The Summer Sun Celebration wasn’t the next day, so I had a while. Celestia and I rehearsed every step of my quite frankly insane plan. She was understandably upset by the fact that for all the time I’d had to work on this, I only had a few basic contingencies in case it all went wrong.

To her surprise, I wanted to stay on as a teacher even after Dusk graduated, at least for a few years. I said I liked the work, which was true, and that it gave me a reason to get out of bed in the mornings, again true.

“Who, me?!” I asked in shock, radiating pure innocence. The extra halo was probably overdoing it. She snorted, but let it pass.

Dusk had turned out … exactly the way I’d hoped he hadn’t, which was to say he absolutely matched canon. I don’t think he had a single friend aside from his brothers, and to make it worse, I don’t think he even noticed he didn’t. These days I hardly saw him without his muzzle stuck in a book.

Spike walked into my office with a downcast look. “H-hello?” There was a thump from inside a cupboard. He nervously opened it.

“Ah. Hello there,” I said cheerfully, my head upside down from his perspective. “Would you mind closing your eyes and covering your ears for a second? This can be … unsettling to watch.”

He did, and with a few cracks and pops I unfolded as I made my way out of the cupboard. “You can look now,” I said loudly enough for him to hear, but still trying not to spook him.

Spike glanced at the dark, small space I’d been contorted into. “How do you fit in there?!”

“Eh, bones are weird. I’m just pretty flexible, and I’ve had a lot of practice. As a foal my favorite place to play was the cabinet under my mother’s bookshelf, and to this day I still like squeezing into tight dark places. It’s comforting, as weird as it is. What can I do for you?”

Spike sighed. “Dusk … didn’t need me again today. So, I’m just on my own, while he works through a stack of books that almost goes to the ceiling. I don’t want to go home in case he does need me, but … I’m bored.”

“If you think about it, it’s actually amazing that we’ve invented boredom when we live in a place full of such amazing wonders and terrors, but yes, that’s absolutely relatable. Are you asking to spend the day with me?”

“No, I didn’t. Thank you, Spike, that means … more than you could know. Well, since you’re spending the day with creepy old me, then I can show you my favorite obsession,” I said with a toothy grin.

“It’s nothing bad. Once you get over your brain exploding, it’s actually REALLY fun!”

“Uh … I would STRONGLY advise you to not play a spellcaster your first time,” I said with growing concern. “In the first place it adds like six more layers of complexity and stuff to remember, and in the second place they are FRIGHTENINGLY squishy. Seriously, a cat could sneeze on you, and you’d die at first level.”

I smiled. “No. It’s a good name. … So, Garbunkle the Enchanter. All right. It’s been a while since I’ve done a one-on-one, I can usually bribe two companions of mine into playing. OK. 1 player, first level, full-caster so extra squishy, good Constitution score though, just need to tone my sinister plot down so I don’t kill you, shouldn’t do anything too traumatic, and…” I set the pencil I’d been scribbling with down. “That should do. So, Garbunkle, are you prepared to enter the world of Ogres and Oubliettes?”

Shining’s lesson had stuck, I was actually eating in the cafeteria one day when I noticed a small filly alone by herself. Something about her seemed … off. Again, not something I liked to do, and probably an act of evil without permission, but I gently probed her mind. The table snapped under my grip.

“Fine,” I croaked. “Just need to pick an appropriate mask. Please excuse me, I need to go boil my eyes.”

It was four minutes past midnight. A stallion sat up panting and sweating as a nightmare trickled out of his memory. Whatever it was had been awful … and it wasn’t over yet…

Some … thing was on top of him, pinning him down. It was bipedal but stretched far too thin. It was covered in shaggy black fur. Its head was just a fleshless skull. Long, thin arms lead up to the stallion’s neck. Lengthy claws were wrapped around his neck. Just gently enough to inform the stallion that they were there, though he got the impression that this thing could snap his neck with ease. The monster’s right hand was a bloody red from fur to the tips of his claws. Eyeless, lightless sockets were staring into the stallion’s soul and putting marks around the parts it didn’t like.

I’ve removed your voice and soundproofed the room so there’s no point in screaming, it rasped. It paused to let that sink in. I don’t handle being around children well, it said evenly, without any malice, Ironic given my current career. However, if you give your daughter another reason to fear you, if she ever flinches from anything you do to her or a memory of how you treat her, I will let something out of my head to hunt you down. It will scoop out your insides and wear your skin like a suit. And it will be a better you, so nopony will notice or care that you’re gone. Nod if you understand! it snarled.

Good. And believe me, I am going to have eyes on you at all times for the next few years. Have a good night. I’ll be watching. It snapped its fingers and disappeared.

The stallion turned over and screamed into his pillow to avoid waking his daughter.

To my surprise, Dusk’s family invited me to his graduation, since I’d been his teacher and was friends with his brothers.

It was filled with about as much Pomp and Circumstance as any other high school graduation (Those poor cellists...) but you could manage to survive it. I was pulled back to memories of practicing my graduation, when every single time a student passed out from the heat because we were going to make it perfect no matter how much we had to suffer.

Luckily Canterlot wasn’t where I grew up, so that wasn’t a worry. To no one’s surprise Dusk graduated with about every single honor there was.

Just a week later, Shining got a graduation ceremony of his own, though it was to be made Captain of the Royal Guard. Celestia knighted him with the grace and dignity the ceremony required. It was hilarious to see just how smitten Cadence was with Shining in his uniform. She still let out a small squeak of terror whenever she laid eyes on me…

I hung near the back, not wanting to get in the way. When the floods of well-wishers had stemmed a bit, Shining trotted over to me. “May I speak to you in private?” I nodded and he led me to a small chamber. “So. As the head of the Canterlot Chapter of the Royal Guard, I’m supposed to know about current threats to our national security. You absolutely qualify.”

I sighed. “I’m perhaps the biggest potential threat, yes. I try not to think about what would happen if I went evil.” Again, I mentally added. “Was there some point to that?”

Shining slashed his sword near where my head had been a second ago. “FIGHT ME!” he shouted with a playful grin.

“Oh. I mean holding back, obviously, don’t wipe me out of existence or kill me.”

A look of horror passed across my face before it came back and set up camp for the night. “You would be AMAZED what you can live through, or how many of your organs can be made redundant in an emergency. Including large parts of your brain. And ‘alive’ doesn’t mean ‘living’ it just means you have exactly enough brain activity to have a pulse or have machines doing it for you. It even counts for a brain in a jar. Please narrow down your instructions.”

I sighed. “If it helps, give me instructions the same way you would a computer. I will wind up doing exactly what you tell me to do to the letter of what you say, no more, no less. And like with a computer, if you accidentally leave an important instruction out…” I let that sentence hang for emphasis.

“Got it…” Shining gave me much more detailed instructions on how to not harm, maim, mutilate, scar, dismember, kill, or otherwise endanger him beyond the bounds of a friendly sparring match.

“OK, that was honestly a bit too much, but I appreciate it. Obviously repair your fragile mortal body so you don’t start work tomorrow with busted ribs or worse, and have us back before anypony notices we’re gone?” He nodded. I chuckled. “Well, I mean, there’s a school of thought that says you don’t truly know someone until you’ve fought them, but this is just a national security check, right? Not because you’ve wanted to do this ever since you found out who and what I was?”

Shining blinked and found himself in a gladiatorial arena that was definitely not part of standard Canterlot architecture. If he was still in Canterlot. Or even on Equus. He glanced nervously at large doorways that were blocked by portcullises. “Lions aren’t going to come out of there and attack me, are they?”

Ha. No. Though technically, I am half lion and know how to use the claws… Shining turned and saw Maroon Flask unfold into my Draconequus form, the lower of which was indeed a lion. I stretched. Ah~ It’s cramped being a pony for months on end… Shining shuddered. Uh, sorry, I tried to shapeshift in the least body-horror way I could…

I smiled. Thank you. It was supposed to be. I just … got attached to it. I don’t really have a true form, but this is probably my favorite. It’s the wings, right? I didn’t do those, they just … happened. Can I offer you a weapon? Sword? Daggers? Lance? Laser Pistol? Lightsaber? Gone? Anti-life Equation?

Shining sighed. “I get the feeling no matter what weapon I use it won’t make a difference, but sword, please.”

I nodded and a brand-new sword materialized beside him. You can’t kill me for very long, and I agreed to not kill you, so … first to yield? I suggested. Shining nodded.

Shining then very slowly, very hesitantly levitated the sword over and gently poked me with the tip. My mouth dropped open. Oh, no! Not my secret vulnerable point! I said with horror before I dramatically dropped dead. I chuckled and stood back up. For reference, I have been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, electrocuted, burned, beheaded, starved, been reduced to free-floating atoms, been crushed by a falling outhouse, and have jumped into black holes for fun. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I couldn’t handle pointy objects, I said, driving the sword through my heart with a wet squelch. Shining flinched. I snapped my fingers, and it appeared back by him, blade cleaned and the hole in my chest gone. Hit me if you can… I finished with a taunting grin.

Shining’s eyes narrowed at that, and he charged forwards. I effortlessly dogged it. *what? you think I’m just going to stand there and take it?

Shining growled and swung again. Hey, I nearly felt that one! I said with a grin. The blade swung through where my head had been a second before.

Shining began to chase me, growing more and more furious. Swing. I held a rose out to him with a grin. Swing. I was waving a red cape. Swing. I was laying on my side with my chin on my hand in a “draw me like one of your Prench mares” pose with a Cheshire Cat grin.

I sprang and tackled him, and we tumbled over a few times before I pinned him. Well, do you really think it has anything to do with my muscles? I climbed off of him. I gave a leisurely stretch. My turn, I said with a smile that made Shining’s blood freeze.

Hmm … What to do? I held up the rose from a moment before and began to pluck petals as I thought up ideas. Thunderbolts? Lightning? Snakes? Ice?

Shining yelped as minute rainbow fireballs began to rain down, missing him by a hair’s breadth. “Hey!” he shouted.

You aren’t harmed yet, I pointed out. Give me a minute, I’m working on it. If I genuinely wanted to hurt you, I'd just sing.

I gave a six-armed shrug. Eh, I’ve been told I have a nice voice, I just can’t match pitch to save my life. My poor choir teacher … I did enjoy it though. Hey, stop me if you’ve heard this one before… A priest, a rabbi, and a minister-

Oh. Right. Shining teleported behind me and tried again to behead me; I ducked out of the way. Thanks for cutting me off there. Sometimes I forget the point of what I’m doing… My best ideas tend to bomb…

Still, life made certain to teach me to always be mindful of the gravity of a situation.

Shining could only manage to scream as he rocketed into the sky. He glanced down at the city shrinking away below him. Yep, that definitely wasn’t Canterlot. He was miles above the ground. He began to feel woozy from lack of oxygen as he plummeted back the way he’d come. He crashed back into the arena, leaving a perfectly Shining shaped hole in the ground.

Shining pulled himself out of the hole and glared. “I’m begging you. Please. Stop.”

But I’m just getting warmed up! Fire streaked towards Shining; he was just able to dodge it. You really want me to put a sock in it? A boxing glove sailed past him. Am I bugging you that much? A roach skittered past his legs.

Shining gave a growl that belonged to a large predator, not a Pony. Magenta lightning sparked along his horn.

He gave a scream of pure fury at both the fact he hadn’t landed a single blow and the atrocious puns and disappeared.

Shining didn’t know what he had expected. But he was surprised to find himself in a city. He didn’t recognize it; the architecture was a lot more blocky and less colorful than anything on Equus. It was nighttime and freezing. His breath was crystalizing in front of him. It was pitch black, and foggy. He glanced up and couldn’t see the sky, just dark fog clouds with a band of light pollution along the horizon. Way off in the distance were flashes of red lightning.

“Woah! Tall, bright, heroic, and looks good enough to eat? You are certainly ticking my boxes…” a voice purred.

Shining turned around and whimpered. He couldn’t actually see them, and for that he was grateful. They were ponies. Maybe. Alicorns? All he could make out were large shadowy shapes. They were stallions, and slightly larger than the Princess. They had curved, almost wicked-looking horns, and … were those … butterfly wings? In some of their eyes were red lights like distant stars, though those would periodically wink out and reappear. The edges of their bodies seemed to blur like smoke.

Shining did a quick headcount, there were 25 of them, and he didn’t want to fight one.

The one who had spoken said, “Dang. I could bounce a coin off those flanks. What’s your workout routine? I’m mostly bone, but I’m a quick learner!”

Another of them sighed wearily. “Forget it, Madness, only straight guys wear that brand of cologne.”

Yet another snickered before saying, “Hey, Plunder, do you want to plunder that boot- OW! HEY! NO BITING BROTHERS!” he snarled.

They flowed into a black cloud and lunged at him before they began to rapidly circle around him, leaving him trapped in a swirling smokey tornado.

The cylinder of black cloud surrounding Shining stopped the scary song it was singing and was rotating slowly. The occasional limb or bone would momentarily appear.

“We call ourselves the Heirs of Equus, since we were the first intelligent life on your world, and we’ll outlast all of you. The Time Lords called us ‘Vashta Nerada’ which means ‘Shadows that Melt the Flesh’ since I could strip you to your bones in about 5 seconds. Of course, you Ponies called us-” The ground shook violently. “Oop. Dad’s home…”

The cloud flowed away at breakneck speed, though Shining made out distant singing.

I SURRENDER! I shouted. I gripped his withers with a frightened look. Are you OK?!

Unconvinced I gave him a thorough look over, peering into his soul as well. I sighed in relief. You know, I’ve met … 5 Wizards who can walk into someone else’s mind like that. It’s a hellishly impressive bit of magic. You still sure Dusk is the only magical prodigy in the family? I asked with a grin. Remind me to not piss you off again if I can help it. I snapped my fingers and Shining’s injuries mended and his energy came back.

Something you never want to meet. You are incredibly lucky to still be alive, though they do like to play with their food… You're also lucky to be in one piece, my mind would have happily eaten you if it could.

Hmm, you just did this to see how much of a threat I am to Equestria, so … A planet appeared in the sky above us before it exploded. That sum it up? Shining mutely nodded. Enjoy your party, I think it’s best if I leave you alone for a while…

Usually, yes. I’m old enough and cynical enough to recognize when somecreature is exceptional enough that they actually will grow wings on the way down if I give them the right shove off the right roof. I’m sorry for … overdoing it. Like always.

Thanks, that means a lot to me. I snapped us back to Equus, but not to the party. I pointed at the sun directly above us. Don't go spreading this around, but I don't like light and heat.It ranges from mentally draining to physically painful for me. Seriously, just stick a strobe light in my face and I’ll be curled up in the fetal position. I snapped my fingers. There, I temporarily got rid of most of my magic. I figured after all I've put you through I owe you one fair shot at me. You can punch me; Lord knows I deserve it. Just don't maim me or anything.

I nodded and spread my arms. Yep! No tricks, no mirrors, nothing up the sleeves I'm not wearing, you've always wanted to fight me, so I'll let you actually land a blow.

Shining gave a grin that made me nervous before throwing a heckuva punch. I clutched my stomach and collapsed, groaning in pain. “Wow. You’re a bit of glass cannon…” Shining commented.

Without my magic, I’m basically useless, I confirmed. Let's get you back to your party, Captain. Again, I'm really sorry for overdoing it.

“All of your eyes are … bleeding …” Shining said nervously. “I didn’t think I’d hit you that hard!”

I chuckled. Oh. Nothing to worry about. You should see me at weddings… It looks horrifying, but it isn’t remotely harmful or painful for me. Unless you count the emotional damage that caused it…

“I still don’t get how someone who can build an entire universe and do what you can do doesn’t qualify as a god…”

I sighed and slit one of my wrists with a claw. Golden liquid briefly dripped out before the wound instantly healed. Shining looked understandably traumatized by that. Generally speaking, Gods don’t bleed, I said matter-of-factly. No blood to bleed with. Sorry for scarring you even more, but that’s really the best demonstration I have.

Shining nodded, getting the point, even if I’d shown it in a gory way. With that, we returned to his party.

I was surprised to find Spike knocking at my door early one morning. “Hey, what's up?” I asked the young Drake.

He sighed wearily. “Dusk has his head buried in books all day today, and Shining is busy at the barracks. Could I hang with you today?”

“Huh. I didn't think I was your next option after family. Sure, I'd love to. Forgive the mess, I don't usually have guests. Come on in!”

Spike headed in. “This is the time of day I usually wind my clocks. I know it's a little boring, but you're welcome to help! We could watch some TV, play a board game, or some Ogres and Oubliettes!” Or we could go out and have some fun, Canterlot isn’t entirely made up of snooty aristocrats…”

Spike chuckled. He’d heard rumors this house was haunted and while it couldn’t be called tidy, it looked homey. There were stacks of paper and books everywhere, and various crafts-in-progress. He also spotted the charred and twisted remains of what might have once been a violin in another life.

There was indeed a grandfather clock in the hall, ticking loudly. The pendulum looked more like an axe blade than a clock’s pendulum though. It looked like something out of a horror film.

As I was winding it, Spike noticed something on the mantle. It looked like a cube, but it was blurry. He rubbed his eyes. No, still blurry. It was like he couldn’t quite see what it actually was. “What is that?”

Spike’s eyes lit up and he dashed over and picked it up. After a few moments, he let out a disappointed groan.

I chuckled. “A tesseract is just a 4^th-dimensional cube. They don’t inherently have magical properties or grant superpowers, science fiction and fantasy authors just think it’s a cool word, which it is. You’re just holding a very fancy sculpture, sorry.”

Spike spread his claws and green fire leaped between them before he began to shape it into something smaller that required more fine control. I bent forward to see the small crystalline shape he was making, before Spike’s eyes widened. “Uh, oh… WOOOAAAHHH!!!” He lost control of the spell, which exploded in my face.

Spike came too a few minutes later in the kitchen, his ears ringing. “Oh, no. Professor Flask!”

Spike whirled around and his jaw dropped. There was a very large hole in my chest. He didn’t see any blood, bones, or guts though. Instead, it looked like a window into space, with tiny lights that might have been stars, or might have been something entirely other. He could have sworn he saw a black tentacle quickly slither out of view before the hole sealed up. “Close your mouth before something flies into it,” I said with a teasing grin.

Spike let out a sob and covered his mouth. “I … I thought I’d … You were…”

“You can’t kill me, it’s OK. My living room will need to be replaced, but that’s not a problem. Maybe work on that spell in a more controlled environment. I’d like to see it when it’s more stable. You’re fine. I’m fine. OK?” Spike slowly nodded.

“Would you like something to drink? I have water, milk, juice, tea, spiders, Mountain Mist-”

“No, wait, that’s not what I-” But I was already pouring him a brimming glass of spiders.

I set it down in front of Spike, who let out a whimper at the sight of the arachnids attempting to escape their cylindrical prison. I chuckled and set a second glass down, pouring the first out safely. “In Oatstrailia, ‘spiders’ is the name for what you’d call a soda or lemonade float. I just never get tired of that joke. Enjoy.”

Spike’s eyes lit up at the sugar coma in a glass I’d given him before he began to greedily guzzle it down. Once he was done, his eyelids started to droop.

“Hey, I’m going to make up a nest for you to grab a nap, you’ve had a long morning…” Spike nodded sleepily. He then fell out of the chair. I dove to catch him. “Jeeze…”

I made up a nest of blankets and set Spike down in the middle of it, adding a few stuffed animals. I sighed. “I’m still rubbish with children. Nice to know some things never change… Hopefully I can convince him parts of that were a dream, but I hate gaslighting creatures…” I grumbled.

I don’t know if it was the shock, the sugar, or the fact that he was still a growing baby despite his mental age, but Spike slept the rest of the day. I texted the relevant parties, and come sundown, there was a knock at my door.

I gently shook the sleeping Drake. “Hey,” I said gently. “Your brothers are here…”

Spike bolted to the door and into Dusk’s embrace. I’d had to pull quite a few strings to get them both to come, but it was worth it.

Shining hung back to walk with me. “Sorry we were both busy.” He shot Dusk’s back a glare. “Some of us need some more fresh air it seems if we don’t notice Spike’s missing.” He sighed. “I’ll talk to them about it. Was he too much trouble?”

Shining sighed in relief. He was about to say something more when he let out a horrified scream.

I turned and found myself booped against my will. Ah, no wonder ponies didn’t like that.

A clown was staring at me with a manic grin and the fires of insanity in his eyes. “Hey, Grumpy-pants, it’s a beautiful day outside! Turn that frown upside down!”

I rolled my eyes. I slowly tilted my head to the right and kept right on tilting. With snapping and crunching sounds, my head was soon upside down. I asked the horrified clown, Is this satisfactory? In a deeper version of my “god voice.”

He screamed like a filly and ran for his life. I snickered before it quickly devolved into manic laughter. Oh, god, I couldn’t remember laughing that much in a long time…

Shining stared in horror. “What is wrong with you?” He finally asked. “Like … what is actually WRONG WITH YOU?!”

I quickly snapped my head back into place and sighed wearily before I rattled off a list of reference numbers to a book. Shining blinked. “What’s that?”

The diagnoses I know about. Besides, it’s not like he said “Smile…” Have a good one! I said in a frighteningly chipper tone.

I considered Dusk not carting me away to vivisect me For SCIENCE!!!! within a few days to be a sign that Spike hadn’t mentioned my blatant immortality. That was … surprising. But I figured it was fair of me to not mention the fact part of my house was now dimensionally sealed off to avoid the sight of a smoking crater. He was just a baby, just … an extremely powerful one. Again, Soulsparks usually grow up in the Dragonlands, not a major Pony city…

“Ah, I love the smell of Bits in the morning!” Filth Rich chuckled as he made another sale. That lovely warm feeling of greed put enough of a spring in his step to go and buy himself a cup of coffee.

On his way back, the entrepreneur passed the flower trio’s stall. He stopped at an odd sight. Was this some sort of living statue? Another stallion was frozen in front of the stall, staring intently at a rose with an expression of awe. He didn’t even seem to be breathing. The flower trio were staring at him nervously, but there weren’t any exclamations of, “The horror, the horror!” so it wasn’t anything too bad…

The stallion started, then looked at him. “Oh. Sorry for spacing out there. I just … it’s such an amazing color, isn’t it?”

Filthy glanced at the rose. It was … a rose. Nothing that separated it from billions of others. “Uh, sure.”

“I’ve just … always wondered what it’s like to feel in color, or what colors taste like. I mean, I could ask someone with synesthesia, but even if you can taste color, it tastes different to everyone, so there’s no universally correct answer.”

Filthy chuckled. He’s crazy… the businesspony realized. “So,” he said brightly, “what color is they sky on your world?” He meant it as a joke.

“I don’t know. It’s always night and usually stormy. Plus, I’m normally too busy running to look up…”

Filthy got the impression he was on the edge of an impossibly deep pit, and quickly backtracked before it sucked him in. “Uh. Who are you if you don’t mind my asking?”

A third voice cut into the conversation. “Blimey, that’s amazing! Do you know, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important before…”

The odd stallion gave a laugh mixed with a sob. He turned around and grinned when he saw Time Turner. “What’s up Doc?”

“Got a day job I love. And … I might have a special somepony,” the Time Lord said with a blush. “It’s a bit uncertain, but that adds to the fun. She’s … wonderful. A tiny bit klutzy, but in an endearing way.”

Filthy Rich had managed to sneak away while I was distracted. “Well, that’s good.”

The Doctor shifted nervously. He used his adoptive name as an alias in Ponyville, but by this point he’d firmly accepted who he was. “Uh … if it ever got to that point, am I,” he winced. “Compatible, with a mare?”

I blinked. “Uh, externally you’re a stallion, so for the act itself, absolutely. If you’re talking about having children, I haven’t got a clue. Time Lord DNA is … interesting. But it’s not like trying to crossbreed a mouse with a cantaloupe, you’re not that much of a different species from Ponies. There are more similarities than differences, but … I couldn’t say. I’m also not sure if your children would survive, since you don’t have lungs and she only has one heart. That would send confusing messages while building a baby. I’m not saying it’s impossible, I don’t want to crush any hopes. I’m just saying it would be fascinating to see. It’s definitely probable, not just possible,” I finished with a smile.

The Doctor chuckled. “Well … I should probably not get ahead of myself anyway. Thanks.”

My next sentence was cut off by a horrified scream. On instinct, the Doctor and I both charged in that direction. A very familiar trio of fillies were being menaced by … something. It had a long serpentine body and looked like someone had stuck various monsters together just to see what would happen, but there the resemblance to Discord ended. For starters, parts of this thing were melting.

HEY! It looked up, recognizing that voice. Its pupils shrank to pinpricks. All five of them.

Prance. December, 907. I’ll bet you needed a month of Sundays to regenerate from that. Want to go round two? I asked.

It let out a sound like metal in a blender. I don’t care if they’re Bite-Sized, I raised you better than that! I snapped. Don’t eat food that can talk, sing, or do interpretive dance! It whimpered slightly as the future Cutie Mark Crusaders scrambled away to safety.

I reached up to give it scritches. You’re OK, just … don’t eat Ponies, OK? It nodded rapidly. I spotted a toy that had been left behind in the scramble. Good boy… It beamed at the praise and let out happy pants.

I was startled by a horrified scream of, “MY BABY!” I glanced up and saw an Earth Pony filly hurtling towards the ground from a pram while her Pegasus mother looked on in horror.

Several emotions ran through my head before I sighed wearily. “My kids are going to love this town…” I muttered. I dashed towards the falling child and leapt up to catch her before I was slammed into the ground.

Finally, the rest of the adults made it to the scene and spotted a crying filly cradled in a mangled corpse. There was no possible way he wasn’t dead; limbs weren’t made to bend like that…

They scooped up the filly and just stared. “Should we burry him?” a mare finally asked.

To answer that question, the creature that had been terrorizing the town moments earlier grabbed my corpse and hauled it into the Everfree.

The Doctor watched with his mouth hanging open. He’d seen things most ponies thought only existed in nightmares, but the Everfree gave even him a bad feeling. The entire forest radiated a feeling of, “Stay Away, Danger Here…” It helped that he knew that it was just a constant low-level psychic projection, but it still affected him.

“I wish you wouldn’t be so scary just for kicks,” the Time Lord sighed, knowing better than to follow me in there.

That evening a thunderstorm swept in unexpectedly, staying located directly over the Everfree.

Her second-oldest brother stroked her mane reassuringly. “Nothin’ to worry about,” Applejack said, “Jus a thunderstorm. This happens every Zap Apple season, it’s just … not this time. Try an’ get some sleep.”

Apple Bloom nodded as her brother left her to sleep. A particularly loud crash of thunder caused her to let out a squeak and dive beneath the covers. She stuck her head back out and looked out the window.

She tried to not scream. There was some … thing on the hill that marked the border of the Apple Family farm. It was gigantic. Its lower half looked like some sort of cat, it had a weird looking upper half with four massive wings and lots of limbs like a spider. A horned head was staring right at her, and a flash of lightning lit up black eyes and showed off eyes in its wings.

Apple Bloom dove beneath the covers again, shaking. A while later something knocked on her bedroom window in a rapid four knock pattern.

A pause, and then the same pattern of knocks. Apple Bloom stuck her head out and looked at the window.

A … face was looking back at her. It looked like a goat’s, with white fur and a long red goatee. Long fangs stuck out the corners of its mouth. It had bushy black eyebrows, long black horns and a white horn in the middle of its forehead riddled with holes. Its eyes showed space and stars slowly wheeling by.

It was holding … a cue card? The card read, “Hi. I’m technically trespassing (please don’t sue!) but I have something of yours to return. Would you mind opening the window? I know I’m scary, so I won’t come in.” It did not remotely pass Apple Bloom’s vibe check, but she was curious…

Apple Bloom grabbed a heavy object to hit it with if it tried anything funny and held it up to show the creature. To her surprise, it grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Those teeth screamed “monster…” it was like looking at a shark.

Painfully slowly, Apple Bloom opened the window just a crack. The thing held out a paw and opened it and a rainbow aura formed around its white horn and paw; then the doll Apple Bloom had lost that morning floated into her room and set itself on the floor. A second later, a paper plate covered in foil followed. The filly uncovered it with a stick. It was a plate of still warm chocolate chip cookies.

The filly turned to the monster in the window who had changed cards to one that read, “No, they’re not poisoned.”

It grinned and held up the next card in the series. “No, but when you get to be my age, people are … predictable. Night.” Apple Bloom blinked and it was gone.

She sighed. “Ah’m not telling anypony about this…” she groaned. She bit into a cookie and her eyes lit up. “Hey! This is great!”

It was the three days before the Thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. Before dawn, I checked in with Celestia.

Got the spell ready? She nodded. Hey, you’ve got the hard part, I just have to wake her up, I said with a grin.

“I feel as though I’m tricking my subjects,” she said lowly. “Though in all honesty … I’m not sure if I will be safe with Nightmare Moon. She has good reason to wish me harm. … Our subjects … don’t even remember Luna,” Celestia said lowly. “Every year, I have to put on a happy face and commemorate sending my sister to…” she couldn’t finish the sentence.

Then let’s get Luna back and remind everypony who she really is. Got that letter for Dusk?

Celestia levitated over the scroll. “I wrote it, but … it doesn’t quite read like me. I would like to think I wouldn’t simply dismiss my student’s worries…” Her eyes narrowed. “And you just rolled your eyes out loud again.”

Depends on which future we’re making, but … sometimes you can be, yes. Not normally. I tried not to think about Trollestia. Thus far, she’d been a prankster, but not that. You are a wonderful mentor to him.

“And yet it takes a once-in-a-thousand-year’s event to get him to get his muzzle out of a book and go make friends,” Celestia said drily. “I think I may have failed him in one or two small regards.”

Celestia, his family can’t make Dusk go get some fresh air! Lord knows I never could when I was his teacher. You are fine. Please don’t beat yourself up. … You really care for him, don’t you?

“Well, yes, of course. I don’t take on a new protégé every year. What’s with the grin, do you know something I don’t?”

I laughed. Well, in a rather large number of possible futures … I become quite sick of the color blue.

It’s an old rhyme, I believe it carried over to this universe as well. You certainly own plenty of old things and have no shortage of friends to borrow from.

I grinned. I enjoy it, and if I spoil the future beyond being cryptic, it tends to not happen. The other party ends up negating it by panicking over it. I’ve even caused things to happen by trying to prevent them. Knowing possible futures isn’t as fun as it sounds, if I wasn’t already crazy, I certainly would have become so, I finished with a grin.

I shrugged. It was my spell that put her to sleep. … I meant it as a kindness, but … it’s going to cause her issues. Seeing Celestia’s expression, I sighed. I didn’t want her to spend a thousand years alone going crazy. I also didn’t want her to have nightmares. She’s been having the best of dreams for a thousand years running. Dealing with reality after that … … And she’ll also have trouble telling what is real, I sighed. But, with counseling, she might forgive me. In an eon or two. Maybe. See you tomorrow, then! With that, I bowed out to set my 1,000-year plan into motion.

Even without needing sleep, I was not by nature a morning person, but pre-dawn in Ponyville was a beautiful time of day.

“Darn piece of overfangled … BIG MAC!” Granny Smith shouted as she banged on her television set again. “I don’t want to miss my game show tonight, but I’m just picking up a blizzard!”

Big Mac looked at the screen showing a field of static with apprehension as Granny Smith trotted off. While he was the farm’s designated fix-it pony, and quite good at it, television repair was a bit past him. He swallowed nervously and delicately picked up his tiniest screwdriver.

As he approached the outdated set, the screen suddenly changed to an ominous glowing green and Big Mac’s fur stood on end. The set then began to change channels on its own with the sound of someone changing a radio.

An old-fashioned radio announcer’s voice came on, “Saw your fiasco on the picture show, and I just couldn't resist! What a performance!”

It switched to a voice asking, “Named after a weaver with an intense case of hubris, this is one of the most common fears in existence.”

A voice sang, “Can someone tell me please, why I’m switching faster than the channels on TV?”

An announcer’s voice, “Welcome to Race the Devil, or as we call it, You Bet Your Afterlife!”

Singing again, “He ain't what he seems, you’ll see him in your head, on the TV screen, and hey buddy, I'm warning you to turn it off.”

More singing, “These simple parts of mine are interchangeable, unlimited connections when you’re digital…”

The TV screen switched off. Big Mac let out the breath he’d been holding. “What in the-?” He was cut off by a blast of force. When his eyes opened again, the TV was picking up the usual station – with high-definition crystal clarity. Big Mac flipped through the channels, it was all the same crisp image and sound, and … he was pretty sure they hadn’t gotten some of these channels before.

Big Mac glanced around the room and saw he was the only one who’d witnessed … whatever that was. Also, a plate of apple fritters was missing two fritters which had been replaced with scrupulously exact change, plus a hefty tip.

Big Mac shook his head to get over the weirdness he’d just experienced and went to load up his apple cart for the day.

After helping Apple Bloom get to school, Applejack headed into town for his own errands. He ran into Bubble Berry who was trembling slightly. “Ya OK pardner?”

Applejack’s eyes widened; he knew about Bubble’s senses. “Uh, twitchy?” he asked with a nervous grin.

“Oh, it’s nothing bad. The way my right eye and left ear are twitching means we’ll be getting a new friend soon, and the cavity in my back molar acting up again means that something huge and invisible will be following us around for a few days!” Bubble said with a wide grin. He frowned. “I should probably go to the d-d-d … that place,” he whined slightly.

In the farmer’s market, Big Mac was hawking his wares. To his shock, an apple floated up on its own before the money he’d be owed for it landed on his stall counter. A bite was taken out of the apple is it floated away, a voice whispering, Thanks. Have a great day!

Big Mac shook his head rapidly and screwed his eyes shut. If somepony walked over his grave one more time today, he might wind up in it prematurely. “Nope,” he muttered in response.

I was walking down the streets of Canterlot as Maroon Flask when a lilac blur rocketed by. “Hey, slow down kiddo! It’s not the end of the world!” I called.

I rolled my eyes. I was then approached by Curtain Call, who gave me an unamused glare. “Want to tell me why I got a note from the Princess this morning to cover your class as well as mine?”

“An old friend who is currently an old enemy is getting released today, and I’m the one who has to spring her. I’m so excited! I’ve missed her SO MUCH!”

Curtain was about to say something else but was cut off as I shifted from my Pony disguise into my preferred liontaur form. I was taller than Discord, and had a proportionate lower half for a taur, so I was far larger than your average 3-foot-tall Pony mare. I knelt down, stretching each of my arms and wings. It felt so good to have a torso again!

I grinned at my shocked coworker and the rather astonished crowd. Well, there goes my cover... You wouldn’t believe how cramped being a pony feels…

Curtain finally remembered why I looked so familiar to her. “Oh … my … God,” she muttered as she worked out who and what I was.

I sighed wearily. No, just Demiurge… I said in the tone of voice of someone who’d had to explain the very slight difference one too many times… Please inform my only class of the day that just because they’re watching a movie, I’m not letting them slack off. I expect a two-page report of their opinions on my desk in the morning!

I most certainly did not shout, High-ho, Silver! before I took off. I did think about it however…

I was still early, so I parked myself on a nearby cloud, closed all of my eyes, and began to concentrate. My inner eye navigated to Dusk’s tower…

Spike was walking towards the door with a beautifully wrapped present, when Dusk flung the door open into the young drake, knocking him back with an “Oof!”

“Spike! Spike!” Dusk called. “Spike?” Dusk glanced down, noticing his little brother in a daze. “There you are!” Dusk dashed into his library. “Quick! Find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies!” Dusk noticed the present that the tip of Spike’s tail had impaled. “What’s that for?”

Spike reached around and took the package off of himself. “Well, it was a gift for Moondancer,” he sighed, “But…” A teddy bear fell out of the mangled box with a sad squeak.

Dusk rolled his eyes, already tossing piles of books around. “Ugh! Spike, you know we don’t have time for that sort of thing!” the stallion groaned.

I opened my eyes. I have utterly failed both of you, I groaned before tuning back in.

I saw Spike picking himself up from the faceplant Dusk’s telekinetic yank had made him perform, sighing as he saw all the books he’d have to pick up. Spike was very surprised as all of the books suddenly levitated themselves neatly back into their assigned places in a rainbow aura.

“Hmm? For what?” Dusk asked, flipping pages. “E, E, E … Elements of Harmony. … See … ‘Mare in the Moon?’”

Dusk didn’t hear, already flipping to the relevant section. “Mare in the Moon – Myth from Olden Pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned on the moon. Legend says the Mare and the Weaver were close friends.”

Dusk rolled his eyes again. “Just some hokey old god invented by ancient superstitious ponies who didn’t know any better. In his myths, he was a pretty nasty piece of work…”

On my cloud, I pulled a dagger out of my heart, trying to stop the bleeding. Ouch! I mean … I’m not exactly comfortable being worshipped, but that was a little harsh… I can’t take anymore, I’m cutting to the next scene, I groaned before taking off again in the direction of Ponyville.

Even though I wasn’t observing anymore, Dusk continued his research. “Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!” Dusk gasped. “Spike! Do you know what this means?!”

Dusk passed a quill and scroll. “Take a note, please. To the Princess,” he said, assuming a more regal pose. He began narrating his note at breakneck speed, Spike’s quill a blur. At least until Spike ran out of words he was able to spell. He was still a baby… Once Dusk was done dictating, he wound up snapping at Spike over the urgency of this note, causing the dragon to fly back into the shelves.

Spike sent it. “There! But I wouldn’t hold your br-” He belched out a response. He blinked in surprise. “That’s the fastest she’s ever replied!”

Spike read the reply. Dusk felt the bottom drop out of his world when his beloved mentor told him to stop reading so many dusty old books.

In a royal chariot pulled by two Pegasus guards, Dusk sulked as Spike smugly reread the reply. Dusk had been ordered to go to some backwater town to deal with a party, and to make friends! How was this important?!

As the two discussed his assignment, a gust of wind sped past the chariot, too fast to see.

The chariot touched down in Ponyville, the guards whinnying majestically. “Thank you, sirs!” Dusk said gratefully. The smiled proudly. Dusk dashed off. They glanced down and saw a water bottle apiece had seemingly materialized from thin air. They glanced at each other, shrugged, and gratefully rehydrated.

Spike was telling Dusk that maybe the residents of Ponyville had interesting things to say as Bubble Berry trotted up, humming cheerfully.

The young dragon pointed out the pink stallion. “C’mon, Dusk,” he urged, “just try!”

Bubble gasped deeply, shooting into the air, and hanging there before zipping off in a pink blur.

“Well, that was interesting all right…” Dusk grumbled at the waste of time. Spike groaned and pulled out Dusk’s checklist.

They were interrupted by a voice. “Lyra, there is no way on Equus the Weaver used to be a human!”

A very familiar voice answered back. “Then why is there so much incontrovertible evidence, hmm? Explain that Bon-Bon!”

“Where is all of this evidence?! Lyra, have you been lurking around on 4Pone again?”

Dusk and Spike finally came to the argument between the two mares. Dusk blinked at the sight of his … classmate.

Lyra shrugged. “I get around. Lots of ponies in this town do. Nice to see you! Where was I… Oh! There are cave paintings, Bon-Bon!” Lyra said, whipping out her phone. “Our ancient ancestors knew the truth about humans!”

Figuring that this argument could comfortably go on for years if the two mares were willing, Dusk and Spike headed off.

The first item on the Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer’s Checklist was the banquet at Sweet Apple Acres. Even Dusk had to smile at the beautiful sight as they reached the top of the hill overlooking the homestead.

Once they were down in the orchards proper, a voice gleefully shouted, “Yee-haw!” at a loudness that could have broken eardrums, before an orange blur thundered down the lane before a large stallion stopped and almost delicately bucked an apple tree, causing a bounty to fall into the buckets below. Dripping sweat, the farmpony took a moment to rest by the tree.

Dusk sighed. “Let’s get this over with…” He put on a practiced smile and approached. “Good afternoon,” he said regally. “My name is Dusk Shine, and-” *Crunch!

The stallion had Dusk’s hoof in a death grip, shaking with great enthusiasm. “Well, howdy Mr. Shine!” he cheered. “It’s a real pleasure tah make yer acquaintance! Ah’m Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends!”

Applejack released Dusk’s hoof, grinning excitedly. “So, what can Ah do ya for?”

Dusk’s leg was still waving rapidly in the air. Spike gripped it to steady it, before letting out a chuckle. Dusk shot him an unamused older brother look.

Dusk cleared his throat. “Well, I am in fact here to help supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And I believe you’re in charge of the food?”

Dusk blinked. “I suppose? As long as it doesn’t take-” Applejack zipped away in an orange blur. “Too long…” Dusk concluded.

Applejack rang the dinner triangle. “SOUP’S ON, EVERYPONY!” he shouted. Dusk yelped as he and Spike were swept up by a stampede of Earth Ponies who dropped them at a long table.

Applejack was grinning excitedly. “Now, why don’t Ah introduce y’all to the Apple family?” he asked pleasantly.

“Uh, thanks, but I really need to hurry,” Dusk tried feebly. Somepony dropped a piece of dessert in front of him as Applejack began to reel off the family names. As each family member was named, they left a food item related to their name in front of Dusk and Spike to sample.

Applejack was listing names at breakneck speed. “This here’s Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious… …Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple… … Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp…”

By that point, the stack of food had grown so tall that Dusk and Spike had to climb up to see over it.

Applejack popped up again and took a huge breath before continuing, “Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom …aaaaand…”

He stuffed an entire apple into Dusk’s open mouth before dashing off to fetch the last family member.

Granny was dozing in a rocking chair, Applejack had simply brought over the entire chair with her in it.

Granny started awake with a snort. “Wha—?” She began shambling over, mumbling to herself. “Soup’s on…I’m a—here I come, I’m comin’…”

Dusk’s mouth was still stuffed full of apple, but he flinched at how loudly the elderly mare’s joints creaked as she joined her family at the table.

Applejack patted Dusk’s back. “Why, Ah’d say they’re already part of the family!” he said proudly.

Dusk’s eyes widened at that, and he spat out the apple, letting out a nervous laugh. “Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we’ll be on our way!”

“Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch?” the filly introduced as Apple Bloom asked, giving Dusk a look that would have put a kicked puppy to shame.

Spike was walking cheerfully along a path, his checklist pulled out, quill in hand. “Food’s all taken care of. Next is weather.”

Dusk was waddling along with a belly that made him look pregnant, groaning in mild pain. “I’m never eating again…”

Spike gave him a curious look. “Really? I was hoping for seconds. Hmmm…there’s supposed to be a pegasus stallion named Rainbow Blitz clearing the clouds.”

Dusk glanced up at the almost overcast sky. “Well, he’s not doing a very good job, is he?”

A multicolored blur bowled them over and knocked Dusk into a mud puddle. A cyan pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane and a lightning bolt coming from a cloud for a cutie mark was on top of Dusk.

“Oh, sorry dude!” he said in a slightly raspy voice. He gave a nervous chuckle. “Uh, here! Let me help you!” He zipped off, Dusk barely having time to stand before he returned with a cloud in tow. He stomped up and down on the cloud, soaking Dusk completely.

“Whops. I totally overdid it. Um… …uh…how about this?” He flew in a quick rainbow tornado around Dusk, causing him to be dried.

“Ta-da! My very own patented …Rainblow-Dry! Drives the mares wild,” he said with a wink. “No, no, don’t thank me. You’re quite welcome.”

Rainbow then caught sight of the frizzy mess he’d made of Dusk’s mane. He snickered before falling over he was laughing so hard. Spike was snickering as well.

Dusk took a deep, calming breath, managing to stop his ears from twitching. “Let me guess… You’re Rainbow Blitz.”

“The one and only!” Rainbow was now hovering directly in front of Dusk like an over-excited hummingbird. “Why? You heard of me?” he asked, clearly craving the attention.

“I heard you’re supposed to be keeping the sky clear,” Dusk groaned. He tried again, wanting to make a better first impression. “I’m Dusk Shine, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather.”

Rainbow was busy lounging on a cloud. “Oh. Yeah, yeah, that’ll be a snap. I’ll do it in a jiffy,” he said dismissively. “Just as soon as I’m done practicing.”

“The Wonderbolts!” Rainbow proclaimed dramatically, pointing at a nearby poster of the legendary group. “They’re gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow. And I’m gonna show ’em my stuff!” he said proudly, looping from cloud to cloud.

Dusk gave a smirk, knowing just how to manipulate his new ~~fri~~ acquaintance. “The Wonderbolts?”

“You mean the most talented flyers in all of Equestria?” Dusk asked innocently.

“Ha! Please,” Dusk oozed, earning a glare from Rainbow. “They’d never accept a pegasus who can’t even keep the sky clear for one measly day.”

Dusk shot back a cocky grin of his own. “Oh, yeah? Prove it,” he challenged.

Rainbow gave an annoyed snort before rocketing into the sky, doing fantastic arial tricks as he busted every cloud in exactly ten seconds. He then dropped back into view. “What’d I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I’d never leave Ponyville hanging!” he said with a proud grin.

Both Dusk’s and Spike’s jaws had fallen open at the genuinely amazing display.

Rainbow gave a hysterical laugh. “You should see the look on your face! You’re a laugh, Dusk Shine. I can’t wait to hang out some more! Later!” He zipped away.

Dusk nodded wordlessly. Spike grabbed a section of frizzed mane and snickered. Dusk glared and headed into town proper.

“Hey, it’s not too bad once you get used to it!” Spike shouted as he tried to keep up.

Once they were inside the town pavilion, Spike pulled out the checklist again. “OK…Decorations…” He then gave a start at something he saw. “Beautiful…” he breathed.

Dusk nodded approvingly. “Yes. The décor is coming along nicely. This oughta be quick. I’ll be at the library in no time. Beautiful, indeed…” he said with a smug grin.

Dusk glanced at where Spike was pointing, seeing a white unicorn with an elegantly curled short purple mane levitating up ribbon samples as he muttered to himself. “No…no…no… absolutely not…”

Dusk stared in shock at the hearts in Spike’s eyes. Spike quickly began to preen, small hearts floating above him. “How are my spines? Are they straight?”

“No…” Dusk choked out. “Not straight at all…” Mentally he was having a breakdown over this. Spike … likes ponies?! Spike likes guys?!! IS HE EVEN OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ATTRACTION IS?!! Dusk mentally screamed. He took a deep breath. It’s probably just a childhood crush. A really, really early one, though Spike is older mentally than physically, I need to remember that. I’m sure it won’t cause any problems… Dusk thought nervously. I’m just going to sort through this … later.

Dusk took another deep breath and approached the object of Spike’s desires. Even Dusk had to admit that the stallion was good-looking, from a purely aesthetic standpoint.

The other unicorn spared him the briefest of glances. “One moment, please,” he said calmly. “I’m in the zone, so to speak. You know how us creative types can get… Ah, yes!” he cheered as inspiration struck. He tied a glittering red bow around a nearby post. “Glitter seems quite appropriate for the occasion, though it must be in moderation. The horror stories I could tell you about my sister’s craft nights,” he finished with a laugh, finally turning to properly greet Dusk. “Apologies for cutting you off. Now, how can I help you— Oh. My. It’s not my business, but what on Equus happened?!”

Dusk blinked before it clicked. “Oh, you mean my mane? Well, it’s a long story,” he sighed. “I’m just here to check on the decorations, which are magnificent so far, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”

The unicorn grinned. “I think it’s your hair that needs more attention. Just because we’re stallions doesn’t mean we can’t look nice, after all! Now come along and I’ll help you, my treat!” he beamed, forcefully pushing the shocked Dusk along.

“Wait! Where are we going? Help!” Dusk shouted. Spike floated after the two using his tail as a propeller, hearts continuing to appear around him.

The stallion who had introduced himself as Elusive had dragged Dusk to his boutique and was giving the other unicorn a full-on makeover. “No…no…no…” Elusive muttered. He was busy wrangling Dusk into different outfits, ranging from a cowpony to a punk rockstar. However, even Elusive didn’t think that any of them “fit” the lavender stallion. While Dusk had to admit they were very nice outfits, he hadn’t come to this town to play dress-up!

“Ah, my apologies,” Elusive said in a reasonable tone. “You were telling me where you’re from?” he asked politely.

“Hmm?” Elusive asked in surprise. “Oh, Canterlot?” he said, starstruck. “Oh, I am so envious! It’s one of the most trend-setting cities in the nation! I’ve always dreamed of living there!” he sighed. “I can’t wait to hear all about it!” He beamed. He then leaned in uncomfortably close, causing Dusk to quickly back up. “We’re gonna be the best of friends, you and I,” he whispered.

Dusk swallowed nervously. “M-my family is lower-middle class,” he tried, hoping that would work. He was very careful to not even think about the fact that his brother was the head of the royal guard, and that he was Celestia’s personal student. This stallion would probably have heard it if he had… “I like hayburgers, not escargot…”

“Oh. Oh! I’m so sorry. I must sound like quite the elitest snob,” Elusive said with a nervous grin. He thankfully backed away, allowing Dusk to breathe. “No, the reason I’ve always wanted to live there is-” Elusive trailed off when he saw Dusk was currently dressed as a ship’s captain. “Oh. I certainly got carried away. If you’ll permit me, I do have one last outfit to try, be back in a tick!”

Dusk made a wild break for it, stripping out of the outfit and picking up Spike before he galloped for his life. “Quick! Before he decides to dye my coat a new color!” he shouted.

Dusk set him down and poked him in the snout. “You and I are going to have an unbelievably long talk about this at some point. Focus, Casanova. What’s the next item on the list?”

As they approached the cottage, they heard a fanfare being whistled. Both Dusk and Spike hid in some usefully placed bushes and stuck their heads out to watch. They spotted several birds in a tree singing as a butter-yellow pegasus hovered in front of them, conducting.

One of the birds was painfully out of tune, causing the pegasus to fly closer. He cleared his throat.

“Um, excuse me, sir. I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off.” The pegasus backed up. “Now, follow me, please,” he said with an encouraging smile. “A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three,” he began to lead.

The shout not only startled the conductor but scared the entire vocal ensemble out of the tree.

The pegasus turned to see Dusk was now out of the bushes. Dusk gave a nervous chuckle. “Whoops. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten your birds. I’m just here to check up on the music, and it’s sounding beautiful!” he complimented.

The pegasus touched down, barely glancing at Dusk, carefully avoiding eye contact as he scuffed the ground with a hoof. A few moments later, Dusk broke the painfully awkward silence. “I’m Dusk Shine. … And you are?” he prompted.

“Oh. It’s nice to meet you!” Dusk said quickly with a large smile, meaning it. One socially awkward stallion to another, he knew when he was intruding. “Well, um, it looks like your birds are back. So, I guess everything’s in order. Keep up the good work!”

Dusk just nodded back, slowly backing away. “Oo-kay,” he tried. “Have a nice day!” he called as he left. Once he was reunited with Spike, Dusk muttered, “Well, that was easy…”

Butterscotch let out a loud gasp at the sight. “A baby dragon!” he said in amazement. He zipped over to Spike, completely bowling over Dusk. “Oh, I’ve never seen a baby dragon before! He’s so cute!” Butterscotch cooed.

Butterscotch’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow! He talks! I didn’t know dragons could talk. That’s just so amazing l …I just don’t even know what to say!”

Dusk grabbed Spike and practically suplexed the baby dragon as he threw his baby brother onto his back. “Well, in that case, we better be going!” Dusk noticed that Butterscotch was trailing them.

“Hi, Spike. I’m Butterscotch. Wow, a talking dragon! And what do dragons talk about?”

Spike knew that his heart had already been claimed, but this stallion was also adorable, just in a different way. Spike leaned back and got comfortable. “Well, I started out as a cute little purple-and-green egg…”

“And that’s the story of my whole entire life!” Spike concluded. “Well, up until today. Do you want to hear about today?”

Dusk did an abrupt turn, coming to a complete stop and nearly throwing Spike off his back. “Hey!” Spike complained.

They’d arrived at the Golden Oak Library, which was built into a beautiful living oak tree, hence the name.

“Wow. How did we get here so fast?” Dusk asked. “This is where I’m staying while in Ponyville, and my poor baby brother needs his sleep.”

“No, I don’t!” Spike protested. Dusk proceeded to throw Spike off his back, giving Butterscotch a large phony grin.

Dusk leaned over, wrapping an arm around the squirming Drake. “Aw, wookit that. He’s so sweepy, he can’t even keep his wittle bawance,” he said in sympathetic baby-talk.

Spike snorted flame before summoning a ball of green lightning in his free claw. “Call me a baby one more time…” he threatened.

“Oh, of course!” Butterscotch said, gently picking Spike up. “I’m sure I’ve tired him out with all of the questions. Here, I’ll put him to bed!” Butterscotch quickly flew the two of them into the library.

Dusk’s eyes widened in horror as he realized his ploy had backfired and caused the other pony to invade his home. He quickly dashed in and politely yet forcibly ejected the yellow pegasus from the premises.

Dusk quickly slammed the door in Butterscotch’s face. Butterscotch was very confused by the entire interaction. Butterscotch noticed a dazed spider that had been thrown out of Dusk’s mane. He gently scooped it up. “Oh, poor thing,” he sympathized. “C’mon, let’s get you somewhere dark and quiet…”

Inside the library it was pitch black, though Dusk’s and Spike’s eyes were gleaming in the shadows.

Dusk sighed, knowing his little brother was right. “Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we’re running out of time. I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now where’s the light?”

That question was answered when the light suddenly snapped on, revealing a beautiful main entry room packed with books and bookshelves … and ponies prepared for a party, if the streamers and noisemakers where anything to go by…

That strange pink stallion with the apparent ability to levitate popped into view.

“Surprise!” he shouted. “Hi. I’m Bubble Berry, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised?!” he asked with a grin that nearly split his face in two, never quite staying entirely still.

Dusk sighed. “Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet,” he grumbled.

Bubble gave a polite laugh at that. “Well, that’s silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? It’d be boring!” Dusk groaned and walked off, not losing Bubble in the slightest, who continued to ramble on. “You see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all, ‘Hello,’ and I was all—” he gasped dramatically. “Remember? You see, I’d never seen you before, and if I never saw you before, that means you’re new. I know everypony, and I mean everypony, in Ponyville.”

Dusk decided to try some punch as a way to alleviate the beating his ears were taking. Most of the bottles were green, Dusk simply grabbed a red one and poured himself a glass.

Bubble continued on. Apparently, he was not limited by mere mortals’ need to inhale. “And if you’re new, it meant you hadn’t met anyone yet, and if you haven’t met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don’t have any friends, then you must be lonely, and that made me sad. And I had an idea, and that’s why I gasped, because it was a really good one!”

Dusk rolled his eyes as he put a crazy straw into his glass. He took a deep sip.

“I knew that I should throw you a great big welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville!” Applejack, Butterscotch, Rainbow Blitz, and Elusive joined their friend. “See? And now you have lots of friends!” Bubble finished excitedly.

Dusk’s eyes grew wide, and his face turned fire-engine red as he began to sweat.

Dusk jumped into the air as steam whistled from his ears and he let out a long breath of fire. “GAH!” he shouted before he ran off to find something to drink.

Spike picked up the bottle that Dusk had just guzzled and read the label. “Hot sauce…” he said in surprise.

“Whoops…” Bubble said with a flinch. “I thought he’d seen the label…” He then gave a shrug and poured some of the sauce over a cupcake, taking a good-sized bite. “Hey, not bad!” he said with a smile. His friends all shook their heads with a smile at his usual antics.

Dusk was in the loft that had been converted into a makeshift bedroom for him, with his head under a pillow to try and block out the thumping party music from below. He glanced up at the clock and groaned when he saw the insanely late hour.

“Hey, Dusk!” Spike called as he walked into the room with a lampshade on his head, still grooving to the dance music. “Bubble Berry is starting a game of Pin the Tail on the Pony! Wanna play?”

“No!” Dusk shouted. “All the ponies in this town are CRAZY!!!!!” he screamed with an eye twitch.

Spike grinned and folded his arms. “Well, you’re a pony in this town now.”

“Do NOT use my words against me!” Dusk yelled. “Do you have any idea what time it is?! And I’m the king of all-night studying!”

“Aw, c’mon, Dusk! It’s the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration,” Spike protested. “Everypony has to stay up, or they’ll miss the Princess raising the sun. You know that! You really should lighten up, Dusk. It’s a party!”

“I hate parties,” Dusk muttered before Spike simply shrugged and headed back into the fray.

Dusk groaned. “Here I thought I’d have time to learn more about the Elements of Harmony. But, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it! What is the Princess thinking?!” He looked out the window to the full moon where a silhouette of Nightmare Moon’s head could clearly be seen. Knowing he wouldn’t sleep tonight, Dusk got up and headed towards the window.

“Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year …the stars will aid in her escape …and she will bring about everlasting night.” He sighed. “I hope the Princess was right. I hope it really is just an old pony tale.”

Still wearing the lampshade, Spike called, “Come on, Dusk It’s time to watch the sunrise!”

I had to agree with Dusk in one regard, I wasn’t overly fond of parties either. I also was not the greatest at pretending to be a pony, my time as Maroon Flask notwithstanding since there were several occasions where I’d blatantly broken character.

I still would have enjoyed parts of mixing it up in the library. But I had a long-standing previous engagement that night, starting right at sundown…

Hey, I said awkwardly. I cleared my throat. ‘Hey?’ That’s a little casual. Greetings, then, Nightmare Moon. … I’m here to wake you up. Which is going to hurt you so much more than it will hurt me, I sighed. Someday I hope you can forgive me for what I’ve put you through.

She honestly looked peaceful there, stretched out and deeply dreaming. The stars were breathtaking from up here as well, and Equus took up the entire horizon behind her.

I hope this doesn’t go like last time… I said, remembering the last time Nightmare Moon and I had decided to pay each other’s minds a visit. With that, my physical form dissolved, and I walked into her dreams…

I’d been expecting scenes of all of Equus shrouded in eternal night, Nightmare Moon reigning supreme. Maybe her slowly torturing her enemies, and I knew I was heavily featured on that list…

I was not expecting to wind up in the middle of a ball. Actually, it was a masquerade. I grinned excitedly. I loved masquerades! I’d been quite put out when they fell out of fashion in Equestria a few centuries ago, though they’d been making a comeback.

It was a stunningly gorgeous night out, and I recognized this as a place from Luna’s childhood. There hadn’t been the gigantic castle in the past though. I was however distracted by another sight.

You could see entire arms of the galaxy out, stars slowly wheeling by with the occasional shooting star. The moon was enormous and a beautiful pale yellow. There were the faintest hints of pinks and purples in the cosmic masterpiece.

Oh, Luna… I said with a big smile. I have to admit to being prejudiced, but Celestia can’t begin to compare with this…

Knowing I should try and blend in, I assumed the shape of a pony in a dark cloak, wearing a grinning fox mask. What? I like foxes. It’s not like I was showing up dressed as the Red Death… To my surprise, the guards at the door let me in with no issue. Inside it was a whirlwind of color, noise, music, laughter, and activity. Wanting to observe, I made my way to a buffet table, overflowing with foods from across Equus. I sampled the cheese board. Oh, wow! I can even taste the food! When you dream, you dream well...

I glanced around the party. I had time to find her, but my main priority was finding a way to wake her up…

Slinking along the shadows I explored the castle. In a courtyard was a tall clock tower, the clock wasn’t running, though it was only 10 minutes to midnight. I glanced up at the stars above me, which suddenly all flashed in a sequence.

My cloak hadn’t had pockets, but now it did, and there was a familiar object in one…

Back when I had visited the City of the Stars, the stars had given me a crankshaft, explaining that it was their part in my prophecy that the stars would aid in Nightmare Moon’s escape.

I glanced at the frozen clock, then back at the crankshaft. Oooooh! I said as it finally clicked. Hindsight, right?

The tower wasn’t locked, and there was indeed a spot that the crankshaft slotted into. I wound up the clock and ducked as it slowly wheezed to life.

That part of my work done, I crept back into the party to try and find Nightmare Moon or Luna…

I’d been expecting Nightmare Moon’s dream to be of her conquering Equestria and finally getting the recognition she craved. I hadn’t been expecting it to be Luna simply enjoying a party. Though “Luna” might not have fit…

In the middle of a small crowd of ponies was a laughing tall, deep blue Alicorn with a familiar starry mane and cutie mark… That was definitely Luna … so why was she a stallion? … An extremely good-looking stallion…

I’d been staring, surprised by this turn of events, and Luna turned and locked eyes with me, his eyes widening. He quickly walked over. I backed away, pressing into a wall. Crap, crap, crap, Princess of Dreams, she knows I don’t belong here!

“Ye remind us of … somepony from long ago. Someone perhaps from a dream…”

Luna shook his head. “Nay. ‘Twas a good, long dream. A dream of … friends.”

I felt flattered at that. Before I could reply, the clock began to strike midnight. The guests began to scream in horror. I looked away and saw that they were crumbling into dust. The castle was as well, though more slowly.

Luna was staring at the grisly scene in shock. The world she’d known for the last thousand years was literally crumbling down around her. Well, him, at the moment.

“But … but we were … happy,” he whispered as a tear rolled down his cheek. “What … what is this?!”

He turned and saw that his dance partner looked more familiar. I was in my multi-limbed liontaur Draconequus form.

“You!” Luna shouted. He was full-on sobbing at this point. I simply nodded in reply. “This is your fault!”

Yes… Dark cracks were appearing along Luna’s body, and he was slowing turning back into Nightmare Moon as her armor appeared on her.

Nightmare Moon sat up slowly, her joints practically creaking due to how long it had been since she’d used them. Her mouth was painfully dry as she smacked her lips. Yet she was alive after a thousand years in space with no food or water. That had been somewhat tricky to do, even Alicorns aren’t that immortal…

Her brain hadn’t quite finished waking up, but she knew that she had been happy, and someone had taken it away from her…

She wanted vengeance! She wanted pain and suffering! She wanted her subjects to acknowledge her as the rightful ruler of all of Equus! And then maybe the universe!

As she stood up, she saw a summoning circle appear around her hooves and slowly begin to spin. “What?” she asked.

Being banished to the moon had hurt. The reversal also hurt, but thankfully less.

When her vision cleared, Nightmare Moon found herself in a decrepit castle. This was the Castle of the Two Sisters! … What had happened to it?!

A voice broke her thoughts. “Hello, Sister. I assume you’re still in there… And to Nightmare Moon … well, you have quite the hostage now…”

Nightmare Moon turned and saw Celestia kneeling before her. She grinned wickedly. This day was going to be perfect…

In Ponyville, before dawn everypony had gathered into the town square pavilion whose windows were ablaze with light. It was packed full of ponies in front of a raised dais in front of and below a curtained archway.

Spike was riding on Dusk’s back, having finally taken the lampshade off. Despite how crowded the pavilion was, it was almost reverently silent.

At least it was until Bubble Berry zipped over to Dusk. “Isn’t this exciting? Are you excited? ’Cause I’m excited, I’ve never been so excited, well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town. But I mean, really, who can top that?” Dusk rolled his eyes yet again.

A spotlight shone upon the curtained archway before dropping down to the dais below. A middle-aged matronly mare stepped up to a podium, adjusting her glasses and clearing her throat before beginning her speech. “Fillies and gentle colts! As Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” Everypony cheered except for Dusk and Spike.

Th Mayor continued. “In just a few moments… our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!”

Celestia was behind the curtain, and she nodded as her horn lit up. One thousand years later, and it was finally time…

Love, she thought to herself. Arachnos said the key is love. … I don’t love Nightmare Moon at all. But I do love Luna. Oh, I should have seen how unhappy you were, sister. I should have listened to you, not dismissed you. I never should have thought it was my place to outshine you.

Even when you became Nightmare Moon, I should have listened to your – to her complaints, as they were truly yours. I shouldn’t have sent my sister to the moon. I hope you can forgive me for how badly I have failed you…

Mayor Mare continued her speech. “And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land…”

Dusk glanced up at the moon. There was a miniscule explosion of red on its surface, and the silhouette of Nightmare Moon that had stood there for a thousand years wavered and vanished. Dusk’s mouth dropped open. This wasn’t good…

Oblivious to the shakeup happening in the heavens, Mayor Mare continued. “…the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day…the good, the wise… …the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria…”

As he had been the one to prepare the decorations, Elusive pulled the curtain to reveal the spotlight shinning … on absolutely nothing. He blinked. “Huh?”

Dusk was fearfully trotting in place, “Oh, this can’t be good…” he muttered.

The mayor asked the assembled ponies to remain calm, assuring them that there must be a reasonable explanation.

Bubble was excitedly jumping in place. “Ooh, ooh! I love guessing games! Is she hiding?”

Bubble said conspiratorially to Dusk, “Ooh, he’s good…” He then glanced at the balcony and let out a fearful cry.

Deep blue-violet clouds of vapor with twinkling lights like stars had begun to envelop the balcony like a genie being summoned from a bottle.

The thickening clouds burst away, revealing the blue-armored, winged unicorn figure of Nightmare behind them, her wings spread dramatically.

“Nightmare Moon!” Dusk shouted. Spike moaned in shock and fainted, toppling off his back. “My hero…” Dusk muttered.

Nightmare Moon gave a sinister chuckle. “Oh, my beloved subjects. It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious little sun-loving faces.”

“What did you do with our Princess?!?” Rainbow Blitz shouted. He started into a flying charge, but Applejack grabbed his tail in his teeth to stop him.

Nightmare Moon gave an amused chuckle. “Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am?”

Bubble Berry started waving a leg excitedly to get her attention. “Ooh, ooh! More guessing games! Um…Hokey Smokes! How about…Queen Meanie? No…Black Snooty! Black Snooty!” Applejack gave Nightmare Moon an embarrassed grin as he cut Bubble off by shoving a whole cupcake into his mouth.

“Does my crown no longer count, now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?” Nightmare Moon asked in shock. She got in Elusive’s face, cradling it in a lock of her intangible mane. “Did you not recall the legend?” She began gently slapping Elusive. “Did you not see the signs?!” she shouted.

“I did!” Dusk shouted back. “And I know who you are! You’re the Mare in the Moon—Nightmare Moon!” The crowd gasped at the revelation.

Nightmare Moon gave a delighted yet still terrifying grin. “Well, well, well. Somepony who remembers me,” she said softly. “Then you also know why I’m here.”

Nightmare Moon finally let go of Elusive, spreading her wings again as she proclaimed, “Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!” She let out a wild cackle as lightning tore through the pavilion before a blast of mist shot through the pavilion.

Three of the pegasus Royal Guards flew up and began to close in on Nightmare Moon.

Her eyes burned white, producing more lightning that hurled the guards backwards.

Really? a voice muttered. You’re channeling Maleficent now? You do you, I guess…

If Nightmare Moon heard that, she didn’t respond. She simply cackled more, and she wrapped her mane and tail around herself and vanished into a cloud of mist. The blue-violet mist made a beeline for the open front door, snaking through the panicked crowd and the dazed guards.

Applejack had kept his teeth locked on Rainbow Blitz’s tail ever the entire time, Rainbow finally snaped it loose and charged after Nightmare.

Nightmare was too fast and had too great a head start. Rainbow could only hover and watch as she cleared the edge of town.

“Nighttime…forever?” Rainbow said in horror. He then spotted Dusk galloping out of the room with the still unconscious Spike slung over his back. “Where’s he going?” Rainbow asked.

Spike was asleep in his basket in the Golden Oak Library. He bolted awake and shouted, “We gotta stop Nightmare!” sounding half-dazed.

Dusk was standing watch and draped a blanket over his younger brother. “You’ve been up all night partying, Spike,” he murmured. “I know you don’t like to hear it, but you are a baby dragon, after all.”

“No, but I can HELP!” Spike protested. He tried summoning a ball of green fire which fizzled out. “Oh, come on!” he said with a small roar, trying again and failing.

Dusk gave a small chuckle at that. “I know what a fighter you are, Spike, pretty sure you got that from Shining. But right now, you’re in no condition to fight anypony, least of all something like her. And … you’re too important for me to lose. I … I’m sorry I don’t tell you that enough. Please, rest, and get your strength back. If I need you, believe me, I’ll find a way to tell you.”

Spike accepted that and nodded, drifting off. The lights went out and he snored quietly—right through a commotion that shook the entire room for a moment. Its source was the fully lit reading room, where books are scattered all over the floor and being flung into view.

Dusk was frantically sorting through them. “Elements, Elements, Elements…” He let out a frustrated groan when he couldn’t find a reference book. “How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?!” He let out a yelp when an enraged Rainbow Bltiz flew into his face.

“And just what are the Elements of Harmony?” Rainbow yelled, causing Dusk to slowly back up. “And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?” Rainbow was yanked back, hard. “Whoa!” he shouted.

Applejack once again spat out his hotheaded friend’s tail, earning a dirty look from Rainbow. “Calm down,” the farmpony said in a reasonable tone. By that point, Bubble, Elusive, and Butterscotch had come in as well. “Ah know it’s mighty strange that he showed up the same day as Nightmare Moon, but he ain’t no spy.” The orange stallion gave Dusk a piercing look. “But he sure knows what’s goin’ on—don’t ya, Dusk?”

Dusk sighed and nodded. “I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her. But I don’t know what they are, or where to find them. I don’t even know what they do!”

Bubble had been inspecting a bookshelf and read off the title of one of the books: “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide by Aaron K. Noss.”

Dusk practically flattened him as he streaked across the room to see. “How did you find that?!” he shouted.

He levitated the volume over. “‘There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are historically documented,’” he read aloud. ‘“Kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty. These six artifacts have helped to shape the history not only of Equestria, but of all of Equus, often by banishing dark and dangerous creatures....’” Dusk was momentarily distracted as he tried to remember something. “‘Aaron K. Noss’. Where do I know that author from?!” He simply let it slide and continued reading.

Outside the window, Nightmare Moon’s vapor form was hovering unseen, clearly listening to the helpful plot exposition.

Dusk continued reading. “‘The sixth Element’s name and nature has been lost to even legends. It is said the last known location of the five Elements was in the ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, where they were hidden after the Banishment of Nightmare Moon.’”

Dusk read out the last of the section. “‘The castle is located in what is now…’” He shuddered.

“‘…the Everfree Forest?!?’” the group finished together in horror. In the distance, a wolf howled mournfully, right on cue. If anypony had ever bothered to actually check, they would have discovered that several generations of local wolves had had special training for these thematic moments.

Bubble was the first to break the silence. “Alright!” he cheered, “Let’s go!”

“Not so fast!” Dusk shouted. Bubble skidded to a halt. Dusk sighed. “Look. I appreciate the offer. But I’d really rather do this on my own.”

Applejack shook his head. “No can do, partner. We sure ain’t lettin’ any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone.” Dusk flinched a bit at being called “friend.” Applejack continued as the group headed out. “We’re stickin’ to ya like caramel on a candy apple!”

Bubble excitedly said, “Especially if there’s candy apples in there!” Dusk gave him a funny look. “What? Those things are good!”

Dusk noticed that the other five had all already headed into the forest. He sighed and followed in after them.

In the library, a shape faded into view. Its lower half was a lion with cream-colored toes and a bit of brown at the end of the tuft of fur on the end of its tail. Its upper half was roughly humanoid, with white fur, six arms ending in clawed paws along with four very large wings with dozens of eyes at the tops. Its head was vaguely goat-shaped with a mouth full of shark-like teeth and long fangs sticking over its lips, along with a deep red goatee. It had 3 horns and instead of normal eyes, its eyes showed slowly-moving scenes from space. It was also far too tall to comfortably fit into the room, it was very hunched over.

It picked up the book Dusk had just been reading in a red right paw, giving it a quizzical look. Why wouldn’t it be filed under “E?” This place doesn’t use the Dewey Decimal system yet, so how else would you file things? The author’s middle initial?

It shrugged and made the mistake of standing up. OW! it yelped as its horns hit the ceiling. The pain shot down to the tip of its tail which protested by knocking a lamp off of a table.

The thing moved in a blur, managing to catch it just before it hit the floor. It let out a sigh of relief. It then wondered why in the age of electric lighting, the previous librarian still used oil-based lamps inside of a library that was in a living tree. Wouldn’t an electric lamp be less of a fire hazard? Still, it could have been worse…

It set the lamp back down and turned to speak. You aren’t screaming, it said in a surprised tone.

Spike shrugged. “I’m still asleep. Anything as strange looking as you can’t be real, so I must be dreaming. I was going to get a sandwich; do you want one too?”

Several expressions passed over the thing’s face before it finally said, I don’t really have ti- You know what? A sandwich would be great actually. I’ll make them.

It headed into the kitchen. Spike was surprised that it knew where it was, and even more surprised to be given a ham and emerald sandwich, his favorite. His odd companion elected for turkey and black pearls, crunching down with no apparent dental distress.

It’s easy to explain but hard to understand… Most creatures categorize me as a god for simplicity’s sake, but I’m really not. Just close enough that from everyone else’s perspective, the difference doesn’t matter. Good turkey, I’ll have to look up where it’s from… it … he said, switching topics suddenly. It’s late, and your battery is low, you should rest up for tomorrow.

“Will there even be a tomorrow? I mean, eternal night kind of says otherwise…”

The not-god smiled at Spike, taking care to keep his teeth hidden. I certainly hope so. Otherwise, I might have to actually do my job, and no one wants that… I’m a pessimist, but I am quite confident that it will turn out all right. Your brother just needs a bit of a nudge. Hopefully not off the side of a cliff.

With that he literally inhaled the rest of his sandwich. Spike ate quickly as well. The not-god’s fingers were drumming.

Spike waved goodbye and went up to his basket. A few minutes later, I came in to check on him. He was shivering in his sleep. My horn lit up and his blanket tucked him in. I passed him his teddy bear as well, feeling … something … as he curled protectively around it. I was on a tight timetable, but I simply watched the sleeping dragon for a few moments.

You got me to care about you. I don’t like giving people that kind of power over me, I hope you realize how special that makes you. And I hope that more importantly, you never understand those feelings. Because that would mean you were as broken as I am, and I wish that on very few people…

Well, time to go make a pest of myself, I said with a sharp-toothed grin before fading out again.

Inside the Everfree, Dusk tried making conversation to steady his nerves. “So… …none of you have been in here before?” he asked.

Elusive shook his head. “No, definitely not. This is one of the gloomiest places in Equestria!”

“And it ain’t natural.” Applejack added. Unseen by the entire group, a certain Alicorn’s mist form had flowed into the cracks along the edge of the cliff they were walking on. Applejack continued. “Folks say it don’t work the same as Equestria.”

Rainbow emerged from the shadows and said in an ominous tone, “Nopony knows. You know why?”

“Rainbow, quit it!” Applejack snapped, knowing his friend well enough to know where this was going.

Rainbow continued anyway, dragging out the suspense. “’Cause everypony who’s ever come in has never…come…OUT!” He’d been creeping up while saying that and leapt up menacingly on the very last word.

The real scare, however, came when the edge of the cliff crumbled away and took all four non-winged ponies screaming with it. Butterscotch and Rainbow managed to get airborne just in time.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Butterscotch kept muttering as he followed his friend.

From a clifftop across the ravine, I was watching four of the Mane Six plummet to their doom. I knew how this went in the show, but seeing it happen in-person … I should help them! I thought with horror.

To my shock, an arm wrapped around my chest, and a Voice whispered in my ear, Can’t let you do that, Starfox… I recognized the voice. “Smug?!” I asked in shock.

He chuckled. Glad you recognize me, though I’m not overly fond of that name, accurate though it is. You know it doesn’t count if you solve it for them. Have a little faith…

I glanced at the arm that was lightly restraining me out of curiosity. I’d never seen Smug in the flesh, part of me had been thinking he didn’t even have a body. It was an anthropomorphic red fox’s arm. That was … unexpected. It lightly tapped me to get my attention, then pointed back at the in-progress disaster. Right, priorities.

As everypony was falling down the cliff-turned rockslide, Rainbow hoisted Bubble clear of the danger and Butterscotch snaped his teeth onto Elusive’s tail to stop him falling as well. Applejack stopped himself by biting down on an exposed root, leaving Dusk alone to skid toward the edge of a very long drop. Dusk wound up with his hind legs dangling over the precipice; Applejack quickly sized up the situation, then let go of his root to slide along and help.

“Hold on! Ah’m a-comin’!” Applejack yelled. Once at the edge, he gripped Dusk’s front hooves to hold him up.

There was a long tense pause as Applejack looked all around before looking back at the purple unicorn. “Let go,” he said flatly.

In a calm and reasonable tone, Applejack said, “Now listen here. What Ah’m sayin’ to ya is the honest truth. Let go, and you’ll be safe.”

Dusk’s survival instincts battled against his wanting to trust the pony who literally held his life in his hooves. Finally, he let go and plunged over the side, screaming the whole way to his death. He suddenly came to a halt in midair. With a bewildered expression, he saw that Butterscotch and Rainbow Blitz had both caught him.

A sudden weight shift caused him to nearly slip out of their grasp with a yell, before they compensated for it and lowered him gently to the ground.

Butterscotch flopped down, panting heavily. “Sorry, sorry, I keep meaning to hit the gym, but..." he gulped air.

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow asked, “That was awesome! You powerlifted two fully-grown stallions!” Butterscotch smiled at the rare praise from Rainbow that wasn’t all about him.

Applejack leapt down from one protruding ledge to another, so nimbly that he might have been part mountain goat, finally joining his friends.

See? Not everyone lies, Smug told me. See you in a bit~ The arm pulled away from me.

Wait! I protested. Come back! Don’t … leave me… I sighed. Honestly, he’s as bad as I am…

If your first attempt at murder doesn’t succeed, try, try again. Nightmare Moon found a nearby monster to use.

Five members of the Mane Six were walking through the forest again, except for Rainbow Blitz who preferred to touch the ground as little as possible when he could fly. The pegasus was excitedly recounting his heroic deeds. “And once Bubble and Elusive were safe…whoosh! Me and Butterscotch looped the loop around, and wham! Caught you right in the nick of time.” He demonstrated the move while describing it and landed next to Dusk on “wham!”

In an irritated tone, Dusk said, “Yes, Rainbow, I was there.” Dusk did manage a small smile. “And I’m very grateful. But we gotta—”

He stopped and let out a gasp as a creature dropped into view. “A manticore!” Dusk shouted. It let out a mighty roar. “We’ve got to get past him!”

Butterscotch was hovering nervously nearby. The manticore leapt up at Elusive, taking a swipe at his face with its paw. Elusive ducked and countered the attack with a buck to the face that knocked the manticore back.

The manticore responded by a roaring loudly directly into his face, leaving his mane a frizzed-out shambles due to the moisture in its breath.

Elusive chuckled nervously. “Uh, my sincerest apologies?” he tried diplomatically.

The manticore’s lips drew back and it gave a low growl. Elusive nodded, message received, and beat a hasty retreat past Butterscotch.

The manticore started chasing after Elusive but suddenly stopped because Applejack had jumped right onto its head.

Applejack gave a delighted shout of, “Yee-haa!” The manticore started desperately trying to buck her off. “Get along, little doggie!” Applejack called.

The manticore managed to send the Earth Pony flying. As he sailed over Rainbow Blitz, the orange stallion called out, “All yours, partner!”

Rainbow gave his friend a salute and shouted, “I’m on it!” He zoomed past Butterscotch.

Rainbow Blitz spun a rainbow tornado around the manticore, but with surprising accuracy, the manticore targeted him and knocked him towards the trees with its tail.

The manticore was now facing Dusk. Dusk was not Shining Armor, he was not by nature a physically active pony, but if he was going to die, he wouldn’t go down without a fight… He braced himself for the oncoming battle.

Five ponies began to charge towards the manticore who began to charge towards them as well. As an epic battle was about to begin, Butterscotch threw himself in between the two charging sides.

“WAAAIIIT!!” the normally meek pegasus yelled loudly enough that it echoed off the trees.

Both sides stared at the yellow pony in slight shock. Butterscotch glanced at his friends, then at the manticore. He walked towards it, it raised a clawed paw, apparently ready to disembowel the butter-colored pegasus.

The rest of the group saw Butterscotch sniffing at the paw not lifted for a strike. The manticore uncertainly un-clenched it to reveal a large thorn stuck in the pad. It let out a soft whimper.

“Now this might hurt for just a second,” Butterscotch told the manticore in a caring tone. He plucked the thorn out carefully. The manticore gave a deafening roar directly in his face.

They then saw that the pegasus was not only alive and unharmed, but he was actually being cuddled and licked by the now joyful manticore.

Butterscotch laughed. “Aw, you’re just a little old baby kitty, aren’t you?” He began to baby-talk the gigantic monster. “Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”

The rest of the group had been staring in shock, but simply smiled when they saw that their friend was all right. The manticore gave Butterscotch a hearty lick across the mane that swept it up into a massive cowlick.

Applejack gave a warm chuckle. “Ah know ya have a way with critters, but yer definitely goin’ to die tryin’ to pet something you shouldn’t, Butterscotch,” he teased lightly.

Butterscotch gave the manticore’s neck a hug goodbye. “Yep,” he said with a smile. “Isn’t it great?” He then unlatched from the manticore, which set him down, the two giving each other a small wave goodbye.

As Butterscotch walked by, Dusk asked him, “How did you know about the thorn?”

Butterscotch shrugged. “I didn’t. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.”

Dusk pondered this for a second, smiled to himself, nodded, and followed the group.

The thorn that had been in the manticore’s paw began to rapidly spin before it turned back into Nightmare Moon’s cloud form which zoomed after the group.

Elusive sighed. “My eyes could use a different sight…” he muttered. The trees got so thick that nopony could see in front of them. “Well, I didn’t mean that literally!” he exclaimed.

Dusk groaned. “That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces, and we wouldn’t even know it!” he grumbled.

Applejack said to himself, “Oh, wait. Ah think Ah stepped in somethin’…” Butterscotch screamed, but Applejack just rolled his eyes and kept walking. “It’s just mud, Butterscotch! Honestly…” he grumbled.

Applejack stopped when he spotted that the tree in front of him had a horrific face with a toothy maw and glowing eyes. Applejack bolted back with a shout and the others stared in horror at the creepy, snarling faces all the trees around them now sported. They then burst into terrified screams.

As the rest of the sextet cowered, they were surprised to find Bubble Berry laughing uproariously. “Huh?” they collectively asked.

Bubble laughed at one of the horrid faces and made a few goofy ones of his own in response to the sight.

Dusk’s ear turned to follow the music. He knew where this was going. “Oh, no…”

Bubble began to keep time with his hooves as he began to sing. In an exasperated tone, Dusk said, “Tell me he’s not…”

Bubble led the group in a song about dealing with fears by laughing at them to make them disappear, even Dusk enjoying himself a smidge. They let out a good long laugh at the fact they’d been so scared by a bunch of trees.

Still laughing as they walked, the stallions came to a sudden halt at the bank of a raging river, some of them crashing into Bubble as they weren’t paying attention. They craned their heads to get a good look at the rushing water.

Bubble stated what everypony was thinking. “How are we gonna cross this?” In the distance was the sound of eerie moaning and wailing. “Huh?!” Bubble asked in surprise.

The group took cover in a clump of bushes, and saw a long, purple, scaly tail thrashing about. Their eyes followed it until they saw what it was connected to, a massive purple sea serpent with skinny arms and blond hair with a small purple beard. Half of a magnificent mustache had been raggedly cut, and he was sobbing hysterically in a very effeminate voice for such a large guy. “Oh! What a world! What a world!”

The sea serpent sat up at the sound of unexpected company. “Well, I don’t know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off!”

In a nearby grove, Nightmare Moon was laughing wickedly while villainously twirling the stolen mustache that was now above her upper lip. This was great! Why had she never done this before?!

Oh. Right. She was a mare. Mares couldn’t grow facial hair without the use of magic, and she’d been raised to be a “proper” mare, so something like that would never have been allowed.

Nightmare Moon’s head hung low, and she let out a weary sigh as an uncomfortable but familiar prickling settled under her skin. Her eyes narrowed. No matter! She had better things to do! She discarded the moustache and flew off the enact the next phase of her ~~desperate~~ brilliant plan!

A red paw picked up the mustache half. Huh… a voice muttered to itself before it too vanished.

The sea serpent who had introduced himself as Steven Magnet continued his hissy fit. “And now, I look simply horrid!” he moaned. He flopped into the river, causing a wave to soak the group of ponies who all groaned at that.

Elusive nodded. “Why, of course it is! How can you two be so insensitive? Just look at this magnificent creature!”

Elusive continued as he stroked Steven’s snout. “Such beautiful luminescent scales.”

Steven sniffled. “I know!” He glanced up at his hair, clearly acting like a dog in need of praise.

Elusive got the message loud and clear. “And your expertly coiffed mane.” He stood up.

Steven nodded, patting his hair down. “Oh, I know, I know!” he said with an eager grin.

Steven gasped and cradled his face in his talons. “It’s so true!” he confirmed.

Elusive resolutely proclaimed, “I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” He grabbed one of Steven’s scales in his teeth and yanked it off the

Elusive lifted the scale’s razor-sharp point towards the night sky like an odd sword, with a very determined expression.

There was a sudden slashing noise, and Steven fainted dead away. The group stared in shock at what Elusive had cut: his own tail was nearly entirely gone, and it wasn’t the cleanest cut in the world. Elusive tossed the scale away and levitated the cut portion of his tail over to Steven, affixing it above the sea serpent’s lip.

Steven came round, and when he saw what had been done let out a delighted laugh. “My mustache! How wonderful!” He looked at Elusive with shining eyes. “Thank you,” he said, giving the white stallion a small bow.

Elusive shrugged. “It’s perfectly fine. I’d been meaning to get it cut anyway. Anyway, short tails are in this season. Besides, it’ll grow back. I have rather fast-growing hair, something I can thank my father for.”

Dusk noted that now that its resident was no longer upset, the river was completely calm. He happily threw himself in and shouted, “We can cross now! Let’s go!”

A coil of Steven’s body picked him up, and Dusk saw he was using himself as a line of steppingstones for the smaller creatures. The sea serpent gave the group a salute. “Allow me!”

Once on dry land, the group pressed on. There was a sudden whooping sound, and the group screamed as something jumped onto a tree stump in front of them. It was a red fox with yellow eyes, looking at them with interest.

“Well, if it lives in the Everfree, it must really be a horrible monster in disguise!” Elusive said. The fox gave him an extremely offended look.

Rainbow Blitz got in between the vulpine and his friends, forelegs making karate-chopping motions. “Yeah? Well, whatever it really is, I can take it!”

The fox proceeded to wash his paw, then stretched like a cat, showing off not insignificant fangs. He then looked right at Rainbow and to the group’s immense shock said, You really couldn’t, but I genuinely admire your admittedly suicidal bravery. Try working on that…He gave the group a grin that was slightly horrifying to see on a feral fox’s face. Be seeing you…He hopped off the stump and walked behind a tree, not coming out from behind it.

Dusk shook his head like he was trying to clear an image from an Etch-a-Sketch. “Moving on,” he muttered to himself. He then glanced up and his eyes lit up. “There it is!”

“It” was the ruins of a castle on the other side of a cliff whose bottom was obscured by mist. There were the remains of a bridge, but no way to cross.

Dusk gave a laugh that was partly excited and partly relieved that this was almost over. “The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony. We made it!” He began galloping for it.

“Dusk! Wait for us!” Applejack called, the rest of the group trying to keep up.

“Come on, guys, we’re almost there!” Dusk cheered. Not paying attention to where he was trotting, he nearly fell off the side of the cliff, luckily Rainbow was there to drag the lavender stallion back to safety by the tail.

“Duh!” Rainbow said happily. He gave his wings a large stretch and lifted off.

Rainbow dove down into the mist and came back up a moment later with the bridge ropes in his teeth. As he tied one of them down, an echoing female voice made him stop what he was doing.

“Rainbow…” it called out. He dropped the other rope and gasped as Nightmare’s cloud form drifted up unseen from below him.

“Rainbow…” the voice called again. The mist started to thicken around the Pegasus, hiding him from his friends.

Rainbow punched at the air. “I ain’t scared of you! Show yourself!” he shouted.

“We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria,” the voice informed him.

Rainbow grinned and eagerly asked, “Really?!” He managed to catch his ego running away from him and coughed. “I mean…oh, yeah! Me! Hey, uh, you wouldn’t mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would you? ’Cause I’ve been trying to get into that group for, like, ever!” he finished with a wide grin.

In an almost weary tone, the voice said, “No, Rainbow Blitz. We want you to join us.”

Three pegasi, two stallions and a mare galloped towards Rainbow. All three were wearing outfits similar to the Wonderbolts, yet edgier than thou.

“The Shadowbolts!” the mare proclaimed dramatically. Rainbow looked confused as he had never heard of them. The mare continued. “We are the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria.” She leaned in closer to Rainbow. “But first…we need a captain.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide, and a huge smile graced his face as the mare who was the only one to speak began to fly slowly in circles around him, assessing him.

Mercifully hidden beneath her flight goggles, the mare rolled her eyes as Nightmare Moon realized that she couldn’t possibly lay it on thick enough. She took a deep breath and continued. “We need…” She leaned over to whisper in Rainbow’s ear, “…you.”

Rainbow leapt up and cheered. “Woo-hoo! Sign me up!” He moved a bit to get the rest of the loose rope. “Just let me tie this bridge real quick, and then we have a deal!”

The Shadowbolt mare zipped across to stop him, shouting with a far more menacing tone. “NO! It’s them or us!” Rainbow recoiled slightly.

Having trouble seeing through the murk, Dusk called out, “Rainbow!” “What’s taking so long?” he asked himself. The mist cleared just enough for Dusk to see that Rainbow was surrounded by another test “Oh, no.” He then shouted, “RAINBOW!”

The mare’s eyes blazed yellow behind her goggles, causing the visibility to drop to zero in a lot less than ten seconds flat.

Rainbow heard Dusk’s voice, which was muffled by the now much thicker fog. “Don’t listen to them!” the unicorn shouted.

“Well?” the Shadowbolts’ leader asked impatiently. There was a lengthy pause.

Finally, Rainbow, “You.” The mare smiled victoriously, but Rainbow shook his head. “Thank you…for the offer, I mean.” In one blur of movement, he whipped back to the bridge and tied off the other rope, leaving three shocked Shadowbolts gaping at him. “But I’m afraid I have to say no,” Rainbow finished with an apologetic shrug.

With one last malevolent glare, the other three “pegasi” disappeared in three puffs of blue-violet smoke that came together and slunk away, seeming to pout. Rainbow flew across the repaired bridge as the fog dissipated to the sound of the others’ cheering. All six stallions headed across, with Rainbow flying ahead to lead the way.

Rainbow turned to Dusk and gave him a small, unexpectedly humble smile. “See? I’d never leave my friends hanging.”

In the chasm below, a certain Alicorn was currently extremely pissed off. Nightmare Moon shot off a volley of small stars that ricocheted off the walls, letting out an enraged scream.

She flew back and forth fast enough to become a sparkling blue blur, until she skidded to a halt with a sound of screeching brakes at the sight of … was that a face? Oh, it was upside-down. So was the … thing it was attached to.

Hanging from a large thread like a Lovecoltian spider was a multi-limbed centaur of sorts. Its upper body was humanoid with short white fur over well-developed muscles. Its lower half was that of a lion with rainbow-colored fluff where its torso met its lower half, as well as a bit of rainbow at the tip of the tuft of fur on the end of the tail. It had six arms that ended in clawed paws, its right paws were a cherry red. It had four massive wings that were white at the top and black at the bottom, with blue eyes nestled among the feathers towards the top of each wing.

The most horrifying part of the creature was honestly its head. It was vaguely goat-like, with a long brown mane that trailed all the way down its back. It had a long unkempt goatee that was a pale blonde right by the chin before most of it turned blood red. It had two long black horns and from its forehead sprouted a third horn; this one was white, grew at crooked angles, and was riddled with holes like a Changeling’s. Long fangs stuck out from the sides of its mouth, and a pair of very thick bushy black eyebrows were set over two inky black voids. It was … technically smiling, but there was no warmth at all to it, so all the smile did was put thousands of shark-like teeth on display.

Hey, it said in a male voice which echoed slightly. Want to play a game? You looked like you were having fun playing pinball there. You’re probably too busy to play, of course. I guess I can understand that, he sighed. Worlds to conquer and all.

Nightmare Moon only vaguely recalled this creature. Something to do with … spiders? Nightmares? She knew that it was a very bad sign if he was smiling and asking to play a game, though.

If you try and kill them again, I’ll get you. Eventually, I have all the time in the world. No need to rush. How about a deal? Rather than try and kill them behind their backs, face them directly. If you beat them, I’ll leave you alone to rule Eternal Night, because the consequences of that are honestly worse than what I’d do to you. He stuck out a red right paw.

Nightmare Moon got the distinct impression she was making a deal with the Ram. “And if they beat me?”

The creature gave her a chilling grin. Pray that they don’t… he whispered Be seeing you… He then turned right-side-up, clambered up his thread and disappeared in a flash of dark light.

Nightmare Moon shuddered but decided to take the good advice. These meddling foals had passed every obstacle she had thrown at them, it was time she dealt with them herself. She flew on.

The Not-Quite-Mane-Six-Yet stood inside the entry hall of the castle. Before them stood an apparatus consisting of six round stone tablets mounted at the ends of long shafts, with a larger orb at the center. The entire thing was heavily overgrown with moss and vines. It bore a resemblance to the framework that held the Elements of Harmony that Dusk recognized from his story.

Applejack broke almost a millennium of silence. “Whoa…come on, Dusk. Isn’t this what you’ve been waitin’ for?”

Butterscotch and Rainbow flew up and slowly began to take the tablets to the floor.

Dusk laid down and furrowed his brow as he tried to remember. “The book said, ‘When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.’”

Applejack blinked. “Well, what in the hay is that supposed to mean?!” the cowpony exclaimed.

Dusk sighed. “I’m not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back,” he warned. “I don’t know what will happen…” He closed his eyes and began to charge up his horn.

Applejack nodded in understanding and began to lead the others away. “All right, come on now, y’all. He needs to concentrate…”

In her mist form, Nightmare slipped into the chamber, and gradually enveloped the five stone tablets before her. As the Dusk began to increase his efforts at the sudden resistance, she formed into a whirlwind that lifted the tablets off the floor.

Dusk opened his eyes and let out a yell when he saw the now-familiar colored cyclone, cutting off his magic in case it made her stronger.

Inside the room, the tornado grew in size and power, reaching nearly to what remained of the ceiling.

“The Elements!” Dusk cried in horror at the realization his enemy had them. He dove for them, and the storm shrunk to nothing, teleporting the unicorn and the Elements with him just as the others raced in.

The other five glanced around. Applejack inhaled deeply and shouted, “DUSK! WHERE ARE YA?!”

Elusive pointed out the window to another window in a tower in another part of the castle. A tell-tale flash of white light indicated teleportation at work.

Dusk spent a few moments coughing from the dust and glanced up to see Nightmare Moon standing on a crumbled dais across the room. The mare chuckled wickedly as the 5 Element tablets floated leisurely in the grip of her mane and tail, clearly taunting Dusk with them.

Dusk’s eyes narrowed and he let out a bull-like snort as he lowered his head and pawed at the ground to work up the steam for a charge.

Nightmare Moon set the elements down, and in an almost amused tone, asked, “You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?”

Dusk was in fact not kidding. With a war cry he charged straight for her. Nightmare began to charge as well, but Dusk disappeared with a flash before the two of them collided. Nightmare glanced around, seeing Dusk re-materialize on the dais he’d just tricked her off of. Dusk gave a loud pant, he’d done a lot more physical exertion that day than he was normally used to, and having not slept wasn’t helping his magical reserves.

Dusk pointed his horn at the Elements. “Just one spark,” he muttered desperately as his horn charged up again. “Come on, come on…”

Within their tablets, the Elements began to glow as well. With a snarl, Nightmare turned back into a tornado and flew onto the dais, throwing Dusk and the tablets across the floor. “No, no, no!” she shouted.

Dusk smirked, knowing that he finally had the upper hoof – and then to his shock, the Elements winked out.

“But…where’s the sixth Element?” he asked the universe in a desperate plea.

Nightmare Moon was laughing hysterically. She reared up and stomped dramatically, the force shattering the tablets. She laughed again. “You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your Princess—or your sun! The night will last forever!”

As Nightmare prepared to land her killing blow, Dusk’s friends charged into the room.

With a confident grin, he turned back over his wither and addressed the Dark Mare. “You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you’re wrong—because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!”

The stone shards gathered at Nightmare’s hooves began to glow and float free of the ground.

“Applejack…who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of honesty!” Dusk said with a grin.

Dusk continued. “Butterscotch…who tamed the manticore with his compassion, represents the spirit of kindness!”

“Bubble Berry …who banished fear…by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of laughter!”

“Elusive, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of generosity!”

“And Rainbow Blitz, who could not abandon his friends for his own heart’s desire, represents the spirit of loyalty!

“The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!” Dusk finished with a proud grin.

A panicking Nightmare shouted, “You still don’t have the sixth Element! The spark didn’t work!”

Dusk shook his head. “But it did. A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you—to see you. How much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all…are my friends!” he finished with confidence.

A sixth tablet appeared above Dusk’s head and began to give the sixth Element to its new bearer.

“You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the…the spark that resides in the heart of us all…it creates the sixth Element. The Element of magic!”

A brilliant white light enveloped the six stallions as it spread along their bodies, forming into golden armor along their barrels and legs. At the throat of each stallion an ornate golden collar formed, each containing a gem that was tellingly shaped and colored like the stallion’s cutie mark.

Two rainbow-striped shafts of light emerged from the group as a double helix and shot towards the ceiling before joining into a single broad ribbon that swoops down on Nightmare.

Each of the mane six was floating in white light, standing upright on their hind legs. Their eyes were also glowing a bright white. With one last bright flare, the light faded away completely.

As they’d all been knocked out by the force of the Friendship laser, they didn’t see a dark shadow be blasted out of their foe. From a shadow on the wall behind her, a long arm with thin white fur that ended in a red right paw tipped with sharp claws snatched the shadow, and a voice called out, Got you! before dragging it back into the shadow it had emerged from and disappearing.

Elusive noticed his tail had magically grown back. “Well, how about that?” he asked with a thankful smile.

The group was busy admiring the armor they’d been granted. “Sick!” Rainbow said with a grin. “Feel like I missed out a bit not joining the Royal Guard…”

“Ya got the work ethic for it?” Applejack asked his friend with a teasing grin. Rainbow took a playful swipe in protest. Applejack then sighed. “In all honesty, Dusk, Ah thought you were just spoutin’ a lot of hooey. But Ah reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship.”

The sun began to rise, and in a beam of light, Princess Celestia appeared before her ponies. Everypony except Dusk kneeled before her.

“Princess Celestia!” Dusk called ecstatically. He dashed over to the Princess, and the two nuzzled each other affectionately.

Celestia chuckled. “Dusk Shine, my faithful student. I knew you could do it.”

Celestia smiled. “I told you that you needed to make some friends—nothing more.” She nodded at the other five stallions and motioned for them to stand. Celestia continued speaking. “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. (Now if only another will as well…”

The group glanced across the room where a second Alicorn was passed out among the smoking remains of Nightmare Moon’s armor.

The smaller, blue Alicorn woke up with a gasp. Celestia laid down to be at eye-level with her.

“It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this.” Luna cringed slightly at that. “Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister.” Luna reacted like the word “sister” was a slap in the face.

Luna faced away as she pondered everything, Dusk and his new friends leaning in expectantly to hear her reply. Bubble leaned a little too far, toppling to the floor with a shout of, “Whoa!” before the pink stallion stood back up.

Luna stood up, and nuzzled against Celestia’s chest, nodding as both sisters began to cry. “I’m so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister.”

There was the sound of a nose being blown loudly, and the group turned to see Bubble sobbing loudly into a handkerchief before he brightened up. “Hey! You know what this calls for?! A p-”

Dusk turned and tried not to scream. With a skittering sound, what he had thought was a shadow rushing towards the group turned out to be thousands of spiders with glowing red eyes. With a single-minded purpose they flowed around the ponies, leaving a respectful distance before they picked up Nightmare Moon’s discarded armor and ran towards a wall, melting into a shadow and disappearing.

Applejack’s jaw had dropped. “Tell me Ah’m not the only one who saw that,” he managed weakly.

Celestia cleared her throat. “No. That was … somecreature who hates loose ends helping in his own way…”

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Bubble continued, “this calls for a party!” He gave an “Ooh!” as his golden armor folded in on itself until it was just a necklace that popped off.

The other five elements followed suit. Celestia laughed. “I have to admit to a bit of jealousy, I got a tiara when I wielded the Elements.”

I a Ponyville meadow, a party had been set up seemingly from nowhere in that way Ponies were great at. A chariot bearing Celestia and Luna arrived as streamers and confetti rained down.

Spike bulldozed his way through the crowd to give Dusk the biggest hug he can manage, given his size, and everypony bowed to the sisters once they leave the chariot.

Celestia smiled gently, while Luna seemed a bit uneasy before the crowd. Two pegasus fillies flew up to place a wreath of red and white roses around her neck. She gave Celestia an uncertain, slightly teary-eyed little smile, not entirely understanding how these complete strangers could forgive her but accepting it all the same.

Celestia searched the crowd for a certain someone, but there was not a red right hoof in sight. A lick of rainbow fire appeared momentarily to deposit a scroll the way dragon fire would. In familiar writing it said, “Not my place or scene, I just helped a bit. I’ll see you two tonight, I have a lot of catching up and apologizing to do.” The letter then crumbled to ash.

Celestia noticed how downcast Dusk appeared. “Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?”

Dusk shook his head. “That’s just it. Just when I finally learn how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them.” The rest of the group was very saddened by that news as well.

Celestia nodded in understanding, before calling, “Spike, take a note, please.”

Spike whipped out his quill and scroll. Celestia began to dictate. “I, Princess Celestia hereby decree that the unicorn Dusk Shine shall take on a new mission for Equestria. He must continue to study the magic of friendship. He must report to me his findings from his new home here in Ponyville.”

Dusk’s facial expression had started out as uncomprehending before giving way to a huge, grateful smile as the other five stallions mobbed him and shouted their congratulations.

“Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia! I’ll study harder than ever before!” Celestia rolled her eyes and laughed at that as the entire town cheered.

Much later that night, Luna tossed and turned, completely worn out. It wasn’t the time she slept, but she had been hoping to at least rest. A knock in a quick staccato of four pulled her out of her thoughts and she groaned and buried her head under a pillow.

“Go away,” she shouted, “We don’t want any more visitors, well-wishers, or distant relations!” she said, thinking of a nephew she’d been introduced to and had loathed on sight.

From the other side of the door, a voice called, And what about very old friends?

Luna pulled out from her cocoon at that and opened the door to find me there holding a bakery box. I proffered it to her. I worked hard on this, but if you want to smash it in my face or shove it in uncomfortable places, you would be entirely within your rights.

She opened the box to find a simple one-layer cake with a dark blue mirror glaze. In white icing the constellations had been depicted, and a large yellow moon was in one corner. In familiar cursive, the cake read, “Welcome Home!”

I shrugged. It’s been … longer for me than it was for you. I’ve had a lot of time to practice…

Luna laughed at my strange speech, but she was used to it, and the meaning came through. May I come in? If you say no I will happily leave you alone until you wish to speak to me.

As I entered her room, I stared at her. Huh. You’re smaller than the last time I saw you as you…

“Thou art just unnaturally tall!” Luna protested, wings fluffing up defensively.

I chuckled. True… There was a reason, but it makes living on this world interesting at times…

Luna laughed. “We cannot count the times thou hit thine head on the ceiling in our youth…”

I snickered at those memories. And those awful chandeliers! Now there was a hazard!

“They were hideous!” Luna agreed with a laugh. “Why did we not replace them sooner?” She pointed at a lamp that had been brought into her room in her absence. “Our sister tells us that ponies have now bottled lightning to allow them to have light at all times of day. And that two ponies may communicate no matter how far apart they are! Such marvels…” She looked downcast.

I nodded. Much has changed in the past thousand years, it’s true. But the important things remain the same. Which reminds me of my second gift! I pulled out a rectangle wrapped in brown paper and tied with black yarn.

Luna opened it to find a leatherbound book. The title was, “Arachnos’s Guide to Modern Equus for the Temporally Displaced.” She opened it and began to thumb through it.

You are the first to return, but a surprising number of creatures will be at least a thousand years out of date. Including some of my children. I thought this might be useful to have a guide for all of you.

Luna nodded. “We thank ye. ‘Tis a thoughtful and useful gift. May we partake of yon pastry now?” she asked with a grin.

I nodded and began to slice the cake and plate it. As Luna bit in she let out a moan. Oh? I didn’t know it was that good, I teased her.

Luna blushed. “Our apologies. Thy baking has … improved remarkably. We cannot remember experiencing flavors such as these.”

You haven’t eaten in some time before today. Everything will seem more intense. I … am so sorry for … what I did, and more importantly did not do. I should have stood up for you. Defended you. Let you know that you were not and are not alone, and that you are most certainly not unloved. Luna stared in concern as I dug my claws into my arm hard enough to draw golden blood. Perhaps I could have prevented this from happening. I felt a forehoof lightly touch my shoulder and saw Luna hovering before me.

“What is done, is done, my friend. Do not torture thyself with ‘What could have beens.’ As for the dream thou locked us in, that was meant as a kindness, we know that now. A thousand years of isolation would have driven us mad, and thou gave us the best dreams thou could. In truth … we have dreamed of this day more times than we can count, and we are still expecting to wake up any moment to the next dream. But we believe we are now awake, thanks in no small part to thee, according to our sister. Thou hast our everlasting gratitude for returning us to ourselves, Arachnos, know that.”

I sniffled at that. Luna chuckled. “Ah. We had forgotten what thy tears looked like. Thou art an odd one, for certain…”

I wiped the dark red liquid off my face. Thank you. You know, don’t tell Celestia this, but you were always my favorite. Luna smiled. The day is glorious, but for me it is painful. The nights are cool and for solitude, and the sky was the most amazing canvas every night thanks to you.

A panicked look crossed my face. Please stay out of my head, I croaked. It’s not safe in here…

Luna nodded. “We can remember everything we did as the Nightmare, and indeed remember our travels to your mind. We … worry for you from what we have seen. We had often wondered what goes on in thy mind…”

Nothing that I want to be a part of… Watch. My head tilted to the side. I am in Misery [Reses Puffs! Reses Puffs!] There ain’t nobody who can comfort me! [Eat ‘em up, eat ‘em up, eat ‘em up eat ‘em up!] My head straightened as an electroswing version of the Cantina Song from Star Wars began to play. My head tilted to the other side. The sounds of flames, evil laughter, and the tortured screams of the damned.

But mostly, I hear this, I concluded. Tock-tick tock-tick, tock-tick tock-tick, tock-tick tock-tick…Luna covered her ears. A ticking clock shouldn’t have been that overwhelmingly loud. I find patterns of four comforting, so I suppose that’s my brain trying to be kind and calming me down while also being cruel and reminding me how horribly temporary everything is, I finished with a hollow grin.

“So, thou hast not changed as much as we had hoped,” Luna concluded. “Thy wings are a recent addition.”

I nodded. Not by my choice, they just happened, and I cannot get rid of them, as with this, I finished, holding up a right paw. I do enjoy them though, though bright lights can be painful with this many eyes.

Luna nodded at that. “We can still remember when thou showed us the face thou wast born with.

At her insistence, I had explained to a young Luna what a “hoo-men” was, even showing her the face I’d been born with. I wasn’t overly fond of it.

I took a bite of the cake. Hey, it really is good! I should leave you to your duties, but I won’t leave you alone again. After all, “I love you” means “You’re never ever, ever gettin’ rid of me!” I said with a bright grin. Seeing Luna’s expression, I sighed. I was quoting “Waitress,” I try to avoid stalking. Have a good eventide! I disappeared.

The next morning as I walked into work, the door to the staff room burst open and to my shock I got literally lassoed into the room. Curtain Call spat the rope out. Everypony who worked at the school was there.

“Don’t make us use your stash of truth serum!” the Ponish professor shouted.

He held out a small potion bottle labeled “Truth Serum.” I rolled my eyes. “That’s vinegar I labeled truth serum as a joke. And you’ve been through my stuff?!” I growled.

The assembled teachers backed away quickly, knowing that touching my stuff without my permission tended to set me off.

Curtain Call sighed. “Are you Arachnos? Because I saw what you turned into before you flew away,” she said pointedly. “And after a very sleepless night, I got the rest of us together to try and figure out what you are, and …” She held out a scroll. “An obscure version of the legend of Discord had it.”

I nodded. I would change into that, but that form is 12 feet tall. I’d punch a hole in the ceiling, and having done that before, it hurts. But yes, the name I’m best known by in Equestria is Arachnos the Weaver. The lasso uncoiled itself from around me, transformed into a ball python, and curled around my neck as the rest of the teachers gasped. I like you all too much to try and gaslight you or mess with your memories, but does anypony else know? They all shook their heads. I sighed. Small mercies in this day of smartphones. Please keep it that way, otherwise everypony will start asking me to solve all of their problems for them. There’s a reason I don’t act like a god. If you’ll all excuse me, I have a class to get ready for. I stalked out of the room.

“Why would he bluff being the Weaver? Besides, you just saw him do a bit of transmutation without a horn, and he made it look effortless.”

“I … think Arac- Maroon wouldn’t want to be treated any differently. The being who invented magic got a job at the nation’s premier school of magic … as an Earth Pony. What does that tell you?”

“He’d rather be the target of racism than have ponies fawning all ov-? Ooooh…” It had finally clicked.

“So, we’re just not supposed to acknowledge the fact that the Potions Professor is God?”

“A god who chose to have a day job. You’ve seen what he’s like when he’s managed to get himself fired, do you really want to take it away from him?”

“It helps Arachnos to have a reason to get out of bed in the morning, yes,” a new voice cut in.

“Princess Celestia!” The teachers bowed to the new arrival. “At ease, my little ponies,” she said with a smile.

Celestia nodded. “I knew Maroon was Arachnos the day I hired him. He’s … not exactly capable of subtlety. To clarify, he is rather insistent that he’s not a God, he prefers the term ‘Demiurge.’ Arachnos is frighteningly powerful, but he has pointed out limitations he has an actual God wouldn’t.”

“It amused me to do so,” Celestia said. Princesses did not have shit-eating grins, but her smile was wide and very mischievous. “And I knew from experience that he is actually quite gifted at potions. You couldn’t call Arachnos ‘mentally stable’ to his face on one of his good days, but he means well. He’s mostly … self-harming in his mind. I’ve only worried about him actually hurting somecreature a few times. He’s an old, dear friend, though I don’t think he knows that at times. His son and I…” Celestia paused. “We weren’t lovers by any means, but with hindsight, we did absolutely love each other, in our own ways. Even if we didn’t know it at the time. As you pointed out, this job gives Arachnos structure and stability, something that he desperately needs. Though I get the feeling he’s hoping to retire soon. I do hope he finds something else to fill his day…”

Celestia pulled herself out of her musings. “Arachnos is partly responsible for the reason I’m here today. May I introduce my sister, Luna, Princess of the Night and Moon, and the Guardian of Dreams?” Celestia motioned for the younger Alicorn to come into the room, and Luna did, a bit hesitantly. “Luna’s been away for a bit, but I’m happy to announce that my sister has returned! I wanted to show her what I’ve been up to in her absence. The school is one of my greatest prides and joys, and I expect you all to make her feel welcome.” The last sentence was said with a meaningful glance at the rest of the staff. They nodded.

Celestia gave her sister the grand tour before ending it in the basement. She felt a slight shaking through her hooves. “Uh, oh.” The lights were flickering, never a good sign.

Celestia threw open the door to my office and her jaw dropped. I was levitating and slamming back and forth between the front and back of the room. Luckily, there weren’t any potions I was in danger of knocking down and accidentally mixing.

“ARACHNOS, STOP HURTING YOURSELF! … I should put that on a t-shirt,” Celestia grumbled.

I dropped to the floor a minute later, miniature books flying around my head making tweeting noises. “Ow, ow, ow…”

“Anxiety attack won. I just … I’ll be OK, just give me a moment… Luckily, after more than 20 years working with them, I can trust my coworkers to not disclose who and what I am. They’re … good ponies.”

Celestia’s eyes widened at the sight before her. The Ram himself was sitting in my office, giving her a glare.

Seemingly out of hammerspace, Celestia whipped out a spider amulet, which crumbled to dust.

Grogar’s glare increased. Again, using my own holy symbol against me is just going to annoy me at best…

I am Arachnos! I said, holding up my red right forehoof and wiggling the fingers ominously. Though if you want to be linear about it, Arachnos is me since I wore that mask first on this world. But yes, I still hold the title of “most evil being to walk the world,” since I brought evil with me when I came to this universe.

I shrugged. Ponies were not always as harmonious as they are now. There is no way the Three Tribes would have united on their own. But, if you give them a horrific threat to unite against… I let that hang. It did wonders for helping you to realize you are all ponies, at the end of the day. If it helps, the stories of Grogar’s evil are exaggerated, often by me when I was Grogar, but I was definitely evil. And quite good at it, actually. That worries me… I have to live with what I did forever. You don’t. I am what parents use to frighten their children into good behavior, I finished with a strained grin that looked especially scary on the face of this world’s version of the devil.

I shifted back into Maroon. “So being able to remember what I did in crystal clarity no matter how long it has been, I can’t think of myself as ‘good.’ I hope I’m not evil, but I am definitely a shade of grey. I am not fit to judge myself; I dislike myself too much.”

I turned to Luna. “Hello, Lune-Bug,” I said with a smile. “With Celestia’s permission, I have been masquerading as the Potions Professor at her school.”

“You’ve been the Potions Professor. Or do I need to take back the salary I’ve been paying you?” Celestia said with a teasing grin. “Weaver knows you don’t need it. Oh. It’s strange to say that phrase to your face.”

“… It’s a big enough universe. I’ve absolutely had to do things I’m not proud of to keep some worlds spinning. Or … stop some worlds spinning. Though I haven’t killed nearly as many creatures as I let everyone think I have. But being the monster in the dark works better on some worlds than being the angel. I try to avoid it though unless it’s time for a last resort.”

“One of the reasons you took this job is you knew Dusk would be a student and would one day be a wielder of one of the Elements,” Celestia said. It wasn’t remotely a question. I nodded. She sighed. “Your lack of ethics in manipulating a foal for your own ends, noble as they were, aside, you should tell Dusk and Spike who and what you really are. And sooner rather than later. They deserve to know. And I certainly used him for my own ends as well…”

“All right. But I won’t enjoy it, and they will likely enjoy it even less, even if I’m nice about it. You know how I get about it. I also refuse to do it today; I left a whole load of laundry in the wash at home and my mane needs cleaning.”

Celestia chuckled at that. “All right, Arachnos. Just do it this year, all right? I know that’s a rush order for you…” I nodded at her order.

“Nice to see you, Luna, I hope to see more of you in the near future.” Luna worked out the meaning and nodded. With that, the two Alicorns left me to continue their day and their tour.

I understand what you have told me of your time as Grogar, and your reasons were logical, though your actions were extreme. Looking back on what I know of that time, I can absolutely believe you wore Grogar as a “mask” as you always put it.

I … am not comfortable thinking of … Him existing. As you put it, it has been three thousand years and yet most ponies are still afraid to even speak the name Grogar.

It is not a time I enjoy thinking about, let alone speaking of. It was quite easy for … me to conquer the fledgling nations that would one day become Equestria. I am capable of feats of magic and evil most ponies can’t conceive of.

I was absolutely a tyrant. I wanted to make certain that it was known that Grogar was a Dark Lord and a threat to all of Equestria. I caused as much misery and suffering as my conscience would allow. I created monsters that I remain proud of to this day, and it has been much longer than a mere three thousand years for me since I last wore that face. I let them loose upon an unprepared world.

The sun rarely shown in those days, and there were shortages of food. The Three Tribes continued their pointless infighting, even as some of them starved.

And yet … sometimes a farmer would find his crops unexpectedly bountiful. Or a village would discover an ore that had not existed there the previous day. I worked in secret to undo my own work while maintaining my image as pure evil.

I invented necromancy, which on Equus is considered extremely taboo. I actually have a degree in it from a planet where it is not a forbidden form of magic. Necromancy itself is not evil, merely what you do with it. As Grogar, I would raise the dead of an army to make the corpses fight their former comrades, which is absolutely an act of evil.

I have killed, but never in my time as Grogar. I would simply imprison, curse, or transform my enemies instead. I always dealt non-lethal blows, seeking to disable, not destroy. It amuses me to remember the number of failed assassination attempts and attempts to overthrow me, until Gusty the Great came along. You know what happened from there.

Yet even that was not enough, and eventually I created the Windigos and unleased them. Despite what Ponies think of them, they are not actually evil. They merely feed on hatred and other negative emotions in order to reduce them. They do freeze their food, but you refrigerate a cake to keep it fresh for the same reason. They’re actually an endangered species these days…

The peace and harmony that unified Equestria has enjoyed the past two thousand years can be attributed to my actions, which were purely motivated by an attempt to unite Ponykind. A common enemy seemed to be the best thing to cause them to unite against. I cannot say it was worth it, or that the ends justified the means. But that is why I did what I did. I caused stories of my acts of evil to be exaggerated, to become the monster lurking in the dark all Ponies would fear.

In truth, I cannot tell you that Grogar is dead. He is writing this letter. He is a part of me, and he never “died,” he merely was not needed anymore. He is one of the darker parts of my psyche, and I truthfully enjoyed being feared and hated at the time. I always figured I would make a better villain than hero, and sadly, I was correct.

These days, I do not enjoy being feared or hated, and I look back on what I did with hatred for myself. I know that if I needed to, or if I wanted to, I could likely do it again. Or even worse acts.

Yet I genuinely do not believe that Grogar will be needed again. I enjoy scaring others, but not hurting them.

Forgive the long-winded explanation, but it is a lot to unwrap. I do not know how this will change your opinion of me, but I know it will. If you hate Grogar, you hate me. If you like me, you like the parts of Grogar that silently helped. We are not different people, I am me.

I sighed and sent it off using my own version of Dragon-fire, not expecting a reply right away. It understandably took Celestia some time to process my revelation. Yet I hadn’t been forbidden from my visits with Luna, which Celestia clearly knew about.

When the Solar Princess finally did invite me back for a quick lunch, she didn’t bring it up, and she didn’t treat me any differently. She actually spent most of the lunch allowing me to carefully read Dusk’s multitude of letters detailing his adventures. I laughed uproariously at most of them.

Celestia seemed to be quietly letting me know that she accepted me, all of me. For that I was grateful.

As I walked through the gardens, a voice interrupted my thoughts. Literally, as it was being relayed telepathically.

Hmph. Well … I suppose that’s all right. She was always more fun the Celestia. I responded with a flash of agreement, not wanting to use words. Of course, it means another Alicorn could try and stop me. And I felt those blasted Elements bond to new ponies as well…

They do have new Bearers, yes. I don’t think Celestia or Luna will face you unless you force them.

I sighed. I won’t step in unless it’s absolutely necessary for me to do so. But if I have to, I will. Don’t make me fight you, Discord.

Yes, but I don’t want to fight you. I would rather let you “win” if you thought it would make you happy for a bit. Despite what you think, you tearing Equestria apart won’t make you genuinely happy. And I do love you more than the Ponies. They are descendants of my creations, and in some cases friends, but you are my favorite son.

I actually preferred speaking without using my mouth, but the problem with telepathy is that emotions can leak through no matter how careful you are. Discord’s surprise flooded my mind. He managed to close it off.

Even locked out of Equestria, I could have killed you, Discord. A brief mental flash of snow and ink-black blood before I yanked the thought back.. But I knew that this would be punishment enough. It’s almost over.

I pray I won’t have to try. I sent Discord something he had missed more than he would let on, all of the sensory information I was experiencing just from being outside.

Mentally, Discord was trying not to cry at the feel of the sun on his fur, the sound of birdsong, the smell of the flowers and grass. He gave the mental equivalent of a sniffle. Thank you … for all the stories and gossip the last thousand years. It helped. But … I’ve been wanting to turn this place upside down for the last thousand years.

I chuckled. I’ll have some matches ready to pass you. Equestria could use a bit of shaking up. But want the consequences of what you want, Son. See you soon.

I thought about what Celestia had told me, and decided to reveal myself to Spike first, since I had more of a connection with him than with Dusk. That way if Dusk had a, uh … huh. The fandom had correctly coined the phrase “Twilighting” for whenever Twilight Sparkle had had a panic attack, but “Dusking” didn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Anyway, that way if Dusk had a massive freakout, his two brothers would be in the know and could back me up.

Despite the bit of unexpected gender-flipping, Dusk Shine was in fact a great deal like Twilight Sparkle. Neither of them could ever remotely be called a morning Pony, but they luckily both had a dragon slav-, er, “Number One Assistant” to help with the morning chores.

Spike was actually well-paid in comics, gems, and had a sizeable allowance, but it was definitely more of a servant’s relationship than a sibling’s, he often grumbled during his inner monologuing. Still, it was a beautiful morning out, and he’d really gotten to enjoy his new home’s daily farmer’s market, something that definitely hadn’t existed in Canterlot. Honestly, the food was just generally better here…

As he walked from stall to stall, Spike was only slightly surprised to hear bluegrass music from nearby. Spike joined the crowd of ponies and ducked and wove his way to the front. He was surprised to see a familiar Maroon Earth Pony on the banjo, fingers flying across the strings and eyes closed, lost in the music. When the song was done, the crowd cheered.

Spike was nervous upon seeing Maroon, he’d been sure that he’d caused a massive explosion in the professor’s house one day, even blowing a hole in the pony. But both the teacher and the living room were fine, so it must have been a dream…

Maroon waved to him and made his way over, Caramel Apple taking over his spot in the impromptu band. “That was … fun!” the Earth Pony said. “Hi, Spike. How are you?”

“I’m OK. What are you doing here? Sorry, that was rude,” Spike added quickly.

I shrugged. “It’s actually not that far a distance for me, and this is something that needs to be done face to face. May I buy you brunch?” Spike’s eyes lit up at the bribe of food, and soon we were each munching on a breakfast burrito. Spike was amazed at the level of spice I could handle; he was the only creature he knew who could take that much…

“So,” I said, not sure where to begin… “You remember when you tried out a new spell in my living room and caused a small nuclear explosion?”

I shook my head. “No. You did blow quite the hole in my house and in me. Which is fine, I can easily repair both. Not sure how to say this … have you ever heard of Arachnos the Weaver?”

Spike nodded. “The creator of the universe and everything in it, according to Pony legends. Also, a jerk, from what I’ve read.”

“A-heh. … Uh. Soooooo…” I gave the young dragon a nervous grin. “I’m Arachnos. I’ve just been playing the part of Maroon Flask since a little before you were born.”

Spike started dying laughing. “You are NOT God! The universe isn’t that badly run!”

“Because I don’t actually run it, I just trim the worst parts out of existence…”

I sighed. “Every time someone asks me to prove it, I wind up scarring them for life.” My eyes narrowed. “I am not doing something like tearing the planet apart and putting it back together, because no matter how careful I am, at least I will always be able to feel the cracks even if no one else can. It itches in my brain.” I racked my brain. “What’s your current favorite comic?”

I nodded. Spike watched in growing shock as I reached up and punched the air, and the air itself cracked. A glowing hole appeared where my hoof had connected. I reached into it and withdrew a single comic book issue, the portal quickly sealing up.

I passed the comic to Spike. His eyes widened at the issue. “Did you just … punch a hole in space and time to get me a comic issue that won’t be released for a month?”

“Uh, thanks,” Spike said. “That was … nice of you. Also, definitely beyond normal magic… I still don’t think that you’re Arachnos though…”

I chuckled. “Fair. What feat may I perform that will convince you that this is genuine and not a symptom of my insanity?”

Spike thought it over. “Bring my comic to life?” he asked with a hopeful grin.

“Nah, Unicorns can already do that. Besides, Batmane isn’t the most survivable comic world depending on the issue, and the current run is taking a pretty dark turn...”

“Sir, I am a nerd, first class. Of course! OK, why don’t I do … this?” I asked with a grin.

Spike noticed the light changing through the windows of the diner. Cautiously he walked out, and his jaw dropped.

“Welcome to the Equestrian Capital on Mares,” I said cheerfully. “The Maretians initiated First Contact roughly a hundred years ago, and the citizens of Equus have slowly been moving to the new city in search of new opportunities.”

Spike stared at the crystal spires and lush vegetation of a planet he knew contained no life at all. He stepped back and bumped into something.

Spike glanced up to see my liontaur Draconequus from. I didn’t say anything, and kept my teeth hidden, but I did give a small friendly wave. Spike recognized the form as the thing that had had a sandwich with him the night of Nightmare Moon’s return. I snapped my fingers, and we were back in normal Ponyville. Well, as normally as Ponyville got…

The Doctor walked up to the Maroon Stallion he recognized, rubbing his temples. He chuckled. “I would appreciate it if in future you didn’t warp reality on that scale quite that close to me, Weyan’a, I can only keep so many conflicting histories in my head at once.”

The Doctor glanced at Spike and chuckled. “My sympathies. Weyan’a is … interesting. And sometimes dangerous to be around but … he usually means well.”

The Doctor chuckled. “In the language of my people, it means ‘He Who Fashioned Starlight. It is one of our titles for the Weaver.” The Doctor glanced at me. “There’s really no way to get them back?”

I sighed. “There is, actually, and it would be stupidly easy, if not for the way they wiped themselves out. I’d just need a bit of stasis art, but since they never existed, that’s all gone as well. The last time I checked, I don’t have a friend who lives outside of time and who would collect something like frozen moments. I’m so very sorry, Doctor.”

The Doctor nodded, having anticipated such a reply. “Still, at least I’m here, and for that I am … usually grateful,” he said with a sad smile. “It’s nice to see you again Spike, I hope you’ll like living here.” He chuckled. “This town is bonkers at times, no doubt due to him,” he said, pointing at me. I could tell he meant it teasingly. “A good day to you both!” the Doctor wished us before trotting off.

I chuckled. “Well from his and my perspective you’re all the aliens… Oh! I have three gifts for you.” I held out a slip of paper. “My cell phone number, if you ever need or want to text, though I can certainly chatter on a bit.” With growing horror Spike watched me pull out one of my teeth. It shifted into something resembling a shark’s tooth. I quickly performed a very complicated spell, binding myself to Spike as a glowing circle of rainbow runes surrounded the tooth before it and the tooth disappeared. “Neither me nor any of my children will be able to physically harm you now. Though there are other ways to injure that spell didn’t cover…” I pulled out a very old piece of parchment. “Lastly, and with great regret…”

Spike glanced at what appeared to be a very complex summoning ritual. “Please burn that the minute you’ve memorized it.” He saw the venom in my gaze at the page. “That’s the summoning spell Midas used to trap me. Yes, that Midas. It creates a summoning circle that forcibly yanks me into it and then traps me there until you give me permission to leave. Even your death wouldn’t free me. I destroyed all of Midas’s work on it, but it has since been recreated on other worlds, so I’ve had to learn to live with it. I react … badly to it being used, so please only use it in an emergency. Also, maybe don’t give it to Dusk just yet… I trust you to use it better than him…”

“Don’t mention it. Ever.” Spike shivered at my tone. I sighed. “Sorry. I just … don’t like creatures knowing who and what I am. It … causes issues for them and for me. If you are willing, I would be happy to continue to teach you more about Dragons and Sparksouls.”

I nodded. “I have some rather good memories in the Dragonlands. Despite what Ponies think, Dragons really aren’t very bad at all, just a bit rough around the edges.”

Spike gave me something almost resembling puppy eyes. “Could … you maybe find out who my parents were and why I wound up in Equestria?”

I chuckled. “You’re surprisingly good at that for being a reptile. … I’ll do what I can… No promises, I don’t like making them.”

Spike spent his free time the next day examining the spell I’d given him. He was surprised to find that parts had been crossed out and re-written in small block print with annotations and comments. “Did he … correct a spell he hates?” Spike got out a magnifying glass and squinted through it. He knew enough about magic to realized … “He made it more efficient… Why?”

While it absolutely had parental controls turned on, Spike had proven himself responsible enough to have his own phone, and his family was grateful for that in case of an emergency. “Weird area code…” the young Dragon muttered as he punched in my number to his contact list.

Hey.

What you miss me already? Has it even been 12 hours yet? It’s hard to tell…

About 15.

XD.

What do I call you?

Maroon? Arachnos?

Eh, it’s a big enough universe and I have a lot of names across it. As long as I know you’re not being purposefully insulting, it doesn’t really matter to me, the faces and the names are all me at the end of the day.

Faces?

Oh, yeah. I call them “Masks” although they’re more of a full-body costume I wear to blend in.

Spike was sent a series of slightly blurry selfies. Maroon, Arachnos, a grey Minotaur with starry eyes and gold horns in a red toga giving him a peace sign with his tongue sticking out. Spike had never seen a minotaur with fangs, though he looked more goofy than scary.

Sometimes I pick them, sometimes the culture I’m trying to interact with does. I’m a very weird goat on one planet actually, named Loki. That form wasn’t my choice at all. Oh! If you’d been raised in the Dragonlands, this is what I’d look like when interacting with you!

You OK?

Yeah. I just … forgot how small the room I was in is, kind of broke it and wound up hitting my heads. Also crushed my phone. I’m fine now, and everything’s fixed. Here’s an image from an old book, since I wouldn’t have been able to fit in the frame anyway.

With a ping, a photo of a yellowed manuscript page showed Spike an ancient illustration of a five-headed dragon the size of a mountain. It was spitting fire, lightning, darkness, and ice at a cowering group of ponies.

For the record, that never happened! It’s a book on dragons written by ponies in a more prejudiced era.

Spike had a very basic grasp of Olde Ponish, though nowhere near on his brothers’ level. He squinted at the name at the bottom of the page. “Kal’ez … I can’t begin to pronounce that…”

So, you’ve always been a god?

Spike had not a clue what he was looking at. Another Minotaur? No, the head was all wrong.

Uh. Why did you send me a shaved monkey in a t-shirt and glasses?

Very faintly as though it were coming from the next room and underwater, Spike heard someone laugh so hard they began to wheeze and choke before they suddenly stopped. He could have sworn the sun shone a bit brighter for a few seconds.

YOU’RE DEAD?!!

I was a very boring, unremarkable person before I died and found myself in what would be your universe.

Got granted God-LIKE power, but I am FAR from an actual god. I would hope gods are more mentally stable than I…

I’m basically just a very powerful immortal reality warper. Not a god. Huge difference, even if it doesn’t seem like it. I have shamelessly pretended to be a god at times to make things less complicated.

I am not all-powerful, I have eons of knowledge, but I’m not all-knowing. I can be killed, though I always come back. …Eventually. As the spell I gave you shows, it’s even possible to trap me against my will, though it is difficult. Definitely beyond your average Unicorn’s capabilities.

Sorry… Must be running up a heck of a texting bill. Would snail-mail work better? I can still send it instantly, a bit like Dragon-fire mail.

Probably.

A scroll appeared in a flash of rainbow fire. In neat block print were the words:

Spike grabbed a quill and scrawled, Yeah, I see it.

The ink faded before my reply faded in. Great! You can keep the scroll. It’s a bit slower, but it’s free… Can’t do pictures though… Any other questions?

What do you look like without a mask?

It’s not something you can see with physical eyes, and it would scare you if you could…

Oh.

Uh. Weird question, I know you’re not a God now, but … is there an afterlife?

Actually, yes! I’ve done a bit of necromancy to talk to people who have crossed over. I’ve never seen it myself, but I’ve been assured that it’s a very nice afterlife.

You … you do NECROMANCY?!

Yes, I do necromancy. Mostly use it to talk to the dead, but I have absolutely raised undead minions and other evil stuff with it. It’s really just another branch of magic, no more good or evil than what you do with it. I consider it a form of true recycling. Beats being fungus food…

IDK what to even think of that…

Uh …

Oh, is there a Hell?

Hell is something you carry around with you, not a place you go, and you make your own Hell brick by brick. You’re fine. 😊 Oh, am I holding you up?

Yeah, I’m supposed to be reorganizing the shelves. Third time this week.

There was a flash of magic, and the bookshelves were all organized perfectly according to Dusk’s preferred system.

Spike spent a few moments chuckling at that. The scroll then gave a light ping sound as one more message faded into existence.

Oh! Sorry, don’t mean to give you extra homework but if you are willing to, could I hear your version of the adventures and misadventures you and your friends get up to? It doesn’t have to be every week or every adventure, just whenever you’re able and willing. I’m just very interested in your side of the stories.

OK. Why me?

I like you. You’re smarter than you know, with some of the common sense Dusk and I lack. Dusk needs you more than he knows.

I’m one of the only friends you have, aren’t I?

Ha. Yes. I am … difficult to get along with. I’m a taker, though I prefer to give, and my personality doesn't win many popularity contests. So, for me to have a genuine friend, somecreature who can see past me to me is … a rare and special gift. And if he likes Ogres and Oubliettes, that’s just icing on the cake.

You’re not as bad as you think you are. And don’t say, “If you knew the real me.” I do. You hide him, but … he’s actually a pretty good not-pony.

I was in the Canterlot marketplace trying and failing to avoid being stepped on. I didn’t like crowds, they gave me panic attacks at the best of times. Unfortunately, my magically conjured supplies didn’t always satisfy me, which meant I had to go outside.

“Excuse me, I-” *WHAP. “Please just let me-” *SMACK. “Hey, why don’t you watch where you’re-” *WHAM.

With a sound of screeching breaks, the crowd ground to a halt, a walkway parting through the sea of bodies.

I sighed. Thank you… I trotted through the crowd of staring ponies, eyes fixed firmly on the sidewalk as I ground my teeth.

A familiar voice broke me out of my thoughts. “Wow. Can you teach me that power?”

I chuckled. “Not really, no. It’s pretty unethical for me to use it, actually. I just hate crowds.” Shinning nodded. “How are you and your loved ones?”

“Oh.” Shining sighed. “Actually, Cadence and I are…” He didn’t finish the sentence.

Shining sighed again. “I just don’t know if she loves me or not,” he huffed.

“Oy, vey… Kid, you two are in frankly dangerous amounts of love. Love that’s strong enough to fight monsters.”

“Then why doesn’t she ever have time for me anymore? Her last few texts felt like somepony else wrote them!”

“She’s young, but she is a Princess, that’s like two full-time jobs. Shining, I swear, she loves you more than can be put into words. Don’t let a lapse in communication mess up a great relationship!”

Teenagers… I’m surrounded by teenagers! I grumbled. I then sighed. I’m very sorry…

The horrified screams made Shining turn and look, and his jaw dropped when he saw what I’d turned into. I was apologizing in advance… I lunged.

Cadence was silently praying this meeting would end before she had to do something like jump out the window.

A plume of rainbow smoke flew in the window and a scroll appeared in her hoof. It was a message made out of cut and pasted magazine letters.

“I have something of yours. If you want him back, come and find me in Central Park.

“Wait, what?” A lock of cyan-colored mane fell out of the scroll. Cadence knew the scent of that conditioner anywhere.

To the assembled advisor’s shock, the young Princess forcibly tore a nearby spear off the wall and swan dived out the window, her wings catching her at the last second as she sped towards the park.

There was a shimmer in the air near all around the edge of the park, like a heatwave. Cadence noticed the crowd and the concerned guardsstallions.

“Everypony was just teleported out of the park, and then this barrier happened. We can’t get through!”

Come on in, the water’s great! a voice called, seeming to address Cadence directly.

Cadence stepped towards the main entrance of the park. She could pass through the barrier with no issue … and stepped into a blizzard. She shivered at the sudden temperature change. Dark clouds prevented any sunlight from reaching the ground.

Cadence was especially sensitive to other ponies’ emotions, and there was a pervasive sorrow in the air that made her shiver as much as the storm.

“I’m here!” the Princess of Love shouted at the storm. The only response was the wind. Cadence set out into the howling storm.

As she walked, Cadence spotted sculptures that hadn’t been there the day before. Some were made of ice; some were made of a strange black crystal. The sculptures were of couples, mostly ponies, but some combinations of other species. There was even a griffon throuple. All of the creatures were in poses of happiness and delight.

Cadence had to genuinely admire the artistry, though she had no idea why they were there.

Maybe I’m trying to help you in a very twisted way. Maybe I’m just jealous. Or perhaps it’s just Tuesday and I’m bored. Ah, company…

The voice sent shivers down Cadence’s spine. She found what she was looking for. Shining Armor was strapped to a table in … was that a Rube Goldberg Death Machine? Seriously? All she had to do was … Cadence kicked a chute out of the way that would hopefully stop the entire process.

Arachnos. Well, he was as terrifying to look at as the stories she’d heard said. Why would he foalnap the Captain of the Royal Guard? Everything Cadence had heard said that Arachnos was more or less an ally of Equestria.

Cadence blinked and he was gone. Behind you, that horrible voice said softly, almost like he was trying to not spook her.

Arachnos’s mouth full of shark teeth were on full display. It almost looked like a smile, but he was clearly baring his teeth. His eyes were inky black voids.

He was effortlessly hovering without using his wings, slowly circling her. She wasn’t sure if it was to intimidate her or to make him a moving target.

This time Arachnos was actually smiling, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement. Do you own him?

Cadence snarled and charged. In a blur, Arachnos reached down and grabbed the spear, driving it through his neck.

He laughed. You can’t kill me, but I can turn you inside out with a snap of my fingers… He brought one of his paws up in a pre-snapping gesture to emphasize the point.

Cadence was very good at reading ponies. Under the bared teeth and intimidation, Arachnos was … afraid of her? It was subtle, but it was there. He just stared at her, daring her to move.

Arachnos chuckled. He then clutched his sides and began to howl with laughter. Blood began to stream from the eyes in his face and wings and Cadence was worried he was suffering from a ruptured artery before she realized he was just laughing so hard he was crying. He laughed like this was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

He then drew the spear out of his neck and turned to address Shining. She came to rescue you by fighting me with a sharp stick. Only love makes you that crazy, and that damn stupid. Still, worse to have never loved at all. Arachnos turned back to Cadence with a much friendlier grin. Nicely done. Good work stopping the death trap, too! Next time, please just talk to each other before you get me involved…

Cadence was sitting in a café with Shining and … Maroon Flask? Why was she with a teacher? Correction, being treated to lunch by a random, very scary teacher.

Maroon took a sip of his tea and glanced at her. In Arachnos’s voice, he said, I know it hurts you, and I’m sorry, but would you mind taking a proper look at my aura? And try widening your view a bit this time…

Cadence squinted. It was painful, a negative aura, like a black hole. That meant the pony was pure evil. What did “Widen your view” mean?

Cadence expanded her senses a bit and gasped. She’d only been seeing part of it. It was huge! And it was … twisted around in on itself, like it was in the fetal position. Cadence couldn’t even see the edges of it, it took up her entire field of view. It was a horrible, twisted thing, turned in and collapsing on itself. It was like some huge monster digging its claws into itself as it gave itself a hug.

She walked over and slapped Maroon. Shining’s jaw dropped. Cadence wrung some life back into her hoof. “That is for foalnapping Shinning because he apparently needs reassurance I love him,” she said with a growl at Shinning who shrank in his seat. Cadence then wrapped Maroon in a tight hug. Maroon’s jaw dropped this time. “And this is for my not understanding. You’re not evil, you’re just in pain. Who hurt you?”

Maroon chuckled. It was a long time ago. I should be over it by now, but I’m not. Uh, thank you. You slap a lot nicer than my mother did… and there goes my mouth again… Uh… Maroon just disappeared.

Shining sighed. “He does that. He runs away from confrontation, even though it’s mostly just with himself. And now you know, Maroon Flask is actually Arachnos the Weaver. Explains a lot, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t think the fact you got him to foalnap you means you’re getting out of this,” Cadence said as she folded her forelegs and glared. “I’m much worse than he is…”

I was surprised that Spike did indeed occasionally write me about the shenanigans the Mane Six got up to. It wasn’t as regular as Dusk’s letters to Celestia, but he was rather busy, and unlike Dusk they weren’t required. I loved reading his exploits of rescuing Elusive from the Diamond Dogs, only to discover the stallion had things well in hoof. Spike absolutely embellished one or ten details, but it was like reading an epic poem in letter form. I liked Diamond Dogs, I made a note to go check up on them … while carefully avoiding taking physical form. My Mask for Diamond Dogs tended to spook the poor canines. In their mythology, I was a fairly demonic housecat…

I usually wound up dying laughing at the young Dragon’s version of events, and Celestia enjoyed “comparing notes” with me.

To correlate to the show, it was roughly Season One, and while events didn’t happen in the exact order the episodes had aired, events were almost identical.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were terrorizing Ponyville with their infectious enthusiasm, and Ponyville had been nearly devoured by a swarm of Parasprites. The Great and Powerful Trixie had accidentally unleashed an Ursa Minor on the town before fleeing in disgrace. Poor Butterscotch nearly had heart failure when he thought he’d killed Philomena. Speaking from centuries of experience, that bird was a menace…

“Uh, I get you want to apologize, but did the rest of us need to come with you?” Rainbow Blitz asked.

Dusk rolled his eyes. “I feel like we all owe Zecora our apologies for, well, being racist, if I have to be honest,” he sighed. He brightened up. “Besides, I have so many questions for her!”

“No, I get that, but did we really need to come into the Everfree with you?” Rainbow said, definitely not looking nervous. “I don’t get why anycreature would choose to live here…”

“Apparently there are lots of rare reagents that can only be found in the Everfree!” Dusk said with an excited grin. “My old potions professor would love it here!”

“Would he also love the monsters?” Elusive asked with a slightly snarky tone.

Dusk’s brow furrowed. “Actually, yes, he would. The Everfree is exactly the kind of biome Professor Flask would design if he could…”

Its lower half was a lion, the upper half was a bit like a white-furred Minotaur with six arms and four large black and white wings full of extra eyes. It’s head was vaguely goat-like with a mouth of razor sharp teeth and large fangs sticking out the sides. It had 3 horns, two of which were long, black, and curved back, and the third in the center of its forehead was white, grew at sharp angles, and was riddled with holes that made it look diseased. Its eyes were a slowly moving view of space.

It was digging its claws into one of its arms hard enough to draw golden glowing blood, and its expression was severely distressed.

With a yell, Applejack charged forwards to defend his friends, leaping up to kick the monster in the chest. It disappeared in less than a second. Applejack yelled as he went sailing through the empty space where it had been, until his motion was gently halted and he was set on the ground.

Applejack turned around. The creature had its wings expanded to make itself look bigger, but its expression was terrified.

A portal opened in Rainbow’s way, which he flew through. “What the – Hey!”

The creature moved the portals it had conjured so that they were vertically oriented instead of horizontally in a space off to the side. That cyan blur endlessly falling through them must have been Rainbow… Dusk calculated quickly and realized that the Pegasus was falling at twice his terminal velocity, which shouldn’t have been physically possible…

The creature could do magic, and casually violate the laws of physics without breaking a sweat. That was definitely reason to stop attacking it. Especially since all it had done was approach them.

The creature turned with a loud snarl to see Butterscotch. The yellow Pegasus was gently hovering near chest height of the monster, trying to make himself look as small and nonthreatening as possible, something Butterscotch had a lot of practice at.

The creature’s head tilted to the right in apparent confusion. It closed all of its eyes and just spent a few moments breathing, trying to bring itself out of fight or flight. There was a flash of dark light and Rainbow was safely on the ground, his eyes rolling together from dizziness.

Slowly, carefully, Butterscotch crept forward an inch at a time. His outstretched fingers made contact with the monster’s chest.

Its eyes shot open, and it let out a snarling shout at the physical contact. Apparently, it did not like to be unexpectedly touched.

To the group’s surprise Butterscotch held his ground. “I’m sorry,” the Pegasus whispered. Butterscotch didn’t seem to be apologizing for the touching, or even for his friend’s actions. He was apologizing for something about the creature his instincts had picked up on.

It blinked. Wurf? It was surprised but didn’t object to Butterscotch’s actions.

Butterscotch continued to pet it. It began to let out a deep, rumbling purr. It bent down and gently began to bat Butterscotch with its head, letting out a needy sounding whine, taking care to not poke the Pegasus with its horns.

Butterscotch chuckled and began to scratch behind its ears. “Who’s a good boy?” he cooed.

Butterscotch chuckled and booped the monster. “You are!” the Pegasus proclaimed.

A few drops of red blood poured from the corner of its eyes, and it gave Butterscotch a surprised, grateful smile. It brought a paw up and gently stroked Butterscotch’s check letting out another purr. Merf, it said gladly. It then disappeared.

Butterscotch gave a small shrug. “He didn’t seem evil, just scared. We attacked him, not the other way around. Besides, he didn’t actually hurt us…”

The group made their way to Zecora’s cottage. Inside they saw a recently used tea set and a second mug. The mug was extra-extra-large with a spider and skull pattern. Butterscotch knew enough about tea to tell that it was an anxiety reducing blend. At triple strength.

Zecora smiled at the group of stallions. “Ah, hello my friends! I’m glad your fear of me is at an end. I have to say, it’s a delight to have company twice in one day!”

Dusk nodded. “I know you can handle yourself, Zecora, but you should probably be careful the next few days…”

Dusk nodded again. “Actually, yes. I’ve never seen anything like it… Him. He’s part lion, part minotaur, part … something. He’s huge! He’s got the nastiest teeth I’ve ever seen, and red paws on the right side of his body. Three of them!” Zecora chuckled. “What’s funny?”

“Ah, it seems you are not a believer, that was an old friend, Arachnos the Weaver. He drops by sometimes to check up on me, and always loves to share a good cup of tea.”

Zecora gave him a teasing grin. “Quite well, though sometimes the words get stuck. His mind is cruel to him and gives him bad luck. He built my house for free as a gift, as I live on his land, and often work the night shift.”

Zecora nodded. “The Everfree is his retreat, a place like his home, though it has more monsters than he can fit in one tome. A place with no Ponies to say what should be, where nature can roam, wild and free. He built it to relax, as well as to hide. Some things in this place should remain locked inside…”

Zecora continued. “When I was a child, I crossed the wide sea, and the Spider God in disguise did travel with me. In Farasi we practice magic of which Ponies do not approve, but with his guidance, my skills did improve.”

Zecora held up a dead rat. In a flash of green fire, its flesh quickly vanished, and the skeleton sat up and scurried away. “Ponies dislike the revival of the dead, but in Farasi, it has prevented bloodshed. Magic is not black or white, it is what you do with the knowledge that becomes wrong or right.”

Zecora gave Dusk a piercing look. “He wishes to speak with you, young one. He has much to discuss, and you will learn much when he’s done. His appearance is frightening, but then, so is mine, treat him with kindness, and you shall be fine. Listen to him, and teach him in turn, of your future, he has great concern. As an ally, you can have no one more outstanding, though Arachnos can often cause a misunderstanding. His mind is unlike ours; he thinks in strange terms, yet it is because of him our universe turns. He will be waiting nearby to have a chat, if it helps, imagine you are speaking to a large cat.” Zecora nodded towards the door. “I will keep your friends safe until you come back, please help him down from his panic attack.”

Rainbow blinked. “Do you like have these all pre-written on flash cards or something?”

Dusk hesitantly stepped out. He wandered for a bit, not seeing anything resembling airborne frozen water. Eventually he saw a single flake drift by. Dusk glanced down and saw a peacock spider in his path. The spider waved its forelegs a few times with some urgency. Either it was trying to get his attention, it was doing a mating dance, or it was having a very small single-spider rave. Dusk decided it was the former.

The spider scuttled a few feet away and turned back to look at Dusk expectantly. Dusk followed it managing to give the much smaller creature a decent enough lead to show him where it was taking him.

As Dusk followed the colorful arachnid, more and more snow began to blow through the air as the temperature dropped noticeably. The journey ended in front of the entrance to a grove. The spider stopped and waited.

As Dusk entered, he heard singing. It was a fairly nice baritone voice, though it had an odd echoing reverb.

I'm sick of hurting, sick of thinking it's all I do
I break those around me, those spared are very few
But the bright sun is burning, and my sky shines ever blue
Friendships surround me, I'm becoming a part of you
I try my best to block out the screams
But they're haunting me in my dreams
Please break my shackles, I want it to stop.

I've stoked the fire, seen more pain than you can know
The tears of the broken have washed away my soul
Pushed by desire to change the way my stream will flow
Now I've awoken, and I'm taking back control
I try my best to block out the screams
But they're haunting me in my dreams
Please break my shackles, I want it to stop.

The clearing was full of snow, and … lions? No, that was a cheetah and a tiger… It looked like a big cat snow day. And there was the creature that Dusk’s friends had attacked.

Dusk cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. “I’m an agnostic, but should I bow down or something?”

I’d really rather you didn’t… And I’m not a God, so my being understandable does not invalidate your agnosticism, Arachnos said with a smile, keeping his teeth hidden. If I ever meet a God and survive the experience, I’ll let you know. I’m just the oldest and most powerful thing in the universe. There’s a big difference, but not from everycreature else’s perspective. Arachnos gave the unicorn what was meant to be a friendly grin, but with those teeth it was terrifying. Heh. You’re all grown up. It seems like the day before yesterday you hatched Spike, and yesterday you were the insufferable know-it-all who thought my class was a waste of time.

Ah. Let me slip into something less comfortable… Dusk watched in amazement as Arachnos shrank into…

The red stallion gave him another wave. Yes, and I’m also Arachnos. As Celestia said, I can change faces on a whim, but I only really know how to be myself. A worried look crossed his face. I actually started teaching purely because I knew you would one day be a student. I’ve been waiting for you to be born for a long, long time. Luna is … an old friend, and I hoped that you and your friends would one day be the new Bearers of the Elements. So … I … essentially manipulated you down that path, from the sidelines as one of your teachers. I didn’t do much, and I found that I enjoy teaching, but I need to ask your forgiveness.

Maroon chuckled. I’m not all-powerful, and the Elements have sealed away someone I love even more than her. My going against them … ends badly, as they are now tied to the very fabric of this world. And I’m fairly generous, I love making others laugh, I am kind rather than good or nice, I’m loyal to a fault, I am … terminally honest, and I invented magic, yet my mind cannot exist in harmony with itself to answer why I don’t just wield them myself. A thousand years isn’t very long anymore to me, I’m actually a few billion years old right now.

I exist outside of time and can create “save points” like a video game to come back to if I want to wander off in the middle of a conversation and spend a few hundred years doing something else. Around me things like science stop applying. Reality is, sadly, whatever I want it to be at the current moment. Luckily for everyone else, even with my mental instability, I don’t like making changes.

Maroon gave Dusk a toothy grin. Oh, you and Shining have got to get together and compare notes sometime. I’m … four or six different flavors of crazy, depending on how you categorize things. And I know I’m crazy, but that only helps so much… My dad … didn’t for most of his life, until I came along, and my family realized exactly how many of us have the same diagnosis. I know what’s wrong with me and I’m miserable, I can’t imagine not knowing. Of course, he was also a narcissistic ass, so he likely thought everyone else was the problem… Maroon shrugged. Family is weird sometimes… Oh, speaking of family, my sincerest apologies, my family is going to have a regrettable habit of constantly trying to kill yours, Maroon said with a wince. It’s nothing exactly personal, you’re all just some of the only creatures in existence that can challenge them. They’re … not as nice as Ponies. You should all be fine though!

There was a rather desperate grin on the red stallion’s face as he said that. He sighed and went back to petting a lion as though it was an oversized housecat, lost in thought. If fragments of me are such as that, then what is the whole? Is there a whole? Am I a “me?” There are times I don’t wish to know… It must be horrible… He was clearly talking to himself before he snapped back to the present. I … do not expect your forgiveness, though I hope to ask for it one day.

Maroon grinned; his teeth slightly sharp for a Pony. Ah, “What If?” and “Could have been,” a dangerous, infinite sea, so easy to drown in. And one of my specialties… I sometimes gaze into alternate timelines for fun, though I always need to carefully reel myself back in. If we stick to universes that are the most similar to our own, in most cases, you would have been a brilliant academic with a long, distinguished career. You would have revolutionized both magic and many of the sciences. You also would have died utterly alone, not knowing why you felt … empty. There are also a surprising number of timelines where you turned evil and conquered the known world before moving on, but thankfully they are relatively few. You usually had a fairly justified reason, anyway…

Maroon shrugged. Happiness is relative, especially if you don’t know you are unhappy. His head tilted to the right, a bit like a dog, as his eyes seemed to search something only he could see. But … yes. In about 200 cases you are able to make friends and live a happy life without my trying to make you an Element Bearer. However, with having to find a replacement set of Element Bearers, Equestria, and Equus … suffer. Sometimes the whole planet burns. It is rare but not unheard of for the course of history to depend on a single individual, in this case … you. Your existence determines the fate of the world, that’s responsibility…

Revealed myself? Dusk nodded. Would you want Ponies to think you were a God, only to have to explain you’re a fraud? I am not comfortable with being worshipped, and they’d never stop asking me to solve all of their problems… I am often the cause of said problems, even if it’s a few hundred years removed! Maroon sighed. Celestia and Luna know who I am, as does Shining Armor, Cadence, Spike, my children, and Time Turner because I owe him… Now that you are on that list, I pray it ends there…

Maroon chuckled. Someone listens, trust me, I get the feeling they’ve been covering all the prayers I’ve been slacking on. Hope they never call in my tab…

Dusk sighed. “I don’t … feel like you manipulated me. I mean, you were just my teacher. And yes, I’m sure you and the Princess conspired to send me to Ponyville in order to help free Luna, but … I’m the happiest I remember being in a long, long time.” Maroon blinked in surprise. Dusk continued. “And the Princess is back! If we hadn’t helped her, we’d be living in eternal night right now… I liked living here enough to stay instead of going back to where I’ve lived my whole life. This town is kind of crazy, but … it really grows on you.”

Maroon grinned. Like fungus… Believe it or not, one of the first times I died on this planet, it took me a week to come back, and I left a body, so ancient Ponies buried me under what would become the town square. When I woke up, I stayed buried another week, it was … soothing. Explains a lot about Ponyville, doesn’t it? Maroon finished with a grin of shark teeth.

Maroon shrugged. It’s not like I cursed the site or anything, I was actually grateful they’d buried me, it’s nicer than some creatures have been…

You would be amazed… I always come back, usually instantly, sometimes it takes longer. To date the most embarrassing way I’ve died was being crushed by a falling outhouse.

If you go walking in the middle of a tornado, yes… Maroon sighed. It was an amazing experience right until I looked up and swore…

Maroon shrugged. I’ll likely be wearing this or another face, I don’t like to just walk down the street as Arachnos. If it’s all right with you, I would very much like to continue to see and speak with you. It would be nice to have a … someone to speak with magical theory about, I would very much like to hear how your adventures go, and I can tell that I am endlessly fascinating to you, Maroon finished with a teasing grin. Oh! Are you going to this year’s Grand Galloping Gala? Dusk nodded with an excited grin. Me too, Maroon groaned. I will see you there, and hopefully you won’t see me…

Maroon peered at the stallion with a strange expression. Uh. Maybe don’t get your hopes up too high…

Dusk grinned excitedly. “Why wouldn’t I? I was never invited to it the whole time I was in Canterlot, even as Celestia’s student! My friends all have so many exciting plans, we can’t wait for it. It’s going to be the best night ever!”

No matter what form he was wearing, Arachnos did not remotely have a poker face, and there was an expression of growing horror on Maroon’s face.

“What’s wrong with the Grand Galloping Gala?!” Dusk asked, worried it was some sort of cult now.

Nothing! Maroon said a little too quickly. It’s a very nice, somewhat stuffy upper-class annual soiree. From the point of view of the regular attendees, it is indeed the best night of the year. I just hate it, personally. I hope you’ll all … sur … uh, enjoy yourselves.

Maroon sighed. I am not the most social creature in existence, and I really do not enjoy the Gala. It can actually be quite pleasant if you go in with the right mindset. I look forward to seeing you at it.

Maroon gave that sharp-toothed grin again. “Don’t call us, we’ll call you…” he said with a wink before disappearing slowly, starting with the tip of his tail and ending by leaving his grin hanging in empty air for a few seconds before it too chuckled and faded.

Dusk gave a laugh at that before he carefully made his way back to Zecora’s hut to join his friends, once again shown the way by a helpful spider.

When Butterscotch returned to his cottage, he let out a horrified scream. “I’VE BEEN ROBBED! Wait. No. What’s the opposite of robbed?”

He didn’t know what the term would be, but it applied. While he had been out, somepony had let themselves into his cottage. If Butterscotch had been paying better attention he would have seen that the door was still securely locked, so it seemed his anti-burglar could walk through walls. All of the Pegasus’s chores for the day had been done, his animals seemed to be extra-well cared for, and well out of reach was a platter of baked goods and a large sack of bits. Tucked into the bag was a scroll.

Expecting it to explode, the Pegasus unfurled it. In neat block print, it simply read, “Thank you for being nice to me.” It wasn’t signed.

It was the evening of the Grand Galloping Gala. I had agreed to go on behalf of Celestia’s school, but I’d never said I’d be wearing a body. It’s much easier to tolerate some things when you’re an intangible spirit. Celestia couldn’t see me and was going to think I’d ghosted her, pun heavily intended, but the wrath of an Alicorn was easier to deal with than this mess by this point…

I laughed when I saw the At the Gala song begin to start. There were some minor differences, Elusive was not there to find a Prince Charming, he was hoping Prince Blueblood could provide him with business connections he was in more desperate need of than he wanted to admit.

I never really joined in with these spontaneous musical numbers, as much as I enjoyed them, but saw no reason not to. Still bodiless, I joined a line of stallions near the back, mimicking their dance rather clumsily. At a good moment, I added my own lines,

At the gala, all these nobles, how they make me want to shout! All this boredom, all their hatred, wish I could tear my mane out! These happy days are ending soon, if Ponies only knew, but enjoy yourselves tonight, right here at the Gala! It didn’t line up at all, but I’d been on the spot.

It was an utter disaster. I couldn’t even find it funny. It made me wish that I had shown up in the flesh, just so one thing could have gone right.

Bubble Berry’s attempts to liven up the party ended with every single attendant but his friends either ignoring him or treating him with contempt.

Rainbow Blitz didn’t impress the Wonderbolts at all, and his messing with events in order to perform a daring feat in front of his idols wound up breaking most of the Canterlot Castle ballroom. I was beginning to see why his canon counterpart eventually wound up with the nickname “Rainbow Crash…”

Applejack wound up tripping an innocent bystander in an attempt to sell his baked goods to the poor stallion. He eventually wheeled an entire cake into the ballroom in a desperate attempt to make money to help his family. The only ponies who bought anything were Soarin, who was technically family anyway and always loved the Apple family pie, and Applejack’s friends.

Elusive laid the charm on extra-thick in an attempt to get in with Prince Blueblood’s circle of contacts. Blueblood treated the other unicorn stallion like an annoyance at best and was almost cruel at worst in his attempts to shake Elusive. Elusive was having none of it.

Dusk was distraught to find that Celestia did not have time for one-on-one personal time with her student as she had in his youth. He attempted to help her with the endless line of Ponies attempting to greet her, but wound up regretting it and nearly got his hoof crushed by the well-wishers.

Unseen, I carefully trailed after Butterscotch. He’d always been interesting to me, ever since he and Rainbow had snuck into the supposedly haunted Rainbow Factory as foals. That had been a fun evening for me…

The yellow Pegasus was not having much luck attracting critters to befriend, as the Canterlot Castle Menagerie was notoriously skittish, a fact that the Pegasus had not been informed of beforehand. As much as I loved animals, in all the centuries I’d been visiting the Castle, neither their ancestors nor the current generation had exactly warmed up to me…

I watched with interest as the Pegasus wound up resorting to setting traps in order to make a new critter friend, all of which backfired with Wile E. Coyote levels of pain and humor.

Butterscotch finally tried rigging a net, swearing that the instant a creature touched it, they would be all his! With a maniacal laugh, he somehow summoned a flash of dramatically appropriate red lightning before getting caught in his own net.

Well. He’s going to fit right in, assuming Discord likes likes him, I thought with the disembodied equivalent of a grin. Though I’d honestly be thrilled if they were just friends, Gods know Discord needs one…

Butterscotch gave a surprised yelp as an unseen force sliced through the net and gently lowered him to safety before swooping away like an oversized bat.

In the ballroom a combination of the mane six’s actions caused utter havoc. Bubble Berry attempted to help Applejack show how yummy the cake he was trying to sell was, while Rainbow Blitz proceeded to up his tricks becoming desperate to be noticed by ~~Senpai~~ the Wonderbolts. Bubble Berry was doing a rather acrobatic dance and accidentally crashed into the cake Applejack was trying to sell, causing it to go sailing directly towards Blueblood and Elusive.

The Prince proceeded to shove the “common” unicorn into the path of the pastry projectile, only for it to somehow miss Elusive entirely and wind up smacking directly into the Prince. That had either been a heck of a gust of wind, or something large and invisible with a warped sense of humor…

Blueblood attempted to wipe away the frosting coating him while Elusive let out a delighted cackle at the unexpected bit of karma. Blueblood attempted to back away, knocking over the centerpiece statue.

Seeing yet another opportunity for a heroic feat, Rainbow Blitz swooped down and managed to grab the statue … which knocked all of the columns over like a row of dominos.

At that point, Butterscotch kicked the doors down as animals fled for their lives into the ballroom to get away from the crazed Pegasus. With an ominous flash of lightning, the normally meek stallion roared, “YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE ME!!!” in a voice loud enough to shake the walls.

Blueblood let out a horrified scream at that and ran for it, Elusive not even bothering to chase after him.

Dusk asked the Princess what he should do to help, and with a teasing smile, Celestia shouted, “RUN FOR IT!” The Princess the galloped off into the night, Dusk and his friends right behind her.

The guests had also had enough of the chaos and fled for safety and relative sanity as well.

All that was left was a wrecked ballroom, a lot of frightened animals, and some of the Thestral members of Luna’s night guard.

One of the Batponies sighed and looked at his fellow guard. “This is going to take all night to clean,” he groaned.

As the song continued, the room began to repair itself, the messes and wrecked food vanishing, and small portals gently chasing animals and safely depositing them back home.

In moments, the ballroom was sparkling, and in a swirl of rainbow fire, I appeared in my liontaur form dressed in a tux, playing the piano and singing along with the song as it finished.

I grinned at the pair of guards who had been joined by five others. Hello, Nocturne, nice to see you again.

The Batpony sagged in relief that his schedule had just been cleared. “Thank you…”

I waved a paw. Don’t mention it. Under the piano, I snapped one of the fingers on my lower paw. The next morning, Bic Macintosh would plow the field with the old worn out plow that had needed replacing for years. It would break, he would grumble, and the rock he thought had broken it would turn out to be an ownerless treasure chest filled with a sizeable sum.

I dispensed with the tux and teleported over to the Batponies and saw Luna coming downstairs as well now that it was quieter in the castle.

I rubbed my paws together gleefully. So, now that the rabble are finally gone, how about a real party?

I let out a mild curse and tried to catch up to her character, only to crash into a wall. I tried to turn my cart around, fumbling with the controller.

“For having so many eyes and arms, you are terrible at this!” Nocturne said with a delighted grin.

I shrugged and grumbled as Luna won the third race. I sighed and held up my controller. Right. Who was next up?

Flitterwing raised his hoof nervously and I awkwardly tossed it to him, which he caught magnificently.

I walked away from the tv and racing video game competition to the table of snacks I’d conjured. Did anypony want the last slice of jalapeno and pineapple? There was a chorus of “nos.” I shrugged and ate the pizza, downing a swig of root beer and grabbing some gummy warms.

Blueblood came downstairs and swallowed nervously when he saw me giving him a glare. He’d been around me enough to not have an outright panic attack at the mere sight of me, but he knew what I thought of him…

To my shock, the Prince sighed and nodded, folding his ears back. “I know. I … really overdid it this time. I should send that stallion an apology note if he ever cools down.”

I blinked. I think Elusive might want to make a coat out of you right now, I wouldn’t count on his “cooling down.” I sat down on the floor, still towering over him. Wait. So, you’re … not normally like that?

Blueblood scoffed. “Only every time I’m around somepony I don’t know.” He sighed. “I’m Canterlot’s most eligible bachelor, and most Ponies want to use me to get closer to the Princesses. I cannot count the number of mares who have simply thrown themselves at me simply for my fortune and status.”

“Especially as it is not mares whose company he prefers,” Luna said with a grin.

I laughed. I knew you preferred males before you did, it’s fine. So, your tactic to avoid gold-diggers is to just be an absolute jerk to everypony?

Blueblood groaned. “It works, doesn’t it? Some of us have to stay firmly closeted for the foreseeable future due to tradition and station…” he grumbled. “I suppose I can be quite selfish, I have very exacting standards, and I enjoy a lavish lifestyle, but I am not the stallion Elusive spent the evening with.” Blueblood sighed. “A pity, he was rather cute. And good company. Well, if not a note, I at least owe him some anonymous patronage, I’ll see what I can arrange.”

Luna chuckled. “We were surprised to peel back his layers and find a rather kind stallion. Our first impression was not favorable, but Blueblood is a good stallion. … Underneath it all. We believe thou could do him some good, Arachnos… How wert thou able to identify his preferences?

The guards all grinned and called out for me to “scan” them. I sighed. Almost all of you are straight, Starshine Nova is bi, Blueblood prefers the rougher sex, and Luna … I squinted. It just says, “Work in Progress.” Happy now?

Blueblood chuckled. “Is there a spell for that? Not accidentally hitting on somepony straight would be … helpful.”

I shook my head. No, but … I suppose I could invent one. Don’t go spreading it around, though…

At that point, Celestia came back into the throne room, after a long night out with the Mane Six. She was not used to being up this late, but she’d finally managed to enjoy herself. She had explained to Dusk and his friends that the Gala was always miserable, so their disasters had actually been an improvement over centuries past. The group had profusely apologized to Spike for being so caught up in their dreams they hadn’t included him and promised to include him in future events. They had all ended the night gorging on doughnuts and swapping stories.

Celestia stared at her sister wiping the floor with her guards at video games, me hanging by a snack table, and asked, “Sister? What are you doing?”

Luna turned back and gave Celestia the happiest smile Celestia had seen her with in some time. “Ah. Arachnos suggested that as the castle was empty, we and the Night Guard join him in a … ‘Guy’s Night.’ We have never played these kinds of games before; we greatly enjoy them!”

You can keep the game set, it has about a hundred games on it, and I’m terrible at all of them.

“Thank you. We have been freed from our time as the Nightmare and could use … enjoyment. In the place of a Dark Mare, you would have a queen of games! A destroyer of Noobs! Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as a beloved NPC! ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR!”

Well, I’ve created a monster, I said with a sharp grin. I look forward to seeing Gamer Luna. Goodnight, everypony, I look forward to seeing you soon.

I willed myself back home, in a surprisingly good mood. Things were really looking up, and not even my mental health could mess with that.

After Death, Creation

by TheOnlySaneDraconequus

The Return of Old Friends...