//------------------------------// // Parasiteses // Story: A Witch in Broad Daylight // by Epsilon-Delta //------------------------------// Far later than anypony should be awake, Starlight sat in her large throne-like chair in a room she used to conduct various rituals. Banners with her cutie mark adorned the sides of the vast but mostly empty room. An altar marked with a single star took up most of the floor space. Void Walker alone attended to her as Starlight leaned to one side, considering how tomorrow morning could play out. “Should we really have Night Glider go first?” Void Walker asked. “We cannot afford to lose a source of such resplendent faith. A less valuable pony could perhaps die in the ritual and none need know of their demise and lose faith.” “I’ve done this twice before,” Starlight’s voice remained cool. “Thrice if we count myself. And her belief in me is precisely what makes this possible. Others will see my success and have no doubt I can do the same to them.” “Your idiot followers hardly need or want proof of anything,” said Void Walker. “Though I suppose if you can’t do this with Night Glider then it can’t be done. We’d need to think of a different course if she does happen to die.” Starlight nodded. That much she could agree on. “And have you come to any conclusions as to the changes in Scootaloo’s mind?” He asked. Starlight originally believed Scootaloo would achieve nothing more than having her brain slowly devoured. The second of the two subjects was little more than a failure who needed to be kept out of sight so far as Starlight’s plans were concerned. Perhaps she would have decided to save the filly in the end, but by then she’d hardly matter as a piece. Yet something changed. Starlight could feel it. The black feather was no longer slowly consuming Scootaloo. Instead, she was creeping towards completion. “There are still too many possibilities,” Starlight said. “They must have some prior knowledge of such things. I can use that. I need you to make sure Lilymoon is asleep for the next twenty-four hours. Inject her with something if you need to.” The knock heralded the presence of her third in command. Void Walker opened the door to allow Night Glider in, then he went off to fetch the reagents. Night Glider bowed low to Starlight, her muzzle hard against the ground. There was no longer any time to delay. “Night Glider.” Starlight beckoned for her to come closer. “You’ve been my most faithful servant. It’s time for your reward. You are the first of my faithful to take the next step towards adulthood, towards becoming a completed being.” Night Glider opened her eyes with shock at the revelation. She had only room in her heart for a second of disbelief that was dispelled by a nod and a smile from Starlight. With that, she rushed over to Starlight’s throne and grabbed her master in a tight hug, tears in her eyes. “For real?” Night Glider asked, pulling away just enough for Starlight to see her eyes glistening. “I can finally become like you?” As if the two of them could ever be equal. A pony like Night Glider would always be a foal and a servant. She would always be exactly what Starlight wanted her to be. “Of course.” Starlight hugged her, gently stroking her back. “A mother’s dream is only for her foals to grow.” Night Glider nuzzled her with a sob. It was difficult to hate her. Perhaps Starlight had grown to love Night Glider in her own way. Charlatans were always doomed to believe their own lies, and so Starlight was careful of her own. Never repeat a lie you don’t wish to become. Night Glider would never be like Starlight, but she would be allowed happiness so long as she stayed this way. Everypony would become like Night Glider and would know true happiness in exchange for their faith. Her submission would be blissful. “And you will have an important task when this is done,” Starlight pulled Night Glider off to hold her at leg’s length. “You mostly know the situation. If they see Lilymoon, it would be a disaster. You will be granted the power to ensure they don’t. Scootaloo may need your help as well.” “Why did you let her stay free so long anyway? Can’t you track her?” Night Glider asked. Her smile just barely contained her giddiness at the hope of seeing Starlight reveal some brilliant gambit. “Did you wait this long as part of the plan?” Starlight had noticed the escape right away. Aliens and a few other things distracted her at the time. Then Scootaloo made a beeline for Rainbow Dash and Starlight devised a plot. “Scootaloo has an important role to play,” Starlight explained. “It is through her they will understand completion.” Starlight leaned back to look out her window. “Even Allgood’s betrayal is best left uninterrupted,” Starlight continued. “Punishing their enemy, saving this filly, and favoring them will make them more sympathetic toward me.” “Wow! Did you seriously plan all of this out?” Night Glider gazed upon Starlight with the reverence that she deserved. “Back since– since when you opened the portal?” Night Glider seriously would believe something that ridiculous, wouldn’t she? To be fair, Starlight had carefully trained her to that end. In reality, she had no plan for Rainbow Dash to show up. She hadn’t expected Scootaloo to even survive this long. Her planning began a few months, rather than a few years ago. But that shining look on her servant’s face? How could Starlight deny that? “Of course,” said Starlight. “Even earlier! Don’t you wonder why Lilymoon was so much more successful than Scootaloo? It was hardly a mistake. Even back then I was thinking of their education. I knew they would learn better from a pony who doesn’t ‘get’ completion as easily as Lilymoon did.” And Night Glider marveled at Starlight. With tears in her eyes, she fell forward to grasp Starlight even tighter. Why wouldn’t she? It all fit closely enough. Being a prophet meant no more than re-contextualizing the past. Starlight relished it. Their belief in her, their sincere faith that she could seriously plan so precisely through the chaos of time like that– it gave her the strength to push past any obstacle. And soon their faith would create reality. Soon she would become what they believed her to be. “You really are the greatest genius who ever lived!” “I wish only the same for you.” Void Walker returned to the room, handing Starlight a single, black feather. Its presence silenced the room. Starlight held it up just above Night Glider’s head. Night Glider looked up at the dreadful thing with no fear at all. Her faith in Starlight was beyond that. “Speak its name,” Starlight commanded. The time for the confrontation had come. Sunset Shimmer came to retrieve Trixie shortly after dawn. A little too early. Dash was still drinking coffee when the knock on the door came. All three ponies stood, Dash opening the door. Meanwhile, Pinkie and Scootaloo hid in the basement, listening in. Through a phone line, Sweetie Belle and Derpy would be able to record this conversation without being affected by Scootaloo. Pinkie warned of multiple groups watching, feeling malicious intent in several directions. Inside should be relatively safe from their eyes, though. Sunset Shimmer stopped shortly after entering the room, finding herself surrounded as though about to undergo an intervention. “Is something up?” Sunset awkwardly looked about them. Wasting no time, Twilight stepped forward with purpose. “Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight inhaled and produced her own spellbook. “The pages of this spellbook are made out of one hundred percent mind fiber.” Sunset gave Twilight a look so skeptical it bordered annoyance before looking down at the book itself. When she did, astonishment shattered all doubt. She reached out, needing to hold such an artifact. Had she not been wearing boots, that alone would have given her away. “But the ones made by Twilight herself are only ten percent mind fiber!” Sunset flipped through the pages in awe. “Do you have any idea how powerful this artifact is? Where could you have possibly found this?” Twilight took another deep breath. “I didn’t find it,” said Twilight. “I created it.” Understanding flashed in Sunset’s eyes. She knew the truth right then but didn’t dare say it. She clutched the book, trying to play dumb. “What are you talking about? Not even modern witches can make mind fiber,” Sunset swung a little too far on the dumb side. “Let alone something like this.” “You know the truth.” Twilight’s horn flashed and her coloration turned back to its natural purples. “Say my name.” With mouth agape, Sunset’s eyes darted about as her mind darted through every possible response. Yet she was caught too far off guard to come up with any semblance of a plan, any excuse to continue to feign ignorance. “Twilight Sparkle.” she at last said. Twilight nodded. “If that’s true, why are you telling me this now?” Sunset asked. “We need your help with something,” said Twilight. “Starlight is saying you’re a witch. And also, well–” Without meaning to, Twilight looked in Trixie’s direction. Sunset’s eyes narrowed on Trixie. “Trixie!” Sunset grabbed her by the collar. “What the hay happened to the whole ‘witches get stitches’ thing you always say?!” “It’s witches aren’t snitches.” Trixie pulled back. “And Trixie was in a dark and horrible place at the time!” “I’m way too nice to you.” Sunset dropped her. “Fine. If you’re Twilight Sparkle, you can hardly judge me for being a witch. It was inflicted on me.” “Absolutely not!” Twilight put a hoof up. “We have no reason to think you’re guilty of anything. You seem like potentially the only witch who doesn’t need to be dealt with.” “I suppose you’re at least reasonable if you think that.” Sunset trotted back and forth, trying desperately to make sense of this in her mind. “Your presence now of all times can’t possibly be a coincidence.” “Actually, it is possibly a coincidence.” Twilight held a hoof at chest height. “I had no plans of coming outside. The old ways say that a master witch of my level shouldn’t interact with the world. I intended to follow that until Rainbow Dash tried to murder me one day. I convinced her to be my minion instead and commanded her to tell me about the outside world. I decided to break tradition based on what I heard.” Was that how it happened? “I see.” Sunset considered it. “So let me guess. You saw that all the other witches turned their backs on the old ways and decided to forcibly reform us?” “Something like that.” Twilight nodded. “I was blamed for the curse of undeath and a few other things, too. I wanted to clear my reputation by fixing both the problems I’m fairly and unfairly blamed for. I don’t know about reform, but the other witches have to be brought to justice.” “It’s true they’re all hypocrites.” Sunset scowled. “They constantly talk about how being strong is what gives you the right to do whatever you please. Yet they refuse to kneel to those stronger than themselves.” Twilight nodded along with her objections until Sunset got to that last part. “Hold on!” Twilight cut her off. “I don’t entirely agree with you, but – I mean, if you feel that way then it logically follows you’d have to kneel to me, right? I’m a master witch and thus your senior. And I could probably beat you up. Not that I would! But, you know, for the sake of argument I could.” Twilight gave a big, awkward smile. Sunset looked down at Twilight’s spellbook, far beyond anything she could create herself, then reluctantly bowed her head to Twilight. “I suppose you’re right.” “I am?” Twilight blinked in surprise. “I mean! Heh! Of course I am! Logic demands that, uh – no, that’s what Night glider would say!” Twilight nervously flicked her tail about, pawing a hoof against the ground. “Anyway!” Twilight regained her composure. “As your new leader, I order you to show me the element of laughter. Which. I’m pretty sure you have that, right?” “You managed to figure that out already?” Sunset lifted her head. She no longer seemed so reluctant. “What… do you want with it exactly, though?” “Yes,” said Twilight. “Mostly we want to know if it’s something we need to destroy.” Sunset’s face lit up at the mere suggestion of destroying it, almost laughing. Was it really annoying her that much? “I see!” Sunset nodded. “I can’t exactly show it to you. You can only see the accursed thing if it feels like letting you. That you haven’t noticed it yet makes that unlikely.” Noticed it? “Wait,” said Dash. “Are you saying it’s in the room right now?” “It’s right there.” Sunset pointed at their coffee table. Everypony looked to the empty table. None of them found anything and turned back to Sunset. With a frustrated grunt, Sunset trotted over to the table. “Right there.” Sunset slammed her hoof down on the exact spot. The three ponies trotted closer to the table to inspect its emptiness. Dash couldn’t imagine how she’d missed it at first but noticed a single banana sitting on their coffee table this time. Derpy had accidentally bought a bunch of them just the other day, despite not one pony in their massive household liking them. “It’s a banana?” Dash lowered her head to be eye-level with the fruit. There was nothing else there. “I didn’t see that coming.” Even then, Twilight and Trixie appeared to be having trouble finding it. They squinted but still couldn’t find the right spot. “Ugh! Is it doing this one again?” Sunset snatched it up and scolded the banana. Only then did the other two witched notice its presence. “Nopony thinks this is funny!” Trixie raised a hoof. “I think it’s a little funny.” Trixie smirked. “Don’t,” Sunset said as she turned to Trixie with a stern look, “encourage it. It can make ponies see it differently, usually to ‘comic’ effect. I’m one of the few ponies who can see its true form.” Dash came closer to inspect it, still a banana. “What do you see?” Dash asked. “Its true form changes shape to match the last pony it lent power to. Right now, it’s a necklace with a black, cracked gemstone in the shape of their cutie mark.” Sunset lifted the banana, then lowered it back over her head as though putting on a necklace. Surely enough, it hung over her chest like a pendant on invisible chains. “You mean somepony who had a banana cutie mark?” Dash tried to picture it. “Banana Mash? The banana pony?” “No. It’s.” Sunset Shimmer lifted the banana to squint at it. “It’s like a flower inside a circle and some other flowers? Or maybe this is supposed to be fireworks? Or four gears? I’m not sure what I’m looking at. I know I’ve seen this when I was young, but it won’t tell me where or show me their form.” At any rate, Bloodstorm’s cutie mark was a skull and cross bones so he couldn’t have been the last pony to use it. So Starlight was either lying or wrong. “Shouldn’t it be your cutie mark?” Dash asked. “No. It only changes when… like you gotta go stand before the throne of sunshine and rainbows and argue with it about how unworthy you are and offer it a piece of your ‘soul’… basically, it only changes shape when it grants you at least a fraction of its power, okay?” Sunset shimmer grabbed the banana and removed the invisible necklace. “But it hates me and I hate it. My relationship with this banana is purely professional. Or, I guess it’s more like it’s stalking me.” “If it hates you why does it let you put it on?” Dash asked. “I barely understand,” said Sunset. “I stupidly made a deal with it when I was a desperate filly, just after my master died. I’d carry it around and it would protect me from harm until the day it ‘suddenly decides to abandon me at the worst possible time’. I know it’s using me as a stepping-stone, but I don’t know towards what. It talks about granting wishes to ponies it likes and finding those more worthy of its power. But it’s been almost twelve years since it started following me.” “Following you?” “I can’t get rid of it no matter what. Watch this.” Sunset trotted over to the garbage, threw the supposedly ancient artifact of unlimited power into the trash, then closed the lid. As the lid closed there came a knock on the door. Having been through this before, Sunset wearily trotted over. A smiling delivery pony was on the other side holding a big bunch of bananas. “Here are those bananas you ordered!” The mail pegasus announced with a big smile. “Thanks.” Sunset grabbed them and closed the door. Sunset took one banana off the bunch and threw the rest on the table. “You see? The necklace was wrapped around those.” Sunset held up what was allegedly the correct one. “It’s one way to get free bananas for life, but if I do anything more extreme than that it’ll ‘get back’ at me. So there’s nothing I can do but let it live with me rent-free. It’s never far away. I’ve worn it in front of you plenty of times but you didn’t notice back then.” Sunset tried hurling it out the window. This time it seemingly boomeranged back at her, flying back inside at the speed of sound as soon as Sunset turned her back. Sunset caught it just in time, but it looked like it was going to decapitate her for a second there! “You can go ahead and try talking to it if you want,” said Sunset. “I have no idea if it’ll like you or not. I think it prefers underdogs. Ponies who remain chipper even when bad things are happening to them. That’s what I got from its lectures, anyway.” The other two witches both looked at Rainbow Dash, who wanted to complain but couldn’t possibly argue. It did let her see it first. She sighed and walked over to the element of laughter. “Um.” Dash put the banana up to her head, holding it like a phone. “Hello? Operator?” No response. Dash hung up the banana. “Okay, if this is some kind of prank I fell for it.” “If it doesn’t want to talk to us that’s fine,” Twilight spoke loudly, making sure the thing could hear her. “Do you think it’s going to be a problem, though?” “Right now it’s ‘broken’.” Sunset sat down on their couch, finally relaxing ever so slightly. “That means it no longer counts as a failsafe. I’ve double-checked that. The only two left are the element of honesty and Nailbat. With you, we could probably have this done within a few days!” “Wait. Failsafes?” Twilight blinked. Sunset froze dead still and looked at Twilight with abject horror. The two of them locked eyes in an impromptu staring contest. “I.” Sunset glanced aside, then back. “I didn’t say anything about a failsafe?” Fluttershy lifted the curtain from the window, but dawn had already come. Things were starting to get a bit scary again. After siding with Rarity, Moondancer sent a contingent of mercenaries to set up camp just north of the castle. From the window, Fluttershy could see only the light of the fires just an hour ago before sunrise. The Castle itself was far less empty. The great hall had been filled with row after row of those Sweetie Belle robots. A sympathetic donor had begun sending them the materials for such an expansion. They had a lot more ponies on their side for now, but there were so many enemies who could attack them at any moment. Equestria or Screwball could assault the castle and that was just the start of the list. Ponies were getting ready for war and Fluttershy still didn’t fully know who they’d be fighting. Fluttershy flew back down to the cellar. It was nice and dark down there. Part of her wished she could just hide here until everything blew over. The better part knew she had to pull her weight. They needed to get as many allies as possible and Fluttershy had a great chance presented to her! She just needed to be brave and face her fears. Just like Rainbow Dash taught her! Aria Blaze was supposed to have been here hours ago. Through her aura, Fluttershy knew she was still coming. She could sense the presence of another ghost from over a mile away and knew Aria was close. She’d gotten close a long time ago, but stopped to hide somewhere from an abundance of caution, to be certain nothing saw her coming here. Whenever she got a clear run for it, she’d sneak in through the cellar window unseen and remain in the castle until they were ready to help Sonata. Fluttershy spent the whole night dreading the meeting, but now that Aria was running late she began to think it better to just get it over with. She could feel Aria simmering in frustration at having to be outside in broad daylight. Nice and comfy in the dark cellar, Fluttershy felt increasingly sympathetic to her plight. Rarity came trotting down the stairs to find Fluttershy still waiting by the cellar window. “Is she still out there?” Rarity asked with a yawn. She’d stayed up all night waiting for this meeting. “Perhaps we should make a distraction to cover for her?” Fluttershy opened her mouth to answer, then quickly covered it again. Aria made a sudden beeline for the castle. Just like that, Fluttershy didn’t want to ‘just get it over with’ anymore. “She’s coming!” Fluttershy darted underground. Rarity spent the minute they had trying to coax her back up, but Fluttershy couldn’t do it. It’d be easier to be brave once Aria got here, she promised herself. The window slid open and Fluttershy saw the shadow of a pony coming into the room just above the ground. “Freaking sun,” Aria grumbled. “Please tell me you’re Rarity and I got the right place.” Fluttershy peeked ever so slightly out to get a look at Aria. She wished her first encounter would be with a high ghost who was less ‘rough’ looking. Though likely untrue, this Aria pony looked meaner than even Boss Rattler. What would have been scars covered her body, leaving exposed stuffing. Even without all that, her tough eyes and hair made her look like she belonged in a gang. “I am. Welcome to my home. I apologize that not all of us are here.” Rarity bowed her head. “We’ve a great deal to worry about.” “I’d be impressed if you knew half of it.” Aria trotted deeper inside and looked about. “Where is your specter? I know she’s nearby.” Okay! This was it! Fluttershy took a breath and nodded. Her body tensed up and she let out a puff of air. Fluttershy shook her head. She had to do this! She braced herself… and couldn’t get over the barrier a second time. Refusing to admit defeat, she closed her eyes tight and threw herself forward. Fluttershy came above ground and immediately regretted it! Aria shot her a harsh, judgmental look that sent Fluttershy cowering back below ground. “Please tell me that was a second ghost you’ve been keeping around,” Aria said. “She’s just a bit shy around other ghosts!” Rarity lowered her head to be close to the ground. “Fluttershy, darling. Please come back up.” Fluttershy did slowly peek her head up again. “And it’s really just her?” Aria asked. “I’ve never heard of a specter without a fraid for longer than a few months.” “I have an orb!” Fluttershy floated her ‘pet’ up for observation. Aria kept a stern eye on Fluttershy. She realized that was the ghost equivalent of, when asked if you had any friends, taking out a coconut with eyes drawn on it. She slowly lowered it back down. “Whatever. Link your aura to mine.” Aria spread her wings. “Huh?!” Fluttershy shrank back at the thought. “When you free Sonata, she’ll be borderline comatose.” Aria stepped forward. “One of us will need to use our aura to draw her out and you can grab her from miles away. If you can’t do this now, how will you when somepony is trying to murder you?” Fluttershy gulped. Aria did have a point. This was something Fluttershy needed to practice either way. Pumpkin Pie was the only time she’d linked her aura to a ghost who wasn’t trying to torment her. It would be just like that, Fluttershy assured herself. Oh, how Fluttershy wished she had a slightly more gentle ghost to practice this with! She really should have asked that dullahan to come with her. Using maybe a little too much force, Fluttershy pressed her aura around Aria, smothering her to the point that Aria pushed back. A little awkward, but Fluttershy technically did it. Aria was none too impressed with Fluttershy, but that much had already been obvious. If anything, it was a relief to feel that Aria wasn’t outright angry at Fluttershy, as she had secretly feared. Instead, Fluttershy shared the sense of shock as Aria experienced the fear the specter had been struggling against. She actually felt sympathy for Fluttershy now? Doused with understanding, the tension in the room cooled rapidly. Aria roughly pushed her own aura back hard on Fluttershy, trying to force the mercy of her own apathy on the specter. Using your aura on another ghost was a bit like jumping into a cold pool, Fluttershy decided. After the initial shock, it wasn’t too bad. “There?” Aria smiled for once. “You see? It’s not hard.” “I’m really sorry.” Fluttershy bowed her head. “I’ve always had a terrible phobia of ghosts, even when I was alive. I had to be one of the worst possible picks to ‘get lucky’.” “Yeah, I can feel that. I know phobias aren’t something you can just get over, but that’s what you have to anyway. You need to practice doing this until you don’t hesitate. I might not be able to drag Sonata back myself.” “I will!” Fluttershy vowed. “I want to help the other ghosts!” And Aria could feel her resolve with no need to doubt it. Fluttershy was just happy to have a ghost who understood her situation on some level, who could help her with this. It was the next step in her training. If Fluttershy could get that far, perhaps the next phase of her planning could work, too. “I was hoping you could answer something for me.” Fluttershy held a hoof out but didn’t dare get closer. “Um! I’m a vegan. You can feel that I’m not tempted to eat Rarity, right?” “Yeah? Don’t expect me to congratulate you. What you did was reckless.” “Actually, I was wondering if I could use my aura to keep you from feeling the addiction.” Fluttershy still remembered the feeling though it’d been so long since she’d gotten over the addiction. Aria, Fluttershy already knew, didn’t think the idea would work. But she humored Fluttershy and sniffed at Rarity. Fluttershy’s heart swelled when no itch came over Aria. It sank back when Aria shared no such wonder on her end. “I don’t feel the itch,” Aria’s voice was flat. “Then that’s a good thing, right?” Fluttershy smiled and tilted her head. “I thought! Maybe if I can keep you… or some other ghost! If somepony stayed in my aura long enough I could suppress their urges until they get over their addiction, too! And I could help other ghosts become vegans! And–” Fluttershy thought that plan was so brilliant, especially now knowing it had some possibility of working. “You’re the latest in a long, long time,” said Aria, “but not the first to try something like that. My family has a long history going back to the royal age and our memory is good. I can tell you why that idea is foolish and wouldn’t work, but I’ll only share our history with you if you get Sonata back for me.” Somepony else had tried that plan and failed? Fluttershy truly hoped she’d been the first specter in history to have become vegan. But this was a lesson Fluttershy had learned from Rainbow Dash! Just because other ponies had failed before her didn’t mean she would fail too! “I’m going to try it anyway,” said Fluttershy. “If Rainbow Dash can do stupid things then so can I!” “What?” “Oh, that didn’t come out right.” Fluttershy covered her mouth. She’d felt so brave and heroic saying that, too. “It’s not my job to stop you from being an idiot,” said Aria. “So yes. You can help other ghosts get over their addiction like that. I’ll tell you that much for free.” Aria turned to Rarity. “But we don’t have any kind of deal without Sonata,” said Aria. “You have more information on the encounter?” Rarity nodded and drew their attention to the table. “I’ve laid out a map of the meeting spot.” Rarity scrolled out a map they prepared across the table. Aria read over the information carefully, becoming weary as she recognized the spot. There was a deep canyon on the north side of the map, then a few miles of almost nothing, and finally the abandoned train station. “The meeting spot is a tad too generous to us,” said Rarity. “We can have our ponies hide on the other side of the canyon. It’s deep enough that no ghost will be able to approach us from underground. They gave us a massive terrain advantage.” “She’s messing with us.” Aria shook her head. “I know our enemy well enough to say she intends to hit this spot hard. She’s going to show up.” Aria flicked her eyes in Fluttershy’s direction, feeling the surge of fear. Fluttershy wasn’t ready to deal with the scariest ghost of all! “Would this ‘enemy’ really come out herself?” Rarity asked. “From what I’ve heard, I always assumed she can’t leave Crater Cemetery itself.” “The bitch still has a few chains left,” said Aria. “Time is running out on that, but we still have that much. That doesn’t mean she’s helpless though. She has an avatar– sort of like a puppet she can control from far away. It’s a suit of pure adamantium armor modified only slightly.” “Adamantium? That’s – wouldn’t such a device be completely indestructible?” “Yes, but you could still potentially deal with it,” said Aria. “She needs to flood it with aura to animate the thing. If your friend can destroy the aura, it will stop moving.” “I’m sure Silverstorm has some way of dealing with that,” said Rarity. “Is there anything else you can tell us about this ‘avatar’?” “That attacks that thing uses.” Aria stared off at some far point, losing herself momentarily. She regained her focus and circled a large area on the map. “I’ve never seen it hit with anything but devastating force. I don’t even think it can do a light attack. There’s no wind-up, just a sudden torrent of destruction. Anything in this area would be totally destroyed by one.” “But the area you marked is three miles long!” Rarity exclaimed. Aria simply nodded. “And it can consistently do that every few seconds,” said Aria, “and keep that rate up for hours on end. The only advantage you can take from it is that you’d have four or five seconds before it drops a second attack like that. I know that’s a long time for a pony as strong as a witch.” “I’ll relay that to Silverstorm,” said Rarity. “I’m sure she’ll be able to take advantage of that weakness.” Aria took offense to the word ‘weakness’ being applied to that ghost. “I’m not sure if we should even try to fight if it shows up,” said Aria. “You don’t want to fight her unnecessarily. Our goal should be to get Sonata and run. She won’t chase us into a heavily populated area.” “Would it not be better to destroy this construct if we’re able?” Rarity asked. “I can assure you our ace is significantly stronger than even a witch.” “I’m still not sure if you realize what you’re up against.” Aria looked off to the side, remembering something painful. Somepony who died, maybe? “Here’s the best I can give you for now. Do you know how crater cemetery was created in the first place?” Fluttershy and Rarity shared a look. That was a major event that few ponies couldn’t tell you about. “An asteroid hit that spot,” said Rarity. “Nopony could have possibly missed it. It was so big that debris came crashing down as far away as Canterlot. Some ponies in Northern Equestria say they felt the ground shaking. Half the Everfree forest burned to the ground. The ash made it so a proper summer didn’t come that year afterward.” Aria nodded slowly. “Let me put it like this,” said Aria. “That wasn’t enough.” “Twilight!” Sunset laughed and jumped off the couch, “You’re a master witch. Surely you know about the fail-safes that Golden Feather set up. You wanted to break them all, right? That’s– isn’t that why you wanted to destroy the element of laughter?” “I don’t really–” Sunset got uncomfortably close. “Right?” “I don’t know anything about those.” Twilight shook her head. “What are you talking about?” “How can you not know about this?!” Sunset stomped her hoof. “Was I seriously the only one who–?! Sunset cantered back and forth across the room. “This is bad! Where the heck is Raven?” Sunset fiddled with her boot, taking out a thin piece of glass. “Damn it!” “Whoa! Whoa!” Dash raised a hoof to try and calm her. “Let’s not do anything crazy.” Dash looked at the piece of glass, which might not even be dangerous. “I’m sure whatever you’re up to is a good idea, right?” Dash smiled. “So just tell us about it.” Sunset looked down at her object before putting it back into her boot. “Listen to me, Twilight.” Sunset stormed her way to get up in Twilight’s face. “Golden Feather is the greatest and most powerful pony who ever lived. She’s the mother of us all. She created the order of the witches and the element of laughter in the first place. Her wisdom and strength are beyond what any of us can even imagine.” “Uh.” Twilight backed up until she was against the wall. Then she could only scrunch her nose. “Okay?” “She has the right to rule.” Sunset threw her hoof to the side. “It’s even in the constitution that they made themselves. She’s still technically the queen and has unlimited power over the government. They wrote that down. She would be the perfect ruler. Even if we kept doing democracy, no one as competent or kind as her would ever be elected in a hundred thousand years.” “Cool?” Twilight pulled her head back. “Why are we–?” “So!” Sunset spun around to look at an equally bewildered Trixie and Dash. Sunset paused, one foreleg held out wide, as she took a moment to very carefully choose her next words. “Well wouldn’t it be cool if she just showed up out of nowhere and solved all of our problems?” Sunset smiled wide and gauged their reactions. “Yeah?” She found only more confusion. “Like.” Dash blinked a few times. “I dunno? Is that even an option?” “Yes!” Sunset nodded. “Then. I mean. Maybe?” Dash looked at Twilight. “Yeah.” Twilight nodded also. “Maybe.” “I’ll vote yes to be different,” Trixie offered. “It’d be anti-climactic but whatever. If this is something we can do, why haven’t we done it?” “Exactly!” Sunset pointed to Trixie. “Well we can do that! Golden Feather left behind certain guards to keep our world safe while she was away. The Elements of Harmony, the crystal heart, the royal families, and more. Even the witches were originally made to serve this purpose. All of them have failed except for two, both of which are effectively useless as well. And if all of them fail? If we, say, make the last two fail?” Breathing heavily, Sunset trotted backward, Dash noticing her getting awfully close to the door. “The final precaution she set up was that she’d be summoned back to our world!” Sunset smiled through her panic. “So let’s do it! Right?” But Sunset only managed to leave her audience dazed at such a bizarre suggestion. This was too much to take in at once! Dash had millions of questions before she could even respond to something like that. “Uh! Are you really doing that ‘summon a god’ thing?” Dash winced. “You know that’s never been a good idea before, right? Like not once?” “Golden Feather is different! She’s a pony with god-like powers is all,” Sunset assured them. “Well what makes you think she’s even alive?” Dash asked. “Or that she wants to come back? Or isn’t, like, channeling a spell to keep the sun from exploding? Or what if she changed her mind and became evil in the past billion years or whatever it was?” Sunset grit her teeth, frantically looking around for some way out of this. Her ears perked up and she turned to the window. “Finally.” Sunset used her magic to open a window. A raven (not a crow as Dash was keenly aware of the difference) came flying inside and landed on the couch. It hopped twice, taking in the scene before bursting into feathers, reminiscent of the murder spell. The pony now standing on their couch was a light grey unicorn with a blue mane. She remained totally collected for a pony who’d just broken into another’s house. Her expression was almost bored as she scanned the room with her yellow eyes. Dash recognized her. This was one of the S-rank ponies aligned with Sunset. Moonlight Raven. “We’re going to use this on them?” Moonlight Raven asked. “I take it that pirate was Twilight after all? Like I guessed?” “Use what on us?” Dash asked. “Maybe! I’m not sure yet,” Sunset desperately told Moonlight. “Look, I slipped and told them too much! I just need time to regroup and think about this! We can’t take any risks this late.” “We’re still talking!” Twilight tried to calm her down. “If we’re going to do this, we shouldn’t hesitate,” said Moonlight. “Yes or no? You have twelve seconds, then I leave.” “I’ll explain it to you later,” Sunset promised. “I just. I need time to prepare.” Was she going to try some kind of memory thing? Dash didn’t want to find out. “I think we need to regroup first!” Dash turned to Twilight. Things were getting too tense! But this was why they had the do-over button, right? They could mull over the information, then come back to Sunset in a way that wouldn’t make her panic like this! Yeah! Dash pulled the trigger first, stomping her hoof three times in rhythm to signal Scootaloo to reset things. She wasn’t expecting to notice any part of the powers taking effect. Yet the moment she gave the signal, that banana around Sunset’s neck began to give off violent, blue sparks. Sunset yelped and struggled to take it off. “Hm.” Moonlight looked at her companion with little detectable concern. “That’s not me. Is that you?” Something clearly wasn’t working. Dash wanted to call out to Scootaloo or run downstairs. She didn’t want to give away her existence, but– Screw it! This was an emergency. “Scootaloo!” Dash knelt down to the floor and called out to her. “Are you–” In reply, Pinkie came bursting through the floor with an uppercut! “We have a serious problem!” Pinkie announced. “Like a no time for stairs problem!” Darkness came pouring out from the hole Pinkie left behind. It expanded like a black hole, the floorboards twisting and crumpling into the growing chasm. “Also not me.” Moonlight backed up to the window. “I’ll be waiting outside. Call me when you figure this out.” “Pinkie!” Dash flew over and grabbed her. “What the heck happened? Where’s Scootaloo?” “That happened!” Pinkie flicked her eyes to the black hole. “Best explanation I got!” “I guess I’d better–” Twilight started. Twilight’s horn glowed, but before she could attempt to fix the situation everything froze. Dash looked around, finding herself the only pony able to do so. Time stopped its course for the moment. But who was responsible? All the ponies capable of such a few were all stopped. Even the black hole before ceased to move. Then Dash noticed one other thing still had motion. The sunlight. It was growing brighter and changing angle as though the sun were rapidly moving outside. She tried trotting to the window but before she could reach it, the light became blinding. It died down soon after, but the room was still submerged in an unearthly bloom. Before Dash shone white pegasus with spikey, golden hair broken only by a crescent of blue on the far left side. The back of her mane and the edge of her tail were tied into braids, the former hanging forward over her shoulder. Her fur was not a perfect white, but a slight tinge of yellow like the sun breaking through a layer of cloud. Any Equestrian would recognize the image of their founder immediately and Dash made no mistake here. This… was it really Golden Feather? Surely it had to be an illusion or something! Sunset just said they had to do all this stuff for this to happen. And that was assuming she was right in the first place. But the smile on that pegasus was the most beautiful and confident look Dash had ever seen. The look in her eyes made Dash realize this was no ordinary pony. As if sensing her thoughts, she gave just a single nod and there was no doubt left anywhere in the world. Dash’s legs felt weak as Golden Feather trotted towards her with the weight and warmth of the rising sun. Dash’s eyes became misty and her body shuddered as that great pegasus grabbed her into a hug. “There’s no longer any need for tears, my little pony.” Golden Feather pressed her muzzle lovingly against Dash’s head. Her breath carried the warmth of the first day of summer. “I’ve missed all of my foals so much. But know that there is no reason to ever fear while I’m with you.” Despite herself, despite her skepticism, Rainbow Dash’s emotions overtook her, and tears formed in her eyes. It was like something missing from her life had suddenly returned, like Dash had at long last been united with her true mother. She looked up at that smile more beautiful than the sky or sun, filled with nothing but absolute love. Her hug around Rainbow Dash was like an unbreakable shield that could weather even storms that would wash away mountains. If this was really what it was like, maybe Sunset had a point. Dash wanted nothing more than to cry into Golden Feather’s chest and felt as though she could. All those things she should be worried about were no longer problems, not when this pony was here. “I love you, Rainbow Dash,” she spoke the words more gently and sincerely than Dash’s real mother ever had. “I love you so much that I’ve randomly shown up out of nowhere to… heh…” Golden Feather pulled her head back. Her smile was different now, tilted far too much to one side. It was a smirk! She gave a little snort, then began to laugh. “Psyche!” ‘Golden Feather’ shoved Dash over, laughing hysterically.