//------------------------------// // Root of the Problem // Story: Still Horsing Around // by Darkness Shade //------------------------------// “Ah, there we go. That should about do it, we should be just where we need to be now. And none too soon, as it seems the time we gave for our arrival is here.” A brown stallion wearing a red tie fiddled about with a few switches and levers before grinning. “Perfect! But then again when have you ever let me down you sexy, sexy machine you?” “Doctor. You know it’s weird when you start acting like that towards the TARDIS.” “Haha, oh indulge me dear Derpy. She certainly gets us where we need to go, so the least I can do is compliment her on another successful trip. Now then, we should disembark and go meet those two...and hope they did not cause any undue trouble while they were here.” Derpy giggled softly. “But Doctor, when it comes to those two they seem to do nothing but attract trouble.” The stallion sighed slightly, shaking his head. “Far too true, but more than likely that’s because of one thing…” “And what’s that?” The Doctor opened up the door before squinting at the bright, clear sky on the other side. “They’re both human.” Scrunching her face, the bubbly mare frowned slightly. “That doesn’t seem fair, especially since you’ve only the two of them to go off of.” “That would be true, but I’ve known others besides those two...hmmm.” Derpy went to ask what it was he had seen or heard to give him pause, but he simply held a hoof up to ask for her continued silence. Eventually, a noise began to grow from the horizon, and with it, a rather large dust cloud that seemed to be growing in size and intensity. “Oh ponyfeathers...something tells me that would be our humans. Judging by all that ruckus, they don’t seem to be alone either.” “...what should we do?” “Ah’ll tell ya what y’all should do!” Ryan shouted as loud as he could, “Get in the damn thing and be ready ta shut that door when Ah jump through it! Eeep!” Ryan dodged left quickly, watching as a flash of pink embedded in the ground before churning it up into a fine mist. “Damn it, Dark! Why do you always have to provoke such emotional goodbyes?!” ‘What can I say, Ry? When I make an exit, I make an exit!’ “Ya don’t think ya could’ve just said goodbye instead of, ya know...kissing his sister!? Yikes!” Ryan dodged another blur of pink again, watching as a bit of his hair fell to the ground. “Dammit Byakuya, why are you attacking me?! Ah didn’t kiss yer sister!” “That is beside the point. Shade did, and he’s back inside you, so therefore you are my target now.” “...that’s really stupid.” Ryan gasped as he dodged yet another attack before seeing his goal in sight. “Thank God. Dammit man...because of you Dark, Ah didn’t even get to say goodbye to the others properly!” “I would not worry yourself with that, Ryder, as you have more pressing concerns.” ‘...why don’t I like the sound of that?’ “Bankai.” Ryan’s eyes shrank at hearing that. “Oh Fuck! Doc!” “Righty-o! Time to get a quick getaway! Hold on to something, Derpy!” Pushing with all his speed, Ryan jumped into the TARDIS, watching as the door slam shut and shook as something very powerful smacked into it. As soon as he heard the familiar noise signifying they were on their way, he let out a sigh of relief before collapsing on to the ground. Derpy, concerned about his well-being, walked over before gently nudging him. “You okay?” “...yeah. Yeah...Ah’ll be alright.” “I say, what was all that about anyway?” “Well Doc…” Ryan slowly sat up before sighing again. “Everything went pretty well after you left, once they decided to take us seriously anyway. Ah guess even though you knew them and that helped us get the in for training as it were, they still doubted us.” ‘Well, up until we busted out Eclipsis and Malus Domestica that is. Haha, oh man, the look on Renji’s face was priceless.’ “Ah’d reckon most of the Captains were a bit surprised to see us wielding weapons like that.” The Doctor nodded before frowning. “Still doesn’t explain why you were being chased like that…” “Oh yes...that.” Ryan made a very irritated face. “Seems that, given his ability to separate from me thanks to all the energy in their world, Dark took it upon himself to be very friendly with the ladies.” “...Oh.” “Oh indeed. We were all ready to say our goodbyes, when Dark decided to be Dark...and kissed Rukia.” The Doctor simply blinked before looking down and sighing. “Oh Darkness...why oh why would you do such a thing?” ‘What? She’s cute...and...I wanted to say goodbye in a memorable way. Why am I on trial here? In my defense, she kissed me, okay?’ Dark smirked, though no one could see it. ‘It’s no surprise, after all. I am pretty hot stuff, and the ladies just find me irresistible.’ The three there simultaneously facehoofed/facepalmed before the TARDIS let out a couple of beeps and noises indicating they were at last home. “Oh thank heavens. It’ll be nice to be home again. Speaking of, how are mah mares doing?” “Rather well. Twilight...sorry, Princess Sparkle is adjusting well enough...well, as well as she usually adjusts if you don’t mind my saying.” “Ah getcha, Doc. She’s always so nervous about everything. Hmmm...they’re probably in Canterlot, aren’t they? Ah know ya said the time flow is different in their world, so it’s been about a week here, right?” “Exactly! So they’re getting ready for the Summer Sun Festival.” The Doctor led the way out, before smiling. “Speaking of, we’re to assist in preparing here, so we’ll leave you to go visit your herd. Do try to keep the trouble to a minimum, won’t you?” Ryan made a face at that, sticking his tongue out at the stallion. “Doc, when you say that it makes me sound like some kinda delinquent.” Derpy simply giggled in amusement at their antics before nudging the Doctor towards the door. “Feel free to see yourself out, Ryan. We’ll see ya later!” Now alone, Ryan growled softly at his partner. “Dark...Ah’m really upset Ah didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to mah new buddies.” ‘Oh don’t worry, Ry, they know you’ll miss them.’ Dark snickered. ‘Well, maybe not Renji. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone get so upset over being whacked by the flat of a sword since DJ.’ “At least Renji had the decency not to call Malus Domestica a “knock-off zanpakuto”. Oh goodness, Ah’m a mess from all that dodging. Hmmm.” Ryan gave a spin, snapping his fingers in the process, before stopping and striking a pose. “Damn Ah love magic! Alright! Now Ah’m ready to go say hi to mah gals again! Let’s see….ah-ha! There they are!” And with a burst of chilly magic, Ryan disappeared from sight… “Oh so much to do, so much to get ready...so many things to take care of.” The others watched Twilight pacing with worry, noting their fellow herdmate was a bit more nervous than usual. “Oh, Twi, don’t y’all think maybe yer overthinking things here a bit?” “Overthinking?! AppleJack, we’re talking about my first big task as a Princess here! Do you know how important it is that I make sure to do what I’m expected to perfectly?” “Darling...of course we do, but stressing yourself like this is not ladylike in the least.” Rarity bounced her hair a bit and sighed. “Let alone good for your health...what would our human say if he saw you getting so bent out of shape like this?” “He’d most likely say that someone needs a nice stress relieving snuggle of the human persuasion.” All the mares there turned towards the doorway to see their human standing there, smile wide on his face. “Haha, y’all miss me?” “Ryan!” “Oh God!” He gasped, finally saying hello to his other waifu the ground while his herd buried him in their love tackle. “Ladies, Ah know Ah’ve been gone for a while but please, control yerselves. We are in the castle after all.” “As if you’ve ever let that stop you before, my little human.” “C-Cellie!” Ryan craned his head to see her standing over him, a smirk apparent on her face. “...how long have you been there?” She giggled softly. “Oh, long enough. It is good to see you back in one piece. Did your travels go well?” “And then some.” Ryan picked himself up before dusting off his clothes. “Ah think Ah learned what Ah needed to. Heh, Ah guess Ah missed all this more than Ah thought after being gone a month.” “...a month?” Lyra titled her head. “Ryers, did you hit yer head when we tackled you? It’s only been a week.” ‘Technically, Lyrs, it was a week for you. For us, it was a month’s time. Something about time differences between worlds.’ “Hmmm...curious.” “Yes, but Ah’m sure that won’t play into anything in the foreseeable future. Wink.” ‘Ryan...you said it instead of actually winking again.’ “Silly me. Ya know, though...being back here, and welcomed like this...it feels me with such a warm sensation. Like this is how it should be. In fact, it makes me feel like…” And that was when those there began to hear a somewhat familiar tune begin to play, and they knew exactly what was about to happen. “Hehe, well it only seems appropriate since it’s our big opening, right Rysy-Wysy?” “Couldn’t have said it better mahself, Pinks. What better way to start this new journey off then with what is undoubtedly a pretty kicking remix? Now then...y’all ready for this?” “Heh, ah shucks. Sure thing, Apple Ryder! Let’s do this ladies!” Dark could only chuckle in amusement. ‘How crazy is it that it took five years to get a remix album like this?’ “Shh, don’t go breaking the fourth wall at a time like this, Partner. We’ll miss the best part.” And as the song kicked up, Ryan couldn’t help but smirk and hum along as he helped them continue getting ready. “Aw yeah, that violin is kicking. Now then! Hit it T-Sparks!” My Little Pony I use to wonder what Friendship could be Mah Little Pony Until you all shared its magic with me Big Adventure! Tons of fun! A Beautiful Heart! Faithful and Strong! Sharing Kindness is an Easy Feat! And Magic makes it all Complete! (You are my~) Do you know you're all my very best friends? And as the breakdown followed, Ryan couldn’t help but look around and smile at the happiness he felt being back amongst his family. My Little Pony Do you know you’re all my very best friends? Mah Little Pony, Pony, Pony… My Little Pony Do you know you’re all my very best friends? Mah Little Pony, Pony, Pony… “Heck yeah! Spot on as always, ladies! Seriously, awesome remix and perfect opening. Now then, what exactly is left to take care of? The celebration is, what, tomorrow?” “Yeah...and the problem is I still don’t feel confident enough for my part.” “...still having flight issues?” “Yes, my peach.” Celestia chuckled softly at the scene before wrapping a wing around Twilight. “Twilight, even now as a Princess you still worry too much. You’ll do fine and conquer this challenge just as I’ve seen you handle every other one before.” “I suppose so, Prin—Celestia, it’s just that this festival is what brought us all together originally. Speaking of,” Twilight sighed before glancing at her friends. “It does bum me out that you’ll not be able to be here for the official one in Canterlot. But…” “But the Mayor needs all the help she can get for Ponyville’s part in all this, so we gotta do what we gotta do.” Rainbow nodded with a frown. “It stinks, but hey, that’s the problem with being awesome: everypony wants your help!” Dark snickered. ‘Good ta see your ego is still the same, Speedy Snooze.’ “As always, you must make mischief, Darkness.” Celestia smiled softly. “I am just glad this festival is joyous nowadays, and still not a reminder of how I failed.” ‘Tia…’ “Haha, I am okay, Darkness. Even if things have improved, we never can fully erase such things from our hearts, yes?” ‘...our hearts. Hmmm….’ “Something up, Partner?” Dark shook his head, but once again no one knew save for Ryan. ‘It’s nothing...just thinking on something from a while back, but we’ve more important stuff ta do.’ “Oh yes...but if we’re to do them, we need to make sure we make the train.” Fluttershy looked at the time and nodded. “Even if we do have to go, you can check in on us when you want. You and Ry both can teleport pretty easily these days, remember?” Twilight laughed sheepishly. “Oh yeah. That’s right. Heh, with the whole “You’re a Princess Now” thing I kinda forgot about that.” “Then I will leave you to it. I have things to prepare as well with my sister, so we shall both see all of you later. Do take care, especially you my troublesome little human.” Ryan rolled his eyes and sighed. “Back not even thirty minutes and already you assume Ah’m gonna create some kinda havoc. Thanks, Cellie.” Hearing only her laughter in reply, Ryan shrugged before filing out with his herd and heading towards the train station. “Ah’ll see y’all a little later. Ah’m gonna hang back and give T-Sparks some help with her last minute preparations. Kinda figured Ah should, being a sort-of-kinda Prince and all.” Ryan shrugged before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “Still sounds weird ta say that…” “Heh, but Ryers, if that’s weird wouldn’t that be normal for you?” “Heartsy!” Ryan went to flick her ear in retaliation but she had already jumped aboard the train. Sighing, he watched the rest of his herd board as well before heading off. Turning to his purple mare, he frowned. “You okay?” “Yeah. I know this is how it should be, but the train just left the horizon and I already miss them.” Twilight was pulled from her staring when a postman showed up to hand her a letter. “Huh? ...haha.” ‘Pinkie?’ “Pinkie.” Twilight smiled before putting the letter away. “Now then, come along boys. There’s still quite a bit to do to get ready.” And thus Ryan, Twilight, and Spike—and Dark too, I suppose—worked on the plans for the festivities to follow the next day long into the night. As they were doing this, Luna was deep in thought before being startled by her sister. “Are you okay, Luna?” “Yes, sister, I’m just...nervous I suppose. Though it is the second one since my return as well as the second one that a human is a part of, it is the first that my dear Darkness will be participating in since long ago. Add in the whole part of our newest Princess and Ryan’s part as he’s pretty much a prince and….” Celestia laughed softly before nuzzling her sister. “Yes, there is much to happen tomorrow and much hope for it all to go off right. But you shouldn’t worry yourself sick, Luna. It is a happy day again, and, for the most part, all of us are together again to celebrate it.” “Hmmm, yes: You, I, Darkness, and Discord...if only Starswirl and Sombra could be here, then it truly would be like old times.” Luna stared up at the moon, her eyes closed in thought. “I am sorry, my sister. It just seems as if old memories are getting the better of me tonight.” “When you live as long as we have, I wouldn’t expect them not to. However, we do have a busy day tomorrow.” “Yes, yes, Celestia.” Luna chuckled softly before sticking her tongue out at her sister. “We all are to need our rest so it goes off perfectly. I just…” “Just what?” “I just have this strange feeling that something is not right in our land…” As they had been talking, they were unaware of a strange, black vine twisting up from beneath the floorboards until suddenly… “EEEK!” Ryan groaned softly, feeling not rested in the least thanks to the awkward position on the couch he’d fallen asleep in. Slowly cracking one eye open, he was greeted by a face full of purple, which at least explained where Twilight was. Feeling a smaller weight resting on his side, he deduced that to be his younger brother and just sighed as he tried to remember how he’d fallen asleep here of all places. ‘You guys were planning and double-checking into the early late evening, partner.’ ‘Oh yeah...then Ah flopped onto the couch and must’ve just passed out with the others joining not long after.’ Ryan replied before hearing Spike mumble something and roll off of him on to the ground. Leaning over as best he could he smirked, “You okay, little bro?” Spike groaned, rubbing his head as he grit his teeth. “Yeah...kinda forgot where I was sleeping. Is it morning already?” “Guess so...we’ve been asleep long enough...Ah think anyway.” Slowly getting up, the young dragon yawned before walking to stretch his legs. He gave pause, however, when he passed the window. Blinking, he rubbed his eyes before laughing nervously. “Uhm, guys?” ‘What’s up, Spikester?’ “So...if it’s morning...why are both the sun and moon up?” “What?!” Ryan gasped, practically launching out of the couch and taking Twilight with him. “Huh?! Sweet fuzzy peaches!” Twilight blurted out before looking around quickly. “Wait...where am I?” “With yer family, but we’ve bigger issues, T-Sparks.” Ryan set her down before looking out the window as well. “Eeeeyup. That sure is the sun and moon, all right. Lunes and Cellie sleeping on the job or something?” “I don’t see why they would be. We need to find them and find out what happened!” Almost before they could exit the room, however, two royal guards came running to them looking quite worried and out of breath. “Thank goodness you two are still here. Huff...huff…” “Swift Cut?” Ryan seemed a bit concerned at their exhausted state. “What happened? Ah know the sun and moon are all outta wack, but Ah’m sure it’s just something off with the Princesses…” “While normally you would be right, that’s just it: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are missing.” “WHAT?!” “They mysteriously vanished sometime last night and we can’t find a trace of them.” ‘Damn...that’s not good.’ “We’re just glad you're still here, Princess Twilight.” Swift Cut turned to Ryan. “And you as well, Prince Ryan. We need to know what you wish us to do since you’re the only royalty left right now.” “Ugh, Ah told you ya didn’t have ta call me that because it’s all weird sounding still.” Ryan sighed. “I know, but that’s why I did it.” “Jeez, this guy haha...well, T-Sparks?” “What? Uhm...I...that is…” Twilight looked around before pulling herself together. “Keep looking for the missing Princesses. We’ll do what we can to find out what has happened, but let us know right away if you find out something.” “Very well. I suppose with that said you two will—” But Swift was cut off as another younger guard plowed into the room, looking very exhausted and terrified. “Sir! Sir! News from...Ponyville!” “Ponyville? Well don’t just stand there, speak!” “It’s...it’s the Everfree! It’s invading!” Well, that was all Ryan needed ta hear as he turned to Swift. “Hey, keep things on lock down here. Ah’ve got a bad feeling this is all connected somehow. T-Sparks, let’s get home.” “R-Right! Send word if you find out anything. Ready, Ry?” Giving a nod, Ryan and Twilight focused for a moment before they and Spike disappeared from sight… ….only to land in the library on top of the frazzled herdmates. “Good to know we guessed right…” Ryan groaned, shaking his head. “Y’all okay?” “Ryers! Thank goodness. There’s all these weeds and stuff and it’s causing all this havoc and our house would’ve been carried off if Deej hadn’t done that weird thing to it and…” “Heartsy. Relax.” Ryan sighed before standing up. “How bad are things looking?” “Well…” AppleJack yanked on a weed that had twisted through a window before tossing it aside. “Most of the town is overrun by all this freaky foliage and it’s not showing any sign of stopping.” “Oh, I don’t understand though.” Fluttershy squeaked in surprise when a giant vine shattered the window, only for Ryan to slice it with his sword. “The Everfree always kept to itself, so what would make it go crazy like this? All my poor animal friends had to take shelter in my house to get away from it.” ‘Hold on here…’ “Ah think Ah know what yer about ta say, partner.” ‘One could say this is causing trouble, yes? Throwing things all out of whack? In other words…’ “...creating chaos.” Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes. “Now guys, guys...Ah know this definitely seems like it’d be up Disky’s non-existant sleeves, but let’s go see him first before jumping to conclusions.” Ryan kicked open the door, only to see ponies running everywhere from the strange vines creeping every which way. “Follow me ladies! Ah’ll clear us a path! Incinerate! Fire Ruby Orchard!” Blazing a trail through all the madness, Ryan and his family made their way towards their home on the outskirts of the farm only to see Discord’s house untouched. ‘Okay, gotta admit, that doesn’t work in his favor but maybe it just knows better than to mess with a god of chaos?’ “We’ll see.” Twilight remarked before banging on his door loudly. “DISCORD! Open up!” They didn’t receive a response at first, but heard some noises coming from inside before the door just disappeared and there was Discord...standing with a towel around his head and another around his waist. “Oh! I had to wonder just who would be knocking on my door of all doors, but seeing as most of those other ponies have no desire to get to know me, it’s not very surprising to find my dear, wonderful friends.” Discord toweled himself off a bit before smirking. “Now then, what cause did you have to knock so harshly on my door?” “Are you crazy? ...Don’t answer that!” Twilight shouted before pointing towards the forest. “Don’t you see what’s happening?!” “Hmmm?” Discord poofed his towel into some binoculars and sighed. “Oh dear, it would seem there’s a bit of a gardening problem going on. Shouldn’t you get on that, uhm, Apple Dandy? Ya know, work that Earth Pony expertise. Especially since all those buildings are kinda floating away...pity. I did ever so like where the cafe was.” ‘Cordy...are you to say you’re not involved in all this...chaos?’ “Oh, Darkness my dear friend. To wound me in such a way...I’m reformed, remember?” Discord poofed about before wrapping a paw around Ryan’s shoulder. “The boy saw to that along with his little herd. While I still like to be...mischievous from time to time, I’ve learned from the past and how not to cause trouble. Well, any irreversible trouble anyway.” “Okay...show of hooves, who thinks he’s full of shit?” Rainbow asked, throwing up hers and seeing several others join. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Twi, let’s blast him to stony oblivion till we sort this out!” ‘...when did you grab the Elements?’ “Just before Ryan cleared a fiery path for us.” Rarity smirked as she powered up her Element along with her friends...though Fluttershy seemed a bit hesitant. “Stop this, ladies.” “Ry?!” Discord blinked to see Ryan standing in front of him. “Coming to my aide, boy? You sure about that?” “Look, even if you are somehow behind this, blasting you without proof isn’t the way to go about it. Besides, Ah’d like to give you a little faith seeing as you are mah friend.” Ryan narrowed his eyes, yanking on Discord’s goatee to stare him dead in the eyes. “But if Ah find out ya did have something to do with this, you are going to have a lot ta deal with if you still wanna stay friends, capiche?!” Discord, stunned by Ryan’s actions, gulped slightly before laughing. “Oh my, so overly dramatic as always. That’s all just part of your charm, boy, so very well. Though if you want my advice, perhaps you should ask a resident of the forest?” “A resident?” “Ryers, the only pony we know that lives there is...Zecora!” Sure enough, their zebra friend was emerging from the edge of the forest, dragging her possessions with her and looking rather upset. Heading towards her and helping her settle her belongings, the others asked if she knew what could possibly be happening. “I’m afraid even that I do not know, despite the destruction the vines continue to sow.” “Do you think there might be something we can do? Anything at all?” “AppleJack, I am not sure what to do, but perhaps aide we can find in a certain brew.” Dark went quite silent as she pulled out a vial with a mysterious liquid in it. ‘...I know what that is.’ “I would not doubt that of you Dark, but to make use of it we need a little spark.” To that everyone tilted their heads in confusion, staring at the zebra with wide eyes. ‘...she means a magic that only certain ponies can use. Twily, you have to do what you did back in the Crystal Empire and use that magic.’ Twilight seemed a bit puzzled until her eyes grew wide. “Wait? That magic? You mean that freaky dark magic, don’t you?” “That creepy stuff you did after seeing it once?” Spike shivered. “I still have nightmares about what happened down there.” ‘Yeah, that magic. Zecora, that potion...it will let us see the past, won’t it?’ “The words you speak are true, to see the past is the job of this brew.” ‘Right. Ryan, we’re diving in with Twily. I feel like...like we need to go back with her.’ “Uhm, alright...Ah can’t see the harm but ya feeling okay, Partner? Ya seem...worried.” ‘Let’s just find out what we need to save Equestria.’ That being that, Twilight unleashed the freaky dark magic upon the bottle, turning the liquid inside a bright white. So bright, Ryan was rather sure it was glowing and that did little to settle his unease. “That, uh, that stuff looks pretty funky now...ya sure it’s safe ta drink?” ‘Oh quit being a baby and take a swig. See? Twily did it without any worry.’ Shrugging, Ryan took the bottle and drank...before making a weird face. “Ah feel weird….” “Uh, should Ryers eyes be glowing like that…?” “Ugh...damn, that stuff packs a punch.” Ryan groaned, slowly coming to and standing up...before realizing they were not in Ponyville anymore. “T-Sparks...where are we?” “Not sure...looks like a castle of some kind...two thrones...wait? That tapestry…” ‘...shit. This is their original castle. Which means we didn’t go far enough back...why would it send us here…?’ “Partner, ya gonna be okay…!” Ryan gasped upon seeing a figure emerge from behind the thrones. “Lunes?!” ‘...she can’t hear us. We’re just observing the past, guys. So anything we see cannot be affected by us in any way.’ “Oh, it’s a lovely night out tonight. Clear and peaceful…” Luna sighed wistfully as she looked out a window. “The kind of nights you loved...that we loved…” ‘...Woona…’ “Hmm? Here you are, sister! I was looking for you. Why are you here by yourself?” Celestia walked in to join her, staring up at the sky and suddenly releasing why. “You know he wouldn’t want you to let this eat at you so.” Luna hung her head slightly, closing her eyes. “I know this...it is the same reason that I let you plead your case that my night was appreciated despite feeling otherwise. I was...rather foolish to not know that others enjoyed the night, even if they were not as vocal as those that loved the day.” Celestia nuzzled her younger sibling before smiling. “Yes. I...I won’t lie. I worried for some time that what happened might affect you harder than I could help with.” “...I would imagine, dear sister, that it affected you nearly as hard.” Luna chuckled softly, smirking at her sister’s reddening cheeks. “Losing him hurt us both deeply...hard to believe that it’s already been quite some time since that fateful day.” “Hmmm….” “Sister?” “Do you...do you think there was still something we could’ve done to find him? To find them?” “Sister...you know we did all we could. And when the Crystal Kingdom needed help, we had to focus on stopping yet another of our old friends…” “...it would seem that alicorns are cursed with such heartbreak, sadly. Perhaps that is why there are so few of us left…” “We certainly didn’t draw the best hand from fate, did we? However…” Luna smiled softly. “I don’t regret the life we’ve had...there are many good times that I would never wish to lose out on despite the bad. Knowing Darkness...loving him...I am thankful for every second we had together. And for his sacrifice…” “Yes…” The two sisters stood quietly together, simply looking up at the sky, before Luna made a slight noise and removed herself from her sister’s embrace. “Well, no need to waste such a wonderful night. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a flight around our kingdom for a bit.” “Very well, sister. Do be safe.” Our trio from the future had been watching curiously, and had quite the questions. Twilight in particular was rather confused. “So, Ry, Dark...this is obviously after Discord and Sombra’s encounters...so...why does this not match up with any of the history we know of this time period? Why is Luna not jealous? She’s not anywhere near becoming Nightmare Moon from what I can see.” “Ah’m not sure, hon. Partner, any thoughts? ...Partner?” ‘...sorry, Ry. Just...seeing what the aftermath of all that was, it hit me a bit hard seeing the anguish that they carried.’ Dark seemed to be thinking deeply before a loud scream was heard just outside. ‘...that sounded like Woona!!’ Racing outside, they saw that Celestia had heard the cry as well and up in the sky they saw something that puzzled them: Luna was speeding through the night sky, something weird and ominous chasing after her. Though the sky was illuminated brightly due to her full moon, the strange being chasing her was pitch black and gave Ryan and Twilight the heebie-jeebies. “The hell is that thing?!” ‘....’ “Dark? Dark! What is it?” “No! It cannot be!” Celestia shouted, before taking to the skies. “Sister! Hold tight! I am coming!” “Celestia?! No! Stay back! I won’t let it take both of us!” Luna swerved away, climbing higher into the sky. However, it became quite clear that she was not going to outrun whatever this was. Feeling it closing in, she smiled sadly at but one thought. “I’m sorry, my love...but I just wasn’t strong enough...whatever may happen now...please give Tia the strength to protect...our...home…” There was a large explosion of midnight black magic as the strange creature engulfed Luna, causing Celestia to shy away. Landing, she looked up as what was her sister and now was something more...nightmarish. “Hahahahaha! You fools! To think that you would be able to keep me at bay! I am the true ruler of Equestria! The only Princess that should be!” “Luna! Snap out of it! Do not let this thing control you!” “Luna? Peh! There is only NIGHTMARE MOON! This night shall stay forever, and you will bow to me!” “You vile fiend! Do you think I would let something like this go so easily?” Celestia roared, flaring her Elemental Sync. “I will not allow you to steal my sister away like this! I’ve lost too much already, I won’t lose her!!” Cackling madly, Nightmare Moon grinned as Celestia engaged her in battle, magic attacks flying all around as each tried to take out the other. Unfortunately, the castle suffered more than anything as it was torn to pieces by their missed shots. Following after them, Ryan and Twilight watched helplessly as the struggle continued until… ‘TIA!’ Dark shouted in fear, watching her take a direct hit and crash back into the castle. ‘...Tia…’ “Remember, Dark...this already happened. We already know they’re okay in the present.” ‘...I know but...I’m so confused by what’s happening.’ Twilight, having landed with them and seen Celestia lying there with Nightmare Moon looking on smugly, finally figured it out. “Ry? This is the night Luna got banished to the moon…” “Oh shit! Then that means…” Sure enough, Ryan could see the Elements as they once looked long ago rising from the ground at Celestia’s command. “Damn…” Watching in silence, they saw Celestia rise up, the Elements circling around her as she looked on at the being in front of her. With tears in her eyes, she began focusing the magic of them before gritting her teeth. “Sister...I’m so sorry….One day...I’ll save you…” “Hahahahaha! You think your magic can stop me?” Nightmare Moon retaliated with a blast of her own, but it was no match for the magic of the Elements. Their blasts collided, but it became quite apparent that the Nightmare was no match. With a wild scream, she was engulfed by the harmonic magic and launched in a swirl of rainbows towards the moon before creating the Mare in the Moon image they well knew. Ryan, Twilight, and Dark were stunned at witnessing such a heartbreaking event, and, as they watched, Celestia fell to the ground and collapsed into a crying mess. “Sister...Darkness...I’ve lost both of you now...why…” Celestia choked out between sobs. “How...how do I go on now, alone? Mom...what do I do...now?” ‘...Tia…’ And as they looked on, a bright light filled their vision until… “Guh!? Huh?!” Ryan gasped as he blinked and looked around. “We’re...we’re back…” “Tarnation! What happened to y’all?!” “Yes, darling...you were mumbling about something, and crying...as if you’d witnessed something dreadful.” “Personally I thought it was just so amusing~” Ryan and Dark immediately glared at Discord so hard he began freezing up, literally. “You shut yer Solaris damned mouth...this is no joking issue. What we just saw…” ‘...Ryan…’ “What we saw was not...good. Also raises some questions that we’ll have to answer later when we find them but…” Discord raised his paw and claw up defensively. “Oh my, such language. You humans are so emotional sometimes…” “Anyway…” Twilight sighed. “We still didn’t find out what we needed to.” “If the answers you still seek, perhaps further back you should peek.” ‘...so in other words, take another sip and trip.’ “Ah guess...but God, if Ah gotta see another heartbreaking sight like that…” With that said, Ryan and Twilight took another swig before their eyes blanked out… And the world they knew looked quite unusual. “Now where the hell are we? If’n Ah didn’t know any better, Ah’d say the bizarre state of things looks rather familiar.” ‘...Oh my. This...this is when Discord, when my friend….when he lost his mind after Gauge’s death.’ “Wait...so from what y’all told us about what really went down, wouldn’t you currently be looking for the original Elements then?” ‘Most likely...oh. Wait...nevermind.’ Twilight seemed puzzled as to why he changed his mind. “Uhm, what makes you say that, Dark?” ‘That.’ And as if on cue, what appeared to be Past Dark crashed in front of them sending a lot of the ground flying every which way. “Snap out of it, old friend! You can end this madness peacefully! I don’t want to have to do this to you! None of us do! We just want you back! We want those peaceful times back…” Discord cackled manically before sneering at the clearly wounded human. “Peh! Who wants something as boring as all that?! Besides...we can never go back to those days. Not after what your damnable kind did!” “Cordy, we still don’t know if Gauge—uk!” Dark gasped for air as Discord closed the distance and grabbed him by the throat. “I told you to NEVER say her name! You have no right!” Discord growled, slamming Dark into the ground repeatedly before tossing him into a giant container of green jello. Dark blinked, making to swim for some precious air, only to find that he was sealed in pretty well. Slamming against the sides, he tried breaking his way out but found it rather resilient to even his strongest magic. Finding himself out of options and nearly out of time, he did the one thing he could do: he started eating it. After getting just a bit down, he managed a small pocket to gather some air...but he knew it was just short-lived unless he got out of this thing. “What’s the matter, old friend? I thought you always enjoyed the sweet treats I would come up with?” Laughing maniacally, Discord was not prepared for a massive blast of magic to complete tear apart Dark’s prison, leaving him to gasp for precious air. Looking up, the human smiled at seeing Celestia and Luna finally on the battlefield. “Heh...and with the Elements in tow. Guess you gals figured out how to harness them.” Dark spat out the gelatin before making a face. “But man, that’s just evil, Cordy. Who in the world makes brussel sprout flavored gelatin? Bleck!” “Oh come now. If I had made it taste good, then that wouldn’t be very diabolical of me, now would it?” Discord laughed darkly. “And oh my, what might those pretty little baubles be? The Elements? Is that what you said, dear Darkness? Peh! Those little things won’t help you. In fact, I’m almost certain you’re bluffing: you know as well as I that those things are a legend, a myth. To think a mystical set of gems would exist, let alone embedded in some dumb little tree…” “I would not be laughing if I was in your position, Discord.” Celestia was more than tired of his shenanigans, her flames flickering about as she focused her share of the Elements. “It pains me to have to do this, but you’ve left us no choice.” “...and who said I’d give you a chance to even use those supposed Elements on me?” Discord moved insanely fast towards the two alicorns, but snarled as Dark was there to block his attack. “Darkness! Again you feel the need to get in the way!” “Cordy! Come on man! I know you’re still in there! Please! Fight it and end this!” “Oh...if you want me to end this, then by all means I shall!” With that said, Discord grabbed our shade-wearing hero quite roughly by the neck before flinging him about, batting his body around like a soccer ball before unleashing a blast of chaos magic his way. To his credit, Dark fired off a Darkness Eraser and deflected most of the blast but was still hit with more than his body could withstand. Falling to his knees, he slowly smirked as his shades cracked and hung limply from his face. “Heh, heh...heh...that all ya got, ol’ pal? Guh!” “Even to the bitter end you show that bravado...any last words before I finish you off? I’ll do you quick, for old time’s sake, Darkness.” Dark laughed softly, before coughing. “Haha...yeah. Get...Rekt!” Looking behind Darkness to see that Celestia and Luna were done charging the Elements, Discord was furious at having allowed this human to get the better of him. Roaring loudly, he unleashed his fury on the defenseless Darkness. ‘Well, Master...I guess you were wrong...I couldn’t finish that spell...I failed…’ Dark grinned, holding out his hand and giving a thumbs-up. ‘I’m sorry Woona...I’m sorry Tia...take care of each other...and find a way...to...save...him…’ With that the human known as Darkness Shade was completely obliterated from view, the only thing left the smoldering remains of his leather jacket and wand. “DARKNESS!!!!” Luna shouted, tears streaming down her eyes as she glared at their target. “DISCORD!!” “Sister! Now! While...while he’s winded!” Despite the ache of watching Dark die now sitting on their hearts, the two sisters managed to focus their magics and unleash the Elements’ full force upon the draconequus. Groaning in agony, Discord glared at them as he slowly turned to stone. “You may have stopped me, but the last laugh shall forever be mine…” Discord made one final movement of his paw before finally petrifying completely. Luna and Celestia were puzzled by this, but soon enough would understand just what their former friend had wrought upon their world. “Holy shit, Partner.” Ryan commented, watching as Luna ran to where Past Dark had been vaporized. ‘...damn...not gonna lie, that was just as painful to watch as it was when it first happened to me.’ “To think things truly were so different than what we’d been told…” Twilight frowned. “But we still haven’t gone far enough back, have we?” ‘No...we’ll probably need one more trip, to when my friends and I found the Tree of Harmony…’ “Which means waking up from this again…” Ryan blinked before seeing white. “Speaking of…” Coming to once more, the others were simply staring at the three just as confused as last time. “Any luck, Rysy-Wysy?” “Not yet...we’re close.” Ryan turned to Discord, who was actually behaving himself for once. “Disky...Past you really was an asshole. Not gonna lie.” “Oh my! Did that brew send you back there? Oh, such a dreadful day...you might not believe me, boy, but I do wish I could’ve done things differently back then. It’s almost like I was a different person altogether.” Discord rubbed the back of his head before blushing slightly. “I feel kind of embarrassed you saw that event of all things, especially since I caused so much trouble with that foolish act. Youth does lead to rash decisions I’m afraid.” “Indeed. Ah’m actually surprised you can feel embarrassed given everything we’ve been through.” “Oh come now, my dear human, even I, the great Discord, have things I’m not proud of. But enough of that, shouldn’t you still be looking for more info?” “He’s right. We need to go back one more time.” Twilight grabbed the bottle once more. “Looks like there’s just enough for one more jump, so let’s hope it’s the right one…” “Ugh...really wish that was an easier entry.” Ryan looked around to see that this time they were in the Everfree, though it looked a bit different. “Is this the right place this time, Partner?” ‘Hmmm...I want to say it is. If so...yes. We need to head south a bit. I have a feeling we’ll find what we need that way.’ Twilight looked at her human and shrugged. “Well, he would know more about this time period than we would so let’s get moving. While things are, uhm, kinda stable right now, we don’t know how long we have until something terrible might happen.” With that said, the three of them made their way through the forest looking for any sign of what they may want. As they began to suspect Dark might have deduced the wrong direction, they began to hear a voice...then two...then more! “Are you sure this is the right way, Dark?” “Heh, come on Sombrero, ya know my sense of direction is the best there is!” “Then, pray tell, why was it you led us astray for such a terribly long time?” Dark turned to what appeared to be a human roughly his age, the vibrant white hair matching his shining armor rather well. “Look, Cecil, even the greatest at something is wrong once and awhile—” “—not if you’re me. Heh.” “Stay out of this, Hurricane.” Dark glared at the smirking pegasus before turning back to his other friends. “Relax, man. Master left behind this info because he knew we’d need it...we need to find these things and do what we can to save our other friend.” Cecil sighed, frowning at that. “Indeed. Discord has lost what little sense he had to begin with and I fear that left unchecked the world we know might be lost to chaos.” “Yes. Anyway, if you’re so worried, Sombrero, just lead us to those things.” “Me?” “Yeah! They’re supposed ta be some crazy powerful gemstones or something, right? Granted, they’re supposedly in a tree, but that doesn’t mean you can’t track them down. After all, when it comes to magic stones you’re the authority.” Sombra blushed slightly at his friend’s praise. “Well, yeah, I suppose. I just wish the direction wasn’t so vague on that map Master left us. Hmmm….!” “Find something?” “Perhaps...this way!” Seeing the past quartet take off, Ryan and Twilight followed along before they saw them stop suddenly in front of a very shiny looking tree. “Safe ta say you guys found it.” ‘Heh, ain’t that the truth.’ Dark smirked, watching his past self looking over the tree with his friends. ‘It seems like only yesterday we ventured forth to find these magical macguffins to hopefully save our friend and world…’ “Dark?” ‘...sorry. I just...I miss them. I never got to say a proper goodbye to any of them, except for Sombrero, and even that was a pretty shitty reunion.’ Dark sniffled before seeing Cecil and his past self remove the Elements and bag them up for their journey back. ‘Well, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say we found out what we needed.’ As the trio from the future began to fade away, Past Darkness paused and turned to look in the direction they had been in. “Is something bothering you, my friend?” Dark shook his head. “No. I’m okay, Cecil. I just...thought I felt something...familiar. Hmm...Come on! The Princesses need these on the double!” “Guh! The kickback on that is way too harsh!” Ryan groaned, grabbing his head and waiting for the world to stabilize. “So wait...Dark?” ‘Yeah?’ “Did y’all know the tree might weaken without the Elements?” ‘...it was a possibility, but we didn’t know for sure. Unfortunately…’ “It turned out to be true.” Twilight turned to the rest of their herd. “Ladies...we know what we have to do. The Tree of Harmony needs our help.” “Heh, ya heard Twi. Get yer rears in gear, ladies!” With a far too eager farewell from Discord, the group of intrepid heroes made their way through the Everfree….though not peacefully, as it’s denizens were more than eager to be troublesome as usual. So much so, some of the girls were a bit worried as to what they might find—especially in regards to how that might affect the seemingly last Princess left in Equestria. “Again, gotta point out Cadance is still there, ya know.” “Yes, darling, but she has her own issues to deal with. If we can’t find Princess Celestia or Luna, there will be a need for someone to handle things.” ‘And so y’all are thinking to disband the group and send Twi back to town?’ Dark rolled his eyes. ‘That’s probably the dumbest thing I’ve heard, and let’s face it: I’ve said some pretty stupid things in the past.’ “But Dark, ain’t no guarantee when we find this here tree that Luna and her sister will return.” “...that might be a possibility, Apps, but Ah’m with Dark on this one. Haven’t we gotten through everything we’ve dealt with by sticking together? By working together? Our Friendship and Love uniting us into an unstoppable force?” Rainbow Dash smirked. “Rys does have a point. We kinda do our best work together, after all.” “...what about that time we sent you off when Discord attacked again?” “Well, T-Sparks, that is true...but we only beat him again when Ah came back and saved y’all through the connection in our hearts.” “And, uhm, what about when we were in, ya know...Hell?” “Again, yes, that is true Flutters. But that was different, it was clear that even with our combined might, Hell’s power kinda had the upper-hand after that crazy bitch jacked it for herself.” Ryan let out an exasperated sigh. “Point is, we kick butt together, we stay together, end of story. After all, we’re Ohana...and that means no one is being left behind. Now come on, we can’t waste time arguing here when our town is being overrun.” Those that were hesitant pushed their worries aside and continued on, realizing that arguing wouldn’t help the situation at all. Besides, Ryan hadn’t led them astray before, so why would this time be any different? “...Ah. Hate. This Forest.” Ryan groaned, entangled in pesky vines while something that looked like an overgrown fly-trap laughed...somehow. “Jokes on you, buddy. You and yer friends messed with the wrong ponies. And human.” ‘And dragon.’ “...regardless of who we are, they done goofed! Let them have it, Ladies!” With their usual flare, Twilight and the others tangled, sliced, scorched, and weeded out the problematic plants with practiced ease. Which only left Ryan, who had drawn out his sword. “Plants, this is Malus Domestica. It might be named after a tree, but it’s no friend of yours.” One series of lightning fast strikes later, Ryan was free and all that was left of his chloroform-filled captor was a pile of leaves. Smirking, he holstered his sword. “Sorry to cut and run, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry.” “...weren’t we looking for a tree, and not a fish, Rysy-Wysy?” Facepalming, the human looked at his pink pone who was all giggles. “Pinks...sometimes Ah wonder when ya say stuff like that whether yer playing me or not.” Pinkie giggled even more at that. “But Rysy, flustering you is like the most fun ever, plus it totally broke the tension.” “That’s Pinkie Pie for you.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “But seriously, come on guys! You said you saw it somewhere this way, right? Near the old ruins?” “What puzzles me is, if that’s where it is, how did you guys not see it when you first stumbled on the Elements?” ‘Careful, Lyra...yer treading into plot hole territory there. Not a good place to go.’ “...plot...hole?” “Oh Lyre-Wyre, I wouldn’t think about it too hard. It’s just one of those things that Ry and I like to talk about and—oh hey look! That’s really shiny over there!” Following her after that outburst, they could see something tucked away into a cave, though it was mostly buried in a writhing mass of vines. The same vines, they noted, that had begun invading Ponyville. “Well, probably gonna say that’s the tree, guys.” Spike noted before scrunching his face. “So, uhm, what exactly do we do?” ‘...we need to return the Elements back to the tree. Only then will it regain its power and set things right.’ There was a noise, not unlike a record scratching, as the mares—save for Twily—all stared at Dark. “SAY WHAT?!” “Apple Ryder, he’s speaking nonsense...right?” “Yeah, like, those things are pretty important...if we just give them up, that kinda leaves us open to all sorts of trouble.” Rainbow Dash huffed before growling slightly. “Like that nutjob, Discord. The only reason he’s behaving is because we can just zap him back to stone if he goofs up. What’s gonna happen if we don’t have that anymore?” “And besides, those things brought all of us together. If’n we give them up…” AppleJack looked down and frowned. “It means giving up the thing that connects us.” Ryan laughed softly. “You really are a silly pony.” “Huh?” “Our human is right.” Twilight smiled before nuzzling her herdmate. “While the Elements brought us together, AJ, our friendship...and well, our love as a family will always keep us connected.” AppleJack simply blushed before nodding her head. ‘So precious. You really are just too cute when you blush, AJ.’ “Sh-shut up, Dark!!” With the whole group laughing at her outburst, they all nodded as Twilight removed the gems from their necklaces and began moving them over to the Tree. Each one took their place in specific slots before being accepted by the Tree which pulsated with the Harmonic energy and began to push back the weeds. Near the base of the trees were two bundles of weeds that began to spasm violently before exploding to reveal none other than… ‘WOONA! TIA!’ “...Darkness?” “Princess!” Twilight gasped, running over to hug the two of them. “We found you! Thank goodness!” “Haha, you have done well, Twilight. You and your friends have accomplished much to not only find this place, but in your decision as well. I know it might have been tough, but you did the right thing.” Celestia smiled before noting something amiss. “...there is a strange energy coming from the tree.” “Y’all felt that too, huh?” Ryan frowned before noting a new flower blooming in front of the tree. “Okay...it’s not evil looking like those other ones. That’s a good start.” Spike looked around before slowly walking up to poke the flower, and jumping back when it chose to bloom with a flash of light. As the blinding light died down, the group stood in confusion as they saw a locked box of some kind just sitting there. “One, two...six keyholes?” “Hmmm, though I do not know where the keys may be, I have a feeling you will not be searching for them alone.” Celestia smiled before motioning towards her friends. “And if our past events have taught me anything, it’s that your human will most certainly find a way to meddle in this as well.” Ryan huffed before glaring at the sun Princess. “Ya know, Cellie-Bellie, those comments are gonna cost you tummy rubs.” “...are you threatening the Princess of the Sun?” “Heh, Ah like to think of it more as bargaining.” Ryan laughed, “But still...a box, huh? Curious. Well, either way, we should get back to Ponyville and make sure everything went well.” “Oh ho! Here they are, the stalwart adventures!” Discord cackled happily as he saw his friends emerge from the forest. “And you’ve found the Sun and Moon. Bravo!” Ryan frowned slightly as the draconequus wound his way around the group, taking note of the now missing Elements of Harmony. Tapping his foot, the wily chimera smirked, “I do say, however, where did your curious little baubles go?” ‘...They’re gone. Back in the Tree where they first came from.’ “Gone, you say?” Discord grinned widely. “Oh...that’s such an interesting development.” In a flash quicker than even Celestia and Luna could detect, Ryan and Dark had synchronized and stood glaring at Discord in their fused form. With their Elemental Sync flaring brightly, they stared hard into their friend’s eyes before speaking. “Just because they’re gone, doesn’t mean we’ll tolerate any shenanigans. Heh, that is…” “That is?” Kouki smirked. “That is, if you still wish ta be our friend.” “Oh very well. You and your overdramatic actions. Peh, just know this: I don’t do windows.” With that they turned back into just plain ol’ Ryan as Discord pondered over something. “What’s that yer mumbling to yerself?” AppleJack eyed him suspiciously. “Oh, it’s nothing too important, Apple Dandy—” “—The hay did you say?!” “—just that, those plunderseeds I planted as a failsafe against those three’s little plan should’ve sprouted a long time ago.” Celestia and Luna looked at each other before tilting their heads. “What?” “Oh it’s easy, you’ve been to the past, right? Well, in-between when Dark and his little friends found the Elements and when my past self kicked Dark’s oh-so eager butt, I planted a bit of a backup plan just in case those magical maguffins turned out to be real.” Twilight narrowed her eyes before leaping at Discord. “You knew what was behind this all along?! Why didn’t you say anything?!” Gently pushing the enraged alicorn from his person, Discord laughed. “What? And deprive you of the chance to learn your first lesson as a Princess? Please, a friend would never keep another from learning something new about themselves.” “Hmmm...I’ll let it slide this time, but as my peach warned, you better behave yourself.” Poofing into an outdoorsy uniform, Discord held up his paw and nodded. “Scout’s honor.” ‘...Cordy…’ Sighing, he uncrossed the fingers on his other hand and rolled his eyes. “Sometimes it’s hard to be me when you know me so well, Darkness.” ‘Heh, someone’s gotta help keep ya in line, ol’ pal.’ And so it was that the Festival was back on track, and boy was it fantastic. Twilight and Ryan pulled off their parts without a hitch, with her rainboom-esque maneuver and his scattering petals raising the moment to even higher levels of grandeur. As the festivities died down, Twilight and her human had told Celestia and Luna they had some questions about what they had seen and needed to clarify it. At first, they were hesitant, even going so far as to deny they knew what they were talking about. ‘Woona, Tia...I need to know what the hell actually happened regarding Nightmare Moon. For the longest time, you told us that it was merely your potential but corrupted by your own jealously.’ Dark sighed. ‘That’s not true, though, is it?’ “Please, Princess, we need to know why the history we know and the history we saw are two very different things.” Twilight seemed worried. “In particular, what it was that...that changed you. That seemingly took over you.” “Ah’m not quite sure why ya changed history to what it is, but Ah know one thing from what Ah saw: whatever that thing was that grabbed on to ya, Lunes, it gave me more cases of the willies than anything Ah’ve seen.” Ryan shivered a bit. “And Ah just have this bad feeling that even though T-Sparks and the others seemingly defeated it, that it may possibly be lurking in the shadows. That kind of evil...it doesn’t go away easy.” Luna and Celestia looked at one another again before sighing. “Sister…” “Yes. Perhaps they deserve to hear the truth.” Celestia motioned for them to follow. “This way, my friends. We will answer the questions you have, but only when we know we are secure.” Unsure as to what that even meant, but figuring they’d get their answers, they followed along until they came upon a very large, wooden door. It opened slowly, and inside appeared to be pitch-black. “Do not be frightened. Though it may look imposing, inside is the safest spot to talk about what you three saw.” Luna smiled before walking in and disappearing. Her sister followed, and thus Ryan, Dark, and Twilight did as well. The door slowly closed and latched tight, effectively sealing the five of them away from the world they knew. “! This place!” Twilight recognized the starry sky and lights all around them. “This is where you brought me after I fixed StarSwirl’s spell.” “Indeed. This reality is separate from our own, with it’s own special properties. We must make use of it if we are to talk to you about...the Nightmare.” ‘...as I deduced. What turned you into Nightmare Moon was not jealousy...but something far worse.’ “Your insight guides you well, Darkness.” Luna sighed before bringing up some images. “We don’t know exactly how long it has existed, nor do we particularly know where it came from. What we do know is that the Nightmare latches on to living beings and corrupts them for it’s own use. From animals to humans to ponies...pretty much any living being on Equestria, no, on Equus is susceptible to it’s terror.” “Ah knew that thing was pure evil. What...what does it want?” Celestia sighed at the next set of images showing a detailed look at this Nightmare. “Of that, we aren’t sure. It seems to seek out any light in the universe and desires to blot it out. We aren’t even sure if this is it’s true form or not, as it’s only ever been seen as an inky black ball of darkness.” “Has...has something like this always been on our world?” “Hard to say, Twilight.” Luna grimaced at the next set of images, showing her being transformed by the Nightmare. “While our mother and father had no records of such a creature existing, we can only guess. It does not seem to be of our world, but that fact only worries us more. If one exists, then could there be more?” “That’s a horrifying thought.” Ryan gritted his teeth. “And the only way you were able to defeat it was to...to…” “Yes...to banish both it and my sister using the Elements. As you well know, when Nightmare Moon returned, the Elements assisted once again. Only this time…” “This time we were able to purify your sister instead and separate her from the Nightmare entity.” Twilight tapped her chin in thought. “So wait! We didn’t just save Luna! We set this creature free on our world!” ‘...if that’s true...why has it not made any move since then?’ “Speaking of it somehow gives it strength of some type. Gives it purpose and meaning.” Luna growled softly. “We have made great strides to remove any type of information regarding the Nightmare. Even going so far as to rewrite our own history so no others can know and give it strength.” “Well, that explains most everything about why the written history is different from real history, but do you think it’s still out there?” “We can only hope it is not, Twilight. However, we are not willing to chance something like this, and thus have made it so only us two knew the truth.” Celestia laughed sadly. “However, we felt we could not lie to you three.” “But know this my dear Darkness, Ryan, and Twilight: you must never share this information with anypony else. The more that know, the stronger it may become...if it still is alive. We cannot allow any chance of it becoming strong again if it is.” Luna had a very serious look on her face as she stared at them. “Do I have your promise of this?” ‘Of course.’ “Ya know me, Ah know how ta keep a secret.” “...I will. But...it worries me. We no longer have the Elements, there’s this new box to worry over, and apparently a horrible abomination of evil that caused one of the greater tragedies of Equestria may still be alive.” Twilight laughed nervously. “No pressure.” Celestia smiled, wrapping a wing around Twilight. “Do not worry, Twilight. Even with all that, as long as you believe in the Friendship in our hearts, you will find a way. You, your herd, and your human. You are unstoppable as long as you never forget that. Now then! It’s gotten late, would you three wish to stay for dinner before returning home?” “Hmmmm?” “And if memory serves correctly, did we not just get a fresh shipment in from our friends in the Gryffon Kingdom?” ‘Gryffon? Partner…’ “Yeah, Ah know, Ah know...that means delicious meat.” Ryan laughed softly. “Well, when ya say things like that, Ah think we can stay a little while longer.” Twilight giggled before poking Ryan’s tummy. “Always thinking with this, huh?” “Hey!” Ryan ruffled her mane, sticking his tongue out at her. “We saved the day again, yes? Then why not celebrate a little! Ladies, lead the way.” As they made their way back to their normal world and upstairs to the dining hall, Dark couldn’t help but be worried just a bit. ‘They might have eased Ry and Twi’s worries, but I can’t help but feel something bad is on the horizon. Whatever it is, I hope we can handle it.’ Dark grimaced, another thought occurring to him. ‘I wonder...could this be related to the things Mallie and DJ mentioned?’