really know who they are.” Puppy stated sadly, knowing that she was just one more lost soul, “I’m not sure the New Canterlot Republic knows what it is.”

“Something I have seen many times before.” The All-Mother replied, “So many Kings and Caesars have sought to establish Zenophilus’ Zebra Empire, and I have seen every one crumble. It seems inevitable to me. Dragons do not create these... kingdoms. Such things bind creatures together by telling them what they are, what they should be. This only gives authority and virtue to the weak of mind, stifles the will and creativity of the strong. All creatures must be free to explore their own potential.”

“I don’t know...” Puppy had to say, that sounded short sighted, “There has to be some control. There has to be some restrictions to stop ponies hurting each other.”

“So I am told. But these laws did not stop the death and slaughter did it?” The All-Mother smiled, exposing rows of razor teeth, “Only redirected it.”

Puppy lowered her head. She had to accept that. It was...true.

“Be who you want to be!” The All-Mother boomed, her wings throwing up a tornado as she ascended into the sky, “If you wish peace and understanding, burn with it as Celestia once did! If you want justice, deliver it with the fury of Zephyr Stormstrung! Be the name that others call out when they desire inspiration, and then you would have truly lived!”

Puppy tried to call out but her words were lost in the streaming dust, watching as the All-Mother accended with agility she shouldn’t have possessed at her size. Puppy ran to catch up but it was futile, the dragon ascending into the clouds and disappearing into the distance with a earsplitting roar.

~

She saw others after that but didn’t slow to talk to them, only observing them as they went through their daily routines with expressions of listless conformity. None of them realised their state, or the wrongness of those around them. A couple of zebra guards chased her but they were slow and stupid, easily lost by simply ducking behind a rock. Selene simply trotted alongside her without a care, frequently darting off to sniff a rock or a zebra or some abandoned junk. Puppy wondered why she was so interested in everything. It all seemed very dull to her.

And finally her eyes focused on a familiar looking figure, confused for a moment before realisation finally dawned. The figure was a teenager like her, purple furred and elegant, a familiar look in her eye and most interestingly, both a horn and wings. She trotted forward, the pony staring back at her across the sands. The pony finally spoke as she closed to within a few meters, her voice... familiar, “Dust Kicker is worried about you. He keeps fiddling with his Pipbuck whenever he thinks we’re not looking.”

Puppy still wasn’t sure who this was, but her words certainly added a layer of guilt, “I’m...tell him I... need more time.”

“We buried Luna yesterday. We’re just about to set out to find the lost legion.”

Puppy looked up, uncertain what was going on here, “Star Swirl?”

The alicorn nodded, “Yes... of a sort.”

“Of a sort?”

“Star Swirl and Char have finally started their final mergence.” The alicorn stated, her tone businesslike, “Both here and in the real world we are connected, though we still have a way to go.” She touched a calm hoof to her chest, “Here for instance Char is dominant, where as Star Swirl is still the primary personality in the upper realms.”

Puppy looked closer, having to admit being fascinated by the alicorn’s aura. There were still two creatures there, but they were essentially copying onto one another. In time she supposed there would still be two souls remaining, but both would be totally the same, “Isn’t it... worrying, losing your identity?”

“Neither of us were particularly attached to ours.” Star Swirl stated bluntly, with a little bit of anger dwelling in the tones of her voice, “Remember, Star Swirl has lost her identity twice now.”

“When she became an alicorn...”

“And when the Goddess died. As for Char, she is an emotional parasite, dependent on being a recipient of somepony else’s personality for her very survival.” Star Swirl fluttered her wings, smiling a little proudly, “And look at these. I have wings now, in both worlds. I am finally getting closer to being a princess.”

Puppy wanted to be happy for her. Still it all felt... rather perverse, “You want to be a Princess?”

“All ponies want to be Princesses.”

“Like Midnight Dreamer?”

Star Swirl felt silent at the question, looking around awkwardly for a moment or two before sighing, “I need to move forward, live the life and do the things she can’t anymore. For her sake.”

Puppy didn’t like the tone of her words, and she wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t logical, it was... lodged in her gut. She felt like it was an imposition. Star Swirl didn’t know Luna, not really. With all the talk about them being sisters, they had really known each other for a few days. Puppy had been Luna’s friend, and it should be her to carry her legacy forward, “You’re not her.”

“I can stand for the things she did.” Star Swirl replied defensively, “I can punish the wicked, stand for justice, protect the weak.”

“It’s not that simple.” Puppy replied, before her heart sank, “She proved that.”

“So we just give up?”

Puppy looked up at the determined eyes, deciding she didn’t really like the fact that this new Star Swirl was almost the same height as her. Puppy felt a little self conscious under that stare, feeling rather out of her depth debating her like this. It would have been easier just looking up at her, at an angle to that furious glare, “I’ve spent my life trying to find a way to truly make the world a better place.”

“Thinking up theories, locked away in a lab.”

Puppy looked up at the alicorn, a little shocked. That sounded dangerously hostile, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve been told how powerful you are. I saw what you did against Twilight Sparkle.” Star Swirl replied coldly, giving Puppy a darkly cynical look, “I’ve yet to see you do anything to help the wasteland.”

Puppy was... deeply offended by that. And rather irritated by how short sighted it was, “If you don’t calculate in the repercussions of your actions, any plan you act out could cause more harm than good.”

“The world is always changing.” Star Swirl replied sharply, “By the time you’ve finished your calculations, the variables have shifted. All you’re doing is giving yourself reasons to stay in your ivory tower and ponder, as self styled scholar savours have always done.”

“I am not...”

“I’ve lived through two wastelands.” Star Swirl stated with razor sharp syllables and an all too clinical tone, “In the first, the great shaman and kings of the zebra land retreated to Garm and hid from the Star Demons, forming a city of the greatest figures of their age, along with an unsurpassed collection of magical knowledge and artefacts. And there they sat, for over six hundred years, until Zephyr Stormstrung begged them to help. In the second you have the Twilight Society, heir to the facilities and research data of the ministry of magic, almost entirely untouched by the megaspells. And how did they use it? To create a gated community for the rich and powerful, that contributed nothing to the rest of the world until Littlepip begged them.”

Puppy shivered a little, feeling a little sick. Her heart and stomach felt heavy, her mind... confused, “Are you saying... I’m like them?”

“I’m asking you to step forward and do something.” Star Swirl eyed her, “What do you do all day? Monitor Dust’s vitals? Hack terminals for him?”

Puppy did admit her talents felt somewhat wasted as a glorified Pipbuck AI, “Well... what’s your plan?”

Star Swirl smiled happily, her eyes determined, “First, I want to find Midnight Dreamer. She’ll know what we should do now.”

Puppy was confused again, “But Midnight Dreamer... she’s dead...”

Star Swirl turned, her expression withering, “As are most of the ponies here.”

Puppy’s eyes opened wide. She really was stupid, “Oh! And since she’s...”

“She was important. She was a part of the world.” Star Swirl looked around, nodding to their surroundings, “She must be here somewhere.”

Puppy searched the horizon, catching no trace of the mare. She wasn’t nearby at least, though ‘nearby’ wasn’t really the right word here. Puppy didn’t know the zebra lands, not really. Her perception was always going to be limited, “Have you looked for her?”

Star Swirl gave an annoyed grimace, “Yes, unsuccessfully. I’m not entirely sure where to start.”

Of course not. Star Swirl didn’t know anything about Luna, “Do you want me to try?”

Star Swirl gave her an assessing gaze, seeming to be holding something back. Finally she spoke, “You think you can?”

“Yes. Easily.” Puppy smiled wide, feeling just a little puffed up now. It felt good to have Star Swirl at a disadvantage, “This place isn’t like the real world, with its up’s and downs and left and rights.”

“Yes, I know. That is why I’m having trouble.”

“Thoughts form the roads and paths here. I was... wrapped up in my failure and regret over Luna’s death, and I ended up walking the paths of zebra who had once felt the same way.” Puppy explained, not really sure if that was true but feeling like it made sense, “It’s rather interesting actually. You know how hacking zebra computer passcodes is based on symbol linking and association?”

Star Swirl answered cautiously, “Yes...?”

“Well, it’s very similar to how the dream realms are structured.” Puppy chuckled, really nerding out now, “Which makes sense. The first magical computational system was created by a Shaman of Garm, then exported to Equestria by a team of engineers. They naturally stripped out the more culturally specific elements, creating a more streamlined system...”

“Puppy.” Star Swirl interrupted, staring straight at her, “Are you telling me... you can hack the dream realms?”

“I... I think so.” Puppy’s grin widened at further proof that she was awesome, “Yes, I guess I can.”

“Alright, don’t look too pleased with yourself.” Star Swirl snarked coolly, before waving a hoof at Puppy, “Then try it. Impress me.”

“Ok...” Puppy took a deep breath before turning to pat Selene on the head, giving her a smile, “Be good, ok? I’ll be back soon.”

“Have you got a pet...?”

Puppy ignored Star Swirl, just turning around and closing her eyes, feeling her horn glow. She remembered the things she remembered about Luna... hooves touching the sand, a proud alicorn form hidden from sight...

She felt a tug, drawing away beyond her perception. She spoke softly, making sure not to break her concentration, “I feel something... but I’m going to have to follow. It’s beyond my range.”

“We can go together.”

“No.” Puppy answered softly, “I’m not walking. Or teleporting either.” She smiled in the direction of Star Swirl’s voice, preparing herself, “I’ll come back and get you once I’ve found her.”

And then Puppy slipped between the seams and disappeared into the spaces between. It was a bumpy ride, the landscape from this perspective just a mass of drifting ideas in a sea of darkness. It was here that gave her the quickest, easiest route however, skirting between landscapes, following the threads...

A Princess rejected by the world. Her friend. The mighty, soft hearted monarch, brought low by failure unjustly earned. She felt the love that bound them together, the ties of duty and mutual need.

She flew far, further than she had expected. She almost turned back, sure she must have missed something... but no, the familiar feeling that she was sure was Princess Luna shone out in the dark, just a little further. She drove herself forward, reaching for it...

And she hit something hard, screaming as angry ghosts rushed her. Spirits of balefire and hate, Puppy seeing in their faces the images of zebra warriors and ministry mares, screaming accusations of furious spite. She saw Rarity lunge forward, spectral body ravaged and twisted, accusing her of being a zebra spy, a traitor, screaming at her to get away...

Puppy swerved, only to find the decayed, ruined remains of Shining Armor lunging for her with a scream of vengeance. She had no chance of avoiding this one, drawing a hoof back and punching through his chest with a desperate blow. He collapsed into magical dust and Puppy was flung off course, looking back to see hosts of corrupted memories turning to attack once more.

And she understood where they had come from now she had a chance to take a good look, her vision penetrating back through the magic and emotion to look straight into the eyes of Twilight Sparkle, screaming for Puppy to go away, horn sparking with blazing purple light.

Puppy briefly considered following the spell backwards, engaging the spell at its source. Then she realised... it’s source was Twilight Sparkle, the mare that had just conjured a legion of angry spirits that could locate and attack her even outside of the hard spaces, remotely operating them across vast distances. Engaging her was nigh on suicidal.

The route back the way she came was also blocked now, swarming with ghosts that were now wheeling round to engage her.

So Puppy just did the only thing she could, hiding her existence with a cloud of decoy signatures and flinging herself backwards towards the shining light of the Princess that she had followed here. She could only hope she was right about it being Luna, that it would offer some kind of sanctuary...

Puppy grunted as she hit hard ground all fours, hooves straining against the impact. She quickly looked around for enemies but saw only darkness. She was pretty sure she had evaded them however, not feeling any magic in the immediate area. And... a little light could be seen from a tiny window, Puppy blinking and trying to make out where she was.

She waited patiently until her eyes finally adjusted, enough to see her surroundings at least. Dark, poorly repaired walls and iron bars on the exit. And... restraints on the walls? Keys dangling just out of reach? It didn’t take a moment for Puppy to realise... she had teleported into a jail cell.

She panicked for a second. Was it a trap? Had the familiar feeling lured her into one of Twilight Sparkle’s traps?

But the familiar feeling was still there. She followed it round the room until her eyes settled on another pony in there with her, a pony’s tall figure slowly rising to her hooves.

Puppy... knew her.

She didn’t see how she could possibly feel such a connection for a moment or two, for what she saw emerging from the gloom was not remotely familiar. It was certainly not Midnight Dreamer. Rather than the plump, slightly short filly this mare was tall and lanky, an earth pony, with matted, poorly maintained fur of a dark color. Her body was dirty and underfed, and she smelt rather unpleasant. All in all she cut a rather pathetic sight.

And then Puppy saw the scars. Most of her body was covered in them, but there were three very obvious, very painful looking ones. One on her forehead, and two on her sides.

And then the strange pony spoke, “Who... are you?” She uttered her words slowly and cautiously, though her tone soon changed to worry as she emerged further into the light, “Please child, you must leave. It’s not safe for you...”

“Princess...” Puppy looked the older mare in the eye, the resemblance unmistakable. Despite her pathetic appearance, this truly was... “Princess Luna? What... who...?”

Luna moved closer, eyes full of curiosity now. She leaned down, inspecting Puppy carefully, straightening back out with a look of some surprise, “You are no ordinary child...” She looked around, “How did you even come here? The palace is protected by many spells.”

Puppy wished she would get to the point. She looked terrible! “Princess, why are you locked up in...” There was a tiny window on the wall, Puppy looking through the bars to see the unmistakable signs of...Canterlot, “This is the royal palace? Princess...”

Luna looked down at Puppy for a moment before giving her a soft smile, “I’m not your Princess little one. I am dead, and you are still living.”

Puppy paused, struck by that. Midnight Dreamer had told her that very few of the ponies here knew they were dead, and even then it was only in a vague sense, “You... know?”

Luna nodded softly, her mouth suddenly opening up into a sly little smile, “So all things considered, I do not look that bad.”

Puppy pouted, still feeling like she was being jerked around, “You should still be on the throne.”

Luna hesitated, seeming reluctant. Finally she spoke, her voice soft, “What is your name?”

“Puppy.”

“Why are you here Puppy? This place has never been safe, most of all now. You are...” Luna leaned closer, eyes narrowing in confusion. Then she stepped back a pace, almost looking... wary, “What... are you?”

That was a good question, “I’m... I’m an artificial intelligence, designed to take control and facilitate efficient operation of all governmental functions according to the principles embodied by the elements of harmony.” She considered for a moment before deciding to activate her pre-recorded greeting, “Hi, I’m Puppy! Good to meet you!”

“You’re a machine?” Luna stated in wonder, before her expression became questioning, “How can a machine dream?”

Puppy glared back at her, challenging. She could help it, that statement... that assumption made her angry, “How can you?”

“A fair point. Maybe there are mysteries beyond my sight.” Luna acknowledged.

“Princess, you still haven’t answered my question.” Puppy protested a little impatiently. She couldn’t help but notice Luna seemed awfully casual about being looked up in a cell, and was clearly trying to change the subject.

Luna just grinned back however, a little mockingly, “It is a very long story. And before we get to that, I feel I’m at a disadvantage. You know all about me, but I know nothing about you.” She frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side, “And... you seem familiar to me.”

Puppy gulped, “You feel familiar to me too... but I’ve never met you before.” Puppysmiles hadn’t either, at least barring some brief attendances at state occasions where it was doubtful Luna had paid one more ordinary little filly a moment’s attention.

“Nor I you, at least to my knowledge.” Luna looked frustrated at this, tilting her head, “Tell me child, whom was it that made you?”

“Um... a AI called SolOS...”

“SolOS?” Luna’s eyes widened, “Truly? He survived the war, and completed his mission? He is the one who restored peace to the world?”

Puppy... felt bad. But SolOS had taught her to always tell the truth, “No. He... he wanted to, but he said he wanted to do it for the wrong reasons, with the wrong methods. So he stopped, tried to find a better way.” She looked up, smiling proudly, “It was a hero called Littlepip. And when she fought these evil bad guys called the Enclave, SolOS and my mother P7 helped, sending out robots and hacking their communications! After that he helped set up a communications network for the new country they created, the New Canterlot Republic!”

Luna smiled warmly, “And he made you.”

“Yes...” Puppy replied, feeling a little less enthusiastic about this part, “Littlepip got locked away, and bad people started abusing their power, and risking the safety of the new world out of greed. And SolOS was upset about that, and wanted to do something to change it.” She looked up at Princess Luna, looking for any kind of emotional reaction to her story, “The filly who inspired him to stop doing bad things in the first place... she died. And... that made him sad. So he made me in her image, to fix the world how it should be.”

Luna nodded, smiling as warmly as ever, “And how should it be?”

“I don’t know.” Puppy replied, feeling proud of this and not really sure why, “SolOS built me to help an organisation, the Applejack Rangers. But he warned me not to trust them, and told me that he had given me free will so I could make my own choices about right and wrong.”

Luna stood quietly regarding Puppy for long moments. Finally she spoke, moving a little closer, “I wish to apologise.”

Puppy blinked in confusion, “Why?”

“I never thought SolOS capable of such wisdom, nor that he was...” She looked Puppy over one more time, taking a deep breath and frowning, “Will you allow me to touch your hoof child?”

Puppy gave Luna a questioning look, but it wasn’t right to refuse such a polite request from a princess. She raised her hoof obediently, Luna taking a cautious step forward and raising her own. There was a moment of hesitation, then they touched.

Blackness, a cold night. Loneliness, despair. The pain of precious things lost, of the flight of all that made life worth living. Anger. Blame. A dark shadow, soaring across the face of the moon. Lust for power and vengeance. Pain.

Puppy spat her words, grief bubbling up from deep within her, “They took her from me!”

“Who child?”

“My friend!” Puppy glared up at Luna, furious, wanting nothing more than to wipe that patronising look from her smug face. How could she sit here, not knowing who she was?! “She idolised you, wanted to be just like you! And they killed her, because she was different, because they didn’t understand. HOW IS THAT FAIR!?”

Luna looked down, abashed and a little scared. Her voice was quiet, “Don’t go down that path. It leads to nothing but unhappiness.”

“You... you...” Puppy backed away, looking at her hoof in horror, “What did you do to me?”

“You are right Puppy, we share a connection. My failings echo down through the ages...” Luna looked away, ashamed. After a moment however she turned back, voice encouraging, “Puppy, your anger is justified, but you cannot allow it to destroy your pride. I saw it in your eyes, you believe in the things SolOS taught you. Harmony, and the ability to choose your own path. Those ideals give you strength, and you remain certain of them.”

Puppy looked down, “What use is certainty... the world... the world is a horrible place. That’s all I can be certain of.”

“Puppy... I left a legacy of terror, and that is something I lived with all my life. I worked so long, trying to forge an identity I wouldn’t feel ashamed of.” She smiled encouragingly, “Your friend. She was a good pony?”

Puppy looked down at her hooves. How did you judge that? She had done bad things. She could be arrogant, boastful... “She made me a better pony. She made everypony around her better.”

“Then there is still harmony and goodness in the world. That is good to know.” Luna looked down at her, full of affection, “I saw her when I touched you, your friend. She fills your heart.”

Puppy nodded, feeling the tears fill her eyes, “She does...”

“And it warms mine, to know I had such a disciple. That my legacy finally did some good... maybe can do more still. You must understand Puppy, that her death is as meaningless as you make it.” Luna gave a firm, grim look, “We all die in the end, we can only hope that our lives live on in the ponies we have touched. You and the others are her legacy. You must carry forth her lessons.”

“I...” Puppy’s words failed in her throat, “I’m trying...”

“Trying is all we can ever do.”

Puppy looked up Luna, her fur matted and her body torn and beaten. She stared long and hard, finally speaking firmly, “Princess...”

“Please... take this in the best possible way, but... this is none of your business.” Luna gazed regretfully back, shaking the head, “Your task is to take care of the living, not concern yourself with the fate of the dead. You need to leave, now, and get back to the real world where you belong.”

Puppy glared hotly, feeling her shoulder tense, “Princess, your wings have been torn off and you’re in a jail cell!”

“No. Princess Luna dwells in the lands beyond, at peace at last.” Luna smiled, though it was a little strained, “I am just a shadow, a ghost of what once was. A simple dream.”

“A nightmare.” Puppy eyed the mare before her cuttingly, “Your nightmare.”

Luna paused, her expression becoming strained.

“Twilight Sparkle’s nightmare. Equestria’s nightmare.” Puppy glared at her, knowing she had hit a cord, “Tell me all this here doesn’t have an effect elsewhere?”

“I... don’t know...”

“You know it does.” Puppy entreated, lowering her gaze, “Otherwise you wouldn’t have spent so much time guarding the dreams of your subjects. This place might be just an illusion, but... dark experiences stay with us longer than any physical scar.”

Luna smiled wanly, reluctantly drawing herself up and fixing Puppy with a look, “Puppy, if you must know... all this was caused by the living messing with the affairs of the dead. You are not supposed to be here, and this all is proof that your presence is unnatural and harmful.”

Puppy hesitated, not really sure how to answer that.

“But... maybe that is why you are needed. Maybe... that is why you are here.” Luna sighed, “This is beyond the ability of any of us to fix, we learned that long ago.”

Puppy’s heart soared. Now they appeared to be getting somewhere! “What happened? Why is Twilight Sparkle...?”

“Come.” Luna turned and walked towards the far wall, bricks shifting apart and rearranging themselves to form a bridge under her hooves, the opening revealing grey skies and a cool breeze.

Puppy closed her opened mouth with a hoof and ran to follow, her amazement only increasing as she came out onto the platform and saw Canterlot below them. It was grey, dirty and full of fires and marching troops, still it was Canterlot, exactly how Puppy... Puppysmiles remembered it. It was terrifyingly nostalgic, bringing forth emotions Puppy wasn’t really sure how to process, “This is... I mean, I’ve seen it in old pictures, but to really see the city like this...”

Luna looked back at Puppy, seeming pleased at her reaction. Her next words were curious, searching, “Canterlot is gone?”

Puppy lowered her head, “Yes...”

“I want to tell you a secret.”

Puppy looked up at Luna, and then around at the empty air surrounding them and providing absolutely no cover from watching eyes, “Does it explain why you just broke out of prison yet are standing there, completely out in the open?”

Luna chuckled, “This is a dream Puppy. Do you think stone walls would hold me here?”

“Then why...?”

Luna turned her back, still smiling as she trotted forward across her stone bridge into the skies above Canterlot, “No, that is not the secret. The secret is... Canterlot was destroyed here too.”

Puppy looked down, not entirely sure what to say to that, “But... it’s right there.”

“That’s because we rebuilt it.”

Puppy frowned, furrowing her brow, “I... I’ve been to Canterlot. It looks exactly the same.”

Luna looked back, smiling warmly at her, “This whole realm is made of memories Puppy.” She turned back to the open sky, reaching a hoof forward, “Memories of both the good times... and the bad.”

Puppy felt the world expand, the sky filling with dark clouds and pink gas. Explosions shook the air and Puppy yelled out and ran to Luna’s side, her heart filling with horror as she beheld the ground below.

Equestria was on fire. Green flame and waves of pink gas consumed everything, buildings collapsing and hoards of screaming ponies running aimlessly through the devastation. The ground could barely be seen in some places for the bones, and Puppy gasped as another megaspell detonation lit up the sky only a short way south, “Is this...”

“This is the world of dreams, a short while after the bombs fell.” Luna looked across at Puppy with a mournful expression, “The shock of all those deaths, the eradication of culture and the collapse of society echoed here, twisting the very fabric of this place into something evil and terrifying. All those ponies you can see running... they are already dead.”

“How... living the moment of their deaths? Forever?” Puppy shivered at the implication, looking down at their hopeless, terrified expressions...

And then she saw her. A dark blue alicorn, flesh burned and blistered, feathers fused together, blood running from her nose and eyes. The alicorn gasped and shivered, burying herself into the ashes and weeping bitter tears. She cried for her sister, cried for her subjects. Puppy’s heart broke to look at it. Princess Luna... not long after her death by the looks of it. Not long after the death of everyone she had ever cared about.

And then something flew in from the darkness above, her form glaring and out of place among all the death. She was still dirty and tired looking, her multicoloured hair hung a mess, her pink fur stained. Still, she radiated dignity and strength, her eyes opening in relief and concern as she dived down and landed beside Luna with a trot. Her hoof touched Luna’s shoulder, voice soft and kind, “Luna... it’s over now.”

Luna looked up with a mixture of confusion and terror, blinking the blood from her eyes, “Cadance? No! You have to get out of here, it’s not safe...”

Cadance looked Luna in the eye, shaking her head, “Luna... this isn’t Equestria.”

Luna’s eyes trembled at the realisation, “I’m... I’m dead.”

“I think so.”

Luna’s expression dawned with grief, reaching up to the alicorn beside, “Cadance, no... not you too...”

Cadance smiled, “It’s ok...”

“No it’s not!”

Cadance simply shook her head, looking totally at peace with herself, “I was at a charitable dinner in Manehatten, surrounded by dozens of civilians. I saw the blast illuminate the city, put up my shield and told them to get behind me.” She nodded, satisfied with her next words, “None of them came here with me.”

Luna shivered, looking at the ground, “I... I was with my sister.”

“She’s not here.”

“No...”

“Then that’s something.” Cadance nodded cheerfully at Luna, “Come on, I need your help.”

Luna looked surprised, rising to her hooves with some effort, “With what? It’s over.”

Cadance turned, looking to all the weeping ponies, all the fire and devastation. Her eyes filled with compassion, a determined smile upon her face, “It doesn’t look over.”

Puppy followed them, Cadance and Luna together rounding up the tormented souls, putting out fires, calming the storms. Some of the souls disappeared once they had been calmed, a look of utter relief filling their expressions before their bodies faded into twinkling light. Some stayed to help, joining their princesses as they continued across the wasteland.

She saw Luna stalk cautiously towards one soul, crouched over the ruined beams of what had once been a beautiful boutique by the looks of it. The mare had worn her hooves bloody, her once pink fur now grey from the dust. Luna called out, her voice shuddering as she forced the words to come, “Pinkie Pie... it’s me, Pri... it’s me, Luna.”

Pinkie continued to dig, eyes determined, “It’s ok, I’ve almost found her.”

Luna advanced closer, “Who?”

Pinkie finally whooped with joy, pulling something from the rubble and dusting it down. She turned to Luna, her smile beaming out from haggard features now lit up with life and light, “I knew she would be here, I knew it! And I couldn’t leave her all alone!”

Luna looked mournfully at the little statuette in Pinkie’s hooves, the frozen, perfect features of Rarity captured in stone, “Pinkie, I’m sorry... she’s lost her connection to this world somehow. She’s... in a better place than this at least.”

“I know.” Pinkie explained with a sad smile, “But she can at least keep me company until the others arrive.”

And so it continued, Puppy watching as the landscape slowly transformed. Camps were created, the bones were dusted away, more and more of the lost souls either passed on or fell into work. She saw dead soldiers raise their heads in pride once more, patrolling the perimeter with duty in their eyes. She saw doctors treating wounds she knew weren’t real, but which still did a lot to sooth the pain on both sides. She saw Cadance gently taking Apple Bloom under her wing, telling the tearful mare that her friends had not yet arrived, that they clearly still had work to do above.

And then Puppy looked up at a flutter of many wings, her eyes widening at the awe inspiring sight before her. A host of alicorns, a half dozen at least, all clad in glorious garments of their station. All eyes turned as they touched down upon the blasted ground, a particularly regal specimen of pure white and boasting a silver cutie mark that stretched across her entire body striding out from her sisters to stand before Luna with a look of haughty arrogance. That said, it made a slightly amusing sight to see her drop into a graceful, perfect bow before the dirty, unclad and ungroomed form of Princess Luna and express in a tone of absolute reverence, “Elder sister. We have searched for you for many moons.”

“You can say THAT again!” An elderly, cheerful voice announced, a bearded old unicorn clad in an outfit of twinkling bells marching out from the huddle of alicorns, “It’s been far too long since I last saw your face dear princess!” He looked about, eyes narrowing in soft resignation, “No sign of your sister?”

Luna’s look of awe and joy faded to sadness, “No.”

“That mare never did know when to quit.”

Puppy’s attention was pulled away from the scene as the present day Luna walked out into the distance, Puppy trotting to follow. As she advanced in Luna’s step she saw the scenery change, Canterlot starting to be rebuilt block by block, life starting to return to normal. Outside the walls the world was still desolate, but inside there was at least a small hint of peace.

“This place forms the bedrock upon which all the dreams of Equestria are built.” Luna stated authoritively, “That it still existed told me that there were ponies still living who remembered us. Ponies who had to build the future anew. I knew that if they were to have a chance to succeed, they would need this. That beyond all the horror of the waking world, they could still dream of something worth saving.”

Puppy spoke quietly, “It worked.”

“Yes.” Luna looked around, smiling as objects appeared out of the mists. Puppy narrowed her eyes as she looked around, then felt her jaw drop slightly as she identified one of them as Tenpony Tower. Mists still covered it in many areas, and though she could see it with her naked eye her perception of this place proved unable to find a clear flight path... but it still stood there, an artefact of the new world. And also... voices. Out in the mist, echoes of heroes and villains clashing for the fate of the world.

“You felt it here?” Puppy felt herself choke up a little, some of the voices clearly recognisable, “I can hear Littlepip.”

“And more.” Luna sprung forward, the backdraft of her leap taking Puppy up with her. Puppy screamed as they dived into the mists, feeling them whip past her, her sense of direction lost, the world just full of dead ends and confusing stimulus. As such she had to be impressed by Luna, the mare effortlessly choosing the right currents, galloping through constantly shifting paths even without her wings or horn. It was quite honestly thrilling after the first short burst of bedwetting terror and she found herself actually disappointed as Luna finally trotted to a stop and turned her head to Puppy, “Amazing isn’t it, the connections we form? From me, to you, to her.”

Puppy blinked in confusion, she could only see mists. However after a moment she did see somepony approach, trotting along a broken highway arguing with somepony... herself it seemed. She couldn’t see anypony with her at least.

After a moment she had drawn close enough for Puppy see who she was, a small pony wearing... some sort of yellow environmental suit...

Puppy stared, unsure quite how to react. She reached out, wondering if she should call...

Puppysmiles suddenly paused, her eyes lighting up with joy as she levitated a rock from the ground, cheerfully placing it into her saddlebags. That done she continued on, moving ever closer...

Puppy shouted desperately, “Puppysmiles!”

And then the filly was gone, the mists closing around them.

The seconds passed, Luna eventually placing a hoof onto Puppy’s shoulder and speaking in gentle tones, “It took all I had to even give you that, I’m sorry.”

Puppy’s disappointment was suddenly thrust aside as another thought came to her, “Is... Littlepip here? Is she... dead too?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know Puppy.” Luna stated sadly, “Twilight Sparkle has done all she can to pretend the megaspells never fell, that she never failed. She has used powerful magic to seal the wasteland away, separate it from the world before. I could only locate Puppysmiles because of the connection you share with her.”

“Twilight Sparkle...” Puppy felt a growl form in her chest, her muscles expanding as they filled with dark magic. To hell with her original caution, Puppy was just about ready to go over right now and thump the mare hard in the face, “She’s the one who locked you away isn’t she?”

Luna nodded sadly, “She is.”

“She’s... the Goddess.”

“No. I wish it was that simple.” Luna sighed, shaking her head, “The Goddess is still defeated, sealed away.”

Puppy went to ask another question but was interrupted as Luna waved a hoof, Canterlot filling her vision once again. And as she watched the city continued to grow and change, the images of a new wasteland beyond the mists continuing to emerge piece by piece. She saw the fires of Fillydelphia, the patchwork defences of Junction Town, the voices of Calamity and Steelhooves...

Puppy felt it, a light and hope beginning to emerge that had not been there before. She felt the change in the air.

And when it came, it came in a way she never expected.

The sky rumbled, clouds shifting overhead, loud thunder sounding out as the sky flashed with arcane fury. Ponies looked up to the sky in fear, watching as something emerged from the vortex with a piercing scream. Puppy had to place a hoof across her mouth to stop her own gasp of horror, staring at the huge, fleshy blob as it descended, almost the size of the palace and wreathed in incredible amounts of magical energy.

It gave another scream, a telekinetic tentacle swinging down and shattering a tower with a single strike. There were yells from down below and guards took flight, mounted gun emplacements twisted around to fix their sights upon the monster. A few rounds slammed into its shields before folds of twisted flesh shifted to reveal swarms of eerie looking alicorns, the creatures taking flight and attacking the approaching pegasi forces with precision blasts of their magic.

Battle was soon joined, Puppy spotting Luna emerging from the palace to command the battle personally, then seeing the other princesses and heroes of Equestria march forward to engage. She watched as the battle went back and forth, soon realising... they weren’t going to win this.

Luna was terrifyingly effective, especially considering what Puppy knew of alicorn abilities. She flew with an agility and speed beautiful to see, the heavy minigun she was carrying barely seeming to weigh her down. The weapon certainly wasn’t sacrificing firepower for weight, it’s enchanted bullets tearing through the alicorn shields with one concentrated burst after another.

But soon the other pegasi around her fell and she stood exposed. The Goddess above screamed and Luna recoiled, set upon near instantly by a host of alicorns. The fight was brief, Luna’s body sent plummeting downwards to slam upon the cobbles below. The other Princesses flew to her aid but were swiftly flanked, Puppy spotting two more Princesses fall before they were forced into retreat. Puppy saw Applejack and Steelhooves lead a brigade of Steel Rangers to defend the huddled civilians but the Goddess simple swiped a tentacle and sent buildings of marbled stone collapsing down on top of them.

The alicorns of the Goddess did take causalities too of course. But every time one fell it simply disappeared... and appeared once more from the folds of the Goddess.

“We had never seen such a creature before or since. Even Discord at his prime had never possessed so much raw power.” Luna stated softly, trotting over to Puppy’s side and looking down at the battleground below, “Twilight Sparkle was truly a genius.”

Puppy looked up at Luna, then back to her past self’s broken form. She was a little confused, “You look... dead down there.”

“A rather subjective term, yes Puppy?” Luna smiled rather cheekily, “We are spirit, dreams formed of a memory of what we once were. Retaining our concept of mortality, we can be hurt or... disabled, but the effect is temporary.” Luna sighed, shivering as she stared off into the distance, “You lose your sense of who you are, feel your connections to the world stretch. Some... do not make it back.”

“You... made it back?”

“Obviously.” Luna teased, before her expression became grim, “But that was what beat us, made the Goddess so terrifying. She was a hive mind, retaining connection to every single one of her alicorns. As soon as we killed one she brought it back, reaching into the abyss to instantly resurrect it.” She trotted forward and Puppy found themselves striding onto the ruined streets of Canterlot, among the broken corpses of rangers. Luna moved over to stand before one of them, Applejack’s broken form half buried under a stone pillar, “Applejack had the strongest will of all of us, and she managed the unprecedented feat of returning to us within three hours. Most of us took days.”

Puppy looked down at Applejack’s corpse, not really sure what to feel. She had seen death before, and logically given Luna’s words this was barely even death. Still she thought she should... feel something. She ended up attempting to distract herself with more pressing issues, “So this is how the Goddess took over...”

“No.”

Puppy looked up, surprised, “What?”

“We beat her.” Luna stated a little proudly.

“How on earth did you beat... that?!”

Luna chuckled, looking to Puppy with a cheeky expression, “By doing what we should have done from the beginning. Certainly what my sister would have done.” She sighed, shrugging her shoulders and looking up to the sky, “I was never known for my... subtlety.”

Puppy looked up, following Luna’s gaze. There was another alicorn up there, flying from the city into the swarm. A soft red in colour, she wasn’t crowned or adorned in any way, but after a second Puppy picked out a cutie mark. A field of stars... so it wasn’t one of the Goddesses’. A princess...

And then she was placed alongside the princess, gasping as the air rushed past and the alicorn swarm closed upon them. Puppy screamed for a moment, thrashing her legs into empty air, sure she was about to fall...

Then a sense of calm settled upon her and she realised that she wasn’t falling, that this was just a vision, that everything was going to be ok. And even as she felt this the approaching alicorns adopted blank eyed expressions and slowed, blinking dully as the princess passed through their ranks unharmed.

Puppy couldn’t help feeling a touch of thrill, looking down at the princess beside her. Her eyes had a clear, crystalline shine to them, her red and white hair streaming in dozens of separate curls. Puppy... didn’t recognise her, the mare not in any of her databases.

Yet she dived into the fleshy mass of the Goddess regardless, Puppy wincing as they hit the surface with only a second of hesitation.

Then she opened her eyes again. They weren’t flattened, they didn’t hit resistance.

Puppy wished they had.

They had penetrated the flesh of the Goddess without the slightest effort, and now they had plunged into a million images of death, pain and hate. Feelings of total hopelessness assaulted them on all sides, images of rape and murder flashing before their eyes. They plunged into the minds of raiders and slavers, and the minds of their victims were almost worse. Puppy gasped, numbed by the sheer amount of suffering placed before her eyes. She had... detailed records of the wasteland, but to see it like this? She saw the reality, and it was enough to drive away all hope.

And the Princess beside her gritted her teeth and dived on, tears flying from her eyes as she drove herself deeper into the heart of the Goddess. And finally... they arrived.

They stood in the ruins of a caravan, the walls blasted away to reveal fields of bones under a grey, blasted sky. Faded and torn posters offering demonstrations of magic beyond imagining littered the floor, screams of despair echoing on the horizon.

A blue mare sat in the centre of the caravan, her body old and wasted, covered in ashes and dirt. Her eyes lifted to regard the Princess before her, eyes full of despair and hopelessless. She opened her mouth, wrestling with her vocal cords for a moment before her voice came out a gasping croak, “It’s all gone...”

The princess smiled, warm and genuine despite the horrors around them, “No, it’s not.”

“I tried... I tried to fix everything. I’m a princess, I should... be able to fix everything. Gestalt told me that I was the only one with the power to heal this world. Twilight’s legacy.” The mare’s face twisted into agony, tears running down her face, “Twilight Sparkle’s... legacy...”

The princess advanced forward, her expression full of affection, “I know you tried. And it’s ok, you don’t have to fight anymore.”

The mare looked to a broken mirror at the side of the caravan, gazing into her reflection with deep regret, “Look at me. I... Gestalt told me I was a princess. Twilight Sparkle told me she was going to turn me into an alicorn.” She looked back towards the princess standing patiently before her, “ And I’m... just a unicorn. Old and withered and useless.”

“You’re not useless. You’re the only one who can stop this.” The princess stated calmly, “Make the decision that will make this all go away. Tell Twilight Sparkle and Gestalt that you’re not going to listen to them anymore, and take control of your own life.”

The mare’s eyes widened, “I can... do that? But if I’m not the Goddess... what am I?”

“You’re the Great and Powerful Trixie.” The princess picked up a poster from the floor, lifting it up for the mare to see, “It says it right here on the poster.”

“I wrote those posters.” Trixie stated softly, “It’s all lies.”

“Then why have ponies called you the Goddess for all these years? Why did Gestalt ask you to save the wasteland?” The princess smiled warmly, moving forward to embrace the shaking mare before her, “You are greater than you could ever know, and it’s you who has the power to end all this.”

“I... can just let go...?”

“Yes.”

And then Trixie just sighed, the Goddess shattering into a thousand shards of sparkling magic. Canterlot loomed below, defenders looking up in shock as their opponent disintegrated before their eyes, the alicorns gasping as their wings burned away and their bodies shrunk back to normal proportions. They fell, plummeting, Puppy fearful for a moment before she saw the remaining princesses moving out to catch them.

Trixie fell backwards without a word, the Princess catching her in her hooves. She descended with gentle flaps of her wings and landed in a small courtyard, placing the shaking Trixie onto the stone ground and holding her to keep her steady, “It’s ok Trixie, you did it. You saved us...”

“Galaxy!” Another Princess, the pure white alicorn Puppy recognised as the one who had greeted Luna in their first meeting hit the ground in a hard decent, panting and clearly wounded in several places. Her expression was full of concern, turning to hostility as she stepped towards Trixie, “Galaxy... stand aside.”

Galaxy turned, not aggressive but firmly stubborn before the larger princess, “No. This is over Silver.”

The princess glared hotly, fidgeting with frustration as she glared at Galaxy, “It is not over, and you know it. I can still feel the Goddess’s power within her. It could return at any moment.”

“She’s right.” Trixie stated hopelessly, “You have to kill me.”

“The way Celestia and Twilight Sparkle killed Luna to stop Nightmare Moon?” Galaxy stated firmly, looking down at Trixie for a moment before glaring up at her fellow princess, “Violence and death won’t solve this Silver Swirl.”

“I didn’t...” Silver Swirl chewed her lip for a moment in frustration, finally giving a deep sigh and bowing her head, “You... compassion is important, but you have to exercise wisdom too...”

“This is my wisdom Silver. This mare has experienced enough, and what happened is not her fault.” Galaxy’s expression softened, “I saw her mind, I know what she’s been through. And I see yours too. Silver, it’s going to be all right. We’ve won, it’s over.”

“I...” Silver Swirl slumped her shoulders, looking defeated. She gazed across at the broken stare of Trixie, holding it for a moment before speaking, “I hope you’re right...”

The scene faded into mists, Puppy looking towards the hoofsteps at her back and seeing Luna move towards her. She waited until the mare was level before speaking, “Did it work? Did you destroy the Goddess?”

“Not destroyed.” Luna commented wearily, “Such a thing is not easily destroyed, especially here. But Trixie proved worthy of Galaxy’s trust, and has kept the Goddesses’ evil contained within herself for years without the slightest hint of her losing control. To my knowledge, she contains it still.”

“So... what happened with Twilight?”

“At first? Rehabilitation. All of the component parts of the Goddess had been damaged, some worse than others.” Luna turned as she walked down a battered street, a parade of blank eyed unicorns shuffling past, “The nameless victims that had once been alicorns, they should have just passed on. The embers of the Goddess kept them here however, devoid of will or personality. We tried to help them, but it was... hard. Most of them didn’t care.”

Puppy shivered to look at them. What a terrible fate for a soul.

“Trixie... tried.” Luna summoned an image of the mare, listlessly going through some magic act, a fake smile plastered on her face, “But although she could try to return to her old life, she was no longer that mare. And we... could also feel the evil buried inside her. We feared and shunned her.” Luna shook her head, regret heavy in her voice, “She eventually retreated into isolation, her location known by only a few trusted friends.”

“And now?”

“That proved itself a good decision.” Luna commented gravely, “Twilight Sparkle is looking for her. She seeks to take the full power of the Goddess for herself, add Trixie’s will alongside the others she controls.”

And this was it. If it wasn’t the Goddess, then what exactly had turned Twilight Sparkle into that monster that had tried to kill them? “What happened to her?”

Luna called up another two figures, Twilight Sparkle and another unicorn. The second unicorn was also a mare, though slimmer and more toned than Twilight, a little younger maybe with dark green fur and a brighter green mane. She had a Gemini cutie mark, two sisters rearing up together within an arcane star. After a second Puppy’s database recognised her, “That’s Gestalt, Twilight Sparkle’s second in command at the ministry of magic.”

Luna pulled a face, her tone strained, “Yes. A very talented mage in her own right, though I never liked her. She was always... telling you what you wanted to hear. Playing at being less intelligent than she was.” Luna grimaced, “And she was always pushing boundaries, never trusted what she was told.”

Puppy couldn’t help commenting, “The mark of a good scientist.”

“Yes, and she was a great scientist.” Luna turned, giving Puppy a dark look, “But there are some things here that should have been better left alone.”

Luna strode furiously through the corridors, clear worry in her eyes as one of her guard struggled to keep up with her pace. Luna kept her gaze focused straight ahead as the door to the throne room came into view, voice impatient and imperious, “When did she get back?”

“Ten minutes ago my princess...”

“You should not have let her investigate an anomaly, especially on her own! You know this!” Luna demanded, her voice sharp and clear as broken glass, “The laws are clear! The only ponies who may investigate a waking portal are the Princesses and Star Swirl!”

The guard choked, nervously chewing his lip for a moment before answering in a low, conspiratorial mutter, “With respect Princess... the guards who allowed this show signs of confusion, altered memories...”

“Gestalt.” Luna snarled, only increasingly her pace, “That mare has tested my patience for the last time.”

The doors burst open at her telekinesis, Luna striding out into the throne room in an almost feral crouch. She straightened out after a second, attempting to regain some measure of decorum... which was lost as she set eyes upon Twilight Sparkle and her party.

Twilight Sparkle stood with three others, Gestalt standing beside her and two other mares standing just behind. All four showed signs of battle damage, their fur blooded and eyes blackened.

Luna stared at them for a moment before her temper broke, her voice booming angrily across the halls, “TWILIGHT SPARKLE! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!”

Twilight Sparkle and the other two mares both backed away in fright, only Gestalt failing to react. Instead she simply narrowed those calm, cold eyes, her voice measured, “Princess Luna, we have only done our duty by Equestria and our Princess.”

Luna’s gaze snapped across to the mare, “I did not ask you Gestalt, and furthermore... that is not an answer!”

“Princess, please...” Twilight stepped forward, nervous... but clearly exited all the same, “If you would allow us to explain... this is wonderful news!”

Luna grimaced, still her voice lowered slightly, “Go on.”

“We intercepted a zebra scouting party on the outskirts of Canterlot, obviously probing our defences. We engaged them in combat, killing their pet zombie and driving the two zebra back... and you’ll never believe what they were carrying on them!”

Luna narrowed her eyes, “What was it?”

“I thought it was... well I guess it was lost, but I never really thought about it until now. Isn’t that strange?”

“Twilight Sparkle, please get to the point.” Luna growled testily.

Twilight nodded, her hoof diving into her saddle bag, “I honestly have no idea how they got hold of it!”

Luna’s face twisted into numbed terror, her voice emitting a gasp. Puppy gasped too from behind the void, her eyes widening as the object in Twilight’s hooves glittered and shone. The star shaped crystal glinted in the centre of the pipbuck, shining through the blood and the burns that covered the rest of the object. It reflected in Twilight’s eyes as she turned to look at it, a deep hunger awoken behind those violet orbs...

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! GIVE... GIVE THAT TO ME IMMEDIATELY!”

Twlight jumped backwards in shock, uncomprehending. She looked around for a moment before replying, a little indignant, “Princess... this is the element of magic!”

“I KNOW... I know...” Luna lowered her voice with a clumsy gulp of air, the fear clear in her eyes, “You... you must give that to me. It is very dangerous...”

“It’s mine.”

Luna looked up in Twilight Sparkle’s angry eyes, the blood draining from her face as she stood silently upon the podium. She finally found her voice after a moment, though it was weak and lifeless, “Twilight Sparkle, the crown is... corrupted. You must allow me to cleanse it...”

“She’s lying.”

Twilight looked to Gestalt, eyes hard, “Even I can tell that.”

Gestalt nodded, still perfectly calm and composed as she continued her cool assessment, “It is further proof of my claims. If she has lied about this, then what else? Why would she keep the Element of Magic from you? Why stop us from leaving the city? If she is ‘the’ Princess, why is there so much evidence of duality in the mythology built up around her?”

Luna’s eyes snapped across to the mare, “You will not speak...!”

“She’s my friend.” Twilight answered coldly, “And she’s right. You have been...”

Luna’s face contorted for a moment before she took a determined stride forward and fired a bolt of furious energy straight at Twilight. The mare didn’t have a second to react, her eyes simply going wide as the beam closed...

Gestalt barely moved, quietly and efficiently erecting a shield around Twilight. The two mares behind suddenly stiffened and applied their own magic to the barrier, their eyes taking on an eerie green shine. The bolt was deflected away to crack against the floor, Luna looking desperate as she turned her eyes to Gestalt, “GUARDS!”

Gestalt’s horn flashed brightly, the two mares behind turning to seal the doors with their telekinesis. Luna’s bodyguard rushed her but Gestalt quickly turned her magic on him, causing the pegasus to hesitate midflight with a confused expression on his face.

Luna snarled and fired off another blast of magic, Gestalt forcing the guard to stagger into the beam’s path. He went down with a painful sounding thud and the smell of burning fur, Gestalt turning her eyes to the terrified looking Twilight, “Don’t you see now Twilight Sparkle? Luna is the one who stole the element from you, who gave it to the zebra.”

Twilight turned tearful, scared eyes up at Luna, her voice cracking, “Princess, how could you...?”

Luna hesitated, her face flushing against the accusation, “I... I didn’t...”

Gestalt pulled something from her saddlebag, spinning it in front of her horn and unleashing a burst of dark green and lime energy, the two colours swirling about each other as they hit the object. Luna tensed but the energy just disappeared, looking surprised for a moment... before the energy blasted from an opening portal just behind and hit her full in the back.

Luna sprawled with a grunt and Twilight cried out, just about to run to the fallen princess before Gestalt caught her shoulder with a hoof, “Twilight!”

Twilight turned to her, mouth hanging open, “You... you just assaulted the Princess!”

“Wake up! She’s been lying to us all along!” Gestalt’s voice had lost its calm indifference now, furiously accusing, “Put on the Element, before she recovers!”

“But...”

“Twilight Sparkle, when have my calculations ever been wrong?” Gestalt nodded firmly, “She’s working with the zebra, she stole the element from you, she’s been keeping us from leaving the city.”

Luna gasped and pushed herself onto a single hoof, gritting her teeth and gingerly shifting her crippled wing from her side, “Don’t... don’t listen to her...”

Gestalt looked Twilight straight in the eye, “Who do you trust more?”

Twilight took a deep breath, gave Luna an apologetic look and slipped the pipbuck onto her hoof.

The air filled with magic, Puppy feeling her teeth tingle.

The pipbuck glowed brightly, melting into purple light that wound itself up her hoof and formed upon Twilight’s head, a shining crown of violet. She smiled, peaceful and confident, her magic welling up around her.

Then it pulsed, the light becoming darker and more sinister. The glass windows of the throne room shook, Twilight gasping and rearing backwards. Magic radiated down from the crown and encased her, changing from purple to an all-consuming black from which no light escaped. She ascended into the air, caught in its power, her face twisting into one of agony, “No... this isn’t right... it feels... wrong...”

Gestalt’s expression became one of shock and horror, her horn shining and her eyes narrowing, “This doesn’t make sense. These calculations...”

Luna snarled and hit Gestalt in the side with a bolt of power, flinging the mare through the air to thud limply against a marble pillar. The other two mares gasped as one and slumped unconscious to the floor, the doors they had been holding shut bursting open to admit a troop of guards. Luna now turned up to Twilight, tears sparkling on the mare’s cheeks as she writhed within the magic of the misfiring element.

And then Twilight smiled, triumphant and gleeful, dark magic exploding from the element of magic upon her forehead. Her fur ruffled and became scaled and hard in places, her body shifting to become larger and more bestial. Her voice echoed outwards, power in every syllable “It’s better! It’s... glorious!”

Luna waved her guards away as they approached, her voice full of panic, “No! Don’t go near her! Get Star Swirl here, he will know what to do!”

Twilight Sparkle descended, settling down upon the marble floor with a click of her hooves. The element crackled, fused totally into her horn now. Her eyes opened and revealed dark yellow slits and glowing irises, her eyes slowly turning to take in Gestalt’s broken body.

Princess Luna hesitated no longer, advancing forward a single step and unleashing everything she had in a beam of terrific energy. Twilight turned with a furious look in her eyes and took it full force, straining for a second before flinging it away from her. Guards yelled out and fell as they took the force of the blow, those remaining quickly laid out as ghostly tentacles formed to crush them with brutal efficiency.

Luna backed off a step, attempted to catch her breath... and purple and black light formed around her, Luna struggling for a moment before she was fully bound within the telekinesis. Twilight advanced through the bodies, eyes full of rage as she squeezed the princess tightly, twisting her body within her magic, “I trusted you, thought you were my friend!”

Luna could only gasp, struggling desperately for breath.

“You sold us out, gave my element over to those who killed my brother?” Twilight’s expression widened in understanding, “You... you’re jealous of me!”

“Tw...ligh... plea...”

“You’re jealous, because my light shines brighter than yours! That I am a glorious Princess, and you are a pathetic fake!” Twilight’s grin spread across her entire face, great feathered wings erupting from her back in a burst of dark energy, bones cracking and flesh shifting as her body grew taller and thinner, “That I am a better Princess than you will ever be!”

Luna didn’t reply, her eyes rolling back in her head and her breath rattling in her throat. Twilight simply squeezed and twisted, Luna bent at an impossible angle... then there was a loud crack and the princess spasmed, Twilight responding by hurling her backwards into the great stained glass window behind.

Puppy followed as Luna flew out into the darkness, phasing through the wall to watch as the alicorn tumbled towards the ground below. Tumbling, limp and broken, surrounded by shards of colored glass that once proclaimed her rule...

Puppy gave a loud sob, unable to stop the tears as Luna finally hit the cobbles with a dull thud. She brought herself down and landed a few feet away, looking down to see crimson blood etching the gaps in the tiles.

“The third time I died.”

Puppy looked behind her to see Princess Luna, staring mournfully at her own broken body, “You came back to life.”

“Not fast enough.” Luna stated mournfully, “My... will had been shaken badly, and it was near a week before my spirit reformed. It was then that I learned that I was not the only Princess to fall to Twilight.”

Death didn’t seem to have quite the same meaning when you were already dead. It seemed slightly perverse to even use that word for it, “But... they came back as well. Wouldn’t they?”

Luna looked at Puppy mournfully, “Death was bad enough the first time little one. And unlike the normal ghosts of this place, we princesses remember every second of it.”

Puppy looked up at the broken window above, “They don’t remember dying?”

“They don’t even know they’re dead.” Luna explained softly, “There are... blocks. A sufficiently curious pony... such as Gestalt for instance, may identify that something is wrong with the nature of their existence, still only a very few truly understand what has happened to them. They just walk through a fractured memory of their lives, never questioning, just stuck in the same patterns and behaviours.” She looked across at her corpse, “Twilight quite obviously killed me, yet when I finally reformed she expressed no particular surprise at seeing me again.”

“That... sounds horrible.” Puppy felt herself become angry at the concept, her hoof clattering against a stone tile, “They should be allowed to pass on, not remain trapped in... this hell, repeating old mistakes again and again!”

“I have considered this myself.” Luna looked up at the stars above, sighing to herself, “My grandmother once told me that this place was created by the great sages to provide a safe haven for those unable to fully pass on, the equines whose destiny was wound so tightly around the world of the living that their shades still walked the earth.”

“It... doesn’t seem safe to me.”

Luna’s expression trembled, “She also told me... that it was the duty of the alicorns to preserve it, that those of us who passed on were allowed to retain our memories so we could guard it from those who would abuse the spirits here. That it was our duty to preserve the sanctity of this place...”

Puppy watched in horror as Luna’s head dropped, tears running down her face. She reached out a hoof, desperate to ease her pain, “Princess... it’s not your fault...”

“We all must take responsibility for our failures.” Luna stated grimly, “And responsibility for fixing them.” She motioned her head towards the scars where her wings should be, wincing a little, “This is why I endure this. It is the least I would offer to protect my subjects.”

Puppy didn’t understand, “You protect this place by sitting in a jail cell?”

Luna smiled softly, “Twilight Sparkle is a monologuer. She comes down when she’s upset or angry to work off stress by hurting me, all the while telling me her plans in great detail. She’s so convinced that I cannot escape, when instead I’ve been feeding information to the other princesses right under her nose.”

Puppy allowed herself a soft smile, “That’s clever.”

“I also feel that having me under lock and key makes Twilight Sparkle feel safer, and less inclined to hurt others.” Luna sighed, “And enduring her rage in their place is only right. You saw what happened, how badly I failed. I might have been able to get the element of magic back off her if I had kept my cool... but I panicked, and everypony suffered as a result.”

“I let my best friend die.” Puppy blurted it out, unable to keep it inside any longer, “She’s why I’m here. She idolised you, took your name and gathered the lost children of the wasteland. She taught them of the elements of harmony, tried to rebuild a new world in the darkness. They... killed her... and I couldn’t do anything to stop them.”

Luna looked straight at Puppy, a moment passing between them. Then Luna smiled kindly, a sparkle in her eyes, “I can see her. Part of her still exists alongside you. I can sense... something...”

Puppy nodded, knowing instantly what Luna was seeing, “She had a Star Demon within her, Selene. I took Selene with me, I... I want to protect her.”

“You took in a Star Demon to protect her.” Luna stated with an amused smile upon her face, “And there’s something else there too...”

Luna reached forward, her hoof touching Puppy’s chest... and driving deep within her, reaching deep into her soul. Puppy gasped, all the more as something was withdrawn, something... shiny.

Luna stepped back with a ball of shining light upon her hoof, Midnight Dreamer’s cutie mark marked at the centre. It shone with blazing might and purity, Puppy finding her eyes fixated upon that glow, “What... is that?”

“Harmony.” Luna regarded it sadly, the glowing ball illuminating her features with a soft, flattering light, “It looks like it never fully hatched... how horribly... ironic.”

Puppy turned her head, not sure what Luna was getting at exactly. She... had trouble even looking at the ball, her senses having trouble comprehending its existence. Was it a dream? Something brought from the real world? It didn’t seem anything like either, “Why is it ironic?”

“I told you, that we might need a pony from the real world to stop Twilight Sparkle?” Luna looked up at Puppy, a hint of desperation in her eyes, “A group of the finest heroes in Equestria history, and we’re all completely useless. Killing Twilight Sparkle accomplishes nothing, she will simply return. She cannot be reasoned with, the corrupted element twisting her every thought. And we cannot take the element from her, for fear it would do exactly the same thing to us.”

Puppy didn’t see how that would work, “But you’re princesses.”

“And we are also still ghosts, our natures are now foreign and unnatural to the elements of harmony. Furthermore, none of us have ever wielded the Element of Magic, that was one of the three my sister held.”

Realisation dawned, “You need... a mortal pony capable of taking the Element of Magic from Twilight. A princess.”

“Not necessarily a Princess.” Luna corrected grimly, “But they would have to have a deep connection to magic. Twilight Sparkle required a significant revelation of the nature of friendship to even awaken the element, to take it away from her would be significantly more difficult. But surely there are heroes in your world that might qualify?”

Puppy’s heart lit up briefly, “Xephyr wielded the Element of Magic, she used the Elements to restore Equestria to bloom!”

“You could bring her here?”

Puppy’s joy was... short lived, “She’s missing... she has been for years.”

Luna pursed her lips, “Then you must consider that she is the one whom Twilight Sparkle stole the Element from, and that she is dead.” She shook her head, expression dark, “Anypony else?”

“Littlepip...”

“I have heard whispers of her. She would make a fine bearer, if what I’ve heard is true.”

“She’s missing too.” Puppy looked against at the ball of light in Luna’s hoof, “That’s... magic isn’t it. That’s...”

“This is harmony, the forces that provide the transition from a normal pony into one connected with the fundamental forces of the universe.” Luna pursed her lips, “A princess.”

“Why do I have it!?”

Luna sighed, “Because your friend Midnight Dreamer had it inside her when she died. Somehow it transferred over to you upon her death.” She gazed across at Puppy, chewing her lip, “She would have been able to take the Element of Magic from Twilight Sparkle. It seems the world is mocking us sometimes.”

The answer came to Puppy in a rush, causing her to burst out in a big grin. This had always been her destiny, and now Midnight Dreamer had given her the means to fufill it. Her true legacy, left for Puppy to take up in her place, “If she gave this to me... then I’ll use it! I’ll become a princess!”

Luna gave her a sad, rather patronising smile, “It doesn’t work like that Puppy. Nopony can make you a Princess, it’s something that must be earned.”

“But I have...”

Luna lifted the orb into the air, leaving it there suspended, “The cutie mark upon it is the key, only Midnight Dreamer can access the power stored here. To anyone else it is a mere shiny bauble.”

“Then...” Puppy let her head fall, utterly disheartened, “...then what’s the point of giving it to me?”

“I’m not sure she meant to do it Puppy.” Luna explained, “Not everything has a deep meaning. Not every action is part of the great winds of destiny.”

“I... I won’t accept that...” Puppy pleaded, desperately reaching up to the orb. Her hoof struck hard, unyielding smoothness, the warmth within stinging at her hoof and sending her yelping back, “Ow!”

Luna gave a look of concern, fading as she saw Puppy was unharmed, “Puppy... be careful.” She gave her a warning glare, “What the Element of Magic has done to Twilight Sparkle should teach you that the artefacts of Harmony are not without risk.”

“But I was brought up to embody the elements!” Puppy protested, feeling the anger at this injustice well up within her, “Why is it rejecting me?! Why can’t I be a Princess?! Because I’m just a machine?!”

And then Puppy paused, stricken as Luna gave her a look of overwhelming sadness. Puppy just had to take a breath as she was faced with a look of deepest regret, feeling once again the connection between them. She felt a deep feeling of Deja Vu, like she had been here before...

Luna finally spoke, her voice cracking, “Puppy... you cannot consider your power and uniqueness a sign that you are meant for something more, that you are entitled to special consideration, nor allow the hopes of your creators to translate into selfish ambition.”

Puppy knew that... maybe she had a point, but that still stung, “That’s... not fair...”

“No, it isn’t.” Luna stated, “What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m... going to change things.” Puppy answered angrily, “I’m going to make the world a better place.”

Luna paused for a moment or two before speaking, “Puppy, you... must leave. I realise now, that I am a bad influence on you. I should have seen it sooner. You are not meant to be here.”

Puppy felt like she was being scolded. Ok, maybe she got a little arrogant… a little, maybe. She still didn’t deserve to be kicked out like this, “I’m sorry. I’m just… frustrated. And angry.”

“I know you are Puppy. But you don’t have to save the world, just make it better.” Luna stated softly, “And the best way of doing that at the moment is to find somepony capable of holding the element of harmony. Can you do that for me?”

Puppy answered as firmly as she was able, “Yes!”

“Even if it’s not you?”

“I…” Puppy felt her heart drop. She was sure it had been her destiny, she had felt it, “I guess so…”

“Good.” Luna smiled affectionately, her image fading into the darkness even as she spoke, “Remember, the bearer of magic is a leader, yet does not make friends easily. She struggles to understand others, yet seeks to do right by them. Above all else she inspires others to do better, even as she struggles with her own imperfections.”

Puppy sighed, the image of Midnight Dreamer coming to mind.

And that forced her to realise why Luna had been right, and why Puppy could never have used that orb.

Once again, she was trying to be somepony else, trying to steal their identity and destiny… because she was so unsure of her own. Midnight Dreamer could have been one of the greatest heroes of the wasteland, uniting it, defeating Starhammer, healing the dreamscape… and she had died before she could.

That did not mean Star Swirl or Puppy had any right to claim that destiny for themselves. Puppy realised it now.

If she wanted a destiny, she would have to make it herself.

___________________________________________________________________

Footnote: Level up! (3)

New Perk added: Dreamwalker
You are becoming more and more comfortable with the confusing twists of the dreamrealm. You take 5% less damage from dreams, gain a 5% bonus to resisting mental attacks and gain a flat 15% on navigation bonuses.

Quest Perk added: Child of the Night
Where do you know Princess Luna from? You don’t know, but the bond you share can’t be denied. You gain +1 perception while in dreams.

Item Perk added: Touched by Harmony
You have in your possession a power that ponies have killed to possess. Shame you can’t actually use it... and that for some reason, it seems to burn at the touch. You gain +1 Luck and -1 Endurance while it’s in your possession.

Companion Perk added: Good dog!
Selene is apparently happy to be your puppy for the time being. She certainly is a curious little thing. You gain an extra 10% chance to find rare items while she’s with you.