//------------------------------// // Heart of Stone: Part 3 // Story: The Alternate Adventures of the Power Ponies // by DisneyFanatic23 //------------------------------// "I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you." - Friedrich Nietzsche The Power Ponies were still by the holding cells, stunned. Mare-velous was on the floor of Discord's cell, holding her rope in her hooves. "He just…took her," Zapp said, staring at the place where Fluttershy had been taken through the vortex. "I can't believe he'd been playing us all that time," the Matter-Horn said, her hoof caressing the control panel for the security system. "How could I have known that basic protection spells would be useless against his chaos magic?" "He just slid right through," Mare-velous said, clutching her rope to her chest. "Nothin' can escape Ole Bessie. Nothin' except…" She stiffened in realization. "Fluttershy." She face-hoofed herself. "Stupid! I should've known! If Fluttershy'd been able to escape Ole Bessie, of course the source of her power would be able to do the same!" "Whatever does that monster want with poor, darling Fluttershy?" Radiance asked. "He wants to marry her," Zapp murmured. "WHAT?!" the Power Ponies exclaimed, turning in the pegasus' direction. "Daring called and said that according to the Discordian Prophecy, the one who sets Discord free will be given everlasting life and belong to Discord. We thought this pony was called the Keeper of His Core, but, because ancient Gracian is so unspecific, turns out it's the Keeper of His Heart." "Which means…" Mare-velous said. "That scoundrel is actually smitten with Fluttershy!" Radiance said. "I knew it! The way he spoke to her, it was blatantly obvious!" "I'd have to say," Fili-Second said, "as crazy as the idea of an evil chaos god being in love with sweet little Fluttershy, it's kind of expected what with her visiting his statue all those years and him listening to her. You think he'll let us be bridesmaids? Or at least invite us to the wedding?" "There ain't gonna be a weddin'," Mare-velous said, gripping her rope as she stood. "Not if we have anythin' to say about it!" "But what can we do?" Radiance asked. "We don't even know where they are!" The elevator opened up and Humdrum came out, panting. "I saw what happened on the monitor! Bad news, I can't trace the signal of Fluttershy's commlink!" "Then wherever could she be?" Radiance asked. "I don't think," Mare-velous said, her face becoming grim again, "she's in this world anymore." Fili-Second gasped. "She's dead?!" "What? No, no! I mean Discord may have taken her to another realm, maybe his own. Demeter told me each god has their own private realm or special place where they have free reign." "I remember reading about a Realm of Chaos in my Gracian Mythology books," Zapp said. "But it's impossible to get to! Only Discord can get in and out without a hitch! Even if we did manage to get there, no pony's ever come out the same! We could come back with fish heads, or ostrich wings, or just completely lose our marbles!" Fili-Second gasped. "That bully! He ain't getting my marbles!" "We gotta at least try to get there," Mare-velous said. "I'm just not sure how." "What about if we summoned him like you summoned Demeter?" Zapp asked. "I don't know. To summon a god, ya need to make an offerin'. Fortunately, Demeter's only interested in plants and produce. But to summon a god whose thing is chaos," Mare-velous said, twisting her rope around her hoof, "I shudder to think what sort of offerin' that would take." The Masked Matter-Horn lifted her head slowly. "It's risky, but I have an idea. But first," she said, turning to her colleagues, "we need to secure the Amulet of Chaos. Now that Discord has Fluttershy, he's sure to go after his amulet next." "But what about Fluttershy?" Zapp asked. "Who knows what that monster is doing to her?!" "I…actually wouldn't worry about her too much, Dash," Mare-velous said. "What?!" She flew into her face. "How can you say that?! You're about as close to her as I am! How can you not worry?!" She cocked an eyebrow. "Remember what happened last time some creep tried takin' advantage of Fluttershy?" Zapp paused and then cracked a smile. "Oh, yeah. That old Caballeron never saw it coming!" "Fluttershy can hold her own for a little while," the Matter-Horn said, "but if Discord gets ahold of the Amulet of Chaos, our chances of defeating Discord and saving Fluttershy will be even slimmer." "But how can we stop Discord from taking the amulet too?" Radiance asked. "Your security spells didn't work." "Well then," the Matter-Horn said, narrowing her eyes in determination, "we'll just have to use something stronger than security spells." Gasping, Humdrum put his claws to his mouth. "You don't mean…?" The Matter-Horn nodded. "Spike, call Bon-Bon and tell her to meet us a few blocks down from here. Radiance, you better get back to work before Suri notices you're gone." "Coco can only cover me for so long," Radiance said. "Fili-Second, you stay here and watch the monitors for any more danger, see if Discord stirs up any more trouble." "Roger Wilco!" Fili-Second said, saluting. "Roger who?" Humdrum said. "What about us?" Zapp asked, indicating herself and Mare-velous. "I'll need you to come to the museum with me," the Matter-Horn said. "As for you, Mare-velous," she looked at the orange mare sincerely, "I need you to help me with something…special." Fluttershy let out a squeal as she was suddenly dropped. When she landed, her body started bobbing up and down. Looking down, she realized she was lying on a strip of pink rubber. In fact, it was an entire road of rubber stretching across… She had no idea what she was looking at. The sky was purple, swirling like an endless abyss. When Fluttershy peered over the rubber road, the same abyss was beneath her. Shrieking, she backed away from the edge so that she wouldn't accidentally fall. Above her, a giant bird she did not recognize was soaring. It was turquoise, with yellow feathers and a sharp beak, and was the size of a cow. She ducked as the bird swooped downward. There were chunks of land floating all around, containing plants of odd shapes and colors. Some of these islands floated upside-down and sideways. For a moment, she was mesmerized by the unique species of plants, until one of the flytraps caught the monstrous bird in its pod. After another shriek, Fluttershy started breathing heavily and realized that the air smelled like moldy cheese. Discord seemed to enjoy this smell, for he was inhaling it deeply. "Ah," he said, releasing his breath. "It's just how I left it!" Fluttershy gasped as a swarm of what appeared to be eyeballs equipped with batwings surrounded Discord. "That's right, my little abominations," Discord said, his voice suddenly becoming cutesy. "Daddy's home, and he's never leaving you again." He kissed one of the eyebats, making Fluttershy cringe in discomfort. "It's good to know that no matter what those goody-goody gods do to me," Discord said, snuggling the eyebats, "they can't touch this place." While he was distracted, Fluttershy took the opportunity to slowly crawl away. She had thought she could trust Discord, but knowing that he had been playing her by pretending to be captured, and then captured her, she knew she had to get out of here before…she shivered to think what he was going to do to her. She had no idea where the exit was, but she had to at least try. But she was so busy checking to see that he wasn't following her that she didn't realize she was reaching the end of the rubber road. She shrieked as her front hoof gave out beneath her. She would've fallen into the dark abyss if Discord hadn't caught her with his tail. "Whoopsie!" he said, bringing her to his face. "Forgive me, darling, but in all the excitement of my homecoming, I nearly forgot about you. How neglectful of me. I promise it won't be this way after the ceremony." "C-Ceremony?" Fluttershy asked in confusion. "I wouldn't wander around here if I were you. Sometimes even I don't know what little beasties might turn up." He chuckled. "Adds to the thrill of things, don't you think?" She glanced around. "W-W-Where…?" "Oh, but where are my manners?" he said as he gently set her down. "You've been in my home for two minutes and I haven't even offered to take your coat!" He leaned forward to whisper, "This may surprise you, but I don't get many visitors." With a swift whoosh, Fluttershy's lab coat was suddenly blown off her body. Blushing in embarrassment, she tried to cover herself with her hooves as much as possible. "Oh, please," Discord said, rolling his eyes. "You ponies go naked half the time anyway." He looked her over. "But, if you prefer some covering…" He snapped his fingers and Fluttershy found herself dressed in a green Ancient Gracian-style dress. Chiton, she believed, as it was held together with buttons over her shoulders. Her head suddenly felt heavier, so she put her hooves up to her mane to find it tied up in a braid wrapped around her head. "What the…?" Fluttershy started to say. "And, of course," Discord said, "what sort of gracious host would I be if I didn't offer the lovely lady a present?" She scowled. "Now see here, Discord, I…" She was cut off as Discord dropped to one knee and held out a bouquet of flowers to her. It was the same bouquet he had given her earlier, with the mums, the tulips, the roses, and the ballet slippers. "I figured since you dropped the last one…" Discord said. Still stunned by the gesture, Fluttershy slowly took the bouquet in her hooves, making the god clasp his paw and claw together excitedly. This bouquet was slightly different from the first, as the stems, leaves and petals felt and smelled real. "I…thought you couldn't make real plants without the amulet," Fluttershy said. "Only in the mortal realm," Discord said, gesturing to his surroundings. "Here in my Realm of Chaos, the rules of the mortal realm don't apply. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, with no restrictions." Fluttershy stiffened at that thought. "N-N-No restrictions?" "Well," he said with a shrug, "except maybe the fact that no one can get in and out of this place without my saying so. That's pretty much the only rule we have here." She looked around nervously. "You mean I…c-c-can't leave?" "Oh, you can leave whenever you'd like." She gazed up at him hopefully. "Really?" "When I let you, of course." Fluttershy frowned. "But for now, relax! Pull up a seat!" In a flash, Fluttershy was sitting on some sort of red couch adorned with soft cushions. Discord lay sprawled on another couch across from her. A small round table appeared between them. Snapping his fingers, Discord conjured up two golden goblets hovering in midair. An amphora flashed above the goblets and started pouring red liquid into them both. Grabbing one goblet, Discord held it out to Fluttershy. "Have a drink," he said. She stared at the goblet unsurely. While she wasn't as much an expert in Gracian Mythology as Rainbow Dash or even Applejack, she did know a few of the stories. She had read the myth of Hades and Persephone and how the God of the Underworld had tricked the Goddess of Spring into eating food from the Underworld so that she would be doomed to stay with him forever as his wife. She wasn't sure if the same rules applied to the Realm of Chaos, but she couldn't take any chances. "I, um, actually," Fluttershy said, attempting to smile politely, "don't drink wine." "Really?" Discord said, looking curiously at the goblet. "Huh. Well, I must say you're the first pony I've met to say that." He snapped his fingers, turning the wine into brown liquid. "How do you feel about chocolate milk?" She scrunched her muzzle in confusion. "You know what chocolate milk is?" "Of course! I invented it!" He rolled his eyes with a groan. "Didn't really catch on with the other gods though. Dionysus said, 'If it doesn't make your brain fuzzy, it's not worth drinking!'" He huffed. "If he had tried it, he would've seen what a sugar rush can really do!" Fluttershy held up her hoof. "I'm…not really thirsty." "Hungry, then?" He snapped his fingers to conjure up an assortment of food on the table. "Take your pick. I have all sorts of cheeses, breads, apples, olives…" Fluttershy tried to ignore the grumble in her stomach. The food did look scrumptious. Then Discord suddenly appeared on the couch with her, making her gasp. His body was coiled around her and his face was right beside hers. "Grapes?" he asked, holding up a stem of purple grapes. Smirking, he plucked one grape off. "I'd be happy to…pop them in your mouth." As he moved the grape towards her mouth, she slowly recoiled. "N-N-No, thank you." "Oh," he said, tossing the grapes over his shoulder. "Very well." He popped over to the other side of her. "Pomegranate?" Her eyes widened at the round red fruit in his claw. Squealing, she backed away to the far side of the couch. "What's the matter?" Discord said, raising an eyebrow. "Don't like pomegranates either?" "N-N-No, it's not that, it's just…" She paused, wondering if she should tell him. "I-I've…read the myth of Hades and Persephone." He stared at her and then down at the pomegranate. Then he slapped himself over the forehead and laughed. "Oh!" he exclaimed, tossing the pomegranate aside. "Oh, oh, oh! You thought…" Clutching his belly, he fell back onto the couch. "Oh no wonder you were acting so strange! You have no idea what's going on, do you?" Sitting up, he wiped away a tear. "You needn't worry, sweet one. The rules of the Underworld don't apply here. You can eat and drink anything you'd like with no strings attached." She looked at him suspiciously. "How do I know you're not just saying that?" "Hmm," Discord said, tapping his chin. "I suppose that would be difficult to determine, considering I'm not wearing Demeter's little lie detector anymore." Fluttershy folded her hooves across her chest. "But you were lying." "What? No." He waved his paw. "That wasn't lying. I never said that rope would actually be able to contain me." "I see." She turned her back to him. "Then I suppose since that rope never had any power over you, none of what you were saying was true either." She felt him take her hoof as she was spun around to face him. His cocky expression had been replaced with a sincere one, which struck Fluttershy by surprise. And was that…sadness she saw in his eyes? "That rope may not have been able to hold me," Discord said, closing his paw and claw around her hoof, "but it still compelled me to tell the truth." She stared at the hoof he held in bewilderment. "So…" He nodded. "Every word I said to you back there was the complete and honest truth." Closing her eyes, she wrenched her hoof out of his grasp. "How can I know you're telling the truth right now?" She felt his talon on her chin. When she opened her eyes, his were staring back at her, wide and focused. "You can't," he said softly. "You're just going to have to trust me." With a scowl, she swatted his claw away. "And what exactly have you done to earn my trust? First you pretend to be captured, make me believe that you were harmless, then you escape and then you kidnap me and whisk me all the way here!" Glancing around, she asked, "Why did you even bring me here? What are you planning?" Sighing, Discord shook his head. "Of course, of course. You of all ponies deserve an explanation." With a snap of his fingers, a lyre appeared over the table and started strumming on its own. The tune was slow and soothing. "I apologize for deceiving you," Discord said. "I had no intention of doing so, at least to you. But the deception was necessary. You see," he scooted closer, "it was my only way of meeting you." Fluttershy blinked. "What do you mean?" "See, those heroes had mentioned your name. I figured if I pretended to be their prisoner, eventually they would reveal you to me. After all, I had never seen your face, and it was much easier than collecting every yellow, pink-haired, teal-eyed pegasus mare in town. Not to mention less messy." Shifting uncomfortably, she said, "Okay. But…if you could've broken out of that cell at any time, why did you still keep up the charade when I came to you?" He looked at her as if her question was absurd. "I was enjoying your company, of course. I didn't want our conversation to end so abruptly when it was going so well." "But…it did end abruptly." "Yes, well," Discord said, clearing his throat, "I may have gotten a bit carried away…" "A bit?!" Fluttershy shouted, indicating her dress. "I didn't mean for it to go like this. I was going to eventually lead up to the question of you visiting my realm and then bring you here." He levitated the bouquet of flowers into view. "If I wasn't so intent on impressing you, this whole thing would've gone a lot smoother." "Impressing me?!" Fluttershy clenched her hooves as she tried to hold back her anger. "What is it you want from me?!" He stared at her. "You mean you haven't guessed?" Her eyes narrowed at him. "Alright, alright. Confession time." He snapped his fingers, making the table of food vanish and transforming the couch opposite them into a throne. The wood was black, its cushions red, and from the top came a set of menacing deer antlers. "You see, Fluttershy," Discord said, floating over to the throne, "as a god," he lowered himself down into a lounging position, his tail hanging over the armrest, "you'd think I wouldn't want for anything. After all, I can conjure anything I'd like with a snap of my fingers." To demonstrate, he summoned a goblet of chocolate milk. When he raised it to his lips, the goblet slowly disappeared, leaving only the half-circular shape of chocolate milk. "But no matter what I do," he said, throwing the milk over his shoulder and setting off an explosion, "it's never enough." He summoned a necklace with a round red jewel embedded in the pendant. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she recognized it as the amulet that had cursed her. "That's why I used the Amulet of Chaos to take over the mortal realm," Discord said, snapping the replica away. "And let me tell you, it made my charmed existence even charm-ier. Manipulating this realm is one thing, but it's so much more fun when there are others around to…experience it." He frowned upon seeing her disgusted expression. "Rope or not, I won't hide the fact that I'm imperfect to you. Everyone knows what I've done. What's the point in denying it?" When her expression did not change, he sighed sadly. "Point is that I was having the time of my life until I was turned to stone and placed in that cave. Alone." He paused. "I…I couldn't move, couldn't see, I didn't have my magic. I was left with…nothing. Just darkness, and silence. No sound but the drops of water, the occasional breeze or the scatter of tiny insects." These details made the anger inside Fluttershy melt away. She had thought about what it must have been like for him in that statue, and knowing that her suspicions had been correct didn't make her feel any better. He grinned at her. "Then you came along." Rising from his throne, he slowly approached her. "By speaking to me, by treating me like a living being rather than a statue, you brought light into my darkness, and warmth to the coldness of my stone prison." He gently took her hooves, making Fluttershy blush at the sudden heat rushing through her. She was breathing heavily as he lifted her from the couch and floated backward, leading her towards the throne. "It's because of you I was brought to the museum," he said, his gaze fixated on her, "and I had many more interesting things to listen to." He brought his paw to her face, and this time, Fluttershy did not flinch away. "But the sound I looked forward to hearing the most…was your sweet voice." She looked shyly down at her hooves. "I…had no idea my…talking to you meant that much." "Oh, but it did, Fluttershy." He frowned slightly. "My only regrets during all those visits were that I couldn't talk back, couldn't see you, couldn't…" His paw moved down to her shoulder. "…couldn't hold you, couldn't…" Fluttershy gasped as his paw reached down her back. "…couldn't comfort you when you were sad." His claw moved up her foreleg. "You might as well have been talking to a statue." Fluttershy's mouth opened as she struggled to find the words to tell him that his touches were making her uncomfortable. But she couldn't. For while his paw and claw felt uncomfortable, they were also soft and smooth, and the way they gently rubbed her made her feel…almost safe. He then effortlessly lifted her up as if she were weightless and set her down on the throne. Holding her hoof like a delicate object, he knelt down on one knee. "But here you are now, with me," Discord said, his eyes becoming glossy. Fluttershy was surprised, for she had no idea gods could cry. "My admiration for you has grown over the years, Fluttershy, as I've heard your voice mature and become all the more sweeter. You looked upon my face without fear, and when I visited you in your dreams, you welcomed me. Then, by accepting all I have to offer, you released me at last." Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat as he ran his claw through her mane. "I owe everything to you, Fluttershy," he said, his voice lowering into a whisper. "There's no pony like you in all the cosmos, no pony as kind, or as caring, or as…" He caressed her soft cheek. "…as beautiful." His claw lingered on her cheek for a few seconds before returning to her hoof. "I've had plenty of time to think of how I would thank you, how I would reward you for all you've done for me. It wasn't until a few years back, when I noticed how you'd blossomed from a shy young filly into an independent young mare that I realized what I had to do." Fluttershy heart was beating wildly in anticipation. "W-What is it?" Smirking, he snapped his fingers and a velvet pink rectangular jewelry case appeared in his paw. He opened it and held it up to her. Inside was a necklace with pink diamonds embedded in the chain, a pink butterfly-shaped jewel at its center. Fluttershy put her hoof to her mouth. The necklace was beautiful and the pendant matched her cutie mark exactly. Her previous opinions of him were starting to return. Perhaps he wasn't as evil as he appeared. True, it would have been nice if he had asked her if she wanted to come to his place instead of simply taking her, but maybe he just wasn't used to these sorts of things. The gift truly was thoughtful, not because it was beautiful but because it represented her personality. And he sounded truly grateful for her visits, which he seemed to care about more than her setting him free. She was about to thank him when he spoke. "Fluttershy Buttercream, will you marry me?" Her smile vanished and she looked up at the god, her eyes filled with shock. "What?" "Marry me, Fluttershy." Still holding the case in his claw, he took her hoof in his paw. "Marry me and become my immortal Queen of Chaos." "First, my Anubis statuette gets stolen and shattered," Mr. Fetlock said, rubbing the bridge of his muzzle, "then my Discord statue comes to life…" He turned to the three ponies and dragon. Twilight wore her usual purple pantsuit, Rainbow was dressed for work again, Spike hid behind Twilight's leg, while Mistress Mare-velous remained in costume. "And now," he growled, "you're telling me that you want to remove another priceless, historical artifact from my museum entirely!" "Boss, calm down," Rainbow Dash said. "No!" He stomped is hoof. "I will not calm down!" He darted his eyes at Mistress Mare-velous. "Why is it every time you Power Ponies are around, something from my exhibit gets lost and or broken?!" "Mr. Fetlock, if you will please listen…" Twilight said. "It wasn't enough that that careless, obnoxious colleague of yours took my bolt," Mr. Fetlock said, advancing on Mare-velous, "you have to take my prized amulet too?!" "Obnoxious?!" Rainbow exclaimed, putting her hooves on her hips. "You Power Ponies call yourselves heroes," he said, poking Mare-velous in the chest, "but you're nothing but thieves and vandals!" "I don't think you understand the severity of this situation, Mr. Fetlock," Mare-velous said, taking a step forward. "Now that Discord's out, he's gonna come lookin' for his amulet. If we don't get it outta here first, he's gonna take it. Besides," she said with a smirk, "ya wouldn't want him comin' back here and ruinin' all yerr other exhibits, now would ya?" Mr. Fetlock took a step back, shivering at the memory of his Eros statue being transformed into gelatin. "On second thought," he said with a nervous grin, "we need to make room for the Anugypt exhibit anyway." Half an hour later, Twilight, Mare-velous and Spike were in Twilight's limo, a thick metal box containing the Amulet of Chaos in the unicorn's lap. Rainbow had stayed behind to finish her shift at the museum. The driver turned back to them. She was a light yellow earth mare with blue eyes and a curly pink and blue mane. "Where to now, Miss Sparkle?" "Home, Bon-Bon," Twilight said. "And…I'd appreciate it if you'd give us some privacy." Nodding, Bon-Bon pressed a button to raise the divider between the driver's seat and the backseat. Once the vehicle started moving, Mare-velous turned to Twilight. "So what's with all the crypticness?" she asked. "What's this plan ya've got for stopping Discord from gettin' the amulet?" "Wait until we're alone," Twilight said, eyeing the driver. "As much as I trust Bon-Bon, this is something more secret than our own identities." She turned to Mare-velous. "So secret, there's a reason I didn't ask the others to come along." Mare-velous blinked in surprise. "So why just me?" "I figured you were the most likely to keep this a secret from the rest of the team." Twilight looked at her sternly. "Since you were already so intent on keeping what you knew about Fluttershy a secret from the rest of us." The earth mare rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Oh, right. That." She raised an eyebrow. "But I thought you said we shouldn't be keepin' anymore secrets from the rest of the team." Twilight sighed. "Once you see what I have to show you, you'll understand." When they reached Twilight's penthouse apartment, she led Mare-velous and Spike to her study. As Mare-velous had expected, the shelves were stocked full of books and organized very neatly. Not a speck of dust was in sight. Twilight then came to a portrait hanging on the wall. It was of herself as a young filly, cuddling a baby version of Spike. Illuminating her horn, Twilight removed the portrait from the wall. Using another spell, she made a control panel appear in the spot the portrait had hung. Mare-velous watched as Twilight let the panel scan her hoof, her eyes, and her horn. Then a small cup came out of the panel, into which she spat. It was not unlike the security system for the tower. "Name?" the machine asked. "Twilight Sparkle." There was a ding, but nothing happened. Twilight turned to a bookcase on her left and used her magic to pull one book from the shelf. The spine bore the title: Don't Cry After Sunset. The floor shook as the bookcase moved to reveal a secret passage. "Spike, you stay here," Twilight said. The dragon nodded with a gulp. "Okay." She tilted her head towards Mare-velous, indicating for her to follow. As the two mares stepped inside, the bookcase closed behind them. "Welcome to my private study," Twilight said. This study was even bigger than the last one, with even more shelves and books. It also held several peculiar objects, like a glowing crystal ball, an assortment of gems, an empty cauldron, and…Mare-velous jumped upon seeing a dragon's claw in a jar. "I can see why ya didn't bring Spike in here." She couldn't help but notice that unlike the previous study, this one was messier and disorganized. Books lay open and neglected on the floor and cobwebs decorated the shelves. "There are many reasons why I never let Spike in here," Twilight said, blowing the dust off an open book. "These books contain dangerous knowledge that I don't want him looking into." "Whaddya mean?" Mare-velous asked, looking around. "What is all this stuff?" Twilight looked down ashamedly at the floor. "Books on dark and forbidden magic." Mare-velous looked at her in shock. "Say what now?" The unicorn picked up a book and flipped through it. "I've tried to distance myself as far away from dark magic as possible." She shut the book and placed it on a shelf. "But in situations as dire as this, I find they are sometimes necessary. And it's better that the books I find stay locked in here rather than be made available to the world." Mare-velous shivered as she read some of the titles of the books: Necromancy, Forbidden Spells: A Reference Guide, 1001 Ways to Vanquish Your Enemy, Raising the Dead for Dummies, Shadow Spells And You. "I'd ask how ya managed to get all this stuff," she said, "but I'm afraid of the answer." "Now you see why I can't have the others seeing this?" Twilight asked. "The knowledge in here can corrupt the weakest of minds." "Oh." Mare-velous put her hooves on her hips. "So you're worried about corruptin' every pony else on the team, but ya have no problem riskin' that with me?" "No, Applejack," Twilight said, looking at her sincerely. "I brought you here because unlike the others, you understand the darkness in the world and aren't afraid to face it. You watched your parents get murdered right before your eyes, you've been to the Underworld and back." Mare-velous' eyes widened. "How'd ya know about that? Did Fluttershy tell ya?" She responded with a wave of her hoof. "It's not important. What is important is that in one of these books, there is a spell that we can use to protect the Amulet of Chaos from Discord. Since it involves using some dark magic, it'll be stronger against any god. And, if my memory serves correctly, there should also be a spell in here that can help us travel between realms, even the Realm of Chaos." "I still don't get why I had to come here. Couldn't ya have gotten the spells yourself?" "Yes, but I don't remember which book it's in, not to mention it's been forever since I've organized this place. I'm going to need your help to find the right spells." Mare-velous glanced back uncomfortably at the morbid titles. "There…anythin' I should know before I open these creepy-lookin' books up?" "Yup," Twilight said as she picked up another open book. "Don't read any of the spells aloud, and try not to be pulled in by their tempting, dark content." The earth mare narrowed her eyes. "Thanks." While Twilight flipped through her book, Mare-velous decided to start with Forbidden Spells: A Reference Guide, as that seemed to fit what they were looking for. After blowing the dust off the cover, she opened it up to the title page. There was something scribbled on the page. It must have been written some time ago, for the penciling was faded. Upon squinting, she saw that it read: To Twilie, Hope you find what you're looking for in here. Love, S.S. "Who's S.S.?" A magenta aura encased the title page, turning it over. "Ignore that," Twilight said quickly. "We have more pressing matters to deal with." Mare-velous wanted to ask further about this, but remembering Fluttershy, she decided to listen to Twilight. After flipping through the book, Mare-velous came across something called a Flight Spell. It made her pause because the page showed a picture of an alicorn. Beneath the name of the spell were some words in Pony Latin. "Terra, penna…?" she attempted to say. "I said don't read the spells aloud!" Twilight hollered. Mare-velous showed the page to her. "Is this the spell ya use to make yerr wings come out?" Twilight stiffened as she stared at the page. Then she nodded slowly. Mare-velous looked at her in concern. "The spell ya use to turn yourself into the Masked Matter-Horn is…forbidden?" Twilight said nothing for a long while. Then she pulled out another book from the shelf. "Like I said, we have more pressing matters to deal with." Mare-velous sighed, knowing the unicorn was right. Though they were clearly going to continue this conversation later.