//------------------------------//
// 34 Preparations part 1 
// Story: Knowledge Brings Change 
// by hydra30 
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It was with a stroke of luck that the Cake twins spontaneously fell into nap time just when it was starting to become essential that the proprietors of Sugarcube Corner return to their establishment, the adorable young ones slumbering peacefully on their parents backs, with Cup carrying Pumpkin and Carrot carrying Pound. Saffron and Coriander Cumin followed behind, talking with Twilight and Pinkie, while Spike brought up the rear. Pinkie was trying (and failing) to get Coriander Cumin to smile with multiple goofy faces, but his stoic expression never faltered, while Twilight talked to Saffron about Daedric Lore.

"And that demon who appeared in the sky?" asked Saffron in a bewildered tone. "He is actually one of many?"

"Yep," replied Spike from behind them. "Seventeen Daedric Lords in total. Not counting the lesser Daedra, for which there are many."

One would not think Spike would be able to retain such knowledge, what with not being nearly as studious as his caregiver, but when one thought about it, the facts about the Daedra bore a striking resemblance to the O&O role playing games he was so fond of, so he had no trouble recalling much if the lore he had learned whilst in Apocrypha.

Saffron looked up at the sky as she contemplated what Spike had said. It had been tough for her to accept that a creature like Hermaeus Mora could exist, but according to her new associates, Hermaeus Mora wasn't the only one, and he was...

"And, Hermaeus Mora? He is the more... cooperative of these 'Daedra'?" asked Saffron hesitantly.

"Oh don't get the wrong idea," replied Twilight hurriedly, "Hermaeus Mora is nopony... no Daedra to sniff at. He is ruthless and all powerful. Plus, he will use whatever means necessary to achieve his own personal goals."

Saffron paled in terror, even her dark, poofy locks lightening in color, so Twilight continued in a more supportive tone. "But, if you were to compare him to the other Princes, he is more mild by comparison."

Saffron calmed somewhat, but still trembling as she recalled the brief explanation Twilight had shared with her. "The Daedra behave according to what their 'spheres', as you called them, represent, right?" Twilight nodded in confirmation. "Hermaeus Mora's sphere is knowledge, and you said the others...?"

"Deception, debauchery, treachery, thievery...and murder, just to name a few," confirmed Twilight, regretful that it had come to this, but she had vowed to stop hiding the truth to try and feed the hollow hope that concealing the truth would make a difference in keeping certain things from spilling over from Nirn to Equestria. Especially considering what they had just learned during their recent adventure.

But there was one good thing about it all.

"But Hermaeus Mora is the only Daedra that has come to our world, and from what I understand, it's unlikely the others can accomplish the same feat."

Saffron was still shaken up slightly, but Twilight's explanation brought her some comfort...

"Ppfftt, Big deal. Who cares."

... but then she turned to her father with a frown. Despite the simple description Twilight had given her of the Daedra, what she explained practically chilled the blood in her veins, yet her father was as stoic as he always was with no change. Twilight's tale seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever, just like Pinkie's pointless attempts to get him to smile were having no effect on him.

"Father, how can you shrug off what Miss Sparkle and her companions have just told us?" she asked with an annoyed tone.

"Beings of such power, are you not terrified?"

"Will they ever be trying our food?" asked Coriander flatly.

Saffron opened her mouth to respond but said nothing. She turned back to Twilight, contemplating what she told her.

"From what they told us, Hermaeus Mora, that is his name, is the only one of these 'Daedra' who comes to Equestria," said Coriander indifferently. "From what I saw of him, he has no mouth. No mouth, he don't eat. And if he no eat, why should he be of any concern to us?"

Saffron's mouth fell open. Her father’s impassive attitude was nothing new to her, but the fact that he could shrug off something as extravagant as the discovery of the Daedra was reaching new heights even for him.

"Now come Saffron, my daughter, we have been away from our establishment for too long," said Coriander sternly, but with a small smile that was slightly supportive. "I'm sure that we will have customers to attend to."

And somewhat, in a way, Coriander Cumin's one track mind was refreshing for Saffron.

All the hardships they had to endure just to eke out a living that in some way involved their passion for cooking, and yet her father had hardly changed. The only thing that could be remotely counted as a slight alteration to his character is that when he realized how much more inviting the ponies of Ponyville were compared to those they met in Canterlot, he had spent every waking moment fulfilling as many orders as possible, as opposed to the Canterlot ponies, where he spent more time packing up things hopelessly rather than cooking.

"Ah, I love it when I'm right," said Coriander Cumin, pointing ahead. "We not only have customers, they appear to be interested in your favorite dish, my dear."

Saffron jolted her vision ahead to Sugarcube Corner, which had been growing steadily closer, and sure enough, multiple ponies were gathering around the specials board, which incidentally, featured Saffron's favorite meal today, seemingly intrigued.

Just like that, Saffron adopted her father's mindset.

Daedric Princes be damned, duty calls.

"Come on, father," said Saffron, pressing her forehead against her fathers hindquarters and ushering him into the kitchen faster. "We have work to do."

Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, and the Cakes watched as the two recent additions to Ponyville got to work diligently, admiring their commitment.

"I'll take these two up for their nap," said Carrot, taking Pumpkin from Cup, and taking both twins upstairs.

Cup was about to resume running the counter, but stopped to give Twilight a look of concern, then directing her attention to Spike, apparently lost in thought for a second. Spike fidgeted a little under her uneasy look.

"Is it really true?" she asked nervously, her frightened expression unsettling Spike even further somewhat. "These 'Thu'um' powers you all have now? They originated from dragons?"

"Yes," answered Twilight, having explained earlier the origin of the Thu'um to Mr and Mrs. Cake on the walk back, "But like I said, not the dragons of Equestria. The Thu'um originally came from the Dovah, the dragons of Nirn."

Mrs Cake trembled in mild distress.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Cake?" Asked Pinkie worriedly.

"Oh, it's nothing, Pinkie sweetie," said Mrs. Cake reassuringly after composing herself. "I just... shudder to think what would happen if the dragons of our world had such power. I mean, one was napping outside of Ponyville just a few years ago, and he was almost impossible to deal with. If he had had these powers..."

Mrs. Cake seemed to lose her ability to speak for a second.

"You need not worry, Mrs. Cake," said Twilight, laying a reassuring hoof on her side, "Only my friends and I have these unique gifts here in Equestria. And you can be assured that the dragons of our world don't have them."

"Though it might have been possible for the dragons of our reality to have the Thu'um," Pinkie suddenly ranted absentmindedly. "But according to Azura, the Dwemer didn't want them to have those awesome powers so they would be easier to subdue..."

Pinkie's mouth was slammed shut when Spike suddenly leaped into her back and slapped his claws over her lips.

"What was that, deary?" asked Mrs. Cake, havin miraculously been too distracted by Twilight's reassuring words to be paying attention to what Pinkie had been babbling about.

"Oh, it's nothing!" said Twilight, sweating nervously. "Pinkie was just rambling, like she always does!" She threw a quick gaze at the early afternoon sun. "Oh look at the time! Sorry Mrs. Cake, we'd love to chat some more, but Pinkie and I need to get started on the wedding plans."

In a flash of Twilight's mulberry magic, Twilight, Pinkie and Spike vanished from sight. Mrs. Cake would have contemplated their odd behavior longer, but at that moment, the daily lunch rush came pouring in and she was forced to divert her attention to business. Besides, if you really thought about it, it wasn't all that odd for Pinkie.

---

Pinkie's room at the top floor of Sugarcube Corner was suddenly flooded with violet light before two ponies and one baby dragon materialized into existence. Spike was still clasping Pinkie's muzzle shut, the party planner mumbling incoherently behind his claws, though whether she was protesting, or still rambling was unknown. Twilight looked around frantically, as if expecting for somepony to be standing in the room with them after her teleport, who would somehow catch a glimpse of what Pinkie was saying.

Thankfully, the only thing odd about Pinkie Pie's room was it's surprising lack of dust, despite not having an occupant for over three years. Mr and Mrs. Cake must have kept it up in anticipation of her return, how nice.

Performing the calming breathing exercise Cadance taught her, Twilight turned to Pinkie and signaled Spike to release her.

"Pinkie, what the hay?" she asked, displeased.

"What?" inquired Pinkie obliviously. "I was just talking about how it was the Dwemer who created our world."

Twilight and Spike shared an exasperated look before face-hoofing and face-clawing respectively.

"Pinkie!" groaned Twilight exasperatedly, "I know common sense isn't typically your cup of tea..."

"Well duh! That's because this is my cup of tea," interrupted Pinkie, flaunting around a tea cup out of nowhere that was do gaudy it would have been right at home at Rarity's house. "Want some?" asked Pinkie, "It's chamomile."

Twilight's eye twitched as she slowly lowered the offered cup.

"Focus Pinkie, please," said Twilight, taking all of her willpower not to seize the cup in her magic and hurl it into the wall. "What was the deal back there? Why were you just about to go rambling about what we learned whilst in Morrowind in front of Mrs. Cake?"

"What?" said Pinkie cheerfully as she sipped her tea then threw the empty cup off screen. "We all agreed that it was pointless to try resisting everything that spills over to our world from Mundus."

"The situation regarding the Dwemer is different, Pinkie," protested Twilight almost desperately. "When ponies discovered the existence of Hermaeus Mora, the pandemonium almost destroyed all of Equestria in a matter of minutes."

"Yeah, Pinkie," agreed Spike. "If Hermaeus Mora hadn't calmed everypony down with that Calm Creature Shout I doubt even a single building would have been left standing in Equestria in less than an hour."

Twilight nodded in approval, thankful to Spike for his input. "If it becomes common knowledge that ponies not only originated from Nirn themselves, but that we came into being when a race so consumed with bigotry that they dared to step where they should not have, who knows how they would do."

"And remember, Princess Celestia asked us to keep it on the hush hush until she can figure out how to break it to everypony as gently as possible," said Spike.

"Can she though?" asked Pinkie, curiously arching her eye at Spike. "How do you drop a bomb like that 'without' it exploding?"

Twilight and Spike shared a concerned look.

"Well, technically she has done it before," said Twilight.

"Yeah, remember the whole Faust thing," added Spike.

"Oh, that makes sense," said Pinkie, nodding.

Even Pinkie found it far-fetched that at one time ponies had a religious belief that all of Equestria was the brainchild of someone that intended it to entertain children. Thank Celestia that Princess Celestia quashed that belief centuries ago.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot," said Pinkie apologetically.

"FORGOT!" jinxed Spike and Twilight.

"Pinkie, I know you can be random, but you respect Princess Celestia just as much as the rest of us do," said Twilight in disbelief.

"How could you just forget that she practically begged us to keep quiet about the whole Dwemer thing?" asked Spike, also in disbelief.

Pinkie opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly stiffened up. Then, before their eyes, her coat darkened, her mane deflated like a ruptured balloon, and her eyes began swirling. Twilight and Spike gasped in surprise and concern as Pinkie began teetering on her legs.

Twilight reacted fast, steadying her teetering friend by bracing her shoulder with her own.

"Pinkie, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Everything is okie dokie lokie, Twilight," replied Pinkie, though her voice was quite dull, and had none of its usual enthusiasm. "You know how it is when you cast multiple Thu'um's."

Twilight gasped in shock.

It hadn't occurred to her until now just how many times Pinkie had cast her Thu'um entertaining the Cake Twins. Even the Dragonborn of old would find using so many Thu'um's simultaneously draining, not to mention Cyclone was one of the more demanding, and to use it multiple times is astonishing. All to entertain children.

"Come on Pinkie, let's lay you down," said Twilight, taking Pinkie by the shoulder and ushering her to her bed.

"No time," said Pinkie, stubbornness in her diminished voice. "We need to get started on the wedding."

"Not in your condition," said Twilight sternly, continuing to lead Pinkie to bed.

"Oh, don't worry, I can fix that," said Pinkie, reaching into her mane amazingly deep.

Twilight arched an eye. It's well known that Pinkie carried an assortment of useful items around in that impossible hair of hers, baffling all expectations in the process. If anything came close to being similar to this unnatural ability, it was Rarity and her fainting sofa.

'I wonder what she has in there this time?' Twilight thought to herself, 'A restore stamina potion?'

But what Pinkie withdrew from her mane wasn't any stimulus Twilight had ever seen before, in Equestria, Apocrypha, or Morrowind. It was a shapeless mass of transparent green substance, with a dough-like consistency. It would be completely unassuming (if not completely revolting) if it wasn't for the fact that it gave off a slight green luminescence.



Then, much to Twilight and Spike's disgust, Pinkie scooped the mass up on her tongue and drew it into her mouth. She shuffled it in her cheeks a few times, then swallowed. Though she did cringe as the thick substance slithered down her throat.

"Ugh, it tastes like that time I accidentally swallowed a swarm of flies while bouncing around enthusiastically..." complained Pinkie, before suddenly reverting back to her poofy self and started fidgeted in place. "But I bet this stuff could wake a sleeping dragon! Oh boy, what a rush!"

Spike and Twilight exchanged a look.

"Pinkie," mumbled Spike, looking a little green around his cheek scales. "What the hay?"

"Your culinary skills are second to none, surely you could make something more appealing to eat than that," added Twilight.

"What do you mean?" asked Pinkie, then gasped before giggling a little. "Twilight, you silly filly. You studied a lot in Apocrypha, surely you know about Felldew."

"Fell... what?" inquired Spike.

"HUUUUUUH!"

Spike could tell from Twilight's loud, fearful gasp that it was not good.

"PINKIE!" she shouted, grabbing her friend by the shoulders, "Felldew...? Are you out of your mind?"

Yes, she had researched the aforementioned substance, and she knew of its... addictive properties.

"Of course, Twilight," replied Pinkie giddily. "I couldn't throw such awesome parties if I stay inside my mind all day."

"Pinkie, that isn't what I meant." Twilight had grown so nervous she was starting to hyperventilate. "Is this how you were able to perform all those Thu'um's? Did the Felldew give you the energy?"

"Of course," replied Pinkie enthusiastically. "Restore stamina potions don't restore the Thu'um bar, or restore magicka potions, so I had to find something that would."

Twilight didn't comment on the second part of Pinkie's confirmation, cause all she needed to hear was Pinkie had indeed taken Felldew.

"Come on," she said, teleporting behind Pinkie and pressing her head against her hindquarters to get her moving. "We have to get you to the hospital before the withdrawal sets in."

"Is that what that terrible feeling was?" asked Pinkie, who remained stationary despite Twilight's efforts. "Makes sense. No wonder. I have a hard time thinking straight on a good day, no wonder I forgot I need to be hush hush about the whole Dwemer Equestria thing."

"Pinkie, come on," said Twilight, growing more anxious by the second. "You need medical attention. The beneficial effects of Felldew don't last long!"

"Oh Twilight, don't worry your pretty little head," said Pinkie, pulling her rear from Twilight's forehead, and turning to face her. "I've got just the thing."

Before Twilight could usher her friend to the hospital anew, she once again reached into her mane. In a second, Pinkie withdrew something else from the impossible depth of her hair.



A magnificent gold chalice lay nestled in Pinkie's hooves, studded with multiple violet gems. It was so stunningly beautiful that the gold refracting in Twilight's eyes made her momentarily forget about the past few minutes, lost in the cup’s gleaming brilliance. Spike's dragon greed flared to life as he beheld the gold treasure, pulsing inside of him like a second heart.

"Yep, this thing does the trick quite nicely," said Pinkie cheerfully, clasping the Chalice of Reversal to her chest, its multiple gems flashing and blinking like a neon sign.

Twilight, despite it all, breathed a sigh of relief. The Chalice of Reversal was specifically designed to negate Felldew withdrawal. Pinkie was going to be fine.

"So, is that cup magic?" asked Spike, not fully understanding what was happening, but trying to grasp enough to understand Pinkie was in some sort of trouble.

"Yep," replied Pinkie simply (or as simply as possible as far as she was concerned) twirling the Chalice of Reversal on her hoof by one of the handles. "Gets rid of that nasty Felldew withdrawal like nobody's business."

"Pinkie!" said Twilight, a slight edge in her voice. Pinkie might be out of harm’s way now, but one glaring question begged to be answered. "Where... where did you get all this stuff?"

"Oh, you mean the Chalice of Reversal and the Felldew?" asked Pinkie obliviously.

Twilight scowled, but nodded.

"Oh, it's just some stuff I picked up during our recent wandering through Morrowind."

Twilight expected that, but it didn't explain everything. They may have gone to Morrowind, but the fact is, Felldew wasn't indigenous to Morrowind. It, and the Chalice of Reversal could only have come from one place, or one person.

"And, who gave it to you?" asked Twilight, dreading the answer, but decided to skip the formalities by not asking Pinkie 'where' she got the Felldew.

"Oh, old Shaggy gave it to me," said Pinkie with a grin.

"Ugh, Shaggy?" inquired Spike, scratching his head.

"You know, Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness.”

Twilight had expected that, unfortunately, but she still could not help but pale at the thought. Sheogorath, the Prince who rules the Shivering Isles. Insanity was his domain.

"How did this happen?"

"Oh, it happened between chapters, I think it was between To carry you home and Oh, bite me..."

---

As Spike and Rarity made their way out of the oversized tent, Pinkie was suddenly jolted awake by a bizarre phenomenon.

"What?" Pinkie inquired, although she had difficulty.

Within her mouth her tongue was tapping at her teeth randomly.

"Oh no, here it comes."

As she feared, when the teeth tapping past, her hooves sprang up of their own accord and began hoof wrestling each other.

"Please let the left not be the winner, please let the left not be the winner!" Pinkie mumbled to herself.

Her right hoof hit the ground with a resounding thud.

"Aw nuts!" exclaimed Pinkie, reluctantly extracting herself from her sleeping bag. "Of all the Pinkie Senses to go off. How many times is he going to lose that thing?"

With a huff, Pinkie wobbled off screen.

Suran, a small town located in the southern province of Vvardenfell. Home to the only gentleman's club in all of Nirn throughout the ages, Desele's House of Earthly Delights; not a place for children.

"Runa is a real gem, isn't she?" said the Nord patron Snorri as he watched three nude women dancing on individual stages, while eating a cherry pie.

Suddenly, something tapped his shoulder.

"What? Can't you see I am enjoying the show?" Snorri said irritatedly, turning his attention to whomever it was who tapped him. No one was there. Suddenly, his fork was snatched from his hand.

He turned to look, but whoever it was had vanished again.

Who would steal a fork?

---

Outside, Pinkie held the fork she had stolen.

"Huh, I don't get it," she commented to the building she had just exited, stuffing the fork into her mane. "Those three weren't even dancing very well, why was everyone so gaga about them?"

With that, the pony who was even more naked than the three dancers trotted off.

---

In the mighty city of Vivec, beneath the St. Delyn Canton division, a place known as Ihinipalit exists for one purpose – a place of gathering for the looming statue of an unshaven man holding a cane. It was here that Pinkie Pie reappeared out of the blue.

"Here!" she said irritatedly, depositing the recently acquired fork at the statue's feet, oblivious to the multiple bodies that lay around the stone floor around the statue. "Don't lose it again, Auntie Pinkie Pie won't always be here to retrieve it for you."

Pinkie does a lot of things that make no logical sense, and if anyone living had been present to listen in (and be open minded enough to look past the fact that she is a talking equine) they would question her sanity for talking to a statue.

Until said statue actually replied.

"The Fork of Horripilation," said the Shrine of Sheogorath, its eyes shining a brilliant yellow. "My dear mortal, you have performed a great service to the Prince of Madness. Who art thou?"

"My name is Pinkie Pie, and I am here to say," replied Pinkie, sounding like her usual giddy self at first, but then adopted a more serious tone,"You need to keep track of your toys better, mister."

If Sheogorath was offended by Pinkie's tone, he didn't show it.

"Just another one of my flaws, you will find there are many when dealing with me," he said in a hyperactive voice. "Besides, I often find that when a mortal gets the chance to play with one of my toys, they often cause such calamity, that I doubt even I myself could top it."

"That ain't nice," scolded Pinkie, poking the Fork of Horripilation. "This magicy fork has a nasty bite."

"I know, ain't it wonderful?"

Pinkie blew her mane in annoyance. "Twilight was right, you Daedra are more upside down than my pineapple upside down cake is," she said, producing said cake and eating it in one bite.

With that, she turned tail to exit the shrine.

"Hold your horses, mortal," called Sheogorath, "No pun intended. I haven't rewarded you yet."

"I don't need no spear," said Pinkie offhandedly, turning back to the statue and waving her stumpy fore hooves. "Couldn’t wield it in battle anyway."

"No, The Spear of Bitter Mercy is not for you. Besides, it's currently in use by someone else." If the Shrine of Sheogorath could move it would place a finger to its chin in thought. "But there might be something at my disposal you might enjoy. Something every party lover would find quite... stimulating."

---

"That's when Shaggy gave me this stuff," Pinkie finished her explanation, producing more Felldew from her hair and slurping it up, cringing at the taste, but then paused, and in a blink, jumped to the ceiling and stood upon it upside down, the Chalice of Reversal dropping to the ground with a clang. "I wasn't sure at first, because you warned us to be cautious when dealing with Daedra, but then I remembered something Mrs. Cake told me long ago about other people's favorite snacks. Don't knock it till you try it."

Pinkie fidgeted in place up on the ceiling, then plopped down to the floor and scooped the Chalice up again, its special enchantment once again nullifying the Felldew withdrawal.

"And I am glad I tried it, what a rush."

Twilight and Spike just stared with dumbfounded looks.

Spike was so shocked, his mind was virtually blank, but Twilight's thoughts were racing a mile a second.

She didn't know what terrified her more. That Pinkie had an encounter with a Daedric Prince right under their muzzle's, that she has been exposed to Felldew, or that she has a Pinkie sense combo pertaining to the Daedra of Madness specifically, despite the fact that, up to three years ago, the Daedra were an unknown in Equestria.

Not to mention that the Cowl of Nocturnal's magic should have shielded Pinkie from Sheogorath.

"Pinkie, be careful," said Twilight cautiously, deciding to dwell on the situation that could be hazardous to Pinkie's health first. "That stuff... it's not candy, it's dangerous."

"No worries Twi," said Pinkie cheerfully. "I have no interest in becoming a Felldew addict. I was only saving it for when it might come in handy. And as it turns out, it was perfect for Thu'um time with Pound and Pumpkin."

She balanced the Chalice of Reversal on her muzzle, bouncing it up and down, honking like an otter. "And besides, Shaggy said I could only borrow the Chalice. At the time, Thadon wouldn't invent the Chalice for several more centuries, so I could use it in the meantime. But Shaggy said once I was done with it, I would need to return it."

"Return it?" Inquired Spike, "When...?How...?"

"When, is now. How? How about my strange door for how?"

The giddy, masculine voice that suddenly echoed through Pinkie's bedroom took Twilight and Spike by surprise, but they both cried out in terror as something burst out of the floor beside them.

The object took up a majority of the room, tall and imposing as it towered over Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie. It was a large, stone carving depicting three gigantic faces, the left face frowning sadly, the right face laughing, and the middle face (whose eyes were made up of the combined opposite eyes of the other statues) screaming in silent rage. It was this gaping maw, stretched impossibly wide, that enthralled Twilight and Spike, Pinkie seemed just as happy as ever.

The statue's mouth was glowing with a bright blue aura, which seemed to be both liquid and light all at once.

Then, before their eyes, a tall figure stepped out.

A gnarled, wooden walking stick, topped with a white orb balanced vertically in his left hand...

A well trimmed white beard...

A stylish, floral design, purple shirt...

Gleaming, orange eyes, slitted like a cat's...

Anyone who studied Daedra lore would recognize this unique individual.

"She... Sheo... Sheogorath...?" mumbled Twilight, her heart racing as she backed up against the wall.

"Why, yes, follower of the Old Woodland Man, it is I," said the bipedal figure in a chipper, carefree tone, twirling his cane, then planting it to the floor with a subtle clink.

Twilight's pupil shrank to pinpricks.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," said the Daedra of Madness, "I'm just here for the Chalice." He turned to Pinkie Pie, who was still balancing the Chalice of Reversal on her nose. "Come on, my dear, chop chop, the Greymarch is only an era away, and when it arrives, Thadon will need his chalice."

"Okie dokie lokie," chirped Pinkie, bouncing the Chalice a few more times before bouncing it over to the Daedra lord, who caught it effortlessly in one hand.

"Much obliged," said Sheogorath, turning around and trotting back to the strange portal that brought him here. "This has been most amusing, my little quadruped, but I must be getting back to my realm. Only have a few hundred years till the Hero of Kvatch arrives, and I have much to prepare for."

"Wait, I have so many questions," said Pinkie hurriedly.

"Oh, like what?" inquired Sheogorath, turning back to Pinkie.

"What are knickers?" asked Pinkie, her face splitting in a massive grin.

Sheogorath stared at Pinkie for a second, then chuckled.

“HAHAHA, girl, you would fit in nicely on the Shivering Isles."

"You really think so?" asked Pinkie.

"Oh, most definitely," replied Sheogorath, resuming his return to his unique entryway. "You have all the 'proper' qualifications. Why not come visit me someday?"

"Oh, I'd love to, the Shivering Isles sound like a blast, from what I've heard," said Pinkie. "But I am rather busy at the moment, so I'll have to catch you later, Shaggy."

"I look forward to it." As he reached the threshold of his door, Sheogorath turned with a rather sinister grin. ”Keep in touch, OR I'LL PLUCK OUT YOUR EYES!"

With that, the Daedric Prince of Madness departed Equestria, and the Strange Door disappeared with a poof of blue light, leaving not a trace that it had ever been there in the first place.

If Pinkie was disturbed by his departing comment, she didn't show it.

"I bet he's a hoot at parties," commented Pinkie, bouncing out the door.

Twilight and Spike stood frozen to the spot, mouths open in incomprehension.

"Uh, Twilight?" inquired Spike, the only response from Twilight was to look at him through the corner of her eye. "Should we... should we be worried?"

Twilight was contemplating that fact herself.

Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness, just came and went as if on a whim.

She couldn't fathom it.

"How did he even do that?" asked Spike, "Azura said that, when the Dwemer created our world, they placed defensive things around that specifically prevent the Daedra from coming here."

That was something Twilight could not figure out either.

She knew Sheogorath opened a Strange Door in Cyrodiil several eons ago, despite Nirn having similar defenses against Oblivion, but that was due to Mehrunes Dagon's meddling with the Dragon fires.

And Hermaeus Mora only bypassed said defenses of Equestria by manipulating events that released a small portion of his essence into this world.

"The Chalice of Reversal!" said Twilight in realization.

"Come again, Twilight?" Asked a confused Spike.

Twilight turned to him, a theory in her eyes. "Hermaeus Mora has access to our world through a tiny piece of his essence. Maybe Sheogorath imbued the Chalice of Reversal with some of his essence before he gave it to Pinkie."

If that was true...

"But..." mumbled Spike, scratching his head, "he just took it back with him. Doesn't that mean...?"

Twilight frowned. "It means he just cut himself off from our world once more."

Spike grew even more confused, "Why?"

Twilight could not comprehend why Sheogorath would do such a meaningless thing, as well as multiple other things. Like the fact that the Chalice of Reversal hadn't been invented yet whilst she and her friends made a brief trip to Morrowind, so how did Sheogorath lend it to Pinkie? Or that, basically, the Sheogorath they had just met was, the “original”, who was actually Jyggalag, Daedric Prince of Order, cursed to exist as the blundering oaf Sheogorath, until the hero of Kvatch released him by thwarting the Graymarch, releasing Jyggalag from the curse, while taking the Throne of Madness for himself in the process, officially becoming the new Sheogorath.

If what Hermaeus Mora said is to be believed, and the timelines of Equis and Nirn run parallel with each other, then that Sheogorath should not exist anymore, so how could he just randomly appear here?

Twilight perked up as the simplest of solutions came to her, then she relaxed.

"Because, Spike," she said, her calm look somewhat unsettling Spike. "If there ever was a Daedra version of Pinkie Pie, Sheogorath would be it."

To anyone else, such a bland explanation would not suffice, but when you get to know Pinkie like they have...

"Gotcha, Twilight," Spike said with a thumb-claw up.

"Come on, whatcha waiting for slowpokes?" said Pinkie as she stuck her head back in the room, "Cadance and Shining Armor aren't getting any younger, let's shake some tail."

"Oh, right, coming Pinkie," said Twilight, Spike nodding in agreement as they both pursued their bubbly friend.

"Though, I don't know what that means to Cadance, being an alicorn," said Pinkie as she and the other two went to check on her progress on the wedding celebration so far. "For that matter, wouldn't she outlive Shining Armor?"

While Pinkie rambled, like she liked to do, Twilight couldn't help but contemplate on what just happened some more. Even though she was positive that Sheogorath's brief visit was just the wacky scheme of a madman, he was yet another encounter with a Daedra. Could it possibly not be the last?

Against all odds, could more Daedra find their way here?

---

On the northern edge of Equestria, a black sphere rolled across the border, where the land changes from grassy plains to a snowy abyss, disappearing into the billowing tundra of the Frozen North.

---

"YAAAAHHH!!!"

"WHOA WHOA WHOA!!!"

Twilight and Spike had been following their friend Pinkie down the stairs, when she suddenly tapped the frosting swirl guardrail at the bottom, opening a trap door under their feet and hooves and sending them down a steep slide. They tumbled head over tail in the dark, any attempt to slow their descent met with failure. Spike landed on solid ground first, but it was not long before Twilight landed too...

... painfully onto Spike's back.

For the first few seconds, all they could do was lay there, groaning, their eyes spinning in their sockets.

"Welcome..." started Pinkie as she slid down after them, though her descent was far more subtle,"...to my Party Planning Cave."

Twilight and Spike looked at each other from their pile up, then took in their surroundings.

Said Party Planning Cave was indeed equipped as its name implied. There were shelves upon shelves of party favors, many decorations, and treats. There were file cabinets, labeled with the names of everypony Pinkie had ever thrown a party for, and so on.

Even the stalagmites and stalactites were fitted for the festivities, resembling ice cream, cake frosting, and licorice.

"Well, here's what we got so far," said Pinkie, trotting across the room, Twilight and Spike snapping out of their wonder at casually being shown Pinkie's secret party lair.

When they joined Pinkie, they found she had led them to a rather expansive billboard. It was laden with such complicated diagrams and charts, that if there weren't tiny depictions of party games and ponies dancing to music Twilight and Spike could have easily mistaken it for the designs of a top secret spy mission, issued by Princess Celestia herself. Once again, they were shown how passionate Pinkie was when it comes to parties.

"I believe I got it all down," commented Pinkie, Twilight and Spike staring as she suddenly brought up a sledgehammer. "I just need to hammer out the details."

Before Twilight and Spike, the sounds of jackhammers, saws, and other heavy construction work echoed, a small cloud of dust drifting before them. Suddenly, a piece of paper with a picture of a pony playing pin the tail on the pony drifted to the floor. They stared at it, then at Pinkie.

"I hate to do it, so many ponies adore that game, but I need the room for this." Pinkie pinned up another picture in place of the one she just discarded (the normal way) adding a picture of what appeared to be her party cannon to the board.

"Ugh, Pinkie?" inquired Twilight, her pink friend turning from her painstakingly put together plans to her. "I know you have a deep connection with your party cannon, but is it really necessary to invite it to the wedding?"

Pinkie smiled and started giggling.

"Oh Twilight, what do you take me for, a filly?" said Pinkie, her response confusing Twilight. "Sure, I love my party cannon to pieces Twilight, but it's an inanimate object. Why would I invite it to the wedding, it wouldn't have fun."

It... actually surprised Twilight to hear Pinkie full blown admit her party cannon wasn't a living thing.

"Why is it on the board then?" asked Spike, scratching his head as he stood before the small drawing. "Will it be used to put up the decorations?"

"Oh please, Spike, give me a little tact," said Pinkie, "I would never use my party cannon on something as unique as a wedding, such a thing requires special attention. Besides, this isn't my party cannon."

Twilight and Spike exchanged another look of confusion. "It isn't?" They said together.

"Nope!" Pinkie suddenly opened a closet they were sure wasn't there before and jumped inside.

Suddenly, multiple items they immediately recognized as party cannons came avalanching out, in every color one could imagine.

Then, Pinkie trotted back into the room (surprisingly devoid of the discarded cannons) wheeling a certain cannon with her fetlocks. It was unassuming compared to Pinkie's other cannon (or cannons, as it would seem) being simply black in color with chrome wheels. But what really set it apart from the others was that each of the wheels was studded with a large silver spike, giving it an almost 'sinister' appearance.

"Pinkie... what is that?" asked Spike, while Twilight stared at the new cannon dumbfounded, unable to comprehend her giddy friend would own something so 'uninviting'.

"This, filly and gentledragon," quipped Pinkie with a fiendish grin, "is my party crasher cannon!"

She suddenly kicked the nearest stalagmite, which flipped like a switch. The floor between Twilight, Spike and Pinkie split open, and four ponnequins were raised up on a hidden platform. Pinkie smirked and took aim with her cannon.

BANG!

The first ponnequin was suddenly wrapped in chains.

BANG!

Four iron collars clasped around the neck of the second ponnequin, each one attached to a ball and chain.

BANG!

The third ponnequin was suddenly trapped in a large cage.

BANG!

The fourth and final ponnequin was hit by barrage of rocks.

Twilight and Spike took in the state Pinkie's cannon left the ponnequins in with wide eyed terror. They then turned their attention to their usually harmless friend, who was in the process of tilting up her cannon and blowing smoke out of the barrel.

"Uh... Pinkie...?" mumbled Twilight.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FLIP?!" called out Spike.

Pinkie's first response was to give them a look that said 'trust me'.

"I know it's a bit extreme," said Pinkie, "But after that Meanie McMeanypants Chrysalis crashed the first wedding, I don't want to take chances. Not only did Cadance not get to get married, but Chrysalis's meddling caused damage among our bond as friends."

Pinkie stroked her party crasher cannon with a sinister smirk. "If any other big baddies think to crash this wedding, they'll have to do it over my dead body."

With a psychotic chuckle, Pinkie tilted the barrel of the cannon upwards and set it off. A rope became entangled in the (rather delicious looking) stalactites, a noose lowering down between the ponies and dragon.

Twilight and Spike exchanged another uncomfortable look.

---

After getting over the shock of Pinkie unveiling her new security measures, they resumed going over her progress for the actual preparations. They had to admit, she really had outdone herself in her efforts for the celebration... even if they felt the party crasher cannon was a bit unnecessary.

Especially since it was all rather meaningless, because each of them possessed the Thu'um, plus other unique magical abilities, should something arise.

But, at long last, Twilight was finished with the first phase of her inspection, now it was time to see how the rest were coming along with their duties. She and Spike exited Sugarcube Corner, intending to make their way to the next pony charged with certain things that would be needed for the wedding.

"Alright," said Spike, examining the trailing checklist he was holding, checking off multiple areas. "That's all of Pinkie's responsibilities, so who's next?" Examining the list, Spike's eyes widened in excitement. "Oh boy, Rarity is next."

Spike was about to speed down the road when a mulberry aura seized his tail.

"Wait for me there, Romeo," said Twilight as she trotted up next to him.

Both were about to head to their fashion forward friends house, when a sudden commotion from Sugarcube Corner caught their attention. Turning around, their mouths plopped open when they discovered that they weren't the only ones to exit the establishment. Pinkie was trotting out as well.

But she wasn't exactly...'unladen,' you could say.

She wore a basket on her head, very similar to the one she used to pass out invitations to her infamous parties, but not exactly. This one was, as simply as possible, much much bigger! So much bigger, it was almost on par with the water tower Twilight used as an improvised baby bottle during the Ursa incident.

How she got it out here was anypony’s guess.

"Uh, Pinkie," mumbled Twilight as she watched the gigantic basket on her friends head teetering, some of the multiple written invitations wafting out in the breeze. "What are you doing?"

"You heard what the princess said, Twilight," said Pinkie, seeming to both be affected and unaffected by the tremendous weight on her head at the same time. "This is a joint celebration, partly for Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding, partly for use to spend time with our friends before we have to return to Apocrypha to complete Hermmy's task. She said to invite everypony who wants to come, so that is what I intend to do."

Twilight looked up at the towering basket and gulped. "But... do you really need so many invitations?"

"Yes indeedy! Do you know how many friends I have here in Ponyville alone?" said Pinkie cheerfully. "Besides, if I can handle this, Honorary Yak Horns will be easy. Oh, wait, that's canon, not AU!"

Pinkie began (miraculously) bouncing off into the depths of Ponyville.

But as she left, Spike suddenly put his hand above his eyes with a look of annoyance.

"Hey, Pinkie?" he said, trotting up to her as she smiled down at him. "You wouldn't by any chance have an umbrella hat on hoof would you?"

"Sure," said Pinkie without inquiry, reaching into the ground she was trotting on and pulled up a spotless umbrella hat and hooved it to the baby dragon. "Have these hidden all over Ponyville, just in case of a twitchy tail day."

With that, she bounced off to pass out her invitations.

Spike thanked her and donned the colorful headwear, returning to Twilight afterwards. Twilight gave him a confused look as he hopped up into her back and they resumed their roles as wedding planners.

"What's the hat for?" she asked, slightly worried.

"Oh, I just need a little extra shade," answered Spike, frowning up at the sky, "Don't know why, but the sun is really getting on my nerves."

Twilight's slight worry dimmed. She was slightly worried about why Spike was having trouble with the sun today, but if it was the brightness she has a theory. It was bothering her at the moment too.

"We did just get back from Morrowind," she commented, "and I don't remember a moment when there wasn't a thick blanket of fog surrounding the area."

"You think that is why I am so sensitive to the bright sun at the moment?" asked Spike.

"I feel the same way," said Twilight, looking around Ponyville (and through extension, Equestria) imaging how much brighter it was here than in Morrowind. "Besides, remember what it was like back in Canterlot and I would have those extreme study sessions that could last several days?"

Spike shivered then gulped, "Don't remind me, please."

As they approached Rarity's house, Spike couldn’t help absentmindedly scratching at his neck once.

---

Carousel Boutique had not changed since the last time Twilight had seen it.

It was as elegant as ever, with its fancy design and color, with its namesake carousel depiction all around the building, all the way up to the peak of the roof. And the doorbell being just as elegant, once rung, the tranquil Whiniminster Quarters melody echoed through the entire structure, even sounding outside. Soon to be followed by trotting hoofsteps, as the owner of the establishment answered the call.

"Twilight, Spike, you've arrived, darlings," said Rarity as she stood in the open door frame, looking as elegant as always in the midday sun.

"Hi Rarity," greeted Twilight, Spike levitating next to her, little hearts popping in the air around him, his pupils having morphed into hearts too. "We're here to check up on your progress."

"Oh, I figured," said Rarity as she beckoned them into her home. "And your timing is most convenient at the moment. I need your assistance."

"I need a model for the bridesmaids’ dresses," explained Rarity as they trotted to her work room, "The ponnequins only do so much for their poise, I need a flesh and blood pony to test them out."

"Why not just wear them yourself?" asked Twilight, just curious, not that she minded Rarity's request.

"Already have," said Rarity, opening the door to her work room with her magic. "They feel wonderful, and have pristine mobility, but I need to see them from an outside point of view, to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made."

Twilight understood the importance of that, nodding her head in agreement as she followed Rarity into the room where the fashionista did all her best work. As usual, the room was stocked with all the essentials Rarity needed for her line of work, several of the ponnequins displaying freshly stitched dresses. It could not be denied that Rarity really was a talent.

The bridesmaids’ dresses stood in the middle of the room, nine of them.

It had been decided that, due to Chrysalis's manipulating, it was only fair that Cadance's original bridesmaids get to join in with Twilight and her friends. They had had the title stripped from them during the original wedding so Chrysalis could brainwash them into acting as wardens for the imprisoned Cadance.

Back to the dresses, they were as stunningly beautiful as they had been the last time.

"You have really outdone yourself, Rarity," said Twilight as she levitated one of the dresses off the nearest ponnequin and began to slip it on, per Rarity's earlier request.

"Thank you, darling," said Rarity as she orbited Twilight to view her work. "I don't know why I didn't believe you the first time. Only an absolute evil person would make unfair demands towards such perfection as these."

Twilight nodded in agreement, as she shed the dress for the next one.

"Hold still please, Sweetie Belle," said a meek voice inside the room.

"Yes, Miss Pommel," said the youthful voice of Rarity's little sister.

Twilight and Spike looked over, and sure enough, they saw the little unicorn filly, standing at the epicenter of the three mirrors that were used for a client to admire their new attire, classic equipment of the fashion industry. An earth pony mare was with her, tugging at the seams of the Flower Filly dress Sweetie wore. Two more identical to Sweetie’s stood displayed on filly sized ponnequins nearby.

The earth pony with Sweetie had light cyan eyes, a light greyish, cyan mane, and a light amberish gray coat. She wore a white-bordered lavender sailor collar with a scarlet tie and a tri-shade hair clip in the back of her mane. Her Cutie Mark was a lavender floppy hat with a scarlet feather.

"Oh, you must be Coco Pommel," greeted Twilight, briefly recalling what Princess Celestia had put in place to see that her friends' livelihoods didn't collapse in their absence.

The earth pony was taken by slight surprise by the sudden address, but put on a friendly smile as she turned to Twilight. "Yes, I am Coco Pommel," she introduced herself, though with slight shyness.

Twilight gave a friendly smile in turn, "Pleased to meet you, I am Twilight Sparkle."

"The pleasure is mine," said Coco, taking a break from fiddling with Sweetie's dress so she could come over and shake Twilight's hoof, Rarity still circling her to see how the dress fit.

Twilight shook the offered hoof, "I heard you've been keeping Carousel Boutique afloat in Rarity's absence."

Coco blushed, then appeared sheepish. "Oh, I guess so."

"Oh, don't be modest, darling," said Rarity, actually stopping her task to put a hoof around Coco's shoulder, "Why, Miss Pommel here has done a fabulous job running my shop and even now, she is an invaluable asset to these preparations."

"Oh, well...thank you," said Coco, blushing. "It's... actually the least I could do... seeing as how bad of a name I gave this line of work not so long ago."

"Oh please, darling, don't get into that," said Rarity, "What you did was under the whims of Suri, not your own."

"It was still me," stated Coco sadly.

"She was your employer, you felt like you had no other choice." Rarity scowled. "Ponies like that Suri give fashionistas everywhere a bad name, not you Miss Pommel. I won't say the luxurious things that come with being successful in the fashion business aren't divine, but it shouldn't be your sole motivation to do it." She turned to Twilight and Spike, "And, I am sure you agree, that fashion should come from the heart and soul, not siphoned from others and hastily thrown together haphazardly."

"Yes, I agree," said Twilight.

Though she won't kid herself into believing she was as fashion forward as her friend, she definitely understood that what this Suri person did definitely wasn't the way to go about it.

"See, darling?" implored Rarity, turning back to Coco, "Nopony here blames you for going along with Suri's manipulations. And besides, it was you who exposed her for the fraud she was, after all."

Coco blushed and smiled gratefully.

"Now come on," said Rarity, tugging Coco back to the dresses. "There is much work to be done."

---

Off to the side, Spike observed while scanning the checklist. Said list actually had much of what was happening before him (including the reconciliation of Coco) all categorized evenly. Spike would often wonder how Twilight did it, but if you own a book literally labeled The Art of the To Do List, it wasn't that surprising.

"Hey Spike," said a chipper voice beside him.

When Spike looked, he found that Sweetie Belle was trotting up next to him, still wearing the Flower Filly dress.

"Oh, hi Sweetie," greeted politely. He noticed that she had grown slightly in the three years of his absence.

"Hey, can we talk?" she requested.

"Sure, what can I do for you?" replied Spike.

"Well... I was wondering..." Sweetie scraped at the floor nervously. "Spike, you think you can get me and the other Crusaders into Apocrypha?"

Spike almost dropped the checklist in shock. "Ugh... why would you want to go there?"

"Well, rumor has it that's supposed to be a place where all the knowledge in the universe is stored," said Sweetie, sounding excited and eager. "Surely there is something there that can help me and my friends finally get our Cutie Marks."

Spike turned to her with a frown.

"Look here, Sweetie," he said, putting his claws on his hips with a serious expression. "You do not, I repeat do not, want to go to Apocrypha."

"Why not?" Protested Sweetie. "If we can find something there that can get us Cutie Marks, well gladly make the trip."

Spike rubbed his claws in aggravation.

"Besides, that Hermaeus Mora guy said anypony who seeks knowledge can visit his home."

"Yes, he did," said Spike. "But he left out what effect his realm has on those that don't possess an intellectual mind."

"You saying me and my friends are dumb?" scowled Sweetie, getting into the dragon’s face.

"That's what Applejack said," Spike said, offhandedly (or offclawedly) putting a finger to Sweetie's horn and pushing her away gently. "And that's not what I meant."

"Well, what are you getting at?" demanded Sweetie. "Why can't we go to Apocrypha?"

It was...odd for Spike to have to play this role, considering, technically, he wasn't much older than Sweetie, but even he could see what kind of situation would result from the Crusaders finding passage into Apocrypha. And, if one thought about it, the hazards to their personal health was the bare minimum. If, somehow, the Crusaders gained access to the wealth of knowledge housed in Apocrypha, and could harness it...?

That was a thought that made Discord look like small potatoes.

"Look, Sweetie," began Spike, wording his argument carefully, "I have spent a good amount of time in Apocrypha, and believe me, it's an experience I wish I could have avoided."

"Come on, Apocrypha is a library," said Sweetie, rolling her eyes. "How bad can a library be?"

Taking an annoyed breath, Spike resorted to the one thing left that he hoped would deter her, a detailed explanation of where he had been. He described to her what type of realm Apocrypha is, an endless sea of churning ink, a poisonous yellow sky, that at one point or another, housed some of Hermaeus Mora's infamous tendriled portals, foreboding structures (some comprised of books themselves) and, not to mention, the sinister guardians that defend Hermaeus Mora's collection jealously, the Lurkers and the Seekers.

He finished up with an explanation of what Apocrypha does to those who do not possess intellect on par with Starswirl the Bearded at the least.

To say that if Sweetie wasn't already white she would have gone pale would be an understatement.

"Insane?" She mumbled, clutching her head protectively. "It actually drives people who are not smart like Twilight insane?"

"Barking pony insane," confirmed Spike,"The others would not have been capable of staying with me and Twilight in Apocrypha if the Elements of Harmony didn't protect them."

"Alright, I get it," said Sweetie, gulping, "Apocrypha is not the answer to get our Cutie Marks."

"Why are you asking me, anyway?" Sweetie's look told the whole story, "Rarity already said no, huh?"

Blushing, Sweetie nodded.

Spike breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help notice the clear disappointment that slightly overlapped Sweetie's fear.

"Hey, don't get discouraged," he said reassuringly, patting Sweetie on the back. "Everypony gets a Cutie Mark eventually. Hey, I'm living proof, Twilight got her Cutie Mark hatching me."

"Yeah, yeah, everypony has a reassuring word for us when we don't get our Cutie Marks," complained Sweetie. "But that doesn't help us get them any more than Crusading has."

As Applejack had once said, being a boy, Spike wasn't the most sensitive person around, but even he felt he should say something to lift the little filly’s spirits, and he thought he knew the perfect solution. After helping Twilight with so many experiments through the years, she always followed one saying that kinda helped when the results were not to her favor. After all, maybe it's the journey that matters, not the conclusion.

"Hey, Cutie Mark's notwithstanding, you and your friends have fun with your endeavors to earn them, don't you?" He inquired.

Sweetie seemed to think about it for a second, then gave a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, now that I think about it, some of our crusades were a real blast." She gave Spike a wide grin. "Hey, it's even better now, since Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon aren't here to laugh at us at the moment."

"I heard about that," said Spike, having heard from the princess what has been going on in Ponyville in his absence. "I knew that the Riches and the Spoons were rich, but to buy a hotel just for the purpose of giving those two blowhards some experience in running a business?" He shook his head at the absurdity of it. "Aren't they a little young for that?"

"Ha, you should have seen them at the train station," said Sweetie, her look morphing into one of disgust. "They looked so smug, one would think that they had just been made princesses."

Spike smiled, proud of himself for lifting her mood.

"Unfortunately, they will return eventually," said Sweetie, her look turning sour.

"Then you should savor this time all you can," suggested Spike.

"Oh, we have," said Sweetie, "We know full well we only have a little time before we are being called Blank Flanks again."

---

While Spike and Sweetie discussed how great it had been to crusade without being teased, Twilight, Rarity, and Coco continued to work with the dresses, until they all stood on ponnequins, glistening like the finished masterpieces they were.

"Sweetie, darling," Rarity called to her sister, causing her and Spike to look up from their conversation. "I will be needing the dress."

"Okay," said Sweetie, holding still while Rarity's magic peeled the Flower Filly dress off of her, levitating it over to the only bare filly ponnequin.

All five of them stood side by side as the dresses stood before them, first the three Flower Filly dresses, then the bridesmaids’ dresses, and finally, the bride's wedding dress.

It stood up on a raised dais, so it towered over the others to signify its greater role that it would play in the upcoming events, after all the bride was the most important pony at a wedding.

"You have outdone yourself once again, Rarity," complimented Twilight, her eyes swimming with the multitude of colors displayed upon the elegant garment.

"Thank you, darling," said Rarity, obviously drinking up the praise. But then she grew a smirk and her horn glowed her traditional baby blue magic. "And now for the pièce de résistance."

With a flash of magic, what was obviously the finishing touches appeared on the dresses.

"Yes, perfect," said Rarity.

They all gasped at what Rarity had done, and what now each dress now sported.

"Rarity, are those...?" mumbled Twilight.

Yes, darling," confirmed Rarity, "Compliments of the Ayleids.”

Each dress now sported an extravagant gold necklace, whose interweaving joints were carved in a feathery pattern, extending around the neck and over the shoulders to come together around the chest in two slab pieces carved into the likeness of two whole wings. Between the wings the feathers held a stunning blue crystal, glowing a brilliant light blue. Twilight and Spike recognized them as Welkynd Stones.



The wedding dress's necklace was far more extravagant than the others, with the fitting for the welkynd stone depicting a full dove, and as for the stone itself, it was more unique, being a bright white, instead of blue, and being much more elegantly pointed.



Twilight swallowed nervously and turned to Rarity. "Rarity are you sure this is appropriate? I mean, the Ayleids...?"

"I know what you are thinking, darling,” said Rarity, her proud smile morphing into a look of disgust. "Yes, the Ayleids were the most brutish of brutes I have ever heard of." She turned to her dresses with a look of affection. "But it cannot be denied that their poise in art is nothing short of breathtaking."

"And I agree," said Coco, also looking at the dresses with admiration, "Rarity told me about the Ayleids, and I got to say, they make Suri sound like a kind, caring pony." She smiled. "But Rarity's right, their agriculture is beautiful."

Twilight didn't know if she agreed or not, but she knew never to doubt Rarity's instinct for fashion.

"Just be careful with that one, Rarity," warned Twilight, pointing a hoof at the wedding dress. "Great Welkynd Stones aren't like normal Welkynd Stones."

"Oh, I know darling," said Rarity, also gazing at the bride's dress. "It was most unruly. It took all of my talents to work with such a powerful crystal."

Twilight nodded gratefully and turned to Spike, "Come on Spike, let's go check up on the others’ progress."