From his precarious perch, he would describe his attempt at infiltration as completely bucked. He had no idea how a master sorcerer such as he could have come to such a state. He was, however, positive that the last ten minutes would forever haunt his nightmares, should he live that long.
That accursed wolf of branches and brambles should have been no more of a menace than a flea. After all, he had destroyed monsters that could eat that counterfeit canine for a light snack. He had cast a spell that should have reduced the fake fauna to less than a memory. The atomizing blast never materialized. Instead, three tiny red sparks had sprung from his horn and died before they reached the ground.
He could swear he could still hear the wolf's laugh. He was certain that the momentary distraction was the only reason he was still alive -- that and instinct. He had galloped away before he had even realized that he was moving. Although small, his current frame had been incredibly swift. The hot, fetid breath that had rudely raised his dock had informed him that his pursuer was even faster.
Just when he had felt the tip of a tongue on his tail, the air had been filled by the unmistakable twangs of released bowstrings, followed by the sounds of solid thunks on wood. A sharp pain in his flank had given him a good indication as to what the sound had been. The next issue was trying to survive whatever poison was now coursing through his system.
Somehow, he could no longer feel the ground under his hind hooves. Still galloping furiously, he had risked a glance backward. His hindquarters had somehow broken free from the chains of gravity, probably aided by the dart that had protruded from his flank. More impressive, however, had been the howls of the wolf as it became the first member of its species to fly.
As he had continued to flee, he had heard crashes from the canopies of the trees above. More twangs had filled the air, followed by the familiar thunks and howls of pain and frustration. He had not risked another look back. Still, that had not been enough to save him when he had suddenly pitched forward. The innocent-looking patch of snow had concealed a thin black webbing that had covered a pit filled with some unctuous liquid. His momentum had been enough to drag his floating hindquarters into the pit, and for a moment, he had thought that he would drown.
To his relief, the pit had vomited him back onto solid ground and neutralized whatever had been in the dart. Now, however, he had been hopelessly ensnared in the mesh. Then, massive jaws had appeared from nowhere and snatched him up without any warning. There had been only one course of action left. Even now, his screams still echoed.
The empire's boundary was clearly demarked by the layer of snow that accumulated at the base of the shield dome. From where she fluttered just under the top of the magical construct, the cyan pegasus had and unobstructed view of the entire perimeter. Swiftly scanning, she spotted her quarry skulking out of view of the city proper. Rolling onto her back, she dove toward her target.
“There you are.”
Sirius Black paused his casting to look up. His blue wife was hovering just out of arm's reach. “Rainbow.” He grinned at her. “Just a moment. Let me tie this off.” He turned back to his last trap to add the final touches as his wife landed next to him.
“Twilight and Pinkie need to talk to you,” Rainbow said, watching him wave his wand.
“Okay,” Sirius acknowledged. “Are you all right? You look distracted.
“I’m good,” Rainbow said, shuffling a forehoof in the grass.
“You’re a terrible liar,” Sirius observed.
“I’m just . . .” Rainbow looked down to watch her hoof playing with the grass. “It’s nothing.”
Sirius crouched down so he could look her in the eye. “I would be a terrible husband if I couldn’t tell something was wrong.”
“I . . .” Rainbow returned his gaze, then she huffed, sitting on the ground in human form. “I told you I was fine.” Anger laced her voice as she folded her arms in front of herself.”
“That’s my tough little girl,” Sirius said, sitting down next to her.
Rainbow gave him a dirty look. “I’m a full-grown mare,” she snapped.
“You don’t have to tell me.” Sirius sensed that he had to tread carefully. “I should have said, ‘That’s my tough sexy wife’.”
Rainbow huffed again.
“You’re awesome, don’t you know.”
“And don’t you forget it.” A small smile crept up on Rainbow’s lips.
Sirius reached out and pulled Rainbow onto his lap. “Did Pinkie and Twilight do something to make you mad?”
“No.” Rainbow squirmed a bit before finding a comfortable spot.
“Then what has you so upset?”
Sirius could feel the woman in his lap deflate as she answered. “I told you, I’m fine.” There was no anger in her voice this time; instead, there was regret.
“Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?’ Sirius prodded.
“Because it’s nothing.”
“Obviously, it’s not,” Sirius said.
“I just want to be . . .” Rainbow started. “Never mind . . . It’s nothing.”
“Rainbow,” Sirius pleaded.
“We need to go talk with the rest of our herd,” Rainbow said suddenly, starting to lever herself out of Sirius’s lap.
“No.” Sirius firmly pulled her back. “They can wait.”
“But.”
“No buts. If you won’t tell me what’s bothering you, the least we can do is spend some private time together.”
“But,” Rainbow repeated, turning to look at her husband. “It’s really nothmmmmmmmph.” Whatever she was going to say was cut off as Sirius roughly kissed her. A minute later she said. “That’s not fair.”
“You’re being stubborn.” Sirius accused.
“I am not.”
Instead of rebutting, Sirius kissed her again.
“That is so totally not fair,” Rainbow repeated.
“I have ways of making you feel better, even if you won’t tell me what’s wrong.”
“Such as?” Rainbow gave him a challenging look.
“Such as this.”
“Oooo! Oooo! Fingers! Fingers!”
“And this.”
“Oooo! Oooo! Ahhhhhh!”
“And this.”
“Aaaaaaaaa! “
“Or perhaps this.”
“Mmmmmmmm!” Rainbow clasped her smaller hands on top of Sirius’ larger one, but that was all of the resistance she offered as she otherwise melted.
In the modest Canterlot townhouse, a pair of bibliophiles were taking full advantage of the access that their famous daughter had granted. Twilight Sparkle had broached a heretofore inaccessible trove of literature, and her parents had been swift to request offerings from the alien world.
On the couch, Twilight Velvet snuggled against her husband as she sampled a book from the crateful of bodice-rippers imported from the land of humans. While the elder may not have the same affinity for technical books as her daughter, there was no doubt that the younger Twilight had come by her love of reading honestly. The elder's husband, Night Light reflected their passion as he buried his muzzle in a human book on astronomy.
Their text-fed bliss was interrupted when an owl landed on the back of the couch and hooted softly.
“Hello Owlowicious.” Twilight Velvet said, levitating her book onto the coffee table. “Twilight sent me another letter; I see.”
“Who.” Owlowicious nodded.
“She only seems to do that when she has big news,” Twilight Velvet continued.
“Who.” Owlowicious nodded sadly.
“I suppose that’s normal for all foals,” Twilight Velvet added.
“Who. Who,” Owlowicious said sympathetically.
“You know, you haven’t exactly had a good track record with the mail you’ve delivered,” Twilight Velvet said accusingly.
The sound of a hoot being cut off midway through proved to be hilarious.
“So, is this news going to make me happy?” Twilight Velvet asked.
Owlowicious locked eyes with the unicorn mare.
Twilight Velvet stared back.
Owlowicious defied biological limitations and started to sweat.
Twilight Velvet’s eyes narrowed.
Owlowicious flew to the other side of the couch, landing on the arm and putting the stallion between himself and the mare. With another soft hoot, he presented the letter to the other male in the room.
“Coward,” Night Light quipped, looking up from his own book.
“Who!” Owlowicious said angrily.
“You are going to have to have a talk with your daughter,” Twilight Velvet said. “If she is going to keep sending bad news with her owl, she needs to send good news every now and again to offset it.”
“Mmm. Hmm,” Night Light said, studying the letter.
“Should I brace myself for the shock?” Twilight Velvet asked.
“Well.” Night Light folded the letter and levitated it to the coffee table.
A pregnant pause passed before the mare demanded, "What?"
“Remember the other day when you were commenting on one of the human novels you’ve been reading?”
“You’re going to have to be a little more specific. I’ve been doing a lot of commenting.” Twilight Velvet sighed. “Is she having problems with the humans’ quirk of one mare for each stallion.”
“No, I was referring to when you were telling me that the heroine discovered that she was expecting during their winter festival.”
”Yes?”
“You were wondering if that was a complete fluke.”
“Yes.”
“You were also wondering if it was something Twiley was aware of.”
“Yes.”
“Well, the answers to your questions are, no, it’s not a fluke, and no Twiley wasn’t aware of it.”
“Yes!”
“I have to say, I was expecting Shiny to beat Twiley to the buck on this one.”
“There is Clouded Hope.”
“Does she really count?”
“Yes!”
In the rustic one-room schoolhouse, Cheerilee paused her lesson when the scratching on the front door commenced. With a practiced ease, she threw open the door to confront the culprit. “Hello Fluffy,” she said kindly. “Who have you got for me today?”
“Woof,” said Fluffy’s left head as the middle one yipped and the right one gently placed a bundle on the doorstep, all the while his entire rear end swayed back and forth with an exaggerated tail wag.
“Good boy.” Cheerilee patted the central head as she noted the delivery was a colt wrapped in a strange black netting. She couldn’t see his face yet, but his coloring suggested that it was Dean Thomas.
“Woof.” Fluffy couldn’t contain his excitement as his left and right heads proceeded to give Cheerilee a tongue bath.
“Stop it Fluffy! Stop . . . Bleaaaagh! Ack ack . . . Ptuu! Ptuu! Stop it!”
Fluffy obediently stopped.
Cheerilee desperately tried cleaning her tongue with a hoof. “Thaan ew.”
“Woof,” Fluffy barked before bounding off to continue his patrol.
Cheerilee sighed before bending down. “Here, let me help you,” she said to the entangled colt. After a minute of effort, she had an unfamiliar colt staring up at her. “Hello, you’re new. What’s your name?”
The colt continued to stare up at her in shock.
“I know that your first Fluffy ride can be scary,” Cheerilee said in a soothing voice. “Can you tell me your name, dear?”
“Som . . .Nuth . . . Errr . . .” the colt said reflexively, seemingly pausing to think for each syllable, and his voice was a surprising tenor.
“Somnuther?” Cheerilee tilted her head. “What an interesting name.”
“Cute!” Magah decried from the rear of the classroom. She had given up on chasing after Fluffy every time he grabbed a Crusader and had taken to sitting in the back in her human form.
“It is cute.” Cheerilee agreed. “Now Somnuther, if you wouldn’t mind taking a seat next to . . . mmm . . . Crisp Lick; we’ll finish our lesson. Afterward, we can find out where you came from and where you belong.”
The colt gaped at her.
Sighing, Cheerilee nudged the colt in the direction she wanted him to go. “Don’t worry, dear. Fluffy won’t hurt you, I know he can be a shock, but you are among friends.”
Woodenly, Somnuther stumbled over to the indicated desk and slowly climbed onto the seat as every foal in the room watched his progress.
“Yeah,” Crisp Lick said when her new neighbor was finally seated, “that was my reaction, too, when Fluffy decided I needed to be in school.”
The colt turned to look at her, trembling slightly as he did so. He could not help but notice how every filly eyed him hungrily.
“Just wait until you meet Diamond Tiara’s pet,” added Peppermint Twist. “He puts Fluffy to shame.”
“Wait . . . What?” asked Crisp Lick
Granny Smith opened her front door to find a friend of the family waiting patiently. “Howdy,” she said.
“Hello Granny,” said Filthy Rich. “How are you doing?”
“Ah’m jus’ fine,” said the elderly mare. “Won’t you come in? I’m sure Ah could rustle y'all a cup of cocoa or some hot cider if y'all have a mind fer it.”
“I’m afraid I can’t stay long,” said Filthy Rich. “I was hoping I could buy, say five of your larger hogs.”
“Now why would you be needing five hogs?”
“Er, Diamond’s pet made a gesture earlier,” Filthy Rich said. “He reared up, opened his mouth wide and pointed at his open mouth with the tip of his tail. I really don’t want to test the limits of his patience.”
“Tell ya what,” Granny said. “Ah’ll throw in the blindfolds fer free.”
“Hello?”
Rainbow opened her eyes, her bliss interrupted by the unexpected voice. “Er, hello.” All around Sirius and her was a crowd of crystal ponies. Their drooping manes and tails were strangely at odds with the expressions on their faces.
“What?” Sirius opened his own eyes. “Shoo, we don’t need an audience.”
“Hush,” Rainbow said, bouncing playfully in his lap. “You and your human taboos.”
“Well, yeah.” Sirius blushed.
“Sorry,” said a pale-yellow mare. “We couldn’t help it.”
“We felt . . . something,” ventured a red stallion.
“It called to us,” added another mare.
“Really?” Rainbow asked, bouncing a bit more.
“Rainbow,” Sirius whined.
“Yes,” said the first mare. “I almost remember . . .”
“Me too,” said another mare.
“It was important,” said another stallion.
“What was it?” queried a third.
“Does this help any?” Rainbow did a few more bounces.
“Rainbow, stop that!” Sirius yelped.
“Yes!” the first mare’s head snapped up, a halo of light rose from her hooves, passing over her entire body. In an instant Sirius and Rainbow got their first look at a healthy crystal pony. “I remember!”
“I do, too,” said the mare next to her as she repeated the feat with her own halo.
“The love!” declared a stallion as he rejuvenated himself.
“Love!” cried another mare, reinvigorated.
“Love protects us,” asserted yet another stallion, following the trend.
“It has always protected us,” proclaimed a mare.
“I remember!” several in the crowd joined in as halos engulfed the remainder of those present.
Rainbow started bouncing for joy.
Sirius made a strangled groan at his wife’s antics.
“The heart!” A mare suddenly gasped and a mutter ran through the crowd.
“I remember!”
“The heart!”
“The Crystal Heart!”
“It helps protect us!”
“The palace!”
“It’s in the palace!”
“We need to go to the palace!”
“Hurry!”
“The palace!”
The resulting stampede vanished with a cloud of dust toward the aforementioned edifice.
“Ponies are weird.” Sirius grunted.
“Hush.” Rainbow leaned back, placing her hand on the back of Sirius’s head and pulling him in for a kiss. “Where were we?”
Sirius pulled back. "On the splash page of the local newspaper."
"Let's give them something worth printing." Rainbow pulled him back in.
The nurse sat behind the desk and looked at the newest ponies to enter the waiting room of Ponyville General. “Yes?” she said expectantly. “How may I help you?”
“I’m pink,” said Private Patsy.
The nurse cocked her head. "Actually, I'd say you're fuchsia."
“I wasn’t this morning,” Private Patsy grumbled.
“Oooookay,” acknowledged the nurse.
Private Fauna spoke up at that point. “The Crusaders set up some traps at the edge of the forest.”
“There was this pit filled with Celestia knows what,” added Sergeant Shortbread.
“Say no more.” The nurse pulled out a clipboard and nosed it toward Private Patsy. “I’ll just let the doctor know you are here.”
“I still say the coloring looks good on you,” Private Fading Violet opined.
Her head close to the ground, Spoiled Rich opened the door to the study and peered down the hallway. A wave of relief washed through her body when she saw her husband trotting toward her, a relief that was tempered by the grim cast on Filthy Rich’s face.
“What was that?” Spoiled squeaked.
“Pigs screaming,” Filthy said shortly.
“Why were . . . No don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”
“Wise choice,” Filthy said.
The first-year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws had quickly become accustomed to many of the changes that had come with their second term. To be fair, some were exceedingly pleasant, one of which was the fact that there were now two Snapes in the castle. Granted, if asked earlier, they would have blanched at the prospect. However, the second Snape was not only a delightful and effective teacher; she also had a tempering effect on the original, making his classes much more bearable. It had become a toss-up on which would be the instructor of the day. However, a huge cauldron taking the place of the teacher’s desk was always a good sign that the day’s lecturer would be Zecora. So, there they were, gathered around the large work of iron, taking notes.
“Miss Abbott, I beseech, could you say? Coriander seeds work in what way?”
The girl was prompt with her answer. “They are known for their mild soothing properties,” she said. “They are mainly used to boost the potency of other ingredients, drastically increasing the efficacy of many healing potions.”
“Very good, Miss Abbott and well said; I must applaud. Mr. Corner, how must they be prepared to keep the potion unflawed?”
“There are two prevalent methods, depending on the potion,” the Ravenclaw said, “the more common being a mortar and pestle, preferably made of marble. This is for the milder potions. The more powerful ones require the tedious task of using a sharp silver knife to slice each individual seed in half -- one stroke only or the seed becomes worthless.”
“That is the full explanation from your book, though there is one more method that has worked with proof. Add something you would otherwise overlook, a tap dancing drunk minotaur with the seeds under hoof.”
There was a soft rustle of feathers as an owl landed on Zecora’s shoulder. With a curious glance at the bird, she said. “My friend on you this question must weigh. Why do you disturb this class today?”
Owlowicious hooted and offered a letter.
“Who knew? Thank you.”
The children in the class watched as their professor read the paper, eyes getting wider the entire time. Finally, when the tension couldn’t grow anymore, the adult in the room said, “Oh my.”
The students all watched expectantly as the woman reread the letter.
“Wait,” Susan Bones said. “That’s it?”
“Where’s the rest of the rhyme?” asked Padma.
“We were expecting a rhyme,” Terry Boot affirmed.
“This caught me off guard, by and by,” Zecora said.
“Nah,” Sue Li said. “That’s not up to your normal standards.”
“It was kinda weak,” said Megan Jones.
“I think you just lost your rhythm,” noted Zacharias Smith. “Bad timing and all that.”
“Don’t worry,” Hannah Abbott added. “Everyone is entitled to a miscast every now and then.”
“I may be getting arthritic, but everybody is a critic.”
“Better,” said Lisa Turpin. “But I think you’re stretching it a bit. I mean, why would you be arthritic?”
“Yeah, that letter must have been really wicked,” Michael Corner added. “It’s throwing you off your game.”
Remus was stunned when he was nearly mobbed by a hoard of crystal ponies entering the courtyard. It took him a few seconds to note that the equines seemed livelier and more well . . . sparkling than any he had seen before. He could honestly say it was a unique experience as far as he was concerned.
“Where is it?” cried out a pony from the crowd.
“Where is what?” Remus asked warily.
“The heart, the crystal heart,” several voices answered.
“Oh.” Remus brightened at the request. “It’s upstairs, I was going to bring it down after Sirius showed up and talked to his wives.”
“Who’s Sirius?”
“Bring it now!”
“I think he’s the stallion with the rainbow-haired mare.”
“He should be along shortly.”
“About twenty minutes if I were to guess.”
“That’s a good round number.”
“Go get it now; I can’t wait.”
“Woah! Woah!” Remus raised his hands to get a word in. “The heart was made for the festival. We’re not quite ready to start yet.”
“Who cares about the festival? We need the heart!” insisted a crystal mare.
“We need to share the love!” shouted a stallion.
“You know what?” Remus said. “I’m going to forget you said that. I’ll go get the heart. Give me a half hour.”
“What’s with the crowd?” Sirius asked as he and Rainbow trotted up to their friends.
“They’re waiting fer Remus to bring down the crystal heart,” Applejack said, turning from the scene to look at the two approaching ponies. “Why are ya’ll glowing?”
“I’m not glowing,” Sirius snorted.
“Darling,” Rarity said. “I know you went overboard with the whole black thing, but you are glowing right now.”
“I’m not glowing. All right?”
“If you say so,” Twilight said, standing up in her human form. “It doesn’t matter, Pinkie and I have something important we need to tell you.”
“You’re starting to scare me,” Sirius said, taking his own human form, as did Rainbow at his side.
Twilight blinked when she saw the results. “Why are your clothes covered in muddy hoofprints?”
Rainbow looked down at what she and Sirius were wearing. “They got trampled,” she said nonchalantly.
“They weren’t on you at the time?” Andi asked worriedly, looking for injuries.
“No. Not exactly.” Sirius shrugged.
“Oh,” Pinkie smiled, also in human form. “That’s why you are glowing.”
“I’m not glowing.” Sirius sighed.
“Yes, you are,” Rainbow countered.
“You are, too.” Bella smirked. “You’ve got no room to talk.”
“I’m not glowing,” Rainbow said.
“Keep telling yourself that,” Nissy said.
“We are getting off topic here,” Twilight interrupted. “Anypony with a nose already knows why they are glowing.”
“Oh, do tell,” Bella prodded.
“Why tell when you can show?” Pinkie suggested. “I’m sure if you ask, Nissy would be willing to share Remus.”
“Not happening.” Nissy shook her head.
“We are off topic.” Twilight growled, getting frustrated.
“Sorry, darling,” Rarity said, “Go ahead; it’s your show.”
“Thank you.” Twilight huffed before turning toward her husband. “Sirius, I’ve got some news for you.”
“I gathered as much.” Sirius smirked.
“Did you guess that we were pregnant too?” Pinkie asked.
Sirius stared at Pinkie.
“Well did you guess.” Pinkie hopped in place.
Sirius stared at Pinkie.
“Well, did you? Huh? Huh?”
“When you said, 'we’re pregnant' did you mean the normal 'we’re pregnant' normally applied to a couple or did you mean you and Twilight are both pregnant??” Sirius asked with a dry throat.
“Oh, she meant both of us are pregnant,” Twilight said shyly, looking at her feet.
“Oh . . . all right then.”
. . .
. . .
. . .
The glow faded from Rarity’s horn as she huffed. “And everypony tells me that hauling around a fainting couch is a waste of space,” she complained.
“That went about as well as I was expecting,” Andi noted.
“Should we be expecting an encore?” Twilight asked, turning toward Rainbow.
“Hopefully.” Rainbow shuffled a foot.
“Don’t worry.” Andi reassured her. “I can give you a potion to help with that.”
The excitement was heavy in the air when Remus reappeared levitating a pedestal which, in turn, had a slowly rotating crystal heart levitating above it. There was a cheer from the gathered crystal ponies as he made his way toward the gazebo in the plaza.
“It’s really it!” a pony cried out.
“I remember!”
“We’re saved!”
“I remember!”
“Wait, It’s not quite right. It has more facets than I remember.”
“Who cares? It’s the heart!”
The crowd was working itself into a frenzy.
“Maybe it grew more facets.”
“How does a crystal grow more facets?”
“How does a crystal float? Magic, you dope!”
“Fair enough.”
“I remember!”
“What have you there?” Princess Cadance came up to Remus. She eyed the gathered ponies with a small smile on her lips.
“The centerpiece for the festival,” Remus said. "It seems to have gotten them excited."
“Wonderful.” Princess Cadance beamed.
“Would you like the honor of placing it?” Remus gestured.
“Thank you, my good human,” Cadance said, taking the piece in her own magic. “I accept the honor.”
Remus bowed and took several steps back.
“My dear ponies.” Cadance said, turning her attention to the now-silent crowd. “I present to you this year’s centerpiece, the Crystal Heart!”
A cheer went up as she levitated the pedestal into the place of honor. Before the base touched the ground, a crystal stalagmite popped from the ground, splitting the pedestal apart like the petals of a flower. Likewise, a stalactite protruded from the ceiling. Ancient magics on which the entire city was built weighed the offering, judged the replacement, and found it acceptable. It was not the material that mattered, nor the construction. Even the original would not have worked were it not for the intent. The love of the ponies screamed for a focus. The city itself practically hummed as the piece fell into place.
"The heart!" several voices called as one. Then, one by one, ponies started to kneel. Where they bent, prostrated, the ground beneath them started to glow. What the inhabitants had forgotten the city itself had not. The glow went from street to street as more and more ponies bowed. Each lent a piece of their power, and the result was something greater than the sum of its parts.
Power flowed into the floating, heart-shaped crystal, which began spinning rapidly. Then, there was a mighty pulse of magic. When it touched ponies, they became so crystalline that they sparkled. The humans among them were not immune to the effect.
The pulse didn’t stop there. Like a gigantic hoof, pushing back the clouds, it ushered in the light of the sun, and for an encore, beams of colored light burst from the highest spire of the palace. They raced toward the sky only to explode well above the city. The remaining black clouds surrounding the city transformed into rainbow rings. Once again, light ruled the day.
“What was that?” A startled Twilight looked skyward in awe.
“Whatever it was, it was impressive,” Andi said.
“Aaaaaaaaah!” Bella screamed, clutching her forearm in agony. A black goo dripped from between her fingers.”
“Never mind; hold that thought.” Andi rushed toward her sister, with her wand drawn.
“This was a day for doozies.” Pinkie turned to watch the witch tend to her sister.
“That it was,” Applejack agreed, also watching.
It was no surprise that the new spectacle went unnoticed. Like the ponies, no organs were visible through the crystal forms of the humans. But there was something. One might have mistaken it for a mote of light. It was there, inside the woman furthest along. Barely discernable. It could have been mistaken for a trick of the light.
It was a pulse . . .
. . . a steady and rhythmic pulse . . .
. . . a heartbeat.