Sunset’s legs were moving much slower than she wanted them to. She sprinted towards Canterlot High’s mascot statue at breakneck speeds, with a book clenched tightly in her hand.
Without stopping, she dove headfirst into the portal to her homeworld and tumbled to a halt in a room with her fellow quest members.
“I FOUND SOMETHING!!” She exclaimed with an outstretched empty hoof.
She looked at her fingerless appendage and said, “Uh… I had it I just uh…” as she started desperately searching for where the book she had could have gone.
“It’s over here,” Twilight said, seeing where it flew off to, levitating it with her magic. But Rainbow snatched it out of her purple aura, looking at the title in disbelief.
Her mouth started moving with a jumble of sounds coming out until she finally said what she wanted to. “How!! Explain to me how you got a hold of ‘Daring Do and the Dark Deeds Demons Do to Monsters’!! When I heard it was discontinued, I spent the next three days locked in my room, sulking.”
Rainbow tore open the book and began to devour the words within. “And It’s autographed!” she squealed in delight
“I’ll give you three guesses who the demon is,” said Sunset.
Upon hearing Sunset say what she did Rainbow, already on page three, snapped back to reality, her eyes widening in shock.
“GAH!!” The pegasus swatted the book away in desperation.
All eyes fell on the book, sprawled on the floor.
“No way, A.K. Yearling actually had an encounter with Retribution!?” Twilight picked up the book again and began to flip through the pages.
“No, somehow A.K. Yearling wrote a story with a character who has the same name and potentially the same attributes as Retribution.”
Rainbow leaned closer to Twilight and said in a loud whisper, “Should we tell her that A.K. Yearling is Daring Do?”
Sunset laughed when she heard her pegasus friend say that, only to stop when she realized that she was being serious. “You’ve got to be kidding, right? This is some kind of inside joke?”
“That’s a story for another time,” Twilight answered.
Realization dawned on Sunset’s face, “So all of those—”
“Sunset focus. Where is Retribution talked about?”
Shaking off the shock, for now, Sunset quickly turned her attention back to the book. “It’s mentioned in the last few pages. Here…”
“Well, they say two heads are better than one, but you can’t deny that three’s a crowd,” Daring Do said once she was finished tying up Dr. Caballeron. She then made her way to a pile of rubble that was resting on top of Ahuizotl and grabbed the scroll that was just out of his reach.
“I’m not going to lie, that was some pretty fancy maneuvering you two did back there, but I guess teamwork can also be…”
“RAHH!!” Roared the creature under the pile of rocks, “You don’t understand what you’re dealing with this time Daring Do!”
“That’s right,” Caballeron stated, making a vain attempt to breach his binds. “When he finds out we failed, let’s just say that spending life in prison would be more satisfying because at least we would actually be alive!”
“He? Who’s he?” The explorer extraordinaire looked back at her defeated adversaries, but this time instead of seeing their hatred towards her, she saw something that she didn’t expect. Fear. They were scared, no they were outright terrified.
Ahuizotal gave a grim look. “He is not someone you can cross and then just walk away from unscathed. He is someone who can make anyone’s darkest nightmares come to life. He is a demon amongst demons! His name is Retribution!”
“Daring Do, for your own safety and ours, please,” Dr. Caballeron said, desperation evident on his face. “If you leave us here, you may as well be condemning us to death. Actually, death would be a more welcoming sight compared to what he has in store. Ask yourself, is that something you can live with?”
Daring Do was then told information that would horrify even the devil himself as she realized what she was truly up against.
“That’s how it ends!” Rainbow exclaimed in frustration, “That can’t be it. There’s got to be more!”
“Come on! Don’t get our hopes up like that and then have it turn out there’s about the same amount of information we already had. Which was how much again?” Twilight paused sarcastically. “Hm, oh, right. A big fat NOTHING!!!”
Sunset shot back her argument, “There is more, that was ju—”
Rainbow interrupted, “Really! What did we miss! What are we not seeing that you can!”
“Stop, yelling!” Sunset shouted, getting the pair to quiet down. “Why are you mad at me? I thought this would be helpful.”
“We’re not mad at you, dear,” Rarity reassured her as Twilight backed her up.
“We’re more irritated by the fact that there is no information about Retribution at all, zip, zero, nada, zilch!”
Visibly frustrated, her head hit the table she was sitting at with a hard thunk. “It’s like he just popped out of thin air and is already waiting for us at the finish line of a sick and twisted race that he set up.”
Twilight shifted her head, so she was now resting on her chin. “I mean, all the information we’re getting only increases the need to stop him sooner before all of Equestria comes to an end!”
“Yeah,” Pinkie chimed in. “It’s almost like something, or someone doesn’t want us to know what’s going on until the very last moment or until it’s too late to do anything to stop it!”
*Technically, you’re not breaking your promise, but you want answers, fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.*
“You know come to think of it, he hasn’t actually done anything,” Fluttershy stated in realization, confused as to where the thought came from. “Well, not yet at least, but perhaps what I’m trying to say is that for all we know, maybe he’s doing all this for a good reason?”
Everyone in the room looked surprised, none more than Fluttershy, who couldn’t believe what she was saying. It was as if someone was forcefully putting words into her mouth, making her say things that…
Okay, okay, I get it. Thought Pinkie, Sheesh, just leave my friends alone already, I made a promise after all, and I intend to keep it.
“Fluttershy, What are you saying! We’re talking about a creature who’s brought together the worst of the worst and is gathering all of the most powerful artifacts in history!” Sunset practically shouted. “Like I was trying to tell all of you guys earlier, the plotline in this book was talking about discovering a map with the location of an ancient weapon that is capable of creating a continental calamity. Ahuizotal and Caballeron were tasked to retrieve it, but they failed, and it’s mentioned that the ‘demon’ that hired them is collecting more than just that!”
“And you mustn’t forget that whole ordeal Applejack, and I had to endure whilst we were in the dream realm,” Luna added, remembering Rogue Nebula informing them that the farm mare was on the verge of death. Applejack subconsciously rubbed the stitches she still had from the knife that was twisted into her to remove the curse she was put under.
“You’re right, I don’t know where that came from,” Fluttershy said, having control over her words this time. “Although, if he did want to destroy Equestria, and from what we know, he could, but that would be really bad, then why hasn’t he yet? What is he waiting for?”
Starlight decided to ask a question that had been on everypony’s mind all week but were too afraid to say anything. “Okay, has anypony else felt like they’re doing something that’s not what they would normally do but ends up being better than the way they have been doing it before? Something like, uh, casting a spell you don’t know about or doing tasks that seem pointless but turns out to be more beneficial than you thought? Or, like what we just saw with Fluttershy, saying things that make sense, but you don’t know why?”
“Ah can name three times taday that’s happened ta me,” Applejack answered.
“Well, maybe,” Pinkie said next, “My doppelganger created a few thousand new recipes while we were in the forest, but I’ve already added another three hundred more to go with it. With my eyes closed!”
“That could explain my sudden phase of making cloak after cloak,” Rarity chimed in. “It’s really starting to get annoying. The measurements are all exactly the same, but only a dragon could wear something that big and heavy, but why would they? It seems like it would only get in the way of their flying. But I can’t stop making them, and it’s the only thing on my mind lately, and it’s driving me crazy.”
“Ugh, the more we think about it, the more confusing it gets!” Twilight said as she started frantically waving her hooves in the air, feeling a migraine beginning to take shape. “WE NEED ANSWERS!! The only way that’s going to happen is after we free Discord, Trixie, and Celestia knows who else, from Retribution’s clutches and hope we don’t doom all of Equestria as we know it in the process!!!”
The sound of hooves slamming onto the table made everyone jump and look at Star Swirl, who had a very irritated look on his face.
“If you want to continue bickering, I suggest you do it elsewhere,” He said in a frighteningly calm tone. “I, however, am not going to allow myself to be distracted by unnecessary ranting! Either get back to work or leave so I can work in silence!”
Twilight quickly shied away, her previous manic energy gone., “Uh, right.”
“Sorry,” Sunset added, then looked at Twilight and whispered, “So, mind filling me in with what I missed?”
Right after Sunset awoke, she hurried back to the human world to inform her other friends about Equestria’s predicament. Like everyone else, she had been replaced, and the human Twilight was finally relieved to know why Sunset was acting more off than usual and having grades that exceeded the overdriven studyholic on steroids while making it look easy.
Ponyville was a different story. Mere days after the friendship quest began, the creatures that lived in the Everfree Forest started to evacuate, including Zecora, leaving the poor small town in near shambles from the increased amount of monster attacks.
Shining Armor had stayed to help set up a defense force, it wasn’t anything like the royal guard, which was spread pretty thin already, but at least there was some kind of protection system. If anypony knew what they were up against, it was Shining, not from confrontation but from seeing the direct results of Retribution’s aftermath.
Shining Armor sat in the nearly empty waiting room. He was waiting for the nurse to get permission from the therapist to see the guard named Sharp Shooter. Upon his wife’s request, the white stallion needed to ask him a few questions about what he saw in the frozen wastelands of the Crystal Empire outskirts.
He had been at it for the past few days, but the doctor was worried that bringing up the memories of Shooter’s traumatizing ordeal so soon would rebuke the progress they made with him thus far.
As he waited, Shining made sure that his daughter remained in his line of sight. He had brought her along for ‘reasons.’ She’d been acting strangely ever since his wife returned, though it was only now that he was beginning to notice Cadence’s strange behavior.
What is she hiding from me? He thought to himself as he started pacing. She hasn’t really been herself for some time now, it’s not like her to act secretive about something unless it’s brought up later. But it’s been days. Anything that she could have been hiding, even for a surprise should have already been—
“Prince Shining Armor!” The nurse firmly said, finally succeeding in pulling the stallion out of his deep train of thought. “The doctor is ready for you. Please follow me.”
Shining collected his daughter’s toys and said daughter before following the nurse through the door.
He would have taken Flurry Heart to daycare, but with her being a baby alicorn, she needed extra attention that the daycare center likely couldn’t provide. Thus, after giving them a brief rundown on how to keep her out of trouble with one of the hospital’s foal caregivers. He felt she was too young to be exposed to something this extreme.
Shining Armor was led down a hallway into a wing built for rehabilitating patients who were mentally afflicted. For the most part, it was quiet, spotless, with calm background music playing over the intercom. Despite the few oddly acting individuals doing things that could be seen as unusual for anypony else, it was surprisingly normal.
They reached a door with a plaque reading Dr. Wolf on it. When the nurse knocked on the door, they heard a young-sounding voice on the other side say, “Come in.”
The unicorn stallion was ushered through the door and was surprised to see not a pony but an actual wolf with white fur… standing on his hind legs.
“Ah, you must be Shining Armor. Please, have a seat,” said Dr. Wolf as he put down a folder.
“I was just reviewing your request to talk to my patient; Uh, I believe he goes by Sharp Shooter, about his… condition,” he said the last word hesitantly as if he were still against the idea.
“I do understand what you’re asking. However, I feel that it might cause more harm to his psyche than it would be worth. If we were to go through with this, what do you plan on doing with what you learn?” Dr. Wolf said, genuinely concerned for his patient’s ailment.
“Mm-hm.” Was Shining’s only response.
Dr. Wolf raised an eyebrow, “Shining Armor, were you listening to me?”
“Huh?” Shining Armor said as he snapped back to reality, “Oh, sorry I’ve recently had a lot on my mind. You said that… Uh, Shooter might get… that this could…”
“I was saying that I’m still concerned about my patient’s mentality, and what you’re requesting could damage the progress we’ve made so far… though is there something else you would like to discuss? if so, I’m all ears.”
“It’s complicated, probably not something you’d want to listen to anyways.”
Doctor Wolf gave him a blatant stare folding his front paws. “As a therapist, it’s literally in my job description to help others by listening to problems they are having. And from the looks of it, you seem to have one that is affecting your daily activities, what’s on your mind?”
The white stallion gave a defeated sigh. “It’s my wife, she’s been… acting strange, to put it bluntly.”
Dr. Wolf gave a mild look of panic. “Don’t tell me this is another Canterlot Wedding inci…”
“No, no! No,” Shining Armor quickly interrupted. “It’s different, way different. It’s her, I assure you.”
“But?” Dr. Wolf said, knowing there was more.
“But, it’s not?”
There was an awkward silence before the doctor spoke, “Maybe you need to elaborate a little bit more on what you mean.”
Shining rubbed the back of his neck as he started to explain, “Cadence recently went on a friendship quest with my sister and her friends, but the moment she came back, she hasn’t been acting like how she normally would. After our wedding, we came up with a system to avoid something like that from happening again.”
Dr. Wolf nodded in agreement. “That seems like a smart idea, but I’m guessing that if your system had worked, you wouldn’t be telling me this.” Shining giving a look that said otherwise, “Or it did work and…”
“Every time I tested her, she passed with flying colors. Even so, I should have seen it from the beginning, Flurry Heart did and still does.”
“Your daughter?”
“I can’t leave her alone with my wife for more than two seconds, even being around Cadence she gets uneasy and sticks close to me. Most importantly, she’s hiding something from me... My wife, not Flurry Heart.”
“Okay, do you have any idea what it might be?” Dr. Wolf asked, leaning back in his chair.
“That’s what’s bugging me, I can’t put my hoof on it. Whatever it is, she’s gone for long periods of time and doesn’t tell me where she was. And all she says is, ‘it’s complicated’ or ‘I’m not supposed to talk about it.’ Why? Because, ‘it’s complicated.’ She at least told me it has something to do with the friendship quest.”
“I see,” Dr. Wolf said thoughtfully. “And you’re absolutely sure it’s Cadence?”
“Not the same one that asked me to get intel from your patient. But it couldn’t possibly be anypony else.” Shining Armor heaved a sigh. “Doc, this was the last thing my wife asked me to do before she went on her friendship quest. Again, this also involved the Elements of Harmony, the Pillars of Ancient Equestria, and Princess Celestia and Luna. If my wife really turns out not to be my wife, what are the odds that they aren’t either? If Sharp Shooter is the only one who has information to confirm if this another attack on Equestria or not, wouldn’t you want to do something about it?”
It took a moment for the wolf to swallow this new information. “Hold on. You’re saying Cadence, your wife, has been acting strangely, and the friendship quest she went on involved the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria?”
“Yes, which is why talking to Shooter about what he saw in the Frozen Wastes of the Crystal Empire is very important right now. If they have also been acting strangely, then we need to find out why as soon as possible.”
Dr. Wolf rubbed the spot between his eyes, taking a deep breath then released. “Sacrificing one for the good of the many.”
“What?”
“Oh, that’s just a saying that—”
“I know it’s a saying, but what do you mean by it?”
“I mean, that I will take this new information and hope that Sharp Shooter will be the only patient that will have to deal with this issue. And I have an idea of how I can execute this with—” Dr. Wolf paused when he saw Shining’s face, “minor casualties to Shooter’s mentality. If you thought what I think you’re thinking, I suggest you set an appointment with a therapist.”
Hearing that made Shining chuckle. “The process I plan on using is hypnosis. However, this can be damaging to the mind if the procedure is mishandled. So, I will need complete and utter silence while I work.”
“Okay Shooter, now I want you to think back to the last day you were on duty.” Dr. Wolf was setting the grounds to safely access Shooter’s suppressed memories.
The pegasus guard was lying on a table with his eyes shut. “You’re on the wall looking out at the landscape. You can feel the sun—”
“Burning my eyes,” Shooter interrupted, a hint of panic in his voice.
“Yes… burning your eyes, just focus on my voice, don’t say anything unless I ask you a question. You feel the wall under your hoofs, and the breeze blowing a chill air around you. What do you see?”
“I see snow. Miles and miles of sno— what was that?”
“Did you see something? Describe it for me.”
“There was a… a smudge… in the distance, it was only there for less than a second.”
Shining Armor pulled out a notepad, ready to jot down a brief description if needed.
“What shape was the smudge?”
“I’m… not sure, it doesn’t match any creature that would be native to this area or a changeling. Actually, it might be a changeling because… no, that wouldn’t make sense, why would a changeling have to disguise itself and from what? There has been nothing for hours. I need to investigate this.”
“Okay, you have permission to investigate, what are you doing now?”
“Wow! This thing knows how to hide. I know what snow is supposed to look like, not like this. It looks very convincing. They covered their tracks well, I almost can’t follow them, and that’s saying something.”
“Okay,” Dr. Wolf said with a look of concern knowing that soon he would be in turbulent waters. “You are following the tracks, then what?”
“I hear something… scratching? No digging. I’m going to land. Remember your training. Perfect! Not a sound… there’s no sound. Where did it go?”
This was the part that Dr. Wolf was most afraid of. “Be careful, you don’t know what you’re going to find.”
The white stallion and Dr. Wolf both saw the color drain from Shooter’s face. “Sombra’s horn.”
Shining dropped the quill he was holding as silence followed. Then Shooter continued.
“There’s an outline of a hole where it should be, but it’s gone.” the pegasus started to quiver with the fear he felt before. “Something took it, this is too big to ignore we need to… there’s something… behind… me.”
“I’m pulling you out. Shooter, when I snap, you will wake up and forget everything that transpired.” Dr. Wolf stated.
Shining gave a look of panic and loudly whispered, “We’re so close, why stop—”
The wolf snapped, and Shooter cried out in terror. “Sleep!” this time, Dr. Wolf clapped, but it was still no use. The wolf backed up to Shining as the pegasus flailed in a state of panic.
“This is what I was afraid of, but not to this degree!” he exclaimed, only able to watch his helpless patient struggle.
Shining and Dr. Wolf watched for a mere ten seconds as Shooter had his panic attack, then curled up in the corner of the room and started to chuckle.
“You don’t know what we’re up against.” Shooter sounded like he had become a darker version of himself as he laughed like a loon. “Oh, you thought Sombra was bad? No, nonono, you’re mistaken, he he he, this abomination is far worse, ha ha ha ha ha.”
Shining Armor picked up the quill he dropped using his magic. “Describe them.”
Shooter lifted his head, and what they saw wasn’t the same pegasus as before. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks and had abandoned all hope. When he gave his response, it wasn’t what Shinning was expecting.
“Death, pain, and suffering, he is the downfall of Equestria, our doom.”
Shining reworded the same question, “What do they look like?”
“Beware the wingless demon clocked in angelic feathers. The stench he carries is the blood of his past, his victims. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! His eyes hold endless rage and limitless agony. Bloodlust. All he knows is death and torment!”
Dr. Wolf looked at Shining Armor. “Did you get what you came for?” He said with a slight hint of irritation at the state of his patient.
“Wingless, feathers, stench, I don’t think I’ll get more out of him than that,” answered Shining, not entirely satisfied with the information he acquired.
“In that case,” They both looked at the pegasus, “I think you should leave. I have to rehabilitate Sharp Shooter… again.”
Deep in the Everfree Forest, inside The Castle of the Two Sisters, Twilight was inscribing the last rune necessary to perform the spell in the journal.
“Almost… done…” She used the utmost care to get the runic inscription exact. “There, finished.”
Despite her words, Twilight thoughtfully looked at the spell written in the entire second half of the journal. She then looked over the markings on the floor, walls, and ceilings covering every inch of the structure inside and out. “Maybe I should double-check this.”
An audible moan filled the room, “Come on, Twilight” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “It’s been over three hours!”
“Hey, if this is inaccurately inscribed, a lot could happen.” The purple alicorn warned, “The most likely outcome, being a 14% chance higher than the rest, Equestria implodes itself into another dimension, and we’re all left to suffocate in the void of space… across time.”
“Translation, please? You lost me at ‘outcome,’ me no speak egghead.”
Twilight gave an exasperated sigh then gave the cyan pegasus a deadpan glare. “There’s a 97% chance every creature on the planet will die if this is done incorrectly. Trust me, I usually find stuff like this fun and exciting, but it’s starting to become boring.”
Twilight actually said boring. The silence that followed was deafening.
Eventually, Pinkie was the one who broke the ice. She pulled the book aside, and as she backed her friend against a wall. “Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Twilight?” The pink mare then shoved her face into Twilights, “Answer me!”
Twilight closed the journal and—
“Turned out to be Retribution in disguise, we united the power of our friendship, blasted him into another dimension where he can never return, found the real Twilight, freed Discord and the others, and we all lived happily ever after. THE END!!”
(cricket noise)
“Oh, you think I broke a Pinkie Promise. Technically I wasn’t the one who made that promise. It was the human version of me that did.”
(cricket noise)
“COME ON!! This is getting way too—”
*Can! I! Do! My! Job?!*
“Rah, fine!”
Twinky closed the… Twilight closed the journal and set it down, looking noticeably drained and more than a little tense.
“I don’t want to do this, casting this spell has a high risk of ending the world as we know it.” She turned to face everyone present. “There’s a choice to be made here. Abandon those who reached out for our help or risk the safety of the planet. It’s not an easy choice, but I have a feeling that a world controlled by Retribution is worse than no world at all. If what we are doing is enough to foil his plans for what seems to be world domination, then I’m willing to take that risk to help those who need it most.”
Twilight picked the book back up and began flipping through the pages. “I just need to make sure this is done right the first time, because if it isn’t… there won’t be a next time.”
“We’ll help you,” Dash offered, all the others nodding in agreement.
“No, I need to know that it’s done right. If I don’t, my chances of messing up my part increases by 47%. Yes, I did the math. I just need to double-check this alone.”
“If Sir E and Riot were here, this would have been done in minutes.” Sunset said, finding little cause to sugarcoat their situation. “Too bad they’re busy at the moment, they would have been very—”
“I’m sorry, who?” Starlight interrupted.
“Oh, I never told you guys! This will take a while, but so will Twilight double-checking this spell, so you better make yourselves comfortable.”
Sunset sat herself down, then said, “Honestly, I didn’t play a part in most of what I’m about to tell you, but for those of you who don’t know, in the other world I have this ability that accesses past memories by touching others. So I’m just going off of what I learned afterward.”